NotScarlett

NYE 2006

Where did 2006 go??

This year was marked by ups and downs for me, but nothing too earth shattering. As years go, this was a pretty good one. I tied up loose ends in my personal life,  got engaged to the love of my life, paid off my car, made some wonderful new friends, and took some steps towards securing my future.

I don't make New Years resolutions, and am not too keen on the whole New Year celebration, but I do set small goals for myself at the beginning of each month, and the month of January is no different. One of my goals is trying not to get grumpy about the influx of people at the gym which will start Tuesday morning.  I truly wish everyone making resolutions the best, I hope you have the willpower and motivation to meet your goals. I'm looking forward to 2007 being another year of personal growth for me, and am excited to see what the coming months bring.

I will give you a loosely structured glimpse at a few goals I'll be working towards in 2007, stuck willy-nilly into a meme. I had Julia give me a letter, and was assigned "W." Not every item here is related to one of my goals, but there are a few that apply. Here goes nothin'!

Weather: I have a fascination with weather, especially since moving to the Gulf Coast region. I check the NOAA forecast about five times a day during the summer, when the weather is unpredictable and can change in a matter of minutes.

Walking: Something  I need to do more often. Sampson could use less couch time as well. He's my favorite walking buddy, he loves to be outside, he walks like a gentleman on his leash, and like me, truly enjoys walking in the cool evening air we have been experiencing lately.

W: No. Just no.

West Coast: Somewhere I miss terribly and hope to travel in 2007.

Wheelchairs: Brought B and I together.

Wool: Completely impractical for the climate I live in, but I love wool nonetheless. B and I are planning to eventually move somewhere wool will be useful.

Writing: It comes naturally, I love to write, and should be more serious about it than I am. I've gotten lazy, even on the blog. I want to write more, the way I used to write.

Wellness: Definitely a focus for the new year. 2006 was not a good one for me healthwise.

Wedding: Everyone keeps asking if we've made plans, etc. We have, but there is nothing definite. Perhaps we'll remedy that this year.

Wink: I cannot wink. No lie.

I hope y'all have a happy and safe New Year! We are holed up for the evening with homemade burritos, flan, two dogs, movies, some games, and champagne. Be careful out there, take a cab if you drink, and if you fall asleep before midnight, don't feel bad, I doubt I'll make it past 11.

People Suck

I cannot even express how much I want to find the people who did this and beat the shit out of them.

As of this evening, there is only one left alive, and the shelter is not sure if he will survive.

I feel sick. What is wrong with people?

All kinds of yummy

I'm always amazed at the gratitude of non-knitters who receive hand knitted gifts. For example, I made this scarf

for a work pal for Christmas.

After giving me a ridiculously generous Christmas gift, she proceeded to give me yet another gift to thank me for her scarf. Fancy shmancy Spanish wine.

Remember a few months ago when I made hats for my good friend Tony and his girlfriend? They got them, and loved them, even though Tony's was too big. (I've since knit him another hat, which was returned to me by the post office...long story...) The gratitude gift for the hats came vis UPS last night.

DUDE. Apparently, his girl works for the San Francisco Chocolate factory. This is some good stuff, y'all. Yummy.

I never expect gifts in return for my knitting, and cannot believe how people react to receiving something handmade. It makes me feel so appreciated just to get a simple thank you, or when someone wears something I made for them. When people go out of their way to express their thanks in ways like giant boxes of chocolate, I'm always a little dumbfounded. B told me last night that I had no concept of how special handknits are to non-knitters because what is an "easy" project to me is something they cannot conceive of doing themselves. I guess he has a point. At any rate, this extended the Christmas goodness.  I'm telling you, this Christmas? Totally rocked.

The day before Christmas Eve, I got my stuff from Scout. I signed up to receive one month of her Indie Swag club, and my randomly selected month was December. The package included ADORABLE snowman stitch markers from Good to be Girl, a beautiful sock pattern from the Glampyre herself, and this yarn, which makes me drool.

This photo doesn't even begin to do the colors justice.

My MIL got me a fat gift certificate to Wooly Bully, one of the LYS's here in town, and I did a bit of shopping this morning.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMalabrigo...........

