More Arctic Blast 2008

The front yard displaying how much snow we got. The county shut down yesterday so Lyn got to stay home and take pictures. I got to work.

Pesky squirrel pictures:





They are so obnoxious and keep eating most of the bird food. They are obviously not starving squirrels.

The feathered visitors we like to see.

Towhee at front yard feeder:



Flicker at the woodpecker feeder in the back yard:



Feeder by kitchen windows:



Because there were no clinics open today and work load was very low I had to be off work. I'm kinda hoping it's that way tomorrow, too. I'm still working on Christmas presents for my parents and had to quit knitting today because of tendinitis in my 4th finger (who knows why). I spent the day reading instead and looking over reading challenges for the year to join at Library Thing, Good Reads, and Shelfari.

Lyn and I are not exchanging presents this year - a decision we made based on the fact that we got new floors, a new patio door, and a new oven this year. Plus, Keri and Ryan are getting married next year and we're getting the puppy in January. I didn't need a thing and neither did Lyn. It's a nice change of pace.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

But we've had some delightful visitors, including this House Finch that fed at one of our feeders today.



And this "something" at a backyard bird feeder.



We also have a charming visitor named Graham visiting us for the weekend. He's our first experience with puppy sitting for Guide Dogs. He has a lot of energy and loves snow, which is good since we haven't really been able to take him out to stores or restaurants this weekend.



In Guide Dog news, we've been told we're getting a female yellow lab whose name starts with the letter A. Parents are Bingham and Bruna. I'm pleased, but I had no preference for male or female and so I imagine we were switched with someone who did have one.

The weather got really cold last Sunday and we've had a daily accumulation of snow. Vancouver didn't get what Portland got, until today. We're expecting freezing rain tonight. I'm warm but worried because my son has to deliver pizzas tonight. Even Lyn admitted that it was hard to drive today - he will drive in most weather conditions.

Up to last Sunday I had been working on the Julskalender.



I got to day 3, but got so cold that I went to the homespun yarn I have stored and chose some mystery yarn that I think I spun over 10 years ago. I think it's an angora/merino blend. I started a cowl and finished it this afternoon. It's a first for me in a few ways. I used a pico hem, I used handspun yarn for a project, and it's my first cowl. I'm pleased, but unfortunately I'm allergic to the angora. That's a first too. I think I'll be gifting this cowl.



In book news I finished The Outlander by Gil Adamson. It reminded me a lot of Cold Mountain, but was definitely different. I think it's my favorite book of the year.

Lace Swap, part 2

I received this gorgeous lace package from partner, Betzi, in the second round of the Lace Swap at Ravelry. I got 2 patterns, both from Knitspot - Spiralacious and the Butternut Scarf. The alpaca lace is for the Butternut scarf, the green Rowan Cashcotton is for Spiralacious. The Lily Chin Chelsea yarn is for the Clementine Shawlette, a pattern I already own.

I received great chocolate, of which only the candy bar is left, made by Gertrude Hawk in Pennsylvania, local company to Betzi. There is also a tiny crochet hook which I can use for adding beads to shawls, 2 little notebooks, removable highlighter tape for helping me keep my place in charts, and Eucalan soak. There was coffee but the bag unfortunately broke during route to my house, darn it! I think I can salvage some of it.

A wonderful swap, Betzi. Thank you so much! I want to start knitting it all now!

Puppy info

We're getting a male yellow lab whose name will begin with the letter T. Woohoo!

I also found out we're getting the puppy a day earlier than I originally thought.

Next week we'll be puppy sitting a 6-month-old male yellow lab and I'm excited!

826LA Collaboration

Flora and Fauna had the honor of teaming up with designer Amy Martin to Create 826LA's Holiday Cards. They can be purchase via their website, or stop by the Echo Park Travel Mart if you are in the L.A. area. All proceeds go toward funding 826LA.  

Winter 2008 Knitty

I got a sneak peak of the new Knitty before the e-mail alerts went out. I love every pattern I looked at, but can't get back in to download anything. Apparently lots of people feel the same way I do! Wow! Best group of patterns I've seen in a long time (because I can actually knit and wear them). It's going to be a busy winter! I think it's going to be my winter of knitting sweaters. More later, after I get back in.

