DesigKnit

Oooh. Did you notice the new sidebar? It’s like a dessert table, just beckoning you to go check it out. This is the list of blogs that I am subscribed to through Google Reader. Some of them post daily, some hardly ever post. Some are new, many have been on my list for a while. These are the people whose projects I follow, and yes, there are many. Really, though, it’s only between 10 and 30 posts a day, which isn’t too bad now that I’ve taught myself to knit and read at the same time. So, if you have a moment, go check them out. A few today, a few tomorrow, and before you know it you’ll be reading while knitting, too. (See what you started, Kris? I’d like you to know that this is all your fault.)

Do you read this blog and yet not see yours on my list? That might mean that I don’t know about you, so feel free to let me know where to read you, too!

I like metal needles. I know lots of people that swear by bamboo, but they’re too sticky for me. I tried Addi turbos once, but they slip too much and I nearly went crazy making Branden’s sweater with them. I know, it’s akin to heresy to loathe Addi Turbos. But what can I say? They slip (and yes, I know…that’s the point…they say it right on the package)! I just stick with the plain old grey metal needles for just about everything. This morning, I decided that I was going to start swatching Irtfa’a. I got out the skein and sat down to check my gauge. And I realized that my needles that work for everything just don’t work with this yarn.

This is probably largely because I need to use big needles to get a reasonable gauge. The pattern says to use 4’s, which automatically means that I need 5’s or 6’s. It doesn’t matter what yarn I’m using, I am always a size or two bigger than the published one. I’ve always wondered why this is, because I don’t really seem to knit very tightly. The loops are always loose on my needle, and they just don’t look like they’re tight to me. I think that I have finally figured out why this might be.

I have never actually known what method of knitting I use. I’ve looked in several books, and I never really see the method that I use for making my stitches. I know I hold my needles the German way, but I don’t form my knits and purls like most books recommend. While reading the Stanley book, I finally discovered that I use plaited knit and purl stitches. This method apparently adds and extra twist to the yarn, and makes for a tighter gauge. So, two questions were answered at once. I use plaited stitches, and therefore I have tight knitting, even with a fairly loose tension. Huh. What you can learn from reading a good book.

So anyway. Back to swatching. It took me about 2 rows to realize that my needles just weren’t going to work. It was like trying to use my elbow to type. I could manage knits, but it literally took me two or three tries to get the needle into the loops for purling. Crazy. So, I needed new needles. My pointy sticks of choice are just not pointy enough. Thankfully, my LYS had Addi lace needles, and I have now managed to create a swatch.

Note that the gauge is different at the bottom than it is in the rest of the swatch. The crochet hook marks the point where I switched from my metal Pryms to the Addis. Did you know that switching needle types (and keeping the same size, mind you) could change your gauge on a 5 inch swatch by an inch? The reason that I swatched enough to tell if my gauge was close was that I needed to buy the right size of needle. Based on my Pryms, I bought a 5 and a 4, just in case I needed to step down a size. And then my gauge shrunk. I probably should have run out again and gotten a size 6, but I decided that the gauge is pretty darned close after giving the swatch a chance to stretch a little off of the needles (read: tugging and tugging to make it be the right gauge), and it’s lace, and it’s a shawl. So I’m going with 4 for the small needle and 5 for the big one. If I have to, I’ll rip later. I was really surprised at what a difference the needles made, though. And it’s not just that the tips are more tapered; the loops fit on the thickest part of the needle about the same. But there is definitely a difference. Again, huh.

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I’m brave enough to open-skein this project. I can handle a 400 yd tangle of sock yarn if it happens, but contemplating 1600 yds of knotted laceweight does give one pause. It is a risk, and I’m not sure how brave (stupid?) I am. I am trying it open for now, and we’ll see how it goes. I am a bit paranoid, however, so there will be no kitties cuddling in this yarn as I knit. They tell me that this is highly unfair, and I have to say that I agree with them. However, 1600 yards of laceweight is enough answer to that complaint, in my mind. To make extra sure that there is no room for tangles, I needed a holder. I don’t own a swift, and I don’t think that I really need to buy one just so that I can defy caution and use open skeins. Hmmm…

Fortunately, a light bulb went on above my head. Literally.

(Ok, ok, I know…I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. Light bulb, light serving as knitting assitant…how could I let that corny joke pass?)

