But What Shall I Pack?

First, here are the promised pictures of the big blizzard a few weeks ago. We had over 20 inches in about 12 hours! Si, as you can see, is covered. LOL He had so much fun running around our yard and over in the nearby playground. He doesn't even seem to mind getting wet.

This is a picture of our paper delivered on Saturday. Do you see that little spot of the paper, stuch straight up in the snow about 1/3 of the way up the drive? I can't blame our delivery person at all. It was nasty! I was surprised, frankly, that we got the paper at all. We never did get mail that day (so much for the mail always getting through!).

What to pack?
I'm leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow for PLA (Public Library Association's Conference). I'll be gone Tuesday through Sunday. What knitting shall I pack? I have several projects:
Baby Surplice Sweater - I"m doing this with size 10 needles and chunky yarn. It's going to end up about size 2 or 4, Toddler sizes. I just had to get some more colors for the striping today as I'm running low on the main ones. It'll still look cool, though, I think. This is a pretty good candidate for the plane because it's easy to follow and stuff, but as I probably only have another 2-3 hours of knitting I could finish it on the plane and then be bored.

This is my clapotis! I've finally given in and decided to try one. I've cast it on specifically so that I can travel with it to PLA . . . but now I've realized that I'll want to switch colors several times throughout the 4-6 hours I'll be en route tomorrow, and I am nervous about cutting implements and airport security. Ack! This is great in all other respects, though, since the pattern is simple but not mindless, and colors are pleasing and calming, and it's silky wool that doesn't take up much room in the computer bag.

My third project for the road is my socks. You can't tell from this awful picture, but the yarn is really bright and wonderful. A cachophony of colors! Trouble is, socks can get really tedious if they're all you have to knit on at any given time. Maybe I could pack the iPod and use that to amuse myself while knitting and traveling. I wonder if anyone I know will be on the same plane. I have a vague idea I will run into someone.

Snow, WIPs and FOs

I've tried to upload photos about 6 times today, and I'm still getting some kind of server error. Since I am still able to upload to my Flickr account, I can only assume this is a Blogger problem.

At any rate, here is a recap of my day . . . in lists for those of you who enjoy such things.

Beautiful Sights:

1. The snow across the world makes everything look like part of an alien landscape.
2. Some of the houses are losing the snow from their roofs (rooves?) in nearly solid sheets, so it is draping off of them like thick frozen curtains. Many look like arctic gnomish bungalows.
3. Young men making money by shoveling snow (thank goodness for the men who came here to the Heart Attack House!). My driveway is completely clear and dry.
4. People helping others to get out of being stuck (thank goodness, again, for the kind folks who helped me get out of the unshoveled entrance to my bank - I didn't really need that money, anyway!)
5. The cleaned-outed-ness of our fridge because DH got bored and actually cleared out the old food stuffs.

Fantastic and Wonderous Things:

1. The snow . . . see above.
2. My son enjoying real history shows on TV.
3. DH's homemade meals - 2 dinners in a row were head-on hits! Excellent chili lastnight, and tonight a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and celery. COMFORT FOOD!

Stuff I've accomplished, having had 2 days when I couldn't do much else:

1. Finished my lavendar legwarmers.
2. Posted to blog - more than once!
3. Made brownies (boy, do they smell good!).
4. Knit on DH's sweater, my new socks, the legwarmers, and cast on for a new child's sweater (I'm aiming for Toddler/Preschool size, but you never know with this pattern).

I've also managed to get some Knitting-Related-Injuries:

1. Sore upper arm muscles from wrestling with the yarn of the leg warmers - it has acryllic in it and doesn't give much.
2. That scratch thing on my right pointer finger is back. Ouch! I think it's the sock needle that does it.

Follow links to Flickr and Ravelry for pics.

Snow Day!

The library is closed today! I was scheduled to work, but everything is closed and canceled and we are all hiding away in our homes. hehehehehe! Simon went out for a frolic - he even went bounding over to the playground to roll around in it. One pic of the snow monster himself . . .

and one of our garage (yes, I am aware that the siding has blown off in one bit). Note to the right, the huge 50 gallon trash can buried in drifting snow! I better go make some hot cocoa!

Pics of Sock Exchange!

Check out these pictures from KB's flickr account. They tell the story of our Sock Exchange meeting pretty well! We had fun! Only that that was needed to make it perfect would have been if Jen had been able to come. :-)

Knitting as an obsession?

I nicked this animated short from Jen's Blog because it really made me laugh! It also makes me think that I'm not nearly as obsessive as some other people about knitting!

These are the socks I made for the Sock Exchange - and Kay says they fit perfectly!

This is the Ice Princess scarf I made for my former boss who just retired last week. I gave it to her on her second-to-last day of work when we went to lunch. She is a magnificent woman, and has been a mentor to me for a long time. I'll miss having her around, but thankfully she's still in town. I've told her she can't escape me!