Too Much Wind

 This has been the windiest winter that I can recall. Usually the winds come in February and usher in spring. These winds started in December and have only given us a few days of respite, it seems. The wind reminds me of a busy brain, going and going and never quiet. It riles me for some reason. The wind at night is worse because the gusts race down the mountain and slam the back of the house right where our bedroom is located. I must have been hearing the wind in my sleep last night because I had busy dreams. I woke up at one point, scrubbing one hand with the other. I was dreaming that I was washing a chicken leg and woke up scrubbing my hand. I thought it was funny but now I am exhausted this morning. 

I got out of bed early, at five o'clock, and made the coffee before the power had a chance to go out. I won that race and decided to shower quickly as well. I stored up water in jugs, kept a flashlight handy, and had candles at the ready since it is still pitch black at five o'clock. Steve was away last night and there is little chance of me getting the generator going on my own. So far, the power remains on. I feel a slight conquest at beating it with my coffee and shower. Now I am typing and 'saving' before the power whisks away my blog post.

It must be windy all the way up the east coast because Chelsea sent me a video yesterday of she and her five year old out on a frozen lake in New Hampshire. The wind looked like it was blowing at gale force as it sent enormous waves of snow racing across the ice. 

Life would be calmer and more convenient if I didn't dislike the wind so much. After all, there are a lot of windy days in the year to contend with. It is forecast to remain windy today and tomorrow. It looks like I will be racing the wind for a while longer.

Primitive Homespuns and Goose Creek Ruggers

 A little weekend getaway was just what Kay, Pat and I needed to get back into the hooking spirit. It felt like ages since I picked up a rug and hook and I was dragging in inspiration. We decided to sign up for a hook-in hosted by Goose Creek Ruggers. Goose Creek Ruggers is another ATHA rug hooking group in our region, about a three hour drive away. They have held an annual hook-in for many years but this is the first one that I attended. It was a bright, happy affair with loads of talented rug hookers busily working on rugs. There were five wonderful vendors, many door prizes and a nice boxed lunch. It was fun to reconnect with four of the ATHA ladies I lunched with last October who were helping host this event. I also chatted with several hookers around the room about their rugs. I found a couple of pieces of gorgeous hand-dyed wool to add to my stash. I particularly loved the hand dyed wool by The Spotted Cur. I also chatted with Marian Hall of Wooly Dye Works. She is going to dye four gradients of a cobalt blue wool called "Shady Blue"for me to use in a future project. Gosh, this blue is so pretty. I could simply hang it as is on the wall and be happy.

Kay and I were inspired with ideas to bring back to our group. Before this trip, we were in a slump as leaders of our Blue Ridge Ruggers group. I am so glad we had this opportunity to hang out with talented artists and to rekindle our craft, even if only for a day. It was just what we needed.

I brought a small mat to work on since we didn't have a ton of room in the car with three of us carrying rug hooking supplies. I made two of these heart mats for Daughters 1 and 2 a few years ago. I decided I would like to have one for myself. Almost finished! : )

We made this into a two day trip and stopped the first day at Kathy Maker's shop, Primitive Homespuns in Frederick, Maryland. She and her husband are the shop owners and they are a lot of fun and very helpful. Their shop is loaded with cross stitch threads and patterns, supplies for wool applique and punch needle, and loads of wool. They also carry lovely wooden boxes and paddles for mounting fiber arts onto. She holds classes at the shop as well. 

It is no small thing to be re-inspired and invigorated. I hope I can carry this excitement long enough to share with our group when we next meet. I also hope to get some work done and finish the large Apothecary Rose rug so I can move on to something new. Maybe I will even be able to post a photo of it finished before too long.

Kathy has finished samples of her patterns all over the shop. I was really impressed with the decorative blanket stitch on this one.

Our Town

 Steve and I drove home through the snow one evening. We were going home after dinner out with friends. It wasn't late, maybe 8:30pm, but because of the snow there were no other cars on the road at all. The darkness, the gentle snowfall, and the deserted roads made it very peaceful. As we approached town, we remembered that we wanted to photograph the Christmas lights in the snow, if we should ever get any snow. And here we were! We parked at the top of Main Street and got out of the car with my dated phone camera. We would certainly not be creating any art but we would capture a memory. It was so quiet and peaceful standing there in the middle of the road. 

