Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Things have been hectic here. I had one sick person after another to care for (which is tough when you live with two 3 year olds) and then my inlaws came to stay for a week. Granted, I hit the jackpot when it comes to inlaws, but it still means I have to clean and entertain.

On the knitting front, I finished my cardigan for my niece as well as the afghan for my mom. Then I got the braniac idea that I needed to wash the afghan. And it exploded. Big holes. Granted, I did this on the gentle cycle (hand wash) but it doesn't matter. I couldn't patch it. It was beyond patching. So I fixed the holes as best I could, and gave the afghan to my daughter who had been coveting it since the project began. She sleeps with it every night. ;-)

We had a nice Christmas here. The girls got lots of toys and pjs and sheets. And books galore! They were so happy.

I got a fancy dog dryer from my folks, a gift certificate for my hair salon from hubby, as well as a pedometer that hooks into my computer. Since I'm almost 20 pounds down now (less than a pound to go), I really need to kick up the exercise if I want to keep up the trend.

In other news, my one dog had an exploding anal gland. If you aren't familiar with the anal gland, it's right where you think it is. Poor girlie. She has to have warm compresses and antibiotics. Major ouchie. It happens sometimes. I think she had too much junk (and not enough fiber) while my guests were here.

Well, that's about all the news that's fit to print. I'm going to try to be better in the new year in sharing my knitting projects. I'm still waiting on my ISE5 scarf from my pal -- she had a delay -- but when that comes, I'll post for sure!

knitting swaps

I recently participated in ISE5, an international scarf exchange. My "international" pal was in MD (I'm also in the midatlantic region), so it wasn't so international for me, but I may be lucky enough to meet my pal at some point. I'm not sure yet who my pal is; she (he?) has carpal tunnel and was unable to finish in time but is going to send my scarf to me later. I can't wait!

Now I'm looking forward to participating in the Hot Cocoa Swap. The signup is Dec 16, so mark your calendar!

Not Applicable?

This week one of my daughters had a follow appointment at the pediatrician. They asked me to fill out one of those forms that doctors tend to have us fill out to update their information.

So I'm looking at the form, and I fill out the name and address section, and then I see they are asking about medical history. Which of the following things did your parents or close relatives have? This went on for a page and a half.

I sat there looking at it for about 5 minutes. I wasn't confused. I knew I couldn't write anything because we don't know. My daughters were born and adopted in another country. But what struck me is how many times my children will have to look at this form in their lifetimes. And how many other people have to look at this form -- and they don't know! Yet there was no "not applicable" box or anything. No "nod" to the segment of the population (which I know to be more than my two children) who have no idea about their biological medical history. (BTW, Medical Community, N/A might be an important answer. Better than my not checking anything and just handing it in.)

So I had to write a big fat N/A across the section. Then I handed it to the nurse and said, "I couldn't really answer this." She looked at it, laughed nervously, and said, "well, that's ok."

??

Sweaters galore

I've been working on two different sweaters for Christmas gifts. The first was a santa-style sweater which I gave to a friend...did I mention it was for her dogs? She admired it at a show, and it just seemed silly to have her pay for one. I made something similar (not identical) which was more easily adjusted for her dogs (who aren't all the same exact size.)

Now I'm working on a cardigan for my niece. She's only a few months old, and the cardigan is for a 12 month old, but it's light weight, and she should get some good use out of it. I figure too big is better than too small when it comes to children!

I also am still working on that throw. It's taking forEVer. I've got about 4 feet done, but it really needs to be about a foot longer. Thankfully I am making good progress, and I still have time!

I also want to make 3 more washcloths for the kids. They really need something for washing their faces and I thought they'd be more excited if they had their very own washcloth, made just for them. The washcloths are fast, though. I can do them each in a day.

More knitting photos to come!