Happy Halloween!

We don't do much for Halloween around here.  Cody is adamant that we not celebrate it.  He says it's a pagan holiday born of devil worship.  I could disagree with him on the holiday's origins, but I'll save that for another post another day.

I did wear my Great Pumpkin socks,

and watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on TV tonight.  Yes, I have it on DVD, but there's just something about watching it on TV with everyone else....as a kid, I never missed it.

Back when I was a kid, before Halloween became a pagan holiday born of devil worship, and was just another fun day to dress up and scrounge candy, I loved Halloween.  I loved carving the pumpkin.  I loved the Halloween carnival at the elementary school.  I loved running around after dark.

We were only allowed to Trick-Or-Treat on our street, but it was fun nonetheless.  I remember one year, a boy down the street wrapped himself from head to toe in aluminum foil and went as a space alien.  He could hardly move, and his sister had to carry his candy bag for him.

Before our parents turned us loose to wreak havoc on the neighborhood, though, they would take us to our aunt's house, and our grandparents' houses.  My mother's parents had a neighbor across the street named Mrs. Kanoy.  We usually went Trick-or-Treating at her house, too.

Tootsie Rolls.  She had Tootsie Rolls.  I loved Tootsie Rolls. 

"Only one!"  My mother admonished as I reached for a handful.  Chastened, I only took one Tootsie Roll, and thanked Mrs. Kanoy politely.

"Oh, you can have more than that," she said, as she dumped about three handfuls into my bag.  I'll always remember Mrs. Kanoy's generosity.

After we got too old go to out ourselves, my older brother loved to dress up as a ---I guess he was a zombie, ghoul, or ghost, I'm not really sure.  He'd put baby powder in his hair to turn it white, and put grey makeup on his face, complete with dark circles under his eyes.  Then he'd put on my dad's Sea Captain's jacket with the brass buttons. 

Yes, my dad really did have a Sea Captain's jacket with brass buttons.

We'd turn all the inside lights out, so he was wreathed in shadow, with only the porch light on.  The rest of us would hide out of sight and make haunted house noises.  We'd creak the hall door, which always creaked no matter how much WD-40 you put on it, and make moany, rattly noises.

Only the bravest children got candy from our house.

Finally, before I quit boring you to tears, I was searching for my favorite childhood Halloween song on YouTube, and found this totally cool revamped version:

Candy Corn

It's National Candy Corn Day!  Are you celebrating?

I had to run into town to pick up some candy, just in case, you know, so I picked up a bag of Candy Corn, too.

I bought like a ton of candy for the church thing, and just today I realized that I didn't have any at the house.  We seldom, if ever, get trick or treaters out here, but I have candy on hand just in case.

One year, I decided I just wasn't going to buy any, since we hadn't had a single trick or treater come since we'd moved here.  Cody was about 5 that year.  But anyway, I didn't buy any candy, and guess what.

Yep, we had a trick or treater.  I felt so bad that I didn't have anything to give him.  After he'd gone, I said something to Cody about being sad that I didn't have any candy to give to the kid, and you know what Cody said?

"He could have had some of mine."

Moments like that make a Mama proud. 

Music Monday

To everyone in the path of Hurricane Sandy, stay safe and be warm. 

Chilly Sunday

I woke up this morning to a lovely, brisk 35'.  I was glad, because I could wear my winter clothes to church without people looking at me like I was out of my mind.  See, I have summer clothes, and winter clothes, but I don't have too any in-between clothes.  I keep saying I'm going to get some, but I just hate shopping for clothes so much.


I like the belted tunic look that seems to be coming back into style.  I was planning on going up to Batesville or down to Greenwood this weekend and do some clothes shopping -- my shoes look pitiful-- but I never pried my lazy hiney out of the chair.

Other than to let the dogs in and out thirty hundred bazillion times, that is.

Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the East Coast, and many of my friends are in her path.  If you are in her path, stay safe, stay warm and remember this piece of advice: 

I Haz Yarnz!

OK, here's the deal. My cousin had requested a cowl for Christmas, so I ordered yarn for it.

Silly me, I substituted Knit Picks Aloft for the Shibui Silk that the original pattern called for, but didn't check the yardage of the balls. Needless to say, I didn't get very far into the cowl before I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn.

So I ordered more yarn.

It's all Knit Picks Aloft, and the colors are mongoose, cranberry, silver, and oat.  And one lonely little ball of daisy.  See, I had decided I didn't really like that bright yellow strip in there like it was.

