A sign of spring

After months of not getting any fresh eggs out of our young chickens, I remembered last night to tell Tyler to check for eggs....

I'm so glad he did. Spring may be coming after all!

Too bad I didn't remember to tell him to check before the -3 degree weather we woke up to yesterday morning. The other 4 eggs in the chicken coop might not have froze....

It's supposed to be in the mid 40's this weekend.....which will feel like a heat wave after the last couple weeks of barely getting into the 20's, and mostly in the single digits and teens. Now if the snow would just go away, and not leave mud behind, we'd be doing good!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Kris

Sorelle Lace Pullover

This sweater was quick! And my type of knitting.....



In the round, so not a whole lot of purling involved, and the lace and the twisty columns kept it interesting!

Start to finish this took exactly 2 weeks. And I only worked on it in the evenings and the weekends when we didn't have anything going on. I think last Saturday I managed a 3 hour stretch of knitting on this sweater.....

Size 8 needles meant easy.

I normally don't block my sweaters right away. Usually I'm too impatient and want to wear them right away. And I did want to wear this one in the worst way, but I knew the lace would need a good blocking, and you could really see my increases and decreases at the waist shaping I put in.

Soooo.... I dumped it into the kitchen sink and got it good and wet. I think I freaked Todd out doing it that way.....but......after laying it out on a towel to dry, and flipping it a few times even he noticed the difference in the lace!

Pattern: Sorelle Lace-Edged Pullover

Yarn: Valley Yarns Colrain, color lapis blue (and only 3.49 a skien)

Needles: size 8

Size: 38 (the only modification I made was to make it about 2 inches longer and do some more waist shaping).

Also, I'm not sure why it only took me 5 skiens of yarn (or about 550 yards), when others used 700 - 900 yards. I'm thinking that maybe this yarn is a little heavier than what the pattern called for.......

Since I was blocking sweaters that night, I blocked my Collins as well. I've worn this one a lot, but the collar was never long enough and never laid flat. I steam blocked it right after finishing, but this time I soaked it good and laid it out flat to dry. I've decided that is the only way I'm blocking sweaters from here on out.....get them good and wet!

The results?

The collar lays perfectly now and is an inch longer, I gained an inch in the shoulders (which I needed) and somehow managed to shrink the waist a couple inches (which I also needed).

So now I have 2 perfect fitting for me sweaters, and can't even wear them to work. See, I'm painting the office at work, and I would be really irked if I got blue and green and grey paint all over my nice sweaters. Hopefully this weekend I'll get to wear one of them at least!


And after all that hoopla about the big snowstorm? We ended up with about 4-5 inches, some ice and 3 days off of school. I'm REALLY hoping that the kids go to school tomorrow - they have about had it with being home all day......

Stay warm everyone!
Kris

Wishful thinking....

that this will work to "plow" all the snow we have had.....but this kid has TONS of imagination...

And Jessie's basketball game? She actually managed to score 10 points for her team (final score - 20 to 8 WAY TO GO HUSKY GIRLS!!!!). I tried to get it on video and or picture......it is very hard to get good video when everyone in front of, behind you and a round you is yelling and jumping up and down....

Otherwise? This is what we did all. afternoon. yesterday.

Be back later,

Kris

12+ inches

I'm trying to get around to everyone, but things have been hectic here!

12+ inches of snow between Friday and Saturday meant that we had to get the farmer sized snowblower to dig ourselves out:

Which happened around 1:00 on Saturday. In the meantime, I occupied myself over the weekend cleaning out just our bedroom, closet and my computer/sewing room:

This is most of the trash. And I had to stop because we don't have unlimited trash service anymore:( But I will be back at it tomorrow if we have no school - in the kids' rooms, so they had better watch out.

On Sunday afternoon, we hooked the snow tube up to the 4 wheeler and took the kids for a ride. It was a little dicey the first couple times around the field - just because the snow was deep and Todd wasn't sure the 4 wheeler would go through the snow.