I also picked up some Jaggerspun Zephyr for a small lace project, some Lamb's Pride Superwash for a mitten and hat set for my niece Skylar, and some AllHemp DK just to try out.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Wooly Bully and it's proprietress, Erica. I confessed my recluse ways and was encouraged to come to one of their knit nights which I may very well do, as a few regulars were there while I was shopping and everyone was so funny and nice. And they shared their donuts with me.

On the WIP front, I'll give you a sneak peek of some special socks I'm working on (yes, they are for you. You know who you are.) and a scarf I started last night.

I downloaded an audiobook to my MP3 player and sat on the couch to "read" and knit while B fought robots on the Playstation. Good times. There will be more of that as the weekend progresses, I've got another book lined up on the player, and lots of knitting to work on.

We aren't doing the New Year's Eve thing; we aren't big New Year's folks. We do have a bottle of champagne, and I'll most likely be using my new creme brulee kit to make some dessert (another cool gift from the MIL, I love that woman) after we have a nice little dinner. I'm willing to bet I'll fall asleep before midnight....my insomnia/sickness related sleeplessness has been replaced with the need to sleep as much as possible. Help me have some New Year's excitement, and tell me what YOUR plans are.

I'll be back soon with a meme from one of my favorite bloggers to finish out 2006.

Winding down

Wow....I cannot believe it is over!

I finished all the Christmas knitting in the nick of time. I cast off the last stitch on the last project at 1136pm, Christmas Eve. It was washed, blocked, dried and wrapped about 30 minutes before the recipient arrived, and she LOVED it. Pics coming soon.

Christmas was tons of fun for me and B, and our brunch was a resounding success. I was telling B today that I made out like a freakin' bandit, gift-wise, this year, and I feel totally guilty about it, so I'm not really sharing what I got for Christmas. I will tell you one of my big gifts from my MIL was a gift certificate to an LYS in an amount that make me choke on my cranberry mimosa. Ahem.

I'm still working on getting well, I am feeling lots better than I was this time last week, but I still get tired very easily and definitely don't feel 100%.  Slowly but surely, I'm recovering. Next up? The sinus CAT to check for polyps.

In other news, I've been tagged!

Now, I know at some point this meme went around last year or the year before, and I was tagged then, so I'm trying hard to come up with six different weird things about myself. Y'all already know about my irrational alien phobia, the condiment hate, the roach induced hysteria, and my aversion to wearing shoes, so this is getting tough. Here goes nothing.

1. I won't eat regular bread, as in, bread out of a bag from the grocery store, unless it is sourdough, and it MUST be toasted. I've honestly tried, and I just can't.  Give me any other kind of bread from a bakery, take me to a sandwich shop, etc. and I am fine. But bread in a bag? Must be sourdough and toasted.

2. I'm a natural blonde, but prefer being a brunette. People tend to find this odd since so many women want to be blonde. Not me. I guess the grass is always greener, right?

3. Ever since I learned to read, I've had this habit of turning words backwards, rearranging letters, etc. as I read them. Doesn't matter if they are street signs, words on the cover of a magazine, whatever. In order to read a book, I have to tell myself to "shut off" this habit. I think this quirk is what makes me so good at word games.

4. I was born in Renton, Washington, and have a birthmark right in the center of my throat shaped like the state of Washington.

5. I'm a great cook. Love to cook. I've been encouraged to go to culinary school for years by family and friends. I love to try out new recipes, and cook exotic foods. The one thing I fail at consistently? Rice. I cannot make rice without either over or undercooking it. I bought a special rice maker thing for the microwave and melted it on my very first attempt using it to cook rice. Boil in a bag rice or instant rice? I usually use the whole box to get a decent batch for a meal because I screw it up over and over and over. Fortunately, we don't eat much rice, and couscous out of a box is a nice alternative.

6. In the most horrible, terrible, tragic, inappropriate situations, I giggle. I think it's a nervous reaction or something, but it has gotten me in SO much trouble many, many, many times. I just can't help it, it sort of bubbles up out of me unintentionally before I can stop it from coming out of my mouth.

I won't tag anyone, because I think I must be the last knitblogger out there to do this meme, but if you'd like to post it on your blog and tell everyone what a weirdo you are, feel free!

I head back to the office tomorrow for the first time in a week. It seriously feels like I've been gone forever. I've got to go finish up the laundry and clean the kitchen to get ready for my oh-so-taxing three day work week, but I'll leave you with one last gem. Seems like everyone is making their end of the year lists these days, so I'm jumping on the list bandwagon.