I have now turned my knitting lamp into a knitting lamp that doubles as a yarn holder for open skeins that should be kept out of the way of feline affection. Perfect.

After all of these adjustments, I did actually manage to make a somewhat interesting swatch. I bet you didn’t know I could talk this long about silly little things, did you? Well, I’ll stop rambling now and show you the goods:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my first swatch for Irtfa’a. It’s not much; just a few repeats of the edging lace, and then one 28 row pattern of the shoulder shaping, but there it is. I’m so excited!!! It’s on its way to being a WIP! I have a few more swatches to do, but I should be starting for real in the next few days. Yay!

It’s funny that I am so excited about starting this project, because I can already tell that it’s going to take me forever to do, and it’s going to require that I actually pay attention the whole time. Yes, the whole time. Every single stitch will require just a little bit of thought, and between that my recently glacial knitting speed it should take me just about ’til the end of time to finish. This, of course, means that I will be wanting it to be done in no time. I am really going to enjoy it, I think, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is one of those projects where you have to measure the length every few rows to convince yourself that it isn’t getting shorter as you knit. So, don’t get your hopes up about seeing the finished project on this blog anytime soon. But, if you’re a progress knitter, you can celebrate, since this will be a work in progress for quite some time, and I will probably talk endlessly about it while I’m at it. =)

Speaking of talking endlessly, I think I had better go before I lose you all forever with my chattering. See you tomorrow!

Actually, I’ve done a lot, but I have no pictures to show for it tonight. Yesterday, I finished up Branden’s Coriolis socks and his alpaca scarf to match the handwarmers (it’s only been on the needles for a month, derailed by Christmas knits…).

Then I began to think about the knitting grammary. I’d read all of the relevant sections of the Stanley book on the plane and I knew where to start, but I couldn’t decide whether to use the swatches once they’re finished or to leave them as sample swatches for future reference. That’s a tough one. It’s so much easier to be motivated when I have a project that I’m working toward, but the swatches can also be a lot smaller if they don’t have to become anything in particular. Hmmm.

I went a little crazy last year after knitting my sweater and Branden’s with Paton’s Classic Merino. I really liked the feel (this is before I’d been forever spoiled by LYS yarns), and there was a good sale. I broke down and made my one and only large addition to the stash, which was enough for 4 more sweaters. Crazy, I know. Or at least I know now. This is why I don’t stash more than a couple of projects in advance.

Fortunately, I didn’t get around to those sweaters right away, and am just now coming back to working with that yarn. I say fortunately, because I have now had a year to observe the yarn in the two original sweaters. It might be soft, it might come in pretty colors, and it might be cheap, but it ain’t worth making a sweater out of it. Why? Because it pills like crazy, and it doesn’t hold its shape at all. I still like my sweater ok (I will show pics someday, really), but Branden’s has just gone from bad to worse. Nothing about it hangs the way it should, and the pilling is really pretty bad. I am sure that at least some (ok maybe most…) of the shape issues are due to poor construction, but the yarn just doesn’t hold up nicely, either. So, I now have 4 sweaters’ worth of wool that I don’t know what to do with and can’t use in my favorite big yarn project (sweaters). I’ve been thinking of making a couple of small throws out of it, since they won’t get as much wear, and I don’t have enough complementary colors to go for a big afghan. I could theoretically use my swatches from the grammary to make one of the throws. Of course, that would necessitate binding the swatches together, which would hide the sample edges. Again, hmmm.

I’ve decided to just make swatches, and let them be an exercise but not a project. I will come up with something to do with that Paton’s, and until then it can continue to insulate my bookshelf in the bedroom. This may not seem like a big decision, but it’s been the one keeping me from starting the grammary all week. That, and the prospect of a million swatches. Why did you think I finished those other projects so quickly? Oh yes, this is definitely procrastination at its finest.

