So How Cold Is It?

 It's so cold that we have all four of our sibling kitties in the house at the same time. This is one of the outside kitties exercising some good sense by sitting next to the wood stove.

 Her much smarter sister never goes out in this weather. She spends her day on my chair in the sunny craft room.

 Gracie always has good sense. She lives in the sunny front window.

 Their brother whines all day for food. He's a big baby but at least he doesn't make me worry about where he is at night. I even got the mommy cat to eat her dinner in the kitchen yesterday. She was in her heated hut all day. It's that darn cold.

Hoover has taken up permanent residence in Pup's new bed since he hasn't been going out to guard the yard. One more day of this nonsense. Tomorrow we should be up in the 40's. Hallelujah.

The Yays and the Nays

 The Mister and I got into a bit of a tiff yesterday. He thought it would be a good idea to gallivant all over creation in blustery 9 degree temps. I thought not.

I won. Isn't that why we retired early? Who wants to go out in weather like this unless you have to and we don't have to. Instead we stayed put and I did an inventory of all things being knit. My giant mosaic blanket is now back in rotation. Pup and I spent the chilly but sunny afternoon working on it. Then we had a nap.

Tracery is back out again too. I will finish it this winter. I will. It won't fit but I'll finish it just the same.

 The big red shawl is this big now. It is slow going but it will be worth it next winter. I am more of a shawl person than a sweater person once the heat comes on.

 The Pimpeliesse is at the mid point. It's all downhill from here.

 I've got some socks on the needles. Some I like.

 Some I don't. These have been a real slog. I've been working on these forever. It's Hawthorne and I like the texture but not the dreary color. Therein lies the problem me thinks.

I am also not feeling the sweater I started last fall. It seemed like a good idea at the time but those autumn  colors are just not doing it for me now. I think I will pack it away until next September and go looking for something else to do. That sounds like trouble. Maybe I should just finish up some of these UFOs first. Right?

Wake Me When It's Spring

 I'm ready for hibernation and I blame this guy. I was just joking with The Mister when I said that he seems to curse us with apocalyptic snow the years I remember to sit him on the porch at Christmas. This year I had The Mister drag him out of the far reaches of the shed and I'm already sorry.

 The bomb cyclone left us with a bit of snow but it's not the real story.

 It was a pretty sweep-able event as far as snow goes. The problem is the wind and the cold. It's been a howling tempest outside for the past 24 hours and it's so cold your eyeballs freeze.

 Someone asked about the woodpile yesterday and here it is today still in a heap. We covered it with a tarp but stacking will have to come later. It's just too dangerous out there with those trees blowing overhead.

I spent the day indoors yesterday playing with my snowflakes. I decided to change the design to make it more interesting so I'm still making snowflakes. This time in blue. Which is pretty much how I feel right now. I like winter but this is getting ridiculous.

Bomb Cyclone?

I have no idea what a bomb cyclone is in spite of watching The Weather Channel nonstop yesterday. All I know it is supposed to get cold. Really cold so we are getting ready.

Our woodpile was pretty small so The Mister bought a truck full from a niece and her husband who deliver wood for a living. Check out her husband's get up on the right. He's wearing shorts. Really. Shorts. It takes all kinds.

 I am not sure if we are going to get any snow to speak of out of this storm but I will be seeing flakes. I've got to applique these flakes down now so I can get on with the mini quilt.

Here is the first finish of 2018! I started these on my birthday-December 16th, so I could pack them in the Christmas box to Michigan. Being sick put a hold on all the packing but as soon as the snow clears these will be on the way along with Son's and his lady friend's other gifts. I really love this yarn. It's Trekking 135 and they flew off the needles because those crazy stripes were so much fun to knit.

Stay safe everyone on the East coast. It looks like a pretty big blow on the way. Yikes.

A New Hope

I might have been sick but that didn't keep me from shopping last week. The very night the bug hit us I was up until the wee hours excited about a project.

I started The Sheep Virtues Sampler earlier last year but was working from the middle out which I found beyond boring.

It really is a monthly sampler so I had the bright idea to work my way up to the top via the borders and start with the first one, Hope, on January 1st.

Being sick derailed the progress but it did buy me time to get the supplies here. I ordered the top three patterns, Hope, Love and Peace, some more of my favorite needles and a new Q snap so it wouldn't have to share. That alas, is as far as I've gotten but I have the whole month to work on Hope so it's all good. I don't intend to finish the block this month, just work on it and then move on in February and so on and so on. I'm thinking a 2 year plan might do it. Maybe.

I also bought a bunch of really cool things for Valentine's cards but that's a tale for another day and another month.

Like most of you, we are freezing to death here in Maryland. We usually have 40 to 50 degree temps with a day or two of 30's here and there. We've been in the 20's and low teens for a week now and it is wearing me out. I don't know how you guys up north do it all winter. One thing that does help is good knitwear. Look at these sweet handspun mitts I got from Cindy at Delighted Hands. I pulled my sleeves up so you could see them but the length of them is perfect with a coat. No added bulk but plenty of protection from those horrid temps. They really are a design marvel and if I ever get caught up with my projects I might have to give these a try. They are Tough and Toasty by Martina Behm and I can assure you, they really are! Thanks again Cindy!

The Warriors of Winter

I said I was going to talk The Mister out of going yesterday but I ended up going with him. It was cold but it was sunny and I needed to get out of the house.

 We bundled up the dogs and headed down to the water to see the local crazies take the plunge. The Mister has done it many times but came to his senses a few years ago. Now he just wants to watch and critique the action from the boardwalk. It didn't look too promising. The bay had a coat of ice.

So did the koi pond.

It didn't matter. The crowd was as big as ever. We had to walk way down the boardwalk just to get a view of the swimmers.

Brrr.......it was 22 degrees with a stiff breeze. The water temperature was a balmy 39.  At exactly 1:00 they all ran out to take a swim. You would have thought it was the middle of June. Some people stayed in the water a very long time.

Before we left we went by the pier to see how things went at the first annual New Year's Eve bash last night. Now it all makes sense. A big tent made it possible in this weather.  I bet it was fun.

The fresh air made me feel so much better that I decided to make some New Year's Hoppin' John after all. I had a small bowl and crossed my fingers. So far, so good.

In With the New

 The Mister and I were stuck this year on what to give each other for Christmas gifts so we did something weird. On the Friday before, we drove to our nearest Target-which is a bit of a hike from here, and then took turns going in for one hour and doing our shopping for each other from start to finish. We ended up with lots of useful bits and bobs including some New Year's supplies The Mister gathered up for me.

 Later at our local Mom and Pop grocer he found this pretty bottle of bubbly that we were going to drink tonight with our usual New Year's Eve feast.

 We are both better but still afraid to eat anything so we celebrated with black cherry Jello and fat free Cool Whip.

We had planned on going down to the beach last night to see what the big party on the pier was all about but at 18 degrees sitting by the fire was the better choice sick or not. And as for the Polar Bear Plunge today, I am trying real hard to talk The Mister out of going to watch but I think I am fighting a losing battle. Like the ill advised roast beef sandwich, he has to learn things the hard way.
Happy New Year!