Snowmageddon Week 2

 

The Weather Outside's Been Frightful
But all This Snow's Delightful!

The weather this past week has been unpleasant up here in the beachy north. Temperatures have unreliably fluctuated between 28 to 52℉ (-2 to 11℃), and it has rained, snowed, and blown a gale (up to 50mph/80kph), sometimes all at once. When it's been clear, it's been cold or windy. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time holed up in the blanket fort, hooking up a small blizzard.

In total, I now have nearly a dozen snowflakes! I believe that on last Monday, I had only 4 or 5 completed. I have... more now.

I actually ended up taking pictures of all of the snowflakes I've completed up to now (including the ones from last week, sorry).

Snowmageddon Part 1

Snowmageddon Part 2

The snowflakes I've completed since last Monday are as follows:

Snowflake #1

Crochet Snowflake

Cake Head Snowflake

Lace Snowflake

Chocolate Chip Eater

Snowflake Corfu

That list above links directly to either the Ravelry page for that pattern or the pattern itself (if the pattern is on someone else's website/blog). And if I can crochet them by desk lamp light while the wind howls outside and my coffee cools on my desk, you can crochet them, too!

There is a lot of counting involved in some of these flakes, and it takes me an average of 45 minutes to make each one. In fact, it took me over 8 hours to crochet all of the snowflakes in the last two weeks that I've done. I only skipped one day, but I've hooked a few in one day, too.

On average, it takes about 45 minutes for me to crochet these using hooks between 1.5mm and 2mm on the white cotton crochet thread you can pick up at Wal-Mart. The longest I spent on a flake was an hour and a half (on the Chocolate Chip Eater), and the fastest flake I made was the "Crochet Snowflake", which took a little over 15 minutes to make. If you're going to make one single design of a flake, that might be the one to make en masse.

If you're going for fancy flakes, though, I'm really loving the humorously named flurry of patterns that Jessica Wifall is putting out this year on Ravelry, so if you're on there, those might be your idea of a good time, too. The Wifall patterns are taking me an hour or more per flake, but they're delightfully complex-looking while not being overly complicated, stitch-wise. In fact, it's mostly just a lot of yarning over for hilariously long stitches (really, I've never even seen a trtr stitch before this month, and they're so fun to make - yarn over 4x and start pulling through over and over!) and counting chains.

The crop of snowflakes available this year is magnificent, and if you're looking to make yourself a bunch of ornaments and learning some new patterns, this is definitely the year to do it.

Let's get flakey, y'all!

And Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Am Still Alive

Guess who hasn't had the energy to blog in a few days lol. While yes, I did get my shot last week and yes, my previous doses were 24-hour affairs... this time it took until *today* for me to feel better. And I got my shot last Wednesday. Nearly a week of soreness and weird sleep. I don't know why this booster was so much rougher than my previous doses, but it's nice to have the full range of motion back in my shoulder. Even yesterday, it was hard to shift my shoulder, so crochet was basically out of the question.

This was also the first time I ended up with lymph node swelling.

And to top it all off, we had a blizzard. I get very hibernatory when we get blizzards lol.

I also started rearranging my room, which if you know me is QUITE the chore lol. I haven't finished, but boy do I have a lot of cardboard to get rid of now lol. There'll be more after tomorrow.

Yesterday I was still sore and tired and I couldn't focus. Today I'm just tired, but I had a headache when I woke up and couldn't shake it until dinner tonight. I actually worried I'd miss another blog, and I know this one's going up late again.

I think the weather's getting to me. It's hard to leave the house once it snows. The city takes days to clear the sidewalks out here and the ice is very slippery. I know there are cleats, but those are for walking from your house to the mailbox, not walking a mile round trip every few days. I always wear them down to rusty nubs by the end of winter. Being stuck inside isn't all that good for human beings. 

Aaaaaanywho, I have been staying up too late lately and waking up either super early or super late, so my sleep schedule needs a refresh. My intention over the next week is to:

• Post Art on Thursday
• Post Crochet on Monday
• Blather at you all on Tuesday

And if I hit all three of those goals, I'll be doing well.