Last night we spent pushing the snow drifts back further with the skidloader - it is rumored that we could get another 12+ inches between today and tomorrow. So while Todd was running the skidloader, the kids and I did chores and made sure all of the animals had plenty of bedding.

I'm home from work today due to there being no school - which we found out as we were down at the end of the drive waiting for the bus. I do have a quick finish to show you, which I will be back later with! It's snowing and blowing (again) and I really need to get out there while it is still light and do chores.

Later,

Kris

Digging Out

I'm not sure how many inches of the white stuff we have, but we are supposed to receive 3-6 more inches yet this morning.


Jessie is supposed to have a basketball game at 2:00, but we are guessing it is canceled with the level 2 snow emergency.

Everything up around the house is drifted over my knees. I'm not sure what it is like when you get further down the driveway - and I'm not walking down there right now to find out.

I'll hear soon enough when Todd gets done digging the driveway out with the skidloader. I'm guessing it's pretty bad, as the comment he made before going out was if he could just break through with the truck, he wouldn't dig out the driveway as we are supposed to get snow every day this coming week but Monday.

Sounds like a good day to stay inside and clean the house, bake, cook, sew and knit.

Stay warm! I'll be back to visit you all after I clean the house....

Kris

Mud, knitting and more basketball

Yesterday we had buckets of rain. I wouldn't know how cold it was as I didn't venture out of the house:)

Today is grey and gloomy. And very, very muddy.

Instead I worked on this sweater - hopefully it will be done by the weekend. 1 1/2 sleeves to go.

I think I did the sleeve cap wrong, but I'm not ripping back and fixing it - nope, not me. I've already ripped it back once, it's not happening again.

Jessie's basketball game on Saturday? Another win for the girls 24-4.This game was interesting - Todd went to high school with some of these parents, and Jessie went to preschool with 3 of the girls on the opposing team.

I tried to catch the expressions on some of the girls' faces - they get these really nasty looks on them they are concentrating so hard.

But I haven't taken the time to learn all the settings on my new camera - yet.

This week will be a busy week for us, with basketball practice two nights, Todd has fire practice, and we are going to pick up a usedbutnewtous portable basketball hoop and stand. Jessie's been after us to get one so she can practice at home and I found one through one of the Churches that I work with.

Cold

It's been cold here. I know mid teens/low twenties isn't cold for some of you, but for me, it is pure torture!

Water hydrants were freezing on a daily basis while I was off work the last two weeks of the year. Fortunately, some heat tape took care of that before we headed back to PA last weekend so that the guys doing our chores didn't have to go through what I went through every day (haul out the torpedo heater, plug it in, wait for it to fire up and thaw out the hydrant, and move onto the next one - mostly, unfreeze all 3 hydrants every. single. day).

We are expecting a storm starting sometime this afternoon and running through tomorrow. They are saying a possibility of 11 inches. I'm hoping for more like 25 - just so I can be snowed in and stay home. And if the electric goes out - all the better in my book!

I've been cleaning and decluttering. You can't tell it by my fabric stash:

Or my yarn stash:

But I have a plan. I'm not buying any new fabric or yarn until all of this is used up. I have 6 quilts that are half done - bed sized quilts. Those are going to get done too. And if I use all my yarn and fabric, I'll have a terrific start on next years Christmas presents and probably about 8 new sweaters for me!

I've just about finished my PIF gifts from last summer. Look for them in the mail sometime next week ladies.

Christmas decorations are slowly coming down here and we are getting ready to start installing new cabinets in our laundry room and kitchen. We are doing this in phases so that it's not a huge strain on our budget - just a minor one. I'm not one for eating Kraft macaroni and cheese for a month.....lol. All that is left to do is the building (a good friend who has all the woodworking tools) and figure out how we are finishing them (I'm holding out for painted white and distressed, Todd is holding out for stained oak).

Enjoy these snowy days!!!!
Kris

What is wrong with this Picture?

We have a boatload of snow but it is 47 DEGREES OUT THERE AT 1:00 IN THE AFTERNOON.

