I finished the experimental slipper socks.
The "experimental" part consisted of placing the foot decreases at the top, rather than the sides. This resulted in a little wonkiness, with the front of the cuff riding up higher than the back. 
Demolition has started on the building that burned. My gut still feels a little tight when I look at it. It's cold and bright and dry today, and even from a block away there's still a tang of burnt wood in the air.
The new coffee shop is open, just outside of the cordoned off area. The owner was feeling almost as if she should have closed "out of respect", but I think the community needs a place to be able to drop in, and talk, and start picking up threads.
We had a very lovely Christmas. The best part was having our dear daughter home for several relaxed days, and her very nice fellow joining us for dinner at "the in-laws next door" on Christmas Day.
So who needs gifts? But the gifts are nice, too, and these are some of my favorites.
Clockwise from top left: two adorable little hand knit sheep ornaments (Fair Trade from SERVE, Int.), a sweet print by an artist named Joan Arnold, Double Knitting by M'Lou Baber, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, and a calendar with pictures of cats wearing hats. I'd say that the family knows my (occasionally quirky) tastes pretty well.
It's worth clicking to make this bigger. The faces are so charming.
After flipping through various lace books, I think my first shawl for the "10 in 2010" will be rectangular, using the "Celandine" pattern from Mariannne Kinzel's first book, probably in sport weight or heavier.
Early Monday morning, a building downtown burned. Sadly, there were four people inside and none made it out alive. I didn't know any of them personally, but in a town this small you are never far removed. I know a sister, a cousin, and have an acquaintance with parents. My heart aches for them all.
The building is a total loss.
It's a wonder that the fire didn't spread farther, as it started sometime before 3:30 am.; but our part time police officer happened to be on duty and spotted the smoke and called the volunteer fire department. The guys were there in five minutes, with crews from surrounding towns arriving shortly after. God bless every one of them.
As it is, most of the downtown is blocked off.
There's yellow police tape running all the way around two blocks on either side of Main Street/Hwy 78 to re-route traffic, because there's some concern that the burnt building might collapse.
This makes it hard on the businesses in that area, though the ones at the ends are accessible and open, as I discovered today by stepping over the police tape near the bank. It might all be rather adventurous if no one had died. I really wish no one had died.
