Bats In My Belfry

So long, “Pro-Meh”. See ya later Bertha Bawk Bawk. Hasta la vista “Hier ist nicht ein hunde kloo”. Auf Wiedersehen “shabby front door”.

Headed for the hills, literally. About frickin’ time too. Mainly a placeholder ’til I get the site updated and pictures uploaded to Flickr. Scenary is muuuuch better up here.

– Post From My iPhone

The one on the right is the face I get when coming up with the likes of the one on the left.

A spring evening with lovely light lead to the following:

The Alps! Not seen often from here, rarely in warmer weather. Something about the lake and inversion and technical meteorological stuff. But there they are. I believe that’s Mt. Sanitas.

The above is the range on the south shore of the Lake of Constance.

Fairly large dairy farm that borders the Hegg. Fields. Here you can see the mown grass that they gather for the cattle. It smelled wonderful.

Retina-burning shot.

And one of my favourites. Captured the breeze and the light of the setting sun. It was a lovely, lovely evening.

moar humorous pics

Hee!

It’s tempting to think that Spring has arrived, especially when seeing things like this:

Not a cloud in the sky this morning. Brilliant blue skies every direction. In the 40s but you could actually feel the sun’s warmth. Was pure pleasure to be out and walking on a day like today. Some of the trees have buds and there is plenty of mud where last week the ground was crunchy. In some places the mud was so slippery that being dragged along by the frisky Dawg was like skiing.

I was so tempted to snag a branch of this…

…but I don’t feel right about taking things from Nature. Best to leave them where they are.

Walking out in The Fields can sometimes feel as if you’re nowhere near a town the size of Markdorf. This is a good thing to me. It’s essential to recharge and I’m blessed to have this area so conveniently located to wander about in.

To the left there is a little enclosed property. I have no idea what they are called. They are small fenced in areas, with sheds, bar-b-que equipment, small gardens (flowers and veggies) and sitting areas. There are three of them out in The Fields. An old woman frequents one and she tends some very pretty flower beds.  She is a bit ferocious about people walking by. I assume she prefers her privacy. Another is more a social gathering place with a large shed and seating area. The third is a large vegetable garden and you often see a woman tending it at dawn in the summer.

Don’t know what these plants are, kind of like pampas grass. I’m woefully ignorant about horticulture but not quite as bad as Himself who tends to “tree” “flower” etc.

This one, I do know. Willow. I spent a great deal of my childhood up a willow tree in our backyard, reading.  I remember having a transistor (über!) radio and listening to “A Summer Song” by Chad and Jeremy. Always associate that with willow trees. Looks like this tree is greening up a bit.

Beautiful, beautiful day. The cynic in me is wondering when Winter is going to make a return and smack us upside the head. But…not today.

Is mostly sunny today, in fact, a rather nice day despite the forecast. It did snow last night. At sunrise there was maybe half an inch all over everything but it melted by mid-morning revealing a very nice day.

Skies were beautiful with the white clouds floating by. The clouds were gathered over the Alps in cumulonimbus form.

You can see that just a couple hundred feet above Markdorf the snow has remained. Hard to see in this picture but the snow decorates all the evergreens at the top of that ridge.

Well, we may be in for more winter but days like this make it not-so-bad because you can see…

Buds starting to appear. The smell of damp earth was strong today too. The aroma of spring was present. Of course, it’s just a teaser, for the next 2 months will bring the most moisture and, depending upon the weather patterns, snow. Himself is all for it and I am, to a point, but I do hope it doesn’t get really deep because it will be a bit of a pain trekking through the fields in deep snow. But, then again, it would be beautiful.

I read that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today.

Messing with camera today whilst walking The Neem resulted in some telephoto shots of the Alps. Now the Alps are rather “shy” around here. Rarely see them unless conditions are “just right”. I’m told it’s to do with the Lake (of Constance) but I’ve really no clue. So, when I was out there and could actually see them, I decided to mess with the telephoto in the Canon Ixus70. Results are not that great but does give an idea of proximity.

Interestingly (well, to me anyway) there doesn’t seem to be much snow on the Alps for this time of year. Mind you, these are the foothills, the big peaks are behind and not visible today.

