I did this last year, too, and had such fun looking back, I thought I’d do this again for 2006. (Besides, it’s really handy for future reference!)

• Started the ABC-Along .
• Celebrated De-Lurking, which will begin in 2007 on January 8, by the way.
• Joined the Anti-Stashalong.
• Joined the Knitting Olympics and bought yarn with Risa.
• Had a Button contest.
• Finished my Jaywalkers.
• Actually went into Manhattan . . . a rare, rare thing for me.
• Participated in the Blogger’s Silent Poetry Reading.
• Got a bad haircut (well, drastic).
• Offered you all a pattern for a lace neck-warmer.
• Started the Olympics.
• Waited for my Dad to drive home from Florida when the airport closed for snow.
• Finished the Olympics.
• Had a play date with Risa and exchanged my left-over Olympic yarn.
• Got my Gold Medal.
• Finished my Lotus Blossom shawl.
• Started my Peacock Stole (in March).
• Another fun play day–with Yarn-Buying–with Risa.
• Got just a little sick…. (okay, more than a little).
• Finished my Not-So-Shrunken Cardigan–in my handspun!
• Flashed my Stash.
• Had Liz and Shelley come for the weekend (Woohoo!)
• Finally joined the 21st century, musically-speaking, and bought an MP3 player.
• Took Chappy to the town’s dog park opening.
• Joined the Amazing Lace, although I didn’t win any of the “challenges.”
• Left for our annual vacation to Martha’s Vineyard. More here, here, here, and here.
• Another fun yarn-shopping day with Risa WITH the bonus of meeting Wendy!
• Joined the Summer of Stash.
• Got my box from my Knitter’s Tea Pal, Lu.
• Posted my Library, including the winner I had for my guess-my-L contest.
• Provided a nice size reference for Chappy.
• Took Chappy visiting to Risa’s where he almost went into a pool!
• Finished my Celtic Dreams sweater.
• Started a Web Ring for Martha’s Vineyard lovers.
• Spent a rare day with my best and oldest friend.
• Joined Sundara’s Petals Collection sock club.
• Celebrated Chappy’s birthday with the family.
• Celebrated Chappy’s actual, fifth birthday.
• Celebrated Chappy’s birthday with friends.
• Finished the first half of my Peacock Stole.
• Helped Chappy with his sore back.
• Got another haircut, better this time.
• Took Chappy back to the vet for his back.
• Finished my Green Gable, which I ended up giving to my niece.
• Sorta, kinda, dented the garage door.
• Finished my two baby sweaters for my brother-in-law’s coming niece.
• Started participating in Eye Candy Friday.
• Took Chappy down to Liz’s house for the weekend–lots of romping and laughter with her and Shelley and our dogs.
• Got my spinning mojo recharged.
• Examined different kinds of yarn skeiners, after having drooled over Liz’s.
• Got my spinning Yarn Aboard box, filled with some beautiful stuff–including cashmere!
• Stayed home while Mom went to MV without me.
• Took Chappy to the vet for a cold and a recurring staph infection.
• Celebrated Chappy’s anniversary.
• Honored a much more solemn anniversary.
• Finished another sweater.
• And another solemn anniversary (five years, already??).
• Put my Kiwi up for sale.
• Went to a NJ fiber festival with Risa.
• Finished spinning 3-ply sock yarn (woo!)
• Showed off some of Chappy’s tricks.
• Had a great hair day. (That may be my favorite picture of myself ever.)
• Finished–finally!–my Peacock Stole. (It only took 7 months.)
• Started my Fall vacation AND got my sock-knitting Yarn Aboard box.
• Took my YA box out for a great day, exploring Liberty State Park.
• Finished my very first, ever, felted bag–which I also designed myself.
• Had Liz come for the weekend….
• For the biggest congregation of a whack of knitters I’ve ever seen. Plus Blogger Bingo!
• Got stuck with yet another cold–though not nearly as badly as Mom got it.
• Suffered through one more Halloween. (Note the video of Chappy’s doorbell routine.)
• Started another Contest, one which exploded a lot further than I ever expected–the Calendar Contest
• Celebrated entering a new Decade . . . with flowers!
• Got a new wheel. A Majacraft Little Gem 2.
• Had another contest for my 5000th comment (a number which still blows my mind).
• Renewed my Driver’s license . . . after three tries.
• Had another fun, play date–spinning this time, with Risa and Jessica–and got to try my own yarn skeiner!
• My Dad had a bad week….
• Went craft-shopping with Risa, her Mom, the twins, and my Mom.
• Survived another Stollen Day.
• Got my Knit and Dish recipe cards from Amanda.
• Had another drastic haircut, and finished my handspun, handknit socks.
• Got a Woolee Winder for my new wheel.
• Finished the ABC-along–which I entirely enjoyed.
• Played with the Christmas lights.
• Gloated. Of course.
• Celebrated Christmas.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Year in Review // 11 Comments »

Here’s a recap of my year of reading–my favorites from 2006. This includes new-to-me books–102 of them in total– whether they were newly published in 2006 or not. And not counting re-reads. Oh, and I read 300 books this year, exactly. Thirty fewer than last year . . . I wonder how that happened?

FICTION:

• THE LIADEN UNIVERSE COMPANION, Volume 1 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (292 p).
• CONJURER’S BIRD by Martin Davies (384 p).
• INAMORATA by Joseph Gangemi (319 p.)
• MYTH OF YOU AND ME by Leah Stewart (276 p.)
• A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby (331 p.)
• PLAINSONG by Kent Haruf (301 p.)
• A YEAR DOWN YONDER by Richard Peck (130 p.) (So what if it’s a YA book, it’s excellent)
• OWL AND MOON CAFE by Jo-Ann Mapson (352 p.)
• THE FOURTH BEAR by Jasper Fforde (377 p.)
• UNDER ORDERS by Dick Francis (308 p.) (Well, let’s encourage the guy after a 6-year hiatus)
• LOCKED ROOMS by Laurie R. King (485 p.)
• THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfiel (406 p.)

NON-FICTION:

• THE GRAND IDEA by Joel Achenbach (300 p). I wrote all about this book on January 5th.
• THE CHILDREN’S BLIZZARD by David Laskin (271 p).
• TWO SIDES OF THE MOON by David Scott and Alexei Leonev (390 p.)
• 102 MINUTES by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (276 p.)
• KNITTING RULES by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (218 p.)
• FIRST AMERICAN by H.W. Brands (716 p.)
• CESAR’S WAY by Cesar Millan (275 p.) (Though, I still prefer clicker training)
• LEARNING TO BOW by Bruce Feiler (312 p.)
• MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS: THE QUEST OF DR. PAUL FARMER, A MAN WHO WOULD CURE THE WORLD by Tracy Kidder (301 p.)
• THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (331 p.)
• FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG by Patricia McConnell (288 p.)
• ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION by Temple Grandin (308 p.)
• DIVIDED BY GOD by Noah Feldman (251 p.)
• INGENIOUS PURSUITS by Lisa Jardine (386 p.)
• FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS by H.G. Bissinger (367 p.)

And to recap the monthly lists themselves:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Favorite Books from 2006 // 4 Comments »

Pretty much says it all, huh? Spinning my pretty, mystery roving on my cool new toy . . .

Oh, well, I made blueberry pancakes this morning, and Mom, my niece and I took Chappy out for a walk, but otherwise, this and reading, pretty much it for me today.

Mom, Dad, and I just came back from dinner, and are in for the night. No fancy-schmancy New Year’s festivities for us! If we’re up, Chappy and I will celebrate the coming in of the new year in our time-honored fashion . . . putting up the new calendar on the wall at midnight. Chappy’s excited about that–I got him a Snoopy “art” calendar for Christmas. He just adores Snoopy–him and Gromit are Chappy’s heros.

Happy new year, everyone!

Added: Oh, and mystery solved! This pretty roving came from Kae at Faerieladyfibers. Thank you, Kae! (Psst–and go wish her a happy birthday–it was on Thursday.)

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:What I Did Today. // 3 Comments »

Here’s the “Pre-Phantom” picture, taken when Mom and I met my niece and her Dad at the bus stop–just before they went on their way. Don’t they look happy?? My sister wisely stayed home with her knock-her-flat cold rather than doing the two-hour drive here and back. I hope she at least had a cup of tea . . . together in spirit!

They weren’t the only ones to have fun, though–Chappy got to meet Lucy, the new puppy across the street. She’s a Labradoodle (that’s a Labrador mixed with a Poodle) and five months old. Oddly, my 5-year old boy was more interested in playing than she was! She was cute though–and soft–though no real comparison to Chappy. (Naturally.)

He did find some playmates, though–Risa’s twins–who found Chappy’s toy basket fascinating….

….Right up until we put a movie in the DVD player. We watched “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc” (plus the “new car” short). Then we watched Wallace & Gromit’s “A Close Shave” with sheep and wool and knitting (so Risa and I were happy).

By then, Kat was pretty tired. Unlike her brother, who “stayed up” to watch “Remington Steele” with his Mom and me.

Oh yeah, Chappy watched, too . . . at least for a little while. Then all he wanted to do was nap! But really, we had a great time. As usual! Though, for the first time in my experience, Risa declined coffee–she had some before lunch, but wasn’t interested afterward. Such a surprise!

We also exchanged holiday gifts–two crafty books off my wishlist! Woohoo! Really nice ones, too. The extremely-handy “Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns” so I’ll basically have a pattern for anything I ever want to knit–hats, mittens, gloves, etcetera. I already have the sweater-version, so this is great. And “The Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Techniques” which is just . . . nifty. I haven’t embroidered in years, but I still love it.

Oh? What’s that? The box they’re sitting on? Welll . . .

That would be my “new” Journey Wheel. The one I couldn’t resist buying when Risa decided to put hers up for sale. So. Cool. (And, Risa? No, there’s no yarn on the bobbins–just the headers.)

Oh, and I thought yesterday’s was the last “good” mail day of the year? Well,  was wrong. Not only did my Vogue Knitting come today (though, really, “good” may be stretching it a bit . . . although I suppose there are a couple decent patterns in there). But better than that–a new lower drive band for my Little Gem, all the way from New Zealand. I had emailed Majacraft that the lower band kept slipping, and Glynis told me that it may have stretched, and should be cut and heat-fused back together . . . not really an option around our mostly-tool-free household. I thanked her, and figured I’d order a replacement from some Maja dealer . . . but, now I don’t have to. She sent me one–a complete surprise. I just love when people do NICE things. Obviously, I’m ending the year right, huh?

Last but not least, some beautiful Sky for Sandy. Taken yesterday morning on the way to work. (Trust me–much more interesting than the flat-gray sky we had here all day.) Mornings like these? It’s SO worth risking being a couple minutes late to work!

Okay, Mom just called from the bus stop in town, and Dad should be coming back with them any minute–so, gotta go!

Have a good night, everyone–and Happy New Year!

