journal

A View From the Field

February 16

Late night, short sleep and short day and I have to get ready for church tomorrow. I think I'll be able to go, although one can never tell...

I got up around 9:30 and I knitted on the plum sock. I finished the gusset and started the foot. This one will take longer than either of the others because it's on smaller needles, but that's all right.

Oh, and I finally found out how to save pictures out of the browser on my phone1 I almost had it yesterday, but I couldn't figure out what I was doing, so this morning, i finally just asked Google. It involves tapping the picture and leaving my finger on the picture until the dialog comes up. Sometimes i have to do it several times before it works - I suppose it will get easier as I do it more - but it does work and now I have the pictures I wanted for my wallpaper. The one I'm using now is a gorgeous picture of Orion through the opening of an ice cave, framed in icicles. I figure that's a good one for the winter. There are several photographers who are specializing in nightscapes, with deep pictures of the sky above a landscape, and they are very generous with sharing their results with APOD. To see the ones I've grabbed, you'll have to scroll down and click on "Archive" then look at January 12 and January 23. I'm using the 23rd now, and when it isn't winter anymore, I'll probably use the 12th, unless something better comes along. I also loaded the sunset picture I use as the wallpaper on the big computers, but it's in landscape mode, so when it's wallpaper on the IPhone, it just shows a little bit of it. I love to play with stuff like that.

The weather was sort of nondescript. The high temperature was 18º and the wind died down all day, until now it's nearly calm. It was mostly cloudy, but there was a little sunshine and a little blue sky, particularly this morning. The camera caught the sunset, and the sun has crept back into view. It's over the mountain lodge, which is a welcome sight, even though if we ever get much clear weather, it makes it hard to do much in the late afternoon, since it shines right onto the computer screen.

The guys slept. They both got some loving, and Grayson got what lap time he wanted, although not exactly when he wanted it. Louie was grumpy this morning and tried to go after Grayson, but he understands that when I shout at him, if he doesn't stop, I will either poke him or throw something.

So that was a nice, quiet day, and now I must rush up to the north end and try to get to bed in the next hour and a half. It's a cold, cloudy night in the field.

February 15

i was somewhat earlier last night, but I didn't sleep all that well. My joints are still extremely sore, and that meant I was awake for a while during the night. I think I got up around 10:30.

I knitted on the red sock and I finished the gusset and started the foot. Of course, this is only the first sock, but it's going well.

That was about all I did besides the usual surfing. The bright spot of the day was that I did not have an accident! I made it to the powder room in time. It was a relief. Maybe I can do the same tomorrow.

The weather started out bad and improved all day. The snow stopped around noon. It was a hairy night and morning, though. The wind peaked around 7:00 AM, at 32 mph with 48 mph gusts from the north-northeast, and it snowed. The high temperature was actually in the middle of the night (3:35, which was an odd hour for a report), and it was fairly steady around 17º all day. Once the snow stopped, the skies brightened, but it was still cloudy.

"We" didn't do anything. We got some loving and today Grayson got some lap time - and some Wheat Thins, which he loves - and Louie got some petting in the morning.

So it was another very quiet day and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field, but it's not snowing!

February 14

I inverted last night and I didn't get enough sleep, so I'm really tired now. I was reading, mostly, so at least i had an excuse.

I knitted on the blue sock. I know it was out of rotation, but I wanted to get the heel done, and I did that and started the gusset, so now all three socks are close to the same amount done.

I was so late that I didn't do much, and in fact, I even deleted most of my advertising emails without reading them. I was up at the north end to change my underwear when Debbie called. We had a nice conversation - a bit shorter than some - but she was trying to talk to me without her bluetooth headset and I couldn't hear her very well. Anyway, she is fine and so am I.

The weather was the calm before the storm. By the way, I'm sorry that the camera was down so long, but I wasn't going to rush down here to reset it. The high temperature was 30º, for most of the afternoon. It's on its way down now. The wind was interesting. It was from the south and gusty, with gusts up to 30 mph, in the morning, then it went calm between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. Now it's very light, but from the north. I guess it's supposed to pick up overnight. It apparently started snowing around 8:00 PM - we are under a Winter Weather Advisory.

