News From The Nest

Winter Sunset

Mom and Daddy headed home to Virginia this morning. It was so good having them here and I wish they could've stayed forever!

We had a beautiful sunset a couple of nights ago. I took these pictures from the back patio.

The sun and shadows on the snow --- gorgeous!

I love watching the change in the light and colors as the sun sinks lower and lower in the sky.

Blues, pinks, oranges, violets --- if you painted a picture just like this it would look fake. Only Mother Nature can pull this off. 

Between appointments today, I ran home, grabbed lunch, and threw loads of towels and sheets in the
washer and dryer. 

It was the great changing of the sheets.

Because, Taylor (younger son) and Rachael will be here around dinner time tonight!!!!! They are driving up from South Carolina and will be surprised to see all of our snow.  They are staying a week or so. A nice long visit.

The temperature is supposed to warm up over the next week so I'm sure our snow is short-lived. I have really enjoyed it and LOVE the sight of everything covered in  white. I hope we get more soon.

Here is a photo of our house in the snow. The original layer of snow is from December 12th and then the next layer is from the 16th. It has really lasted a long time.

Stay warm and KNIT ON!

 

 

Unwrapping

We had our Christmas breakfast and then the unwrapping commenced! 

Lily was first. Santa Paws put her present in a Christmas bag. She got the bag on the floor and pulled her new toy out. Then, she chased the bag around the floor - sliding it along in front of her nose. Santa Paws dropped a few treats for her in the bottom of the bag. Finally, she caught the bag -- stuck her nose in and got the bag stuck on her head! We all raced for our cameras as we were laughing and telling her "poor Lily!" at the same time. She was too funny!

Next year, I think I'm going to wrap up some empty boxes to place under the Christmas tree once all the real gifts have been opened. The tree looked so much prettier - more festive - with all the packages under it. It looks a little forlorn now.

Gracie and Earl Gray donned their Christmas finery this morning. They were both hungry! Of course, Earl was - he always acts like he hasn't eaten in a million years. What's all this on the TV commercials about cats being finicky eaters???? They aren't talking about my Earl! If I ignore him - don't feed him right away, he helps himself. Both of the containers on the floor are filled with cat food - his on the left and Gracie's on the right. Earl will pop up the lids with his nose and then he helps himself. Here you see him up on his tippy-toes eating out of the food container. I've seen him with his hind feet several inches off the ground and his bottom up in the air so he can get almost all the way inside the container - depends on the level of the food inside. He is hysterically funny and such a piggy cat! Guess that explains why he's on weight reduction food.

In the first picture, Earl Gray is plotting his approach. He's on top of his food container giving Gracie's food bucket the once-over. 

I've talked with both of our boys this today. Feels so sad not to see them at Christmas time. Taylor and his girlfriend, Rachael, are coming Tuesday. I can hardly wait! They will be here for a little over a week, I think. We'll have plenty of time to visit and do some fun stuff. It just feels so funny to have family in a bit at a time and not together. 

We got a little dusting of snow overnight and teeny-weeny flakes are floating down now. Brian, in VA, said that a heavy snowfall is predicted for them tonight. So, they might have a late white Christmas.

I'm doing reports while the ham is cooking and hope to sit and knit a bit later today.

I leave this post with a much more dignified holiday picture of Lily for you. 

Hope you are having a relaxing day!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I love the quiet of Christmas Eve. It seems as if everything is muted. Peaceful. 

Maybe it's anticipation. As if the world is holding its breath.

Lily is waiting. Very patiently -- or rather sleepily -- for Santa Paws to come.

This morning was very busy.

First, I made Cinnamon Buns.  I doubled the recipe and it made 20 good-size buns. The recipe I use is from my friend, Gina, in South Boston, VA near where we used to live. The secret is sour cream in the dough. I haven't made these in years and forgot just how delicious they are. I ran a couple of pans to friends / neighbors this afternoon and hope they enjoy them on Christmas morning.

Next, I made a batch of soap - one log mold full of Oak, Orange, & Oats and the other full of An Apple A Day. I love these fragrant scents - apple and orange - very holiday-ish.

