Deck the Halls

Had I ever told you that I sing with a madrigal group during the holiday season?  It's lots of fun!  We begin rehearsals in late August, meeting one evening a week to learn the music we'll perform at various locations during early December.

In fact, right now I'm killing a few moments waiting to go to rehearsal.  I heard a little earlier that it's spitting snow in my part of the world, so it will seem extra-Christmassy this evening when we begin singing holiday songs with snow drifting lazily past the glass doors of the studio. I just love this time of year, don't you?

My holiday knitting is nearly completed.  I actually thought I was finished, but thought of a couple more quick projects I need to complete.  In fact I have one of them in my messenger bag with my madrigal music, so maybe I'll mosey on over to the studio and knit for a few minutes before rehearsal.  :-)

TGIF....REALLY....

Ever have a day that's fairly crummy, but not because of anything that happened to you personally?  I had one of those today.

My day wasn't so bad for myself, but my dear daughter had a perfectly awful day.  While in the hospital recovering from thyroid surgery and wanting to go home, she learned that one of her beloved cats had been struck by a car and killed.  To top it off, it's her birthday.  And she lives in Australia, too far away for me to give her a hug.

It's just a sad, sad evening.  :-(

Best Laid Plans

I was on leave last week....a whole week away from the office!  I was so glad to have some time for doing just what I wanted to do for a change!

It didn't work out quite like I'd planned.

On Day One (Saturday) I did some laundry and household drudgery with (naturally) some knitting tossed in here and there.

On Day Two (Sunday) I went to visit my parents.  Mom had an upper respiratory thing going on which was distressing, but otherwise it was a good day.

On Day Three (Monday) I went to a local park and spent a lovely day exploring their nature center and walking the lakeside trail, snapping digital photos of beautiful fall color.

On Day Four (Tuesday) I woke up sick.  Can you believe it?  I'd caught Mom's cold.  Is my luck crappy or what??

So here's the good news:  Mom's much better, and I was well enough to return to work today.  And my brief illness caused me to have to stay in the apartment and rest.  Which I needed.  REALLY needed.

One day I didn't feel well enough to knit, but the other days were filled with mugs of hot tea, an Alka-Seltzer Cold medication buzz, and lots of yarn.

All in all, not a bad week.  :-)

A Week.....A WHOLE WEEK!!

Once upon a time there was a knitter known on the internet as Cricket54.  Cricket was a fairly new knitter fumbling her way through learning how to knit with help from friends and the wonderful informative sites she found online.  She had some problems in 2009 due to a back injury and gives knitting full credit for helping her keep her sanity during the long wait for surgery that fixed the problem.

This year, knitting saved her sanity again (except for the fact that she's suddenly begun to post her blog in the third person for no apparent reason....*ROTF*) by helping her deal with an extremely stressful year at the office.

Okay, back to first person.  I'm ON VACATION THIS WEEK!!  *happy joyous dance*  With any kind of luck whatsoever the most strenuous thing I'm going to do is knit and drink copious amounts of coffee (my drug of choice).  I have several different projects on needles at the moment and hope to make some progress this week.  I'm not putting any pressure on myself about it, though.  Nothing has to be finished this week.  NOTHING.  I plan to knit while relaxing, and if I get tired, I'll quit.

This is my week to chill out and recharge my batteries.  My motto for the week:  "The dustbunnies have waited this long, they can wait a few days longer!!"

Hope your week is as restful as I plan for mine to be, dear knitterly friends!

A Month??

Hard to believe that it's been nearly a month since I posted here last....this month just got away from me!! There's been a lot going on at the office, but I've been able to keep my sanity by knitting. Hooray for knitting!! *LOL* In the past month I've finished a few projects and worked on a few more:

• Soap Socks - I've been knitting these up for Christmas gifts.  Cute, fun, quick!
• Christmas Lights - I knit a set of these last year to decorate my office, but gave them away.  So, I'm knitting another set for my office.
• Zimmerman's Surprise Jacket - Adult Sized - I've knit several Baby Surprise Jackets and decided to treat myself to one.
• "Plain Vanilla" Socks - my favorite socks to knit....simple K3P1 rib on top of the foot, stockinette on the sole, good durable heel flap, and K3P1 rib on the leg.  Two-at-a-time, toe-up.  Simple, small enough to carry in your purse.  I finished one pair and started another.  Winter's coming, and I love my warm wool winter socks!
• Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth - I keep a couple of these on a circular needle all the time.  Not only are they good sturdy dishcloths, they also make nice gifts.  Everyone always appreciates them!

So that's what I've been up to, friends....now I'll close and pick up my Surprise Jacket and knit a few rows before getting back to household chores.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Sunday Evening

I've been battling a virus all weekend, not desperately ill, but just feeling crummy. I've felt too guilty to gripe, though, since so many folks on the coast have been dealing with a hurricane and my biggest problem has been a low-grade fever and achy joints.

So this evening I'm contenting myself with watching "Julie and Julia" on Lifetime, sipping iced coffee (yum!) and knitting a market bag. I started the market bag last weekend as a Christmas gift for one of my co-workers and have been working on it off and on during the past week. Just a row here and there. Amazingly enough, I think I'll finish it before bedtime tonight. I'm now working on the top band just before starting the handle.

This is the third of these market bags I've made; it's a great pattern, pretty easy knitting, and makes a neat gift. If you're on Ravelry.com (and if you're not, you SHOULD be!!) you can click here to see the Grrlfriend Market Bag. It's a free download, and you can knit it up from just about any kind of yarn you have on hand. I knit the first two from a cotton/linen blend of yarn I had, and I'm making this one from the same type of cotton yarn I use for dishcloths. It's working up really nicely....I'm very pleased!

And so, friends, back to "Julie and Julia", my iced coffee, and my market bag, all of which are patiently waiting for me to finish this blog post. :-)

Have a great evening, everyone!

Cricket's a Year Older!

Yes, today's my birthday! I'm not going to try to hide my age, because it's probably pretty obvious that the "54" in Cricket54 is my birth year. *LOL*

It's been a good birthday, even if I did have to go to the office today. My friends at work gave me lots of lovely cards, gifts, and congratulatory e-mails. My Facebook friends showered me with birthday wishes. And I treated myself to a wonderful birthday dinner from Cracker Barrel.

So now, stuffed full and happy, I'm going to settle into my recliner with my knitting (nearly finished with the gusset on my socks) and watch one of my birthday gifts: the anniversary edition of "The Big Lebowski".

The Dude abides.