Ahhhh, warmth!

I was actually WARM while walking the dog this morning. I don't know why...currently it is 55F and only a high of 60F...same as yesterday. I guess the winds have died down so it feels warmer. I'm not sure. SOMETHING is different today. After my walk, I immediately came home, dressed the kids and told them to go outside. I opened both doors. The house is starting to feel a little too cool, so maybe I was over-excited about finally being warm again?!

It's been a quiet week-end. It started out that way by our own choice. Yesterday was lovely, but cold (to us) so we decided around 10 that we would just stay home. For some reason, I just didn't have the energy to go run around. We put the kids outside in the back to paint. Steven sat out with them and his laptop while I worked on a woolen project (more about that later). Rachel and Bella came over for a little while...long enough for Bella to paint two pictures of her own. They had been up to Disney on Friday and I asked them to pick up a few things for me so they really just stopped by to drop off that stuff.

Let's see...quiet morning...around naptime (1:30ish), Tinna or William went potty. I flushed and realized it wasn't flushing properly and called Steven in to look at it (ie, plunge it). He plunged and plunged with no luck. Weird. He thought maybe one of the kids put a toy down the thing. I didn't think so and asked around - no one admitted the fault and I really didn't think they'd lie about it. Normally when something goes into the potty it is broadcast around the house very loudly. None of this had happened. Around 2, Delaney had to pooh and I told her to go in our bathroom since her toilet was out of commission. She poohed and I flushed...DAMNIT...again with the backing up problem! Now we realized that something worse than a toy was happening. I called Heather down the street to see if she was having any kinds of sewage/draining problems and she immediately said "No but you will need your pipes snaked. This happens all the time out here. It's tree roots." Great! While I was on the phone with her, Steven realized that all of the water he "plunged" had come back into the tub/shower of both bathrooms. GROSS!!!!! So, we investigated options, called/emailed the landlord, spoke to my dad, etc. Ended up deciding that this was most likely beyond our capabilities and called in a plumber. The plumber was here from ~5:00 until 7:00 and will be back again later this morning. Snaking did not solve the entire problem (but it DID get us through the night) and now the plumber will return to do a pipe flush with a hydrojet AND place a camera down in the pipes heading out toward the street to see what the actual problem is and if it has been cleared out by the jet. All of this will cost our landlord something slightly less than $1,000.

So. Maybe there are good things about being in a rental property afterall.

Yesterday afternoon and last night was spent working another shawl on my loom. Not for me, this one is for someone who flies on airplanes a lot so I'm hoping it will keep her warm while she does that. I also completed my cell phone tote bag and did some gentle felting to it (to help waterproof it and add extra stability). It looks pretty neat and will hopefully help me get to my cell phone quicker when someone calls. Not that I use it very often, I find cell phones quite annoying, honestly. But when I'm out and about and it rings, it's usually in the bottom of my diaper bag and I just can't seem to get to it quick enough...and if that happens, it's most likely my husband who has a question about the kids or whatever!


Here are today's photos:



Brown shawl on the loom. Again, using Lion Brand Yarns...Lion Suede in "Coffee" and Moonlight Mohair in "Safari".




Up close of the colour blend.




Purple cell phone tote made with Lion Brand "Wool Ease". The closure is one of Delaney's hair doodles (the little balls that we had when we were kids, too. I can't figure out how to put them in her hair!). I got this idea from Vickie Howell on Knitty Gritty.