I am feeling a little down today. Heard some bad news about a family friend yesterday. He has pancreatic cancer, I think, and has really taken a turn for the worse this last week. I have known this man since I was very young and my family has always been very close to his; he and my dad taught in the same school and coached football together for years.

We watched a movie last night called the King of Masks. And while the old man was in jail, his stupid pet monkey kept following him and staying by his side, I couldn't help but think of my friend and his dogs (and of course, his wife and children and everyone else who loves him). Those dogs are like children to him and I don't know if he will be able to see them again since he's in the hospital, and may not come out. That really breaks my heart.

I keep praying for him and his family.
God bless, Ek
<3

A few Christmas pictures:

with my new camera!!

Zero

Neighbor child made this for my parents. I don't think I have ever made a gingerbread house, but mine totally would have rocked this one ... hehe

How do you not eat all the candy when you make these things?

I like the cotton "snow" it's mysterious

More to come

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everybody a wonderful Christmas!
Stay happy healthy and safe!

Stockings

I started these Christmas stockings a few months ago, and forgot about them until this week...oops. I found the pattern in one of those Crochet A Day calendars for 2011. Anyway. My first attempt at a stocking and I think I might have failed lol

This one looks a little limp =(

This one is for Aunt Linda. I used Red Heart's red and greens for it.

This stocking is crocheted with Lion Brand's super soft yarn...red and an olivey green:

This one is for Penny. Unfortunately it has toe and heel issues

I do like this picture. Pretty bells!

Hanging on the wall since we don't have a fire place. Actually only the stocking on the right is on a pin, the other one I'm holding by the loop and trying to hold the camera far enough away without catching myself in it.

I think they will look better when they're filled...

FO for Nate

Add a cat. And bunny butt

Finished Nate's Christmas hat!! I'm calling it Stripedy Stripe Stripe.

Scott modeling hat for Nate!

Pom pom!!!!!!!!

 Paton's Wool Classic yarn, size 8 Clover bamboo dpns, and I still have a lot of yarn leftover. Colors used: Bright Red (maybe Cherry Red?? lost the tag), Aquamarine, and Winter White (so appropriate, eh?)

Stripes!!!

Cutie =)

Hat with fake cat

The window seat is a good place to take photos, except the window light creates an eerie blueness:

I realize after taking this photo, that this is the back of the hat... note the odd white stitch in the blue row =(

Now I need to make one for dear boyfriend =)

Hats hats hats! Just one, actually

I decided I should really work on Nate's hat before starting socks...so I did. The pattern is from Knit Simple's KNITTING WORKSHOP magazine, a collection of all Knit Simple's most popular patterns. I absolutely love this magazine! I don't think I've knitted anything from it yet, (the sock pattern I'm following is in this mag too) but I have been looking over it for months.

So Nate's hat will be striped with red, black, and blue. I still need to purchase the black and blue yarn. I almost did yesterday when I was at Jo Ann's, but decided not to. Silly me.

Scott works all day today, so I'm going to wrap his presents!! I still want to give him something else...but not sure yet. I'm also going to clean a lot: bring recycling to the center, clean the litter box, wash dishes. Maybe even bake more cookies ;)

Happy Holidays!

Finished a project, won't say for who, but here's the FO:

Finished!

Also, I keep thinking about SOCKS! I think it is time...

I absolutely LOVE sock yarn!!!

I was torn between purchasing Susan Bates or Clover dpns (since I need a smaller needle for socks). I have mostly seen people knit socks on metal dpns (IRL and in blogs) but since I love the feel of the bamboo I decided I should use what I feel most comfortable with. And if the bamboo needles don't work for some reason, I'll try metal ones.

I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away! I still should knit a hat for Nate, but I'm just not feeling the right pattern yet. He just might have to wait... I think that is the last knitted thing I'll make gift-wise. I had planned on knitting dish towels for mom and dad, but I really don't like the cotton yarn. Will have to find a new use for it, maybe.

This just in: totally hooked on Psych!

Happy Holidays!!

Food Links!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies and Gingerbread Men at Baking Bites [] can't wait to bake these!

