Back in Black

I hit the sack. 

I've been too long I'm glad to be back. 

Yes, I'm let loose, 

From the noose, 

That's kept me hanging about... 

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, the ‘beginning’ of the Christmas shopping season. It’s called Black Friday and it’s a crazy day! It’s not really a holiday but most people who don’t work in the retail business have the day off. Everyone deserves the chance to participate in the shopping frenzy!

 The news is already full of stories of people who have their Thanksgivings dinners delivered or prepared in the parking lot of a business where they’ve taken temporary residence while waiting for the magic hour when the sales begin!

There was a time when I was an avid Black Friday shopper. The husband and I would head out early in the morning to whatever store we had chosen, hoping to snag a bargain. We’d get lucky sometimes and actually get what we went after. But we weren’t aggressive shoppers and agreed that if we scored it was good but if we had to get physical to negotiate the deal it wasn’t worth it. We’d finish up and go to IHop or Golden Corral for a great breakfast then head home for a nap. Most often we’d finish and be back at the house by 9:00 am.

I’m not sure whether it’s old age or just the trouble of getting out in the crowd, but there’s seldom a bargain strong enough to attract me now. I haven’t even looked at the ads to see what I’m missing! My daughter is planning to participate. My husband is even talking about it. Me? I’ll stay in with the littles. We’ll make pancakes and hang out in our pj’s til they all get back.

We tried these. They didn't turn out as pretty as hers but they were tasty!

I’m starting to listen to the tv and I’m hearing some tempting commercials. I do need a Christmas tree and I hear there’s one for half price. Then there’s that Crockpot, a fancy one, for just 16.98. And I could buy a sweater and get jeans free and……nah. That old Black Friday Magic almost worked. But not quite!

I've been looking at the sky 

'Cause it's gettin' me high.

Forget the hearse 'cause I never die.

I got nine lives,

Cat's eyes,

Abusin' every one of them and running wild...

Thanksgiving dinner was nice. As expected, it wasn’t finished on time, but that was an oven error on my part. We had too many baked dishes this year, and even with two ovens there wasn’t enough room. We added some new cuisine this year, just for a change. Two dishes I had actually made before but it’s been so long nobody remembered. Callye added fresh Brussels sprouts sautéed with bacon. I don’t really care for Brussels sprouts, but bacon makes anything palatable!

We cooked and cleaned all day and now there is some relaxing to be done! I’m working on a shawl for my sister to give to someone. It’s alpaca, purple, red and blue yarn, depending on how you look at it! I’m on a deadline so I have to get it finished and in the mail. I’m ready to hunker down with a good movie or two and knit on!

Surprise! There are some Black Friday specials…online! That kind of shopping I can do. Especially if there is yarn involved! I like shopping even more if I can knit at the same time!

Check Our Creative Spaces for lots of cool projects!

'Cause I'm back.

Well, I'm back 

Yes, I'm back 

Well, I'm back in black 

Yes, I'm back in black

Thanksgiving Blessings

We've come to the time in the season 

When family and friends gather near 

To offer a prayer of Thanksgiving 

For blessings we've known through the year. 

To join hands and thank the creator 

And now when Thanksgiving is due, 

This year when I count my blessings, 

I'm thanking the Lord He made you. 

I'm grateful for the laughter of children, 

The sun and the wind and the rain. 

The color of blue in your sweet eyes, 

The sight of a ball and train. 

The moon rise over a prairie, 

Old love that you've made new. 

This year when I count my blessings, 

I'm thanking the Lord He made you. 

And when the time comes to be going, 

It won't be in sorrow and tear. 

I'll kiss you goodbye and I'll go on my way 

Grateful for all of the years. 

I thank you for all that you gave me, 

For teaching me what love can do. 

Thanksgiving day for the rest of my life, 

I'm thanking the Lord He made you... 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

∩ │◥███◣ ╱◥███◣      

╱◥◣ ◥████◣▓∩▓│∩ ║

│╱◥█◣║∩∩∩║◥█▓ ▓█◣   

      │∩│ ▓   ║∩田 ║▓ ▓ ▓∩ ║          

•°*”˜˜”*°• From my house to your house •°*”˜˜”*°• 

•°*”˜˜”*°•Happy Thanksgiving•°*”˜˜”*°•

to family and friends

This year when I count my blessings, 

I'm thanking the Lord He made you. 

**song by Johnny Cash

Today I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything...

I just wanna lay in my bed.  

Don't feel like picking up my phone  

So leave a message at the tone. 

Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything… 

Well, not anything I don’t want to do. How about that? I’m tired! I’m not tired like a normal tired. I have no energy for anything. By the time I get home from work I could just go to bed. Add fixing supper, cleaning up after and other little chores and I’m exhausted. I’ll look at the computer for a bit, knit some if I’m lucky and go to bed. It’s as early as 10:00 pm on some nights. That’s not like me at all!

