Thursday, January 17, 2008

Snowballs!

Or, actually, yarn balls: direct from Webs! Well, I had to go, didn't I? I had a commission from a friend and fellow knitter, to pick up some yarn for her. While I was there, I overheard a conversation between a couple of the employees about the big push they've got on to ship all the orders they got during the sale. They are really working hard, and are almost caught up. However, I'm sure that having a "personal shopper" will mean she'll get her yarn sooner, even if she does have to wait till I get back to SoCal!
I had thought about going to their Thursday night knit-in, but the weather forecast was pretty dire: more snow, turning to sleet, freezing rain, and ice. It's been too long since I've driven in that stuff to want to tackle it at night, with a bum shoulder yet.

Snow:
this is the back yard. Can you see that birch over on the left, arching wayyy out across the yard?
This pine is next to the house. I loved the way it looked with a freight of snow on its branches. At one time, this house was surrounded by pine trees, but in the 52 years since my family moved in here, many of them have succumbed to disease and old age. Or my father's temper at having to rake tons of long pine needles--which leach acid into the soil and kill the grass.

Front yard, with snow piled up by the plow. That yellow spot on the grass is birdseed from the feeder.
The birds love the feeders, and so do the squirrels.

Funny how the squirrels here have much fluffier coats and much bushier tails than the squirrels in my yard. Oh, and they're grey squirrels--my SoCal squirrels are brown.
Just after the storm, the birches at the end of the driveway had the whole thing blocked off. This generally only happens with a heavy, wet snow, so I guess we know what kind this was.
That's the same bird feeder as in the plowed photo.
There is more snow coming down.

Here's a bit of a change of pace: Anne made this for the "coffee corner" at her place. Tuesday night she got it backed and pinned, and it's ready to quilt and hang. My guess is she got it quilted already--she's been amazingly prolific with her quilts!

I'll leave you with one more yarnball picture:
This is destined for my Shedir, for the KAL that started Jan 1.


I know, I know. Several people have already finished. I will cast on after I get back.

Time zone changes play havoc with the body clock, so I'm going to be trying to reset it tonight. I thought for sure that getting up at 4 am to get to the airport on time would help a lot--after all, that's 7 am EST, right? What I apparently didn't take into account is that it meant I was short of sleep, so consequently I've been a real sleepyhead here. Let's see if I can counteract that with--gasp!--real sleep!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

The coffee corner quilt is great!

Toujours gai,
Priscilla
in Michigan

mary said...

Wonderful snow and yarn pictures, and the coffee quilt is amazing! Safe travels to you.

Sheepish Annie said...

This is the first time I've looked at one of your pictures in the winter and said, "well, that looks familiar!" :) Glad that we could put a little snow on the ground for ya!

And I'm glad you got to go to Webs! Such fun!!! (I've never been, but I hear good things...)

Madge said...

Wow, nature. Snow's pretty to see in your photos, but...I sure don't miss shoveling it. That snowy Pure Merino is a lovely reminder of your trip.

Safe travels home with all your Webs loot!

Ellen Bloom said...

Snow. Feh! Glad you're coming back to sunny SoCal...with beautiful, cheerful yarn!!!!

Knitting Linguist said...

Love the quilt photos! And Webs sounds absolutely amazing -- it's probably better if I never even get within two states of it. Welcome home :)

Romi said...

The quilt is fabulous! I enjoyed the pics of snow, too. We don't see any around here generally!

Annette said...

Love the snow pictures! I haven't finished my Shedir yet...I just cast on this week, so you're not alone. I'll be at knitting group this coming week. Hope to see you there. :)