all kinds of count downs

photos are from the week before last when we ventured out into the cold for roughly seven minutes before our ears started to freeze.

chugging on to february and it's still cold.  i've found a lot of freedom from frustration by no longer allowing myself to feel entitled to doing things.  is that sad?  probably.  whatever, it makes the serendipitous moments of entertainment all the more enjoyable for now.  besides, in-climate weather apparently cut the chicago murder rate in half briefly.  frosty silver lining?

the groundhog saw his shadow in pennsylvania a couple days ago, which in these parts usually signifies roughly 12 more weeks of winter. still, when "leaving the house for reasons other than sustainable income and survival nourishment" is a rare treat, and when you find yourself saying "goodness me, eighteen degrees has never felt so warm," you start to look for light at the end of the tunnel.

having perfected the art of making chili, and having knitted enough things to start googling carpel tunnel syndrome, i'm thinking it might be time to make an excess of decorative paper count-down chains.  we've got so much (matrimony) to look forward to, and hey, all the trees look dead already!  when life hands you frozen lemons make kindergarten crafts (and a supplementary lemon drop will probably take the edge off too).

so how much paper are we going to need?  hmmm... let's make a list of the biggies:

sarah's bachelorette party in san diego: 87 days

paige's wedding in iron mountain:  95 days

sarah's wedding in ann arbor:  137 days

[insert ambiguous number here to signify our move]

our wedding in gull lake:  221 days

our honeymoon in greece: 224 days

hope everyone else has fun on the horizon!

bits and pieces (snow and cats)

so we are literally buried in snow right now.  like dig your car out to get to work, dodge falling trees, and let jesus take the wheel when you're driving, buried in snow.  the photos are misleadingly tame looking.  this is some extreme IRT weather.

as a result steve and i were cooped up inside last night so we ordered in delivery for dinner and i busted out the sewing machine steve bought me for christmas.  bert had an absolute field day and would not let me get at my pretty linen fabric until i distracted him with the elastic.  i'll post more about the skirt i made soon, but i want to shorten it a bit first.

speaking of honeybooboobear (ok i give my cat creepy nicknames) he and his bff are about to be separated.  my sister and roommate is moving across the country next week and bert is about to be very lonely (and me too)! my sister's cat erwin is bert's homeboy and boyfriend.  hopefully steve and i can shake off the snow and move somewhere where they can be reunited for play dates more easily.