Baby, it's cold outside!

       I worked in the shop Wednesday and by the time I got home it was dark and I was in a 'state'  Not only was it the first time I drove any distance (to town doesn't count) since my 1st cataract procedure but half the trip home was after sundown,  with headlights flashing in my face in fairly heavy traffic.  I pulled into the driveway, walked thru some 'doggie do' and tracked some into the house.  Supper was suppose to be the rotisserie chicken I had just picked up at Walmart but no one seemed interested. I had also gotten a pizza at Walmart but again, no interest.  I just cleaned off my shoes, heated a piece of pizza in the micro and curled up in bed with a book...and the dogs.
      Thursday we went to town, first to Lowe's to get a new T, cap and connecting pipe for the woodstove's chimney and then to Rite Aid to leave a Rx for Jeff.  He spent quite awhile putting the stove pipe back together before the wooden brace that supports the pipe broke halting the day's activity.  It was plenty cold enough working outdoor yesterday but not to be able to finish the job did not make anyone happy. (My mouth, on autopilot, said you should have done in last month when it was warmer....that did not get a pleasant reply.)  Jeff decided to go back to town and pick up his Rx's and put air in the tires on the Outback.  He finally figured out why the parking lights were on all the time and managed to turn them off but in the meantime, the Outback had developed 2 flat tires.  He put air into them with the small air condenser he has for that but wanted to top them off at an 'air station'.  I was going to go with him but as we were cleaning the passenger seat off so I could get in Jeff saw a package and a pile of mail on the patio table next to the car.  Sometimes our mail delivery person is extra nice and brings the mail to the house instead of putting it in the box.  Neither one of us had heard them stop today and we didn't know if the mail had been brought today or yesterday!  So, instead of going to town again, I took the box and the mail and went back inside.  The dogs greeted me as if I had been gone for days...instead of 5 minutes and helped me unwrap the box.

    The big squishy box was from my Yarn Pal, Angela in Michigan, and had so many wonderful surprises in it!  The yarn was delightful!!  Knitting needles and other supplies!  A booklet on crochet (I can but don't), a loom for pot holders (different from what I used as a kid)...even a bag of treats for the dogs!  Fanny helped check things out while Zoey was just interested in the tissue paper (like any baby!) A bag

of buttons caught my eye...boy, will they come in handy on sweaters, and a heavy winter hat that feels so soft!  Oh, and can't forget that bottle of homemade strawberry jam and 'the best chocolate fudge sauce in Michigan'!   Remember that for my 1st cataract procedure my old friend, Tim, recommended ice cream to help me recover?  Well, he also recommended hot fudge sauce and I just never got any.  I'll be ready for the 2nd procedure next week with this jar!!  Oh, there's a plaid tin 'M' that's a tree ornament but I think it will just be hung on my wall! It was a great Yarn Pal package!
    Every year the shop participates in the "Adorn a Door" contest in Cooperstown by decorating a wreath with objects handmade by our members.  The wreaths are 'voted'  on by the public...really a silent auction...and the lucky winners go home with some pretty interesting wreaths to adorn their doors.  This year I saw these

mini Stockings and decided to make one for the wreath and a few extras for sale in the shop.  Being semi-handicapped at the moment made them a little more difficult than they should be (they're done in 2 ply acrylic on US3's) and they took longer than I had expected.  I hope to do a couple more this weekend and leave them off at the shop next Friday after my post-op appointment.  Unfortunately, I can't price them at what they're worth so they're going for $3.99.  They've been gathering fav comments...hope they sell!
    I  hope Jeff finishes the stove pipe today.  I want a fire in the woodstove.  I'm cold and since we had snow on the ground this morning...not much, just a dusting...it's time for the woodstove to be in use!!