Bok! Bok! Bok!

I'm on egg duty for a couple days this week so I went over to DS's house this afternoon and there was a beautiful brown egg in the wood shavings for me. Now if there's another one tomorrow I can make myself a Grandma Angermeier fried egg sandwich for supper tomorrow night. Fingers crossed. 

Today's drawing is goofy. It's supposed to be a Glorious Grin but I think it isn't very glorious, just silly looking. He doesn't have any lips or teeth or eyes. Don't you think a grin needs teeth? But I'm only good at copying so copy I did.

There are four buds on the Christmas cactus! I keep watering the plant and talking nice to the buds hoping that they all decide to bloom. Even two would be good, doubling my success.

I did ALL the laundry today including two loads of sheets. Man, I hate wrestling with folding king size sheets without dragging the clean sheets on the dirty basement floor but I managed it. I didn't realize how long it had been since I did the wash. I'm wearing my last clean pair of socks. Guess who'll be folding laundry tomorrow morning.

I went over to Michaels for picture frames for the grandkids' school photos and managed to find some colors of brush markers that I NEEDED and a set of colored pencils and pastels that were on sale. Plus I had a 20% off coupon and a $10 voucher. Score!

 

But the biggest score was seeing the flavor of the day when I drove past Culver's--Midnight Toffee--which is dark chocolate custard with toffee pieces. Oh yeah, my favorite. I swung in and bought 2 pints and immediately portioned them out when I got home so I wasn't tempted to eat one of the pints standing at the counter. Well, I was tempted but I resisted and had one of the 8 portions after supper. 

After having not one item on my gratitude journal last last night I managed to dredge up six items today.

Today's toss was more burp rags. How many of those did I have anyway?

DD called this afternoon to tell me that she tested positive. She doesn't know if she had it when she was here, picked it up here, or got it on the way home. Geez. So I tested myself and it was negative. I'll test again in a day or two. I'm getting so tired of this. Everyone is. I'm still glad that she came.

--Barbara

Got The Blahs

Just didn't have any oomph today. I should have done laundry because I'm down to one pair of socks but I just couldn't work up the energy to get myself down to do the wash. I ran the dishwasher. Does that count? I even emptied it too.

For the first time ever I saw two squirrels up on the crooks almost side by side. Usually one will chase the other away but this time one stayed up there munching away on a peanut while the other hung upside down on the peanut wreath. Amazing detente.

It was a sunny day but I don't think it was warmish outside. The Sparrows visited the tube feeder and merrily threw seed down onto the ground for the twilight rabbits to munch on. (Every time I type "sunny day" the Sesame Street theme song starts to play in my head.)

I drew the next lesson in the Draw Squad book. There's one more lesson in the book and then I'll be done with it--again. Maybe I'll put it away for a while and draw out of other books. Or maybe I'll get out the watercolors again and try my hand at the next exercise.

In the afternoon I rewatched episodes of Downton Abbey and finished knitting the cast sock. Tomorrow I have to find something new to knit or maybe just start another cast sock.

Today's toss was a couple pairs of toddler leggings that I had on hand for accidents.

I promise to do laundry tomorrow. All the laundry which will probably take all day. Monday is traditionally wash day.

--Barbara

It Got Quiet

Around noon it got quieter here when DD drove away.. It was so great to have her here even for just a few days. We are determined to see each other more frequently, damn the pandemic.

Early this morning I went out and filled the feeders. It took the squirrels almost all day to notice that the peanut wreath was filled but when they did the free-for-all began. One spent its time gathering up the fallen peanuts and scampering off with them but not this one. It vaulted up from the birdbath and grabbed nuts from the coil of wire.

Today's drawing is out of the 15-Minute Artist book and is the perfect thing to draw on a chilly winter day. I had a mug of hot chocolate but without marshmallows and a candy cane. Can't have everything.

The biggest challenge on today's gratitude journal page was figuring out how to portray the Knitting Wayback Machine where you can go to find old patterns that are no longer available from their original source but I managed. I envisioned a big box with rollers and a long sheet of paper that goes over and under and pops out of the end with the pattern printed on it. I was most grateful for the sun and blue sky for DD to drive in rather than the snow and ice she had to contend with when she arrived.

Since I finished the Licorice Squall Hat last night I had to dig up something new to knit. First I cast on 90 stitches in skinny yarn on small needles to knit a shawl but then I realized that 400 meters is longer than 400 yards and 400 yards is what I have. Rrrrrip. Then I found a bunch of tiny balls of cashmere and a cowl pattern but that one called for casting on 138 stitches and I wasn't ready for that level of commitment either. I ended up casting on a toe cap (cast sock) 40 stitches in bulky yarn in biggish needles. That turned out to be my speed today.

