Woolly Bear

This is the time of year you can find Woolly Bears, AKA Woolly Worms. They have also be called a Hedgehog Caterpillar because of how they will curl into a ball and play dead when disturbed. Despite the name, they are not worms at all. Woolly worms are actually caterpillars that turn into an “Isabella Tiger Moth”.

While we were taking a walk the other day I looked down and saw this little fella.

According folklore, the woolly worm can predict the severity of the Winter coming. But wait, there are actually two versions to this story. 

The first one says that the woolly indicates how severe the Winter will be by looking at the color bands on its coat. The longer the black bands are the more cold and snowy the Winter will be.  On the other hand the wider the brown band in the center means a mild Winter. 

The other version of the Folklore is to depend on the direction it is crawling. If it is crawling Southerly, It is escaping a cold wintery conditions from the North. So if the caterpillar is crawling a Northern path, it is expected to have a mild winter. 

If you see one that is all black, do not think we will have a Winter apocalypse. This type of worm is not even related to the woolly worm.

The popularity of the woolly bear caterpillar has resulted in several festivals honoring them. Not far from me, in Banner Elk North Carolina, they have a woolly worm festival every year 3rd weekend in October. They have worm races all day until they crown a champion at the end of the day and declare the official winter forecast. 

According to the little woolly booger I found, It looks like we will have a mild Winter because of the smaller black bands. 

He was crawling West, but I think he was just lost.  

Blessed Walk

It has rained so much here in the Carolina's that I'm thinking of starting a rice garden.

When we see a speck of sunshine we throw on our tennis shoes and take off for a quick walk. That's exactly what we did. I had just came in from work, and sat down to dinner. It was ten til six when I finished eating and the sun was still out just a little. In other words, It was not raining at that moment. I asked Nick if he'd like to take a walk. He said, "sure", as he has never turned down a chance to go for a walk.

We enjoy walking through the neighborhood and around the creek. We will nickname the neighbors we do not know and make up names for the squirrels, owls, chipmunks and cats we see wondering around from time to time.

As we walk, we like to talk about our day, the news and what's going on with friends and family. He will even listen to me talk about blog stories I read. We also laugh and joke with each other along the way.

This walk was not as warm as it looked from the window. I barely dressed for the occasion and forgot my toboggan, so we made this walk a quick one. One direction the cold breeze would cut through my ears and throat, while in a different directions the sun was warm on my skin. I was complaining a lot about the cold and just wanted to go in. I do not like being out in weather colder than my age.

Half way through our walk, I looked down and saw a little card laying in the middle of the road. The floral print is what caught my eye. Nick rolled his eyes as he does not like me to pick things up I find. "I need to pick this up", I suggested. "It has a little Bible verse on it". It was like someone had dropped it just for me to find.

The other side had a little prayer on it. I slipped it in the waistband of my spandex leggings and headed home. It was a little blessing and made me feel guilty from complaining about the weather. Despite all the rain we have been having lately, It's being poured on us for a reason and we need to accept and find happiness in everything God has blessed us with.

This little card now hangs on the board beside my desk at work.

Oversized Crochet Sweater

So far we have had a pretty mild Winter here in North Carolina. We had one snow fall back in December that slowed the city down for a day and that's it. Our average temperatures for January have been in the 50's. However, we have had a lot of rain. I think it has rained almost every day since August with only a few peeks of sunshine. The grounds here are saturated and cars are dirty. I’m beginning to feel like I live in a mud hole.

Though it has been rather warm around here for now, I believe Winter will finally hit us in February. Looking back, February is the month we have always had our biggest snows. I do not like being out in temperatures lower than my age. I also do not like wearing layers of clothes and I am not a fan of coats. I’d rather wear light sweaters. Speaking of sweaters, with a cold spell in mind, I’m sucking it up and decided to take a shot at making my own crochet sweater.

I limited my crocheting to only an hour a night since this project was for me and there was no rush. It was more enjoyable not having a deadline and just work on it a little each night while watching. Six skeins of yarn and a few nights later, I had made my very first sweater. Something I can actually wear. 

It was crocheted using a double crochet stitch in five sections with added crocheted ribbing to each; two front half panels, one back panel and two sleeves. 

Then sewn all together. There were times I thought I was creating a monster because it just seemed so big! I’m used to crocheting little things.

At first I thought it was too heavy and bulky, but after a regular cold wash in the washing machine and tumbled dry, It turned out soft and comfy. 

This sweater can be worn alone or as a pull over with a shirt underneath. I love the tunic length and the puffy sleeves. 

If there was anything I could go back and change (which actually I could but I’m too lazy) is to make the neck a little bigger so it would hang off the shoulders. This sweater will be perfect for the cold weather that could possibly arrive next month. 

There is no printed pattern for this sweater. I actually found a video tutorial online and wrote the instructions down. If you would like to make this sweater, you can find the tutorial video HERE. 

Yarn- Acrylic

Color- Silver Mist

Brand- I love this Yarn

Mug- Gift from Nutrisystem

Nail Color- Strawberry Latte (gel)