I don't know, it just seemed out of place, so when I ordered the next round of yarn, I decided to get some brown instead.  Brown seems to fit the original pattern better.

There's just one problem.  The yarn is the same color as my hair.

Notice I said it is the same color as my hair.  It is not the same color as what comes out of the bottle.  Still and all, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I am knitting with my hair.

It's kinda freaking me out a little bit.

Here, I'll distract myself with some Fall decorations...

There, that's better.

I'm going to keep the original rendition of the cowl and do something with it. I kind of have to.  One does not simply frog Aloft.

I'll probably just make a gradient striped cowl with what yarn I have left when I finish my cousin's cowl. It just won't follow the pattern, but that doesn't matter.  It'll still be a soft, squishy, warm bit of hand knit love. I'll give it to a sister or sister-in-law, since they haven't seen the picture.

My other major accomplishment of the day was to block my gingerbread scarf.  

Yes, it is a major accomplishment.  See, what you do is to soak the scarf in warm water, then pin it into shape and let it dry.  Scarves are difficult simply because they are so long.  Blocking the average scarf takes about 16 trillion pins.

16 trillion....see what I did there?

The difference between me and the government is that I stopped pinning when I ran out of pins.  Otherwise, I would have had to borrow some from China, and unlike our government, I hate to be beholden to anyone. 

Oh, and I did start another hat, I just didn't take a picture of it.

It's Beginning To Feel

like winter out there.

The cold front blew through today as expected, and the high of 64' was reached about the time I got out of bed. It started raining around 9ish, and rained off and on for most of the day, with the temperature steadily dropping.  It's now 46' according to Weatherbug.  I haven't gotten out to check my outside thermometer yet.

It was a good day to hunker down and finish this hat.

The yarn is Red Heart Red Hot, and it was knit on size 8 needles.  I cast on 88 stitches, which makes an average size stocking hat or an extra large beanie.  Most of the hats I make are beanies, since they seem to be what's in style now.  Or they have been.  Earflap hats seem to be making a comeback this year, based on what I'm seeing in the stores. I've got enough yarn to make one more hat out of this, then I'm going to make a bunch of Jayne hats. 

Well, not a bunch.  I have enough yarn to do three-- maybe four. Then I'm going back to working on using up my Red Heart stash.  I've got plenty.  I've even got some yarn that I bought to make Cody a sweater when he was 2.  Yes, yes, yes... I know...I know...

Let's change the subject now, shall we?

I did get the houseplants -- also known as Peabody and the Chicklets--inside for the winter.  Not much I can do for the plants in the beds.  It's their time.  I just noticed one of the Chicklets (A Christmas cactus-- and please, let's not get into a whole long diatribe about how it's really a Thanksgiving cactus.  The label on the pot said Christmas Cactus, and that's good enough for me) has buds all over it.  And there is a bee in my light fixture. 

That means it's time for bed.

Didn't you know that?  Bees in your light fixtures means it's time for bed.

That's cause I just made it up. 

But it's still time for bed. 

Snuggle weather...

This Morning

I got up this morning and saw that many of my Facebook friends were posting pictures of snow.  My air conditioner was running.  Sigh...

The good news is, the cold front that brought their snow is supposed to come through here sometime during the night.  The high tomorrow is only going to be in the 60s, and we're looking at lows in the 30s before it's all over.
 

I got up yesterday morning and discovered I'd left my car window down all night.  Sigh...

It's Wednesday

And I got nothin'.

I've been knitting, but ...well...

I can't really show you the gradient cowl, because it's supposed to be a gift, you know.  But I can tell you that I'm at a standstill until I get my other yarn in.

I'm still working on hats, too.   The other day, I got them all out-- all the completed ones, that is, and took a picture.

That'll keep a few heads warm. 

Ready For Cool Weather

I am.

Yoda I am talking like. 

Why? 

Tired I am.

Stayed up late last night to watch the debates I did.  Glad I was I took today off.  Well, 8 vacation days I have left, so need to use them up I do. 

Rumor is we will be off the entire week of Thanksgiving, so for that I am saving four.  Which leaves me four to use up. 

I just wish I knew for sure. 

This week is inventory, so we'll have a half day off Thursday and all day off Friday.  That sure beats the old days, when inventory lasted 15 hours. 

After dreaming all night of being stalked through the darkness by jet black wolves with glowing red eyes, I just had to post this today.

And hours...

