Does sleet count as a White Christmas?

It started sleeting about 60 miles from home on our way back from Atlanta on Christmas Day. This got me all excited because I know in my heart that 2005 is the year it will snow in Bay Minette. I got up in the middle of the night to look out the window, but there was only sleet accumulation, no snow. Not like New Orleans. Still, any kind of Winter Precipitation Event is thrilling. This was our biggest sleet drift. It melted by noon.

I’ve swatched for my next big project. It’s going to be a pullover for Michael made in 1824 Wool (Mission Falls). The pattern is called “Multiple Choice” and has several variations of drop shouldered pullovers in lots of different gauges. Since my swatch is kind of boring (18 sts to 4″ in brown), I’ve created an Artist’s Rendering of what M’s sweater will look like when it’s finished.

In real life, both sleeves will be the same size.

Everybody’s gone skiing* for the week (mom, cousins, aunts, uncles and Great Gran). We are taking care of all the animals. Dinah, Great Gran’s house cat, is visiting. Betty thinks this is wonderful and wants desperately to sit near Dinah and be her friend. Dinah wants none of this and thinks that we’ve kidnapped her. She only started letting me pet her again yesterday. But she’s been downstairs on the desk and the kitchen counter so I think she is adjusting. It’s not like she and Angus and Betty don’t know each other – they spent all summer and a hurricane together. Dinah and Angus go way back, she used to jump on his fluffy bottom when she was a baby. Dinah has a lot of style.

Betty likes to sit as close as she can without Dinah hissing and growling. She is certain that Dinah will come around any minute and play with her.

*They were flying out of New Orleans on Christmas Day and their plane was delayed because of snow. Why would New Orleans have snow plows? Or even de-icing equiptment? Hee Hee. They ended up leaving on Sunday instead.

In between baking mounds of cookies, I’ve been working on some little projects for gifts. Since they are for someone who reads my blog who looks like me except she is taller, I will only show you part of what I’m making.

Whatever could they be?

I never was very good at surprises. No secrets here, people: this is a Tell-All blog.

In the interest of Full Disclosure, M and I picked up a kitty in the Wal-Mart parking lot last Thursday. Turns out, it wasn’t the kitty from the Winn-Dixie parking lot after all – but that’s a different story. Anyway, we ran him over to Dr. Hoover’s (the vet in town that doubles as Bay Minette’s animal shelter) and told her (like we always do), “Don’t do anything! If he doesn’t belong to someone or doesn’t find a home, call us! He can live in our yard.” Dr. Hoover got excited and said that they have lots of other kitties that need homes. All of a sudden she and Jeanie (the animal control lady who showed up right when we did) are bringing out all these cats to show us and calling us suckers. Since December is Free Adoption Month and Jeanie gave us coupons for $30 spay/neuter, we ended up with these:

Meet Lady Bird and Abigail (named after First Ladies).

What could I do? They were on sale! And really really cute. And tiny. And sisters. They are in the garage right now and are destined to be outdoor/garage kitties (M has some dumb rule about only one of each kind of animal as house pets at a time). I got them a house with a flap and fixed it up with a bed and a fleece blanket with tigers on it. Of course, they prefer to sleep in a box of dirty clothes. The girls will be in the garage for a couple months until they are big enough to be outside by themselves and to jump through the elaborate cat door I have planned for them. I love them.

Merry Christmas (or Happy Saturday as the case may be)!

Joy to the world, the socks are done!

Santa who sits on the porch is just visiting. He really belongs to Great Gran.

And Great Gran’s yarn finally made it here! So in a coordinated effort to get them all finished, I am making the one for my mom’s friend. I can’t show you the scarves that Great Gran is working on because they are presents for folks who read my blog on occasion. I’ve said too much already…

Now I am off to work on this year’s Christmas Ornaments. I only have a small window of Productive Time when Betty is having her afternoon nap. She likes to help. Hot glue is not good for kitties.

I am entering the Christmas Sock Home Stretch!

I wonder if you get presents if your stocking has no toe.

Visions of the next project are filling my head!

Great Gran’s scarf yarn STILL isn’t here. My next project may be scarves to help get them finished in time. Incidentally: when you call JoAnn.com’s Customer Service People and they say, “I’ll have to check on that. I’ll take your phone number and call you back with the answer.” They are LYING. Where’s the yarn, Lady? Where is it?! Get it in the mail, it’s already PAID FOR. I’ll call back YOU! Grumble grumble.

In spite of Great Gran borrowing the sock this morning to show her friends (She is trying to get them interested in knitting socks – so far they just do scarves. Hence Great Gran’s scarf fever. With that much novelty yarn in one room, who wouldn’t catch it?), I’ve finished Christmas Sock Number 1.

And the crowd goes wild!

But we all know that one sock is only half the battle. With one sock all you have is a sock puppet.

While a sock puppet could be a Christmas present for a six year old who wants to learn ventriloquism, it is not a very good present for a Granny. This makes Christmas Sock Number 2 a MUST.

Great Gran’s ribbon yarn still isn’t here. She says she can finish the second sleeve of the Gatsby Cardigan tonight. I’ll should be able to steam and seam it up tomorrow. Then she gets to make the band which goes aaaaaall the way around. I’m serious. You start at the shoulder and pick up down the front around the bottom up the front around the neck and back to the shoulder. It’ll take half an hour to knit one round! No wonder she’s wishing for the ribbon yarn.