Homebodies

Even though my husband and I love our little adventures, we are also both homebodies at heart.  This weekend, we spent some quiet time at our little home and loved every minute.  We had wonderful friends over for dinner on Saturday, which was a great excuse to share in one of our favorite forms of entertainment:  eating.  My husband cooked, and did a great job.  Today we both took time to do things we enjoy.  I finished a sweater (mostly), and he finished a bike (also mostly--in his case it requires more searching on eBay for parts).

As a result of entertaining, the house is also really, really clean.  I put this cutwork table runner on our little linen cabinet.  I have a weak spot for antique linen, and I especially love cutwork.  I think my fascination with it comes from the fact I have no interest in actually learning how to do it.  I'll stick to knitting, thank you!

 

My paperwhites are finished, so I also added some fresh flowers to our sofa table.  The bird carvings were made by my grandfather, and are among my most prized possessions.  The vase holding the flowers once held cream purchased from a local dairy.  The dairy has since closed, but I used to love taking my empty bottles back to exchange for full.

Fergeson Ridge

We took a trip to Wallowa County Oregon this weekend, one of our favorite places.  

We had the pleasure of skiing at Fergeson Ridge, the ski hill operated by the Eagle Cap Ski Club.  Lift tickets (t-bar only) are $15, but the terrain is substantial.  One could get very, very good learning to ski here.  This weekend, even though it is mid January, early season conditions still held due to the low snowfall.  The groomers were icy and parts were covered with what my husband calls "frozen death cookies"--ball bearings of ice.  But the side trails and perimeters were wonderful and full of soft powder.  Getting to some of these areas is a bit of a trek, and at one point, skiing solo, I had the feeling I was being watched--by a cougar.  But it was probably my imagination.

Most people who ski "Fergie" know each other.  The place is run by volunteers.  Even still, everyone is very friendly, even to newcomers.  To say we felt at home in the warming hut is a bit of an understatement.   It was filled with toddlers and nursing mamas, and the woodstove grate was covered with drying kids' clothes.  We shared a set of tiny skis, borrowed free from the shop, with another family who also had a first-time skier, and meals for all of us cost $9--total.  (Granted one grilled cheese sandwich was free after he burned the first two!)

Despite the everybody-knows-everybody mentality, they do try to keep the operation professional.  A sign clearly indicates that dogs should stay leashed and off the runs.  I found this sign to be about 50 percent effective:  the dogs were off the runs, but at least one unleashed dog was finding more exciting things in the parking lot.  Specifically, he found a leftover over ham and cheese sandwich.  A man walking past asked, "is that your dog?", to which I replied, "no, but that was my sandwich."  Note to self:  keep truck bed secure to prevent four-legged thieves!

We also spent a little time at the south end of Wallowa Lake.  I have to say I found it much more enjoyable in the dead of winter, without the summer crowds and noise.  This time, we only heard the muted sounds of snow falling, interrupted by the occasional owl. 

Finally!!

Snow!  And a lot of it!  I can't even believe to tell you how beautiful it was last night.  I had to get up a couple times to respond to the call of "Mama" and each time I almost regretted falling back asleep instead of enjoying the view of the snow covered pear tree from our bedroom window.  When snow covers every surface, it almost seems that it never really gets truly dark.   

I love our little yard at all times of the year.  Granted, I probably love it most in the spring when I am practically dizzy with excitement of my newly emergent bulbs, but the snow is pretty awesome too.   Especially deep, deep mounds of untracked snow.

Last night we skied around the neighborhood.  The friends of ours that bought us the Burley bike trailer bought the ski attachment as well.  This attachment allows an adult to pull the trailer while skiing.  We skied about two miles around the neighborhood, and timed it perfectly with a power outage.  A cold, dark, quiet, snowy ski around the neighborhood.  Not everyone shovels their sidewalk to Burley-width, adding to the excitement.  The power was still out when we returned, so we went out for pizza.  Can a day really be any more perfect?

Knitting Weather

To say I am disappointed with the weather this year is a bit of an understatement.  After a promising Thanksgiving weekend with lots of snow, we have had nothing in the way of precipitation.  It doesn't bode well for the water year, and it doesn't bode well for our frame of mind!

But, given that we have limited options for playing in the absence of snow, my knitting needles have been busy!  I had a yarn-centric holiday, with visits to three different local yarn shops:  Paradise Fibers, Little Knits, and of course my home town favorite, The Yarn Underground. 

The result of these pilgrimages is that my stash has increased in volume, with some really gorgeous yarn! 

I have no idea what I'm going to do with these two skeins of Araucania Lenga, a cotton blend, but I am thinking a nice scarf or hat.  It was on sale at Paradise Fibers and I couldn't resist.  Paradise Fibers has grown a lot since it existed in the basement of my friend Kate!  I was overwhelmed with the selection of both yarns and notions.  The real jaw dropper though was the $70 hank of bison yarn!  I was really interested in it, as my grandfather who just passed away loved bison, but I didn't know what I would use it for and any project I could think of would require two skeins at least!

I am so in love with this Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool that was a Christmas present, and purchased at Little Knits!  I have in mind making this sweater with it!   

Here is the Christmas present from my husband.  I have been picking up and putting down this yarn every time I go into the Yarn Underground and I finally have a project for it!  It's Joseph Galler Prime Alpaca and I'm going to make this cardigan, as soon as I finish my two current projects.  


I also just finished a plethora of Christmas gifts for others:  four hats in all!  The name of this hat is "Foliage" and was in the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty.

Check out the detail of the pattern!  It was fun to knit and not too challenging, although I made several mistakes (can you spot any)??

I also made the Twisted Reversible Hat by Dorothy Jane for a friend of mine using locally spun yarn (Feline Fibers) purchased at the Yarn Underground.  I like it so much I think I'll make one for myself at some future date! 

I made the Girls Lacy Sun Hat for a toddler friend of mine.   It turned out well, despite several do-overs. 

So what am I knitting now?  I am trying to finish up a baby gift.  The baby is already here, but that's how I roll--never knit a newborn size!  I'm also making this sweater for myself and love a quick knit on bulky yarn!!

Skiing in the Backcountry

Aneroid Mountain

I saw an advertisement for New Belgium's winter ale, Snow Day, in a magazine today and it made me regretful that we haven't had one yet (snow day that is, although I'm sure the Snow Day is nice too).  We are still stuck in a high pressure with little moisture and hardly any snow since Thanksgiving.  

The lack of snow didn't stop my husband and his buddies from going on their annual backcountry ski trip to the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon.   

They didn't have much snow, but they managed to find a few nice spots anyway.

Mt. Andy

My husband also heard, for the first time, the sound you're not supposed to hear while skiing in the backcountry:  whomping.  All was well, but it does make one appreciate beacon drills in the backyard (even the one where the neighbor found me hiding behind his garbage cans, and the best excuse I could come up with at the time was "I'm playing hide and seek with my husband"!

Looking into Big Sheep Basin

Hubby takes good pictures, no???

McCully Basin

Sunrise

I have to admit that there is one thing that I like about this season of short days:  even those of us who don't normally get up early see a lot of sunrises.

This was the view from the home of friends in Seattle.  Best if seen while drinking tea.


I had the best Christmas vacation ever.  I really loved my twelve days!