SNOW!

Oh my goodness. Some of you may have read or seen that Denver is having a snowstorm. It started Tuesday evening and hasn't yet stopped. Howard went out this morning (thank God it is our weekend!) and cleared off the car and shot a couple of photos. This picture is just past the front door to the apartment building. Normally that branch is high overhead. I would guess that the car on the right has not moved since before the storm started.




We worked Tuesday night, leaving for work early because of the forecast. It started to snow as soon as we were on the freeway. By the time we got off work, the car had several inches on it. It was a white knuckle drive down the mountain, the road was completely white. Oddly enough, the last little bit was the hardest -- the plows don't go through so much and climbing the hill was almost too much for our car. We parked the car in the parking lot (can't get it in our garage space yet) with the understanding that we did NOT need to go out again until Friday night. Whew! (This is the back view of that car.)



This is what our car looked like, having missed the first night of the storm. The one in the center of this photo, looking as if it has a thin line between the end of the snow on the car where it hasn't QUITE met the snow on the ground. Yet.









Howard cleared part of the windshield and took a photo of the contrast.

Howard used the shovel blade as a measuring tool to measure the depth of the snow on top of the car. The blade is about 14-16 inches deep (we need to measure to be sure.) As you can see, the snow extends a bit above that.

Our car is being protected a bit by the apartment building. I don't want to walk out and see what the cars that are unprotected look like. Call it lazy or call it cold. Forget it right now. Almost time to go to bed!

Welcome!

At their own wedding. I'd like to welcome a new member to our clan -- Justin. Serena and Justin married September 30th.
Photo taken in June at Justin's brother's wedding.


That makes 2 Justins, now to be known as Justin T (or Big Justin) and Justin L (or Little Justin or Justin the Small.) We figure the initials are safer, as Justin L will grow. Will he be as BIG as Justin T? Who knows. grin

Justin and Serena were best friends her freshman year of college. They lost touch, but found each other again.


The newlyweds live in the Chicago area. With 2 cats and 3 dogs.

Serena is still looking for a job. Good thoughts her way would be appreciated.

Justin

Here's Justin "reading." I LOVE this picture!

Raccoons

You know, I've always considered raccoons to be cute and harmless. The other night Howard received a frantic call from Serena that raccoons were in the house please come help. It seems that 5 of them had pushed in a screen and made themselves at home. Tora-chan hid but Titania decided to defend her territory. When Serena got to the kitchen 3 raccoons were fighting one very angry cat. The other two coons were investigating the house. Serena started throwing things to get them away from Titania. They weren't afraid of her at all. She finally knocked something down on them. Titania ran away and Serena chased the coons out of the house, replaced the screen then shut the window. That's when Howard got there, to a trashed kitchen and a VERY upset daughter! No sign of Titania, Tora-chan strolled out leisurely shortly after, wondering about the upset and why the dreadful almost skunk smell in the house. After much cleanup they started the search for the missing cat. Nada.

After we got off work and other appointments we drove up to find the cat. Nope. By then we were pretty resigned to the worst. Maybe not resigned, but definitely thinking that it was inevitable. At 6:30 in the evening Titania strolled out, a little sore and wondering what was on the menu. After a vet visit she came away from the attack with a sprained tail (how can a cat sprain her tail?!) a sore foot and a slight infection. An antibiotic and short course of steroids and she will probably not even remember this-the cat with two brain cells, one in each lobe of her brain. She has no memory-be away from her for more than a day and she doesn't know you.

Knit stuff

I can knit again. Those of you who knit understand, these weeks without knitting have tried me almost to the limit. I finished a pair of Happy Feet socks in the past few days. Okay, not quite finished, I need to graft the toes. But I look forward to wearing them, suddenly my socks are starting to show signs of wear. Part of me whines greatly, the other part looks at my list of completed projects and sees when each pair was finished and is grateful they lasted so long! After all, the latest to develop a hole is from October 2003. I'm going to try to darn the hole, after all, the rest of the sock still has plenty of wear! I started a pair in Kaffe Fassett's Regia Landscape, this time the colors are much better at singing than the earth pair I made last year. I'll let you know as they progress. There is something about the olive green that he includes that icks me. I love the rest of the colors so far. I found myself trying to knit faster, to get PAST the olive, as I reacted so negatively to it. Don't know why.

