The Olympics, BW, and Me

Olympic fever is upon us. I'm increasingly cynical about the whole thing--the IOC with its perks and priorities, the politics, the advertising--I could go on. Then somehow, I pull it up on my screen and I'm mesmerized. This marks the first Olympics here in Canada when the entire thing can be watched live for free sans TV. I'm watching on the CBC's website and now and then via its mobile app. Very liberating for one such as I without cable or satellite TV. (It's not that we actually "unplugged"; the truth is that we were never really plugged in at all. When we lived in the US, we watched network TV over the air before things went digital, and when we moved back to Canada we couldn't quite get ourselves to shuck out the money for TV, given the shift away from quality content to reality TV programming.)
So, here I am watching the figure skating team competition. Just me, a pair of dpns, a couple of balls of Rowen Felted Tweed DK, and Barbara Walker's first two treasuries. Seems like the perfect time for some swatching.

The Treasuries must be every designer's desert island books. Or in my case, bathtub books. They're not beautifully photographed--just black and white--but they are the largest, best collection of stitch patterns in existence. Endless entertainment and food for inspiration.
It seems that my fear that there would be no "winter" for the winter games was without foundation. We could really use a little less of it here. I don't think there's been a day without flurries for months. Every time we look outdoors, snowflakes are drifting down and we heave a collective sigh. James is getting good use out of his birthday knits, as you can see.

Here he is shoveling a path between our compost bin and the gate to the street. Too bad there's no Olympics for snow shoveling. Canada would be at the top of the podium for sure!