Celebrations

I think I'd rather celebrate the Solstice than Christmas, which has been hijacked by Commercialism. And I'd rather decorate simply with Holly & Evergreen, dance around a bonfire or go Nude Swimming than spend my time hunting for the Right Tree, the most Ostentatious Decorations & buying the Right Gifts.

The whole Christmas thing isn't fun anymore. I get more letters begging for money every year than the year before. Someone heard I'm now printing my own, I guess.

So this year I hid out. I stayed home & listened to the latest book in Michael Connely's Harry Bosch series. It's actually the second in the new Ballard & Bosch series but number 20 something in the Bosch series .   .   .    they also connect with Harry's younger brother, Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer series as well. Anyway, I love the stuff. Harry's not a 'shoot-em-up' cop, he's a thinker, a researcher & a picker which makes the novels so good, IMHO. I was going to get the latest book in Craig Johnson's Longmire series as well but the reviews are awful so I got a couple of Star Trek books instead. I like to listen when I'm knitting or doing data entry but I seem to be doing less of both these days. The only other option is listening in bed when I can't sleep at night. LOL  I've become an official Old Fart. Three hours sleep & I'm ready to go. Five hours if I'm really tired. So I listen a lot in the winter when it's too cool to get up at 4:35AM.

I did go out for dinner on the Saturday before Christmas with my Ex for fun. Usually he goes with several friends to a couple of Christmas Dinners put on by local Churches but he decided he just doesn't want to be bothered driving this year. For a guy who sweated blood all summer worrying about losing his driver's license because he was turning 80, he sure doesn't drive anywhere to justify all the stress!!  I managed to get him out for lunch though & the cafe owner told him they would deliver any time. Normally, they're closed on Mondays & holidays but were open this year on Christmas Eve due to Customer requests, so I made sure to go back on Christmas Eve & order take-out for two days!! Why not?? Chicken & broccoli tastes good any time!! They were smiling a whole lot when I went in mid afternoon even though the cafe was empty because they'd just cooked up a take-out for 70 people!! I guess that single order paid for the trouble of opening. Now that's Christmas Dinner!!

I bought myself a pot for Christmas. It's actually a two litre pot with a handle on one side & a spout on the top of the other side with a domed glass lid. It's a Curtis Stone pot. The moment I saw it I wanted it! It's perfect for miso soup or a cooked pudding or gravy or anything else you want to heat & pourl! It will cook a dozen eggs at the same time for egg salad. Perfect for hot brine for making small batch pickles! I can think of a lot of uses - I love the handle & the spout means no more drips. I've wanted one of these for a long time but never saw a small one anywhere. I'm not big on pots. I have a dutch oven, a pressure cooker, a tiny pan for cooking two eggs & a stir fry pan. I gave everything else away because I just didn't use them. I don't cook a lot anymore since there's only me. I've even tossed the toaster because I didn't use it. I do like a coffee machine - I make tea in it because I like loose tea - but I've been making do with a coffee carafe on a trivet on the back burner. What I really need is a big Brown Betty tea pot instead. And if I didn't use the microwave to make my oatmeal, it would be gone too!

On the Needles - Just finished new ribbing on two pairs of my old socks - I put my thumb through the right hand ones pulling them on when my damn knee was acting up!! I really, really didn't want to have a darn in the middle of the ribbing .   .   .   .    so I cut off the ribbing on both socks & knit a new one. Piddly, fiddly work on dark days but I can wear the socks again. Knit new toes on another pair. All my old socks are getting toe holes. Most of them are 15+ years old so I guess it's about time since they've become thinner & thinner as the years've gone by.
Lara's vest/sweater is on my desk & I try to put a couple rows on it every day when I'm watching the Time Team or Art Investigators.

Counting Down in Darkness

I'm constantly amazed at how fast the time goes by when you're doing nothing in these dark, dreary, soggy days at the bottom of the year. You'd think all this darkness would  d-r-a-g out the actual day, if anything. But the darkness will start to recede on Solstice (Friday) when the days begin to get longer!!
This is the time of year when I especially miss the wood burning stove, the cats asleep under it, the recliners beside it & the dogs laying underfoot. I always had a tin of sweet spices simmering on top of the stove & the knitting needles in my hands. Now I just have the computer, a basement suite & a bottle of good scotch. And knitting needles of course!


