Today's Christmas mug!

Another inside shot (with tea!)

This looks similar to the mug from last post...it's because I think they are siblings! heehee. I would like to have the mug from this year though. It looks like cabled knitting and must come to my house.

This is a sock that I'm remaking for Amanda. She was wearing the other pair (just the same-pattern and yarn) and found a hole under the foot. She must have caught it on something. I "fixed" it and then the other one got a hole. I'm thinking that maybe there was something wrong with one of the skeins of yarn. Maybe it wasn't strong enough? So I'm trying it again.

Cold and rainy tonight and looks like it's getting very foggy out. I'm glad to be inside my nice,warm house.And maybe I will have to make myself a cup of chai. Ooohhhhh...maybe with the Soynog. Oh yeah. That's the ticket. I'm on my way to the kitchen.

The inside of the mug in the following picture. It's always nice to have a surprise in the cup. And not the kind that is floating in the cup.

Mug of the day. You can't see it on this picture but the silver parts are sparkly. The picture is a little blurry as I was kind of on the run. I like this mug 'cause it's really sturdy and holds 2 cups. Here are the "celebrity" poets as promised.

The guy over there

listened very intently

he should get a life.

(Jason)

Freight train in the night

keeps me from sleeping soundly

my friend snored loudly.

(Amanda)

Who knew they were all so talented? heehee.

Cold again today. Went to Trader Joe's early and picked up a few things. The peppermint JoJo's are great. They are like Oreos but with peppermint. MMmmmmm. Very tasty. They will go great with the peppermint chai also.

Well I was going to put my haiku on here but it didn't work. I will post tomorrow with some "celebrity" poets. This is the bargain I found a few weeks ago at one of my lys. It's the Tofutsies and they were $4.00 a skein. Dirt cheap and they are all mine. They are over 400 yards so I can make a good size pair of socks for me.

Here is a better shot of the lucious alpaca yarn that I know you all want to touch and squeeze...so soft.

My new camera phone is so much better. I "loves" it.

Here is one of my Starbucks mugs that I am using today. And check out the decent photo. New phone! Went to Verizon yesterday with the "new" refurbished phone they sent me and was still having the problem, not to mention the fact that it came without a battery!?! What?? So they were very nice and the phone seemed to work just fine. Until this morning when I still couldn't get calls or make any. I think it's probably a good thing to be able to do both with a cell phone.

So off to Verizon we went again. And it's freezing...in the 20*'s and snowing and WINDY. Planned on staying in today and just knitting and watching "The Office" on dvd. Grrrr. But the same person helped me again and said that I was due an upgrade so I got a new phone and will only cost $25.00 after the $50.00 rebate. That's fine 'cause the phone works! Woohoo.

I did lose the photos and notes that I had on my old phone when they switched the battery which is annoying because I don't remember all the notes that I had on it. But at least it works and I am happy.

Got some chai concentrate today....chai peppermint...mmmm. Sounds yummy and I can make it with the Soysilk "egg"nog that I bought. Krogers had it on clearance for $1.71 which is a ridiculously low price so I bought several. It's fabuolous on oatmeal. I also like to make "egg"nog muffins with some.

These are a couple of the pieces that I made last week. I like them and they knit up very fast. It's a chunky weight and soft. This is done with the yarn the Fjill brought us back from Germany. The pink is so soft. Both skeins were 93 yards and I ended up with about 2 yards left.

It's the CG Cowl (it's on Ravelry)and knits up super fast as well.

The buttons are from JoAnn's and are nice and textured and I like them alot. The pattern is done as a slip over the head but I adapted it so I could wrap it.

I would post pictures of what I'm working on now but my phone is having some kind of technical issues and Verizon is supposed to be shipping me a new one that I will get tomorrow. Thank God it was still under warranty. I think it's something with the battery but not sure. It was cheaper to get a new phone with the warranty than have it repaired. I never realized how dependent we as a society get on the cell phones until we are without one. How did we ever survive without them? heehee.

But I'll be glad to have my new one.

HOLIDAY MEME: (consider yourself tagged!)

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?Soynog

2. Does Santa wrap presents, or just sit them under the tree? sit them under the tree(or just sit them)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? colored and the old fashioned big lights

4. Do you hang mistletoe?no

5. When do you put your decorations up? put out a few right after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Gosh, just one? This year it's Tofurkey mustard crusted cutlets and eggnog muffins

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Going to the live nativity at Krohn's Conservatory and seeing the sheep and donkeys and the drunken shepherds! And then having some hot chocolate.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was about 5 or 6 when I walked in on my parents unloading presents under the tree.
.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?Usually one but sometimes we open one a day in the week leading up to Christmas.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?Usually just put up one of those small trees that change colors.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it as long as I don't have to work.

