Teacup-a-Story

Through Rosanne, I learned of the Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-thon.  

This week’s topic is Teacup-a-Story. 

Before I post the photo of the cup I choose to share, I must note that I don’t have a teacup collection.  I’m a mug girl, as unrefined as that makes me.  I have fine china, and those cups and saucers are all precious to me, because the Knight picked out our china together.  (He rejected my china pattern and wanted one of OUR own.  I found that humorous and very touching.  Luckily, my sister and I had chosen the same pattern originally.)  They’ve been used by family and friends for several special meals, and that’s treasure a plenty.  I like the IDEA of a teacup collection, but right now, it simply doesn’t fit.  That’s the beauty of tea though; it’s almost magical.  It is at home in cast iron kettles, fine china, and comes in a blend for every mood and taste. 

So, I share a gift from Christmas most recently past, from a swap pal.  No ordinary spoiler, my dear friend Michelle  actually REQUESTED me as her downstream pal.  She spoiled me rotten, and this perfect, sturdy cup and saucer simply prove how well she knows me.  I love peppermints and red, and this cup and saucer delight me so that here we are more than half-way through March, and I simply can’t put them away with the other Christmas things.  

You see, generally when I drink tea, I’m alone or with the dogs, and I don’t dare sip from a dainty piece of art.  I also drink tea almost exclusively, so a small cup means constant refills.  Mugs, big mugs, serve me better, allowing me to sink into the sofa with my dogs and my knitting and truly relax.  Ironically, I do have a small collection of teapots though…

Darling Boy

I really am going to give you a cast list one of these days, but today isn’t it.  It’s hard enough to type with one grumpy old pup in my lap licking my fingers and another literally nipping at my heels, the box behind us, the comforter that serves as the dog bed in the study.  Oh, and there’s a cake in the oven too.  I can multitask!

Thursday evening was a high point in our Christmas visitations.  My childhood best friend now lives in Texas with a Knight of her own, and their darling little boy.  Seeing my old friend is always a treat, and I truly adore her husband, but for the last 2+ years, the visits have been all about DB.  Now, mind you, I realize that DB worships his “Uncle Knight” and I am just the name/woman he must smile at and hug and thank when he does get to see his beloved Uncle Knight, but I love him just the same, and eat up those sweet moments when he does pretend to want me. 

This year was especially sweet because since early fall, DB has wanted nothing more than to see fire trucks and firefighters.  As the regular reader knows, that is *SO* within my power, even when the Knight gets caught working late on the worst possible evening.  Many, MANY thanks go out to the paid firefighters at our station.  I knew they were all great guys with big hearts, but they really went above and beyond to entertain my little nephew of the heart. 

As you can see, DB only has eyes for his new friend, even if all of those special clothes are a bit intimidating!

 

If you’ve never tried to take a good picture in a firehouse bay with all of the Scotchlite shining, don’t criticize my photos, but this one is good enough for you to see DB with Uncle Knight’s helmet.  It was too heavy to wear, and I do have a shot with DB and UK together, but I had to promise not to blog it.  (Sigh.  You know blogging is a part of your life when the Knight glares and says, “But don’t put it up on your blog!”)    

For anyone taking notes, you can bet that if this is a year without big, expensive incidents, we hope to find ourselves in Texas, visiting our friends and their DB!

Christmas Eve Deliveries

I’m not one to praise the United States Postal Service, but Christmas Eve impressed me.   Our Postmistress was out delivering, and my mail ran right on time.  The Knight was taking out some trash at 8pm at his grandfather’s, and THAT mail carrier (another lady) was still making sure as many last-minute packages and cards arrived before Christmas.

The first package was from Devon .  I don’t know that I would have EVER turned the heel of my first sock without her!  She spent part of a Sunday afternoon knitting along with me, telling me row by row how many stitches should be on each needle.  A friendship was born, just like that. 

There’s my first Christmas pickle, a lovely ornament that will have a tiny version of the dogs’ Christmas photo placed inside, and a lovely, handmade pin that will look great on almost all of my coats!  Thank you so very much, Devon.  Your friendship has certainly been a blessing this year!

