Crash

Yup, that's my new nickname. For the past week my balance has been completely whacked. I stagger around like a Skid Road bum. No longer do I walk down a hallway, I just bounce off one wall and then the other like a pinball. Last night's intended victim, the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Luckily that thing is huge and it fought back. When I lost my balance and fell against the tree its sproingy (is this a real word?) branches bent and then flung me away from it. Because Bonny had previously stripped the bottom portion of the tree of all ornaments there were no casualties. The only injury to report was to my dignity.

My DH returned home from a week in Las Vegas where he attended an IT conference. Because it's his guard unit's drill weekend though he'll be away most of the weekend, so we still won't see him. There is a Christmas party scheduled for tonight but the lack of a babysitter will probably keep me from attending. This might be a good thing. It would be really embarrassing to knock over the grog bowl before partaking of the spirits therein.


I made another hat yesterday, but it's rather sloppy looking, even for my tastes. Time to give up free form and get serious again. I'm thinking socks.

The final yarn installment arrived from Mama-E's Fall Sock Club. It's lovely shades of grays and greens. Green is my favorite color.

While in Vegas B bought me jewelry. And who said that geeks aren't romantic. These are genuine gold-plated latinum Star Trek earrings from Star Trek The Experience. Thank you honey.

Friday!

Friday is my most favorite day of the week. It heralds the beginning of a weekend not yet spent. And kind of like a beautifully wrapped package with unknown contents, the potential and excitement of not knowing what's inside are sometimes better than the gift itself.

While slurping the elixer of life this morning I browsed the internet. A normal activity. However, what I found soon had the precious liquid squirting out my nose as I laughed with glee.

Here are some links. This reminded me that I always assumed I'd wind up the crazy cat lady. The possibility still exists.

Not all cooking utensils are socially acceptable, no matter how well they may work.

And a note to my darling husband. DO NOT SHOP FOR ME AT THIS SITE just because you can't think of a Christmas present. Money wasted on these items would much better be spent on yarn.

Enjoy your weekend all!

Hurry up!

This time of year many folks hum Christmas Carols as they go about their daily business. In my head "The William Tell Overature" plays quickly and loudly. Over and over again. Letters have yet to be written, cards and packages haven't been mailed, decorations are only half way up and there is no stockpile of homebaked goodies in the freezer. But shopping is completed (thanks to Visa and the internet). December weekends are booked with holiday social gatherings. School concerts and performances threaten to usurp many weekday evenings, leaving little time to eat, clean or complete other essential activities. Is it just me or does this Christmas treadmill go just a little bit faster each year? And still that mental muzak keeps playing, urging me not to slow down.
Earlier last week I bailed on the Christmas knitting commitments. This week the decorating was halted midstream, actually, midstrand of lights. Yesterday I purchased some store bought cookies and Stollen to keep on hand in case of unexpected well wishers. This is not selling out, but rather saving what remains of my sanity. And to promote emotional well-being at least one hour a day has been spent doing something that I WANT to do.

First, I painted our dreary family room. The original color resembled a worm soaking in the bottom of a puddle... you know, that creepy not quite pink and not quite gray color . So now instead of drowned invertebrae, we have a bright cheddar colored accent wall and the other walls are painted a very pale gold color (they look white in the picture).

(I do not know where the dark spot on the ceiling or on A3's cheek came from. They only appear in the pictures)

The "tacky" rug I'm crocheting out of the Pendleton blankets is underneath the rocking chair. I hope to make it really large eventually. And yes, A3 is wearing a bathing suit top in December. It's her day off from kindergarten and mommy apathy has set in. Gone are the days of accessorizing my childrens' outfits with the bows in their freshly coiffed hair.

Here's another therapy hat. Hats are wonderful to knit because no patterns are needed and blocking, etc. isn't necessary. I can just knit mindlessly. This last detail is essential.

Here is our rather spartan, Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. I tried explaining the "less is more" concept to my girls, but they didn't get it. Finally I gave up and just told them I was tired and that they could add more decorations if they so chose. After several minutes they too decided the understated look was in. We're going to relax and have fun this year damn it!




I almost forgot. Here is the latest addition to our family. A1 got an early Christmas present yesterday. His name is Juji. Juji is still in shock from leaving the pet store. He hasn't made any sound at all. Bonny (our young kitty) desperately wants to check him out, but the door to A1's room remains shut, much to her dismay.

