Fall Is Perfect

Today is a cloudy and overcast day here, and we are supposed to get some thunderstorms. All of which is fine with me, I just hope Katie and I can avoid the storms when we take our walks. But I'm doing "inside" things today - laundry, bill-paying, etc., so I didn't have outdoor plans anyway.

Fall is taking hold now, except for the temperatures, which have been unpleasantly warm. However, I am choosing to ignore that the best I can until it cools off appropriately, and am enjoying the changing leaves, the trees getting ready for their rest, and the quiet of fall. I love it when the main sound is crunchy leaves, or the sound of kids coming off the school bus at the end of the day, full of "news" and other chatter.

I even love the dark, quiet evenings, that allow me to enjoy just being in the moment. When it's light until 8 pm, I never feel like I should settle in, because it's still light out. But when fall comes, it feels like I have permission to relax after the busyness of the day. 

We had no trick-or-treaters again this year, which was disappointing. But there was a "night market" in the neighborhood, with music and food, so things were at least lively. I was out with Katie after dinner, and we got to see a lot of the littler kids in their costumes on the way to a party held at a nearby preschool, so that was fun. The Tim said he saw a LOT of adults in costumes when he was out with her later. But I really don't think I'd enjoy Halloween as much if it was still light out. I know it's mostly because that is what I'm used to, but I do like it when the evening seems like the evening!  

I hope your fall season is going well, and that you are enjoying the things there are to be happy about. And if you live somewhere where you are having springtime, enjoy that too, because in your world, things are starting to bloom!

FO Friday: Socks Eternal; and, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

At the beginning of September I started a pair of socks for my niece's husband, Patrick. Last year, when I put out a call to family for anyone who wanted some hand knit socks, he responded, saying he would like some that were light blue.

I had two balls of yarn, so decided to start by knitting one cuff, and then the other one, then the leg on one, etc. When I have two amounts of yarn, I like to knit socks that way. I am however, too lazy to wind two balls from a single hank. 

Anyway, I zoomed along on the first sock, until I got to the foot. And then for whatever reason, I just stopped. For a few weeks. Sigh.

But the week after our trip to Rehoboth, I decided to actually sit down and finish the first sock, and I did. It was then I decided to name these the Socks Eternal, because they felt like they were taking an eternity!

Then, I put the project bag aside, and left it for another week. WTF? But then I realized that I wanted to at least finish the pair by the end of October, and there you go!

Project: Socks Eternal

Pattern: the vanilla sock pattern I use, with a 3 x 1 rib 

Yarn: KnitPicks Stroll Fingering, colorway Blue Sky, with some leftover darker blue from stash for the cuffs and toes.

Needles: US size 1/2.25 mm

Notes: I have to say, I'm not too fond of the Stroll yarn. It seemed like it was nice enough, but easily frayed or split. It definitely showed *any* change in tension, or where you had fixed a mistake, even once blocked (I generally block gift socks). And it didn't feel particularly soft in my hands. 

I do really like the finished socks, but wonder if they will wear well at all. I'll just tell Patrick that because I wasn't overly fond of the yarn, I'll make him another pair down the line. (Though I sincerely doubt he will know or care one way or another, not being a knitter or knowing anything about yarns.)

I'm going to put these in the mail today, hoping that he will receive them on Monday or Tuesday. Needless to say, I also have some things to send to Amanda, and to their kitty, Freeway, so it will be a package for everyone!

And now I am down to the last two people requesting socks on my list, at least for this first go-round. I may work my way through another set for everyone who requested them, since it was fun to make things for people that I knew really wanted them and enjoy receiving them. Of course, I'll still keep knitting socks for ME, but I really like knitting them for knit-worthy people as well. 😄

*****

I hope all of you have a good weekend. I have some projects around the house I want to get started on, and The Tim is going to do some work on our electronics, since our old transmitter for the TV, etc., died, and a new one is here in the box, ready to be set up. Fortunately, my projects will be well out of his way, so I think it will be a good weekend, LOL!