The guys slept, and for once, Grayson didn't get any lap time. I don't know why, but he only came around when I was eating or about to get up. Weird little cat. Louie slept, mostly in the bathroom, although when I went through the great room with my dinner, Louie was sitting on the table and Grayson was sitting on the chair. I don't know what that was about. I did get a picture of Grayson sound asleep with his paw over his nose, which was cute.

So that was another quiet day, and now it's a dark, cold, snowy night in the field.

February 13

So I was stupidly late, and I'll probably be late tonight, too, because I just finished eating. I slept very well, with only one wakeup, and I got up around 10:30, I think.

Today's sock was the blue one, and I finished the leg and got over half of the heel done. I might work on it tomorrow, too, just to get into the gusset and the foot.

The only task of the day was the bulletin - which I've had outstanding since Monday - and I got that done. It's been pretty easy lately, just a lot of copying and pasting, and no big format changes.

The weather was rather nice, actually, and we could probably have gone to choir practice (they moved it), but we didn't know that. It began to clear up around 11:00 and the afternoon was clear and sunny. It was cold; the high temperature was 21º for a while this afternoon. It was quite windy overnight, with gusts up to 37 mph from the north this morning, but then it died down almost completely. It was nice to see the sun for a change. According to the Road Commission, we had 10" of snow yesterday, and we are now 15" ahead of this time last year. Of course, every year is different, but that's what makes it fun.

The guys slept.

So it was another quiet, truncated day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field. The snow comes back tomorrow.

February 12

I don't remember when I got to bed last night, but I think it was sometime around midnight. I slept well, mostly, and I got up about 9:00. Today was plum sock day and I did the heel and started the gusset. It took quite a while, because I couldn't see well enough when I got up and I screwed up the pattern, so I had to rip out about 12 rows.

This weather is not good for my sinuses, and when they get clogged up, which they are, my eyes tear all the time. In addition, when I get up, frequently the tears have dried to the extent that they coat my corneas and I can't see clearly. So I have guck on the corneas and I'm tearing at the same time, which means I don't see very well. Makes me glad I'm not trying to cross stitch. Eventually i got everything straightened out, but it took a long time.

That turned out to be all I did, besides my surfing. I ate a large breakfast late enough that I wasn't hungry, and I had called Mary Ann. She called me back after 8:00 and we had a long conversation - we haven't talked in almost too weeks - so I just finished eating. I had a hard time deciding something to eat, too.

The weather started out OK. The Winter Weather Advisory went into effect at 10:00 AM, but nothing happened until around 2:30 PM. I was surprised; their storm predictions have been pretty accurate lately. Anyway, it's been snowing more or less hard ever since, although somebody local said we've only had 3". I would have said more. The temperature was nearly steady at 25º until the snow started, and now it's dropping slowly. The wind has been from the east and it is now beginning to shift northerly and rise. The latest report has gusts of 41 mph. All I really know is that it's been very humid and my joints have been complaining all day.

The guys have been doing their thing. They both got some loving. While I was talking to Mary Ann, Grayson laid himself out right across the door to the studio, but he did move when I started wheeling my cart toward him. Louie sleeps in a box in the great room in the evening. Even more than most cats I've owned, they want to be close to me.

So that was another quiet day. There has been some conversation among the members of the choir about changing practice to Wednesday, but it won't matter this week, because there is going to be enough snow that we agreed we're not going anywhere. I am so glad I got out on Sunday and went to church and shopped! Now I don't have to worry about any of that. I may be able to go to church on Sunday and to my dentist on Tuesday, but we'll just have to see how it works out. I don't make any plans for more than a day ahead in this weather.

Now it's a cold, windy, snowy night in the field and I really must go to bed.

February 11

Well, that didn't turn out the way I planned. I was ready to go to bed when I remembered that it was Sunday and I had forgotten to put a CD into the player so the backup could run. Well. After about half an hour, I realized that MS had decided to do a complete backup - like it was doing at the end of last year. I don't know why it decides to do that, and I think I should be the one who does, but I haven't found a free backup app that will do what I want. So I waited and changed discs and read...and waited. A Norton disk scan started at 1:00 AM, which slowed everything down, and sometime around 2:30 or so, the backup abended. It said there was a locked file it couldn't copy. I don't know if it was something the scan had or if it was because I was reading in Word. So I finally said bag it and went toward the north end.