Beautiful Fall Day

It has been an absolutely beautiful Fall day.  Cool enough that the heater came on this morning, but by lunch time it was warm enough I was able to open the windows. 

I did take the time out for my annual rant against women's clothing designers.

I needed a new pair of flannel pants, my old pair having bit the dust sometime last winter.  I looked all over Wal-mart for women's flannel pants with pockets in them, but no dice.  It's the same with sweat pants.  It's almost impossible to find women's sweat pants with pockets in them.

What do clothing designers have against pockets in women's clothes???  I know, I know,  the excuse is, well, women carry a purse.

Not when wearing lounge pants, we don't.  Nor sweat pants, neither.

If I want to hang out in my yard or go walk the dogs, I don't want to tote a purse with me.  All I want is something to slip my cell phone and house keys into while I'm gone. Needless to say, I had to go to the men's department to get a new pair of lounge pants.

I feel so disenfranchised.

Of course, like every Saturday this time of year, I watched football.  LSU, despite having no discernible offense whatsoever, still managed to edge out Texas A&M.   All the commentators keep talking about LSU playing in the national championship game again.  They must be seeing something I'm not seeing, because LSU is terrible this year.  We had such high hopes for Zach Mettenberger, but so far, he's been a bitter disappointment.  Can't put it all on Zach, though.  The receivers are dropping way too many balls.  Balls that should be caught.

I don't know what it is about Les Miles, but he can't seem to find a decent quarterback.  Zach is so bad, some of us are longing for the  good ol' days of Jordan Jefferson.

Now, that is bad.

I got this far in the gradient cowl

when I realized I'd made an error. After only knitting 10 inches, I began to think that my yarn was running out mighty quick.  That's when I realized I'd forgotten to check the yardage on the yarn. I looked, and sure enough, the Aloft was about 80 yards less than Shibui.  Sigh.  I didn't buy enough.  Since I'm going to have to order more anyway, might as well get enough to make my sister and sister in law one, too.

Rylea says, "Cheese!"

Finally Friday

Finally, after weather and debates and dogs and all, I get to post what I was going to post Wednesday.

Beverly has requested this cowl for Christmas.  I don't know if I'm going to get it done by then.  She may get an IOU.

One thing I do know:  I'm not doing it in Shibui Silk Cloud.  That stuff hangs out at close to $20 per ball.  I found a kit for the cowl priced at $70.  That's a bit out of my budget.  I'm going to knit hers in Knit Picks Aloft.

Honestly, I've compared Aloft to some of the higher end yarns -- like Kidsilk Haze-- and I can't really tell the difference.  Aloft has slightly less silk than Shibui, and that's why I can afford it.  It's still a soft, fuzzy, warm yarn. 

Anyway, she had seen a photo on Facebook of one someone had knit, and the colors are slightly different from the ones in the pattern PDF.  I tried to pick colors as close to those as I could, and this is what I came up with.

The colorways are Daisy, Silver, Cranberry, and Oat.  First thing I had to do was to divide each ball into three smaller balls.  At this point, I was thinking that I should have just bought three balls of each yarn, and made three cowls, but it was too late for that.

The way you knit it is to hold three strands together, then every few inches, switch out one strand for a strand of another color.  Yes, it is the dreaded seed stitch, but it's lace weight on size 9 needles, so it's going pretty quickly.

Since I was ordering yarn for a good cause, I went ahead and ordered some size 9 circulars to knit charity hats in Red Heart. 

It's one of the thicker worsteds, and even size 8 needles make a pretty thick fabric.  I also got a size 10.5 circular, to do the Jayne hats with two strands of yarn held together.  The original hat -- the one in the TV show-- seemed to be either bulky yarn or two strands held together.  I'm gong to try making mine that way, so they'll be a little more authentic.

Though I've taken a break from my WIP list, I'm still plugging away at my socks

and still doing charity hats out of stashed Red Heart. 

But for right now, this cowl is my primary focus.

Stormy Weather

Well, as you may have guessed, I didn't make it to bed last night.  I was finishing up a few things and getting ready to go when my Weatherbug alert chirped at me.  I opened it up and saw that a tornado warning had been issued for my county. I turned the TV back on to see what was going on.

I don't think I've ever seen a radar quite that color before.

My first thought was, "Oooh, pretty" until it sank in just what those colors meant.  My next thought was, "Ohhh, scary."  

I thought briefly about just riding it out, but eventually discretion got the better of me, and I went next door.  Since the severe weather/wind shear warning was going to last until 3:00 AM, James said, "You might as well stay the night,"  So I did.

