So annoying. (but SO pretty.)

The biggest snow of the winter came Wednesday/Thursday.  Twelve inches.  TWELVE!!! So annoying.  I'm really just ready for Spring at this point.  But, you can't argue with its beauty:

Love that.

Don't love this so much:

That's ME by the way! Plowing the driveway.  Paul had an awful cold this week, along with an awful long week at work.  So, I had to offered to do the plowing (with him supervising).

It is REALLY hard to drive that thing.  Shifting and turning the steering wheel requires series muscle, in addition to working the lever to raise, lower and turn the plow.  But once you get the hang of it, it's kind of fun  easier to drive sort-of-but-not-really-fast and push the snow around. Don't tell Paul.  He might think I'll want to do the plowing next time....(I don't).

And to add insult to injury, just saying, "Ha, ha, not spring yet, but here is something to tempt you", these arrived in the mail Thursday:

My heirloom seeds from Beekman 1802!  Yes, you can look forward to "Gardening News" in the blog this spring.  I haven't had a garden for over 7 years (since before I met Paul!), so we'll see how green my thumb is.  Right now I'm obsessing over where to put it in the yard. And how to keep the bunnies out.  And the deer. And the groundhog.

Knitting News:
I finished my Dipped Infinity Scarf!

Taking a bath

 I got a little nervous when I soaked it -- see the blue-ish water on the right side of the bowl?  I though it might make the lighter blues darker, but it turned out fine.  See?:

LOVE. IT.  The color changes are so pretty and I love the denim-y look.  I think I'm going to wear it today since it is still cold and icky out.

And here is what I'm starting next:

More later!  Ha.  Just trying to string you along.  (Ha! get it? "string"????)

Some Changes!

New blog layout! I decided the other one, while very cool, was too hard to read and sometimes the pictures were hard to see. This one is much better (and spring-ier). I used one of Blogger's templates but one day I'll make up my own and personalize it with my own pictures and background.

Also, I've added a "Some of My Favorite Things" box to the sidebar on the right. It has links to Amazon for the things that I like that I mention in the bog. (Shameless plug: If you click there and purchase something, I'll get a little something in return.) Although, I tried to find the Oxo grater I recently purchased (at another store), but it wasn't there. There were 50,000 other Oxo graters, but not mine. Mine is a pyramid-shaped grater and I love it. I'll still put a link in the blog itself for my favorite things, but this way you can browse all my favorites without going back through all the posts! Handy!

In Knitting News:
I've been plugging away on my Dipped Infinity Scarf:

Love the subtle color changes.  The pattern is incredibly easy to follow - definitely tv knitting.  You can purchase the pattern separately, but this one came as a kit with the 8 colors pre-selected (I got it as a fiber festival and one of the vendors put it together). I would have gone mad trying to make 8 colors match so that they would gradually change like that! If you can't tell in this picture, you'll be able to tell when I have more done.  Plus, the yarn was measured out for me in this kit, which made it a little more affordable too.

And, I'm getting ready to start something new!  More on that later.

In other news:
Have I told you how much I love, Love, LOVE Downton Abbey?????  I'm on episode 5 of Season 1.  It's like the greatest little soap opera ---  the lives of the family that lives in this gorgeous English manor and how they intertwine with the lives of the staff that works for them.  Season 2 recently ended on PBS and I understand it's just as enjoyable as season 1.
If you want to try it, you can get just one episode (episode 1 of season 1!) here:

And then WHEN you love it, you can get the whole Season 1 here: Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
Then come back and tell me how you like it!

I'm off to clean the bathrooms and then reward myself by watching another episode. (Somehow I think cleaning bathrooms needs a slightly larger reward....)

Racing Prep

Another busy Saturday in the garage....
Task: Installing Headers
Method: Paul gets under car and slides them into place, while Liz stands on a step ladder (because the car has to be jacked up REALLY high in order to slide them into place) to put a bolt in part way.

Liz puts in a bolt part way.  Liz gets under car to hold header while Paul installs gasket and more bolts (after running to get camera for Liz while she is under the car, so she can take a picture).

The shiny silver thing is a header.

View from below while waiting for Paul to install gasket......

Translation:  What is a header you ask?  No idea. Sorry.

Knitting News:
I made a Downton Hat!

I'm not much of a hat wearer, but you can't get a great idea of what it looks like without it on (since I don't have a hat mold to display it on) and I was the only one around willing to try it on.  Who watches Downton Abbey????? A great PBS show, takes place starting in 1912 when the Titanic sinks.   This pattern is based on a pattern from that era.  I'm teaching a class at the shop in April for this pattern.  LOVE. IT.


And I cast on for my Dipped Infinity Scarf.  Got a couple of rows knit but not enough to show you yet.  Next time.....  Ooh, and I'll have a book review!