Where There’s a Willa There’s a Way

I have a dog.

Wait. Make that dogs.

I also have a sled. Even if the car gets stuck in the driveway, I’m still going to town today.

Adding Insult to Injury

Yesterday, The Golden Girls wouldn’t come out of the barn. They didn’t care for ice skating at all. So the kid and I went to work with a pick axe to remove the ice in front of the doors and gates. Then we spread some straw for added traction to allow them to get to the water and to make chore time a little safer for us. The sheep appreciated it and spent the afternoon outside. Last night when it was time for bed they greeted me at the gate. (No Rose isn’t pregnant she’s just, um, fluffy.)

“Did you bring cookies,” asked Daisy?

“Of course,” I replied. “Come on everybody let’s go inside.”

*swoosh*

“Quick! She’s going down. Grab the cookies,” I heard them say.

“Save some for me,” squealed Bo.

At least the straw makes for a soft landing.

Today it is snowing. It is expected to snow all week. If you are reading this and you live somewhere where there is no ice or snow on the ground and it is above freezing right now, please leave a link to your local realtor in the comment section. Thank  you.

I’d Kinda Like to Go to the Store.

Not that I have any pressing needs, I’d just like to go. There are more storms on the way and I feel like I should go. The roads have been cleared so in theory I could get there. Only one thing standing in my way…our driveway.

(photo courtesy of my friend, Cindy)

Cindy’s son was able to chip the ice off of their driveway. They live in town. They don’t have a gravel driveway. You can’t chip ice off gravel. And it appears that unless you have about 1800 lbs of rock salt there’s no melting it off either. Even if I were to make it safely to the garage and get the vehicle out of the driveway, I would still have to skate across all that ice in the picture, grocery bags in hand, when I got home. Not to mention being greeted by anxious pooches wanting to know “what’s in the bag, what's in the bag, huh, huh, what’s in the bag.”

It would probably extend my life expectancy more if I just stayed home.

*Updated to add: I just wiped out while doing chores, hit my head first on the fence post then on the ground. This sucks. I measured the ice/sleet combo directly in front of the garage doors at six inches. It may be March before I get to the store.

I’m No Dorothy Hamill

Although I did wear my hair like hers way back when. See the barn back there on the left and the chicken coop on the right? That is a solid sheet of ice between here and there.

I’ve decided the only safe way to get there is to scooch on my back, doing a sort of backstroke so-to-speak.

The Lights are On!

Last night at 8:30 pm we lost power. We figured by that point it was easy enough to go to bed. We lit the fireplace and camped out. By the time we got everything together, got the cat to calm down (she was elated that we were sleeping with her) and almost fell asleep the lights came back on. We’re not out of the woods yet. We added an inch or so of sleet and a little more freezing rain last night. Now it’s snowing  horizontally. The wind could still take out the power lines.

I know I should go out and take pictures but, um, it’s COLD out there. My only goal today is to work on knitting the last skein of the Worlds Most Beautiful Scarf. I’m debating on whether or not I should bother to get dressed while I do it. Nobody’s going anywhere around here for a long time.

Isn’t that vintage inspired dress form cool? My daughter gave it to me for Christmas. It’s the perfect addition to Sheville. While I was taking that picture I remembered another project I’ve done recently and forgot to tell you about. My first lengthwise scarf. Done in an easy care acrylic to wear with my everyday red parka.

And a matching slouchy hat.

I hope you’re warm and the lights are on where you are. If you want to stay in your jammies, go for it.

Staying Busy

Lights haven’t gone off, yet. I’m busy spinning Rose’s lamb fleece.

I love her, she’s so soft, but her hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. She has so much lanoline in her wool everything sticks to her.

Even though I always thought I wouldn’t, some of the slobs lovely ladies around here may be wearing coats next Spring.

Icepocalyspe 2011

We were thrilled to wake up this morning and still have power. So far we have a half inch of ice build up on everything along with another half inch of sleet.

While the city folk are trying to scrape the ice of their cars and sidewalks, we’re scraping ice to get into the pastures and barns to take care of the critters.

The crew isn’t quite sure what to think of the slick and crunchy conditions. The chickens, of course, didn’t even want to look outside let alone go there.

So far so good, but the overnight storm was just an appetizer. The worst of the storm is yet to come this afternoon and the lights have already started to flicker.

“You stocked up on cookies, right?”