I don't know about you, but I don't sleep well when I'm not in my own bed.  It was well after midnight before I finally fell asleep, and even then, I slept lightly and restlessly.  Cue the walking zombie.

Anyway, we made it through OK, though it is being reported that there was a tornado touched down in the area and at least one home was badly damaged.  Mike said there was hail out by his house, but I don't know what damage he got.  We didn't get too much damage here, thank goodness.  I did find one single shingle in my yard, so that was a blessing.  That it was one shingle and not the entire roof.  It came off right at the eave of my house, and shouldn't be too hard to nail back into place.

The most tragic news of the day is The Empty Chair seems to have been downed by a falling limb...

Let's all take a moment of silence to remember what The Empty Chair meant to all of us.


As for me, two nights in a row of little sleep have just about done me in.  I think I'll go to bed early.

Goodnight.

A Lot To Catch Up On

I did watch the debate last night, and had my popcorn ready this time.

Much like Paul Ryan did last week, Romney had to debate both Obama and moderator Candy Crowley.   It was a townhall format, in which a room of carefully selected allegedly undecided voters would be allowed to ask the candidates questions.

Someone posted on FB that there would be more plants in that room than in Michelle Obama's organic garden.  He was right.

Candy Crowley picked which questions would be asked, and they were chosen specifically to make Obama look good, and to trip up Romney.  It didn't work.

Romney held his own, offering facts, figures, and a specific plan to get the economy back on track.  Obama promised more of the same old same old.  Even with the help of the moderator, he was no match for Romney, who kicked his tail again.  The MSM still declared Obama the winner, even as he lay bruised and bleeding on the mat. 

I won't recount the entire debate for you.  If you want to watch it, I'm sure it's up on YouTube, or you can read the transcript.  There are a couple of points I want to talk about, though.

They were asked about the terrorist attacks on our embassies in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere.  Obama said that Romney used these attacks to score political points, which he found despicable.  Now, speaking as an ordinary citizen, and I see my country come under attack and my fellow Americans murdered, and their bodies dragged through the streets, I want a strong, capable leader.  I want a president who will stand up and say, "We will not tolerate these attacks."  I want someone who will say, "I will protect my country and her interests.  I will protect you."  I want someone who will say, "Not on my watch." 

What I don't want is a president who says, "Eff you, I'm going to Vegas." 

The second thing Obama said was, sure gas prices were below $2 when he took office because the economy was on the brink of collapse.  Thanks to his policies, gas prices are now $4, because the economy is much stronger.

WHAT??????

Anyway, he went on to ask if we really wanted to return to those policies that gave us $2 gas.  The short answer to that question is, well yeah! 

But seriously, does he really think high prices are the sign of a strong economy?  That would explain a lot, then.

I have a lot more to catch up on, but it's late, and I'm tired, and I have a headache and there's a storm blowing in, so I think I'll save the rest for tomorrow.  But before I go, I finished the charity hat I'd had to start over.

I knit it in a much smaller size this time, and good thing, too. This is all the yarn I had left when I finished.

Oh Now Nifty

Russell's FIFTY!!

Happy Birthday to my big brother!!  (Freudian slip?  I had to type brother three times to get it right.  It kept coming out "bother".  Happy Birthday to my big bother.  Yeah...)

 

This is the only baby picture I have of him. He is three, and I am one. Believe it or not, I remember having this picture made. I kept wanting to sit down on that lovely, squishy carpet, and the photographer had to tell me to stand up by Bubba.  I think he told me to hold bubba's foot, but that part's a bit hazy.  But as you can see, Russell has his leg crossed over the other, and my hand is back there where his foot might be, so it's entirely possible. 

I can't tease him too much about turning the big Five -O, because in two years, it'll be my turn.  

One of my goals for this year was to do better at sending birthday cards.  Yeah, that didn't work out so well.  I did OK for the first few months, but completely blew by my brother in law Nathan's birthday.  His is going to be really, really "promptness challenged."  Russell's is going to be late, too.  That's the problem with his birthday being two days after Cody's.  He kind of gets lost in the shuffle.

Thank goodness my Sister in Law Yoke Wan posted something about it a couple of days ago, or I might have completely forgot.

Sigh, but it's a start.

I'm getting ready to watch the second presidential debate.  This one is going to be a town hall type debate, with yet another ultra lib moderating.  I expect it to go something like this:

I've Got To Stop

 watching Dr. Oz. 

