February 21 Weather Report

We caught the edge of an ice storm last night.

The power went off and on several times in the night but we were spared an extended outage like many people East of us are suffering. Last I heard restoration was going to take until Thursday evening for some. It's Monday afternoon. That's a long time to be without power in the winter.


Right now it just started to snow. Heavy snow on top of the ice is going to bring down more branches, trees, and power lines. Especially if the wind picks up.

Temperatures are dropping today, not rising. Forget melting until Wednesday at the earliest.

It's a great day to be retired and snuggled in at home. I plan to knit if the power stays on, read if the power goes off, and work in a nap whatever happens. Unless a tree falls on the house.

More Very Very Early Signs of Spring

It's really late winter, but it's more fun to pretend it's very very early spring since we're having a February thaw this week.


It was in the fifties for the second day in a row. I'm trying to enjoy the warmer weather but the gray skies, stiff wind, dirty snow, mud, and gloom are making it a challenge.

The picture above was taken at lunch time to demonstrate why this weather makes me want to go take a nap.


Things aren't looking much cheerier on the ground.

The white trail is were we walked when there was snow. The walking packed it down so it's the last to melt. During thaw time, we have to walk off the slippery path.


The paper box is still slowly sinking. If the ground thaws enough, I'll go out with a shovel and re-plant it. If the ground doesn't thaw enough I may need to prop it up with some cement blocks.


Spotted this Woolly Bear Caterpillar on the side of the house.

It's not a sign of spring, it's an sign of Woolly Bear bad timing. He needs to find someplace to shelter until the real spring. I'm surprised a bird hasn't had him for lunch.


Daffodils are so amazing. They know spring is coming eventually and they start growing under the ice and snow so they'll be ready for April blooming.

The snow and ice was holding the oak leaves tight to the ground so the daffodils just pierced through them.

By the end of next week the daffodils will be under the snow again, but I'll know they're there and I'll smile at them as I shovel out to the car.

Very Very Early Signs of Spring

January and February have been cold and snowy. In fact, it's 20 degrees and snowing right now. That 20 degrees is a "warm up" from the single digit temperatures we've had all week in SW Michigan.

However if I look and listen very carefully, there are signs of spring.


The days are getting longer.

Our first dog walk of the day happens about 7:30 am and now there's enough daylight to see where we're stepping.

This deer picture was taken about 5:30 pm. Not enough daylight left for a clear picture, but it's not dark at 5 pm anymore.


The birds are beginning to think about spring. Several times I've heard a woodpecker drumming for a mate.

A few days ago I saw a male cardinal feeding a female. So sweet. It would have made a perfect Valentine picture.


The paper box is showing the strain of repeatedly being hit by snow thrown from the snowplow. Will it topple before spring?

The mailbox is detachable. I bring it in the house when I know the snowplow snow is going to hit it hard.


Finally the oak trees are shedding some of their leaves.

Scarf and Snow

Granddaughter Sydney's scarf is done.

I also finished a pair of socks for her in this yarn and decided they were too ugly to send, so I'm in the process of knitting a different pair. The problem? It's this yarn. I'm having an impossible time getting even stitches for some reason, and the color bands are way too long for socks. One of the socks was all purple, and the other sock turned to blue on the foot. I thought it would be OK, but on second thought I could just imagine a five year old declaring she wasn't going to wear those socks that didn't match.

I dislike this yarn very much. The wide color bands are impossible, it's fuzzy, grabby wool, and there are tiny little knots occurring frequently on just one of the three plies. As I mentioned above, I'm having a problem getting uniform stitches. I'm not sure why this is, but I'm blaming it on the yarn.

The yarn is better suited for a scarf than socks, and I like the way the scarf turned out. It's long enough to handle the long color repeats and it's going to be soft after I rinse it in some hair conditioner.

Pattern: One-Row Scarf by the Yarn Harlot.

Yarn: JojoLand Melody superwash wool, fingering weight. Using two strands held together.

Color: MS28, purple

Needles: US #7.