In any case, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Decorations Make Me Happy

Shortly after fall started, I put out some of my fall decorations. because nothing makes me happier than having a reason to put out decorations in our house and/or outside. I don't have a ton of fall decorations, but there are enough to fill a box about the size of a large shoebox.

Then last Friday, I decided it was time to add in the decorations I have for Halloween, which are in a larger box, mostly because there are a few that are ceramic, and are wrapped in lots of paper. Needless to say, the cats find the wrapped things much more interesting, because they feel once they are unwrapped, it makes for a great place to sit.

I realize the photo at the top of this post is small, but I am including it because I am overly proud of how well I managed to make the top of the living room bookshelf look *just* the way I'd hoped and I wanted to share it. I was so proud of myself when I got this set up, I immediately took a picture. 😂

Is it the most amazing display of items ever? No of course not, but every time I am in the living room, or even when I walk through it, I notice it and it makes me so happy. Which is the point of decorating for any holiday or event, if you ask me. And in the world we currently are forced to live in, I firmly believe that even small amounts of pleasure give us outsized joy. I'm a big fan of take what you can to make your life better, as long as you are not hurting anyone else. 

I know that soon, we'll be seeing people putting out their Christmastime decorations - it used to be only the stores put out things early but I've noticed people starting earlier every year bringing out their holiday stuff, even before Thanksgiving in the U.S. (We don't because I have Thanksgiving decorations, which will surprise approximately none of you.) 

Does that bother me? Frankly, I don't care. I'm more bothered by people who take everything down the evening of December 25 or the very next day and never mention the holiday again until the next year, but that's up to them and since I don't live with those people, who cares?

People need happy things more than ever these days. And for lots of people, that means having their houses decorated for Christmas, even when it's weeks away. It's looking forward to someone's birthday, or a weekend away to a place that allows them to be in a different mindset.

So I have my fall and Halloween decorations giving me my little escape these days. Then I can take a walk outside, see the changing leaves, and maybe even see others' who have decorated. I like having a reason to smile and forget at least for a moment that there are other things upsetting me and stressing me at levels that are unprecedented. 

So I am asking you to do two things: 1) decorate things if you want to, whether or not anyone else thinks you should or it's the "right" time to do so, and 2) if you come across someone who has done so even if it's not something you care about, let them have the little bit of joy without pointing out that it's too early/too much/too whatever. 

Frankly, if *that* is the thing bothering you the most these days, you might just be the absolute luckiest person on the planet. So you know, enjoy that!

Fall Makes Me Happy

OK, fall does not make me all that happy when it's 85 degrees at the beginning of October, but a) according the weather people, it's supposed to actually cool off to appropriate temperatures after tomorrow, and b) I can still put out some of my fall decorations, which make me smile. And let's face it, in this s**tshow of a world, we gotta take the smiles where and when we can!

I've been busy knitting, and have finished a pair of socks that I'll share with you once the recipient has received them. Not that he reads this, but someone who knows him may and I want them to be a surprise. I'm going along well on the cardigan I started, but don't have any recent photos, so you'll have to wait a little bit longer to see what one.

But remember the little acorn I knit a few weeks ago? Well, now he has a leafy friend!

I have to tell you, this little leaf is so fun and so quick to knit - I may end of with LOTS of leaves! This is another part to the garland I have started, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. 

Aren't they cute together??? I'm not making any hurried effort on this, because it's kind of a when-I-feel-like-it project, and fall comes every year.

In keeping with the fall theme, and leading up to Halloween, The Tim bought this Halloween throw for us at one of the Aldi stores nearby. Not bad for $5.00, right?

And on our way to Rehoboth Beach, The Tim wanted to stop at the outlets because he wanted to look for something specific. I bought one of these black cat pillows at one of the stores there. I also got one for Amanda.

This is sitting on the couch in our living room, and let me tell you, it's been quite shocking! So far, only The Tim and I will still sit on the couch. 🙄

Meanwhile, Amanda says their kitty has claimed theirs for herself. Go figure.

That's all the news for now. I hope you are all doing well and knitting, reading, cooking, baking, whatever makes you happy at the moment. I'm off to start dinner (I'm writing this late on Monday afternoon), and it's a good thing because I'm starting to get hungry and sadly, dinner has yet to cook itself ...