Weekend catchup

I haven't shown any yard pictures in awhile. This is a sunbathing squirrel Lyn saw sleeping from his office window on Saturday morning. Squirrels have been swarming our yard, eating all the bird seed and being a nuisance, but I enjoy them anyway and love this picture.



I have one finished sock to show since I can't show the Christmas things I've been knitting. This sock is what I call my mindless sock pattern - just simple knitting in the round, make a heel flap, gusset, instep, toe, and finish off in kitchener. This Kaffe Fassett yarn was a sport weight and it went really fast. I like doing this kind of sock every once in awhile. I get something with little effort. I'll finish sock #2 after Christmas.

I've found a few projects that excite me that I want to start very soon. One is this Advent Calendar scarf from a Swedish publication that I found at Ravelry. Here is the link. I think I have some fingering Louet wool in light green that I can use for this.

Also, thanks to Chelle I found this pattern while I was catching up with her posts at Ravelry. It's a pattern called Guided by Love and is a fund raising sock for Seeing Eye in New Jersey. I was so excited by this, just in time for something to do during the waiting period for the guide dog puppy that is coming to us in about a month! For anyone wishing to get involved in the fund raiser, the pattern is available until December 18, so hurry if you want to get it.

I swear there's a group for everything at Ravelry! Everything!

We had a puppy Christmas party at puppy club on Thursday. We came home with a lab door ringer, a chocolate bar that said Merry Christmas in Braille, and a smaller puppy paw print chocolate bar, plus some new toys for the puppy and a crate so we can start puppy sitting. We met lots of nice people, including people waiting for puppies like us and people who had just gotten puppies. I saw the first 2 shepherds since I've joined the club - Guide Dogs for the Blind is not breeding these now, but I guess there are still a few around.

Keri and I spent Friday looking for venues and found a promising one open on the date she wants to get married. She's still looking and we're both trying not to get too overwhelmed. My family has started their insane-making travel plans (I can't begin to explain what they do) and I'm trying not to get involved. I can provide the date and hopefully they'll make it for the wedding or whatever get-together we're going to have. I'll be a charming hostess, but please, just make your plans and tell me when you're arriving. I'll be so happy to see you when you get here! : )

Of course, I need to know dates by Monday - tomorrow - since I have to submit my vacation dates at work on Tuesday. No pressure!

Invites, Birds, Cake

I had the pleasure of designing invitations for my friends' wedding in Austin, TX. Andrea, the bride, is a lover of all animals especially birds, so I drew her a couple of little sparrows and incorporated them into the invites. (I'm also proud of my hand-drawn map, complete with drawings of the church, the country club, UT, and the TX capitol.)

The happy couple then gave my bird designs to the cake maker extraordinaire at Coco Paloma Desserts. She translated my bird designs into fondant beauty! Furthermore, the cake was amazing, with a chocolate layer AND a vanilla layer. I will confess I had a slice of each. 

Swap from Finland

It's been a busy week. I've finished one knitted gift and am working on another, hoping to finish it before Christmas. This week I've discovered cowls and other one-skein projects - the only kind of project I can hope to finish before Christmas.

Early this week I received a fantastic swap package from Finland, an individual swap that we decided to do by ourselves. My swap partner wanted KnitPick yarns, and in turn she sent me yarns from Finland. I really feel I got the better deal. I like Knitpick yarns, I just like yarns from another country much better.

So, in the package were angel stitch markers and a heart necklace, made by Tiina, and a polar bear keychain. I love these!



Some Kamena lace dyed by Tiina in a very pretty coral:



Mokka-Sukka sock yarn in gorgeous reddish-browns and brown. I love this sock yarn. It has a Zitron base but is dyed in Finland. I've seen other colorways in stash at Ravelry and just love it!



Haandu in wool, bamboo, and mohair. I saw a lot of socks made out of this at Ravelry, but I don't know. It's too pretty for socks.



Novetta Cloud, wool-bamboo mix in red and green. I'm not sure what I'm going to make yet - Tapestry cowl, hat, neck warmer? It's next-to-skin soft and I love the colors. I need to relearn color knitting techniques.



Faro lace in a gorgeous brown:



Kettle holders also made by Tiina. They're very Christmasy and already in use.



I loved my swap package, Tiina! We're thinking about doing this again in the spring.

I'm off to do venue hunting with Keri! She has some good ideas.