# Knitting weather



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

How is the weather around your place?

:teehee:

Lets have a check-in thread for this arctic blast, shall we?
Keep warm, my friends.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Hate to make anybody jealous but it's warmer than usual. In fact our whole winter in Washington has been fairly mild except for one night of -33 wind chill.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

here in Oregon we awoke to frost, about 28 degrees ..... sun coming out !


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

It's cold  , and there's a bit more snow on the ground than expected, but nothing terribly outrageous here. No schools cancelled due to cold or anything crazy like some of you all are experiencing.

I crocheted myself a big squishy infinity scarf yesterday so I'll be able to keep warm while we make our traditional 'out-to-the-movies-before-winter-break-is-officially-over' trip. I honestly don't care much for outings like this, and the snow is making me really HATE the idea, but by golly, there are traditions to uphold.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Tucson is cool 39 F, definitely knitting weather for us. My second favorite time of year! Blessings, sis


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

It is 18* here and snowing sideways. 
Maybe 5 inches so far, blowing up onto the porch and howling wind.
Even the angora goats have remembered how to go inside their bunker.

I have all 3 woodstoves roaring and two different knitting projects to choose from.
Plus cocoa.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

School has been canceled for many due to the expected cold. Dh has been working many hours and he came home an hour early yesterday to get ready for the snow we might get up 12+ inches. He is supposed to work 16 hrs. today,so sinse it's 1 1/2 hrs from home, he might not even come home tonight.He even took my vehicle to work cause his driverside window decided to come off the track and fall down inside the door. The engine heater hasen't been enough to keep it warm,so he even has been putting a light on top of the engine and a elec heater underneath. Thank goodness I keep 4 blankets and a pillow inside my ride. Course I have a box of dog cookies in there too,but I dought he will get That desperate. I'm keeping the fire going,tomorrow,I'll probably fire up the wood cookstove too. For some strange reason I'm craveing French toast.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

It is fine today, but tomorrow! Yikes!
Windy with crazy low wind chills and tomorrow night lows around 2*. Tuesday frigid and more super low lows that night too.

Today is the run around and try to get everything secure before then.
Heat lamps in the potting shed for my herbs, heat lamp on the fiber rabbits (which are going to a new home the first slightly warmer day) and a myriad of other stuff.


Then just sittin and knittin.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

Scratch the movies. I checked road conditions, and the highway that takes us to the movies is totally snow packed. We're going to head over to RedBox and rent a couple movies instead, with the promise of a movie date as soon as the weather cooperates on a weekend and I don't have to work.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Snowing sideways......................check
almost a foot on the ground........check
low near -20 tonight...................check
critters happily hunkered down....check

Wood..... coffee...... wool......mohair..........some solitude.......


Was this thread inspired via _concerns_ over the weather, or some sort of subliminal euphoria ?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

As I type, DH is shoveling the driveway. He'll do it again later this afternoon.

I knit a pair of legwarmers for our 4 month old neice, and another pair for our 9 month old grandson for Christmas. Last night I finished the pair for our 18 month old granddaughter. 

We have been putting up styrofoam insulation in the basement of our new old house (a 1952 house we'll be retiring to). Two layers of 1" board. It makes a real difference in the temp of the basement. We are now only a couple of degree difference from the upstairs to the basement. Next is drywall and the floor.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

No snow here and the sun is shining. It is 16* outside though, supposed to go below 0 for tonight, and the wind should be picking up as well.
Dh is snoozing in front of the woodstove, he brought some sort of crud home with him, and I'm very busy taking Zicam so I won't get it.:thumb:


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## jd4020 (Feb 24, 2005)

Well, everything FR said. (not much but,,,maybe a tad bit warmer--lol--we are further south after all  )
They even cancelled church this morning. We spent the morning doing what we could for the animals we have -they seem to be o.k.--no shivering. Now inside cleaning up. Planning either veggie soup or ham 'n' beans & cornbread for supper.
Sposed to get -16 tonight and not much above zero til Tuesday.
Stay safe & warm.
God bless,
jd


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Subliminal euphoria, Forerunner? Why hide it? Sheer bliss is something to revel in! Especially if you can get fuzzy goodness to go with. Ah! Hot chocolate, too! Now all I need is an excuse to stay inside and knit. Hope everyone has enough yarn and warmth stocked up for the next week!