I'm trying to stay awake to call the apartment office to ask them to please fix the ceiling in our bedroom after bits of the plaster fell when the roof leaked. Part of me wonders why I have to ask that, as they already know of the problem and have reported that the leak(s) repaired. Oh well. Such is the life of a person who works nights as opposed to days. We are asleep when most of the rest of the time zone is awake.

Oops

When I was really restricted on my right hand, I tried to sew. I planned out the cutting layout (including the length I wanted on the skirt) and Howard was a sweetheart and cut it out for me. I managed to get the zipper in and one seam before the pain won.

Tonight I got most of the skirt done. It is hanging at the moment, so the hem can hang out before I measure and hem it tomorrow. I eked out the fabric, it was all that was left on the bolt. I was so proud that I'd gotten all the pieces without any but a few tiny pieces leftover. You know what they say about pride. grin I forgot to read the pattern pieces, one said cut 4, I cut 2. The last said to cut 2, I cut 1. So I didn't have enough fabric. I used scrap fabric to make the inside waistbands. Without planning it in the least, the stripes (it is a pinstripe fabric) matched precisely on the pockets. That was NOT planning, luck is the only way to describe it. The other problem? Despite measuring several times, the skirt is way too long. It is one of those that really needs to be adjusted BEFORE it is cut. sigh And, of course, if I had measured that correctly, there would have been more than enough for those other pieces. grin

Yesterday was supposed to be an inch of snow, per the national weather websites. We left work with 6 inches. East and westbound I-70 was basically a parking lot, the commute wasn't pleasant.

LAST weekend we were absolutely hammered. I took a picture at work before it really got bad. It continued throughout the night and the next day -- a heavy WET snow that compressed as it fell. The roof at work wasn't built to sustain that amount of weight, 42 inches of snow when they measured it. The building was closed while the snow was shoveled off. Yeah, it is pretty, but it is sure devastating! Some people waited more than 3 days for electricity. Some of them also lost phone and water service too. NOT a happy way to spend the time. The main way we were impacted is that the roof leaked and we have ceiling that decided to come into our bedroom in one place. Joy

Whee!

I saw the doc today. No surgery! Two different doctors, same practice, two opinions. I'll take this one, thank you! GGGGG I am to do occupational therapy for a month, then see him. If it still hurts, then try a cortisone shot. If it is still a problem, last thing is surgery.

I pulled out my knitting. Hard for you to believe, isn't it. GGGGG I haven't dared try it, but I plan to do so quickly!

:(

I fell at work a month ago. Doc said it was a sprain. This week I had an MRI. Turns out I have a non-displaced fracture, a torn ligament and a tear in a different ligament. No wonder it hurts! Find out the 21st when I have surgery. No knitting or spinning for a while.

Big Grin

I got a note from Serena the other day. The entire post is copied for your delight.

I tie-dyed your car at lunch. ;)

Love you!!

New Knitting project soon

This knitting adventure came as a trade from a friend in Denmark. Whee!!!!

Fast postal service! Mailed about March 17 from Denmark and arrived in Colorado US March 23! Interesting, instead of colors 98 lagoon and 102 magpie I was sent 98 lagoon and 99 aubergine (purple.) The colors look good together in the package, so I am going to go with it. Now to wait until my hand has healed! snivel

The hand continues to be difficult. I know a sprain takes a while, but sheesh! Last week the doc's office made a plaster splint to immobilize the thumb (because it hurt more than when it first happened!) After a week in that, it has improved. Today the physical therapist gave me a new brace, one that fits better than the first. Turns out I need a size small, not the medium first given. Doctor again tomorrow. I don't expect to be out of the brace this week. Tell you what, these longer nights for a medical appointment is tiring! Especially today! Less than 5 hours of sleep because of the pt appointment in the morning and then knitting group in the afternoon. I'm going to have to skip knitting on PT/doc days, I NEED sleep!

Talking about trying to spin tomorrow, don't know if the hand will allow it, but it would certainly help my sanity!

Whee!

My cell phone gave up and stopped working. Serena persuaded us to buy iphones (it hurt so much when she twisted our arms - not!) With this I can check e-mail at lunch, at least most of my accounts.