Well, I pretty much have stopped watching Dr. Oz, but I used to watch every day.  He's all about the dietary supplements.  As in, "If you don't start taking mega doses of this supplement, you'll drop dead before the day is over!!!"  kind of thing. 

Before I knew it, I was taking about 45 different supplements every day.


OK, maybe not 45, but it was a lot. 

I've stopped taking most of them, except my iron pills and my lactose intolerance supplement.  I'm still alive. 

I'd been taking a women's supplement, too.  When I run out, I'm not going to buy any more.  Sure, I don't have the hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings any more, but I also don't have the energy, motivation, or --for lack of a better term-- brain any more either.  My creativity is gone, and I can't seem to think.  It's like I'm brain dead.

OK, not so much brain dead, as I still have enough sense not to vote for Obama. 

Oh, and you really, really need to watch this, and ask yourself, what kind of America do I want to leave for my children?

Happy BIrthday, Cody!

Nineteen years! My how you've grown.

I Did It

I broke down and went and bought a new microwave.

It's a 1100 watt model with grilling element in it, which I haven't tried yet.  There was another one that was like $80 that I started to get, but I really wanted this one.  This one was a little bit more -- $99 -- but still not too high. 

I figured if I didn't get the one I really wanted, I wouldn't be satisfied with the one I bought.  So, I went ahead and got this one.

So far, I've reheated some stroganoff and popped a bag of popcorn.  It does popcorn well, so I should be all set for the next debate.

Speaking of, if you missed the vice presidential debate, you didn't miss much.  I knew it wouldn't be as easy for Ryan as the first debate was for Romney, but this was terrible.  The moderator was an old buddy of Obama's-- but no, there's no bias there.  I mean, just because he went to her wedding and all...

Anyway, she completely lost control of Biden, who was acting just short of psycho freak and even tried to debate Ryan a couple of times herself.  Um, you're supposed to moderate, nor participate.  Still, Ryan held his own against the two of them despite being interrupted over a hundred times -- 82 times by Biden and 34 by the moderator.  Yes, there were people who sat around and counted.  Someone even suggested a drinking game:  take a drink every time Ryan gets interrupted. 

I would have played, but I can't swim.  

Two days later, after the dust has settled and everything has calmed down some, my lasting impression of the whole affair is that Ryan was trying to have a serious discussion about the problems this country faces, while Biden-- like a bored child in a wedding party-- made faces at the camera. 

If you didn't watch it, I'm sure it's over on YouTube, but there's no need to go look it up.  Here is the entire debate nicely summed up in just over a minute:



Seems Clint Eastwood is a sort of prophet after all when he said, "Biden, he's just a smile with a body attached."

Zing!!

The Loot

Now that Cody's birthday presents have been safely delivered to him, I can show you what they were.

As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to get it for him.  I call it vengeance for 30 hours of labor.

It's one of those maze things where you have to roll a metal ball along a track, only this track is inside a big ball, and you have to keep turning it just right, or the metal ball will fall, and you have to start over.

Boy, that sentence ran on like all those hours of labor did...

For the rest of his present, I put together a little college survival kit.  Microwave mac n cheese, and some Halloween candy.

And some funky pens, because what every college student needs is funky pens.

Oh, and the cookies.  We mustn't forget the cookies.

When I found out Beverly and James were heading that way, and I wouldn't have to mail this box, I went and got some more stuff.  A box of popcorn, microwave soup, and those microwave meals that you don't have to freeze, and some instant apple cider.

I was going to buy him a mug for his cider, but Wal-mart doesn't carry just plain old coffee mugs any more.  So I decided just to get him one out of the cabinet.  While I was looking, I found an old Mississippi College mug that he'd brought back from a church trip down there years and years ago.  I'd forgotten I even had it.

That was the one I started to send him, but then I remembered it isn't microwaveable.

Ask me how I know...

Not a good idea.  I sent him one that he'd gotten when my brother took him to Galveston, so he ought to like that.

Finally, for good measure, I threw in the inaugural Jayne hat. 

And some money.  That was it for this year.

You know it's going to be a rough day at work when the first thing you see when you get there is your group leader running down the aisle screaming.  I wish I could say that that was not a precursor to how the day went, but I can't. 

It was pretty rough.  So I'm going to bed now. 

Goodnight.

And...

the strange dreams continue...

I guess my mind is trying to make up for lost time.

