December! And Also, Tiny Needle Tuesday!

And just like that, December 1st rolls around!  Whether or not we are ready, it's here.  I for one am happy, since I love this time of year.  I'm not one to wish a year away, like so many people are.  I just like December.  Plus, if you recall, last year around this time soooo many people were saying, "I cannot wait for 2019 to get out of here, bring on 2020!"  Proving that you should be careful what you wish for, no?

Anyway, 24 days until Christmas Day, but it's time to enjoy Christmastime!  And for those of you who do not celebrate, I am not meaning to stuff it down your throat.  I certainly hope that you have a good month, and that if there is a winter holiday that you celebrate, you are looking forward to it as well.  But if you have read this blog for any length of time, you should also not be surprised that I love everything about the holiday season.

Yesterday, I got three of the five things I had on my list for the day accomplished, and they were the three things that to me, were the priorities, so that was a good feeling.  Especially for a Monday.  Even better, though it poured rain for 95% of the day, we managed to get in three walks with Hamlet during times it was not raining, which was beneficial for all of us.

However, what today is really about is Tiny Needle Tuesday, which I have not been able to post about for a bit, because I have been not just in-between projects, but having a hard time deciding what I was in the mood to do next.  But once I realized it was nearly December, I started to poke around, and remembered I had a credit at Stitched Modern due to a package that was damaged in shipping.  So I decided to see what was new (to me at least) there.  I found one that just really spoke to me, and with my credit, I got it for a mere $3.00!

Sunday morning, I got started and it was so much fun to do some cross-stitch again.  This is as far as I made it before stopping (and yes, that is a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stitchery pouch, thank you for noticing):

I'm sure I could have done most or all of it on Sunday if I'd kept going, but I didn't want to finish it all at once, and just like knitting, I don't like to cross-stitch non-stop, because it makes my hands/wrists/elbows/whatever hurt, and why would I purposely do that??  I'm so happy with it so far, and even though it hasn't been that long between stitchery projects, I forgot how much fun it is to see the image start to look like something. 😊

So, onward with today, which is a day I am at work, so hopefully that will go well, and the work part of the day will pass quickly.  I hope your day turns out to be one that you enjoy.

Dusted and Done

OK, maybe not dusted because I haven't gotten that done yet, but today is the last day of November, and I managed to post every day for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), which pleases me.  I enjoy giving myself small challenges, and it makes me happy when it works, since I am the first to admit that a lot of times I lose steam on my challenges/ambitions after a week or so.

I don't know if it's because of being home most of the time, or if I was just more in the mood for it all this year, but unlike other years when I would have a hard time coming up with topics, or even forget altogether, this year it was less daunting.  I will also admit that two things helped: 1) I would try to think the day before about possible topics, and b) I realized that every day didn't need to be a long, involved post about something specific.  That helped a lot.

Of course, you were the ones stuck reading, so who knows how you must have felt about it ... 😏  In any case, thanks for showing up and even leaving comments, I had fun doing this.

Our long holiday weekend was quiet and really enjoyable.  Hamlet responded well to the medicine and the rest the vet recommended, so we're hoping he is on the road back to being his usual self.  I got my hair cut on Saturday morning, which is always a way to feel better for me.  We had a couple of Zoom get-togethers with family and had a good time laughing together.  I started a new cross-stitch project, which is a fun one and will probably go quickly (I probably could have gotten a lot more finished than I did, but put it away at one point to actually try and do something other than just stitch all day.  Plus, now I have working on it some more to enjoy).  We did a lot of just enjoying the time, and that is always my favorite way to spend any weekend.

Today it is supposed to pour rain all day long (it's already started, but fortunately Hamlet and I got our morning walk in before any drops), so I made sure to keep the things that are definitely inside activities to at least start today.  I want to pay the bills (ugh), wrap a few gifts to have them ready to mail, and clean up some small messes I've made (putting things away that I piled up on a chair, etc.).  I'm also going to pull out the Christmas cards so that I can get going on them this week.  I am determined that this year of all years, I'll send some cards.*  I think even people who may not normally care if they receive them will enjoy it this year, since at least in theory they haven't had as many chances to communicate with others as much.

I'm not sure if you'll hear from me quite as much in December, but as you know if you have read this blog for a while, it is one of my most favorite times, so there's a better than good chance I'll be here more often than not.  

I hope the last day of November is a good one for you, and that we all have something to enjoy this week, when December shows up whether we are ready or not!

*if your lifetime dream is to receive a card from me, feel free to send me your address at: thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet.  I love to send and receive cards!

