The girls and I went to the local library and they are now the proud owners of brand-spanking-new library cards. The number of books you're allowed to loan is unlimited so we've come home with 10 or more on things such as myths, feelings, fun things to do with paint, clothes through the ages, and knitting for dolls. I've decided just to serve dinner on any available horizontal surface since we're covered up with pearls, yarn, hot glue guns, paper, colored pencils, knitting needles and the aforementioned books, not to mention the everpresent hockey game (Sigurd and I are fanatics.) It's winter holiday this week and we're keeping entertained.

Sigurd called us out to the front porch this morning to see two "rådyr" picking their way through the patches of snow and grazing in the field next to the woods. These are smaller than the deer I'm used to seeing in North Carolina. Exquisite creatures. And welcome to whatever vegetation they can find as long as it's not my tulips come spring. Like last year.

I cast on for a shawl tonight... which is in addition to the second of a pair of socks, the second of a pair of gloves (what is it about that second of a pair that defeats me?) and the Poetry in Stitches sweater slumbering in the knitting basket. At the moment the shawl is thinking of being Faroese, with lace insertions around the edge, but earlier tonight it was thinking of being Shetland. We'll see.