Winter of Our Discontent

Here we are in January.  As gloomy and cold and dark as this post holiday season can be, Mother Nature gives us some stunning decoration.  We've been keeping busy, occupied and isolated while watching the daily shit show that is the national news.

Here is some footstool photography showing some deep winter knitting.  We keep it pretty cool in the house and I worry about keeping The Boy warm.  It brings to mind the scene in Dr. Zhivago when Yuri comes home early and yells at Tonya for letting the fire go out.  "The stove is out, Tonya!  No wonder he's (their son) losing weight!"

I found this awesome free pattern for felted slippers in all sizes on Ravelry.  I used some Lion Wool I had in the stash.  I love the pattern because it calls for 2 strands of worsted which anyone can get.  I loved this lime green and mallard blue together.  They're knitted on size 11 dpns which I just happened to have and had never used.  Here they are knitted before they went in the washer for felting.

I love the mottled look of them after felting and they fit him so well.  My only concern...they are slippery on the kitchen floor and he falls!  I saw an idea to use puffy paint on the soles to make gripper socks out of them and I have some in the sewing room somewhere.

My sister is very active in her local Sons Of Norway lodge and worked on her cross country skiing badge.  Not only does she ski, but she and her kids do it in their bunads for SofN events!  She mentioned a shawl to wear with her bunad.  I'd bought this yarn a thousand years ago on ebay with a shawl in mind for her then but for years it has been sitting in my WIP box where projects go to die.  I fished it out and ripped it all out and started over on a Pointed Firs shawl for her.  I've knit a couple of these and really enjoy the pattern.

This yarn was a fingering weight wool blend of some sort and a reddish brown color.  When I rewound and metered the yarn, I think I measured about 1700ish yards.  I used up all the yarn and it is an OK size for her to wrap and pin around her shoulders but in a perfect world, I would have liked it to be a little bigger.  Then again you don't want it too big where it gets in the way, especially if you are skiing in it.  It was also a knitting black hole and frankly I was sick of it and getting terrible Start-itis!

The top 2/3 of the shawl is a chevron texture with increases and the rest is mindless garter stitch with increases.  It was nice TV knitting but I was ready to move on.  It is a wonderfully satisfying feeling to have used up all that yarn and get it out of my sewing room!

We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas with just the 4 of us.  My house is in the middle of my parents and siblings and the easiest halfway destination for everyone.  I have come to accept that I will be hosting our Christmas for the rest of my life.  This year I didn't have to clean, bake or cook.  I hate to say it, but it was kind of awesome.  We put the tree up but I didn't put any decorations on it because someone is very curious about them keeps grabbing and pulling on them.  He was much more interested in unwrapping presents this year.  Last Christmas he was still too little and couldn't be bothered.

We've enjoyed the snow and the frozen pond.  This year our neighbors have their hockey area cleared off and their gear seat up.  They've also been grooming the ice with water regularly and we'll need to approach them with some baked goods to ask if we can skate there when they're not using it.  Lopi loves being out on the ice too!  Dave and I have skates but I look for childrens' skates every time I go to Savers.  I did get 10 Minnesota Wild pucks on one of my last trips there!

I still can't believe we had a would-be coup last week.  Thank god they were dealing with idiots and rednecks who were inept and didn't bother concealing their identities.  How far did they think they were going to get?  We've had CNN on nonstop watching the aftermath.  I don't even recognize my own country, although I've been saying that for the last 4 years.  I'm so glad we're moving toward impeachment AGAIN and still think it was a crime he wasn't removed the first time around. I'm ashamed of the hypocrisy of the enabling Republican party and even after he put them personally at risk, they are still defending him.  I know he has only days left but it is important he is impeached because he'll lose his pension and protection.  I hope he and his family are literally SHUNNED after all this.  They are poison and should be ashamed of themselves.  I can't even speak to my in-laws and sometimes my own father right now.  I am very nervous about the Inauguration and praying for peace and a smooth transition.  I have to admit I'm enjoying the smug satisfaction of being right after having seen the train coming down the track for 4 years.  As much as I want to move on peacefully, I also wouldn't mind watching the indignity of that man removed from the White House and handed over to the authorities.

In the meantime, we have work to do taking care of each other and keeping each other safe and healthy.  I've had my first dose of vaccine and my second dose will be in a week and a half.  I'm hoping the new administration will get the ball rolling and get our community vaccinated.  The goal is 100 million doses in the first 100 days.  Dave's school goes back to full time learning in 2 weeks and I want him vaccinated ASAP.  

Tis the season of making our own light and warmth to combat the cold darkness outside.  Nothing beats home baked bread in January or from scratch soup on the stove.  Ever since we invested in our Instant Pot, I've been saving bones in the freezer and every so often I use up some limp aromatics to make bone broth.

I hope for a return of rational and critical thinking in this country.  I never thought we'd be a disgrace on the world stage.  Our politics and this pandemic have revealed how selfish we are as a country.  We have never had to suffer or work hard for anything and that creates a collective weak character.  Help us find a renewed community spirit with the desire for public service to get through all this unrest.  Help us regain a dignified place in the world community.  God bless the United States of America.