Today's toss was a handful of toddler socks. Nobobdy's feet fit in them anymore.

I miss DD already. It was nice to have someone around to talk to again.

--Barbara

Snowblowing the Street

I thought I was so smart this morning. I went out to shovel the driveway, got the bottom of it done, moved my car out into the street, and finished the driveway. I left my car on the street so that DD could get her car out of the garage when she went to on some errands in the early afternoon. I saw some trucks go by but thought it was the tree guys working across the street. Nope. It was the snowplow and it swung out around my car so that my half of the street was unplowed. D'oh. So this afternoon after my writing group Zoom, that was me out snowblowing the street. I got the big part of it moved and figure the rest will take care of itself when the temps warm up.

There was a lot of bird action at the feeders this morning too. The Sparrows were especially active, flying in one and two at a time until there was a small flock, then all flying away when a Mourning Dove showed up.

The Cardinal pair visited. He stopped on the platform feeder for a few minutes and then went down to the ground under it to investigate. Just after he flew off she arrived and pecked around on the ground before flying off too.

The Christmas cactus has buds on it again. This time there are three of them plumping up. This one looks like it has the best chance of actually blooming. I have hopes that more than one will bloom one of these times. We shall see.

I was intimidated when I saw the next figure in the G section of the 3-D drawing book. It's the Earth held in God's hands. I got the hands okay but the continents eluded me. You can kind of tell what they're supposed to be but I relied on the shading to blur the defects in my drawing.

I finished the Licorice Squall hat tonight at Friday Night Knitting. Tonight I also got to take DD along with me. She had her laptop so I just forwarded the link and she logged on. Other daughters have come, one comes every week, but tonight was the first time I got to show off my beautiful daughter.

I had a lot to be grateful for today. I was especially grateful for the snowblower when I realized that the plow had gone by and swerved around my car. Whew.

Today's toss was a stack of burp cloths that aren't needed anymore. LC and OJ just don't urp up like they used to.

--Barbara

Another Cold Day

This time with snow flurries most of the day. It was a weird kind of snow that didn't stick to my car even though it snowed at least a little almost all day. I don't know why. It's very hard to see in this picture but there are big snowflakes zooming around out there.

The only wildlife today was another squirrel on the cob corn. I don't know why it hung around, as far as I could see all of the kernels were off the cobs.

This morning I ripped out the ribbing of the Licorice Squall Hat that I knitted yesterday and started over going up a needle size. It's much better on the bigger needles.I did a lot of knitting today and am up to the pattern rows already.

Drawing today was out of the Draw Squad book. This is not my best work, I think DD and I were talking too much while I was drawing.

We went downstairs this morning to hunt for a baby doll that Mom made for one of my sisters-in-law and never got a chance to dress. My SIL2 called a few weeks ago asking if I had Mom's dolls and could I look for the baby doll that Mom made her. Lo and behold, I found all of the baby dolls in the first box I pulled off the shelf. Two of the dolls were dressed and one was naked. One of the dressed ones belongs to DD so she's taking it home, I took pictures of the others and sent them to SIL2 to find out which one she wanted. She wisely chose the one with the clothes on since she doesn't sew and doesn't know anyone who can make doll clothes. Don't look at me, I barely make people clothes.

I had to stretch to find things to be grateful for today. I'm not grateful for a day-long snow flurry but I am grateful for pizza for supper with DS, DIL1, LC, and OJ at Zambaldi. It was the first time that DD was able to see the place up and running. She saw it a month before it was ready to open and then COVID intervened. Stupid pandemic.

Today's toss was a couple bibs that are no longer needed for visiting grandchildren.

--Barbara

Sunny and Cold

That was today. I went out and shoveled the icy snow off the driveway and it was quite a chore to do by hand but I was afraid that the snowblower wouldn't move the stuff. So I took my time and got the job done.

There were lots of birds at the feeders today. My favorite was the Nuthatch. It landed on the suet pellets, then on the crook, and then on the tube feeder where it finally pecked at some seed before flying off.

For lunch today, DD and I got takeout from our favorite burger place in town, Kroll's. Their cheeseburger is on a hard roll with a pat of butter on the top of the patty. Of course there are onions, pickle, and ketchup too. It was delicious. My mouth thought I could have eaten another one but my stomach said that one was enough.

While DD knitted on her shawl, I did today's drawing. It's out of the 15-Minute Artist book and it's a rainbow lollipop. It wasn't very challenging to draw but I'm especially happy with the way the colored pencil highlights and lowlights make it look round.

