Knitting a gift

I didn't think I was going to find time to knit, but I did. No Christmas cards or shopping done ... because I knit a gift!! It is for my niece and as far as I know she isn't aware of this blog, so here it is:

I knit it with Patons Divine in Richest Rose and Wool-Ease in Black on US 19s. Nothing complex, nothing fancy ... just a super thick and warm scarf. I think it'll keep her mighty warm while she walks around Ann Arbor this winter. : )

I am taking a break from Ruffles for a while, because I am hoping to knock out a few more gifts on the needles. Not to mention all the other stuff in need to get done in the next 25 days!

A Detroit tradition

About a week ago, I told Heidi that I wished that we had snow in Detroit like she had in Kalamazoo. Well, my wish came true! On Wednesday, it snowed and it stuck! YAY! If it is going to be so darn cold, it might as well be snowy and pretty - in my opinion.

And because everyone loves a parade, we headed downtown on Thursday morning for "America's Thanksgiving Parade." We got there a bit too early and we were freezing before the parade was even in sight down Woodward. (The temperature was 17 degrees.) We warmed up in Johnny Rockets and then came back out to enjoy and very small portion of the parade. I don't think I have ever seen Santa in the parade ... I always get too cold!

Pat, Holly & Tim trying to keep warm

There are a few favorites in the parade ... one of them is the the Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team. I like the floats ... but it was too windy this year! Another thing that I look forward to seeing are the papier-mache heads of Detroit celebs. We saw Aretha, Joe Louis, Bob Seger, Charles Lindbergh and Tom Selleck. I was trying to take a picture but he turned just as I snapped a shot.

Just missed Tom Selleck!

I have tons of Christmas shopping and card writing to do in the next few weeks. When am I going to find time to knit?

What a keen day!

Yesterday, the UPS man delivered my wonderful new pair of shoes. My feet haven't been so happy in ages. The shoes are so comfortable and wide and cute and the color is to die for! Thanks Mr. Keen!

Today is Friday - yay! Slept in, read some of "My Friend Leonard" by James Frey, ate some oatmeal. I had the day off, so I went out and had fun with me! Got a haircut - which is such a wonderful feeling. It had not been cut since last Christmas. Why do I do that?

Lookin' a little messy

Then I treated myself to lunch at Cosi and a Starbucks Toffee Nut latte. So, this has been a very happy Friday. Now I am going to go knit a few more rows on the ruffle scarf to make it even happier ...

It works!

My plan worked! I went to the LYS on my lunch hour and bought the Blue Sky Organic Cotton for the Ruffles scarf. I went with Bone, because as I mentioned before ... a girlie color and girlie ruffles might be an overwhelming combo for me. Although, there were many beautiful colors in the non-organic variety.

The pattern looked kind of confusing to me. But Maya ensured me that I could do it! I am a very visual learner and reading descriptions of how to do the "wrap & turn" and the "knit the wrap & the wrapped stitch together" left me concerned. Thank God for Google and knit blogs, people! I typed in KWTOG and it led me to Yvonne's blog, where she had expressed a similar concern and solution. Turns out that once you figure it all out, the pattern is easily memorizable and not as tricky as it originally seemed! YAY!

So, here is what I have so far:

In fashion news, I have been trying really hard to find a certain pair of shoes. After many visits to local shoe stores and not finding them in the right color or size (although I came really close on Friday night), I finally found them online. I ordered them and they should arrive in 4 - 7 business days via UPS. I hope ...

Reading instead of knitting

I haven't made any time to knit lately! I have been reading "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey and it has been consuming most of my free moments. I am really enjoying it & would definitely recommend it. I am intrigued by his story and his opinions on AA and addiction. The writing style is interesting, too.

I have to decide between this yarn and that yarn to make the Ruffles scarf. My big plan for my lunch hour tomorrow is to go make my purchase! I am very excited to start on my next project.

And look at this little cutie patootie wearing the Umbilical Cord Hat from SnB that I knit back in the spring For Jenny's shower. YAY!

Halloween 2005

It was a beautiful fall evening. We were able to sit on the front porch (without our coats) to pass out candy. We gave away KitKats, Snickers, Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Milky Ways. Saw some cute costumes. It was kind of sad because some of the kids didn't seem that excited. I remember running up to each house and excitedly saying "trick or treat." Halloween (for me) was probably the 3rd best day of the year - after Christmas and the last day of school before summer. Some of the kids came up to our house and just held their bag open (without a word). C'mon! So I made 'em work for it.

Mel, Pat & I took a poll of our trick-or-treaters to see which pumpkin they liked the best.

Our pumpkins on the steps

Our pumpkins are Nightmare Before Christmas themed. Mine (bottom) is Jack Skellington, Pat's (middle) was taken from the movie poster and Mel's (top) looks like the hill.