12. Can you ice skate?Yep. My sister was a figure skater when she was younger and we were at the ice rink every day. I worked there as a teenager and was an ice patrol (are you all impressed?lol)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?Not really, but I do remember one year. I was an expert at opening my presents beforehand (I didn't like to be surprised and wanted to make sure that it was what I wanted) and when all the family was out one day I opened the box with the Frye boots (don't judge, it was the 70's) and wore them around the house. Man, I loved those boots.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?No stress

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?Anything my sister the chef makes for me.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?We used to go out and see a movie but now it's making a big brunch on Christmas day and then watching movies and just snacking through the day.

17. What tops your tree?Nothing

18.Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?Giving
19. What is your favorite Christmas song?I want a hippotamus for Christmas.
.
20. Candy canes! Yuck or yum?Yum

21. Hypothetically speaking, you have an uncle (or aunt) who is stinking rich. They ask you to give them a wish list for this Christmas with six items on it. You can ask for anything at all, as long as it's only for yourself. What are you going to wish for?

1. An unlimited trip to yarn shop.

2. All the books/magazines/cds/dvds I can find at the bookstore.

3.A new car.

4.A trip to Charleston,SC.

5. A new computer...top of the line.

6.Money to pay off all the bills.

Thanks for the comments. Things are better here today. Called the library earlier and they went to see if both of the dvds were on the shelf. Voila! and there they were. So one problem solved.

Then the broadband bill came and they STILL hadn't credited us for the week and a half that we were without computer access. Finally got ahold of someone that assured me it was taken care off and deducted the late fees as well. Good.

The sock yarn I found at Michaels yesterday and I figured I could have a pair of socks for $7.00 which isn't bad. It's Kroy and I haven't knitted with it before but seems pretty nice.

Isn't this the prettiest? I wish you could feel how soft. It's from Cascade and it's 100% alpaca and over 200 yards. I think it wants to be a cowl/neckwarmer and matching wristwarmers. And did I mention how soft it is?

It just seems like everything has been just a toss-up this week. I never have any problem with payments to anywhere with checks and this month I have had trouble with the (place you pay your taxes...who wants to write that?) saying they didn't get my check. Never mind they cashed it and then very nicely deducted it from my stimulus check. Now they owe me money but I'm sure it will be awhile before I see it.

Now my movie club is saying the same thing. They cashed the check electronically and the bank says they have to produce the check but we all know how that's going to play out. At least I have the statement that has it written on it.

And now one of the libraries that I go to (here in Ohio you can belong to any counties' library as long as you have an active drivers license.) So I had checked out some dvd's and books and then returned them in 7 days. With this library you can only keep dvds for 7 days and cannot renew them. So I make sure that I return everything on that 7th day. So I took them all back on the 13th and today I get an email saying that I have 2 overdue dvds. Well, I triple-checked before taking them back (to ensure this doesn't happen!) and had to return them inside the library because the book drop was blocked off due to workmen replacing the roof. Why wait over 2 weeks before notifying me? And, of course, I don't have them. Due to the triple-checking you know. Grrrr. It just gets annoying when one thing happens right after another.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a very laid-back day. The Tofurky was great and I made some fabulous homemade mushroom gravy. Mom and sis chowed down on turkey and other turkey day food and we watched movies while digesting food. And as soon as we felt a little space it was time to eat more! No, not really but it kind of felt that way. I did get some knitting done while the movie watching was going on...a nifty cabled neckwarmer that worked on quite fast.

Here are a couple of shots of the yarn for my Andean Chullo hat kit from www.KnitPicks.com. You can go and look at a picture of it that is much better than the ones that I've attempted to take.

But I do like KnitPicks sock yarn-Palette. And the colors are very pretty. The nice thing about the kit is you can get more than one hat from it if you switch the colors. Hats for me and sis!

Sorry about my whining post...I'm sure it will be better tomorrow!

Here's one of my Starbucks' Christmas mugs. I really like it and it holds about 2 cups of tea which is always nice. Right now it's filled with Blackberry sage tea...mmmm.

Been busy knitting on my sweater. Yes, that is the Daily Sweater from Mason-Dixon's new knitting book. So far so good but I think the neckline might be too big. But I like it other than that.

