Knitter's night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.

When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.

Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Knitpicks and Clover!
Move Noro! Move Artyarns! Move Classy!
Move over!

Loopy, don't circle round, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peeked thru the glass. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.

As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosey red face.

The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a label:

"S.C." in duplicate stitch on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! Look at that! He was finished by two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family - Knitters or not.
I love you all.

Life at my house

This is what life at my house looks like.


The boy and his dog. And the cat. The other cat hid behind the chair when I grabbed the camera. What's up with that?

Abby has been obsessed with this stuffed lamb ornament from the tree. I hang it - she swipes it. Good fun for all. Even more entertaining when I put it up high on the tree.

This is just a pretty road close to my house.

Send a card

He's back

And he brought friends. My evil stalker deer came to see me in the daylight because he has not yet succeeded in wrecking my car this year. He wants me to know that he knows where I live and he is out to get me. You can't see his friends. They are shy but there are three more prancing and taunting just up the hillside from Bambi Badass. Keep it up Badass. One more dent in my car and I'm turning the back porch into a deer stand. Happy Friday ya'll.

Veteran's Day

Happy Veterans day to all and many many thanks to our Armed Forces for all that they do to secure our freedom. As they say - If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read it in English, Thank a soldier. So, Thanks Mo, I love you.

Pretty overload

I am in love with fall. We live far just enough north that we get to enjoy things like leaves changing colors and wonderful cool sunny weather like today. I am only staying inside long enough to upload these pictures and I am running out to take some more. If I stay inside I will obsess about how badly the Vols suck this year. Sigh. Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Rainy day in Georgia

There are few things better than a cold rainy day when I don't have to go anywhere at all. I am sitting in my house in my comfy flannel pants and slippers. I don't have to put on make-up or shoes or fix my hair. I am a happy girl.
My very least favorite co-worker had her last day at work yesterday so I don't ever have to stay late to write her up again. Hopefully her absence will ease some of the tensions in my workplace. Again - Happy girl.
I've been busy with holiday gift knitting and have run into a bit of a snag. It's not a good one either. I am going to run short of yarn for not just one but two projects. So I am searching the innerwebs for these items. I am confident that I will be able to find them but will likely have to spend more than I want. Also my sweet Mo has asked for socks made from a specific yarn that was once plentiful and cheap and easy to find. Not so much anymore. So that makes three yarns I am on a quest for. And I have to spend some time with my friends the Wireless company today to straighten out a billing issue. Still - a mostly happy girl.
My buddy Laurie loves her some Dallas Raines so I just had to show you his East Coast counterpart. Not everyone can pull off the fake-bake/spray-on tan and bad toupe` but my boy Matt Towery can. I couldn't find just a photo so check out this link. Matt Towery
And when you finish giggling think some dry warm thoughts for my friends Lisa B, Lisa H, Lisa M,and Patty who are walking in the Breast Cancer Three-day this weekend. Hiking 60 miles in three days is an accomplishment but doing it in the rain and cold is heroism. Way to go ladies!

busy busy busy

It has been a super busy week here at Chez Feline. I have worked like a maniac, completed all my school work until Tuesday, and accomplished a great deal of knitting. None of which I have taken photos of. But my wee girlies now have winter hats and I am making progress on my holiday knitting. I have several quick projects in mind for gifts this year. The economy is such that knitting from my stash is the most budget friendly thing I can think of to do right now. Thank goodness for a large and diverse stash. The only photos I have taken this week were of a deer in the back yard. Unfortunately what with using the zoom to keep from spooking Mr Bad Attitude the pics are too grainy to bother posting. This deer ( I'm assuming it's a he given his behavior) looked up to see me on the deck. Walked closer to see me more clearly, then stamped his hooves and snorted at me. Then he nibbled on the fig tree before stomping off to the creek. I hate deer.
All this is to say that posting may become even more sporadic than usual and that nothing is the matter - just less time and more stuff to do. Take care and I'll see you when I see you.

