Tagged!

Its finally happened - I am trying to get to the Meme's I have been tagged with.
So I chose one to start with that "looks" easy hehe.
I was tagged by Kathryn for this simple one.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

So here goes:

1. I am addicted to spinning - yeah I bet you had no idea! Fiber is like a drug to me - I have to feel it, pet it, play with it, spin with it. Oh heck I would love to just roll in it some days. Beautiful fibers call me to buy them and this is not always a good thing. ( looks at her stash and realizes Yarn Wench just updated.....)

2. I love reading. When I was young - I was well known for this - reading the entire Walter Farley (The Black Stallion series) and Marguerite Henry(Misty of Chincoteague) series over and over. I also loved the Laura Ingles Wilder book series too. (however the tv series disapointed me alot as it did not follow the books) As I have gotten older I seem to be a bit of a frustrated reader, I enjoy series - but wish that the new books would come out faster LOL. I am enjoying reading Monica Ferris, The Yarn Harlot, and Maggie Sefton at the moment.

3. Secretly I am a farm gal at heart. I enjoy learning about farming and wish I had one. Somehow despite having lived in several places, I have never had enough room to have a decent sized garden. Case in Point- at the moment the yard part of home now has a 15X15 block of what could be green space. Unfortunatly with 3 dogs, and kids - there is not enough really left for a good garden - but I still try! So I am a frustrated farmer of sorts. I would be happy tucked away on a farm most of the time, allowed to play in the dirt and do things myself. I guess this is why I like to home can and make most of my food here. I feel like I accomplish something good. Besides - who doesn't like to see a whole table filled with freshly canned jars of jam or tomatoes? Makes me feel good that I know what my family is eating. And Fresh bread---- nothing is better than a fresh loaf straight from the oven!

4. In my previous life - in BF time (that is before Fiber) I was an Occupational Therapy Assistant and an EMT. Amazing huh? So I understand most medical jargon. I enjoyed working with people, but things change. What drew me into OT is not really practiced any more. Originally it was a way of teaching movement through crafts, but alas with Insurance companies deciding what to pay for and what not - well its more like PT now. Its still diffrent - don't get me wrong, but Not what I really enjoyed. In some cases - the hospital or Therapy dept is divided by - upper extremities - is OT's area, and lower extremities - PT's area of focus. Add to it there is not many jobs in the field in this area, and it has forced me to find another field. Have I mentioned fiber yet?

5. I love snow. Yep amazing huh? Snow makes me happy. I love to sit inside, with a hot steaming cup of tea, a spinning wheel, and a fire and watch the snow come down. Now mind you - I totally dislike ICE. It is not nice nor is it fun. Snow can be shoveled, plowed and broomed away. Ice must be chipped - not fun.

So there are the things I came up with for this MeMe.

Now who to give it to......
Well I will be good and NOT give it to Opal - as she has been hit with them several times and is running out of things to share, so she says.
So here goes:
1. Betty - a fellow fiber person who has cute goats!
2. Lisa- a great gal who has cool designs and cooks too!
3. Marion - a gal who is good at trying all sorts of craft projects - including Spinning!
4. Dorothy - just look at the lace she is working on.
5. Aim - a newbie spinner and great knitter who has a beautiful dog!

So there is one done. Now to do another one maybe in a day or so.

Snow day Meals

Central Pennsylvania is a unique place. You ask for a "pop" in some areas, a "soda" in another; a Hoagie is a sandwich more like a submarine than not. But beware if you ask for PotPie in Central Pa. If you think you will get a pie with meat filling - ummm you might not be happy.
This is what you may get instead:

Yummy goodness - potatoes, green beans, ham and a wonderful pot pie peices - a dough style noodle that just oozes yum.
Was a great thing to make on a day when every one is encouraged to stay in and not go out.
Snow has finally arrived. I am in my glory - watching it fall slowly all day long. It looks like about 5 or more inches. Spent most of the day shoveling and playing with Chey. She loves the snow almost as much as me. She has to try to "bite" each shovel of it. But at the end of the day she loves to snuggle up and watch me knit .....

Sweet huh?

Its... Its... Its........Dainty!

I give you "Dainty!" - a new baby sweater designed by me. This pattern will be available at Victoria's House of Needlearts in Duncansville Pa.

Its been in the works for several weeks now - but finally just needs a few buttons - and DONE!
Just in time too - as it will be at Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet this weekend! Its got some fun techniques - from Latvian knitting incorporated into the design which is very feminine. I have to say it was a fun knit -even though at one point I was threatening to pull my hair out.
On the home front - things are crazy as ever. I finally decided to go to JoAnn's and see about a new lamp to replace the ott lite that had me so frustrated. Checking the flyer, I found that they have Ott-lites on sale. So, I took the plunge and went to look. Unfortunately, they did not have the models I wanted in stock, but they would order them.
Deep breath, I ordered 2 of them to replace the one that I had originally. I am hoping to get them in a week or two. Fingers crossed they will be fine.
Coming back to the house, I was greeted with this:
What???
Seems UPS made a delivery and pulled up on the sidewalk. Now I don't like to get anyone in trouble but DH and I are planning on fixing up the front spots near the road (again) and since this delivery was for something I will be getting every few months, well I felt it needed to be addressed. So I called UPS to ask if this could possibly not happen again. A few hours latter the gentleman who delivered the package was at my door, apologizing. Seems even though I explained it was not too bad and while I was not happy - I was asking that it not happen again. Not to have the gentleman fired!
Goodness - take a deep breath UPS! I just asked that it not happen again. No request for money or the head of the driver on a plate.
Strange things happen with me at times.
Back to knitting the gloves.....

Clearing Ice

So Friday we had ice. YUCK!
I checked with Parents - they said they were not going anywhere. Good. Its too icy to go out.
Saturday after we finished cleaning out here - we called down to Parents again. No answer.
Hrrrrmmmm.
So Roy and I headed down to work on the driveway - and to check on them.
This is what we saw -

Why does it look as if someone drove on this sheet of ice? - I mean - Seriously!
They had not mentioned going anyplace, so I checked the garage.
Yep - they had left.
Okay - so the drive was a sheet of ice. One really really large sheet of ice!
So we worked on it until it chilled down and was impossible to remove easily without the use of a jack hammer or dynamite. Maybe I am exaggerating - but dang - it was a pain to get up!
We got to the edge of the side porch done and a walkway to the house from the garage.
We parked at the edge of where we left off last night today. Below you can see the walk we cleared in front of the garage.
Returning today - we finished the job - Roy had the job of loosening the ice, I got to shovel it to the sides. Kind of felt like ice skating of sorts. Took a bit but we got it all.
Now I can rest easy - and watch the commercials during the Super bowl.

Ice and Snow...

I love snow - but I really, really, really HATE Ice. So when I looked out the front door this am and saw this:
and this:
and finally this:
You could say I was not very happy. But I decided to be a helpful wife and clean off the walks. I did manage to get most of the walks done before Husband returned from work.
The walks now look much better - did you know there was a brick walk under the inches of ice?
Yeah - I get done and the wonderful plow comes by and puts more on it right before I take the picture - dang them!
So now they are all clean and we are to get more snow or something. I would rather have the snow - Ice is pretty heavy and hard to get traction on.
Hoping to get some knitting done tonight.