Time flies!

My weekly blog post has been absent of late - not because of an internet outage, failure to pay the bills, or my exit from this world.  I've just had a full slate of activities, and blogging got sent to the bottom of the list.  No, it got dropped FROM the list.

But here we are, the last Saturday in July, and I do NOT have a full slate of computer activities for this morning, so I'm darting about here and there - updating this, learning about that, chasing down an errant cobweb that catches my eye (and cleaning the shelf above the washer while I'm at it, which led me to notice that the dish soap was placed behind the wallpaper stripper on top of the bathroom cabinets, instead of inside a cabinet where I'd look for it....)  It's bunny trail day!  My family should be glad that these days don't happen often.

The major recent event in my life is that the 'reference item' in so many of my weather photos has, after 20 years of life, passed into firewood and chips.  It's been at least two years in the making ... a dead bit here a dead bit there, then two very dead branches last year... and this year, 80% of the remaining tree was a lovely skeleton.  Great for seeing birds and squirrels and chipmunks running around in the tree, but very bad otherwise.

As of yesterday afternoon, we have either a very tall stump, or a very unfinished totem pole in our front yard.  And some rather squished flowers.  They'll recover - if not this year, then the next.  Unless the sun does them in.  The jury is still out as to what kind of tree will be planted next.  Not a willow, certainly -- two in that spot was sufficient, and I'd like something that doesn't shed quite so much.

My flower garden by the streetis flourishing.  This is the season of Purple Coneflowers, but the daylilies are getting their say in.  The irises bloomed earlier this year, and the lupine - well, winter must not have agreed with them much.  I had one lupine come back, and several wee plants that didn't bother flowering.  Perhaps next year!  The oak tree which was planted when the street project wrapped up is growing nicely.

I got a box of yarn since I last blogged.  It's turned into swatches for a TKGA project, and let me tell you -- it was strange to work with wool.  My 'backburner' project for the past 18+ months has been in warp cotton.  It's coming along nicely.  If the above box hadn't arrived, it *might* have been finished in time for this year's fair -- but the box did arrive, so the completion date is definitely going to be after fair time. 

Adieu!

April Showers

I've been ignoring my blog.  And I've been ignoring everyone else's blog, too.  Life has had Real Things happening in it of late.  Since I last wrote,

• The projected flooding happened; I saw a river higher than it's been in 23 years due to an ice jam
• Filia bought a minivan
• We delivered a minivan to a shop for modifications
• I traveled to Dallas, TX
• I returned from Dallas
• We collected a modified minivan from the shop
• We had a blizzard the day after we collected the minivan
• Filia no longer relies on Mater to get to and from work, or anywhere else
• The last counterpane square has been knit
• Test knits arrived, were knit, and got sent off
• Much systems administration work has been merrily completed
• Some systems administration work has been uncooperative
• I've dog-sat 13 times.   
• and lots more

And today, the storm clouds of work and travel have cleared, and the day stretches open before me.  Except it's 9:03 CST on a Monday, which means other people are getting to work.  I fully expect my inbox to start dinging with things to keep me delightfully occupied.

Marching Forward

It's March now, so I can stop posting about snowstorms on the weekends right?  Actually, no.  We're dancing around the edge of a major storm tomorrow, and are in the 3-14" range, based on projections from the last few days.  Wet, heavy snow, they say - with lots of warnings about how shoveling wet, heavy snow can impact one's health.

And then next Wednesday, it'll rain.  With possible flooding, since the storm drains are all iced in.  Fun!

Knitting actually happened in February. I worked up two wee little cardigans in unspun yarn

How to Weigh A Cardigan

Two Cardis, Two Motifs

I learned that the yarn was VERY unprocessed.  It was clean, so far as debris goes - but my 42g cardi lost 2 g in the wash - almost 5% of its weight!  Imagine losing 5% of your body weight in the shower. 

The Counterpane made decent progress, too.  I finished the second short border, and am going to switch back to knitting squares.  Just 15 left!  And then sewing on a border, verifying the length, knitting two long borders, knitting the edging ... in other words, I'm not 'almost' done yet.  I've added a test knit to my knitting plate, and am starting to contemplate a Christmas sweater as well.

I leave you with a photo...

Mug on Hot Pad

More white!

Speed Limit for Very Short Vehicles

The Road

Mount Snowmore?

'Twas Winter...

'Twas winter, and the slithy toves, 

Did gyre and gimble in the drifts. 

The Intersection

It's almost Wednesday, and February 2019, which means the roads must have been noteworthy once again. We had a wee bit of a blizzard over the weekend - not much actual snow in our location (unlike 50 miles to the east), but sufficient winds to remind mankind that plows are not the solution to everything. Sometimes you need a road grader, or a front loader, or a tank. And sometimes, not even a tank can manage the job. By mid-day Monday, though, the intersection (see previous posts) was clear.

The bridge over Perch Creek was clear. 

Looking left after crossing Perch Creek

The road after Perch Creek had a nice cut in the drift, wide enough for a car to get through.

A drift near Deer Corner also had a nice cut in it. This photo was taken from almost the same location as the fourth picture in this post.

Truck.  Stuck.

The cut there had a little added attraction -- a southbound truck, sitting in the northbound lane.  That definitely explained why the northbound lane wasn't clear!  Happily, there was excellent visibility, so two-way traffic took turns using the available lane. Or shoulder.  At this time of year, we're not picky about those things.

Do you see the antenna?

The roads were good, all told.  Definitely winter driving, but not in the 'top 5 worst days of commuting to work in February 2019'.

What will March hold? 

Road? What road?

Looking out to the street

The crevasse

Standing in the gap?

The word from the farmers chatting at the hardware store is that this weekend's storm is going to bring more snow than today's....

Another road report

Yes, if it's Wednesday in February 2019, the roads must have been up to something bloggable the day before.

The crossroads.  There's a road to the left of the power lines.

Approaching Deer Alley

On the way to Filia's work, there's Deer Alley and Deer Corner (Deer Curve, really.  I'll have to rename it.)  Just before the crest of the hill (forgive me, you who have real hills in your terrain), there's a house on the left which has a mailbox.  After two years, I no longer see the dark shape and think DEER!  Except yesterday ... THREE mailboxes?  No.  One mailbox, and two imposters.  They exited the road as I approached.  Because I was driving, all the photos I got by holding by balancing the tablet on the dash with one hand and tapping where I thought the proper button was, were pretty bad, and I will spare you.

Hoth

I leave you with a drift.  The road doesn't go straight forwards -- it's not THAT bad (well, not unless I was on the return trip, about a half mile down from this location).  The white stripe that isn't snow in the lower center is the stripe at the road shoulder, and the yellow dash at the left edge, half covered by the growing drift, is the center stripe.  Decent driving, so long as one didn't need to share the road on a few stretches.  And - like last week, when Vir said the conditions were the worst he's experienced in 23 years, we heard from another person yesterday that the afternoon commute was the worst in 15 years.