That's all

Am I the only one who hates to turn on the TV anymore? Between the political ads, the news coverage of the gas shortage in Georgia, and the talking heads spouting off about the economy, I am pretty sick of TV altogether. My iPod and I are logging some serious time together these days. I am happy to see new episodes of my favorite shows and with DVR I can skip those ugly commercials and just drool over David Boreanez in uninterrupted fashion. Life is good.
The political scene is ugly however. I have purposefully chosen not to be specific about my political opinions or beliefs in this forum. If you know me - you know what they are. My stance here is knit and let knit. Just because you like to knit cables and I don't doesn't make me a bad person or you a good one. We're just different and it takes all of us to make this spinning wheel spin.
With the election looming, I will say this. I truly wish a candidate would emerge that would cause all of us to smack ourselves in the forehead and say " Oh, Of course! THAT's who we need as president." Since it appears that That ain't gonna happen - I'll just say that I am afraid. Very afraid of the direction in which this country is going. And in the words of my hero, Forrest Gump. "That's all I have to say about that."

Home again

What a great week in the sunshine but I am soooo glad to be home. I have so much that I want to blog about and no idea where to begin. I am studiously avoiding watching any more of the Tennessee/Florida game since it is quite depressing here at half-time. So, I have elected to write instead. I guess since this is supposedly a knitting blog I'll start with the fact that Knit Wits was open in Key West for the first time ever in all my years of visiting there. Have I mentioned that they close in honor of hurricane season and that is when I usually go there? Anyway - they were open and I was happy and celebrated with a lovely ball of Colinette jitterbug in gorgeous fall colors. Turns out this was my biggest purchase all week. Not a lot of knitting was accomplished this week though I did make some headway on the baby surprise jacket. Look at how lovely the only yarn shop in the keys is.


I finished reading Rhett Butler's people and was pleasantly surprised by it. The other book on my vacation reading list " Where the river ends" by Charles Martin is about 2/3 finished and I am having trouble putting it down. It has made me laugh and cry so it passes the test of " good book "
Other than reading and a precious little knitting - I did virtually nothing all week but enjoy the gorgeous weather and try to capture a little of the beauty that is the Caribbean to share with all of you. It is without a doubt my favourite place on the planet and has only 2 faults that I'm aware of. A dearth of yarn stores and the dreaded hurricane season.


I hope you have all had a wonderful week. One more day to catch up all the laundry and housework then... Back to work. Sigh.

Leaving

Only one more day of work and then I am leaving for one of my favourite places on the planet. Key West! Until then I am cleaning and packing and moving furniture in the basement to make way for the movers to collect the kids' stuff as soon as I come back. Whew. And since I have to take knitting projects with me I have to decide - the Baby surprise jacket or the toe up socks with a difference or both since I might get bored ( Never happen) And I have to round up books - I think I'm going with "Rhett Butler's people" and the new Charles Martin. yes Bit you can read them when I'm done. All this for 5 days of sunshine you ask? Why yes - There are airports and sitting and waiting involved here and I have ADHD if I'm not occupied. I just finished Twilight and am a little disappointed after all the hype about it being the next Harry Potter. Let me state for the record - Harry kicks Edward's butt. It took 400 pages for Twilight to gain any momentum and then it petered right out again. I won't be shelling out for the sequels. If I want vampires I'll watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns. OOh - just remembered - have to find & charge the iPod, ooh, and the camera. Gotta go. Bye.

Sweet relief

Well, my first baby is a married man now. I guess that this is the culmination of all the years spent raising him. He is all grown up. A man capable of loving and being loved. Determined to make his own family and take care of it. But I've got to tell you - It is a relief that the wedding is over with. It was short and sweet and exactly what they wanted with almost everyone they wanted in attendance. Particularly cool was the flyby of a Huey helicopter. Not planned but a nice addition to an Air Force wedding. Here are some pics to tide folks over until the official ones are ready.

Because

Because I just know you want to see him as much as I do. Here are a few pics of Mo when we went to visit this week.



Eight months is a long time to not hug your baby. Can't wait til he's home next week.
The Francie socks went to Texas with us but never made it out of the bag. The marathon 16 hour drive home in the dark ( mostly) was just not conducive to knitting with tiny needles and following a pattern. Go figure. All that is left is 1 toe and they will be ready to be washed and put away for holiday giftiness. Here is how they came out. I'm pretty pleased.

