Chocolate, Elucidation, and Cool Swag

Today's chocolate: Periwinkles, adorable little bites of smooooth milk chocolate.

Based on what I wrote yesterday about getting ready for the holidays, my mother wanted to be sure that I wasn't worrying about cleaning up for her, which got me thinking about what I am doing. And no, I really am sure, I am not doing some sort of stereotypical "cleaning because my mother is coming to visit". There are all sorts of assumptions to that, which would attach a large "but" in the air over my protestations that I'm looking forward to the visit, honestly! It has a flavor of protesting too much which I deny. In fact, I am cleaning because someone other than me is going to be in my home.

That's kind of rare for me, actually; when is the last time someone (other than the vet or a petsitter) was in my home? Ummm ... I can't even say for sure. Months? (JDJ, it was probably you: any idea when?) I tend to go out more than I have people in, and when it's been this long, it exposes the space between my cleaning standards In Theory and In Practice.

In Theory, I like things to be clean, organized, in place, all that good stuff. If effort wasn't involved in making it so, my kitchen counters would always be clean and clear, and there would be no to-file-pile or tumbleweeds of cat hair and dust in corners.

In Practice, if it's a question of picking up a book or a sponge, the book will almost always win. I have awesome powers of mess-ignoring when there's something I'd rather be doing, and let's face it, there's almost always something I'd rather be doing.

What this means is that conditions around here slide farther and farther from Standards in Theory, until either it gets gross enough for me to actually notice and be motivated to do something about it, or until someone (anyone) is going to be coming in. Thus, it's not that I worry about my place not living up to someone else's standards (my mother's, in this example), but about realizing that I'm not living up to my own. Does that make sense? Does everyone think this way? Does anyone?

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Coolness from the Sheldon store:


I've mentioned Sheldon before, and my delight when he incorporated knitting into the fun world he draws. I approve this message.

Speaking of cool stuff? I read recently about the Bureau Chiefs Store, and found a trove there. I was going to show you my favorite, but that turned out to be my favorite four:


Fellow word nerds. Happy sigh.

Head, Heat, Christmas ... Let me sum up

Ooh, this morning's chocolate was Marblehead Mints, my first Harbor Sweets love. Possibly still my very favorite, though if I was offered the choice between a Marblehead Mint and a Sweet Sloop, I'd dither. Love them both! Mmm, mint ... yum, toffee.

Plus, a snowman!


I think I like the overall look of this calendar slightly more...


but the individual details of the first one one are really fun.

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Just at this moment, no headache. Well, that faint, ever-so-slight disturbance that lies at that precarious point between euphoria and worry. My head doesn't hurt! Doesn't hurt! ... Is it about to? No, it's fine. In fact, it doesn't hurt! Doesn't hurt! Wait. Shit, was that a twinge? Yes. No? It's starting to hurt again. Maybe? Should I take something? Hmmm.

The good news is that it was a bit more so this afternoon, and is less so now. (Unlike yesterday, when it was moderately annoying during the day, and got truly horrible while I was driving home. That was nice.) (Not.) (My stomach is still kind of unhappy tonight, though, an unfortunate side effect of the headaches. Something bland for dinner.) (Enough parentheses!) I was able to run errands on the way home, not just gas for the car (because toying with running out is just less entertaining in winter*) (oops), but also Petsmart and Target.

*Baby, it's cold outside! I'm trying not to complain too much, since you don't have to shovel cold, but urgh.

It's so odd to go to Target right before Christmas and only need everyday things like tissues and batteries. I felt like I ought to be buying red-and-green things. But hey, I got what I needed, and I can cross the trip off the to-do list. I love crossing items off the list.

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There's a wall clock near my desk at work whose battery apparently died over the weekend. All day yesterday, it claimed the time was 9:40, but as of this morning, it was stuck at 5:20. Interesting.

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Question of the day: Do winds at 20mph feel that much stronger than winds at 17mph? Today's forecast was Windy, while tomorrow's isn't. I can't imagine that it feels that different...what do you think?

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I would never call myself any kind of expert in how heating systems should work, but here's something that I think I am correct in saying: they should not be running every minute of the day. They should turn off some of the time. Yes?

