Pub Crawl

I've said it before, this winter has been a burst of knitting frenzy for me. I've knit socks, mittens, hats, sweaters, scarves, bags. Always keeping some project of some sort going on (actually, probably way too many projects - I'm wondering if I have a committment problem) so that I can just pick one up and go. I've knit in bed, on airplanes, in the car, on the couch, at the library, at the neighbors, by headlamp, and while watching Joan Hickson (who else?) as Miss Marple on BBC. And now, at the pub. Soon to be a habit.

The PLAN

Well folks, here it is: the floor plan. I'd love to say "so far" and I'd love to say how much it's changed since we started this process. Oh yes, we are still debating some things. The main bath layout for example. But at some point you draw a line in the sand, say uncle, cry mercy, give up the ship. And we've been with the same basic layout for the past several months; moving walls a foot here, 2 feet there... the end result is that the iterative design process could go on forever. And as much as we want to get it right, I need to acknowledge that there is no perfect solution for this (unless you ignore code, get it all gratis, and are generally an easily satisfied person. A-hem). I also feel fairly certain (based on past experience, see) that at some point in our lives, we may change our minds about what exactly we want, what's making us happy at the moment, and what color the floor should be. Actually, that point may be Monday, after we meet with an architect friend who is reviewing the plans. Hmmm.

All that to say, I think it's good. Better than good, great. We're happy. Darling did an awesome job putting the drawings together. The house is certainly not perfect (see above), but perfect for us: an endearing blend of dreaminess and practicality and compromise and surrender. Best of all, we're still in love. Without further ado:

(Click on the plans to bring up a larger, kinda blurry, image.)

At last, Winter

Such a strange winter. The lack of snow has been a bit of a downer, especially considering the storms in the mid-Atlantic, where they don't even particularly want it. But this weekend we finally got some fresh stuff and man oh man was it fun to get out in it: sledding, snowshoeing, shoveling. Good times! One of the family stayed inside, you can guess who.

I would love to show you another picture, but I didn't take it, so a story will suffice. After gathering all the elements (skiis, chariot, chariot skiis, dog, ski clothes, kid snow suit, blanket) we finally got out to do a ski after work. With the lack of snow and lack of time, we have had a serious lack of skiing in this household. We were all starting to feel it, and the fresh snow was just the impetus to push us into action. By the time we got to the trail, it was dark dark (not just "adult dark"), but we got the chariot put together, the skiis on, and the kid inserted with a hot tea, headlamp and cow magazine. And our little party took off for an absolutely marvelous ski and grand conditions. Lit by the glow of the moon we made our way along the trail. O was completely cozy in there, with his little light shining. We didn't see anyone the whole time until we were almost back at the car. We passed some other skiiers who wished us a good ski and beautiful night (we had both) and asked, "is that a BABY in there? How fun!" It was.

Helping

Heaps of helping around these parts lately. I know this phase will end, but I really really super don't want it to.