Anticipating a New Year

In my old age, I look forward more and more to New Year's weekend.  It is such a nice calm time in my family.  No pressure, gifts are done, girls entertained with new gifts, visiting with family and friends is over.  The weekend stretches out as a restful peaceful time.  I'm hoping to go to movies with the girls and then again just with my mom.  Because I'm off Monday, January 3 but the girls have school!  Whoo Hoo!  So I will take my mom out for lunch and a movie that we will like without having to appease my girls.  In between I plan on some naps snuggled under a throw and knitting and spinning as much as I can fit in. 



 Last night I plied some fine singles of merino and cashmere together.  It took over 2 hours of solid fast plying and I quickly transferred it to my niddy noddy to sit on over night.  It is some of the finest spinning I've done to date, I had a few spots where I hadn't spun the single tightly enough so it drifted apart in the plying, but I was able to spit splice in place or felt it grab the other single immediately and wound tightly together.  I think I will set the twist a bit more aggressively than I normally do, I'll go back and forth between hot and cold soaks to make sure it will hold nicely.

I also started a new project just for me, I'm working on a new pair of mittens, they are from the Vogue Knitting: Mittens and Gloves book, they are the Hugs and Kisses pair.  I can see the circle hugs easily, the "X" for kisses is there, but seems to sit in the background more for me.  You can't tell from this shot, but the body of the mittens are blue and white, only the cuff has the rusty color.  I'm using up some odds and ends in the white and the rust, but the blue is from Three Irish Girls and it is beautiful.  Just maybe after the New Years weekend, I will have a new pair of mittens?  With how snowy this winter has already proven to be, they will come in handy!  (bad pun)

Here is to a new year full of adventures, joys, sorrows that lead to new paths, and much laughter.  My eyes are looking ahead, the past is behind and new beginnings are waiting to be explored!

A world away, are hearts wondering?

My Anna is fourteen today.  So many things fly through my mind on the birthdays of my two China girls.  Do their birth parents wonder what happened to their tiny babies?  How I wish I could let them know their China girls are safe and loved and cherished.  That these girls have changed so many peoples lives through their love.  Do their China mom's know they changed my life?  That I'm beyond grateful to them for giving me the greatest gifts I will ever receive.  My girls are the two best decisions I've ever made in my life.  They came in and shook my world like a snow globe gone mad.  I always felt that adopting my girls was the most selfish thing I've ever done.  I'm incredibly blessed to have them in my life.  To Anna, who's ready smile and laughing eyes melted my heart the very moment she was placed in my arms in that tiny crowded room in China.  Who gleefully waved a cracker around as a toy because she didn't understand she could eat it.  Whose eyes widened in shock and surprise when she ate that cracker and discovered how good it tasted.  Whose tiny little fingers wrapped around my finger and whose heart squeezed mine tight with love.  Have a wonderful new year as you charge into your teen age years.  Be fearless and try all sorts of new things.  Explore and always keep reaching for new adventures.  I love you.

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Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

somewhere else please...well the great snowstorm over the weekend was a stiff one even for home grown Minnesotans.  I went out and shoveled our door out enough Saturday so that our dog could get outside.  Otherwise inside we stayed.  After our road was plowed Sunday, we are left with towering snow piles all along our street.  Over five feet tall piles.  It is like driving in a canyon!  Now it is bitterly cold.  And it is still December.  This is shaping up to be a winter like those of my child hood. 

Check these pictures out.  Better than any words I can come up with. 

Anna is standing on the huge pile across the street fro us, you can just see her through the branches of the tree, note where her head is relative to the street lamp next to her...yup, she is only a foot or so below the lamp.  Crazy...and guess what...they are forecasting more snow for tomorrow...should be interesting, don't you think? 

Waiting out the storm

So we wait.  It is late, and the snow is beginning to fall.  The projected amount?  16-20 inches.  In one storm.  In one day.  sigh.  I love my knitted mittens, hats, and scarves.  However, even I whimper at getting 20 inches of snow in one dump.  Oh did I mention the wind?  Ya, winds of 25 miles an hour.  With powdery snow.  Means you can't see your hand in front of your face.  And the temps?  Lets just add that into the mix as well.  Temps will drop with windchill to -25.  I guess that is the trifecta in winter weather.  Lots of snow, lots of wind, lots of cold.  It means we will stay home for the next 48 hours.  On the bright side, because I really do try to look at the bright side, I can spin and knit while looking outside at the snow globe I'm currently in.  So really not THAT bad.

And to add to my delight, my picture of my Lettuce Slide Scarf is now listed on Ravelry on the main pattern page.  smile...funny how something that simple can make me so happy.

So my friends, tonight I'm snuggled in my bed, listening to the wind start to blow, knowing when I get up in the morning, we will be in for a winter wonderland on steroids!

Winter Wonderland

I've lived in Minnesota for a large portion of my life.  I had a long detour the 14 years I lived in Texas, but other than that, it's been Minnesota.  It is a wonderful place to live, but can really test you.  Today is the 3rd day of December.  We are on our second major snow dump of the season, it is going to get cold immediately after this latest round.  Cold that makes cars groan and dogs moan.  Now as a knitter and spinner, this makes my heart sing.  I can actually make things out of sticks and string that will combat the cold temps outside.  So while others are wailing and gnashing their teeth over the indignities of winter, I will be sliding my hands into my sturdy wool mittens, wrapping a new fabulous wool/silk scarf around my neck and tugging a simple double thick headband over my ears.  Yup, living in Minnesota can be such a trial.  smile...

This is the new scarf I made.  It is made out of my handspun, a combo of BFL and silk and I just love it.  It isn't a long scarf, but perfect to tuck into my jacket to keep the wicked wind out.  I've never kept anything made of my handspun, so this is wonderful.  And it is so ME.

Christmas is fast approaching, I'm working on one gift so can't talk about it, other than to say it is out of my own handspun as well.  But that means I still have a few gifts to get.  And Anna's birthday is fast approaching.  So I see some shopping hitting me in the next couple weekends.  I'll take each girl individually and they can pick out gifts for the other.  I'll go myself either after work on on a weekend as well and do a major push to get the remaining presents selected.  I'm happily listening to Christmas music most of the time and remembering the true meaning of Christmas.  My life is blessed.  No matter what, my life is blessed.