Then, my package arrived from my FFBE pal!  I couldn’t get a group shot because we were heading out as the mail arrived.  I’m already carrying the bag.  I know Karen stressed over the colors, and they couldn’t be more perfect!  The flash made them a bit more vivid than they are, but you get the idea.  I love it!

There were lots of other goodies too.  Look at that Baywood yarn!  Yum!  And honey spoons, a pretty, HUGE tin of assorted teas, and the most wonderful smelling soaps are in that festive box, in a fir scent.  (LOVE fir scents.  Didn’t know I did until I was gifted some fir candles and now, this incredible soap.)  In the upper right is the very yarny card Karen sent too.  It was a lovely package, clearly put together with me in mind.  It certainly has been a grand season for swaps for me.  Thank you, Karen!

I apologize for the delay in getting this post up.  I started yesterday afternoon, and had internet problems at home.  I tried again in the middle of the night when the internet was working, but Sissy wanted to get back in bed; she just whined and fussed and wouldn’t settle on the sofa.  I put her back in the bed, and she stomped up between the Knight and Mugsy, sighed and went right to sleep.  Now, after I get my coffee, I’ll work on a doggy post for the day! 

Mugsy Sismas

Good things do come from working on Christmas Eve.  I just wish I’d remembered to turn Sissy’s cute neck-kerchief around…

From our house to yours, more wishes for hope, peace, joy and love, now at Christmas and always. 

The Eve of Christmas Eve

First off, there’s a little seasonal Meme, courtesy of Robin! 

Ornament Tag

The rules: 

 1. Take a picture of your favorite ornament and put it on your blog telling everyone about it.

2. Post a link to the person on whose blog you found out about the Ornament Tag.

3. Post the rules.

My favorite for this year is the star ornament Michelle and her Littles made for me.  Stars are my favorite seasonal decoration, and how could I fail to treasure such a special star from precious hands?  I still have some of the ornaments my aunt and cousins made years and years ago, although they aren’t on our wee tree this year.  While I love elegant trees with color themed, fancy decorations, what means the most to me are the memories wrapped around my ornaments, many of which are from my childhood.  My father’s sister gave me an ornament every years into my 20s, and my mother has passed along some of my paternal grandmother’s ornaments as well, so this star will become another treasure that I’ll hold for a moment and think about Michelle and her family as I place it on the tree in years to come. 

We had to Sissy-proof our tree, and if you read regularly, you know that even pre-Sissy I wasn’t sure we were going to put one up.  Well, MJ found the perfect tree, half-off, so Sissy and I picked one up earlier in the week, and Mugsy helped me put it together Friday night.  It’s 4 1/2 feet tall, and holds all of the Knight’s firefighter ornaments perfectly.  I’ve said for years that I’d like a smaller tree for that collection, so I suspect that the sometimes Scrooge will be asking for his little tree in years to come.   (Why yes, you do see some swapperly goodness there in the bottom.  I haven’t found homes yet for all of the goodies!)

Speaking of goodies…  Friday night found a stack of packages on the porch, and two more came on Saturday.  On Friday, Mugsy’s prize pack from Nichole of Lapdog Creations arrived, with goodness all around.  The sweet ball had to be photographed separately, as the Knight was opening the boxes for me, and Mugsy was in his lap.  Of course, the prince spotted the ball, and it was game on.  Sissy likes it too, as there’s a bigger version of the ball at the office, but she can play with this one!  Thanks Nichole, and The Princess(donated the doggy prizes)!  There are also bones, both dentibones and some special cookies, made by Nichole, from her furkids to mine, and both are current favorites here. 

For me, there was a very special present from Nichole.  Now, keep in mind that when she bought this, when Mugsy won his prize, and even when she shipped the package, Sissy wasn’t a part of our household.  Amazing, eh?  She didn’t know I desperately needed a keyring for the new key to the Lexus.  (The 4Runner’s remote WAS the keyring I used, but the Lexus’s remote is built into the key.  Handy, but hard to find in a handbag!)  It’s a craptastic photo, but that silver wad in the right corner is a basset hound!  Now, Fred and Sissy Freida will always be on hand to help me find my keys.  Thanks so much Nichole!