Decorations and a Visit to the Vet's Office

If someone could contact the fall weather and ask it to please return, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Well last week I finally got my act together and pulled out the Halloween decorations. I always try to have decorations up at *least* two weeks before whatever they celebrate, but sometimes I'm just not with it enough to get it together. 

Anyway, I pulled out these little ghost decorations, and they made me smile. You can't see it in the photo, but they have ribbons to use to hang them up. But what I like the best is that my nephew's wife had her kids help her make these and sent them to us years ago. At the time, the oldest kid was maybe about ten years old - she is now 24 years old.

But if you look closely, you can see that what they are are pieces of clay with footprints of each kid! Then Liesl (their mom) painted and glazed them, and voila - a family of ghosts! Isn't that cool? I just love the whole thing.

 

So they come out every year with the other random things we've collected for Halloween. 😊

*****

At the end of last week, I had an appointment to take Alfie to see the vet. He was overdue for a yearly check up anyway, but he has also been scratching his right ear a lot more than usual, so I was worried there might be a problem.

Now, you may remember that we refer to Alfie as our "affectionate weirdo." And he is - he's a cat who sincerely marches to his own drummer. For instance, he has no clue that the cat carrier is something to be dreaded. Which means when it's getting to be time to go, you pick him up and put him in it - no drama, no trying to escape. And then he sits there waiting to see what is next. (Meanwhile, the others who are not in the carrier are all hiding, and act scared the rest of the day, even once it's put away.)

When we got into the exam room, the vet said just to let him out of the cage to explore a bit. He was enjoying that, and then the vet teck lured him onto the scale to weigh him with one of those squeezy treats. Well, he LOVES those, so he was a willing participant - though it was funny, because he kept looking around while eating it. I'm pretty sure he couldn't believe he was getting one all to himself, since usually they have to be shared!

Then the vet and the vet tech wanted to go back into the lab to take a look at his ear culture. So they left the room for a few minutes. Which led to sitting by the door, crying because they had abandoned him ...

Spoiler alert: they did in fact return, and he has a slight bacterial infection in his ears. So we came home with ear drops to be given twice a day. But the good news was that once they returned, there was still time for some attention for Alfie, since as you have probably always suspected, he gets none at home.

To review:

Alfie had an adventure;

He got a whole squeezy treat to himself;

They left, but they came back.

As far as he was concerned, it was all good. And as to getting ear drops twice a day? Well, that ends well too, because after the ear drops, he gets a treat!

It's a good time around here to be Alfie, you know? 😉

Let's Have a Little Catch Up

Hello from sunny and cool Philadelphia, where everyone is disappointed in our Phillies, because they not only didn't win their division series in baseball, but they sucked the whole way! Sigh. And for most of the year, they had the best record in baseball. (Cue the popular saying, "We'll get them next year.")

Anyway, I thought I'd do a little catch up on how things are going with the yarns and projects discussed in this post a little while ago.

I started first with this yarn:

Dutifully knitted a swatch, and even after blocking, it was spot-on for gauge - YAY!

So I started working on the project and ... my gauge was way off. I suspected that it was partly because I had missed a few rows in the pattern, counting-wise, so I started over and ... nope.

So this will need for me to learn and apply some math to determine what I can do to make it fit. I am so terrible at that stuff - I can't keep straight when to use bigger or smaller needles, when to knit another size, etc. So I am going to have to devote a day to not just figuring it all out, but writing it down for myself so I can start again and hopefully get it right this time. 

So for now, that project is set aside.

Next, this sock yarn set:

This is a happier story, in that I started on a pair of socks for myself:

And at this point, one sock is finished and I think it looks great! But the second sock will have to wait a few weeks, because I wanted to start using the next yarn for a pair of Halloween socks:

I started using a pattern that I liked, which was written for more stitches than I usually cast on. But after finishing the cuff, I decided that instead of making them for me, that I would make them for The Tim for an anniversary gift. Because I liked the way the colors knit up just in plain ribbing.

