Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Ice and snow.....

I have decided that if I never see another shop, that is fine. For now, at least. So, feeling a bit of cabin fever, Jean and I popped up to our local garden centre for a coffee and a delicious fruit scone. Yesterday was beautiful. Freezing, of course, but sunny and blue skies .....well, you can see that in the photos.

In a stoke of genius, they decided to put in a real ice rink for the holiday season. Real, not artificial ice, that is, and it has been unbelievably popular. I love the little penguins to help little ones learn to skate!
And this gives you an idea of how cold it is. Has been. Continues to be. The fountain is frozen. And, acknowledging that this seems to be turning into a weather blog, the snow is on the way again. It has been snowing this morning but the main lot is due to deposit itself on top of us tonight and tomorrow. Oh joy. This does not happen in the UK.
The crochet attempts are coming along swimmingly. I have mastered the half treble now, and finally got the left hand to work smoothly, feeding the wool through, so I was really pleased with myself, and imagine the excitement when I looked at the ripple blanket pattern and I UNDERSTOOD it! Eureka! I know how to do the stitches!! I need to practice more though before I start that. Maybe next week. When I find the right wool. A small one. Very small. However, I have learned a new skill and it is just January 5th today, so that is a good start. In the creative department at least.
Now, if we could just extend the good start to all other areas of my life, that would be wonderful. I spent yesterday sorting paperwork. I would rather do just about anything else on earth. Such fun.
Missy gave me a lovely slow cooker cookbook for Christmas.....and I do believe I am going to go and find a recipe to make now. This is definitely slow cooker kind of weather!

6 comments:

Dawn said...

That frozen fountain is amazing! And the ice rink looks like a great idea - DC took the big girls skating at an outdoor rink recently and they push around something, but not something so clever as a penguin. Wish I'd had that kind of help when I was trying to skate as a kid! I spent a lot of time prone on the ice, but mostly in the warming house.

All this snow and ice is really incredible for you!

Dawn said...

P.S. That was very smart of Missy to get you such a gift!

Needled Mom said...

Those are certainly wintery scenes. I can't believe how cold it is and how much snow that you folks have had this year. The last few years seem to be so much colder than ever before in so many places.

A slow cooker? What a great idea. Your weather is certainly begging for some good stews, etc.

Glad that you have mastered the crocheting. You are off to a good start in the new year. A nice heavy afghan on top of your lap will keep you warmer too. ;)

Vee said...

And will you tell us about that tomorrow? The recipe that is...I've run my slowcooker every couple of days for weeks now. I'm thinking that I need a penguin...what a cute thing and something brand new to me.

Chris said...

We're due for the same snow dump tomorrow as well. I think we're up to 11 or 12 inches now. At least the sun is shining! I'd much rather that than gloomy and dreary days.

Thanks for the early birthday wishes. We plan to paint the town red...or pink, as the paint will have to be mixed with the snow! :>)

Crystal said...

That fountain is pretty cool! I wonder if there will be frozen pipes when it thaws. We have had more snow here this year than we've had for a long time. Have fun with the cookbook - share your successes, okay? And I am totally impressed that you are doing so well with crocheting! Wow!!