Here.  We’ll pause for you to go grab another drink, cookie, whatever.

Back?  Good.  Settle in, because there are THREE more packages to display.  There was actually another one on Friday I’ll just mention in passing - from my mother.  It contained our gift and some interesting keepsakes from my childhood, ranging from Girl Scout patches to the papers she kept from Parents Weekend when I was a freshman in college.  The Knight had a ball poking through all of those, while I opened the sweet box from Mary.  (Yes, I feel very guilty for not being able to get my act together and do cards, much less ship out gifts to my friends and to my mother.  Sigh.  My back hurts, and we lost a whole day to car shopping…)

Put your nose on the screen and read the sweet words on the candle on the right.  Sniff, sniff.  Thank you, Mary.  You are truly a Godsend!  There were also some sweets, some cocoa mix which the Knight has already claimed, and some dog cookies for the furkids!

Saturday’s post brought two surprises.  The Knight quickly opened a pretty padded envelope from Alaska, from Ingrid.  We were so honored and blessed to not only meet Anne’s mom, but we got to spend several days with them.  Clearly, she got to know us too, because her package was filled with perfection! 

Don’t mind my roosters in the background, or the Raisinettes.  (I’m pretty sure the top box is empty, but I’ve been told to keep my paws off!)  There’s a pretty cloth, which the Knight has claimed (see a theme here?), a box of chocolates which is big enough to share, a fun book which the Knight - not a big reader - has already read, and pretty tin of playing cards.  Fortuitous that, as the deck of cards in the pocket behind the driver’s seat on the 4Runner didn’t make it into the box from the salvage job the Knight and a co-worker did.  You might think that without the Page around, we wouldn’t need quick, easy entertainment.  Wrong.  The Knight is a card-counting card shark, and we both love to play Spades, Hearts, Rummy, Gin, and when we have several decks and some clever friends, Hand and Foot is great fun!  Thank you so much Ingrid, for gracing our home and for your delightful gifts!

I hope you’re still with me, because this is big!  My SP11 box arrived, all the way from the far corner of the world.  Sue and I met a while back - I don’t recall how - so like Michelle, she managed to fool me whilst staying in touch as my friend and as a secret pal!  Now, keep in mind Sue had already sent books my way…

Now, you can’t see all of anything in the photo, but there’s a lovely lap blanket on the left, chocolate and more chocoate, yarn (details to follow), tea, great-smelling wax tarts, and a beautiful calendar filled with Autralian Beaches. 

The yarn’s not so electric, but in case you couldn’t tell, the overcast days and indoor lighting aren’t providing the best shots.  My first Fleece Artist, all the way from the other side of the world!  There’s a sock pattern on the label too!  The colors remind me of the water in the above mentioned calendar. 

I had the devil of a time trying to photograph this lovely shawl.  Mugsy insists it is a lap blanket, perfectly designed for my lap and enough overlap for him.  Sissy won’t be allowed near it until her baby teeth move on.  The color is pretty accurate in this photo, even if the Knight’s recliner doesn’t show it off so well.  I am in awe!  It means so much that you invested all of this time in a gift for me, Sue.  Thank you, thank you, and thanks to Latte for such a generous gift. 

I think that about does it for this update.  I hope all of you are off tomorrow and enjoying time with friends and/or family.  We’ll work for a couple of hours tomorrow, and go back to work on Wednesday.  From our house to yours, we wish you a very merry Christmas!

Eat, Sleep…

…and if we have the energy after a nap, THEN we’ll be merry.

Sissy and Mugsy slumber next to me in the study.  Sissy made it through her first Christmas dinner with flying colors; the Knight actually had to TRY to wake her up to give her the tiniest bite of a roll, which she ignored as she repositioned and went back to sleep.  Mugsy, always the prince, was in fine form, and ate too much.  He’s got that “my tummy hurts” look going, but I didn’t feed him!!

