That Really Happened

You know that feeling when you make yourself a to-do list, and you accomplish every single thing on that list?  Yeah, that happened to me today.  Admittedly, it was a short list, but I'm still counting it.

The big thing on that list was to call down to the dentist in Ridgeland and get my root canal scheduled.  Those of you who know my phone issues know how big an accomplishment this was.  On the other hand, I was supposed to have done it Wednesday...but hey, it's done now and said appointment is scheduled.

Tuesday, I went to my dentist here in town to get my toothache checked out.  After looking at my x-rays and mashing around on things, we agreed I needed a root canal.  The problem is, it's a tooth I just had crowned last year.  Dr. Horan said he could do it, but he'd want to take the crown off.  Since I've only had it for a year, insurance isn't going to pay for a new one.  He suggested sending me to an endodontic specialist, who might be able to drill through the crown and save it.  Dr. Horan referred me to a specialist in Oxford, but I asked him if I could go to the dentist in Ridgeland who'd done all my previous root canals.  He said, "OK, if that's what you want to do."

I said I did, because I'm familiar with him, and really like him.  What I didn't say -- out loud at least -- was when I'm done with that, I can visit AMY!!!  So, what do you say, Amy?  Up for a day of window shopping and visiting December 6? My appointment is at 8:30, and it should take about an hour.  After that, I'm free for the rest of the day.

The other major thing I wanted to accomplish today was to finish putting out all my Christmas decorations and get the storage boxes back out into my shed.   Really, there wasn't much left to do.  I hung this wreath, and our stockings, and ...what?  Doesn't everybody have a nativity on top of their gun cabinet?

I did something new with this stuff this year.

The decorations aren't new, but putting them here in this little nook thing is.  In retrospect, I could have done a better job of cleaning that mirror of, but eh, there's nobody here but me.  I'll clean it after Christmas, when I put all that stuff up.  Also, in retrospect, that little nativity is too small for that space, but it's going to stay there.  I'll figure out something different for next year.

While I was hauling boxes back out to the shed, I started digging through a cardboard box that's been out there since I moved.  Look what I found!  My cake pans!

And more cake pans!

And there are more still in the sink I haven't washed yet.  All in all, I have a Santa, a snowman, a football, a Christmas tree, a cross, and a shell  --besides the round and rectangular ones.  I used to have a bunch more pans that I either sold or gave away, but these were my favorites.  I also have some mini pans, most of which have never been used.  At one time, I was really into cake decorating, but once the kids started growing up, I stopped doing it so much.  Some of these pans have never even been used.

These, however, have been used quite a bit, my cookie stamps.

I have two boxes full of cookie cutters, but I prefer the stamps, because they are so much easier to use.  I don't think Wilton even makes these kind any more.  BTW, I've got some spring and fall designs, too, but didn't take a picture of them.

At the very bottom of the big box, I found this one.  It hasn't even been cut off the cardboard.

It was fun finding all this stuff again, but it put me into a bit of a melancholy mood.   All the kids are grown, and family is scattered here, there, and yonder.  We don't have those big family gatherings like we used to.  It's a part of growing up, but it makes me miss the old days, when we used to really do up for Christmas.

Maybe I'll make a bunch of cookies and ship them to Cody.  Or give them to Edna, who told me she likes to eat, but doesn't like to cook.

What say, Ed?  Up for some Christmas cookies?

It's Beginning To Look

A lot like Christmas, all around the house.

I don't think I could ever be a professional decorator.  That's hard work, I'm telling ya.  I was going to put up my tree Saturday, only I got this far, and seriously considered going for a minimalist approach this year.

I love it when it's all decorated and pretty, but boy stringing all those lights are a pain in the patooty. 

After getting all the branches floofed, I took a break to put up my outside lights.  I'd bought a string of these larger lights on clearance a couple of years ago, but didn't use them last year.