I fell at work the other night helping a customer get a wide screen tv into his SMALL car. The cardboard on the box gave way as I pulled on it. I waited a day to go in, verdict is a sprain of my hand. No knitting until it heals drat it.

weird

So, I have a new job schedule -- 10 at night until 7 in the morning. The good news? I get to work the same shift as DH. The bad? Most of life is NOT on our schedule. YOU try scheduling appointments after 5 in the afternoon. Doesn't happen much, does it?

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful to be working for a corporation that respects our need for together time. I appreciate the promotion from cashier to customer service manager. It still feels odd to have people are so genuinely glad on my behalf for my promotion.

We will (actually I will, DH has been working this shift long enough that he has adjusted) adapt. As others are getting up, I'll be preparing for bed. Can't find me on the normal scale wherever you look! :)

It is beginning to get light. I appreciate the changes in view based on weather here. Today is a clear day, with few clouds obscuring the sun as it rises. Glorious!

DS, DDIL and DGS are suffering from strep. For the third time for DS and DDIL. I wish there was more I could do for them other than prayer. But that is all they need.,

Gack!

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted!

Justin has turned one. Hard to believe that it has been a year! These two pictures were taken about 11 months apart - he has changed a lot in that time! The sweater is the same, the modified Hanne Falkenberg Tutti-Frutti that I knit for him. I don't know if he'll be able to wear it much longer!

I finished the Hanne Falkenberg Plisse Monday. Pictures to come soon, I hope.

Howard and I have both changed jobs as our employers cut hours more and more because of the economy. Just couldn't afford to continue, even though we liked the jobs. We are both enjoying the new jobs. We are working opposing schedules, Howard works nights and I work days/swing. We cherish the few hours we see each other. After all that happened last year, I find that I have very low energy levels. I'm recovering, but it has been a haul.

Yesterday was a bad accessory day. I guess. That's the best way I can think to describe it. I lost my pedometer, my sunglasses, the stick on my shawl pin and broke an earring. Hello? What in the world did I do wrong yesterday? On the drive back to the house I was praying that I wouldn't break my glasses to finish the day! I did bang them and need to get them adjusted, but no break. Whew!

My dad was hospitalized over a week ago with a stroke. He was released Wednesday night to a rehab facility.

I'm Sorry!

I'm sorry about the delay in posting -- Howard and I have been leaving at 7 in the morning most days and not getting home until 9 at night. That makes it rather hard to keep up here!

I'm working with some delightful older people, but sometimes things happen that tickle my funny bone.

The other night I was helping one of them as she decided what to wear the next day. As it had been chilly, she had laid out some sweaters to wear. She told me that she wnted the white one with big flowers on it for the next day. I brought out the only sweater that matched the description. It wasn't the one she had in mind. I brought out the only other white sweater -- still wrong. Finally I brought her ALL of the sweaters that she had put out. She pointed to the grey, light blue and cream argyle and said triumphantly -- THAT'S the one I told you I wanted!

I didn't laugh. But it was close! :)

The fire didn't destroy any houses and was out that evening. We stayed away another night, so the smoke wasn't in the air any longer. Well, there was still a slight smoky smell in the air, but it didn't get into our things. That was a big relief!

I'm knitting away on the Plisse. Still haven't finished the first half.

Oh My!

Yesterday, we were doing laundry at Serena's. (We gave her the washer and dryer with the understanding that we could do laundry at her house.) Howard went outside to put something in our car. He was surprised by the neighbor calling out "Hey, be careful, there is a bear in the area!" Sorry, that just ISN'T something that happened anywhere else we have lived! Yes, in upstate New York there were occasional bears. But that wasn't anywhere in our neighborhood, although there were church members who saw them. Our house was too surrounded by many others. We did have deer who slept in our yard (we could tell by the grass) but that was it. In Iowa we didn't even have that. There was an unnerving reality of "you have now changed locations" to that warning! grin

We were driving home this afternoon when there was a sign on the freeway saying something like "Fire on Green Mountain, visible smoke". Okay, we didn't know where Green Mountain was. Kept driving. Got closer to home, we didn't pass the fire. We turned off at our exit and there were so many cars going our way. Hm. Looked over to the foothills and BLAST! We saw the fires. Oh dear. So THAT is the name of the mountain! Bad words. The smoke was blowing away from our apartment, but we knew that could change. Text messaged Serena,"Can we stay with you tonight?" She wrote back, "yes, but why?"

Got home, started packing a suitcase for the next few days. Closed all of the windows, hoping that will keep the smoke from adding its essence to our things. Debate as to whether how many days we should pack for as well as what exactly we should take.

