Good grief......

Where did January get to? Can it be almost February already. I thought we just started this new year.

I finished up a pair of socks made from that new yarn from KnitPicks called Chroma. It is really beautiful yarn and nice feeling. The skein I had didn't have much twist to it so I really am not sure how it will wear. I made the socks with a short row heel which I had never made before so the socks ended up just a tad too long. It seems that if I make any heel except the Widdershins Heel I end up making my socks too long. Don't understand but there it is. So these socks may go into the gift basket.
I have another skein of it, but am thinking to maybe make a scarf out of it. It would feel really yummy around the neck and I wouldn't have to worry about wear issues with that.

I finished the back on my CelticCardigan . I have started on the fronts now. This is made out of my own homespun. Just hoping I have enough to finish it this time. I have already had to spin some more yarn. Maybe I should go back and get some more roving just in case. I doubt that K will sell the rest of it, but to make sure......

It is not snowing right now but they are predicting another snow or ice storm later this week. If I get to decide, give me snow. It is much easier to deal with.

I am so proud of myself. I actually did the link thing correctly to show the pattern for my sweater. Yay, me. :)

Well, I guess it is winter......

The snow has all melted away (except for the large plowed piles) and now they are saying we are to get more this weekend. I have heard anywhere from 1 to 3 right up to 5 to 8. I am hoping for the 1 to 3.
I love snow, but enough is enough. I don't like to drive in it so I have to have D take me everywhere I want to go.
Update about what we get after we get it :)

Snow, snow, snow. when will you end?

I will take some pics of the snow tomorrow and post them. I haven't really had the inclination to take pics of it. We have so much (for us that is) that I just don't want to look at it. I measured it on our deck table this morning and we had about 7 or 8 inches. It has been snowing just a bit all day but I don't think it has snowed enough for any more accumulation.

These aren't the greatest pictures as I took them from inside the house by just putting my hand outside and clicking. I was still in my jammies and didn't want to go out into the snow. These at least give you an idea.

Here are some really nice pics of my cat, Coley. He is so hard to get a pic of that doesn't have his eyes glowing like demon orbs. My new camera takes great pics of him. I really love the side of his face pic.

He is a beautiful long haired cat that someone "threw away" and he found me. I took him in and have loved him ever since. He really thinks that I belong to him, rather than him belonging to me. Oh, well. He weighed about 2 pounds when he came to me and now he weighs 14.5 pounds. He has grown a little bit, LOL. I don't know what type cat he is but someone who used to raise Norwegian Forest cats told me that that was what he is. I don't know, and don't really care. He is just my little guy. He is a nice bed warmer as he sleeps either beside or on top of me at night.

Here are a couple of update pictures of Zeus, the store cat. He lives here 24/7 now. He is not happy away from the store. So we just make sure we come in and "visit" him on the days the store is closed.

The brass bed he is sleeping in is one I got at Big Lots several years ago for my cats at home. They don't really like it so I brought it in here for a window decoration during the Apple Festival and since Zeus would sleep in it I just left it in here.
The little brown thing by his chin is a small St. Bernard that has an air bag and batteries so that it looks like it breathes. It is so funny to see people stop outside of the store and begin discussing/arguing with each other whether the dog is real or not. They usually end up coming in to find out for sure.

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Another year has come and (almost) gone. It has been a hard year, hopefully the next will be better.

I didn't blog too often this past year. Just never seemed to have (find) the time. Maybe next year will be better or maybe it will be worse for my blog. Only time will tell.

The pet bakery took up a lot of my time this year. Business seems to be picking up a bit as we go along. This weekend I am going to work on getting a new website up and running for us.

D's business struggled this year. With the economy down there just was not a lot of work. We made it through and things seem to be picking up for it also.

My kids were all here for Christmas. That was nice. I guess I am very fortunate. My kids are 28 and 33 and I have never had a Christmas morning without them. They have their home Christmas on Christmas Eve and then come up here Christmas morning to open gifts. We then go to my darling MIL's for Christmas breakfast then back up here for lunch. I am blessed.

All the Christmas decorations are down and put away. I leave my candles in the window until sometime in January. I love the look of them shining after dark when I come home. It seems so welcoming. I sometimes think I should leave them out all year, but that takes away from the specialness of them.

Hoping everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year. Where ever your party takes you, be safe.

Until next year.

Judy

The ramp....continued

D got the ramp extension all finished and in place. Now I have to be very careful when I go out into the garage as the extension is permanently attached to the step just out of the door. I know I am going to fall off of it sooner or later. I told D that I need to make a signe and tape it to the window of the door (just at my eye level) to remind me to be careful of the step.
Kate is doing fine for an 11 1/2 year old St Bernard. We need to get her up into the main part of the house so we can have our annual Christmas picture taken. Maybe this weekend we can do that.

