Wintermaggedon-2014 Edition

Hey Y’ all!
Wow. We are experiencing the craziest winter here at the beach! When I last posted, we were on the verge of a four day snow/ice/slush event. Yes. Four days. We missed four days of school! Here is a pic of our backyard….


Pitty Pat was not thrilled with all of the frozen precipitation. Luckily our portion of the beach melted quickly, but other parts of our county were not that lucky. It warmed up by Groundhog day and Pitty Pat and I took a trip to the beach just to show Mr. Groundhog what we thought of his predictions!


But late last week, I started tracking a storm and knew the news was not going to be good for us. Today we got hit with a HUGE ice storm. So far I have lost 3 trees in my back yard and one is very close to taking out my fence. The temps have warmed up to 32 degrees, but with melting trees are continuing to lose limbs.



They just announced that we won’t have school tomorrow either. Oh well. I will enjoy being home with Pitty Pat and working on my new hobby…. Loom  knitting!

Several years ago, when loom knitting was just getting started, I bought a set of looms and never used them. With losing Granddaddy, I just haven’t been able to pick up my knitting needles and concentrate. So the other night I went upstairs and picked up the smallest loom in the pack. Within 30 minutes I had made a preemie hat! I have so enjoyed making them and usually make at least one a day! If you follow me on instagram you have seen my progress. For now it is a great activity to do, especially while watching tv. It doesn’t require a lot of concentration, but you still get the satisfaction of making something everyday! And the hats are just precious!

I have found some great websites with some easy patterns. I plan on trying a cowl tonight. If you see a loom, pick it up… it is a great activity! Here is a video that helped me get started with making a preemie hat. Just grab some bulky yarn and a loom and go!



Alright, I am off to enjoy my night. Keep your fingers crossed that we keep our power!
Tootles!
JKP

Heavy Heart

Hey Y’all,

If you follow me on facebook, twitter or instagram, you know by now that last week my precious Granddaddy Abe passed away on Monday.

This past week has been very surreal. I took last week off from school and went back to work yesterday. I am having good days and bad days, but mostly I am still in a fog getting used to this change in my little world.

Today, believe it or not, we have a snow day! We have an impending winter weather event that is about to hit the SC coast very hard. I think Granddaddy knew that I needed a few days to stay in my pj’s, drink coffee, and snuggle with the Pitty Padster. I haven’t been able to pick up my knitting needles since I lost Granddaddy. I am hoping that over the next few days of being home, I can get my crafty rhythm back again. My heart is just kind of heavy right now.

I am currently trying to charge every electronic device I own just in case the power goes out. We are expecting almost an inch of ice and snow on top of that. I have my heat running on 75 just to get the house really warm in case we lose power once everything starts this afternoon. I have my ipod, ipad, kindle, laptop and phone full of books, knitting podcasts and music to keep us entertained. I also plan on catching up on some much needed sleep!

Every time I let Pitty Pat out this morning he keeps sniffing the air and pawing the ground. Yup. A winter event is coming!

Hopefully I will hop back on here with a weather update soon.

Tootles!

JKP

March Madness

Hey Y'all!

Do you remember me? I hope so! Things have been pretty hectic in my part of the world and I have also been fighting with some SERIOUS exhaustion. So most of the time, a nap wins out over updating the blog! I am eight days shy of my spring break and I am so ready for it! The warm weather is visiting us for a wee bit and I have enjoyed getting out in the sun and taking Pitty Pat for plenty of walks. He likes it too! I don't do well in cold weather and this winter has been lots and lots of cold weather. Over the next few days we are supposed to go back to cold weather and I am not looking forward to it. I am ready to pull out my spring clothes and shorts!

I have also been doing quite a bit of reading since it has been so chilly. Right after Christmas I got addicted to Maggie Sefton's knitting mysteries that take place around a knitting store. In each new book there is a murder mystery and lots of knitting talk too. I am on the 8th book in the 10 book series. I am not sure what I am going to do when I finish them. It has taken up many nights! But they are great little reads and I can read one in two or three days.

In health news, I met with my general doctor last Friday. I had some bloodwork done recently and he wanted to go over it with me. I was really worried about my results. It turns out my cholesterol is looking good and I am in good shape overall. I am still very anemic, but that is never going to change. My SED rate is high, but with Crohn's that is to be expected. I am going to have to make a trip to Charleston soon because I am having some issues. I am just thankful I don't have to change the way I eat! That would be really hard for me since there is so much I can't eat! I am very relieved that waiting for those results is over! I still have to come home and take at least an hour or two nap every afternoon after school. But, if that what helps, then I am going to stick with it!

I have been very busy on the knitting front. Since the beginning of the year I have made several hats, cowls and I am even starting a sweater! Right now, big, fat, fluffy yarns are holding my attention because they are so quick to knit with. I just love casting on for a cowl one night and wearing it the next day. That's my kind of knitting! Here's a cute little hat that I like to call "Pom, Pom Goodness!"

One exciting thing that has happened since my last post was WE SAW SNOW! Pitty Pat and I were very excited! I love snow. The last time we had a good snow here at the beach was when Pitty Pat was a puppy. This time he really enjoyed getting out in it! It was so relaxing to watch the big, fat snow flakes fall. I wish I lived part of the year where it snowed, just a little bit!

