And Then There Were Two

Not being able to get out because of the snow has it's compensations. I am making small steps into reducing my stash. I now have 2 pairs of red bed socks and am looking through my stash to see what other small projects I can make next out of my bits and pieces. The full packs are OK I can find uses for those at a later date but it's the odd balls that drive me mad. I could start some socks from my sock wool stash but I am still working my up to 4ply and fine needles. Not quite in the mood for it yet.

I will probably make some more bed socks, slippers or mitts. Things that I can pass on if there are too many for me. I haven't made a new winter hat this year so that is something else that I might try. I will see what my stash says to me when I take another dive into it. I am glad now that I took the time earlier in the year to stash my odd balls into colours so I can see at a glance how much I have in one colour theme. I have a huge bag of purples, lilacs and dark pinks that is probably going to end up as another All Shawl one day.

The sun is shining at it looks quite pretty outside but the street is ominously quiet and no-one is stirring outdoors - not even the children. I think that the novelty of snowmen and snowball fights has worn off and they are preferring Cartoon Network, DVDs and electronic games to playing out in the snow. One of the senior schools must have gone back as I saw one brave soul yesterday valiantly trudging his way through the snow wearing his school uniform at school end time so I presume that he had been there all day. The cars that moved off my street yesterday have not returned so I only hope that they are parked somewhere up the hill and not stuck at the bottom with the Tesco home delivery van that got stuck there a few days ago.

I still have food supplies in and the only thing that I will soon be running out of is milk. My niece said that she would try to call down on Saturday and bring me some. There has been no long life milk anywhere local for the last couple of days. Today I think that I might make some corned beef hash as I still have some potatoes, onions and carrots. That will be nice and warming and will last for two or three days. On days like this all thoughts of dieting go out of the window. All I can think about is nice warming stews and soups.

The amaryllis that I got as a Christmas present is thriving. I have forgotten what colour it is supposed to be as I recycled the box so am looking forward to the day that it flowers.

Time for a cup of coffee and a think about what to start next. The only thing that I have on the needles is a 4ply white baby cardigan that I started ages ago and didn't like so it doesn't inspire me to finish it off. The pattern is boring to knit and doesn't even look good in the pieces so I am not drawn to finishing it off. I can see an unravelling stint one day but probably not today.

Red Cosy Bedsocks

One finished pair of cosy red bedsocks. They make me feel warmer just by looking at them. red is such a comforting colour in the winter. I have started another pair so 2 pairs of bedsocks for the Sale price of £2.97p is a bargain. Plus they have the added bonus of being machine washable in case of washing disasters.

We are still snowed up although 2 of the cars in the street have moved this morning. I heard from a neighbour that a Tesco home food delivery van had been stuck at the bottom of the hill for 3 days but as I haven't been out I can't verify that. I do hope that he had managed to drop off all of his deliveries before he got stuck.I also hope that my neighbours cars have not joined the van and are also stuck at the bottom of the hill. I also heard that paramedics had struggled to get to an old lady on the hill next to my hill. I heard rumours that the struggle was in vain but I do hope not as although she is an elderly lady she is the kind of person who went out of her way to help everyone.

My neighbours continue to be brilliant. They have almost all changed over the last couple of years and my old neighbours have been replaced with young ones but they are showing the true British spirit in helping the elderly (me) so I have no complaints about any of them. One by one they have called to make sure that I am OK and see if I need any groceries etc which I think is lovely.

At least I have water which if you read the comments on my previous blog poor June has written that her street has a burst and they will have no water for a couple of days. I hope that they have given you a water cart otherwise you can't keep warm with a cup of tea or coffee. The UK is so useless when there is any snow. You would never think that we had ever had any snow before. People in the US and Canada cope so much better than we do but then they are perhaps not so penny pinching as our local councils and government are. The first photo is of my cousin John's house in British Columbia Canada. They have snowfalls that come up to the windows in the roof in winter so are used to coping in weather such as this. Bev in Utah has several inches of snow and I bet her local council copes better with it than the UK does. Everything grinds to a halt here.

I am staying in today. The postman has just struggled through the snow for the first time in days to bring me some junk mail. Thanks postie! You could have kept those letters.