• Tags: Family, Friends, Sky • Permalink:Sociable Saturday // 14 Comments »

I’m ending this year right, with a very good mail day.

Because, look what I got! An RAOK braid of really lovely Falkland wool roving in such pretty colors. Yellows and golds primarily, with hints of rose. Beautiful.

Don’t believe me? Look how great it goes with my bedroom. (It does a great imitation of a duck, too, don’t you think? Not just any roving can manage that, you know.)

The bad part? I have no idea who sent this to me! Well, okay, I cut the return address off the box, but the name is blurred. The street address doesn’t match anyone in the Fiber RAOK database. And the paper inside just said “RAOK” with a note to regift it to somebody else if I didn’t like it. (Fat chance–I think it’s gorgeous.) All of which makes it really hard to actually TELL the person “thank you,” so for the moment, this post will just have to do. Because, thank you!

And then, I got these lovely little pieces from Etsy–apparently just in time, because the “shop” says she’s travelling in Asia just now and will be back in January . . . whew! A copper necklace and almost-matching copper earrings. I do love the shine of copper–I love the color of it (which looks so good with my hair and skin tone). I also love its relative inexpensiveness in regards to jewelry. (As opposed to, say, cookware, where it’s anything but!)

Wasn’t it nice of the new roving to help model them for me? I think I might change the chain for the necklace, though. It LOOKS lovely, but it feels . . . heavy. I don’t know if it’s the weight of the pendant, or the length, or the texture, but . . . something keeps making me tweak it, adjust it, as it lays on my neck. It’s a great length, though.

I got to leave the office an hour early today, too–as a New Year’s treat (and since it was practically a ghost town in there anyway), everyone got to leave one hour earlier than usual. Chappy was thrilled to have an extra hour of “Mommy.” Especially since I decided to use it to make a cup of tea, which meant he got a biscuit. (I always figure that if I’m treating myself, why shouldn’t he get something, too?)

Tomorrow, of course, you already know my Mom’s going to see Phantom with my niece. My sister and I decided to take a raincheck because she’s really dragging from her cold. (My suggestion, by the way–there are “colds” and then there are “COLDS,” and you just don’t mess with the latter. She needs her rest.) I’ll have a fun day, anyway, though, since Risa and the twins are coming over for a visit. I even thought of a way we could spend some time in the family room, with the DVD player, just as soon as I block off the hearth-with-breakables. I bet Chappy wouldn’t mind sharing his toys, either…. Good thing we have baby gates, huh?

I still can’t believe it’s the end of the year . . . the weather alone! It was almost 50 degrees again here, today. A far, far cry from Colorado, getting socked with its second blizzard in a week . . . if this is what they’re doing for Christmas and New Year’s, I shudder to think how the city will celebrate Valentine’s Day, or Martin Luther King Day, or . . .

Oh, and speaking of New Year’s, I don’t usually DO New Year’s Resolutions, but I suppose in this case, I can make an exception:

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Get an invisible friend. Get your resolution here.

(Seen over at Sharon Lee‘s blog.)

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Uncategorized, Weather • Permalink:Last Mail Call! // 9 Comments »

I have Eye-Candy with a Story today.

It starts back in 1987, when I was spending a college semester in London. Phantom of the Opera was all the rage, THE must-see show. Lots of my classmates had gone ane raved about it, so I decided that I had to see it. Tickets were incredibly hard to come by, of course, but they had the handy, student-price offer of “extra” tickets that you could stand on line for . . . um, excuse me, queue up for on the day of the performance.

So, on December 3rd, after my classes had finished for the day, I walked by the theater and paused to think. “Is it too early to get on line? Should I go get something hot to drink and come back?” While I stood there pondering, another American student came up behind me and asked, “Is this the queue?” Thinking quickly, I planted my feet and said, “Yes!” (and I’m first!). Over the next four hours or so, we became chummy with each other and the people in line behind us. We’d hold each others’ spots while we ran to a nearby McDonalds for bathroom breaks or quick snacks. And when the box office opened at 6:00, we were right there, all ready to go. We all got our tickets (I opted for first row balcony rather than the orchestra seating–I like the bird’s eye view of musicals), and then six or ten of us all went somewhere or other for dinner.

Well, the show. I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t heard any of the music, none of the plot. I’d never seen any of the horror versions of the story. All I knew was that it was supposed to be amazingly good, and what little I could infer from the pictures outside the theater. Need I say that I was blown away? When that chandelier came to life during the opening, I knew it was going to be amazing. I loved every minute of it. You can say what you like about Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah Brightman, and everyone, but . . . wow. What a spectacle.

A few days later, I called home to say hello . . . but also to ask, was the soundtrack out in the U.S. yet? The show wasn’t due to open on Broadway until January, but it was possible it would be out early . . . no? You’re sure, I asked? Nope. Not available anywhere Mom had seen. So I bought a copy. A double vinyl LP, which I packed oh-so-carefully into my suitcase before coming home. And which I listened to–for the first time–while I was unpacking, and chattering away a mile a minute about my trip, about London, about my classes, how much I’d missed everyone . . .

But, meanwhile, I’d also told Mom on the phone not to delay, but to get tickets for Phantom on Broadway as soon as possible. Not to wait until the show opened. It was amazing, she’d love it–hurry! But what with one thing and another, it wasn’t until the show opened and the rave reviews were out that she called Ticketmaster, and so was the proud owner of three tickets in the top, back balcony . . . in September. Right at the beginning of the next school year in fact–but that was okay. It was worth the wait, and we saw it in New York with the original cast–including Michael Crawford, which was great. I’d had the soundtrack long-since memorized, and was excited to hear the “real” Phantom.

Years passed. I still listened to the soundtrack. I had my magic mug (which has a mask which magically appears when you fill the mug with hot liquids). I had my souvenir book to look through from time to time. And then my friend Cindy said she’d never seen it. Cindy, who loves Broadway
AND Opera. Well, I couldn’t let that last! So for a combo Christmas/birthday gift one year, I got her a ticket. She, Mom and I went into the city, had great seats in the Orchestra, and well . . . even without Michael Crawford, it was still amazing. The music style was maybe a little too 1980s, but still. Great fun.

There was a long lull there, for a while . . . I didn’t have the soundtrack on CD, so couldn’t listen to it in the car anymore. The movie version–while beautiful to look at–was disappointing in its musical ability. Not horrible, but, well . . . no comparison to seeing it live in the theater.

Why am I telling you all this now? Because tomorrow, on Saturday, my Mom and my niece are going, as a Christmas present. They’re going to love it.

And, at least, I can listen to it in the car again. I found the soundtrack–the original London theater recording–at Your Music for only $11.98. I’ve got that organ cadence pounding through my ear right now…. You know the one. Dummmmmmm …….. Dum da dum da dummmm……. da da dum dum dummmmmmm . . . dum da dum da dummmmm….

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Phantom // 8 Comments »

I bought some roving from Dudley Spinner, who’s having a give-Ebay-the-boot sale until January 15th. Aren’t the greens lovely? I can’t wait to see how it spins up, but of course, it’s got to wait its turn….

I’m glad it came today, though, because otherwise I wouldn’t have much to show you. I went to work today, sat at my desk, yadda yadda.

Although–wowzer, did you see Stephanie’s post? Seventy-three hours for greatness. We knitters are SUCH a force for good in the world, especially with such leaders as she, Wendy, Cara and all the others promoting worthy charities on their blogs.

I also DID hear from my best friend today. I haven’t heard a whisper since we saw each other on Friday, but, well, it was Christmas–busy family things, schedules, and so on. So I didn’t think anything of it. But, apparently, her brother’s family all came down with a stomach virus/flu something or other. Including the 17-month old twins. One of whom ended up in the hospital with dehydration so bad he actually had a seizure, poor little guy! So she’s been really busy being an extraordinarily good aunt/sister and helping with the sick boys while their sick parents were, well, also sick. NOT a fun vacation. Add that to the fact her other brother never did make it to New Jersey from Colorado because of the flight delays from last week’s blizzard . . . which may be just as well, since another one is coming. Really, her visits home for Christmas tend not to be very relaxing–last time, she ended up planning and throwing an entire party for her parents, her family, their friends…. She’s going to be glad to go home to California tomorrow. I just sincerely hope she doesn’t take any of these germs home with her.

The funny thing, though, was that I was thinking about her on my drive home at lunch today. “Gee, I haven’t heard from Dawn, and she’s leaving tomorrow. That’s unusual. I wonder if she’ll call before she leaves? Maybe I should call her, although they’re probably busy at her brother’s house, what with the twins and all…” I got home, parked the car, walked in the door . . . and Mom was on the phone with Dawn. She’d tried calling at the office and got my voicemail, realized it was lunchtime, and called the house while I was on the way . . . You know, really, I knew that!

Speaking of sick, my nephew and sister are dealing with their colds–a particularly bad one. My sister spent most of yesterday sleeping, which is entirely unlike her especially when the kids are home from school. I’m thinking that we should cancel/postpone our coffee-tea outing on Saturday. She’d be much better off staying home and letting my brother-in-law drive my niece down on Saturday morning. There are normal colds, and then there are the kind that knock you flat on your back for days . . . you don’t mess with the second kind!

And, for your viewing pleasure, a look at the pretty sky I drove through on my way to work yesterday morning. As much as I like sleeping until the sun is actually up in the morning, I have to admit, catching part of a sunrise–even if the sun IS just above the horizon when I get there–is worth it. Skies like this are so worth the viewing.

---

Booking Through Thursday

1. Any New Year’s Reading Resolutions? A certain number of books you
   want to read in 2007? Certain genres? Something from your TBR pile?
   Classics to read? Authors to try? Anything at all??

This question is easy for me . . . Nope! I don’t “do” New Year’s Resolutions. I have nothing against them, but especially where reading is concerned, I read what I read, whatever comes up, and I try to keep a decent variety in the selection, so . . . what comes, comes!

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Sky • Permalink:Dudley Do-Right // 5 Comments »

What with all this other stuff I’ve been talking about lately–Christmas, Gloating, Spinning . . . all that stuff–I’d hate for you to think that I don’t actually knit any more.

Because, I DO.

See? Here’s the back of my Celtic Icon sweater–mostly done. I’ve got the raglan shaping done, but need to work the cable pattern all the way up for another 18″ for the hood.

It still seems really long, but the measurements do pretty much match what the schematic states, so I guess it will be okay. I goofed, actually, on the raglan shaping. I was decreasing on every other row, but I should have done that for 12 more rows than I did–until I had 6 stitches left on either side of the cable panel–but I miscalculated and shifted gears when I had 12 on either side. I don’t think it will really matter, though, as long as I match the shaping on the front sections and the arms . . . right? (I hope!) Or maybe I’ll choose to tear out the last 14 rows . . .

