Snowmageddon 2018

 Well, we finally got winter. All at once. The forecast had been brewing for about 3 days, and on Thursday, it started. We actually had a "snow day" today; most schools were closed, many offices also closed. Those who worked from home did so. 

All in all, we had about a foot of snow, and it's going to snow a bit more tonight - possibly up to 3 more inches. 

We went to a wake today - the first time we got out, except for shoveling. The main roads were fine, but in our neighborhood, people ignored the "don't park on the street" thing...seriously, my town could have had quite a surplus if they issued tickets. The neighboring town issued over 300 tickets for violating the winter parking bans...


Anyway, it's the light, fluffy stuff so far. The birds were gathered around the feeders, with the woodpeckers nibbling suet, and a junco who decided that the smaller feeder provided his two favorite things: shelter and food. 

Hubby tried to take a few shots out the front window; I was having problems with holding the camera steady. 

Might've been that 3 cups of tea I had that made me a little wobbly... 

It was interesting to watch the neighbors ignore the snow plow. It was with a bit of vicarious glee that I watched the plow "snow them in." Several times. What is it about people where they think, "I'll just wait till it stops snowing" -- and then you can see how irritated they are at moving a foot of snow! We kept up with it, so we had an easier time of it. 

Our neighbor actually used a shovel to push the snow off his car... Wow. I'm pretty sure my father would've had a fit if I'd done that. Then again, it was he who taught me to "stay ahead" of the snow. Hubby's dad actually had a John Deere with a blade - but then, Hubby grew up in Montana, where stuff like this is a "little spring storm." 

I was planning on getting a lot of knitting done today; and getting into my office to continue the organizing. Instead, I caught up on several days' worth of newspapers and I started cleaning out my email. I'm an incredible email hoarder. 

I think I got rid of about 10,000 emails. Seriously, I'm not joking. Hubby manages his inbox easily, filing things right away. I started purging, and will start unsubscribing to things - I got into a lot of different email newsletters, and honestly? Who can keep up now? So I cleared out and I filed. All in all, it's been pretty productive. 

I also shoveled. Tomorrow, I hope to get the elkhounds out - at least on the long lead and let them trash all the snow. They'll enjoy that. Maybe I can even get out on the snowshoes in the park near our house. 

I was able to get out to the street to take a few pictures. The snow came up past my ankles at that point. I had a chance to shoot a few pictures, but I didn't want to linger out there. It wasn't that it was cold, but it was coming down rather fast. 

I have campaign signs in my front yard, and one of my friends was laughing because at one point, all we could see was "Elect Jim." Well, now, you can barely see the "Elect" part! And Denise's sign is pretty much buried. 

The Blue Super Moon...

As I indicated, it was, once again, too cloudy to actually see the full Blue/Super Moon. But the nice thing is that this fella lingered. So about 3 days afterward, I saw this outside, and Hubby was kind enough to take the shot for me. You couldn't -- or, I couldn't - get this shot with my phone. He's got a steadier hand than I do, so outside he went and he got this. 

It was a morning shot; the moon was sparkly and stunning. It was quickly obscured by clouds and of course, moved under the tree lines, so we lost it about 4 minutes after that photo was taken. 

I'm wondering at the plethora of the "super moons" we've had in the past year. How many of them can be "super" before it seems like EVERY full moon is "super"? 

You know the "Blue" phenomena is when there are 2 full moons in a calendar month. That I can deal with. 

But it seems like everything is "super" now, and that takes away the special-ness of, say, the Harvest Moon. I don't want to complain. Well, yeah, I do. We seem lately to have a need to "super" everything. 

How about we just go outside, ditch our devices, and LOOK UP. Admire the night sky, even if you're in an area where there are a lot of people. You'll still see stars. Maybe not as many as you'd see in the wide open prairie, but you'll still see them. You'll see the moon in all its phases. You may see bats flying. 

Go outside and breathe. The night air is wonderful. It doesn't have to be "super." It can just be what it is: night. 

Knitting...

Look at my lovely unicorn yarn bowl! From Darn Good Yarns, it's adorable! I can't wait to use it on my next project. Right now, it's sitting on my table next to some carnations (silk) in a green vase. Time to ditch the snowmen, even though they're perfect at the moment. I wanted something different. 