Now I'm gonna go see if there's any good teal hair dyes out there for brunettes...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday - The Cold and the Foodiful

 

In Which It's NOT WARM and I Got A Box of Food!

Let me begin by saying that this is not a food review! I have not even cracked into the box of food I received courtesy of my partner splurging on stuff from YamiBuy. This is instead your friendly neighborhood Casual blathering on a hecking cold and windy day.

It's sunny, which is a relief after two days of freezing cold rain, but holy moly, March is 100% roaring in like a lion. The winds are gusting up to about 12-38mph (19.3-61.2kph), and it's a frigid 20℉ (-6.7℃) with a real feel of approximately... 3 to 8℉ (-16 to -13℃). If you are imagining me wrapped in every blanket and fleece I own, desperately stuffing my fingers under my armpits to keep them from freezing... you're not all that far off lol.

It is freaking freezing.

Somehow, it's going to warm up to springlike temps this week? Sure.

But last night, a highly anticipated box was dropped off on my doorstep, and it was almost as wide as my doorway so getting it inside was awkward but WHO CARES IT'S COOL ASIAN FOODS!

Here's what we got:

Four Different Kinds of Self-Heating Hotpots to try!

That Yakisoba we really loved with the mustard mayo!

Mi goreng - one of the most versatile noodz for adding stuff to!

Dried tofu skin?, Squid flavored Lay's, and chicken flavored Cheetos!

Delicious delicious Ramune in both Yuzu citrus and Original flavors!

What I saw when I opened the box and took the air balloons out

I have never had Tteok-bokki before, but I can't wait to try them!

Beef & Sauerkraut Noodz? Alright! Can't wait to try 'em! 

This is how the Ramune were packaged - double-layered bubble wrap scrolls!

In short: We have SO MUCH COOL STUFF TO TRY! I can't wait to get started!

I had one of the yakisobas today for lunch - they're just as good as ever, but with a few differences - the instructions are 100% Japanese on these ones, the cabbage is just hanging out with the noodles and not packaged separately, the mustard mayo packet was easier to open and had a narrower opening leading to really nice coverage, the spices in the spice packet were more tan (garlic?) than green (seaweed?) and had significantly more white pepper, but the overall meal was exactly like I remember :)

Delicious.

I'm doing bonkbubble work and picking away at the good ol stocking today while trying to stay warm. I might go down and grab some lemon tea or coffee to warm up with.

Which means that that's all from me today - it's cold! My plans this week are the same as always:

• Art Thursday
• Crochet on Monday
• Blather on Tuesday :P

Looking forward to exploring these new flavors.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS: This blog is not sponsored in any way - we just tried a new way to get snax since travelling out of town is not really feasible right now!!!

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Just Don't Have Any Focus lol

Yesterday was... not my best day. I fully intended to finish the stocking, get some writing done, etc, but... I woke up with a pounding atmospheric headache that never got better throughout the day. I felt run-down, overstuffed, and unproductive. I did a little art, but I never got around to doing the stocking, so I'm sorry about that!

Last night as I was laying in my bed, letting the pounding in my head match my heartbeat, I listened to the cold rain pouring outside and just... let myself relax.

And what do you know...

I slept like a rock.

And woke up actually feeling alright!

So you'd probably guess that I got some crocheting done today, right?

Lol of course not!

I started off with lofty aspirations! I was going to do some work today! I was going to clean up my room and write a page of my novel and finish that dang stocking and wash my window while it was still 36℉(2.2℃) and do art!

I did art at least lol.

I, in fact, came up with a bunch of future palettes to play with, and I finished about 5 complete rounds on the now infamous bonkbubble piece!

But that's literally all I did besides suck down coffee and lemon tea (oh god it's so good) and generally was otherwise unproductive.

It was a pretty decent day, however, and I feel like sometimes I'm just going to be less productive than I want. I'd like to get more done tomorrow than I did today, which I feel has a good chance of happening, since I did more today than yesterday!

Still, that's two days that never really seemed like they got started.

Hopefully tomorrow gets rolling with a cup of coffee and a spark of inspiration :)

Despite the rain last night, it's still a winter wonderland outside - just slipperier in some places.