Last night, it was a black man prank texting me by sending me naked pictures of himself.  I didn't know who it was-- just a phone troll.  Anyway, I couldn't figure out how to get the pictures of him off my phone, and when I didn't respond to the texts, he started calling me.  I'd send the calls straight to voice mail, and try to block his number, but before I could complete the process, he'd call again.

I finally got him to stop by texting him back and saying, "Well, you've shown me one thing for sure:  the myth about black men is definitely not true." 

I sure hope my mind lets me sleep tonight.  I'm worn out.  But somehow, I have the strange feeling these creatures will show up. 

Sigh, I can't win for losing...

Tuckered

I had a rough night last night.

I spent half the night with a T. Rex trying to eat my head.  Then I woke up having to pee like a Russian Racehorse, only I was too scared to get out of bed.

I lay there in bed thinking, "This is one of the few times I actually wish I was married."  Kinda tough laying there with no one to protect you.

But the needs of the bladder eventually outweighed any fear, so I had to go.

By the way, I had a friend in college who used to say that all the time.  Pee like a Russian Racehorse.  I kind of adopted the phrase, though I have yet to make sense of it.

Do horses in Russia pee more vigorously than horses everywhere else?

Don't answer that.  I don't really want to know.

Then I went back to sleep and dreamed my credit cards got stolen because I was grocery shopping and forgot to push my buggy along with me until I was two aisles over.  By the time I realized I didn't have it and went back to find it, my purse was gone.  No worries, I just whipped out my handy dandy cell phone, called customer service and reported my cards as stolen.

Why I had the customer service numbers in my cell phone is beyond me, but I got to thinking, it might be a good idea to actually put them into my phone.  You know, just in case.

Yeah, I had a rough night, which usually means a rough day follows it.  But I did manage to drag myself to the store after work and get Cody some more stuff to send down with Beverly and James.  Stuff college kids need.  Microwave soup, dinners, and popcorn.  That kind of stuff.

I got myself a fresh box of microwave popcorn, too.  Then I got home and remembered I don't have a microwave.  Sigh...

I think I'll just lay in the floor and whimper for a while...

Starting Over

I was plugging away at my second charity hat that I was making out of the Red Heart Stars and Stripes yarn, when about an inch from the decreases, I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish.  So I ripped it all out and started over. 

Ah, well, at least I have the fun of knitting it all over again.

I'd post a picture, but it looks the exact same as it did Saturday when I'd just got through with the ribbing.

It actually got cold enough over the weekend to turn the heater on.  Normally, I'd wait until it got down into the 30s to turn it on the first time, but this year, I decided mid 40s was cold enough. All this cold weather makes me want to put on Christmas music and bake.  I even dreamed about making pumpkin pie. 

And since I'm in the mood, for your Music Monday, you get a Christmas song. 

What?  Christmas already?  It seems it comes earlier and earlier each year.  

Yeah, it may seem like that, but really it doesn't.  I can remember in years past when Wal-mart started putting out Christmas stuff in August.  Now it's the beginning of October before they get it out. 

Well, that's still too early.  They shouldn't put any Christmas stuff out until after Thanksgiving.

I know some people think that way, and to them I say, get over it!  Nobody is forcing you to go into the Christmas department if you don't want to.  Nobody is forcing you to skip Thanksgiving.  And you know what?  Not everyone likes to wait until the last minute to start preparing.  And you know what else?  Maybe if you didn't wait until the last minute to start preparing, you wouldn't be quite so cranky about Christmas. 

Speaking of preparing, you remember that yarn I bought to make the floofy scarves?  Yeah, I don't think that is going to happen this year.  That stuff is more annoying to knit with than I'd anticipated. 

I'll get 'em done eventually, and just hang on to them until they come back into style.  *Snicker snort*

And now, before I totally lose my Christmas spirit, your song, reminding us what Christmas is really all about.

Fall Is Here!

Finally, it's starting to feel like Fall.  It was a chilly, rainy Saturday with the high of only 61'.  It was a beautiful day for sitting inside, drinking hot chocolate, and knitting. 

And that's exactly what I did.  Oh, and I also watched football, but I don't want to talk about that.  At least Texas put up a fight.  LSU just looked like a train wreck out there.  The one bright spot is Navy beat Air Force.  Go Navy!! 

Um, back to knitting...

I finished one charity hat:

and started another:

out of the same yarn.  This is some Red Heart Stars and Stripes that I've had hanging around the house for I don't know how long, so I thought I'd put it to good use.

