The perils of living in Minnesota

Yesterday there was almost no snow on the ground. Today... We are supposed to get around 10 inches today and tonight.

The birds are swarming to the feeder, I think this is a pine grossbeak.

This is one of the smaller woodpeckers, Downey? I'm too lazy to go look it up.

At least my Silver sweater is blocking Finally!!

Stay warm and cozy out there!

Introducing Ike

This is Ike, my youngest child's' lovey. He came from a clearance sale at a local department store. When I got him I thought he would be a cute toy for all my kids, so we have 3 Ike's. Noley has bonded to this toy doggie to the point that Ike now goes on the potty first, sleeps with him every night and jumps on top of Noley daily while he tells me in a tolerant voice, "Mom! Ike's jumping me again!".


Ike made the long trip to Florida with us and saw all the wonders of Disney World with Noley.
He waited in the car some days and rode in the backpack others. Noley is in love with this puppy to the point that I have started to almost think of the puppy as real. Maybe I need to knit him a sweater to stay warm:)
The best part of this funny little love affair Noley has with his Ike is watching him use his imagination daily. He talks to the puppy, uses him to try to get out of stuff, plays kitchen, cars and many other games. The day he grows out of this puppy will be a sad one for me. Luckily I have a few more years to watch my Noley grow up. He is a sweet funny little guy who likes to make you laugh. Thank you Ike for showing me more of Noley's personality than I would have known you could.

Crafty Time of Year

This time of year is tough for me, the long days of cold weather and darkness start to wear away at my psyche. I got the urge to have a warm blanket for sitting on the couch knitting and watching TV under. This is my first attempt at a quilt since Miss M was a baby about 6 years ago. I think it turned out OK. I have been enjoying it in my cold basement already for a week. I used a soft green fabric for the back, I forgot what kind of fabric it would be called. I would describe it as a corduroy without the lines in it.

I also made these socks for Noley. I used stash yarn for this project and hope to make another pair for KD. He asked for some too. Noley likes these and even wore them once already!

Pattern: Basic socks from Knitter Book of Handy Patterns

Yarn: Smart got on clearance years ago

Needles: US2 &3 DPN

Lately Noley has been saying this phrase a lot, " You don't do that forever, ever, now!" He is getting very independent. I feel bad for him today, he is throwing up, hopefully it will be a one day thing, I have plans for tomorrow.

Disney World in Pictures

I found so many cool little things to take pictures of on this trip, here are some of my favorites.

We had a magical time!












Ike had fun too! Woof!