Cold out today again. Ran a few errands including going to the library for some movies for turkey day. Got my Tofurky and going to make some yummy looking cranberries tomorrow. With maple syrup. Can't get much better than that.

The mail just came and the Andean Chullo hat kit that I ordered from KnitPicks is here!! Yah. This will be my first attempt at intarsia and looks like fun. Well, fun is a relative term. Let's say it looks like it will be interesting. I'll take a picture of the kit and post it next time. The colors are really pretty.

Sis handed me a pair of her handknit socks last night with a hole in the bottom of one. *gasp*. Not the heel or anywhere in that area. And they are acrylic worsted weight so she must've caught it on something. I suppose when you wear Crocs that happens. I repaired them but will have to have her try them on to make sure there's not a lump.

Here is the knitting that I've been doing this week. Any guesses? It's not a sock. Yes, I can knit things other than socks.

Freezing tonight. I'm going to have a nice cup of hot apple cider and I have on my polar bear jimjams and slippers and I'm not budging from in here. Went and ran my errands this afternoon so I don't have to go out tonight. Or tomorrow for that matter, if I choose not to do that. I went to the library today and the new Kate Jacob's book was there for me. Woot! So I can knit for awhile then read for awhile.

So I'm off to knit on......I'll have more soon.

New yarn! The color is more of a light green and I got it for half-price and I shall make a pair of socks for me. I don't know what I'll do with the one on the right but it was calling me to take it home so I did.

Brrrr! It has gotten cold, which wouldn't be so bad but it's windy. I'm glad to be home now and in my jimjams. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh. So nice. We went up to a Yarn market in Middletown hosted by the Middletown Knitting Guild and it was fun. Last year it was in August and there were about 8 or 9 shops but there were only 3 today. I think that it was kind of last minute though. Did find some good stuff. The colors didn't show up great in this picture but it's Wisdom Yarns Poems in blues/purples that I'm going to make another pair of flip-top mittens.

We went from in the 70*'s to in the 40*'s and now almost 60*. Crazy. But my Evangeline's came in quite handy when it was chilly. They kept my hands nice and toasty. But....this weekend is sweater weather. Although who wants to go out when it's going to be a "blustery" day and maybe some snow showers. I do hate this time of year. All I want to do is curl up in some flannel jimjams and slippers, have hot tea/chocolate and knit. Or read. I've stocked up on some books on cd and downloaded some podcasts onto my new mp3 player. It's so pretty and holds waaaaaaaaay more stuff than my old one. And it was really inexpensive so quite a deal. Actually it's not that new...more like a month old but me likey.

Well, I'm off to try and finish a pair of socks so I'll see you later.

This is Berrocco Sox and makes a lovely sock for mom. I am almost finished with the second one and then will start on the last pair for her. Until she gets more sock yarn for me! The next pair will be out of KnitPicks Palette which makes nice socks.

Just been working on another pair of socks for mom. Been rather a boring week here so knitting was able to be accomplished.

Went to Whole Foods earlier and picked up my Tofurky for Thanksgiving.( The only bad thing was they were having a chili-cooking contest and the place absolutely REEKED from the meat. I couldn't even stay but to do some rudimentary shopping. Just yuck.) I've not had one before so I'm looking forward to it. Heard they are pretty good and I have some great leftover recipes from this month's issue of Vegetarian Times. So I figured, why not? I have never liked any "thanksgiving" type food...turkey, stuffing(ugh),and the rest so I used to eat a bowl of Cap'n Crunch while everyone else did the carnivore thing. Which was fine by me. But since I've been cooking more (not my favorite thing but then again, neither is starving) I've been making more of the meals. I made all the food to eat at Christmas last year and I suppose this time as well. I get exhausted when making more than one or two dishes. I suppose it's the stress of cooking and not feeling very good at it. But I've got some great vegan cookbooks and have made (at least to me) some wonderful things. Plus, I make stuff for Amanda and I to take to artnight on Mondays to eat. Went and bought some insulated lunchbags at Wally's and some insulated containers to hold soup and/or pasta etc. and have enjoyed being able to eat some decent food instead of fries or something fast food. I'm going to make a leek quiche tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed.

