Nuttin' much

 I'm officially tired of winter.

We did get enough snow in February/March to give us a good base for cross-country skiing, so we've gone out onto the woods roads a couple of times. I enjoy our excursions in the quiet forest. We find plenty of evidence of creatures there, but none shows his/her face when we're out and about.

But it's time for spring now, so I hope Mother Nature will bring it on. Despite the foot or more of snow still on the ground, I have two little crocuses bravely blooming against the foundation wall, in front of my kitchen.

I've been knitting, per usual. I'm sorry to bore those who don't care about knitting with my little creations, but what else do I have to talk about, really?

At the top is the Mischa dress, which I made for our dearest friends' first grandchild, Phoebe. I made it a size 1; Phoebe is now 3 1/2 months old, so she has some growing to do before it fits her.

It was an enjoybable pattern, especially the bodice, which looks complicated but is actually quite simple. The skirt did get a tad boring, I'll admit, with knitting a stockinette stitch 'round and 'round seemingly endlessly.

No sooner had I finished the Mischa dress when I came across the "Double Breasted Baby Sweater." That's what it's called, anyway, although it's not actually double-breasted. (To be more accurate, it was called the DBBS, but the designer has recently renamed it the Otto Day Sweater.) I love to knit cables, and these cables are fantastic! I first knit it in white but ran into a serious problem as I worked my way up to the sleeve openings: the stitch counts were way off. I contacted the designer (and was surprised to discover she lives in Portland, Maine, of all places). She said she thought she had corrected the numbers but would would take another look at her directions and get back to me in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I gathered my wits about me and managed to make the corrections myself.

After finishing the white sweater, I decided to make one in pale lavender to go with the Mischa. The Mischa has pale lavender accents. Phoebe will look quite fetching in her little outfit, I suspect.

So that's done.

Earlier this week I packed up the little critters in the chair, four baby bunnies, a mouse, and a puppy, and sent them to their new home in Savannah, GA. I hope they like it down there. It was a little sad to see them go.

These photos are terribly out of order, as you've noticed by now, but I guess I'll leave them as is.

Now, about these crochet-covered Easter eggs. Who in her right mind would spend time crocheting a cover for an egg, you're surely asking.

I would, that's who. I think they're downright elegant. The designer of this pattern calls for boiled eggs tucked into the crocheted "pocket", but I'm using fake porcelain and wooden eggs because I want to reuse the eggs year after year, Easter after Easter.

That's what I've been up to while I wait for the snow to melt. Oh, and there's talk of another snowstorm arriving this coming Tuesday, the 19th. Yea.

Coincidence?

This past Friday, in the middle of the night as I was trying to will myself back to sleep, I suddenly thought of a student I'd had in class way back in 1969-70. His name was Joe.

I hadn't thought of Joe in many years, and there was no reason why I should. I'd known many students between 1968 and 2004, when I retired, so it wasn't a surprise to me that Joe had not entered my thoughts. I'd seen him once since 1970, when Ken and I were eating at a Portland restaurant and Joe was our waiter.

That incident was probably at least 30 years ago.

But I remembered yesterday that Joe had sprung to mind the night before, so I decided to see if I could locate him on White Pages. I found someone with his name living in Cape Elizabeth, aged 60, and decided that was probably the Joe I once knew. Then I forgot about him again.

This morning I sat reading the Sunday paper. Imagine my shock when there, in the obituaries, was listed Joe, the Joe I once knew, age 60, a resident of Cape Elizabeth. Joe had died unexpectedly on Friday, February 22.

Is this merely a coincidence? I don't know. What do you think?

Blizzard of 2013 vs. Sinusitis of 2013

So the Blizzard of 2013 did materialize, just as predicted, and we were blessed with about 30 inches of light, dry snow.

Ken said it was easy to remove the snow because of its lightness, but then there was the wind, which howled the entire day of the storm.

Ken finally gave up and finished clearing the driveway the next day, which was sunny and beautiful.

I did most of my picture-taking from my kitchen window, I admit. It was warm and cosy inside, after all.

Finally, around noontime the next day, I ventured outside with my camera and snapped a few additional photos.

What I didn't realize the storm would bring, in addition to the snow and cold, was a nasty bout of acute sinusitis for me.

I spent most of last week enduring the headaches, the toothaches, the sleepless nights, telling myself I'd surely feel better then next day. When I finally had to admit the next day just wasn't getting here, I saw the doctor, got myself some antibiotics and other paraphernalia, and am now, at long last, beginning to feel human again.

Excuse the belated Valentine's header. I meant to post this on Valentine's Day but was too busy indulging in self-pity.

The waiting is wearing me down

The "crippling blizzard" which is forecast for coastal Maine hasn't shown itself yet. It's not due until this evening, in fact, or maybe late this afternoon, and will play itself out tomorrow afternoon.

If it arrives at all, that is.

I've seen too many major storms forecast for Maine, only to learn the storm has gone out to sea before reaching us. I know I should be thankful for that, but we do need a good snowstorm, and I love the beauty of fresh, deep snow on the landscape. A chance to do some snowshoeing and cross-country skiing wouldn't hurt, either.

I remember several years ago a storm such as this approaching one was predicted for Maine. I had visions of being able to leave our house only by crawling out second-story windows. The storm, however, proved to be a puny little thing. We could still use our normal routes of exiting the house!

So we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, we're getting a smaller snowstorm, unrelated to the big one, this morning. Several inches have fallen and the snow continues to come down steadily. A 19-car pile up has closed Interstate 295 near Falmouth, so this "little" storm isn't to be taken lightly at all.

