Let's talk about the weather

Something seems to be missing from Seattle's 5-day forecast.

I lived in Japan for a year right after I got my BA. I thought that interacting with another culture, and especially learning another language, would give me deep insights. It sort of did, and the real learning moment came after I learned enough Japanese to generally understand what the conversations around me were about, if not the finer details. One day I realized that everyone talked about the weather. All the time. Really. When I was 23, I thought that was apallingly mundane, but now (after almost 6 years in another temperate maritime climate) I realize that weather is really that important.

Our weekend has been all about weather. We had a lot of wind on Saturday, which means the entire household stood at the window, watching the cedar trees blow back and forth and trying to figure out if they'd smash into our house if they fell. Happily, only a few branches came down. We had to put off going to the OLA (off-leash area) until late afternoon, when we decided that steadily mounting insanity of the dogs was a greater danger than being bonked by a tree at Northacres.

In knitting news, I wrangled the fair isle vest stitches back onto the needles, and made some baby sweater progress. I coerced Kristin into going to Village Yarn and Tea with me. I got some Rowan Felted Tweed in red for eventual socks, and Kristin somehow didn't buy anything.

Today, we ignored the Super Bowl, and instead watched Puppy Bowl II on Animal Planet. This year it featured the exciting new (water) Bowl-Cam, and the kitty half-time show. We may have to buy the DVD. There's something incredibly relaxing about watching puppies play.

I made a swatch for the Clock Vest. I even washed and blocked it. Okay, I only did it because it was 5.5 sts/inch without washing, but I was convinced that size 6 was the right needle size. It is, as this very blurry photo shows. 25 stitches, 5 inches - perfecto.