Iced In

This is wintertime, so we shouldn’t be surprised to have winterlike weather. It’s been an up and down winter here in the midwest, but that’s not really surprising either. Our weather can be 60 degrees one day and down in the single digits the next.

 

Today is no exception. We woke up to an ice box this morning. We’re having icy thunder showers complete with lightning. Everything is white with ice. I haven’t heard yet, but I’m sure schools were cancelled. I have to go to work tonight and I HATE driving on ice — especially with my NEW car! I’m just hoping that the road crews are out with the salt. This is the second year in a row that everything has been covered with an inch or more of ice. This has been really hard on the trees and bushes. Our hugh Lilac bush didn’t recover from last year, but we tried to save it even though Hubby had to trim it back.

 

Do you think it’s worth trying to save anymore? I think Hubby will finish cutting it down this Spring.

Here are some pics of the grandson’s b-day. He was such a good boy even though he hadn’t had a nap all day. Both boys are really good. In fact, all six of our grandsons are good. They have great parents and I’m not just saying that because they’re our children. They really do love their children and  the kids know it even if the parents don’t always tell them. (Which they should — as often as they can! Because you just never know!) 

My FIL is a one-of-a-kind. He gets his kicks out of some of the simplest things. He’s just a grown-up little boy a lot of times, but you can’t help loving him because you know he genuinely cares about his family and friends.

He makes toys and items to give away to whomever he can trap in the house when they unsuspectingly come for a visit. He’s made such treasures as “nut families” from real nuts of different shapes and sizes, “watch dogs” from golf balls and watch parts, “diamond rings” from a dime, a “washer and dryer” from a clothespin and a metal washer, and of course the thousands of “airplanes” and  “windmills” made from soda and beer cans. This is but a few of the many items he’s made. And of course, we are the proud owners of at least one or two of  everything.  This is his latest project:

 

I have to admit I thought this was pretty cute. My MIL told us that he’s made her house a “pig pen” because he’s already made seven or eight of them. They’re all in a row waiting to be given to the next unsuspecting guest.

I’ve been knitting my fingers off this week. I made another scarf on the knitting loom.

This one is made using a strand of blue fun fur and a strand of white worsted weight held together. I LOVE making these scarves! Not just to have them to give away, but to see what combinations of yarn textures and colors I can use. It’s fascinating to me to see how they work up. At the same time, I’m using up some of my STASH!

I’ve also been gathering up some crafts to send to Karen for her Fri. Craft section on her blog. I came across a cute little knitted bunny in my newest Creative Knitting magazine. It was so cute and quick to knit up.

I’ve also been knitting on my black, grey and white afghan. I’m on the third and fourth panels now. I’m able to knit on both of them at the same time because one panel is knit on straight needles and the other one is worked on a circular needle. The one on the circular needle is knit vertically. I work on one for a while, then the other. It breaks up the monotony. Maybe I’ll have a pic of it on the next blog.

That’s it for this time. Keep knitting or crocheting, or whatever your craft happens to be. The main thing is to keep at it!