Putting things into Perspective

“It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "So it is." "And freezing." "Is it?" "Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately.”~ A.A. Milne

Compared to some parts of the country we are having a tropical heat wave. 8 degrees is one hell of a lot better than -20 with -40 windchill. And although I know it is going to get colder tonight, I know it is NOT going to be -20 and for that I am thankful. My sister who lives in Puerto Rico is coming to visit on the 21st. Boy is she is for a shock as we are not due to go above freezing until some time after her arrival. She did live in Buffalo though so she knows cold...which is why she moved to PR..she had to thaw out!

So yesterday was the PA Farm Shows Sheep to Shawl. You can find info all about it here. I had plans to spin the day away while watching the coverage. However #2 son was walking out the door to wait for the school bus with no gloves...he said he lost them. Another pair gone. So I changed plans to knit him a pair. Some people have washing machines that eat socks - I have a house and yard that eats mittens.

As I was sitting knitting I looked up on the mountain and saw the turkeys flying down from trees they had been roosting in. They came down to the feeders to see what they could find but the dogs making a ton of noise by floor to ceiling windows ten feet away was too much for them and they quickly decided to dine elsewhere.

I waited until almost 11 to let the chickens and ducks out. As I stated before I am only getting one or two eggs a day and here is why... They are moulting. Poor things are so ugly. I put lots of hay in the nesting boxes (which they are not using duh!) and on the floor to keep them warm. They sit on the roost instead. So when it gets this cold, I serve them lukewarm milk with bread/oatmeal, spaghetti, fruit and ground up leftover meat.

After lunch I let the two older dogs out to use a tree and decided to take a walk up into the woods to see what was moving up there besides the turkeys. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. Bandit, the cat decided to join me on the walk. Other than long shadows and a couple of squirrel tracks there was nothing. As I was coming back I was met by Shadow and Digger who were probably tracking the cat.

By the time the evening ended (with a new national record for the most paid for a competition shawl...$3400!) I had one glove done. I quickly cast on for the other as my son is not Michael Jackson but then fell asleep without finishing.

Today dawned with a dusting of snow in the valley. The kids had a two hour delay which meant I could finish the mittens before he left for school which I did. Come to find out I didn't have to rush as they cancelled school and officially used up our last snow day. Tomorrow was a teacher's in service day in which the kids had off but they have revised that and are making the kids go to get one day back as we only have President's Day, Good Friday, the following Monday and Memorial Day as days off. There is one more teachers in service and then they start adding days on to the end of the year.

#2 daughter has decided she needs a pair of mittens like her brothers. She likes the fit. I was just talking about this pattern at spinning. It is from a kit Cyndy bought me years ago. The kit was the first time I had to spin the wool for a designated project. The pattern is Claudia's from Countrywool. I love it because it has a long thumb gusset so the cuff stays in place and doesn't get pulled upon your hand. So now I am off to knit another pair....seems like a good use of a cold winter day to me.