the ketchup post

Hoo boy, two weeks since a blog post! I got happily swept up in all the Christmas festivities and the relaxation surrounding it. I remember two weeks ago, thinking I'd do a blog post describing the assorted live music we had seen that weekend -- bagpipes, orchestra, folk music, choir, handbells, fiddles and flutes, and more. Outstanding, but I didn't get around to writing the actual blog post.

Then came Christmas and all the fun visits and prep of tasty treats in our luxurious kitchen facilities (where even that last cabinet is now gone; now only a sink and stove in the kitchen). Then a bunch of snow, a super-light workload, and plenty of leisure activities to fill in the blanks. So here, in no particular order are some pics and catch-up bits.

One of two beautiful beaded alpaca scarves knit by my mom. This one will keep my sister warm this winter and beyond.

Yarn cakes wound by Leah for my mom, who was planning her new knitting projects in much the same way many of us do before a vacation, with the same sense of urgency and importance -- must have options! must have a variety of projects of varying skill/concentration levels! must have supply of needles and patterns and yarn and stitch markers! Except her trip will last at least five months, it's to her own home in Florida, and there's a yarn store 15 minutes up the road. Don't tell my mom, but I think she's hooked. heh.

One of the three man-hats Leah knit as gifts this Christmas, this one for Scott. You've seen the others here and here. Kiddo received a straight As report card recently and decided she's done with the school hooey, so she's now officially a 7th grade dropout. :-) This allows her more time to get on with the really important things...

Hope you all had a fantabulous Christmas and are making plans for starting 2011 as you plan to go on!

since you asked

Hey all you gawkers, supportive folks, and snarky commenters (I'm looking at you, Coleen), this one's for you:

Here's the state of the kitchen as of today's destructo session.

Ceiling down, pantries out, walls gone, two (of five!) layers of floor up. After having done this to approx. 14 rooms (some have been re-dos after 10+ years), we're pretty good at being in destruction mode.

Discoveries so far include:
1. Dangerous electrical work. Not a surprise. At all. Guntherisms galore!
2. What might have been an original exterior doorway. Big surprise. Could be fun.

3. I tend to turn into Tim Allen with the grunting and refer to myself as She-Ra after heaving large pieces of construction debris around.

You know what's the funnest part of all? We have Absolutely No Clue how we'll turn this room back into a kitchen once all the destruction is done. Many, many configuration options and extremely minimal actual needs. At this point, we have more questions than answers, but that's okay. A construction zone temporary set-up is still better than the crap kitchen we've been living with.

Ahh, nothing says winter 'round here like the delightful familiar feeling of 100-year-old plaster dust up your nose. :-)

yarny bits

Progress to date on my Minimalist cardigan. Psyched. Looks like the armholes aren't tall enough, but I think they are. Hm. Gonna have to check that again.

Another hat knit by Leah. Kid's on a roll w/ the hat improv. Using up the scrap yarns, keeping people's ears warm. Win-Win.

Yarn cone reincarnated as a Christmas tree rocket, inspired by this video but downsized so we can skip the $150 worth of engines it would've taken to launch a real tree. Test launch happening at this moment in prep for launch at rocket club this weekend. Junk rockets are my favorite kind.

And yesterday, some time with needles of a different type. I got a few quick rows in on Lacy Baktus with Edge (my fourth -- I know! Can't stop! Love these scarves!) while waiting at a blood drive.


I also took a pic of this Lacy Baktus with Scrooge after seeing Hartford Stage's performance of A Christmas Carol. The picture didn't turn out too hot, but the show was great fun. We did a behind the scenes tour afterward to find out more about all the special effects and backstage workings, during which nephew Z got chosen to sit in the Ghost of Christmas Present's huge chair with a wreath of candles on his head as the whole shebang glided across the stage with lights, booming sound, glittery snow, and a low fog cloud. Totally cool.

tis the season

Lacy Baktus w/ Edge, #3, knit by Debbie
Following mods by Chery Alison (Rav: Cheryknits).
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry, an experimental colorway.
Knitted in Montreal and NYC.
Given to Scott's mom as a gift yesterday at Salem Cross Inn's Christmas Memories dinner show.

Mini Christmas stocking, knit by Leah.

Look on the bright side

When you're having a bad day, just be thankful that your kitchen doesn't look like mine!


Yup, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

nyc xmas

A few pics with a yarny bent, snapped around NYC on Saturday:

Esprit windows dressed with yarn ball-decorated tree, mannequins in knitted clothes and accessories, packages tied with yarn bows, and a backdrop of criss-crossed strands of yarn.

A wool-encased family waiting in the ice skating line at Rockefeller Center. Thank goodness for the wooly warmth.

One of the Macy's windows depicting the Yes, Virginia story. Can't tell from my cell phone pic, but the librarian has knitting needles sticking out of her hair bun.

I also knit about 14" of another (my 4th!) lacy baktus scarf while listening to an audiobook on the train there and back. So much funstuff to see and do!