New Year's

So, I've made it thru most of Christmas....at least that's what I'm told. This weekend is the BIG Family Christmas at my folks' house (and I mean really big like 60+ people in the past.) We'll have to wait and see how long I last that one.

So for those of you who may possibly be interested I am not making any New Year's Resolutions this year. Yes, I have in the past. You can come over and read them in my knitting diaries....call first so I can clean the house. This year I will not make any because it's always a total bummer to look back and see what I've failed to do. So this year I'm going to make New Year's Intentions. And I plan on keeping the list short, updating it from month to month rather then once or twice a year. Some of my intentions are:

1. Push DH to find a new (and better paying) job.
2. Rip out all UFO's that show no chance in hell of being completed.
3. Weed out the stash.
4. Find another part-time job (no I'm not leaving the yarn shop!)
5. Re-organize the storage space.

I expect the first to be the most difficult.

Sorry for not having any real knit knews here for you. The CTS in my left hand/wrist/elbow is so enflamed right now that even writing and typing is a bit of a pain. Though I have given in to a guilt pang and have been knitting a scarf for my dad. I'll post a photo of it tomorrow. For now, it's banana bread and tea!

I leave you with the other puppykat, Felix anxiously awaiting his share of the catnip that the Jolly ol'Elf left them for being.... well, for being kats.

Almost Christmas

And what has this knitter been doing? Not that much knitting! Though I have gotten some wrapping done, the tree is up and decorated, Miss M baked the first batch of cookies last night. After reading the new Knitty I decided the Mrs Beeton's wrist warmers were too hard to resist and knit myself one.... just to try out the pattern of course. Note that I only knit one, after all there is still gift knitting to be completed!

See? Aren't they cute? I'll knit it's mate after the New Year. Unless I decide I have to have it for the New Year then if all else is done I'll knit it. This is done in Kid Seta (the yellow mohair -- most wonderful yarn to work with!, the blue is a superwash Rowan something or other that I've since lost the band for) By the way, if you need a quick gift, these are the ticket! It was completed in just over an hour..... that is once I did the necessary stash dive to find the yarn.

Also I've knit some wrist warmers for certain family members to be gifted this evening. Wanna see? Of course you do!! For those interested, I've written out the patterns for each for the asking. This is Roscoe doing his Vanna White impression. He decided the photo needed a bit of cat appeal.

These are a sage color in Catalina Alpaca silk blend. Very soft yarn and warm to boot. I've some left over, perhaps for another pair for moi?

These are a rich plum color in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (yummy!!) There is some of this left over as well. I think for a pair for my DSIL. She suffers from cold hands too.

These are done in Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool in a bright yellow/gold color. It belongs to thee Wyldman who successfully laid a guilt trip on me once again while I was knitting a pair similar to it in deep purple. The mate to this (as it is repeated daily) will be knit after Christmas when the rest of the Holiday knitting is done. He uses the different colored beads as buttons while acting out his favorite super hero scenes.

Thee Wyldman is my Super Hero and calls himself The Green Flame.

Meow Baby!

What? No Mittens?!

No folks, no mittens this week. Sorry. This stuff clogging my head hasn't allowed for much knitting at all. Though my very dear SIL will be celebrating her birthday this month so I do go stash diving and came up with two balls of Debbie Bliss Merino DK in a lovely plum sort of color. It was telling me it wanted to be this. So in two days it was done, so outside it goes for it's first foray out into the snow. Of course now it's sitting in a luke warm bath to be blocked. So here I present to you DB Branching Out. Sorry, it's not much to look at just yet. Take my word for it, it really is quite lovely.

This morning we woke to the first "Snow Event" of the 2005 Winter Season. I think our weather people much stay up late thinking of new ways to call storms. It may not have been a huge storm, we only got about 3-1/2 inches of snow but it was still a storm. For Sandy, I donned the Tall One's shoes and trudged out to get this of our early morning sky.

Say, have you checked out the new Knitty? No? Run, don't walk. There's many a things just begging to cast on and gifted this Holiday Season!

So go already!

Another Tagged by a Crazy Aunt

Crazy Aunt Purl that is. Wicked person tagged everyone who reads her blog and I do believe that probably everyone does. So here goes (mind, I've been on meds for an ear infection all week so my brain is more addled then the usual.)

TEN random things you might not know about me:
1. I have two brothers, one who hasn't spoken to me in 6 years.
2. I have an older son who is now 24 years old.
3. I grew up an "Army Brat"
4. I broke my uncle's nose for calling me an army brat.
5. I had to buy a prostitutes license to get out of jail in Mexico. (what a tale that one is!!)
6. I'm not that sure of myself.
7. I can sell most anything except my own work. (I've got a bridge....)
8. I can be rather gullible.
9. I talk to my cats like I would my children (and sometimes they listen)
10.


NINE places I've visited:
1. West & East Berlin (when there was such a place)
2. Oktoberfest in Munich
3. White Sands, New Mexico (and learned to surf there)
4. Tombstone, Arizona
5. the basement storage of the Natural History Museum
6. Dachau
7. Ratzkeller in Nuremburg
8. Austria via the Alps
9. Wildflecken

EIGHT ways to win my heart:
1. Bring me lovely fibers to knit with.
2. Bring me chocolate.
3. Make an effort to understand me.
4. Request knitted gifts.
5. Spend time with me.
6. Don't judge me wrongly.
7. Be a friend
8. Dark chocolate

SEVEN things I want to do before I die:
1. Go on a whale watch.
2. Own a house on the Severn.
3. Visit San Francisco
4. Learn to be more positive about myself
5. Visit all the major ballparks in the US and Canada
6. See the aurora borelis (sp?)
7. Go to Carnival in Venice

SIX things I'm afraid of:
1. Spiders in the house.
2. SNAKES!! (actually I'm terrified of snakes)
3. Losing my family
4. Being homeless
5. Not seeing my children grow up
6. did I mention snakes?

FIVE things I don't like:
1. Liars
2. Liver and onions
3. Turning your back on me.
4. Aggressive drivers
5. Being preached at

FOUR ways to turn me off:
1. Showing off
2. Jumping to conclusions
3. Silent treatments
4.

THREE things I do everyday:
1. Greet the morning.
2. Brush my teeth
3. Say a prayer of thanks

TWO things that make me happy:
1. My family
2. Babies

ONE thing on my mind right now:
1. What to get my dad for Christmas. (any suggestions?)

GADS!! This is like opening up ones soul and laying it bear on the table for all to examine. And since I have no worries about tagging so many people (face it, Auntie did that for us) I just tag my friends.

Back to the kneedles boyz.....

oh yes, a bit of fun I've found along the way (you can get yours here):