And I was already knitting the number of stitches I generally do for a pair of socks for him. Now I just need to see if I can get a pair knit before October 28.  I think it's doable, if I spend most of my time working on them.

The other two projects that I had wound the yarn for were delayed when  realized I didn't have the proper size needles.  I have them now, and will knit a swatch later for the sweater I am planning for the cream and green yarns. 

The shawl I was hoping to knit with he other yarns now has the needle size it wants, so I can start on it whenever I like. But at the moment, the Halloween socks and the sweater I want to knit will take precedence. I'd like to feel like both of them were not just well underway, but able to meet the deadline before I start the shawl or return to my other projects. It's doable, I know - I just have to pay attention! (Easier said than done.)

In other news, a friend I have made through knitting is not just a knitter, she is one of those people who also weaves, spins, and does about ten other things.  Last week she posted a photo on Instagram showing some Halloween-themed pins she had made. I commented how much I loved them, particularly ones she had made featuring black cats. So imagine my happy surprise when I opened the mail yesterday.

Adorable, right?? It was such a nice thing for her to do, and a wonderful and unexpected gift.  I showed it to the kitties, who were - as is mostly always the case - unimpressed.

So now you up-to-date on things in my knitting life. What are you up to these days? Let me know in the comments!

We Aren't Hoarders, We Just Keep Things ...

Hello and Happy Friday to all of us! It's gloomy and humid here in Philadelphia, and according to the local weather reports, we're supposed to get a rainy evening, rainy day on Saturday, and then some true fall weather settling in. Fine with me, I'm more than ready for cozy season!

The other day, I pulled out our box of fall decorations, as well as a large envelope where I keep paper decorations stored. There's a mix of fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decorations, and I always enjoy revisiting them. 

I was putting up a couple of paper decorations, and came across these two:

These are Halloween decorations that my nephew's wife sent to us, made by our great niece and nephew. The one on top is the work of Jude, and the bottom one is from Anya.

Who are now 21 and 23, respectively. 😊

We have a lot of holiday decorations from this particular family (4 children in all, they live in Arizona), but these are from the oldest two. And I love that their mom sent them to us all of those years ago. I love the randomness and little kid-ness of them, and how she wrote a message and their name at the bottom of each. Every year, they make me smile when I come across them. 

I posted these on Instagram, and every member of that family sent me a message, saying that they couldn't believe we still had them - even their parents don't have such artifacts!

So, as the subject line says, we're not really hoarders, we just keep certain things ... 😂

*****

In other news, I've just been doing the usual stuff, nothing too exciting to report. My arthritis has really been bugging me, to the point last week where it was painful just to walk around. This week is better, but it's still annoying. I've been knitting and cross-stitching and reading, but have no photographic proof of such activities. This past week was a return to summer-like weather, which was not inspiring at all to me. 

I did teach my first class at the yarn store on Tuesday evening, and that went really well. I am teaching a class to make the Antler Toque, which you may recall I made for The Tim a couple of years ago for Christmas. Our manager decided that it would be a good way for people to learn to do cables, and so I had four enthusiastic students who feared cables when we started, but had made them happen when the class was over. This coming Tuesday is the second/final class, where we learn the cable decreases and take on any questions. I think it is going well, but it does make for a really long day. Fortunately it's my last day of work for the week, so I can catch up on sleep/other things afterwards.

No real specific plans for this weekend, other than my work shift on Sunday. Since tomorrow is supposed to be kind of rainy, I'll probably work on some projects inside. We will also be watching the Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves, hoping that our Phils can pull off a series of wins. An uphill challenge, but if everyone is firing on all cylinders at the same time, it can happen!

Let me know how you have been doing, what you have been working on, etc. I hope your weekend is lovely (unless you are cheering for the Braves, haha. Kidding not kidding!), and that you have the chance to do whatever you like. See you next week!

Happy Halloween!

Friday Funnies

Have a good weekend, no matter how you travel!

One Last Decoration, and Hello November!