Pity that the Alps are not part of the daily view. We are pretty much surrounded on three sides and it would be nice to be able to see them more often. They rarely are seen in the summer but that doesn’t seem to dissuade the tourists from flocking to the area. Of course there is a lot more to see and do than just ogle the Alps.

From what the weather forecast is claiming, the Alps will be disappearing again. The word is “winter returns” starting tonight. That generally means visibility ’round here goes down to a mile or so.

Ah well.

January thaw underway, I guess. Been nearly 50°f for a couple days now although still gets well below freezing at night (and oh have the nights be clear. Stars all the way down to the horizons. Really feels like being in a bowl.). Much nicer especially since the sun has been out for 2 days in a row! Took The Dawg for his late afternoon walk today and it was pure pleasure. Fresh, fresh air, nice to be out walking around in it. Sunset was pretty nice too. Took the camera with me and got some shots.

The Dawg: Pigeon-toed, floppy-eared, hairy-tongued and very patient.

Beautiful light just at sunset. Warm and a nice change from the gray that is so common in winter here.

Nice view for an evening walk. Oddly there weren’t very many people out this evening. Usually this is prime walking time.

I am going to miss this walk when we move up to the top of the “mountain”. I probably won’t miss the aroma of the dairy farm that is silhouetted in this picture. When the wind is from that quarter it is very, very aromatic. Still, pretty and, to me, beats the hell out of any view in a city.

We recently got a printer that can print out very nice copies of photos. Since we don’t have many pictures on the walls to begin with (I rarely find anything I like and what I do like ends up be horrendously expensive…figures) this new printer will help us to “decorate” and, maybe, gift some photos to family/friends. The picture at the top of this post of “The Dawg” got printed out for my office. That shot just tickles me.

Appetite has been slow in returning after being sick but after the walk this evening I found myself really hungry. Happily the grocery store is again stocking the vegetarian entrees they carried before the holidays. I guess with the limited room, they did away with the veggie stuff to have room for the holiday stuff. Sugar vs. veggie? I go with veggie. Anyway, I stocked up on “Cordon Bleu”, “Schnitzel” and the “nuggets” (trying for first time). The nuggets are good! Doesn’t surprise me considering everything I’ve had from this company (name escapes me just now) is excellent. Almost got me over missing my Morningstar Farms Grillers. So, supper tonight is nuggets with a mayo/cilantro/lemon/garlic dip. Himself turned his nose up at the offer to share. Hah! More for me.

Kind of nervous about the shawl I am making Sandra. I got 8 balls of Jaeger Matchmaker in a lavender/periwinkle (shade 626) which should have been enough but even though I’m on gauge, I’m thinking it’s not going to be.

I emailed Angel Yarns to see if they had any more in the same colour/lot but then I remembered it was on sale (gnah! I see that it’s being discontinued. Why oh why is it that when I find a yarn I like…discontinued…meh!). I think I might be screwed here. I ordered another batch of the Jaeger but in a loden green and enough to be absolutely sure that I have enough. Worst that’ll happen is that I’ll end up with 2 shawls and that wouldn’t be the worst thing. It is very pretty though. And I am actually enjoying doing the pattern. Bit nervous given my concentration issues but I think I’m just psyching myself out. In any case I’m chugging along. Going to take awhile.

Also have cranked out a couple of towels for the kitchen. Needed ‘em. Going to get stocked back up so I have a week’s worth again. Doing a very basic but pretty “interrupted rib” (did a scarf in this pattern last week too) and then edging with a round of single crochet and then a quick loop for hanging. Nice ‘n’ squishy, dries things pretty quickly and look nice. Need pictures I guess.

Ah well, back to the shawl.

Sorta.

We’re sitting here, me at the top of the house and Himself on the ground floor, dealing with completely freaked out critters. Y’see, here in Germany, the traditional way to welcome the New Year is via light off fireworks. Yes, anyone can (well of age) and they go all out. So all day on the 31st they set ‘em off but the big crescendo is, of course, at midnight. It’s loud, bright and smells of the explosives. I usually love watching the fireworks but not so much this year. The Dawg is terrified. Flat out terrified. He’s a quivering mess. He’s been nervous and clingy all day what with the sporadic lighting off of fireworks but when everyone lit ‘em off a midnight he just went mental. So sad to see. The cats pretty much dived under the bed and whilst not happy they’re nowhere near as freaked out as The Neem. Hopefully this will end soon so the poor critters can relax. It’s just gone half past midnight and it does sound like it’s slowing down finally.