I think there might be some knitting weather around here and I think other folks might be going along with the idea, too. My yarn seller at the local farmer's market sent me an email yesterday titled "Yarn Emergency" that said she'd sold out of all the angora yarn I'd sent in to her and she wants more. (Yay!) So the folks at the farmer's market must think it's knitting weather.

We've been using the electric blanket and have been wearing fuzzy slippers since it's been cold. No heaters (or insulation) in the house so what ever the temperature is outside, it's pretty much the same thing inside. As far as actual weather goes, well, it's been a bit chilly and rainy lately. I think there were about twenty inches of rain the last week of December, but it seems to be slacking off a bit. Currently, there's a bit of sunshine peeking out behind the clouds, the thermometer claims it's about sixty and it's about eight in the morning. Probably mow the lawn later today since it's been too wet to do it for a couple of weeks. If it starts raining again, though, then I can stay inside and knit.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

We are at a balmy -6.5. Woot! A heat wave! Cold is coming tonight and it will get down to -22 or colder. Hard to tell. Wind chills will be -50 to -60. Weeee! 

I made some wild rice chicken mushroom soup. Utterly delicious, made with real cream...I can about hear my arteries clog as I enjoy yet another cup full. Running out now to take some over to my sister along with some of mama's chicken thighs. She takes a de-boned thigh and pulls it out flat, they layers in ham and cheese, adds seasoning and rolls it all up and uses tooth picks to hold it together while they simmer on the stove top. Very yummy. 

I am almost done with my second hooded infinity scarf. Crochet a bit, have soup, crochet a bit, have another taste of soup... what a delightful day!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

last night there were six inches of snow on the ground. Now there's 10 except in the drifts that are a couple feet deep and it's coming down good and steady. I must say that the trees are beautiful today- the snow last night must not have included much wind. The first thing DH did this morning was get my car stuck at the bottom of the driveway in a drift. He hadn't been outside in 2 weeks and didn't look behind him when he backed up. We spent an hour this afternoon digging it out but ended up having to pull it with the truck. Now we're all snug as little bugs and I think a nap is calling me. No school tomorrow- except for my poor son that's home schooled. The only change here is that I put the sheep in the barn for the night and probably all day tomorrow. Brrrr....it's gonna be colder than we've had it in a few years.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I have everything one could need here, except for solitude. 
Headphones are my alternative. La la la, I cant hear you!!! 

Mr. Grouchypants is keeping the basement stove going though, so that is something.


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## sweet_mae (May 11, 2002)

It has been snowing here since early morning. So far we have gotten about 8 inches on top of the snow that we got earlier in the week. We are supposed to get up to 12 inches here in central IN. Schools are closed tomorrow and the Mayor is asking businesses to also close. Because of the temps we are expecting. Around noon tomorrow it is supposed to be around -17 I am getting ready to make a poncho/caplet of some kind I am searching patterns now. Any suggestions on a easy pattern:help:
Stay warm everyone, and have a great day


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

the low today (so far) was -24ÂºF and that was at about 10:00am- we are all the way up to -11ÂºF with the sun shining. Too cold to snow with only a slight breeze but that is keeping us at a "feels like" temp of -22ÂºF with the wind chill. Stepping out to get fire wood is gnarly and we are definitely keeping score as to whose turn it is! :frypan:

Tonite/tomorrow morning is when the dangerous winds are supposed to come and make things really interesting with -60Âº to -70ÂºF windchills.  Every school in the state will be closed in an unprecedented preemptive move by the Governor- but we will be going to work. 

The woodstove is keeping the front room warm (enough) and I have a hot rice bag on my neck- and I am wearing wool slippers over wool socks to keep my toes nice and toasty. 

