Is Christmas Really Only 8 Days Away.....

Wow! I can't believe how close the holiday is and I still have so much knitting to accomplish. I wasn't originally planning to knit for Christmas since I am still relatively new to knitting. However, with our current money situation it was kind of the best option. Unfortunately, life happened and my grandfather passed and I was sick for about 3 weeks which put a huge damper in my knitting. What have I accomplished? Well let's see: One purse (well sorta it still needs to be seamed and have handles), Hat for my step-dad, one sock for mom, half a scarf for Jeannie....

What still needs to be accomplished: Other sock for mom, other half of Jeannie's scarf, 2 more purses, 3 elephants, golf sweets for my step-dad, dish clothes for my sister (need to find patterns still), non-knitting but I need to make some more soap to go with her dish clothes.

So stressed lately struggling to make ends meet and still be able to enjoy ourselves. Can't wait for knit night tonight. I really need a break from the apartment and life!!

'Sole' Food Swap Q & A

I just can't seem to stay away from the swap bug! No matter how hard times have been and how tight money seems to be I always seem to find space in the budget and life for just one more swap. Here is the Q & A for the 'sole' food swap:

1.What weight of sock yarn do you generally prefer (fingering, sport, or DK?) I have knit socks in just about any weight yarn it doesn’t really matter to me.

2. What is your favorite type of yarn to knit with? For socks I have found that I really like Sensations Bamboo & Ewe (40% Wool, 30% Nylon, 15% Rayon). It is warm enough when I need it to be but cool enough for Florida weather.

3.Are there any brands of sock yarn that you have wanted to work with but have not had the chance? Ummm…Sockenwolle 100% superwash

4. What colors do you like? Pink, Green, Purple (anything really bright is always good) I also really like anything that is self-striping!

5.What colors do you not like? Boring colors (black, brown, beige, etc…)

6.What type of recipes do you usually cook with? I LOVE one pot/pan meals. Easy to clean up!

7.What type of recipes do you usually bake with? Nothing particular. I am a huge fan of cake baking so I tend to bake a lot of cakes. I like trying new decorating techniques.

8. What is your favorite food? Just about anything. I love food and enjoy trying new food.

9.Are you a tea or coffee drinker? Both

10. What type of sweets do you like? Whoppers

11. Does your kitchen have a theme? Penguins

12. Do you have any allergies (to food, fibers, pets, etc) or diet restrictions? Nope!

13. Is there anything else you would like your pal to know? I am an infomercial junkie. I love to watch all the food infomercials (slap chop, magic bullet, perfect brownie pan, & Xpress Redi, Set, Go)

Tough End To The Year

So I apparently did not blog all of November. Unfortunately, November was a really rough month for me. The first week of the month my grandfather had a massive stroke and and spent 4 days in Medical ICU before he finally passed. It was a long tough 4 days. Being told that we had to wait 24 hours initially to see if the drugs they gave would work. Finding out day 2 that they did not work and he would not recover and he had also had a second stroke that took his vision. It then became a sad waiting game. Waiting for him to pass. That was the hardest part was knowing it was coming and not knowing when and wanting to be there for him. There was a lot of phones calls "you have to get here now it will only be a few hours" and then it would be another day. Really tough seeing my family so hurt especially my mom and my sister we have been so close our whole life it is really tough to see them cry. Due to the always wanting to be there I missed 4 days of work which really kicked us in the butt since Walt is not working.

So there was maybe an okay week after he passed and then I got this awful cold that I can't seem to shake. I have had no energy to knit nor do I want to as I am afraid to pass my germs through a knitted scarf or pair of socks. With money being so tight I was planning to knit for christmas with stuff out of my stash but time is running out and I feel like I have tons to do but I can not shake this cold. It has been such a stressful month and I know there is more to come. Still trying to manage to pay the bills with just my paycheck. Hoping I will still be able to at least cook for Christmas. If nothing else I would just like to have some family over to eat. This will be my first Christmas without my grandfather and he will be missed.