Now, I know some people will say, "Ewww, why are you making hats for charity out of RED HEART???"  The way I see it, poor people have more to worry about than being all snobbish about the yarn you give to them.  And these are working up in to nice, thick, squishy hats that I'm sure someone will appreciate.  Besides, I like Red Heart.  It's got lots of colors, is durable and affordable.  And it softens up considerably after washing. 

I've got plenty more (of different colors) marinating in my stash that I should get lots more hats made out of.  My plan this year is to find a local charity that will take them.  My church has a food pantry for needy folks.  I'm thinking of taking them up there and have them passed out to people who come in to get food.

Speaking of food, Cody's 19th birthday is next Sunday, so I baked him some gumdrop cookies.

I made him some chocolate chip, too, but I didn't take a picture.  I'm sure you know what chocolate chip cookies look like by now.  And there were enough leftovers that I can take some to work Monday.

I think I've figured out my chocolate chip egg substitutions.  The ones I made today, I used just the EnerG egg replacer, and they turned out just a bit puffy, and didn't spread quite as much as I like them to.  When I use only flax seed, they spread too much and it does affect the taste.  I think if I use half of each, that might just make the perfect cookie.  Well, the best I can do that won't kill me.  

I got him some presents, too, and made up a box.  Now, he normally doesn't read my blog, but I'm going to hold off showing you the presents, on the off chance he might just happen to see this one, single post out of the 1400+ I've written since starting almost 7 years ago. 

The good news is, Beverly and James are going to Texas, and will drop it off on their way, so I don't have to go to the dreaded post office. 

Finally, I lost my microwave Thursday evening.  I don't remember if I told you that or not.  I was a little aggravated, since I've only had it two years.  But instead of rushing out to buy a new one, I dug out my old coffee maker that I've had for 20 some odd years.  It still works. 

Twenty some odd years ago, I didn't drink coffee, but the soon to be ex did.  Back before we were even married, I decided one day I'd surprise him.  I went down to the Navy Exchange and bought a little coffee maker and some coffee, and had him a fresh, hot cup of coffee ready when he got off duty that day.  (We were still in the barracks, then.  Actually, we never lived together, but that's another story for another time.) 

He came to visit me, and I proudly handed him the cup of coffee I'd made for him.  He took one drink and said, "Don't ever do that again." 

And I never did.

Out Of The Mouths of Babes

Back when Cody was little, I worked the evening shift.  Not that that's important.  I just thought I'd throw it out there.

Anyway, money was kind of tight back then, so when I'd make my weekly resupply run to Wal-mart, about half way through the trip, I'd start putting things back.

"We don't really need this."  And back onto the shelf it would go.

"We've got enough of this to last a little longer." And back onto the shelf it would go.

"This is too expensive."  And back onto...well, you get the idea.

Along about the time Cody was three, in their toy department, Wal-mart got this box of bugs.  That's what they called it,  A Box Of Bugs.  It had about 20 or 30 plastic bugs of all different types. 

Very realistic looking bugs, too. 

Oddly enough, not long after he got it, the two spiders mysteriously disappeared.  I don't know what happened to those things.  I don't.  Really, I don't.

I'm pleading the 5th. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to my story...

Cody wanted that box of bugs, but I just didn't think I could swing it.  Like I said, money was real tight.  He was good about it, though.  Never whined or pitched a fit.  But I knew he wanted that box of bugs.

Spring came along, and with it, the overtime started up again.  My very first overtime check that year, I decided I was going to buy that boy that box of bugs.  I knew how badly he wanted it, and I had a little money to spare.  Not much, but enough.  So we went and got that box of bugs. 

Cody was thrilled.  He was sitting in the little front seat of the buggy, because he was still small enough to sit in the little front seat of the buggy back then, so excited that he finally was getting that box of bugs.  About half way through our shopping trip, Cody suddenly said, "We have to put this back."

"Why?"  I asked.  "I thought you wanted that box of bugs."

"I do want it," Cody said, "But we have to put it back." 

"Why do we have to put it back?"  I asked.

And my little man shook his head sadly and answered,


"It's too expensive." 



You know, the federal government could learn a few lessons from that boy of mine.

A First For Me

I'm working on about 4 hours sleep right now, so I'm not too sure how coherent I can be right now. 

See, I watched the Debate last night, and got so keyed up that I couldn't get to sleep, not even with a sleep aid.  I'd never seen an entire debate before, and I'll admit, I wasn't too sure I wanted to watch this one.  Why, oh why do they let ultra liberals moderate the debates?  But I tuned in, just to get a feel for what it was going to be like, and once it started, I couldn't turn it off. 