I wanted to go with the LED lights on the outside of my house because they're so much brighter.  This string should have been long enough to cover the whole front of the house -- if I'd had an outlet at one end or the other.  As it is, my outlet is smack dab in the middle.

Not wanting to run 25 feet of extension cord, I just hung these lights across the porch and car port.  It was long enough that I could double back when I got to the far end, but not long enough to do the rest of the house.  I used another string of the smaller lights on that end.

They still didn't quite reach to the end of the house.  I briefly thought about taking them all back down and using the lights I'd put up last year.  Briefly.  They look OK once it gets dark, so they're staying just like they are.  I'll check out the clearance sales after Christmas and see if I can find something that will work better for next year.

That done, I came back inside and started stringing lights on the tree -- taking copious knitting breaks and watching the Longest Football Game I've Ever Seen.  Seriously.  Seven overtimes.  SEVEN.   It would have been better if the right team had won, but it was still an exciting game. 

I got so strung out, I had to rip the same round out of this hat twice.

I finally just put it away until after the game was over.  Which was nearly midnight.  But I was so close to being done, I went ahead and finished. 

The next day, I put a pompom on it.

I'd never been able to make a good pompom, but I watched some YouTube videos and decided to give some of those techniques a try.  The one video I referenced uses toilet paper tubes to wrap the yarn around, then she cuts circles out of cardboard.  She kind of sandwiches her pompom between the circles and trims around it.  It's really easy.  Maybe in a future post, I'll find the video and link it.  Right now, I'm trying to get this one written so I can go to bed.

OK, so where was I?  Oh, yeah, Christmas tree.  It's finished! 

I had a bit of a melancholy moment when I put my tree skirt down.  I hadn't been able to use it in ages, because the cat always peed on it.

I can't quite decide if I'm glad I'm able to use it again or not.  I'd kind of rather have my kitty back.  Then I had another melancholy moment when I hung Katie's ornament on the tree.  Nine years she's been gone, and I still miss her.  And I still hang her little stocking on the tree.  Every year.

One last thing before I go getting too maudlin..

I bought a new Christmas Cactus, like I needed another one.

But it's red.  And I don't have a red one.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

My Thanksgiving

I'm sure you will all be thrilled to know that my toothache feels much better now.  It's still tender -- like a bad bruise -- but at least I'm past the I Want To Cut My Face Off To Stop The Hurting stage.  I was able to eat my Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, though I ended up pretty sore by the time I was done.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I got a little surprise Wednesday evening.  Cody messaged me -- after 4:00 PM -- that he would be able to come after all.  Um, OK.  I hadn't even gone and picked up my turkey!  I'd planned on thawing some of the chicken thighs I'd grilled last summer and vacuum sealed for later, so I just pulled a second package out to thaw.  He had to work until 1:00, and drove down afterwards.  We had a good visit, and a nice dinner.

Rylea wasn't too thrilled about having to lay in the floor,

but Cody eventually convinced her she could lay on the love seat with him.  Still, she was glad when he left.  I was hoping he'd spend the night and help me with my Christmas tree this morning, but he said he had stuff he needed to do before work this morning, so he left after dinner.

Since I hadn't really planned on company, I didn't fix a big dinner, but I did have my traditional dishes that it just isn't Thanksgiving without -- sweet potato casserole, strawberry jello salad, Stove Top stuffing, and pumpkin pie.  I usually top my sweet potatoes with nuts, but this year because of my toothache, I used marshmallows.  Oh, I've had it with marshmallows before, but it's been a long time.  I'd forgotten how good they are that way.  I may do it more often.

Remember that pie pumpkin I bought and stewed down last year?  I used that to make my pie instead of canned pumpkin.  I also made a squash pie with some of the pattypan I bought at the Farmer's Market last summer.

Everything was delicious -- even the reheated chicken -- and we were both full as ticks by the time we were done.  Then I got up and had pie for breakfast this morning.

