Last FO of 2024: Tim's Ribbed Hat

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope that so far, 2025 is behaving for you. I have no complaints (other than my usual complaints, which are more than enough) so far. 😊

I wanted to share my final FO of last year with you, and tell you a story about a conversation that was had when it was gifted. 

Anyway, do you remember that a couple of months ago, I finished this hat for myself? Well, after I finished it, I had quite a bit of yarn left over, and considered that maybe I could reverse the colors and make one for The Tim. The yarn is merino wool and cashmere, and so it would be a nice Christmas gift. At the time, I was doing a bunch of other things, so it was a bit on the back burner.

Then at the beginning of December, I decided to cast on and see how things went. If it didn't get done for a Christmas present, I'd give it to him for Valentine's Day. So I would knit on it every couple of days, and since it's a hat, and not very complicated at that, it was finished in time for Christmas!

Project: Tim's Ribbed Hat

Pattern: Classic Ribbed Hat, by Purl Soho (large adult size)

Yarn: Purl Soho Cashmere Merino Bloom, colorways Red Mulberry and True Turquoise

Needles: US 3/3.25 mm

Modifications: None

Here's the story part:

The Tim (opening gift): Oh wow! A hat just like Greg and Preller have (two spouses of two nieces who received Musselburgh Hats in the past)!

Me: No, that's not a Musselburgh Hat. When I asked you if you wanted one, you said you had one, even though I have never made one for you.

The Tim: Well then what is this hat? [Tries it on, "Oh this is soft!"]

Me: It's like the hat I made for myself a couple of months ago, but the colors are reversed. It's extra soft because the yarn has some cashmere in it.

The Tim: So we're going to match?

Me: No, not exactly. My hat has the same colors, but reversed from yours.

The Tim: Oh, OK. Well this is nice. [a minute or two passes] Maybe next year I'll get a Musselburgh Hat then.

Me (in my brain): *^%#$%^&*(

To his credit, he did say that it was good timing since the hat he has been wearing it "all stretched out" (because he PULLS at it!), and he has been happily wearing it. And he really loves anything I knit for him.

But after having a whole conversation months ago about whether or not he wanted a Musselburgh Hat, and him saying no, even though he thought he had one but he doesn't ... 

So next year for his BD or for Christmas, I guess I know what to make for him!

Festive Friday FO: Broken Garter Scarf

Hello and happy first Friday of December! Our original plan was to go to Baltimore this weekend to be with my niece Amanda and her husband Pat. We were really looking forward to kicking things off with them. But I have had a killer cold and the sore throat from hell since Monday. My Covid test was negative, so I guess it's just an awful cold. I have been so miserable, and though the medicine the doctor gave to me is helping, I knew that it would be a bad idea to still go. I still feel awful, and overnights are the worst. So I if I have to be sick, I'm staying home.

Oh well, a couple of extra days to rest and take my time with Christmastime things.

Do you remember these photos from last November/early December?

 

It was the start of a scarf I was making for The Tim for Christmas. However, I got to a certain point and realized I had not paid close enough attention to the pattern, and one way or another, it was not going to be ready for Christmas. So it got put away until I decided what to do.

Project: Broken Garter Scarf for Tim

Pattern: Broken Garter Scarf - a store pattern from Loop. There are solid color patterns that are similar on Ravelry, you'd just need to decide how to change around the colors.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in the following colorways: Rage (150), Alabaster (197), Seasalter (178), Lotus Leaf (205), Cinnamon (356)

Needles: US 6/4mm

Modifications/Notes: Well, OK I did modify the pattern, but not intentionally. The pattern tells you to do two rows (1-2) with one color, then two rows (3-4) with the next. Then it says to repeat rows 1-4 40 times. Well, when I "finished" with the last color combination, the scarf was not long enough to go around a neck even once. 

Yep, you guessed it - I was supposed to have *80* rows in each section, but I only had 40 rows. Sigh.

No way was I gonna rip it out, even once I decided I didn't need it for Christmas. Because that was already a lot of knitting. So I decided to do the "last" part for 80 rows, and then repeat the other colors and number of rows on the other side. So the middle would be one long section, and the "sides" so to speak, would match.

I finished knitting and weaving in the ends around the middle of November, and I like it. I think I would like it better if I'd done the pattern as written, but I'd also like a million dollars, you know?

I still think it looks nice, and I know that The Tim will like it. That's all that really counts.

I like the colors I chose, but I have to tell you, the red shade (aka 'Rage') is my favorite! Not just the shade of red, but the name - Rage! I enjoyed telling people I was knitting with rage ... Maybe a Rage Sweater is in my future???

It's a little bit wrinkled from being stored in the project bag, but 1) it's a scarf, it's not going to be perfect anyway, and 2) again, it's a scarf, so it's not going to be laid out perfectly when it's worn.

It was an enjoyable knit for the most part, except when I'd be going along and would realize that I had not changed colors - but that's my lack of attention, not a problem with the pattern. 

And now the knitted gift for The Tim is finished and will be ready to wrap. A year late, but then again, Christmas comes every year, you know?

Happy December!

