Just in case you wondered, a diet that consists mainly of Dove chocolate and microwave popcorn is not good for my disposition.

It’s not that I didn’t have any real food in the house for the duration of the snowstorm — I did. I just was too lazy to do much of any cooking. It’s appalling how quickly I can settle into a lethargic lump. On the positive side, that lethargy kept me from imbibing — I was too lazy to mix a drink.

So after several days of wallowing indoors, I went back to work yesterday. Izzy didn’t even accompany me to the door to say good-bye in the morning. I was met at the door yesterday afternoon by a very hurt and offended little kitty. She obviously thought I had just stepped out for a minute and would be coming right back. I had some explaining to do! Here she is, looking fuzzy!

No sock knitting yesterday because I had to stand up on the train both coming and going. I hope the transit system gets back to normal soon.

And not a whole lotta Oregon knitting either, as I had some errands to run and stuff to do. But here’s a photo:

There’s still quite a bit to do here — a bit more of the body pattern, the border pattern, and the (gag) corrugated ribbing. I started the sleeve with a 16″ circular needle and a little while back switched to a 12″ circular. I’ve got more decreases to go, but I may be able to finish the cuff on the 12″ circ. and not switch to dpns. Just gotta wait and see!

People have asked about the magic loop technique — I’ve heard of it, but it doesn’t appeal to me, as I have no problem with working fair isle on dpns. But can anyone point the interested towards a tutorial or explanation? I had a comment asking yesterday.

Yesterday was above freezing all day and sunny. A great way to start the big meltdown. And we’re supposooed to get heavy rain over the weekend. We may all float away.

Just feeling as though the snow has atrophied my brain a bit, that’s all.

But I’m on my way back to work this morning (undoubtedly to Izzy’s very great relief).

I’ve done a bit more work on Oregon, as you can see, but believe it or not, I’m a bit sick of knitting. I know – I ought to be ashamed of myself, oughten I?

I’m more than halfway done on the first sleeve, but that pace will undoubtedly slow down some now that I’m no longer snowed in.

Oh, and here’s a photo of the first sock made from the Dancing Feet sock yarn:

I’ve just barely started the second sock. If the delays on the train are bad, I ought to make good progress!

So I’m heading off to work now — hope it doesn’t take too long to get there!

It does get to you after a while.

A rather inauspicious start to the day yesterday as I woke to no heat and no hot water. But everything was finally restored around noon, and Izzy came out from under the covers to guard Oregon.

I’m working on the first sleeve. I am indeed tying the ends with square knots and trimming to about a quarter inch. It seems to work very well, and is much quicker than weaving them in. A close-up:

So the sleeve is coming along nicely.

It looks like the area is starting to dig out from the snow, so we may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

Izzy and I are still trapped indoors from the big storm. It stopped snowing yesterday, but there is a whole lotta snow here, so the area is busy digging out.

Me, I’ve been knitting.

I finished the bands on Oregon:

Here’s what it looks like on the inside:

And I started a sleeve:

Thanks for all your comments yesterday! I’ve not spent much time on the computer because my home computer’s fan is not functioning properly, so I don’t like to leave it powered on too long. I’ve got new fans on order, so hopefully all will be well again soon.

But I do appreciate hearing from you all!

The government is closed today, so Izzy and I will be together at home again. No photos of Izzy today as she’s been spending most of her time snuggled up under a quilt, fast asleep. She’s not a stupid cat, is she?

I think she’s a bit concerned about why I’m still at home. Why is Mommy lolling around the house instead of going out to work to pay for my food?

And we’re snowbound. We’re in the middle of a really big snowstorm here.

So . . . I’ve got a fair amount done on Oregon. Izzy helped:

I finished the body:

I’m doing the front bands and neck right now — I prefer to do them before the sleeves so that when I’ve finished the last sleeve, the whole thing is over and done with.

But you probably wanna hear the winner of the contest, don’t you?

And the winner is . . .

Kate, with the following list.

