On Saturday

flowers were delivered to my neighbor's house since I wasn't home. Since I had just spent several hours driving and sliding in this,

 

I decided to go a head and drive over to their house to pick them up. It was worth it, I would have hated slip and drop this from my mom.

 

Sunday afternoon the deck looked like this, which I shared with Hubband and he said something about winter having arrived in his absence. It certainly did.

 

Since he couldn't be here yesterday, and the florist doesn't deliver on Sunday, these came today.


So far both of them seem to have been safe from Oribel; we'll see how long that lasts. Fortunately, I will still enjoy them even if they get a few teeth marks.

 

This is a year

of a Great Conjunction.
I am sure most of you think of June 21st as the (here in the northern hemisphere) as the summer solstice. It usually is, but sometimes it is on the 20th instead (three times out of 14 years on that chart). Most years, ever since 1985, June 21st has been a day of a small conjunction, but I am sure there are several people out there who know this is pretty much intentional. As then Soon-To-Be-Hubband said when dates were being discussed, "What a great day for a big party." This year is only the fourth time in the last 24 that it has been the Great Conjunction of Father's Day, the Summer Solstice, and our anniversary.
As Hubband put it, "2 * 2 * 2 * 3. Gotta be magic, eh?"
Magic it is Sweetheart, without a doubt.

4 of 12

AKA Hubband's Valentines Day Socks. I wanted to learn some new sock knitting stuff like Magic Loop instead of the standard double point needles, a square-toe start instead of a short-row toe, and I used a slightly different short-row heel than I have in the past (no wraps). I started these on Wednesday night at my weekly knitting group (so I could have a lesson on the toe and ML), one at a time (though with ML it is common to do both socks at the same time), finished the first sock and cast on the second one Friday night. I finished the second sock this afternoon and really enjoyed learning all the new stuff. I defiantly like ML, though I have nothing against DPNs. (In fact I have my next pair of socks on them right now, those were started last Tuesday night and worked on during the day before my ML lesson. No, I haven't picked them up since, but probably will tomorrow.) Yes, I do seem to have a new addiction to knitting socks, but no one around here seems to be complaining about it. Hubband has a poker game on Sunday and is very excited to wear his new socks. (I am sure he will tell the guys that I made them for him, like he did with his anniversary socks to our Super Bowl outing. Silly man.)

A romantic Valentine's afternoon

starts with dosing Sadie with Rimadyl before noon, bundling up for 25° weather, leashing the dogs, and heading out down the hill in the backyard.


From there you enjoy an afternoon together,

 

wandering about in the valleys

 

and on the hills around your neighborhood.

 

You get to see dogs enjoying the snow and their outing,

 

sunflower farms,

 

awesome ice formations

 

bassets snuffling stuff like bassets do,

 

geese overhead,

 

baby trees safe from deer,

 

and the water holding ponds you are grateful for.

 

Then you go out to the road to head home, enjoying your favorite tree in the cow field,

 

tell Sadie she has done an amazing job hiking and she is almost home,

 

and you are thankful that Simon will wait for her so patiently.

 

The last little bit of the afternoon outing includes telling the neighbor dogs hello, even though the beagle/basset mix Paco dog has taught Miss Louie Basset the bad habit of barking at everything and everyone.

 

Then you finish the afternoon off with a Valentine's day gift of a hand knit sock. (With the promise of the other one being done in plenty of time for their poker game on Sunday afternoon.)

A couple of ways to make my Hubband happy.

Go see a most excellent movie (which didn't have a midnight showing here, but we went opening night) and bring home the needed 3D glasses,









and knit him a hat to keep the wind and cold out. This is an excellent accessory for Minnesota wind chill and dog walks. I am not totally happy with the fit; of course, if I had tried it on him while in was in progress, I would have made needed modifications to make me happier, but it didn't come close to his head until it was all finished. He loves it and what else really matters?

See? Finished knitting!

These are Hubband's Christmas socks, though he got them before Christmas. It is kind of hard to make sure socks for him fit without trying them on him several times during the making. Unfortunately, even if I had sock blockers it wouldn't help. Now, if I had a plaster cast of his foot and leg, I could make him surprise socks. Of course, I have only seen kits to make casts of tiny baby feet, so I guess I would need a bunch of kits.

 

I finished these a week ago and Hubband has worn them, but the two of us haven't been able to coordinate getting pictures of him wearing them, so DTE is kindly being my foot model tonight (thus the “these socks are too big for these feet” look).

