Glowing

If there is any question about Bernat's glow-in-the-dark yarn, let me tell you - it works! I had the hardest time taking a pictures but here's what I came up with:



I'm finished with the final product but I can't show you until April... it's a birthday present!

Snowman

Last night we got about a 1/2-inch of ice, which resulted in "liberal leave" (which means you can stay home but you have to use your vacation time). So I went to work. The good news is that all the not so great packing snow is now great for packing! So Max and I made a snowman.



The eyes are juniper berries from our tree and the nose is a large piece of mulch. He only has one arm because that's the only stick I could find. Although he could use more work, it was starting to rain again so it was time to come inside.

First day of snow

Max has been hoping for snow all winter and finally he is happy. Looks like we'll get about an inch of snow today. There were a bunch of school closings even though the roads were fine for the most part, just a little slow going. Here's a shot from this morning before we left the house for work:



And this one is from when we got home. For our area, this is considered real snow.



After I took this picture, I threw a snowball at Max and so a short snowball fit ensued. We stopped after Max slipped on the sidewalk and landed on his ass. He's not hurt and we had fun. I tried to make a snowman but it's not the right kind of snow, doesn't pack right. Maybe tomorrow but I doubt it. It think tomorrow will be mostly ice.

Mmmm, pie

Some days are better than others. After a really good night's sleep, today was good. For dinner we had Coq au Vin from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It was very good. For dessert, sweet potato pie. The pastry crust is also from Julia Child. Delicious.

SAD

Every winter I struggle with SAD. It has gotten worse as I have gotten older, even as the steps I take to combat it. Moving south from Canada really helped for a few years but this year with the stress of my job and the economy, it has been a struggle. There is more pressure than I have ever had to deal with and it's unrelenting some days. Max has had to deal with the extra crankiness and sometimes there's nothing he can do. I already take extra vitamin D and Omega-3 vitamins. I've been using my blue light every morning at work. And I've been trying to make an effort to go to the gym more, even when I don't feel up to it. But... well, I keep hoping that as the days get longer that it will just go away for another year. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Rice pad cover

Back in November I made a hot rice pad for my neck. Finally it has a cover! Removable and machine washable.

37 Reasons to Take Your Shoes Off

See the side bar at Shoes Off at the Door, Please. I think I agree with almost every single one of them. Perhaps that makes me uptight but, so it is.

Driving update

Since I had a four day weekend and the weather was relatively nice (cold but clear), it was much easier to get in a few driving practices. Early on Saturday, I drove on the highway again. Later in the day than I ever have. It was a little nerve wracking but I did fine, according to Max. Maybe because of everything that was going on in the area this weekend there were not a lot of people on the highway, probably all on the Metro instead. On Sunday, I drove to the movie theatre when we went to see Bejamin Button, which was a pretty good movie and the drive was fine. And yesterday I drove to the grocery store by myself, which is a very short drive and not at all unusual that I would drive by myself at this point, but it was the first time I drove there with the radio on. And that was fine too. :)

Tuckered out

It's been an exciting day afterall...

Eight Fish

Sheryl Crow pin

Ender in Exile

Max got this book for Christmas from my parents. He finished reading it by the end of the weekend and loved it. I started reading Ender's Game after New Year's and just finished Ender in Exile. I also loved it and couldn't stop reading it.

The book answered so many questions and I love where the story went. Makes me want to know more, which I guess means reading Speaker for the Dead. I never have because it didn't seem to have any of the same characters.

But for now, I'm a little sci-fi'd out. I need something easy that will distract me. Everything on my nightstand is a little heavy though. Maybe a trip to the library is in order.

Any suggestions?

First FO of 2009

In December one of my coworkers requested another hat, not because she lost the first one but because she loved it so much. After a little shopping at Knit Happens, I came away with two balls of Rowan Wool Cotton. Great yarn to knit with! I had a little trouble with the decreases but I don't think it's that noticeable. Can you tell?



The top is a little pointier than I would have liked (one less decrease might have prevented that) but for the recipient it will be cute.

Putting Christmas away

Over the weekend, the Christmas lights outside our house came down. Last night the ornaments came off the tree and were put away. Sigh. Max had to do almost all of the ornaments and house decorations because it makes me so sad to put Christmas away. Every year he says, "but just think how happy you'll be when it comes out again!" That never makes me feel better but he gets a gold star for trying.

Here's the Santa hat that I knit two years ago and finally added a pompom to this year.





The pattern is the Santa hat pattern from Handknit Holidays. The yarn I picked up from A.C. Moore ages ago, and ironic combination of cashmere (red) and acrylic (white).

Tonight the tree comes down and will be bagged up for another year. Then we just need to get someone to help Max take it downstairs since I'm pretty useless on that front too!

What I did during my vacation

I started working on Shedir for a friend at work. Here it is before the decreases:



Got a little mixed up (and frustrated) doing the decreases so I had to stop for a couple of days and then tink back a few rounds but hopefully she won't be able to tell that I rearranged one of the rows.

Happy New Year

Another year, another blogiversary. I wanted to take a minute to mention it, and to convey to you my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

Thank you.

I had no idea what this blog might become when I started, no idea. Time flies when you're knitting, travelling, taking pictures, and getting busy in the kitchen. As I reviewed the blog for this post there were many times I thought, Wow, that was this year? A quick recap of 2008:

# of blog posts: 198

# of knitting patterns published: 1

• Hodology

# of knitted items completed: 43

• Amanda's hat
• Blue mittens
• Angela's hat
• Becky's hat
• Angela's scarf
• Chemo cap
• Bruins hat
• Blue rib hat
• Fetching
• Meryl's hat
• Hodology the giant
• Nikki's hat
• Blair's hat
• Nora's newborn cap
• Chevron scarf
• Stardust scarf
• Baby blanket
• Ella's pixie hat
• Ben's green hat
• Elliot the Dragon
• Red dishcloth
• Baby Nora's yellow hat
• Baby Jack's sweater
• Yellow and white baby booties
• Pink baby mittens
• Yellow infant hat
• Yellow baby mittens
• Baby Nora's multicoloured baby hat
• Pink baby hat
• Multicoloured baby booties
• Blue scarf
• Baby Zack's hat
• Baby Zack's sweater
• Lily's Christmas hat
• Christmas garland x 2
• Angela's green scarf
• Baby bunting
• Pink scarf
• Baby blue sweater
• Baby blue hat
• Lucy's hat
• Striped hat

# of food and beverage pictures: 138

# of trips this year: 7 (Ithaca x 2, Nashville, San Diego, Chicago/St. Joe, Beijing/Xian, Los Angeles)

Plans for 2009? Not sure yet, nothing definite planned... though hopefully Max will graduate his masters program sooner rather than later and hopefully I'll get to see Sheryl Crow perform in New Orleans in June.

What about you? What are your plans for this year?