Time to pay up

It's time to pay the first installment of our property taxes!

Our share is $1659 and some cents.  It just looks really bad to see that you owe that amount to the city written on a piece of paper.  That breaks down to about $4.55 per day.  Not a bad amount to pay for clean water, sewer services, snow plowing, garbage pickup, educating the kids that are going to have to take care of me when I am old, etc.

Morning

Picture of the day:

Morning in Menominee Park.  I was driving my car around before work to heat it up. 

I thought the drive might as well be scenic!

Tuesday

I got a lot of progress done on my fair isle scarf yesterday, which was a furlough day for us. 

The picture really doesn't show the contrast between the brown and the moss green.  It's really pretty.

I got to wear my Hermione hat, but found out it's not all that warm because of the holes in it between the cables.  I think I'm going to knit a lining into it.  Maybe with some cream colored baby cashmerino.

Your picture of the day is leftovers from fall in our garden:

Knitting

Here is your picture of the day:

Spring in January

Witness the pansies we have growing outside in January:

New stuff

I finished the hat I started Thursday evening:

I started the Hermione Fair Isle scarf from the Half Blood Prince movie:

And, finally, the picture of the day is me in my new glasses from the Shopko optical where my niece, Beth, works as an optician:

Ecelctic reading

Picture of the day:

My gals

Your picture of the day is my knitting group:

My socks are done now:

Aren't they pretty?

I almost immediately cast on this hat:

It's the Hermione hat from the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie.  I am making it with Rowan RYC Soft Lux yarn.  I love the gold sparkles!

Reading

Your picture of the day:

'Nuf said.

Metronome

Your picture of the day is a metronome in my office:

Time off

Had the day off today.  We went to return the spinning wheel I've had rented since October.  I also bought yarn for a fair isle scarf I want to make.

And.......here's your picture of the day!

It's Paulette and Churchill!

Picture of the day

In the bleak midwinter,

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

--Christina Rosetti, 1872

Whew!

It's been a busy day here.  Had a meeting this morning in Fond du Lac.  Then I got to stay home the rest of the day--oh joy!  I never get to do that these days.  I got another skein of Christmas yarn spun for the mittens I want to make later this year.  I just want to finish up the roving I have tomorrow so that I can finish that little project.

I also got the first sock of the pair done:

Isn't it pretty?

I got a good start on it's mate as well.  Paulette also cast on the same socks and she is just chugging along on them.  Yippee!  The second sock that I cast on starts with a pink ribbing--they won't match, but that's okay with me. 

I better get to bed now.  I leave you with the picture of the day:

It's me spinning yarn for Christmas mittens that I want to make later this year.

Good night!

Friday before a three day weekend

I am so happy it's Friday.  I survived working an entire week!  The next two weeks won't be full weeks. We have off for Martin Luther King Day on Monday, I have some special election inspector training next week Thursday and the next Monday (Jan. 25) is a furlough day.  We were going to go snowshoeing this next Monday, but with the warm weather melting the snow that probably isn't going to happen.  Guess I'll have to find some alternate diversion (knitting, perhaps?).

Anyhow, my sock is moving right along.  In fact, it's my picture of the day today:

It's turning out really pretty.  Unfortunately there's a black section coming up in the Noro yarn.  This won't provide any contrast so you won't see the pattern.  It's going to be removed when I get to it.  There's yellow in the skein after it.

Churchill has the right idea for today--I wish I were home taking a nap with him here:

Have a good weekend everyone!

Blue Ridge

Today's picture is of some of the Blue Ridge pottery that is on our dining room wall at home. 

Todays picture...

Today's picture is of the dill in the my garden:

Tuesday

Here's my latest picture of the day:

It's the steeple of the elementary school near the University.

On the sock front, the good news is that I got to the heel flap of the first sock yesterday.  The bad news is that I should have followed the instructions and used the needle size they said.  So, it's been taken apart and started over.  I didn't like the way the colors were turning out anyhow.  So, I rewound the ball to turn it basically inside out.  I like the sock better now.  There are more color changes on this end of the ball.  So, I guess my mistake is turning out to be in my favor.

Catching up

Yes, I know I haven't posted my pictures of the day from the project 365 I am doing.  There's a reason...

Jan. 7, 2010.  The day our Christmas tree fell over (and partially the reason that my pictures have been delayed).  It's a good thing I took this and other pictures with the tree in it the night before.  Paulette is also wearing the shawl she knitted from the Pine Tree shawl pattern I designed.

Jan. 8, 2010.  Me at AFSCME Headquarters in Madison where I was at a meeting.  I am wearing the Penny Straker sweater I finished last year.

Jan. 9, 2010.  The Cooper's Hawk that keeps hanging around in our backyard.  I don't like it because it keeps killing and eating the little birds in the yard.  This morning I saw it eating one on our woodpile.

Jan. 10, 2010.  I finally finished the Candy Cane socks and have now moved on to these rainbow socks--the first time I have done stranded color knitting.  It's really fun and could be a little addicting!

Jan. 11, 2010.  Morning.

The last day

Today is Epiphany, the last day of the Christmas season.  Therefore, I thought the picture of the day should be one of my manger at home:

I also finished spinning one skein of Christmas yarn that I am making last night.  I am going to make mittens with it when the skeins are done (well, maybe the knitting will wait until later in the year).  I think I can squeak 3 or 4 skeins out of the fiber I have at home.  I am spinning it on a Schacht Ladybug with a ratio of 10 1/2:1.

Isn't it pretty?  The red and green are wool (don't know what kind) and the white is merino.  I am spinning silver tinsel fiber in with the merino.  I love the sparkles.

Sunset

Here is your picture of the day--the sunset yesterday as I left work, taken from the parking lot:

Pictures...

Here is my picture of the day:

This was a Christmas present from Paulette.  He is waiting for more snow.

2010 in pictures

I decided to take at least one picture every day and post it.  I am already behind--forgive me.

Paulette and I started 2010 out by snowshoeing at High Cliff State Park on Jan. 1.

Jan 2, 2010.  One year since we had to have our sweet Jeffy put to sleep.  We are very sad today.

Jan. 3, 2010.  Spent a lot of the day knitting and watching TV.  I am trying to get my candy cane socks finished so that I can move on to other non-Christmas projects.