Yep, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

The plan was to get up this morning, and start getting the house all decked out for Christmas, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.  I just sat and relaxed, catching up on some of my DVRed shows,  and mentally debating whether I was ready to take my Thanksgiving stuff down yet.

Along about 3:00 PM, I looked out my front window and saw my across the street neighbors out putting all their stuff up, so I went out and dragged all the Christmas stuff into the house.  Just in time, too, because it came a gully washer right about the time I got the last box inside. 

I got it all inside, but haven't started putting any of it out yet. The only thing I did was to get out my strings of lights to make sure they still worked.  I had two that only half the string lit up, but all the others came on.  I'm wanting to make the transition from incandescent to LED lights, so I might give most of them away in the local free-bees group, after I get my tree and outside lights up and see what I have to spare.  I'll buy new ones on clearance after Christmas.  On the other hand, if I save up and buy one of those high dollar Balsam Hill pre-lit trees I've been wanting, I won't need new lights next year anyway. 

In knitting news, my friend -- the ones who makes the blessing bags for the homeless in her area -- has designed a new hat.  She put out the call for test knitters, and naturally, I was all over that.  Some people have finished theirs already, but this is as far as I've gotten.

The pattern calls for chunky weight yarn.  I went stash diving and found some unlabeled mystery yarn that I thought might work.  Turns out it was too bulky.  I ripped that, and put the unknown yarn back into the stash to marinate some more, and pulled out a worsted weight.  It is going much better, and easier on my hands at least.  The pattern as written will make a child size hat, but it can easily be resized by adding more stitches to the cast on. 

I didn't want to do any adaptions this time, because I'm testing her pattern out to make sure it's easily followed and mistake free.  She says once it's finalized, she'll release it for a small donation to her blessing bag cause. 

I'll be sure to post the pattern for you. 

Well, for those of you who knit, that is. 

I'm sure the rest of you won't really care.

Tiredness And Toothaches

At my last checkup, my dentist told me I'd soon need a root canal and a crown.  It's a molar that has been filled and re-filled at least three times, but the cavity keeps getting deeper and deeper.   I'd been trying to hold off until after the first of the year when my insurance starts over.  If I hadn't broken that other tooth, and had to pay for an extraction and getting my partial re-built, it wouldn't have been a problem.  As it is...it's a problem.   I was telling a friend, I haven't even gotten the last dental work paid off, and now I'm going to need more.  I'm almost to the point of getting all my teeth pulled and just getting dentures. 

Almost, but not quite.  Anyway, back to my toothache...

All last week, I'd felt it twinging.  It wasn't too bad, though.  Mostly just sensitivity to cold drinks. Along about Thursday evening, it really started hurting.  Or I thought it did.  Turns out it wasn't that tooth that was hurting.  It was the tooth next to it.  You know, one of the ones I'd just had crowned last year.  As if all that weren't enough, wouldn't you know it, my dentist is closed on Fridays.

By Friday afternoon, I seriously considered going to the emergency room.  Yes, it hurt that badly, but I wasn't about to pay an ER bill just for a toothache, so I ruled that out pretty quickly.  Through copious amounts of salt water swishes, and some Orajel mouthwash, I made it through the weekend, but you can bet your sweet bippy at 9:02 this morning, I was on the phone with the aforementioned dentist.

Unfortunately, the only opening he had this week would have required me to leave work early, and I just can't afford to miss any time unless I absolutely have to.  He prescribed an antibiotic to hold me until I can go in next week.  That works out pretty well, since he'd need to put me on antibiotics for a week or so before he could do any work on the tooth anyway.

Needless to say, I've been pretty miserable all day.  Add to that, work was rough.  Really rough.

They're always complaining that the sub-brazers spend too much time standing around not brazing.  Well, honeybunchesofoats, we can't braze if we don't have any parts to braze.  Every single morning, we go in and the shift we're not allowed to hold accountable for anything hasn't left anything ready for us to start on.  In the plant vernacular, we would say they'd left the line dry.  Day after day after day...ad infinitum. 