Chez Pim's Pad Thai at Bake Five! [] love pad thai!! 

Red and Blue Velvet Pancakes at This Is Why You're Fat

Tootsies

As much as I enjoy my early Christmas present Keen Methow WP boots from REI,
 

I have these!! I don't slip on campus anymore!!

I really can't wait to wear my Chacos again...sigh

I love these ones! I like the cherry blossoms =)

 Mine are red, but the design is so old that they have discontinued it, I think. It's a red and orange fiesta! Also, mine don't have the toe thong, has a strap over the heel, and the cross straps over the foot are slightly different.

Oh I miss sunshine on my tootsies!

BL's Afghan... Finished

Today I finished BL's afghan!

Yep, about thirty minutes before work, I sewed my ends in and folded it up =)

In total, the diameter is about 50 or 60 inches, I can't remember. I am very pleased with the color combination! I used JoAnn's Sensations for the variegated stripes and Caron's for the dark blue and lilac.

Hopefully, this afghan will keep BL's sofa warm too!!

I can't quite remember when I started this project, but it has taken at least three or four months. I know this afghan could be crocheted in a week if one didn't take breaks =)

Close up!

This is my first ripple afghan, and I found the pattern here.  I think it is very beautiful and looks more intriguing than a simple square, single crochet afghan. As it turns out, the size I made is more appropriately called a lapghan, but it's a little larger than the normal lapghan (I think).

Happy belated Birthday, BL!! 

O Christmas tree...

Well, after an interrupted night of sleeping and waking up at 5:15 in the morning for work with lead legs, I decided to call in. I decide it's a good idea, especially since I've been under a bit of stress lately with classes and grades, and I don't want to wear myself thin and get a cold. Plus, since I'm working two jobs now, I'll at least be able to make back what I lost today. Actually a little bit more. That's nice.

I'm in the process of transferring all the pictures from my digital camera to my flash drive, so I can completely erase all pictures from the XD card. I transferred a lot of them already but I don't know which ones. I'm playing on the safe side. And, my card is so ancient that it only has 256 megabytes, which I'm pretty sure, they don't even make cards that small anymore. Anyway. It holds about 350 pictures, which isn't that many if you think about it.

We put the tree in the window seat. It think it's nice next to the alive plants...

I realize it's a little early, but last night we (mostly me, Scott watched) set up our Christmas tree! Last year my grandma gave me her old one (it's an artificial) because she downsized in tree size.

So cute!

 She kept all the ornaments with it which was a big but wonderful surprise for me. Some of those ornaments are so imprinted in my memory that they cause instant nostalgia when I see them. I am a little worried about Berny and the tree, since a few ornaments have bells (her favorite) and there are a lot of dangly, sparkly things. But the tree survived the night so I'm hopeful.

This little guy was so hard to photograph because I couldn't hold steady

Currently the tree topper, he's kind of mischievous!

Cookie!!!

I made some delicious Sparkling Chewy Molasses Cookies tonight! I found the recipe at not martha.

Even though my cookies might not be the same size, or be as evenly-sugar coated, they sure do taste good!! And they are so soft and chewy, which makes me happy ^-^

However...I didn't have any nutmeg and decided not to make another trip out just to purchase the spice (because we all know I would come home with not just nutmeg, but a whole bunch of stuff). Also, my cookies aren't very molasses-y. I wonder if it's the brand I used? Or maybe the recipe just calls for a weak sauce amount and I should up the amount in my next batch.

While pulling the second tray out of the oven, I burned my finger =( It's the first burn I've gotten for quite some time, the last being when I worked at Wheat Montana and took out a tray of pastries and it rested on my forearm. This one is much smaller, and on the tip of my right hand ring finger. There's a little blister there now, and after icing it for a few minutes, it feels quite better!

Now I just have to wait until Scott comes home! He will be so surprised (and happy I hope!) for cookies.

Also, I've been under pressure to finish BL's afghan for her birthday dinner this Saturday! I can't wait to see her reaction when she sees it! I think it will be quite a surprise, too.

Happy Hump Day!