So, grab your coffee/beverage of your choice. One of these days I'll actually take a photo of myself holding a cup of coffee for these posts. ... One day. ... But today is not that day.
Today I'm stealing a photo from one of my earlier coffee posts.
If we were having coffee ... I'd rant about the local meteorologists to you. Lately they have been predicting the storm to end all storms will happen five days from now. Then needing to downgrade the severity of the storm. Local people are getting pretty tired of this after being told to prepare for the end of the world twice. Now, while that may sound a bit dramatic and overly sarcastic, it is deserving.
"All the models are in agreement."
"Several feet of snow is expected"
"Do not travel if you don't have to."
To: Storm is being downgraded. Instead of the three-plus feet of snow, our area will be lucky to get an inch.
Mother Nature deciding to go manic on us these last few weeks has not helped. We had a gorgeous Friday and it's been steadily downhill since. A clipper system will be over my area in the next day or so.
All around us the school districts have been closing because of the impending snowstorms. Well, for everyone except the school district my son goes to, and the school district of the next big city over. My son has been majorly disappointed by these potential snow days not happening for him.
"This is the second time it's happened," he said to me and his father, after the last round of school cancellations went across the screen during the morning news. I'm pretty sure he was fighting back a lot of frustration. I can't blame him. There is nothing like the hope of a snow day, and then having it snatched away.
On Sunday it was a cloudy day and temps were in the 20s. I was sitting at the bottom of a ski hill, while my guys are skiing to their little hearts content. No way was I going out there. Too windy. My husband said all the obvious beginners looked miserable.
If we were having coffee ... I'd let you know that I've been spending some time with the ladies, out in the coop. I'm pretty sure they are tired of the weather as well. On the nice days I open up the coop door and several of them stand in the doorway, giving death glares to the snow banks. They won't step on the stairs unless the snow has been cleared off. What prima donnas!
I took advantage of the nicer weather and cleaned out the coop as best I could. I even freshened up the nesting boxes and my husband put some foam into the boxes, to help prevent cracked eggs. Which reminds me, the hens are ripping the foam up. So much for that.
The girls have been very generous with the eggs the last several weeks. It went from this:
to this. At least that is what it feels like. We are getting almost two dozen eggs a day.
While we were freshening up the nesting boxes, a couple of the girls decided to sound the alarm, or something. Their squawking went for several minutes.
I do have some news. A few Mondays ago a gentleman drove a couple hours to take two of our roos home with him. It was sort of bittersweet. When we went out to the coop to get the two roos and put them in a container so they could be safely transported, one of the hens stood up on the perch, had a concerned look on her face, and got verbal. Almost as if she was trying to say "What are you doing with our guys?" I assured her they were going to a good home and she seemed only mildly satisfied with my answer. She stopped talking but didn't settle back down right away.
Don't worry, sweet Mama's Boy is still with us. I wish I knew why he was blurry in this photo. He must have been trying to show off. Which reminds me, he doesn't have much game when it comes to the girls. Maybe he will wind up being a lap chicken. He's got a heck of a crow though. I really need to get it on video. He's quite the baritone.
The same weekend we separated the Marans to the little coop. In about a month or so, we will be able to sell purebred fertilized eggs (we hope) and maybe hatch a few of our own. So far the Marans aren't very happy. I thought the girls would be thrilled to not have to run away from so many suitors, but they are acting like they've been exiled to the island. I spent some time with them today after work.
My son developed a case of strep. Boo and hiss. Not nearly as past as his last case of strep, thankfully. He's already completed his round of antibiotics. Next, we plan for his birthday in a few days. My boy is growing up way too fast. One of the gals at work told me "Only five more years." Oh! So bittersweet.
We have a new neighbor. This little fellow (or gal) has been staying under our deck. My husband tossed some chicken food out for it to eat. I was seeing it every day when I got home, but it's been a few days now. I'm a little concerned. This morning I saw a coyote crossing the road about a mile from the house.
Life has been fairly quiet otherwise, with the exception of Friday. My husband and I did a sort of spur of the moment decision and I took the day off from work to take a three-hour drive to a town I've never been to before, to buy a car. A pretty little 2015 Prius. Barcelona Red.
What a day it was! I made it fine to the town, then got lost when Siri decided to go haywire and send me off to who knows where.
Then, I drove back home, got my husband, and we drove back to the town to pick up the car. We got home about 8:30 p.m. I was in the car, driving, for approximately 12 hours. I haven't done a day like that in almost a decade. Thank goodness for audiobooks. Except for the last trip home. I didn't know how to hook the bluetooth up and I just wanted to get home asap.
In the end it was worth it. It was a steal of a deal. My husband ran the numbers and we couldn't *not* get it. It's going to save us so much in the long run. People have been asking "Where's the black car?" My sweet Prius 150 is staying with the family. No worries there.
I do have a story about why I'm mentioning the car color. Way back when, when I first went looking to buy a Prius, they were really hard to find. The 2011 Japanese earthquake had just happened, and gas prices were up. These cars were being scooped up as fast as they were hitting the dealerships. We finally found a dealership that had two available. Different models, one black, one Barcelona red. I took the Barcelona Red one out for a drive, and a car passing me kicked up a rock and chipped the paint. I took that as a sign that I was meant to have the other car, despite the heavy sales pitch the salesman was giving us. We bought the Prius with the black paint and I've never once regretted it. So, to buy another one seven years later in the other color is a bit humorous to me.
