Ice Storm - The Inside

Yesterday I posted about what the outside looked like after an overnight ice storm and promised a post about what I did on my day inside.

I'm happy to report that I was able to get the cars cleaned off & the drive way scrapped.  I found a lot of joy in hearing sheets of ice shatter as it hit the pavement.  I needed to find joy in the hard work!  The roads are just fine today for travel but I feel so bad for the trees - weighted down with the weight of the ice.  The neighbor's tree that was already leaning badly over our drive way before the ice has now dropped even more.  I had to back into the driveway and had no choice but to drive through the branches.

I had a very productive day inside (in addition to conquering the ice outside).  After my morning coffee I pulled out the sewing machine.  I was planning on making this project Saturday morning but figured I should use my gifted day off to get the project done.

Project: Latte Changing Pad, pattern from One Yard Wonders

I'm made this for a friend who is expecting in a few months.  It is a changing pad & a small pouch to hold a few diapers or a pack of wipes.  The pouch fits inside the changing pad when folded up.  Hopefully it will be found useful.

After lunch & dishes I then made some roasted chick peas.  I followed this recipe but cheated and didn't make them spicy - I just opted for salt & garlic powder.  I wasn't quite sure how these would taste but I have to admit I was surprised and really like them!  It is going to sound weird but the texture is almost like the kernels of corn you find at the bottom of a bag of microwave popcorn. Except these are flavorful and tasty!  They also "popped" in the oven & sounded like popcorn.  There were a few that flew off the pan to the bottom of the oven. My knitting group is having it's Annual Knit In next weekend so I'm planning on making a big batch of these to share with others.

After the chickpeas were roasted I processed my pictures of the ice & made the blog post then I headed outside to watch the dogs slide around on the ice walk the dogs and took care of the ice on the cars and driveway.  After that it was really time for some relaxing but I had a self imposed deadline to finish the Island Peaks Hood.  I've discovered that probably wasn't a good idea.  I love Ysolda's patterns so much but this one gave me a run for my money.  Typically I can "read between the lines" on a pattern but I struggled with this one.  I worked through it but I think having a rough week and being exhausted combined with the pattern lead to bad times.

I started the evening by knitting the same section three times and when I was 10 rows in and had it right I realized that the lovely design was on the WRONG side.  Rip back again.  My brain literally could not process what the Right & Wrong side of my knitting was.  It was a horrible mental block.

I rallied and while watching some more of LOST Season 5 I was able to finish the hood &a get the ends woven in as the credits rolled on the last episode of the evening.  I need to block this HARD.  I need to find 10 extra inches of length (Ysolda is tiny unlike myself & who this gift is for).  I know it will work but I won't sew the buttons in until it is fully blocked.  It took two skeins of Malabrigo and when I say two I mean TWO.  When I finished the bind off I had 5 inches of yarn left.  I did add some extra length but I'm glad I have a third skein so I can sew the buttons on.  In the end I LOVE this hood/scarf and I really hope the recipient loves it too!

I made the most of my ice day but admittedly was happy to be back at work to tackle the ever growing pile of work on my desk.  Of all things the internet was out at work so I had no "mental break" escapes which means I got two days of work done day.  Win!