Well, Let Me Tell You!

Life here at Casa Fantauzzi has been chaotic. Busy. Hectic. Soul Crushing. Eh, maybe not really soul crushing. Soul consuming is more like it. This week my energy has increasingly betrayed me. One moment I'm ready and rarin' to go. Next moment it's like I haven't slept in weeks. Of course, nothing changed that today. I was up and making breakfast while preparing the turkey. I was answering phone calls and trying to wake up Shawn. I was feeding a fussy baby and doing laundry. (Btw, remember my leaking washing machine that they fixed but two weeks later was broken? It's still leaking. So much so that the leak is trailing into the kids room.)

I've neglected my blog in lieu of getting the sock swap ready. Answering emails from panicky swap participants. Adding links. Checking blogs. It's done. Everyone is paired off. Everyone is happy, (I hope).

Sewing has ceased all together. I wish it weren't so. I've been sewing the panels for Scout's baby quilt. I'd also been cutting and sewing, (and sometimes re-sewing), knitting needle cases for my diminishing Etsy shop. (Not that I want it that way mind you, it's just that this has been a bad time of year for me with all the holidays.)

All the holidays, get this: October 31sy is Halloween. Third Thursday in November is Thanksgiving. November 27th is my birthday. December 12th is Shawn's sons' birthday. December 21st is Scout's birthday. December 25th is Christmas. January 4th is my mom's birthday. January 28th is Shawn's birthday. Tell me where this is fair?

It's so unfair. Especially after making a decision not to do any holiday knitting. But the past few months we've been a bit tight on funds. Now it seems like the best thing to do is to do a homemade Christmas with a few small packages for the kids. I found the greatest Homemade Advent Calendar to adorn a hallway. Though I don't know how long it would take to cut out 25 red and white squares of felt and then embroider them all. Then find little trinkets in each one. I remember my mom would go to Cost Plus World Market to buy my advent calendars. Of course, they never made it to Christmas. How could they when they had such delicious chocolate inside?

Nevertheless I am working on a few things. Like the Cobbelstone for Shawn. I think I'm about 9" from the edge. For my mom I'm making a pair of socks that won't fall off her calves. (She's convinced that handknit socks won't stay up because they don't have enough elasticity. I'm going to prove her wrong.) Scout will be getting her baby quilt. (Once the sewing machine works. Basically I was sewing a few nights ago and a needle snapped and it seems that a piece may have gotten stuck where the needle should be picking up the bobbin. This is all so new to me.) As for Jem, I honestly don't know. He doesn't seem interested in me making him anything.

But aside from all that, I have been knitting a bit. Not as much as I'd like due to all the stress. I don't like working charted projects when I'm stressed. It just doesn't work for me. But this project has a bit of stress added to it. Somehow when I caked the skein it tangled up inside. So my cake is everywhere but in a nice and neat ball.

Either way, they are turning out lovely, (I think):

Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark from "Interweave Knits Favorite 25 Socks".

Close up of the stitch pattern. They are 20 row repeats, very easy to remember.

The heel. I'm proud of my heels. Someone once commented on a pair of socks I made saying that I had excellent gusset pick ups. That person has given me a complex.

The yarn is from the Yarn Pirate. I absolutely love the colors and I absolutely love the feel of the yarn. I know what I'll be getting myself for my birthday or Christmas! (Just a tiny splurge.) How I lived without this yarn before is a wonder. Not quite as good as Koigu, (then again, what is?), but it's second to it. Most definitely.

Thanksgiving here was great. Everything went smoothly. The pies I made were delicious and it made me think why I only make pumpkin pies two or three times a year. It was just nice to have us all here together. I wanted a peaceful holiday and so far I got it. Unfortunately Shawn is going to work tomorrow. He doesn't have any more vacation days right now. So, while Shawn is at work I'm going to play. I'll be at the LYS and quite possibly the mall, (gasp!). Shawn gave me an early birthday present so I could use it to hit the department stores during their Black Friday sales. So I'm off to find a pair of running shoes. I've been wanting to go running, but with my horribly messed up feet, (I had club foot surgery when I was a few days old, years of corrective shoes...Now I'm just left with an insanely high instep thus limiting my shoe shopping), I haven't been able to go without a good pair of running shoes. It's something I've looked forward to, so that's what I'll be doing. I can't wait for Bandit to grow up, (stop piddling), and go running with me. I suppose I don't really need a guard dog, but one never can tell these days.

That's my week(s) in a nutshell. I am thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful that there is someone out there who can fix a sewing machine. I'm thankful that the LYS will be open and ready for my reprieve, however short that may be. I am thankful for whoever dreamed up Cool Whip. I am thankful I have a fat, warm kitty to keep my feet warm at night. I am thankful for leftovers. I am thankful for hot water cause boy do I need a bath. I am thankful that I've been blessed with such a beautiful little girl who gets me through the day. The list goes on, but I do not. I'm having a piece of pie and then off to bed I go.