There hasn't been much knitting in the Methow lately

Well it's true, there hasn't been much knitting going on in my house, I am trying to finish a beaded scarf that Vicki gave me, I love it, but it's easy to put down and start on something else, so I will get it done soon. Then earlier this last fall I knit a dickey, and I don't think I showed it in my blog, I love it, and I made it from the beautiful roving that I spun last winter. Boy does it keep you warm, and the cold air from your neck. I got this pattern from a Google search, and came to discover the pattern at a blog spot blog called Lost Arts, I have the link to it on the right side of this page. She has a unusual blog, but if you're into knitting and would like some different kinds of patt. that she designed take a look. The scarf patt. is one that Vicki got at Great Yarns in Everett Wa. We've been having as you've heard I'm sure, lots of fog. With the very frigid cold this makes for some beautiful sights around here when the sun does come out. I was doing some out side chores and came across this at my garden gate. The whole fence and the curly willow I use to keep the gate straight were covered with ice, and as you can see it was a sunny day. On days like this is when you stop to think on how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place as is the Methow Valley. There has been a couple of things that I've keep forgetting to mention, and one is a Artisan bread recipe that I found in the Mother Earth News, Dec Jan issue. Check it out http://www.motherearthnews.com/. Something else I learned in the last issue was a great way to build a wood stove fire that has less smoke when you first start it, I think it was called the upside down fire starter. Also about two years ago I started reading a new publication called Hobby Farm Home, they also put out one called Hobby Farm. It just became available to subscribe to. I enjoy this magazine because it has all kinds of cooking and gardening, for instants they might feature home made cheeses, and using compost for your garden. I was really surprised to find some of the articles were written by people who live in Washington. So look it up at http://www.hobbyfarmhome.com/ So last week we had decided to make the trip to the coast, but the Mt. pass were kept closed for about three days, so finally they opened and so on Friday we took the trip over. This was an opportunity to deliver those Christmas presents that were coming close to being Birthday presents. What a difference a day makes, it was free sailing all the way over, and the traffic wasn't bad at all. So Friday evening we spent visiting Ely, he looks good to us. Then Saturday evening we spent with Jens and Sam, that's always so fun to see how she's maturing and growing into an even nicer young lady. We went to Ivor's for dinner and well that is a whole different story I'll tell another day. Sunday I spent visiting my Dad. Dad and I went out to lunch at a pizza place called Boston Pizza, they have gourmet pizza that is so good. In between visiting I did some shopping and Lonny visited some of his friends, we actually broke down and got an artificial tree. We were happy to visit, but happier to get home, and to see our cat Jr. whom was so happy to see us. Happy Trails! Love Diana