Hello and welcome to December - which is really feeling like December here in Philadelphia. The weather is very cold, but mostly bright, which is just so nice! I'm at home today rather than at my volunteer gig, because right now there are no kitties at the location where I volunteer! Everyone was adopted over the weekend, which is good news. But it does mean that I have to stay home and annoy my own kitties this morning. 😉

Thanks for going along with me yesterday when I posted the photo of our old cardboard wreath, the symbol of the start of Christmastime in our house. I was especially happy that KSD noticed, since I know she gets as much of a charge out of it as I do. When we first bought that decoration, we were living in married  student housing at the University of Notre Dame, and had gotten married the October before that Christmas. Yesterday, I did an inflation tally, and thought you'd enjoy my findings.

When we bought that cardboard wreath in 1978, at the equivalent of what would probably be a dollar store today, it was priced at 39 cents (you can still see the price pencilled faintly on the back). If we wanted to buy that same decoration today, it would cost us - are you ready for this? - a WHOPPING $1.89! 

IS NOTHING SACRED????? 

Yesterday morning I ventured out and stopped at Sephora and Barnes and Noble, to find some gifts for some nieces and to get a couple of books for birthday gifts. My one set of nieces have birthdays on December 18, December 25 (aka Lizmas), and December 29. A lot of people just ignore their birthdays - you know, the "This is for your birthday and Christmas," but I grew up with a mother whose birthday was December 2, and she said that *her* mother insisted that if you were born in December, you still deserved an actual birthday. So that is the way it works. Anyway, I had complete success, and that made me happy for the rest of the day, I have to say.

Today's agenda includes paying a couple of bills, and digging out Christmas cards to get ready. I know we have some, and I want to make sure that we have stamps, etc. Yes, I still send Christmas cards. Maybe not as many as before, since I have had many people tell me in no uncertain terms that they do NOT want a paper card, and who do I think I am, sending cards when the earth is already so polluted. So I just don't send anything to them. But sending cards and receiving cards gives me a lot of joy, and I always recycle ours or use parts of them for gift tags for the next year, so I feel it's OK. 

I'll probably also get out some "easy" decorations - you know, pillows and such that you have for around the house that you don't need to set aside a day to unwrap and organize.

Of course, there will also be knitting and reading. And the taking of cough syrup, since I started with a chest cold on Sunday, and coughed my way through the night last night. 😡

As I mentioned above, yesterday was my mom's birthday. Last night, The Tim and I were drinking a birthday toast to her, and I was saying that if she were still here, she would be 106 years old. And The Tim said, "Oh God, she'd still be getting me to find her cane for her 50 times a day!" and we had a good laugh, because she would "lose" her cane all of the time. And then she'd say, "Tim, I've lost my cane/that person has my cane,* will you help me find it," and he would say, "Geraldine, it's right in front of you," and she would respond, "Oh for God's sake!" and the two of them would have the best laugh about it.

Whereas, if The Tim wasn't around, and it was only the two of us, she would say the same thing to me, and I would say - in a completely normal tone of voice - "Mom, it's right in front of you," and she would say in a truly annoyed fashion, "Well, no one likes a smart ass."

Sometimes you're just not the favorite, and you have to live with that. 😂

*whenever she would "lose" her cane, if we were out somewhere and someone else near us also had a cane, she was always convinced they it was hers and they had taken it ...

Pleasing

We had a lovely evening celebrating The Tim's birthday. He enjoyed all of his gifts, and was truly thrilled to receive the second sock to complete his pair of house socks. I had wrapped them in a couple of layers, where the older sock was on top. So when he opened it, he said, "Are you giving this back because you can't find the yarn to make the other one?" and then was surprised and pleased when he dug down to the next layer. So it was a success.

There are a couple of other things that have been pleasing, and I thought I'd share. Do you remember that last spring, the city planted a honey locust tree (aka "Loco") where a previous tree in front of our house had been? Well, Loco has been thriving. And last Saturday, it was time for us to get another tree, at the other entrance to our house (which is technically the main entrance). This time it is an American Hornbeam ("Beamy), and we are so happy with it! 

(The Tim: Oh good, it's a dormant tree. I was wondering why they would plant a new tree when cold weather was coming.

Me (in my brain): Brilliant deduction, Holmes.)

I'm so glad to have a tree in that spot, because the street is so small, and having a tree there must makes it all seem cozier, you know?

On Monday, I headed to Anthropologie. I had seen something online that I thought would make a nice gift; it was out of stock online, but it said, "Check stores." Our store did have it in stock, but in person, I didn't like it as much. However, I found something else that I liked even better for less money. But even better was the gift box they provided:

I had noticed on my way into the store that they had some yarn trees decorating the windows along with shiny ornaments, etc., so I guess they have a whole yarn/knitting thing going on for the holiday season this year. It goes without saying that I think it's an excellent idea!😊

So there you have two small but good things that really pleased me over the past week or so. It's a good reminder to pay attention, because even when a lot of other things seem to be terrible, disheartening, etc., there are still some little, lovely, happy things happening around you if you just look.