According to the weather forecast I listened to, there was not supposed to be snow yesterday until evening. When I woke up to two inches on my car (there was already six inches on the ground), I didn't think much about it, cleaned the car off, and took Pappy to his doggy dental appointment.

Dogs get drugged for teeth cleaning, and he needed an extraction so he got drugged even deeper. They told me I could pick him up about four, but the snow kept coming down all day, sometimes heavy, and I was concerned about not being able to get out of the driveway if the snowplow went by and piled road snow at the end of it.

How awful would that be? To have my dog stranded all night at the vet's instead of in my tender loving care?

About two pm I finally panicked and called to ask if I could pick him up early. Sure, they said, as long as I didn't care if he was groggy. He's only fifteen pounds and easy to carry, so off I went hardly able to see out the car window.

Pappy and I got home about an hour later and it stopped snowing almost immediately.

It didn't matter if he was still semi-drugged. Pappy was more comfortable sleeping it off at home and I was more comfortable having all the family back together again.

Snow, Squirrel, Socks, and Snow

It finally happened. The nice weather ended and the excessive Lake Effect Snow we've been promised has begun.

Lake Michigan is warmer than usual this year and that has supersized the Lake Effect Snow we're getting.

Even 20 miles east of us (and 20 miles further inland from Lake Michigan), they're having much less snow and they even had some sunshine today. Not here.

Sunday I drove to church on slippery roads. When I left home, I told DH I would be careful and drive so slow the people behind me would hate me. I did drive slow, but no one hated me. They didn't want to drive any faster either.

On the way home I drove through two different whiteouts and it was so slippery my car would hardly steer. Corners were taken at about 5 mph. At least I had enough sense to stay off the interstate where they had the same problems and less control of their vehicles. Six miles south of home on I-94 was a 25 car pileup and there were several other interstate chain pileups reported.

The weather forecast is for this to go on and on for at least another week and pretty much for the rest of the month and into January until the lake cools off. After that we'll just get "normal" Lake Effect Snow.


I've been shoveling snow and I'm tired and weather stressed, so I've been knitting on simple socks. These are for me to wear in my boots and around the house to keep my feet warm. Plus, I wanted to use up this yarn.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 60 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Trekking 172.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Wednesday Wings - Downy Figures Out the Feeders

We're in the middle of a Lake Effect Snowfall today, our first of the season. The birds are flocking to the feeders.

For some of them it's their first winter and they need a little time for their bird brains to figure out how the feeders work.


This male Down Woodpecker thinks there should be something for him to eat in this mesh, but he's puzzled about what and where it might be.




Maybe if he tries a different side?


After circling the entire mesh nyjer feeder and not finding anything at four inches above the top level of the seed, young Downy decides to sit up on the hanger and think about it for a few minutes.


Next he flies over to the suet feeder where he doesn't have any luck finding something to eat either. At this point I'm laughing out loud.


Ah, he's got it figured out. I knew he could do it.

Gail's Socks Finished, Dental Whining, and Glory Walks On Snow

Done and ready to wrap for dog-trainer Gail's March 18th birthday.



Pattern: Basketweave Ribbing Socks, a free pattern that easily converts to 56 stitches, 72 stitches, or any multiple of 8.

Yarn: Opal.

Color: Rainforest Oskar (a black and white butterfly).

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

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Pappy and I are going to miss doggy school again this week because I'm having what's left of a tooth pulled at 4 pm that day (this Thursday).

Did you know that dental x-rays don't see through porcelain crowns? I didn't until a crown fell off leaving a decayed stump with no hope of attaching another crown.

I always wrongly assumed with regular dental care and repair I could keep my teeth into my old age. If I needed something else to worry about, I'd wonder how the rest of my crowned teeth are doing.

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We're seeing the first signs of spring with days temps around 40 F and night temps around 20.

Yesterday there was some thawing and melting. Then the cold night temp froze a crust on the remaining slushy snow. The snow/ice was so solid 65 pound Glory could walk on it without breaking through.

I did break through. We won't talk about how much I weigh.

Gail's Birthday Cuffs

Gail asked for socks with some black and/or gray.

