It's a Rare Snow Day

This is how it all started on Sunday with hail and heavy rain, snow followed .

The Lower Mainland in British Columbia does occasionally get snow. And it is always close to the holiday season when the worst of it hits (I know those of you from real snow country chortle at the thought that 3-4 inches (7.5 to 10.25 cm) of snow will snarl up traffic but it does here.)

Yesterday was such a day of snow and it took me just under two hours to drive to work (a usual 15 minute trip) due to the back ups created by drivers who don't know how to prepare for (no snow tires or extra weight in the car) and drive in up and down hill terrain and snow. Many, many cars were left on the side of the road turning two-lane roads into one-lane and I saw a 7 car pile up as cars slid down a slope on icy roads into one another. And as I'm driving up the single path to get to the top of the mountain; some young buck (boy that makes me sound old) in a Jeep, with obvious 4-wheel drive, off roads on the right to pass me. I hope he's proud of himself.

A shot taken from my deck at 8 am. Lovely to look at, a pain to drive in.

So, what does one do with a found day? There will be last minute cards sent out and handmade gifts finished, packages will be wrapped, and perhaps a bit of time to read, maybe. Oh and snow shoveling, yes there will be a certain amount of snow removal required as well. It is quite a pleasant surprise to have this extra day to stay home and do another kind of work/fun. I'll be sure to make the most of it.

Comments

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms. (BTW

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing. I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away. Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close. Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening. As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend. Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration. I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting. It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008. (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.) See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles. And what about the yarn? It is truly ex-bulky. It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space. Or how about the longest piece of finger knitting that measured 4,321.4 m

Flagel Knitting Files

Search This Blog