FO Post: The Hofo Sock

Hello there! Well, I survived both the prep and the colonoscopy, and I do have some pathology results to expect in the next week or so, but that is taken care of for now, and boy am I glad. I just hope the pathology report shows nothing worrisome, because I want to just be finished with the whole thing for another three years (three years! Last time I had only two, so that in itself is an improvement). But please know that I did truly appreciate your supportive and kind comments about surviving the prep. It's nice to know that people understand when someone is just plain uncomfortable.

ANYWAY.

When I was a kid, one of the jokes that at first puzzled me, and later pleased me because of wordplay, was this one:

Q: When is a door not a door?

A: When it's ajar.

And so, for this FO post, I have a similar question for you:

Q: When is a HO (half-finished object) not a HO?

A: When it's an FO.

Project: The Hofo Sock

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern that I keep in my brain.

Yarn: Plymouth Worsted Encore Solids. The light blue is the Denim colorway, and the green is - you guessed it - the Kelly Green colorway!

Needles: US size 5/3.75 mm

Notes: In 2020, I knit these for The Tim. And he wore them. A lot. Until the sole of one of them wore completely through. So he handed the other one to me, and said, "Could you just knit a mate for this one? These are cozy and I like them, and I only need one more." So I said I would, set the sock aside, and immediately forgot all about it.

A couple of months ago, I was cleaning out the mess that was my knitting and crafting stuff, and came across the lone sock, waiting for its mate. So this time I placed it where I could see it, and determined that I would knit another one for The Tim's birthday. A couple of weeks ago, when I finished another long-term project, I picked it up and decided to see if I still had either/both colors of the yarn. I did! I tend to grab Encore when I can, because I think it's a nice yarn, and for certain projects and for certain people, it's a much better choice than other, fancier yarns.

And at last, the lonely sock once again has a mate:

I made certain to wash the older sock, and I even used the de-piller on it, and though you can tell that one has been worn, and one hasn't, they really look like they belong together! Of course, I had failed to write down the specifics - aka how many rows led to color changes, etc. - so I studied the older sock and I think I got pretty close. 

In any case, they are currently wrapped up ready for The Tim to open when we have his birthday celebration later today.

Oh - and "The Hofo Sock?" Well, it's a HO that was also an FO. 😉

Happy November! And, What I Knit During October, Part 1

Hello everyone and Happy November! I hope all of you surivived Halloween. Ours was quiet - not a single trick-or-treater. I blame the current state of the world. People are afraid to let their kids go trick-or-treating, and only allow them to go to parties, or do the Trunk and Treat thing which frankly I think is gross. I miss seeing the costumes so much, that was one of my favorite things.

Oh well, just another thing that apparently isnt' going to happen again around here. A friend of mine who lives in one of the fancy 'burbs said that they only had 20 trick or treaters. Which sadly makes me feel a little better - it's not just a trend in the "big bad city." 

*****

But onward to November and the coziness of it. I will especially enjoy it when November 12-15 is over. I have a colonoscopy on the 15th, and have to do the usual (for me) three-day prep. So other than those dates, bring on November!

I have a finished object to show you - actually one of two pairs of socks I knit during October, which is insane, because I seldom can knit one pair of socks in a month, but guess what? If you concentrate on a project, it gets finished - who knew?? 😄

It all started with this ball of yarn:

Project: Tim's Halloween Socks

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern, based on this pattern, which is my go-to for basic socks

Yarn: Nox Yarn Mars Sock base, colorway is Potions Master

Needles: US size 1/2.25 mm

Notes: I've had this yarn in my stash for a long time, and every year would notice it either right before Halloween, or right after. This year, I made an effort to find it well in advance. 

My original plan was to make a pair of Halloween socks for myself. I was even going to use a pattern. So I got it going, and decided that with the way the yarn was dyed, the pattern would be completely lost. Since the pattern I was trying out used the number of stitches I generally use to make socks for The Tim, I decided to just knit a plain sock and give it to him for our anniversary, which is a few days before Halloween.

It's a 1 x 1 ribbed cuff, and then a 3 x 1 ribbed leg, with a plain foot. Shortly after starting these, I finished another project I was working on; I'd also completed one sock of a pair I was knitting for myself. So I decided to concentrate on these, since I had a deadline at the end of the month.

I finished them a week ago today, and I'm really happy how they turned out. And it's a shame that Nox Yarn is no longer dyeing, because this was lovely yarn to knit with, and makes a great pair of socks. 

They were gifted for our anniversary on Monday, and even though The Tim has been sitting *right next to me* for a lot of the time I was knitting them, he was completely surprised. Which works for everyone, right?

*****

Do you have any special plans for the weekend? We're headed to IKEA at some point to look for a couple of area rugs for our living room. We had our living room rug picked up for deep cleaning and storage last week (long story, I'm sure I'll tell it sometime), and would like to find a couple of smaller rugs for the living room until the big one is in use again. Other than that, I'm sure there will be a LOT of napping (The Tim), a lot of hilarity (the kitties), and a lot of knitting and reading (me). It's supposed to be cooler (thank the Lord!) this weekend, so it will be nice to just cozy in and stay in the house.

I hope your weekend goes well.  Rest up, because next week should be a long one, at least here in the U.S., with Tuesday being election day. I sincerely hope that you will cast/have cast your vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Because any other choice is unacceptable if you want to continue living in a country that you're not completely and totally ashamed of, with a vile creature deciding our futures ... or lack thereof.