If we were having coffee ... I'd tell you that spinning has been happening.
Something clicked and I decided I *must* spin. I spun nearly two bobbins full in the last couple weeks. It's also my best spinning, I think. I've been trying a couple different preps and one resulted in a really fine single. I don't know how many ounces I spun. I have finally finished spinning up the two pounds of Corriedale that I received with my spinning wheel, nine years ago. I have no idea what I will make with it, or if I will make it into a two-ply or chain-ply it. Bobbins need to be emptied so I can start spinning some other fiber for a sweater. I'm super stoked about a spinning project that will result in a sweater's worth of yarn.
Since I've done so much spinning, not much knitting has happened. I say that now, but as soon as I start thinking about pictures I realize I've done more than I think.
I finished the vanilla socks I was working on:
Vanilla socks
Started: 12/15/18
Finished:1/12/18
Needle: U.S. 1, 2.25 mm
Color: White, grey, yellow, and two shades of blue
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici "Stone Harbor" lot #18511
I finished one sock of the other pair of vanilla socks I am working on. Knit Picks Felici yarn again. "Fanciful."
I got the itch to make something Valentine-themed. This year my idea of a good valentine project was cabled dishcloths.
I scoured the Internet looking for something to work on.
Only one caught my eye.
I heart you three times dishcloth
Started: 1/19/18
Finished: 119/18
Needle: US #5, 3.75 mm
Yarn: Peaches and Cream
Color: Red, Looks pink in the picture, and I thought it was pink when I picked it out.
Since I still wanted to work on cables I made my favorite dishcloth pattern.
Celtic Cables dishcloth
Started: 1/20/18
Finished: 1/21/18
Needle: US #5, 3.75 mm
Yarn: Peaches and Cream
Color: Pastel Pink
I have no idea how many of these dishcloths I've made. None have been for myself, until now.
I have enough yarn to make at least one more dishcloth, and maybe a striped dish cloth.
If we were having coffee ... Not much action in the kitchen the last few weeks. I did try out a new dessert recipe, and it was a hit with the coworkers.
My interpretation of Tiramisu.
It was also a huge hit with this girl. *points to self* I have never made a dessert with coffee before. I love it! I don't dare make it too often. I'll gain back all the weight I lost.
If we were having coffee ... I'd let you know that I'm still cruising along with the audiobooks and regular books.
I did finish listening to "Murder is Binding," book one in a series. I thought it started out a bit slow but after a while it picked up and started flowing nicely for me. Let's see ... Divorced woman moves to small town and opens a used mystery book store. She barely interacts with the town people until after her sister comes for a visit, and the gal next door is murdered. The sisters' relationship is strained despite the one trying her hardest to be pleasant. Definite baggage there and I was getting annoyed by all the little barbs and jabs, without knowing what the story was behind it. I can see the potential for the sister storyline and am curious to see how it builds.
In the end, I sort of figured out who did it, but for a slightly different reason. I have also finished listening to the second book. Book two is called "Bookmarked for death." This book grabbed my attention *right* away and I'm so pleased that I figured out who did it!
I also finished "Through the Grinder," book two in a series This one definitely had my attention. Some of the scenes have me wanting to cover my eyes, while thinking "How is she going to get herself out of this situation." There is a lot of talk about sex in this one, so I didn't listen to it in the car when family was with me. I thought I knew who did it. Once again, I missed a few pertinant clues. I think if I had been reading these stories, instead of listening to them, I'd be picking up on things. For this one, it's a few months after the first book. Main character is trying out the dating scene. Women who have gone to her coffee shop are dying. It looks like suicides, but her detective friend thinks they are all homicides. When I finished the story I was a bit gobsmacked. I could not believe how one of the story lines ended. It stuck with me for the rest of the evening. I also learned a little something about the "Mr. (or Mrs.) Right syndrome/disorder. It was a lot to chew on that evening.
The book I was reading-reading is "This must be the place." I finished it Sunday, Jan. 19, I think. The book is well-written. When I finished it, however, I decided I didn't like the story. I wasn't satisfied with the ending. In my opinion, there was a whole lot of talk and background information about a situation that wasn't really discussed or fleshed out. First loves, marriages, choices made, and choices made having impacts and consequences. There were a few story lines that I felt didn't need to be there because they had nothing to do with the end result, or even much impact on the main character's life.
There were a couple passages that stuck with me, and I marked them appropriately, but on the whole, this book was not for me.
All those things you think are *so* vital when you are younger ...
I popped the book dart off before taking the picture of this one. The part about our best selves.
I marked this one so I could looked up the word Detlene.
A few good spots to remember.
Currently on the kindle is "The Twelfth Night," By Shakespeare. Just started. I haven't read Shakespeare since middle school. Romeo and Juliet. That story was a mess to understand. I'm not having much of an issue reading this play. More life experience under my belt, maybe? In any case, I recall Romeo and Juliet being very difficult, and the teacher, as nice as she was, not doing a very good job of explaining it.
I haven't read a synopsis of what The Twelfth Night is about yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what is going on so far. I think the most difficult part for me will be keeping track of who's who for the first part.
I hadn't meant for this to be so long. I've been working on this entry for two weeks, at least. It's been a bit hard to carve out the time in big chunks to write, so I've been writing, adding and rewriting here and there. January has been an odd month for me. There were spurts of time going quickly, then slowly. I was surprised to see the day is Jan. 29. Where did the month go?
