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.

So .. yeah. Menstrual and all, I stayed home today, though I don't think my boss has coverage for the store I was going to cover .. and I feel awful about it, but goddammit, I can't work when it feels like my uterus is being twisted repeatedly by Hulk Hogan. I'm fine by about 6pm, or if I'm sitting down, but my job has to be done in the mornings, and isn't a sit-down thing. So .. she will have to deal without me, cos I just can't make it out to Rivergate and handle my own store .. and I hate it, but I'm female and not past menopause and she'll just have to understand. That'll teach me to agree to cover another person's full vacation right before taking my own.

But I promised to tell you about the birthday gift Jason gave me. He's always been one that can't stand to wait .. though I have to admit, I get that way too, when it's a good one. But this is one helluva birthday present, and I just have to brag a little.

He got be a Nikon D50 SLR digital camera, a good lens to go with it, a UV filter for the lens, a camera bag, and pre-paid for lessons for me to learn how to use said camera. I'd take a picture of it, but it's kinda hard to take a picture of a camera ... but here's the website for the particular camera I have. It is cool as anything, and as much of a shutterbug as I am, it's going to be a great camera for me to play with.

For just an example of the pictures I can take with this camera, here's a shot I took of Isis.




So for those counting, I have gotten a cool as shit phone/pda, and a mega-cool digital camera within two months. Good god, what am I going to get for christmas???

In other, -really- exciting news, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair is ... *duhnduhnduhhhhn* TOMORROW!!!! Wahoo!! In 24 hours, barring catastrophes or anything else, Brandon and I will be on our way up to Lake Lure, where we have a house rented until Monday. Jason and Larissa will be coming up that evening, but since we have to figure out how to start a fire in the wood-stove, and have to find the place on top of that, we figured we'd go up there as early as possible.

I'm bringing some knitting, of course, though I only have the burp cloth on the needles right now. But how cool will it be, sitting in the living room together, all .. minus Jason probably .. with our knitting, just gabbing away all the time while it's a frigid 20-some-degrees outside? Oohing and ahhing over the things we saw that day while driving through the mountains, or at the Fiber Fair itself. And celebrating my birthday while we're there. It's going to be so utterly perfect, I can't even begin to explain.

Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look what my husband, the wonderful man that I married, brought me home today!!!!! An I-Mate K-Jam.

*squeees and bounces all around*

I've been ooing and ahhing all over the place about the palm-pilot thing I get to use for work. And when he bought his new phone right before his birthday, I was all kinds of jealous of its drop-out keyboard. And I in general have just been covetous.

Well, tonight he came home with this absolute beauty of a phone, saying that it is because I reached my 10% goal, and got a job that I've kept for a month, and just because. Isn't he sweet, and wonderful? It's blue-tooth ready, has a camera (!!!!!!) and palm-pilot features .. just -everything- I could ever want. Integrated email! Music and videos! It synch's with my computer from -anywhere- as long as I have a signal. HOW FUCKING COOL!!!

I'm going to go eat dinner and watch survivor, and squeal a little more because of my AWESOME NEW PHONE!!!

Yarn Ho!

Okay, that was silly. But I have to report that today in my mailbox, what did I see??



I was the very first recipient of one of seven boxes travelling the world in the Yard Aboard II swap! So cool! I was just telling Brandon yesterday about it, and how grateful I was that I already had my yarn for my partner!



I got the Christopher Columbus box .. welcome, Chris, to my little corner of hell. Well, not really, but good gracious, it's hot enough to be!! I'll have to start finding places to take him. Perhaps a little photo-tour of what passes for home around here.




Goodies inside! But really, I must wax on about the lovely boxes. So cute, right down to the little traveler's log sheet!




I just love getting presents .. especially ones I don't know about beforehand! Amanda, thank you! Well, my diet doesn't thank you, but I'll be good and not let it sabotage me!



Archer Farms' Chocolate Drizzle indulgent snack mix. So evil! But it looks so yummy too. I love snack mixes, especially those with chocolate! I'll have to point this, since I'm on weight Watchers, and it'll have to wait until tomorrow, which is weigh-in day, but I will definitely enjoy this yummyness. And I can share it with hubby!



The most adorable little journal .. it can be my knitting journal, now that I'm ready to start knitting more than dishcloths! Thank you, I love it! And I especially love that it's fabric covered and padded .. utterly and completely precious!




This will be the first addition to my beautiful journal, my postcard from Louisiana. Specifically, from Magnolia Mound, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I've been to New Orleans, a few years back, and I do love the area. So to have a postcard is nice. And the little blurb about the house is fascinating. Makes me want to explore it!




Last, but certainly not least, the yarn! And a sock pattern! Woot! The pattern is from Fiber Trends, the Peak Experience socks - with patterns for Angel's Rest (women's) and Mt. Hood (unisex). I love them! They don't look terribly difficult at all, and I love they way that different yarns make them look!

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in Mother Lode, and I love it. It's deliciously autumnal. I just need to get needles, and I'm good to go for making myself some lovely socks for Fall!

Thank you so much, Amanda! I love being a part of this, and can't wait for the next go-round!

Goodies for me!

I got a lovely little gift from Spiderwoman Knits today .. a little package of hand-made stitch markers from her 'blogwarming'. How cute are they! Thank you hun! They're simply precious, and will be very useful once I'm done with the Booga-making!

I also got my new Interweave Knits today, and have found a bazillion patterns within that I want to make. Some of them are rather silly .. what's with that skirt? But I love love love the Portland Pullover, as well as the Gatsby Girl Pullover, but I think my favorite is the Equinox Yoke Pullover. Down to the little rolled hem .. it's simply lovely. And the Northern Lights Jacket .. they both make me itch to try Fair Isle!

And the lace patterns .. I really like the Glasgow Lace sweater, though I think it should be a bit longer .. anyone else with me, or am I just crazy? I feel the same about the Breton Jacket .. but I've never been overly fond of short-waisted tops I think. Maybe when I'm thinner.

The Father and Son Socks are very nice .. I might make some once I have appropriate yarns to do so .. and the Spartan Pullover for men is nice too. I could even make that for my dad!

I am simply in LOVE with the Weekend Pullover though .. I'm wondering how much of a misnomer -that- name is though. Despite the 'easy to remember' stitch-patterns it uses, I doubt it can be made in a weekend. It's lovely, however. As is the Sienna Cardigan .. yet, again, we have the short waist issue. I probably shouldn't say that though until I actually knit something wearable.


I also picked up a few other magazines when we went to pick out some books for Jason's Aunt Patty, who fell the other day in the yard and dislocated her jaw. OUCH!

I grabbed Family Circle's easy Knitting Spring/Summer issue, which has a few nice summery sweater patterns, but the cutest I think is the felted bowl patterns it has. I also finally broke down and bought Vogue Knitting's Spring/Summer issue. I knew it had several patterns I liked, but I'd been putting it off. But since Fall is coming, I thought I'd go ahead and get it .. since I'll only whine that I didn't later anyway. And Creative Knitting's September issue came out .. and it has a dishcloth pattern again! Yay! As well as a couple cute sweaters, and a non-felted slipper-sock pattern.


I don't have enough actual UFO's to actually join, but I came across UFO August KAL in my blog-reading today, and thought I'd promote it a little, for those of you that might actually read me and might be interested.