And I believe that sincerely.

Take care.

Resurfacing After Being MIA

Well here we are, almost in the middle of the month, and I'm finally checking back in with all of you. The past couple of weeks have been difficult, but things are looking up, so fingers crossed that it stays that way.

At the end of July/beginning of August, my Reverse SAD finally got me and got me good. It was so hot and so humid for so long that I got to the point where I could barely function. I was tired and miserable all of the time, and my depression and anxiety ramped up like it has not for a while. I was in pretty bad shape to be honest.

I did manage to get myself together enough to enjoy a weekend visit to NYC to see a lot of family, which was really nice and I'm glad we went, but then we came home to the same slop and that caused me to crash big-time. Fortunately, last week, even though it was still humid, it wasn't as hot and the rain did a lot to make the flowers, trees, etc. look and obviously feel better.

This week has felt so good! It's so nice to be able to have the windows open, especially at night, and to take walks without being soaked in sweat after a block and a half. And considering that it's August, it's a nice surprise that it's feeling that way now.

As mentioned above, we were in New York to see a lot of family for a weekend overnight. My sister Nancy and her husband live in Southern California, but they come to NYC usually every summer to visit with a lot of his family who live in the area. This year, their kids and families joined them. My nephew and his wife in Arizona have four kids, and the last time we saw them was 11 years ago. Three of them were able to make the trip, so it was nice to see them as young adults now. My niece and her husband who live in Northern California have two kids that we have never met, so we got to meet them in person, which was nice. Then my other sister and her husband from WV came for the weekend also, and one of their daughters and her family live in Brooklyn, so it was really great to get to see nearly everyone! It was loud and funny and frustrating (none of them are planners, ugh!), and of course, we always enjoy the train ride to and from there. It would have all been perfection if it hadn't been in the high 90s Fahrenheit with the ever-popular "feels like" temperature of 108 degrees. 😡

Only for family would I even consider braving it!

Then, we had found someone who could do our bathroom and kitchen floors - meaning that sooner rather than later, the new refrigerator would be in the kitchen where it should be! There were a couple of blips - the original date they said they'd start had to be pushed back, because the person they dealt with at Home Depot/Lowe's (I forgot which one) ordered the wrong bathroom tiles. 

The guy who was the head of the crew then said they would show up "early afternoon" on this past Saturday to get started on one of the bathrooms, after they finished another job. Which was fine with me. So I was going along in my day, and about 1:15 in the afternoon, The Tim informs me that he called and told the guy not to come, because it was "way past early afternoon." WHAT? I consider early afternoon  to be until around 3 p.m. Then he went on about how he told him it wasn't professional to treat people this way, etc. All I could think of - and I really don't think this very often - was WTF??

This, from the person who weeks ago explained to me (even though I already knew it) that contractors are usually working on several jobs at once, so they seldom devote all of their time at once to your project only. So I don't know what kind of needle ended up in his butt to cause him to do that, but I was really afraid that the guy would say, here's your down payment back, find someone else.

So currently, they are supposed to come tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday to get all three floors replaced. The lead guy texted me yesterday and told me he would text me again today to let me know what time tomorrow to expect them, and where they were starting, so I could have things ready. I hope it all works out this time. Otherwise, The Tim better have something else lined up.

In the meantime, Alfie will be in heaven when they finally arrive. I told a friend that it wouldn't surprise me if he has been watching floor repair videos on YouTube so that they have no excuse to not let him "assist" ... 😄

And now you are all caught up on the high-/lowlights. Cross your fingers that the next time I post, the floors are at least underway!

FO Post: Late But Finished!

Hello from a snowy Philadelphia! We are supposedly getting a big (for us, especially recently) snow today. I'm planning a cozy day with the kitties, I just hope that things don't get too bad since The Tim is at work, and his job involves a lot of driving around. Yikes.

Anyway, on to the FO:

(unblocked, because I barely had time for a photo before they where taken by the recipient!)

Project: Replacement Iron Horse Mitts 

Pattern: Iron Horse Mitts, by Emily Butzi

Yarn: Yarn Addict Sock, colorway OOAK (One Of A Kind)

Needles: US size 3/3.25 mm

Modifications: None

Notes: I made a pair of these a few years back for The Tim, when he requested fingerless gloves, "but the kind with part of the fingers covered." Last spring, he asked if I would make him a new one because he had lost one of them, and he really likes them and wears them all the time. 

Needless to say, the rest of the skein of the original yarn I'd used was long gone, and I didn't have anything very similar in my stash. So I decided that if I came across anything that resembled the old yarn, I'd get it, because he thought they were a good color. Fast forward to October, when there was a little mini-festival of yarny things at Loop over the Rhinebeck weekend. Yarn Addict was there, and when I saw this shade of green, I knew it was pretty close to what I had originally used, so I snapped it up!

