hand eye crafts

It's been an odd, kind of Dutch angle kind of day. I was planning on going to the library knitting group, so I wasn't going to shower until later in the day.   Then Briton called. He had gone to Kroger to pick up some lunch, and one of his tires popped.  He was going to call a tow truck and get taken to the Toyota dealership, and wondered if I could meet him there and let him have my car until his was fixed.  His workday ended at 5:30, and his car was ready about 5:15, so by the time all of the swaps of cars and drivers were done, it was too late for me to make it to Bogart. So I ordered a pizza and called it day.

Hello. This Christmas tree is still under construction. I've run out of the green floss, so it's cooling for just a minute. The other tree that I was making --- on the light blue --- wasn't going to work, as the fabric piece I cut for it was too small.  I'll get back to it. On the completion side of things Yeah.  Consensus?

The only snow still here is in spots the sun hasn't been hitting.  Like, the storm drain cover at the foot of the driveway, and the one front porch step that just won't let go. It's still very cold, but at least the footing is surer.

It's me because of that one word beneath the temperatures.  The snow is falling so beautifully,  and is supposed to keep falling into the night.  I'm unsure when it started (an hour, an hour and a half ago?), but I have already gotten ALERTS that roads are beginning to ice up.  I'm seeing people having trouble on the road beside the house right now. We all know this is prime Cozy Knitting Time, but for a while, Tap and I are just going to sit at the front door and watch.  

Do your hands speak to you occasionally?  Not in a trippy, wavy way.  (Although if that's where you are, cool.)  Mine do.  I find that some days I  just want to knit, somedays I want to cross-stitch.  It's almost like my hands are craving one or the other.  And yet, here's the first thing I did today: A diamond art coaster.  I didn't pre-cut the cork backing, which is why this looks so (literally) rough around the edges.  I did move on to knitting and cross-stitch after, and will be alternating again while watching the football game tonight. Speaking of night, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus are all visible from my driveway right now.  They're sort of lined up, even, in the eastern/southeastern sky.  Amazing.

 So. We may be getting snow again!  Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.  Tonight, there's a hard freeze warning, and we've been advised to take actions so that our water pipes don't freeze. Now, when I was growing up, those actions were basically leave water running so that ice doesn't build up.  Then it seems like that fell out of favor.  Today, we're being told to let the water drip.  Which I shall. I've been alternating between knitting and cross-stitching all weekend, which means a little bit of progress has been made on a lot of things.  The Blind Draw Scarf shows it the most, though I'm most satisfied with some of the cross-stitch.  We'll see come Tuesday.

I was so caught up in my Bogart adventure that I forgot to talk about the other Big Thing from yesterday.  The final trip to the oral surgeon!  The abutment is set, they're going to send all the information to my dentist, and there might be a crown on the horizon!  Now, how long that will take is a big ol' unknown.  But it's coming.   My dentist's office is closed on Fridays, so I'll call Monday for an appointment. 

  This is a Christmas tree. This is also a Christmas tree. This is another Subversive Cross-Stitch sampler. This is my blind draw scarf. This is a leaf sheep slug.  Cuter than anything I'll ever make with any type needle.

Madeleine came home today.  After I picked up her ashes (I have a hard time saying "cremains"), I sat in the funeral home parking lot and cried.  In all honesty, I have been on the verge of sobbing/throwing up/having a panic attack for many, many days.  My appointment with my psychiatrist was this morning, and he was very understanding about Maddie, saying that the death of a pet can cause more heartbreak than a lot of people realize.  I do wonder if I've been carrying more sadness than I realized.  He suggested doubling up my antidepressant, so we'll see in a few days.

The sound of snow is one of my very favorites.  On the spectrum's other end is the sound of snow melting.  You know, the water running down the gutters.  It's so sad to me. There's scarcely anything left today.  In the always shady parts of the yard, there are patches.  Tap seems to be looking around for it.  He enjoyed it yesterday (despite the barking at how it arrived), sniffing around and seeing exactly where it was. On the subject of snow: You know I love this.

Sorry to have only these two photos.  I have a nice video of the snow coming down, but can't get it to load.  It started snowing before dawn, and stopped before Noon, maybe?  Still, the skies have been that snow grey all day, and there's a good amount of slush around --- especially on the roads --- to freeze overnight. Tap woke me up barking around 7, so I got out if bed to see what was going on.  He usually only barks in what is basically his "alert" mode if there's a car pulled up outside, or he sees people walking.  It took me a minute to realize he was barking at the snow.  As it was falling.  Which qualifies as an outside disturbance, I suppose. My gardenia bush there wound up pulled down by the weight of the snow and ice.  I think it will bounce back up when everything is melted.  A few branches snapped off trees, but nothing major.  The pines are all standing;  they're the chief concern in ice. It was definitely a lap blanket...