One last Halloween decoration from our neighborhood:

I look forward to this one every year.  It's actually placed in one of those very large square planters people put on the street in front of their house.  During the day, it isn't there at all - but once it gets dark, it shows up.  It's easily 8-10 feet tall, and I just love it, mostly because I really really want to know how it works.

We had three trick-or-treaters last night.  I know that there were A LOT of parties for kids in the neighborhood, and the three who showed up at our house live across the street.  It's disappointing that for many reasons, kids don't trick-or-treat anymore around here.  I always loved seeing the costumes.  Oh well.  Another thing that was hanging on by a thread even before the pandemic.

Nevertheless - Happy November!!  It's getting very chilly and very dark around here and now it really does feel like fall is considering a stay.  Today is my sister Nancy's birthday, and the good news is that I tried to call her to wish her a happy birthday ahead of time yesterday, and she wasn't home, so I'm pretty sure that meant that she was celebrating.  😊

My four-day weekend ended up being derailed.  But it started really well, does that count?  The Tim had to work on Thursday, which was our anniversary, so during the day I just read and knit and hung out with the animals, which was lovely.  Then we had a really delicious anniversary dinner from a place we'd been talking about trying all summer, but only got around to now.  We expected it to be good, but it was truly outstanding.  I know it will be a favorite going forward.  

Friday started out well - I was able to get my Covid booster shot!  And I put together some yummy ingredients for our dinner in the crockpot, so I didn't have to do anything but serve it later that day.  Which was just as well, because fairly early in the day, things went downhill.  I got some extremely disappointing news about something that may have meant I could leave my job and its horrible, toxic environment.  Needless to say, finding out it wasn't going to work really killed any of my plans for the rest of the day, and into Saturday.  I did manage to get my hair cut, and that made me happy, but it was hard to recover and get back on track from Friday's news.  By Saturday night, I managed to at least feel resigned to it, and yesterday was OK.  I was able to get a little bit of what I had planned for the four days accomplished, so it wasn't a complete loss that way.  But I gotta tell you, it was REALLY hard to make it into work today.  Sigh.

As far as I know, there are no special or particular plans for this week, which is fine with me.  It's funny, but once our anniversary arrives, I consider it the beginning of holiday season.  Which I just enjoy so much, that I'm particularly glad of the timing this year, I have to tell you.

I hope your November goes well, and that you have a good week.  If you have leftover candy from last night, enjoy it - I brought some as part of my lunch today (I bought one bag, but with only three kids coming by, there was most of it left).  Take care! 

Halloween Weekend

Here we are at the end of October, and Sunday is Halloween.  Decorations are everywhere around here, and once the downpours predicted for later today into tomorrow are over, it's supposed to be a cool, creepy day and night on Sunday.

Whatever you do or do not do, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Don't let the witches, ghosts, vampires, and who knows what else steal your soul!

Moody, Creepy, Funny

Today is Wednesday, which actually is my Friday, because I am taking tomorrow and Friday off, and will therefore have an extra long weekend - YAY!  And, I was puzzled about the date, so when I realized my two days off were this week, that made it even better.

On my way to work this morning, I snapped some photos.  Granted, they are not the best, but the sky looked so moody, I couldn't resist.  It was so windy I had a hard time standing still, but I did my best.  

I have several different routes I take to walk to work.  Some are based on practicality - i.e., the non-gingko route - and others are based on things like having to mail something, wanting to stop somewhere, etc.  This morning's route was just to walk on one of my other routes for the heck of it.  This first photo is about 3 blocks from our house.

The building on the right used to be a hospital (Graduate Hospital), but now it's condos.  The building with the lights in the sort of middle is a new-ish high rise on Broad Street (the north to south main street in Philadelphia).

When I turned the corner, I saw this:

I just love how the sky looks in these photos - right as the sun is getting ready to show up for the day.

People in our neighborhood do a lot of decorating for Halloween.  There's one house that is the place every stops to look, take a photo, etc.  But that house is currently under renovation, inside and out, which is somewhat disappointing.  However, about a block before the above photos, there is a row of new houses, and the one on the corner is stepping up to fill the void:

And trust me, this is only a very small slice of their decorations!  You can't really see it well in this photo, but near the upper right, there is a ghost who looks like he crashed out of the window.  This particular decoration has intrigued me for years.  When you see it full on, it looks like the ghost did in fact break the window, and half is outside while the other half is inside.  I would like to know how it works, because it's creepily realistic.

