Out With the Old

The sun finally came out late yesterday afternoon.

It was just enough light and just enough time to give me the last finish of 2019.  Woo hoo. It's the first pair in the 2020 gift box. That's Wild Hare's November colorway and it's a lot prettier in person than it is in a photo.

How about a kitty pic to go with that FO? That's the look they give me all day. They really don't know what to make of me and all the weird stuff I bring with me.

 I was pretty quiet last night though. I spent all night on Ravelry looking up Icelandic yarn and patterns. Daughter lit a fire with all that yarn talk. What I found was a Lopi that I have never used. It's Plotulopi which is unspun.

I wanted something new for the New Year and I found Altheda which is a popular pattern knit in Plotulopi. I ended up buying a sweater's worth in these colors from a vendor in Iceland who has an Etsy shop. I got all that and a bit extra for $35. There was even free shipping from Iceland. Wow.

Speaking of Iceland, here is Daughter in Iceland wearing the Lopi I knit many years ago. That yarn has traveled more than I have. Now it's back where it started from lol....She said those sweaters were $250 in the shop in Reykjavik. Whoa...

Yesterday was the day they took a bus out to the glaciers where they rode snowmobiles out in the mountains.

I spent the day watching my phone for the text telling me they were back at the hotel safe and sound.  Daughter flipped her snowmobile but didn't hurt herself. Then the tour bus got caught in a snowstorm and had to take a long detour back to town after another tour bus had a crash. Iceland is beautiful but I'll be glad when they are home.

Stitching Day

 I picked the wrong day to do my stitching. It was dark and dreary yesterday. No sunny window for me. I slogged through it while watching Floss Tube. Before I even got started I had to pick out a few rows of my house. I hadn't noticed that the windows have three panes on the top and four on the bottom. It was a quick fix.

 My stitching "panic packing" was bringing along the neglected little Arctic Circle Santa that I've been working on for several Christmases. I only have the beading left and it was actually pretty fun. I was afraid of it at first but what the heck, no one will care but me if it's not perfect.

While I was working I was also texting back and forth with Daughter. She was here.

 I'd sent her with the mitten pattern that matches my Mosi hats and she was trying to buy me yarn for it.

 We were discussing the merits of the different Lopis....

....when the shopkeeper suggested I try this. I don't know what Daughter ended up getting but I'm terribly excited to find out.

 The Icelandic knitting shops are not just for knitting supplies. Look at all those beautiful lopapeysas for sale. Even though I already have four that I've made, it makes me want to cast another one on. They are always my go to sweaters when it gets cold. It's the best fit for my body type which is getting more and more Hobbity every day.

I've always wanted a Riddari. This might be the year. Resolutions, anyone?

Knitting the Day Away

 I usually divide my time among my many hobbies but not today. It was all knit, all day. I started the morning working on Soldotna with Arne and Carlos as they did a review of their knitting year. I love those guys. I need to make a resolution to start a pattern of theirs. They design some great stuff.

 I cast on another giant man sock with The Happy Knitting Podcast. She made me buy sock yarn from Etsy. I'm so susceptible to suggestion. When she showed off the socks she was knitting for her husband and said the yarn was hard to find I had to have some of it too. I found it on Etsy.

 I worked on what I hope will be my first finish of 2020 with Skeindeer Knits as she did a year review of her sweaters. That's the second sock of the first pair of what I hope will be another bag of socks for gifting next Christmas.

 My panic packing included this oldie. I haven't worked on Lofoten since last winter. I got two rows done watching the Kammebornia podcast. It was a tough knit not only because this is a very hard pattern but because the podcast has subtitles. It was not a good combination. It is a good podcast though.

Finally, just as the sun was going down and I was losing my light, I cast on another Northern Lights hat this time hopefully making it big enough to fit my head while listening to a local podcaster, Thread to Mend. I could have spent a fortune on yarn and projects listening to all these folks show off their goodies. That's why I don't usually listen to podcasts. My Ravelry queue, however, is much longer today than it was yesterday.

Daughter and SIL must be having a blast in Iceland. This is the only photo I've received since they landed. It looks pretty amazing. I hope she doesn't forget to take photos. I need more photos.

Arrivals and Departures

 The only thing I did all day was clean my house, pack and drive to Daughter's.

 It was almost dark when I got there. Daughter and SIL were just heading out to the airport. They have an overnight flight to Iceland.

 I unpacked, fixed her four babies some kitty stew.....

