Here and there.

Ups and downs.

Six of this, half-dozen of another.

In another word: Frazzled.

Once again with thanks to Kym…

Here's what's going on in my life… Right Now…

Watching… I am trying to keep up with all my Tivo'd shows! And I only get over-the-air (antenna) network TV! I can't imagine trying to keep up with favorites on cable, which I don't really even think about anymore.

Reading… I am not reading much. Cookbooks. Knitting patterns. Sometimes the local paper (interesting series right now about the orphan train). That's the extent of it right now. I might soon be kicked out of my book club.

Knitting… Lord. What am I not knitting? There's a kid's cap, some mitts, Christmas gifts, a couple of shawls I think… some sweaters I've left hanging… it's a frenzy over here and I've sort of lost track.

Listening to… Christmas music, actually. PTXmas
by Pentatonix, for one. I loved them on The Sing Off, sadly cancelled and I'm really going to miss that show!

Thinking about… My family.

Dreading… Putting up the Christmas tree.

Humming… One More Night.
What? It's so darn catchy.

Planning… Christmas. Menus. Knitting. Gifts.

Excited about… The Christmas Parade, actually! The weather is going to be very mild. Afterwards, Ali will have a table set up at the coffee shop with supplies galore for writing (Cards &) Letters To The Troops!

Drinking… Trying to drink lots of water! I have my bit of coffee every morning.Then some water. Often a mint tea in the afternoon. My "treat" has been a chai tea latte made with a little unsweetened almond milk. I am also on a quest for Cachaca, though, thinking that Caipirinha would be the appropriate designated beverage of Christmas around here this year.

Itching to… Get some dyeing done.

Needing to… Finalize my list and keep plugging along on the Christmas knitting. It all seems quite do-able right now. Let's hope!

Organizing… My yarn stash needs to be organized! I am toying with the idea of a yarn swap, too. Or, more my style these days, just a big ol' donation of yarn and whatnot to a school or center.

Inspired by…

Delighted by… My new boots that I haven't worn yet. They'll debut on Saturday night at The End of The World Show — which hopes to run through December 29th.

How about YOU?  What's going on for you. . . right now?

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Congratulations, finally, to Julia in KW! I didn't do it precisely at noon on Thanksgiving Day, as promised, but I finally did draw a random name and it was Julia's!

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And, what do you know? With that, it's a wrap on another NaBloPoMo!

Happy weekend, ever'body!

 

All of my girls know how to knit, though they are definitely "seasonal" knitters — inspired by fashion and, well, usually the weather. Every once in a while, they get an itch… and get it bad! Katie got one on our recent trip to Chicago.

Itchin' for cowls! Cowls have been huge for a while now. One of the great things about them is that there's a style for everyone!

After some research on Ravelry, it was The Rime Frost Cowl that struck the loudest note. Resistant to creating an account of her own, there've been a number of cowls recently added to *MY* Favorites, in addition to all the mittens due to yesterday's Ten on Tuesday topic!

With a good idea about what to shop for in terms of yarn weight and yardage, we considered many possibilities – fiber content, construction and, not least, color — before choosing a couple of balls of Rowan Alpaca Chunky. I had a "reward" credit at Iris Fine Yarns, too, and was happy to have her use it!

Katie borrowed needles and cast on right away so she could take it with her to work and have something to do on her Monday late-shift dinner break. She knit a while after she got home and then, again, on Tuesday (her day off).

Not only did she finish the cowl on Tuesday morning, she went shopping for MORE yarn for ANOTHER cowl — this time the GAP-tastic Cowl.

And (this slays me) she admitted to watching YouTube videos about knitting while she was knitting – adding a new ball of yarn, weaving in ends, finishing circular knitting.

Yes, indeedy.

And (t)here is your dagger! The first cowl — in the luscious and rather pricey Rowan yarn — is just a bit more snug than Katie would like, so she is going to frog it and re-knit, adding another repeat. There's plenty of yarn and it's such a quick knit.

Yeah, her own Ravelry account can't be far off now! Though this could very well be the extent of her knitting until next winter, too. Heh.

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Do me a favor and think all the good thoughts today for someone close to me. XO

 

Update on Thanksgiving II:

• The turkey breast was a little dry; luckily, there was some delicious self-made "gravy" as accompaniment.
• The Pecan-Crusted Sweet Potatoes were one of the simplest things to prepare and were a huge hit! Absolutely delicious.
• I ended up just cooking and mashing the parsnips as I would for mashed potatoes; simple and delicious.
• Katie's Salt-Roasted Beets with Whipped Goat Cheese & Pistachio Vinaigrette… well, what more can I say? YUM. She blogged them here, with recipe!
• Sauteed green beans — also simple, also delicious.
• Mom's Corn Pudding and Fruit Salad are family traditions and are always a hit.
• I haven't even tasted Ali's Pumpkin Loaf yet — it looks delicious, but she was disappointed. She did some crazy crust stuff with the Cherry Pie; it was delicious and the cherries were from Rod's back yard!
• Rusty made a mostly rice flour crust for his Apple Pie. Yum.
• I made the Everyday Paleo Pumpkin Pie and remembered the sweetener this time (used a tiny bit less than called for); also used pumpkin that I'd cooked and frozen and it wasn't quite as solid, so had to bake a bit longer. Also? It was still warm when served. I had a piece from the fridge later and was reminded that I definitely prefer my pumpkin pie to be completely cooled!

We sent a bunch of leftovers home with Maddy, so my container drawer is a little emptier than usual, but had to share. Katie's been in awe of my organizational/nesting abilities, and recently told me that it looks like a work of art.

We usually have one leaf in our round oak dining table. Last Thursday, I put in the other two and then left it that way — a mile long — for Sunday's feast. Then I decided that we should take them all out!

It suits the area much better that way, and there's so much room!! There are usually only two, sometimes three, sitting there at any give meal these days, and perhaps less horizontal surface area will mean that less crap will end up there.

I had fun re-vamping and re-stocking my little yarnie area at Ali's for Small Business Saturday. A while back I scored a great display rack for flip-flops that works wonderfully for hanks of yarn and patterns. It even came with a round sign that I had re-done with one of my yarn ball logos. All the packing and shipping is done at the moment, but have some dye-to-orders to play with yet this afternoon.

And fit in a visit to the hair salon! It's a jam-packed day off of work.

Knitting? I'm working on some Christmas presents! And also Marin (it's like a present for me).