Yesterday, I delivered these darling stocking hats to one of the gals who knits with the Saturday Panera group. Her daughter had premature twins a couple of months ago - a boy and a girl. They're both home now and doing well. I wish I could see them in these cute hats - hope they fit. I LOVE knitting baby stuff and love the Itty Bitty books! The pattern for these hats are from Itty Bitty Hats, one of the adorable books by Susan B. Anderson.

I received an early present from my parents. For years, Mom and Daddy did craft shows with Mom's painted folk art and Daddy's baskets. They did and still do (just not as often) such nice work. Mom makes these geese in two sizes. She made me the larger set. Daddy cuts out the wood for her and she
paints it. The geese look great amongst the magnolia they brought me from Virginia. I need to add some bright red apples to complete the look.

Daddy teased her - said she made him chop down half a magnolia tree to bring to Ohio! Oh how I miss my two huge trees at our old house. The magnolias that grow in Ohio don't hold a candle in comparison to their southern cousins.

Yesterday, Mom, Daddy, and I went into Waynesville after my work
appointment. Such a cute town and all decked out for the holiday. Here's a picture of Mom and Daddy taken by the town Christmas tree. Their wedding anniversary was December 21st. SIXTY years!!!!!

Once Brian, our older son, questioned the existence of Santa Claus. I told him that I will always believe in
Santa. He is the spirit of Christmas. The giving, the kindness, the love one person shows to another, the sharing........  

No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year, I hope the spirit of the season visits you tonight and always.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Getting There

And, it's about time! 

The Christmas tree is all decked out in its holiday finery. All snowmen except for a tiny angel my parents gave me the Christmas following my pancreatic surgery. (I had a tumor and am very lucky that it wasn't yet malignant.) The angel has had a special place amongst the branches of my tree since that Christmas in 1993. In case I've forgotten, it reminds me again every Christmas how much I have to be thankful for.

The gifts are all wrapped and beneath the tree. Andy and I gave each other a snowblower and just in the nick of time! We've used it twice already.

The house ----- well, the house still needs straightening. However, Mom and Daddy will be here this afternoon. So, I need to go into clear-it mode. Clear the surfaces into garbage bags, tote them to the basement, and go through the stuff later!

My hooked Santa surfaced and found a place. I need to find a good spot for my sheep pulling a sleigh with a tree in it and also finish the edge of a snowman mat to display.

I still have several gifts to knit. They're small but still. Why, oh why, can't time just slow down just one year!?!??

I swear next year, I'm starting in January! Well, maybe February.

Oughta Be Illegal...

...to have this much fun with friends! 

Saturday was knitting as usual but it wasn't usual. It was our last get together before Christmas. So, we had a gift exchange, cookies, pizza, and lots and lots of fun. There were fifteen of us there and many were busily knitting - trying to finish gifts for Christmas giving.

The highlight was a special song by Merry. She took The Twelve Days of Christmas and wrote knitting lyrics. We all joined in as she led us in singing The Twelve Days of Knitting Christmas. It was wonderful! She gave me permission to post it here. If you need to, click on the picture to enlarge it. If this doesn't work for you and you want me to email a copy to you, just leave a comment asking me to do so. 

Merry also had her finished snowman to show us. Crocheted entirely of single crochet stitches, he was adorable. I love his scarf. Merry was also the recipient of this beautiful shawl and treble clef shawl pin from Diana. (Diana is the mother of Sara, our turbo knitter, I've pictured on the blog before.) The shawl is gorgeous -- the subtle variations in the purple and the beads. Gorgeous!

I've been handing out my Emergency Yarn Ornaments. Certainly don't want anyone to be stuck without during the holiday season.  

After knitting on Saturday, I drove down to Main Street Yarns. I'm going to be teaching beginning knitting classes there starting in January. I'm excited about that! I LOVE getting new people addicted to knitting. Lise is steadily adding more and more to the shop. It continues to be a bright spot to gather and knit.

