BRRR!

Just in case you can't make it out, it is 28 deg here this evening. It's VERY late, I can't sleep so I'm surfing the Internet and working on my lesson plan for next week. I'm also looking for a new serger so the search web box says Juki Janome. I like the Juki's and Janome's. Models 644D and 634D respectively. They both cost about the same as the estimated repair on the old Elna. The Elna is on craigslist in case someone wants it for parts or to try and trade in on a higher end model..

More weather photos and a story:

This is our little barrel pond where two fishes live. They were here at the house when I moved here in 2002. They were living in a different pond on the side of the house, the previous owners left them but took the pump from the pond. They weren't even an inch long. I rescued them and kept them inside in a bowl for a few years. Then our good friends took them, spoiled them and gave them an aquarium. When they moved to Ohio they gave the fishes back and had named them Finnegan and Beau. We kept them inside for awhile but they kept growing and growing. We had the aquarium right by the TV and it was just too noisy and apparent they were outgrowing their home. I found this pond at Home Depot on clearance and thought they might like to move back outdoors. I'd guess they're now between 4 and 5 inches long. They've enjoyed their new home since late summer. Well, I moved all our citrus trees in pots to the garage where our non existant Winter Car should be. I thought our fishes would be okay because I read they can survive freezing weather. The last few mornings the pond has looked like these photos. There's a piece of screen over it and when I pulled it back Saturday morning I thought a leaf in the top part of the pond was a fishy :-(.
Today we realized it was a leaf! The fish were taking it easy hanging out at the bottom, just as I had read they would do in cold (even freezing) weather. Still, we propped plastic over it and have a few incandescent spotlights near it to keep it a bit warmer (the lights can't fall in the water). They've made it half way through the predicted freakishly cold (For California) so I hope they can last a few more days. I debated on taking them out at night and putting them in a bucket. My hubby thinks that might be harder on them.

I am actually knitting in case anyone is wondering if I ever do that anymore. A friend is having twins (one boy, one girl) so I'm making two little jackets. I'll show you my progress soon! I've also knitted Barbie a pair of pants and a skirt. Before the serger died I was sewing for Esther's preschool and made Barbie a Cinderella dress. .

Yikes! Now Weather.com says it's 27 degrees but feels like 21 degrees! What does that mean anyway! Quite a few of our neighbors are using their fireplaces, so it kind of smells like camping around here. Just as our hot spell last summer this is a minor inconvenience for us, it means a conversation starter amoung friends, pushing potted trees back and forth, covering a fishpond, an uncomfortably high but manageable heating bill due next month. I know there are citrus growers in the Central Valley that are really losing a lot! Fortunatley our bird freinds seem to be weathering the cold. The hummingbirds that visit our feeder and the finches that visit the bird bag I recently hung from our cherry tree have been out every day this week.

Take care all!