My nerves are slightly frayed. The blizzard has been forecast since Monday, each updated forecast being a smidge more hysterical that the one before it.

Ken spent much of yesterday gassing up the tractor, snowblower, and generator. I got up at 5:00 this morning, because I never can sleep late if a storm is approaching. I decided I'd better do a load of dishes in the dishwasher, wash two loads of clothes, and make a beef barley soup. So those tasks are done. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get out the vacuum cleaner next....

I was supposed to go to Boston with a couple of friends today. That trip had to be cancelled, of course. The annual Valentine's party that my sorority  throws for the residents of a local nursing home, scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled as well. I'm disappointed by that, since the seniors enjoy the party and the killer Bingo games we play, games which result (due to, shall I say it? a little cheating on our parts) in every senior receiving two, sometimes three prizes. Also, yesterday I baked the shortbread Valentine cookies for the party.

The entirety of coastal and somewhat-inland Maine has been cancelled for today: schools are shut, meetings are called off, even businesses are closed.

We'll see what the world looks like tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I have my knitting.

A day in the lives

Rise and shine!

Eat breakfast

Tumble around a bit

Play ball

Listen to stories

Snuggle

Endless laundry!








Baby bunny, nappy, and blankie patterns by Fuzzy Mitten; carrot pattern by Jen Johnson.

My white orchid

No, this isn't my white orchid. It's a chickadee cracking open a sunflower seed in the lilac bush outside my kitchen window.

We're getting a nice, fresh snowfall today, and it's about time. The old snow had been looking tired and dirty lately, so this storm will spruce things up.

But this post is actually about my white orchid, a phaelenopsis.

It deserves some blog space because it has been such a good orchid.

I bought it, in full bloom, last spring. I think it came  home with me in late May, just as the kitchen remodeling project began.

I needed a little beauty in the house to offset the dust and noise of the remodeling. So the orchid came home with me, from Lowe's, and stayed in bloom from late May through August. As soon as the remodeling was finished in late June, with the kitchen's bay window in place, I set the orchid there, despite the fact that it would get some full sun each day. (Supposedly orchids should get only filtered sun.)

Apparently it liked the full sun and the view, for, as I said, it stayed in bloom from late May to late August.

I was about to cut the flower spike back to 1"-2", which should be done after the plant's flowers have died and dropped off, when I noticed a new branch coming off that spike, and it was forming buds. I decided it would be a shame to cut off those buds, so I left it alone to blossom again.

Then one day as I was watering the plant, I noticed that one of the roots crawling out of the pot was not, in fact, a root, but another flower spike! I was excited to see another spike forming so soon, but there was a problem: the spike, because I'd been assuming it was a root, had been allowed to grow perfectly horizontally rather than being trained to grow upward. I wasn't sure if it was too late to train it upward or not. I didn't want to accidentally snap off the tender spike.

I came up with a plan: Each day I would prop something additional under the spike until the spike was pointing upward. I did this carefully, holding my breath and expecting to see the spike break each time I forced it a bit more to grow in the direction it hadn't planned on.

After several days of this, the spike was headed upward, and its buds were developing nicely. Now it was time to use a hair clip to secure the spike to the bamboo trainer.

That procedure was successful, too. After a few more weeks, the white orchid was in full bloom again, with the buds off the branch of the original spike, and the new spike's buds, opening daily.

So this photo shows you what the orchid looks like today. What I love about orchids is that their blossoms stay open and healthy for many weeks.

I suspect we'll be enjoying these white blossoms into March, at least.

A neighbor who also enjoys orchids mentioned a good point to me last summer: A bouquet of fresh flowers lasts, usually, a week at most. An orchid plant's flowers last a few months. Instead of buying a mixed bouquet of cut flowers, why not buy an orchid instead?

My white orchid probably cost $12.99-15.99, at most. That's not a bad deal for some long-lasting beauty. And this orchid has certainly been giving us our money's worth.

A tale of two bowls

I'm the proud owner of two new bowls.

I received an earring bowl for Christmas.

Now that my earrings are sitting where I can see them, rather than tucked into various jewelry boxes, I'm sure I have a better chance of actually choosing a different pair now and then, rather than wearing the same pair day after day because I'm too lazy to search for a neglected pair.

The bowl is made by a Maine potter who belongs to the United Maine Craftsmen. I met him at a craft show in September and knew I needed one of his earring bowls. I passed along this information to a friend who came through for me.

He also sells his various pottery items on Etsy, so I've included his business card here, in case anyone is interested.

My second bowl is entirely different but just as useful.

It's a knitted and felted bowl.

I used the free Large Shallow Felted Bowl pattern by Deborah Gray, available on Ravelry. The only modification I made was adding 6 or 7 rows of single crochet to the top edge. I did this to give the edge more definition and also to make the bowl curve in slightly at the top.

I used two yarns held together throughout the knitting and crocheting: one skein of Noro Kureyon and one skein of Paton's Classic Wool. Both yarns are worsted weight.

The felting process took roughly 30 minutes in my top-loading washer. I checked frequently until I knew the bowl was felted to the degree I wanted.

I rinsed it by hand in cold water, then spun it in the machine to remove much of the water. I then shaped it by hand and set it on a baking rack to dry naturally.

I like the result.

I "moved into" the bowl this morning: it contains my most-used knitting essentials.

So those are my two new bowls. Unrelated but definitely useful.