When that happens, we have to wait for our shift to get something down the line so we can start working.  Usually, it's an hour or two before we get parts.  This morning, I waited 3 1/2 hours. 

Three.  And a half...HOURS. 

That's nearly half a shift waiting for parts to braze.  Oh, I found stuff to do.  I helped out up the line.  I did smaller orders for other lines, but still...

By the time they brought the parts I needed, the assembly line was down waiting on me, so I had to rush to get the work out.  When I was done with that order, I went to set up on the next one -- only the parts weren't ready.  By the time they brought the parts, the assembly line was down waiting on me, so I had to rush to get the work out.  Rinse and repeat until time to go.   My coworker said, "We're all going to be worn out when this day is over!"

After work, I had to run into town to pick up my prescription.  I was so tired, and in so much pain, for a moment, I thought about pulling off the highway and taking a nap on the side of the road, but I didn't.  I carried on and got my medicine.  When I finally made it back home, I was so tired, I didn't even feel like fooling with starting a fire.  I copped out and turned on the central heat.

The only bright spot in this otherwise exhausting day was getting a new old book in the mail.

Used book stores are going to be the death of me yet.  Or of my bank account, at least.  This was one of my favorite childhood books.  I was so glad to find a halfway decent copy for a reasonable price. 

And lastly, while wallowing in the throes of dental pain, I still managed to finish another charity hat. 

The yarn is Red Heart Team Spirit in Navy blue and gold.  I was tempted to keep this one, being Navy colors and all, but no...it's going into the charity box.  I've got plenty of hats already, and someone out there needs this more than I do. 

Besides, I have enough yarn left to make another one.

Which I might just keep for myself.

My Exciting Life

You will all be pleased to know that I got my pillows back onto the couch, where they belong,

but where they also don't match the slip cover. Then I moved my Snuggie that folds into a pillow to the chair

where it fits much better.  By that time, I was on a roll, so I cleaned off my cabinet. 

Not to be outdone, I did three loads of laundry, including folding and putting them away -- even the sheets! 

This is my exciting life. 

I know you're envious. 

First Bloom

Got my first bloom of the year on my Christmas Cactus. 

This is the one I grew from a cutting I took from James' cactus. 

OK, OK, I was plant sitting for a few weeks while they were in the process of moving back to Texas, and I broke a piece off.  But not on purpose.  I was just being my normal clumsy self.  That's where most of my cuttings come from.  None of my others have this many buds, so this one might be the star this year. 

I finally broke down and bought some of those sonic mole repellers.

I was hesitant at first, because I was afraid they'd bother the dogs.  However, this afternoon, I looked out my back window, and Rylea was napping right beside one, so I guess they're not too disturbed by them.  The birds and deer don't seem to mind them either, and the next door neighbor's kitty came up for scritches while I was putting one out.  The best part is, they seem to work.  I haven't noticed any new holes since I got them.  I usually go out and stomp the tunnels down and fill in the holes, but by the next day, they're back. 

Each one covers approximately 775-800 square yards, so if I space them right, I can cover all the neighbors' yards as well. 

My big project for the weekend was to put my slip cover onto my chair, which I did. 

It's a really nice cover for the price, and fits the chair well -- much better than the ones I have for the couch and love seat.  It's got spandex in the fabric, and that makes it stretchy, which is how it fits so well. I like that it has a separate cover for the cushion, too. It doesn't quite match the pillows, but those are supposed to go on the couch, anyway.    I don't know why I have them in the chair, but there they are. 

Before I put you out of your misery and end this boring post, I finished another hat. 

This one I knit in bulky weight.  Even though I only cast on 64 stitches, it ended up being gargantuan.  I hope one of those homeless people has a huge head.  Or a lot of hair.  Or just likes them really loose.

