When the sun finally peeked through, at the very end of the day, for a full 20 minutes before the next shower ( shower???? how can more rain be called a shower when it has already rained for more than a week and in quantities that are measured in feet??)  whatever, when the sun shown, I ran outdoors to take pictures.  What else?  All week, I’ve been weeding and edging and rescuing plants from other plantings, every chance I get.  After viewing it last evening, I can see that I have barely scratched the surface.

This morning it is 35F… that’s right.  It’s COLD and raw and actually perfect for getting stuff done without black fly.  They like it warmer than this.  They like the sun. Today the shade houses go up.  Like we NEED shade. 

All this complaining about the weather, brings me to this:

J is for “Jollys”

Twenty years ago, I came north, to my first April in Vermont, traipsing with friends and realtors through sodden fields and boot sucking mud, wearing my gortex lined, ankle high, leather Vasque boots.  Everyone I walked with wore more sensible gear, high rubber, shit kicking, barn boots.  The British have their Wellies, Vermont has its own version.  I needed them.  A quick trip to the local general store and I too had a pair.  Mine are Tingleys.  I felt like a kid.  I could wade in water nearly to my knees.  No puddle was too big, I tested them all.  Damn!  Enter again, five years ago this time… I’m in Burlington, at the Gardeners Supply and there are these rubber clogs. They have cork inserts, can be worn with or without socks, have great tread, and are very, very comfortable.  I love my Jollys!  I wear them all year, to run to the barn if the drive is plowed, to garden, to walk in the woods.  I can do a mile or more in complete comfort. 

ps.  The stuff that’s falling from the sky this moring… well, it’s SOLID! 
No accumulation expected.

pss.  what can you expect in the cold, and the rain, through a window, into the greyness…?

Sometimes…ignorance is bliss!  Obviously fence training only works IF you know there IS a fence.

 

When it rains hard, for days on end, I have no phone, no
dial tone, nothing..

NO email

NO Bloglines

NO Internet.

Get the picture? The
lead in on the noon news was the
pretty news talking head person asking the weather man: Does the brighter sky I’m seeing mean sun is on its way? His answer: No, just brighter rain. 

Before you continue, you might want to get a drink, a tall one.

I’ll post this when the phone man visits, the dial tone
returns and I have access again. Whenever.  The weather may be reflected in this post.  Sorry. 

The good thing is that I have been able to get some spinning done. I’ve  had time to poke around
looking at what I’ve previously spun and review the projects that I want to use the spun yarn for. First up was the Café
Cardi that I posted about a month or so ago. I figure I have plenty of spun Shetland in a sort of light grey oatmeal
and some darker brown for the details.

I
might blend a bit of the two to create a second color with less remarkable
contrast than the brown. Or, maybe I’ll make
a tweedy yarn for the accents using a barber pole effect. But, after reviewing the pile of multi wool /
mohair I have, and after plying up another three skeins in the past couple
days, maybe the Gloria cardi will come first. There’s time to think.

Before the end of the month, before the new trek-a-long
starts,  these will be done.

Wendy solved my pattern problem by posting
that lovely little 4 row pattern repeat that I’ll use with my #109
Trekking. Problem solved. Just when I was searching for a simple
pattern, there at my desk, appears the solution. One more case of “I love the internet”.  (You ready for a drink? How much drier can this post get… it’s the weather.)

And Adagio, after counting my repeats, 11 out of 19, I’m
wearing thin on this pattern. It may become a shawlette. Maybe even a shawlette with a beaded edge.  For now, it IS good TV knitting and I’m
game. I had nearly 280 sts on the
Bryspun circ when it finally broke last night. That’s the second Bryspun to snap on me. My LYS replaced the first one. But, I was holding my breathe waiting to see
if I’d get through the row, and hoping that I had a second #8 circ. with
me. I did. See, I was afraid it would fatigue.

I’ve been there. I do love the bands and the tips on Bryspuns,
but the older ones break.. Supposedly
they’ve fixed the problem. This was my
last old style. I’ll give them another
chance.

I need a walk.