And here’s the beginning of my Tatami Kimono. It looks tiny, I know, like it couldn’t possibly be wide enough to be the back of a sweater. But in fact, when laid flat, the size is about right–and of course, when I drop the stitches, it will be even wider. It just looks small.

But, this is my handspun yarn, too–that raspberry cream yarn from last month. It’s just so pretty!

There are my socks, too, in Socks That Rock “Harlotty,” but I don’t have a picture for you. They’re downstairs in my purse and I just don’t have the energy to go get them. Between my office Christmas party last week, the movie with my friend on Friday, and Gloating Day, though, they’re coming along nicely. Just about at–or within 1/2″ anyway–of turning the heel. Lovely colors!

Now, those puppies I told you about?? Bonnie actually posted pictures. Go gush over those adorable fuzzy little faces. Really–they are so worth the trip. She has all sorts of nice things to say about Chappy, too, so naturally, I like this post a lot (grin).

I was sorry, this morning, to hear about Gerald Ford. I was only, what, eight, when he became President, so national/world politics weren’t exactly my main interest at the time, but I remember always liking him–and what I’ve learned of him later on, as an adult, has not given me any cause to change my mind. He came across as a genuinely good man, and I’ve always been sorry that that pardon of Nixon doomed his attempt at reelection in 1976. Nixon was guilty, sure, but I think Ford was wise not to let a Presidential legal trial drag the country any further than Watergate already had. It wasn’t about letting Nixon get off, it was about doing what was right for the country–letting it heal. Which is what his presidency was all about, I think. And certainly, that’s what all the news outlets have been saying today. (Oh, and I loved his line describing that he was a simple fellow, not necessarily a “grand” President. “Remember, I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln.” Love that double-entendre there!

I think it’s pretty nifty that he was the oldest living President–having beaten out Ronald Reagan by one month in age. And I think it’s further pretty nifty that it took to the very end of the 20th century before any President beat John Adams out for that. You’d think that with all the medical advances, some one of them would have gotten past good ol’ cantankerous John with his reliance on 18th/19th century medicine. But John Adams has always been one of my favorites . . . I don’t mind in the least that Gerald Ford beat him out. Great wife, too–Betty Ford, that is, but then, so was Abigail Adams.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Evidence of Knitting // 5 Comments »

Well, it’s like Christmas all over again–my Sundara Yarn Petals Collection installment arrived. The color, based on the Lenten Rose which I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of, is like a dark gray with a purple overtone . . . kind of like that merino/silk roving I’m spinning.

I’m not so crazy about the pattern, though. I don’t like wearing lacy socks, as a rule, and anyway, I don’t like knitting top-down socks–which is one of the reasons I haven’t knitted the last two Petals Collection installments yet. It’s not that I can’t convert the patterns to toe-up . . . I CAN . . . but who’s had the time to do so?

Anyway, the yarn is lovely, but, um, yeah . . . it’s going to be a different pattern when it becomes socks.

I also got this–which I no longer need. The replacement keychain, unnecessary since I found the bead and screw of my original the other night. But who cares? Having backup is GOOD!

Really, it’s been a quiet day today. The office was closed (we always get two days for Christmas), and I puttered around the house. Took Chappy for a walk. Finished my bobbin of merino/silk which I’ll ply in the next day or so . . . nothing dramatic or exciting, but nice.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Petal-Pushers // 6 Comments »

Here’s a picture of Chappy from first thing this morning, while he waited (mostly patiently) for permission to check out the presents under the tree.

I say “mostly” patiently because he DID go over and sniff at all of them (especially a couple of the more-interesting smelling ones . . . like bags of dog biscuits from Martha’s Vineyard) . . . but he managd to restrain himself from tearing into the presents until we gave him the go-ahead.

Well, okay, he needed a couple of reminders that we weren’t ready yet. My favorite was when I told him, “We’re waiting for Grandma,” and he plumped himself down on the rug with a sigh, as if he was saying, “But she’ll NEVER get here!”

Boy, this sure reminds me of Christmases when I was little. My Mom’s parents would come visiting and we’d have to wait for them to get up and come upstairs before we were allowed to open any gifts . . . I tell you, my grandparents were lovely people, but boy, on Christmas morning, they were SLOW.

He really does love opening presents, though. And was more than happy to help us open our own–he’ll grab pieces of the paper and pull . . . how can you resist such a great helper?

Although this toy kept him focused on his OWN gift for a while. This is a Sonik dog toy–a squeak toy with an ultra-sonic squeaker that people (supposedly) cannot hear, but that dogs can. He had a grand ol’ time playing with this, even before he had it out from the tissue paper. I just told him that I hope the squeak never breaks, because none of the rest of us would ever know!

Really, toy-wise, Chappy did very, very well this Christmas. (Isn’t it nice to know that he’s as loved and appreciated as he deserves?) A toy fish, a frisbee, a vinyl football (a little too large for him to pick up easily), this “No Noyz” toy, a stuffed denim bone . . . plus biscuits–including the homemade ones from my niece that he absolutely loves.

He also had a walk this morning. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon and we wanted to be sure to get it in beforehand. And turkey-with-trimmings during dinner . . . as well as getting to lick off the carving platter. And we’re all home where we belong–unlike a normal Monday.

Yep. My dog is having a great Christmas!

I am, too, and here’s a glimpse of some of my loot, er, presents.

A set of Boykin Spaniel coasters, from Chappy (ordered from MV, and with the dog sitting on the beach). Now I just need to come up with a reason to USE coasters (grin).

A cookbook on Baking by Dorie Greenspan which has me drooling, the recipes sound so good.

A Gorillapod tripod for my camera, which looks like a whole lot of fun to use . . . just as soon as I convince Chappy that it’s not a toy . . . or something to be barked at.

No. No yarn or spinning supplies, BUT look at the great DVDs!

Lucy Neatby’s Knitting Essentials 1 and 2.

A Knitting Glossary with Elizabeth Zimmerman and Meg Swansen.

And Handspinning Wool Advanced Techniques with Mabel Ross. Hurray for the videos! I love when people shop off my wish list!

Any suggestions as to which video I should watch first?

Now, it’s almost time for pumpkin pie–my home-baked pie (although I use premade pie crust). Although there are several variations in that new cookbook–including one that combines pecan pie and pumpkin pie into one . . . and a cake that has pumpkin, cranberries, apples, pecans, spices . . . I think I might have to just start baking my way through this book from the beginning! But, um, not quite yet.

And, oh yes, my Dad loved his stollen. (You remember the stollen story, right?)

Hey–and guess what I found when I cleaned out my purse last night?? So funny . . . I don’t have that much stuff in my purse (or, I try not to), but I’d swear that bead and screw weren’t there last time I looked . . . It’s a Christmas miracle, is what I think. And now I’ll just have a backup . . . which is never bad!

Anyway, we’ve been having a great day. Chappy is exhausted (again) . . . all that present-opening excitement followed by all that turkey, on top of his busy, sociable day yesterday that included two hours in the car. Exhausted, yes, but very, very happy.

Whether you’re Christmas-ing or not, I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Noel-ing // 9 Comments »

Just a few images from today’s visit to my sister’s:

We had a lovely time, can you tell? (Gotta love the “tree” made from vegetables, huh?) Chappy’s just exhausted, but in a good way. My niece loved her leg-warmers, and even more loved the ticket to Phantom of the Opera from my parents. My nephew unfortunately was coming down with a cold and so wasn’t as high-energy as usual, but he seemed pretty happy, too. (My sister calls him “Mr. Christmas”–he’s that kind of enthusiastic–but he spent part of the afternoon napping rather than playing with his presents, so . . . hopefully he’ll feel better tomorrow.) The theater tickets are for this coming Saturday, so my sister will be driving my niece down to head into New York with Mom, and then we’re going to go get some tea/coffee together, which I’m looking forward to. I pretty much never get to do things just with my sister–there are always other family members around–so just spending some time, the two of us, will be nice, even though she keeps mentioning that she can’t stay for long. I’m not sure what, exactly, that means in terms of time, but hey–I’m determined that it will be nice for both of us!

So, not only did we have a good Christmas Eve Day, but look who drove past our very own house tonight? Yep, Santa Claus himself (or, possibly, one of his helpers since the real Santa IS pretty busy this time of year). Every year on Christmas Eve, he drives around town on a fire engine, stopping to say hello and pass out goodies to the kids.

And this year, nobody was freezing cold, either. It was an unusually warm day. About 50 degrees. When I ran Chappy outside for potty breaks today, I didn’t even bother putting on a coat! I can’t remember the last time THAT happened for Christmas! Unlike, say, the folks in Colorado who are finally digging out of that blizzard. (I wonder if my best friend’s brother ever managed to get a flight out?)

Hey, I even got the VCR working again (I hope) after it ate “Sleeping Beauty” last night . . . it appears to be working again but I’m afraid to put a new tape in the machine to see . . . but still . . . phew!

Now, a random couple of things: An article on some rather . . . odd . . . things that are illegal (or legal) in various parts of Britain. Then, this handy link to whether or not it’s important to know if your dog is left- or right-pawed (along with some other, earlier links to similar articles).

But now . . . I’ve got to get to bed. Santa can’t come if I’m still awake, you know! (The paradox of trying to force myself to go to sleep on the hardest night to sleep of the year is one of my less-favorite childhood memories of Christmas. I mean, the pressure! If you can’t fall asleep and Santa doesn’t come, you’re basically letting the entire family down by preventing him from stopping by, and yet . . . such excitement, who can sleep?? . . . Although,. Chappy seems to be managing just fine.

Oh, and Bonnie, who I mentioned yesterday, who said she might be getting one of Chappy’s much-younger siblings? Apparently she and her son brought home TWO puppies on Friday, both girls, from the same litter. I can only imagine the cuteness . . . Congratulations!!

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Pre-Christmas // 5 Comments »

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate. With whipped cream, not marshmallows. Maybe one sip of eggnog, but that’s it.

Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wrap, of course! Although I suspect Mrs. Claus and the elves help him. Aren’t women usually the better wrappers?

Colored or white lights on the tree/house?
Colored, because Dad insists, although I like white ones well enough, too . . . although I prefer the kind that blink and miss that since we replaced our old tree.

Do you hang mistletoe?
No, Never have.

When do you put up your decorations?
Mom does most of the work, but usually starting the beginning of December.

What’s your favorite holiday dish?
Probably the pumpkin pie….

Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Coming into the living room one Christmas to find a huge, life-sized (almost as tall as me) Mickey Mouse toy. Actually, I don’t think he was authentic Disney M.M., but I didn’t care . . .

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I have no idea what you mean….

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Well, yes and no. We’ve never done the Christmas Eve thing (though my Dad did when he was little), but in recent years, we spend the 24th up at my sister’s house with her kids, so, yes, in a way, we DO open presents on Christmas Eve.

What kind of decorations are on your tree?
A variety. For years and years, we’ve each been getting an ornament as a gift each year, and so our tree is covered with various ornaments–glass, Hallmark, porcelain, whatever, with themes ranging from dogs to books to Martha’s Vineyard to golf….