So, today I decided to be disciplined and spent this morning swatching. Well, I sort of spent this morning swatching. I got up and practiced a couple of cast ons. Then I baked muffins for breakfast. Then I looked at the cast ons again, and decided that I should take video of the techniques that I’m using to post. That would require a tripod, which I thought I’d brought home from work. Well, I can’t find it at home. So I went into lab and looked for it. Couldn’t find it there, either. Decided I must have just not looked hard enough at home. Came home, realized that I had looked hard enough; it’s not here. Puzzled over this. Gave up on video. Sat down and knit first swatch while chatting with Mom on phone. Watched Branden constructing light box for knitting photos (he spoils me rotten, I tell you). Baked gingerbread cookies. Observed light box progress some more. Printed Irtfa’a pattern (I’m so excited!!!). Knitted second and third grammary swatch. Made mozzarella and pizza for dinner. Helped Branden take photos of my past knitting projects (I use the term “helped” loosely here…). Realized that neither of us has any talent for arranging things nicely in photographs. Bemoaned lack of artistic skill. Remembered that there are two FOs that need to be frogged and reworked into something useful. Realized that one of them is very funny to play with. Got very silly for an hour or so. Took lots of pictures of us being silly, which we may or may not post in the future. Regained seriousness, and knitted fourth swatch while catching up on my blog subscriptions. Looked up and realized that it’s 9:30, and that I need to blog tonight. Blogged.

And that’s my day. Like I said, busy, but not much to show for it. Four tiny swatches, a few pictures that aren’t uploaded yet, some cookies, and the remains of a pizza. On the plus side, I did learn 4 new methods of casting on, 4 of binding off, and 2 new selvedges. I did not get around to swatching the Irtfa’a lace, which I had really hoped to do. But then, tomorrow is another day, and one where I don’t have to work! Yay for vacations!

I believe that I have alluded to my planned knitting grammary lessons here before. Well, I do believe that it is now after Christmas, and I am ready to start thinking about them again. So, what exactly do I mean by “knitting grammary”? Well, I’ve known how to knit most of my life (I don’t even remember learning, it was so long ago, though I do remember learning to purl). When you have known something for so long, you tend to fall into habits of doing things just one way. My knowledge of techniques is extremely limited, and I have really only begun to branch out from knitting and purling in this past year. Because I learned so early and didn’t really pursue knitting as more than an occasional diversion until a year ago, I haven’t done a lot of really basic things, even though I’ve known how to knit seemingly forever.

For the past year, my focus has been on new stitch patterns, because it’s really exciting to learn new kinds of stitches and put them into projects after such a long knit-purl diet. Now, however, I think it is time to expand my view a little more, and to go back to the very basics and do some real studying. This is my ulterior motive for wanting The Knitter’s Handbook, and a large part of the reason that I got Knitting in the Old Way a few months ago. In order to broaden my technical knowledge, I have devised my knitting grammary lessons. Basically, I want to go back and learn the grammar of knitting; all the little pieces that can be put together in different ways to create new projects. I am planning to start with casting on and binding off, perhaps try some different styles of knitting, play with pairs of increases and decreases, and generally just do a lot of swatches. Now, I am not a fan of swatching, but I am very interested to actually compare all of these different techniques for myself. You can read about them all in books, but it’s just not the same as sitting down and knitting them and seeing what the differences are. I’m sure the swatching will make me crazy, so these lessons will probably take some time, but I’m hoping to find a lot of new favorite techniques in them, and solidify my understanding of how one goes about choosing the best techniques for a particular project. Grammar has never been my favorite subject, but being able to speak intelligently is worth the effort. I am hoping that a study of knitting grammar will similarly improve my knitting skills. Ready for an adventure in swatching?

I love useful gifts. When my family started asking what I wanted for Christmas, I went over to Barnes and Noble and looked through their knitting book collection. I’d have preferred to use a LYS, but B&N is an easy store to locate anywhere in the country, and sometimes chains are just easier. I passed on a few titles to my mom, along with some non-knitting suggestions. My top pick was Montse Stanley’s Knitter’s Handbook. And what was under the tree? That’s right; Montse’s book! I think you all know how much I love and use the Walker books by now. The Knitter’s Handbook is a similar quality of book, except for techniques rather than stitch patterns. I think it’s my favorite gift of the year, and I can tell I’ll be getting a lot of use out of it.

