Welcome?
Winter is officially here and we are unprepared. Last time I checked the weather there was no longer snow and they were calling for rain. So when we heard that there was a noreaster forecasted to arrive on Saturday night we were a little nervous. We happened to be down in Rhode Island, Mr Chiots was speaking at a conference. Luckily, we made it home before the snow started. We woke up the next morning to an inch or so of snow and things deteriorated from there. It snowed…..and snowed….and continued to snow long after they had predicted that it would stop.
We ended up with 16-18 inches of snow – we were not ready for that. Our plow truck is down for the count, the tow truck is supposed to come and take it to the local repair shop. The pig fences were almost completely buried in the snow – not good. Then the power went out – YAY (the reason there was no blog post yesterday).
We went to bed early and got up really early on Monday morning to dig out. The first order of business was the pig fence. What a chore to dig 1-2 feet of snow from around 400 feet of fencing, on both sides. But we got it finished, then we hooked the plow truck battery up to the fence charger and got their fence going again. Though with the snow so deep they weren’t going anywhere very fast. I wish I had gotten some photos, but I was too busy digging. Thankfully the sun came out and helped things thaw a bit. Mr Chiots dug out the driveway with the tractor and we were able to get out.
I don’t actually mind when the power goes out, I find the respite to be nice. Sometimes in this day and age we need this kind of experience to remind us how much we rely on technology to entertain and distract us. I always enjoy an evening or two without electricity. Thankfully though ours came back on the following day, now I can get back to work. I’m still a few days behind from my week without internet a few weeks ago.
Do you enjoy a day or two without power or does it drive you crazy?
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Quote of the Day: Kristin Kimball
“And this is the place where I’m supposed to tell you what I’ve learned. Here’s the best I can do: a bowl of beans, rest for tired bones. These things are reasonable roots for a life, not just its window dressing. They have comforted our species for all time, and for happiness’ sake, they should not slip beneath our notice. Cook things, eat them with other people. If you can tire your own bones while growing the beans, so much the better for you.”
Kristin Kimball from The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love
Cook things, eat them with other people – that really is the essence of life!
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Warm Woolies
I’m finally ready for winter – I received my shipment of 9 pairs of knee high wool socks.
I wear knee high wool socks all winter long, they keep me much warmer in our chilly house. If you’ve never had the joy of wearing a pair of knee high wool socks on a cold day, give it a shot, I guarantee you’ll become a convert! It’s amazing how much warmer they are than mid-calf socks.
Most of my socks were purchased years ago and they all wore out last winter. For most of the winter I had toes poking out some socks and no wool left in the heels/bottoms of others. Needless to say, they’re not as warm that way!
For many years I’ve been a big fan of Smartwool socks, but my most recent pairs have worn out quickly. I have found that the less wool and more nylon in the socks the quicker they wear out. I purchased a few pairs of Smartwools last week and then noticed that the percentage of wool has been lowered once again. Thus they went back to the store and I started my search for socks with more wool.
Lucky for me, I found some at REI, and double lucky for me I had a $20 gift card. Now I’m stocked up on socks again for a few years. I’ll be warming and toasty when I get up in the morning and while I’m outside feeding chickens and snowshoeing. Nothing beats knee high wool socks!
Are you a wool sock lover? Do you ever wear knee high socks?
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Friday Favorite: The Lemon Rug
Yesterday I hauled my wool lemon rug out of storage and gave it a thorough cleaning to freshen it up. This rug has been with use for a very long time, probably for 15 years. It has been in our living room and our dining room, most recently it has spent many years in storage. Now that I finally got the office painted, I decided it would be the perfect way to brighten up that space.
There isn’t any flooring in this house, it’s mostly painted subfloor. The paint is chipping and the top layers of the plywood is starting to peel up, which makes for an ugly floor and a tough time cleaning. I’m painting the floor in the office black just like I did in our bedroom.
This will seal up the floors once more and make them a little easier to clean. I think the lemon rug will also look nice with a black border.
It’s not beautiful hardwood flooring, but it will do until that time comes and it’s certainly much better than what is in there now. I’m a big rug person, I love a beautiful wool rug underfoot.
Are you a rug person, or do you prefer plain floors?
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Back At it Again
Back when I was sick a few months ago, I started a rainbow afghan. Of course once I was well again, it was put in a box and my time was spent catching up on garden chores. Last week during the days and days of rain, out it came once again and I started assembling it.
It’s not my normal style & colors. I typically don’t go for bright primary colors, but I really wanted this to be classic. I can’t decide if I want to keep it or give it to a friend. One thing I can say is that the local hand dyed merino wool yarn does not make for an inexpensive project!
I’m pretty excited about winter coming as I have amassed quite a collection of projects I want to work on. There is fabric in my sewing room for two new quilts and I have an idea for a third. I have a shirt I want to make, along with a skirt as well. There are also a few new skeins of a mustardy yellow wool I picked up earlier this week for a warm cowl that I will hopefully be wearing this winter.
Do you pick up any sewing, knitting, or other handicrafts during the winter months?
