Merry Christmas Eve! Here is what my knitting projects are looking like right now...
Socks for my dad (Mission Falls 1824 Wool: almost four skeins, Sockulator II used for the pattern). I was hoping my to make my mom a pair in maroon, but never got there. These need the ends woven in and need a little clean up (get the dog hair, etc, off of them)

Mittens for my neice who turns four on Thursday. She lives in West Hollywood and really has no need for wool mittens but requested them nonetheless. (Mission Falls 1824 Wool in several colors although I probably used less than a skein all told. I made up the pattern as I went along after reading several mitten patterns.) I need to knit the thumbs and weave in all of the ends by Tuesday since she and her family will be going home then.

Slippers for my dad - his birthday is two days after Christmas. (Cascade 220 - two skeins of the brown, one skein and a smidge from the second of the orange. Fiber Trends wonderful felted clog slipper pattern in men's medium.) I need to finish the second sole for the second slipper (each slipper has a double thick sole), weave in all the many ends, felt and dry them by Wednesday.

In addition to knitting I just finished my last batch of candy and stuck it in the freezer so I can distribute it later today. I've got a little bit of wrapping left to do (including finding a present I bought for my husband and hid too well). Jason's Mom is in town with us until very early tomorrow morning so we'll have Christmas with her later today, before going to my family's big, annual Christmas Eve gathering. Oh, and it might be nice if I showered and ate at some point today.
I missed my weekly Random Thoughts post on Thursday, so I'll give you a few now.
I'm done with work.
Christmas is tomorrow.
My sister finished her quarter and got an A in both of her classes (she's a grad student, single mom and hard working case manager at a non-profit that does more good for the world than I could ever hope to do). We're all very proud of her - good job Jess! She's frantically knitting a beautiful version of the Wool Peddler's Shawl from Folk Shawls for our mom for Christmas.
My belly is dancing right now.
My due date is forty-four days away.
I'm going to have the best baby ever.
I'm so very blessed.
Merry Christmas.
The day after Christmas a number of years ago, I was driving down a country road in Texas. And it was a bitter cold, cold morning. And walking ahead of me on the gravel road was a little bare-footed boy ...
"Mister, we had the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States down to our place. Lordy, it was the first one we ever had had there....
And, Mister, I wish you could have seen what was in that wagon. It's bags of stripety candy and apples and oranges and sacks of flour and some real coffee, you know, and just all tinselly and pretty and we couldn't say nothing. Just kind of held our breath and looked at it, you know. ...
And all of a sudden, papa, he broke out in a big grin again. He said, "Dad-blame-it, Sam Jackson, it's a sure a good thing you come by here. Lord have mercy, I liked to forgot. Old Santa Claus would have me in court if he heared about this. The last thing he asked me if I lived out here near you. Said he hadn't seen you around and said he wanted me to bring part of this out here to you and your family, your woman and your children."...
And us young'uns started playing Christmastime. And it's a lot of fun, you know. We'd just play Christmas Gift with one another and run around and around the house and just roll in the dirt, you know, and then we started playing Go Up To The Kitchen Door And Smell. And we'd run up and smell inside that kitchen door where mama and Sister Jackson was a-cooking at, and then we'd just die laughing and roll in the dirt, you know, and go chasing around and playing Christmas Gift.
And we played Christmastime till we just wore ourselves out....
Like I say, Mister, I believe that was the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of America.
excerpts from John Henry Faulk's Christmas Story
listen to it, read it, love it at NPR.org
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