Snow! Love it or dread it?
Love it!!

Can you ice skate?
Nope, never have. If you can’t do it as well as Michelle Kwan, what’s the point?

Do you remember your favorite gift?
See my Mickey story above. Man, I loved Mickey Mouse….

What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
That warm, fuzzy glow of family, gift-giving, gift-receiving, love, happiness, joy to the world . . . all that.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Um . . . Gloating Day?

What tops your tree?
At the moment? Nothing. Our new, pre-lit tree has a light bulb RIGHT at the very top . . . there’s really no way to balance something up there….

What is your favorite holiday book?
“Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect” (see Thursday‘s post)

What is your favorite Christmas song?
I don’t really have one. I like them all . . . though some versions better than others!

Candy Canes! Yummy or Yuck?
Yummy

• Tags: General • Permalink:Christmas Meme // 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I went to Tea with my best friend, home for the holidays from California. I didn’t think to take any pictures of, you know, my FRIEND–or of her adorable 17-month old twin nephews–but I did snap this picture of the tea room’s Christmas tree and hat collection (available for wearing during your tea experience). Note the row of teapots in the background.

We had a lovely time, and afterward, went to the movies to see “Pursuit of Happyness” with Will Smith, which was really good, if a little slow in the middle. He did an excellent job, though–as did his real-life son, playing his son in the movie.

Today, of course, was Gloating Day here in the Chappy household, so as dutiful Gloaters, Mom and I headed off to the mall this morning, bought some Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks, went to our favorite bench and, well, gloated.

It was an unusually sociable Gloating Day, though–we had one man ask for directions, and several people smiled at my knitting (because, yes, of course I was knitting–once I’d finished my coffee). But our favorite? We made a new friend! After we’d been there about half an hour, a nice, friendly woman named Virginia stopped and asked, “I hope you don’t mind, but–I walked by a half an hour ago and you were still sitting there, and you’re drinking coffee and . . .knitting! . . . and I’m just wondering . . . what are you doing?” We explained that we were Gloating, that we do it every year as a tradition, and so on, and she was just delighted by the whole idea. She said she was SO glad he’d stopped to ask. She even said that she’s writing a detective novel and thought about using this idea, maybe for one of the clues–which would be very cool, wouldn’t it? I’d love to see Gloating Day spread even further.

Mom says that, next year, we should have buttons.

This afternoon, after Gloating, my friend Cindy came over. We exchanged our own presents, but she also brought one for Chappy (a Fat Cat Rainbow Trout toy)–here’s an action shot of him opening it.

Hey–how nifty is this? I got a comment yesterday from someone who’s so impressed by my wonderful Chappy, that’s she thinks she’ll be getting a puppy from . . . the same place we got Chappy. Woohoo! I love that “small world” thing . . . she fell in love with the breed because of Chappy, and the kennel she found with available puppies just happens to be the one Chappy came from . . . I love the irony of that (grin). And Chappy’s very excited for her. That’s my boy . . . spreading joy-through-Boykin-Spaniels throughout the world.

Now, I’ve been tagged for the Six Weird Things meme.

“The Rules: Each player of this game starts with the “6 weird things about you.” People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as
state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you have been tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”Six weird things about me.”

1. I don’t like abbreviations, and rarely use them. I’m not talking about “Mr.” or “etc” or “St.” I mean the IM/text-message abbreviations that have snuck into written correspondence. I don’t have any real objections to things like “LOL” but, darn it, words deserve a certain amount of respect. Hence the fact that I indicate laughter by spelling out “(grin)” in my posts, rather than doing smilies or using “LOL.”

2. Similarly, I’m a stickler about grammar, too. The fact that so few people seem to be able to tell the difference between “your” and “you’re,” or “its” and “it’s” just seems so sad to me….

3. I cannot go to sleep at night without reading first. Almost no matter how tired I am, reading in bed is a requirement. An addiction, even.

4. I’m terrible at mending things. I can make all sorts of things from scratch, but ask me to do anything more complicated than sewing on a button or, maybe, repairing a split seam, and forget it. Patches. Darning. All of that stuff, I’m just totally inept.

5. I hate clutter. I’m not a neat freak, exactly, but in my own “space,” I need things to be organized and tidy. It’s like everything I’ve got out on my desk is taking up a portion of my attention, whether I’m actually working on it at the moment or not, and if there are too many things, I start to feel scattered and strung-out too far. Being organized makes me feel much saner.

6. I hate returning things to stores. Unless something I buy is actually broken, I’d almost rather keep something that’s not quite the right color or size or whatever than to go to the trouble of taking it back. Once I bring something home, it’s mine. Which also explains why I don’t like borrowing books from the library, either–you have to give them back. I’d rather have my own.

And, no, I’m not actually tagging anyone . . . but please, feel free to adopt this! I’ve been enjoying reading these.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope Santa’s good to you. Whether you celebrate or not, have a wonderful day!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Friends • Permalink:Yes, Virginia, There is a Gloating Day // 7 Comments »

Yep, I had fun with the camera and the Christmas lights this year . . .

Have a good holiday, everyone!

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Christmas Lights // 19 Comments »

Presented in a Christmas box, wrapped in pretty paper with a bow, JK Rowling has announced the title of Harry Potter Book #7. Woohoo!

(I don’t want to give it away–finding it on her site, behind the closed door, is too much fun.

Such a nice little Christmas gift….

Speaking of–how about this Raglan Sweater Pattern Agreement from the Girl from Auntie? I love it! I’d probably like it even more if I had any legal training whatsoever (grin).

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Harry! // 7 Comments »

I have even less to talk about today than I did yesterday, isn’t that sad?

I do have a lovely new pair of earrings, though, which came today. I found them through the Thrifty Boutique ezine, and ordered them from Atterg. So pretty, I couldn’t resist–even if this is a daft time of year to be buying myself jewelry.

(And yes, there are, in fact, two of them. I just photographed only one for you.) Dangly, which I love in an earring. Silver, one of my favorites. A hammered-silver circle, which catches the light marvelously (important when you have long, dark hair). And then a dangling, beaded pendant, which gleams beautifully and also catches the light. What’s not to love?

A little early, but here’s my answer (illustrated, even!) to this week’s “Booking Through Thursday.”

1. Any favorite holiday books or stories that you like to read
   and reread this time of year? And if so, why? What makes it so special
   to you? Favorites from your childhood? (This is a perfectly good time
   of year for picture books–it’s like watching the Charlie Brown
   Christmas special. Adults can “do” cartoons in December.)
2. (Psst.
   You can talk about favorite movies or tv specials, too, if you want,
   even though they’re not about reading. You know, just this once.)

I have to say that ultimately, my favorite Christmas-themed book is this one, Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect, written by Richard H. Schneider and beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Miles. I originally bought it for my niece when she was somewhere around five, but I loved it so much (naturally, I read it before I wrapped it for her), and raved about how sweet it was so often, that on Christmas morning, there was a copy for ME under the tree, too. I wouldn’t want to spoil the story for you, but it’s about a perfect little tree growing in the Queen’s forest, hoping (as all trees do) to be perfect enough to be selected for the royal Christmas Tree . . . but one night, it sheltered a rabbit from some dogs, and ended with a gap in its branches . . . and one day there was a bird . . . and suddenly, the tree wasn’t quite perfect anymore . . . well . . . I won’t tell you any more, but it’s a charming little story. And oh, really, the illustrations are just gorgeous.

Otherwise, I surprisingly don’t have any other Christmas books that I particularly love. I know, me, the huge book lover. It’s a shock. There are some classic things on film that I do love, though. Charlie Brown’s Christmas special. It’s a Wonderful Life (now that they don’t show it thirty times a day anymore). Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. Nobody sings that song like Bing does, either. Or Nat King Cole’s version of the Christmas Song. Elvis’ Blue Christmas…. Yeah, the music I love. Well, in the month of December, anyway . . . the middle of November is a little early….

Oh, but speaking of Christmas music? I don’t know if any of you watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but at the end of their Christmas episode, they had a New Orleans jazz-like rendition of “O Holy Night” played by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. It’s amazing. You can download the song, played by Troy Andrews and fellow musicians, at NBC’s Studio 60 site or via the Tipitina Foundation. Or watch the actual video tribute.

Trust me when I tell you that–whether you like Christmas music or not–this is one beautiful piece of music. Amazing. Go listen. Or save it to your computer. So, so beautiful. Really. Trust me on this one. It gives me chills . . . in a good way. You do not want to miss it. It’s just as beautiful for the ears as those earrings . . . Good for the soul, too, that kind of moving beauty….

• Tags: Reading, Uncategorized • Permalink:Earbobs // 11 Comments »

I’ve really got nothing for you today. No interesting pictures. Just this one of my new Woolee Winder for my Little Gem, which I’m getting to know. Very different feel than the flyer that came with the wheel–the winder and the bobbin use a lot of wood, so they’re heavier than the light flyer and plastic bobbin which makes the braking completely different. But it’s a pleasure, of course.

My new bag is working out just beautifully. Pretty and functional. I’m so happy.

I need to take another look at my purple cabled sweater, though. I’m doing the raglan shaping at the top and the piece just seems so long . . . I need to recheck the schematics and remeasure to see if I’m on target or not. You know, before finishing this piece and making the others and THEN realizing the whole thing is too long.

So, anyway, since there’s so little else to talk about, let me focus the rest of this post on Public Service Announcements.

LIke, as a public service announcement, don’t forget that Gloating Day is this weekend. Remember, this is open to all religions, faiths, creeds, even atheists–all that’s necessary is that you have no Christmas shopping to do–either because your shopping is finished, or because, well, you don’t buy any Christmas presents anyway. (Click the link for the complete explanation.)

Of course, the REAL public service announcements: the Harlot’s drive for Knitters Without Borders. Wendy’s Heifer International fund-raiser. Raising money for really good causes.

You know, really, you can gloat much better on a clear conscience.

• Tags: General • Permalink:PSA // 8 Comments »

I may actually have found a bag to replace my loved-if-not-exactly-fashionable Planet Dog Doctor’s Bag.

This is a Baggallini Large Doctor’s Bag.

Now, when Mom and I went into that gift shop last Saturday, they had a display of Baggallini bags . . . I’d never even heard of them before . . . and one of them was a small doctor’s bag. I had just, minutes earlier, been looking at Jordan Paige’s Knitter’s Satchel in the yarn shop (I’d never seen one in person before) and thought it looked pretty nice . . . but then there was this one, almost the same size, just about the same price, but actually more functional, I thought, if less “purse”-looking . . . I suppose if you’re only looking for something snazzy to be seen out and about in, you’d opt for the J.P. bag, but I’m looking for light and functional. But, well, it was smaller than my Planet Dog bag.

