It's Just So Hard to be Klunk*

Long stories short.  I was driving to Atlanta before dawn yesterday to take Klunk back to the vet.  His x-rays were better than last week.  He did stay in the oxygen tank for the duration of the visit, just to keep him from possibly stressing out.  (Thank goodness I took knitting with me.)  One of his medicine doses was increased, and I stayed with him and Nellie until time for Hannah to get home from work.

This whole situation is fraught with guilt and grief and impatience and sadness and helplessness.  There's not an easy choice or answer anywhere.

*I said this to Klunk when a tech brought him back to me as I was checking out, and Klunk kept meowing.  The woman behind the desk couldn't stop laughing.

Inventory

A quick look at the coffee table in front of me shows five knitting projects.  This is what happens when one has found lots of small bits of yarn and is trying to put them to good use.  I'm making gnomes, component parts for a chain link scarf, a mitered neckerchief, an odds and ends dishcloth and a shawl.  Lots of football to watch makes for ideal crafting time.

For Longtime Viewers

You may be wondering if I engaged in my Christmas Eve tradition of wearing my red boots.  I did, indeed --- for Briton (not pictured) and me to have our regular Christmas Eve meal at IHOP.

Since things went a little sideways with plans this year, though, I decided to forego the one-night-only habit, and also wore them to Hannah's on Christmas Day.

This picture sums me up extremely well, I'd say.

Change of Plans

Our Christmas plans were disrupted, as on Sunday this guy

wound up at a vet emergency room.  He was breathing weirdly, so Hannah rushed him out, to find out that he has a heart problem.  He's now on three medications, due to see the vet again in a few days.  Hannah has fluctuated between panic, shock and a deep thick fog ever since.  Our original plan was for her and both Klunk and Nellie to come here for a couple of days, but the vet said Klunk shouldn't travel.  So Briton and I went to them.

Klunk seemed to be feeling quite well --- he was curious about all the wrapping paper and the new cat toys.  Those he has to share with

Miss Nell.

She tried hard, but Hannah hadn't decorated or planned for meals or anything at all, as she hadn't expected to be the Christmas hostess.  Still, she and Briton spent quality time with their Nintendo Switches, which each of them surprise-received.

{She doesn't have any den furniture, so we all sat on the floor --- me knitting, them catching Pokemon.)

It wasn't what we'd planned for, but it was a Christmas we were able to spend together, and for that I am thankful.

Always Be Prepared

You Pipe Your Way, I'll Pipe Mine

Eleven of these I could handle.

Happy Eve Eve!

What With All the Dancing and the Leaping. . .

. . . At least allow me to choose some Christmas music.

"Louisiana Christmas Day" by Aaron Neville

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" by Anne Murray

"Blue Christmas" by Elvis

"Pretty Paper" by Willie Nelson

"Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" by Emmylou Harris

"O Holy Night" by The Three Tenors

"Sweet Little Jesus Boy" by Mahalia Jackson

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Eric Clapton

"Please Come Home for Christmas" by just about anyone

Who Needs Maids?

A-Swimmin'

When I made that ill-fated attempt to learn the cello, this was the piece I most wanted to be able to play.  Listen to it seven times today if you'd like.

Never stop learning, my friends.  From year to year, I re-acquaint myself with info in my Nativity scenes, often about the Holy Family.  For instance, Mary had a beautiful braid underneath her headscarf:

Joseph may have been a proto-hipster, fedora and all:

And the Christ Child was just plain ol' excited to be born!

Sing Along

Honestly, now --- what are you supposed to do with an egg from 6 geese?  Now, if we could meld them with the gold from the five rings, we'd have something to talk about.

Which made me think: did anyone else have Red Goose Shoes when they were growing up?  If you got a pair, you could reach into this big plastic goose in the store and pull out an egg with a prize inside?  Every now and then, there'd be a golden egg.  Not that I ever had a pair of Red Goose shoes --- I'm sure my mother thought they were exorbitantly expensive.  But I remember walking by the shoe store and seeing children getting eggs and wishing I could get one.

Oh, and there was a jingle, too:

"Half the fun of having feet 

Is Red Goose Shoes."

They Each Let My Phone Ring Five Times

Couldn't get to you yesterday because four birds kept calling.

Today in Advent:

This made me smile.

As far as the actual knitting, here's a shot of the shawl in natural light:

The brightness of the newest stripe (the purple one at the top) was a surprise.  The color didn't pop that much in the light of the den.

No, No, No

It's three French hens,

not three hens on a bench.

So This Would Be the Second Day, Then?

At Christmastime,  I like to shop at stores I don't usually go to, to look for things I don't usually see.  Yesterday, one of the stores I visited was Bealls Outlet, where there was a good selection of toys and books for my Toys for Tots donation.  Also found this,

which is now on my bedroom door.  It's a good companion piece to the horse-head-shaped greenery on the front door.

Bealls is in the same shopping center as Barnes & Noble, which is my go-to store when I'm uninspired by others.  All the people I have to buy gifts for can be made happy with something there.  I bought myself the Winter 2019 issue of "KnitSimple," which has some great patterns for things with hoods.

Rosemary Drysdale's Zippered Hoodie.

Laura Zukaite's Pullover Hoodie

and

her Hoodie Shell

I'm a big fan of hoods, so these may all be in my knitting future.

