Have you seen my window screens?

Our journey into 2008 has begun, & I find myself sincerely hoping that the past five days are not indicative of the coming year.

Work continues to take up entirely too much of my time & energy; today, I was up early to get my hair cut, before heading to the office to play catch up with my general ledgers & filing. The only saving grace was that the weather is so abysmal, that I’m not missing out on any fun activities, like a trip up to the snow (not recommended at this time.) I am making progress, & I anticipate having the chaos tamed into submission by the end of the month.

  

Or maybe the end of next month.

Or the end of the year.

Whatever.

  

Chris, on the other hand, has been enjoying some well-deserved, extended time away from work; since he returned from Florida on last month, he has only worked 7 of the past 24 days. The upside is it has all been paid- either vacation or holiday pay. The downside- the one day he went in the week before Christmas (for his company party) he caught the virus that has been circulating in the office, so he has been hacking & snotty for the past week & a half.

Yeah, fun.   

Speaking of the weather, we are currently in the grip of a series of winter storms that has been wreaking havoc throughout the state. While the higher elevations are seeing heavy snow, here in the Valley, we are being buffeted by high winds, driving rain, & threats of floods from the over-taxed levy system. Fortunately for us, our town is more than 50 feet above sea level & 10 miles from the nearest levy or river, so the likelihood of flooding is remote; but we are dealing with a number of uprooted trees, falling branches, & flying debris. 

 

 

While I was working today, Chris was clearing up the mess in our yard, settling the rabbit into the laundry room, & helping our neighbor reattach his roof shingles. I had planned on writing about my new cold frames that Chris devised while he was on vacation & doing a photo tour of my vegetables.

The vinyl panels double as overnight frost protection, as well as creating a greenhouse atmosphere, raising the interior temperature by 15˚F during the day. Everything is doing well & we’ve been enjoying a modest weekly harvest;

 

but right now, it all looks pretty bedraggled after the wind-beating the garden has been taking. While the wood frames are in good shape, the vinyl sheets have been almost shredded, so we are brainstorming some other type of protective casing to use during inclement weather.

 

Well, I need to get back to my knitting; I’ve finished only one bandage so far for Junie Moon’s Bandage Brigade, & I need to get them mailed out by the 15^th, so other knitting is on the back burner for the time being. Too bad, because I have some fun projects in my queue:

J   I’m in another read & knit along on Ravelry- this one is with the “Austentacious” group, & we are reading Jane Austen’s Emma over the next 12 weeks, while creating items with a “Made for Each Other” theme (things that go together);

J   I’ve had a special request from a blogging friend for some “surprise” fingerless mittens (I think you’ll like what I picked out, Becca);

J   I’m on the last month of the “Anne of Green Gables” read & knit along, so the bandages will be my final project;

J   A friend gave me a gorgeous pattern for cabled kilt hose, which I am itching to start- I have the yarn & needles, & just need the time to begin (this will be a long term project- at least a year);

J   I’m considering joining another read & knit along next month (when “Anne” is done)- the group will be reading three of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries over as many months, & doing a themed “mystery” scarf swap

The good news is that PBS Masterpiece Theater is presenting adaptations of all six of Jane Austen’s novels- lots of dedicated knitting time!