I have started knitting a "free range" wrap/shawl using lots of handspun- so that is keeping me busy whilst we watch the football playoffs. 

Cabin Fever ventured out yesterday to run an errand and discovered that we had freezing precipitation on Friday night and that our roads were glare ice. Still, last night we heard fireworks from the annual Ice Festival about 25 miles away at Breezy Point resort. 

We are happily hunkered down &#9829; and between football, old DVDs, Netflix, knitting, spinning, thinking about warping my peg loom, and cooking and eating, we are having a wonderful weekend.


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## BlueberryChick (May 12, 2008)

Brrrr! We're obviously not as cold as you all, but it's colder than usual here, highs barely above the 30's today and a low Tuesday predicted in the low teens. 

It's often a good five degrees colder at our place than the surrounding area (we're in a low spot, next to a river) so I won't be surprised to see single digits Tuesday. We also have a hugely pregnant goat, so I'm praying she won't have those kids until at least the end of the week.

Stay warm!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

It's COLD out there right now, and I only expect it to get colder! DH's work truck needs to be plugged in tonight, or it won't start tomorrow, and there are no outlets on the outside of our apartment building, so we just ran an extension cord out our patio door and stuffed the open crack. :teehee: So far, I notice no more of a draft than we normally have from just north-facing glass. 

Tomorrow I'm just going to hunker down and do a large amount of handsewing on a Norwegian folk costume, with large cups of coffee at hand. I will have a large lapful of wool, yay! Keep Philip in your thoughts and prayers as his job has him on roofs a lot.


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## HTG_zoo (Apr 18, 2011)

Cold and snowy here, I have so much to do too so I'm content with the next 2 days off


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Guess I survived the first of these cold nights. 
I realize that it gets a lot colder other places,
but we don't see negative numbers here too often.
Almost never. 

In fact, it was exactly zero when I got up, 
and I was a bit shocked to glance up just now and see it is now minus one.
The snowplow woke me up. :teehee:

I thought to myself as I went out onto the porch to get some more wood,
"So this is what WIHH goes through for half the year." 


I am going to drink too much coffee today, I can already tell. LOL


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I missed this thread yesterday. It's been snowing here for days. Yesterday when I left for work there was about 6" on the ground, I had shoveled the night before. When I got home it was insane. None of the roads other than maybe the main routes were plowed. I love my little car, it can get through just about anything. Everyone makes fun of me but hey I almost always make it. S when I got him I parked on the street so I could get my drive shoveled. I ate lunch first, drank a cup of yea and ventured out. Holy Moly! There was a foot of snow at least and it wasn't the fluffy stuff either. My road was bad and while I was shoveling several cars got stuck in the road so the neighbors out shoveling helped to get them unstuck. Then it was my turn to put my car back into the drive, yup, I got stuck. Finally with some help I was able to get it into the driveway. 

This morning when I went to work my road still had not been plowed and there Mn was as an additional 6" or so on the road and more still coming down. The temps are still relatively warm, the wind has picked up though. They are calling for us to have the lake effect snow on top of the other stuff and we are in a warning until tonight I think. I just barely got here, I got stuck a few times but was able to get myself unstuck. Once on the main roads it wasn't so bad. 3 coworkers called off today, I'm really unhappy about that. We are considered essential/emergency personnel and reporting for work is mandatory. Of course these people all called in sick so they couldn't be denied. Snow emergency has been called for some towns and counties. All the morning flights were cancelled with the exception of our 0545 flight, that went off without a hitch I think. So I'm down in the training room doing my training for the month and checking in here 

Definitely knitting/spinning weather, but only after I deal with the snow.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

-25 this morning and my car started. Yay! 

Gone-a-milkin, it really is true that if you are not used to this sort of weather it is much, much harder to cope with. I think there is something strange that happens to the brains of people in the far north. It happens when we are young and before long we are just like our elders - taking a kind of perverse pride in how cold it has to be before we are bothered by it. Or maybe we got dropped out our heads in a snowbank once too often when we were younger. Dunno how it happens, but it does. 

