And the rain rain rain came down down down

...so Piglet (and everyone at Disney) started bailing.

We just got back from Florida, which is apparently experiencing monsoon season. We had a nice time though! Lots of photos online. 

 

 

 

 

Things that are odd.

On Thursday morning, Indiana was covered with a very thin layer of ice.
On Thursday afternoon, we came home to a new mailbox.

We suspected this was a clue:

We looked around for a note, but didn't find one. We think it was mighty neighborly of whoever slipped off the road and into our mailbox to get us a new one. The torn grass starts about 10 feet from a telephone pole. Better to hit our mailbox than that pole.

Also a surprise finding: a walnut on the upper grate of our kitchen door. Was the intent to stash it in a hiding place or did a sad squirrel drop it from our roof with this incredible result?

Dustin Diamond the Screech owl has moved into a dead tree at the end of our driveway.

Finally, an announcement from the Saw-whet Manor Tourism board...

You know we have a lovely guest room with optional kitty.
You've heard of our access to Belgian micro brew, frittes and legal fireworks.
Now, building off our success with home grown eggs, estate tapped maple syrup and home canned jam....we are pleased to offer two yummy new food options made possible by the generous contributions of kitchen aid attachments from our forefathers (and mothers): home made sausage and ice cream!!!

(Please note, the sausage and ice cream do not have to be eaten together).

Me? Get dressed? You jest!

Ah! The lazy days of winter. Warm enough that we don't feel like hibernating, yet cool enough that we don't have to start doing any work yet. Weekends made for pajamas. And, pear-plum shortcake:

And knitting:

Why yes, those are gnomes with pickup trucks on my pjs. Don't all your gnomes have pickup trucks?

The fishy 2 year plan...

Two years ago, around this time, we bought our house! Very shortly after that we traded our television for a large fish tank.

Last year, around this time, we painted our living room and moved the fish tank to it's permanent location. Then we filled the tank with water.

The tank sat... filled with water but no fish for another year. There were complications with filters and heaters...it took us a while to sort it all out. But...

Finally! On New Year's Eve we bought fish! We started with some long finned zebra danios and added some mollys last week. See:

They swim fast...

We'll keep adding fish at the rate of one species a week for a little while, until we stop.

I'll also keep adding socks to the collection. The most recent pair (Bill is becoming quiet adept at taking pictures of my feet, don'tcha think?):

We haven't had much activity to report here in a while. There are a few things going on at our food blog, though. But it's been pretty quiet all around. We're just trying to stay warm!! And fill the fish tank.

Man, are we getting some snow!

I don't know if anyone out there can relate to the amount of snow we are going to get this weekend. It. Will. Be. In. Sane. They are predicting, like, 2 inches. Crazy right? Anyone out there know what we're going through?

How cute is my dog in the snow?

This is what our woodpile now looks like on the porch. Sad. We've been staying pretty warm though. As long as the temperature doesn't get below 25 we are nearly toasty. Below 25 it gets a little iffy.

Fortunately we still have lots of wood in the shed. Though, I can't just stroll out the living room door and grab it. Now, wood collecting is more of an adventure.

Bandanas

I likely have a new obsession - triangular knit shawls. This is how it began:






Where will it end???

Sugar, like a good dog, is showing her unfailing moral support:

Warm weather update...

A tree fell on our truck. There is only cosmetic damage to the roof - didn't chip the paint or crack the windshield, thankfully.


One of the different things about living in a solid brick house is temperature regulation. The bricks take a long time to cool off or heat up. This is lovely in the early summer. Being inside is typically like being in a cool basement.

It is less lovely in the spring when it is warm outside but the heat doesn't penetrate the bricks. Today is one of those days where we opened the doors to warm up the house. It's in the mid-60s and sunny. Lovely!

Sugar and I took advantage and spent some time in the hammock with Shakespeare.




But I know this weather won't last, so mittens and socks will still be knit!



This mitten will be for Anne-Marie. She picked out the purple/blue/orange yarn at Rhinebeck. It wasn't looking so great on its own, so I held it double with the goldenrod yarn I dyed earlier this fall and alternated it with stripes of just goldenrod.