Horizontal Snow

That's how windy it has been all day, so windy that the snow that fell this morning flew by from west to east instead of from the sky to the ground.  Oh, I'm sure that it eventually hit the ground but when I saw the flakes they were headed east at a high rate of speed.  I decided to spend the day indoors in my hoodie and yoga pants watching endless episodes of Season 1 of The Great British Baking Show.  You see, Aunt B and P watch an episode of it every evening after they watch a taped rerun of Law & Order and I got hooked on the baking show.  The people are... interesting, and who doesn't like to watch people make custards that don't set and cake layers that slither apart.  They crowned the winner of Season 1 and his prize was a glass cake stand.  A cake stand.  Not money, not a new kitchen range, a cake stand.  Maybe it's Waterford...  


Aunt B loves to shop in antique stores and consignment shops.  We visited a few and her house is full of the treasures she's found.  She showed me one little box that she bought.  It's like a tiny cigar box but sized to hold calling cards.  Inside are a few photos, small notes on cards, a stack of calling cards that say "Mrs. Clyde Skinner," and a newspaper clipping detailing the elopement of the Skinners.  I exclaimed over it and she gave it to me.  That little box will be wonderful for generating stories, don't you think?




Another thing that I brought home from Ft. Myers was the urge to haul up one of the two sets of silver flatware stored in the basement and use that for everyday instead of the stainless.  Aunt B uses real silver and I liked that.  I asked DD a while back if she'd like one of the sets of silver someday, she said she would so I sent her pictures of the two patterns asking her to pick which one she'd like. I'll put her name on Mother Malcolm's Community Plate in its fitted wooden box and spend some time this week polishing Grandma Stephan's 1847 Rogers Remembrance for the silverware drawer.  Neither of them are sterling, they're both silverplate (I googled them), so I feel like they deserve to be used instead of stored in the dark.  Plus I'm calling those items my "toss" for the day.


Around 3:00 I put on my boots, coat, hat, and gloves and went out to move the snow off the driveway even though it was still blowing like crazy.  I talked to DS and he reminded me that it's supposed to only get into the teens tomorrow and I didn't want the wet, slushy snow that the plow shoved to the end of the driveway to freeze into a speed bump if I left it.  And that meant I could liberally sprinkle salt on the icy coating on the driveway so I'll have a chance to get into the garage the next time I go out.




I meant to fling laundry around today.  I didn't.  I caught up writing in my Bullet Journal and washed a sink of dishes.  I only knitted about three rounds on the February Seaman's Cowl.  The rest of the time I sat like a wart on the couch watching Brits bake.  It was a lovely day.






24 February--Tropical Obsession. 

Manning folded his arms across his middle and made himself as streamlined as possible. Periodically he checked his compass to make sure he was swimming in the correct direction and he glanced at his depth gauge so he didn't miss Santiago's landmark. Bubbles spiraled up as he laughed at himself. Landmark, ha. He wondered if something could be called a landmark if it was underwater. His blue eyes darted from the reef passing on his left looking for the "you can't miss it" stand of staghorn coral tangled with lush yellow tube sponges that, according to Santiago, marked the edge of the shipwreck, and the deep dark blue of the open ocean on his right. He had dived these waters many times without incident but there was always the chance of something coming out of the abyss.

I keep waking up around 6:30 and spend the day tired and dozy feeling.  Maybe if I get to bed before 11 o'clock I'll feel more rested tomorrow.  I'm trying it.  Besides it's still blowing like crazy and getting into bed sounds good.
--Barbara

Pouring Rain

I got to go across town to have supper with, read stories to, and tuck LC and OJ into bed this evening and when I left to come home it was raining.  Not just drizzling or misting but out and out pouring rain.  Turn the wipers on (and not on intermittent either) rain.  It's the end of February in Wisconsin.  That rain will turn into ice tomorrow when the temperature's supposed to hit the mid-teens.  Today it was above freezing so the birdbath glacier melted.  I probably should have gone out and emptied the greenish and rather smelly water and refilled it but, well, I just didn't feel like it.

The male Downy Woodpecker was perched on the seed wreath when I did yoga this morning. I enjoyed watching him sit there watching me out of the corner of his eye to see if I would make any sudden moves his way.





Today was not a busy-about day.  I didn't get dressed until almost noon and did nothing more strenuous than my little yoga routine and then sat on the couch knitting and watching The Great British Baking Show on Netflix.  Aunt B and P like it, watch a segment every evening, and got me hooked on it.  So I cued up the first season and will watch it in order--because I'm just that Germanic about doing things "in the correct order."  That's the voice inside my head that speaks up whenever I do something out of order, read a novel series not in order, that sort of thing.  I cast on February Preemie Hat #4 this morning and, despite having to un-knit six rounds and reknit them, finished it by bedtime.  Which is now.

23 February--Tropical Obsession.

It isn't at all the way it should be. In a kayak you're just too close to the water. It is a form of boating, I suppose, but to me boating implies a bit more boat and maybe someplace to sit that doesn't do double duty as the bottom of the boat. And the paddle or oar or whatever it's called? It seems too long or bent at the wrong angle, awkward to maneuver and increasingly heavy. And this water, this salty water. It's pretty and a nice shade of turquoise, but it leaves a sticky residue on your skin and it tastes awful. Whose idea was this anyway?