Physically, I like to say I am simply adapted to my climate. My extra body fat provides a wonderful layer of insulation. An occasional hot flash can be a bonus in Winter.  

Stay safe and well and warm, everyone! Hi ho, hi ho...it's off to work I go....


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I will add that my huge old farmhouse would never have been built like this in MN.
Keeping the pipes from freezing is a time-sink. LOL

When I lived in northern NM in an adobe, it was common to have 'real' winter.
The buildings were made for it though. That is a huge help.

I prefer being acclimated for 100* days quite honestly.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I really had to heap on the fiber this morning - thrummed mittens, wool socks, ice pack boots rated to -100ÂºF, wool pants, wool sweater, wool shawl wrapped my head, two alpaca scarves wound round my neck, a fleece lined arctic parka, a wool Capucine over my head - all that to go from the heated house to the garage to start the truck and load up stuff for our trip to work. I threw in our snowmobile insulated bibs as well as wool blankets, extra socks and mittens and wool hats "just in case". 

Made it work. One of my coworkers car won't go this morning so we'll see if any patients show up. I have plenty of office work to do whether we have patients show or not. Still- I dread walking to the post office...

this is me going to the post office


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

minus 11 F. this a.m., but the sun is coming out. Forecast is to be 1 above for a high. But the sun is shining, did I mention that?


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

gone-a-milkin said:


> I have everything one could need here, except for solitude.
> Headphones are my alternative. La la la, I cant hear you!!!
> 
> Mr. Grouchypants is keeping the basement stove going though, so that is something.


Give THEM the headphones. DH and DS always have their headphones on. It's as quiet as it can be all the time and I hate it.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

It's the drifts that are getting us here. 4 ft deep all around the house and barn. It was like wading to feed the sheep. It's bitter cold and windy. DH used to snow blower to find his truck then promptly got it stuck in the ditch across the street. An angel came by and pulled him out. He only had on work pants a coat and hat...not even a knitted wool hat...and about froze. He had a blood draw appt and went through all that to get there and find the medical center closed. The first McD's he passed was closed but not the 2nd. There were 2 people working inside. Just walking from the truck inside McD's his pants, wet by all the digging to get the truck out, froze stiff and rubbed his leg raw. I think he needs a lesson on preparedness.

Everything is shut down here. No one is driving down our road. Worst we've seen in 5 years. It will be over soon and we'll be complaining about the mud.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

We didn't get any more snow, but the temps dropped quite a bit over night. -10 out there right now (the high was supposed to be -9). They did go ahead and call school all over our area, including my kiddo's school. My husband doesn't work on Mondays, so the whole family is going to hole up all day long.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I'm enjoying this weather, but trying not to fret too much about my livestock. We had 6" of snow on Thurs/Fri, and temps down in the single digits. Today a cold front is coming through, and our wind chill temps could get to -10 or -15, with maybe a low of 6* tonight. They're saying we haven't seen it this cold since 1994. 

I'm a little worried about the goats and sheep. I may bring the goats in the barn since they don't have wooly coats like the sheep. I will have to bring in the big chain link dog kennel to keep them in that. I think I'll just give the sheep lots of extra straw and they should be ok. The chickens will have to make do. 

And I'm in the mood to knit, which is nice because I went through a dry spell the past few months! I even knitted a swatch to test the gauge for my scoop neck vest, and it was spot on. So I'm excited to cast on for that tonight!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Not sure how much snow we got they called for 18 inches. We might have gotten it,hard to tell now that the wind has picked up and it is getting colder. Dh is going to try to come home from work today. He slept on a coworkers sofa, said it felt like 2by4's with a sheet over them. It bout wore me out getting the snow off the hoophouse last night. I have to venture out and do it again. Haven't been getting any knitting done,but painted the legs on my new(old) harvest table. But it stayed cozy in here with all the snow,so I haven't fired up the cookstove yet.-stay warm everyone!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

My road was plowed when I got home from work yesterday, and there was no mountain at the mouth of the road either and none at the bottoms my driveway either. This is Minnesota weather it's just that people here have no clue how to deal with it. I see stupid people not dressed properly, and no offense to your husband Callie but, WHAT was that man thinking? I ventured out to try to shovel my drive again, I got about half done and had to give it up. I did make it to the grocery yesterday. Most everything was closed but the grocery was open and it was busy. They asked people not to take carts to their cars for the safety of their employees, so they helped you load your car if you pulled up front.

