From Spring Back To Winter

I woke up this morning to a skiff of snow though it’s warming up now and the snow is mostly melted. It’s interesting how much brighter it is even though it’s overcast when there’s something besides grass and mud to reflect the light. No wonder people in colder places don’t suffer as much from SAD as we do here. They at least have more natural light even if it’s too cold and icy to want to venture out in it. I have to admit we don’t have it as bad as Prince Rupert to the north of us. They get even more overcast days and rain there than we do. It’s the price we pay for our moderate ocean-influenced weather. Not that it’s been all that moderate this season! I’ve lost several of my plants that usually winter over just fine, including my potted geraniums and 2 of my potted heucheras that I brought up on the back porch for protection. Instead they got coated in a thick layer of ice during the storms and now they’re toast. Sigh. I should have put them in the greenhouse instead where they would have been safe. I never had a greenhouse before this past year so I’m just getting used to what it will protect and what it won’t. Experimentation is the name of the game over the next few years. That reminds me. I have to start some of my seeds very soon. I’m hesitating because the coleus are still down under my grow lights and they still have both white fly and aphids. But they’re alive! And it’s been darn hard work keeping them that way, I’ll tell you.

Meanwhile I’ve been getting somewhere on the Pomatomus socks. It makes a difference with the better needles and some concentration! I just might finish these within the next couple of days. But don’t hold your breath, eh? The Ocean socks are getting their heel flaps and the Cherry Leaf yarn is balled and ready to go as soon as the Pomatomi are done. I’m holding fast still. Yep.

I just heard from Jane Stafford, old friend and the dealer who ordered me my Victoria spinning wheel. She said that Louet is sending out a wee bit more padding for the lazy kate, which when put in the pack the way its supposed to be the bobbins can get damaged. Mine came with dings in them, one of which needed sandpaper to smooth enough to make me happy. She said the company will send me two new bobbins as well to replace them. I don’t actually mind the dings much since they coordinate nicely with the big one on the top of Tori’s upright anyway. (That one is totally my fault. Erp.) But it will be nice to have extra bobbins that I don’t have to pay over twenty bucks each for.

That reminds me that I haven’t done any spinning at all lately. I’ve got so many projects for which I already have the yarn that I don’t want to spin more without something in mind for it. I would like to spin up some of the lovely moorit merino I’ve got for another shawl (yet to be determined) but I want to do the Cherry Leaf first. If I have too many projects going at once I feel like it takes forever to finish anything. Something always ends up languishing on the back burner. UFOs R Us.