In no particular order, here are my top ten quotes from Chez NotScarlett's Christmas Weekend.

1. Your phone is over there next to Jesus.

2. I just can't get motivated to sleep lately.

3. I wouldn't buy vitamins from John Waters.

4. Do you mind if I fight robots for a while?

5. I wish the supply ship would hurry up and get here.

6. The dirty parrot is not for you!

7. I got blood in the spinach, bring the first aid kit!

8. I need to brush up on my knowledge of doormat technology.

9. Timberlake, party of two, has arrived.

10. All that is missing is the Peppermint Lard.

I'm dreaming of a white (trash) Christmas

Dig my Christmas tree!

It's got teeny little LED lights, hand-painted ornaments I made myself, and a big silver star on top.

This was a last minute creation, dreamed up by B and I as a joke, but it turned out really cool. We made it with stuff we had in the house, the only thing we bought were the lights. It only took about 45 minutes from start to finish.

It's small enough to fit on a table top, but big enough to decorate with regular sized ornaments.

Any ideas on what we used for the base of the tree yet?

Come on....guess.

Didja figure it out?

Meet coney, our Christmas tree.

Please note: I DO NOT advocate stealing construction signs, cones, etc. If you happen to have one laying around the house as part of an ongoing practical joke your significant other and your sister have been playing on each other for over a year, by all means, dust it off, and get to decorating.

For those of you interested in how I pulled this one off, here are the details.

1. Wrap cone in wrapping paper to cover up the fact that its a big orange construction cone. Packing tape works great for this. It doesn't have to look pretty, you're gonna cover it up anyway.

2. At the base of the cone, if you've done a sucky wrapping job, no worries, just tape one end of some tinsel there, wrap it around a few times for some camouflage, and tape the other end.

3. Starting at the top, secure some garland ( I used some leftover garland I had on hand, it's the kind that has "branches") in the hole on the top of the cone by shoving it down in there. Wrap the cone with the garland, adding in new garland as needed. The branch garland works really well for this because it is bendable and you can just hook a new piece onto the old piece, no tape or any other fastener needed. Do this until you like the way it looks, then twist and fluff the little branches of your garland so it looks more tree like.

4. Add your lights. If you have a man of the house. let him do this part. It will make him feel manly and important.

5. Stick your tree topper on, decorate your tree with ornaments, and stick it somewhere you can enjoy it.

Instant tree!

If your neighbors see you wrapping a cone in wrapping paper and garland while walking past your open window, just wave. They probably already think you are nutty because you walk the dog in mismatched pajamas.

I've entered this as a tutorial for a decoration in the latest Whiplash competition.

We're grilling up some of B's famous steaks tonight and heading out to look at Christmas lights. I'm working on cleaning the house and prepping for our Christmas brunch tomorrow. We've already hit the liquor store and plan on celebratin' right proper with some cranberry mimosas and martinis.

Wishing you lots of love and joy, wherever you are and whatever you are celebrating!

Blue Light Special

My doctor gave me pearls for Christmas!

Just what I always wanted.

I DO, in fact, have the pneu-word, of the walking variety. Funny, I don't feel like walking.  At any rate, today is the first day I am feeling well enough to be up and about. Thank God, because seriously? I love movies and reading and hot baths and soup, but after five straight days? I could use some excitement.

I cannot tell you how many movies I watched this week. At least three a day. The coughing fits haven't let me sleep through the night since Monday, so I've been spending lots of time with TCM and my loveseat while the men of the house sleep peacefully upstairs. Wednesday night I read a book from cover to cover. I did the same thing last night, and then watched yet another movie before dozing off around 4 am. I got about three hours of sleep before I woke myself up coughing. I've been awake ever since...the coughing gives me a headache that makes it really hard to fall asleep for some reason.

I'm so ready for this to just GO AWAY and to get well, but I know I've got a way to go. I keep telling myself that twenty minutes without a coughing fit (which is a victory!)  does not a full recovery make.

I have been knitting, albeit halfheartedly, and did manage to finish these socks which are a gift for a friend.

These mark my first successful short row heels done without looking it up in a book or online. I'm so proud.