One last thing, then I'll let you go.  At this point, I don't think Cody is going to be able to come for Thanksgiving.  I wasn't going to cook a big meal, but I changed my mind and bought everything I need for my traditional dishes.  I just couldn't see it being Thanksgiving without my Aunt Martha's strawberry jello salad. 

I may not cook the turkey, though.  I'll just run by Wal-Mart after I get off work Wednesday and pick up a rotisserie chicken and save the turkey for Christmas.  Cody says he's going to try his best to come for Christmas -- since it is the only day in the year Wal-Mart is closed. 

Well, dang.  Here I thought it was bedtime, and it's only 7:00.  I can bore you a whole lot more! 

But I won't.  I will just note that yesterday was my blogiversary.  I've been boring my readers for 13 years now!  Thank you for sticking with me. 

Here's to 13 more!

 

I Broke Down

For all my tough words yesterday, I broke down and turned on my heater this morning.  Yeah, I'm a wimp.

Once the house had warmed up a bit, I turned the thermostat down to 60 and left for work.  Guess what temp the house was sitting at when I got home?  If you said 60, congratulations, you're a winner!  I have no idea how cold it would have gotten if I'd left the heater completely turned off.  I don't do that, though.

I don't want my spoiled rotten dogs to get too cold.

I bumped the thermostat up to 65' and quickly built a fire.  Now, I'm sitting here at a very comfortable 68'.  The high today was only 32', and some parts of the state got snow.  We only got rain and sleet.  On the bright side, it wasn't freezing rain.  It's way too early in the year for that.

What it's not too early in the year for is hot tea.  I used to drink it all the time, but had pretty much stopped, because it would get cold before I finished.  Now that I have my Yeti-knock off insulated tumblers, I thought I'd get it all out and start drinking it again.

First thing I did was to drag it all out and see what I have.  It's lot, I'm telling ya.

First up, there is all this loose tea from the now defunct Tealated website.

Then there is this sampler my sister sent me for Christmas one year, that hasn't even been opened.

All this I bought from Wal-Mart.

And this jar which is full of miscellaneous, mostly unlabeled tea bags. 

If you would please be so kind as to ignore the clutter on my kitchen cabinet.

OK?  Onward...

On this chilly evening, I chose a flavor of the loose tea from Tealated.  I carefully spooned it into my tea ball, and heated my water.  I put the ball into my insulated tumbler, and began pouring in the hot water...and the clasp on the ball came loose and all the tea floated out.

Sigh...if that isn't a metaphor for my life, I don't know what it.

Undaunted, I let it steep, strained the leaves out and drank it anyway. 

Then I made some hot chocolate, and drank it, too. 

I am quite warm now, thank you. 



One last thing, I asked my coworker if she had to read the book again.  She said, "YES!"  I told her I'd make her a list of some of my favorite childhood books.  If you have any you'd like to suggest, I'll be happy to add them as well.

Books And Hats

Monday morning, that would be yesterday -- it's been a long week already -- I took the book I'd bought for my coworker's grandbaby to work and gave it to her.  This morning, I asked her if he liked it.

"Oooh, girl!" she said.

She read it to him twice, then put it up on top of the dresser to get ready for bed.  He stacked some boxes up to where he could reach it, got it down, and asked her to read it again.  Better yet, she said he was trying to read it with her.  She said he'd point to a word and look at her to tell him what it was.  She said he wanted to take the book to preschool with him, but she wouldn't let him, and he cried.  She told him, "It'll be here when you get back home!"  Best of all, she said she was going to get him more books.  "I didn't think he'd like books, but he loves them!" 

As a book worm myself, that makes me positively giddy.  The best thing you can do for your child is to read to him.  Reading, and being read to, develops the brain in way sitting in front of a screen never could.  That's a big part of what is wrong with young people today.  Too many screens and not enough real life.

But that's another story for another post.

