Another Arctic Blast

We are in the grip of another arctic blast in the valley below Mt. Hood, near Portland, OR.  My car thermometer registered 28F on my way home from swimming at LA Fitness with Teresa this afternoon.  The pool water was wonderfully warm inside but the wind chilled our bones in the short walk from the building to our cars.  The meteorologist I listened to on the news tonight said that the wind chill made it feel like it was -9F.  Brrrr~~~~

In the photo of downtown Gresham where my blog friends Teresa, Betsy, Taci, and I met for lunch and exchanged gifts yesterday, you can see snowflakes whirling around if you look carefully.  More snow is predicted to fall in the next four days, but most of the snow near us lands on Mt. Hood, and stays there year round.  I drove on 307th street several blocks from our house and took some pictures this afternoon of Mt. Hood and the foothills with my zoom lens to show you.

Our ponds are glazed with ice again, and yet some daffodils are defiantly thrusting their leaves toward the sun near our house, and moss is lush and green on the petrified wood nearby.

Inside the house I have some pretty little purple blue Iris bulbs and a Primrose in bloom. I've been enjoying candlelight, and my little electric heater in the fireplace.   I included a photo of Baby Rose in bloom cuddled in her pink and white hoodie for you to admire :)  She smiles frequently now at 3 months of age, but I have not caught her doing so in my photos so far.  And I thought you would be impressed to know that I have 116 rows of continental knitting to go before my next color change on my blanket :)

In the last photo there is a plastic wind-up snowman.  Our winter has been so dry and mild so far this year I thought this was the only kind of snowman I would see close by.  But today I am wondering...do you suppose we will get enough snow here for my granddaughters to make a snowman before Spring arrives??????

Gracie xx

Bountiful

In the midst of days where others have dealt with drastic difficulties I have been grateful for mostly delightful time spent with family and friends, at home, at church, and out and about in the community around me this week.

My mini-van, which is more the Credit Union's than mine, had to be repaired and liberated from the shop for $$$$, but I'm thankful God provided the funds for me to pay the bill, and grateful that the vehicle is operating smoothly :-)

At our women's group at church we had a lovely visitor from Nigeria. We are still working our way through the book Captivating, and it was so encouraging to have her voice added to our discussion and realize as we wrestled with the topic of how to combat evil that our relationships with Christ draw us to  common ground no matter how far apart we may live.

My blogging friend Betsy was in the area visiting her daughter, so my local blogging friends, Teresa, and Taci and I were able to meet Betsy yesterday for a looooong lunch.  Teresa brought beautiful yummy eggs to share, Taci, brought beautiful flower and bead bookmarks to share, Betsy brought beautiful dishcloths and cute sheep coasters to share, and I brought cotton hot mats to share.  Taci showed us some of her pretty scarf knitting projects, Betsy showed us a pretty shawl she had knit and crocheted and Teresa showed us a pretty necklace she had made.

The shawl I am working on is getting bigger...honest!  And I am going to stop typing to you so that I can work on it some more tonight :-)

May your blessings be bountiful,

Gracie

Ins and Outs Around Portland

Last night I got out my Harrisville Metal Potholder Loom and started weaving loops to form a potholder with Harrisville cotton loops.  I haven't checked recently, but the last time I did, I could not find any Harrisville wool loops to buy:(  but I love the rich colors Harrisville uses for their loops!

This morning we had a beautiful pinky sunrise which I didn't get a photo of, but I was able to get some views from one of the nearby high points in the area, the Willamette National Cemetery.  I recognized Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens [with its flat top], but I am not sure of the names of other mountains around us.

From there I made it over to Elmer's Restaurant to meet some fellow bloggers for lunch. From left to right: Taci, Teresa, Betsy and Me :) We had a "working" lunch, with Teresa showing us some  ins and outs of blogging from our iPhones and how to share our posts on FaceBook if that is something we are interested in doing.  And we gabbed LOTS about past, current, and future crafting projects!

Taci brought us some heavenly smelling Holiday Roast coffee her husband and she are crafting and selling at sales@cafezinhoroasting.  Teresa brought each us a little Lion Brand skein of yarn which could be used as a very cute  ornament for a crafter.  Betsy gave us each an ornament she made using Lucy's pattern from Attic 24.  And I made snowflakes to share using Matt's pattern.

Sarah, did you notice I am wearing the scarf you sent me?  I love Sarah's work!  Sooo beautiful!

What are the ins and outs of your life as 2012 races to the finish line?

xx from Gracie