My desire for some excitement was fulfilled today via FedEx and the USPS. At about 11am, a nice FedEx lady rang the bell and handed me a package containing Christmas gifts for Nina and I from our father. I opened the box, figuring since I hadn't been told NOT to, the gifts would be wrapped. They weren't, and I was SO EXCITED when I saw what was in the box.

I played with my new toy for a few hours (music! video! voice recorder! photos!) before realizing something was missing. A little while later, I had this.

It's not the greatest, but it will do for now. I decided I like the way the wrong side looks better than the right side. I see myself making one of these for my sister too, since we both need one.

I really like the cool blue glowy light. Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Later this afternoon, I received a big ol' box from a dear friend.

After squee-ing over the pound and a half of Christmas Blend, and the awesome mug she sent, I saw the tumbler.

THANK YOU, Stacey! This totally made my day.

I'll be here at home for the holidays with the love of my life and our four legged child, Sam Sam the Dog Faced Boy. I hope everyone out there is having safe travels if you are traveling, staying warm if you are cold, and spending lots of time with the ones you love.

Gone away is the blue bird, here to stay is the Pneu*-bird

*I keep telling myself if I don't say it out loud/type the whole word it won't be true.

I was sent home from work this morning after subjecting the office to a ca-cough-ony of sounds similar to those a dying walrus might make. 

Upside? I've got an unexpected vacation this week! In fact, I may not have to go into work at all!

Downside? Um, yeah....I'm reallyreallyreally sick. I mean, so sick I am afraid to be home alone.

I'm waiting on a call back from the doctor who will tell me if I need to high tail it to the ER since I am having trouble breathing and feeling about 10 times worse than I did before he prescribed the 875 mg, twice daily does of antibiotics.

While I wait, I thought I would show you what I've been up to lately. Other than coughing and wheezing and running a fever.

Look! I made Clogs!

HAHAHAHA .....there is no picture!

Just imagine them, because I forgot to take pictures before I shipped them off to Grandma and Grandpa in Seattle. They are made from the Fiber Trends felted clog pattern. One pair is hot pink, one pair is grey. Yay for slippers! Yay for my grandparents finally having power and water and phone service restored after three days! Yay for them being ok, because I was freaking out when I couldn't get in touch with them after the storm.

How 'bout a scarf? This is for my sister per her specs, and will be going with her and her boyfriend for their Christmas trip this week. I showed a pic of this one in progress a few posts ago, but here it is all done.

I'm working on another scarf, this one in Patons Soy Wool Stripes, which will be a Christmas gift for a friend. I really like this yarn. When I first picked it up, I didn't like the way it felt at all...it felt too, I dunno, synthetic? The more I work with it, the more it softens up, and it is a pleasure to knit.

Oh, look! I got Christmas stockings!

They were kinda boring, as you can see, so I spruced them up.

One for B, one for me, and Sampson and Cricket each get one, of course.

I drew and cut out the shapes I wanted on some cheap felt, glued them to the stockings with Elmer's, and then did some super basic stitching to gussy them up a bit more.  I'm thrilled with the way they turned out, and think I did an ok job for someone who cannot even draw a stick figure.

Then there is the strange thing my stepdad asked me to knit for him, a camouflage balaclava. It's strange because I have no idea why he needs one. Neither does my mom. Here it is.

You can't see it really well, can you...hmmm...maybe I can get someone to model it....

Eureka!

My dog hates me.

Thanks for stopping by, y'all. I gotta go try to breathe now. Why don't you mosey on over to Julia's and check out the new Yarnival?? She did an amazing job, and certain people (ok, just me) who are editing future issues are extra nervous now. Thanks so much for putting out such a lovely issue, Julia!

All I got for Christmas was this lousy cough syrup

I took a vacation day today in order to go to the doctor, run a bunch of errands, and start my Christmas shopping. Mission accomplished on all three fronts.

The doctor says I have an unbelievably bad sinus infection, and the strep test they did in the office came back as inconclusive, so they are sending it to the lab. I've got fluid in my lungs which the doc is not concerned about because it sounds like it is clearing when I cough. My cough sounds like a barking seal, produces some -ahem- technicolor results,  and is coming from way down deep in my chest, which means a coughing fit literally knocks me down and makes me winded. It takes a lot out of me, and I'm constantly tired.

