March!

Mid-January to the end of February were rather tough, for sure. We averaged a sizeable snowfall every 2-3 days, and the temperatures refused to go above 8° most days.

Our furnace has been working over time, and our wood stove has been eating lots of wood.

Many day we felt housebound because driving conditions were poor.

And although we've been home much of the time, that doesn't mean we've had to freedom to wander around our property, because the snow is too deep for wandering.

Our great-niece Violet visited us for three days during her school's vacation,  and that visit from a nine-year-old was a godsend.

She loves sliding on our hills. While she did her sliding, I put on my snowshoes and did some serious hiking on the side and back lawns.

In fact, one day I logged over 20,000 steps on my Fitbit! My daily goal is 10,000 steps. Most days I meet that goal, sometimes getting 12,000-13,000 steps, but never before had I achieved 20,000 steps.

Ken's been getting his exercise by snowplowing and shoveling. He has also been chopping away at the ice on the back side of the roof.

Yesterday, finally, the temperature went a bit above 32° and we heard the joyful sound of water dripping off the eaves!

Here are Violet and I enjoying the snow. It truly has been a beautiful snow, but I've had enough of it for this year.

I keep thinking of my crocuses and daffodils still buried under three feet of snow. They must be wondering what's going on. I've had snowdrops in bloom by now in past years.

Of course I've been knitting. That's the best way to spend one's housebound days.

The hat is called "Emma" by Handknitsbyelena. She offered the pattern for $1.99 for a few days, so I grabbed it then and downloaded it. It's a great pattern, but learning the 1/1RSC stitch was a challenge at first because Elena's directions weren't clearly written. I think she has rewritten that step since a couple of us knitters contacted her.

Anyway, the hat is fun to knit and I've now finished three of that same pattern. They'll make good donations to a local charity.

The little pink and white hat is by Cascade yarns and is free at their website.

So that's the news from here: snow, more snow, cold temperatures, some snowshoeing, and much knitting.