Last spring, I discovered the Walker books, and bought the first two in the series. I wanted to get the others, but I figured that two would keep me busy for a while, and that they’d make easy Christmas suggestions. I have such a hard time coming up with my wish list that yes, I do avoid buying things all year so that I can put something on it. Well, the Walker books were on the top of the list from the beginning, but they’re not easy to find in just any old book store, or even any old LYS. So, I scouted out some easy to find books for my family (see above) and left the Walker books for Branden. We never know what to get for each other, as we’re both very content not to have anything extra usually. So, we try to come up with things that we’d really like and the element of surprise is usually lost. This year, Branden kept asking “so, what do you want for Christmas?” and every time I’d tell him that I wanted the Walker books. This year, he apparently wanted to surprise me instead, and so started doing some “research” into a possible gift two nights before we left for MA, and didn’t make it to the LYS to get the books. The other gift didn’t pan out, but he wanted to have something for me to open (I’m not sure why…I was fine with just waiting until we got home). We did some shopping at B&N’s online store and picked out two more knitting books; The Knitter’s Guide to Combining Yarn, and The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Dyeing.

So I now have 3 (three!) new knitting books to start off my second year of consistent knitting, and I just got a coupon to the Fiber Gallery, which I will be using to pick up the Walker books, now that the Christmas hold is off. Woo hoo!

I brought Montse’s book along as plane reading, and am now most of the way through it. We had extra plane reading time, as our flight was delayed 4 hrs and then cancelled due to the pilot having a bad allergic reaction to his lunch. We ended up staying overnight (they put us up at the Hilton…I’m not complaining) and then going through the whole airport thing again on the 26th. This gave me plenty of reading time, and knitting time, though I actually didn’t do much knitting. I’m not sure why, because I really had nothing else to be doing, but I managed to be fairly unproductive considering the amount of time I had. I did do some list-making, though, which will make it on here sooner or later.

So, I definitely had some pretty good luck with knitting-related gifts. I am really excited to play around with the techniques in the Knitter’s Handbook, and am really enjoying reading about the different dyeing techniques in the Yarn Lover’s Guide to Dyeing. I’ve never dyed fiber before, though my research lab does a lot of dyeing of crystals. I’m excited about the possibilities in dyeing, but I don’t want to get into that just yet. I have a whole list of things to try first! But more on those later. All in all, I’d say I have had a very successful week of library expansions, thanks largely to my family and husband that do such a good job of supporting my knitting habit. Thanks everyone!

Sorry for neglecting you all this past week. Making up for a year of visiting in 6 days just doesn’t leave much time for anything else, and I ended up needing my insomnia-given time for things like wrapping gifts and working on last-minute secret projects. If you’re anything like me, you didn’t have time to read blogs over the holiday anyway, and maybe you’re thrilled that there aren’t 6 more posts to read. Now that I’m home, I want to spend the rest of this week focusing on hobbies, so hopefully I will have some actual knitting content in the next couple of days. It’s not often that I take time off, and I’m determined not to allow myself to start working during my vacation time again. I have so many lists of things to knit that it should be easy to fill up a week, and probably a whole year!

As far as trip knitting went, I only managed to get through Branden’s socks (need to do the last inch of the ankle today), and the slipper socks. It appears that knitting and visiting my family don’t go so well together. I’d get out the knitting and start working, but it just never seemed to get anywhere. So, it was a slow week for the needles, which was probably good for my hands.

I also have to comment on the fact that Seattle is dark in the winter. I guess I’m used to it; I’m not usually surprised by the lack of light outside. But after being in MA for a week and being woken up every morning by sun pouring in the windows, Seattle is horribly grey and cloudy. It was at least 7:30 before the sun came up this morning, and you can still barely tell that it’s light out now, at 9:00. It’s funny that I’ve never really noticed the dark before, but the contrast is just too huge to miss. I found myself wanting sunglasses all week in MA; the sun was out all the time, and it was blinding when reflected off of the snow. But now we are back to rain and darkness for a few more months. I guess the summer makes up for the winter, but today I’m having a hard time being optimistic about the Seattle greyness.

Well, here we are in MA. I’m still not sure it’s sunk in that we’re here; we weren’t planning to come out for Christmas this year, but ended up getting a good deal on plane tickets at the last minute. In some ways, it feels like it’s been forever, and in some ways it’s like we never left. Odd how home does that to you.

We got a non-stop flight this year, so I had only a little bit of knitting time on the plane. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I would rather knit just about anywhere than in a narrow plane seat. Though traveling with Branden helps, as the person next to me doesn’t hate me if I stick an elbow over the arm rest. Besides the airport and security and sitting still for so long, I really like flying. I have to say that I got distracted from sock knitting more than once to watch the landscape below. I love the midwest; it’s like one huge patchwork quilt. And the Rockies are just gorgeous. Flying over the great lakes was nice, too. There was a light cloud cover, so there was blue sky and then white clouds and then blue water. It was like having a whole sky above you and below you at the same time. Very pretty.