Long story short, came home, did an internet search, and found this–the large doctor’s bag. Nice colors. Lots of pockets and things. And, going by the quality of the one I saw in the gift shop, generally a nice bag. So I ordered it. IIt was even, I hesitate to mention, on sale–though that sale ended the day I ordered it . . . one of the reasons I rushed into placing the order instead of waiting until after the holidays . . . and it came today.

The fact that I’ve moved all my knitting stuff is definitely a good sign. There’s the big, plastic pocket along one side. (For toiletries, if you were using this as an overnight bag–which you certainly could). The row of yellow loops at the top are elastic loops to hold things like bottles of shampoo. There’s a cell phone pocket on the other side, plus two more non-stretchy loops. And another, full-size, zippered pocket. Plus one on the outside. AND a “sleeve” on the outside so this bag can be piggy-backed onto a suitcase handle. There’s also a padded shoulder strap with, nice, easy, sturdy clips for taking on and off . . . and, of course, the tomato red I love, and the mango lining color? So easy to see what’s inside . . . So, let’s recap, shall we? Large. A look/design you already know I love. Functional. Pockets for organization. Two of my favorite colors. Sturdy construction. Attractive…

I think I’m in love.

I’m trying very, very hard to resist the urge to go buy one of the smaller ones . . . or some of their luggage . . . or . . . anyway, nice stuff! (Actually, the urge isn’t THAT strong . . . unless I had some sudden need for luggage….)

Chappy and I got something in the mail today, too–an ornament we’re sharing this year. “All I Need for Christmas is to be Loved by my Boykin Spaniel.”

We agreed that we’ve pretty much got this covered already, but thought the ornament was too good to pass up. We couldn’t wait until Christmas morning to hang it on the tree, either, so–there it is! Right at Chappy’s eye level.

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about my Z post. I had so much fun putting that together, can you tell? (grin) I know it’s hard to tell the Katy pictures from the Chappy pictures, so maybe this will help.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Pre-Christmas Deliveries // 12 Comments »

Click here to see all the pictures from this entry.

(Apparently, Typepad ate them.)

Trust me, it’s worth it!

---

I’ve had a lot of fun with this ABC-along. Thank you, Anne, for thinking of this!If you want to recap, here is the page with ALL my other entries, or you can look at them individually: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y, and of course, ZDo I have favorites? I don’t know . . . I’ve enjoyed the miscellaneous entries, where I wandered around with my camera. I really liked the nostalgia in my G and I entries. I loved doing N, P, and Q. And Chappy and I both enjoyed T. I’m still fond of L, too, but how could I help but love all those books? . . . And this one? Z? Oh, I LOVED doing this one!! I worked on this one for over a week!

Really, I loved almost all of them!

(Oh, and for the record, not all those dark little sleeping dogs are Chappy . . . some are Katy, some are Jilly, and there’s even one or two of Muppy–all our dogs are represented, even if most of them ARE Chappy . . . but hey, it’s not Muppy and Jilly’s fault that they lived before digital photography!)

• Tags: ABC-Along • Permalink:Zzzzzz….. // 23 Comments »

I really don’t have much to tell you today. Or show you for that matter. Which is why you get this lovely little picture of Chappy eating his dinner tonight–including some scraps of Prime Rib that his grandma brought him home from dinner the other night.

My pattern for the Tatami kimono came today. I’ll be making this in my handspun Raspberry Cream yarn–just as soon as I figure out what needles to use to get gauge (or close to gauge–you KNOW I have a lot of practice adjusting patterns these days).

I discovered this great blog/ezine about jewelry last night, while trying to find parts for my keychain. She’s got links to some amazing jewelry designers on there. Like this one, and this one, and….. I’m working my way back through the archives, but I think I’m in love. And would be in serious trouble if I didn’t have the holiday-shopping rationale to remind myself that no, I can’t in fact buy everything I like right now….

One of my favorite authors–well, a team of authors, actually–Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, are doing something unique with their next book. Fledgling is going to be published in serial form, on the internet, on a donation basis. As they publish it, each chapter will be published for free for everyone, but they won’t publish the next chapter unless they’ve earned $300 in donations. You don’t have to pay, but a few dollars, at least, are encouraged. I mention this for two reasons–one, I think they’re great sci-fi authors and encourage you to give them a try, but also, two, the first chapter isn’t due to be published until the middle of January, and they’ve already received enough in donations to pay through Chapter 9 already. (They have a GOOD fan base!) Anyway, they did an internet-interview today over at The Biblio File, which I thought was pretty interesting. Blogs are such good things, you know? I wouldn’t have known about this if it weren’t for the authors‘ blogs.

Our neighbor is back home. Apparently they had thought that it was a problem with his fibrulator, but now think he picked up some kind of infection at the hospital . . . poor fellow! Oh, and apparently he passed a kidney stone about three weeks ago, something my Dad could really sympathize with.

Otherwise–well, we did a quick, tiny, short walk in the park today, which would have been longer except Mom’s got a cold again. She wasn’t exactly feeling up to romping through the park, so the walk was shorter than usual, and we were home earlier than usual. She napped this afternoon, I sat and read with Chappy–who’d also had a bath, after walking through/past/on so many goose droppings at the park (which was insane). Really, it’s been pretty quiet.

I’m so glad it’s almost time to post my Z post . . . It’s been ready for a few days now, and I’m excited to show you. At the least *I* thought it was a good idea!

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Serene Saturday // 5 Comments »

A small tragedy occured this morning.

My keychain broke.

Now, I know, this doesn’t SOUND like a tragedy, but still. I absolutely love this keyring. You know how impossible it is to get keys on those usual, circular keyrings? The split-ring kind that you always break your nails trying to open? Yes, well, it’s not one of those. Nor is it a keyCASE, which is completely impractical for car key fobs, and which I’ve never liked anyway.

No, this is a beautiful little piece of engineering. A short length of cable, which feeds through a ring (holding it in a looped-shape, rather than straight, end-to-end). The ends are secured by a bead (holding that ring in place) which is secured by a screw at the very end.

Well, somewhere between leaving the house (I always manually tighten the screw on each as I take my keys out of my purse), and getting to Kohl’s this morning with Mom . . . well . . . the screw and bead disappeared. I didn’t realize until I reached into my pocket at the store check-out line. I’m crushed. Do you know how long I looked for a keychain that I would like that was also functional . . . and easy to get keys on and off??

I wonder if it’s possible to find a screw that will fit? One with thumb-grooves at the end, so you have something to grip to open/close. I wouldn’t mind replacing the bead . . . a little variety is fine, and that’s painless . . . as long as I can still use my key ring! I love this thing, silly though that may sound…. And yes, I know there are the kind that are semi-circles, with ball-screws at the end, but I love the flexibility of THIS. I can’t help it (grin).

Added: Look what I found!

Now, about the electricity issue? Yes, the electician–a really very nice fellow named Jeff–came around 10:00 this morning, went out to look at the circuit breaker panel, flicked the blown circuit and . . . yep. That easy. Apparently, it’s shifted or something, so that it doesn’t reset quite as easily as it used to, but still . . . (Have I ever mentioned that my Dad–admirable in so many ways–isn’t the handiest fellow?) Anyway, we scheduled a date for him to actually replace the circuit, since it’s quite possible it’s about to blow altogether, and now that he knows the type of circuit breaker we need, he’ll be ready at a moment’s notice. But, um, yeah. It was that easy to fix. If only I’d known that BEFORE my candle burned out last night….

Anyway, after he left (about 10 minutes after he arrived . . . and we asked him about our troublesome kitchen light while he was there, too), Mom and I went out. I took my car to the car wash–for the first time in about seven months. We went to a store for a return “Santa” needed to make. And then we drove to Chester to check out a new shopping plaza—including a store named “Acorn,” which we’d never heard of. We had lunch at a tea room (a small pot of tea and a largish blueberry scone for each of us), and then came home to take Chappy for a walk.

Oh yeah, I finished my Christmas knitting this morning. (Woohoo!) I finished my second Fetching for our mail-carrier, which we put out with her Christmas card this morning. I hope she likes them! I also finished my current bobbin of singles on my Little Gem, so the next one? It’ll use my Woolee Winder. Yay!

a more serious note, this was the view in front of our house a little while ago… Our neighbor diagonally across the street being taken away in an ambulance. If you could spare a prayer, it would be appreciated. He’s a 32-year old father of three who has heart problems. In fact, he was in Columbia Presbyterian earlier this week for tests, and was just discharged this morning. Our other neighbor came home tonight and saw him sitting outside–he wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to scare his kids. He was sitting up in the ambulance as they drove away, so hopefully he’ll be okay, but . . . if you could send him some good thoughts, I KNOW his family would appreciate it. Scary stuff at any time, but during the holidays? Scary AND bad timing.

Added: And while thinking good-karma thoughts, go visit Stephanie, who’s trying to double the amount of donations for Knitters Without Borders. Heaven knows it’s a good cause! So . . . head over, huh?

Have a good weekend, everyone, and a Happy Hanukah to those celebrating!

(You know, one thing I was wondering? Our local Lite FM station has been playing Christmas music since the middle of November. Today, in honor of Hanukah, they’ve played a couple Hanukah songs–not that there are many of them, I understand, but a nice gesture, I thought . . . until it occurred to me. How many Jewish people have been LISTENING to this station for the last four weeks to HEAR the Hanukah songs??)

• Tags: General • Permalink:No, Not My Keychain! // 10 Comments »

Some pictures from the park the other day. Interestingly, it was almost 50 degrees that day–quite warm, really–and yet there was this frozen puddle catching the light . . . I thought it was pretty!

This tree caught my eye, too….

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• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Ice // 9 Comments »

I know what you’re thinking. This picture doesn’t look particularly dark to you, huh?

Well, it’s not.

I’m sitting here in the kitchen, making a cup of tea, eating some really excellent tiramasu. (Honestly. Some of the best I’ve ever had.) So all sounds well with the world, right?

Um, not so much.

First of all, I’m in the KITCHEN. I never sit at my computer in the kitchen. The table is too high, the light at the wrong height, so that it gives me a headache. The chairs aren’t meant for relaxing. Just . . . not ideal.

But, see, here’s the thing. When our house was built 31+ years ago, for reasons known only to the builders, they put my bedroom on the same circuit breaker as the bathrooms. Right off the bat, that doesn’t make sense–bathrooms, because of the water, need their own circuits, but my bedroom? How’d that get in there?

This is all relevant, you see, because this morning while Mom was drying her hair, the circuit breaker blew. Dad reset it once, twice, three times . . . nothing. Which means we’ve had no power in the bathrooms . . . or in my bedroom . . . all day. The rest of the house, however, is just fine.

Which is exactly why this is frustrating. When the whole house is dark, it’s fine–you read or play games, light candles, whatever, but everyone’s in the same boat. But me? Right now? Everyone ELSE can turn on the lights, put on the television, play on the computer, exactly as normal. I’m stuck doing things by candle-light. Or sitting elsewhere, like the kitchen.

