Eastburn Adventures

Wow.  I have been complaining about not having a real winter here for many years (and am somewhat jealous of all the snowfall in Colorado and Alaska), but I wasn't meaning this.  We were hit last night with a major ice storm that left about 2 inches of ice.  The freezing rain started yesterday afternoon, and didn't stop until well into the night.  We fortunately didn't lose our power until about 11:00 p.m. last night, and both Robert and I are warm-natured, so we weren't freezing (our cats weren't very happy with us though).  The power came back on about 30 minutes ago, but there's no telling how long it's going to last.  The forecast is for another round to hit us today and a third, even stronger round to dump on us tomorrow.  Several trees have been destroyed, and I'm sure it's just going to intensify.

Here's some photos from my neighborhood taken this morning:

Can I say it again?  Wow.  So I'm going to go get ready for Rounds 2-3.  Please remember, folks, pets are family members, too - so make sure you take care of them in this weather.

As for me, I'm just glad I broke down and bought, on a whim, some lighted knitting needles.  If and when the power goes off again, I'll be ready.  After all, a girl's just got to have her knitting!

Well, the second round of the storm fizzled out on us last night, and we're thankful to still have power.  Over 60,000 people in Springfield remain without power, including my sister and her family, who are moving in today to weather out the remainder of the storm.  While we got off somewhat easy last night, Round 3 is supposed to be the worst. 

I took some more photos of the same trees as yesterday - the accumulation is worse, the skies are grey, and the grass is a frozen tundra.

You can read more about the storm here and here.  (In knitting news, I did finish my super secret suede baby gift - Resolution #8 and started my gauge swatch on my first sweater.)

It's bad - it's really bad.  We lost power again last night about 6:00 p.m.  It's supposed to be 8 degrees tonight, and it's snowing a little.  We're just trying to stay warm, and I'm taking advantage of the computer at church.  We're trying to take care of the parents, too - I just pray the power comes back on soon.  More updates later!

Praise the Lord!  Our power returned yesterday morning around 8:30 a.m. (after I took my Chi to work to straighten my hair)!  Since this past weekend, my sister and BIL have been staying with us, my BIL's parents, and my nephew and his wife and two kiddos spent one night.  We've got a big house, though, and were glad to have them!  My parents stuck it out in their living room with a gas log (we're on the same grid so their power is back on now, too).  We helped them survive the first frigid night by nailing a thick insulated work blanket over the opening to their living room.  But picture this - I'm holding the flashlight, Robert's holding the blanket, and my dad has hammer and nails in hand.  But wait.  "Oh, I've got the wrong nails."  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Nope.  So there he goes to the garage with the flashlight to get the right nails.  Because - when you're freezing to death, it apparently does matter which nails go into your woodwork.

So we were supposed to get above freezing temps today so the ice could start melting.  Which, in and of itself, could cause additional problems because the trees would spring back and could take out more power lines escalating the issue further.  The good news is that City Utilities and hundreds of workers from all over have reduced the number of those without power from 75,000+ to under 20,000.  The bad news is that there's still about 20,000 without heat, lights, and water, including Zarah.  So while we want to have the ice melt, we don't want it to happen so fast that those who have regained power lose it again.  Oh, and did I mention that we're expecting 4-6 inches of snow this weekend?  Normally, I'd be ecstatic - I really do love winter - but the ice is another story.

I would caution folks to be careful to not slip and fall on the ice, but right now, I'm not one to talk.  Plus, it doesn't take ice for me to be a major klutz.  This morning I apparently forgot that we have three steps from the house to the garage and missed the last one.  I have a really bad sprain and some ruptured tendons, and get to wear an air splint for a week or so.  Good thing I already had a collection of crutches!  The worst part of this - I'm just not in the mood to knit.  That's just wrong on so many levels!

This was taken about 5 minutes ago outside my back door!

Isn't it great?  It's SNOWING!  (It's been years since I remember snow this late in the year.) 

I LOVE Missouri!

Okay, I know I failed miserably in updating this site with my photos from my trip to Boston. After my trip to New Hampshire and Maine, I lost internet access in my dorm room last Sunday and didn't get it back until Friday. Aaaack! I was also without television - so my only entertainment was knitting (and studying).

To recap, on Sunday I went to Cambridge (Harvard):

Lexington:

and Concord:

On Wednesday afternoon, I enhanced stash at Wild & Woolly (back in Lexington):

and the following Saturday I went to Cape Cod and took a boat ride in Nantucket Sound:

Sunday, I tried to come home. Needless to say, I missed my connection, waited at O'Hare for 5 1/2 hours to see if I could get on a standby flight - but no. I had to spend the night in Chicago and fly home on Monday. 26 hours from Boston to Springfield - that's gotta be a record, right?

Anyway, back to work on Tuesday, and a nice surprise. I received a gift certificate to my LYS as a thank you for work on a big project. That made up for a lot of my travel frustration, but I'm still writing a letter to the airline. :-)

I'll post on my souvenir yarn and travel knitting in a day or so.