Just another day

This is Sydney, who sneaks out on the porch every time you open the door, because that is where the outside cat food is.
And she knows it.
No there is no mouse, just Miss Piggy, looking for food.  She does look like she is starving, doesn't she?
NOT.
Over the weekend, I tore apart an old rug.  It took me three hours.  This is what I got out of it.

 

But I have other fish to fry, so "L" is working on these.   Trying to give her all kinds of crazy experience doing all the crazy things I do.

And it's looking good.  These are going to be totes about the size of a large purse.

Sorry, are we keeping you up?????

Ah, what a face.

Raining outside, shed roof collapsed under the weight of the snow, inside porch leaking.
Just another day of weaving, listening to the radio, keeping warm.
And I think today, I will be like Scarlett O'Hara....yeah.  Sounds good.
I'll worry about that..............tomorrow.
After all, tomorrow is another day.

No day off.

Pellet stove acted up all day.  Some problem with the auger.  I had to keep taking the pellets out of it, cleaning it out, and starting over.  
Late this afternoon, I headed back there, to deal with it again.
Guess this isn't a day off after all.
While I was there watching it burn, waiting to see if the problem was resolved, I realized that the roof on the inside porch was leaking.
So I moved boxes around, trying to keep everything dry.
Unfortunately, I noticed that a 200 lb bale of selvedge in the corner is getting wet, which means that it needs to come out of there.  Sorting and bagging it is a BEAR of a job.
And the snow is going to need to come off the roof, sooner than later.
$$$$$$$
Can you hear the rustle of money leaving my pocket???

Eventually, the stove appeared to be running smoothly, so I headed for home, again.

If I had any photo editing skills, I would edit those power lines right out of this shot.

Even though I was upset with the leaking roof, I resolved not to let it ruin the rest of my day.
It's just a roof, and it's just water, right?
After the last couple of weeks, and the worry about a loved one, a leaking roof is just plain no big deal.

I planned dinner on the drive home.  Tilapia, crab cakes, spinach, and my homemade rice pilaf.
Easy enough.

Soon winter will be just a memory.  All the snow, the cold, the icy roads......history for another year.

I took my mother to the Salvation Army again this morning.  On the way, I asked her if there was some reason she was so adamant that she had to have me or my daughter sitting next to her.  She told me that it was because of her heart.  What if she dropped dead in church?
Uh, well, there isn't much more I could do than anyone else could do, if you dropped dead.
She thought about that.
I told her that I didn't mind going with her sometimes, but in all honesty, she could live to be 99, and I couldn't face all those Sundays at the Salvation Army.
She laughed.
When we pulled up, I let her out at the door, so I could go park. She said, Just leave me.  Let's try it.
I said, Are you sure?
Well, if you are sure, I will, but I will only go for a little while, and then I will come sit with you.
So that is what I did.  I left her there, and went back in about 40 minutes, and sat with her through the rest of the service.
When we left, she told the pastor all about it, and she seemed quite proud of herself.  So next week, I will do it again, only this time, I will leave for a little longer.  And I will resist the urge to go in and look in to see how she is doing.
Like I did when I left my little girl at preschool.
I feel like my parenting skills just got better.
Oh, dear.

Snap out of it.

Oh, wow.
DH is watching golf, and it is being played in Arizona.
Ah, sunshine.  Green grass.  SUNSHINE.  No snow.

Here is where Cher comes in, with that famous line:
"Snap out of it."
You know what movie that's from?????
SNAP OUT OF IT.

(IT'S STILL WINTER.)

This reminds me of being a kid, the snow banks were always HUGE.

The excitement around here is that I went to the dump today.  Had to do it.

I do not get this mentality.   Blue tarp on your roof?  I don't know, but it seems to me that you would forgo some other things not so crucial, and get your roof fixed.
I would probably be more understanding, but this tarp has been there for a couple of years.

Someone once told me that you can tell how successful a farmer is by how many silos he has.
I have no idea if that is true or not.

This old silo has been abandoned.  Guess that farm didn't do too well.

This old house looks like it needs some attention, but isn't it an interesting old place?

Bees?   I like how they painted them all different colors.

This is the Champlain Canal, a popular place to ride snowmobiles, if you are into that.
I am not.

The north country is beautiful, that is West Mt Ski Center in the background. But I would much rather be showing you pictures of something else.  Some place with a beach.

Today I don't have a lot of patience.  Some days are just like that.  When I was driving today, I called several other drivers names, "moron"  "idiot"  "dimwit"...........not so they could hear me, but still.

Tonight I am doing the same about the ridiculous commercials.
And I can still hear that line.

SNAP OUT OF IT.

Oh, no, not again.

I am begging for mercy, along with a lot of other people.
Not sure what is happening in your part of the country, but the northeast is getting pounded.

I don't focus when I take these pictures, just point and shoot.   So you get what you get.

I always love seeing the studio in the distance.  Even in this weather.
It's where I love to be.