Well. Apparently my gut was not happy with the strange combination of stuff I ate during the afternoon, and all the time I was watching the backup, I had been gurgling alarmingly. When I got up, the gurgles let go and i had an awful accident. Those poor valentine socks - this is the second time they've gotten soiled the first time I wore them. So I took care of that and went to bed, but I was terribly late. And about four hours later, I woke up and had an accident in bed. Fortunately, it didn't cause too much of a problem in the bed, but I was changing my undies in the dark, which was interesting. I almost never turn on the lights during the night.

That, thankfully, was the end of it, and while I was up one more time, there were no more accidents. I did have to use some stuff on my bottom because it was so sore, but that was all. I got up around 10:00. I knew that wasn't enough sleep, but I wanted to get back on a right schedule.

Today was the red sock day. I finished the heel and started on the gusset, so it's coming along nicely. I ate late, and I had a big breakfast. I restarted the backup right away, and it did another complete backup. I closed Word, just in case that was the problem, and this time it completed with no problems, but it's an awful waste of DVD-Rs.

The other thing I wanted to do today was to make Grandma's barbecued pork chops, so after I finished changing my undies again - yup, three accidents in 12 hours - I began to set up for that. The first thing I discovered was that instead of thawing pork chops, I had thawed the single lamb shank I've had in the freezer for several years. Dang! It's old enough that it should go out anyway, but that meant I had to do something with the chops. I partly thawed them in the microwave and made the sauce, but I had to sit down in the middle because my back was so sore. I'm not recovered from my exertions yesterday yet.

Anyway, I fired up the multicooker and went away and after the talking was over, I went to check it. Oh, now that worked the way it should! The only problem i have is that I thought that since it cooks for so long I should make the sauce runnier, and it turns out the opposite is true, because it's enclosed, so I have too much juice. Otherwise, it turned out great. The chops are much more tender and juicy than they are in the oven, and they taste great. I must try them with chops that haven't been in the freezer for so long. I understand that meat that has been frozen for a long time can actually get tougher than fresh. Oh. Well, I'll just have to eat tough meat, then, until I get rid of what I have. It's not bad or anything. So at least one thing went as planned and I had a nice dinner. I have enough for another meal, too. I don't really relish leftovers anymore (I ate them all week, every week all the time I was working), but it does solve the problem of what to have on Thursday.

The weather was not worth bothering about. After staying steady at 24º all afternoon, the temperature has risen to 25º. There was almost no wind. It was dark and cloudy, and I think we had at least one little snow shower, around noon. The fisherfolk are out on the harbor, now that it isn't so cold.

The guys slept. When I went up to the north end to change my undies, Louie was lying in the bathroom north and south with his hind feet pointing east and his nose and front feet pointing west. I'm sorry I didn't take the phone with me, so I didn't get a picture of it. I had to shove him out of the way - he was right where I needed to sit and he was not going to move - and all he did was grunt a little. When i got back to the studio, Grayson came and sat on me for a while. He was interested in everything I ate, but he doesn't get anything because all he wants to do is lick it and I don't see wasting good food like that.

So that was a very quiet day, and now I must go to bed. I did not get nearly enough sleep last night and I'm exhausted. It's a dark, cloudy night in the field, but it's almost warm, compared to our recent temperatures.

February 10

I got to bed right at 9;30 and I went right to sleep and I slept well. In fact, I slept so well that when I woke up at 6:00, I got up. Of course, I had to pee, but I felt ready.

I thought I had plenty of time to get to church by 10:00, but somehow time passed and I didn't leave until about 9:15. It was a slow trip. The roads are at least partly covered with packed snow and ice, and even though I passed two really slow drivers, I still couldn't go all that fast. I didn't have any trouble going south, but on the way home, I sashayed a couple of times before I slowed way down. It's winter. They don't seem to be using any salt on US-41 in Keweenaw County, but it's been so cold it wouldn't do any good anyway.

Church was good, and I sight-read the choir song without much trouble. Afterwards I got into a long conversation with Pastor (we both like to talk) which meant I was late getting to Pat's. I did a lot of damage, but I didn't get anything I didn't need. Now it can storm for the next month and I should be OK. They didn't have everything I wanted, and I forgot a couple of things, but they did have the necessities. I now have plenty of bread and eggs and OJ.

Then it was off to the gas station, where I used the credits I'd just earned. I still find it disconcerting when I see gas for $2.299 a gallon (I paid $2.099, because I had a 20¢ a gallon credit). Those credits are only good on 15 gallons, and oddly enough, I needed exactly 15 gallons. Well...I might have been able to use another cup or two, but my tank was full right up to the top.