Is This the First Day of Christmas?

This is the Advent shawl so far.  Please know that the colors are shades of purple in the stripes and the palest blue on the edges and between.  These were taken by the Christmas tree, so the light was provided by dozens and dozens of little bulbs.

Today marks the halfway point.

Hang On. . .

There was Elf Training at the library this afternoon, after which all the elves got to visit with Santa.

Is it just me, or is there a Briton-like quality to Mr Kringle there?

Skip If You Follow Me on Facebook

Yesterday, I did a bit of driving around in the country, and at one point, came across a funeral procession.  It was pulling out of the funeral home up the road as I pulled over, so it took me a couple of minutes to realize what was at the lead.  A horse-drawn hearse.

It was a chilly, wet day, already quiet because of that and being out of the city.  The clopping of the horses' hooves was clear and grand and somber.  It was a long way from the funeral home to the cemetery, 

and the procession had to go all way around the grounds to the gravesite on the right there.  As I said on Facebook, it was one of the most beautiful, chill-bump-inducing and moving things I've ever witnessed.

Blues. And Purples.

No jury duty for me;  the entire pool has been excused.

I've been floating along this holiday season, enjoying myself and feeling very seasonal.  Today, I have run face-first into a gray wall.  Nothing's been fun.  My attitude is negative.  Let's hope it's temporary.

New color in the Advent adventure:

Hedgehog Fibres' "Salty Tales."  It's a hard color to capture --- my first impression was purple, but looking at it in the tin, it's gray.  The random flecks (at least so far) are definitely dark purple.  There were two colorways to choose from, the one I got --- which featured blues and purples, of course --- and whose name is Hot Toddy.  The second --- which is still available --- is called Mulled Wine:

My lifelong habit remains;  if something I want comes in purple, that's the one I'm probably going to buy.

Decor

For some reason, this year I am constantly moving Christmas stuff around the house.  I'm not sure why things are so unsettled, but they are.  One thing that was without a satisfactory home until today was the latch hook Briton made for me last year.

A finished latch hook is quite heavy, so I had to hang a braced rod to hold it up.  Since the only fire we'll have on Christmas will be from YouTube, hanging it here above the fireplace is no big deal.

This has been a puttering around Sunday, doing little and odd tasks around the house.  I'm almost done with cards, and there are only a few things left to wrap.  So far, neither the cats nor Tap have bothered what's under the tree.  Fingers crossed for the rest of the days.

Sixes and Sevens

Today in Advent knitting, among some Nativities

 beautiful purple yarn from The Periwinkle Sheep.  (Another fun part of this is learning about new yarn sources.)

I was sort of confused by what I opened yesterday until I realized that someone had mixed up the "6" and the "9" tins.  This is what the 6th day treasure was:

a handy little row counter, pictured with one of my most unusual (and favorite) Nativities.

I'd better get to knittin', huh?

Our Daily Knit

Yesterday's advent card had a pattern:

so I knew there'd be yarn!

(Photo from the Spun Right Round website.)

The knitting got me to this:

Next, I'm supposed to follow a chart, at which I am hopeless.  I tried to write it out for myself, but I am so bad that I couldn't make heads or tails of it.  Long story brief --- there may be several stockinette stripes in this shawl's future.

Scissors, Needles, Knives

Today's Advent goodie:

Cute little, sharp little scissors.  

I needed something cute and fun today, as I spent my morning at the dentist, having the temporary crown put on.  Turns out, by the way, that that tooth isn't just cracked, it's split, as in could it break in two? The dentist didn't see that until she was pretty far along in prepping the tooth for the crown, so she went ahead and put it on.  We're in "see how this goes" mode, and I am quite uncomfortable.

Had a nice afternoon yesterday with Briton.  We went to see "Knives Out," then grabbed a bite to eat.  The movie was good.  Of course, there's Chris Evans (my perennial KH nominee) and Christopher Plummer (whom I've had a crush on forEVER), and the seriously cool Jamie Lee Curtis.  I'd recommend it.

What's the state of your holiday preparations?  I've gotten all of our decorations out, but am still futzing around with where they should go.  The Christmas cards are beginning to be filled out.  Could wrapping presents be far behind?

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Ohhh. . .

Got up this morning, raring to go on the advent shawl.  First instructions were:

Well, that's a lot of stitches, but, hey, you have to begin somewhere, right?  Let's open up that little tin and see what we've got.

Wait.

Yep.  More than 200 stitches in thin-like-spider's-silk angora.  Casting on more than 200 stitches in angora that, if you don't allow enough for the full cast on, is BLOODY IMPOSSIBLE to unravel so you can start again.

Peace on earth, most wonderful time of the year, holly jolly-ness, may your days be merry.  Right?

RIGHT?

The Countdowns Begin!

I say "countdowns" because I'm a sucker for Advent calendars.  From the numerical

to the tasty

(from friend Marin --- I was gobsmacked when I opened this)

to the crafty.

I splurged this year (putting away money monthly) and got myself a Jimmy Beans Craftvent calendar.  At the end of the 24 days, I'm to have knit a shawl.  Today, just the tools to get started.  I'm anxious to try out the SmartStix.  What an ingenious idea, and how interesting that it hasn't been done before.