It is finished!

I am done, I cast off the top down cardigan about 10 minutes ago. I sort of spent my whole afternoon working on it, but now it is done. I do have to weave in my ends and block it, but the knitting is done!

So much to knit, so little time.

I am not a big fan of the holidays, I usually get really crabby by Christmas. This year was no exception. With the death virus, 3 basketball tournaments and 3 swim meets the Saturdays before Christmas. Things were a bit tense at our house. But now Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been given, (some exchanged) the cookies eaten and the cards have stopped arriving. The best part of Christmas 2006? Well, there was that solo on Christmas eve by AJ's brother, there was the prime rib on Christmas day, the new wedding band is going to be pretty cool. But the best part??? The knitting. I have had (taken?) so much time to just sit and knit. It has been so relaxing to curl up on the couch with GBT and MT and knit. My sweater is coming along nicely and this one I think I may wear. My mittens are 3/4's done and will be beautiful (even if I do say so myself). I have made 3 trips to yarn stores in 3 days, attended a guild meeting and MJ's holiday knitting party. What more could a girl want?

I simply could not resist

I ordered it for the lake. I really could not resist. It was on sale!!!! A knitting board game. I mean . . . really . . . I had to have it.

Holiday Knitting

Merry Christmas! While the rest of the world is stressing out making some big meal and worrying about holiday guests, not us. I am wearing my "Chicks with Sharp Sticks" shirt and spending the day knitting with my daughters. GBT is on her 4th or 5th try to make mittens that flip for her "boyfriend" by the time she finishes them, they will have broken up. MT is working on her bandage for the lepers. They may find a cure before she finishes. I am working on the top down cardigan and a pair of mittens. I can not think of a better way to spend the holiday.
I hope Santa found everyone and brought each member of the Guild exactly what she wanted.

No Reptiles Allowed

From the BEACH SIDE (CB)
We were going for walk. (ASJ and myself. make CT & NK go for a walk at least once a day. Force them. Yes they whine and complain, but they do comply.) We decided to walk on the beach. Once the decision was made to walk on the beach CT & ASJ needed to go back to the cabin, it was something like needing sandals or sweat shirts. Not sure really, which it was. Anyway, NK and myself stayed down on the beach to wait for ASJ & CT. Suddenly screams were heard. Now these were not little sissy screams, these were Big Girl Screams. The kind that makes your hair on the back of your neck stand up. I very calmly turned to my friend NK and said one word "snake." Unbeknownst to myself or the rest of the guild, apparently CT has a deathly fear of snakes (completely understandable if you knew the story), and apparently I had forgotten to mention that every once in awhile you might see a snake around the end of the drive sunning itself (in my defense I had no idea she was afraid of snakes or I would have mentioned it). Now . . . .

From the CABIN SIDE (ASJ)
CT and I were happily skipping up to the cabin to change attire. It was a beautiful day on the Island. The kind of day that makes a person want to scream with excited anticipation of all the joys this particular day will bring. The kind of day which arrives with great chilliness, which is slowly burned off by the summer sun. The sky was brilliant, the air was crisp, and we were vacationing sans children (not one of the 12 anywhere in sight!). Anyway, I was giddy with excitement and we were deep in conversation on our way up from the beach. We had just crossed the road and were on the driveway, when CT began screaming. And we're not just talking screaming, but a deep blood-curdling scream that pierced the air and engulfed both of us. I took a split second to jump back and look around, expecting a bear, or a man with a gun. Not seeing anything like that, I asked "what—what—what— what????? A bear?" CT shook her head "no" and tried to speak but couldn't. I asked again if it was a bear (my thought process is not quite as clairvoyant as CB's) as her screams gave way to gasps of "a, a, a, a sss." By this time I could see that she was in distress (takes me awhile, but I eventually catch on) and was hyperventilating. So, I started saying "exhale ----exhale----exhale----a snake???" Oh, then her head bobbed. So, I looked around, and I couldn't see a snake. So, I said, "I don't see a snake." (That worked well) She pointed toward the road, amid gasps of "snnn.....th th th there." So, I walked back to the road, and as I came to the spot where the driveway to the cabin goes over the culvert for the ditch, the screams returned, together with sobs and jumping up and down while pointing. Bless CT's heart, she didn't want that snake to get me! I said, "It's gone." CT didn't quite believe me that the snake was gone, so I walked in the ditch on both sides of the driveway. Now, I'm not a big fan of snakes either, and screaming kinda scares me, so I made sure there were no more snakes. By this time CT had gained control and was merely crying and saying "no, no, no, no, no..." Then she explained the reasons behind her deep fear of snakes, and I not only understood, but I was right with her on the fear part. So, we went to the cabin and took a very long time changing our clothes, or footwear, or whatever it was we were changing. On our walk back to the beach, I went ahead of CT, with my eyes totally focused on the ground, looking for that one snake which inhabited the Island. That snake had gone into hiding and will most likely never be seen again.

The moral of story . . .
We will be checking in the future before CT strolls down the driveway to the beach that said "snake" is not sunning it self on the end of the driveway. We already have a detailed plan of how we will walk down to the beach to protect our friend CT (actually it looks a like football play).
P.S. I also feel that I should mention that there have been times when said "snake" (sure if you want to believe there is only one snake on the island, I’ll back you up) has sunned it self on the step, for the shed in the back of the cabin. Forewarned is forearmed!

Two weeks before Christmas

Two weeks before Christmas and all through the house
Not gift wrapped or cookie for my spouse.
The children made lists with such care,
but going to the mall, I do not dare.
The cards are still in a box,
next to the yarn for some socks.
The tree is up, but not an ornament in sight
thank goodness the fake thing came with a built in light.
I feel rushed and confused,
my credit card I will abuse.
Perhaps this year my letter will get to St. Nick.
Lord knows I need him to arrive quick.
Perhaps I should get to work, not a moment to spare,
The holidays will come with great fanfare.
So no more complaints or fear,
the holidays of our Lord's birth are near.
To the mall I will go,
children and husband in tow.
Gifts I will give,
to those with whom I live.
So shop, bake, address and mail times four
because the holidays are upon us once more.

It's Coming

Ready or not. It is coming. And I am unready. Not even close. Oh well. So it goes. Shopping and baking, wrapping and sending. It all needs to be done. It will happen, just not sure when or how. Somehow it always does manage to get done. So I'm going with the flow (it's my new CB is now Type B Persona!) The Boy wants a cable for his XBox 360, The Girl says she really does not need anything (I know, not normal for a 14 year old), and The Boy Version 2 wants a Nintendo WII. Yeah right. This is so shades of the Teacher Barbie debacle of 1996, (I shudder to think of it).

The Christmas Knitting is actually going quite well, that could be because I started in May. Socks and slippers. Easy, squeezy. I love socks and slippers.

Though it is not a good photo (I will try again) this is one of my favorite Christmas ornaments. It has been in my family for three generations (if you count my kids four). I have three of them, similar, all made by my Great Aunt Ruth. When they were first married, money was short so she made her own ornaments. The three I have (I treasure them) are all that remain. They carry so much history. They are resoundingly simple. Egg cartons, painted gold, with beads glued on. In each one a treasure is hidden. The one above is a little white decorated tree (made from some brush she had available). The second holds a gold angel and the third a simple red glass ball. These are what I hold dear. There is one for each one of my children. And not so oddly enough, my children understand how important they are to me. They have heard the stories of these ornaments for years. How as a child, every year I watched them go on the tree. I could tell they were important by how my mother treasured them. How thrilled I was the year she gave them to me.

Well I need to get busy. Make a baking list and felt some slippers and hope they dry by Friday!