Random Stuff Today...

Aside from the idiot-in-chief claiming that "Democrats vote, go change their shirt, and vote again," as if Election Judges were blind as freakin' bats?? I mean, Jesus, Mary & Joseph. On a stick. 

Sorry, the continual barrage of stupid is getting more and more unbearable. 

Let's get to the good stuff. 

Early Thanksgiving...

As has been our custom, this year, Thanksgiving for our family is actually the Sunday before. This year, I'm feeling cheated. Thanksgiving is usually near Hubby's birthday, and this year, it feels extremely early. That's not fair. I need time to process the speed-of-light stuff going on in 2018 and an early Thanksgiving is just not right. 

On top of that, I'm a bit peeved... I'm working (as usual, it seems, and yes, I'm feeling a bit pressured...) and so Hubby will be doing the turkey this year. I'll be doing the sweet potatoes on Saturday night. Kid #2 will be at the house on Sunday to do the potatoes (the cheesy ones he does every year) while we're at church and then it's off to my mom's house. 

We're trimming the menu this year - or at least we're trying. Hubby found the largest turkey I've ever seen - a 28-lb. one. 

Yes, I'd rather have an organic one. Free range. But I'm outvoted every year and you know what? Some battles you just can't win. One year, I got a "heritage turkey" and someone didn't put out the whole bird - my family thought I'd gotten a little 12-pounder. That was the end of that. They want what they want. 

We're doing it a little differently this year, though. Roasting it with garlic, so that could be interesting. 

The Titanic...

So, today I had to drive Hubby's vehicle in to work. I call it "The Titanic" because it's a lot bigger than mine. Everyone says there's "not much difference" between an Edge and an Explorer, but thank you very much: there is! 

My truck needed a new hub bearing, and we also had to have a sensor replaced. They ordered the wrong sensor. 

It's back now, and I can drive my own cozy little truck to work. Good job that I got the thing fixed, but I had a bit of "sticker shock."

My sunroof "lid" (the part that matches the interior of the car that you close when you don't want sun pounding down onto you) managed to get loose while The Kid and I were in Colorado. Hubby tried to fix it, but it wasn't working and with the weather change, the fabric was getting loose again. 

I asked him to ask the dealer to estimate the repair. FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. 

Are you kidding me? $500 for the parts (???) and $1,000 for the labor because you apparently have to take the entire thing apart to do this. 

Ummmmm. What the heck?? So we're going to talk to our "body guy" (my brother's best friend) and see if we can get something done a little cheaper. Hubby says, "That's why I always have mine open." But I don't like to drive with the sun on my head, thanks. And what's the point of having something that's able to be closed, except you can't close it? 

The Knitting...

Well, this is my time of year! I get to wear All The Knitted Things. I've been enjoying my socks (and boy, do I wish I could be knitting on the WIPs and the new ones I want to start!). And I'm able to wear my shawlettes. And I'm wearing my mitts. 

It's not quite scarf weather yet, but I've worn my pink march hat a couple of times already. 

This is the first time I've worn the "wingspan" shawlette that I made from the Sally Melville book, using the alpaca lace-weight, with size 7 needles. I would like to make this one again, with sock yarn, maybe. 

And at the lunch break, I was working on the last of the Christmas hats. I'm honestly tired of this pattern and I can't wait to finish this one off. 

Like I said, I just want to be knitting the other stuff. 

But it was rolling along today, as I pulled up a Sherlock Holmes video on my laptop. I normally don't bring my laptop to the job, but the other job has gotten busy, so I have to work through lunch, I guess. 

Maybe this is why I'm frustrated at not being able to cook Thanksgiving dinner - I'm pulled in a few too many directions right now. 

Anyway, the red stripe is the first one, and I'm very pleased at how it's going to look. I think this will be the "classiest" one of all of them. 

But I'll still be happy to knit something else. At this point? Almost anything else. Even baby stuff. 

Of course, the leftovers will be used for the prayer patches; I'm still churning those out. 

I may, though, make a "scrappy hat" using the blue or the gold for the base and doing just one more hat. Maybe. Someone can talk me out of it, please...

Speaking of which I do have some stash to do a baby layette. Just waiting. Got some interesting colors: burgundy and pumpkin. Before you poo-poo it, let me tell you that it looks really interesting. 

I like different colorways for baby stuff, unless Mommy wants the pastels. 

The Banner...

The banner is coming along. Sort of. I'm definitely a crafter, not a seamstress. 


I stitched up the base - the duck cloth. Hubby drew the tree. We had quite the discussion about how big the tree was supposed to be. There was no good answer. I was given the dimensions, and my hands are kind of tied. 

The tree is done; I had to cut out the adhesive stuff, and then iron it on to the brown fabric. 

Then I had to iron that onto the base. 


Hubby finished drawing the outline on the adhesive bonding product with a Sharpie marker. That actually marked up my ironing board pad. Irretrievably, I think. 

I'll wash it, but I'm pretty sure I have to buy a new one. 

I'm going to "cheat" a bit, because of time and my own sewing skills. I'm going to outline the tree on the base cloth with fabric paint - the stuff that's dimensional, and that we used to use to make the "painted sweatshirts" back a decade or so ago. I was pretty good with those - but it's been a while. Anyway, that should work, but my only concern will be the hand prints. 

Because of the constraints of the dimensions, it's going to be interesting to not have the "hand print leaves" look like a muddy mess! An adult hand print will be pretty large! Kids' prints will work better, honestly, but we don't have a lot of kids at the church. 

I'll do the painting Friday night or Saturday. It's got to be at the church on Sunday for the first batch of prints. Wish me luck! 

Random Picture...

Yes, it's blurry. It's not your eyes. This is from several years ago, when Tippi and I used to do therapy work outside the lunchroom at Lewis University. We used to go during the day, and we'd see so many students. 

She was younger then, too, and a ball of energy. This is her, getting the Zoomies when one of her favorite students came by. 

I used to use a 15-foot lead, which I don't do anymore. She tangles up too many students! 

Anyhow, we still go to Lewis, but we're in the evenings, in the Library. And Tippi's slowing down some. Her coat's not what it used to be; she's got some bald patches and she's a little less energetic. Actually, we'll be trimming her hours a bit in the next few weeks. 

She's 10 - going on 11 in January. When she's got to go potty, she's GOT to go. And the 2-hour visits are getting to be a tiny bit too long for her bladder. 

This makes me happy - this picture shows her true personality and her joy. But it also makes me sad, because she's an "elder dog" now. That black muzzle is grey now. The eyes are a tad dim. And she doesn't "zoomie" as much. 

They steal your heart. And break it. And I wouldn't have it any other way.