It finally got cooler here this weekend. Unfortunately it went from mid-70*'s to mid-40*'s and it's chilly! Not even a gradual decline. But I did get to wear my Evangeline wristwarmers today and ...oh so warm. I think I shall have to knit another pair of a different pattern. I really like having a pair to just toss in my purse (along with my sock-in-progress)and be able to slide them on when my hands are cold. Plus they are quite pretty. At least in my estimation. It's hard to decide just which pattern though. So maybe I make a few different pairs. We shall see.

Getting to enjoy some wonderful Indian summer weather here. It's funny to have temperatures in the 70*'s in November but it was a great day to knit in the park. Plus it's nice to see the leaves falling and hearing the dry ones skitter across the parking lot. And we have some lovely colors on the trees, which is surprising considering how dry it's been.

Here are a few more pictures of Evangeline. I loved this pattern. Very fast and so warm. Plus cables are always fun to knit.

The colors vary wildly in this pictures but I can't get a good shot of the color. The above one is the most true but still not quite right. I will be able to wear them this weekend as it is supposed to get chilly and rain. Sounds like good knitting weather to me!

I think he likes to have his picture taken. Came right up when I called him and posed for the camera.

This is Ted. He lives down the road at a farm that has a feed store where we buy bird seed. He has a friend named Barney but he must have been out in the back field. They're Percherons and are HUGE! But so sweet. He just had his back teeth filed down yesterday and let me rub his nose and side of face but didn't really want alot of touching. Can't say as I blame him.

Started out being such a good day and just ....yuck. But here's some of the good parts.

Yesterday we drove up to Waynesville in the vain hope that there would be some pretty leaves to see. Ha! Not so much. Between the lack of rain and the hurricane that blew through it was not the best leaf-viewing trip. I did see some horses grazing in a field and sitting right by them was a fox. I couldn't believe it. I double checked and sure enough he was playing in the field. On the way back I looked again. I was sure he wouldn't be there but there he was. Just sitting by one of the horses. Maybe he was one of the horses' pet.

The meal was good. We ate at Der Dutchman. Mom had the hot buffet (lots of meat)and I had the salad bar. Their salad bar is really good and cold which I like. And they have the best bread that comes to the table all soft and hot. Mmmmm. I always take some soy margarine with me when I know we are going up there just so I can have some bread and "butter". Yum.

Got some knitting done on my "car" sock that I have been working on for awhile. It's just the plain sock pattern from the Yarn Harlot. That way I don't have to do anything but knit and not pay attention to it.

I also just finished a fingerless mitten/wristwarmer from a pattern I found on Ravelry. It's called Evangeline and is so pretty and easy. Everyone should make them.

These are another pair of plain knit socks done in the Berrocco Comfort socks. They do knit up so soft. And the colors are very muted but nice.

Here is the current sock project. Berrocco Comfort Socks in red. Just a plain knit (the yarn harlot's plain sock pattern from Knitting Rules!).

Finally! The sock monkey hat is finished and now at it's new home. So glad to have it off the needles. I went up a size needles and fits sis's head just fine. Was sewing up the ear seams as she came to pick me up for art night tonight.

Brrrr. Cold one tonight. I don't mind that it is cold but gosh, it sure could've changed gradually. Going down into the lower 30*s overnight so glad to have my flannel jimjams on with a steaming cup of vanilla apricot white tea by my side.

Yes, I'm still not working on the celtic poncho. Mom wanted more socks and you just can't turn down someone asking for handknits, right? Luckily she only wants plain knit ones so they don't take too long to knit. I am going to cheat and cast on a pair of fingerless gloves from a pattern I found on Ravelry...they are called Evangiline and they are either a wrist length or an elbow length. I'm going for the shorter ones and the Irascible Housewife is going for the longer ones. She knitted the coolest pair of cabled ones that are GORGEOUS and the greatest color. And they look so warm. I was jealous of them tonight...(.well, my hands sure were). heehee.

And sis is now on Ravelry....woohoo! Good for her. I'm sure that we will all overwhelm her with groups and things to do. She is almost finished knitting the scarf she had been working on and it looks great. She should be very proud. She really picked up knitting continental much better than I. And she is much faster also.

Think I'll refill my tea and knit for a little while. Have a great night.

My Nemesis!

The hat is done. Woohoo! Unfortunately it is a little small for sis so I'm going to knit it AGAIN but on a larger size needle. I don't really like the pointy ears but other than that I don't know why I had so many problems with the pattern. It really was quite easy. I must have had stupid needles or something. Yeah, that's it.