Right now, let's talk weather.  Specifically cold weather.  It's here.  And it isn't supposed to get out of the 40s until Friday.  Perfect for snuggling under blankets and knitting beside the fire while watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  What have I knit?  I finished a hat.

This one is plain vanilla beanie knit in Cascade 220 Superwash.  I used an 88 stitch cast on because this yarn is so thin.  It's labeled worsted weight, but knits up more like DK.  Thus, the larger cast on.

Then I cast on another one.

This one is some bulky weight my mother in law sent me when she destashed.  It's Lion Brand Hometown U.S.A, in the colorway Cincinnati Red.  I like knitting bulky weight, especially for charity knits.  It works up so fast.  And I used the twisted German cast on.  It's not as stretchy as the knit on cast on, but gives a much neater edge. 

Speaking of fires, I have yet to turn on my heater, but that may change this week.  It was 62' in the house when I got home this evening.  I quickly built a fire, and it has warmed up to a much more comfortable 70' .  When I get up in the mornings, however, building a fire wouldn't do me any good, as it wouldn't warm the house up before I left for work.  I want to try to limit my central heat use as much as I can.  These $88 electric bills are nice. 

One thing that is not nice is I've already gotten my chair dirty from the wood box, despite my trying to be so careful. 

I looked at Wal-mart last week for a slip cover, but didn't find one I liked, and they were pretty expensive to boot.  Naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I went to the free market and ordered one online.

Yes, that is a love seat in the picture, but it is sized for a chair.  No, I haven't put it onto the chair yet.  I will, I will.

But not tonight.  Tonight, I'm going to bed. 

100 Years Ago

One hundred years ago today

On the eleventh hour

Of the eleventh day

Of the eleventh month

The guns fell silent



And the birds began to sing.  

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  Joel 1:3

So that we may never forget.  

I Know, I Know

I said I wasn't going to post unless something interesting happened, but something interesting did happen!  Well, it's interesting to me, at least.

And what was this interesting thing that happened?  I got stuff!!

First, a bit of back story.

When my sister was little, someone gave her a book called The Monster At The End Of This Book.  Or maybe it was my brother.  I don't remember.  Either way, I loved that book, and read it more than my sister did.  Or brother, I don't remember.  I loved it so much I bought it for my own son when he was little.

One day last week, my coworker was telling me something cute her almost 4 year old grandbaby did.  His antics reminded me of the book, so when it popped up in my Amazon suggestions, I knew I had to get it for him.

While I was on the website, and because I still had Christmas cards to seal, I tossed some of those wax beads into my cart as well.

The set I got has three hundred multicolored wax beads, plus three little drawstring bags to store them in.

It also included a melting spoon, which is much larger than the spoon I already have.

I put on a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie and spent the morning happily melting wax and sealing envelopes.

After stamping several, I started experimenting with putting multiple colors into the spoon to create a marbled effect.  Naturally, I did red and green.  For Christmas, you know.

The wax looks bubbly because I got it too hot.  It'll take a lot more practice before I can make the beautiful stamps I see in YouTube videos.

Next, I mixed purple and gold.

I'll just let you guess who is going to get that card.

Then I mixed maroon and white-- or as close to it as I could get. 

I'll let you guess who is going to get that one, too. 

And at least one of you is going to receive a fouled anchor in the Navy blue and gold.  Or as close to Navy blue as I could get...

I sealed so many cards, I ran out of friend and had to beg a few addresses.  If I didn't ask for yours and you want a card, please don't hesitate to let me know.  I'll be happy to send you one.  Oh, and if you got a card last year, you're already on the list, so you're good to go. 

What I really want, and I found it on Amazon, is a stand for melting wax.  It has a space to hold a tea light, and a metal bowl over it.  You can fill up the bowl with wax, and once it's melted, just scoop out what you need.  That will make doing a bunch of cards at once go a lot faster.

