dare me.

Sorry I haven't been here for awhile.

I have been saving myself for this:



Kind of like November.
TIMES 12.

This oughta get interesting.
Or something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Happy New Year, gang!

pardon the (photo) pun

There may be free highspeed internet at the Disneyland hotel, but there has been no time to use it.


The weather has been rainy and cold (literally)...


...but we are still having a blast.



Oh, lookie. A built in pun.



Having once lived in a house with mice problems (old house--let us all knock on wood for there to be no mousies at the new house), AND having spent at least one or two New Year's Eve's Past home all alone....

I would never wish you either of these things.

I would especially never wish you a year full of anything that sounded like doo-dy.

please pardon if i am missing for a week or so, but....

....I am on vacation with MyFavoriteKid.



I know it's a minor detail, but the fact that the Happiest Place On Earth has free high-speed internet access makes me pretty darn.....well.....HAPPY.

fuzzy feet

TheMostImportantGuy's FuzzyFeet

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted...colors m-08 Wild Oak, and m-140 Aran for the cuff

Needles: US #10-1/2's dpns, Crystal Palace (bamboo)

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet by Theresa Vinson Stenerson

Modifications:
* I did not use a circular needle, only dpn's.
* Taking Mouse's advice, I made a longer cuff (hence using 2 colors--to make sure I had enough yarn). I did 25 rows for the cuff, 23 of them in the contrasting color, switching to do the last 2 of those rows in the main color before beginning the heel flap.
* At that point, I got all confused about the moving the marker issue, and just tossed the pattern and knit my standard sock recipe.
* I picked up two extra stitches at the gusset to avoid a hole (ala Charlene Schurch), and once the gusset decreases were complete, I knit 17 rows to match the length of his foot.
* For the toe, I had done the suggested toe decreases and the sock looked very pointy! I mean look!

too pointy!! good for elves, maybe??

TheMIG's feet are more rounded , so it seemed to make sense to change that. I decreased every other row until I got to 6 stitches on each needle, then decreased every row until there were 4 on each needle (total of 16 stitches).

Started: 11/23

Finished (knitting): 11/29

Felted: 12/11 (what a slacker I am)

On Ravelry: here

Notes: I really enjoyed making these, but I'm waiting for more feedback from TheMIG about how he likes wearing them. It seemed like they might make for sweaty feet perhaps? (ewww) If all is well, I will be making more for...well... probably everyone LOL. It was an affordable, quick project (I know it took me a few days to knit up, but with the holidays, I was barely working on it. I am sure I could do a pair in a day or two, tops). All in all, a very satisfying knit ;-)

MyFavoriteKid has asked for a pair with flames on the sides. Now I have to figure out how to do that. I'm thinking needle felting. I just ordered a bag plant dyed fiber from Simmy.

this girl gets a few moments of alone time

MyFavoriteKid & TheMostImportantGuy

Tonight's Channukah gift was a hit.
It seems GuitarHero may possess the power to unite all Boys.

a first real menorah

Happy Channukah, for those who celebrate. Today is the first full "day", but that means festivities started last night at sundown.

Dinner was at my house last night, and it was a great time. It was myself, MyFavoriteKid, TheMostImportantGuy, my mom, my dad, and their neighbor friend Helen, whom I absolutely adore. I think she told me that she is pushing 70, but if that is true, you'd never guess it. She's always out running around, has lots of social engagements, she exercises several times a week, is going to start going to start pilates next month, she bought herself a newer VW Bug, and she has a mouth on her.
I hope I'm like her when I grow up.

For the gift giving portion of the evening, my mom had this idea for all of us to pick names out of hat for a Secret....hmmmm...what do you call a Secret Santa gift exchange when it is Channukah?....
(have at it, Rabbitch)

Anyhow, we had an anonymous gift exchange.

There was one caveat: your gift had to come from the Dollar Store.
What a hoot.

Helen was my recipient, and I got her a big pink and yellow flower magnet for her to stick on her Bug. Teehee. It seemed to suit her. I was really looking for a tiara, though. I was thinking she'd look great in one, but the dollar store let me down. I only saw princess slippers and boas.

When it came time to open the gifts, we were supposed to somehow make a game out of it by guessing who gifted us. That didn't work out too well because a good portion of us are blabbermouths. Including me. In the case of MyFK, he was pegged instantly. He has no poker-face. As his mom, I love that. I allllllways know when he's pulling my leg.

So, back to the dinner. It was fun and yummy, and it feels so great to have a house I want to and can entertain in (functionally). It's the best. I made a couple of roasted chickens (ala Ina Garten), some green beans with shallots, and a salad with a homemade red bell pepper dressing I learned to make at the workshop I went to this weekend. My mom made potato latkes. MyFK made up the dessert trays (yes, plural) and he also set a stunning table. I am pissed I didn't get a picture of it. It was gorgeous. I think he's been reading my Martha Stewart books when he's on the can or something.

I did get a picture of the new menorah, though.

the new menorah, post party & the first night's lighting

This is my first real menorah, and I love it. Up until now I have used an electric one, just like this. Functional yes (especially with pets and when MyFK was younger--he could light it himself), but this new one with the real candles looks so much more pretty. And not plastic. It represents the Tree Of Life. I hope it becomes an heirloom.


Sunset is just about here again, so it is time to light another candle!