Last post of the year

I've always been project monogamous when it came to knitting projects, but now trying to keep a spinning project and a knitting project going at the same time. So, I'm still working on ToolMan's socks; not a lot to look at yet, and I forgot to take pictures until it was too dark, so you'll have to wait to see those next week. Here, look at some fiber; it'll make you feel better.



Isn't that beautiful stuff? After all the dark colors I've spun for the last month, I really wanted something bright and cheerful. Enter, "Bouncy", 4 ounces of merino/silk blend from Butternut Woolens. I bought this from Shelly last September at OFFF. All her yarns and fibers are gorgeous, but when MonicaPDX and I walked into her booth, I went straight to this and clutched like I was afraid it would get away. MonicaPDX claims she knew at that very minute that I had the spinning bug, and had it bad. I have no idea what she means by that.



And the fact that I've spun 3 bobbins in two days has nothing to do with it, either.

ToolMan and I always buy presents for Andy and let him open them on Christmas Eve. His favorites this year seem to be the dolphin and the sheep.



I couldn't resist buying that sheep; it reminded me of Delores. And look at Andy's face; that is one happy dog!

ToolMan actually got his present a couple weeks ago. It's been covered in sawdust since it came out of the box, so I can only assume he likes it.



First, he used it to make a pair of sock blockers for Judy, and then a lazy kate for Duffy. Oh, wait 'til you see that! I'm not allowed to show pictures until it's done and ToolMan is still working on the finish. But, boy, is it a beauty! I may just have to ask for one myself.

I've been complaining about my little mp3 player not having a fast forward or reverse on it. I love listening to podcasts during my commute, but it's a real bummer when a 'cast runs longer than the train ride and I had no way of zipping right to the place I left off. So, this was what ToolMan got for me:



A shiny, new Zen V, with fast forward and reverse, video, radio, 4 gigabytes of memory and a 6 hour built-in rechargable battery. And this thing is teeny! Remember when pocket calculators first came out, back in the '70s? They were huge! And so expensive; I remember paying over $50 for one only did simple math, had no memory, and only went to 8 digits. It did less than the ones they now give away for free. Computer technology and miniturization, for better or worse, have certainly changed the world and our lives in the last 30 years. Heck, this Zen V has more memory than the first TWO computers we owned!

Then on Christmas Day, we went to SIL Faye and BIL Jim's house in Sandy. SS Chris and DIL Ronda came, with her son Ricky. Nieces Lisa and Jane were there, too. It was a nice, quiet family holiday, and then we got this:



A white Christmas! The perfect kind: enough snow to cover the grass and look pretty, but not enough to stick on the roads or make driving difficult. All in all, it was a really nice holiday, even if I did have to go back to work for the rest of the week.

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over. When I remember back to the events of a year ago, it seems like this year passed in the blink of an eye. A lot of it was painful and tearful and difficult to bear, but a lot of it was also joyful and wonderful and filled with family and friends, and I wouldn't have missed any of it for anything.