First Sunday of Advent 2020

Waiting for the Light : An Advent Poem

by Chris Yokel

Would you wait

several thousand years

for someone to make good

on their promise,

especially if you knew

they had the power

to fulfill it in a moment?

Perhaps, yes,

if you were sitting in the dark,

and your only hope

was the long, slow deliverance

of sunrise.

Why Am I Busy on a Saturday??

Usually on Saturday I do nothing.  Because, well, even during a pandemic, it's freakin' Saturday and you're not supposetd to work hard, right?  But then there a Saturday when, even if you are not "working" per se, you get a lot done, and then it's 3:00 p.m. and you say to yourself, "Huh?" 

That was me today.  I had a haircut first thing this morning, which did mean I actually got myself in gear earlier than usual.  Usually on Saturday mornings, I'm sitting around in my pjs until at least 9 a.m., and then not even really doing anything the rest of the day.  But when I got home, I decided that I was going to try a new coffee cake recipe I'd found, and I needed nuts for that, so I walked to the market.  Came back, made the recipe, and then while it was baking, washed a load of sheets.  Then I washed the dishes that piled up from breakfast and my baking, folded and put away the sheets, and then decided there was just a bit of stuff that needed put away that was piled in a closet.  And then decided that I was itchy from my haircut and took a shower.  

And just like that - whoosh! - it was 3:00 p.m.!  How did that happen?  And why was I so busy doing useful things on a Saturday???  

Clearly I need to sort out my priorities ...

In other news, Hamlet is feeling better.   Thank you so much for your well wishes for him, all of us appreciate them.  The vet said that he thinks he might have a soft tissue injury in his shoulder.  He gave us the canine equivalent of Tylenol to give him twice a day, and recommended lots of rest.  If he is not doing better by Monday, we are to take him over to the vet's office again for x-rays.  But so far, he seems to be doing a whole lot better.  Of course, getting a pill in some peanut butter twice a day is just fine with him, as is resting a lot (yep, he's our dog for sure!).  But we are glad he seems to be responding so well, both for him and for our credit card bill.

And that's the news from here.  We have a end-of-Thanksgiving weekend Zoom call tomorrow afternoon with my sisters and some of the nephews and nieces, so that should be fun.  And no other specific plans, which is also fine with me. 

You know, especially since I "worked" so hard today.  😜

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

And It Was Good

Hello, and to those of you in the U.S., I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, however you may have had to adjust your plans.  And for everyone else, I hope you had a lovely day.  

Our Thanksgiving was just wonderful.  We had pumpkin pie for breakfast, which was really yummy.  I love having desserts for breakfast.  I'm sure I wouldn't find it as fun if it was all the time, but I love it when it happens.  Our day was relaxing, and our dinner turned out really well.  Our new water heater was called into active duty, and did a wonderful job.  We watched some shows we had lined up, did some reading, drank some wine, and I even ended the day with a HO (half-finished object - completed before the wine drinking started):

Slothmas Sock #1 even has the ends woven in!

It was a cozy, lovely day, which is what I love best about Thanksgiving.  It's a holiday to just be, and to relax, and enjoy what is.  And of course this year it was bittersweet in so many ways.  I hope the day landed gently for those who needed it.

Today we will be taking Hamlet to the vet if we can get an appt.  I have no idea what happened, but on his walk Wednesday afternoon, he started limping big-time.  We checked and can't see anything in his paw/leg and he doesn't seem to be in searing pain, but he is limping and is definitely uncomfortable.  Poor bug, he is such a good boy, and of course we don't want him to be hurt.  We are hoping it might be just a sprain, but will have to find out what is going on so that hopefully he can get back to his usual self soon.

I was dismayed to read Alison's comment that Black Friday has infiltrated New Zealand.  Ugh.  Why does it seem so often that only the unpleasant things from America become global?  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Black Friday per se - I have often gone out shopping the day after Thanksgiving to shop and had fun.  But I'm a pretty low-key shopper, and for instance, could never be bothered to line up all night for "a deal."  And it annoys me that some of the worst things Americans do are what most of the world sees and is exposed to.  But people annoy me in general, so nothing new there, right?  

No shopping today, though.  I did go out for a few specific things on Wednesday afternoon, and was successful.  Since most of our gifts are knitted and ready to go, we are spending very little this year.  (Well, you can't really spend what you don't have, but you know what I mean.)  I figured I would try to get packages together so we can mail things early if at all possible.  

Other than getting some things wrapped and ready, my plans are to read, knit, and decide what combination of leftovers to have for dinner.  I'm hoping we can get a vet appt for Hamlet early in the day, but we'll adapt the day however necessary.  One nice thing about not having guests or traveling on a holiday long weekend is that the time belongs to no one but you.  That always works for me!