Friday, January 31, 2014

Ho-Hum

Now there's a post title that most likely piqued your interest and made you eager to read what I have to say.  Or not.

It's not that I'm bored.  It's the last of January and I'm not halfway started on all those projects I was going to do for fun in this long, slow month that has literally zooomed past!

It's just that when I think of sharing what's been going on, nothing seems very interesting or funny or, praise be, exceptional.  So you may as well stop reading now and go to someone else's more stimulating blog.

Still here?  Okay, you asked for it.

I have been in my quilt room a bit.  Now and then.  Here and there.  Rewarding myself with an hour's time in there once or twice a day.  I'm working on a new spring shower curtain.  The old one is faded and drab.  And I never much liked the way it turned out in the first place.  The new one (in spring colors, of course) has alternating vertical panels of squares on point and an appliqued vine with flowers.  Since the piece will be laundered a bit, I'll use machine applique rather than doing it by hand.  Picture(s) will be posted . . . eventually.

Reading.  I've done more of that than I have in a long time, but my thirst for same has not been quenched.  (So many books, so little time.)  I'm nearing the end of Weekends with Daisy, a book about service dogs raised by prison inmates.  The dogs spend weekends outside the prison walls with someone (often in a family environment) on the "outside" so they can become socialized, familiar with and accustomed to all they will encounter after achieving their (hoped for) goal of becoming service dogs.

Yesterday we hit a high of nearly 10° above zero so took advantage of the "warm" weather to haul out the roof rake and remove 2-3' of accumulated snow from one section (14' x 32') of roof.  Of course, the snow came avalanching down (!) directly onto a shoveled pathway that had to then be cleared of same snow.  I think Papa Pea and I both exercised some (apparently) seldom used muscle groups during the project.

As of last night, I've finished sorting through all my garden seeds and making a list of those lacking in quantity and needing supplementation and dumping (geesh, I hated to do it) ones that were too, too old to hang on to.  Now to the (daunting) task of deciding from which of the thirteen seed catalogs stacked on the table I will order which seeds.  I've heard seed prices are substantially "up" this year, but I haven't yet been big and brave enough to take a look for myself.

Well, those are the exciting things I have to report.  (Aren't you relieved I held myself back from yammering on about the boring things?)

We've had no snow for several days now.  Is this it for the winter?  (Ha!  It's only the end of January, silly girl.)  We traditionally get the bulk of our snowfall in the month of March.  Last year got most of it in April.  Guess we've still got some time left to get more.  Good.  All the more time before I'll be spending all my daylight hours out in the garden.  Garden?  Just where IS the garden?  It's been so long that it's been covered with a couple of feet of snow that I don't recall exactly where it is.  For sure, we won't be dealing with a spring that is too dry this year.

16 comments:

Carolyn said...

I think it was you that introduced me to a "roof rake". Never in my wildest dreams would I think one would require a rake to get snow off their roofs. And snow in March, hugh? Maybe you need to invest in a roof snow-blower.
Glad you're getting some time in the quilt room, although I was a bit miffed that you described the quilt in progress and then yanked the picture right out from under me. Guess I'll have to wait.

Susan said...

I think we all are in the ho-hum stage of winter (lordy, I hope so). I am now trying to figure out which projects get first dibs and it's hard to decide. I find myself flitting and how I HATE flitting.I have one big job to do this winter and I keep pushing it to February. Well, tomorrow IS February. Drat.

Candy C. said...

I can't wait to see pictures of the new shower curtain, it sounds lovely! I have never heard of a roof rake either. Shoot, here in the desert southwest, some of the roofs are even FLAT. I'll bet that would never work with snow! ;)

RockWhisperer said...

Your life sounds about as interesting as mine lately. That's winter for you.

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - Got a giggle out of the picture in my mind of me up on the roof with a snow blower. (Might be easier than the roof rake though. Hmmmm . . . )

Okay, okay, I'll try to get a picture posted of what I've got done on the quilt so far tomorrow. Happy now?

Mama Pea said...

Susan - From your post today, I'd say you have PLENTY planned for the first couple of days in February. So push that one big job a little farther into the month. We'll all allow you to do that. ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Candy C. - Boy, I can see the pressure is on to produce proof that I have been working on the shower curtain! The parts and pieces never look very impressive until it all starts to pull together . . . but I'll post a picture (for you and Carolyn) of what I have done so far.

Mama Pea said...

Ilene Jones - I'm not complaining. I manage to fill my days from one end to the other; I'm just doubtful if it's with interesting enough stuff for anyone else to hear about!

Lisa said...

Sounds like you've been pleasantly busy - not boring sounding 'ho hum' at all! Please show us your shower curtain when you get it done... it sounds pretty!!!
PS You could show us your work-in-progress?!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I've been trying to read a looming stack of books here, but can't seem to get the reading mojo moving. I have resorted to reading on the treadmill. I have heard that we are to get another snow storm next week here, but haven't verified it yet. I think we got 40 inches of snow in January - a record for us. Today it's mostly slush, as it started to snow, but turned to rain and such a gloomy day.

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Progress on the shower curtain in new blog post. Thanks (!) for your interest. :o}

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Oh, slush and rain are the worst! Reminds me so much of spring up here. (My unfavoritest season!) You probably can't get into reading because whenever you manage to sit down, you're doing handwork!

Anonymous said...

I know you would trade me, it's 40 today with drizzle...but my mojo is on hold too. We were due to work outside, but can't because of the rain. Glad you are getting into some reading. I have a bunch of books on my tablet I haven't touched yet.

http://caffeinatedhomestead.weebly.com/blog.html

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - Yep, we all just have to learn to flow with what the day gives us. When I hear of the terrible drought conditions in California, I know you're grateful for your rain as we are for our snow. Hope you find some time for reading before spring hits full force!

Unknown said...

Reading, quilting, raking the snow on your roof, and sorting all your garden seeds – what a busy day for you! But I’m glad that you have something nice to do even if you’re only staying at home most of the time because of the weather. Also, thankfully you were able to rake the roof and remove the big amount of snow on it before the weather hit 10 degrees. Somehow it’s a relief that you know that the snow will not damage your roof because of its weight and when it started to melt. Have a good day!

Amber @ AmericasChoiceRoofers.com

Terence Warner said...

I hope the snow won’t be as bad as it was last year. A copious amount of snow in the roof could easily lead to freezing temperatures and possible damage when left unattended. Make sure you rake it every now and then, or at least improve the insulation of your roof, to reduce the amount of ice buildups.

Terence Warner @ Brunwin Roofing