I’m going to scoop Sissy up and poor, fat Mugsy will have to waddle behind us, and we’ll go pile up in the human bed for a nap until the Knight comes home.  Tonight’s the night we finish our shopping, no matter how late it gets.

Before I go, I’ve been a bad friend, and I must make amends.  Monica has always been great about promoting swaps and more for others, so it’s a small thing that she’s asking.  If you’re in the UK, sign up for her fun swap.   If you’re elsewhere in the world, “pimp her swap” and you’ll have entered a contest sure to have great prizes!  What are you waiting for?  Go, go!!  Go tell it on your blog that Monica’s having a swap, and don’t forget to mention I sent you.

The Best Love

(Taken by MJ last Friday morning at the office, pre-Sissy.) 

 

The Day Before Christmas

“Tis the day before Christmas,
And all through the house,
The puppies are squeaking an old rubber mouse.
The wreath which had merrily hung on the door,
Is scattered in pieces all over the floor.

The stockings that hung in a neat little row,
Now boast a hole in each of it’s toes.
The tree was subjected to bright-eye whims,
And now, although splendid, it’s missing some limbs.

I catch them and hold them,”Be good I insist!”
They lick me, then run off to see what they’ve missed.
And now as I watch them, the thought comes to me,
That theirs is the spirit that Christmas should be.

Should children and puppies yet show us the way,
And teach us the joy that should come with this day?
Could they bring the message that’s written above,
And tell us that most of all, Christmas is love!

(Author Unknown)

I’ve always said Mugsy was the first and best Christmas present the Knight gave me.  One of his hundreds of nicknames is also “Best Love.”  Not that he reads my blog, but it somehow eases my mind and soothes my heart to tell all of you that dearly as I love Sissy, Mugsy remains number one in our house and in my heart.  He has 12 years of unconditional love and companionship going for him, and he’s still a cutie pie.  His sweet patience with Sissy only proves that he really is a prince among Jack Russell Terriers.  I hope that in time - shortly? - he’ll come to adore Sissy half as much as she adores him, because we certainly didn’t bring her into our home to make him miserable!

It’s still all about you Mugs. 

(And yes, any of you who have tried to housebreak a puppy this time of year already know that the skirt was taken up early Monday, after Sissy left a little wet present of her own…) 

 

Where to start?!

I truly don’t know where to start.  The water’s fine - let’s say it’s a toasty spa, big enough for all of us - so hop in!  There are little trays clipped on each side for your beverage of choice, so settle in and relax…  Don’t mind Mugsy.  He’s busy trying to give me the cold shoulder. 

First up is my latest Loopy Ewepurchase.  The photo is a little dark, but the colors are lovely.  There’s some Cherry Tree Hill in a colorway I can’t name, because the intended recipient might guess, just by the name.  There’s also some Dream In Color Smooshy in Black Parade, which I purchased just because I had to have some Smooshy and I liked those dark colors, oozing from one to the next.  Then, there’s the Baby Twist, because I love the brick red color, and because I can’t get enough alpaca.  I also had to have the Scotch Thistle Lace Stole pattern, and they threw in a calendar full of cute lambs and such, along with the Loopy Kisses…

Then, there was my much anticipated December Tofutsies Sock Club yarn and pattern, from Carodan Farm.   I’ve yet to see a photo online that does this colorway justice.  It’s softer than the photos show, but I don’t know how else to describe it. 

I couldn’t just get the Tofutsies, so I also ordered some of the Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in Mystic Lake.  (It was on sale, you see…)  I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, and chasing Sissy around the great room alternating between, “Come here Sissy” and “No!  Bad girl!” isn’t inspiring me.  I’ve scooped her up, and after cleaning Mugsy’s ears (bless his tolerant heart), she’s considering another nap.  I hope she’ll sleep a while, and then we’ll have one more wild round outside and call it a night, I think.  Of course, the colors are too vivid here, but you can see all the different hues in there. 