Naturally, Mom called the electrician, and they said at first that his day was full, but Mom begged a little (“This is my daughter’s bedroom!”) and so they said he would come. The man’s wife (who works the phones) even told Mom that he was on his way, coming from Edison which, granted, isn’t right around the corner, but still . . . That was just before I got home from work, around 4:00. It’s now 7:37, and I’m guessing he won’t be here tonight. (Sigh.)

But meantime, this has really messed with my plans for the evening. Mom and Dad went out to dinner (at one of my favorite restaurants, of course!) with friends, and I had planned on cooking a nice dinner for myself (with tiramisu for dessert), wrapping my Christmas gifts, dyeing my hair . . . but . . . I was waiting for the electrician. Would he come? When? Any minute?? So I couldn’t cook dinner–what if he came while I was eating? So I just noshed on some of the Italian bread I brought home. I DID wrap my presents, but naturally, I couldn’t color my hair in the DARK. Washing, yes, but spreading dye? And getting it rinsed?? No, for that you need, at the very least, daylight, if not proper bathroom illumination after sunset. I did take a really fast (cold) shower around 7:00, though, when I decided the odds of his actually coming tonight were really small. Since nobody was home but Chappy, I left the bathroom door open to get some light from the hallway (and my Candle Chimney, of course) and it got kind of chilly–even with the fully-hot water. But at least my hair is clean. I hate going to bed without having showered first!

Meanwhile, Chappy’s really confused at the way the night’s been going . . . understandable, really. It has been pretty weird. And of course, Mom stayed home all day today, waiting for the electrician . . . so she has errands that she needs to do tomorrow . . . so, so much for doing anything fun together tomorrow, either. Because naturally, we’ve got to be here whenever the electrician DOES come (sigh). Assuming he comes tomorrow. He’s a good person and a good electrician, mind you . . . but, lordy, these are the times I wish the people who built our house had had a little more sense in these matters! I can work around a dark bathroom . . . but, how am I supposed to read in bed tonight? Or spin? And, I wanted to see Nigella’s Christmas show on the Food Network at 10:00 . . .

On the plus side, at least none of this has affected my laptop (knock wood). I really need to get a back-up drive or this, though . . .just to be safe!

Still, I’ve got to say, this tiramisu is incredibly good. One advantage of the dark? Nobody can see if I lick out the container….

• Tags: General • Permalink:Grumbling in the Dark // 10 Comments »

Tis the season for new toys . . . and here’s my newest.

Yep. A Woolee WInder for my Majacraft Little Gem. Woohoo! (And, how nice, if I were to get any OTHER Majacrafts . . . not that I plan to . . . it would work for them, too.)

I have to say–as much as I do like this cute little wheel, I have not been enjoying moving that metal yarn guide up the metal slide . . . it grates my teeth every time. So this is much better. I just need to finish the bobbin I’m working on and then I can play with this.

(Oh, and thanks to Mr. Chappy, my able assistant.)

And . . . believe it or not . . . that’s about all I’ve got tonight! I’m fighting a bad headache–something about the rain, the car headlights while driving, the air pressure . . . whatever . . . my eyes are NOT enjoying the bright light thing, so . . . I’ll just leave you to drool over my Woolee Winder, shall I?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:‘Tis The Season // 15 Comments »

I got a new ornament for the Christmas tree today. From the brilliant mind of Franklin, his 2006 Peace ornament.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, how can you not love this ornament?

Peace. Knitting. A Lion and a Lamb together.

What’s not to love?

I came home to a box from Vogue Knitting today, which was such a surprise. Months ago, I had agreed to a trial for a copy of the “Knitting Over the Edge” book . . . you know the kind. They send it, you take a look, decide if you want to keep it or not, but either way, keep this free gift….yadda yadda. That was June.

Well, I never signed up for a trial of “Knitting Beyond the Edge” but guess what came today? Yep. A trial for a book I’ve owned for a month now. Sheesh.

Is it wrong of me to take the free gift, a copy of VK on the Go Shawls? (grin)

After I got home from work, Chappy and I sat in the living room with the Christmas tree for a while. He played with his toy near it . . . not quite under it, but next to the tree skirt. He sat behind it to look out the window.

Chappy and I took a walk at lunch today, as usual, and we got to see three of his favorite people. First, as we walked down the street, Chappy’s favorite neighbor pulled over in his car to say hello to my boy–lots of tail wagging. Then, about 3/4 through with the walk, our mail-carrier drove by, pulled over, got out of her truck to say hello to my boy. Lots more tail wagging. Then, just a house away from ours, who pulled over? Mom! Well! Seeing a family member is ALWAYS good. The only drawback at that point was that he pulled me all the rest of the way home. You could practically hear him chanting under his breath, “Grandmagrandmagrandma….”

And, speaking of our great mail carrier, I’ve got her first Fetching almost done–woohoo! I think she’s really going to like them, too. I’ll be glad to have that last one done, though. I rarely ever knit a pattern more than once, and I’ve about had my fill of this one now, no matter how lovely.

At least the colors are different. Props to Stephanie for getting all those green step-outs one….

Oh, and while I was sitting with Chappy by the tree tonight? I played around with my camera.

Christmas lights are FUN.

Oh yeah. Level 51.

• Tags: Chappy, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Ornamentation // 14 Comments »

I took the day off from work today, using up “extra” vacation days, and have filled my time doing all sorts of exciting things here at home. Like, playing my bills, renewing a magazine subscription (Eating Well), renewing Chappy’s dog license . . . stuff like that to clear off my desk.

I organized my sock drawer. Which, yes, I know, doesn’t sound very exciting, but for some reason I have a lot more socks than I used to (gee, I wonder why?) and they were just getting very . . . rowdy in there. Of course, once I’d done that drawer, I had to do others . . . so basically, I went through all my dresser drawers–all 12 of them.

Naturally, some needed more attention than others. Like the bottom two, where I keep my CDs. When I got my MP3 player last spring and then spent days ripping as many of my favorite albums as I could, they didn’t exactly get put back in the drawer as neatly as I would wish. This was bearable because I don’t really go into that drawer all that often, but . . . it was time. That messy pile was driving me nuts every time I looked. (They were lined up–mostly–but not in any kind of sequence.)

We’re all much happier now. There’s even room for more in each section now, and everything!

My organizing didn’t stop there, though, either. I also went through the bathroom cabinets, getting rid of old things, taking stock of supplies on things I DO use. (Note to self: Order more Curl Junkie shampoo and conditioner.) I even gave my room a thorough vacuuming–which it’s needed for a while. And by “thorough” I mean I moved all the reasonably movable pieces of furniture (the ottoman, Chappy’s crate), picked all the stuff up off the floor (the CD player, the lapdesk I keep my computer on), moved the things like spinning wheels away from the walls . . . and basically vacuumed everything left. Oh yeah, I cleaned and disinfected my humidifier, too.

There’s been some spinning, too . . . I haven’t touched this merino/silk in months and had forgotten how much I like it. It’s soft and silky, first of all. Then, in direct sun, it looks almost purple, but in more “normal,” indoor lights, looks almost charcoal-gray with just a hint of purple . . . so. pretty.

Oh yeah, and we took Chappy for a walk, too.

And, I’m on level 44 now… You know, it’s a good thing I got my Z post about 85-90% finished before I discovered this . . .

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Monday, Monday // 12 Comments »

A little blurry, but a look at my haircut. Definitely shorter than 2″, but still a nice haircut. No complaints, really . . . it just means it will take that much longer before I need to get another haircut. I like to stretch them out as much as possible, you know!

Speaking of hair, I posted about Weffriddles on the Naturallycurly.com forum a couple days ago and there are about four pages of entries from people pulling their curly hair out . . . hey, why should I be the only one to suffer??

We took a rare, Sunday outing today, too. Usually, Sundays are the days I stay home, do housework, laundry, bake–all that stuff–but since I’m taking tomorrow off from work AND it was a beautiful day, we took Chappy to the park.

When we got there, the playground was completely empty of kids, so we took advantage and climbed up there ourselves. (Dogs are officially not allowed, so don’t tell anyone, okay?) And yes, we DID go down the slide after Mom snapped the picture. I pulled Chappy into my lap and . . . whoosh! . . . suddenly he was on the ground and looking at me, like, “How did we get down HERE? Human kids do this for FUN?”

Anyway, it was nice. About 50 degrees and sunny, and we saw a few other dogs for Chappy to introduce himself to . . . a visit to the park is incomplete without seeing other dogs, you know. We even saw someone who recognized Chappy for a Boykin Spaniel. That almost NEVER happens, but it always makes me happy when it does.

Afterward, we came home and Mom and I spent much of the afternoon sitting in the living room with our cross-stitch (Mom), reading, knitting, and spinning (me), and spending time with the Christmas tree, which Chappy seems to enjoy as much as we do.

Gotta love dogs with Christmas spirit, huh?

• Tags: Hair • Permalink:Whee! // 20 Comments »

So, when I left the house this morning, my hair looked like this. I can’t tell you at the moment how good the haircut is because I won’t know until I’ve washed and slept on it. My hair NEVER looks good on the day of the haircut. I can tell you, though, that it’s a good deal shorter. I asked for 2″ and while I didn’t see her take off more than that . . . and I was watching . . . it still looks a lot shorter. Even when it was wet from my shower earlier. And of course, the curl springs up the “visual” length, too, so my hair will look shorter anyway just from having less weight on the ends . . . I think it’s a good haircut (if “short”) and that it will look fine . . . but I’ll be happier in another month or so when it’s grown in some more….

After, we went to the neighborhood LYS, Nonna’s Yarn Cafe. I always feel guilty about this store, because I like it, and I like the sisters who run it, quite a bit and yet I seldom buy any “real” yarn there. I’ve never bought a sweater’s worth of yarn. My purchases are almost always limited to one or two skeins . . . which is a shame, because this is a store I WANT to encourage. (Unlike the other shop in town, which is small, crowded, and unfriendly–or at least, that’s what I think.) And their selection is pretty decent–more varied than it was when they opened a year ago. I even saw a small selection of Cascade 220 today.

Anyway, I went in to get some Cashmerino Aran in a different color. I decided that I’d never seen our mail carrier–for whom I’m making a pair of Fetching–wear the color I was making that pair in, but since I like it (of course, it was leftover yarn from one of my sweaters), that I would keep that pair for myself, and make hers in this purpley-blue color, which I think she’ll like better. And, um, while I was there I bought three skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in white, silver, and black. The plan is that they’ll become as big a shawl (or, if too small, a scarf) in some kind of lace as possible–starting with white and shading outward to black.

Then, Mom and I stopped at this gift shop we’ve been meaning to visit for years now, the Urban Muse, which was opened several years ago by two women who decided to follow their dream after living through 9/11 in New York. (Yes, it took us this long to get around to visiting the shop.) Anyway, we walked around, looking at some very interesting jewelry, cards, photo frames . . . nice stuff. I bought a magnet for the refrigerator (not much, but hey, something to support them, right?) When I heard Mom say, “Hi Denise!”

