Aah ... the weekend!

I am very grateful for the weekend these days, giving me a chance to catch up other other areas of my life than my two jobs. Yesterday was spent partially with volunteer responsibilities, but they took us to our other home in Forest City. There, the snow is about a third of the usual winter depth, but that allowed my neighbor Cheryl and I to take a great hike in the afternoon sun, a rarity these past few weeks. Our region is ahead by 20 inches of rain over the same time last year!


This is the view of Bald Mountain that we see looking north up the main street of Forest City. Most winters would find the mountain completely white.


And here we have a finished object! This is the same Versatile Scarf that I made earlier this winter, in a different weight, DK Cestari... the earlier version was a sport weight handpainted alpaca. I am delighted to have this scarf, which was beginning to feel terribly neglected as I labored away on my Ruffled Shawl, completed and ready to wear... and it looks pretty snazzy with this jacket, doncha think?


Mrs. Beeton has had to wait to be cast on; it did not happen this weekend. I read for my class that starts Monday, and spent some time on food preparation. This is Korean Kim Chi, which I made from scratch, using the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. There is a section on lacto fermentation that caught my attention, since I am not all that fond of eating raw foods, though I do recognize their superior nutritional value. I also made up a quart of Gingered Carrots. As for Mrs. Beeton, I did pick up a spool of bead thread so that I can go ahead and thread on the beads for my beaded cast on, and hope to get started on her this coming week. However, I DO have an order for a felted bag that I need to knit up, as well as a thank-you gift to make.... and a Ruffled Shawl to continue finishing up. I have a few more points on the edge to make before getting started on the red, ruffled edging.


The Ruffled Shawl with all the main body rows added, just before I started on the points, which form the foundation for the ruffled edging. I just love this color!


Aren't these darling? These napkins were a surprise gift from my fellow crafts co-op member, BeatyAnne, who makes knitted gnomes and tiny knitted sweaters to sell there, along with a host of other creative items. It is hard to tell from this photo, but these happy designs are in stockinette stitch! I just love a surprise, especially when a fellow knitter has decided to share something whimsy like these napkins with me. Made my day when I got the mail on Friday evening.

We also fit in a drive through the foothills this afternoon, and lunch out together. The hills are greening up quite nicely with all of this rain, but thankfully today was a bright and sunny one, with the feel of early spring, a welcome relief. We even noticed a large patch of daffodils in bloom under an oak at an abandoned homestead across the road from the restaurant where we ate... this road is the original stage road to the goldfields from Marysville and the oak must be several centuries old - a wonderful tribute to both nature and longevity.


I will close with this photo... not a very great one, but significant nonetheless. This little mountain is Fir Cap, as seen from the front gate of the children's center where I work. I look at Fir Cap several times a day, but was particularly taken to discover Friday evening that there was still a glimmer of sunlight on the peak when I was leaving for the day - a sure sign to me that days really ARE getting longer.