I originally planned for these to be a Christmas gift, and they were ... kind of. I think I previously mentioned the scarf I had also been knitting for The Tim, where I got well into it and then realized I'd been missing a huge part of the instructions! Well, then I just put that aside, and was putzing around doing very little knitting while doing everything else for Christmas. Finally, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I finished the last finger on the first of the mitts. So I took the one of the previous pair he still had, and wrapped them up as "One Old, One New, Both Kind of Similar." Well he was thrilled, which was good, and the good thing is that the yarn I'd bought in October is about as close in color as I could hope to get with a replacement pair.

The Tim could not understand why I was still planning to knit a mate for the new one, since he "only needed one, and they match pretty well." Bless his heart. I pointed out that if I finished the second one, he'd have a spare in case he lost another one. That made sense to him. 

So yesterday I finally finished the second mitt. He is thrilled to have three mitts now - a pair and an extra! Which makes me happy. He is extremely knitworthy, you know?

The pattern itself is well-written, and the result is a nice, cozy item. The "fingers" are not hard, just a bit fiddly, and there were a couple of spots where I needed to fill in a bit of a gap where I had not picked up stitches all that well. But overall, I'm pleased with them, and would recommend this pattern, which comes with two sizes (Women's and Men's, I guess).

So with this FO, I have my last project of 2023, and my first project of 2024. 

Which of course means I can start something else, right? 😊

*****

I hope all of you have a lovely weekend, and can stay warm and safe. If you are in the opposite hemisphere, I hope your weather is nice and not extreme in the opposite way of ours! 

I'm looking forward to just staying put and being cozy. All of us will be home, so it will be especially nice. I love when it's snowy and we can just all be here together.

See you next week!

Goodbye November

Good morning (or hello whenever you read this!) on the last day of November. One of my most favorite months of the year, but also bittersweet. It's the month that my father died, and every year I am more aware of all of the things I have gotten to experience that he missed out on. It makes me feel bad, but it also makes me aware that my life has a lot going for it, even if there are blips along the way. 

This past November had a lot going for it. There was our weekend trip to New York, lots of sunny days and good walks, good knitting time, of course Thanksgiving, and then yesterday - finally after years of waiting for it to happen - our roof finally got fixed!! No more mini-Niagara Falls experience from the ceiling in the bedroom when it rains, no more buckets to have to maneuver around when getting to the closet. The work crew showed up yesterday around 7:30 a.m., and they were finished by 2 p.m. It was a wonderful way to end the month, and since yesterday was my middle sister's birthday, I told her that we were celebrating a new roof in her honor. 😂

So today I have some laundry already underway, and I want to put away the few fall/Thanksgiving decorations that we have. Then I am planning to do a good cleaning of the first floor. Today or tomorrow I'll sit down and pay some bills, so as you can see, glamor is still a large part of my life ...

In knitting news, I started a scarf for The Tim, which I hope to have finished by Christmas:

There are five sections of the scarf, and this is the first section completed. Now it's time to change up the red color to a navy for the next section. It's kind of an addictive knit, so I am hoping that fact will make it all doable over the next couple of weeks. If not, it will be ready for next Christmas, so it works either way.

Do you remember the story of the former co-worker/friend who sort of inexplicably sends us homemade cookies every year for Christmastime? Well, just like clockwork, the package of cookies arrived yesterday, and to say The Tim was excited is an understatement. For someone who never even met this co-worker, he really counts on her coming through every year! I'm grateful that she sends them (they are so good, she is a former pastry chef, so they are nothing like the cookies we make), but it still amuses/puzzles me when they get here. It's nice to have a friend who you never really realized was a friend, I guess.

That's it for now. I hope you have a good last day of November, and that you enjoy many more Novembers to come. The timer on the washing machine just dinged, so time for me to move some things around and get going on the rest of my day. I'm the sort of person who likes to get things done earlier in the day, and then have some time in the afternoon to myself. Tonight is The Tim's turn to cook, so I don't even have to figure out what is for dinner (and I also know if he is cooking, it will be something yummy!).

Just Like It Was Supposed To Be

Hello and Happy Monday of Thanksgiving week!  We are back from our overnight weekend trip to NYC to celebrate The Tim's birthday. Every single part of the weekend went well, and I think he had a great birthday.

We got up nice and early on Friday and headed to the train station for our trip. Both of us love taking the train, so that was as much part of the fun as anything. When we arrived, we went to our hotel first, to check in, even if our room wasn't ready yet. We took the time to sit and have a cup of coffee/tea, and take a little break before deciding on our plan of the day.

Our hotel (and a lot of the city) was already decked out for Christmastime.

We decided we wanted to check out the Morgan Library and Museum - someplace we've always wanted go, but hadn't visited yet. It was a short walk from our hotel, and since we lucked out all weekend with somewhat warm, sunny weather, it was really pleasant to walk around. 

The Morgan Library and Museun did not disappoint. The Tim took a lot of photos which I'll share whenever he sends some to me, but I was so astonished and amazed by the place and what we were seeing, it didn't even occur to me to take a picture. Amazing does not even begin to cover it. We were there for the bulk of the day there was just so much to see. If you have never visited, I highly recommend it.

We headed back to our hotel, enjoying the decorations and people-watching.

To quote The Tim: "Those are some big red balls." 