Was watching Helen Mirren in Elizabeth I before all this started. I’m a sucker for historical, costume dramas. This one is pretty good. Jeremy Irons as Leicester is also good. About half way through the movie and will watch the rest after things calm down. I wanted to see this before I watched Mirren in “Queen”. It’s soon going to be on satellite here.

Nothing else exciting going on, chugging away on my Voodoo fingerless gloves, about half done with the first one. Then I’ll have a full set of Llama/wool anti-cold things. Love this Adriafil yarn. Just wonderful stuff.

Well, off to peel critters off the ceiling.

Hopefully 2008 is a good year for us all.

With our health mostly back it was the icing on the cake that the sun came out today! I didn’t take the camera out, didn’t even think to but nothing special to photograph anyway. The sun was haze covered but it was quite clearly there. It has been over 3 weeks since we saw the sun so this was a treat. Many folks were out walking, cycling or rollerblading even though the temperatures were right on the freezing mark. I think we’re all just so glad to see light.

And then…came tonight. I harnessed up The Dawg just after midnight and we set off and two steps outside the front door, he wiped out and I almost joined him. There was a glaze of ice on everything. We carefully made our way to the street thinking the texture of the sidewalks and/or street might help but had to give up because it was just too slick. The Dawg did his thing on the corner bushes and we made our way back home, carefully, with me clinging to the fence the whole way. Nasty business! Supposedly it’s snowing now which’ll really be a treat in the morning. Snow covering the evil ice. I sure hope that most folks are home and in bed and not out trying to drive on this.

Got pictures of the gifts for my MIL and my GMIL (grandmother-in-law) so here they are for posterity. I do have to say I am totally disappointed in my offerings this year but the grand projects I had partially done had to be set aside due to being so sick and I had to turn to things I could do in my sleep. Good thing, too, because I really don’t remember doing the crochet scarf for my GMIL.

This is the scarf I made for my MIL. Alpaca that I doubled. It was meant to be a lacy dressy scarf but I couldn’t manage to focus on it well enough to stop making errors every few inches. So this was a fallback pattern that I figured I could do.

And here it is “wrapped”. The gift bag I had originally purchased was meant for something very lacy and thus small. This wouldn’t fit so I had to improvise. iCord was knitted and this is the result.

And this is the crocheted scarf with the same alpaca yarn as used for my MIL’s scarf. It’s very light and yet warm. Originally I had planned on doing the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts using Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze and I actually still have it about half way done but again, the whole plague thing. I couldn’t see straight to work with that fine a yarn. Neglected to get a picture of this in its gift bag but it was just a plain ol’ holiday gift bag, nothing special.
Both of the projects that got booted because we were so sick will be finished and gifted in the near future. Had fun making the cards too.

So, I suppose it’s not all that bad considering the circumstances but I am so disappointed that I didn’t get done what I wanted to.

A look at the weather forecast shows that we’re in for snow and/or rain for a couple days, oh joy. Rest of the week looks to be just above freezing and surprise! cloudy. Just as well that I am almost done with my llama “set” (headband, keyhole scarf and gauntlets…the two former are done and were in use this evening, the gaunts were just cast-on this evening). Not crazy about my workmanship on these items but oh, they are cozy warm. Gaunts should only take a couple days and then I’ll be set for the rest of the season.

I am sorely grouchy about how my One Row Scarf (Yarn Harlot’s One Row Handspun pattern) is working out. I made it from Karaoke and it looked great when finished. It has gone funky now though. It’s stretching something fierce. It’s about a good 10 inches longer than it was and has narrowed commensurately. Bummer. I’m going to give it a serious wash and blocking and see how that goes but I have a feeling I just learned something about Karaoke. We’ll see. It’s a nice feeling scarf but especially now that it’s stretched out, it’s waaaaay too long. I suppose I could frog it and make a cowl from it. That way there wouldn’t be so much pulling down going on. Bah.