The Basketweave Ribbing Socks pattern is perfect for a variegated yarn that might end up splotchy and unattractive without some texture intervention. Also, it's a k3,p1 ribbing base so the fit is flexible and snug. Perfect for gift socks.

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Pattern: Basketweave Ribbing Socks

Yarn: Opal.

Color: Rainforest Oskar (a black and white butterfly).

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

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When is it going to stop snowing and how soon will the hostas be big enough to eat?

February Reminds Us It's Still Winter

Sunday morning at church everyone was talking about the big snowfall expected that evening. Always optimistic about these predictions (why?), I hoped it wouldn't be more than a few inches since I had an early Monday morning appointment for a tooth extraction twenty miles away.

Sunday evening I checked National Weather Service. They said three inches overnight. No problem. Three inches doesn't even require any shoveling to get out.

Monday morning I was up before the sun. In the dark it was easy to imagine there was only three inches. Maybe four. I got ready to go.

Then, the sun came up and it was time to take the dogs out for a walk. Except the dogs didn't want to walk far. It was eight inches of the heaviest snow possible. Some of it downright slushy. If this snow had been fluffier, it would have been three feet deep. At least.

Time to face reality. The road wasn't plowed, not that I thought I could get out of the driveway. The wet snow was still splatting down thick and heavy. I turned on the radio for AccuWeather to hear it was going to keep snowing all morning. The morning host didn't have to worry about what to talk about, she was kept busy reading school closings.

As soon as the dentist's office opened, I called and rescheduled my appointment. Jeniffer, the desk woman, told me I wouldn't be charged for the late cancellation. I thought that was especially nice of her since she obviously got up early, did some shoveling, and got to work on time.



Late in the morning the snowplow cleared the road. About noon, the snowplow fairy plowed the driveway. Snowplows can't get right up next to buildings and cars. There was still shoveling that needed to be done before we'd be able to get out.

3:40 each afternoon WKZO, a Kalamazoo radio station, has a live interview with Bob Larson from AccuWeather. Bob starts by summing up the five day forecast with the "weather word of the day". Yesterday the word was "clean up". He explained that we needed to dig out while the snow was heavy and slushy because the wet snow was going to turn into hard ice as temperatures dropped for the rest of the week.

That explains why I was unable to stay inside and fantasize the snow melting. I knew I needed to shovel us out for Bob's medical appointment on Wednesday before the deep freeze.

The minimum shoveling required to get us out of the driveway is done. I'm stiff but not in pain thanks to extra strength Tylenol. Let it freeze. Next week is March, the woodpeckers are drumming for mates, there may even be short daffodil shoots under the snow. Winter is almost over. Bring on the mud.

Monday Musings for February 15

It's lightly snowing.

I have to admit by the middle of February each and every snowflake is unwelcome and my attitude toward winter stinks it's rather pretty.

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Might you guess that this comic, Speedbump, is created by someone from Michigan?

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Last week I wore my newly knit Hedonist Cardinal Socks for the first time. The 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon was just as soft as cozy as imagined. I enjoyed having them on my feet.

The yarn is so soft that I wasn't surprised when it pilled on the feet and heels.

I so wish I had knit something besides socks with this wonderful yarn. It's just too soft and nice to wear inside shoes.

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To Diane who wrote in the comments:

I meant no offense by not signing the comment - I plead ignorance for not knowing blog etiquette.

You are not ignorant of anything! Blog etiquette allows for anonymous comments as long as they're not rude.

It's me who wonders who is leaving the comment. And it's Blogger who is lacking in not capturing an email address so I can identify who is who.

John's Cuffs and A Snow Picture

I'm trying to think of something interesting to write about these socks and coming up short.

I do like the way they're turning out. The stitch pattern is just busy enough not to be boring. And I enjoy knitting with the Happy Feet yarn. That all adds up to a nice, gentle, soothing project for someone I love.

Pattern: 70 stitch basic socks. The stitch pattern is from one of my stitch pattern books, Beautiful Knitting Patterns by Gisela Klopper. It's a simple 7 stitch knit purl pattern with a knit 5 purl 2 ribbing base.

Yarn: Happy Feet. 90% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon.