I'm at work now, it is still blowing and bitter cold out. We have not one single flight today, NOTHING! So I sit here in the training room working on my training, multitasking with the Fiber Forum


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## Candy (May 12, 2002)

Good Morning,
Our weather is not nearly as bad as some of yours. We had a snow storm the other day and we got a foot of snow. My hubby got that all cleared and then we got a freezing rain/rain storm, and now we have a mess. It got to 44 degrees yesterday and all day they were saying how it was going to be -10 when we woke up, but fortunately it is not that cold. It was 4 above and now it is 2.5. Stay warm everyone!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

My car started again. Yay! Not something I take for granted when it's -20. Wind chill is not as bad as yesterday...it's only -35. Heat wave coming in the near future! 

I wish I could stay home and finish my hooded infinity scarf. If only I could find someone who would match my current income in exchange for playing with fiber....


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

"Only" -35!! :bow: I don't know how you all do it....withstanding temps like that on a regular basis!!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Dh could not come home last night.Even my neighbor that plows for a living can't get out. All we've talked with over the phone that live here (old farmers) have never seen anything like the snow we got. And now the cold.I was crocheting a rug out of some pretty pink yarn from the store. That has changed into a hat with scarf attached. It was -15 when I woke at 6, and -35 with the wind,which is pretty much no wind for here. I think the back door is frozen shut. I will have to go out the front door and climb the fence to get firewood-how fun.


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## BlueberryChick (May 12, 2008)

8 degrees here this morning

Our Pyr loves it (although I made her come in overnight) but Frodo the Wonder Yorkie wants nothing to do with it.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

-12 here today, with no windchill-- yet. Yesterday it was -25 with a windchill of -45. Brrr! 

This is how my husband looked yesterday when he headed off for work! Long Johns, work pants, work shirt, coveralls, another set of coveralls, a jacket, a coat, wool socks, a facemask, two more hats, two pairs of gloves, and his boots! And he had some of those hot hands things in his pockets too-- good thing, because he said when he got home he would probably have lost his hands without them!  He was on roofs from about 7:45 AM to about 8:00 PM yesterday. 

He looked much the same when he left for work this morning, but it's not quite as cold.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

I can't imagine working in this yuck! Poor guy! I know my husband will be avoiding any task that puts him on the unloading dock for long, as the warehouse isn't climate controlled so it gets chilly around the doors and in the trailers. It makes me thankful to have an office job now!!

They decided not to call off school today here, though some of the districts in the city (an hour away) still called it. Parents were wildly outraged and complaining on the district's FB page, insisting that their kids weren't going to school in this kind of cold. :shrug: I mean, our windchills are pretty nasty this morning still, but the high today is 30 :whistlin: and I'm thinking that won't be too bad at all. It's not like they're going to send them out to recess.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

it was only -22ÂºF here this morning - we're having a heat wave!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Okay, so I won't complain about the 55ÂºF this morning. Wish we had a heater! It's a socks and fuzzy slippers sort of morning. As well as hot coffee and oatmeal. Cold fingers! I'll probably have to wear something with long sleeves today. (How do you keep them out of things? They always seem to end up wet sometime during the day?) Good day for "long shorts", too. That's what some of the kids around here call pants. We don't even have the vocabulary for the sort of weather you folks are having!

Does this sort of weather kill off trees and plants? Do fish freeze in streams and ponds? If we had a true freeze here, the die back would be huge.

