Drive By

Just wanted to show you another cute little thing I've been knitting.

Meet Sheldon...



He was going to go to one of the numerous babies entering my life this year. But he's almost too cute to give away. We'll see.

Here's the latest Rockin' Sock Club Yarn. And here's the latest Yarn Pirate Booty Club shipment. Nice, huh?

That's it. Gotta run. The new Britney documentary is coming on soon!

Thanksgiving

This year for the holiday we went to my brother-in-law's house. It's a beautiful home and we had a great time.

But first, I spent the morning cooking by butt off! I made mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn bread, artichoke dip, goat cheese and fig spread, and sweet and spicy nuts. Check out my nuts!



Yum! While they baked, Brian and I made lots of comments about how good my nuts smelled. Yes, we are 5 years old.

There was a small setback.



Ouch! I burned my knuckle taking the nuts out of the oven.



Custom made centerpieces



Dinner is served



My brother-in-law's girlfriend has two adorable kids. Sydney finally warmed up to me. I just think she likes my crazy red hair!



That's Brian's grandma in the foreground and Brian on the left. I should have taken more pictures but we were having so much fun talking and laughing that I kept forgetting to snap pictures.

I really feel like the holiday season is getting started now. Check out these adorable stitch markers!

Abbondanza

Abbondanza- It's one of my favorite words. And I'm lucky enough to have experienced it in my life. Abundance is something that we tend to overlook because it seems like everyday life. This year the news has been all about foreclosures, economic crisis, and war. But today I choose to focus on the abundance of love I am so lucky to have in my life.

Here are a few things (among countless more) that I am thankful for this year.

1. My husband, Brian, who believes in me when I don't believe in myself. And who truly supports me "for better or worse." Without him, I would not have gone back to school nor would I have the courage to really be myself every day. We have our moments but I'm so glad I get to spend my life with someone who is always on my side.

2. My family. They are crazy but I love them! And my in-laws have always accepted me as part of their family. And I'm very grateful that I don't have to "earn" their love.

3. The amazing number of babies coming into my life. I have around 10 babies being born this year to people I love. There can't be a bigger blessing in life than children. Although watching the people you love become parents is pretty amazing too. (at least until they are teenagers!)

4. Friends who understand where I've been and where I am. My high school and college friends who have seen me change over the years. My nursing school friends who have helped me grow into a new career. And blog friends who are supportive, caring, and understanding of my current addictions. (yarn!)

5. My job. The last company I worked for recently declared bankruptcy and is in the process of closing their doors. I'm very lucky to have made the career change when I did. I see it as a sign that I made the right decisions for me and my family. The new job isn't perfect. But I learn something new everyday. That is a blessing in itself.

6. I hate our apartment. But as long as my want list is, I have every single thing that I need. My head is dry. My toes are warm. And there will be much feasting and love today. Anyone who has all this truly lives a life of abundance.

I hope you too have abbondanza in your life. And that you realize even the littlest blessings can be and should be appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mmmmmm...malabrigo

Oh Webs! What are you doing to my resolve???? I'm not supposed to be buying yarn. But you still send me an email to pre-order Malabrigo sock. And then, your discount and shipping policies make it silly to only buy 1 skein. Sigh... Well, what's a girl to do????



Impressionist Sky



Chocolate Amargo



Solis

They really are quite lovely.

Joining the Ranks of the Unoriginal

Still working away on the Super Secret Project. But I had some handspun yarn that just kept staring at me....



This is spun out of Corriedale pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms. It's kind of the perfect first spinning roving since you don't really have to do much drafting. And I'm impatient like that.

Anyway, it's been staring at me for a while. Trying to tell me what it wanted to be. Then, I remembered the Unoriginal Hat. It just seemed perfect for this yarn.



Pattern: Unoriginal Hat by The Yarn Harlot
Yarn: Handspun from CMF Corriesdale Pencil Roving- Eire
Needles: Clover bamboo dpn's in 6 mm. I should have waited until I could get 7 mm dpn's but again, I'm impatient.
Date Started: 11/9/08
Date Finished:11/9/08
Mods: I had to make the hat a bit taller. (Should have gotten the right sized needles!) So I did more decrease rounds on the top. Unfortunately, it makes a weird nipple on top of the hat.



See? My hat has a reservoir tip! When it's on, you can't even see it. So no big deal. But when it's modeling on a roll of toilet paper, you just have to tuck in the tip.



Much better!

Knitting and Christmas

I decided this year that I'm not knitting Christmas presents. (I can hear my family cheering in the distance.) The things I knit for other people never really come out the way I want them too. And the recipients are subjected to gifts that are less than what they'd hoped for. But that doesn't mean I'm taking knitting out of Christmas all together.

Enter Franklin and his adorable drawings.



Did you know he made ornaments? Yeah, me neither! Well, they are available here.

Maybe this is the year that we'll finally get a tree.

I Heart Books

When Knit Picks announced their book sale in October, I jumped at the chance to get some more inspiring books.



