Christmas, Christmas!

A few hightlights of an otherwise great night:

"Briscoe County Jr" is playing on the TV

A few changes this year, but overall, it was great. Instead of roast turkey, we had ribs. (Fresh, non-frozen turkeys are not available after the holiday, apparently, even on the 1st of January). The ribs were really good, but they weren't as plentiful as turkey is; next time we'll make a Costco run for the big ones you can buy there. The green beans were good (can't really hurt them when they're from a can!) and there was yummy bread. It felt like there was something missing; maybe salad? Dustin brought yummy mashed potatoes as well. I'm still kinda full from the cheesecake Casey picked out.

Onto the knitting! I've been working diligently on a pair of socks since the Christmas holiday a week ago, hoping to finish them out in time for the New Year. Looks like I'll have a new FO for January instead. And the colorway couldn't be more perfect, either:

This is the same skein of yarn! Weird!

The real reason I want to finish up these socks? I'm planning a million projects, and I want to use some of that new Collinette yarn I just purchased! I want a pair of Valentine's Day socks to wear at work. We'll see about that. I'm also working on finding a good sweater pattern, a flower fair-isle wrap project (possibly for wedding), making another hat for Casey and finding some good lacework patterns to use up some of the stash laceweight I've got sitting around. Among the options I'd love to use: Knitpicks merino lace, alpaca lace and Shimmer; Blue Moon Fiber Arts silk and that dark green Skacel ball that's still sitting nicely coiled after over a year. Current KALs I could use to my advantage in these projects: Stranded, Lace-uary, Warm Hands and the Twisted Sisters KALs.

Oh, also I'm spinning up the current fiber stash at a very pleasing rate. The wheel is squeaky, though, I think it needs some grease (or WD-40!) I really enjoy sitting at it. I'm getting better at drafting as I go and I'm breaking the fiber less when I do. However, I'm still figuring out how the tensioning needs to be changed as the bobbin gets fuller. The wheel seems to work harder the more I go, which is normal, I guess. Only one way to find out how it all works- keep doing it!

Finally, there's the New Year Resolutions. Let's see what I can irrationally promise myself at 1 AM, shall we?

Knitting Resolutions

• Continue shopping the stash for project yarn. Start consulting the lace/alpaca bin at some point.
• Make projects that enhance or broaden my skills this year- colorwork, garments, lace. And knit even more socks! (that one is easy!)
• Try to combine yarns in new patterns and new ways. Use stitchionaries as appropriate. Maybe design something from them? Doesn't have to be big.

General Resolutions

• Start running again in feeble attemt at losing weight, but heroic attempt at becoming fit. Also try to tone arms before wedding if the flat-stomach thing doesn't work out.
• Eat less crap, eat more veggies when possible. Obtain one new vegetable to eat semi-regularly for the year. Green Beans? Cauliflower? Broccoli? Kale?
• Pay bills before they are due, not two days after.
• Save more, spend less. More money= better furniture!
• Try to keep the apartment cleaner on a regular basis. Also, clean out leftover moving clutter.
• Include self in photos when I'm taking them. May involve actually asking others to use camera to do this, but reward is actually having photos of me doing things with others!