Well, I have soaped myself to death in the past week. I made Ginger Fig, Juniper Sage, Pearberry, Gingerbread, Sleigh Ride, and Almond Biscotti. Already had available, Love That Lavender, Lemon Drop, Dreamsicle, Peppermint Twist, Scented Geranium, Minty Fresh, Herbal Essence, Rise & Shine,and Pineapple Cilantro. I finally dug out all the ingredients to make my cream lotion, too. I made fourteen jars of Pearberry and Love That Lavender. Love this stuff! I just slather it on. I also painted more cans to make snowmen. I'm putting a bar of soap or a bottle of body oil in the cans with black tissue paper for gifts. They look so cute if I do say so myself! I LOVE snowmen!

Speaking of snowmen ---- the tree is up. I still need to put the sheet around the bottom and wrap the few gifts there are to go under it. Slowly getting there with the decorating and house cleaning. I need a clone!

Mom and Daddy are supposed to come the middle of this week. We're keeping a close eye on the weather. The weatherman is calling for wintry precip in one form or another just about every day this week. I think Tuesday and Friday are supposed to be the worse. Hopefully, they get here in between the bad weather days. 

Leaving you with a few very wintry pictures taken today. Icicles hanging from the rocks at the Caesar Creek Spillway, a view of the Caesar Creek Gorge, and a view across a field down the road from home. The last photo is of our house - it was taken in the driveway out near the road.

They just make you want to go "Brrrrrrr!", don't they?

I'll post a Christmas tree picture soon!

Take care and wishing you speedy needles this week!

 

 

 

 

Oh,The Weather Outside Is Frightful.....

..... and I LOVE it!

It's just beautiful!   

Here's a picture of one of my birdbaths. It looks like it's been transformed into a giant cake plate!

You can see in the second picture, our pond is becoming more and more frozen.  If we didn't have the aerator, I'm sure it would be frozen all the way across by now.

We got about 5-6 inches of snow last night. We already had a couple of inches. This snowfall is a light powdery one.  The kind that makes the roads a slushy mess.  

The kitties have stayed curled up in their bed in the garage for days. They don't much like this white stuff. They went out briefly today while I was cleaning off the car. Gracie bounded out through the snow toward the tree line and then acted like she didn't know how to walk through it to come back to the house. It was belly-deep on her.  She did NOT like it!

Still on vacation and for once, I didn't do anything work related today. I made soap all day long! Pearberry, Ginger Fig, Gingerbread, Juniper Spruce. I cut yesterday's batches - Almond Biscotti and Sleigh Ride. The house smells so fragrant!

Tomorrow's Friday! Another week gone! Why oh why does time have to go by so quickly?????

What's Up?

We have had our second snowfall. What's up with this? Sure looks like winter but it's not. This snowfall was really the first serious cover-all-the-grass snowfall. It was and still is SO pretty!!! There's a curve in the road a mile or less from our house and the snow turns it into a picture-perfect postcard. 

It started snowing Sunday- just coming down! By Monday morning, the ground was covered.  

Andy got to play with our Christmas present. Good think Santa brought it early.

I'm on vacation today through Friday. Vacation that includes doing reports and catching up on work, cleaning the house, decorating, shopping, taking Gracie to the vet for her annual exam, a haircut, getting new glasses, etc. On second thought, it doesn't seem like a vacation at all.  It's good to have the time, though. Time to tackle this mile-long to-do list.

I've been making soap like crazy and want to make a batch of cream lotion. Fresh out of the soap pot is Peppermint Twist (right) and Dreamsicle (left), Love That Lavender and Lemon Drop. My house smells wonderful! That peppermint is so fragrant! It reminds me of that York Peppermint Patty commercial on TV. I need to make one or two more batches of soap. Perhaps, Almond Biscotti, Ginger Fig, and Sleigh Ride.

Last week, Mollie from Forner's Wood Shop in Waynesville called. The town was having Girlfriends Weekend and wanted to give a small bar of my soap with each $15.00 purchase. WOW! I was tickled pink that she thought of my soaps! I immediately got together a bag full of soap for her. I had just made a batch of Sleigh Ride and Juniper Spruce so was able to cut it all up into small bars (approx. 2 oz. size). Then, I bagged all the small bars of other scents for her. I delivered 90+ small bars and a dozen full size bars to her last Saturday morning. I hope she was able to give every bar away! 