If the thermostat is set at 70, say, the heating system should, step one, blow warm/hot air until the temperature reaches 70, and then, step two, the blower should turn off. Once the temperature drops a certain amount below 70, step three, the heater should switch back on and blow warm/hot air again. Actually, step three is step one again, right? On, off.

Does that sound about right to you?

What it should NOT be doing, in my totally inexpert opinion, is replacing "step two, and then the blower should turn off" with "step two, and then the blower should start blowing cool air". And yet, this is what happens at work. Blower=on. Never* off.

*Not actually, literally never. Why, the main blower-on-my-head** turned off this morning, for the fourth time since I started seven weeks ago. (It was off for more than ten minutes; the peace was wonderful.) So not never-never, but for a statistically-insignificant amount of time.
**Because of course there isn't just one blower pointed at my desk, oh no.

Which would bug me in a far more theoretical way if the blower didn't blow that cool air down directly onto my head. (My poor oversensitive and headache-prone head.)

And how do I handle the onslaught? Oh, not well.

• I put on a hat, a cowl, a hood, or a scarf. It's a little silly-looking. Not the most professional image.
  
• I imagine wearing a visor, or one of those umbrellas you wear on your head. (I KNOW it would look beyond ridiculous, but I almost don't care.)
• I brainstorm how to put a top on my cube. Tricky. I can't just put a layer of something across the top, because I'm a little taller than the walls, so I wouldn't be able to stand up straight. Maybe umbrellas? But attached how?
  
• My temper gets even more hair-trigger than usual (I know, scary thought). Combine the blowing with a headache, and I really have to stop myself from snapping at people for Talking! Near me! Shut up!
• Drink hot coffee. One unforeseen drawback to a good travel mug is that it keeps the warmth in so well, the outside doesn't get warm. Usually, that's a good thing, but sometimes I want to warm my hands.
  
• I fantasize about finding the thermostat and hitting the Off button. With a sledgehammer.
• When the head hurts, by grasping my head with both hands and trying not to moan out loud.
  

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At work, we've been in that period where the catalogs are almost completely done and ready to go to the printer (I think they're gone now), but not quite. This has meant not a ton of work for me to do on them, until the proofs come in and it's a few weeks of crazy. In the interim, they've got me working on another project, not strictly proofing-related. In theory this is perfectly fine with me (Better Busy Than Bored, I always say). In practice, though, this project is:

• repetitive
• boring
• repetitive
• dull
• repetitive
  

They're paying me, I keep reminding myself. Paychecks are good.

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Looking Forward To
As you know by now, I'm looking forward to December 17th, when my mother arrives in MA. I'm also looking forward to December 23rd, when we go to Grandma's, and December 25th, for obvious reasons, and December whenever-my-brother-arrives-th. But do you know the other day I'm looking forward to? Can you guess?

December 21st.

Do you know why? I think I mentioned it already this season.

Yes, the solstice. Days start getting longer and lighter again. Two more weeks!

I am still using the therapy light, by the way, every morning (though I missed one or two sessions on weekends, when I get up after sunrise and it seems less urgent). I can't say for sure that it's helping, though I am having less trouble than I was getting myself out of bed in the mornings. Still, I'm not exactly bouncing out of bed, not feeling less tired, or more energetic, or anything like that. So who really knows.

In terms of the actual brand/model light I got, I'm perfectly happy with it. It's easy to use, and I've only just gone through the first charge, so that's impressive. It's small enough not to take over the whole table, but certainly emits enough light to feel useful.

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After I got back from Florida in early November, I looked at the calendar from then to Christmas and thought, "It's going to fly by. Right now, it looks like a long time, but I'm going to blink and it will be almost here and I won't have gotten everything done." And, yup, here we are.

I'm kind of at peace with that, though. Last year, I put too much pressure on myself to be ready for all things, so I got more stressed than I needed to. This year, I'm going to let myself off the hook for perfect. Sweep up the worst of the fur-tumbleweeds, charge the air-bed-inflation-thing (pump?), clear the fridge of anything too fuzzy ... just breathe, and roll with it.

Amen.