Alicia,

Alicia in college, 1989

or as my daughters call her, "Miss Lish", came down for a visit on Sunday. Alicia and I met many years ago while waiting for the mail in our college residence hall lobby. We've been friends ever since.
Some Lish facts:
~ She doesn't like catching nightcrawlers, but she'll fish.
~ She grew up in Toppenish, WA
~ She's the youngest of four children, but two of her siblings have passed away
~ She moves... a lot. As a result we've lost contact on several occasions, but she always tracks me down.
~ She does amazing bead and leatherwork.
~ NOBODY can stack wood as fast or as neatly as Lish
~ She's funny, but quiet. If you don't listen carefully you're bound to miss something funny.
~ We've always had the most fun just "doing nothing" ... It's a Pooh sort of thing.
~ She will give you the shirt off her back, and her pants, and shoes and coat. Heck, if you asked she'd probably even give you her underwear... I've never asked.

Anyway, she drove all the way down here just to check out our new digs and say, "hey." She brought her friend, Becky along for the ride. While she was here we drove down to the Pendleton Mill outlet in Washougal. Pendleton wool is amazing, but I've never been able to afford it... Until now.

I was introduced to the tables full of mill ends and blanket remnants. And even though it wasn't yarn I felt the same rush of excitement a fiber addict experiences in a yarn store. These were very long strips of fabric. And the reason I only purchased two bags of remnants was because my youngest daughter played Houdini on us and disappeared. She hid in a circular clothing rack and pulled her feet up out of sight. Shopping was halted while everyone frantically searched in vain. Finally my eldest daughter found her. Once the felon was apprehended and restrained in her car seat she was assigned a full time warden, me. I think that poor Becky almost had a nervous breakdown.

Upon returning to our house Lish pulled this out and presented it to me! This is a very beautiful and very large blanket. It was only put on the table for this picture, it's been on my bed ever since. I was and still am speechless. I love it.


The afore-mentioned scraps were wound into large balls. I'm attempting to crochet a rug. A1 says it's the tackiest thing she's ever seen. I'll have her know that I'm capable of much tackier.

And in the meantime, I'm bugging the heck out of Lish. She's been in one place for far too long and I think she needs to move to the Portland area.

Gratificationus Instantaneous

Sometimes we all need a quickie. Hang the long courtship that takes place between yarn as it searches for "the right" pattern. Ditch the formalities of toying with gauge swatches. Plunge with abandon into soft squishy fiber with sticks furiously ablaze. Frenzied knitting ends suddenly, sooner than expected. No blocking and only a few loose ends to clean up, then just walk away. No need for drawn out, awkward goodbyes. You are left feeling satisfied and rejuvenated. Commitment to a long-term fiber relationship no longer feels like a trap. Such have been my recent projects.












Fetching in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino edged with glass beads













A1 reluctantly models a hat made with some
plain old Cascade 220 and a whim.

These quickies have felt so liberating that I might have a few more "flings" before entering into an enduring fiber relationship. Cheers.

Saturday in review

On Saturday morning blue skies greeted us. After a leisurely pancake breakfast and lots of silly girls (friends spending the night plus our own silly ones) we ventured out to choose a Christmas
Tree.


We returned home just in time to pick up the mail which included a delightful parcel from V, my Coffee Swap partner. The heavenly scent of freshly roasted coffee could be detected even before opening the box. Man, paper flew as I tore into this box!


And inside, starting at the top from left to right:
A lovely card with wonderful letter written by V , TWO coffee mugs, one is a MiGo traveling cup WITH A HANDLE! Partially due to my M.S. and partially due to just being a naturally born klutz I tend to spill and drop a lot of cups. Most traveling cups do not have handles so my caffeine is usually restricted to "at home" drinking. And the beautiful pottery mug next to it was hand thrown by artisans at the Plymouth Plantation. I love these cups. Next were 5, yes FIVE packages of premium roasted coffees from Boston Best Coffee Roasters. Three gourmet chocolate bars were also included. These have been hidden away for those late-night sweet tooth urges because I don't want to share them with my girls who cannot yet fully appreciate the difference between good and mediocre chocolate.(mean mommy).



And finally, the piece de resistance... this is 400 yards of hand dyed superwash from Mind's Eye Yarns ! Pictures do not begin to serve justice to the beautiful blues and purples of this amazingly soft yarn. It has a glossy sheen reminescent of silk. I keep stroking it and sniffling it. No immediate projects come to mind yet, as I'm still in the infatuation stages, but once the excitement has worn off a little then projects can be pondered. Thank you very much V for sharing such wonderful Boston goodies. Now I'm off to brew some wonderful coffee and catch up on my blog reading. Cheers!