The last we had heard, the fire was 85% contained, with cooler weather and perhaps rain expected. The bad news? As we drove by on our way to Serena's, the wind had shifted and was blowing straight toward our place. But the windows are closed (also good news!)

We bought bookcases today, to replace those which don't fit in the elevator. I don't know if we bought enough, but we bought as many as we thought would fit in the apartment. Tomorrow was going to be a day of bringing books upstairs, unpacking then going back for more. We'll wait to see if the fire is contained before we decide.

Life is certainly interesting!

Bragging Grandma Alert!

Look at what he is trying to do. Just before he turned 7 months, he is working on crawling. Doesn't he look as if he is having fun?




They went to Duluth today, and Daddy seems to be packing him around. I think he's teething again, don't you? grin Well protected from the sun! When Nathan was about this age, we went into a restaurant around Sacramento. The waitress enjoyed being around the 2 children. Nathan grabbed for her apron strings every time she came by. I don't know if she noticed or enjoyed the game -- he undid the tie each time, each time she tied them up again as she left our table. Justin did the same thing today -- like father like son?

Views from our deck

Storm coming in!
As it was raining, we realized there was a double rainbow...
The other side of the rainbow...the railing on our deck isn't really secures, we are on the fourth floor, so I didn't try too many times for this side!
I REALLY wish this one had turned out right -- the end of the rainbow was in the tree next to the building directly below us!

What a week!

This has been a week! Started a new job on Monday, that afternoon Mom found out she needed to be on oxygen 24/7, then I sliced the tip of my left middle finger off that evening! Monday was also our 35th wedding anniversary. That, let me be quick to assure you WAS a positive!

Last night I found out that Ruth Schooley, one of the Knitlist listmoms died Tuesday. Ruth was a great lady. She was warm, caring and knowledgeable. She loved to share what she was learning in the fiber world. When I was upset by something on the list, she had a gift for helping me see the situation in a different light.

Until the finger heals, I can't knit to destress! Yes, I tried. No, it didn't work.

Rocking Chair

We went into a consignment store the other day, and there it was...a little maple rocking chair. Perfect. We snapped it up.

When I was pregnant with Serena, we drove from San Francisco to Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Texas and Arizona to visit family. While we were visiting, we looked for a rocking chair. I love to rock, and wanted to rock my baby. In Iowa, uncles and aunts helped us look. Then Uncle Myron asked if I wanted one they had that he'd refinished. It was perfect. He called it a nursing rocker, low and no arms. As he said, "it has been chewed by a dog on one of the rockers, so you don't have to worry about the baby damaging it."

So we stuffed the chair in the back of our tiny Datsun and drove home with it. The back of the rocker was over the cooler in the back seat, so every time we needed in the cooler we had to tip the rocker.

That rocker rocked both children, and became a knitting rocker. No arms, which was perfect for this body's repetitive stress problems.

Then Serena moved out and took the chair with her. I missed it. She set it so she can look out over her view and rock quietly with a cat in her lap.

So now I have a new to me rocker that is just right for me. It is set so I can look out over OUR view -- withOUT a cat in my lap. For whatever reason, I have been able to start knitting again. Perhaps it is the rocker? Whatever, my Plisse is starting to grow a bit.

Just for fun Howard asked her if she would trade rockers. Her eyebrows went up all the way and she said, "but it is MINE!" Which is almost word for word what I'd predicted. We all laughed.

Oops!

I want to make a quick apology to Howard about my comment about not visiting the Brown Sheep Factory outlet while we moved.

He was very patient last year when we went. He talked with the ladies in the shop, encouraged me to buy and did not try to hurry me along at all. I did not have a concern that he would be difficult if we did go up there.

The reason I thought it would try "spousal patience" is called "logistics." To make that stop we would have either driven both trucks there -- incurring perhaps a mileage charge on my truck as well as additional gasoline expenses OR we could have parked the trucks somewhere, unloaded the car from the dolly, driven up and then back to the trucks. That wouldn't have cost so much in gas, but it would have extended an already tiring trip. I could not justify it in my mind.

So, other than the one point in time when he made an awful face when I suggested it half in jest before time, the decision was mine. I didn't suggest it a we traveled.

You know, I just realized that I didn't even take one photo of the trucks!