...More Christmas

I missed all my knitting buds so much while I was up in Connecticut, slaving away for my mom! I have been dancing in the streets of Philadelphia, celebrating being home.

While in Simsbury I did get a small chance to interact with knitters. I went to the Simsbury Stitch'n Bitch at the Starbucks and spent some time with Rachel (rav link) who was knitting a snazzy fair isle beret. I also had what Jeannie called a "play date" with Bev. I had such a great time with her, hopefully if the girls do a road trip to Stitches in Hartford in the fall, you'll all get to meet her. And Julie (rav link) from Creative Fibers stopped in to Say Cheese for some fromage...I immediately recognized a fellow knitter from her sweet fuzzy armwarmers. She told me about Creative Fibers after-Christmas sale. Jeannie and I dutifully went shopping and did our best to relieve their inventory!

Part of my Christmas present to Muffy this year were some ornaments for her tree. I knitted up a bunch of covered glass balls with leftover sock yarn and gave her a few.

I also made her some adorable garland from recycled Christmas cards and clear nylon thread. The garland is super easy...I used a huge circle punch that I bought at Michael's. You punch out the circles, use glue stick on both back-sides and sandwich the nylon thread between.

I spaced the circles out about 3 inches. Its green and every other color under the sun. Some of the circles were fussy cut, so there are cute little faces, etc. on them. They give a great splash of color to a tree short on ornaments! Start saving up your Christmas cards...

While at the parents, Muffy and I rummaged through drawers in the guest room closet and found bits and pieces of our childhoods...an AEPhi sweatshirt from college, my graduation dress from high school, Paddington Bear, Raggedy Ann, and my much loved, lumpy baby doll Drowsely. Drowsely once had beautiful silky yellow blond hair. Much love and over attention had turned the 'do into a Don King look. Mom tried to salvage the hair years later...now she looks like a deranged monk. I think she should have stuck with the Don King 'do!

Finally, a white Christmas

Its been a long time since we have really had a white Christmas in CT. Days before Christmas we had two big snowfalls, great for the holiday visuals, bad for retail. I spent the weeks leading up to Christmas working at the cheese store my mom manages. I now know more about cheese than just Velveeta...I can even recommend a strong flavored brie or a milder one...how 'bout one with mushrooms for an earthier cheese. Are you impressed? I certainly am!

My parents have tons of deer in the woods behind the house. This visit, they frequently came down into the yard. Artemis and Tosca got quite a show...these guys are seriously bigger than squirrels!

Artemis is all about being in the center of the Christmas morning festivities.

Tosca is terrified of Christmas and for the second year in a row hid upstairs all day. She even refused to come downstairs for some attention and admiration when the guests showed up for wine and cheese before Christmas dinner.

This little guy has been in our family forever. His paint is disappearing, a side is broken in...but he still makes me smile. I love him.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and Santa brought you everything on your list!

Its all about me.

Dear friend, Jen, has commanded me to titillate you all with seven things about me....mwha ha ha...

1. My senior year in college I rounded up a bunch of co-conspirators and sorority pledges and made lime jello in the fountain at the Cathedral of Learning.  FYI, it took 4 cases of jello.
2. I can recite from memory the Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey. 
3. My one cat, Artemis, was never properly weened.  After 14 years, she still sucks on my left ear....slurp.....slurp....slurp.
4. I was born at the beginning of the baby boom after the JFK assassination.
5. I have arches in my feet that you could drive an 18-wheeler under.
6. I once got stuck at a one-star "hotel" on top of a Swiss Alp, trying to view the Matterhorn.  It was the beginning of July and there was a blizzard.  For the record, I don't actually think the Matterhorn exists.  Its just a painted cardboard set that they occasionally pull out of storage and photograph....I'm just sayin'.
7. I am currently amongst the ranks of a bozillion unemployed Americans.  Anyone know of an opening for a SAP business analyst??  I hear its all about networking...

I choose Robin, Andrea and Mick to play along.

Washoe

Last Thanksgiving this sweet bag of bones showed up at my uncle's home in Nevada looking for some attention and food. He had no collar and a bad case of fleas. If it weren't for the fleas and a holiday schedule at the vet's, there is a good chance that he might have ended up in a suitcase bound for Philadelphia. My uncle lost a black cat, Midnight, several years ago. I think Midnight sent this fellow to fill in the gap. The kitty stopped coming around shortly after I returned home. Broke my heart, cause I thought he was so close to being let in the house.

Well, he made it through the winter and started coming back around late this spring for some grub and conversation. He is quite talkative. By the end of the summer he'd been in some bad scrapes and needed emergency surgery at the vet.


All fixed up, he is now completely in control of the house. No longer scrawny, he looks like a bowling ball in a fur coat. My uncle has named him Washoe. He is a great cat, full of love, with a great purr. He also has no shame and not a trace of kitty aloofness.

It was great to get to know him over Thanksgiving. I am back to a trio of black kitties to love!