sweetie darlings...

happy new year! i have a post in the works, kind of an end of the year recap and such, but right now i have more pressing issues at hand. a new panini press grilling delicious sandwiches, weirdo rum for piña coladas, kids and movies and microwave popcorn, and waiting up for the fiancé. kisses and party poppers will appear at midnight and this year will finally, seriously, be over. it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and in the end it was a pretty big year for me. dear 2009, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

new year's resolutions

OR: things i would like to do this year but probably won't.

1. learn how to knit intarsia, or fair isle, or any other sort of picture/multiple color knitting. i like cables, i like lacey things, but i'm ready to learn something new. (i still detest using charts, however. i don't know if that will change this year.)
2. learn how to make a homemade, epic, sourdough bread. seriously sour, too, not like some of the wimpy stuff you get in stores.
   
3. go back to blogging more often. i've been trying to do something small every day, but i think making it an actual, "i said it out loud" sort of thing will help.
4. get new glasses. and the pre-requisite eye exam to accompany them.
5. the cyst/tumor/mean pea in my hand has got to go. honestly. i'll have someone help me take a photo; the thing's gotten fucking huge and now part of my hand down to my wrist likes to go numb or burn. not cool.
   

right now that's all i've got on my list. i know making resolutions is a bit pointless, but i find it kind of fun to actually stop for a bit and think about stuff i'd like to do. make a bit of a plan, if you will. maybe i'll make an actual pen and paper list and hang it up someplace where i have to see it on a regular basis. i really would like to get better at knitting; it's one of the things that i used this year to deal with stress/anxiety that didn't a) leave me hungover or b) involve sugar.

Caleb's hobo mittens

i made caleb a pair of basic arm warmer/fingerless gloves for xmas! just in case you'd like to make some, here is the pattern i came up with.

Hobo mitts

i used cascade 220 superwash; one skein will make a pair of these easily, with a bit left over. the stripes i made with knit picks swish dk in coal. i used size 4 double pointed needles.

to start, CO 48 stitches in your main color; 14 on needle 1, 20 on needle 2, 14 on 3. join, making sure not to twist stitches (you know that, i know).

Rows 1-9: k1, p1 ribbing.
Row 10: knit all.

First stripe is four rows:
Row 1: knit
Row 2: k 12, k2tog, k20, ssk, k 12. (46 stitches)
Row 3: knit all
Row 4: k 11, k2tog, k20, ssk, k11. (44 stitches)

Switch back to green for three rows
Row 1: knit
Row 2: k10, k2tog, k20, ssk, k10 (42 stitches)
Row 3: knit

Next black stripe, K 2 rows.

Next green stripe, K 3 rows.

Last black stripe, K 1 row.

Continue knitting with main color (green) until piece is 7 1/2 inches from cuff.

Make thumb holes! For R glove, make a 7 stitch buttonhole on the first needle, for the L glove, make it on the third needle.

Knit another 3/4 of an inch to a whole inch (depending on how long your fingers are).

Make cuff; 10 rows of k1 p1, then bind off loosely.

Weave all your ends in (if you have them), and you're done!

merry xmas kids!

we had a great day! my mom got me an awesome video camera, dave and the kids got me a new camera (!!!) and we had a fantastic day of lounging, eating, being with friends and family, with a tiny nap tucked into the middle.

all of the gifts i got were amazing, but one was so special it made me cry like a baby. to be honest, i opened it last night because i was pretty sure that would be my reaction. amidst all the packages mom sent home with us, one had a tag on it to me from dad. it was an old school navy family gram; a video that wives and families were sent when their husbands/boyfriends/sons went on cruise (this was before women were allowed on the boat!), transferred from the original vhs to dvd. it from 1986, and was different from most because that was one year the guys were on cruise through christmas, so it had a christmas theme and was a little more sappy than most. the guys all had a chance to send a little message to their people, there was a little song they made up (it was the 12 days of xmas, but altered to include the boat and their life on it), and tours of where they worked, what they were doing, etc. we didn't have a video camera growing up, and my dad was notoriously camera shy when one showed up, so to see him talking to us, young and handsome and the way i remember him, just killed me. it's an understatement to say i was so glad to just hear his voice, but then he made an inside joke just for mom and that was when i lost it. in a good way, i mean, if that's at all possible. it was amazing to see him, to hear him, to show dave and the kids the dad i remember.

