More Hours of Daylight!

The sun rises earlier these days - and we now have more than 10 hours of daylight! Ten hours and ten minutes, in fact! And it increases day by day!

The sun now rises half an hour earlier than it did on January 1. 

And it sets at 5:22 - 50 minutes later than it did a month and a half ago. In the next four months we will slowly gain another five and a half hours of daylight!

Lots of changes ahead!

That Was a Surprise!

After ordering - and downloading - a pattern for a knit kimono wrap, I was happy to find the recommended yarn in a nearby craft store.

I purchased the required number of skeins in the colour shown in the pattern - and was pleased with the result.

Then I decided to make a second wrap in a different colour...

I happened to find the same yarn in blue in a different store, and I bought the same number of skeins.

I was well into the second kimono when I noticed that - when placed next to each other, the two skeins (in different colours) didn't look to be the same size. 

Sure enough, they contained slightly differing amounts of yarn! The blue skein had 5 ounces, the grey one 6 ounces... (140 grams compared to 160 grams). So strange! In all my years of knitting,  I've never encountered a problem like this before - the same yarn in similar - but not identical - sized skeins! Confusing!

(I may have to buy more blue!)

More Snow!

Yes, we have more snow! In fact, I stayed indoors all day yesterday to avoid it...

One of our neighbours came over to help clear the driveway. (With Terry's sore wrist, it was very appreciated!) 

I notice that, even with new snow, there isn't enough on the ground to totally bury the grass growing under the trees (in the picture above).

Nor is there enough to cover the sedum stalks in the flower beds.

Terry tells me that next week the weather will warm up a bit. That's good. But what I really want - what I'm looking forward to - is bare, walkable roads and sidewalks! I want to enjoy the outdoors again!

(I wonder how many weeks I'll have to wait...)

Who Made Those Tracks?!

In winter I often wonder what animal has passed by on fresh snow...

Who made these tracks?!

Even more disturbing are tracks that end next to a vehicle...

Did the animal crawl in?! Is he or she still inside?!

Feeling Hopeful!

I've been feeling hopeful!

Seeing the sun more, especially in the morning,  is part of the reason, I'm sure!

Regardless of whether the groundhog saw or didn't see its shadow last Monday - depending on where you live - the squirrels in my neighborhood have been very active this week...

And apparently an emu broke out of its enclosure and ran loose through Almonte a few days ago... Spring fever, perhaps?!

Those invigorating signs - and more sunshine - are enough to boost my mood!

Upgrades AREN'T Necessarily Improvements!

I really HATE it when I check my phone in the morning - and I see that the operating system on my phone has been updated!

(Oh no! What else did they change?!)

This annoying feature on the blog page appeared a few months ago. ... (A hyper link that I never use...) But if I accidentally touch it while writing, the font letters become small  and I have to erase the tiny words and re-type everything!

More recently this check mark appeared everywhere... What does it mean? Am I safe to touch it?! Does it mean OK? Or I'm done?

For me, a real improvement would be a CHOICE: Do I want this change? If not, how can I get rid of it?  Maybe I'm happy with things the way they were.

Good Neighbours

The month of January brought lots of snow...

So much, in fact, that Terry injured his wrist shovelling...

Now his shovelling days may be done for this winter ...

So we're particularly thankful for our son, who drops by and helps. Also for all our kind neighbours!