I'm trying to knit like crazy, too! Have thing I still want to make for Christmas gifts. I'm making more sock bookmarks and these great wine bottle neck warmers / wine bottle cowls. Whatever you call them, they're GREAT! I know you have some leftover sock yarn. It doesn't take much. The pattern is from Knitted Gifts by Ann Budd. These are just too cute! Very clever way to catch wine drips that slide down the neck of the bottle. Colorful, too!

At knitting last Saturday, DeeAnn showed off her exquisite finished baby blanket. What a good looking pattern. I just LOVE the border. Instead of a ribbon, DeeAnn knit I-cord. Just love the color combo! The blanket was a present for another knitter's new baby girl. Lucky baby girl!I was so excited about the blanket that I forgot to ask her the name of the pattern! Will have to do that next time I see her.

One last chilly picture for you. This was taken this morning out my office window upstairs. Wonder if you can ice skate on this pond???

 

Wreath #2 is done! Just a touch of snowfall overnight to give it that holiday look. That fir branch sticking out of the top towards the right side is bothering me. I think I need to trim it. I like this bow. I used two different patterned wire ribbon which made it nice and full. Making the bows hasn't been bad at all - thanks to the YouTube how-to video. You just have to remember to PINCH the ribbon and DON'T let go until you've secured it.

I finished another Multi-directional Diagonal Scarf. Out of Noro Silk Garden, of course. I wish I had kept count of the number of these scarves I have knit. All of them are gorgeous! Love Noro's colors. This is undoubtedly, hands-down my favorite scarf pattern. I've included the Ravelry link and the pattern is FREE! This scarf shown here is a long one! I always go into the third skein of Noro but this time, I used just about all of it. A nice wrap-your-neck-up scarf. I think I cast on 32 or 33 stitches - can't remember. I've already cast on for another one and used 32 stitches.

The birds are flocking to the feeders with this cold weather. In this picture, you can see a Downey Woodpecker on the right, a Goldfinch, and a couple of other finches. Thank goodness no Starlings ---- yet. I need to get everything filled by this weekend. Snow is in the forecast.

I had a late afternoon appointment in Cincinnati today. I got out and rush hour was in full swing. I headed down Montgomery Road - taking the back roads home.  I decided to stop and pop into Fiberge. I haven't been in quite a while - not since the new owner took over. Norma was there and it was great meeting her. What a breath of fresh air! She's given the shop a new feel - traditional but just a bit funky and fun.

Definitely a new energy for the shop. 

Fiberge is located in Montgomery Square Shopping Center just minutes off I-71 north of Cincinnati. There are great classes coming up on their schedule, as well as, Wine Wednesdays. Stop by until 8:00 PM on Wednesdays - sit and knit, sip some wine, watch a movie, etc. Sounds like a great half-way through the work week thing to do!

Stop by Fiberge soon and see the changes Norma has made. You'll find some of the old lines and a lot of new yarns, too. It's a color explosion!

I have a feeling that with Norma in charge -- Fiberge ain't gonna be your momma's knitting store!

Tell her Robin sent you! Maybe I'll see you there. Wednesdays sound good to me!

KNIT ON!

It's Beginning To Look ....

.... a lot like Christmas! In addition to the all-day snow on Saturday, it snowed off and on yesterday and is snowing like crazy again today! It's also a very nippy 12 degrees today. I think we're supposed to have a high of 23 degrees.

Today is my birthday! I think it's the chilliest one I've ever had! Wish I could just stay home and knit. 

Andy was off yesterday so we made tracks! He hauled all the patio furniture and terra cotta pots out to the barn, put the heater in the bird bath, and cleaned some stuff out of the garage and into the basement (groan! just made it fuller!). I hauled the furniture off the front porch and around to the side of the house so Andy could put it in. I also straightened up some inside but have tons more to do.  We put the wreath up on the front door and I had enough boxwood left over that I made a second wreath for the garage door. That's the door we use all the time -- it's what people see when they drive up and it's where we park the cars so I thought it needed decorating.  

