Snowy day

Just another snowy day in the north country. Today i had the BEST intentions, i was going to study all day long, log onto my school account and take my mid-term. But, my neighbor called, and wanted company as she ran her errands around town, so i HAD to be a good neighbor and go with her. hey, being a good neighbor is one of the priorities in my life. We are under a Winter Storm Warning. Now, i am not going to downplay the significance of a good dumping on of snow. 6-8 inches is a LOT of snow. But really? this is lake effect country. 6-8 inches of good, cold powder falling at a reasonable rate is nothing to stay inside and whine about. Lake effect, falling at an insane rate, and causing a white out is something to stay home, curl up in the fetal position and suck your thumb about. Believe me, been there, done that. Monday night in fact. And there was not so much thumb sucking going on, as there was wine drinking going on, but whatever. you get the idea.



Today i am posting a picture from last years visit by our dear friends Gaylen, JB, and Krystle. We had such a great time with them, and seriously, there are no better folks to vacation with, and we cannot wait to vacation with them again. JB is a riot, and never fails to crack me up with his wry and dry sense of humor, and uncanny knack for finding the funny in the obscure. Gaylen, well, i cannot say enough good things about Gaylen. I adore her to no end. She has the brightest, sunniest voice, is ALWAYS is a cheerful mood, even if she is NOT in a cheerful mood! Krstyle, well, she really IS a ray of sunshine, and a joy to be around. We love them all, and cannot wait to see them all again!

Me So Happy

I know that this may not look like much, and most people would question the fact that THIS makes me very very happy...but let me put it into perspective for you. That snow bank has been knocked down, and pushed back about 8 feet...that means it is no longer threatening to keep me housebound for the remainder of winter. And speaking of winter, that little friggin groundhog, you know the one i speak of, the INSANELY cute Punxatawney Phil? Well, Phil...you better just plan RIGHT now on NOT seeing your shadow next week or i am going to FLIP OUT, but i digress.

Anywhoot, yesterday i was heading out to the grocery store with my neighbor, and as we were pulling out of her driveway, a backhoe pulled up into mine. I almost cryed. It was my plowguy, coming to finally move the snowbank. I have been trying to get him to move that mofo back since December! Several times it has blocked the second garage door. With The Husband coming home next week, that is just not acceptable. He is GOING to want to drive his truck! I tried to move that bank myself, but with nothing but a shovel, that was like trying move Mount Everest.

Today, the plan is to do some homework. Really. I mean it this time. Fringe is on tonite. Does anyone watch Fringe? Love it. I like it when they bounce across the nation from place to place, and they make the place name script a part of the scene. yeah, simple minds are EASILY charmed and entertained.

Knittin' a hat

I do not have a hat. I usually just wear ear bands, and I did buy myself a ninjaclava for the super extreme days, but i recently realized just how silly it was that I was a knitter without a hat of my own. I have made PLENTY, but i never seem to make them for myself. As this is the year of the stash for many of us, i decided it was time to look into my own stash. I have this yarn, and it is my FAVORITE yarn. I seem to say that about all the yarns i really love, but i REALLY love this yarn. It is Cascade Pastaza, and i cannot remember the colorway right now...but it is brown with some silver/gray mixed in for good measure. I have made a hat for my mom with this yarn, and even felted a bag with it. I do not recommend it for felted projects. It emerged from the felting process looking like a poor, unfortunate, deflated victim of roadkill. It sure does knit into a lovely hat though!

I am knitting this on 9's, and using my very vanilla hat pattern. Cast on 78 stitches, work in garter for approximately one to two inches, and then switch to stockinette. Approximately one inch up from beginning of stockinette line, i throw in a garter stitch, to give it a little shape. Work for 6(?) inches or so (i need to refer to my notes here!), and begin decreasing, switch to dpn's, and cast off. yep, pretty vanilla...but hey, i love vanilla!

So, friday nights episode of BSG was kind of a letdown. I really cannot stand Gaeta this days, or Zarek for that matter. And how gross are Six and Tigh together? eww. And would someone please council Apollo, and let him know that the suit and that hair do NOT look good on him? I almost prefer fat Apollo to politician Apollo. Am i right, or am i right? Or am i right? And how about that zinger with Poor Chief Tyrol? Hotdog, of all people? Poor Chief....he has always been one of my favorite characters.