In other news, I think I'm getting the hang of using my wood stove.  I was able to keep the house at a comfortable 72' all day, without letting the fire go out.  I still haven't turned on my house heater -- other than testing it to make sure it still works, and to burn the dust off the coils. 

I wonder how long I can keep that going...

Finally, I still don't know if Cody is going to be able to come for Thanksgiving.  Right now, it looks like he's not.  I haven't decided if I want to fix a big dinner for just me, but I bought and boiled down my sweet potatoes anyway.  I put them into the freezer, so I can keep them until Christmas if needs be. 

Then again, if I cook a big Thanksgiving dinner, I can put it all into the freezer and it'll be all ready for Christmas. 

I don't know.  I'll figure it out next week.

Going To Take A Break

When I'm at work, working away at my no - brainer job, or puttering around the house, or driving to the store, or whatever I'm doing, I mentally compose long, eloquent posts.  Oh, they're beautiful posts.  They'd made you laugh.  They'd make you cry.  They'd move you.

But when I sit down at my keyboard to type them out, my brain suddenly goes numb, and I stare at the screen and say to myself, "Wut r werds?"  It's why my posts have been so dull here lately.  Well, that, and there hasn't really been anything happening...

Therefore, I think I'm going to be taking a little break.   Oh, I'll still post from time to time, but it won't be every day.  BTW, Sunday's post is already written and scheduled, so after that...

So, the most interesting thing I have to tell you today is that I replaced all the innards in my toilet in the half bath.  Seriously.

I'd bought the parts over a year ago, and they'd been sitting there on the floor by the toilet ever since.  Any time I went into that bathroom, I'd look at that fill valve and flapper and say, "I really need to get those parts replaced."  Then I'd walk right back out without doing it.

Yesterday, with the lack of any major home renovations going on, I finally broke down and got er done.  Once I finally got started, it didn't really take long at all, and the best part is that toilet flushes so much better now!  And that's a bit of a sad statement of my life that I get so excited by a toilet flushing.  Sigh...that's why my blog is so boring...

After repeatedly flushing said toilet and squeeing like a fan girl, I went out back and split some wood.  That is a work out, I'm telling ya.  I hauled some up to the house in anticipation of the first frost of the year, which is supposed to happen tonight.

Also in anticipation of the first frost, I brought all my potted plants inside.  Then I cut some Zinnias and brought them in, too, to brighten up the place. 

I expect the cold will get the ones outside.  It's expected to get down into the 20s-30s at night for the next week, but I'm ready.  I've got firewood, hot chocolate, and plenty of knitting.

Speaking of knitting, I finished a Jayne hat except for the pom pom and weaving in ends.  I just tucked them out of sight for this picture.

The only thing is, I used a knitted on cast on instead of twisted German, and I'm not happy about the way the ribbing looks.  It keep trying to flip up.  I was hoping the ear flaps would keep it laying flat, but it doesn't look like they will.  Also, where I picked up the stitches for those ear flaps, it left big holes.

I'm hoping when I wash and block the hat, it'll cover those sins, since blocking covers a multitude of them.  Either way, someone next year will end up with a very special hat in his Blessing Bag.  Maybe more than one someone.  Read on, dear friend...

Determined not to let that cast on beat me, I cast on another hat -- this time using the correct cast on.

I was just very careful to cast on very loosely this time.  Now that I've kind of got the hang of that cast on, I might use it for all my charity hats. 

One last thing, I found the baseboard and chair rail I'd pried off the wall by my wood stove and put them back up.

I have some trim that goes against the bricks as well, if I can find it.  Then, of course, getting the mantle back up, and my little wood stove will be done.  Just that little bit makes the area look neater, and more finished -- despite the stains on the wood.  And the peeled paint.

And the floors that desperately need replaced...

But they'll have to do for now.  I'm not doing any more remodeling until I get my credit cards paid off and a significant bit of savings built up.   I just need to beg for overtime at work.