so i guess you could say this holiday season has been more than a little bittersweet, but as much as i miss my dad (and honestly, i miss him a lot), when i looked around today and saw all the people that i have that i love, all the happy faces and thoughtful gifts, the delicious food and mess to be cleaned up tomorrow, it was more sweet than bitter. i hope you had a great day, got to hug your loved ones or talk to them, and go to bed tonight full of tasty treats. merry christmas!

shhhh!

the last time i went to the library, there was an elderly man in the audio book section, reading EVERY SINGLE new release out loud, out very loud, and repeatedly, into a cell phone to some one who obviously wasn't at the library. it was very distracting, very annoying, and i thought he really should have known better.

remember when libraries were quiet and fun to hang out and read in? i don't mind some chit chat or kids being kids in the kid section, but this seemed extraordinarily rude to me. if i had been doing the same thing, i'm sure he would have shook his cane at me and made a face.

public service announcement

oh come on. how you can not give five bucks to this man? comics are awesome, box brown makes delightful comics (i am a big fan of bellen! i probably send one or two of his strips to my boy every week.), and i'm thinking maybe if we get some money from grandma or aunt sue for xmas we should send box some.

oh the weather outside is frightful

except, it's not really that bad. we got a bit of snow, it stopped and then got icy, and now we have that horrible patchy mess left behind when snow loses it's nerve. the kids had a late start in school, D is having a late start as well (still in bed!), and i'm drinking coffee and finishing up my xmas shopping. oh internets, what did we do before you? going into a store and buying things from surly cashiers seems so primitive to me now. perusing various websites with a list, snug in my slippers, is worth all the shipping and handling i might have to pay. i'm going to eat some cookies for breakfast and maybe take a bath, and start getting things wrapped up.

things i maybe should have been in another life:

• librarian. i know it's cliche, but i honestly love my glasses and cardigan sweaters; sesible mary jane heels and hair in a bun. i also love research projects, organizing stuff that isn't my own, talking about books, learning random things, and being surrounded by people doing the same. embarassingly enough, i also enjoy working with people and helping them find what they need.
  
• a baker. bakers either work early in the morning or real late at night, depending on how you look at stuff. lately i can't get enough of baking. especially ridiculous, time consuming things. the weighing of ingredients, setting everything out and getting ready, yeasty delicious smells, and making the simplest things (eggs, flour, water, butter, sugar and time) become amazing treats. the alchemy of turning flour, salt, yeast and water into a loaf of crunchy bread good for sandwiches, or smeared with butter and jam, or topped with cheese and floated in soup, simply flabbergasts me every damn time. what i think of as "real" baking, pie crusts and flaky doughs and yeast breads, used to scare the bejesus out of me, but what i've learned lately is this: even a fucked up looking loaf of bread will make a sandwich and probably taste pretty good doing it. amazing! there is also a fair amount of working alone that i dig.
  
• receptionista. oh sure, i was one before, i know, but i was good at it. i have moments when i miss it, don't tell my mom.
  

oh, internets

caught up on my flickr today. you know, i used to flickr all the time. i was always taking pictures and looking at other people's pictures, and seeing new things that made me excited to cook or make or draw something, but then i guess i got overwhelmed by all the stuff on there and i took a break. i logged in today and saw all manner of amazing, and was glad i took a short break because i think i can appreciate the flickr again.

teratoma thursday

embarassing fact: i have a single, solitary hair that grows out of my neck, horizontally. it looks and feels just like an eyelash. i keep it plucked, but every time i take my tweezers to it, i wonder if i'm removing the part of my embryonic twin that lives on in a random, errant eyelash.

stop shouting!

i fell asleep on the couch last night, and woke up at about 1:30 this morning to a woman on the tv shouting. i remember waking up with a start and thinking, "ah! stop shouting at me!" and then realizing she was a televangilist and was yelling about jesus. i got up and went to bed.

shhhh...

everyone is away; D at work, the kids at their grandparent's house, decorating the tree. i have the whole house to myself, and a pot of coffee and podcasts to enjoy! it's delightful. it's so rare to get an afternoon to myself; part of me feels like i should be cleaning and cooking, part of me just wants to goof around. regardless of the guilt i feel, the goofing is totally winning. i have some stuff to knit, a cat curled up in my lap, and at least a few more hours all to myself. whoo!