Lost premiered last week, and can i just say that i LOVE Ben?! He is just THE most entertaining person to watch on that show...well, him and Miles, one of the newbies. Miles did not have any good snarky comments last week that i could remember, but i have to say that during the hiatus i had forgotten about him, and was delighted when he made an appearance last week, as he completely cracks me up.

I am not writing about the weather today. It is snowy. Really snowy...more snowy than most people could envision, with an arse-load more predicted.

And for todays Dogs on Thursday post...

...we have A Handsome Dude and his Two Dogs!
This is one of my favorite pics, from our Tour of the West vacation, a year and a half ago. This was a random stop, somewhere southwest of The Tetons, in Wyoming. I would have to look on the map to figure out where exactly this was, but it was listed as a "scenic drive" on the Wyoming map. It was AMAZING. We saw wild horses, and random cattle grazing on the rangeland. The cattle were so funny, just trucking along the little two lane road, having a grand ole time. Wild and free. ish. Henry thought they were pretty neat. Fred...well, not so much.
The rocks were pretty amazing here, sandstone cliffs, if memory serves me correctly. Look at how happy Henry looks? That dog was BORN to travel. He has traveled more than most people. He has been to at least nine European countries, and well over 30 US states, and Canada. He LOVES LOVES LOVES to "Go With". He is European, too. Henry was born in the Netherlands, and lived the first year of his life in Germany. He is very cultured, but not a snob about it. ;o)

It's snowing again.....

....and i cannot bear to post another photo of snow, so i am reaching into the photo folder, and here is a lovely photo that The Husband took of the dogs in the summer of '07, during out Glacier Nat'l Park vacation.

Today, we are under a Lake Effect Snow Warning. And let me tell you, you do NOT want to be out driving in lake effect. it is NO joke. I decided it was time to get the snow tires balanced (they are vibrating, and just NOISY, and i think they need a little tinkering), so i headed out to Sears. I foolishly believed the weather report that the snow was going to taper off a bit, and it seemed to be tapering a bit, so off i went. I slid UP the on ramp to the interstate, and knew right then that i would be getting off at the next exit, turning around and heading home. I was floating along, and then traffic was stopped, due to a semi break-down. As i was stopped, i happened to glance in my rear-view mirror as a semi was coming up behind me, jackknifing. yikes. He finally got control, and pulled off to the shoulder. Probably to change out of his soiled clothing. I finally made it to the next exit, and got off the interstate to go home. Wow...i slid and slid all the way home. This is WITH snow tires, front wheel drive, and a Winter Driving Mode in my car. There was just sooo much snow. Other than that....the car drove great...and of course it did not vibrate a single time.

So...lesson learned. No more driving in the lake effect for me. No way. I have plenty of hobbies and chores and school work to do at home on days like this!

Oh, the weather report had said we were going to get another couple of inches of snow. We have EASILY gotten another 6-8 inches today. That maze i made in the snow for the dogs? It is all filled in. All i can do is laugh about it! And cry, a little!!! This is why we have wine, folks!!

Tonite i will be watching my new FAVORITE TV show, The Big Bang Theory. I am not sure why i have not watched this show before, but it is hilarious. I read about it all the time in Pop Candy's blog, and love how she refers to Sheldon as a "Southern Gentlenerd". He is adorable, and the actor is a comic genious.

Like i REALLY needed another show to watch.

Snow....lots of snow.....

SOOO worth the frakkin' wait

First off, kudos to myself for accurately guessing who the final 5th cylon was. I threw this person out as a guess last season, and woowhoo for me, i was correct! I remember thinking "how ironic will it be is he/she turns out to be the 5th cylon.
So now i am just wondering, WHAT THE FRAK IS STARBUCK ANYWAYS???
This show has a very Carl Sagan-esque feel to it, with the nuked civilizations. I remember Sagan stating that he did think there was intelligent life out there, but feared that civilizations would self-destruct once they increased their technology. Or something like that. Anyone who used to watch Cosmos (ahem, husband) knows what i am trying to say here.

We got some snow last night, and it is still snowing this morning. Anyone who thinks "awww, you are so lucky! i love snow!" has never dealt with waking up to over a foot of snow that has fallen in less than 12 hours, and is still falling. It would not be such an ordeal if this were the first time it had happened this season. I am running out of space to put the snow. My plow guy is going to have to get a backhoe to move my snow bank. At least it is feather light and powdery. Will be fun to go out and snowshoe at some point, and as soon as a snowmobiler puts down some tracks for me, it will be nice to get out and ski!