The Quick, Headache in Abeyance Post

Whoops, I missed a chocolate day!

Yesterday was Barque Sarah (milk chocolate with almonds):


Today was Friendship Sweets (solid dark chocolate):


To both, I say: yum. Nothing says Christmas like good chocolate (well, maybe not nothing...but you know what I mean).

Unless it's a pig in a Santa suit for your yard:


At 25% off, yet!

Somehow, I think I will be able to resist.

Cat Life, With After-Head

I woke at 4-something this morning (when it's that early, who needs an exact number?) with a headache, so I took a pill for it. The pill worked in the sense of my head not killing me today, but I was left in a sort of fuzzy state of mild pain that was not conducive to the to-do list I had planned. I did manage to get to lunch with friends, so that was good, but this afternoon and evening were mostly spent on the couch.

Of course, someone thought that was a wonderful idea.


And that someone had to be forcibly removed from the lap at 9, when I simply had to get up. But don't feel too sorry for him. He got several hours of lap, plus plenty of rest earlier in the day.


As well as yesterday.


And I'm sure he'll be on the bed tonight. Nice work if you can get it.

Quick Saturday Note

Harbor Lights ... nice chocolate! Welcome to Day Four of the advent calendars.



The detail on the artwork is such fun.

I had a pretty good day today, but it's not the sort of thing that makes for exciting blogging. Dishes, six loads of laundry, made soup, picked up library books ... hey! wake up back there!

So I'll leave you with this, while I go watch the third period (tied 1-1 after 2). This guy set up his Christmas lights to go with the Muppets 12 Days of Christmas. Such fun!

Hallelujah, Indeed

Sorry to miss a day posting! I do miss it, in fact, but I wasn't feeling well last night (unusual-headache-situation), and in a rare turn of events, I never even turned the computer on after I got home. But don't feel too sorry for me: I got to watch the Bruins play a most entertaining game before going to bed, so it wasn't all bad.

Before I forget, Day Two of Chocolate was Sweet Sloops:



Always a favorite here!

While Day Three was Sweet Shells:



Now, speaking of the Bruins, I'll have to call them out more often when their play is sub-par, because I complained about them earlier this week, and they won 3-0 on Wednesday and 8-1 last night. Eight to one! Now that was fun to watch, and where has that team been lately? Not wearing black-and-gold, I can tell you.

I am deeply curious which team will show up in Toronto for Saturday's game. Not to mention which Toronto team: the one that isn't doing well lately, and got beaten 5-0 last night, or the one burning to make up for the loss(es)?

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Have I mentioned how much I am loving having a driving commute again? LOVING. Even with the Boston drivers, it is great to be back in the car. Crank up the heat or crack open a window, change the radio station, sing along at the top of my not-in-public singing voice? Bliss.

Plus, the ability to stop along the way and run errands is marvelous, particularly at this time of year when there are so many things I want/need to do. I know very well that if I was taking the T and bus home, I would get in and not want to go out again. I've made stops every night this week, and if I had all that stuff to do this weekend on top of the rest of my list for this weekend, I would be stressed. As it is, well, still plenty to do, but it's manageable.

One of my errands this week was a follow-up to the $140 heated pet bed situation I mentioned recently, as in "I am not paying that much for a heated pet bed, no matter how nice it is, and even if the vet did say that Carlos was sitting as if he was cold and trying to conserve his heat and I should do something about it."

I had dinner with a friend after work on Tuesday, and afterward I went into a nearby Kohl's store, thinking that perhaps they would have an electric blanket, which I figured would be considerably less expensive, and might warm me as well as the kitty (since I've been having to use heated rice bags to get warm enough in bed a lot lately).

What I found instead was a half-off sale on a heated mattress pad, which struck me as an even better idea, since I wouldn't be trying to get it under the cat: if he was on the bed, it would be under him by definition. At $50, it still wasn't cheap, but since it's for both of us ... well, I got one. I put it on the bed Wednesday night, and wow, is it nice. So, soooo nice and toasty warm.

Carlos seems to like it, too. When I left for work yesterday, he was curled up on the bed instead of by the office window the way he usually is.

He's there now, and that's where I'm headed.

