Last work day for me this week

[treeskin]

...and I've caught a bit of a break in the weather. I'm looking forward to seeing something besides various forms of frozen water falling from the sky.

Johnny, our former grounds foreman, is back today. It's weird...it feels "normal" that he's back, but he's not the same, he's bitter and angry about the divorce, and he flashes from the person we were used to (before he quit) to the angry ex very quickly. But it's still good to have him back.

Last night's predicted snow/ice was a bust. We got a very light dusting at home, less than that at work. The roads were dry all the way to work this morning. There was a crew that came in to work at 3am, and they said they did put down a round of icemelt, but that there just wasn't that much to do. And with a full crew in today, that's going to be the story of the day: just not that much to do.

We're still looking ahead and trying to decide if we're going to the farm this weekend. The weather reports are changing so often. Two days ago they were forecasting snow or ice down there, this morning it's sunny, 33, and possible flooding from the melt-off on Saturday.

Found the well-chewed front half of a mouse in the middle of the living room floor yesterday evening. That's the second or third in a week. You can tell which ones the youngest two cats catch, they just play with mice until they're too battered to crawl away. The older cats eat all or part of the mouse. (Fuzz probably got this one, he usually eats the squishy bits in back and leaves the rest. And tails...Fuzz has a thing for the tails on toy mice, and he also will bite the tails off mice the other cats catch, given a chance.) I think there's at least one more hiding under the freezer in the kitchen; we've had two or three cats camped out in front of it for days now. Guess it's too wet under the house for the mice, and they're desperate enough to move up into cat territory.

The UnSock Report: Did the finishing details on By's black sweater (two seams and a bunch of ends) before dinner last night. He tried it on after dinner, hugged himself, and pronounced it "cozy". Predictably, he had to pull the BLACK sweater out from under the grey and white cat to try it on.

Got three and a half rounds done on the body of The Sweater. That finishes the first pattern repeat on the key pattern (the key pattern is 16 sts wide by 16 rows). I'm slow in the pattern again; it's been so long since I've worked in this gauge, and done the stranded work, that my hands have lost the rhythm of it. I do seem to be matching the previous gauge, which is good. Don't think I'd have the patience to rip and restart had I not matched gauge. I ought to pull out double points this weekend and start the other sleeve, work on getting it as far along as the first, while everything's easy to see and make match.

Comments

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

When I was leaving the other day--I meant to tell you this right after, but it slipped my weary brain--I saw a mouse run along that ridge at the top of the foundation until it reached even with the bedroom window on the short edge of the house, then dangle itself from the ledge and crawl up under the siding right there. I don't know if this will help you keep them out or not, they probably have other places to crawl in. Silly mice--they should go to your neighbors' houses where there aren't six cats!

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

Doesn't surprise me at all, cheeky little bastards. We figure some are getting in that way, others are probably coming up under the house/in the duct work. The snakes got in under the hot water heater, last time. Mice probably fit there too.