Anyway, I would normally not have bought this, but I figured I wanted to treat myself for my recent birthday. 

I like the fact that it's a bigger yarn bowl. I had purchased a yarn bowl from Darn Good Yarns before, and it turned out to be wayyyyyyyyyy smaller than I thought. It's fine for a cake of sock yarn. Doesn't work for a ball of Opal. Also didn't work with bulkier yarns. 

But the unicorn will. I like that there are multiple holes, and that swoopy thing where you can just string your yarn in there, so you can switch out the yarns for different projects. 

It's got a nice wide base, and seems pretty sturdy. I've been eyeballing lots of yarn bowls; some are gorgeous works of art, and some look like they wouldn't hold a mini-skein. And some look like they'd slide right off a table if you had to give the yarn a good tug. 

This wooden one also has a good base; rather bottom-heavy, actually. It's just too shallow for a lot of projects I do. Right now, it's holding the Heritage Sock yarn. As you can see, I'm moving along on that one. I'm kinda on a roll with it, so I'm plugging along on it this weekend. I'm hoping to get to the heel this weekend. 


Maybe I misjudged this pattern. I'm starting to get into the groove of the 4-repeat structure, and I'm liking it. It's zipping along nicely. I think I'll make it through. I could see myself doing this again, when I reach into the "Twelve Months of Socks" tote and pulling out a solid color. 

But it would have to be a light color. I don't know that I would do this in a darker color. The "Bowties are Cool" pattern in the Navy blue "Bigger on the Inside" yarn is a kicker. Kind of gets you right in the eyeballs...

So I've had some issues with hats - I can't seem to make one that fits me well. They fit my head, but I can't get them tight enough around the ears. And I still can't find that darned baby blue alpaca hat! 

I have been using my Kiwi hat - and I don't care that it pulls down virtually onto my glasses. It's been cold enough that I just wear the hat. It got good use today! The snow was dappling the black "overhairs" on the kiwi yarn -- the possum part -- and the hat sparkled with diamonds. 

I tell myself it's a "cloche" style and it can rest lower on my head. Problem is, I have rather a short forehead. My mom's the same way. My sister has a higher hairline, which she says causes its own set of problems. But I have trouble with bangs and with hats. 

I'm still looking for a nice pattern. I love the basic ones, and I have to figure out something for my ears. 

Or I just wear earmuffs under or over the hat. It could work. I'm too old to care if it doesn't because my main goal is to be warm rather than fashionable. 

But a well-knitted hat never hurts. If it turns out that I find a luscious yarn, a great pattern and the right button or other accessory? I'm going for it. 

Random Pictures...

There are two more from today. A shot down our street and a shot of the tree in the front yard. I thought the snow was nestling in the tree rather nicely. And I just liked seeing our street decked out in winter's finery. 

There was a guy walking his dog. The snow was falling. There was that typical "hush" in the air. Regardless of people shoveling, snow plows coming down the street... you know that sound of the snow falling? The sound of those little flakes hitting the ground, making that particular "shusshhhh" sound? That was going on. You could almost taste the stillness and feel the sound. 

One of my favorite things is to walk in the snow. I don't have to talk. Really, it's more fun to listen. I'll even be happy going out there by myself. Just to absorb it. 

Did you know that there are studies that say silence is good for us? Think about it. We're bombarded by sounds. Mostly artificial ones, of our own making. We don't know silence anymore, and if we do, often we're uncomfortable with it. 

Bundle up. Put on some decent hiking boots. Grab the cross-country skis or snowshoes. Go outside and enjoy the snow in the daytime. I've talked about going outside at night. Try the daytime. And stick your phone in your pocket. (Carry it with you - it's a safety thing.) Walk in nature. 

See what you can see. Notice light and dark. Notice birds. Notice the signs of creatures that occupy the space. 

You don't even have to whip out the phone to document your walk on social media. 

The point is to get out there in nature and enjoy what it has to offer. Our Mother Earth will provide for us. And we need to get out there with her when we can. As often as possible. For our own mental and physical health, as well as to appreciate what she's offering us.