We had a lovely dinner and then walked around some more, taking a little stroll through Central Park before it got too late. I have to say, New York never disappoints - so many interesting things to see, even if they are let's say, not in the tour books! 😊

Saturday morning we had bagels for breakfast at a great deli, and then walked over to Rockefeller Center to watch people at the skating rink, and so that I could say hello the Empire State Building, my most favorite skyscraper, always.

And then, the reason for the trip:

We love this show, and have seen a couple of productions, but never seen it actually on Broadway.

It turned out that Josh Groban wasn't in the matinee that day, but his understudy was so good, I can only think the difference between the two is that I had never heard of the understudy before ...

Annaleigh Ashford was Mrs. Lovett, though, and she was fabulous, as expected. She really lived it up in the role!

We had really excellent seats, too!

After the show, we headed to the train station, but never fear, earlier in the day, we'd paid our regards to Broadway ... and George M. Cohan!

The train ride home was quiet and very pleasant, and we were home before we knew it, to a grand reception - and airing of grievances - by the kitties.

Sunday morning, I took the birthday boy out to breakfast at one of our favorite diners.

And then later we had some cheesecake slices from the diner with candles, "Happy Birthday" singing, and gifts. 

The entire weekend went even better than we could have expected. We were exhausted yesterday, since even though we love New York, it does wear us out. And when we came out of the train station on Saturday night, we said the same thing we always say after a trip there: "It's so quiet here!" 😀

I'm Not Really Here ...

As you are reading this, The Tim and I will be on a train headed to New York City for an overnight visit as part of his birthday weekend. It should be fun, I haven't been to NYC for a while, and it's always a treat. We have the whole day today once we arrive to just do what we want to do (and of course we have too many plans) and then tomorrow is the matinee, after which we'll make our way to Penn Station and back to Philadelphia and the kitties, for the rest of the weekend's celebrations. 😊

But I didn't want to miss a Friday gratitude this week, so I wrote this post and set it to publish this morning. This week I'm grateful that both of us are still healthy enough and able enough to go on these little adventures together. I know we'll both be exhausted when we get home, and the change in our routines will throw us for a loop (not to mention interrupting the cats' usual schedule - uh oh!). But how great is it that we can even do it, and with a little bit of extra scraping around, afford to make it all possible? Even a couple of years ago, it would have been an unlikely thing - I probably couldn't have taken the extra day off work, or would have been made to feel guilty if I did. Friday is one of my days off, and I made arrangements long ago before we even had any plans for someone else to cover my Sunday shift so we could have a birthday weekend celebration. I'm lucky, and I know it, and I'm grateful for all of it.

I hope you have a good weekend, even if your adventure is at home, staying cozy, or getting ready for Thanksgiving, or just knitting or reading. I'll be back next week to catch up on things. Enjoy!

Gifty-Gift Time

Hello and Happy Thursday! I hope the week has treated you well. Mine started out questionably - I woke up on Monday with a UTI, grrrr - but fortunately my doctor sent me a prescription right away, and by Tuesday afternoon I was feeling much better. Which is a good thing, because I had a lot I wanted to accomplish this week.

As I mentioned, The Tim's birthday is almost here - it's this coming Saturday, to be exact.  Of course we always celebrate, though the down side for him is that it marks the beginning of a four-month period where we are the same age, and he hates being "old" like me. 😏

And as you know, I have a pair of Christmas socks that I knit to give to him. But about a month ago, he said to me one day, "You have been extremely generous this year for my birthday, thank you." And I responded that I was happy I was so generous, and maybe he could tell me what I'd done that was so wonderful. He then informed me that I had bought two tickets for us to see "Sweeney Todd" on Broadway on his birthday! (Let me tell you, once I saw the invoice, I was shocked at how generous I had been. But you only live once, etc., and I was benefitting from this gift as well, so ...) I also have a t-shirt that the cats will give him, and who knows if I'll find some other little thing on my outing today when I go to a dr appt? 

So, yes, I would say he will be having a lovely birthday and birthday weekend. But it got me thinking about how this is the time of year for gifts, and I do love making gifts for people and finding things that I think they will really enjoy. I'm lucky that way, because I don't find the holiday season to be a chore. I have quite a few things I've collected and made along the way already, but yesterday I decided to actually poke around and make a list of what I already had. Then yesterday in the mail, I got a catalog from Uncommon Goods, which I *think* I've heard of, but I don't know why. Anyway, there was something there that I immediately decided would be good for one of my nieces and her husband. I showed it to The Tim, and he said, "Order that now." Here's the link to what they are receiving, and I'm ridiculously pleased to have found it. My niece will find it amusing, if not slightly "inappopropriate," and her husband's inner 10-year-old boy will enjoy it on a whole other level. Sometimes you just get lucky with what you find, you know?

How about you? Are you a person who loves choosing and giving gifts? Granted, I only give gifts to a very select group of people, so I never am in a situation where I suddenly have to buy something for someone I barely know or have never met. Maybe that's why I enjoy it so much, because it's not a chore for me. I think I just like the idea of finding something that a person might really like, or that I know they would like but may not be expecting to receive. 

Am I the only one who is happy that it's "gifty-gift time?" Let me know!

FO Post: Finished with Time to Spare

Hello all, I hope your week has started well. This is a busy one for us, but I wanted to show you my latest FO, which I hinted at last week.