Will this sort of weather become the "new normal", do you think?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

double post - would delete it if I knew how


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

you are so funny - long shorts!!! :hysterical:

and yes, this weather does "kill off" some things - and that is not always a bad thing! Our frogs and turtles and salamanders all burrow into the mud and go dormant. Cryogenically frozen until they thaw. Seriously. 

Most of the time, the fish in a pond won't freeze because bio activity continues down there under the ice. Our huge lakes are the hub of activity with ice fishing (first, you have to drill a hole through the 3 feet of ice) and cross country skiing and sledding and snowmobiling.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Actually the wood frogs don't burrow into the mud like the other amphibians do. They just hide in the leaf litter on the forest floors. They really do freeze solid, scientists have studied them for decades to learn how they survive and comeback year after year. It is really interesting here's some more info for you http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070220-frog-antifreeze.html


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## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

SvenskaFlicka, we don't own enough clothes to bundle up like that - and really don't want to own that many clothes. I hate layering and live in shorts and tank tops as much of the year as possible. I have not been happy in these sweaters and socks and sweats and hats and coats and gloves and scarves (even though I like making scarves, I don't like to actually *wear* them). A person just can't breath with all these clothes on.

hotzcatz, your weather is much more appealing to some of us . We moved to the desert SW hoping for warmer weather, and we do get that. However, our winters are really more like the mountains where I grew up, with this being an arid zone 7 instead of a humid zone 7.

One of the things that below freezing temps does do, especially when it's cold for so long like this, is kill off things like fleas and ticks and icky sticky things like that. "They" say that a really cold weather means the next season you will see fewer of those pests because the eggs froze. Certain fruit trees also need so many "cooling days" to set fruit. I was worried about our peach trees but I think we're ok now. We were at 6 yesterday morning and 16 this morning but it's warmed up today to around 50. I am supposed to be shovelling poo or packing boxes but I'm just not in the mood to do anything today so I am here instead.

I keep forgetting that I want to try my hand at knitting again. Today would have been a good day for that.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> I have everything one could need here, except for solitude.
> Headphones are my alternative. La la la, I cant hear you!!!
> 
> Mr. Grouchypants is keeping the basement stove going though, so that is something.


This just cracked me up GAM! :hysterical:

We had wind chills today of -15, so we brought the sheep and alpacas into the barn yesterday. The alpacas have been humming away, since this is NOT normal! The sheep take it all in stride, as long as they have hay, and get their daily ration of grain :happy:

And then we closed the goat pen door, so they didn't have free access to outside like normal (like they would go out in this anyway!)

So after bringing them water several times today, the goats devised a plan to storm the door next time I came. It worked, and they all ran crazily around the inside of the barn for a while. :smack

It was actually pretty funny. They don't leave their pen when it's crummy out, but they act like I've imprisoned them in a little 2x2 box when I close the door on them! It was like they were climbing the walls because they were penned in, when they wouldn't have gone out anyway! How do those goat minds work anyway? Oh I love those nubbins!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I am glad the worst of it seems to be past now.
It went to minus 6 last night, and none of our pipes froze.
I had a nightmare that every one of my birds was frozen to the ground, but that was only a dream. 
They were actually fine. 

My goats were perfectly fine, even though they were coated with snow the whole time.
I can imagine the racket CeCe would make if I tried to lock her up. LOL

Some of the snow melted today! The dogs got to hang out on the porch, where they are much happier.
Also, my DH got his grant for trucking school today.
This ended up being harder than we ever imagined. It took months. 
So I guess he is going to be going over the road eventually.
After he gets his driving permits (there are 5 different ones) , 
his physical checkup, background check, 3 weeks classwork,
and 70 hours driving time before he can take the test for his license.
It is a lot of hoops to jump through. 
The companies are 'begging' for drivers and the quoted wages are well beyond anything he has made before.
We will just have to wait and see about that.

I might end up w/ a bit of solitude after all, if it all comes together.  :whistlin:

The universe is telling me to write a novel. Iam being haunted by the characters even. 
The idea is not going away...


