The day before the Day Before Christmas

I've gotta say, first of all, I'm loving the knew new Blogger. I was able to easily add link lists, and have been playing around with it in other ways, and I didn't even have to lose my rings this time. Fan-fucking-tastic! I'm not yet finished I don't think, but I'm close. I'd like to see a three column template available though .. I do better with threes.

Work has, for the most part, slowed down. I've got to work tomorrow, Christmas Eve, but it'll be in the morning, and then it'll be over, and it's money, dontchaknow. Besides, I've got to pick something up for Johnny, and Miss Neely asked me to buy something for her to give to her sort-of ex-husband. She is, of course, paying me back, but since I work there and all, why don't I just make her not have to leave the house. *growl* Ahh, friends, how I love them.

I've almost finished the Booga bag for Brandon's momma. Just have to knit and felt the strap, but the body is done. It's all ratty looking though, so I need to take a sweater stone to it or something .. it's got pills everywhere cos it got out of the pillowcase in the water, and I'm a bit miffed at that. Other than that though, it's looking good, and should have enough size to it for her, once I get a good strap on it. The plan is, to fill the bag with tissue paper and have it look like a gift bag .. maybe she won't realize it's part of the present!

It's cloudy and dreary today, and were it colder I might think it looked like snow. But since I can probably walk out in shorts it's so mild, I don't think we'll get so lucky. Nope, no white christmas for us down here. But that's okay.




Well, I've -got- to get going. I have a 6' I-cord to knit, and pictures to print at CVS, and other such fun things. At least that's the -only- thing I have to go out for today. Everything else is -done-. My tree is drowning in gifts this year, and not everything is there. Jason apparently has gifts hiding in the back bedroom, unwrapped. If I weren't such a good wife, I'd already know what they are. Damn me! I'll return and post pictures of the tree once everything I can wrap is wrapped .. that way I can start loading them in the car, since we head to Brandon's tomorrow after I work and we run out to bring a gift to Mardell, the woman I went to the church concert with momma with.

Speaking of moms, my mom sent Jason and I gift cards to Best Buy, so I can buy my PS2 and he can get his stereo to be able to use the XM I bought for his birthday. She also sent us little spoon lapel pins, because she sometimes doesn't have enough spoons. You can go here to learn more about the 'spoon theory'. Mom has given us a couple of spoons to hold in reserve for her, just in case, and it's making me cry right now just to think about it. Please, read the article at least, and think about someone you know with a chronic illness, and just imagine for one day what it's like to live life with a limited amount of spoons.

Dinner, pink scarf and Booga!

I've been slacking again. I'm actually way behind in reading blogs too, which is something I'm trying to slowly slog through this afternoon. This morning and lastnight my 'net was having issues .. well, actually, many issues. More like subscriptions. But is seems to have stabilized now, so I'm able to post and such.

I went out on Tuesday with my friend Neely .. the one who won't learn to knit. She's -such- a snob! But I went out with her anyway, and took Brandon along .. the one who I taught to knit, and who loves it and is as much a knit-dork as I am. We went to get pedicures at the nail salon she likes in Charlotte. It was nice too. The little Asian girls were darlings, and didn't seem to talk about us too much. And the pedicure was so relaxing. I knitted on the pink skinny scarf all the way through. And they even do a paraffin dip for your feet .. all for $25! Wahoo, pampering!





After the pedi, we went to lunch at Panera bread, and then to Target for something for Neely .. and I ended up getting Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure. Yay! Yes, I am also a computer game dork. I already had the Endangered Species expansion, so I had to get this one! And after some annoyance with the installation, I finally got it installed and running, and I've already played it some. I'm still trying to get through all the campaign games ... they're tough!!

After the trip to Target though we went to Hoby Lobby to pick up some yarn for Brandon to make dishcloths for some friends of his and for Neely to pick out yarn for her own. She wants some that match her bathroom. And good friends that we are, we offered to make some for her. But they only had the right color in chenille (sp?) so I snapped off a small amount from the skein and I'm going to find some in a cotton or something more durable to make her some. And I'll likely be paying it out of my own pocket. And I'm used to that.

Now, I should explain something about Neely. Neely is selfish. Extremely and often uncomfortably so. I love her. She's a wonderful friend. But I don't spend a lot of time with her because of this. Neely isn't the type to do something out of the goodness of her heart. She has a motive, always. We tolerate this in her right now, because she's had some life changes .. though they are her own doing. She left her husband of 3 years for a fling relationship with a guy she met online through Adult Friend Finder, then started a relationship with the man she's renting part of a house from. She doesn't make the best decicions. But I love her, and think she tries as best as she knows how to be a good friend.

So it doesn't surprise me when I have to buy yarn for this for her. Even though I'd really rather not buy it, because she's snooty enough that I can't just pick up some everyday cotton. She wants it to be soft. But, that's the price of friendship .. at least in this case.


Anyway, we left from there to drop her off at her and Keith's house, and made plans to meet her at a restaurant local to us for dinner with she and Brandon and Jason and myself. Keith wouldn't come because Keith is a chef and is too snobby about food to eat anywhere like *gasp* Applebees. Even though we're all on Weight Watchers (Jason, Brandon and I) and that's one of few places we can go to eat and not have to worry if we have enough points. And when he cooks, he doesn't think about such things, and honestly, his food is often too 'cuisine' for me to enjoy. He overdoes everything .. he can't just make a simple meal when we go over for dinners, and it frustrates me because every time, I get sick with stomach problems. You'd think he'd get the hint.

So we get to Jason's work, and he's busy. And we're early to boot. So we sit in the car and knit. No big deal! I worked more on the scarf while we waited .. and we thought 'Hey, we should call Neely and let her know we might be late." So we call. She hasn't even left yet .. she's watching TV. *ahems* Did I mention she's a little self-centered? It didn't dawn on her we might be waiting for her.

Anyway, dinner was had, and it was nice, and we chatted and we did our duty as friends, and we went home and were content. Oh, and at dinner I finished the scarf. It's as long as I am tall .. think that'll be enough for a little 5-year-old? I love it to pieces, the feel of it is perfect. If only it weren't pink.






Lastnight I spent watching tv with Jason and Brandon, and I started my Booga bag finally. I'm not using Noro (I know, gasp away. But I'm on a yarn diet this summer, and have all this wool I can use instead.) And though the whole picking up stitches along the edge thing was wierd, I finally got through it, and I have now gotten through a good ten rounds of the sides. And if I do say so myself, the fuscia looks really good with the grey-brown handspun I'm pairing it with.