I have been knitting,

but have come to the conclusion that I won't have one of the things I was working on for Christmas done in time. I am trying very hard to stay on task with the other knitting that I will have done in time and all the other things I need to do to be ready. Packaging stuff, mailing stuff, cleaning stuff, cooking stuff. Most of the time I don't have such a hard time staying on task, but I keep being pulled away from what I should be doing to read a new book. I really want to use this new book, but I keep telling myself I have to do all this other stuff first. It is (sort of) working so far, but I am not sure how much longer that will last. "What new book?" you may all be wondering. Well, Hubband took me shopping this past weekend for my birthday present, because he didn't want to go without me. So far I have only taken the book out of the box, but I am not sure how much longer that will last. (Isn't it a pretty box?) I have to say, I am really excited about what this can do that my "older than me" one can't/won't/doesn't do, or gets too fussy/cranky to want to do anymore. One of the reasons that I haven't finished my jacket is because of the cranky machine, which makes me cranky. Seriously, how many times in an hour should one have to balance their tension on straight stitching? None! It shouldn't keep changing! Now, I really must go do all that stuff and see if that will drown out the voice calling me to play.
(I promise to give you knitting pictures soon! I can share some of what I have been working on.)

Public Service Announcement, AKA Hubband's big weekend project.

Did you know that the smoke detectors we all have in our homes (you do have one, don't you?) wear out/become ineffective after about ten years and need to be replaced? I bet Chan knew. (Or maybe the smoke detector makers are just pulling our leg and finding a way to stay in business; I guess I can't really blame them at this point.) Anywhos.... I looked at some at the store last week, realized we needed to consult Consumer Reports, and figure out about the whole hard-wired to the house category that ours fall into. So, research was done, and we were able to determine that we could get ones that were carbon monoxide/smoke combos so that we wouldn't be breaking the law any more, as well as be able to have a temporary override button. (MN passed a law last session that all single family homes needed CO detectors as of last July 1st. Multi-family/rentals don't need them in place for either six months or a year after that.) The one in our kitchen tended to go off a fair amount. Not that I really burn stuff very often, other than spilled cornmeal, but it was very sensitive. (I was told by a friend of our that when they go off that easily it is a sign that they are wearing out.)
Anyway, Hubband went off and bought three new proper detectors and a new fire extinguisher. These need to be replaced every some number of years too; I just don't know how many, maybe it depends on the size and type. We knew that needed replacing as the last time it was recharged (I hope everyone knows that they have to be recharged periodically even if you don't ever use it) we were told that it was old enough that they couldn't do it again after that. Then he and DTE did a bit of research to determine which circuit breaker shut off the power to the smoke detectors and all were replaced and set up. The new extinguisher is in the kitchen pantry and the old one is out on the patio. (Even if it doesn't work exactly like it should, we are hoping that it buys a little bit of time to come out with the new one and place the proper phone call if we were to have an issue with the fire pit. Well, we can always hope we never need to test the theory.)

So, there you have it, a weekend report that is also a very important PSA. Please check the date sticker on your smoke detectors, replace them if they are more than ten years old, make sure you have a charged and current fire extinguisher, and a CO detector. 'Cause as they say, "Hey, let's be careful out there," [and safe].

People often want to know, "Does he travel a lot?"

It depends on what one means by "a lot." It has been known to come and go like waves. (Or something, maybe not waves. I guess I haven't spent enough time at a beach to say for sure.) Basically he has always had to travel some since, well, since I've known him it would seem, but at least always since we have been married. It used to be more than it is right now, and it may pick up again in the future. We never really know.
However, all that said, a while back it looked like Hubband was going to be going to Geneva, and then not, but maybe to Palo Alto instead. Now it looks like he won't be going anywhere for a while. This means he will be home for the annual Singed Cat celebration after all! (Yes, there have been years that he has had to be gone for it, or other family members' celebrations. It really is OK when it happens, and we are all OK with it.)

Last night Hubband and I had soup and bread for dinner.

I was fortunate to be back home in time for us to support one of our most important community organizations, which also happens to be near and dear to our hearts. Empty Bowls is an international project implemented on the local community level. Check to see if it happens in your community and try to support it in any way you can if it is. (If it isn't, it is well worth considering finding people to help bring to your area.) We were able to enjoy a drumming group from one of the local schools during dinner; see some pretty cool bowls, some that were part of our dinner donation and some that were part of a silent auction fundraiser; and we then we wandered around and saw interesting art.


