Last Post of The Year

I can't believe 2008 is coming to a close already! Like usual, time has just flown by. Summer seemed like just yesterday! Mother Nature has managed to keep us on our toes right until the very end. We are getting quite a bit of snow today - right now it's coming down at a frantic rate, and the winds are very gusty too. Makes for some nice sideways falling snow.

Of course, Ace loves being outside in it. Tucker is curled up on the couch, and Otis is recovering from his minor surgery yesterday.

He got the last two vertebrae of his tail removed. He had an injury at the end of his tail that would just not heal. We have tried for months with no luck. It hurt and was very irritated, and it's all he thought about, so in his best interest, I decided to just have the end removed. He seems much happier and much more comfortable already. His tail isn't running his life anymore! I'm hoping for quick healing and he'll be back to normal in no time.

I have been managing to do some knitting also! Hubby's sock #2 is now complete.

I'm still not 100% happy with the ribbing or cast off. I did 1x1 rib, but it just doesn't seem "elastic" enough. It doesn't bounce back the way I'd like. I went down a needle size also. Would 2x2 maybe have been better? Sock #1 is going to get mailed back to me as I needed to do a couple of modifications to make it fit just right. I was pretty close on the first try though! It just needed a few more rows in the foot to make it a bit longer, and tighter ribbing.

The mittens have also been cast on and the corrugated ribbing complete.

I'm afraid I won't be able to show much more of them once I start the fun colorwork part, but I hope to have them done quickly so I can begin work on some other projects waiting in the wings! Socks (of course), along with another Turn A Square hat for dad (the first was too big) and a scarf/shawl for mom. Lots to do in the new year!

I wish everyone a happy, healthy and craft filled New Year! See you in 2009!

What do you do without power? You knit!

This past weekend was quite the adventure. We got hit full on with the ice storm that pounded the entire central Massachusetts area. We lost power on Thursday and didn't get it back until late on Friday. We are one of the lucky ones. The kennel still does not have power. A generator was hooked up to give heat and water for the dogs but it's just bare bones. There are still many trees down and the power lines at the top of our street are still laying across it. We still have no phone or TV, but we have heat. That is all I can ask for! It is amazing to drive around the area and see the shear number of trees and limbs down. Driving over the weekend was like an obstacle course. I am truly thankful we escaped any damage to our house.

So, stuck at home Friday with no power, I managed to crank out the knits. I finished the Boyfriend Socks aka Hubby socks.

I love how they came out. It has been mailed down to Hubby in Georgia to see if it fits before I start on the second sock. There is a lot of ribbing in the sock, so I'm hoping its a bit of a forgiving pattern if I didn't size it correctly!

I also knit a hat for my dad. He was our savior this weekend. He and my mom drove out on Friday with a propane heater to help keep us from freezing! We didn't end up needing it, but I think it was the mere presence of the heater turned ours back on! So, I knit him a new hat.

He works from home in the chilly basement, so he wears a hat all day in the house. Right now, he wears the Fake Isle hat I knit a while back, but it is a bit big. I'm hoping this one will fit him better. It's the Turn a Square hat - thanks to Sarah for letting me try hers on! It was a really quick knit. I finished it in less than a day and have now started a second one for me! It needs a good blocking at the decreases, but I like how it turned out. The yarns are Lang Polar and the burgundy is Patons Classic. Both leftovers. A great stashbuster!

Sunday I took Ace herding. We haven't been in about a month, so he was super excited! He did remember some things from before, and once he settled down, he did very well.

We go back again on Saturday, so I'm hoping that going more often will help focus his mind a bit more so we can get down to working quicker and not have as much "frantic" time. It is a lot of fun though, as Ace's enthusiastic barking confirms!

My other adventure was on the culinary front. A while back, I tried to make my own marshmallows. Let's just say it was so much less than successful. The cold weather and need for cocoa warranted another try. This time, I had a much better result.

They came out perfect. I love the taste. Not sickening sweet or grainy like packaged marshmallows, but creamy with a subtle sweetness and nice vanilla flavor. I used this recipe, but there are a bunch out there. Next I want to try peppermint flavored ones - I think they'd be perfect in cocoa!