Friday, November 24, 2006

Hello?


Is anyone out there? Or have y'all gone shopping?

I have declared today "jammie day" at our house. I have never seen the appeal of fighting crowds at the crack of dawn for a supposedly good price on something that if I just waited a few more weeks would be an even better price.

So, jammie day involves staying in the aforementioned attire, eating junk, and lounging in front of the t.v., computer, or playstation. This year it will also include dragging out the Christmakwanzakkuh decorations.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been bugging me since freakin' Halloween to put up the decorations. I woke up this morning to stockings hanging with care. They decided to get an early start!

I am also going to spend the day cleaning and preparing for Thanksgiving number 3. Yes, number 3. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a Canadian friend in October. Yesterday we drove to Indiana and had Thanksgiving with the husband's extended family.

Saturday we will be having our own immediate family Thanksgiving. Someone suggested yesterday that I was nuts to be 'doing' a big meal again, but it's only once a year. I think I can manage. Besides, it's sort of become a tradition.

Years ago, when my brothers started getting married, they would celebrate Thanksgiving with their in laws on the day of. So, rather than make them go to two dinners in one day, my mother would have her dinner on another night. My mother passed away, Thanksgiving dinner became my responsibility(being the only girl), wives have changed, but the custom has stuck.

This year though, the Connecticut residing sister-in-law couldn't get a long weekend from work, so they won't be here, and the other brother couldn't fit it into his schedule with kid's visitation and kid's play rehearsals.

So, I've got rolls to make(yes, from scratch), pies to bake, and cranberries to relish. The husband is frying the turkey as he does every year.

Don't bother me on Sunday, I'll be in a coma.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Not So Hot Dog

phoebeyarn

This is Phoebe. She's 11 years old, and cranky, just like some 90 year olds I've known. Yes, I woke her from her endless nap. She's also a cocker spaniel, which means she usually has beautiful, long fur. But I have been a bad pet owner. It's been months(I'm ashamed to say how many) since she has been to the groomer. The spark that finally lit a fire under my arse was a case of dog abuse that made the evening news.

The local animal shelter rescued a cocker spaniel that had 8 pounds of fur that needed to be cut off of her. Eight pounds! Phoebe only weighs 20 pounds, and that's with a reasonable amount of fur(maybe a few ounces). The fur was so matted that it had fused together between her legs, and the poor rescued dog couldn't walk. So, I thought before I was turned in for abuse I had better get Phoebe to the groomer. She had some matting(she was able to walk into the groomers under her own power - I don't want any zealot do-gooder to turn me in!), so the poor thing had to be shaved.

It's getting colder and she needs a sweater. Have you every seen those little white haired ladies walking down the street in August wearing a sweater? I liken Phoebe to one of those dears. She's old, opinionated, and does what she damn well pleases. I figure if she has a nice warm, pretty sweater, she might be coaxed to go outside rather than do her business on the kitchen floor.

I dug into the stash and found some Debbie Bliss merino aran in a pretty lavender, just the thing for an old dear. I think cables ought to do the trick. The only problem is that her bladder tends to let go when she's excited. She'll probably pee on it when I try to put it on her.

And now for something completely different...I read with dismay on Annie Modesitt's blog that she had evidently offended some students in a class she taught here at my LYS last spring. She had stated that the most recent group of students that she taught had picked up the technique quicker than they had when she taught it at my LYS. She also went on to say that it was because the teacher(Annie) hadn't done as good a job the first time.

Because of this brouhaha, Annie says she's going to go on a blogging hiatus for a while. This is too bad for us. I love reading Annie's blog, and love seeing her designs. Incidently, did everyone see her new design in IK? It's not something I would personally wear, but I think it is an innovative and bold design that would look beautiful with a formal skirt(can you wear something like that to a PTA meeting?). Annie, please don't stop what you are doing just because you've stepped on a few toes. Like you said yourself, you can't cry over spilt milk...Nuff said.

Samurai hat crown number 3 done!
samuraicrown3