Oh well, it’s all a part of learning!

Snowed a bit last night, maybe half an inch or so. Just enough to coat everything and make it very pretty on the midnight walk. Of course this morning, it’s all messed up and half-melted (we’ve actually gotten UP to the 32°f after two weeks of being stuck at about 22°f). It was so still, so serene last night walking after everyone was abed. The Dawg loves frost, ice and snow and rolls in it whenever given the opportunity.

He’ll even roll on iced-over puddles, breaking the ice and then turn around and try to eat the ice.

And then it’s back to…

I can haz mowse?

And this dog is a real pro at having his picture taken. He will patiently sit still and even look straight into the camera. This is such a change from the cats who, when spying a camera, run like hell resulting in many pictures of blurred cats. Not The Neem, oh no…he will hold still for things like this…

Beautiful boy.

As can be seen, the snow is mostly gone. I hesitate to want more snow lest we end up with a meter or so of it but it would be nice and a change from the gray day after day that usually constitutes winter here. Still there is beauty even when the snow mostly has melted away.

Quite the contrast to last August when my toe-nails were melting. In fact, I prefer this weather vastly over heat and humidity. Just would be nice to see the sun occasionally.

We had illness, the Plague. I don’t care what anyone says this was not just a “cold”, it was the freakin’ Plague. We still have it but it’s gotten manageable the past couple of days. Came down with it on the 14th and honestly, I remember very little of the following weekend. I do recall being so sick that I had to drive the 2 blocks to the Fields to walk The Dawg a couple of times. This was just awful. And the first 4 days I could not sleep which is a new experience for me when having a cold/flu. Usually that’s the only time I can sleep for hours and hours on end. Not this time, oh no. Finally was able to start sleeping more than an hour here and there and I think that helped a great deal.

We missed Christmas at Himself’s folks’. Now this is particularly ironic because it’s the first Christmas in 3 years that I had agreed to go. Normally I avoid things like that like, well, the plague. Heh. This year, though, was going to be a very small gathering, just his brother, mother and grandmother. I figured I could manage that. Then we got sick and there was no way in hell I was going to expose anyone to whatever this was. I was feeling better by the 24th (when we were supposed to go to Himself’s Mom’s house) but not anywhere near 100% and still honking and choking and dribbling and sneezing etc. At least I had reached a point where I no longer just wanted to croak and be done with it.

Throughout all this I knit. Not due to any desire to, but rather because I was not sure ’til pretty much the last minute whether we were going to the dinner or not and I had to finish up 2 gifts (cop-out scarves, one crocheted and one knitted). I don’t remember much about either one save that the knitted one morphed from a pretty lace thing to a basic garter on the bias. I couldn’t manage to do the lace without screwing up constantly. So I caved. I finished the 2nd one on the 23rd. That’s cuttin’ it close. I would’ve had them both done by the 18th had I not contracted The Plague. I could only knit for a short time before I just couldn’t focus anymore.

But, here we are, on the other side of Christmas/Yule and still alive. Now all that’s left is the never ending snot production and being easily tired. It was lovely, though, the past couple days going for the DawgWalks. Fresh air and the ability to walk a half mile without wondering if we needed to call for a ride home. Heh. Past 4 days have seen very pretty, fluffy ice crystals on the north side of everything. Looks like a fairy wonderland. I got some pictures of it earlier today and was going to take more this evening but it started to snow!

Here are some shots:

Looking SouthWest-ish along Heggelinstrasse “Creek”.

The crystals that cover everything on the northern face.

Believe it or not, that’s the sun at about noon. And that’s the first sign of it in, hmmm, 3 weeks, I’d say. It did manage to peek out a bit more mid-afternoon but was soon smothered again by incoming snow clouds.

Beautiful in a chilly, wintry way. Like someone dusted everything with sugar crystals.

And this is the face I get when I’m dithering too long taking pictures. “Mom, hurry up, I have mouse-holes to excavate!” Like so…

He lives to dig.