So I came home. I had to ask people to help me into my car at all three stops, because the pavement is snow covered. Fortunately, there are some very nice people around here. There wasn't much traffic in my direction, but there was a whole lot going south. Possibly some of it was from the ski hill, but I don't know what all those people were doing in Copper Harbor.

When I got home, I was exhausted, even more so when I got everything moved from the car to the platform, so I sat for a while before I changed my clothes and stuffed everything into the fridge. There are problems in my fridge - a bunch of things have died in there - so I don't have nearly enough room. One of these days, I'll have to do something about that. I had a weird meal, and as soon as I publish this I'm going to bed. I'm beat.

The weather was frigid but OK. The high temperature here was (is) 16º. On my way south, it got down to 8º in spots. However, there was no wind, so with the right clothes (and enough of them) it wasn't too bad. I was only sorry I hadn't remembered to put on some longjohns. My legs were freezing and the cold messed up my knees. It was cloudy but fairly bright all day and at times it was possible to see the sun vaguely through the clouds.

I guess the guys slept. Grayson had to come and see what I was doing outside, but he made no attempt to go out. When I went to change my clothes, there was Louie, curled up on my sweats and keeping them warm, which I appreciated. I guess it must be because they smell like me. It took him a while, but Louie is totally in favor of me now. He will even move sometimes when I tell him to. I try to pet him a lot.

So that was my day, and now it's a dark, very cold night in the field.

February 9

I was later than I wanted to be last night. Something hit my mind that I wanted to look into (I forget what), and then I got the idea to check the laptop. I was amazed to find it tried to boot up immediately, and I was wondering if my problems with it were just temporary. Well...no. The battery was only 40% charged and not charging, even though it was plugged in, and before everything got started (read: Norton - it is the worst pig in the system), it said "bling!" and shut down again. I tried really hard and I have not yet figured out how to get the battery off. There is a slide switch on the bottom of the unit that I think unlocks it, but I can't slide it far enough. If there is a blank space to the "off" side of a slide switch, the switch should slide all the way over, right? Well, it doesn't. Sigh. I will work on it some more.

So it was about 11:00 when I got to bed. I slept fairly well until around 4:00, and then around 5:45, I had to sit in the bathroom for about half an hour because I hurt so bad. Once I got that over with, I slept for the rest of the night (I think I was up one more time) and I got up around 8:30.

I knitted on the blue sock and I have about 15 more rows to go before I start the heel. I didn't get as much done as I might have because I had to count rows. I always end up doing that at least 3 times, and I think I did it 4 times this morning, first to make sure I had at least 50 rows, and then to make sure I put the marker in the right place. I usually have to count three times and take the two that agree, but if they don't, I keep on recounting until I have two counts that agree. I guess I was seeing fairly well this morning, because it only took 3'tries.

I had hoped to experiment with my multicooker today. I wanted to make Grandma's barbecued pork chops in the slow cooker, and the chops are defrosted, but I never got to it. I now see the disadvantage of a slow cooker - you have to be available to set it up the number of hours before you want to eat. I'm used to quick dinners.

I actually forgot about it, because I got out!! Ron came around this morning and cleared out the driveway, at least as well as he ever does - he tends to make the east-west part pretty narrow - so I could get out. Evidently he had a real problem yesterday. He got stuck in the culverts and it took 3 people, a blower and a plow 2 hours to get him unstuck. Then he was trying to back up the hill and it was blowing so hard that he had his door cracked to see where he was going. Well, he caught the door on the drift and now it won't close. Ron is really hard on cars. Anyway, things were well cleared out when I went today, but I sure was glad I didn't try it yesterday.

So I got my mail, including my beautiful yarn - two batches of nearly purple lace yarn and a ball of one of the most beautiful sock yarns I've ever seen. It's white, pink and lavender, and it's gorgeous. It will work up on #1 needles, so I have to finish the plum socks first, but oh, am I anxious to cast on! I'd been looking at that yarn for a long time, and I finally decided that now was the time to get it, when I'm doing socks. I want to do something with one (or both, eventually) of the lace yarns, too, but I haven't taken the time to search through all of my lace patterns to decide what to do with it. I think I will probably do the lavender one first, because it's 50% merino wool and 50% silk and it's so soft and it has a sheen to it. It's one of those yarns I just want to pet. It's also already wound into balls.

