Indulgences

I gave up on the Christmas knitting. Well, not on all of it, people will be getting handknits, but I took a good long look at one big part of it and realized that it would make a perfect birthday present, too. I'd have a chance of finishing it (a real chance, not a "I can sleep again on Christmas Day" chance), but I don't want to sit here knitting for the next two days - I probably will anyway, but I would like to know that I CAN do other things if I want to. There will be carolers at the mall tomorrow, there are cookies to decorate and appetizers to prepare and Christmas movies to watch (okay, I will knit during the movies). Of course they are the same every year. I start with Scrooged, then it's the Muppet Christmas Carol (Oh, there goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim - I can't wait :o), and then it's Jimmy Stewart, naturally. It's not Christmas without him. I'm doing this on my own, because nobody else is interested in watching the original versions - and also because I can bawl as I please. Yes, even with the Muppets, have you seen those hungry mice?

I know nobody wants to hear this, but I'm having a rather relaxed holiday run-up this year (see lack of Christmas knitting spirit above). As an unprecedented indulgence, I took ten days off work over the holidays, so now everything is decorated, wrapped and prepared, and I'm walking around the house thinking that I forgot something major, because there should be a mad rush, shouldn't there?

Speaking of indulgences ...

Cherry pistachio and chocolate coconut. I'm a biscotti fan, so traditional Christmas cookies are not for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chocolate coating thin enough for dipping, so the cherry pistachios are a bit of a chocolate overload. How can something so wrong be so very right?

Another indulgence:

TOFUtsies sock yarn from SWTC. Wool, soysilk, cotton and chitin. I'm a sucker for interesting fibers (see my sadly repressed obsession with Seasilk). It feels very cool and soft, great for spring socks.

Now that the secret knitting is coming to an end, I need to choose my holiday knitting. Sigh. I have so many UFOs left over from this summer (will you tell me why I finished all the hideous sweaters, but didn't knit but two rows on the seasilk shawl?). I also have some mohair luxe to frog. SP9, this information is for you :o). The mohair with the beads on the rosewood needles? Yet another ill-conceived project, my lace sampler scarf without any thought whatsoever. I'll take a picture when I have the heart to deal with it.

Speaking of which, I'm collecting evidence for a post entirely devoted to frogging. It's a major opus, so it will definitely be posted after the holidays, but not a day goes by without determined ripping. Stay tuned.