So I HAD to wade through the snow piles (from where Todd pushed snow so we could feed the dogs) to hang our sheets on the lines.

Isn't this weather AWESOME?????

The kids are out playing in their snow pants and sweatshirts, a fire is going, the windows are open and I'm one happy camper!

Kris

Weekend Video Fun

As mentioned yesterday, here's some videos:

This is Jessie cheering at the Northwestern basketball game. She is the one almost dead center in the black pants with glasses:

And here is Todd blowing snow out of our driveway:

This snowblower has been a lifesaver for us time and time again. Since we don't have a snow plow on the truck, Todd usually has to use the skidloader, but once you pile it so high, it starts drifting. Yesterday our road was down to just 1 lane for travel - we are out in the open on top of a hill, and when the wind starts blowing (which it pretty much does all the time anymore - or so it seems) - the snow tends to go up over the ridges made from the snowplows and then just pile up in great big drifts.

And WHOOO HOOOO! The Steelers won!!!! We went down to my in-laws for an early afternoon dinner, and then were home in plenty of time to watch the game. I worked on my applique some more in between watching the game.

Jessie also FINALLY decided what she is doing for her Science Fair project - she's growing a coal garden:

She was originally bound and determined that she was going to do it on how a calf is born, complete with pictures and everything, but since none of our cows are due until after March 1st, and the Science Fair is February 19th, that was out. We started her coal garden last night at 6:00, and above is what it looked like this morning. Tyler also started one - so it will be interesting to see how much they grow.

It was 40 degrees yesterday, so we spent lots of time outside shoveling snow, cleaning out dog water bowls and water troughs and enjoying the sunshine.

Kris

Stuck

And NO, this time it's not me!!!

Today was a busy day. Todd was bringing home an industrial sized snow blower to clear our lane - and a county snow plow truck ran him into the ditch. Todd says it's a good thing actually that the driver didn't stop - he (Todd) was hopping mad! So we had to call another farm neighbor to bring his backhoe to get the tractor and snowblower back on the road.

Todd blew out the driveway with the industrial sized snow blower:

Actual video to come when my computer cooperates!

This is how wide our driveway/lane is at the moment. I think I have plenty of room to make it up to the house without getting stuck in a drift for now:

Jessie cheered between the JV & Varsity games, and she actually knew the cheers and did them correctly! She amazes me how every single year she gets better and better.

She is the one in the center of the photo in pants...

Again, video to come when my computer cooperates!

Then at 11:00 p.m. the neighbor's wife called. Her husband has both their blazer and their truck stuck in the ditch just down the road. Or maybe it was two blazers and a truck. Or both trucks and their blazer. Anyhow, she wondered if Todd could come help him get out of the ditch. So Todd loaded up his truck with chains and tow straps, and off he went to see if he could unstick him. No pictures from this escapade. It's too cold for me out there, although I did tell Todd if he needed anything, to call me. Hopefully he won't:)

We came home from the basketball game at 9:00, and there were people in the ditch all over the place. Our road is barely passable - not quite a full lane to get through. At least it is warming up some - it's 29 degrees right now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kris

Does this look Blonde????????

Because Todd sure is wondering if I am not blonde!!!

My kind and generous boss let me off work at noon today - because the kids are home from school so I can go home to be with them. I'dve been better off to stay at work til 2:00. A friend of ours called and said "hey, want to meet us at the movie theater in Wooster at 2:25?" I thought yes, I'll run home real quick, get the gift cards the kids got to the movie theater, go get the kids and we'll take in a matinee.

Wrong.

I got 50 feet in the drive and got stuck. Big time stuck.

So I call Todd - he's about an hour away for work. He calls a friend of his while I try all of our neighbors that could possibly have a tractor or a truck to pull me out. A friend is driving truck and will be home in an hour, our neighbors tractor died this morning, the other neighbor will come and pull me out when he gets done working on a car for someone.

And I sit.