I also got some stuff from the store, so I can eat breakfast and drink JD if I don't get out tomorrow. The problem is, I need a whole bunch of stuff - from bread and butter to honey and OJ - that I can't get here, so if I don't get out tomorrow, I will have to go Monday. I need gas, too.

Oh, yes, and today is pill dispenser day. I've filled the ones at the south end, and this morning I washed the dispensers at the north end, so I have to do those. Maybe I will do them tonight and maybe not - I want to be ready to go to church tomorrow, although whether I do or not depends upon how good a night I have. If it's anything like last night, I'm not going.

The weather is still frigid. The high temperature was 12º, but the wind died down all day, until now it's nearly calm. There was even some sunshine! It's amazing what a little sunshine can do for my mood. Whether or not it's going to snow tomorrow depends upon whose forecast you believe, but everybody agrees that Monday will be a good day, a little warmer and maybe a ray of sunshine or two.

The guys slept, of course. I haven't seen Louie since Ron came with the tractor, but Grayson slept on my lap from the time I got home until I finally had to move him so I could do the pills.

So that was it. It was another quiet day, but at least I did something. Oh, and after I went to the post office, I pulled the humungous boxes out of the breezeway. I had to bring another bag of toilet paper into the house (20 mega rolls) anyway, so I put the last bag up on the shelves and dragged the boxes out to the garage. They need to be broken down, but I didn't do that. Curiously, two of the big boxes that my electronics came in that were on top of the woodpile are now on the floor. I know I have critters in the garage, but they sure are getting shirty. It's very nice to be able to walk the length of the breezeway without having to dodge a box the size of a baby coffin. Of course, now I will be getting more...

I also had to clear out the sensor on the far side of the garage door so it would close. All the weather stripping around the garage door is nearly gone and when the wind blows, it blows snow under and around the door. Oh, another small repair job that won't get done...

Now it's a frigid night in the field, but it's not windy and it's not snowing. Just wait...

February 8

It took me a while to get from here to there, but I was in bed before 11:00. I slept well except for the usual wakeful time in the middle of the night - not as long as the night before - and early this morning, my hip got so sore I couldn't lie on it. I got up around 9:30, I think.

I knitted on the plum sock and started the heel. I was further along than I thought. Tomorrow is the blue sock, and I have a way to go before I can start that heel, but I'm making progress on all three socks, and I'm not getting too bored because I'm not working on any of them all the time.

The plan for the day was to go to the post office and the store and get my Schwan's order. Hah. First, I had such a yucky accident I had to change everything I had on, top to bottom, and then...I called the post office to tell Ron I was coming and got Chris, his backup person, and she informed me that Ron was stuck in the culverts. So there was no way I could get out if I wanted to, but when I heard that, I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to try my driveway, either. The next problem was the food. I ended up calling the driver, and he didn't sound too pleased, but hey, there was no way I was getting out. Chris called back later to say that Ron had made it - it took two hours to dig him out - but it was really bad, so I gave up and stayed in.

I took some pictures out the patio doors with the phone, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I'd rather use the Nikon, if I can get it to work. That's for tomorrow. The snow is up about 4" below the deck railing in front of the kitchen. You can see some of the drifts in the camera shots, but what you can't see is the 3' drift right in front of the door or the 5' drift up inside the screen.

It is windy, and it is frigid. The wind shifted around to the north overnight, and at 7:00 AM, we had 31 mph sustained winds with 47 mph gusts. Only Stannard Rock, out in the middle of the lake, had stronger winds than that. They died down a bit during the day, but they've picked up again. The temperature got down to 4º overnight, and the high for the day, now, is 11º. That put the wind chill well below 0º. It snowed until around 2:30 PM. I think, although after 1:30 it may have been mostly blowing snow. We actually had a few peeks of sunshine early in the afternoon, while it was still snowing, but in looking at the satellite imagery, I could see the waves of clouds that mean lake effect, so it wasn't so surprising to see the sun. It didn't last long. I hope the wind will die down overnight. This one was ferocious. The only weird thing is that the lake is frozen out far enough that I can't hear the waves anymore.

So we slept. We both got some loving, and Grayson got to sleep on mama for a while this afternoon. I think Louie was mostly up at the north end where it's warmer.