The trek home in Mo's car made us realize that his vehicle was unlikely to survive the drive to N.Dakota where he will be living much less three years of snow and salt and whatever else is in East BF so we have been truck shopping again. Yeah boy that was a run-on sentence. Ask me if I care. I am tired. Tired of riding in cars, tired of looking at cars, tired of thinking about cars. I am going to go study the inside of my eyelids until I am not tired anymore.

Snake patrol

Remember when I said a week or two ago that we hadn't seen any copperheads this year? Well, it seems they just waited an extra week so that I would get all complacent. I let Beau out for his evening constitutional -( and I promise he is every bit as capable of constituting as any politician) and he was reluctant to descend the stairs to the back garden. I looked and spotted THIS attempting to make it's escape. Boogie and his trusty shovel took care of the evil beast while I stood on the steps giving instructions.

A further search of the yard found a companion who also met a quick demise.

Both of these critters were full grown and over three feet long and just as nasty as they look. So I guess we will be on snake patrol every night until the weather gets cooler. Damn. Like I need something else to do. Sorry, Brittany. You're not going to convince me that these things are good for anything so don't waste your breath. Your happy little tadpole eating snakes are fine. The only good copperhead is a dead one.

Domesticity

Life at Chez Feline is rarely boring but this week has been a bit stingy with blog fodder. Larry is back in school. The summer has just flown by. It's just too hot to have to sit in school. How is it that folks my age attended school from Labor day til Memorial day and are better educated than our kids who attend from August til June?

Here is a pic of the wedding venue. Only three more weeks til the big day.

In a fit of domesticity I cooked a country dinner this week.

It's a dog's life. Geez.

Warning

Knitting content. On a knit blog of all things. Also a spoiler alert. The recipient of one of these pairs of socks is at yet unknown so you might be getting a glimpse of your Christmas or birthday present. Read on at your own discretion. These are the completed comfort socks that Larry will be wearing as Best Man at Mo's wedding.

And here is Larry doing what he does best - Fishing. And for those environmentalists out there - we do not practice catch & release. We catch & eat!

And these are the Francie socks that I have been looking forward to. The pattern is very engaging and although I dread picking up the gussett stitches I am enjoying this pattern very much. Whoever winds up with them will be pleased I think. This pic is a better representation of the color than the pattern but you get the idea.

Who am I

I found this video while wasting time on youtube and since I love Casting Crowns I decided to share it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did

Spiders & Snakes

It is officially snake season at Chez Feline with the first sighting a couple of days ago and then again earlier today. Thankfully we have not ( so far) seen any copperheads and our only visitor is a curious black racer who seems intent on checking out the pool facilities. You'd have thought that I had cried WITCH in old Salem, Mass the way Larry & AH came running with pitchforks and shovels. I don't ask for ID when I spot a snake, you see. If it has no legs and a forky tongue, I become a stereotypical female and call my big strong men to come take care of it. The summer snake hunts of past years are becoming somewhat legendary and two of our closest neighbors have visited recently to see if we had had any sightings of copperheads as we have had to kill several of them ( snakes not neighbors)in the last eight years.
I've got nada on spiders but the wedding socks are black and they are almost done. My next sock project is waiting in the wings with yarn and pattern at the ready. The pattern is "Francie" and I am really looking forward to it. It is very tree of lifey and I'm hoping that the soft green Shibui yarn will do it justice. Speaking of yarn - I am going to get out my ball-winder and wind up my yarn as a little added encouragement to finish up my current projects and move on.

Update

I've been a busy girl the last few weeks getting some wedding things accomplished and also participating in a Harry Potter mini sock swap. Check out the cool stuff my swap partner sent me. I especially love the card and am now on a quest to obtain some for myself. It has a tiny knitted swatch on the front! If anyone knows where to buy Itty Bitty Witty Knitties let me know. Kim? Sherry? Little help?

