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...