And finally, a "funny" to share with you, also from my walk to work this morning.  I was walking a bit behind a man in a business suit, carrying a briefcase.  At one corner, he walked over to a man who was standing, and it was clear he gave him some money.  And he continued walking.  As I passed the man who received the money, he said to me, "Did you see that?" and I said I had, and then the guy said, "I'm just waiting for the bus, and that dude gave me five dollars!"  The business suit guy thought the other man was homeless; and even when he talked to me, it was clear he was still processing what happened, and frankly, I can't imagine anything will amuse me as much for the rest of the day.  All I can think of is that the business suit guy feels good because he thinks he helped someone by doing a good deed, the guy who got the five dollars has that much extra money and a good story to tell, and I am able to keep remembering it all day to get a good laugh.  

Even if the rest of the day sucks, it started out well.  😊

All Souls Day

In the Roman Catholic Church, today is All Souls Day, meaning the day that you remember and pray for loved ones who have passed on.  The day was always bittersweet for me, after the fun of Halloween, and the additional fun in our house of November 1 (which is All Saints Day), which is my sister Nancy's birthday.  I used to feel melancholy, if not sad, because I knew so many people were especially missing someone on November 2.  Of course, as I got a little bit older, I had my own someones to miss.

But this year it seems like it's hitting me even more.  And I realize it's because there are so many souls missing that shouldn't be this time around.  So many family members and beloved friends gone too soon and unnecessarily because of Covid-19.  Even if you are not a praying type, please keep a special thought for them especially today.  I really can't begin to fathom how hard it must be.

On a lighter note, our weekend was quiet but nice.  We got to see some kiddos in their Halloween finery.  Since it was just a neighborhood block kind of thing, we only saw about ten kids, but they all looked adorable - and fierce for those who would shudder at the thought of being adorable!  One little girl was dressed as a veterinarian, and she wanted to be friends with Hamlet, so he was thrilled.  Even better, she was carrying dog treats (as all good veterinarians do, you know).  Even Halloween seemed bittersweet though, since I fear the pandemic may mean the end of trick-or-treating altogether.  At least in our area, there seem to be fewer kids each year.  Which is just too bad.  I mean I know people have their reasons for not wanting their kids to go out, but I always enjoyed seeing the costumes.  

We did have one special Halloween visitor though - a lion pirate!  He looked like he'd had a wee bit too much grog though, as his hat was somewhat askew.

You may recall that Dug the Doodle Dog used to let us dress him up all the time.  Hamlet is not as likely to do so.  However, we have discovered that if we tell Hammy that he is a good boy and make a fuss, he'll keep it on long enough for a photo or two, so here you go.  😊

The cats found the entire enterprise appalling.

Yesterday was a quiet day - I switched over my closet, which never takes that long because frankly, I don't have that much to switch.  Then I put away some things in the kitchen and cleaned up some in there.  The Tim fixed pizza for dinner, which was truly delicious.  I managed to get three new squares on my Cozy Squares of Memory blanket, and I'm gonna have to start knitting other stuff quickly if I want to have more leftovers for it - right know I have about 6 left waiting to be added!

Today I'm headed to CVS to get the second part of my shingles vaccine, and then I need to pay some bills, since Friday was payday.  It always feels good to get the bills paid, but it's stressful having to move things around and recalculating so they can all get something paid on them.  I try to do it early in the day so I'm feeling better by lunchtime ...

I hope all of you had a good weekend.  This will likely be a difficult and/or stressful week even if nothing else is going on in life.  But I keep telling myself that I've known that all along, so not to let myself get overwhelmed by everything if at all possible.  I really hope all of you can do the same.  Take care, and do the best you can.