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I love the Hallelujah Chorus. It's simply beautiful music. And I find it charming when it crops up in the middle of everyday life like this:



When I first heard of flash mobs, I didn't understand the point. But the ones that bring beauty to life have my approval.

On the First Day of Chocolate

Welcome to December, and the start of advent calendar season! I am all about the countdown to Christmas, though of course I have December 17th, aka the day my mother arrives, marked as the next Big Day of my holidays. However, time and chocolate wait for no mom, and Harbor Sweets calls for December first, so away I go.

This year, in fact, Harbor Sweets had two advent calendars, with different artwork:



Mama made the kind of choice I can appreciate. The box that showed up on my door contained both. Mmm, twice the chocolates!

Today was sand dollars. Dark chocolate, caramel (and a pecan to eat around, if you're weird like me). Yum!



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I am a list addict, the sort of person who almost needs a list of all my lists. I have a perpetual to-do list with different columns for:

• things to do at home,
• on the computer, and
  
• out,
• as well as a shopping list for when I notice I'm getting low on something

I usually have a calendar of the next few weeks, to help me visualize what's coming along, and I often have a next-couple-of-days list of things I want to remember or plan for over the next few days. I'll also have grocery lists as needed, and probably others I'm forgetting.

This is not a new practice, and yet today I have one of the funniest things I ever remember writing on a list: wash kitty head. Which, you know, doesn't everyone? On the list between Trader Joe's and Christmas cards?

I mentioned that I've been treating Carlos with ointment for his ear infection. This means that for the last 10 days, since the vet's first treatment, he's had little oil slicks on the fur at the sides of his head. (True story: I woke up one morning last weekend to see Miri washing the side of his head, and felt the first untainted fondness for her since I got her, almost 2 years ago. What a good girl, without any Yeah, but...) The treatments are done: the tube is almost empty, his ears look much better (now that I know they're not supposed to be dark in there, ahem), and I just can't torment him any more.

He clearly needs some help with the aftereffects, though. So I'm off to wash my cat's head. A brief Google-search assures me that bathing a cat is a two-person job, but since I'm going for the head only, and not a full-body dunk, I think I can do it alone. Fortunately.


At least I don't have to use my tongue.

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit, One Cartoon at a Time

Do you watch the animated/claymation Christmas specials on TV? Did you as a kid?

Miss Conduct wrote about Rudolph today, and it got me thinking...

My favorites are:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• The Year Without A Santa Claus*
• Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty the Snowman
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Twas the Night Before Christmas
  

*This plays these days, but there was a long period there when it wasn't aired, and one year I made a friend very happy by not only knowing which obscure special she was talking about, but having it on video.

I think that's all of them, my favorites. Am I forgetting any? This is essentially what played every year in the 70s*, in those dark days when you had to watch it when it came on TV, since that was your only chance because there were no DVDs or videos**. Yes, old fart alert, I am that old (and my mother is wincing just to read this). Once a year, The Wizard of Oz or The Sound of Music was on, and the whole family watched together. Seriously, kids!

*other than a couple that I just never glommed onto; for whatever reason, I was never into The Little Drummer Boy, and Frosty Returns didn't get me either. As an adult, I rather liked Olive, the Other Reindeer, but it's not the same if you didn't grow up with it, somehow.
**Video! I have them on video! This year, I'll have to watch the specials when they come on, because my VCR isn't working! Whoa.

Is it all the nostalgia that makes me love them? They're such products of their times, with some seriously dubious messages (about conformity and gender roles, for instance), and the animation/claymation is nothing like what they can do today ... and yet I love them.

What about you?

Of Math, Jobs, and Various Other Things

Math rarely makes me feel better (about anything), but I recently employed it to make me feel a little better about my job situation. (Employed! Ha! Look at that, I made a funny!)

To recap, I left the temp-job-that-might-could-maybe-turn-permanent, which was the one with the uncommunicative boss and the commute I loathed, for this temp-job-that-is-really-temp. As in, it goes to Christmas, but maybe not beyond, I don't know yet. And now I'm facing the possibility of being out of work until I can find something else, which could be who-knows-how-long. Scary.