Before we move onto the boxes of wonderfulness I didn’t order, we’ll pause for a gratuitous Sissy shot.  She’s easy to please; she likes whatever Mugsy’s playing with and boxes.   Y’all know the size of that box.  Let’s come back to it in about four months, shall we?  I predict Missy Sissy, Princess of Poo (her names for today) will crush said box, if we can even see it around her almost adult form.  You don’t know how I cherished to the two minutes of not worrying about where she was or what she was plotting while she sat on the box and chewed…

Everybody shift to the left.  (Come on Jessi; be a sport and let someone else sit in the full body massage seat, will you?)  Yes, it’s fair to pick on Jessi, because she knows she’s in great favor in our house!  Look at the Christmas goodies she sent us! 

I have my own Party Pooper!  (Sissy hasn’t done that in the house; she’s being VERY easy to housebreak!)  The Knight has TWO boxes of Raisinettes, one of which went to the firehouse tonight.  Crowned Prince Mugsy the Patient has enjoyed crunching the very cute treats - tasty, he says - and Sissy attacks my face when I use the yummy lip balm.  There’s much more there, including a mug that will serve my “quality” coffee at work, and another BEAUTIFUL pair of needles, way in the back.  I have to say again how blessed I feel to have made some incredible friends this year, just because Anne all but browbeat me into blogging and swapping!  Thanks Jessi girl, from all of us!!

The last package was a first, I believe.  Mugsy has always gotten Christmas, birthday, Easter and who knows what else presents, sometimes wrapped with a tag, but dear Donnaand her beautiful Oliver sent him his own package!  I’m sure the Postal employees thought nothing of Master Mugsy ____ receiving a package, but it was a delightful little pick-him up!  

Again, the photo could be better, but look!  Truly beautiful note cards, three different gorgeous cottons, treats galore so Mugsy can willingly share, a little baby which Mugsy will be given the chance to enjoy first, although I predict he’ll let Sissy have it, a pretty cloth, some chocolate for me (a brand I’ve not tried, but I can’t wait, and it’s in my beloved mint), and a pretty ornament I managed to nearly cut out of the photo altogether, because I was distracted by Sissy, of course.  Shopping for Oliver and Donna sure was a great start to finding my holiday spirit, and receiving the box surely helped maintain the joy I found a few days ago. 

Anyone speak Yiddish?  I hear there’s a name (?) close to Freyda that means Joy… 

Rainy day AND a Monday

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. 

Today was an exception.  As far as Mondays go, it wasn’t bad.  It wasn’t even particularly rainy… just a few drops, enough to run the wipers in the rental on intermittent low.  Luckily, the control is the same as the mega-cram-it-all-on-one thingee the Knight’s truck has, so I rather instinctively made it happen.  Not that I like my rental, because I don’t, but I’m grateful that my policy has it covered.  

I strongly suspected I’d have a couple of packages waiting on me when I got home.  Roger that, but not exactly as expected.  (My Carodan package is still out there.)  The second box from Mary was there, as predicted, but so was the third box, which I wasn’t expecting until later this week.  There was also a third box, but I’m saving that for tomorrow, because it deserves a post of its own.   

Everything below came from Blume’s Accessories.  Mary does great custom work, in case you doubt her.  I didn’t include individual photos of every bone and tree, but Mugsy’s dog pals are going to have very special Christmas gifts this year!

Don’t try to count the bones.  Even the Knight isn’t getting an accurate number.  Mugsy works every day, and I think Mary cut him a deal…  ;) 

No, Mugsy still hasn’t been cooperative with his new coat, but he was quite willing to sport his holiday wear.  I no longer care to excuse my lack of interest in learning to crochet; I have Mary.  Yes, the yarn is sparkling.  It’s festive wear, okay?  Mugsy kinda’ like the glitz.  The Knight rolled his eyes, but what does he know? 

(I HATE that bright light thingee, says the prince.)

You’ve gotta’ see the bones up close.  I wish I could show you each one, because they’re all unique in the combination of bows and accents.  This is the darker bone, with the dark red bows.  I’ve gotta’ sit down and figure out which doggy gets what once I wrap up this post. 

And here, the lighter bone with the gold bows.  Mary’s attention to detail makes these bones delightful!  They’re going to be big hits, I bet.  (I hope you can click on these and see close-ups.  If not, head to my flickr account and look at them.  I really love the hound on the bone in the center of this one.) 

