Spring has sprung

How do midwesterners know when spring has arrived?

You can't rely on Mother Nature - fickle wench that she is, she'll send warm, jacket-less days in December and bury you under snow in March. You can't rely on that first smell of damp soil newly exposed by the melting snow or the new buds stretching up to find what little sunshine there is - she'll freeze their little buds off faster than you can say, "Mother, may I."

The one sure sign that spring is here...



Local gossip is that these also glow at night - I'm only sorry I didn't get a shot of that. I wonder if the ones on the roof of the house also light up at night?

Midwesterners - ya gotta love us.

What interests me is the mixture of birthday and Easter. Inflatable Yard Decoration Lover or Over The Top Theological Statement? You decide.



It seems to me that a lot of folks in my part of the country have a fondness for yard decorations. Now such things are not part of my landscaping preference, but I could be tempted if Franklin offered one of Dolores. Although I can't think of any design that would not venture into the raunchy (as visions fill my head of an inflatable yard decoration of Delores riding a knitting needle, like John Travolta on the mechanical bull in Urban Cowboys. Yikes...must...get...images...out...of...head.

I must have had spring on my mind while shopping in the market at the Knit-In. I notice my purchase was heavy in the pastel colors.



The yarn is from Joslyn's Fiber Farm. The single skein is 375 yards of "Twinkle Toes" (60% superwash wool/25% mohair/15% nylon) in Mulberry.

The other two skeins are 400 yards each of "Sheep's Gift" (100% very soft wool) also in Mulberry. Amazing how the different fibers capture the same dyes. The Twinkle Toes is much deeper, richer shades of the same colors.



My other purchase was Lucy Neatby's DVDs. I plan on using these a great deal this summer.



I hope to blog actual knitting content soon. It may not happen as soon as I'd like since I need to do the photographing while DH is not in the haus. (See rule for muggles in prior post).

The more serious reason for lack of knitting content is that my work situation has imploded. I don't want to document too many details here, for obvious reasons, but suffice to say that a force beyond my control (as I am the lowest rung on the ladder of seniority) has decided to shut down the program I work in. My 3 colleagues and I will supposedly be "transferred" to other programs. It was quite a shock that we were not prepared for...and especially because the reason for the discontinuation of my program seems to be political, based on events which happened years before I was ever working there.

Sigh.

So if posting is sporadic between now and the middle of May, you know it's because I'm buried under at the office.

If you don't hear from me by June, send in the St. Bernard rescue dog, kitted out with Diet Coke and yarn.