And that was my day. Now after the Haydn is over, I think I will try to get to bed early. It's a frigid, windy night in the field, but I don't think it's snowing right now.

February 7

I made it into bed by midnight, with clean hair, but I had a bad night. From about 2:30, when I woke up abruptly in the middle of a very vivid dream (too bad it's not something that would make a good story) till around 5:00 or 6:00 or so, I was wakeful and very uncomfortable. I hurt, and my feet, which were warm, felt like they were freezing. I was up every hour and a half or so. Finally, I got back to sleep and I didn't get up until 11:15, which put a crimp in my day.

I knitted on the red sock and eventually, when I had to go back to the bathroom to change my undies, I started the heel. So that's progressing satisfactorily. Tomorrow will be the plum sock, and I'm thinking about including the black sweater in the rotation. I could really use that sweater, now that I know it's going to be the right size, but knitting a size 2XL sweater in plain knitting is boring in the extreme, so I've been just dabbling at it.

Otherwise, I was so late that so far I haven't done anything, but it's fairly early, and I need to do some financial stuff. Mary Ann didn't even bother to call, since it was obvious we weren't going anywhere tonight.

The weather was frightful. It started snowing around 3:00 AM, as far as I can determine, although I didn't notice it until 6:00. It snowed more or less hard - mostly more - all day. Unfortunately, the camera hung up overnight, so there were no pictures before 2:00 - really need to get the laptop fixed and get my range extender - and after that, the window got almost covered with globs of snow. The temperature was between 19º and 23º a;; day, but after 5:00 PM it started to drop and it's now 16º. The wind was from the east, more or less, all day, and it's now rising, to 25 mph sustained with 35 mph gusts. Unfortunately, I have to go out tomorrow, both to the post office, the store and to get my Schwan's order. I'd rather hibernate. And I really must go to church and shop o Sunday. I'm running out of too much.

The cats slept. Louie slept by me while I was in the bathroom and Grayson got some sleep on my lap. When I got up and while I was in the bathroom, there was a little gray lump at the end of my bed; when he sleeps in the bed, he curls up and seems to bury his head under his paws, so all you see is this little round pillow.

So that was it. Now it's a very cold, dark, snowy, windy night in the field.

February 6

I wasn't quite as late late this morning, but I wasn't as early as I hoped. I'm still reading, and this story is one of my favorites, which means I wanted to keep reading. This is one reason I've nearly given up reading other people's fiction: if I start a book and it interests me, I want to keep reading until I finish it...which may be tomorrow morning. It's happened.

I slept well, but I woke up around 10:00 with my sinuses so clogged that I was coughing. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't so I got up a bit before 11:00. I knitted on the blue sock today and I made good progress. The navy blue stripe is coiling around the leg much more nicely than I'd feared, but the rest of the sock is a blue-green tweed. If I'd been doing it, I would have changed the order of the colors so that the bright blue would form a stripe, too, but oh, well. The colors are nice and since I wear so much blue and I don't have a lot of blue winter socks (odd, eh?) this will be a pair I'll wear a lot.

I had some thoughts of going to the post office and the store, but I had to run to the bathroom after I ate, and when I was through changing my bottoms, it was too late. I have a lovely package there that I really want.

The weather was fairly calm. It snowed all night, heavily enough to register at the weather station. My deck is getting remarkably deep. The temperature got up to 21º and just stayed there and the wind has been from the east at between 10 and 15 mph. It stopped snowing around noon, and then it was just very dark and dull. Tomorrow will be worse. Our next winter storm is coming tomorrow and Friday and the NWS thinks we could get 8" to 12" of snow in it. We've already caught up to where we were last year. Every year is different, though, and I always like to watch and see what happens.

The guys slept, of course. Grayson got to sleep on me for a long time this afternoon, which made him happy. Louie got a little loving this morning, but he ran away when Dave came around with the tractor. I don't know how to tell him that nobody is coming in and he doesn't need to worry. Poor Louie. I wish I knew all that made him so timid.

So that was my day, and even though it's clear I won't be going out tomorrow, I need to wash my hair. It's a cold, relatively calm night in the field, but just wait...

February 5

Late again. I was reading. And I won't be early tonight, either, because I just finished eating, but maybe I can be a little earlier than last night. I'm tired.