Because there was a woman who’d worked at our company for years, until she decided to quit and go into massage therapy a while ago. Well–now she works at their spa. Who knew?? She even gave us a tour of the facilities, introduced us around . . . I took these two pictures of the display in the upstairs (empty) “relaxation room” . . . the sun streaming through the crystal on the tree . . . pretty!

Eventually we tore ourselves away–Denise is a sweetie and it was great to see her, but she’s a talker (in a good way)–and made it home to this little sweetie, who we promptly took for a walk–which he said he’d been longing for. All. Day.

Oh yeah, almost forgot–I wore my Christmas Tree Hat and got lots of compliments on it today. Woohoo! That never gets old.  Which is good because….

I worked on Weffriddles for a while this afternoon–I finally made it past level 26, but am now stuck on 27. Swell. Just what I needed . . . something else to feel clueless about. This is SO good for my self-esteem. (Added: Finally got that one!)

In tonight’s knitting, not only did I work on my Fetching, (MINE, now), but I wove in all the lose ends on everything in my knitting bag, AND I finally finished my socks.

MY socks. In MY handspun, out of lovely roving that I bought last summer. I only started knitting these in October, you know, and was starting to think I’d never get them done. (A shame, really, since up until then, I was averaging a pair of socks a month, which is darn impressive for me.)

I’m just tickled pink about these. I adore the coppery-blue color. I am so very proud of the yarn (3-ply sock yarn is an accomplishment, you know).

It knitted up beautifully, too. Nice texture/evenness to the stitches. The knitted fabric has a very dense feel to it, too. (Perhaps because I spun worsted rather than woolen?) But because it’s merino/mohair, I expect these to be very warm to wear. Nice and thick, these socks. The only potential problem will be finding a pair of shoes that the socks will fit into….

Gosh, such a dilemma.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Hair, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Saturday Recap // 12 Comments »

(Though, the picture was taken on Thursday, on my way to work….)

Have a good day, everyone! And wish me luck on my haircut . . .

• Tags: Sky • Permalink:Sky for Saturday // 5 Comments »

What?

Doesn’t everyone take their dolls on vacation? I mean, we couldn’t let them go their whole lives without seeing Martha’s Vineyard, could we? (Although, the two littlest ones in the front have been mine since childhood, so until I was 10 or so, anywhere I went, they went, so they’re pretty well-travelled, as dolls go.)

And, anyway, this was in 1999, when I didn’t have a puppy to distract me . . .

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Doll’s Day Out // 10 Comments »

Look what I got yesterday! A pile of yummy potential, courtesy of Amanda. This is my portion of the “Knit and Dish” exchange. I provided two recipes of my own on index cards and got all of THESE in return. Not only are there some tasty-sounding recipes in there, but the visual variety is a treat. Every person’s cards look different. I love that!

There’s a nice variety, too–soups, main courses, desserts (lots of desserts!). I was flipping through the pile, drooling, and Mom asked me which recipes I sent . . . just as I turned to my own cards in the middle of the pile. Perfect timing (grin). I sent a family recipe for cabbage soup which is really wonderful (although a lot of people automatically cringe when they hear “cabbage soup”). It’s got bacon for flavor and tiny little meatballs, some tomato . . . and can be served with potato dumplings. Yum. The other recipe I sent was for pancakes, the recipe from Cook’s, because it is by far the best pancake recipe I’ve ever tried. Light, tender, tasty . . .

Oh, and I want you all to know that I wore my Fabulous Shoes to work today. Not only that, I got through the entire day with them, too (although, naturally, I changed them when I came home for my lunchtime walk with Chappy). I did plan ahead, though, and had a spare pair of lower, more comfortable shoes in the car–just in case.  I’m pleased to report that these are reasonably comfortable for shoes of this type and with a heel this high. It was strange not being able to walk with my usual, long stride, but at least my feet weren’t aching terribly the whole time. The odd part, though? The longer I stood or walked (as opposed to sitting at my desk), the more my ankles got tired. It makes sense, I suppose, because they’re not used to stretching quite that way for any longer than it takes to get a jar from a high kitchen shelf, and yet I’ve never noticed that problem before with other heels!

But, the most important part? Yes, they got compliments. It makes it all worthwhile. (You know, since I didn’t ACTUALLY sprain my ankle or something.)

We had a beautiful sunset here, tonight, though it was harder to capture on film than I would have liked. Still, pretty, huh?

Chappy and I are on our own for a little while this evening, while Mom goes to pick Dad up from the airport. I’m fine with that, but he seems a little antsy . . . I think he’s looking forward to having his Grandpa home! I don’t know about you, but our dogs have always seemed to know when an absent family member was returning from a trip. Sweet, really.I don’t know if there’s a “psychic” thing there, or if they’re just picking up unconscious signals that those of us who are present are sending out . . . fidgets, checking the time, making a little more effort to pick things up, whatever . . . but they always seem to know when The Day has arrived.

Now, I’m going to take advantage of the remaining half hour or so to work on my “Z” post for the ABC-along. It’s one that’s going to take a while, so I pretty much started it right after finishing “Y.” I’ve known for a while what I wanted to do for this one . . . not that I’m going to tell! You have to wait and see . . . What could it be? Zipper? Zenith? Zippity-do-dah? Zebra? All of the above? I’m not telling . . . but I think you’ll be pleased when you see it!

I’m blaming Cate for this one (who, in turn is blaming Imbrium). Weffriddles are TRICKY. Thanks to the hints forums, I’m up to level 26. With many more to go!

And, you all remember what today is, right? These “days in infamy” are getting way too numerous.

Not to mention the wacky weather. A tornado in LONDON??

• Tags: Baking, Family, General • Permalink:Fab // 14 Comments »

A conversation while on our walk at lunch today:

Mom: So, how did your computer problems go this morning?

Me: Well, I got about an inch and a half done on my sock. . . . Um, Mom? Why’d you stop walking?

It’s better than it sounds, though. Jack, our IT guy, sat at my computer for about an hour, fixing problems and such. But since he was at the computer, it’s not like I could get a lot of work done. Yet, I couldn’t go far because there were questions like “How much do you use this?” and things like that, so . . . I pulled out my sock. It makes perfect sense, huh?

Actually, he told me that his mother just finished a coverlet (knitted or crocheted, I’m not sure) that was started by her grandmother 44 years ago. Lots and lots and lots of little medallions/patches sewn together into larger ones, which were then sewn together. Frankly, I’d love to see it. But . . . wow. Forty-four years!

Anyway, so after I got her walking again after that unexpected “sock” answer, Mom, Chappy, and I had a lovely walk, but then, just as we were passing our next-door neighbor’s house, we heard a car coming down the road, and so we all stopped–which we always do for cars. But then the car pulled over, too! THAT was a surprise. And even more surprising, it was my sister and her friend, who were just passing by and saw us walking and came over to say hello.

This sounds suspicious, I know, when you consider my sister lives in Pennsylvania and our street isn’t exactly a main thoroughfare. But her friend wanted to stop at Dunkin Donuts, and so they were cutting through our neighborhood on their way to Rt 80. In fact, they were running late for getting home in time for her friend to get to work and the kids to get out of school, but Patty said they HAD to stop when they saw us right there.

I know Chappy would have been disappointed if they had. He was SO happy to see his aunt, he gave her quite a greeting. Then he would pause to sniff something and then look back at her, “You’re still here!” and then he’d jump and wag his tail all over again. All told, I think she got about five, really thorough hellos. Or it could have been more. I kind of lost count. Either way, both he and my sister had BIG smiles on their faces when she got back in the car!

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Adventures While Walking // 13 Comments »

So, I’m knitting Fetching for my mail carrier this Christmas. (I know she doesn’t read my blog!) The pattern, of course, calls for one skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. . . possibly two.

Well, guess how many I need?

Yep. I ran out of yarn two rows before the end of the glove. Sigh.

Nevertheless, I’m liking this pattern so much I’m thinking of making a pair for myself. Because, well . . . cozy!

I went back to work today after my long weekend and found a “new” (well, refurbished) computer sitting at my desk . . . one which didn’t want to cooperate pretty much all day. Basically, every program I opened had problems . . . some simple like “Install Upgrade now?,” some more complicated, but none of which I could do anything about because I don’t have Administrator privileges. All the while I was trying to get settings the way I like them, screen resolutions, shortcuts, taskbar . . . In other words, a FUN day.

Which wasn’t made any more fun by feeling asthma-y for most of the afternoon, so now, while feeling better, my lungs feel tired. Ick.

Still . . . short on yarn or not, those Fetching gloves sure look . . . fetching!

(Oh, and I DO have more yarn, it’s just frustrating to need it, you understand.)

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Lacking // 18 Comments »

As a recovery tactic from this weekend’s stollen adventure, I took today off from work. A lovely day, really. Mom and I went shopping, I took Chappy for a walk, did some knitting . . . Nothing particularly exciting. And there’s not really anything to take pictures of for you, either.

We had “Idaho Sunrise” for supper, though. Yummy and easy.

It’s something I got from Marion Cunningham’s “Supper Book” cookbook. Basically, you bake a potato at 450 degrees. Then scoop out the insides, mash them with some milk, butter, salt, pepper, restuff the potato. So far, fairly basic, right? But THEN, break an egg into/on top of the potato, add a little pat of butter, and put back in the oven for about 10 more minutes, until the egg white is set, but the yolk is still soft. To eat, you stir the egg into the potato and . . . yum. Easy, yet reasonably nutritious (grin)

• Tags: General • Permalink:Recovery Mode // 14 Comments »

Yikes! Twelve loaves of unbaked stollen! (Eight normal-sized, four mini-loaves.) Talk about scary . . . Halloween’s got nothing on Stollen Day at the Chappy household for frightening….

Years. As in, my car is five years old today. Hard to believe it’s gone that quickly. And oddly enough, I’m usually getting “itchy” about a new car after 4-5 years, but I’m still thoroughly enjoying this one. I could wish for a slightly bigger trunk, perhaps, or some more legroom for back-seat passengers, but . . . I LIKE my car. And as a special birthday treat? Since Dad will be away for the next few days, she gets to sleep in the garage. Woohoo!

Yule. The Christmas season is definitely here.

Yarn. Of course. The last skein of my “raspberry” yarn, drip-drying in the shower. This yarn came out so nicely . . . I’m really pleased with it.

More Yarn. All handspun. In fact, this IS all my handspun–or at least, all that I haven’t given away or knitted into something else. That’s three skeins of the Raspberry there in the front–good representation of the color, too . . .

Yippee!! A row of baked Stollens. I’m DONE for another year!

Yawn! Of course, after all that baking and agonizing, we’re very tired, now….

…. Makes me want to go to my Yellow bedroom and go to sleep….