I don't regret the change, actually, but it's still a scary situation. However! Math to the rescue, or at least to the mood improvement*. My current job pays much better than the last job did. So much so, in fact, that ten weeks here would be roughly equivalent to sixteen and a half weeks there. I needed a pen and paper, and a calculator to check my figuring, but I am confident in the result. Somehow, this makes me feel better about the possibility of being unemployed in January**.

*The construction of that phrase made me think of the Princess Bride, and the whole "To the death! no, to the pain" discussion.
**And now that I'm thinking Princess Bride, this makes me think of Vezzini threatening Fezzick, does he want to go back to being "unemployed, in Greenland?"

Of course, part of the conflict in my head is that the prospective joblessness isn't only scary. For the short term, it sounds divine. I LOVE the idea of some time spent not working. I'm just afraid of how long it will go on.

A month without work? No problem! Cake! Sleep late, hang with Carlos on my lap, read, generally fart around doing nothing much. Not have to traipse out every day in the cold? Dream!

But, much longer than that? Bills. That pesky mortgage. Et-very-cetera. When will I find something? Will I have to settle for something less than what I want? Will I even be able to find something to settle on?

Scary monsters.

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The Bruins are in one of those phases again. One of those "we make your goalie look HOT" phases. One of those "maybe special teams* isn't the right way to put it" phases. One of those "turn on the game, but bring a book" phases. I hate these phases.

*For the non-hockey-fans: when your team is penalized and has to play short-handed, or when the other team is penalized and yours gets to play with an extra man, the players in these situations are called special teams. Penalty-killing + power play = special teams

It's a frustrating time, as a fan. They don't have to win every game and sweep to the Cup, but could they suck a little less thoroughly? Please?

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Tomorrow is the end of November; how crazy is that? Still, there's a lot to look forward to in December, and I'm going to try to hold onto that, this dark and cold time of year.

For one thing, the solstice is in just three weeks. Only three more weeks of Getting Darker, and then we reach Getting Lighter again.

Meals and plans with friends. I have three such events in the next two weeks. Friends are good.

In two and a half weeks, my mother will be here. Yay! Hugs whenever I want one. Nutcracker. Eating out, and visiting friends, and driving around looking at Christmas lights. Hanging out with Carlos. Whatever we want.

And at some point before Christmas (I don't know exactly when), my brother will be here, and my universe will right itself a little when we three are together. A lot of shared history, shorthand references, and laughter. Driving to Grandma's, family and food and fun. And craziness, let's be honest. Still, mostly fun, and totally worth it.

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Now that my VCR isn't working, I keep thinking of things I have on video that I want to watch. I figure that once I'm permanently employed again, I'll get a new VCR, as it seems you can still get them in a combined video-and-DVD-player. I already want to replace my TV* then, so I may as well do it all at once. In the meantime, though, no watching videos, which feels odd. I have a lot of videos still.

*Bought it in college. Graduated from college in 1991. Old TV.

Happily, I did get Miracle on 34th Street* on DVD for my birthday, or I would have been SOL this weekend. I like to watch it Thanksgiving weekend, since it starts at the Macy's parade, and it sort of guides me from the mindset of one holiday to the next.

*Not the remake, thank you (and NOT colorized, either!). I know you're shocked to hear it, but I'm a bit of a stick in the mud that way. I've never even watched High Society all the way through, since I love The Philadelphia Story so much. I like Bing Crosby, but seeing him in Cary Grant's role makes my brain hurt.

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I saw a car this morning with the vanity plate "GOD", which kind of surprised me. I don't picture Him driving a small sedan, somehow. I suppose Jesus would, but I imagine God in something more powerful, with smiting capability.

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P.S. Mary Ellen, the colorway of that Socks That Rock lightweight is "Sunkisssed Sands", and I can't wait to see how it knits up. I lack skein vision, so looking from the skein to the balled yarn to the knit fabric is almost always eye-opening for me.

