On my needles right now

We found out on Valentine's Day that my neighbor's baby will be a boy, so I was able to go out and buy some blue yarn and get started on this blanket.
Although I made a few others already, they are white, yellow and green.
Now to get started seriously on the blue stuff!

Yer crackin' me up!

With roof problems all across New England in the past couple of weeks, it was quite common to see our neighbors shoveling snow off their roofs.
Because of 6 weekly storms, our drain gutters were mounded up with ice and covered with snow.
My husband got out the ladder and a hammer and hatchet and trudged through the knee-deep snow, moving the ladder along as he worked.
He chipped off large chunks of ice, leaving the gutters in better condition to handle the icy rain storm that was coming up next.
At one point, he put his hammer down once, losing it until Spring comes along!
He got the gutters done, but that left huge chunks of ice all around our doorstep.  Trying to walk there would have been like trying to balance on a rocky breakwater at the beach.
I got out there and shoveled up some of the recently dislodged ice chunks to clear the way.
Not complaining, but everyone here is really going to welcome Spring this year!

Not Spicy Meatballs

Well, because I was snowed in last week, I was sitting around watching a lot of TV.
On one program they featured a chef, who was explaining his fave recipe for meatballs.   Since I had a pen and paper handy, I quickly scribbled down his recipe and directions, which he demonstrated.

Although his recipe called for 2 lbs. of ground beef,  I did make mine with 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey.  I've never used the turkey meat, and I think that gave it a slightly different flavor.
After mixing all the ingredients, I browned the meatballs in a pan on top of the stove, then added them to the tomato sauce.

They were good, and my husband said he liked them; but to me that needed a little more pizazz.  I thought they could use a little more spiciness.
I think I will try the recipe again, but add something a little more spicy to the meatballs.  Still, they were a good option for a cold, snowy day.  Did I say "day"?  Around here in New England, it's been weeks and months of snowstorms.
Keeping my eyes peeled for Spring of 2011!

Lucky the cat

We first met Lucky about 7 1/2 years ago.  He was so tiny and we saw him following around our female cat, Angel.

He seemed so little and lost that we thought maybe he was looking for his mother.  He spent years with Angel and he seemed to get along with other neighborhood cats.
But he could not be touched by humans.  I guess he was born in the woods and never adjusted to people.
We could see that he looked small and malnourished and so we decided to at least feed him.
Angel has passed on, but Lucky still comes to see us every day.  Well, actually I think he comes to find out if we are offering any food.
Yes we are.  I guess we've fed him about twice a day these past 7+ years.
He takes up residence in a double cat shelter that I put together out in the back yard.  One shelter is a dog tent and the other one is a molded plastic dog igloo.  Both are filled with fresh hay each Fall and I made sure that no drafts are coming up from the bottom, as they are sitting on a plastic tabletop from an old picnic table.  I also have plenty of plastic and a tarp covering the shelters, which are together.  I made sure the tarp hangs down in front to block snow and rain from coming in to the little houses too much.
Lucky always spends the winters in the shelter.  Most of the time, he chooses the one on the right, but with others visiting and trying to get out of the harsh weather, sometimes he takes up residence in the little house on the left.
Just before these pictures were taken, birds were partaking of Lucky's food, so I threw bread out for them, as it was snowing and they were trying to get a bite to eat before it got any worse. That's why you see the bread next to Lucky.

Here he is looking at Ty, who was also a stray.  Ty stepped inside my house as I was getting the food bowls ready a couple of months ago, and he stayed.
Unfortunately, Lucky will never allow us to touch him.  The closest thing to that is when I put the bowls out and he occasionally sniffs my hand.  We can only watch over him and feed him.
And we have to accept that he will always be a feral cat.