The past two or three weeks have been really busy. Lots of travel, a funeral and the everyday fun at work makes for long days. I decided to take all next week off. Of course I’ll spend most of it getting ready for Thanksgiving, but at least I can start and stop when I want. No 5:30 am for me for a whole week! One thing that irritates me though is that now Tuesday is an early release day. Those going to work get to leave at 1:30. So I take one of my comp days, worth 8.5 hours and I feel cheated. It should only count as a half day off. But work isn’t fair. And it never will be. I’d have to take the day anyway because I have to go to the doctor with my husband for one of those “turned 50” procedures. Life isn’t fair. And it never will be.

We had a trip planned for Thanksgiving, to the mountain house. It’s pretty there and there are actually ‘seasons’. It would be nice but it’s far. We’d have a great time and we’d put off coming back home as long as we could. It would lead to starting another week being tired. So we will stay home and have family over to enjoy the day. There’s a lot to be done to get ready for the holiday but I’m comforted in knowing I can do it, at my own pace, without having to report to anyone. I don’t even have to get out of my pajamas if I don’t want! I can have a glass of wine. I can knit a row or two. And what if I decide to take a nap in between? Heck, I might just do that!

No, I ain't gonna comb my hair 

Cause I ain't going anywhere 

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh… 

I have a bad habit of keeping things in the plastic store bags they were placed in when bought. And if I don’t already have them in a bag I tend to put them in a bag. So today, while rearranging some of these plastic bags I ran across a couple of projects that I finished knitting but never finished.

Remember to check out Our Creative Spaces to see some great projects!

They need the ends worked in and probably would benefit from blocking. But the knitting is done!

Montego Bay scarf

Couple of dishcloths.

Chianti shawl

Something with a ruffle...I forgot what it's called

I know there are more, some I’ve probably even forgotten doing, and I’ll find them…eventually. Then I’ll have a big blocking party. Who knows? If I got to it before Christmas I might even have some shopping done!

I'll be lounging on the couch, 

Just chillin' in my snuggie… 

I’ll be watching corny Christmas movies, knitting and relaxing. Because today, I just don’t feel like doing anything.

Yes I said it. 

I said itI said it cause I can. 

Today I don’t feel like doing anything...

Thankful

Somedays we forget, 

To look around us.  

Somedays we can't see,  

The joy that surrounds us.  

So caught up inside ourselves,  

We take when we should give…  

Thirty days hath November. It’s soon to be Thanksgiving. Then shortly after that, it will be Christmas. The stores have had Christmas decorations out since October. It’s become a hurry up world.

The beginning of November is when it’s really fall to me. Then the leaves are gone. The wind blows and it’s winter. Not officially of course, but winter, never the less. November is the beginning of the holidays. It’s the time when family gets together. This is the month my dad was born. This is the month my dear cousin passed away. It’s a birthday month for some close friends. It’s a month of beginnings. It’s a month of endings. But mostly, when I think of November I think of it as the month for being thankful.

I feel sorry for myself sometimes and sometime even wish I was somewhere, someone, else. But I have a lot to bet thankful for. And I need to remember that. I’m thankful I have a family. Are they perfect? Not at all. But I have a good husband who loves me. As my ‘friends’ say, he must be a saint. Nobody else would put up with you! Saint, no, but he’s been there beside me, through the good times and the bad. I have three wonderful kids who have grown up to be three wonderful adults. I have a fantastic son by marriage and I have three of the best grandkids in the world. I’m glad they want me to be a part of their lives. I’m thankful I have both my parents. I worry about them more as they age and I’m glad for the times we have together. I’m thankful I knew my grandparents, all of them, including a great grandmother and grandfather. I know, through a roundabout way, they helped make me who I am today. I’m thankful I have a sister and a brother I love and who love me. I have cousins, aunts, uncles…all important in my life.

I’m glad I have a house to live in. I know there are people who have to go to a shelter or stay in their cars. It’s not just a house, and it’s not perfect, but I have a home. I’m thankful I have clean clothes to wear. Not everyone does. Some are tight and that means there is plenty to eat. Nobody here is hungry. I’m thankful for electricity. There is a washer, dryer, stove and refrigerator. I am fortunate to have luxuries, not just the necessities.

I’m thankful for the Internet. Dumb? Probably. But it has allowed me to connect with people I’d never have met or talked to otherwise. It lets me keep up with my sons, out of the state and out of the country, and my daughter, who is busy with her own life. I know what my sister, my cousin, my friends, are doing and they keep me connected with the rest of the family and world who don’t have the Internet.

I know I’m lucky; probably luckier than a lot of people. I am thankful for superficial things as well as for meaningful things. I am thankful, and I hope you can find a reason to be thankful too.