I'm supposed to check in with the doctor after a few days on some super antibiotics to see how I am feeling and go back in if I don't seem to be getting better. I got kind of snippy with the doctor because I am not a fan of frequent antibiotic use, but what can ya do...at this point this infection is pretty nasty, so I'm going to take them.

Due to the frequency of my sinus infections and constant sinus issues, I get to have a CAT scan when this infection clears because the doc is concerned I may have polyps in my sinuses. Wheeeeeeeee! SuperFunHappyJoy sinus times for me!

My errands are done, my Christmas shopping was started AND finished today, and the Christmas knitting hit the 50% complete mark last night. I should be able to knock a good chunk of it out this weekend while I lay in bed with my trusty decongestants and a big cup of hot tea.

I may be making a major purchase for B and I in the nest few days, sort of an early Christmas present....it's not set in stone and still kind of iffy, but I hopehopehope it happens. I'll let you know.

Hope all is well with everyone out there and you aren't TOO stressed about the holidays.

You've got to be kidding me

I missed Random Wednesday again. Oh well. Let's play make believe. Get in your time machine and travel back, back, waaaay back to Random Wednesday.

Here we go.

1. I'm sure I've mentioned that I hate to bake. Looooove to cook, and am pretty darn good at it, if I don't say so myself. Baking? Not so much. I decided to whip up a batch of Mexican Wedding Cakes, which is something I make every year at Christmastime. Easiest cookies ever, and so stinkin' yummy. Somehow, instead of luscious drops of sugary sweetness, I ended up with plaster flavored rocks with goo on the inside. I suck at baking. I'm ok with that though, since it is one of my top five least favorite activities.

2. Christmas knitting is progressing nicely...and thats about all I can say for now.

3. Remember how I was sick as a dog last month? With the bronchitis/sinus infection/ear infection hat trick? I'll be seeing my doctor again tomorrow, because apparently the bronchitis never went away. 

4. Have you finished your Christmas/Holiday shopping? If you have, don't tell me. I haven't started. I heart procrastination.

5. I DID completely finish Weffriddles. And I only cheated ONCE. I had to get some help from the forums though. I've now moved on to other mind melting online riddle games. Like I need another hobby, right?

That's it. Nothing else. Really. Oh, except for this. Truly entertaining if you've got some time on your hands and are easily amused.

How to waste time without really trying

First things first:

Everybody go congratulate High Energy Jenny on the delivery of her baby boy. High Energy Baby is in NICU and still needs everyones positive energy, prayers, and thoughts sent his way. Mom and dad could use some of that good stuff too.

On to less important things:

After knitting and completing a gift today, I realized I had used the WRONG SIZE NEEDLES. Since it is something that is going to be felted, you'd think it'd be ok because it'll shrink, right? Wrong. The needles I used were a size smaller than the ones the pattern calls for. In this case shrinking=extra not good. I blame the horrendous allergy attack I have been suffering through all day for the error. Yep, that's it. Couldn't be me in a huge hurry to meet holiday knitting/shipping deadlines and not re-checking what I was using/doing. Nope. Had to be the histamines. Suuuuuure.

I did finish a few other gift knits this weekend, quickies completed during a marathon session of classic movies with a few new ones mixed in for variety. Pics to come once, you know, gifts have been delivered/opened.

This post got me hooked on the internet crack that is Weffriddles. Be warned...this is a time suck. If you do not have time to sit and ponder riddles that will drive you to distraction, do not start playing. Do not. I mean it. I started Friday night, made it through the first batch before bedtime, didn't play yesterday, and started back up this evening. I told B I was headed to bed to read with a hot cup of mint tea and a big ol' box of Kleenex. I wandered into the computer room and somehow, some way, got sucked back in to the Weffriddles world.

That was three hours ago.

You will feel sooooo stupid playing this game. Then, when you answer a question correctly without any help, you will feel like the smartest person in the world. It's highly addicting, despite the extreme emotional highs and lows. Don't play it if you have actual important things to do with your day, or kids to feed, or animals to let outside. You will get sucked in, and virtually nothing will be able to tear you away from your computer.

I know y'all are gonna click on that link now. When Christmas comes, your knitting isn't finished, the gifts aren't wrapped, and no one in your house has clean underwear because you've been Weffriddling all day and night, don't say I didn't warn you.