Cold, Wind, Cold, Wind

Again and again.  Rinse, repeat.  However you want to say it this "cold snap" is going on way too long for my taste.  It seems like January is just one "polar vortex" after another, doesn't it?  Winter (with a capital W) is putting its stamp on the land this year.  Durwood was thinking of riding along on errands today just to get out of the house but changed his mind when he heard about the wind and cold and maybe sideways snow later.  Bah.  There's a Sarah Moulton recipe for Chinese chicken soup in today's paper; I've written down the ingredients we don't have and will be obtaining them when I'm out filling the list(s).  I am intrigued that it says to put scallions, garlic, and matchstick-cut ginger into the broth to simmer (steep like tea maybe?) and then scoop it all out before adding all the soup goodies, then topping it with toasted strips of wonton wrapper to serve.  See?  Now you want some too.  The recipe says it serves four; I'll be making a double batch.

I had a few customers at work yesterday and tried to invite myself on a couple of warm-destination vacations but had no luck. (dang it)  I didn't have much luck settling down to focus on my knitting either until after lunch.  Since I finished glove #2 the other day I picked up the "how to do the thumb hole" swatch of my BLKG  (Bay Lakes Knitting Guild) design contest entry.  I followed the "sparked the idea" pattern exactly, binding off 6 stitches on one round and then casting them on again on the next, but about 6 rounds past that action it occurred to me that I want live stitches to use to knit a bit of thumb from, not a finished edge opening where I have to pick up stitches.  (this design thing takes thinking, who knew?)  So that meant that I tinked back (un-knit a stitch at a time) 6 full rounds, with cables on some, so that I could knit those 6 stitches onto waste yarn so when I'm ready to thumb I can pick that (cotton, unsticky) waste yarn out and have 12 live stitches to catch with my needles and knit on.  And I just looked at a different pattern and learned that I didn't have to cut the yarn before the waste yarn, I should have slid those stitches back on the left needle and knit them again with the working yarn.  (Live and learn, but not fast enough.  Good thing I'm swatching or I'd really be peeved.)  I want to get to the next cable twist on that swatch, then I'll bind it off and press on to find the perfect cable to fit my idea.

Now it's snowing.  Last night the Weather Channel graphic showed today's snowflakes "falling" from side to side.  I told Durwood that I really dislike sideways snow; that's what it's doing right now.  I think I'll hurry this along and get my running done before it gets serious about the sideways snow thing.

January 24--German, Griffin.  Someone had removed the wings but the brackets were still there.  "You could have replacements made," the dealer said.  Dee shrugged and tried to keep the smile off her face.  She was pretty sure the thing was bronze and it looked like it had been made around 1400, so it was probably worth more than the sixty-seven dollar price tag.  "Too bad the wings are missing," she said, "the price seems steep for a broken griffin."  She turned the piece over in her hands.  "What was it made to hold?  That looks like a spigot jutting from its chest."  She could envision pouring red wine for guests from a bronze griffin vessel and almost grinned.  "Would you take fifty?"

Then I fell asleep.  Hey, it's hard work staying warm these days even with all the layers of clothes and toe warmers I wear to work.  Plus I'm old and feeble.  (pitiful)  Not really, but all these fronts sailing through make me ache.  Doesn't really slow me down but I do like to complain, it's kind of a hobby of mine.  Now it's snowing UP.  I'd say it's definitely windy out there, but I'm still going out.  A few flakes can't keep this girl down, even if they are going the wrong way.
--Barbara