As you can see, I went a little overboard. Bottom to top: Mason Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines, Essential Baby, Itty-Bitty Hats, Itty-Bitty Nursery, The Little Box of Socks, The Knitter's Book of Yarn, 2-at-a-time Socks, Free-Range Knitter, It Itches, and a Never Not Knitting Calendar.

Why so many baby books you ask? There are about 7 people in my life who are pregnant. And 1 baby is already here! Time to get crackin'.

Yup. This'll keep me busy for a while.

Coffee and Yarn

I entered the Starbucks and Yarn swap on Ravelry. It's been a while since I've had the time or willingness to swap. And it felt good to be involved in the knitting community again.

Yesterday, I had a good day at work until the very last hour. Then a small thing became a big thing. And I left in tears. Really the whole thing was kind of silly (ie. no one died or even got hurt). But I've been feeling nitpicked from my new preceptor and last night pushed me over the edge. So what could be better than coming home to my swap package on my doorstep!



I went to school back East. So I have a very nostalgic feeling anytime something is from Boston.



Of course, I opened the box last night. But I carefully repacked it for the photo shoot this morning.



Fair Trade Coffee, a handknit cup cozy, a Boston mug, Regia yarn, and (my favorite) Hot Tamales. What a great package!



Regia yarn in perfect colors for the weather lately.



Cup Cozy knit in Sea Wool. This makes me want to cast on sea wool right now! The fabric is so nice that I'm currently wearing it as a wrist warmer!

Thanks, Lisa!!!! You really made my day better.

How I Instill Confidence in My Patients

A couple of weeks ago I took care of a patient with a very thick accent. While I was giving him his medication he asked me, "do you boat?" I truly didn't understand what he was asking me. After I'd asked him to repeat himself 3 times, I was getting kind of embarrassed that I couldn't figure it out. Then he gestured to the TV. There was a commercial for the iphone. So I thought he was asking me if I had bought an iphone. "No," I replied. He asked me why. I said, "It's too complicated." He gave me a funny look. I smiled and left the room.

Later in the day, I went in to check on him. He looked at me with a very serious face and asked me, "Why don't you boat? It is your future!" AHHHHH!!!!! He's asking me if I'm going to vote. "YES! YES! I'm going to vote!" We had a short conversation about the candidates and I left the room.

Then it occurred to me... I accidentally told this man earlier in the day that I don't vote because it's too complicated. Hopefully he wasn't too concerned about the medical care he was receiving!

As you know, it's not complicated at all. So get out there!

You Know You Wanna

Tomorrow is undoubtedly the most exciting and important election of my lifetime. And I'm lucky enough to live in a place where my vote counts. Make yours count too. Get out tomorrow and vote!

What I Lack is Focus

I have lists and lists and lists running through my head this morning. There are projects I need to get done, projects I have to start, and the projects that are just calling me from all my blog reading. So maybe the best thing to do is sit down and organize...

On the Needles-
1. Super Secret Project (SSP)- Coming along well. It's pretty easy knitting so this is perfect for TV watching.
2. Stripey Sock- #2 still isn't cast on since I got distracted with SSP
3. Kusha Kusha scarf- This has been lingering for FAR too long.

Need to start-
1. My Starbucks and Yarn swap gift. This shouldn't take too long. I'm just procrastinating for some reason.
2. Baby gift for Brian's cousin- The baby was born Oct. 14. So I need to get in gear!

Want to start-
1. Central Park Hoodie, round 2.
2. Hanami- I should probably hold off until Kusha Kusha is done. Incentives work well for me.
3. New socks- I have sock ADD at the moment
4. Stranded Mittens- The big question... Anemoi or Galileo? Or maybe I can score a Fiddlehead kit...
5. Unoriginal hat- This will look great in my first handspun I think.
6. Tangled Yoke- I have the yarn. And it's so pretty!

See what I'm saying?!?!?! I'm all over the place. Now that I have it outlined I think I have a game plan. For today...
1. Starbucks and Yarn gift- I want to get the package out this week. And the project shouldn't take too long.
2. Unoriginal hat- Again, I think maybe I can bust this out today.
3. Decide on the cousin's baby gift pattern and yarn. Just get this one prepped.
4. Knit on SSP as time allows.

Don't remind me that laundry and maybe a shower should be included in this plan!

So I don't leave you pic-less today...



Yarn Pirate- Orange Crush. Yum!

Another Timesuck of Massive Proportion

Brian and I have lived in this little crappy apartment for more than 7 years. It's nice enough but it's very small. And we don't really love the town we live in. So, after a LOT of indecision, we have decided to jump into the housing market. It seems like a good time to buy. Yesterday, we went month to month instead of signing a new lease. And I spent a good portion of today online looking at houses. Have you heard of zillow? OMG! You can see what they think the house is worth, what it last sold for, and what houses around it sold for. It's the best! You can start to see which houses are overpriced and where bargains might be. Check it out!

Thank you for the comments on the last post. Some of you were with me and some were against but all were pretty well thought out and passionate. At the very least, people are really getting involved this election. What could be better than that?



Milo says, "Phew! Made it through another Halloween!"