Marie Grace Designs

Let the madness begin...

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the stores are already filled with everything Christmas. The turkey hasn't even thawed yet but there are twinkly lights in the neighbor's yard and hand-written lists on my fridge.

Though I, and it seems many others, are irritated by the earlier and earlier appearance of tinsel and door wreathes I must admit that it is an exciting time of year all around.

With the holidays right around the corner knitters everywhere are struggling to decide who, if anyone, deserves to receive a hand-knit gift. The cold weather setting in has mothers frantically knitting warm hats and mittens for chilly cheeked little ones. And I'm sure I'm not the only designer hoping to eek out a last minute design or 2 in the "quick to knit" category before December all the while still planning ahead for TNNA.

 

Oh, we may scoff because its just too early and too soon and too much but like it or not that season has arrived. The season of houses warmed by ovens baking cookies and company holiday parties and cheezy Hallmark cards and TV marathons of favorite movies (You'll shoot your eye out, kid!).

May as well embrace the craziness of it all. And knit.

The best knitting...

Ya know there's lots of kinds of knitting like "Dang its cold out and I need a hat" knitting and gift knitting and something to do knitting and for some of us there's even work knitting. But you wonder if they'll like it and should you even bother and will it fit or heaven forbid they decide they're allergic to wool.

When did it all get so complicated?

Well yesterday a friend and I threw off our responsibilities (I've got deadlines and she's a mom who has returned to college) and went out for Greasy Burgers of Death for lunch (with fries) and then spent the afternoon camped out in my living room with yarn and daytime TV. It was blissful. The best knitting ever.

It was the most relaxing afternoon I've had in eons. We both have kids and we both have dogs so she wasn't concerned about the toys on the sofa or the hair balls on the floor and she drinks coffee too. We chatted some and were quiet some and we did a lot of knitting. Such a pleasant reminder of how completely liberating greasy burgers and an afternoon of knitting can be.

When in Rome...

Well maybe not Rome but the living room will do. 

It seems that we've had a successfully relaxing weekend complete with movies (Hitchcock, Jules Verne, and Bram Stoker) and homemade soup (potato and mushroom chowder... yum).

Tater didn't even get out of her PJs all day on Saturday and to top it off she ever so unceremoniously parked herself in this laundry basket at my feet and there she stayed for quite some time watching movies with me. I'm not really sure why she felt compelled to camp out in a basket but who am I to question a 5 year old? Especially one who has a tissue paper ghost on a stick.

 

And while Tater camped in a basket at my feet Tucker snoozed on the floor at her feet and several cats were dreaming away amongst the quilts piled at the end of the other sofa right by the window. People... you often couldn't get this sort of day even if you paid big money so I consider it a very good day indeed.

And even better yet... while all these smallish creatures kept me company I did some knitting. Hours worth of knitting actually that is well on its way to being a new design. At least that's the plan. 

So how about your weekend? Was it full of relaxing and knitting or candy and monsters?

Happy Halloween aka...

an entire day devoted to sitting on my butt, eating candy with the kids, watching movies, and KNITTING!

 

Hitchcock at noon and Bram Stoker to follow... good times!

(Is that a knit sweater she's wearing.... hmmmm......)

To add to the creepiness it seems that Mac Daddy left a coffee cup in the basement a few days ago and it has grown itself a neat little mold garden which in our (slightly weird) house means there's an excuse for FlyBoy to drag out his microscope. These sorts of occasions generally start out pretty calm and mostly educational but quickly disintegrate into giggles and boys spitting on glass slides and hunting through the house and yard for all the sorts of things I try to kill with obsessive cleaning. Talk about a nightmare.

So here's wishing you a Happy Haunty day with a bit of knitting and lots of candy... but wash your hands first!

Knitting, cake, and daytime TV...

Look! Knitting...

 

Its a grey, rainy day... perfect for knitting and coffee and cake.

And speaking of cake... I made this here cake because some lady on TV was doing an interview with some other lady about how to eat food you really like but in a way that won't make your butt big. I don't know how much of it I believe but I really liked the sound of the cake so I whipped one up.

All you do is use a boxed chocolate cake mix but instead of adding the eggs and oil like the box says you just add a can of pumpkin. You also add the water that's called for but that's it. The theory is that by replacing the eggs and oil with the pumpkin you save calories and add fiber and stuff.

 

Its actually pretty good but it is a bit heavier than making it the regular. Of course I don't want cake without topping so I'm pretty sure that when I slapped a blob of cream cheese topping on top of that cake I pretty much negated any calorie savings gained by using the pumpkin. Blah! Save money not calories!

See what happens when the kids go off to school and leave me here with yarn and daytime TV? I'm watching all those chatty ladies on TV and getting all worried about cake and my butt. Well not really. I just wanted the cake to go with my coffee and knitting because daytime TV sucks so it better give me cake.