Friday Funnies - Halloween Edition

Tomorrow is of course Halloween and like every single other thing this year, it will have to be different because God forbid people be sensible about Covid-19.  Our neighborhood group is having a socially-distanced block party tomorrow afternoon.  Everyone has been asked to put some candy in a bowl and set it on a table or whatever on the street.  Everyone must wear a mask, bring their own drink if they like, while the kiddos wear their costumes and go to each house, wave to the neighbors on their stoop, and take some candy.  This works for me because I do love seeing the costumes, and since it's supposed to be cold but sunny, I think it will work really well.

I hope that wherever you are, and whether or not you do anything to celebrate the holiday, the items below will make you smile.  Who doesn't need something to smile about right now?

Happy Halloween, and have a good weekend no matter what you do!

Happy Halloween!!

Hooray for Halloween!  This is one of my favorite images ever, and I've been saving it for today.

Right now, it's pouring here in Philadelphia, though according to the guy on TV, there will be a small window early this evening when trick-or-treaters should be OK.  Of course, there are parents who are SO upset that they didn't postpone it since it might be raining.  Because God forbid their children get wet.  Another woman was upset because it would be dark, so "why can't they move Halloween to the summer, like with other holidays they moved?"  I'm getting ready to cut someone ...

Since it's Three on Thursday today, I've decided to share three favorite Halloween-related things with you.

1.  When I was in first grade, we lived in Chicago, and on Halloween, it was really cold and already starting to snow.  I never had a store-bought costume, and my mother was not the type to create one for me.  She would do things like hand me a plaid shirt and say, "Tell them you're a lumberjack."  Most of the time, it was cold or rainy, and so it almost didn't matter what your costume was, since you had to wear a coat, hat, etc.  Anyway, my "costume" that year was some of her red lipstick, and I was supposed to be "Miss America."  One older woman in the neighborhood was giving out fancy hats to young kids (when I think about it now, I think she might have not had money for candy, and was giving away some of her old clothes so kids could play dress-up.  Anyway ...).  Everyone was SO excited.  I got one of those hats that was a small piece of fabric with a face veil.  Well - I just thought that was PERFECT for a beauty queen.  So I immediately put it on over my knit hat I was already wearing.  Walked around all evening, thinking that yes, it was making it even clearer that I was supposed to be Miss America.  When I returned home, with lots of candy and a whole new sense of glamour, my mother said, "Oh for God's sake - you look like you had too much to drink and got thrown out of a dive bar."  Clearly, she had no eye for style. ;-)

2.  One year when my nieces were little, my sister had gotten way behind on things and so improvised costumes for all of them.  My niece Liz was dressed in a ballet tutu, really bad makeup, and junky jewelry with a fright wig on.  My sister told her she was dressed as the "Town Clown."  Liz thought it was great.  A few weeks later, they were downtown and passed a hooker on the street, and Liz pointed, and proudly proclaimed, "Look Mommy - Town Clown, Town Clown!"  It did not go over well, but to this day, it's a favorite family story.

3.  A few years back, my niece Amanda and her husband had a huge Halloween party.  Amanda had set a plastic pumpkin on a table with a note that said, "November 2 is All-Souls Day - feel free to take a slip of paper and write the name of someone you'd like to be remembered in prayer, and we will take it to our church for a ceremony there."  By the end of the evening, there were quite a few slips of paper, which was nice. The next day, Liz (the same Liz as above) came over with her family, and at some point in the afternoon, walked over and pulled out a slip of paper.  Then she said, "OK guys, who is this?" and proceeded to act out what was finally guessed to be the assassination of JFK (clearly someone had put his name in the pumpkin for prayers).  Everyone was kinda puzzled, but then she pulled out another slip and said, "Amanda - I don't even know who this is," and handed the slip to her.  Amanda also didn't know, and put it back into the pumpkin, explaining that it was likely someone's friend or family who was asking for prayers (the sign in front of the pumpkin was long gone by now).  To which Liz replied, "WAIT.  Are you telling me these aren't for playing charades?"  And from then on, it has been referred to as The Time That Liz Invented Dead People Charades.  And in case you are wondering, then we played said invented game for an hour or so, making up our own ideas as we went along.  Because why waste such an opportunity???

