Snow Day

Most of the country has been clutched in Winter's icy grip for months now.  They've had ice, sleet, snow...repeat.  South Carolina is not known for its snowy winters, however.  We usually experience something in the relatively balmy 40 - 55 degree range, with lots of sun.  Last week, though, something happened.  The temperatures dropped, the wind shifted, and...we got snow.

Not a heavy wet snow, but a light, powdery mix.

Still, it was enough for me to dig out my snow boots and head outside.

It was so strange to see our "tropical" plants covered in snow.  Our palmetto...

...and our japonica both looked so strange with their white dusting.

I love taking photos of the snowflakes.  Each one is individual, or so they say, since my macro lens doesn't magnify the flakes enough to make this determination for myself.

I brought Bosewichte, my intrepid explorer, with me.  He loves being outside in the snow.

I can't say the same for these Canadian geese, who quickly landed in our pond when the snow started and huddled together by the banks until the worst of it was over.

We can go about a quarter mile into the woods by our house before being cut off by a ravine, but it's a nice short walk in this sort of weather.

The snow melted after one day, but we'll always have the memory of South Carolina's version of a real winter storm!

Moving on to a different sort of "ice"...I've been reading about Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream for a while now.  As an ice cream aficionado, I've wanted to sample it to see if it was really worth $10 per pint.  It's gotten rave reviews, but the price seems awfully steep.  Todd and I had to make a run into Greenville recently, and lo and behold, a Whole Foods there carried the elusive pints.

I settled on Brambleberry Crisp, which was a honey vanilla bean base swirled with real fruit jam and oatmeal crisp pieces.  So what did I think? 

It was really rich, with complex flavors.  Lots of oatmeal crisp pieces, but I felt like most of the jam was on the bottom of my pint, which meant that only the last bowl was really perfect.  Fortunately, it only took a day or so to get to that "last bowl".  Good ice cream, but I'm afraid my tastes are a little more juvenile.  As you can see in the photo above, I prefer to keep a little cookie dough ice cream on hand, or maybe some cookies and cream.  I'm just not sophisticated enough for most of Jeni's flavors, and I'm certainly too cheap to spend $10 for a pint of ice cream.  It was nice for a treat, though!

By the way, I bought these little flower-shaped bowls specifically for ice cream.  They're small, so that a single serving of ice cream (about a half cup) fills them completely.  That way, I *feel* like I'm getting more ice cream than I actually am.

Finally, on to a knitting project that I completed in a timely manner, just as the snow was starting to come down...a pair of socks!  I mainly knit for others, but this year I've decided to knit a few things for myself.  I started with this Cherry Tree Hill wool in the Apricot colorway.

I have a tendency to buy yarn and store it away because "it's almost too nice to use."  No more!  I've had this yarn for at least 5 years, and I'm happy to say that I used the entire skein.  I chose a vintage pattern from 1898, which was originally a french sock pattern for a child, but has been re-sized and updated for an adult woman.  Now, some people in the knitting community might say that knitting fancy socks is like the nuns in Castle Anthrax making 'exciting underwear' that will never be seen (for those of you who are Monty Python fans), but I enjoy making socks.  It's a nice small space to try out new stitches.

These socks have little wheat sheaf-like patterns all around, with three lines of "scales" at regular intervals.

They were a perfect fit!

Now, I'm usually a fan of using solid-color yarn for socks, because I think variegated yarn detracts from the pattern, especially if it's complicated.  But I don't mind it so much here.

These warm socks, with a little bowl of ice cream, are perfect for these cold weather days.

Have a great week!