The wedding socks are about 60% done and with a few days off coming up I should be able to make good progress on them. That is, if I ignore the fact that my house is in dire need of a good cleaning. Larry's socks are mostly done - just some ribbing left. My other project will be resumed and completed as soon as all the boys have socks. Then I can take a deep breath and start the holiday knitting. Yikes. The CNM's at work have started clamoring for socks. So far I've staved them off with the - if I knit them for you I have to knit them for everyone argument. I think they grasp that it just ain't gonna happen.

Kitten sitting

It didn't take Miss Lucy long to find the best sleeping spot in the house. Thankfully she & destructo Desi haven't felt the urge to unravel all this goodness. Tis but a fraction of the stash that is strategically placed in various locales all over the house. I've found that lots of small baskets of yarn APPEAR to be less than an avalance when you open a closet door. If you visit me - open closets with care. Just saying.

Lucy does not care for the dog. At all. He's not nuts about her either to be fair. Gratuitous shot of Desi in one of his more innocent moments.

Speaking of fair, My friend Sheryl lost her husband this week and that is beyond not fair. She's a really awesome person who's overcome some tough stuff in her life and this really bites. So Sheryl - lots of love and warm thoughts to you. I don't know what else to say.

New stuff

My Larry boy has conquered another rite of passage on the way to adulthood. He got his driver's license last week. So of course last weekend was devoted to finding the perfect vehicle to cement his image as a teenage redneck superstar. Behold
THE TRUCK

The finding of this truck ,typically, took us around our asses to get to our elbow. In other words - we drove all over Atlanta only to buy a truck less than a mile from our house. The great truck search also took me to within 1 block of Knitch yet I came home emptyhanded. Didn't even get to browse and fondle. I'm not moving past this anytime soon either. AH knows this. He is afraid.
Also new are the cool growy things in the backyard. These are prenatal figs. They will be way yummy in about 2 weeks if we can win the battle with the deer. Bambi & co swiped most of our crop last year and even ate part of the tree. The are currently being thwarted by pie tins and string which rattle threateningly in the breeze. Hey, we are nothing if not high tech around here.

And this is but one of the bumper crop of pears that we are awaiting. Curious thing. One pear tree ( the scrawny ugly one) is absolutely groaning under the weight of all the fruit. The other ( tall nicely shaped) has about 6 pears on it. I'm sure there is something deep and meaningful related to this. The ugly tree being a hardworker and productive to make up for it's appearance. The other tree pretty but a slacker.

Sort of a commentary on life. Huh. Oh by the way Aub? Me & you have to make some pear preserves. Just saying.

Tuesday

Tuesday Meme
I am going to do a meme that has been floating around the blogosphere. It looked like fun, so here we go.

The Instructions:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

What is your first name? Kel
What is your favorite food? shrimp
What high school did you go to? Forest Park
What is your favorite color? Green
Who is your celebrity crush? Matthew McConaughey
Favorite drink? Diet Mt Dew
Dream vacation? Beautiful beach anywhere
Favorite dessert? Key lime pie
What do you want to be when you grow up? Rich & famous- or just rich
What do you love most in life? Family (and books, and cats and knitting)
One word to describe you? Colorful
Your flickr name? calicoknits
The results:


1. Kel, Asleep, 2. Filipino Noodles (Pancit Sotanghon), 3. NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Jungle World - Black panther, 4. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 5. Matthew McConaughey, 6. Diet Mountain Dew Caffeine Free, 7. Mallorca 2007 -- Waiting for summer (Part 2), 8. Vegan Key Lime Tartletes, 9. Portofino a favorite of wealthy yachters, 10. Ennis, Esquire, 11. Rain, rain, go away, I want to do some Sunrise photos, 12. calicoknits

Secret

location of the bat cave - revealed. You'd think Batman would do a better job. This is most disappointing.

Here is the lovely yarn shop Yarntiques that I visited in Johnson City. I will be back and they will be selling online sometime in the future. For now you can look and drool.


And here is a pic Larry took on the way home of Lake Hartwell - one of AH's favorite places. He camped and fished there many times as a youngster and has fond memories of his time at the lake. Next time he should go with us. Mostly because I can't knit while Larry drives.

Watch out all Georgia drivers. Larry will be taking his test for a "real" driver's license next week. Heaven help us all.