You may remember when I showed the start to a pair of Christmas socks I was knitting to give to The Tim for his birthday:

Well, I finished them last week, with ten whole days until his birthday arrives, an I'm so excited that I finally did it! I've been wanting to do this for so long, and at last it really happened.

Christmas stripey goodness!

Project: Gingerbread Waffles

Pattern: Blueberry Waffle Socks, by Sandy Turner

Yarn: The Cozy Knitter Bliss Sock Yarn, in the colorway Gingerbread House

Needles: US 1/2.25 mm

Notes: I had this skein of Advent-striped yarn from the Cozy Knitter that I thought would be perfect for these. They are Christmas-y, but not only the bright colors - the muted greens and browns are colors I knew The Tim would like.

Originally I was just going to do plain socks, but then I remembered how much I had enjoyed making the Blueberry Waffle sock pattern a while back, and how soft and cushy the resulting socks were. And I just thought that would be a nice combination with this yarn and for these socks. The white yarn for the heel was a mini that accompanied the skein of yarn, and needless to say, I had a lot of it left, which will be nice for several other projects down the road.

As for the main skein, once the pair was finished, it turned out that I had less than a yard left of the main yarn - phew, I just made it! But I am really in love with the resulting socks, and I can't wait to give them to him this coming weekend. It's a fun pattern to knit, and the combination of the stripes and the pattern stitches made it really engaging and able to keep me going. 

I also know that he will really like them, and it just makes me happy to be able to give him a handmade pair of socks to wear during the holidays.

Now, to work on the fingerless gloves for him for Christmas, and maybe a holiday-themed something for myself! 😊

Monday FO Report

Hello all! I hope your weekend was a good one. I'm starting this week by sharing a recent FO with you.

Back in 2020, I knit these "house socks" for The Tim:

He LOVED them! About a month ago, I pulled them out of the washing machine and saw that the heel on one of them was completely gone. The other one was fine, but the missing heel was not even something that could be repaired.

We were getting ready to head to Baltimore overnight a few days later, so I gathered some yarn and needles and got the cuffs started on another pair. While The Tim drove, I knit, and got a really good amount completed:

Between the ride there, the ride home, and some early morning knitting while waiting for everyone else to get up, I got the chunk of two socks knit.  Once we were home, it took only a couple of more days to get the pair finished.

Project: Replacements Slipper Socks

Pattern: Plain vanilla, with some stripes thrown in 

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in Burgundy and Kelly Green

Needles: US size 5

Notes: I have a ton of Plymouth Encore in my stash, because it's a good workhorse yarn for baby and kiddo things, as well as these kinds of projects. In my opinion, there is enough wool to make things comfy and warm, but the acrylic content makes it hard-wearing. 

I just followed the regular vanilla sock pattern that I use and added in some random stripes and I'm pleased with the results. The Tim was thrilled and immediately put them on to wear when I handed them over.

And then he said, "Even if it doesn't perfectly match, will you make me another one to go with the one sock that made it out of the laundry?"

Sigh. So yeah, he'll get a single similar sock so he'll have that "pair." Just not anytime real soon. 😉

**********

Milo would like to thank everyone for their birthday wishes. He had a good day on Saturday, with lots of cuddles and treats, some special food for dinner, a mini-birthday cake with candles and singing, and a catnip mouse gift. 

"For the record, I didn't share with Pip and Alfie. Mom and Dad

gave them treats too, but *I* did not share any of my goodies!"

Monday FO Post: Last One For 2022

I hope all of you have had a good weekend, and for anyone in the U.S. who is enjoying a Monday holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I hope you have a wonderful day today.

Today I'm sharing the very last FO of 2022. You may recall the only other photo I showed was when I started the ribbing, back in November:

I've been hoping to get a modeled shot, and maybe someday I will, but in the meantime, I wanted to show you my last FO of the year.

Project: Toque for Tim

Pattern: Antler Toque by Tin Can Knits

Yarn: Plucky Knitter Trusty Worsted, colorway Be Steel My Heart

Needles: US size 6 and 8

Modifications: None

Notes: This was a wonderful, fun pattern to knit - and it's also a free one! I had a couple of questions at the start, and contacted Tin Can Knits, and they responded immediately, which only raises them higher in my estimation.

I decided I wanted to knit a cabled hat for The Tim as a Christmas gift, and when I was searching around for patterns, I remembered that I'd always wanted to try this one. Even better - I felt 99.99999% certain that I had enough yarn left over from my Steel Doodles sweater that I wouldn't even need to buy any yarn! (As it turned out, I had enough plus some still left, which really made me happy.) 

The pattern is extremely clear with what to do, and has both written instructions and a chart. I love knitting cables, and after about two repeats, I had the pattern in my brain, so I could knit without constantly referring back to it. And of course, the yarn is yummy and super soft, so the whole experience was enjoyable.

Plus, I got to learn something new - I'd never done cable decreases and they were necessary for the top of the hat. Again, the instructions in the pattern were so clear, it wasn't hard at all, and please look again at the photo above to see how nice the top of the hat looks. 😊

Best of all, The Tim loves his new hat, and says it's not just cushy and soft, but really cozy and warm. He's worn it nearly every day since he opened it, except for the stupidly warm days we've had. And that makes my heart very happy.