We had half a dozen Mallard ducks under the feeders with a huge flock of robins puffing themselves up for warmth in our scrubby swam ash trees, and the doves have been frequenting the clothesline, where they line up and mutter quietly to each other. I don't know what they're plotting, but at least they're cute while they're doing it.

My grandmother may be going home from the hospital soon, but we're not sure when her cat will be joining her. The cat, who resembles a sweet-eyed bowling ball with legs and a muscular monkey tail, has continued eating my cat's food, regardless of how high we put it because she's figured out how to jump. To her credit, Evie is finally letting her objections to the new cat's intrusions be known - she pounced at her (okay, from like 4 feet away, Other Cat was in zero danger!) while Other Cat was trying to get cuddly with my mom, who is my cat's favorite.

There's also been a train horn blaring every few hours all day. My mother is bothered by this. I find it soothing, though it is exciting, too, because I'm pretty sure that's a different engine than I'm used to. I'm used to more of a "HONNNNNNNKKKKK" and this is more of a  "Hoooooonnnnkkkkk", which, I'm sure you can tell, is quite different!

I might be going a bit mad.

It's Quarantine. We're all mad here.

So yeah, I'm not going to pretend that the schedule is set in stone, but here are my tentative plans, pending energy, focus, and life events:

• Thursday: post some art, or at least another palette update!
• Weekend: Maybe actually get around to reviewing tea lol
• Monday: Hope to have the stocking done, we'll see.
• Next Tuesday: More Blather

I hope you're all safe out there in the world, whatever you're doing, and I hope you can all

Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

In Which I Talk A Lot

 It's been... quite the February.

For the last week or so, we've been watching my grandmother's animals because she had to go to the hospital, and having undergone surgery recently, cannot be taking care of her pets right now.

Her dog is big, not trained, and several handsful of misbehavior and neurosis. We were not at all equipped to care for him, so most of last week was spent trying to either get a handle on him or at least put him in a kennel we know can give him the best possible care. It was hard because there were issues at first trying to get him into the kennel. He hadn't had 100% of his vaccinations, but thankfully we were able to get him the meds he needed and he went off to his doggy spa vacation.

I feel bad about it because he's a needy fella and we couldn't give him what he needed.

HOWEVER.

He also was a menace with the cats, both my grandmother's and mine, and at one point he tried to stomp on one, so it was not a good situation. He could absolutely not stay here for their safety.

My cat is a very chill but slightly nervous critter. She likes to have a full house, yes, but she also likes to be able to walk where she wants when she wants, and that wasn't possible with the hundred pound hump machine (did I mention he had a thing for blankets?) on the loose. She isn't very big, either, so it was a super bad combo.

My grandmother's cat is a bit of a chonker. Her tummy is a little too big, and she's got this ridiculously muscular, almost prehensile tail that she uses to smack things to get your attention. She's a talker (likes to meow a lot more than mine does!) and she's... well... she's a beggar. She'll saunter up to you at mealtime and try to pull herself into your lap from the floor, meowing and staring. It's only slightly more polite than my cat, who'll hop on the table and jam her face into your plate if you don't stop her.

This new cat also likes to eat my cat's food, which, if you remember my fears a year or two ago from before her surgery, is super not okay. Evie needs her food.

We think that even her birthday treat (extra fancy shreddy food in tasty gravy!) was stolen this year.

And the new cat likes to sit on my mother for cuddles, rub on Evie's usual rubby spots, and play with Evie's toys.

We're fine with her taking ownership of the catnip toys, since Evie literally could not care less about those.

We're less fine about her taking over Evie's beloved mice.

But she's a guest, and she's not a hundred pounds of nervous energy, and it's nice to see her relaxed.

Even if she kinda bullies my cat.

So that's been my week - adjusting to new pet dynamics and not getting much sleep (I was convinced the dog was going to eat one of the cats the few nights he was here, and I did not sleep at all). I also managed to corrupt my bonkbubble art somehow (thanks windows updates...) so I had to start over. Thankfully, though, this time I know more tricks and it shouldn't take me several weeks to get back to where I was lol.

