-48 C But Things Are Much Better Now

Here is the thermometer an hour ago. However, things seem to be improving. The small store in town actually had power steering fluid, the green wood we had in the garage from the fall seems to be burning until we track down some dry wood, and the weather looks like it will be warmer next week.

For some reason yesterday I decided I really wanted to make a hat for the kids out of novelty yarn. I really don’t like novelty yarn and had it in my stash because it was really on sale. Maybe I just wanted to take my frustration on something I could control. I am not sure if I will ever finish it but it somehow made me feel better anyways. That is why I love crocheting.

Yesterday Is Over And Today Is A New Day….

Yesterday was not a good day. The crochet was neglected again. I drove to the next town to get more fuel (our gas station burned down in September so we don’t have one anymore) and when I got there the one store had decided not to open and the while the other one was open the diesel had gelled. It is winter diesel (which apparently has kerosene in it) but it was gel and wouldn’t come out. The gas was working so I filled up and headed back home. The trip home was filled with horrible squealing from the van and I was a little mad because I made this trip for nothing and now I was sure I was going to break down pregnant, with a four year old and two year old. I was mad at myself for not throwing in the sleeping bags like I did last year and mad for not phoning ahead too. I made it home to see my dog roaming around when she was supposed to be in the backyard. Before you call animal welfare my dogs are outside dogs and have a really nice coat which they would lose if I kept them inside part of the time. Both were born outside and the male has never been kept inside and in fact wouldn’t go indoors for a long time. My female (husky cross) was kept inside at the shelter I got her from. She loves to escape and she had jumped the chain link fence from a wood box. I brought her inside and waited for Brendan to come home for lunch from his first aid course. After lunch I put her outside and she jumped the fence again. She never runs away when she does this she just stays on the other side of the fence or around the front yard. I let the other one in until I thought they had drunk enough water that they should be let out before they had an accident. I then tied her up in the front until Brendan got home and could move the box. We phoned a guy in town who lent us some diesel and we got our tires filled. This should help with the square tires. He had to use a blowtorch to get the valve caps off to fill them which made my British husband shake his head (this is his first Yukon winter and he hasn’t run away yet so I think he is getting tough). When it is really cold tires deflate a bit and they freeze in the shape they are when you park. Then when you start driving it is like driving on flat tires as they need time to become round again. You have to drive slow until that happens. Last year my tires (which were on their last legs) deflated so much that one slid off the rim while I was trying to make it to an air hose to fill them up. These tires are new so I don’t want them getting wrecked.

So today I got up and called the car dealer in Whitehorse. He thinks I am out of power steering fluid and I shouldn’t drive until I get some. There is a little leaking so it could be that (coolant is also leaking but I have extra and the brake light came on Sunday and won’t go out either but that is beside the point if I can’t get the van to the mechanic 350 km away). He said not to drive until it gets warmer in case topping up the power steering fluid along the way doesn’t get me there (very reassuring). I have no idea where to get power steering fluid but I will have to see if anyone I know has some in the next while.

Today I am not going anywhere and I am going to work on my socks which will probably take me a couple of hours to finish and then maybe I will feel like I am accomplishing something. Besides maybe if I don’t leave the house things will be better than they have been. Here is another picture:

-45 C is cold no matter who you are!

I haven’t crocheted much because we have been trying to stay warm. We ran out of wood today so Brendan had to get some except his chainsaw doesn’t work well when it is this cold. The game plan was that he chop the firekilled trees down (our permit is for dead wood only but the snow is so deep that it is hard to find trees that are down) and then in to 5 foot or so lengths and we would get them stove length at home. He managed to get three trees down but only two into pieces before the saw conked out and wouldn’t start again. We also had to drive to the next town (70 km away) to get some diesel for the furnace which has been on way more than usual with this cold snap. Diesel is now more expensive than gas. I had never seen that before. The fuel truck comes next week and we will get more in the furnace then. People say it is supposed to be like this for three days.

Here’s a picture across the street and down a little.

Another Project Done….And Working On Another

I finished the wool soaker last night. I would post a picture but it is still wet. However, I have a picture of my socks that I have to get done before I can’t put my own socks on anymore. The sock making will have to be put on hold until after I have the baby. One of these things I didn’t think about when I was buying all that sock yarn this fall. The yarn is from the Art Walk Sock Yarn Club series. It is the Salvidor Dali painting inspired one whose actual name I can’t remember. I stopped the first sock to make sure I had enough yarn for the second sock. This is the only problem I have with the nice indie dyed yarn: you need to ensure you have enough to make a pair because you can’t get anymore. I hope to get these done in the next couple of days and then on to another WIP (work in progress).

How big were babies in 1959?

I am working on a wool soaker/wrap for the baby but it is really big so it will be for my two year old instead. I am following a pattern from a Good Housekeeping from 1959. I knew it was going to be a little big when the waistband was 19 inches but this is huge! Hannah is still in diapers though and it will come in handy for her. I will make a smaller one after for the new baby. I am only 17 weeks along so I have time.

The yarn I am using is a cone of 3 ply mulespinner from customwoolenmills.com I have a few projects on the go and I will slowly get them all posted. The low for Saturday is forecasted to be -52C and the high isn’t much warmer which is freezing cold so I will probably be staying inside. The bonus is that now that we are past the winter solstice it is getting light earlier each day. In the summer is light about 19 hours which sort of makes up for it. Sort of. Brendan, my husband, agrees the mosquitoes will probably not seem so bad after his first Yukon winter.

Hello world!

Hello, I am a crocheter from the Yukon Territory, Canada.  I have two kids and a third on the way as well as two cats and two dogs.  This is primarily a crochet blog with little bits about my life up in the north with my family.