You know. I always thought that I am reasonably intelligent. I am fairly well-read, went to college and can hold my own in a discussion. That being said...I for the life of me cannot understan why I can't seem to follow this stupid, stupid sock monkey hat pattern. Okay, okay. It's not the pattern that's stupid, it's the knitter. The pattern seems to be well-written out and straightforward but for some reason I have messed it up 3 times. I had it almost all finished this morning and sure enough, I had done it all wrong. I guess I must be an idiot savant. (Sure that's it.) But I ripped it out AGAIN and now seem to have it on track. Whew. I just am not going to let the pattern get the better of me.

Well, I'm going to get back to it because I'm going to finish it tonight!

This a pair of worsted weight socks that I should finish tonight. It's Caron Simply Shadows and I knit them toe-up and adapted the pattern to use a basketweave pattern on the top.

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Nice and cool. Finally. Last night was downright chilly and I lounged around in flannel pj's. 'Course I sleep with the ceiling fan and another fan on but it was sure nice to be able to wear long pants.

Been a very long weekend. Just kind of out of sorts but couldn't really figure out anything to do. Basically I watched some of season 4 of Numbers and knitted. Went to one of the lys on Saturday and bought ....yeah,yeah, sock yarn. I can't remember off the top of my head what it is so I'll look tomorrow and let you know. Also went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things. Got some Pomegranate/Blueberry cereal that looks pretty tasty. And some peanut butter granola bars that I really enjoy. And some of their blueberry green tea which is a decent green tea.

Think I'll go listen to some music and have some hot,mulled cider. And then some tea. Some Darjeeling and finish those socks. Play this meme and enjoy.

YES/NO GAME RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
You can only say yes or no. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages you and asks!

Over 18? Yes

Danced in front of your mirror naked?No

Ever told a lie?Yes

Been arrested? No

Kissed a picture?No

Fallen asleep at work/school? Yes

Held an actual snake? No

Have YOU Ever run a red light? Yes

Ever drink and drive? Yes

Been suspended from school? No

Ever been fired from a job? No

Totaled a car/motorbike in an accident? No

Sang karaoke? No

Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? Yes

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Yes

Ever laughed until you wet yourself? No

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes

Kissed in the rain? Yes

Sang in the shower? Yes

Sat on a rooftop? Yes

Thought about your past with regret? Yes

Been pushed in the pool with your clothes on? Yes

Shaved your head? No

Blacked out from drinking? No

Had a gym membership? No

Been in a band? No

Shot a gun? No

Liked someone with nobody else knowing about it? Yes

Played strip poker? No

Been to a strip joint? No

Donated Blood? No

Liked someone you shouldn’t? Yes

Have a tattoo? No

Have or had any piercings besides ears? No

Made out with a complete stranger? Yes

Caught someone cheating on you? Yes

Skinny dipped? No

Regret any of your ex’s? Yes

Been to a rodeo? No

Been to a NASCAR race? No

Been in Love? Yes

Feeling much better headache-wise, thanks. I still have the sinus/allergies (what a surprise!). But that's normal so let's move on.

I hear that it's actually going to be fall-like weather starting tomorrow. I am excited. Even have my lounging pj's all ready to slip into tomorrow evening and am ready to cozy up with a nice cuppa hot chai. Or some spiced apple cider. Some time ago I bought some fabulous mulling spices at Williams Sonoma and they are just delicious in some warm apple cider.

Here's a not very great shot of the newest sock for mom. It's KnitPicks Palette and the color is Fawn. Just a plain sock but very pretty. More of a carmel color. About 3/4ths through the second one so maybe I'll finish it tomorrow while watching season 4 of Numbers.

Then I promise to finish up some of those UFO's that are teasing me. I did work on the sock monkey hat but that was only to place it on the circulars that I finally did buy the other day. Well, you know, when you have a 50% off coupon and JoAnn's has the needle size, it's just wrong not to use it since the company was so nice to send it out and all.

Here's a meme that I thought was kind of amusing. Certainly does "date" us though! Join in if you want!

Ten Bands/Artists that remind you of high school:

1.John Denver

2.Journey

3.The Go-Go's

4.Abba (don't judge me)

5.Foreigner

6.Styx

7.Bread

8.Pat Benatar

9.REO Speedwagon

10.England Dan & John Ford Coley.

Here are a few pictures of the duplicate stitch sweater that I've been working on lately. You can't tell from the photo but the sweater is a lovely light grey and the colors show up really well.
A short post today due to the very annoying sinus/allergy headache.Yuck. Just want to sit and stare at the wall.

More tomorrow as soon as the headache is gone.