Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Snow Day Northern Illinois!

Eaten so far today:
Eggs and Tortillas
Coffee
Noodles with a bit of alfredo sauce
Bit of thin steak
Good ol' Fruit punch

Knitted so far:

I've been toiling away at my latest two projects. For those who follow, or who occasionally glance, I had finished my first prayer shawl a few months ago. I quickly selected a new pattern, mimicking the pattern I made for my Behavioral Analysis teacher who was just about to burst with her first son. I have to say thus far it's going pretty well. I made a mistake on a row but it's hardly noticeable so I've decided not to frog back.
Wavey Pattern blankie/shawl

Just showing a bit of the stitching up close.
I'm about two feet into this blanket. It's been about a month now working on it but in all fairness I've been working on another project which I will show you soon and school has hit full force. I will continue working away at it though and hopefully my Lord will give me the strength to get through another shawl made in His name.

The second project I have on my needles is not quite on my needles. Yes, people, I am confessing now. I have taken to hooking. In all honesty, I learned to crochet first but then took to knitting very quickly. I was pretty much an exclusive knitter (soon you will see why) but I saw this very cute throw on Ravelry but lo' and behold...it was a crochet pattern! I cried softly to myself until I decided to (as my brother says) "sack it up," dusted off my crochet hooks and began a new throw for myself called the Snowflake Throw.
I made this picture a bit bigger so you can see all the snowflakes I've done so far including two that are semi done.

I have to say this has been an experience for me and I think I may have a secret love for hooking. I would never say I give up on my knitting but now I am bi-stitchual.

As you have probably guessed, I am a survivor of Blizzard 2011 here in the great state of Illinois. We braved the front of a pretty bad storm that hit much of the mid-west, blanketing us in soft pillowy white snow. My tale actually begins yesterday. Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my mother asking me what I was doing. Obviously on my weekdays Monday through Thursday, I am usually preparing for class by studying, showering, or dressing (she reached me when I was doing the first one). So she called me and asked what I was doing and I explained I was preparing for my test when she subtly implied (as subtle as you can be to a Deaf woman) that I stay home. (Intermission: Yes I am a Deaf woman but I do have enough residual hearing to pick some some calls and with my new hearing aids I can hear better on the phone. I associate myself with my Deaf culture though...End Intermission.) We had known a blizzard was coming for a while. At first I figured it was another of Chicago's famous meteorologists guessing that the sky was going to fall when it would actually be bright and sunny. My teachers had been sending preemptive emails saying not to worry that the weather would not be that severe until later (which actually were kind of stern about coming to class as not to miss an impending quiz)  but my mom was very concerned and asked me to call my teachers and ask about other options so I could stay home and not lose out on points. I took her advice though and called my teacher via VRS but was only met by an answering machine. I continued studying thinking I would brave the storm since there was a quiz that day and I didn't want to miss it. Later in the day she called again was practically telling me, Melissa, stay home. It's not worth risking your safety to go to school. Normally I would jump at this but this being my final semester I didn't want to wimp out and miss class. So I tried calling again through VRS but nobody answered again. Just after I got off VRS I got an email from my teacher who had said classes were canceled. Woohoo! Then after that I got an email blast from the University that all night classes were canceled. Woohoo for everyone!
I have to say to my surprise the blizzard was actually a blizzard. My mom ended up coming home early (the village we live in called her employer and other businesses to instruct employees to go home due to the coming storm). My brother came home at normal time but he arrived in the beginning of the storm. From inside, the three of us watched as snow piled outside our windows and doors. We were amazed with how quickly our landscaping turned from green to feet of white snow. I don't mean inches..I mean feet. The smallest drifts that we had had to have measured a foot and a half, the biggest drifts had to have measured close to four feet if not more. We focused our day today on cleaning up an old Christmas Tree, completing homework, and plowing the driveway which took all three of us working cooperatively to get that done. It was a task but I'll tell you, I've never worked out so hard. We of course celebrated our well earned success with nice cups of hot chocolate.
I did want to include some pictures of our house and the crazy snow that attacked us. So please enjoy!
Picture 1: Our backyard. Those trees are actually taller, they are just hidden by tall snow.

Picture 2: My mom thought it was cool how the snow was sticking out of the drain.

Picture 3: Our front yard. There are actually shrubs and levels that are hidden in the snow. Freaky right?

Picture 4: The booger about to brave the cold.

Picture 5: Mom and the booger outside in the backyard. They are standing in the area that was probably hit the least.

Picture 6: The booger braving the tall drifts. As you see he's having a bit of trouble already.

Picture 7: My brother is 6 feet tall and all legs. See how the snow is coming up to his hip.

Picture 8: My brother posing for mom. Some of the drifts back there go up past his waist.

Picture 9: Booger fall down.

Picture 10: Mom taking pictures of said booger fall.

Picture 11: A little tree in our front area covered in snow. The little snowy balls hanging were actually old decorations for Easter.

Picture 12: That's our water hose...not anymore at least.

Picture 13: That's the front of the house. It got hit by some tall snow. It almost reaches the window.

Picture 14: Oh wait..it does.

Picture 15: That's our neighbor's attempt to bury himself out. Alas, there is no hope.

Please pray for us all who are still waiting for plows to come but most importantly please pray for the 100s of homeless people in Chicago and surrounding areas who have no warmth tonight. May God shine His love on them and guide them to safe warm places.

Much love to everyone battling the cold..where ever you are...
Meli