School Colors

Here are some custom gloves for a trumpet player. Next year the M for middle school will have to be changed, but the high school colors are the same. Marching band? Pep band? There is some great music out there. 

A House in a Holler

We found our house online.  We limited our search to places with a shop and some land - a reaction to living in a townhouse in a city ringed by mountains.  Some feeling of spaciousness, please!

It is luxurious to have light and elbow room and more sky and sun.  One elegant friend, though, standing there in his Italian loafers, remarked "Oh, this is like a cabin!"  He is a sophisticated fellow.  And another woman said, "Your house is kind of in a holler."

So, no pretensions here.  Our cabin in a holler is a sunny spot in a cloudy climate, warm in the winter, with room around it to grow tomatoes.  Our neighbors are friendly.  There are no barking dogs and we only hear the rooster in the morning when we walk down to get the newspaper.  The Navy jets fly overhead on occasion, making a horrible noise, but someone in the family thinks all airplanes are cool. It's a good spot.

Two More Quincy Hats

Knit a rectangle

Fold it

Seam the ends

Pick up stitches

You are done!

Toys

What can I say?  There was a snowstorm.

The town isn't completely paralyzed but there are many around here who lack proper vehicles and tires for winter driving.  The road maintenance has improved in the last two years but many events get canceled and the general approach is to just wait it out.  The snow will melt. 

So I made toys? I never had before so it must have been cabin fever.

He Plays the Trumpet

Last year, Ray was just a 7th grader when he was asked by his middle school band teacher if he would like to play in the jazz band. The class would meet at the high school at 6:30 am twice a week. Our son is not a musical prodigy; the teacher is just very inclusive and believes in bringing kids along and challenging them to work hard and improve by trying new things.

The local library has been open in some form or fashion for 100 years.  There was weekend fanfare to commemorate the occasion and the high school jazz band played a few tunes.  The band set up in front of a bank of windows and the trumpets lined up on a balcony.  With the strong backlight and bad angles, it wasn't a good set up for parental paparazzi .

Well, how about some audio instead?  Here is a 24 second movie:

Undergrowth Hat

This was knit up as a prototype, with the thought that the gauge or the length would need to be adjusted. But, the fit is perfect for a woman or a teenage boy so the hat will easily find a home. What needs adjustment is my ability to capture true color with my camera. It is time to go back and read the manual.

Thanks for modeling, Daniel.

A better representation of the color with the flash.

Yarn:  Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport

Pattern: Undergrowth

Needles:  US 4

Rowing

There are rowers in town and they are organized.  They have boats and schedules and a website.  There are established crews and club rules and, happily, there is a welcoming attitude and newcomers are encouraged to participate.

Michele Pope photo

I have joined the club and have been out a few times as a substitute.  The usual set-up is a four person crew with a coxswain (aka a master) who sits in the stern and calls out commands in a friendly way.  At least one of the boats has a rudder; none have sliding seats but the rigging varies a bit.  They are all beautiful classic wooden boats.

Michele Pope photo

We hope for nice days out on the water and scheduled outings are canceled if it is rainy or windy or foggy. Monday morning, I was at the dock at 0700 and five men and five women left together in two boats. It was 34 degrees, calm and cloudy.  It was a short, winter row but it was good to get out there.