Here's the front door wreath and the flag I hung out. Isn't he cute?! 

We didn't get the Christmas tree up but I'm ready for it. Can hardly wait to decorate it. We'll probably let it soak for a few more days before bringing it inside. 

When I went to Virginia last week, I visited Nicole. She showed me the cutest snowman tree topper and said she got it at Big Lots. As soon as I got back to Ohio, I stopped by Big Lots to see if they had one. One was all they had and he was handicapped - had only one eye. I figured I could fix that - a little hot glue and two black buttons. So, they gave me a discount and I took him home. Now, he's as good as new! I've never really had a tree topper and I can hardly wait to plop him down on top of our Christmas tree! He'll be able to watch out for all the other little snowmen hanging out on the branches below him.

Keeping up with the holiday spirit -- I ordered this from Simply Sock Yarn Company. A "Happy Birthday To Me" gift. It's the Fa La La Sock Kit! It includes one skein of yarn, gift cards, holiday magnets, and an adorable reversible project bag. The yarn makes the cutest red, green, and white striped socks. Will definitely make for a festive pair of feet!

I washed all the kitty mats - dried them - and then piled them all up on top of the washer. While I was working in the garage on the wreath, I propped the door to the utility room open. I came in and this is what I found. The Prince and the Pea. Except, there wasn't a pea. Earl Gray was SO cozy all nestled down in that pile of kitty mats that he wouldn't even open his eyes to look at me.

May we all find a moment or two this peaceful during this hectic month!

Picture Perfect

It snowed all day Saturday. All day without stopping. It was a wet snow. It started out with big dancing flakes and then later turned into tiny little ice crystals. The birds have been flocking to the feeders in this wintry weather. They're all puffed up to keep warm.

I ran errands yesterday morning and then went to knitting. We had a small group but had fun just the same.

Last night, Andy and I went over to Pioneer Village's Candlelight Tour. We didn't go last year and it was worth going. We walked circular path around the village which was lined with luminaries.  Just about all of them were open for the event and each one had a roaring fire in the stone fireplace. Many house parents were there to tell about the history of and holiday celebrations of that days gone by. We sampled pear butter in one cabin and a ginger cookie in another. Then, we finished up with a cup of hot apple cider. Yum!

Next, we drove into Waynesville for Christmas in the Village. It was picture perfect! Luminaries lining both sides of the street, the stores all bright with their holiday lights and decorations, and the lights in all the trees along the sidewalks. There were different musical groups performing in a large tent that was set up at one of the intersections. You could get coffee or hot chocolate and a baked good and sit in the tent - enjoy the music, eat, drink, and get warm. Another tent was set up and they were making and selling kettle corn. I hear Santa Claus was visiting with children at the furniture store and there were carolers wandering the street singing. The snow falling made it that much more festive.

We got our Christmas tree Friday night and it is sitting in a bucket in the barn soaking up water. I brought back two trashbags full of boxwood and some magnolia cuttings home with us from Virginia. I have made my wreaths every year and can't let the lack of greenery here in Ohio stop me. Last year, Mom and Daddy brought boxwood with them when they came for Thanksgiving. This year, we brought it back. I made my wreath last night out of boxwood and mixed in sprigs of Fraser Fir that we cut off the bottom of our Christmas tree. When I finish this post, I need to GOOGLE how to make a bow. I have the ribbon but have never made a wreath bow. 

Andy is off Sunday so we need to make tracks! Patio furniture, terra cotta pots, hanging baskets - all need to be put away in the barn. The heater needs to be put in the frozen bird bath. The house needs to be cleaned (oh, where is that housekeeping fairy when I need her???).  The candles need to be put in the windows. The tree needs to be put up and decorated. I need to do reports and make soap. There are just not enough hours in the weekends.

Hoping time moves just a little bit slower for the next few weeks.