Abalone abalone cove la county usa
Alba cardigan Alba Vineyard, New Jersey, USA
Alba pullover Alba Vineyard, New Jersey, USA
Amphora Amphora Vineyard, Sonoma County, USA
Anchor Waistcoat Anchor Bay, Calif., USA
Anne Boleyn Princess Anne, MD, USA
Anne of Cleves Princess Anne, MD, USA
Arabesque The City of Arab, Alabama
Aran Cardigan Aran Beach, CA, USA
Ardagh Ardagh Bay, Braintree, MA
Armagh Greenville, USA, County Armagh
Baltic Baltic, Ohio
Beadwork Bead Lake, Washington, USA
Berry Tree Berry Creek, CA, USA
Birdsfoot scarf Birdsfoot Farm 1263 County Route 25 Canton, NY
Blue Corn Café New Mexico SANTA FE Blue Corn Cafe
Boat and Rope Swan Boat Lake, Boston, MA, USA
Bodega Bay Bodega Bay, CA
Border pattern cardigan Lake Border Drive, Apopka, FL
Border pattern gansey Lake Border Drive, Apopka, FL
Boudicca’s Braid Braid Street, Fulton, Illinois, USA
Breton Cape Breton Island. Sacramento, California
Brocade Brocade Rd., Carroll County, OH, USA
Butterfly Butterfly Beach, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Caledonia City, Caledonia. Province/State, Minnesota. Country, USA
Canyonville Canyonville, Oregon, USA
Cape Cod Cape Cod, USA
Cashel Cashel Drive Bloomington, IL
Catherine Howard City, Howard Beach. Province/State, New York. Country, USA
Catherine of Aragon Aragon Street, Coral Gables, FL
Catherine Parr Parr Road, Wentzville, Missouri
Cecily of York LOWENTHAL, Cecily USA
Check Rock Little Rock, Arkansas, US
Child’s panel gansey Panel Road Elk City, OK
Classic Aran Aran Beach, CA, USA
Classic Cardigan CLASSIC BEACH: SPRING LAKE, NJ
Cold Duck Duck Lake, Nebraska
Columbia Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
Cornwall City, Cornwall. Province/State, Connecticut. Country, USA
Cotton Raglan Sweater Cottontown, TN, USA
Cotton sweater Cottontown, TN, USA
Dalmore Dalmore, New York, NY, USA
Donegal Donegal, Pennsylvania
Donegal Donegal, Pennsylvania
Elephants Elephant Lake, Minnesota
Elizabeth I City, Elizabeth. Province/State, West Virginia. Country, USA
Elizabeth of York City, Elizabeth. Province/State, West Virginia. Country,
USA
Elizabethan Jacket City, Elizabeth. Province/State, West Virginia. Country,
USA
Erin Erin Street Madison, WI
Fair Isle Vest Fair Avenue Santa Cruz, CA
Fern Fern Beach, Battle Creek, MI
Fife Fife, Washington, USA
Firebirds Firebird Lake, AZ.
Fish and Anchors Fish Lake, UTAH, USA Anchor Bay, CA, USA
Five Triangles Triangle Beach, Raleigh, NC, USA
Flora City, Flora. Province/State, West Virginia. Country, USA
Fort Ross Fort Ross State Historic Park on the Sonoma Coast, California
Fulmar Fulmar Drive Delray Beach, FL
Galway Galway, Saratoga Springs, NY
Galway hat Galway, Saratoga Springs, NY
Glass Beach Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California
Glen Albyn Glen Arbor, Michigan, USA
Golden Gate San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge
Graceknot Grace Lake, El Paso, Texas USA
Grant Avenue Grant Avenue Philadelphia, PA
Grapevine Grape Street, Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA
Grosvenor scarf Grosvenor Drive Raleigh, NC
Gypsy Moth Moth Bay, Alaska, USA
Heart bag California, Southern Sierra Nevada, Sierra National Forest, Heart
Lake
Heartland Heartland Bay Indianapolis, Indiana
Hebrides Hebrides Drive San Diego CA
Henry VII City, Henry. Province/State, Illinois. Country, USA
Henry VIII City, Henry. Province/State, Illinois. Country, USA
Heraldic Lion City, Red Lion. Province/State, Pennsylvania. Country, USA
Iona IONA MI USA
Irish Beach Irish Beach, Northwest California, USA
Irish Moss Moss Lake, Sulphur, Louisiana, USA
Jacquard and Cable Sweater Cable Street, Bellingham, WA
Jane Seymour City, Seymour. Province/State, Connecticut. Country, USA
Kells Kells Avenue, Newark, Delaware, USA
Kimberley Kimberley Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
Kinsale Kinsale, VA, USA
Kittatinny Kittatinny Mountain, High Point, New Jersey
