The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Here we are at the last/twelfth day of Christmas, which is also the birthday of our sweet Dug (well, it's the day we officially adopted him, so we assigned it as his birthday). So before anything else, Happy Birthday, Duggie! We miss you and still love you more every day. Tonight we'll drink a toast to you.

Our Christmas Day was a nice, lovely, relaxing day. The kitties enjoyed having us home all day and hanging with them.

Pip

Esme

Milo 

Alfie

Lots of presents for everyone to be opened!

Our tree, after Santa left kitty stockings and gifts under it!

Just hanging out and exploring

Alfie was the first one brave enough to check out the Christmas tent. It took him about 10 minutes to figure out how to get in (yeah, I know) and then he took even longer figuring how to get back out. (We're not hoping for him to become a Rhodes Scholar, so it's all good.)

Everyone seemed very happy with their gifts, including those sent in the mail. We talked to some family and heard about their celebrations. We ate and drank a lot of good things, and listened to Christmas music and it was a nice, long, enjoyable day.

*****

Then, there is another thing I wanted to show you, related to the holidays. About two blocks from our house is a small park called Fitler Square. It's a lovely place with benches, trees, flowers, and though smaller than some of the other squares in the city, it's beloved by the neighborhood. 

Well, a local group, the Philadephia Drunken Knitwits, received permission this year to "dress" the sculptures in the square in festive attire! 

The Ram

The Bear

The Pup

I have the feeling a lot of people missed this little guy - he's behind a fence. But if you look at the bear sculpture above this image, there's a small white spot behind the fence - that's this pup!

The Turtles

Isn't this great? It really made people smile, and as you can probably imagine, a lot of the kiddos who come to the square with their parents or daycare groups were excited to see the animals dressed up for the holidays! It got a lot of local and national media coverage, which was nice, especially since Fitler Square is not that well-known, even by people in the Philadelphia area. 

The group "undressed" everything yesterday, but I'm wondering if they will do it again next year, since it was so well-received. 

I can say for myself that every single time I walked through the square, seeing this made me happy.

*****

So far, 2025 has been good - all six days of it! But you have to take it when it's there, right? And since January 6 has become such a sad date in our history, it's nice to think there are still good things to celebrate about it. So I hope your day treats you well, and let's all keep our fingers crossed for the coming year. 

Because ... well, you know.

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!