Unexpected Visitor

Looks like this year we have a couple of unexpected visitors for the holidays. Take a look!
AND
Come on Frosty, wipe that smile off your face while I go shovel some more snow! Give me a break I need to have time to knit.
We have opted to delay Christmas as there is no parking in front of the house, and the potential for one more snow storm... the last one? Today's high was 34 degrees, NO, that is a good temperature! Hopefully, the 4 ft + snowdrifts are not covering our address, so.... IF Santa chooses to come he will recognize we are not Alaska state. It really would be a bummer to get Homer, Alaska - Sally's stocking full of crochet hooks and snowmobile wrench set. It would definitely be better to get Sockergirl's stocking full of sock yarn and size 2.5 needles.
I did manage to get this month's Sockamania pattern completed. It was made from stash yarn, which explains why you might not be able to see the fancy lace and cable pattern. Not really that fond of the Seashore color way, Lorna. Although I still like knitting with Lorna's Lace yarn. Oh, this picture showed the 4 inches of new snow this morning which resulted in 2 hours of shoveling this afternoon and a little neighborhood exploration.
First off, I had to get out my skis to get the newspaper at the paper box half a mile away. Then I discovered that my Neighbor actually had his paper delivered! You bet I hucked that paper at his door in disgust.

Obliviously, the above house does not reside any knitters. This photo will remind you to wrap your pipes in lots of warm knits before you leave home. It would be bummer to return home for a little local ice climbing instead of using the stairs on your house.
Finally, warm wishes to all my fans. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and lots of lumps of wool in your stocking!

Oh BOY!

ふぶき！ is your word of the day. ”Fubuki" is the word for Blizzard.

Sorry, not that kind of blizzard, the kind from Mother Nature.
Yep, it is another day of snow here in the great northwest! As you will see below this is my current mode of transportation.

As you guessed, this method of transport takes a little more work and requires eating more chocolate. But Mother Nature's windchill temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit, surprisingly is not a problem. Today's mission involved mailing those last minute Christmas cards. For some reason our mail carrier is not picking up or delivery mail in the 4 ft drifts since Saturday. So I took it upon myself to drop off those final letters to Santa, and collect the mail. There I found out that today's mail did not EVEN make it to the post office. Maybe the truck could not make it up the icy hill through snow drifts?
What do you think? Am I the next van Gogh? Yesterday it snowed 12 inches or so with big drifts. I dug out the house to prevent potential water seeping in the event it warms up to tropical temperatures of say 40 degrees. The hour and half work built up a nice 2 foot tall berm the length of the house. From this shoveling I was able to salvage my ice chunks to have a try at modern art. It is quite pleasant to view through out the day as the snow falls. (The snow has been so dry this past week it is impossible to make a snowman.)

While I felt very accomplished at my art work and shoveling..... the snow started up again at 5pm and dumped all night long until 2pm-ish. You got it. I had to start all over again, another 90 minutes of shoveling with out the umph for modern art. This time the drifts are out of control and my shovel piles are about 4 feet tall. Depending on the weather tomorrow I may go play in the snowdrifts next to the house to build a knitting cave. I have an extra snow shovel and extra hot chocolate if any of you readers wish to join? I am ready for anything!

Let's take a look at a few houses around here. :)

Now let's take a look at the main road through the 'burbs. (3 lane road during rush hour) Really I don't live in the sticks.
The next post should have knitting and... probably some snow, as there IS another snow storm scheduled. Hope everyone is safe and warm. Christmas shopping complete? well, I apologize to all my readers, even my #1 fan, due to the weather I have been unable to shop for your individual gifts.

Knitting up a storm

Now don't be mistaken, I did not knit so hard to cause the horrible storm which has come to the Northwest. The first snow fall was sorta welcome on Sunday to allow me to stay in and knit up some quick washcloth patterns for Christmas gifts. The next 3 or 4 storms I wanted to go away NW style - melt quickly and be done. Anyway, we will start with a little penguin on ice. My little friend is kind of in a penguin phase.

Kawaii, ne! My little friend, she is going to love this one. Then my little dude is going to enjoy a little fishing in his bath time.

Then there was of course the last minute present for a co-worker. I used my left over mohair from my un-sewn sweater combined with a DK weight wool. Multi-direction-diagonal scarf. It is quite a timely gift for our temperatures in the teens. She loved it and almost did not take it off at work.... that was until she broke into a sweat! Seriously, it HAS snowed every day this last week. ARGH!!

Today is a complete blizzard. I tried to get video or pictures for all you fans... but the lens kept getting snowy. In the evening pictures were a bit easier? I didn't mind the 16 degrees and wind chill of 0 degrees Fahrenheit for the sake of my reader(s).

It is so windy I did not think there was much snow accumulation, until I wondered around the house. The above drifts may go up to my knees. (While I may pretend to be, I am not Asian. I am like 6 feet tall.)

This is the eco-girl in me trying to use stash yarn as much as possible. The next pair of socks, Lace & Cables, used my Lorna's Lace Seashore colorway. It came out... uhm quite... uhm not as hoped.... a little on the ... uhm... ugly side. Not really the pattern's fault. I knew this pattern would be better with a solid, instead of the Seashore's horrendous pooling pattern. I love Lorna's lace and just wanted to knit with it. So this time I am not quite sock worthy. :( My secret stash of yarn is in its treasure box in a far away land. Can't wait to go retrieve another handful of fiber from the magic box.
I was able to finally complete my traveling socks, but I will save that posting for another day. Instead I will leave you with a cheery frog I found while I was out and about, enjoy.
And there was this beautiful scene not far from his reflection pond.
Amazing, isn't it? well, stay safe & warm in front or your computers. Oh, And keep reading!