My grandparents don’t have internet, so I couldn’t post last night, and I almost didn’t tonight, except that I appear to be stuck on West Coast time. I dutifully went to bed at a time appropriate to the local clocks, but have now been wide awake in bed for about 3 hours. I guess I won’t be jumping out of bed at 7 in the morning tomorrow, but the least I can do is post tonight.

I am excited, too. I might have a little more Christmas knitting after all. We’re staying with a friend of Branden’s this year, as my mom’s house is full. He came in tonight while I was knitting Branden’s Coriolis socks, and said that he had heard about felting (well, he didn’t know what it was called, but he knew that it involved wool and a washing machine). He continued to say that he thought this would be a great way to make socks to wear around the house. I don’t think he knows enough crafty people to realize how dangerous it is to make such a statement. Of course, I will be seeking out a LYS tomorrow morning and whipping up a pair of felted slipper socks. I’ve never felted before, but now is as good a time as any to learn, and switching to worsted and big needles will make things fly along after all this sock knitting.

I do have to say that Branden’s socks are coming along quite nicely, though. I started them Monday, I think, and I’m about 1/2″ from turning the heel already. And this is knitting two at once, so things are just zipping along on this pair. I think that the biggest time sink in my sock knitting is the rearranging of needles. It’s the one huge disadvantage of the 2 circs method, in my mind. I love being able to do two at once, but I’m just faster on dpns. The cables require too much stopping and finding needle ends to be efficient for me. But then again, being able to try them on while I’m working, and, most importantly, making both socks at once so that they are exactly matched seems worth the extra time. I still spend less time rearranging needles than I do re-knitting a sock, so I suppose it’s worth it. I can’t wait until after the holidays to try the knitty knit-one-inside-the-other method. I wanted to try it on these, but it’s dark, handpainted yarn, and I think I need some practice managing increases and decreases before I’m ready to try that method on dark yarn. Still, I’m intrigued.

Branden is always helpful with ideas about this sort of thing. Being an engineer, he has a very different perspective on how and why things work, and he has often come up with good ideas. In this particular case, I was saying that I thought it really was necessary for me to try the two-colored yarn method for my first attempt, since I’m pretty much guaranteed to mess it up otherwise. Of course, I then began to bemoan the fact that I wouldn’t be making a pair, and I’d probably mismatch them again. At this point, Branden gave me the quizzical “you’re not making any sense” look that immediately precedes either a very helpful idea that should have been obvious, or something crazy that really just doesn’t work (like pulling from both ends of a skein…it seems like it should work, and I bet someone has done it, but I just make an awful mess of it every time). In this case, the look preceded a very simple idea that I really should have come up with before whining out loud. I will probably now be trying the two-in-one knitting method on two differently colored pairs at one time, so that I will end up with a total of 4 (yes, 4, it seems so crazy…) socks on my needles all at once. Am I nuts? Probably. But hey, it seems to make sense, and really 4 is no harder than 2, so what the heck? If it cuts down on the needle-rearranging time, it would solve a few problems all at once. I think I’ll keep this peanut gallery around for a while longer. =)

Ok, I am losing my ability to see the screen in the dark without my glasses (sorry for the typos I’m sure I’m missing), and I believe that I may now be falling into the trap of rambling on when I have little left to talk about. And I really should try to get to sleep, as it is now late even on pacific time. So, ciao for now, and I may be back again tomorrow if I remain sleepless.

Our flight to Boston is tomorrow morning, so the weekend was spent cleaning the house (there’s no good reason to leave ourselves a messy house to come back to!), endlessly listing off the things we need to do before we go, the things we can’t forget to bring, etc. I think we now have all of the gifts and most of our clothes for the trip piled up on the bed, waiting to be stuffed into a suitcase (or probably two) tonight. All of this means that I haven’t done much knitting lately.