And, wow, I can’t believe there’s only one more letter to go. I have SO enjoyed this ABC-along this year! But, I can’t wait for Z . . . I know exactly what I’m doing for that one!

Oh–and I almost forgot! I had wanted to add one more “Y” but forgot to dig through the pictures looking for one . . .

Yellow Eyes. My dearly departed Katy had the most amazing amber yellow eyes . . . so beautiful! (Chappy’s eyes are more golden-brown, but Katy? They were actually green when I brought her home at 7 weeks, and then they turned into this gorgeous, topaz color. In fact, they were the inspiration for my bedroom color . . . just loved that.

• Tags: ABC-Along, Baking, Katy, Jilly, Muppy • Permalink:Why? // 17 Comments »

I’ve had a very nice, very full, very fun, very tiring day today.

First, Mom and I went to the Morristown Craft show that we go to just about every year . . . I also discovered that there’s an observation window upstairs, from which I took this picture of all the booths.

But–different this year–we had friends! Risa, her Mom, and the twins. Okay, so Alex got a little cranky and tired toward the end, there, but really, they were so good . . . no tantrums or screams, just, well, a little whining (grin). Considering there really wasn’t much for them to actually do or look at (lots of breakable stuff, you know!), they were good. And their antics amused any number of observers, too. Anyway, I bought a couple of Christmas presents, which is good.

After the craft show, we hastened . . . Alex was hungry, remember . . . albeit by the scenic backroads . . . to a nearby diner for some lunch, and then we all came back to our house. Which made Chappy VERY happy. I think he was feeling left out. But while they were here, his tail barely stopped wagging. Nobody does that cute little wiggle-greeting better than my dog.

And then? Well, I mixed the stollen. I’ve got two heavy bowls sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting to be baked tomorrow. That’s the dangerous part. The part that makes me cranky and irritable and dangerous to be around. (I explained that last year.) To make things more challenging, Mom will be home tomorrow . . . sort of. She’s driving Dad to the airport around 2:00, and then is going to stop at Short Hills mall to try to pass some time while I wring my hands in front of the oven, until it’s safe to come home. Poor thing–it’s like she’s being banished. But trust me. She’s safer out of the house!

Now, I’m tired, I have a headache again (third day in a row, I think), and I’m going to go take a nice, hot shower to try to revive myself for the evening’s knitting.

Oh, and I finished my fourth and last skein of raspberry yarn last night. Woohoo!!

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My Candle-Chimney.

I bought this from the Levenger catalog years ago and absolutely love it. Brass, but such a nifty design. (There’s a link here, but the product’s been discontinued.) Anyway, the candle-stick itself is spring-loaded, so that the candle is always raised to the ideal height. It sits in a reflective bowl, which amplifies the light, directing it down toward your book or table, all while the chimney helps keep the flame burning upright, and even, protected from drafts.

This is amazingly good for walking around a dark house, I might add. It’s my lighting-method-of-choice whenever we have a black out. I do not like scented candles (well, maybe vanilla, but anything “stronger” gives me a sinus headache), but the smell of just a plain, wax candle? Love it. And I love the golden gleam, too. In fact, when I was in college and lived mostly with the overhead light in my dorm room, I’d read by candle-light just before going to sleep, so I could “turn the light out” without having to get out of bed. And then there’d be that nice whiff of melted candle wax, and that friendly, last little ember of light before it was all dark . . . I loved that.

I’ve got to tell you, though, taking pictures of this so that you could actually see the candle holder as well as the flame was NOT easy! (grin)

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• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Chimney // 17 Comments »

Here’s my reading list from November.

1. WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams (475 p.) A childhood classic I haven’t read in years. Rabbits, adventure, daring-do on a grand, rabbity scale. I was reminded again why, exactly, this is classic. It’s geared toward children, but doesn’t particularly talk down to them. It’s bold. It’s unique–focusing on the world of rabbits but without making them too cute or cuddly. It’s just a delight. Worth reading at least once a decade.

2. TALL PINE POLKA by Lorna Landvik (440 p.) Actually my favorite of Landvik’s books–focusing on a small diner in Minnesota, with the added touch of a big, Hollywood movie production that comes to town. It’s a “cozy” kind of book without going too far into the cliched, small-town thing. It’s enjoyable.

3. ELEGANCE by Kathleen Tessaro (319 p.) An unhappy woman in London comes across an old guide to fashion called “Elegance,” and starts revamping her life to match the rules in the book. Nice.

4. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (309 p.) Does this need a description? The first Harry Potter book, accept no imitations…. An 11-year old boy discovers he’s a wizard and heads off to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry . . . you know the rest, huh?

5. ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION by Temple Grandin (308 p.) A really interesting book about how animals (appear to) view the world, written by an autistic woman. It compares the way an autistic person perceives things and draws similarities to the way animals appear to . . . fascinating, even if I question at least some of her facts, but so what? It was a great read, completely unique, and almost literally eye-opening, since it made me think of a whole bunch of things in ways I never had before.

6. TO WEAVE A WEB OF MAGIC by four separate authors (362 p.) Four short fantasy novels–some of which I like better than others–but it’s got Sharon Shinn, who I think I’ve established I love, and Patricia McKillip, so how bad could it be?

7. THIS IS ALL I ASK by Lynn Kurland (422 p.) This is about as “romance”-y as I get, and got pulled into this one because the author was one of the four from the volume just above. A quasi-medieval arranged marriage between a terrified girl who’s been abused by her father, and a recently-blinded warrior who’s fulfilling a promise to her brother, but distrusts everyone . . . as you can imagine, they get along just swimmingly . . . it’s fluff, to be sure, but decent for the type.

8. BELLWETHER by Connie Willis (243 p.) My favorite Connie Willis book. (Or, well, it’s tied with “To Say Nothing of the Dog.”) A researcher into the origins of fads gets mixed up with a biologist who wants to research randomness in monkeys . . . all while the company tries to figure out what to do to get a huge, secretive Grant . . . but meantime, you see lots of people following fads (Marriage Barbie! Duct tape! Lattes!). It’s laugh-out-loud funny and wacky all while they try to make sense out of things. Really, I love this book. I’ve read it three times so far, and have loved it each time. (And, it’s usually sold in the sci-fi section since she often writes that genre, but this book does not fit that category. It’s just good.)

9. THE HERO AND THE CROWN by Robin McKinley (227 p.) Another young adult fantasy book. Aerin has grown up as the under-appreciated daughter of the king, who finds a way to fight dragons, while something darker and more ominous seems to be threatening her kingdom . . . which sounds dreadfully dull, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s been a favorite of mine for years. Who cares if I’ve outgrown the demograpic?

10. PAWN OF PROPHECY by David Eddings (258 p.) The first volume of the “Belgariad” fantasy series, where Garion, his Aunt Pol, and Mister Wolf leave the farm in pursuit of a stolen object….

11. KNITTING BEYOND THE EDGE by Nicky Epstein (155 p.) The third book of her “edging” series, and it’s my favorite.

12. QUEEN OF SORCERY by David Eddings (327 p.) Belgariad part two. Garion is getting older as they pursue the Orb, and has discovered a talent for sorcery himself.

13. MAGICIAN’S GAMBIT by David Eddings (305 p.) Third Belgariad. The end of the quest…. but is it the end of the story??

14. TEACH YOUR DOG TO READ by Bonnie Bergin and Sharon Hogan (187 p.) Exactly what it sounds like. Big flashcards, lots of treats, and patience . . . as soon as I figure out how to laminate the things, Chappy wants to give this a try.

15. CASTLE OF WIZARDRY by David Eddings (373 p.) Book four of the Belgariad. The Orb has been recovered, but there’s still one more little thing Garion needs to do….

16. ENCHANTER’S END GAME by David Eddings (372 p.) . . . Kill the god, Torak, who is determined to rule the world. Really, no problem, right? I’ve been a fan of this series since the early 80s–it’s predictable in spots, sure, but Garion is entirely enjoyable as a character . . . how can you not like him? . . . and his cohorts are also great company. Silk has always been a favorite of mine, and Durnik, and . . . well, it’s just fun. Like comfort food.

17. THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfiel (406 p.) Recommended in my comments by Sherry, I very much enjoyed this book. Margaret Lea, amateur biographer, gets a letter in the mail from England’s most famous author, who’s been lying about her past for years, but wants finally to tell the truth. It’s got a Gothic feel, and mixes Margaret’s story with Vida Winter’s–who tells her life story as, in fact, a series of stories. Not “I was born…” but “Once upon a time.” And the writing? Absolutely beautiful, evocative, moving, descriptive . . . and all this in a first novel. I’ll definitely be looking for more from her!

18. THE CLAIRVOYANT by Marion Thurm (321 p.) Light and fluffy story of Vincent, a clairvoyant/medium and two of his clients, with one of whom he falls in love….

19. THE BLOODY SUN by Marion Zimmer Bradley (372 p.) An early “Darkover” fantasy book. Jeff Kerwin grew up on Terra (aka Earth), but has always longed to return to the planet he was born on, to find out what he can about his mother, and the strange, blue jewel he’s had for as long as he can remember. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that he has laran, those special, psionic powers that Darkovans do so well…

20. HERITAGE OF HASTUR by Marion Zimmer Bradley (351 p.) Another Darkover book, which tells the beginning of the Sharra Rebellion, via Lew Alton’s story and that of young Regis Hastur . . . the Sharra rebellion is a central focus for much of the Darkover series, but, darn it, always ends the same, tragic way….

21. SHARRA’S EXILE by Marion Zimmer Bradley (340 p.) The follow up to “Heritage.” Lew and his father are in exile in the galaxy, but when they are drawn back to Darkover, the Sharra matrix reawakens and causes all sorts of new trouble….

22. WORLD WRECKERS by Marion Zimmer Bradley (215 p.) A pretty mediocre one, honestly, if not out-right bad, but vital to connect the earlier Darkover books with the more recent ones, focusing on Lew’s daughter. Although, since it was written earlier in her career, the quality of the writing and the “internal” Darkover consistencies are, well, inconsistant.

23. DIVIDED BY GOD by Noah Feldman (251 p.) A look at the legal issues of religion here in the U.S., starting with what the Founders (apparently) had in mind when they initially wrote about the separation of church and state, and how that vision has evolved over the last couple of centuries. Fascinating. Especially the way it’s changed . . . it was never supposed to be about forcing/not allowing religion to be mentioned in school, or displayed in a courtroom–at the time, something like 95% of the country was Protestant–it was to avoid the inevitable conflicts if one of the many sects of Protestantism were to become the “official” religion somewhere down the road. Public schools, in fact, were initially promoted as ways to SPREAD morality and religion, even more than reading and writing, and some of the earliest court cases were about Catholics objecting to their children having to read from the Protestant Bible . . . hence the large number of private Catholic schools . . . really interesting.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Reading List from November // 5 Comments »