Again, I was so late that I didn't do anything. Today I knit on the plum sock and I'm about 2/3rds the way down the leg. One reason I like knitting with hand dyed yarns is that it's always fun to see how they knit up. I was afraid, for a while, that I would have a stripe of plum down the back of this sock, but that didn't last long and it's started to spiral a bit again. It's tempting to continue with this one, but there are the two others, and I want to see what they look like, too.

Oh, yes, I did get out into the breezeway and I brought in the three cases of canned cat food I got a while ago. I want the guys to be able to eat that, just for some variety. Grayson has been telling me he wants canned food every day, but so far, he isn't getting it.

The weather was sort of nondescript. It started out very cold, and it was around 12º for most of the day, but now it's risen to 19º and radar says it's snowing. That may be true - it was doing it lightly before it got dark. There was some wind overnight, but it's been nearly calm all day. There was a bit of snow between 8:00 and 11:00 AM and some more between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. Tomorrow should be worse.

The guys slept. Louie got a little loving, and Grayson got to sit on my lap for a while. While I was knitting this morning, Grayson gave up a rather large hairball on the rug in the bathroom, and he had a tummy ache afterwards. I think he's feeling a bit better now. He ought to, after getting rid of that.

So that was all. Now it's a cold, snowy (I think) night in the field and I need to go to bed.

February 4

So I was stupidly late last night. I was reading Voyages, part 3, and the beginning of that has a couple of very long scenes I didn't want to stop in the middle of. I didn't get up until 11:00, so I should have had enough sleep, but it doesn't feel like it now, and I think I'll be earlier tonight.

I was so late that I didn't do much of anything. I worked on the red sock today, and I think I'm going to try to rotate between the three I have on the needles. That way, I'll be able to do something on all three. When I get to heels, I may have to work on the same one for a couple of days - flap heels have lots of stitches - but in general, I'm hoping it will work out. Tomorrow is the plum and blue one (I'll call it "plum" from now on). That was all I had time for, and I didn't hear the talking as much as I might have liked, because I was still doing my surfing when it came on. I did not have an accident today, for which I'm thankful. It was close, but I managed to avoid it.

The weather wasn't as bad as they were predicting, and they canceled the Winter Weather Advisory early. It was snowing hard when I got up, and it was breezy as well, which is why the window in front of the camera was flocked all day. The high temperature was 24º, between 6:00 and 8:00 AM, and it has gone down since then, until it's 12º now. The wind was mostly from the east, although it's switching north now, and the gusts were as high as 28 mph, Of course, it was dark and dull all day.

Of course, the cats slept. Louie got some loving, but Grayson didn't. I had to get up right after breakfast, so he didn't get his lap time then, and he never came back after I sat down again. I don't know what his problem was.

So that was my quiet day, and I'm tired enough that I think maybe I can get to bed early. I think I will postpone the hair. Now it's a dark, very cold, possibly snowy night in the field. Ah, winter...

February 3

I didn't get to bed until around 1:00 and I didn't go to church this morning, because I didn't get up until around 11:00. I'm not sure it was a good decision, but I wasn't taking any chances. Besides, right after I turned out the light, Louie jumped up on the bed, walked over me, settled down right behind my fanny and began to give himself such a thorough bath that he was grunting at the effort. It made me laugh, but since he was rubbing up against me at every swipe, it kept me awake, too. Once I got to sleep I slept well.

I worked on the blue sock and I have now gotten past the place where I decided I didn't like how it looked. It still has a broad stripe of navy blue, but it isn't straight up and down, so it will spiral around the leg. The rest of the sock is a tweedy blend of blues and blue-green. I like it, and it's an easy knit, so I think it will go fast.

I was late enough that I didn't do anything else.

The weather was nondescript, and I don't know if it rained at all. The high temperature was 31º at 1:00 PM, and it went down from there. It's now 22º. The wind was nearly calm until just before 2:00, when it abruptly jumped up to around 20 mph, and it's been around 15 mph from the northeast ever since. It was dark and cloudy all day and I thought I might have seen something coming down, but that could just be my eyes.

The guys slept, of course. They got canned food today, which they liked. Louie got some loving before I got dressed and Grayson got to sit on me for a while, but I was doing something (I forget what) and he couldn't stay long, which annoyed him.