Bits and Pieces to End the Long Weekend

Long weekends are so amazing. I'd love to not have to work. Or at least take a year or two off. Pesky living expenses. It's been a good break, anyway. Some of the things I've done:

• I went to a craft fair, which was fun and yielded some good presents (and maple cotton candy!), but wasn't as big as I was hoping for (it was no Southern Christmas Show, my gold standard).
• I've shared plenty of couch time with Carlos. Not as much as he would like, of course, but that's a high bar, and biology does mean I have to get up sometimes.
• I made a list of what I have for who, present-wise, and set up the Christmas cards (and stamps, return address labels, photo pen, regular pen, and address book) to get the process rolling. I've also contemplated the tree plans, including the possibility of replacing the strings of Christmas lights that are from my childhood.
• I did not buy the heated pet bed I saw at Petsmart yesterday, on the quibbling grounds that $140 is a bit much. Though it was really, really nice. Perhaps someone on Freecycle will come through for me. And I'll keep checking Craigslist.
• Work continues on the second raspberry sock; I'm working on the heel, so progress is even being made! My mind, however, is drifting to the next project...

Remember the Socks That Rock lightweight I got at Rhinebeck? Sure you do!


I wound it yesterday. It couldn't decide whether it wanted to weigh 4.35 ounces:


Or just 4.30.


The label says it's 4.5, but never mind. It's pretty, and that's what counts with me.



Only time will tell if I manage to finish the current sock before starting with this.

I got a package on Friday:


Time for the Harbor Sweets advent calendar experience again! Get ready: this year, it's going to be twice as good!

Which is more than you can say for this next tidbit, but I had to laugh at this part of today's Globe article on bedbug problems in the area:


Gee, I wonder why? Those wacky people. (His point was that they don't spread disease.)

Carlos can't understand why the vet says he should lose weight.


He's just fluffy! And that's his bad side! And poor lighting!

And although he was probably either squinting here, or annoyed to be disturbed from his nap in the sun, it looks kind of like he's giving me the ... paw.

Miri just wants me to go away, in general.

Sunlight through paw

Toe floof!

Talk to the paw...

A Peaceful Day, with apples

I had a kind of surreal feeling this morning, when I realized that the answer to the question, "What should I be doing now/next?" was, "whatever I want to". Facing three days of no particular schedule was really nice! I've managed to fill the day without going out or even showering (gasp), and the only down part was the Bruins losing their matinee. (The reason I sometimes say of them that it's better to be lucky than good is that if you don't outplay the other team, but win anyway, that's mostly a good thing. Today, on the other hand ... facing a hot goalie and having an ineffective power play do not add up well.)

But! Undaunted! I finally finished dealing with the last of the apples I picked, making apple crisp (mmm!) and the fourth batch of applesauce this season. Yes, four: I think I'll remember not to get so many apples next year without having to leave myself a note. It's good to have the applesauce, but the freezer is kind of full. Here's a little poem to commemorate this part of the day:

applesauce
apple crisp
apples gone

I also, apparently not having had enough of the peeling with the apples, made scalloped potatoes and ham. Delicious and satisfying. The last of the dishes are soaking, so I won't be ending today with that counter-full-of-dirty-dishes feeling. Yay for that, for once.

As seen in the photo in yesterday's post, I knit a little turkey for the holiday. I think he would have been even cuter is a slightly lighter brown yarn, but that was what I had, and he turned out well enough for me. I also brought angel salad and mashed potatoes to dinner, and it was all wonderful (and I wasn't hungry again for a remarkably long time).

Not just the food, and the company, but my mood was better this year. Last year was my least thankful Thanksgiving in a long time. Harold had just died a few weeks before, and my Dad and Pan since the previous Thanksgiving, and the most gratitude I could sincerely summon was that the list stopped there. This year was a lot better.

It turned out that I only had to work half a day on Wednesday. This meant coming home for a relaxed afternoon, chilling with the kitty, before making the angel salad early enough that I was finishing the dishes around the time I would normally have been getting home. Very laid back! The Bruins won Wednesday night's game (better lucky than good that time, for sure), and I slept in, lazed about, watched the Macy's parade, and finally made the mashed potatoes before getting ready to go. Quiet, peaceful, laid back: these are some of my favorite ways to describe a holiday. Or any day, really.