A nice (read sarcasm here) county worker in a big snow plow truck stopped and asked me gee, you sure are stuck! No S*#^ sherlock - put that big truck to use and pull me out please! But then he climbed back in that nice big snowplow truck and drove off.

I walk up to the house for a shovel, and start digging from underneath the truck. There is clear drive in front of the Durango and behind the durango - but I managed to straddle a ginormous drift.

I sit, call another neighbor - he's not home. Call a friend of ours - he's in Columbus.

FINALLY, 2 hours later the neighbor shows up - with what must be one of the first pickups ever made. 2 wheel drive, about the size of a Ranger. No such luck getting me out. In fact, he got stuck in our drive and we had to dig him out.

FINALLY, the calvary arrived. 2 good yanks and I was out and free to go get the kids. And get a few things at the store so I don't have to do any driving tomorrow.

I so badly wanted to take a picture of the various people who tried to get me out - but I'm sure they would not understand the whole concept of I need the pictures for my blog. And since I had to drive the Durango while they pulled.....that wouldn't have worked well. Now would it???

Snow days

We were officially snowed in yesterday.



It fell at a steady rate until about 3:00 p.m. So I thought I'd drive down and get the mail. If I could get out, the kids and I could get out of the house and do something useful, like go get dog license tags.

I made it halfway down the driveway and got stuck in the hayfield when I slid round the corner and hit a snow drift higher than the hood on my Durango.

So I had to wait until Todd got home to dig us out. But now we have piles of snow that are anywhere from waist high to 6 foot high lining the driveway.

The fence is 5 foot high - and it's up to the fence at this corner of the drive.

If I stand on the other side of this pile, it is over my head by a good couple feet (and I'm 5'6").

Tyler can stand under the branches on this tree normally - it's like this the whole way down the drive.

I did think about walking back up to the house and getting my camera, but was to tired after walking back up the drive to think about walking down it, taking the picture and then going back to the house. Guess that will teach me that I should always have a camera with me:)

The kids are back in school today (HOOORRAY!) - they were bickering constantly yesterday. I did get lots of cleaning and sewing done yesterday, so that was a good thing.

Although I hear we are supposed to get another 12 inches this weekend - let's hope that the person I heard that from is wrong!

Kris

Is it too late?

To make a Valentine's Day table runner????

I brought this pattern a while ago, and my favorite quilt shop in Ashland had these pink/red/cream fat halves - so I thought I'd do a runner for my Mom and I today. I guess if I can get 2 of them done right away, there is still time to get it to her.

The kids are off school, I'm off work, our court hearing was canceled due to weather so life is good. I did try to run down to work this morning at 7:30 a.m. to grab some stuff so I could work from home, but when it took me 20 min. to drive the mile and a half to the end of our road, the kids and I turned around and came home.

Last night Todd was at fire practice, so I worked on this applique:

I decided I had better pin everything in place before sewing it all down to make sure it would fit. So far so good - just a few more flowers to cut out.

I shoveled the deck this morning, and it already has 2-3" of snow on it again. I think that will be an all day affair (shoveling the deck and steps off!) Stay warm everyone!

Kris

WISP #2 finish for January

I am so cold. It's 17 right now, and we are under a severe winter storm warning starting tonight at 5:00 p.m. and running through 4:00 p.m. Wednesday with an expected 6-10 inches of snow. Anyone else want to bet the kids don't have school tomorrow?

Anyhow, tomorrow is a court hearing with our neighbor. Honestly. I worked in a law office for 15 years, and this beats any case I'd ever seen. Todd or I do not need to be there, but I'm going. I want to hear his reasoning on why he is sueing us and just what he wants us to do.

And I did get another finish for the month of January:

I've had the runner done for some months now.....just needed to hand stitch the gold stars down. But it is done and I'm happy with it.

And this picture - last night Tyler was dancing and singing to Rodney Atkins on his walkie talkie - I had to show it just cause he's so cute.

See everyone later! Stay warm!
Kris

PS - I've received a couple awards from some wonderful blogging buddies. I'll be back later to post about them! Thanks so much ladies!