We woke up to another 14+ inches of snow this morning (and it’s still going!). I have to say, it generally only stays around for a day or two, and then everything melts in the hot sunshine. I like it that way. I never get overly tired of being surrounded by snow and white and gloom all winter, because we just don’t have that here. I am, however, ready for spring. Last year, I posted this photo of our blooming lilacs on April 13th on my Facebook page. I’m ready to see those again.

Here are some snow shots from today. Maybe this will be it for this winter, and we’ll move into spring next!

And a few photos that WH took downtown today. Someone – or four someones – left their bike(s) out ….

Sheri wonderingwhatkindofweatheryouareexperiencingonthisMayDay?

It’s a busy week here, with 130+ people flying in for our annual Spring Fling Retreat. (Well, annual except that we took last year off, since we had just moved to Colorado and were still finding our way around here!) Of course since it’s April and it’s Colorado, we spiced things up a little by getting 20+ inches of snow in the past 48 hours. It’s really beautiful out there, and we definitely need the moisture. Here’s a picture of our yard at 6:30 am yesterday morning. Those poor trees are heavy laden! WH went out there and knocked some snow off after this photo. We swept off the deck once yesterday, and it filled right back up. Fortunately, it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow, and the snow will start melting quickly. But we’re enjoying it while it lasts.

I won’t be able to blog on Friday, but I’ll be back with you next week with a Fling report and photos, as well as a chance for you to win one of our Spring Fling Goodie Bags!

Sheri rememberingpastFlingsinSt.Louiswhereiswassohotandhumid.
Ilikethisweatherbetter!

Lots going on around here today! My yarn is ready for my Fourth Quarter Challenge project. (I’ve knit 6 rows so far. Woohoo!) This is Wollmeise Lace (color: Spice Market, which we don’t get in very often) that I picked up in Claudia’s shop in Germany and have been saving to knit into a sweater. It’s incredibly handy to have both skeins on the large sized Yarn Caddy so that they unwind without tangling as I knit. I did put a circle of cardboard between the two, just so they keep to themselves during the process.

Our Loopy Ewe Solid Series yarn is featured in a new crochet sock pattern in Interweave’s Fall 2012 Crochet Magazine, on sale now. The pattern is called Zig Zag Socks by Patsy Harbor  and uses 1 skein each of Malachite and Pumpkin. (Photo by Harper Point Photography, used with permission.)

I finished my Charlize Shawl. I was intrigued by the open body and solid ruffle. It was quick to knit. I made the small size and used one skein of Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Slippery Trail. I love this yarn base.

And finally, for those who routinely ask about Mocha, the outdoor cat that doesn’t belong to us but thinks he does – here’s an updated photo. His beautiful fur is growing back, he likes being brushed (I’m trying to help him avoid another shaving due to mats), and he continues to like hanging out on our back deck. I’m still trying to figure out a plot to adopt him forever. I just don’t think his owners would appreciate it …

Do you have any random Wacky Wednesday news to share about your day?

Sheri madethesebrowniestocelebrate
Elfbirthdaysthisweek.Wantone?

It’s a crazy day today, so you get an official Wacky Wednesday post. (That just means I’m thinking about too many different things to narrow it down to one blog post. I did, however, find a really pretty flower photo that WH took, so at least you have something nice to look at here …)

Here are my random thoughts this afternoon:

- Haven’t started my Camp Three project yet. Still working on two things that I want to show in in a week or two. THEN I can get to the Camp Project.

- Didn’t the Women’s Gymnastics Team do great last night?

- Wishing the news wouldn’t inadvertently spoil the outcome of Olympic events held earlier in the day.

- Wondering what Michael Phelps will do in his retirement. Maybe he’ll take up knitting.

- Trying to figure out what I want to make with the 4 different skeins of JulieSpins that I bought for myself from this week’s Update. Dappled, Vineyard, and 2 Riverbank.

- Looking forward to our local Yarn Crawl, which starts on August 11th. Nine great shops in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming participating. If you’re not local, can you fly in for it? (Sounds like a marvelous summer vacation to me.)

- Anxious to try out the new reading glasses that we are adding in to the shop. (Realizing that many of you don’t need to use reading glasses, but I do and these are awesome. I admit, I mostly bought them for myself.)

- Happy to live in a place where I can get up and walk before work and not arrive back home dragging from the humidity.

- Also? Happy to see mountains every day.

How about you? Anything you’re wishing, wondering, looking forward to, or happy about?

Sheri stormingoutside,yayrain!

Today’s post? Random things you might need to know.

1.  The mama owl has three babies, not two. No doubt she’s still exhausted from caring for them. She did, however, pick an excellent tree to match their feathers. Great camouflage. I think they all flew the nest over the weekend, though. We’ll have to wait until next Spring again for more photos.

2.  The elk are in abundance nearby. And you don’t want to get too close to them.

3.  Mocha’s owners shaved him a month ago. Good news: at least he has owners. Bad news: they shaved him when it was still freezing cold out. (No, no skin conditions or anything. I asked. Just some mats that I think could have waited until the weather warmed up. Poor beautiful guy.)

4.  Jason, one of our regular Knit Nighters, is making knitted food for his daughter. He did pancakes with dripping syrup. Here he’s feeding his knitted ice cream cone to Loopy. Next up? Pepperoni pizza.

5.  Did you know old card catalogs make great containers for stash? Long narrow drawers for skeins, plus a place on the front of the drawer for labels. Cool. As someone who likes to repurpose old things, I thought this worked out great.

Have you repurposed anything fun lately?

Sheri probablyshouldhaveboughtbothcardcatalogs
Isawforsale,insteadofjustone.

Wacky #1: Are you in the mood for a wacky new bag for your knitting? I found these creative bags at a little market-in-the-park this past weekend. Karin makes totes out of old books, old game boards, posters and old album covers, complete with old ties for the handles. I’ve seen old books turned into journals, but never bags like these. Very well done and definitely a conversation starter! (Definition of wacky: creative and fun.)

Wacky #2: Cats. (Skip to #3 if you could care less about cats…) These two were racing around the house, chasing each other. The front one – Gracie – thought she’d be sneaky and hide, waiting for Zoe to walk by so that she could ambush her. Zoe – the smarter one – was watching her from behind the whole time. (Definition of wacky: crazy.)

Wacky #3:  A knitted Elvis wig. And this is necessary, why? Although perhaps a few of you might need to make it for your wacky Elvis-loving relatives for Christmas? You can find the free pattern here. (Definition of wacky: scary.)

Got anything wacky going on in your life today?

Sheri whocouldaddalotmorewackiness,butwillstopthere