I had the studio all to myself today, except for my 4 helpers.   Seriously, they are so NOT helpful.
They didn't even scare this squirrel away.

I yelled at him several times, and he stayed away for about 2 minutes, and came right back.  Then I realized that his little foot was bleeding, and he looked straight at me, trembling, so I stopped yelling at him.
For crying out loud.

Fine then.

So I spent most of the day sewing tote bags together.

I have 5 more beach size totes in crazy colors.

And some small bags, large purse size.

Some vintage fabric.

I love this one, these two photos show you both sides of it.

And this with hot pink straps!

I made myself a great salad.

And snow storm, or no snow storm, I enjoyed this day.

I apologize for complaining so much about the weather.  Silly, isn't it?

Yes, it's cold.  There's about a foot of new snow.

There is beauty, though, even in this.   You only have to look around to find it.

There is beauty in finding out that someone you love, though dealing with illness, is not dealing with lymphoma.
It has been a tough couple of weeks, and I am sitting here wanting to bawl, not because I am sad, but because I am so, so relieved.
Thanks for all your energy.  Your good thoughts, your prayers.
And a feather.
Thank you.

It's gotta go.

When I bought the studio, there wasn't much in it.  There was an old piano, and a nasty refrigerator, a wringer washing machine, and a Kalamazoo stove.
The piano and the fridge are gone, the washing machine is on the porch, and the Kalamazoo is in the old kitchen.
But I have decided to let it go.  It is a great old stove, and it really should be used, not just sit in the corner and be used as a catch all.

 This is not how it usually looks, I cleaned all the junk off it for this picture.  It is is great shape, no scratches, no dings, all the pieces parts are there.

If I had a log cabin somewhere in the woods, I would keep it.  I can see it cranking out the heat, and biscuits coming out of the oven.
But I don't, and a cabin isn't in my future.  At least, I don't think it is.
So it is for sale.  I just put it on Craig's List and on Ebay.  We'll see what happens.

52 hours after they arrived, the kids have gone home.  I came home and had a glass of wine before dinner.
I would have a second one, but I know it would put me to sleep.  I am such a cheap date.
I am going to knit a little and watch J-Lo have her melt down on American Idol.  Hey, it's good for ratings.
Tomorrow we are expecting another storm.  Hallelujah.
Spring is coming, no matter what.
You can't fool me.

Priority mail and other things.

I have had two of my grandkids since yesterday.  Due to certain family needs, I was asked if I could keep them for another night.  
I figured that my husband would grimace, to say the least.  And I was pretty sure that the kids would say, "we wanna go home."
So I called DH, with the news, and he said, "That's fine.  No problem.  OK. Sure."
WTH????
I went out into the living room, to tell the kids that they were staying another night.  I tried to broach it to them gently.  Their eyes got big, they they yelled............"YAY!"
So, the message here, is what the heck do I know???
Not much, apparently.


The other day I was searching for empty cardboard spools, to put a towel warp on.  Even though I have a lot of them, most of them had thread on them.
Because I have been using up partial spools of rug warp for the last month, I had a bag of those tubes, which I usually throw away.
And I had an idea.  Maybe it was time to do some recycling.
So I got a Priority box, the medium size, and used a spool that I had as a template.

 I used some gorilla glue, and left them sitting on the counter overnight.

I made about 20 of them, and they seem pretty sturdy.  I wound a few, and they are as good as the ones I bought.  This makes me very happy.   I love to repurpose.

Some new chair pads hit the shelves.

And I found a model for a hat fresh off the knitting needles.

She could probably sell you just about anything, ya think?

I am not gonna lie to you, they wear me out.   They make a lot of noise.  One minute they are playing great together, the next minute it's war.  They make incredible messes everywhere, and I am right behind them making them pick up after themselves.  I try to balance their time,  between playing computer games, playing outside, and amusing themselves, which they actually do quite well.
They are really pretty sweet kids, and I love having them.  I don't know how long I will be able to keep up with them, but so far I'm doing OK.
I know too well how quickly they grow up.
I missed a lot with my own kids, working two jobs.
I won't make that mistake again.
Weaving can wait.
I know.........do you believe I said that?
Well, I did.  And I mean it.

Snow day.

My father always told me that there was no rest for the wicked.  I don't know if he was bragging, or warning me of the hard work coming at me.
The chiropractor cracked my back this morning, and it does feel better.  But I know better than to push the envelope.  In fact, I have decided, no weaving rugs this week.  It is just too much strain on my lower back.
There are plenty of other things to do, that's for sure.

This afternoon, I froze my butt off.  Well, OK, not really.  But I am still cold, hours later.

Ava didn't mind at all.  And I have WAY more body fat than she does.  I guess I am just a baby about the cold.
I forgot to bring their skates, but that didn't stop them from having a good time.

Nothing like a little ramp iced up real good to get you moving.

And some kids.......well..........pictures DO speak louder than words.

Luckily, my back prevented me from making a fool of myself.   And besides, I was frozen solid by now.]

Aren't kids grand?