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

it was a whopping -29Â° here yesterday. I think it broke some records locally. That low is almost unheard of here! Schools were closed even though no precipitation. Too dangerous for ill-prepared kids to be standing outside in the cold waiting for buses.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

It was below freezing in our state, too, although that was all up on top of the mountain. Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on earth, but only 13,796' of it are above the ocean. There's weather up there that isn't anywhere else in the state, but it's in the state so it counts. 

Everyone at quilting today was wearing long sleeved things so it was interesting to see everyone in something we'd never seen them wear before. Someone there even had a sweater that didn't fit so she gave it to me so now I even own a real sweater! Woot! I'd been making do with flannel shirts. Most of the folks were wearing socks (which means you have to wear shoes instead of slippers - which is what many mainland folks call "flip flops"). We were a strange looking bunch today.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

hotzcatz, I love hearing your clothing stories. :hysterical: And long sleeves bug me too, so I usually push the sleeves up or roll them most times. I love 3/4 sleeve shirts. Hopefully you guys will be back to wearing flip flops (aka slippers) soon!


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

we're having a heat wave! 

After yesterday morning's surprisingly colder than anticipated -35ÂºF  -boo! its 2ÂºF ABOVE zero this morning!!! Break out the fipflops and the umbrella drinks. 

I have to laugh because up here, when the weather warms up, even the preferred alcohol changes- if you can believe that. 

Darker liquors like brandy and whisky and dark rum are the rule of the winter - and lighter liquors like gin and vodka and light rum and tequila are more seasonable. Until I moved to "The State of 10,000 Treatment Centers" , I had no idea what liquors were "in season"  :buds: Who knew!?!?!?!?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

WIHH, I was tracking along on your "lighter liquors are for warmer weather" theory until you mention vodka.
Vodka is definitely acceptable for cold weather use. 
Generations of Russians cannot possibly be wrong on that.
Those people know about winter.
Maybe it is the exception which proves the rule. :buds:

It is much warmer here but drizzly and just above freezing all day, which equals ice.
The roads are just gross with black ice. 

I need to drive down and get some chicken feed, but since I am too scared
I am feeding them some really old rice that I cooked on the woodstove instead.
Hopefully they don't die of malnutrition before the roads clear. LOL


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Heat wave! Heat wave! It got above zero today. Wooot! The weekend will be nice enough that I can get my car washed. She is decidedly white with salt from the roads and she's normally a nice medium-dark blue!


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

Neighbors to the East are getting that yucky, drizzly stuff with temps hovering around freezing, too, GAM. It didn't even cross my mind that it might be cool enough for ice until I almost blew through a stop sign this morning while driving the kiddos to school.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

we had the most gorgeous hoar frost all day with freezing fog as temps rose to right at freezing.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

WIHH, that hoarfrost is very beautiful. 
I have only seen that phenomenon a couple of times in my life.
The most amazing was on the high desert mesa land in NM.
It is normally far too dry to get that fog effect, but it CAN happen.
Cholla cacti and prickly pears along with the pinon trees all frosted up like that;
Whee, that was perdy!! and it also strangely smelled amazing too. 


It poureddown rain here all night lastnight and most of today.
10 pm now and it is 46 degrees and still blowing up the tailend of a southern thunderstorm.

The ground was frozen with about 10 inches of snow before this started up.
It is a weird and ugly mix of slush and mud with some sheet ice in the deep shade still.
This is the time of year I try not to let the turkeys walk on my feet when I go in to wrestle the ice block from their water.
Not only are they dirty, but they will trip you! LOL


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Our temps got to about 40 today and it rained, uggg. There was about 18" of snow and now the roads are flooding. Things will be a mess tomorrow morning. Thankfully I don't have to be anywhere. More rain, freezing rain, or snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Yuck!
I think tomorrow I'll stay inside and try to figure out this toe up stuff.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

If you had an evil spirit, you could send that hoarfrost picture to a jigsaw company. That would make the most frustrating jigsaw puzzle on the planet. It doesn't seem to be bending the branches and breaking the trees?