These are the bowls we decided to take home with us.

Hubband and I went on an adventure.

Thursday night I during dinner, I asked Hubband if he was up to a drive on Saturday; he was a little leery at first, but when I clarified that dinner was involved he was up for it. So around four-thirty Saturday afternoon, we loaded ourselves and our needed stuff into the truck and headed off on the historic highway that was the start of our adventure. We headed north and through the Home of Water Skiing, and saw a bunch of these. We kept on driving and went through the home of Grumpy Old Men (sorry, no pictures for that spot). We kept on driving and finally ended up here after a beautiful fall drive. We got our names on the list for seating and consumed a beverage,

 

then we decided to walk down the street to look around and kill some time. We walked across the railroad tracks to look at boats and flags.

 

After looking at boats and stuff for a bit, we headed back up the street toward the restaurant. The colors were beautiful,
but the the source of the sound was rarely visible.

 

We stopped back by for a second beverage and hanging about for awhile, then headed up the road to look around at the other end. There was plenty of stuff to see, but this is what gave Hubband and I a laugh. Seriously, I remember Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond as bigger than that "family home"!

 

Then we headed back down the street toward the restaurant, watched this settle over the lake and the dark move in while we waited for our names to be called.

 

Hubband may have had this to drink last night while waiting for our turn, but it is no reflection on the company he was with! And yes, for those of you who are not in the know and are wondering, it was worth the drive and two hour wait to eat their food!

OK, there is something going on around here today.

Not a whole lot, in my opinion, but a little. For the record, I am all alone here, except for the dogs, cat, turkeys, and other wildlife around here. As you know, the girl children are back at school, and as I mentioned, travel season has started. Well, it may not be a whole season, but it is for a couple of weeks to start. Hubband left for Wuhan University, on Monday, and will be gone for a week. Then he will leave for Washington, DC, about thirty-six hours after he gets home from China, and will be gone until the end of next week. So it is rather quiet around here for the most part. No phone calls from the other side of the world, but we do have Skype instant messaging. Of course, that means that I don't always go to bed at a reasonable time, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make if it means I get to "talk" to him.

The biggest activity for today is my construction project for the day. I went to check out the fire bowl Hubband told me he saw at SuperTarget the other day, and decided it fit the bill for the patio.

 

Of course it won't be quite so shiny after the first fire (which would be tonight, but I have Knitting Night, and it would be a bit lonely having a fire by myself).

 

Extra cool is the included "weather cover." There is a "Bonus Feature" of a table-top gel-burner. Hmm, we'll see how much use that gets.

 

Oribel wasn't around to help me put it together, which is probably just as well. I wasn't really paying attention to what was happening when she first came across it out there, but I would guess that it got a going over. I did catch her hanging out under the table on the deck and she even decided to cooperate and look at me when I wanted to take her picture.


Currently she smells very "piney." I could hope she decided to rub herself all over the rosemary on the deck and that's why, but I kind of doubt it. I think her pine-scent has more to do with the forest and burs stuck in her fur.

 

DC Replacement

So last Friday, Hubband and I went to the Big City. We stayed near the infamous bridge and wandered around
here. We walked past a famous statue and music spot, found dinner, and had fun relaxing together. Saturday we went for a drive to poke around Stillwater, MN. While we have not been impacted at home by any of the flooding around the mid-west, we could see some problems with it on our trip.
This is a road from one direction,

 

and this is another view of the same road looking toward the fancy bridge,

 

and where it goes under the approach to said bridge, next to the river. (Personally, I think the clearance sign is a bit off on in its measurements.)

 

Due to the higher than normal water level, some boats that normally would be able to zip right under the bridge with no trouble,have to slowly approach with caution,

 

or just get into the queue and wait their turn.

 

Of course, some boats always have had to wait for the bridge to do its magic!

 

(The bridge keeper did seem to pick when to lift it, based on this one's proximity I noticed.)

 

At this point there was the "All Clear" signal for the bridge to start back down.
We spent another night in the big city, walking past famous spots again, having a wonderful time, just hanging out together. We had a really wonderful anniversary trip!

 

I had started a pair of socks for Hubband before we left and got a lot of knitting time in while driving about, but totally forgot to take any pictures of "Socks on Trip"; I even had it with me while we were waiting for the bridge! So we are making do with socks on the deck and
"Socks with Frogs." (I have since finished the first sock and will be turning a heel of the second tomorrow.)