Still, the packing isn’t the only reason that my needles have been idle. Every once in a while I finish a project faster than I expect, or end up deciding not to do the next thing on the list. This always leaves me at loose ends, sort of wondering what’s next and where my momentum has gone. So, this weekend I took a knitting vacation and regrouped. I have lots of things lined up that I want to do after the holidays, but for now I need travel knitting. I have the sideways cable sweater, which is nice and mindless stockinette at this point, but sweaters are bulky and don’t make good take-along knitting. Then there’s Irtfa’a, but I am still savoring the anticipation, and starting a challenging lace project on the go is just not a good idea. I will be taking Branden’s alpaca scarf to match his handwarmers. I worked on that a bit over the weekend while mulling, and it’s probably about 1/3 done now. Other than that, I don’t really have anything lined up at the moment. I know that many people have UFO’s hanging around all the time, but I’m not one of them. I tend to keep just a few projects going and finish them before moving on. I’ve tried starting several at once, but I never manage to start more at the same rate that I finish, and so I quickly return to just one project at a time. I cast on for Branden’s socks last night (he gets a pair out of the holiday knit shopping). I’m thinking we’ll do the spiraling coriolis on this pair, since I didn’t get to try it on the toe socks. So, one scarf and one pair of socks on the needles. I think I’ll probably bring the other sock yarn along, too, since I’ll have the book and a lot of time. And I guess that’s it. Should be enough for a week, right?

I’m assuming that blogging will continue as usual during the trip home. I think we should have internet, so it should be easy to keep up. If not, happy holidays, and I’ll see you when we get back on the 25th!

Ever get the feeling that someone you’ve always known really well has changed? I think just about everyone has. I’m not sure that everyone has felt that way about themselves, however. It’s a very odd sensation to suddenly not really recognize yourself. I am generally considered to be (and think of myself as) a logical, reasonable sort of person. I tend to keep things pretty simple, and stick to a plan once I’ve made it. But that just doesn’t seem to fit with the following series of events.

1) Discuss the fact that I am not enthusiastic about sock knitting.

2) Decide to “cure” myself by making 5 pairs before Christmas, with 4 weeks to go (This does not seem particularly unlike me, actually…)

3) Make 2 pairs (if you count the one sock that came out wrong and needs to be redone)

4) Decide sock making isn’t so bad after all, and begin to think I might like it, after all.

5) Stress about whether or not there will be time to finish (here’s where things start getting unusual…I don’t normally worry about asking myself to do the impossible, and this really isn’t impossible anyway)

6) Sock knitting gives copious time for reflection. Reflect deeply. Realize that family is probably not all that interested in socks to begin with.

7) Shorten knitting list accordingly.

8) Go shopping, find more appropriate gifts to replace said socks.

9) Realize that there are 2 weeks left until Christmas

10) Feel bereft at not having holiday knitting to stress about (This is where I’m beginning to be concerned…I’m worried about not having something to stress over before the holidays???)

10)Begin to question whether or family might like mitts better than socks?

11)Catch self being indecisive and illogical. Throw up hands, shake head, and wonder if I should have head examined once thoroughly shaken.

I dunno. My knitting personality is much different than my real-life personality in a lot of ways, but this might be taking it a bit too far. Everyone has their little quirks, and generally we are used to them and have them under relatively good control. I, for instance, avoid giving in to my tendency to perfectionism in order to keep from annoying the people around me. I just let things go in real life and take it out on my knitting later, which works out rather well, actually. As long as you’re aware of a particular tendency, you can compensate accordingly. But what does one do when all of those habitual tendencies suddenly turn upside down? I mean, really. This is downright impulsive! It’s kinda fun, in a heady sort of way, but it’s rather unsettling to wake up one morning and realize that you don’t really recognize yourself anymore. Amusing, but unsettling. Huh. I wonder who I’ll be tomorrow?

I have just read all my blog subscriptions (thank goodness for Google Reader), and you’re all making me jealous with your snow pictures! We did actually get a quarter of an inch that lasted about an hour at the beginning of the month, but we just don’t get real winter here. I think I’m glad that we don’t, since the whole city stopped last year over an inch of snow. (I literally walked home 4 miles in the snow because it was faster than taking a bus. Twice.) But I really do miss winter. At least Branden informs me that there was a Noreaster this week, and there’s another one coming, so Boston should have a good layer of snow by the time we get there. Hooray! Oh, wait. I don’t own a winter coat anymore. How horribly sad. I need to move back East!