Happy Holidays!

We're decking the halls here. Tree is up. Cookies are made. Holiday knitting is almost done.

I am even almost done with the girls' Christmas dresses. No, I am not staying up unitl 3 AM. I have had a few unexpected days at home because little-sis has pink eye.

As a working-mom side note, pink eye is not such a bad gig. You have to be home, no one questions the need to be here. They would prefer NOT see you until it is over. On the other hand she feels fine (it's a mild case), so there is not a lot of grouchy sick kid. Basically it has been a very relaxing few days of being mom. Dad takes over tomorrow so I can go in and catch up. That's the downside to teaching...coming up with sub plans is so much more work than just being there to teach! I have four preps this year, so it is not easy to come up with enough to fill an hour and a half class.

And a small bit of self promotion...have you seen the new Knitty?? Yup! I have a pattern in there! My kids have hit the "yeah, that's nice mom" stage that comes right before outright eye rolling, so I figured I'd tell folks who might care. This might just be the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me (well OK, close to it anyway) so I am trying to enjoy as much as possible.

I am doing some personal knitting right now also...I mentioned a week or so back a bag I was working on to be felted. Here's little sis in the before shot:


It's in the machine now, so we'll see how it turns out.

This is a test. I am just experimenting with posting a picture. Actual content to follow.

The picture is a bad sketch that was done as an experiment with the drawing tablet we have.

Chill dude

Thank goodness, it's finally getting chilly here. I even got to wear wool out of the house today.

Everyone I know will think that I've lost it. I generally hate the cold and prefer things on the 90 degrees and humid side of life.

But, we've just moved back "north" to VA. After a year and a half in Florida I have been really missing the seasons. We sort of had a fall down there. Three days before Christmas the leaves fell off the trees, and then by New Year's Day they were growing back again. Not much foliage to enjoy.

So the leaves have been great. I do not even mind the raking. In honor of all this chill I have tried to wear something hand knit to work everyday last week. I think I made it, but I did cheat a bit on Tues...the long wool scarf I was wearing kept getting snagged on the remote tablet thing I use to do class notes. Not effective teaching strategy. It did amuse though, let me tell you.

What a work week too...the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always hectic, but for kids with rough home situations it can be total chaos. And for the record, yes, I was the idiot teacher telling the kid to hand over the cell phone that kept ringing, only to find out it was a house arrest ankle bracelet going off. Embarrassing!

I do not want to send the wrong idea. I teach at a great school, with really wonderful kids. But any school, public or private, is ultimately a human endeavor, and we are not collectively speaking, perfect.

In knitting news, I finished the World's Worst Hat for my brother. Seriously. Ugly.

It started off fine, but somewhere towards the end I stopped counting right or something, because it puckers something awful. I am almost tempted to write up the pattern as a cautionary tale...the hat not to knit. It is disappointing too because I managed to do a two-needle tubular cast on in the round...no small feat let me tell you. I will eventually frog and try again, but I cannot face it yet.

So that's been pretty much the week. Choked myself on a scarf. Shocked by teenagers, and knitted a record-breakingly bad hat.

None of it perfect, but pretty good nonetheless.