I also at some point finished reading Dave Barry's latest book, which I quite enjoyed and do recommend. My favorite quote:

In other words, I learned that even though I enjoyed playing sports, I sucked at them. And understanding that you suck at some things is useful information in life. The world would be a better place if people were fully cognizant of their areas of suckage.

It's called I'll Mature When I'm Dead. Check it out.

Have a nice (holi)day

Happy Thanksgiving

From our house to yours

Big Things and Little Things

Every year around Thanksgiving, I could probably make much the same list of things that I'm thankful for. The repeat doesn't mean it's any less sincere, but this year I wanted to note the little things as well as the big things I'm grateful to have.

So: Big Things and Little Things

• my family, spread out geographically but close to each other at heart
• angel salad
• health, relatively speaking, my own and that of those I love
• my digital camera
• good friends, to talk with and laugh with and be with
• Lake Champlain caramel-filled chocolates
• a job, even a temporary one, that helps pay the bills
• my short-and-sweet commute this morning
• Carlos, a very good cat
• the act of knitting, lovely yarn, snuggly hand-knits
• food, and not just enough to live on
• the Bruins
• driving to work again (this should be Little, but really it feels Big)
• eggnog
• books
• getting out of work early for the holiday
• the internet, blogging, and blog-friends

What about you? Big thing, little thing?

Happy Thanksgiving (or, you know, happy random Thursday in November, if you're not American).

P.S. I would also have been grateful if Blogger had deigned to format this list the way I wanted it to be, but I managed, in the spirit of the season, not to get all bent out of shape about it, or to spend way too much time trying to get it right. Still, no-thanks to you, Blogger.

I want a housekeeper.

He or she could cook, too, and that would be even better, but geez, if the kitchen was cleaned without me that would be enough. I hate having a pile of dishes on the counter waiting to be washed, yet somehow I don't get to it as often or as quickly as needed. This adds stress to my life, and frankly my stress tolerance is not strong to begin with.

Clean. Cook. Laundry. Grocery shop. What would you like to have someone else take care of for you?

Carlos Isn't Too Happy With Me

I am expecting to see this look from Carlos any day now.

After the vet's strongly-worded opinion that Carlos needs to lose weight, and that the dry food is Not Good For Him, I am attempting to convince the baby that the bowl of crunchies he used to have was a dream, an illusion, and not something he should expect to see again. He is none too pleased. ("Of course he likes them," said the vet. "I like cheese doodles myself.")

He also was found to have an ear infection, so the poor boy is getting goop in his ears as well, the ultimate insult added to injury. When the vet asked if he'd been scratching a lot, I felt like such a bad mother to say no. Really, though, it hasn't seemed to bother him. Certainly not as much as the treatment is! The poor guy.


I'm sorry, baby.

A Knitter's Birthday Report

For my birthday, a gift card from Knit Picks came my way (thanks, Mum), and last week I finally decided what I wanted most. Yesterday, the box arrived.


Item number one: sock blockers:


I'll still take pictures of socks on feet, since that does show the socks as they are meant to be, but sometimes the detail you get on blockers is a different side of the story. I tested them out with the recently completed first raspberry sock:




Item number two: sock knitting needles, in six sizes:


The ones I have are all seven inches long, which I chose because when I tried shorter ones, in my early days of sock knitting, I felt insecure with them. Not enough to hold on to!

These days, being more comfortable with the process, I have been finding the needles longer than I need them to be:


Here you can see the new needle in front of the older one, next to the needle gauge.


And in action:


I knit with them last night, and they're a good length. (It's generally not advised to switch needles in the middle of a project, but I'm living on the edge.) Happy!

Item number three: a "cheat sheet" for the kitchener stitch (for grafting sock toes and so on):


It clips onto my sock tool kit, and is a tad more compact and durable than my previous method:


And it's just too cute, as a knitter, to have a kitchener dog tag. I suppose I could wear it around my neck to knitting events!

So that's my birthday fun. Otherwise, it's been a good weekend, a tad busy, slightly but not too headachy, fun with friends, seeing Harry Potter 7 part 1, dishes and laundry and cooking, oh my. As usual, not enough got done, but faced with a 3-day work-week followed by a 4-day weekend, I am remaining sanguine.

Though I'd best get down to the laundry now. Take care!