On The Needles - not Lara's Pabaigh, that's for sure!! I put the pattern back in the binder & cast-on a simple, top down, raglan, in the Denim, Briggs & Little, Heritage yarn. It will have cap sleeves, a crew neck & a detachable cowl - when I figure out how to attach it, dunno whether it should be buttoned or laced or what. Yet. It might be attached. Who knows?? I have to get the damned vest finished because she needs to be wearing it NOW.

Finished re-knitting all my bad toes. I even made them a little longer while I was at it. Since I have trouble putting shoes & socks on the leg with the bad knee, I've put my finger through at least two of the older socks by tugging them. More repairs!! So, I'm figuring some of the toe damage is from pulling them on & getting them into a shoe. I may end up as one of the Socks & Sandals Set  yet because they're so much easier to put on.

I still have THREE sweaters on the go for me. One is light - I spun two small Alberta Shetland fleeces into wooly singles yarns & then knit them together. I wanted a rustic knit, not the smooth, store bought look .  .  .  and I've just about worn out the yarn knitting the sweater I think I want. It's half done, marinating, on the office wall where I can see it every day. I seriously think I've got what I want & intend on finishing it soon. Before I die. Or before the mice get it.

Sweater TWO & THREE are heavier & made with yarn somewhere between worsted & Aran in weight because I want to use them like a coat. The dark Plum with some red & navy in it is Briggs & Little Heritage. The other, a dark Navy, is from Custom Woolen Mills in Alberta. Both are knit Top Down using the Cabin Fever book, "Need a Plus Cardigan?"to get some shaping.
Cabin Fever shows some neat ways to make an upper sleeve narrower or wider without affecting the body & a little trick to add extra bust room without short rows. And I've always needed extra bust room!! Although, these days, I may be needing more belly room than bust.

I still use a simple fleece jacket in the winter since I spend most of my outside time dashing from car to house or house to garbage can! And I never liked to drive with a bulky jacket. When I used to sit outside at Starbucks all winter, I had a huge fleece ET jacket that kept me warm. But it's gone to a new home & I don't sit outside in the winter any more!!! I do notice the cold more & more as I age though, so a heavier knit is necessary. Hopefully, I'll have one before Spring.

I fell down the Rabbit Hole & made a last, before Christmas, sock yarn order  - just a few little goodies I thought I couldn't live without. And a small kit I've been eye-balling all year!!! I really shouldn't shop after 3:00AM  .  .  .  . 

No More Wednesday

I've decided to eliminate Wednesday from My week. Lately, everything goes bonkers for me on Wednesday. All that nasty, expensive dentistry took place on Wednesdays. Neil got me drunk on Wednesday. And last week, my mechanic friend detached a retina on Wednesday .  .  .  .  we rushed him to Emergency & he had his first surgery as soon as the Specialist could get there from New West. He ended up with two more by Thursday, this week. Hopefully, that will be the last one. I did all this running around last year for another friend who did the very same thing so I know where all the Eye Guys are in New West & Surrey & lucky for me, they all seem to be moving to the new buildings across from Surrey Memorial Hospital. And most of them take TWO hours to see a patient. I go well supplied with knitting & eBooks for the duration .  .  .  .  but I tell ya, those early mornings really kick the stuffing out of a night owl like me!

On the Needles - I never did take a picture of the latest repaired socks before they were on my feet. I'm finding that I really prefer the short socks so I'm always digging in the sock basket for the lighter, shorter ones. I'll have to make a couple more pairs I guess - time to get out the scrap bags.

Lara's Vest - I thought it was looking kind of big on the needles so I dropped it onto a string & measured it. Sigh. Not only was it too big but it was ginormous. I am beginning to understand that all Scottish knitting uses lace to fingering weight yarns even when they talk about chunky. And I really am useless at judging a bottom-up sweater when most of mine have been top-down ones that you can try on as you go. So I frogged it all once more. Pabaigh is simply a square with a funnel on top. There's no reason I can't knit it from the top down, with a cap sleeve & attach a funnel shaped cowl! Is there??? That's what I thought!  Or I could make a nice top down, cap sleeved vest with a shawl collar like one from Cabin Fever.
My Sweater - got three on the go - one in hand spun - I love the yarn & how it feels!!! One in Burgandy aran weight rustic yarn from Alberta. The yarn is like Briggs & Little only softer - you still have to pull out straw as you knit. And one in Blue bulky from Briggs & Little with straw bits which softens up as you work with it. All are sitting next to my TV chair waiting for me to turn the TV back on. I should do that, I suppose, it's easier on the butt than my office chair when I squint at the computer.

My Gawd, the sun is out, the sky is blue & I'm inside at the computer!!!