Kittiwake hat Kittiwake Street, Littleton, CO
Lancaster City, Lancaster. Province/State, Pennsylvania. Country, USA
Lavoisier Lavoisier Street, Gretna, Louisiana, USA
Leo City, Saint Leo. Province/State, Florida. Country, USA
Leo scarf City, Saint Leo. Province/State, Florida. Country, USA
Lindsay City, Lindsay. Province/State, California. Country, USA
Lismore Lismore, Nobles County, Minnesota
Little Boxes Little Box Canyon, Dixie Valley, Nevada
Little Rivers City, Little River. Province/State, Kansas. Country, USA
Lochinver Lochinver Lane Potomac, MD 20854
Magic Carpet CARPET STREET, CHARLOTTE, NC
Malin Malin Drive Wytheville, VA USA
Mara O’Mara Street, Tigard, OR
Margaret Tudor Margaret Avenue, Annapolis, MD
Marina Marina, CA, USA
Mary Tudor Maryland, USA
Maximilian Maximilian Way, Tucson AZ
Medieval Tapestry Tapestry Drive, Fairfax, VA
Mendocino adult County of Mendocino, California USA
Mendocino child County of Mendocino, California USA
Mojave Mojave California USA
Montana Montana, USA
Moon and Stars Moon Lake, North Dakota, USA
Morning Glory Morning Glory Beach, Suttons Bay, MI
Morven Morven, Albermarle Co., Virginia, USA
Moss Rib Moss Lake, Sulphur, Louisiana, USA
Mystic Mystic, Connecticut, USA
Nantucket Nantucket, MA, USA
Norfolk Norfolk, Nebraska, USA
Norway Norway Avenue, Huntington, WV
Noyo Harbour Noyo Harbor, CA, USA
Openwork Cotton Sweater Cottontown, TN, USA
Oregon Oregon, USA
Oriental Flower Oriental Avenue, Bellingham, WA
Oriental Flower bag Oriental Avenue, Bellingham, WA
Oversize panel cardigan Panel Road Elk City, OK
Pentland Pentland Drive, New Orleans, LA
Plaid Jacket Plaid Street Burlington North Carolina USA
Point Arena Point Arena, CA, USA
Point Reyes Point Reyes, CA, USA
Primavera Primavera Street, Clifton, CO
Quartz Quartz Lake Delta Alaska, USA
Queen Anne’s Lace Queen Anne’s County, Centerville, MD, USA
Rambling Rose Rose, New York, USA
Rannoch Rannoch Road Bethesda, MD
Reef Reef Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands
Rock and Sand Little Rock, Arkansas, US
Rockall Little Rock, Arkansas, US
Russian River Russian River Valley, Sonoma, CA, USA
Sand Dance Sand Key, Florida, USA
Sand Dollar adult Sand Dollar Shores, Southern North Carolina
Sand Dollar child Sand Dollar Shores, Southern North Carolina
Sand Rib Vest Sand Key, Florida, USA
Sand Stitch Cotton Sweater Cottontown, TN, USA
Scapa Fleet Fleet Avenue, Cleveland, OH
Scarborough Scarborough, Maine, USA
Seaforth Seaforth, Minnesota, USA
Seaweed scarf Seaweed Beach, Rhode Island, USA
Secret Garden Secret Garden, LA, CA, USA
Shannon Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, USA
Spanish Knight Spanish Lake, Missouri USA
Square Dance Square Lake Park, Stillwater, MN
Squares and Diamonds Square Lake Park, Stillwater, MN
St. Brigid St. Brigid’s Avenue, Portumna, CO
St. Catherine St. Catherine Lake. Location: Minnesota, USA
St. Columba Columba River in Washington state
St. Enda Lake Edna, Washington, USA
Stillwater Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
Super Skunk Skunk Point, Channel Islands, CA, USA
Tammy mittens Tammy Street, Emerald Isle, NC 28594 USA
Tammy gloves Tammy Street, Emerald Isle, NC 28594 USA
Tara Tara Lake Drive, Boynton Beach, Florida
Textured Chevron Chevron Road Rangely, CO
Thistle bag Thistle Avenue NW Albuquerque, NM
Tiburon Tiburon, CA, USA
Tipperary Tipperary Road Poynette, WI
Tokyo Rose Rose, New York, USA
Traditional Aran Aran Beach, CA, USA
Tucumcari Tucumcari, New Mexico, USA
Victoria’s Patch Victoria, TX, USA
Water-lily jacket Water Lily Pond, South Gulf Coast, Sarasota, FL, USA
Wave-pattern cardigan Wave Avenue, Middletown Rhode Island
Widdicombe Fair Fair Haven, Vermont, New England, USA
Yankee Puzzle Yankee Beach, Lee, SW Florida, US

A couple of you came close, but this was by far the longest and most inventive list. Wow! Congratulations Kate! I’ll mail the yarn to you when I can dig myself out of the snow.