And then there is the one apartment house that went bonkers and decorated hugely. This is not a common sight here in Germany, well at least this part of Germany. It stands out as unique and for a couple weeks people have been sauntering past this building goggling at the sight of it:

I breathed and it was starting to snow pretty heavily.

And the sign? Basically warning that there is (gasp) electricity!

But neatest of all?

Snow!

There’s about an inch accumulated out there as of ten this evening. Not much but it makes a nice change from the dreary gray that we’ve had for weeks. I’m hoping it will still be there in the morning and I expect The Dawg will go crazy rolling in it.

Went to the…uhm, not sure what it’s called, will have to ask Himself. Anyway it’s a street market that pretty much takes over all of Altstadt Markdorf.

I scored! Yarn! Wooooo! Got 4 balls of GGH Soft-Kid in a nice green for 3€ a ball. A 150g. ball of Regia Country Colour (oddly called Onion Country, it looks like stained glass colors with black). A ball of 100g Regia Cotton Java Color (aqua color) and 3 50g balls of Lang Teddy in a burnt orange.

The prices were amazingly low. I didn’t need any of this but I about lost it trying to paw through and decide on what to get. Obviously now I really have to get the whole sock thing overcome. The GGH Soft-Kid is going to be my neck cowl. No doubt about that. It will be lovely and something I never would have bought otherwise. I couldn’t see €36 for something I would only wear walking the dog, but I sure can see €9.

Mmmmm, mohair.

Interesting fuzzy stuff. Didn’t felt particularly well but it did lead to be being even goofier than usual. Learning to felt is a new offshoot of my knitting. The hat that was just too ridiculous to live felted down to…

…this poor, lumpen thing which I am inordinately fond of now. It’s just so ugly duckling I can’t help but like it. So, after making another bowl, intentional, not hat-gone-horribly-wrong out of the Lang Teddy (and being a silly thing and only using one strand) I ended up with a container for the Ugly Duckling (yes, sometimes I don’t know when to give something up as a bad job)…

I know. Seek help.

Also snagged some 2.5mm, 15cm DPNs in Bamboo from a company named Klass & Gessmann (Spezialist feiner Handarbeitsgeräte). Never heard of ‘em but I was happy to get the short DPNs. These were €5. I got a new clue…seems that here if you want short DPNs you need to look for “glove knitting needles”. Makes sense and never occurred to me to look for that type.

All of that for about €22. Yeah. I scored.

Had been hoping to find something for felting…bags, bowls etc. but, as usual, just sock yarn and some of the obvious sweater/garment stuff. Meh. That’s the story of my life down here. Socks, baby stuff and the occasional sweater is all anyone ’round here seems to want to do. And very rarely is there anything 100% wool. Hence my supporting mail-order. Wish it were otherwise, would love to find a local LYS but those that I know about are pretty much strickly socks. Very little of anything else.

The Market was neat. Lots of good stuff, lots of silly stuff and lots of food. After the blustery, damp, soggy weekend weather we had a nice day today. Was still on the chilly side (just above freezing) but the sun was out and the wind was down to a level where it wasn’t painful. Was very nice walking The Dawg this morning. This evening at the Market was nice to be out smelling all the good smells of Glühwein and wurst and the spice merchants and tea sellers and the cold, fresh air. Oh and beer. Heh, can’t forget the beer. Even got some hot roasted chestnuts. A nice way to spend a couple hours.

Pictures either later tonight or tomorrow, for posterity, of my finds. Including a wee basket that Will be nice, once lined with a bit of cloth, for a small project holder for around the desk as opposed to the current system…which really isn’t. Just yarn and projects stuffed on the desk wherever they fit.

Just tried out the GGH Soft-Kid and I about lost my mind. The yarn itself is fine but I cannot find any needles I can work with this stuff. I want to do a simple cowl that can either be pulled up as a hood or pooled around my neck instead of a scarf. This’ll be grand for that but I think it’s going to require Addis. Nothing I have works…stuff pulls at the joins something fierce. I suppose I could try with DPNs but I’m still not over the “hedgehog wrangler” aspect.

Bah. Well next time I’m ordering I might just have to get me a pair of Addi Lace needles. Poor me.

