Merry Christmas...if that's okay

Because everyone's been getting their panties in a knot once again this holiday season, I think I will let MST3K say it all (if you are subscribing via Bloglines, you'll have to just click over to the blog to see the video).

Holiday Music

I am working on a Christmas Mix for people on the Lime & Violet MB and in search of a blank CD, I found another CD mix. Unmarked so I had no idea it was full of music I hadn't heard for ages. VAST, Ivoux, Afro-Celt, various things I'd collected here and there. It brought vague impressions of lots of driving since I made most of my CD mixes while in LPN school in a desperate attempt to not have to listen to 45 minutes of radio twice a day.

Funny how memories always shine brighter and look better after a dusting of time.

For instance, last year, mom was hit with breast cancer and we spent Christmas Day at a friend's because mom had no strength to do much, sick with an infection from her lumpectomy. But it was a good Christmas, leaning on the friendship of others as we recovered from the shock of it all. And I remember not getting quite all I wanted for Christmas but not caring. What I really wanted was for my mom to get better. Thank goodness the wish was granted, my mother's recovered and she still wears the socks I knit her in fond memory of the care of everyone as she went through dark times.

No Christmas is perfect, pine needles fall, the constant ringing of those stupid bells in front of every business is enough to make me want to hit them repeatedly with their own bucket, and I'm tired of Silent Night and whether it's Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, but there is always peaceful silence somewhere, even if it's deep down inside, miracles still happen and there are still bells that even I don't mind hearing, tolling out their messages.

Not messing around.

I felt kind of ooky on Thanksgiving, felt like a fevered jelly lump on Friday, felt somewhat better on the drive home from Utah on Saturday and on Sunday, I decided I wasn't going to screw around anymore. I called for antibiotics and got me a Z-pack. Yeah, when your immune system is being held at bay, you really don't want to mess around with trying to muddle through a whatever-it-is. And I feel better for the most part. There's a bit of a cough and my right ear has not quite decided to unplug and there's still mucus but it's clear (yeah, you wanted to hear about my snot, didn't you? Mmm) and I'm doing far better. I even went to work on Wednesday, which was nice. Somehow a chilled salad bar prep area did more good than laying around for ages.

I love Thanksgiving though. It's the one holiday that does not really give into the hype. No one pays attention to Thanksgiving. After Halloween, it's all Christmas all the time. So there aren't obnoxious punch-out Thanksgiving cards, no specialty cranberry-flavored Hershey Kisses, no Hallmark Movies about believing in The Turkey. Just a day of gathering together with family and friends, making and eating more food in a day than you would reasonably make and eat in a year (unless you have a huge family like I do and then it's an assigned potluck and you don't end up with much in the way of leftovers) and just realizing how good you have it, even if it's not all that great for some. Still.

But with that cold and watching Hogfather on ION (talk about your secular bull but eh, it's Terry Pratchett, he's worth a laugh), things feel more acceptably Christmas-y. It's time for Good Eats Fudge, Cinnamon Popcorn, Highlander Radio's Streaming Celtic Christmas and knitting. Oh no no no, I have sworn off knitting for Christmas. Even my best friend is getting yarn and needles, I'm not making her anything (oh alright, I did make a Jayne hat for a friend but that was in October).

I don't mind Christmas. I miss the old times, though, back when I lived in Germany. There was the Christmas Market full of hand-crafted things and food that I would snatch up in a moment if I were back there. There weren't a lot of bell ringers, the music was not overwhelming and because there was no cable, television was not on so frequently and I wasn't bombarded with movies asking where My Faith In Santa Claus was. Dear New-Media, I hate to break it to you but SANTA CLAUS AIN'T REAL. Really, it's like the New God these days. Baaah. If I want something on my wish list, I ask my parents and what isn't under the tree I budget for or pray about.

Anyways, I have about 1000 words left before I win at the NaNoWriMo and it feels as willing to come out as a healthy adult molar. Which is why I'm posting now.

I'm procrastinating.

Dear Bloglines, Kit went outside today.

Image heavy.










Daisy came too, of course.







I love Autumn. Can you tell?

It's all I seem to do...

I've been severely absent on my knitting blog. My apologies, there's a good reason, though.

For one, I'm NaNoWriMo-ing. Again. It's a pirate story and if you're super mega interested and I can trust you not to totally rip off my story and post it on a Norwegian site that is funded by that country and getting prizes for it (oh yes, it's happened, grr!) or something shifty like that, you could email me. tobutakai at the gmail.com site.

For another:


Yup, my clinical skills practice kit came in. That there is a rubber wound. The label on the package says "Humerus" but what I find funny is how shiny it is. Eww, it's all squishy and damp and stuff, grody! Well, not really, it's just shiny. But that's exactly the same wound they'll be using at my clinical exam and it seemed worth the cash. I also got some IV stuff so I can water my Lucky Bamboo by drip. Well, maybe not, I don't think Lucky Bamboo likes normal saline. Whatever.

And finally, I have no knitting. Everything I start seems to slip from my fingers and straight into that frog pond. Everything. It's really frustrating at times. Ah well, that's how it goes sometimes. I'm working with some Misti Alpaca Sport and turning it into a scarf. I haven't frogged it in disgust yet, so hopefully that's a good thing. Pictures when I get to them. :P