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And on this day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change 

And even though we all can still do more 

There's so much to be thankful for. 

I finished the autumn chickadee cowl. I just love sock yarn. The colors are so pretty and the patterns the yarn makes when knitted is beautiful. But I have no desire to make socks. Well, maybe one pair, someday, just to see if I can. But until then I’ll use it for other things.

Chickadee with three sock yarns

Folded over

With a pin

I’m starting a gift for my sister. Not for her, but for her to give her friend. It’s not a variegated yarn but it’s pretty. It’s purple with a pink and blue color mixed in. I don't have a picture yet.

Linen Stitch

 And bad as it sounds, I’m thankful I have yarn, probably too much, to work with when I want. But I won’t take it for granted.

Autumn colored yarn

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And every day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change. 

And even though we all can still do more. 

There's so much to be thankful for…

What A Beautiful Mess

What a beautiful mess I'm in…
Spending all my time with you.
There's nothing else I'd rather do.

Thanksgiving wasn’t over the river and through the woods but it was at grandmother’s house. Well, Pappy’s house and that’s close enough. Pappy’s ‘nother one house as the kids said. The mountain house is just big enough but when we all go, the walls close in and no matter how hard we try, things just get in a mess. A beautiful mess, though, because we are enjoying each other. There were some people missing and it would have been even better if they’d been there. But they were in our thoughts, and we were in theirs. It’s fun, it’s tiring, it’s caring and it’s sharing. It’s family.

Belle...still and quiet? What's up with that!?!

Helping Pappy and loving it!

This sums it up!!! Thanks for Thanksgiving 2010.

I hope everyone got to spend time with people who are important to them. Be thankful for the wonderful things in your life.

What a beautiful mess,
What a beautiful mess I'm in…

There was some yarn play during the holiday. I took a bunch of hanks that needed to be wound. I have a swift and a ball winder. I took them to the mountain house and while there was room I set it up on the counter and wound some of the hanks. The boys were mesmerized. Of course they wanted to help so with a little guidance they wound yarn too. I didn’t get finished with all I had but I got a good start. Then I wondered why I have so much.

Caleb says, "All  your yarns is rainbow colors Mames!"

I also made a couple of Christmas scarves. They are just scraps but I like how they look. And they are lengthwise so they are fast. The kids liked them so I made two more little ones. I also finished the Gaiter and started on Ty’s scarf. I knitted on the way home in the dark and got about a foot done. Surprisingly I can do this pattern in the dark with not too many problems.

Ty's Gaiter and scarf in the works.

Christmas Scarves

Christmas in a different hue

Knitayear is also still going on. I did get behind up there but caught up for this post and have one more November post to go. Then maybe I can be caught up for a while. Doubtful! Day 236, November 22 was a little frenzied. I was trying to get things caught up at work and also get things going at home so we could leave. I chose a green yarn with little ribbons hanging off of it. Day 237, November 23, I was getting ready to go. Then plans changed and we weren’t going that day. I shut down. Then plans changed and we were going that day. Make up your mind!!! But I’m ready, regardless. It’s my good friend’s birthday today too. And she’s older now! I choose maroon worsted with colored flecks. November 24, day 238 was a good day. I’m glad to be at the house. Glad for the mountain air and the trees. I’m not as glad for the stairs and the two hundred times going up and down to unload! I chose dark green wool for the trees. It’s day 239, Thanksgiving, November 25, and I’m thankful we can all be together. I wish the boys were here and that Dustin was home but I know it will come soon enough. It would have been fun to have Junie and mom and dad too, but they’ll be there Christmas. We didn’t really plan a Thanksgiving supper but the turkey was in the smoker and it took a little longer than expected. We had a sausage snack to tide us over then had a wonderful supper. It was all the usual favorites. I made a standby that we call Sour Cream Salad and the little guys ate it like there was nothing better. I like it when that happens! I chose Artist Fleece wool silk in orange, green and blue. Day 240 was the calm after the storm. November 26 is Black Friday but we skipped it. When they start opening stores at 3:00 am or midnight it’s not fun anymore. We occasionally went for some things in the past, ate breakfast out and came home. That wasn’t too bad. But to stay up and out all night? Well, it’s not worth the money saved to me. We hung around the house and just relaxed. I chose yellow bamboo. Day 241, November 27, Callye and I ventured out. We were lucky and found some leftover Black Friday things without the crowd and the early hours! We also went to a dollar store and just had fun finding little stocking stuffers and the like. I chose Flame Trend superwash in a color called party. It’s really rainbow colored but I could only use a bit so it’s bright green. I feel fortunate and very lucky that we had this holiday together. I think I already said it but the cherry on the Sundae would have been the boys being able to be there. The wild times, the messes…the memories made. That’s what counts.

Is it your eyes?
Is it your smile?

What a beautiful mess…