....and tucked them in for the night.

The only interesting thing I did all day was sign up for Disney. I've got a hot date with a tall, handsome-whatever that is. After making all those Baby Yodas I'd like to find out just what all the fuss is about.

In a Panic

I'm leaving today for a seven day kitty sitting trip to Daughter's and packing hasn't been fun. Seven days is a long time.  I went off to Walmart this morning to pick up some food when I came upon the Christmas clearance in the fabric aisle. Yardage and jelly rolls all priced under $3. That's a win but they can't go with me. I need pack-able projects and I don't have much to choose from at the moment.

 I am at the end of most of my projects. I'm worried I can't pack enough to keep me busy. I finished The Mister's giant socks on Christmas Day.

 I had one at the toe in a forgotten project bag. I began these in October and forgot about them. I should be able to get its mate done this week.

I had to order some more yarn for Soldotna and these came along for the ride. I'll pack them just in case I end up in sock withdrawal.

Speaking of Soldotna. I am almost at the arm divide so maybe I can get her done this week in all that uninterrupted peace and quiet. It would be nice.

As for stitching, now that Sheep Virtues is done I am going to put my effort here. I doubt I can get that whole house done in one week though-it's big and boring.

Then there is Dear Jane. Daughter's sunny dining room is my favorite place to work on those tiny stitches so I've packed up the materials for the last two blocks in row C to see if I can get them done. Now that I look at it all I think I actually do have enough to keep me busy. Time flies when all you're doing is having fun.

Skipping Christmas

 Christmas didn't happen at our house this year. Our living area looks like this and this is the good side of the room. I thought I would miss all the fuss but I didn't. The Mister says he didn't either.

 We did go to the Grand's house for Christmas Eve dinner. A friend of theirs had gifted them this exquisite box of cookies she made. That, my friends, is how it's supposed to be done. Aren't they beautiful?

The gingerbread house the kids made was more at my level of execution lol....

 The big Christmas surprise that The Mister and I had for the kids was a karaoke machine and a light thingy that puts on a disco display. The Grands put on their Mario Halloween costumes and we did a swinging rendition of Feliz Navidad as a treat for the grown ups before dinner.

 Dinner was prime rib for the meat eaters and a savory bean dish for us herbivores.

Son always insists on strawberry shortcake for dessert as it reminds him of his time in Japan where fried chicken and strawberry shortcake is the tradition for Christmas dinner.

Upon arriving home I had this waiting in the mailbox from Kathy B. How sweet is that? It gives me hope for spring. This winter has been too dark and dreary. I'm already over it.

Christmas day was quiet. It was just the two of us so we took a stroll on the boardwalk with all the other old folks and their little dogs in their holiday sweaters who had no place else to go. It's a wonderful place for us empty nesters. We fit right in these days.

Making Merry

I went down a real rabbit hole looking at photos of vintage Christmas cards so I could post one today.  Our ancestors were a pretty strange lot. How about a card with a bunch of drunk birds and a lurking kitty? Yes, please. Give a me two dozen.
Merry Christmas everyone.
I hope your day turns out as well as that sneaky kitty's probably did.

Done

 My adventures in the kitchen were not over.

 I was determined to come up with something I could bring the Grands. We are on our way over there tonight for our family get together.

This is more my speed. No one cares what the piping looks like on a pretzel.

After I cleaned up the pretzel mess I whipped up a batch of body butter for gifting. This one smells like Creamsicles and I had to remind myself not to lick the beaters. It is yummy.

My bath bomb factory is still in high gear.  I made lemon and apricot yesterday. If I can't give the neighbors my ugly cookies I can give them a fancy bomb.

And speaking of neighbors, just when I thought everything was done for the day The Mister reminded me that I had never made a card for the new young couple that live at the top of our driveway. They had brought us Halloween cupcakes and even decorated our mailbox for Christmas this year with light up stars. So I was off to the card room after dinner to come up with something using bits and bobs of things leftover. I'll pack them a bag of soap and bombs and have one more thing to check off the list.

And finally...I now have two finished Baby Yodas. I had to do the coat on the one on the left three times and I still didn't get it right but I'm over it. That one is for Daughter and if she's not happy with it I can fix it later in the week when I am at her house for my week of kitty sitting.
Whew...and with this the Christmas rush is officially over. I'm done-except for that sock I'm working on for The Mister. Oh, well....it'll give me something to do on Christmas Day when all the hustle and bustle is over.