Decorations are nice

but I'm always glad to have them put away for another year and to get my house back to normal. Once Christmas is over, I'm almost frantic to have everything put up. I mean, it's over, so store it away already. (I feel the same way when it's Thanksgiving, but in reverse, I can't wait to get the house all decked out.)

Now I'm ready for 2008. Bring on the New Year!

A Gift, and Knits

This is the absolute coolest knitting gift I've ever received. Given to me by the lady I knit the Swan Lake Stole (MS3) for, she did what any non-knitter would do: walked into the Loops yarn store in Tulsa, told the friendly Loops Troops there about her knitting fool of a friend, and asked what could she get me as a Christmas gift? They had the best possible answer: buy something a knitter would always want but might not buy for themselves. Are you ready? Here it is, and I LOVE it:

Looks kinda like a burrito, doesn't it?

What is it, you ask? Well, if you knit, you know what it is, if you don't you might ask, what is it?

Don't you just love the pattern? My friend and I call it Sedona, because it reminds her of the colors of the sunsets, the hills, the vegetation... (actually it's called Hip to be Square - Mocha)

The burrito unfolds.....

And this is the wonderous inside! A place for all my needles, circs, straights, and dpns, and notions and gauges, and Everything! You can see my new KnitPicks Harmony Options in the bottom row, and the pair of size 10 straights she gifted me in the top row, middle. I was giddy about it, and still am. It's from Offhand Designs, the Deluxe Clutch.

Knitting has taken place, and now that obviously the batteries are working in the camera, I can share.

My first pair of socks using self-striping yarn. This is just about the niftiest thing, the way the yarn makes its own stripes. Almost magical. It's from Cascade Sassy Stripes, size 1 dpns, the basic sock pattern from Silver. I'm pretty chuffed with how the second sock is spot on in lining up the stripes.

And lastly, the progress on Skin of the Sea. I can see the homestretch. Short rows come next, plus the edgings, and of course finishing, washing, and blocking. This is grand!

A Christmas Eve tradition

Long ago my grandparents gave my brother a book of children's Bible stories. It's been well loved and used, the spine is a bit cracked, and the pages are brittle and yellowish. Somehow I ended up with the book many years ago. When my son was born, I began a tradition on Christmas Eve of reading to him the four-five page story of the Birth of Baby Jesus: The First Christmas. Then along came my daughter and we added her to the mix. This is the last thing we would do before turning out the lights so they could wait for Santa Claus.

Tonight, for the 20th year, I will sit on my son's bed, with my daughter next to me, and I'll read them the story again. I love doing this. They don't seem to mind, adult and young adult as they are. And when the time comes, down the road, and they have children of their own, I hope they continue this tradition, or even let me have the honor.

Merry Christmas to you all! May you have the peace, love, and promise of the Season, found in the small package of a Baby.

Well drat.

There are no pics of my socks-in-progress, as I can only find one of the rechargeable batteries to go into the camera, and it needs to slurp on the power of two. I have no idea where the other three batteries that belong in the charger have wandered off to. No juicy, no pictures.

Cards away!

The Christmas cards are mailed. What with the ice storm and all, I'm about a week and a half behind, so I apologize now for the tardiness of the cards. Especially to those folks overseas in Germany and England -- yours will be late. *sad face* However, I hope you enjoy my annual Christmas letter. Maybe it's my mind's attempt to help me forget about the no power episode, but I completely forgot to include that in my letter, doh! Oh well.

Just for grins and giggles, I'm going to try and get all my cards done in November next year. That way maybe I'll be ahead of the game and karma will even out these two years. ;)

Got some knitting done

during my son's out patient surgery on Monday. In fact, I got a heel turned, the gusset finished, and am in the home stretch of foot knitting. Sitting in the waiting room is a great place for knitting. He is doing well.

I'm using Cascade's Sassy Stripes, first time for self-striping yarn. It's really cool. I'll get a picture posted tonight.

HUZZAH!!

As of 12:31 p.m. today, we have ----- POWER!!!! And the crowds went wild, there was great rejoicing throughout the land, and if I see a PSO man right now, I might just kiss him!

Thank you for heat!