The Coldest Spot in the Nation

This is how the Truckee Chamber of Commerce promotes the town on the Visitors/Weather section of  it's web site;  how they think that will entice visitors to come here has always been a mystery to me.  Actually, Truckee isn't the coldest place in the nation in the winter - it's usually pretty mild by Chicago and Buffalo standards.  One doesn't talk of "wind chill factors" as in, " It's 15 degrees with a wind chill factor of minus 20!".  We got this title from USA Today which tracks the coldest and warmest place in the nation every day and in the summer it is not unusual for temperatures to drop into the 30's at night, and be back up into the 80's during the day.  Truckee seems to be the town with the most consistent cold temperatures in the summer and, thus, the title.

When I made my Over-The-Top Shawl by Kristin Nicholas I was thinking of those cool (ha! cold) summer nights when we go to concerts, plays and other outdoor events.  Kristin's Julia yarn is 50% wool, 25% alpaca and 25% mohair and this shawl is a delight to wear.  So warm and cozy.  It may look complicated to make, but if you are comfortable with Fair Isle or two handed knitting, it is really pretty easy.  Knit Picks has a good You Tube video on Fair Isle Knitting called Stranded Colorwork - English and Continental.   More about this project on a previous post if you want to take a look.

Meanwhile, I think we may be aiming for the title of  "Snowiest (is that a word?) town in the nation".  It has been snowing here since last Friday with more to come - lots of great skiing, snowboarding and snow shoveling!!  Here is a picture of our Weber grill on the back deck: