It is a snowy a.m. here, but not much - only an inch or so. I think tomorrow will be the dicey day as sleet and freezing rain are forecast for tonight. Today, though, the snow is powdery and light and the roads are not bad. We had/have a 2 hour delay at work, but I'm here already as I have conference calls at 9 and 10.
Howard, from our IT department, loves to bake - he finds it relaxing. Most Mondays find some kind of treat in our main kitchen from Howard. This morning there are sugar cookies in the shape of hearts. Sweet!
The weekend was fun. We celebrated the Chinese New Year at Mailing's parents on Saturday. Here are dumplings in the making:
Everyone (even Colin!) makes beautiful dumplings, nicely pleated. Mine are the ones in front that are a mess - lol. But, they all tasted good. And the table with the beginning of food being brought out:
Everything was delicious. Something new that I had was Chinese cauliflower - delicious!
Just in time, I finished my Sockhead Cowl Saturday night.
The picture of the cowl on me shows the color of the yarn more accurately. I cast on 160 stitches and knit 30 rows of ribbing, then 60 rows of stockinette and another 30 rows of ribbing. It really is longer than necessary, but will keep me warm. I did not wear it today since I was already dressed in a turtleneck and wool sweater.
The first KAL sock (Sunday Swing) is now at the point where I need to pick up the gusset stitches. I brought the Hitchhiker to work in case I have time to knit at lunch.
Like so many of you, we enjoy watching the birds come to our feeders. We have a thistle feeder, one for sunflower seeds, a peanut feeder and a suet feeder. A good variety of birds find their way to our yard in the winter - Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Cardinals, various Finches, Wrens, Doves, Blue Jays, Sparrows, Juncos (my Grandmother always called them snow birds), Starlings, etc. This year missing from the action are Chickadees (one of my favorites - and my Dad used to talk of feeding Chickadees from his hand as a child) and Tufted Titmice. In prior years there have been a ton of those two varieties. I'm curious about why they are not here and wondering if they will show up (hoping they will). Have any of you noticed a change in what birds are around this Winter?
Well, time to get ready for my conference calls. Hoping everyone's week is off to a great start!
Love the cowl and thanks for the instructions. Dumplings look kind of like pierogi. Would love to try them. What is Chinese cauliflower?
ReplyDeleteWe used to have tons of the purple house finch and then several years ago, none! Never came back after years of year round feeding. Not many chickadees and very few titmouse. Chickadees were my dad's favorite and when he sat quietly in the woods, he could hand feed them.
Beautiful finish on the cowl! Yum on the dumplings! We don't bother with fancy pleating on ours. Except for my daughter -- hers always look lovely. I'm hoping this weather isn't as icy as they say. Just snow would be nicer. Drive carefully out there!
ReplyDeleteThe cowl is gorgeous, I think I thought it was a sweater in your past post so I apologize for that. Those dumplings look so delicious. Have a wonderful week, stay warm.
ReplyDeleteWe had Carolina Wrens here one year; now, none. The chickadees are here all over the place, so maybe they stayed in Ohio. One pair of rufous-sided tufted titmouse, but not very often. Luckily for me, we are Blue Jay Central--they are my all-time favourite bird.
ReplyDeleteLike another commenter above, I am curious about Chinese Cauliflower.
I think all the dumplings look great, and your Sockhead Cowl, too! I've noticed lots of changes in birds this winter. I have a lot fewer of all of them, hardly any chickadees, and I've only seen one tufted titmouse. I asked our extension services about chickadees around Christmas and they said several people had noticed the same thing and they had two possible explanations: food supplies in Canada are good so they never came south, or maybe they migrated south in the fall due to some food or weather cues. I hope they come back!
ReplyDeleteMmmm, dumplings!!
ReplyDeleteI made dumplings too over the weekend and while they weren't pretty they were delish.
ReplyDeleteLove the cowl. I really need a new one. Mine is pretty ragged from all the wood hauling. I've snagged it pretty badly so that's a pretty good reason to start one.
Oooh, I like the cowl: I ❤️ how it hugs your neck. I'm saving your directions. I'm assuming it's worsted weight in size 8 needles. Is that correct?
ReplyDeleteI love dumplings. But I’ve never heard of Chinese cauliflower. That sounds interesting. Your cowl turned out lovely and I enjoyed seeing it on you. It looks like it will keep you very warm. Did you use sock yarn and sock sized needles? Blessings, Betsy
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen many chickadees this year. But I don't see them every year. Last year we had lots, but there's been many years when we've had none.
ReplyDeleteI got my first red-breasted nuthatch this year, too, which was cool.
Your cowl looks nice and warm. We woke up to cold and snow today - freezing rain is supposed to blow through tonight and tomorrow. I want spring!
Your Chinese dinner looked fabulous.. what a fun thing to make it all yourselves! Your cowl looks so deliciously warm, and it was neat to see you, too. I'm so jealous of your cardinals and woodpeckers! I love cardinals so much, the bright red and their little comb on top. But we don't have them out here which makes me crazy.. why not? LOL! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeletelove the cowl - and the dinner looks awesome (I couldn't tell which dumplings were yours) ... and I haven't noticed a difference in the birds. but I'm going to pay attention starting now. stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteThe usual are here . Including an occasional Titmouse. :) I fell going out to fill the feeder today. Just too much ice under the snow. Im achey but not HURT. The birds better start rationing, because Im not headed out there again until the ICE melts
ReplyDeleteNice job on the dumplings and the cowl! I prefer a little more fabric with my cowl as well.
ReplyDeletehmm, I might need to eat some dumplings this week ...
The cowl turned out so well!!! Beautiful and practical--my goals!
ReplyDeleteAfter years of no chickadees-we finally have lots of both them and the titmice!
Love the cowl...it and the color. Wear in great health! Sorry, nothing to add for the bird category. Maybe your University Cooperative Extension Service has some info...or the Public Library; local bird watching group? Hope you find out!
ReplyDeleteCheers~
Oh I wish I could taste one of the dumplings! Your cowl is beautiful and you look so sweet in it. I do not know anything about birds :)
ReplyDelete