A Fresh NEW Year

Hello friends!  Here we are on the first day of a brand new year, a clean slate, let's make it a good one, shall we?  It's a brilliant and cloudless sunny day here.  Yesterday, in the afternoon of New Year's Eve, I headed out alone to take a bank deposit in before the month ended.  I then picked up something at Craft Warehouse (and bought no yarn!) then decided to head up to Sandy, Oregon to Jonsrud Point to get a photo of the piles of fresh new snow on Mt. Hood.  The parking lot looked full so I pulled over on the side of the road in front of the viewpoint plaza, rolled down my window and started shooting photos.  What you don't see was a group of Asian teens to my left all taking photos and chattering and giggling.  LOL!  

Zooming in and back out.. while sitting in my nice warm car.. :-)

There is nothing prettier and colder looking than fresh snow.. our snow pack is at 76 inches as of today.

I then drove on Bluff Road through the countryside to Corbett and then decided to go on to Portland Women's Forum Scenic Viewpoint to snap some images of the gorge on a freezing sunny winter day.  This is Larch Mt. covered with snow.

I got out of my car to walk over and get some shots of Vista House at Crown Point and the Columbia River Gorge.. and took one step and realized I would be walking on several inches of solid ice and decided to get right back into my car before I fell and broke something.  I took this image before I slipped back into the car.

A bit of a zoom into Vista House.. the wind there whips through at high speeds.

A shot from the car.. kind of fun with the railing and the late afternoon sun.

After I got home and settled in by the fire.. I decided to light the candles in my new pyramid carousel.  I showed it to the boys and they thought it was neat.

I've decided that I'm going to stretch the fairy lights around the dining room window to light that room for the rest of the winter.  After the sun goes down it's so dark in there and I like light.

It's fun to watch the little Nativity scene turn around.

The dining room.. all set for our New Years Dinner today with our older son and his family.  There will be 10 of us.  :-)

I have a story to tell.  The red crocheted beret below, I made it to match my red shawl made of 50% baby alpaca and 50% silk.  I made it using my own "play-it-by-ear" pattern.  You just increase until you have a dinner plate sized circle, then begin to decrease.  When it's the size of your head then you begin to just straight crochet until you have a "hat band" of about 1.5 inches.. then bind off.  I was not 100% thrilled with the look of this hat but it matches my shawl in color if not in laciness.  

We shopped at Costco on Tuesday and Dayle and I had different carts as I was getting xmas presents for my older son's family.  I did that and then handed over the gifts to hubby to purchase while I headed to get a hotdog and to the car.  After my hotdog I went to get my coat, shawl and hat on.. and OH NO.. the hat was gone!  Eeek, I left it in my cart!  Then to go look for it.. it was gone.. talked to the Manager and left my name and number and headed out to the car bareheaded and cold.  Wah.  ::pout pout::  

The next day I got a call from Eli, he found it outside on top of the bike rack!  I guessed it had been left in the cart and used by someone and then left outside for the cart guys to get at which point one of them tossed it on the bike rack.  My son picked it up the next day and it's home with me again.  Have you done that?  Lost something you spent weeks on and then found it again?

Does anyone have a lacier but warm hat pattern that would go with my shawl?  I want it to be lacy but not a lot of holes as it needs to be WARM as this is my Winter shawl.  Suggestions gratefully received.  I can crochet it or knit it.  Crochet is easier for me, though.

And so.. on this brand new day of a brand new year I am wishing for you joy and happiness.. accomplishments and health.. love and peace.  

((hugs)), Teresa :-)