Holding back the storm

I love my view of the Wind River Mountain Range.  It's been interesting to watch the high peaks holding back the storm clouds from advancing into the valley.  I think the mountains have been getting quite a bit of snow lately...and that will be a big help for our farmers this spring.

A touch of green

It's been unseasonably warm and quite a treat to be outside in some sunshine again.  Yea!  I noticed that a big juniper bush which I was afraid I might lose, is getting it's "green" back.  It appears it will survive.  Most all the others have not, so I'm thankful this on has made it.  It might be because it is on the southeast side of the house, instead of the north. 

So many people have lost junipers and pine trees, and probably, many like me, have had professional tree care people come in and help save what we have left from the drought conditions.  It will be interesting to see how everything looks once spring growth begins to break through.

It's a Monday

No pictures today...

For some reason, my phone/camera will not show up on the screen to download pictures.  I guess it's finally time to take the computer in to the shop and have it looked at/updated.

Anyway, I was watching the clouds as they move in from the west, but the mountains are holding them back, hoping for more moisture to fall over the peaks and valleys.  We are getting close to having enough water in the mountains, but we still need more over the next few months.

One of the neighbors down the road must have purchased new motorcycles, as they have been buzzing around all morning and early afternoon.  There might be some other scenario; regardless, the weather has invited them out. It is pretty darned warm for mid-Feb.

As long as the wind is blowing 50 mph, it's invitingly delightful to wander outside. 

Brickless off the needles

After some long rows of purple, the Brickless is finally off the needles.  Here it is blocked and drying. That's a mighty colorful towel behind it, eh?  About the worst way to photograph the scarf!

One of my friends stopped by and saw it drying; she said it looked like a shark.

Slow going on the needles

The Brickless Scarf is slowing coming along; I just haven't spent a lot of time the last few days clicking the needles.  However, the purple is becoming more prominent.

Fresh leaves

I was looking at one of my favorite house plants which seems to be doing pretty well in its present spot.  Right now it gets lots of indirect light, but as the sun comes around more to the west, I may have to find a new spot.

I noticed the leaves were looking a bit dusty and could use some refreshment.  I immediately remembered my mom and how she would occasionally refresh her plants.  She would take a little dish of milk and some cotton balls and carefully wipe the dust off the leaves with the milk-soaked cotton balls.  I wonder where she got that idea.  The leaves always looked so nice after she finished. But milk?  I have not googled this idea; I just know it seems to work for me too.

Colored pencils

I'm giving it a try.

Yes, I found my colored pencils, but had to buy another box just to get a few more necessary colors.  I also bought some kind of colored pens, but haven't opened them yet to see how they will work.  I thought that since I started with a set of colored pencils on this picture, I would continue. 

This is SLOW going because the drawing is so detailed and the lines of color so thin.  I've spent several hours on this already.  Pictures which are not so detailed would be a welcomed change!

At sunset

I've noticed some beautiful sunsets over the mountains lately.  I should have used my camera, rather than my phone for this shot; a sunset gives you so little time to get the right equipment at hand!

Coloring Book

When I was a the lighthouse in October, one of my friends brought along three adult coloring books.  I had never seen them before, and they were beautiful images to color.  I don't remember too much coloring going on, because we had so many other things we wanted to do, but the books were there if we wanted to do a little coloring.

Then, for Christmas, I was gifted this beautiful coloring book.  The images are very attractive and would be fun to color.  I looked for my colored pencils and found a set of 12 colors.  I think I might want to invest in some more colors and maybe some gel pencils...I'll have to see what's available locally.  I just haven't made the time to do so.  Knitting is my go-to activity for relaxing or decompressing.

Have you seen a variety of adult coloring books?  Have you done some coloring?

Progress in purple

I finally reached the color change in this skein of yarn.  Yahoo.  The Brickless scarf is coming right along, but because I continue to add more stitches to the needles, it is taking considerably longer to complete a few rows!  I'm liking the transition to purple a lot. 

Oh yeah, and of course I watched the Super Bowl, and am thrilled that the Broncos won the champion title.  With all the hype about the Panthers, and how everyone was betting in their favor, I was worried about the game. (I saw them in the playoffs, and they were impressive.)  But, if anything, this game showed how awesome the Denver defense really is, as it took Newton right out of playing the way he's used to. I never would have guessed that Denver would take the lead and keep it throughout the game.  The fact that they got an offensive touchdown and a 2 pt. conversion at the very end was good frosting on the cake!  I'm happy for Manning and the Broncos!!  Way to persevere through the challenges of the season!

Wood pile

Today was cold, and I see that more snow is predicted before this front moves through. Brrr.  Seems like I've been hauling in and burning quite a bit of wood. 

It's finally February... and like January, I'm afraid it's going to be more of the same in terms of weather.  I was trying to think about what has stood out to me about February in the past, some thread I could pick up on.  I used to get out in the cold a whole lot more when I went downhill skiing on the weekends, but that was years ago.  I don't so much relish getting out in the cold any more; I can see why people flock to more southern climates when the opportunity is there. The only thread I can pick up on is "it's winter in the Rocky Mt. states, and it's going to be cold"!

