Resolution Achieved, and Other Matters

Yes, it snowed. It was very pretty but a big pain in which to drive, and yesterday I had a lot of driving to do. And this morning our venerable furnace was blowing cold air. But eventually one of the facilities men came over and, with the expensive plumbing and heating man consulting by phone, he was able to determine that the filter was clogged. Now it is toasty warm -- a good thing, since it is about 13 degrees F outside.


This is one of the many juncos that comes to sample the bounty of "bird beans," as D#2 names them, provided by my spouse.
The figure going off the diving board above is D#1 having her very first lesson on the 1 meter board. She can't take this up for real right now, her knees won't stand it, but a friend of ours is a diving coach and offered to show her the ropes once.

Below is the only item we had a chance to photograph from our festive holiday meal last night. The girls loved the chocolate cake we had at the Bubble Room in Captiva, so we tried to replicate it. I made the Decadent Chocolate Cake from the first Silver Palate cookbook and we filled it with whipped cream and strawberries.

It was good.

Behold the feet of D#2 in her knockout new boots from my parents. The pink fringe on the right is from her new scarf -- it isn't part of the boots, which are plenty spectacular as is. Please note the careful placement of Dobby's pink catnip mouse. And no, our kitchen floor isn't really filthy dirty, that's its actual color.

These are some of the singles I spun this summer. I now think that I am going to ply them -- I think the colors will be more interesting in a more variegated scenario.


This is my first ever Noro two row stripe scarf, on 10s (I think), using colorways 40 (2 skeins), 180, and 163 (1 skein each). What fun. Now I see why people make these over and over. There was enough left over to make a hat for the swimmer (K2P2 rib, no photo yet available) and several Korknisser (photo to come, the camera battery is charging).

And as for my New Year's resolution? My one resolution was to teach a friend to knit. It qualifies as a resolution because twenty years ago she was expelled from a knitting class at a LYS near my current home. She is an intelligent, lovely woman, and the folks at this LYS are known to be crabby, and I felt it my duty to rescue my friend from knitting exile. So today at practice I finished a project (that has to remain unpictured for a short time yet) -- and had a small ball of the yarn left over and a set of straight bamboo 10s in my bag, so without further ado I cast on 10 stitches and put the needles in her hands. By the time practice was over, she had knitted a small swatch, and I have sent her home with instructions to practice and practice. On Tuesday, this friend and I made a purchase at Sunshine Yarns and by the time the gorgeousness shows up, she should be ready!

So there. My resolution is accomplished. I am free to experience the year as it comes. The only other thing I have in mind is to try to follow my mother's advice to say no more often. I tried it this morning, declining an invitation in order to stay in my bathrobe until lunchtime, and I am not quite sure how I feel about having done so. Maybe this is the kind of thing that takes practice?

Happy 2009 to all!