I'm FREEZING!!!

Just sayin'... It's allegedly 74* outside. Both phones say so. But in my office, I have the space heater on 75*. There's a cold breeze coming out of the vents in the ceiling, in spite of my turning the HVAC "button" (the little thing they give us to make it seem like we have some sort of control over the system...) to "warm" - which won't turn the heat on, based on the outside temps, but it should not blow cold air. 

Mitts

And I'm freezing. I'm on my 3rd or 4th cup of tea, and I've switched to decaf green. If I could hold the cup and type, I'd be happy. I'm seriously thinking of putting on some "arthritis gloves" I have in my drawer, just to warm up. There. They sort of match the grey wrap I'm wearing, and they're less silly-looking than my putting on gloves.

I have nurses in today; I'm listening to a quality assessment class - they all seem to think that if the volume is at 11, it'll help the students concentrate. I'm here till 5 p.m. unless they leave early. 

Frankly, I'm hoping the tea is what I need. Often, when I'm cold or bored or whatever: I'll eat. And as I've said, November is my Do-Date. I'm reading up more on the way to eat less processed crap, but for right now, the processed crap won today. 

Knitting...

The Blankie

The baby blanket is starting to weigh a ton. The Kollage square needles are all supposed to be easy on arthritic fingers, but cotton yarn ain't so friendly!! I was knitting on it, but I thought they might be packing up; and I can't knit on it with these mitts on anyway. It's too slippery. I'll work on it more tonight. 

I talked to my mom last night, and she's going to call for the mailing address. She agrees: mail what I have done (the hat, sweater, booties) and then get the blanket for Christmas. I'm really having a hard time on this project. It's not fun. 

And that's sad, for a baby knitting project. Maybe it was too much to tackle on too short of a lead time. I'd only had about 6 months' notice. For some knitters, that's time enough to knit a prom dress. But not for me. 

I also want to get back to my socks, and at least get past the second buttonhole in the top-down February Lady Sweater. 

Tonight, pizza, Dr. Who and knitting. 

Whiz-Bang Electronics...

So Microsoft bought Nokia. And I have a new whiz-bang charger for the Nokia phone. Those two items are not related. Just mentioning that Microsoft is now on the "we're a software company with our very own phone" bandwagon. 

Anyway, I'd been charging the phone the "regular" way - plugging a USB into my laptop, or when at home, the USB had a regular outlet attachment. Hubby found this. It's really cool, but the only thing I don't like is that I had to put a metal plate onto the back of the phone and now my gel cover fits oddly. The gel is still a good protector, in case I drop the thing, but it's not quite on all the way, which bothers me. 

Which you wouldn't think would bother me, if you saw my house. But I can't help it. 

So the Nokia sits in this cradle. There's a tiny white light at the front that shows when you're charging, and what I like is that, when it finishes, the phone can still sit there, and the light goes off. It's not going to over-charge it or anything. 

The metal plate makes it a tad heavier, but as Hubby says, "In your purse, how can you tell??"

Hmpfh. Thanks, but I've been carrying a smaller purse than I have in ages, dear. It's a lovely Namaste bag, which I got on clearance, and while it's meant to hold knitting, this is just big enough for me to do my thing without feeling like I'm hauling luggage.

Hallow-istmas?

Yes, this was the Target on Friday morning. Seriously. Not a turkey in sight. But lots of snowmen alongside the pumpkins. 

Sirius even has their holiday channels up on the lineup. Christmas creep doesn't even begin to cover this madness. 

I kind of miss Thanksgiving. Oh, we have it. Though some purists might scoff because we hold ours usually on the Sunday before the actual Thanksgiving, we do have a good reason. 

In-laws.

No, I mean it. Think about it. I'm "lucky" if you want to think about it that way, because my MIL is a couple thousand miles away. Though I'd love for her to be with my bunch of insane people for Thanksgiving. The woman raised 13 children. She can handle my crazies...

Ahem. Anyway, my brother has in-laws. My sister has in-laws. Kid #1 has "almost-in-laws" (they're not engaged yet). My nephews have in-laws. 

So, often, it's either do the "rotation dance" or spread dinners across a small time-frame. And some in-laws (I'm not naming names...) feel "offended" if you don't eat a SECOND dinner, as if you're a Hobbit or something (First Breakfast, Snack, Second Breakfast, Lunch). None of us is slim, and we surely don't need the extra food. 

We accommodate the babies, so Thanksgiving Sunday will be around 3 p.m., so they can have their naps. Being two years old, you do NOT want them un-napped. Apparently, they're both screamers. Lovely. 

At any rate, at least we have it in the proper week. It's not like the retail stores, which glom everything together in a mish-mash. 

We still haven't figured out who's doing what, but I know Hubby and I will do the bulk of it, as per usual. And the kids, I think, will do the potato selection (mashed, at least 2 ways, maybe 3 ways: plain, cheese, "homestyle rustic" with garlic). 

Random Picture...

I call this one "melted husky." Raisa just plopped herself up there, wound around (I swear she's 2/3 cat) and hung her head off. Holding on, she got a chin rub and was pretty content for some time. 

I swear, if there is reincarnation, I want to come back as one of my dogs. Or I'll leave a list of dog people I know. Just so I know I'll have a lovely afterlife.

She's coming along nicely. We're working on our "stop jumping on me in the morning" thing. She sings to me in the morning. 

We're also working on her brushing. She is the only Husky I've ever had who does NOT like to be brushed. But we're getting there. 

Now, if I can get her to stop thundering down the hall and clocking me with her rubber Kong bone...