Now that I'm getting older…

I need a bigger TV! Haha. I guess it doesn't look all that big in the photo, but it's 50" vs. our old 32". I bought the 32" because it was the biggest that would fit in our entertainment center and I wasn't ready to give that up. Now I am. It's a nice piece of furniture and, for now, it's going to be repurposed into yarn storage. It'll also make my workroom look nicer.

Seriously, though, mine eyes!! Ugh. That is the absolute worst thing about getting older. I hate it.

There's a lot of rearranging to do, as obviously I don't have a single piece of furniture that's wide enough to accommodate that new TV! The old TV, entertainment center & accessories are all still where they were — because what if I didn't like the new one? We'll watch the Packers tonight on the "big screen"!

I found my knitting machines stashed behind the entertainment center!

I didn't do any yarn dyeing or rearranging of furniture yesterday (to speak of), but I did wash windows and do some holiday decorating outside. It was in the mid-40s(F)!!

I bought a really nice window washer/squeegee thing a few years ago and it's one of the best things I've ever purchased! It made such quick work of the kitchen windows — which had been driving me nuts now that it's full-on morning sun instead of filtered — that I moved on to the garden room windows and then I had the bright idea to do my dye studio windows!

These are windows that had been painted (exterior storms) once or twice in 31 years but opened for the first time only last year! I had never washed them — and I'm pretty sure that the painter/Rusty didn't (at least not to specs) — so it was quite thrilling to see the difference. Clean on the left, dirty on the right — at this is without the storm windows, so it was even a bit worse.

I did this candy cane stripey thing on the front porch pillars (different/bigger pillars) years ago and the kids always want me to do it again. I don't always… but this year, it's DOUBLE! It turned out OK, I think.

Then, of course, it was time for a nap.

I am working on the Appleseed Mitts from the Mason-Dixon Field Guide No. 8 – Merry Making! I'd already bound off the first mitt and this was my re-do… it was too tight the first time, of course! VeryPink's YouTube tutorial for a tubular bind-off was just the ticket! I finished that (perfect!), knit the thumb, and am on my way with mitt #2.

We had a really nice day yesterday!

I fiddled with the tree lights — wadding up three non-working half-strings and stuffing them near the trunk, and putting on four new 50-light strings. 

Ali and the kids came over in the early afternoon and, as expected, excitement was off the charts once they noticed it.

They decorated the little wire tree in the kitchen, first, and then we moved on to the big one…

There's a bit more to do, and Maddy's box of ornaments await her arrival next week, but the bulk of it is done. Earlier than ever! That probably means it'll come down earlier than ever, too, but who knows… I really do love the light!

Ginny had a favorite branch for hanging ornaments!  🙂

Our menu was simple and delicious, the main event being Cooking Light's Instant Pot Turkey & Sage Dumpling Soup. My only mods to the recipe were that I probably added a bit more veg, and I'd bought a split turkey breast that I had to de-bone myself and I went right ahead and cut it into pieces, too. I was worried that the small pieces would get overcooked, but they were perfect, and it eliminated the messy step of removing the turkey after it was cooked to shred/cut it up. That recipe is a keeper!

I'm off of work today, and plan to do some rearranging of furniture and also some yarn dyeing! Yahoo for long weekends!!