This is my sister using the snow thrower. See that big lump of snow in the left of the picture? That's my car. Completely covered with snow. It's a Big Ol' Snowman of a Prius!
There hasn't been much melting, since the temps have been quite chilly all week. It is supposed to be in the 40s this weekend, so here's hoping for lots of melting!
Emma says "Who cares? There are only two to choose from, and you're going to knit both of them, so what does it matter?" I have to admit there is a certain amount of logic in her argument, but it would still have been nice of her to play along. I finally gave up and unwrapped both skeins, and look at the colors!!!
Red and green, I kid you not! How funny that the last two skeins of sock yarn are Christmas colors! I'll have to think of something special to knit with them, seeing as I am so full of Christmas spirit this year, thanks to Sue. Notice the tree? Yes, I did put up a tree this year. No ornaments, yet, but I think the sock yarn looks pretty good on it. Maybe I'll just decorate it with sock yarn!
...and telling them not to eat the snow and then coaxing them back in the house...
...and then letting them out again because they ate so much show that, you guessed it, they have to pee...
...I've been knitting, eating cream cheese and olive sandwiches on little tiny slices of pumpernickel bread, and watching The Holiday. Do you see all that snow? Totally unheard of here in southern New Jersey. But, at least the worst is over. Oh no...that's right. The heaviest part of the storm is going to hit between 3:00 and 9:00pm. What time is it now? 2:45pm.
It is unbelievable! Sue made me a counted-cross-stitch pillow...of a BRITTANY! It is absolutely beautiful! So thoughtful! She even included some treats for the babes. Emma, Tara and Cooper say "We Love Auntie Sue!"
Tara the week we brought her home.
Tara modeling knitwear.
Tara modeling more knitwear.
Tara saying "Give me Judy's number...maybe she will take me back..."
Speaking of artistic, New Jersey's arts organizations need your help. (How do you like that segue? Pretty smooth, eh?)
Nice try, babes! As long as I have breath in my body, you three are getting regular check-ups!
Pattern? Who needs a pattern? I know what I want so just point me towards the clippy things and I'll be on my way. Only I can't quite remember what the clippy things looked like, or how they worked. Never mind. I'll figure that out later.
She is modeling some knitting-in-progress. Anyone remember what it is? Here is some more knitting-in-progress:
Any ideas what it might be? Here's a hint, it's not a skanky bikini for a doll! It's light bulbs!
My friend Pat and I made a string of knitted Christmas bulbs for one of the trees at work. The theme for the museum's display this year is "A Handmade Christmas" so we've been working on all kinds of handmade ornaments, and of course we did a tree of knitted ornaments! Thanks to Ravelry, we had no shortage of patterns. Take a look at these teeny tiny sweaters.
Here is the completed knitted star that Tara was modeling.
And here is the tree of knitted ornaments in all its glory:
Working on this tree is the most fun I've had at work in a long, long time!
It turned out to be a skooch larger than I had planned. Truth be told, I didn't really plan all that much. I just bought the yarn, cast on, and kept knitting and knitting and knitting. And knitting. Before it knew it, the "baby" blanket was big enough to cover Rhode Island. Well, maybe not quite that big, but here is a picture of it with a recent copy of Spin Off magazine for perspective.
Yes, indeed, that is one big baby blanket!
She was so much fun to make! Braids attached to her hat, ruffled panties, even a belly button! You know you want to see her in her birthday suit, so here she is in all her nekkid glory:
Fortunately, I had some helpers for this photo shoot. Daughter of Ducky was wandering around...
...while Joseph supervised from the back of my car.
Yes, the hatch was up so he helped himself to a comfy spot. No sense in walking on those driveway stones, plus being higher up, he had a better vantage point.
Sophia was a little bit fussy, but mom worked her magic and calmed her right down.
I'm also thankful for three mischievous, out of control, badly behaved, but happy and healthy dogs! (Especially the "healthy" part)
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I love you more than words can say!
Little Olive is really a sweetie, and I'm sure that Cooper and Tara would accept her, eventually, but Emma is another story. Emma decided that Olive would be HER baby, and that no one else could go near the cage. Emma turned on Tara and Cooper, and at various points was snarling warnings and raising her hackles at them. When Emma attacked Cooper's haunches and had Tara by the neck, we decided this was not going to work. Olive went back to my niece.
Touching good-bye scene? I think not. While the humans were fighting back tears, the dogs just had their eyes on the prize...
I won this cute zipper bag from Chan's Big Blessed Bash. Isn't it adorable? It was made by Piddleloop and it's the perfect size to hold some knitting notions to keep them from getting tangled up in my project bags. Much classier than my usual ziploc bag, too. Thanks Chan!
My niece Jen took her as a temporary measure. She has been socializing Olive, took her to the vet for shots & spaying, and has been trying to find her a loving home. No luck yet. Since Jen already has something like a bazillion cats, and has lots of company coming this week for Thanksgiving, she can't keep Olive any longer. So, Jen lent us a huge cat cage, and Olive is settling in nicely.
The plan is for Olive to patiently wait in the cage while the dogs get used to her. Eventually the dogs will grow to love their new little sister, and Olive will be able to leave the cage and everyone will enjoy a long and happy life together.
It's only been three hours, but I think it's going well. Cooper is barking incessantly, Tara is howling like a beagle, and Emma just stands "on point", trembling and licking her lips while staring at Olive. How much longer can this go on? I've got to go and look for any Percoset left over from my back surgery."Dogs' lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know that pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions."I am so very thankful that my babes are all so healthy, but every day --every single day-- I look at Emma and Tara and Cooper, and know that the unbearable pain of losing them is coming. I can't help it. I also know that I will welcome another soul into my life when the unbearable pain becomes a little less unbearable, and the cycle will start again.
Scarlett c.1994
I'm not immune to the suffering of those who have sustained extensive property damage, but then again, look at this loot! Gorgeous greens and a couple of aquas, some really big pieces, plus a strange looking lead sinker/dipsy there in the bottom right corner of the photo.
It looks like a alien fishing gear!
Back then, there was some discussion at the online sock knitting forum www.socknitters.com regarding using reinforcing thread in the heels and toes of your socks. I mentioned that I use sewing thread to kind of beef up the heels and toes. One of the knitters mentioned that she heard that sewing thread can actually increase the wear and tear on the socks because of the rubbing of the thread against the yarn.
On closer examination, you can see that this hole developed non-reinforced sock, so I guess the thread helped! For this pair, anyway. In the interest of full disclosure, though, I should add that the reinforced sock shows wear, also.
Maybe I should darn the hole and continue to wear the socks so I could keep track of how many additional wearings it takes until a hole develops in the reinforced sock!
He filled her head with sweet talk and lies, and led her astray, never to be seen by her loving momma ever again. Oh, the heartache...
I went out and followed them to get some better shots, and got this picture of one rooster (the black & white one) and 5 hens. You can just see the top of the head of hen #5 in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.
Just for the fun of it, I started cooing to #5 and calling her Ducky Junior. The rest of the chicks ran off, but she came right up to me, and let me snap a bunch of pictures!
Could it be that this is Ducky Junior? Daughter of Ducky? I think it is!
To some people, perhaps all Rhode Island Red chickens look alike, but I just know there is a family resemblance here... Look at the coloring, the eyes, the nose, the comb!