Anyway.  I hope you have a lovely day, with lots of goodies, whatever you desire them to be.  Enjoy!

BOO!

It's here - the spookiest day of the year - HALLOWEEN!!!  On my way to work today, I saw a few witches, a couple of Harry Potters, a Ninja Turtle, and tiny little toddler twins dressed as Thing One and Thing Two.  It's always fun to see the costumes of the kids who are clearly having a party or something at school/daycare.  (The parents usually just look tired, as you'd expect.) 

When I was a kid, I used to be SO JEALOUS of my oldest sister Nancy, because her birthday is November 1.  And whenever we were all in a Catholic school (we moved a lot, and attended whatever school was closest to where we lived), the next day was All Saints Day, and a day off from school.  So not only did she have Halloween, and a day off the next day, but it was HER BIRTHDAY and so she got cake and presents!  So jealous.  :-) 

Last year we had zero trick-or-treaters, which was extremely disappointing.  This year, I bought only one big bag of assorted candy, so that if it's all or mostly left over, we won't be eating as much.  But in the way things work, it could also mean that since I didn't buy as much candy as usual, a cast of thousands will show up, who knows?

In any event, I hope that your day and evening today is full of treats rather than tricks.  And that it's a Happy Halloween. 

No Tricks or Treats

Happy Halloween!  

I hope your Halloween was more fun than mine was - we did not get a single trick-or-treater.  It's so disappointing, as I love seeing the kids in their costumes.  In previous years, Dug and I would sit outside on the steps and needless to say he was very popular!  Tonight it was a little bit too chilly to sit out, but other than the little girl next door who always has a party with her friends, I didn't even hear any kids around.

Sigh.

**********

I signed up for Gratitude Week, which I read about at Kat's blog.  I figured it would be a way to focus on good things, but also help me slide into NaBloPoMo.  I participated in NaBloPoMo last year, and though some days it was really a challenge, it was also a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.

Anyway, today I am grateful that I can still enjoy Halloween even without trick-or-treaters.  I enjoy seeing ours (and others') decorations.  I like seeing pictures of kids, adults, and pets in costumes of all kinds.  It will be a nice treat to have some candy to eat, since all of ours is left over (we didn't buy that much, but it's still all here).  In a world where plenty of people can't celebrate Halloween even if they wanted to, or where having anything at all to eat, much less leftover candy, is a struggle, I know that I am a lucky person, and I am grateful for that.

Farewell, October.  Tomorrow we're on to November, to see what it brings.

BOO!

Way Too Late or Way Too Early

I am finally able to show you my first FO for 2015.  And it's kind of ridiculous.

Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, "Weird. Those look like Halloween colors."  You would be correct.  I  bought the yarn for these a couple of years ago, and finally in the beginning of October 2014, I started knitting myself a pair of socks with it.  You may remember that October was also when I started the Kidney Socks for The Tim.  Well, once I started concentrating on those exclusively, these got put to the side.  And then the holidays kept me busy with other things, and suddenly it was January, and they were still languishing.

But I liked the way they were looking, so I decided that I would finish them before I let myself start anything new.  That way, I wouldn't leave them until the last minute for Halloween 2015.  This turned out to be a good thing, because having other things to work on, and not being able to, meant that I really did dedicate myself to finishing these.

Jetsam approves.

Project:  Halloween Socks
Pattern:  Classic Socks for the Family, by Melinda Goodfellow
Yarn:  Vesper Sock Yarn, from Knitterly Things.  Colorway:  Trick or Treat
Needles:  Size 1 1/2US
Modifications:  Nothing major, but I did make them taller than usual.  I was amazed when I went to block them, to realize that the stripes more or less match up perfectly!  This is not something I would ever have gone to the trouble to work to make happen, so it was a funny surprise to me.

I loved the yarn, and have a nice amount left for some little thing, or sock blanket squares or whatever.  The socks fit perfectly, and now they are ready when Halloween rolls around this year.

So ... yeah ... my first FO of 2015 is a pair of socks I will wear in October.  I know I'll be thrilled that they are waiting for me!

Happy Halloween!