I had a very nasty accident, so I washed a load of bottoms that are now waiting to get put in the dryer. I also destroyed a piece of the church's sheet music, because my nasty underpants accidentally dropped on it and I didn't realize it until later. Sigh. I also had to wash a clean pair of compression hose and the new valentine socks, which I decided to wear today. Oh, sigh. Well, I had rice for dinner tonight, and that should help the situation.

So that was another quiet day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field. The next winter storm starts tomorrow.

February 2

Well, I won't be going to church tomorrow. For one thing, it's late and i really need to wash my hair, and for another, the weather forecast for the morning is not good. I don't drive in freezing drizzle.

I was later than lately last night - about 12:30 - and I didn't sleep well except for the last three hours. There was something that was bugging me - I even forget what it was - and i kept going around and around with it. I finally got some good sleep after about 5:00 AM, but not enough and I don't feel good.

I got up around 10:00 and I knitted, first on the red sock and then on the blue sock. I didn't like how the pattern was coming out on the blue sock, so I ripped it all out - about 4" - and started over with a couple less stitches. We'll see how that goes. I'm doing ribbing now, and it seems clear that I use more yarn for ribbing than I do for stockinette stitch. However, in this case, I'm not sure the yarn didn't change right about the time I ended the ribbing. I had strange problems with the other colorways of this yarn. If the dark blue wants to go straight down the back in about a 1" swath, it will just have to do that, but I thought I'd give it a try at looking better. I still like the colors and the yarn, so I'll work away at it. I finally got back to where I was on the red sock when I decided I didn't like that one, so now I can make some progress. I still like it, but I have such a dislike of ribbing that I have to have other things to do when I can't stand it any longer.

I was so late that I didn't do anything, of course.

The weather was nondescript. There wasn't any precipitation, which was novel. The high temperature was at 8:00 this morning, 24º, and it went down from there, slowly. It's 19º now. There was just a bit of wind and it was dark and cloudy all day. The problem is, they are predicting freezing drizzle for tomorrow morning and I don't go out in freezing drizzle. It's too late now anyway.

The guys slept, mostly around me, all day. The warmer temperatures (relatively) meant it was more comfortable in the house, which they appreciated. That brat. Grayson, had to sit in the hallway looking at his kibble bowls, just to make sure I noticed that his favorite kind was getting empty - not really empty, just getting. While I was knitting, he was sitting beside me in the bathroom thumping his tail on the floor. I don't know why, except that I was knitting and not filling his bowls. He was miffed because after I ate, I had to immediately get up and go to the powder room and he wanted to sit on me. He did get to sit for a while, and then he settled down on the sewing chair and made strange noises while he took a bath. When I went to get my dinner, Louie was laid out full length in the great room. I could get around him, and I did, going to the kitchen, but when I came back, he jumped up and ran away. I guess he's been so close to getting run over that he will move. Good. I wish he'd do that when I'm walking around in the dark up at the north end. I don't want to step on him again.

So that's all there was, and now it's a dark, cold night in the field, but nothing is coming down right now.

February 1

It was before 11:00 when I got to bed last night, but I was really tired. I slept well, with the usual wakeups. When I'm on a normal schedule, the longest I can apparently sleep without either getting sore or having to pee (or both) is about 2½ hours. I was up around 7:30, but that seemed too early, so I went back to sleep and I got up around 10:00. I knitted on the blue sock and finished the ribbing. I'm going to like this one. The main color is a rather bright blue (it's close to the zipper on my Hefty One Zip bags), and that's a color I like.

Other than that, the only thing I did was get the dryer unloaded, so I will have underwear to wear tomorrow. Sigh.

The weather has moderated considerably. When I got up, the temperature was -1º, but once the sun got up, it warmed up quickly and the high for the day was (is) 18º. It's amazing what a difference that makes in the temperature inside my house. The wind was light, mostly from the west. We actually had a little bit of sunshine and blue sky this morning, but it clouded over this afternoon, and radar says it's snowing, although I haven't looked outside to check that. The weekend still looks rather riles up, but we'll see what happens there. We had 72" of snow in January and we are just about even with last year. Now we'll have to see what happens for the rest of the winter. Last year we had a big February.

The guys slept. Louie got some loving this morning and Grayson got to sleep on me a bit, although not as much as he would have liked. I think Louie is staying up at the north end where it's warmer. I haven't seen him all day.

So that was it, and now it's a dark and possibly snowy night in the field, but at least it's marginally warmer.

Last updated 02/16/19 08:17 PM