 

After drawing I picked up the Zauber Sock and finished the toe.

Then I had to find another something to knit so I grabbed some old yarn that way lying around downstairs and cast on another Squall hat, this time using much smaller needles. To be honest, I think that maybe I've gone down too small and I'm debating whether to rip it out and start again with bigger needles, but not as big as before. Something in the middle.

I had a lot to be grateful for today and had no trouble filling up the page with pictures and words.

Today's toss was a couple key fobs with carabiners on them. Not gonna use them, why keep them. I also found some moose poop incense that DS gave me long ago as a gift. It's real moose poop that is dried and when it burns it smells like pine. I get the most interesting gifts.

--Barbara

She's Here!

Even though the roads were a little icy and a little slick with snow and freezing drizzle DD made it. She arrived around 3 o'clock and we've been talking and knitting since then.

We mostly got snow here in GB. You can see the bunny tracks in the scant inch of snow that accumulated through the day. For a while we got sleet but that didn't last long, thank goodness.

I have to confess that the slow cooker Chicken & Noodles I made was not a success. The chicken turned out all right and the veggies and soup/sauce wasn't bad, but the noodles were doughy and slimy and inedible. I fished out the chicken and tossed the rest. I'll pick up another bag of frozen veggies tomorrow to serve with it.

While I waited for DD to arrive I drew today's pictures. The next one in the 3-D book was the scroll with the A on it, which didn't seem like enough of a challenge or enough of a drawing, so I drew the gorilla which I think turned out pretty well.

DD and I knitted and chatted and I got to the toe of my sock so I started the toe decreases. I suppose if I'd really focused I could have finished it but then what would I have knit on tomorrow?

I only thought of five things to be grateful for today so I drew the pictures bigger and made the text larger too. That filled up the page nicely.

Today's toss was a capelet that Mom knitted just before she died. I've worn it a few times but it just didn't fit right, too narrow in the shoulders, so into the Goodwill box it went. Sorry, Mom.

--Barbara

Grateful For Cookies

That's right, cookies. I haven't made cookies in months, maybe a year, but DD is coming tomorrow so I made 10-Cup Cookies in her honor. I only had to buy one ingredient to make the cookies, I even had flaked coconut and pecans. The directions say to let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. I didn't do that with the first sheet and broke two. Darn. I had to eat them. Double darn. I've already got a couple dozen bagged up to take to DS and family so that cuts down on some temptation and I bagged another dozen into the freezer for any cookie emergencies down the road. (click on the link for the cookie recipe Oh, and I substitute almond butter for the peanut butter because LC isn't a fan of peanut butter.)

It was another windy day so there weren't many birds at the feeders. I'd have said "any" birds but one lone Junco showed up in the afternoon to peck at the refrozen ground for fallen seeds.

I say refrozen because it got up to 48 degrees yesterday and was sunny. Today the temps topped out at 18 degrees so when I slightly overfilled the birdbath this afternoon I made icicles. I think it's snowing a little too but it's so windy that it's hard to tell if it's snowing or just blowing. What I want to know is why it couldn't have been 48 and sunny tomorrow for DS's drive north from Kentucky. Stupid weather.

The drawings today were from the Draw Squad book and include a fun dragon named Trasher. I was glad that only his head and neck were required. Maybe one of these days I'll make an attempt to draw the whole dragon.

Five was all I could think of for gratitude journal items today. And two of them are about cookies. I didn't guess either Wordle word today which made me feel sorry for myself but I did solve the one-star Sodoku in the newspaper. Since I only get the digital edition I have to print it off on the computer but that's okay. I won't bother to print off anything over two stars because I can only rarely solve those.

Today's toss was a bag of dried apricots that had turned black. I'm pretty sure that black is the wrong color for dried apricots.

I have to exercise restraint because there are dozens of cookies in the kitchen calling out to me. I ate a navel orange so I'm not hungry I just want a cookie or a cookie wants me. Either way I shouldn't go get one. Maybe an apple...

--Barbara

A Lazy Sunday

Today was a real day of rest. I didn't do much but meet my friend CS at Zambaldi at noon to knit the afternoon away. We drank a little beer and chatted about this and that. I knitted on the February Squall Hat and only forgot a yarnover once which I was able to fix on the next round so I didn't have to back up. Whew. I finished the hat when I got home and learned that I should have gone down another needle size because the hat is still too big but it'll fit someone. The next time I make the hat, and I will make the pattern again, I'll go down at least one needle size, maybe two. Maybe what I should do is cast on fewer stitches. I'll have to think about that.

 

First thing I saw when I opened the drapes this morning was a male Downy Woodpecker at the suet pellets. It was nice and posed pretty for me so I could grab the camera and take its picture.