Color: Dark blue.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

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We had about ten inches of snow this week. Nothing unusual for Michigan in February.

It's Our Turn For Too Much Snow

Time to stop laughing at the folks out east and get our own shovels to work. Again.

The snow started early this morning. Early enough to make the morning commute into a game of bumper cars. It's been snowing all day and will go on all night.

The dogs had a grooming appointment at noon today, which I called and rescheduled for next week. With some white-knuckle driving I could have delivered them, but I was concerned about being able to pick them up during the evening commute.

That turned out to be good thinking. I-94 was closed down and the interstate traffic, including semis, diverted onto the two lane country road (Red Arrow Highway) I would have needed to take. It was a good day to plea "chicken driver" and just stay home.



All three of the dogs are smart about the weather. It's amazing how long they can go without a trip outdoors when they want to stay in.

We took a walk at ten am and came home covered with snow. All three dogs decided this was a good day to catch up on their napping. Not a single dog asked to go out again until four this afternoon.



Pappy likes to nap cuddled up as close as possible while I sit on the loveseat with my laptop.

This picture explains why I get dog hair in my laptop keys.

The Inadequate January Thaw

Last week the weather man said we were going to have a January thaw and it did thaw a little. Just enough to melt the snow down so it could refreeze and make a lot of ice.

We've had "freezing drizzle" and "freezing fog" with more to come in the week ahead.


This is a mid day picture of our dreary sky.

Doesn't it just make you want to plop down and take a nap?


The little dogs are sliding all over on the crusty, icy snow so I keep them close to the house. When they try to get into "position" to do what they need to do, their little feet slide out from under them.

I've been taking Glory on walks in the back field without the little dogs. She thinks that's wonderful.


Knowing the January weather we could be having, I can't whine about this half-hearted thaw. It's a nice break from shoveling.

Simple Woman's Daybook for January 4

These writing prompts are available from Simple Woman's Daybook where each Monday we're invited to join in celebrating the beauty of everyday moments around us.

FOR TODAY January 4, 2010...

Outside my window...
It's lightly snowing and the bird feeders are busy.


I am thinking...
I've had enough sugar for a while.

I am thankful for...
The Kalamazoo Public Library which keeps me supplied with audio books and actual books. All for free as long as I get them back before the due date.

From the kitchen...
DH Bob just made a huge pot of what he calls chili. It's never the same twice and varies in taste so much that sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. No matter, he always likes it and I can eat something else without worrying about what he's going to have.

I am wearing...
Jeans and a beige sweatshirt. Multi colored handknit wool socks and, as always, a bit of dog hair.

I am creating...
DIL Anne's birthday socks out of some On Your Toes sock yarn she selected.


I am going...
I was going to lunch in Kalamazoo with a friend today, but we postponed because of slippery roads and reported slideoffs.

I am reading...
Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods, the 6th book in the Holly Barker series.

Entertaining, no brainer reading. In fact, the Holly Barker books are best if you don't try to think about the loopholes in the plot.

People actually buy this book? Checking it out of the library, I am free to enjoy it for what it is. If I had paid money for it, I would be annoyed.


I am hoping...
That my church gets a new Senior Pastor soon. We've been without since September.

I am hearing...
The wind blow as the next Lake Effect Snow band moves into the area.

Around the house...
I've been lazy. Some Christmas things still need to be put away.

One of my favorite things...
The dogs all had a nice bath at the groomer last week so they're clean, fluffy, and soft.

She trimmed the hair on their feet and between their toes so the snow doesn't build up into ice there when they're outside.


A few plans for the rest of the week:
Relax, knit, and enjoy the snow.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

More Fun Than Cables in Progress

Christmas Eve Mom pulled out her turquoise More Fun Than Cables, waved them in my face, and told me they were what she meant by "simple" and that these were one of her favorite pair of socks.

Getting the subtle hint, I decided to make her third pair of purple socks using the More Fun Than Cables pattern.


Pattern: More Fun Than Cables.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Iced Lilac.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.


Big dog Glory finally understands why the little dogs didn't join us on this walk.