As for writing, I have to admit, I haven't been doing much of that, though I've been coming up with more ideas (oh no, not those!) and new scenes for the current project (a much more reasonable thing lol).

I did more crochet on the stocking today, and I hope to get even more done by next Monday!

Here's my plans for this week/weekend:

• Thursday I should have some progress to report, if not some sketches to show off
• Maybe I'll get back to tea at some point? I kind of switched to the comfort of coffee while the pet drama was going on, so I haven't been teaing it up as much. I hope to get some chamomile or peppermint in tonight though
• Monday will be more Stocking Updates
• Next Tuesday will hopefully be less dramatic and more creative lol

The inclement weather has hit us up here, now, and my deck is coated in a half inch of slush. I can hear snow-removal going on out on the roads, the squeal and screech of reluctant metal, the roar of a plow, the hum and rattle of a sander. I can also hear rain and ice splattering down from the heavens. Ugh.

I can deal with snow, but ice is trash.

It's a bit brighter now than it was before, but the sky is still gray, gray, gray, and it's around 32℉ (0℃) out there right now. I can see the soggy, slushed-up pine boughs waving and my window screen is wobbling so I know it's windy on top of the gross wetness. I hope everyone stays safe.

I hope that, if you're digging out after your storms and aren't used to this sort of thing (Louisiana, Texas, etc), you're okay. I hope the power comes back on soon for those who've lost power, the pipes thaw without incident, the snow and ice recede without flooding. I hope you're alright.

If you are, then...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday: First Blizzard of 2021

 

In Which I Have A Good Excuse Today!

Probably 75% of the time when I have a late blog entry (or none at all!) it's because I'm lazy. I know, I know, that's such a shock (sarcastic eyeroll), but today is different, I swear!

Our power went out.

Because we're in the middle of a blizzard and there was a car accident somewhere nearby and it knocked out our power.

So I couldn't upload until now! I was going to! Was, in fact, just about to shut down today's playtime on Stardew Valley to start working on the blog, which was going to talk about how boring the snowstorm has been and how many ducks are in my yard and how Nolan the Farmer and Elliott the Writer have a kid now (Trish), but uh... boop! No power!

Now, I had internet because my old man has the net hooked up to a battery backup that worked, but I don't like running my computer off of battery (what with the last two laptops failing in the battery/power supply area) and I wasn't sure how long the power would be out (estimates were that it'd be off for maybe 5 hours!) but thankfully, the local guys got the power back up... 12 minutes ago. Two hours early.

If I was wearing a hat, I'd take it off to them.

It's been quite the day.

Here's my plan for the rest of the week into next week:

• Thursday: More Art (probably won't be done with the digital bonkbubble) 
• Weekend: Might do a tea review and/or a video game review but I can make no promises!
• Next Monday: I hope I'm finished with the stocking, but who knows? Maybe the cuff will cause problems...
• Next Tuesday: I'll be back to jaw atcha

I'd like to take a second here and say that I really, really don't like winter anymore. I used to love it as a kid, but like most people, once I started having to do things like shovel snow and walk on icy roads, it became a chore to even wake up after November...

Not to mention that I'm a wimp and hate being cold unless I'm wrapped in blankets and curled up in bed. Then I want my face chilly and my hands toasty. Unfortunately it tends to be the other way around...

Regardless, I'm beginning to hate winter a lot, and losing power in the winter is so much scarier than losing it in the spring through fall. Spring? Eh, it'll be a lil chilly but I'll be fine. Bored but fine. Summer? Ugh. Windows open, water in hand, but doable. Fall? Crisp and comfy, so I'm golden. Winter? Well... if it's out too long we'll have to go for an extended drive, I guess... hope you can catch the cat in the dark and put her in her carrier so she doesn't freeze in our heatless home...

So yeah. I'm whining right now.

But I'll bet you anything I'll wake up tomorrow, toasty-toed and swaddled in blankets, and look outside to the marshmallow world and think

"Dang"

"That's pretty"

And then I'll go downstairs and make my coffee while watching what seems like every Mallard duck in the state (seriously we had over 30 today, I counted about 15 pairs!) huddled under the bird feeders, all facing the same direction like boats anchored in a bay. I'll pet the kitty, curled up in the chair she probably kicked my mom out of at some point in the morning, and I'll sip my brew while thinking of story ideas. All of the stress from today will be forgotten in the face of a new day.

