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 // 14 Comments »