I got overly ambitious and tried to continue the building the back lanai (that's Hawaiian for "porch") project. Painted a half dozen floor boards since we don't want to try to paint between them after they are nailed down. Looked out this morning and all the paint was washed off from the rain last night. Sigh! I should just stay inside and knit!

Did get eight ounces of yarn, two scarves and a shawl sent off to market. The folks at the farmer's market must be feeling the cold since the seller was in a panic to get more product this week.


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## Candy (May 12, 2002)

WIHH, your photo is beautiful! Occasionally that happens here.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Woke up to the same hoar frost this morning. 

When I was little I woke up one morning and was totally wrapped in wonderment to see all the trees covered in frost. My mom told me what it was called. I said, "I thought we weren't supposed to use that word!" lol!


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

hotzcatz said:


> It doesn't seem to be bending the branches and breaking the trees?


 there is no weight to hoar frost- it is gossamer and incredible to see up close. It is all spikey and sharp-edged. It is teeny tiny ice crystals- not a coating of accumulated freezing water (ice).


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

It looks really soft and lovely in the picture, one doesn't think of spikey and sharp edged. Still really pretty! I don't suppose there's a warm version of that anywhere? We get fogs and such occasionally, but it just drifts through the trees and gets everything damp, drippy and doesn't stick to much.

Is the hoarfrost something that stays put for awhile or is it very temporary?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I used to love to go out a sunrise when the hoarfrost was on everything. Everything sparkles a not winkles. I used to tell my kids that each twinkle was a fairy. The twinkling part is really hard to photograph. I have a few pictures of hoarfrost close up on my computer at home. If I can remember I'll post them.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

sadly, hotzctaz, hoar frost is usually very short lived and might be gone as soon as the sun comes up and warms things up a degree or two.

You can actually watch as the sun (which only comes just above the tree line this time of year and then it slides across that same treeline in the afternoon) lights a glancing blow and there will be "steam" pouring of the trees as the hoarfrost burns off. 

It's amazing. The other strange phenomenon right now is that frost is appearing on the nail heads on our guest cabin exterior walls- so strange- these perfect little dots of frost everywhere AND the frost is running across even the porch roofs and siding boards and aluminum clad garage siding. Looks almost like snail trails but its frost. 

We had something coming out of the sky last night-the jury is still out as to what it was- snizzle? (freezing drizzle). It has warmed up incredibly- overnite from about 10ÂºF when we went to bed and now we are sitting at a balmy 27ÂºF this morning and when that happens it usually means "snow" in our forecast. Who'd a thunk it?


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

It's warmed up to an amazingly awesome 55 here today. I had to go into work at 3 am, though, so I'm too sleepy to really enjoy it. I suppose I'll just get to work on Mom's scarf until I drift off for nap time.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

2 days in the 60's and nights above freezing was enough to wake the ladybugs who must be wintering in the walls here.
They are running laps on my lampshades.
I actually let the stove go completely out and vacuumed the combustion baffle as well as washing the glass doors.
It is like a brand new stove now! 

It looks like my DH is really going to learn to drive semis.
His schooling starts next Monday. He got his permits and his funding. 
All that is left is the background check and the physical. 

It has been a long 16 months with him unemployed. 
You have. NO. IDEA. 
I am still holding my breath, but it does look like this is happening. 

Now I am wondering what the new normal is going to look like here. 
Just me and my handful of critters in this giant house alone. Weird.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Now I am wondering what the new normal is going to look like here.
> Just me and my handful of critters in this giant house alone. Weird.


WOOOHOOOO! I'd say.... QUIET!


Congratulations to him! (and you!) So glad everything worked out - keeping my fingers crossed that they will :banana:


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Well, when I was married our marriage was at its best when he was traveling on business.

I agree with PKBoo, quiet and maybe less messy or at least your own mess for the most part. Keep us up to date on how it goes.


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