Not to be confused with the WWE tag team/stable.

I think I'll work on my book for a bit after posting this blog.

It's only taken 27 minutes from the power coming back on for most of my anxiety and bitterness to depart. I don't fear the cold like I should. I fear the dark. I can't see and I'm really clumsy. I hate accidentally stepping on cat toes.

Sorry this is a bit scattershot!

I hope you're all safe and cozy :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Blizzard Watch 2020

 

The Leaves Have Fallen, Time To Think Chilly!

Somebody is typing this sleepily from their bed.

It me.

I meant to write this blog earlier today, but I've been busy with book stuff, brewing two separate pots of tea (more on that tomorrow lol), making Yakisoba, and crocheting up a storm. Almost literally.

See, as soon as the last leaf falls, I start to ease out of Autumn Mode and tumble slowly towards the Winter. Since it's the last week of November, that's fine.

Basically, what happens is this: I start crocheting my Christmas gifts for everyone right before Thanksgiving, they're finished (hopefully) by Christmas itself, and then I keep going past New Years with winter-themed items which usually find a home in one of my mom's decoration totes in the cellar until the next year.

This year, I've resolved to make snowflakes. A lot of snowflakes. As many as I have white thread for.

Since I realized last week that I'd utterly botched at least three early rows of that spiderweb doily, I'm going to frog it and cannibalize that thread for more snow. Here's what I've got so far (sans two, which had fallen out of the pile as I transferred it onto my coziest blanket for the photo op!):

This year's blizzard is coming along nicely!

Snowflakes are especially fun to work on when it's pouring rain outside (I'm being a tad sarcastic there), but it's a fairly mindless process once you have the first section of each round done. They tend to be the same pattern six to twelve times in a round. Thankfully, they're also one of the most common types of pattern on the internet and you can find dozens of varieties for free!

Next year, probably starting January 1, I plan to make at least 100 snowflakes throughout the year, and I hope to sell them come next November, so... keep your eyes peeled!

For now, though, this batch needs to be woven in, pressed, blocked, and starched. Then I can worry about the next batch :)

Wow, my eyes are really heavy right now - it's nearly midnight lol.

Go Enjoy Something, folks!

FC

Wednesdaymania 250: Wintermania week 2

In Which I Discuss Silly Winter Wrestling

Once upon a time, there was a gentleman by the name of Glenn Jacobs. Glenn wanted to be a professional wrestler, so he got trained and tried out and got hired. All normal stuff so far. He had it all - immense height, strong shoulders, and that All-American Meathead look, so the world should've been his oyster.

He struggled to find his gimmick, however. It's hard to stand out in a world of Macho Men and Hulks Hogan and the like. Eventually, he wrestled as a sadistic dentist, but early on, he went by the same name as one of my state's Senators, and then Christmas rolled around...

It was 1992. Glenn was working for the USWA at the time, and they had a Christmas show to run, but they needed a wrestler to wear a costume. Thus, Glenn Jacobs, sometimes called Unabomb (yikes) and sometimes known as Doomsday (much cooler), donned a colorful suit and became known, for a very short moment, as The Christmas Creature!

Yes. This is actually him.
Yes, this is actually what he wore.
Yes. He wrestled in this.

Now, if something about the name Glenn Jacobs has been bothering you this whole time, perhaps you know him as the mayor of Knox County, TN.

Or maybe you know him as his much more successful in-ring gimmick, which he wrestles in to this day...

You might just know him as...

KANE!

So there you are, kids - the story of how a man fought and scrabbled his way in to almost accidental fame despite horrible gimmicks to become a world famous pro-wrestler and a politician. Do I quite understand how one goes from a Unabomber gimmick to the beast which slew Superman to a Hobby Lobby Monster to a generic tough guy to a sadistic dentist before ending up as a literal Demon? Not in the least, but it's amazing.

Never give up kids.

You may be the Christmas Creature today, but tomorrow, you may be world famous.

Keep crackin!

Go Enjoy Something
FC