Tired, been busy! Went out today to do some marketing and forgot that it was the opening of the new mall in Markdorf (ugly thing that it is). It’s not quite done but it was done enough I guess to be opened. Place was a freakin’ zoo. Only reason we went in was to check out the “Outdoor” store (Himself is still in the market for another winter jacket). They had some nice stuff. Actually had a jacket I’d consider wearing but both of us wanted to get the hell out of there. It was wall-to-wall people. Seriously. Not sure where they all came from but they sure were there. And hey! Markdorf obviously needed more shoe stores. I think there were at least 2 of ‘em in that mall, maybe three. Mall also has a shortage of bookstore, yarn store and computer store. So, meh. Did take a couple shots of the hideously ugly building which has ruined the ambiance of Markdorf.

Ugly not-finished building. Was a beautiful day though. This place just jars me every time I see it. Markdorf is such a pretty town with some beautiful old buildings. Then they did this. It seems to me they could’ve echoed the architecture of the town, at least the lines but they had to go and put what looks to me like the ass end (stern) of a ship. Inside is all manner of bright, shiny surfaces with lights glaring on everything. They did manage to get the escalators set up “correctly”. I’ve noticed that many escalators down here have the “up” side on the left side which is contrary to what I was used to. They did it with “up” on the right side in this mall.

Side entrance (from Edeka parking lot) with shoe store (how unusual…not) windows. The stair going up to that entrance are not quite done and easily tripped on. I discovered this for myself. Looks like the building also has offices and maybe apartments, not sure on the latter. What kills me is that there is a section of Markdorf off to the east where there are quite a few tech companies who have already set the tone for modern architecture. That is where they should’ve built this. It’s convenient, lots more space for parking and wouldn’t have mucked up old Markdorf.

I shall now attempt to get over it.

A storefront just around the corner from us which has been the home of several small businesses, none lasting very long saw the opening of a pet store. Very convenient for us! Looks like they have a decent stock of fancy food for cats and dog. A somewhat mediocre stock of toys and leash/collars and treats. Nice cat trees and beds though. So we got a couple small bags of fancy stuff (dog and cat) and a new scratching post for the DemonCats. I shall introduce them to it this evening.

Got my shipment from GetKnitted (speedy as usual!) which contained my Rowan KidSilk Haze, Lantern Moon needles (oh my, they are lovely) and a sock kit. Pictures when I take ‘em tomorrow and natterings about the stuff. I had gotten the laceweight yarn for Oma’s birthday present. Going to make her a Airy Scarf (Google for a large selection of shots of others’ FOs) from Last Minute Knitted Gifts which I think would make a nice, quick (oh, optimistic me!) gift for her. Dainty, something she could use to dress up a dress a bit for Church. I’ve never done lace before so I decided to go with the recommended Rowan yarn and I splurged a bit on the Lantern Moon needles. I started it and completely lost my mind due to interruptions and had to rip back and re-start. So now I’ve got about 4 inches of it done. It looks like a hamster exploded just now but even I know that blocking will help that. More on that tomorrow.

Got another couple inches done on the Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf and declare it about half done. I like it. It is simple, elegant and the yarn (Twilley’s Freedom Spirit) is very nice. I might just keep this one for me! Not a scarf fan but this might just change my mind. If not, I’ll order a bit more and make a neckwarmer/cowl from it.

Been searching for a quick pattern (crochet or knit) for some slippers. I’d like something to stick on in the house when I’m up here in the office in the evenings. Been rummaging, haven’t found anything that screams “DO THIS” yet but haven’t been looking long. Maybe something for Himself too, he gets so cold easily.

Oh well…need to write a letter, get something hot to drink and try to make it an early night. Could do with a bit of extra sleep.

Mr. Pukey watches the kids coming by for Trick or Treat. So far, no one has launched him but the night is young.

Yes, I do believe…it might just be…the sun. Was welcome after a spate of “dreary”. So I grabbed the Canon and dawg and out I went. Light is kind of funky but it was nice to be out in the warm sun with the breeze blowing.

I saw….