I'm tired.  My eyes are burning.  I'm going to slap a couple photos on here and call it a day.
--Barbara

Back In The Saddle

Well, today marked the return to normalcy--errands, workout at the Y, groceries at ALDI, Friday Knitting.  

Almost all of the seeds and nuts I flung on top of the snow yesterday afternoon were nibbled up by bunnies in the night.  I managed to snap a photo of one that stood frozen in place as if I couldn't see it if it didn't move.


 


It isn't obvious in this pic but when I went out to fill feeders yesterday I wore boots but I ended up knee-deep in snow in the middle of the yard.  I had the devil of a time getting up the hill to put corn and pellets in the feeders back there and my calves ache today from the exertion.  Shoulda worn my snowshoes.  I'll know better next time.




 

We got stopped by a wreck on the way to Indiantown last Saturday.  (lord, that's a week ago already!)  I stared out the window and saw this tree in a front yard draped with Spanish moss so I snapped a pic.  I remember wanting to touch it when I was a kid and Mom said that it was full of bugs.  I wonder if it really is.



 

Before we left Aunt B asked P to take our picture.  I'm putting it on here for those Aunt B fans out there.  Isn't she pretty?  I think the only time we stopped talking for a whole week was when we slept, oh, and when we were in the theater.  It was so great that we never ran out of things to say.  I am so lucky to have such a wonderful aunt and I'm beyond grateful that I reconnected with my cousins and uncle who I hadn't seen for at least 30 years, maybe longer.  



Two weeks ago LB and I went through the knitting guild library cart and culled out the books no one has used.  One of them was a donated book that had come out of its hard cover and I had every intention of tossing it into recycling but when I looked at it I noticed that it's a stitch dictionary.  I like those so I took it up to Office Depot, she made a color copy of the dust jacket and bound it all with a coil binding between clear covers--and it only cost me $5.  I took the rest of the withdrawn books with me on my rounds today and donated them to the county library for their book sale.



That was the motivation I used to haul my carcass to the Y to workout this afternoon.  The area where I meet with the trainer wasn't being used at the time so I took my laminated sheets with me and did my best to warm up, work out, and cool down the way she said to.  Then I was happy to see that the recumbent stepper I like was free so I finished listening to a podcast while I pedaled.  BTW, my calves were unhappy at having to drag me through that deep snow and making them workout today did nothing to improve things.  Back to Tylenol as a bedtime snack, I guess.



In Florida, last night at Guild, and tonight at Friday Night Knitting I've been working on the February Seaman's Cowl and only need to add an inch or so for it to be ready to be bound off.  Good thing too, since February's nearly over.  I'm one preemie hat short for February too.




22 February--Tropical Obsession. 

It was a school of boga. From the shore it looked like a large cloud shadow shifting over the sandy seabed, but once he was underwater and swimming out toward the drop-off he could see the fish. A school of silver fish, each about six inches long, was flashing like falling coins in the tropical sun. The colors shifted from white to green to blue with the angle of the school and they moved with a frantic energy like predators were nearby. He hung there nearly hypnotized by the flickering fish, startled when a barracuda nearly as long as he was came knifing through the blur of boga, trailing scales like glitter in its wake.

I spent a little time after erranding and working out today reclaiming about a foot of driveway.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow evening, then get colder, and windy.  Doesn't that sound like a great weekend weather forecast?  Bleah.
--Barbara

Not Hot Now

 





Yesterday I was hot.  This morning I was hot and sweaty.  I'm not hot now.  I rode on a couple of airplanes for a few hours and now I'm cold.  Well, not cold right now because I'm in the house but the potential to be cold is ever present.

The sun rose while I stood in line to check my bag at the Fort Myers airport.  And I had a window seat on the flight from Chicago to Green Bay.  Luckily it was a clear day so I could see the lake and the wind driven ice scribbles on Lake Michigan.



 





I had such a good time.  Aunt B and I went to the Edison & Ford Winter Homes on Friday and saw the huge banyan tree that I remembered from our last visit.  It was a much busier and more popular tourist spot than it was 34 years ago.  (what a surprise)  I found the perfect souvenir--a pair of lightbulb shaped earrings filled with glow-in-the-dark pellets.  Don't they just scream "Thomas Edison" to you?  They sure do to me.  We all enjoyed my visit so much that we're planning a rematch next year.











19 February--Tropical Obsession. 

Glint of gold. It caught his eye as he swam down the reef that night. He stopped and finned nearer, only to find it was a broken bottle glittering in his light. The pale glow of the moon lent its cold light to the warm beam in his hand as he swept it over the reef. Looking for the clues, the markers Santiago claimed were there made Manning's heart rate slow. He knew that even without the treasure the Venezuelan swore was there for the taking that he had all he needed to keep Jack on the string long enough to part him from a good bit of his money. Many fools like Swallow who imagined they were smarter than Manning had died regretting it.

There was a knitting guild meeting tonight and I managed to stay awake through the whole thing but, I gotta tell you, I'm still on Eastern Time and it's way past my bedtime.  Nighty-night.
--Barbara