Snowy Day!

This morning around 10 o'clock tiny little snowflakes started to fall.  They gathered friends through the day and by nightfall it looked like winter.  Naturally the streets were wet before the temperature dropped and the snow fell so it's icy out there.  Just what you need on New Year's Eve when half of the population are out and about having a bit too much to drink.  BTW, this is what it was supposed to look like last week for Christmas.  Just saying.


I'm feeling more normal today after Lala asked yesterday if I was still taking anti-anxiety meds.  I wasn't.  I decided a week or so ago that I didn't need them anymore and had stopped.  Well.  That wasn't a good idea, not at all.  It hadn't occurred to me that the meds would keep some of the sadness away.  I took her suggestion and am back on the meds and feel quite a bit better with only one day's dosage on board.  Maybe I'll get off them next year--and not next year as in tomorrow either.  Thanks, Lala, I'm glad we're friends.



This afternoon I stirred up a batch of semolina bread dough out of the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook.  I had to laugh when I looked at the gallon ziplok bag that held the semolina flour I had stored in the freezer.  I bought an extra bag of the flour just in case there wasn't enough and, of course, had to open the new bag for the last 1/2 cup.  When I put the newly opened bag in the ziplok I looked at the date when I stored the last bag.  It was 12/31/17, exactly one year ago today.  Funny.  I'm signed up to bring semolina bread to the writing weekend on Thursday and the dough is much easier to work with if it's at least day old and has been refrigerated.  I'll get the bread baked tomorrow evening and then give it a day before slicing it to take along.  As much grief as I gave Durwood for using some of his contest winning points on an electric slicer 40 years ago, I must admit that I am grateful to have it.  It's wonderful for slicing bread evenly since I'm bread knife challenged.  I remember my Grandma Angermeier saying that she could cut bread straight but hoed garden rows crooked but Grandpa cut bread crooked and hoed rows straight so they were the perfect couple!  Funny the stuff that pops into your head.



2018 wasn't a great year for knitting for charity for me.  I was a little distracted and busy.

(oh, really?) So since I finished that sock last night I dug around in my knitting bags, found the acrylic/wool blend yarn that I use to knit cowls for the Seaman's Church Institute's Christmas at Sea program, also found the bag with the variegated acrylic yarn and pattern that I use to knit preemie hats, and cast on a cowl for January.  A couple years ago I knitted a cowl and three or four preemie hats a month in between my regular knitting.  I'm hoping to do that again in 2019.  (F.Y.I.--if you're not a knitter but can sew they also need drawstring bags to pack the knitted items and other small things in; there's the dimensions and their requirements on the site, for instance, they want you to use long shoelaces as drawstrings so the sailors have spare laces.  pretty smart, eh?)  I consulted with LC about what play food I should make next and we agreed on a pizza.  I found a pattern with separate crust, sauce, cheese, with pepperoni, bell pepper strips, mushrooms, and she wants onions which I think I found in a hamburger pattern so I'll get to work on that or at least assemble the yarn.  I still haven't sewn the last 2 flannel dresses and I should really get the one with sleeves done before I zoom off to The Clearing on Thursday.  Or not.

Didn't write the prompt last night, it was just too darned late when I went to bed and I had to get up around 6:30 this morning.  Happy New Year!  Over and out.
--Barbara