Was it that good?  Let's just say that Himself got himself handed to himself.  It was a complete and total smackdown of the failed policies -- and the failed presidency-- of the last four years.  Romney took control from the start and was absolutely masterful.  Obama, on the other hand, stumbled and stuttered, and floundered, and "uh, uh, uh"ed his way through the 90 minutes much the same way he has stumbled and stuttered and floundered and "uh, uh, uh" ed his way through his term.

Romney looked strong, confident, in control, and Presidential.  He knew his stuff, and offered specific solutions to this nation's problems.  He confidently and competently refuted every point Obama tried to throw at him. 

Or as James Carville said, "Obama just had a debate with a chainsaw."

Best line of the night:  You're entitled to your own airplane, and your own house, but you're not entitled to your own FACTS. --Mitt Romney

Next week Joe Biden debates Paul Ryan.  I'm looking forward to it.

And back in real life, I got a good look at Jesse's leg.  James came over and looked at him, too.  He agreed that he didn't think anything was broken.  Just stiff and sore, and a good case of road rash.  He seems to be doing a bit better today, and is even trying to put his weight on it some.  

The bad news is Murphy's Day continues.  My fairly new microwave died.  I'm not happy, since it's just a couple of years old.  

Finally, your parting shot for today:

 
Hmmm, I wonder if the Zombie Apocalypse is covered under foreign policy...

Naw,

No way this could go wrong. 

Today has been a Murphy's day...as in, everything that could go wrong did.  I had a rough night last night, followed by a rough day at work.

As if that weren't enough, Jesse went and got himself hit.  Thank goodness he is OK, except for a pretty good case of road rash on his back leg.  He is putting his weight on it, so that's a good sign.  If he's not better in a couple of days, I'll take him in to the vet.

Funny, as long as he'd lived on the street, he was the one I didn't worry about getting hit.  I figured he'd know those big noisy things make ouchies. 

I guess he forgot.

Dear CoWorker

I'm very sorry you seem to be so inconvenienced by my desire not to end up with broken legs.  I'm very sorry that my health and safety at work are causing you so much trouble.

Wait, no I'm not.

Get over it.

Seriously.

Thank you.

That is all.

Monday, But No Music

Because I've actually got things to talk about today, so I don't have to cop out with a Music Monday.

It was a busy weekend of football watching here in the Fine Martial household.  I started off watching Texas A&M defeat Arkansas and get their very first SEC victory.  I didn't really have a dog in that fight, but it was on.

Next game was LSU vs. Towson.  Boy, I sure had hoped Zach Mettenberger would be an improvement at quarterback, but by the time that game was over, I found myself longing for the good ol' days of Jordan Jefferson.  Yes, it really was that bad.

The final game of the night was Texas vs. Oklahoma State.  Now, that was a good game.  It went right down to the wire, and Texas pulled it out on a last second touchdown.  I guess I'm going to have to revive an old tradition and start posting Gratuitous David Ash photos.  Won't be quite the same, but it is what it is.

Yesterday brought the first full day of Pro football with the regular officials back.  Everyone was glad to see them.  You had to feel sorry for Green Bay, though.  After that disastrously bad call last week that hastened the end of the lockout, they get stuck with none other than Jeff Triplette.

Despite that, they managed to knock off the Saints, dropping them to 0-4.

And what did I do while watching all this football? I knit a hat. 

Then I decided I ought to knit some child and youth sized hats, so I knit a smaller one.

I was strolling through the back yard, and picked some of the last remaining chilis and strung them up to dry.

I got a few cayennes, too, but I didn't take a picture of them.

A few weeks back, while I was waiting for the tech to fix my internet, I turned on the weather channel.  They had a show on about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.  I remembered my dad had a book about it with a really cool title, so I got onto Amazon.com to see if I could find it.  I did.

But while I was there, I got to poking around and found a couple of other books I'd loved as a kid.  One was The Fireside Book Of Children's Songs.

At first, I wasn't sure it was the right book, but as soon as I opened it, I knew it was.  From the guitar guy on the first page,

to the Ghost Of John on the last,

I knew it was the beloved book I'd spent hours as a child reading.

And finally, a book I didn't think existed any more.  

At this point, I realized I had to get off the used book sites.  They are as dangerous to my bank account as yarn sites.