I also got one of Mary’s bracelet row counters.  I love it!  I have one from elsewhere, but it is a “cuff” style, while Mary’s has a toggle clasp.  My photo doesn’t do the colors justice.  It’s beautiful!  Don’t let all the beads overwhelm you; they come with instructions, and you can always use it in whatever way suits you and/or the currect project!

Last, but hardly least, I need to include a little special something Mary dropped in, just because.  Too bad the box didn’t

arrive a few days earlier!  It’s a visor clip, and it will go into my vehicle as soon as I either get mine back all fixed up, or something new becomes mine.  

Thank you Mary, for your friendship, and for allowing me to help urge you into starting your own Etsy store.  You sure took care of a lot of my Christmas shopping! 

Achy, but no breaky

This is going to be another long one, so grab a cuppa’ (I’m serving peppermint tea, so you’ll probably want to bring your own) and settle into a comfortable chair.  Maybe grab a snack too.

First, it’s the second Sunday of Advent.  Peace is this week’s theme, and as mellow as I’m feeling, that’s a good fit.  Regardless of your religious beliefs or affiliations, I wish you peace this week and always.  Peace beats blood pressure medication every time, but we’ll come back to that.

Next, I need to bring a lot of you up to date on a few things.  It’s come up in conversations, and while I don’t wish to make a big deal of it, I did realize that this community we have here online is real in its dynamics.  That means that you want to share the good and the bad in my life, just as I would in yours.  To cut to the chase, Mugsy and I had an encounter with black ice Friday morning.  I knew it was there, I consider myself a good driver in wintry conditions, and we still ended up with the driver’s side on the pavement.  Mugsy is perfect.  There’s only one explanation for his old, brittle bones surviving without any aches and pains, and that’s our own little miracle.  I fared well enough, but for ten years, we’ve lived in fear of even a simple fender-bender setting me and my back into a fit.  I am walking, talking, knitting and blogging, so it’s going to be fine!  The Knight has waffled after seeing my vehicle yesterday, so we’ll just wait and see what the adjuster has to say.

With all of my down time, I have an FO!  My model isn’t cooperating - we had a high of 52 degrees today, so I am sympathetic - but you know you’ll see him in it in due time!  This is my THIRD coat from the Fiber Trends Dandy Dogs, and I am well-pleased. 

Needles:  #6 x 14″ Clover bamboos for body, with #5 Addi turbos for the neck.

Yarn:  Paton’s Shetland Chunky, colorway “Country Boy”

Mugsy still needs a lightweight “jacket” but I didn’t plan on this mini-heatwave…

Then, you’ll get to see a rare thing at my house.  Meet the Wick’d Quant, which is on its way to the frog pond.  I squeed this morning when I realized that Wick is variegated, and it wouldn’t be quite as warm as wool, but as you can see, the repeats are too short and the entrelac is lost before we even begin.   

 I’ve already cast on with my lone skein (88 yds!) of Wooly Stripes, so if you’ve already knitted Quant up, let me know if there’s just no way it will work, please?  The Ravelry buzz is that with a skein around 120 yds., there’s still a lot left over, so I’m hoping…

The lace is growing too, and I had hoped to block the secret project, but I can’t bend over even the slightest bit, so blocking doesn’t seem like a good idea.  The Knight has been taking great care of me and doing errands, but somehow, I think it’s best if I don’t ask for him to block my first lace project.  If it comes it that, I’ll get my mother inlaw to help…

The world is full of wonderful people though.  The other vendors at the open house I was supposed to attend this afternoon collected Pampered Chef orders without me, and there’s just enough to turn in a little show!  For all of my griping about lacking the holiday spirit, the truth of the matter is, I am just not inclined to shop, shop, shop.  I do feel very blessed, even moreso now, and I know I live a very good life.  Maybe this is just my Christmas of Peace.  For me, peace is something that settles deep within me, but has the rather unique ability to wrap itself around me when I need it most. 

Practice peace, and enjoy your week.