Many local artists have painted Fincastle, Virginia from all different angles. From church steeples, to Main Street Festivals, to the Christmas lights. Ed Bordett, Brett Lague, Sarah Meadows, and Mark Woodie are a few. Here is my cell phone photograph of our little Main Street in the snow. I love the memory of that evening, standing in the middle of Fincastle, under the Christmas lights in the snow. 

A Real, True Winter

We see the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets around here in the winter. My first inclination is to rush to my phone camera to take a photo. I can never capture the true color and feeling of the sky because I am not a photographer. I don't know why I feel the need to preserve and share the sunrises and sunsets. Two weeks ago I felt compelled to text our neighbor to look at the sky beyond her house, it was so beautiful. Steve and I do find each other from different parts of the house to come and see the sky. On these last couple of days I have held back from grabbing my phone. I thought I should slow down and stop rushing to the phone. It felt good to be still and just stand at the window and appreciate the sky. So this photo is from last week. But, hey! Y'all need to go to your windows!

Sunrise

 Today's forecast calls for the second snowfall in a week. Both come with minor snow accumulations of three or four inches. The ice and sleet are what has made a real mess of driveways and back roads. Schools were closed all week, businesses were closed or delayed, and people are grumbling. I have kept quiet about it because I love it. I understand why not everybody does, but it feels "right" to me for it to be this way. This is a real winter.

Steve has been putting out seed for the birds again. We see many more Mourning Doves this year. I suppose they must be from the two broods that hatched in our yard last summer. They huddle together under the patio table and rest in a plump bundle. I noticed that the Basil plants were rustling with movement the other day. The plants that I neglected to pull up last fall are providing tons of seeds for the little birds. From now on, I will leave all the Basil that goes to seed for the birds.

An Extended Christmas Holiday

After celebrating the holidays with us, Claire and her family left for home two days ago. Their visit didn't begin until New Year's Eve. so it extended our Christmas in a good way. The Advent preparations, festooning of the house, cooking special meals; everything had its place in making our holiday memorable. The visits from family and friends turned it golden. 

Something special to note is that Steve helped with half the gift wrapping this year! It was also his second year of installing the star over the manger at church AND he bought me a surprise Christmas gift. I mention this only to note that we will cheer the humbug out of him yet. He is not really a grump, but he can be lackluster when it comes to celebrating Christmas. 

His participation was critical in our impromptu New Year's Eve party. We threw it together three days before. Everyone brought food, which we laid it out in a buffet. We ate, played games, drank a little, toasted the New Year (early), claimed we would not stay up until midnight but did anyway.

As I was transferring all the photos off my phone yesterday, it gave me a nice moment to recall the highlights of the holiday. I recognize that all of these moments happened because we were healthy, warm, sheltered, loved, and loving in return. We also felt joy and hope. May these blessings continue for everyone into the new year!

A bucket of cuttings Kay and I picked and used to decorate the church.

The table is set for Christmas dinner with Audrey and Tess's families. They requested I make Grandma's meatballs and sauce. We also had eggplant Parmesan, salad and bread, and red wine. : )

This little needle drum was finished in the quieter moments. It will receive an embellishment of white chenille around the top and bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

I went with Claire and four of the children to the Pinball Museum in Roanoke. It's called a museum but for $15 you can play all the machines all day. There were loads of pinball games from, I'm guessing, the 1950's to present. It was a lot of fun. (But make sure you wash your hands when you're done.)

Granddaughter and grandson attended the 30th annual Vintage Ball for home schoolers. Three hundred guests attended. Tess went to this ball fifteen years ago when she was a teen. At that time, seventy-five guests attended. The kids and their cousins were over-the-moon happy to be going to the ball.

Claire's family stayed an extra day so they could enjoy the snow. It wasn't very deep but the ice coating made sledding fun.

 

 

 

Steve built this sled from an old pair of skis and wood. It flies!