Not Quite An Ice Storm…

When we woke up this morning to no electricity, I almost panicked thinking there was another ice storm. Granted, all the schools are closed and there’s a coating of ice all over the trees, but the power was only out for about three hours. Just long enough for the house to start to get a little chilly. And for me to start going through internet withdrawal. I’m so ‘net-dependent it’s pathetic.

At least I got some knitting done. Maybe the socks I so desperately want to start won’t have to wait too much longer. :)

Now we just have to figure out if it will be safe to travel down to NYC as planned.

Not Knitting

So, where’s all the knitting? What happened to those lovely blue yarns? I swear I’m in a knitting slump right now. My blue yarn really knit up wonderfully. Really, it did…except that despite everything – swatching, adjusting the pattern, etc – the stole I made with it came out so long a giantess could wear it. I actually knitted it almost twice – the first time it was obviously coming out much too short, so I ripped it out and started over. I wish I’d just left well enough alone. I think that maybe this pattern just isn’t for me, and I’ll have to find something else to do with the yarn. Meaning I’ve got to rip it again. I don’t have the heart to do that now, so I’m just going to let it sit for a bit.

I’m also working on a knitted gift, which is the most tediously boring pattern I’ve ever done, on itty bitty size 2 needles. Let’s just put it this way: I started this in October. It’s now April. But I’m refusing to start anything new (buying supplies doesn’t count!) until I’ve finished this. Heaven help me. I can hear the sock yarn I’ve bought calling me – after all, if I’m going to work on tiny needles, I could at least be knitting socks!

Destructo-Boy Strikes Again…

This morning I came down the stairs to a scene that nobody should have to witness before coffee. The carnage was incredible. Polyester fiberfill from one end of the family room to the other…except…all the stuffed toys have already been gutted…so where did it all come from…?

Noooooo! Not the throw pillows! Bad, bad, dogs!

The worst part was, Molly had some tell-tale signs of fluff bits around her mouth, meaning that she took part in the kill – although I’m sure Murphy started it. Well, it’s not that that was the worst part. It was this: I said, “Molly, you’re old enough to know better!”. Oh. My. God. I’m turning into my parents and I don’t even have children yet.

Noooo!

<whine alert>I just ripped the chair rail tape down…it didn’t do a very good job. Not at all. There was dark color underneath the tape where the light color is supposed to be. The tape pulled away some of the dark paint on the chair rail, despite my careful scoring along the tape line. I spent half my lunch hour with a tiny little art brush, a three-inch putty knife as a straight edge, and a bucket of paint…and only got one wall done – which needs a second coat, since the light color doesn’t cover up the dark color so well. Why does this always seem to work perfectly on Trading Spaces? They can manage to get razor sharp edges between different color areas, why can’t I? </whine alert>

<Groan>

Who needs the gym? Just climb up and down a step ladder 50 times, and every time you get to the top, hold both arms straight up wielding a paintbrush in one hand and a paint shield in the other. You will never have to worry about lifting your arms again, because they will have fallen off by the end of the routine. :)

No “after” pictures yet – I’m not done with the trim, and the blue tape on the walls right now really doesn’t fit in with the color scheme!

Before…

My dining room before today:

(Yeah, I know, I got impatient and started ripping the wallpaper down before I took the picture.) Now, it’s not that the wallpaper was all that bad. Really. OK, yes it was. I’ve disliked it since the day we moved in, but it had been recently done, and was in too good condition to change when there were so many other rooms that needed a change first.

A while back, I’d posted my plans for this room. Let’s just say, they changed. A lot. Thank goodness I didn’t do that, because what I’m doing is so much better, and more my style!

I felt a little like I was in an episode of trading spaces, opening up the first can of paint. Hopefully I’ll have some “after” pictures to post soon!

Lovely, Lovely Spring

It’s such a beautiful day. Warm, sunny, a mild breeze – well, ok, more like a “mild” gusting wind… I went out to lunch with some friends and decided to stop to buy dinner things on my way home. I have salmon marinating in the fridge right now, just waiting to be grilled. :)

I’m sure I got more than a few odd looks – in honor of spring, and of going out to lunch, I wore short sleeves, sandals, and my new blue crocheted hat. I couldn’t believe the number of people wearing coats – it’s 70° out!

(I’m ignoring the fact that they’re forecasting snow for Sunday.)

Getting Stuff Done

This morning, I skipped out on the gym (bad, bad, Sarah) in favor of getting a couple of things done that I’ve been procrastinating over…including, finally, getting the pictures from the St. Patty’s Day party I had a couple of weeks ago up on Ofoto and out to everybody.

Why am I posting them here? Well, there are an awful lot of very cute puppy pictures – of my two, and of Jenny’s pup. And no, before anyone calls animal control, none of the puppies actually drank any beer. :)

New Project Alert!

OK, so I have, um, several unfinished projects that I really should be working on…

But I needed to do something with lots of texture. Look what I came home with:

What will this become? I don’t really know yet – I’m only loosely following a pattern. Mostly because the pattern called for yarns that my LYS hadn’t even heard of, let alone stuff they carried, so I substituted all of them.