I'm back

It has been a busy few weeks at Chez Feline with the end of school and work drama and what have you. I am writing this from my parent's house in Johnson City, Tennessee where Larry and I are having a bit of vacay and checking on DOD who had a bit of surgery on Friday. I was very happy to learn that there is a LYS just moments away from their house THAT THEY DIDN"T EVEN KNOW ABOUT!. How can this be? They lived on the same street! Pictures and links to follow in the next post. Dad's puter doesn't talk to my camera. Many thanks to the lovely Marsha who sweetly directed me to the sale yarn upstairs and let me fondle the new Cherry Tree Hill Possum line. You read that correctly. CTH wants us to knit with possum. Hey this is Tennessee after all. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the texture ( similar to alpaca) and carried 2 hanks around for quite a while with thought of purchase before I was lured away by some Meilenweise in a rich brown colorway. I also stumbled on some very nice artyarns sock yarn that needed a ride home. AH was pleased that my yarn finds were bargains and was even happier that Yarntiques will be closed for the remainder of my visit. Sort of like he pretends to be supportive when we go to Key West and Knitwits is closed. I'll be all sad, pressing my nose on the windows and he says " Maybe they'll be open next year" We go to Key West the SAME week every year. Warlock - can you give the man some lessons?

More Cute

The wee kitties are back! Bigger and even more adorable than before.



I know - three posts in a week is unusual for me. Don't get used to it. I was supposed to be at work today but the census was low and I was flexed off. Good because I get to stay home and do stuff I want to do. Bad because no work = no dollars. Maybe I can convince the guys to catch a movie tonight. Wish me luck.

Hail, Fire, & Dangnation

My Karma has run over my dogma and I live in a world where nothing, let me repeat, nothing can be easy. I was getting ready to go to Elly Mae's graduation last night and I hear a thudding sound on the roof. I look out to see this. Hoardes of hail stones big and small pelting the house. As I watched the hail I saw something lying on the table on my back deck. It was my book that only an hour earlier I had been peacefully reading in the sunshine. Book is drying out but will never be the same

And here is my lovely daughter-in-law to be in her cap & gown. Sadly even after AH found the correct setting on the camera the pics of her receiving her diploma are not so great. They pretty much look like a white blur. But we were proud all the same. Yea Elly Mae!.

Graduation was quite entertaining with dueling salutatorians - One of whom was a goody-two-shoes, the other a getting-her-act-together single mom. Guess which one I liked best? They were followed by a valedictorian who apparently thought she was receiving an Academy Award because she thanked everyone on the planet, individually and ad nauseum. I picked up my knitting and turned a heel on the sock while she yammered. Storms had threatened all through-out the ceremony and we left to a spectacular lightning show that I directed ( Ask Larry about my talent) all the way home.
And dangnation comes in the form of my job, that I do not love right now, and the pool, which persists in being an unattractive shade of green. AH has complained that I do not exert myself enough in the maintaining of the pool so in an effort to rectify that ( Yes AH is right - don't tell him K?) I enlisted Larry's help in a clean up project. This has backfired on me most stunningly and I will now have to confess to screwing up and making MORE work for the sweet hubster. Yea me.

Graduations

This week is slap full of them. My Sunshine girl - Cayla finished up preschool and her graduation was Sunday night. She had a solo and Aunt Kel was very proud. Look out Kindergarten here she comes. And tonight two more of my favorite people graduate from high school. My DIL to be, Manuela, and my godson Kyle. Finally, on Saturday, Jim's niece Stephanie will also escape high school. Anyone else graduating this week will have to do so without me. The schedule is full. Oh and a shout out to Rob and Cody who will graduate later this month. That is all.
No pics this time and no more blog. Must go clean the green stuff out the pool.

Dobby says

Even dachshunds need some hand-knit love. This is Boey . He is the granddog because Mo & Elly ARE NOT HAVING KIDS ANYTIME SOON! Sorry - didn't mean to shout. Just saying is all. No kids. For a long time.

And Dobby is here because I love him and he loves socks just like me.

"Master has given Dobby a sock. Dobby is FREE!"
It's probably a good thing that I'm out of rum now. Happy Mother's day everybody.