It's beginning to look a lot like...

One more Christmas present done and checked off the list! I'm feeling very positive about my progress on knitted & crocheted gifts this year. I've finished 7 presents, started 3 others, and need to start (and finish) 2 more. For the record, this list includes 1 vest, 1 shell sweater, 2 scarves, a knit kerchief, 6 pairs of slippers (3 felted, 3 not), 1 afghan, and 1 jacket (sewn). Hurrah.

And when Christmas is over, I get to officially knit something for me! I think my first project will be the Bombshell Sweater from Big Girls Knits. For my birthday, my lovely sister Jenny gifted me with a shopping spree through the yarn store, and I picked up 4 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Melilla (brown to white to sky blue). So droolworthy.

Last weekend, Richard and I got the fattest Christmas tree ever. This is seriously a plus-size tree. We decided to go to Home Depot for the tree, because we were burnt out on over-priced Christmas tree lots. So, the experience didn't have the same ambiance as wandering through the lot, searching for just the "right" one, but for ease and cost, I'll do Home Depot again next year. Most of the trees were 6'-7' Douglas firs, which seemed awfull small to me, but they were at least 1/2 the price of similar trees at specialty lots. We ended up getting a 7 1/2' Noble (which we'd never had before, because Nobles are generally at least $100 at lots), and I'm in love. The line was ridiculously long, but the HD guys cut the end of the tree off (the better for it to absorb water in the stand) -- something I could never get the lots to do, and they bagged it in mesh to make it easier to transport. This tree is so fat that they had to get 2 guys to lift it onto the cutting table, and it almost didn't fit through the mesh-ing contraption. I love the fact that every day, when I come home, it just smells like Christmas.

This weekend, I have to work on Richard's new Christmas stocking. He specifically requested a stocking that looks like a cowboy boot, which should be fun. I'm sewing it, so it shouldn't take long. I'm taking the next two weeks off, so there is plenty of time for craftiness (and sleeping in). Photos to come!

Long time, no post

It's been a while since I've posted. I'm mainly here just to let you all know that I have not, in fact, fallen off the face of the earth.

This holiday season is hard for Richard and I, but we're pulling through as best we can. We're staying busy, and just trying to do whatever we feel comfortable with. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping, and about half-way done with my Christmas crafting. This weekend, we're going to go get our tree, do our Christmas cards, and maybe even start baking.

Because I don't really have much to talk about (can't even show off all my completed projects, since they are all presents!), I present a meme, sent to me by my sister Jenny.

1. What time is it? 4:57 pm
2. What are you most afraid of? If you've been a reader of this blog, you probably know
3. What is the most recent movie that you've seen in a theater? yikes, Wordplay? It's been a while
4. Where were you born? CA

5. Ever been to Alaska ? No
6. Ever been toilet papering? Yes
7. Loved someone so much it made you cry? Yes
8. Been in a car accident ?Yes
9. Croutons or bacon bits? Bacony goodness any day of the week
10. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
11. Favorite restaurant? hmm, hard to think of just one. I guess I'd say Luna Park
12. Favorite flower? Gardenia
13. Favorite drink? does a nice glass of Syrah count?
14. Favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup
15. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jack in the Box, but only when I’m really desperate.
16. What color is your bedroom carpet? No carpet, light Pergo
17. How many times have you failed your driver's test? once
18. What do you do most often when you are bored? I have to say, I'm not bored very often -- I always have a project or two on hand.
19. Bedtime? midnight
20. Ford or Chevy? Ford, but just because I happen to drive a Ford, not out of some burning loyalty
21. What are you listening to right now? New York Times audio edition
22. What are your favorite colors? orange, brown & green (you know, those 70s kitchen colors)
23. How many tattoos do you have? none, yet
24. How many pets do you have? 2 cats and a turtle
25. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg.
26. What would you like to accomplish before you die? Have a great life, surrounded by family & friends.

Holidaze

The holiday season has officially begun, even if the thermometer yesterday read 92 degrees. For me, it doesn't begin with when department stores break out the Christmas trees (sometime around Oct. 21), nor even on the day that KOST-FM starts its all-holiday music format (a few days before Thanksgiving). No, for me, it begins with the all-food, all-wine, all yummy day called Friends Thanksgiving. Oh goodness, this weekend was carb-heavy heaven. We started eating at about 3:00 p.m., and we finally finished dessert around 9:00 p.m. Now, to be sure, there was a long break from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. when we all laid about semi-conscious, only expending energy when USC scored a touchdown.

Good times.

Pictures of the feast to come. For now, here are my first two hats for Stitches from the Heart. On the left is a hat, sized for a newborn, crocheted in TLC Amore. On the right is a preemie-sized hat crocheted in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted. Finishing these two feels good, like I'm providing added meaning for Eliza's life. Definitely more to come.

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet

Right now, I am on a quest to see just how long a person can go without sleep before they become certifiably insane. I know that the military has found that someone can stay awake for weeks without developing serious medical problems, but you can develop "dementia or develop permanent personality changes within the first few weeks." I'm really only on about 30 hours or so, but I'm working on it. Woo!

This Saturday is our annual Friends Thanksgiving, a tradition that our group of college friends has had for the last 7-8 years. We get together at someone's house/apartment the weekend before Thanksgiving and go nuts with the food, with just about everyone contributing a dish or two. Here's the menu for this year:

Appetizers
Bacon & Carmelized Onion Tart
Kalamata Olive & Goat Cheese Tapenade
Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomoatoes

Sides
Fennel & Haricot Verts Salad w/Mustard Vinagrette
Brown Butter & Shallot Mashed Potatoes
Molasses Horseradish Sweet Potato Spears
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ryan & Sara's Famous Cranberry Sauce
Lumpia

Main Course
Cider Brined and Glazed Turkey with Andoullie Cornbread Stuffing and Sage Gravy

Desserts
Pumpkin Roll
Vanilla Spice Gelato
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake

This all for a total of 8 people. There is going to be so much food, I'll think I've gone to heaven. Aside from the food, I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. As I've written here before, this year has shown me just how important the love and support of good friends are to me. So, bring on the tryptophan! Maybe I'll finally be able to sleep.

And just because this post is a bit lacking in pictures, here is my handmade item of the day:

Corset Belt from Stitch n Bitch: Happy Hooker
Crocheted in Fiesta Yarns Watermark in Coyote and felted