Sliding....

My Katie and I had a thrill last Saturday.
It has been snowing all day long and we had about 2.5 inches, which is really a lot for us this early in the season.
I had been gone off and on most of the day so when I finally came home for good for the night around 10 pm I let Katie out to pottie, went into the kitchen to put my purse and knitting down and told D that I was going out to make sure Katie had no slid over the hill. Our back yard has no yard now due to the pool, the hot tub and my deck but it does have a rather large hill. I was just a tad late going out to check on her.
She had evidently squatted to do her business and had slid about 1/3 of the way down the hill. I still had on my dress shoes which are rather slick on the bottom so when I tried to carefully get down the hill to Kate I slipped and fell and slid to her. She seemed to be ok, was not struggling, just laying there waiting for Mom to come rescue her as I have done countless times in the past. I got myself up on my feet and went around to the rear of her and tried to get her up. I kept slipping so I could not get her up. Finally I just v'ed my feet around her hiny and began to yell for D. Every once in a while Katie would help me yell by going "Woof". Every time she would woof we would slide about an inch down the hill. I kept telling her to be quiet and not bark that Daddy would be there to get us soon.
Our house is rather well insulated. If you pull up in the drive and blow the horn we cannot hear it in the family room. I knew there was no way Dale would hear me but I yelled and screamed anyway. I figured that my MIL or my daughter would probably hear me and call to find out what was wrong. They didn't.
Dale had gone on upstairs to change his clothes. The dressing room is in the front of the house, naturally. When he finished changing and came back into the bedroom he noticed his dog sitting up on our bed looking out the window. She never does that so he went over to see what she was looking at and saw me standing part way down the hill.
When he came out he was in Christmas shorts, a sleeveless tee and his house slippers. He asked what I needed. I told him to get some shoes on that were not slick so we could get Kate back up the hill. He asked what I needed to get her up and I told him to bring her harness. (She has a car seat harness that we use when she goes in the van, and I thought that would be the best thing to use.) He went in and got it and changed and came out to help me.
I somehow managed to get her harness under her and before I could actually fasten it D took hold of her and she got up. With me pushing from behind and him gently tugging we got her back up the hill to the patio and she walked on in to the house on her own.
I was really worried that she might have hurt herself since she is old now (11 1/2 years old, which is very old for a Saint Bernard) and is having some mobility issues. She has hip displasia.
I gave her an extra pain pill before bed and the next morning she seemed to be just fine.
Monday she went for her weekly laser treatment on her hips and knees and there does not seem to be any damage done.
We decided that we needed to make her a ramp so that she could go out in the front yard from now on. So Monday evening Dale was working on a ramp extension from my embroidery shop door out into the garage. I have a ramp I use to get her in and out of my van and I suggested that he just build a sort of cheater ramp that we could attach the car ramp to and make it dual purpose. He had just about finished it. He was out in the woodshop hand sawing something on it when the saw jumped and cut his knuckle. He came to the house and asked for some steri strips to fix it up.
When he showed me the cut I told him that it was going to have to have stitches. This was about 8:10 in the evening and the urgent care at our clinic closes at 8, bummer. We called our son to drive us to Chillicothe to the emergency room there (I don't like to drive after dark out of my comfort zone). On the way there we decided to try the other urgent care clinic in town first. We got there at 8:45 and they didn't close until 9 so we got lucky. They stitched him up (4 stitches) wrapped it up and sent us on home.
I think that this is the end of the Saturday night saga but then he hasn't finished the ramp thingy yet.
I take Kate out to pottie and don't let her get near the edge of the little bit of level we have out back.

I must have lost my mind......

I have this really pretty sweater that I knit a few years ago and I managed to felt it. (Time out to cry about it again.) So I reknit it. I love the sweater, just not the yarn. It is a cotton/wool mix and is just not warm enough for me.
My mother-in-law asks me every time I wear it if I made it. When I tell her yes, I did she always tells me how pretty it is. Sooooo, I decided to knit one for her for Christmas. I went and got my yarn Saturday afternoon and I am almost done with the back already. I have about 4 more inches to do at the top and it will be on to the fronts. I think I just may finish it up in time.
While getting the yarn for her sweater I found a yarn that was almost like the original sweater yarn. I may have to go back and get it to make yet another one for me.
At least having knit this one twice already I know how it goes.
Pics when done.