Monday, December 22, 2008

10 days of night

Wow! I just got back from a lovely trip to 1642!! Last Thursday night (that's 11 days ago) we were victims of that crazy Ice Storm that hit the northeast. Particularly New Hampshire. Particularly the Hampstead area. I live in East Hampstead. Anyway... We woke up in the middle of the night to hear all kinds of crashing and what not. We knew there would be an ice storm, so we figured it was ice falling on the house (and our solarium!) and all would be well in the morning. It all started around 3am for us. We woke up again around 6 and heard this creepy creaking, scratching, eeeeeee eee eeeeee eeeeeeee sound. We arose from our bed to see what was the matter and saw this:

That big icy tree is NOT normally right up against our bedroom window...that is right above our heads. So we decided to look around and investigate. This is what we saw out of our windows and front door:





Our power was also out, which we figured would be a nuisance for the day.
After it was determined that I wouldn't be going in to work because we didn't even open, we decided to go grab some coffee. This turned out to take us over an hour, because there were no places open near us, and the places the next town over were jammed with people, it wouldn't have even been worth it. So, a ride that would normally take us about 20 minutes both ways took us over an hour. It was crazy! And while we were out and about, I took some more pictures:







This ice storm was no joke! Sure, it was pretty, but I couldn't even fit enough pictures on my memory card of all the trees on the lines, trees on people's houses, etc. It was crazy. We had trees down in our yard, across our driveway, oh, and that branch tapping on our window?


That tree REALLY wanted to come in! We were happy when the ice melted and it sprung back up to its natural state.
So even after the ice melted, we still didn't have power. For 10 days. Have you ever been without power for 10 days? Even more than 2 days? Its pretty crazy. I am not complaining, there are many many people who had it much worse than we did. We have a fireplace, community water (so we didn't have to turn off our lines), and we don't have kids to worry about yet. (And the cats really couldn't have cared less). It was just us, camping out in front of the fireplace on our air mattress. I had to get up every hour to put wood on the fire but hey, we were camping. With the exception of not being able to shower at home, I really didn't mind it all that much, but Erm had a tougher time than I did. He is not a camper :) You might say Michelle, you must have gotten so much knitting done in those 10 days! Nope. See, I still worked during that time, and by around 4:15, the sun was already down too much for me to have enough light to knit. What a waste!
Yesterday I got the call from Erm while I was out shopping with my Mom that the power went back on. So exciting! So after a rough drive home (did you hear that we also got a foot of snow yesterday?) I walked into my warm, bright house and watched the Patriots kill Arizona. And my Christmas spirit that I couldn't find? I promptly put up my little fake Christmas tree, wrapped some presents, and baked some candy cane cookies. I think this whole experience was meant to teach some of us what the Christmas spirit is all about!
Off to shovel some snow! Oh, and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom today!!!! Love you Mom!!!













Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Renewed interest

First of all, I have to mention that my last night out, fling before the ring, last hurrah, Bachelorette Party was this weekend! I knew when it was, but nothing else... and it could not have been more perfect! My bridesmaids and a bunch of my friends gathered in our hotel room, we went out for Mexican food (my favorite), and headed off to Limelight, a karaoke bar in Boston where you can rent your own private room, and there is also a public stage. We infiltrated both public and private stages, and no you can't see pictures. Lets just say it was exactly what I wanted for my bachelorette party and I had a blast. I came home tired and very ready to settle down and get married!





So the renewed interest isn't in my wild bachelorette ways, it has to do with Joey and his Kitty Pi. Awhile ago, I knit the Kitty Pi for my cats because I wanted to try some new things, meaning knitting in the round and felting. The Pi did not come out as I planned, it is supposed to look like a cat bed you can buy at Petco or something. The edges of mine just flop in. But, I put some catnip in it and Joey jumped right in... for about a day. Since then the poor Pi has been neglected in the corner of the couch. Until this week for some reason, every time I walk in the office, this is what I see:



I'm not sure what happened? Maybe because its cold and the Pi keeps him warm with its felty goodness? Maybe because Octavious is normal now and has staked claim over both couches? I'm not really sure, but knitters out there know... whether human, canine, or feline, if your FOs are appreciated and used, success! So, this makes me very very happy. I may actually make one for Octavious, since I really need new projects now. Like a hole in the head.

I also think I need a dog or something more normal to take so many pictures of. I'm turning into a crazy cat lady.

I also do NOT HAVE MY TREE YET and its driving me CRAZY!!! This may be the latest I have ever had a tree in my whole life. Luckily, this has not dampened my Christmas spirit, it is out in full effect! I decorated my mantle last week, and while it may be my least favorite of all my mantles, its certainly cheery. I hope that everyone is enjoying this holiday season!!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Finally... knitting!



Poking through my last few blog posts... how boring! Well, except for Baby Alex's arrival, that was pretty exciting :) Speaking of Alex, I finally have a picture of a FO to show! This took me a long time, but its finally done! This is my gift to Baby Alex, the Heritage Blanket (Ravelry Link) by Oat Couture. I used Berrocco Comfort in a lavender, since Alex's room is all purples and lavenders. When I was done, I washed and dried it, (all by machine!) and it became even SOFTER! I may need to make myself some kind of blanket with Comfort! Anyway, here are pics! The real color is somewhere in between the colors in these pictures. I took them from far away and also a couple of closeups to get the detail of the blankie.



We will now return to our regularly schedule boring posts...



Monday, December 1, 2008

I am thankful that I got my coffee at Starbucks today...

...and everyone should get coffee at Starbucks today! They are donating five cents of each handcrafted beverage bought for AIDS research and awareness. Come on. Its the holidays, and you know you want a gingerbread latte or peppermint mocha...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was busy busy busy!! It actually started during the week when I delivered over forty Thanksgiving meals to needy families in the community that I work for. It was cold and rainy, but I felt awesome for helping all of those greatful people! Thanksgiving came and went without any excitement, just a nice day with family.

My big complaint is that I do not have my tree yet! Hopefully next weekend?