The other exciting thing that happened is PITTY PAT TURNED FOUR! My baby is four. He had a great birthday. I gave him a squeaky cupcake for one of his prezzies. It lasted all of 5 minutes. But, at least it was a cute photo op!

Over Pitty Pat's birthday weekend, we had our annual Girl's Weekend Spring Palooza. This year was very different in that one of my friends could not make it AND since I had really been feeling run down, I didn't cook. But, we still shopped until we dropped! While we were out I stumbled upon a WALL OF PITTY PATS!!! Take a look....

It was quite a sight! I had to pick one up to make sure it wasn't the REAL thing!

I am still doing my thrifting thing and I have found lots of cute stuff. Since the weather is *hopefully* about to change I am kind of taking a break from it. I have really enjoyed spending our few warm Saturday's outside with a good book or knitting. I can't wait until it is warm enough to go to the beach!

One last cool thing.... in my last post in February  I was attending a technology workshop. During the workshop I learned about a free website builder and hosting service. Weebly is a very easy site that helps you build a professional looking website and hosting is free. I am in the process of building a website of all of my knits. I can't wait until it is ready to publish.. maybe in the next few weeks. I hope over spring break I can get it up and running.

Well, let me run. My Monday night shows are getting ready to come on. I have a feeling I won't make it through Castle tonight... tomorrow is my early morning duty day. Come on spring break!

Tootles!
:) JKP

Some More Snow Fun...

Here is one more video of Paddington in the snow!

And.... did we ever get snow!!!!

Hey Y'all!

Well, we got about 3.5 inches of snow! Take a look at our pics...here's our Snowmaggedon Album from Picassa....

I'll leave you with my favorite video from the snow... Pitty Pat becomes a snow bunny!


We are off to play!
:) JKP

Snowmaggedon Update......

Hey Y'all,

Look at the handy graphic.

I think we will be seeing some snow!!!! I'll update after the lunch forecast comes out! :)

Snowmaggedon 2010- South Carolina Edition

Hey Y'all,

Lookie loo at what appeared on all of our news and weather stations this afternoon.

You are correct in your thinking that yes, that is South Carolina and yes, that is Myrtle Beach. With snowfall accumulations! They think we will get anywhere from 1 to 3 inches depending on how the storm tracks. But... if it goes a little more to the south, we could see a whole bunch of the white stuff. The run on milk and bread has already started! The good thing is, this is going to happen tomorrow night, so we won't miss school. But..... mix a snow forecast with Valentine's celebrations and you might as well begin praying for all South Carolina teachers. NOW.

I'll pop in with an update tomorrow. Because by then, the forecast could change and it could be 89 degrees!! But if it does snow, I can not WAIT to see Pitty Pat's reaction! Film at 11!

:) JKP

Snow Watch.... 2009 Edition

Hey Y'all,

Sorry to take a "mini" vacation from the blog, but this week has literally been HELL. I am so sorry. There is just no other way for me to say it!

It all started on Monday with Mr. Zorro. Zorro is getting older and he has these episodes where he goes blind. Normally they last about 20 minutes and once you give him some protein, he seems to get better and his sight comes back.

Well Monday, we woke up and Zorro had a spell. A BAD ONE. It was so bad, that some how he found his way out of the doggie door while I was in the shower and couldn't get back in. He was banging his head against the house when I found him. So you know me, I can go from calm to hysterical in 1.1 seconds.

In my school district we have an online website where we have to go to find subs. Since it was already 7 o'clock and it was a MONDAY I knew that I would have to go in to school, pray that I could find a sub and take a 1/2 personal day. Luckily the stars were aligned and I found a sub AND I got a vet appointment.

I love my vet, but he is very doom and gloom. One look at Zorro's blood work and they were ready for me to schedule the "special" appointment. I left in tears and hysterical. Zorro's kidney's, pancreas and liver are all shutting down. We have put him on a special diet and are rearranging some of his meds. I am very broken hearted. I don't want Zorro to suffer in anyway, but I am not ready to accept that his time with me is very limited. So, everyday we have left is a gift.

So, yup, it's pretty much been a yucky week.

In much lighter news... if you have been keeping up with the weather you have probably heard rumblings about some kind of winter storm here in the south. They say that points west of Myrtle Beach might get up to 10 inches of snow. They also say that the beach may see some flurries, but nothing like what my friends up in Cola town may see. So we are on Snow Watch 2009. We shall see. I will say, that when it snows at the beach in March.... IT REALLY SNOWS!!

Anyway, I am so glad that tomorrow is March. I am ready to say goodbye to this month. Tomorrow marks 7 years since I have had Zorro. Wow, I can't believe that it has been that long... time has flown by!

:) JKP

Well I'll Be Darned... We Had Some Snow!

Hey Y'all,

Well it looks like my wishing did a little something! We had a few flurries around the beach today! It started in earnest around 7:30 am and kept on going until about 10:00 am. Then the mean, bad old sun came out and melted everything! But we had about an inch of snow and it was really coming down! Most of it has melted, but it sure was fun while it lasted. I took my kiddies out in it twice today. The true Horry county kids were in awe. My kiddies who just moved here from New Jersey thought we were nuts! It wasn't quite the snow day I asked for, but it was fun while it lasted. We didn't get to go home early, but that's ok, it was a busy day. I had my mid year conference with my principal, I tutored and I had a meeting about a student after school. I must say though, I am worn out. Third graders, plus snow=1 worn out teacher!

I'm off to knit!
:) JKP