Tag: cold

Brrrr!

It’s cold! I’m sure that a lot of you are also in the deep freeze here in the USA, as most of the country is seeing record cold temperatures. At 3:30 p.m it is a breezy -1 degree F with a feels-like temperature of -19. And that is warm compared to some places farther north. At least we still have power. I understand the power company here is going to start rolling blackouts tomorrow to save energy. Wonderful.

I’m home today due to some of the machines at work not liking the cold temperatures, causing work to be canceled until tomorrow afternoon. This has given me time to work on my blog, right? I keep getting distracted by all the birds at the bird feeders. There are a lot of them today.

Birds and squirrel in the cold on wandasknottythoughts
Birds and squirrel in the cold

Yes, there was a squirrel visiting also. But many more birds and they keep coming. I’ve seen Blue Jays, Cardinals, house finch, Red-wing blackbirds, sparrows and others that I’m not sure of. I’m new at bird watching, but it is entertaining.

Cardinal in the cold on wandasknottythoughts
Cardinal in the cold

I’ve taken so many pictures today that I had to stop to charge the camera. So I finally can take time to type this up.

I have tatted a bit, and I have plans to do more.

Decorated button in blue on wandasknottythoughts
Decorated button in blue

This decorated button is in Lizbeth #320 Steel Blue in size 20. It is one of the metallic threads and is very hard to take a good picture of. It either washes out because it is so shiny, or it looks dull like regular thread. After multiple tries, this is the best I could do.

The button is 1/4″ across (about 12 mm). I had thought I was going to tat a heart for Valentine’s Day, but it didn’t come out that way. I like it anyway.

I hope all of you in the deep freeze are staying warm.

Brrr! on wandasknottythoughts
Brrr!

Decorated Grey Button

I’ve still not decided what project I’m going to do next, so I keep doodling. I doodled around most of the weekend without accomplishing a lot. A little, but not a lot.

I doodled with the grey button I started last week.

2nd round decorated grey button on wandasknottythoughts
2nd round on decorated grey button

I thought on this a while before doing the second round, then gave it a try. The picots that attach the first round to the button on a bit loose making it interesting to block. It is still a bit frilly, which will probably correct itself with a little bit of water and a flat surface.

I started a couple of other doodles but didn’t get to a good stopping point on any of them. Maybe later this week I’ll get one of those done.

Like other parts of the country right now it is cold and white here. For the first time in years the temperatures are supposed to stay below freezing for over a week. The snow makes for some pretty pictures, if you can see them while in a nice warm place.

Black Kettle Creek in the snow on wandasknottythoughts
Black Kettle Creek in the snow

While I can I will stay inside and enjoy the white landscape and the cold from inside where it is warm and maybe get some tatting done.

Is it cold and white where you are?

“The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.” Margaret Atwood

Things to do when it’s cold outside

Like a lot of the mid-west it’s been mighty cold here this last weekend.  I didn’t even leave the house Saturday or Sunday.  I wouldn’t have Monday, either, except I had to go to work.  So what does one do for two and a half days of staying inside?
Well, getting some tatting done, for one thing.  Not as much as I could have, but some anyway.
I’m revisiting a motif I made back in October, deciding if I want to write down the pattern or not. I made a bit of a change in the outside round, not sure if it made it better or worse.  It’s made with Lizbeth #670 Victorian Red in size 20.
On Monday I started on Jane’s new TIAS.
I’ve started mine in Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze in size 20.  It’s only day one so there is little hope of guessing what it will be yet.  It’s fun seeing all the people who have joined.  If you haven’t yet but would like to try it, it’s never to late to start.
Then of course there is the usual things that can’t be ignored – you know, the everyday things that have to be done: cooking, a bit of cleaning, laundry (you’ve heard that “no laundry today, naked tomorrow? It can be true).
I was actually slow getting to my tatting. I had a big distraction: a new book.  While grocery shopping Friday I found one I just had to buy.  I admit I haven’t bought or read many books lately for several reasons:
1.  When I start reading I have a hard time putting the book down until I’m done with it. And maybe re-read a few favorite spots…
2. I have decided I should try to only pick up books by favorite authors due to reason #1.
3. I have a lot of tatting and craft projects I want to do and can’t if I’m in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1).
4.  We have some remodeling that has to be done, which I can’t do while in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1).
5.  Like it or not cooking, cleaning, washing, etc, and going to work are necessary evils, which I can’t do while in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1). 
6.  The room we have to remodel has most of my books in it and we have to move them all to work on the room.  There seems to be a lot of books…
So, at the store Friday I found a anthology edited by one of my favorite authors, Mercedes Lackey 🙂 
And yes, I ignored ‘most everything else until I had finished it! **unrepentant grin**
There are several stories in here that can stand alone but are continuations of other stories from “Elemental Magic”, another book of short stories,which was probably the last book I purchased.  I haven’t really gotten into Mercedes’ ‘Elemental’ series (refer to reason #1) but I enjoyed these a lot.  And it looks like her story in this book is the introduction of her next full length novel (“Red as Blood” coming 2014).   
Even though I love having an actual book in my hand I need to see how many of her books are in audio books, then maybe I can get other things done while ‘reading’!!
“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp.  The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.”
Ursula K. Le Guin
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