well, now

I tried to do that end-of-year meme-thing, where you put up the first sentence from the first post of every month of the past year? And I learned that 1) I used to be funnier than I am now, and 2) the first sentence of my posts doesn’t tell you anything useful. Or funny.

And I thought I’d do a sort of year-end retrospectacle, look back over what happened this year and all that. I used to do that when I kept a paper journal and actually wrote out my thoughts regularly – gad, did I ever have that much free time? But that was hampered by the fact that I can’t really remember anything that happened before July. Oh yes – the World Cup was in Germany, wasn’t it? That was kinda fun. And after that there was something about pneumonia, and we bought a house, and I got to meet my nieces and nephews. Was this a good year? Am I usually this clueless at the end of the year? Am I usually this clueless in general? Eh. Probably.

Anyway. Tomorrow is the last day of 2006. I’ll spend the morning cleaning the house because it’s Sunday, and then pick DrBob up from the airport. We’ll go to some friends’ house for dinner and Settlers of Catan, and fireworks and champagne (and fizzy juice for the kids) at midnight, and melt lead and drop it in cold water to tell our fortunes for the coming year, and the next time I see you it’ll be 2007!

So okay. Here’s to new beginnings. I wish you heaps of fun on the last day of 2006, a well-earned hangover for the first day of 2007, and all the best for the coming year.

well that was brief

Snow’s gone. It was pretty much gone by noon yesterday. Interesting. Bavaria spent last winter in Siberia, I guess we’ll be spending this one in western WA. Mucky, wet, gray, depressing, mostly snowless. You know? I’m okay with that. Last winter dumped enough snow on us, I figure I’m good for oh, ten years.

Song du jour of the day: Perfect, by The The.

whoa. snow!

I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen, but lo! It started around 9 p.m., as I was putting the Sniglet to bed. By 10, when I went out to get more wood for the fire, there was a good inch on the ground. Beautiful, fluffy, Disney snow, too, with big fat flakes. Ignatz is stoked.

Aaaand now it’s 11:30, and someone’s out there shoveling.

Germans.

I’ve pre-ordered Book 7…

I check J.K. Rowling’s site, oh, every few months or so. It’s an engaging site, but not something I need to follow obsessively.

Even so, I am a huge Harry Potter fan – in the sense that I really like the books, not in the sense that I need to buy all the accessories or dress like the characters (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I like the way her narrative style evolves as her hero ages, and I really like his character arc. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about what a whiny prat Harry was in the fifth book, but I really loved that she let him be an adolescent for one book, with all the strong emotion and precipitous behavior that goes with it.

the post-holiday post

Yep, Christmas is officially over (we know because the post office is open – mixmania mailing day, woo!), so it’s time to lose the Christmas theme. This’ll do until I find some zippy new-year-ish thing, or until it snows and I can choose something wintry. Not that I mind the lack of snow. There’s frost, lining the edge of every leaf and twig in the morning, like cartoons in photo-negative, only a lot more beautiful.

Happy Hols, darlings

Since I spent Thanksgiving on an airplane, I didn’t really get to observe the holiday, so I’ll say now that I am so thankful for all of you who read and comment here. You bring me joy.

So, re the sweater. Sez Elemmaciltur…

The Vergissmeinnicht Swatch looks perfect for the yarn and the pattern!

It is almost perfect, and I’m still considering it. But sometimes you (well, I) learn more about what you want as you move through a process, and swatching has taught me that this sweater wants to be a darker color.

BTW, what camera are you using to take that picture? The resolution is huge and the quality marvellous!

Erm… um… well… actually, *ahem* I scanned it. Feels kinda like cheating, but we have the crappy Aldi digicam, and I haven’t really gotten around to learning how to use it yet, so yes. I scan my swatches, and I rarely photograph my knitting, though I should. I’m about halfway done with Ignatz’s cable sweater, and still haven’t taken a picture of it. I should do that, huh? Since it won’t fit in the scanner.

Sez Melanie…

I think you are a faaaaaaaaaaaancy knitter.

Oh, honey. You should see Elemmaciltur‘s stuff. He’s like my knitting hero; you should check him out.

And finally, on the politicization of Christmas. Have you heard about this? Sure you have, how it’s like all atheist and evil to say “Happy Holidays” because that greeting includes the possibility, however remote, that the greetee is not actually Christian? And it’s somehow anti-Christian to admit the possibility that someone might be something else? I just have to wonder, does anybody really take this seriously? Seriously? I mean, even if such a thought drifted across my mind, I’d be too embarrassed to say it aloud.

Huh. I’ve been hearing H-H since I was a kid, and I always thought the Holidays to which it referred were Christmas and New Year’s. Not that I have any objection to wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or whatever else leaps to mind, and I hereby do so: Happy Whatever, y’all.

so, whaddya think?

So, um. I think, if you click on this image, you’ll get a much bigger version and be able to see the pattern up-close. This is the pattern-swatch I knitted from the sample yarn I ordered from Wollmeise, and I love love love the yarn, but I’m not sure it’s right for the Arwen sweater. I don’t know if its definition’s really good enough to show the cable to its best advantage, and I think the ombré distracts from the texture. I think it wants more sheen, and a nice dark purple or maybe dark green, the original pattern notwithstanding. Also, I think a sweater made from this might actually be too warm to wear, though from what I hear about the weather in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado lately, maybe someone there needs a nice warm sweater. I sure love the yarn, so much that I’m trying to think of some other project for it.

What do you think?

now you know

Uh. Sorry about that. One of the reasons I don’t write every day is that each entry takes me over an hour – and 75% of that time is spent editing. As you can see, I didn’t do that last night. Urk. And now I can’t take it down because that would feel dishonest. I’d pull a post if it upset people, but that one was just boring and trivial, and that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to yank it.

a day in the life

I got my yarn samples from Rohrspatz & Wollmeise today so I’ve been swatching up a storm. Here’s one view of the sweater I’m planning to make, from the Knitting magazine I bought in Seattle. Here are the colors I asked for…

Every batch is different, and of course yarn in real life looks different from yarn on a computer screen, so the very-promising Gewitterhimmel (Stormy Sky) is in reality not quite right, though it will make someone a damnfine baby sweater… any takers? I’m leaning toward the Vergißmeinnicht (Forget-me-not) at this point.

all better

The headache is gone, I picked up DrBob from the airport today, my family is all together again, the house is clean, the sheets are clean (on our bed, at least – the kids don’t give a rat’s ass), and I baked a pie. Apple! And I threw in some Craisins we’d had lying around forever (and reduced the sugar, of course) and it’s very good. Dinner was on the table on time and for a wonder, everybody ate it. Yes, I can do the domestic goddess thing (I can sew, too), I just don’t, usually.  Elemmaciltur was right, I did survive. I still made a nasty face at my computer when I read that comment, though.

Oh! speaking of computers, I have a new one! Woot! After years of laptops, I have taken two steps back and bought a desktop, gee I feel so retro. Except, you know what? For €999, the price of a low-end laptop, you can get a pretty jazzy desktop. My screen is HOOGE! And my CPU is teeny! And it’s all silver, yay! Ooo! And it came with one-a them printer-copier-scanner things – now if it only made coffee, it would be perfect.

And Christmas is, oh, more or less on track. This year we’re hosting it: yes. My Mother-In-Law will actually be coming to MY house for the whole thing, and I am oddly un-stressed about it all. I pulled Ignatz’s birthday together pretty much with one hand tied behind my back, so I’m feelin’ my Wheaties at this point. Everything will be fine.

Song du jour of the day: Gettin’ In the Mood (for Christmas), by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.