Closet attack

Is it too early for some spring cleaning?  Not here, where the cleaning of an upstairs closet was long overdue.  I repeat, LONG overdue.

A cold winter's day is perhaps a great time to tackle something like this.  This is something I definitely do not enjoy doing, but feels so good when it's done!

In the end, I took three bags of clothes to a local "gently used" clothing drop-off.  And I threw away many more bags of  "stuff" that just needed to go...outdated, did not fit, haven't seen it in years, don't need it.

The picture is bad...but hey, it's just garbage.  Whew...glad to get rid of it.

Still building the Brickless

I'm gaining on getting to the halfway point (I think, anyway) of the Brickless Scarf, and STILL, I have not started the color change.  That's what's keeping me going...it's got to happen soon!  I'm so curious what it will look like.

New cast on

Looking through my stash, I picked out a single ball of fingering yarn that I bought at Yarn Fest a couple years ago.  I decided I could use the scarf pattern Brickless and be assured that the yardage would work out fine, and I could probably use up the entire ball.  Since it's fingering weight, I cast on with size 3 needles.  The yarn is ModeWerk Flow, 100% Superwash Merion, a product of South Africa, hand-dyed in Minnesota.

I decided to work from the center of the ball, and as the yarn came lose, it was very kinky.  Those first few inches of knitting will look a lot more relaxed after it has been blocked.  Right now I think it looks kind of funny.

I'm interested to see what the scarf looks like as the yarn goes from white to purple...

Temps above freezing

Ah, it's so good to have the sun shinning and temps reaching above freezing!  Dare I hope that the really cold (below zero) dips in temperature are nearly over for this winter???  I know, I know, we still have February to get through.  But still.  It kind of appears like the worst is over. 

Love having the snow beginning to melt away on the south side of the house.  The north side - not so much.

Finishing the skein

While I still had red yarn...why not make yet one more dishcloth and hopefully use up most of the skein!  THEN, perhaps I'll be motivated to go through my stash and see what motivates me to cast on.

I've got a UFO I could work on...but it's tedious.  So, I need a 2nd project.   Yet, I'm thinking I should try to do even a couple rows a day on the UFO or it will never get finished (and I've got a LONG way to go on it).  Or, maybe the UFO will have to wait till later...

More on the dishcloth

The King Charles dishcloth is coming along...slowly.  I finished a second pattern repeat.  Something that's interesting is the difference in look from right-side to wrong-side.  Here's a photo of the right side:

Here's the wrong side:

I think I prefer the looks of the wrong side!  So, it's an interesting pattern.  Will I attempt it again? Not likely.  I really prefer less tedious patterns for a washcloth!

Got fog?

Cold temps and heavy fog clothed my trees and bushes in hoarfrost.  As the skies cleared and the sun began to warm the air, the hoarfrost started falling from branches, and it's been fun to watch it as I sit here at the computer.

Hoarfrost formed on the icicles dangling from a juniper.

Winter storm

Yesterday, when I thought it was probably about time to shovel the porches and walk-way, I was very surprised that I could barely open the door.  The snow had come down, falling vertically (rather than the wind blowing it horizontally and drifting), and it was pretty to watch, a winter wonderland.  So how had the snow drifted a good 12 inches on the porch???  Let's just say I got in more shoveling exercise than I wanted!

Here's a picture of the beginning of the storm. It snowed pretty steady for a day and half; I was so happy to see my neighbor come over yesterday afternoon to plow the snow in the driveway areas...it's a huge help.  I can get the truck out with no problem, but the car is another story.

Just to answer a couple questions from readers, I would have to report that I did not take a picture of the guitar my brother made.  Oops, should have done that...too busy playing.

And for those interested in the front of the bride's dress, from the wedding I attended over Christmas, well, here it is.  She looked stunning in it.

Slow on the knitting front

Since I finished the two Blue Water Cowls (which I worked on furiously), I have not determined what project I want to cast on next.  So, the best go-to project is a dishcloth, as they knit up quickly.

I finished a simple one; then, I thought I'd branch out and try a new pattern, the King Charles.

Well, it's much too tedious; I have to watch the pattern for every stitch.  So, that's going rather slowly at this point.

I will soon have to pull out the stash and patterns and get inspired with something brand new!

Busy holiday

Since the day before Christmas when I drove to Colorado to be with my brother's family, it's been busy.  But I've also taken some much needed quiet time too. 

The Sunday after Christmas, many of us enjoyed a fabulous buffet brunch...and probably ate more than necessary!  But the choices were many and the flavors fantastic.  It was all so elegant.  In the background, a gentleman was playing a grand piano for our entertainment.

Besides all the Christmas activities, we had a wedding on the 29th. Here's the bride and groom, signing the legal documents with the judge. Lots of folks came from out of town to help celebrate, so there were various social gatherings nearly every day.


My brother has had a project going for a couple years: build his own guitar.  He and a couple other guys worked on building their own guitars, step by step, meeting weekly.  But then, because of work, my brother's progress was hampered, and it wasn't until this December that the guitar was completed.  It is a beauty, and we made time to play some Christmas music together on his guitar and my ukulele. That was a highlight!

I'm enjoying getting back to my regular routine...