A mole hole! Where one of these guys lives…

Prodigious digging feet he has there. These pop up overnight and I always get a kick out of how perfectly round they are.

And then I visited The Ladies…

They were enjoying the sunshine too although one was getting a bit tired of being photographed and gave me this look…

So I moved on.
And this old tree interested me…

So gnarled. Old and still standing which is kind of miraculous given the German propensity for chopping down trees. Or beating on them to get their fruits (watching folks whacking the hell out of walnut trees with big sticks is kind of surreal). But alas there are many trees that end up like this…

…with a lovely frame of stinging nettle.

Still winter hasn’t completely discouraged flowers…

And beauty is found everywhere if you just look…

The street sweepers haven’t been around for a bit…

So the curbs still wear festive colours.

And whilst all the picture taking was going on, The Dawg was being very patient…

Whilst I admired views that won’t last much longer. Winter is lurking and will soon be here. Samhain tonight, the Wheel of The Year turns yet again heralding the dark months so best to enjoy the Autumn colours whilst they last…

Which I am going to go do right now as sunset approaches.

Remember those who have gone before us.

Yes, that was the one-word forecast for today and they got it right. It is…dreary. I had to laugh though as it’s fascinating to see what the poor forecasters come up with to describe what is, essentially, the same weather day in and day out this time of year. Guess they got bored with overcast and cloudy and misty and rainy and foggy.

Yes, I think it rather does qualify as “dreary”. But it’s still beautiful in a way. Watching the changes in the land as seasons pass by never fails to enchant me. We are coming up to Samhain, a time of dark and quiet, peaceful but harsh. You see very few critters about any longer. An occasional hedgehog, some birds (most have gone to Africa, even the storks have left) and a skunk or two.

East where the sun is not shining today…nor will it be often ’til Spring comes around again. The fields are all prepared for Winter now, farmers are mostly done.

The moisture this morning could only dampen things on the north side. But the dew hung from everything stationary. I’ve noticed that due to all the moisture, this part of Germany stays green all year. Quite a nice change from areas where the palette goes monochromatic. Can be a startling contrast between the bare trees and the green fields. Still makes it a nicer view than all grey (like Ohio winters…ugh).

I often wonder why this apple tree is so twisted. It still produces well but it obviously has had some tribulations in its life. Looks as if a giant took hold of its trunk and started twisting and pulling off branches. Lovely to sit under in the Summer though.

And the moss grows quite well on the old tree. Kind of makes me want to sit up there and read, on a nicer day.
Two examples of “Never quite trust sign-age in Germany”. The wee arrow in the upper left corner of this sign is pointing in the wrong direction. The arrow should be pointing to the right. The next picture shows another misleading sign (well part of it anyway)…

The bottom sign for the Donau-Bodensee Radweg (Danube-Bodensee Bike Path) pointing the way to Bodensee (Lake of Constance) and Immenstaad (town on shore of Lake of Constance) is well…pointing the wrong way. Should be pointing just the opposite. I wonder if this sign had anything to do with the high number of confused-looking tourists on bicycles last summer.
Himself finally went back to the dentist today, 10 days after that last extraction. He’s been really feeling low since then. I pestered him after the first 3 days to call the dentist because it sure seemed to me like he was dealing with a low-grade infection. He ignored me, lived on Dolormine (OTC pain-killer) and some stuff his mom dropped off. Dentist says it’s looking okay but if the swelling doesn’t go down, he’s to start a course of antibiotics. I was not a nice enough person to refrain from saying things like: “I told you so, you twit.” and “If you weren’t already hurting, I’d thump you a good one.”  I am such a sympathetic soul. Seriously, I’ve been after him for a week to check this out and he just wouldn’t do it. Gnah. Men.  Hopefully dentist is right that things should be improving greatly from here on out and Himself gets back up to speed soon. Gotta be getting old feeling that crappy.

He did stop at the butcher shop that his family favours in Markdorf. Picked up what looks like some rather nice beef. I expect, though, it’s grass fed and will have that funky grassy flavour. Not yet decided how I’ll be preparing it. It deserves something nice though. Five bits that look like tenderloin. Pity that grilling season is pretty much over. Certainly not possible for the next few days anyway with all the rain, fog and breeze. Saturday is looking like it might be nice but that’s too long to wait for this beef. It’ll be turned by then. I guess I’ll just smoke up the whole house and use the broiler.