I went to the grocery on the way home to pick up the things that I forgot when I went on Friday. Salad dressing, chive cream cheese, graham crackers, some more Scooby snacks (which I buy whenever I find them because the kids like them so miuch), and more chocolate ice cream, just in case I run out. I was happy to find that the store wasn't very crowded late on a Sunday afternoon.

When I got home I pulled out my sketchpad and drew the next figure in the 15-Minute Artist book which was a glass of water. Mine kind of looks like the example in the book but I can't see how she makes the reflections look real. I think mine look awkward and wrong.

I didn't have much to put in my gratitude journal page today. I had to search for things to put on there. I'm always grateful for chocolate ice cream. That was an easy add.

I didn't toss anything today. Just wasn't in the mood.

--Barbara

A Different Kind of Squall

I was on a Zoom with the Friday Night Knitters when the snow squall warning screeched out of all of our phones. We kept on knitting but I looked on Ravelry (the website for fiber lovers) and found a raft of pattern named some version of Squall and one of the hat patterns was free so I added it to my library. This afternoon I searched my stash for a blue or bluish yarn the right weight and cast on. I sat down around 2 o'clock and didn't get up until after 5 o'clock when I got hungry. I'd have been farther along but I made a booboo and had to rip back eight rounds and start the body pattern over. So I focused on getting the pattern right the second time and stopped there so I have something to knit tomorrow at Zambaldi. I know the yarn's not very blue but it's the best I can do. Blue is not one of my favorite colors.

I knitted through my drawing time so I sat at the table after supper and drew the next figure in the 3-D book. It's a gnome that looks to me like it's part tree. It's better than drawing another rocket or space ship, but it has one of those @$#%& pencils under its arm. Those pencils are my nemesis. I have the devil of a time drawing them and making them look like they're supposed to look. But then "supposed" is also my nemesis, along with "should."

This morning I went out to shovel away the drift that last night's wind and snow left across my driveway. If my neighbor didn't have his pickup truck parked on his side the snow would have kept going to the east but because that wind break was there I had a nice wide drift to shovel. Lucky for me the snow was light and powdery so I was able to shovel it instead of having to run the snowblower and end up with snow in my face since I'd have been blowing it into the wind. It was cold out there and the wind kept blowing into my right ear even though I thought I had it tucked under my hat. It made me have an earache for a while but a mug of WW hot chocolate helped it feel all better.

Today's toss was a couple jars of outdated food that I rarely paid attention to and discovered when I pulled it out to see if it was still good enough to add to a batch of cookies I want to make on Monday, that it was more than a year past its "best by" date. Ugh, rancid nut butter.

I checked the weather and it's supposed to snow Monday night into Tuesday. Tuesday is the day that DD is driving up from the Chicago area. I hope it's a light snow but I know that she'll take her time and be safe.. Still, I worry, but I'm starting to worry too early. I'll wait until it starts snowing to start worrying. I hate being a worry wart. Thanks, Mom.

--Barbara

Whoosh!

 It was windy today. Regular windy for most of the day but then this evening my cellphone rang with a weather alarm saying that we should stop traveling and stay in because a snow squall was on the way. I wasn't sure what that meant but didn't have long to wonder. The wind picked up and it started to snow. It was snowing and blowing so hard that it was difficult to see across the street at times. I took the camera to the front door and took a picture down the block and noticed that I couldn't see the used car lot at the end of the street. You can see the glow of the lights but not the cars like you usually can. It's still blowing up a gale and I can't tell if it's snowing or just blowing the snow around. I'm glad I'm indoors.

One thing that the wind did today was make the wind chimes active. They were a favorite of Durwood's so when I hear them I think of him. That earned them a place on today's gratitude journal page.

Time seemed to get away from me today. I went to the grocery this morning and I'm glad I did. It was only sort of windy, not blow you into Lake Michigan windy. Then I had my Women's Spirit writing group in the afternoon. After that I pulled out the Draw Squad book and drew the next lesson's figures. More space stuff but I managed to get them all drawn before time for Friday Night Knitting.

At knitting I worked on the Zauber Sock foot. I have big feet--size 10--so it's a long knit from the heel to the toe. I've gotta be thinking of what I'll knit next because this sock will be done before the weekend's over and I'm meeting friends at Zambaldi on Sunday to knit and drink beer. I'm kind of getting to like drinking beer. Who'd a thunk it?

Today's toss was a tiny notebook that I used to carry in my purse before I had a cellphone that I could keep notes on and before I started carrying such a small purse. Maybe I should see if LC wants it for writing tiny stories in.

--Barbara