All Good

I'm sure you will all be pleased to know we made it through the weather yesterday just fine.  It got wild further south, but that weird little geographical thing around here that keeps us from getting snow also shelters us from the worst of the weather -- and by worst, I mean tornadoes.  The most severe bits of the storms always seem to split and go around us.  

And for the record, we do occasionally get snow, but mostly it's sleet and ice here. 

Anyway, preliminary estimates show that there have been 43 tornadoes so far, and that storm moved through Georgia and The Carolinas today, so expect that number to increase.   That one tornado that went through Southeast Texas was on the ground for right around 100 miles, and was given a preliminary F-3 rating.  It was kind of weird watching the storm chasers on Ryan Hall's feed and knowing exactly where he was -- down there by all them refineries in the Port Arthur area, like you're heading towards Sea Rim State Park.    I kept watching to see if he would drive over the Rainbow Bridge, but they cut off his feed once the 'nader had passed into Louisiana.  

BTW, I heard from my brother who lives in that area, and they're good there. 

So, while I was watching Ryan, Reed, Brandon, and the rest, I went ahead and cast on that yarn that the moths had gotten to, just to see how it would look when I knit it up.  I've got about 3" of the brim knit, and despite the fact that there are six joins in this segment, they aren't that obvious, so I'm going to keep on going. 

I know, right?  When I caked it up, I ended up with five small balls of yarn, so I knew there would be joins, but as I was knitting, I found several more spots where the moths had cut through one or two of the plies in the yarn, so I cut them out and made a join at those places.  Hopefully, there won't be too many more of those.  But if there are, I'll just join and keep going.   However, I don't think I can give this hat as a gift with all those cuts in the yarn.  I may just have to keep it for myself. 

In other news, I started back to doing my piano lessons this morning.  I'd been playing my Christmas music just for fun these last few weeks, but now I'm back to the grindstone.  All the teachers I watch on YouTube say it's good to take a break from time to time to avoid burnout, and after doing so, I feel much refreshed.  

One of the goals I'd set for 2024 was to finish my Alfred's Level 2 course, but I didn't quite make it.  I got about 2/3 of the way, and maybe I would have finished if I hadn't started the Faber Adult Piano course.  But I'm back on track now, plus doing my Hanons, scales, and sight reading exercises.  It'll be a bit tougher when I have to go back to work Thursday, but I'll do my best to make it a priority.  

The only other thing I did today was to get the green onion and bell pepper I'd bought for the gumbo cut up and put into the freezer, since Cody used what I'd cut up and frozen last year.  This time, I won't be storing them for an entire year.  I want to try to eat more egg omelets and use them in those.  Yes, I am allergic to eggs, but not deathly allergic.  Also, I've found that if I eat eggs as part of a full meal instead of by themselves, it really cuts down on the allergic reaction.  

I still need to cut up and freeze the celery, which I can put into my chicken salad.  I also kept a couple of jars of pickled banana peppers for that purpose, though I gave most of them to Cody and Brennan. 

That's about it for today.  I'd thought about trying to go walking this morning before the ball game started at noon, but didn't make it.  Instead, I watched the last of my cheesy Hallmark movies, a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls, and an episode of JAG.  I need to get back to watching Heartland and The X Files, too.  

Right now, I'm watching a Lucy Worsley documentary on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I'll leave it at that. 

Laters.