Well, after completing my own personal knitting olympics for a holiday knitting list that was really, truly an ode to my poor sense of planning and grandiose intentions (I finished everything except one teensy tiny thing! That I had a back-up gift for, as I kind of planned to fail on that one.), we made our every-other-year pilgrimage to New Jersey where we spent a lovely wintry Christmas with Dan’s family.

After 8 years living in Georgia, I have been amazed to say that it has really been years since I have seen snow. We’ve gotten the occasional quarter inch, and I think once there was a really bad ice storm a few years back, but the kind of snow where you might throw a snowball, or go sledding, or even shovel the walk? We don’t get that here, and it hasn’t snowed once on our annual journeys north. So once we determined that everyone was safe, I was kind of delighted to hear about the record 23.2 inches of snowfall awaiting us in the Philadelphia area.

It didn’t even take that long – driving up, we stopped at a 7-11 in Woodstock, Virginia, and Diesel got to play in this:

We also got to introduce my dad to another Southern delight (though I first tried it in Pittsburgh in the interest of full disclosure) – New Jersey now has Chick-Fil-A, and I was shocked to find out that not only had he never had Chick-Fil-A but he hadn’t had a chicken biscuit at all, ever!

The verdict: he tried to get another the next morning, forgetting my promise that you will never want Chick-Fil-A more than Sunday morning, when they are closed. (Forgive the unflattering picture, but fair is fair. And look, I’m wearing a handknit! Low Tide Ripples in Tosh Worsted Posy.)

And on the drive back, we got a real treat – the restaurant we stopped at for lunch turned out to be directly underneath the giant peach water tower that welcomes you to Gaffney, South Carolina.

Dog and 6’7″ husband included to give you an idea of just how massive this thing is. Turns out it has a name – Peachoid! And it won the 1981 Steel Tank of the Year Award. So, new idea: US road trip to see various Steel Tanks of the Year?

Next post: knitting content, I promise.

Oh and: in case you missed it, the 2010 Yarnathon has begun. All yardage has reset from 2009 – you retain any store credit or prizes you may have earned last year!