Overall, it was a good gifting season for me; I finished everything on time, I enjoyed knitting each thing, and all of them were very enthusiastically received. As a knitter, you really can't ask for much more than that.

A Christmastime Doodle Dog

I've been busy today - had a haircut appt this morning, plus doing a couple of loads of laundry, and cleaning the house. Right now, I'm taking a little break, and only the first floor is left to clean, so that's definitely a good thing. And the only things left to wrap are some stocking stuffers, and the presents for the kitties, so things are well under control, even if those last two things happen tomorrow.

I'm glad I didn't have any plans otherwise today, because here in Philadelphia, it's pouring rain, and getting colder as the day goes on. I know a lot of you in other parts of the country are going through much worse, so I hope you manage to be OK.

One new thing to our decorations this year was provided by The Tim. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you have already seen this, so you can move along if you like. As I said there, it's not our Duggie or our Hammy, but The Tim made sure that this year we would still have a Christmas Doodle Dog in the house.

Isn't he a cutie? I love him so much, and needless to say, he gets lots of rubs from the cats! He seems pretty happy hanging out with us next to the Misfits Christmas tree. 😊

Yesterday when I was wrapping The Tim's presents, I did come close to a small meltdown. I think I've said before that it's hard to buy things for him, because there's nothing he really *needs* and he is one of those people who when he wants something, just goes ahead and buys it for himself. This year, he gave me three things and said to wrap them as gifts to him for Christmas. And I was wrapping things, and realized that there were only going to be two other gifts that would be surprises, one from me and one from the kitties. I felt so sad about that, I almost started to cry. But then as I was getting things organized, I realized that even if his gifts weren't all surprises, he would be getting things he would actually like to have! Nothing would need to be returned or even just kept to be nice. That's a good thing, right? I have to say, once I realized that, I felt a whole lot better about all of it. (Though I still like to give people gifts that will be a surprise, what can I say?)

And that's it for now. Time to finish this and head to the first floor for the last part of the holiday cleaning. I hope if you or any loved ones are traveling, that they will be safe and arrive unscathed. For those of you celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I hope it's wonderful in all the ways you hope it will be. And for those who do not celebrate, I hope you can have a nice, quiet cozy weekend.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

Hello all, and if you celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday, I hope you had a good day and a wonderful meal. And if you traveled, I hope it was as uneventful as possible, though I realize that is asking a lot these days.

Our Thanksgiving was a little bit different this year. On Wednesday, The Tim found out that he would have to work the 7-3 shift on Thursday. Since he is lower on the seniority list, he had no choice. So it was disappointing, but it's not like he could do anything about it.

We usually spend the day lazing together, watching the parade, the Dog Show, some movies or whatever, and snacking on treats. There's usually a walk involved (unless it's pouring rain or worse) and we work on the meal together. But I was on my own with the kitties for most of the day, and it was fine, but lonely and not nearly as much fun. I managed to get most of the dinner ready, and he had time to make the yummy gravy he makes once he got home. We had a good meal and a nice evening, but I don't think it was the best day for either one of us. He said things were extremely slow at work, so it's not even like the day moved by quickly. We survived, obviously, but I hope that doesn't happen again anytime soon. 😊

The Tim was at work again on Friday, and I had a dr appt, so not much happened otherwise. Saturday we both had some extra energy and spent time working on some projects around the house. He made pizza for dinner, which was a wonderful treat, since Pizza a la The Tim is amazing!

Yesterday was one of my work days. And boy, was it busy! One person who visited the shop bought over $700 of yarn - she said she was knitting *all* of her gifts, so I guess that added up quickly. The day sped by, since there was seriously not a single minute when we were not doing something for/with customers. (Though I would rather have days like that, than the kind like The Tim had on Thursday.) 

I do have some wisdom to pass along though: I would suggest that, if you decide you would like to knit a sweater, and want the yarn store staff to a) suggest a pattern, and b) suggest the yarn to use, that you not decide to show up at the start of the busiest time of year. Two separate individuals showed up yesterday, wanting us to help  them find a sweater pattern and yarn to knit a sweater. And I mean, they had only vague ideas of what they wanted - "Something dressy," or "Easy but with texture." Even when it's not the holiday season, that takes a lot of our time to help you, even if you are an easy person to help. But when it's holiday time, and there are tons of people in the shop, ready to either check out, or with seriously quick questions, it's a problem. So maybe either do some homework on your own, or wait until January, OK?

This week should be busy, and I have three - count 'em, three! - dr appts at the end of the week. Well, one is a dentist appt, but that still counts as a dr appt to me. I'm just hoping to get them done with hopefully a minimum of drama. 

In some happy and exciting news, my Christmas cactus is ready for the holidays!

I've had this plant for about three years, and though it was blooming when I bought it, since then I've never even seen it thinking about blooming again. But now it has this beautiful flower, and about four other buds ready to show up! I'm so excited, but of course could not tell you what I did/did not do that resulted in blooms ... 

Let's hope that the coming week will show up with some good surprises like that for all of us. Have a good one!