What I wouldn’t give for a nice, juicy bit of prime rib or rib-eye from a corn fed cow.

Ah well, walkies time…the night draws in so early. Have to carve my gourd (not sure this thing is actually a pumpkin) tomorrow for the holiday. Hopefully I can do something that doesn’t look too ridiculous. This is not my strong suit (carving gourds).

Knitting has been lacking today. Been working around the house and laundry. Hopefully get some done this evening.

Holy moly, a first! A ball of Noro Kureyon that did NOT have a knot in it. Will wonders never cease. Irks me how often there are knots in some of the higher priced yarns. I realise it’s handspun, blah blah blah but sheesh. Happily if it’s wool, spit-splicing works a treat but I dunno, sometimes I wonder why you can almost be certain to find at least one knot in a ball. My record was three. I was a bit grouchy about that until I got proficient with spit-splicing.

Well this a.m. was a pleasant surprise. The sun was out! It was warm. The wind has died down to a stiff breeze and it was pleasant to walk the fields. Even unzipped my fleece as it was too warm. I am not being fooled though, I am still working on my cowl and gloves. It’ll change soon enough. From what I see in the forecast we’ll be having a beautiful weekend (in the upper 60s!) and then it gets stupid again come Tuesday. Ah well, appreciate the good days which’ll be ending soon enough. Actually, took a break just before typing that last sentence to check the postal mail, grab a sandwich and something to drink and it’s gone cloudy and getting damp. Feels like rain. Well, it was a nice day. Heh. No worries over rain either, my poncho got here (I’m going to look a fool, it’s bright red and huge.) as did my wellies. So bring it on, Germany.

Was mucking about last night when I should’ve been doing something constructive with some Noro Aurora (colour 2). This yarn is interesting but I can’t quite figure what to make from it. I don’t like how it works up in a range 2 either side of the recommended needle size. Folks who have used it are saying it goes from crunchy to nice after washing so that’s good but I just can’t find anything that looks like it’s meant to be done with the Aurora. So back in the stash it went. Sometimes yarns just get all secretive about what they’re meant to be. This Aurora is being especially secretive.
Will be clearing off my desk and its surrounds later today. It’s gone, uhm…chaotic. I really should just shove everything into the next room, drag the BIG desk up here (it’s boxed, in pieces), set it up and spread out. This “desk” I’m using now is an oval shaped deal which means that it is effectively kind of narrow on either end. Not much room on it. Keyboard, monitor (flat screen, thank goodness), trackball and, well uhmm…a lotta yarn stuff. Oh and a broken lamp that is currently propped up against the wall because its “stem” broke. Yeah, I need more room on my desk. Now to get ambitious. Hah.

*Later*

Well that didn’t happen. Time got past me what with supper, dishes, dog-walking, arguing about a mail-order from the U.K., figuring out substitutions. Meh. Well tomorrow is another day.

I think I’ve reached a point where it’s time to take things a bit easier. I’ve been cramming a lot into each day and today, I am bone-tired. The past week has been awfully busy what with watching over Himself and all his problems plus the added dog walks and the longer days to get everything done within. When I get overtired one of the first things I notice is that I, ironically, don’t sleep as well. Shallow sleep, wake often and have to drag butt out of bed. Heh.

Hopefully tomorrow Himself will be back on track and can take over his share of the walks again. That would be a big help. Tonight I might just have a long wallow in a hot bath before bed. If nothing else, it’ll be relaxing.

Lots to write about, no ambition to do so. Spending my spare time frantically trying to get a headband, gloves and scarf done so that bits of me don’t freeze and fall off. I figure I’ll be done in about 4 days just in time for the temps. to get back into the 60s. No matter, I know they’ll go down again and *this* time I’ll be ready for ‘em.

Got some new John Rivers needles today, some Kuryeon and some toggle/buttons which are way too large for what I wanted ‘em for. Meh. Teach me to not double check my metric measurements. Pictures when I can arse myself to take ‘em.