 Though my life as a Southerner long ago taught me that just because a couple of weathermen say snow is on the way doesn't mean it will be so.  Ice and sleet are usually more likely, and so much less fun.  You can't ball up ice and have a fight, for crying out loud. Every school in and around here is closed tomorrow, including UGA.  The library will be closed, so Briton won't have to go to work.  Depending on what happens in Atlanta, Hannah may not either. Madeleine's ashes are ready to be picked up, but Briton has my car for who knows how many days.  He poured hot water on his windshield this morning to melt the frosty ice and, well, you can guess...  I have learned as a mother that there are SO many things your children wind up not knowing, even when you're sure you taught them, or you assumed common sense or life experience would have taught them.

What will we do without Justin Trudeau?  Are any other world leaders going to wear fun socks?  Idoubtitverymuch. How do we know for unquestionably sure that no two snowflakes are alike?  Has someone seen every single snowflake?  What about fingerprints, or dogs' nose prints, or giraffes' and zebras' patterning?  Has anyone ever looked everywhere?   Idoubtitverymuch. Could I be any happier with how my handwarmers were received?  Idoubtitverymuch. (I got the okay from her and her mom to post the photo.)  She crocheted her scarf, by the way.  She and her mother are finding Tunisian crochet easier than "regular," and are having a lot of fun with it. Snow and ice are expected on Friday, and everyone is in a tizzy about it.  I did groceries today, which had been the plan even before I heard that snow was possible.  Go anywhere near a grocery store tomorrow?  Nothankyou.

 They're still moving a little. A friend asked me to make some handwarmers for her daughter, and as I was looking through yarn, I came across lots of small skeins of worsted.  They're lots of different colors, and I decided to make a blind-draw scarf.  So far: The tiny needles have churned out Anyone else ever lived with a "Supernatural" fan? Or been one yourself? I'm not sure what they know, but this piece spoke to me.  ( Subversive Cross-Stitch , never change.) A week without Madeleine.  Why, after all the pets we've had, has this hit me extra hard?  I'm supposed to pick up her ashes Friday.  That may help.  Or not.

Okay, I know I didn't order this. There was no information on the packing slips, so . . . Thank you.  Whomever you are.

Did one of y'all send this to me? If so, thank you.  It's possible I ordered it and just forgot, of course.  Either way, I am very glad it's here, and find it interesting that the cow and donkey are giving side eye to Baby Jesus. Briton called me this afternoon --- I haven't spoken to him since Christmas, maybe?  I do know that he hasn't checked on me since I told him and Hannah about Maddie.  (Haven't heard from her, either.)  Did he ask how I was doing?  Did he ask anything about what happened?  No, he did not.  It should have ripped the wound of her death open wider, but it just started a new pain.  Did I not raise caring people?  The dam holding back any uncried tears from the week has been crushed.

You are sad as long as you're sad.  This, though, made me smile.  Both gone now: Toddler (?) Madeleine and Official Welcomer (?) Rupert.  He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but had loads of personality and his own kind of charm. Also, some of my Yodas in the background there.

Thank you for your support.  So many of you are pet parents, too, so I don't have to do a lot of explaining.  I've made the arrangements for her cremation.  I'm watching Riley and Tap to see how they're doing.  When our Best Dog Ever, Jessie, died suddenly, a cat we had at the time, Gable, grieved to death.  He adored Jess, and once she was gone, he sort of stopped everything.  I don't want Tap or Riley to go through that.  Admittedly, Riley is 19 years old, so a dip in her health could come from anything. Madeleine was 15, and was a diabetes patient for almost 10 years.  It's weird;  I can't throw her insulin away yet.  The syringes weren't a problem --- I guess the system of delivery isn't as precious as what was being delivered.  She came to us in the wheel well of Briton's car.  She was named for the character he was playing in a show just then.  He had been to some sort of cast get together one night, and when I went ...

That old saw that what you do on New Year's Day is what you'll do that year.  Because I am sitting here sobbing over my Madeleine. She died last night.  I took her to the vet school, but it was too late.  I don't know what else to say.