The race is on...

I heard yesterday that there were only ten days until Christmas. I almost had a heart attack. Fortunately, my knitting projects are coming along quite nicely. I finished the scarf for my poor nephew (who had surgery on his hand yesterday). Yesterday I finished a hat for my brother and felted a super-secret project for...someone. And I started a cool furry guitar strap for my brother-in-law.

Other than that, I may have to make one last scarf. I still have to do something for my brother-in-law's girlfriend -- who I really like, but I've only seen her twice, so I can't say that I know her really well. Yesterday I emailed my BIL, asking if she might like a cool long scarf, and he responded by saying, "She's got a pink scarf, so I guess she's all set for scarves." Poor, silly Ed. He's got a lot to learn about women. She has only one scarf? She's definitely far from "all set for scarves"!

Last night, I asked my husband how many scarves I have. He looked flustered. "I don't know. A hundred?" he suggested. I laughed and said, "Something like that. And do I need more? Of course I do!"

So I may have to head to the LYS (which I need to go to anyway, since I haven't been there yet) and buy some yarn for a nice scarf for Andrea.

Time zones

Paul came home from Delft last night, and it became painfully obvious that we've been living in very different time zones for the last few days. He was on Dutch time, meaning that he was six hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. I, on the other hand, was on Dreyer Standard Time, meaning that I was about three hours behind the Eastern Time Zone. So Paul came home last night and went to bed at around 8. I, on the other hand, stayed up and worked on my nephew's scarf until around 11. Then I went to bed and lay awake until 2, planning new projects (Hmmm...maybe I should make a nice lap blanket for Grandpa -- but what kind of yarn? And what pattern? And when the heck am I going to do that?).

We'll be flying back to Massachusetts this weekend to pick up my car. (Okay...actually, Paul has meetings on Monday and maybe Tuesday, but I'm going along to visit friends...and to pick up my car.) Between the flight on Sunday, the hotel time (Who am I kidding? I won't be hanging out in the hotel -- I'll be hitting Hub Mills!), and the 12-hour road trip, I'll have plenty of time to catch up on a few Christmas projects...

Four days with Mom and Dad...

...and boy, am I beat! Those two don't slow down a lot for senior citizens. Dad says that the older you get, the faster you have to move -- because you don't have a lot of time left.

Paul's been in Europe since Saturday, so Mom and Dad came to keep me company. While they were here, Mom fixed the drapes and helped me organize -- and did some Christmas shopping with me. Dad fixed all the messed-up closet doors, trimmed the hedges, changed the locks (won't Paul be surprised when he comes home?), hung the stuff in my office, and painted our bedroom a lovely shade of periwinkle. And since Paul wasn't here, we worked on the Dreyer family clock -- we got up around 8:30 or 9 and stayed up until 12:30 or 1 (or, like last night, almost 2). And I'm totally beat.

To make it a little more insane, I had to finish one more hat for Mom to bring home to my aunt -- who wanted to give hand-knit camo stocking caps to her grandsons (3 of them) and hand-knit dishcloths to her daughters. Add that to the Christmas stuff that I'm trying to make for *me* to give away, and you've got total insanity. But I finished that last hat just before they left today, so now I can get back to work on that striped scarf for my nephew.

I spent my share of time shopping this weekend (which was wonderful, since I haven't had a car since we moved here...). I got yarn for my nephew's scarf -- and I found some wicked cheap cotton on a 1-lb. cone for less than $6 at Wal-Mart (so I can get a start on next year's Christmas dishcloths!). But I also got a few things for myself. Most notably, I picked up a copy of the new Vogue Knitting / Lion Brand knit 1 magazine. I know the reaction has been mixed, but I'm all for it. It's nice to have a magazine full of patterns designed for more affordable yarn. And I love so many of the patterns -- it'll keep me busy for a while.

Paul should be home in an hour, so there's no point in trying to get back to work. I think I'll collapse in front of the TV and start that scarf...

Decor Dilemma

So when you move -- especially when you hire movers -- you inevitably end up having to go through *all* of your stuff. The movers, it turns out, emptied out *everything*. Any drawers or cupboards that I had filled with my junk...it *all* got emptied out, the contents all wrapped in several sheets of paper and packed in a box. Was this necessary? Probably not. Was it a pain in the rear end for me, having to unpack all the boxes and unwrap all of my junk that had been wrapped? Definitely. Still, at the same time, it forced me to go through all the crap I'd accumulated and rethink my pack-rat habits.

Where am I going with this? I'm not quite sure. I started heading in one direction, but I ended up somewhere totally different. That often happens when you move to a new place.

Anyway, I was talking about the movers emptying everything out... That included my knitting cabinet, which I had crammed full of stuff. Yesterday I finally got around to unpacking the first two boxes of my knitting stuff and putting it back in my cabinet, and it was like Christmas came early. I got to go through my stash and remember just what I had. I found all the little scraps of stuff that Mom has collected for me from garage sales over the years -- balls of acrylic stuff that I want to use to make a quick toy snake for my nephew for Christmas...just for fun. That's the kind of stuff that was packed in my cabinet -- patterns, magazines, trinkets, acrylic, and left-overs (the good stuff was under the bed -- that's in another box...). While I was digging around, though, I found three full skeins of Patons Decor in white. I know I have some navy, too, and it got me all excited. I know it's not the classiest yarn in the world, but I've got a lot of it. So now I'm all excited to make something with it. But what? What does one make with three skeins of white Patons Decor (and perhaps some navy, which I happen to recall having somewhere)? Any ideas?

Until I figure it out, it's back to the unpacking for me. I took a few days off, but I've gotten my second wind. The office is almost box-free - it feels *wonderful*! And I even unpacked some of the stuff that was in Paul's office -- to give him a hand, since he has to go back to the office all day, and he's going to Europe on business. Then again, why should I feel sorry for him? He gets to go to Europe for five days without me! Never mind...he can clean out his *own* office!

Since Paul's leaving (and I still don't have a car), Mom and Dad are coming for a few days -- to keep me company. They can do that now that I'm only six hours away. I've got to do some Christmas shopping, but I also intend to hit the yarn store while I've got Mom's car... I've been going crazy, sitting here in the house, not being able to get my yarn fix!

I'm baaaack!

It's been a long couple of weeks. The move itself went relatively well -- only a couple of minor casualties. I've been sick the entire time, though, and we had one major glitch. The day before we were supposed to drive from Massachusetts to our new place in Ohio, I finally brought my car in to have it checked out -- to make sure that the problems I'd been having weren't serious. Turns out they were. The car needed a part that had to be ordered, and the car wouldn't be ready for a week. So we left the car behind, rented a Buick Century, and I drove it the 800 miles to our new place. So the car is still in Massachusetts, and I'm trapped in the house until we get it back -- though we're still not sure how that's going to happen.

On the knitting front, things aren't exactly as they should be. Christmas is just around the corner, and I've still got a few projects to complete. Needless to say, the last couple of weeks haven't been very knitty, as Paul and I have been spending our free time unpacking and trying to find places for all of our junk. So the Christmas crunch is on -- and I'm not sure when I'll have the time. Paul leaves for the Netherlands on Saturday, and Mom and Dad show up soon after -- to keep me company and to help me feel a little more settled in. Maybe they'll even help me put up some Christmas lights...