Christmas is Done!

Woo hoo! I finally have officially finished my Christmas knitting! The only outstanding present was Dan's hat, which only became a present (versus just a random knit gift) because of timing, but since it worked out, I'm totally counting it as an additional Christmas present for him.

I actually finished it a couple of days ago, but I had to block it and I don't call things officially done until it is dry from blocking. The blocking finished it off nicely - it made the decreases around the crown oh so sharp and pretty. Which is good because those crown decreases were a big pain in the rear. It seemed like I had to pull those stitches so tight just to keep them from gapping. Which leaves me feeling a bit torn about the pattern in general - kind of a pain to make, but really sharp results. See?

"Weekend" Side


"Work" Side

Since it's reversible, it's got a bit of a multiple personality thing going on. Dan says the side with all the orange is his fun, weekend side and the mostly gray side is the more mature, work-appropriate side.

He's actually wearing it right now as he hangs out in the living room. I think that means he likes it.

How Did This Happen?

I am not one to give handmade presents - crochet, knit, whatever. Even the simplest project takes hours of work and, unless the recipient is involved in pattern and yarn selection, there is just too much of a chance of the hours of work going unappreciated. And nothing is more heartbreaking than so much time and love going into something that is unwanted or receives just a lukewarm response. So yes, I'm a selfish crafter.

I have made a number of things for Dan (like this and this) but they've never been a surprise to him. Instead, we select the pattern and yarn together. Sometimes that's frustrating (Dan researches things a lot before making a choice, even yarn, and I tend to be more quick deciding) but at least it results in projects that I know will be loved by someone else in addition to me.

Of course, all that being said, I somehow managed to knit something for everyone on my Christmas list this year. Sigh.

  
    
  

I'm not exactly sure how that happened!

That last picture, though, is a hat I made for Dan (yes, we picked out the hat and yarn for this one together) and it wasn't finished until today. It's pretty nifty - it's reversible!

I still have to block it but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Of course, all that Christmas knitting was why I haven't been posting much about what I've been working on. But radio silence has been broken so yay!

Next up: fingerless mittens for me, a pillow and a sweater!

'Mingo Christmas!

Muchas gracias to my MIL for the adorable flamingos! We are such slackers, they are our only Christmas decorations (But they carry the weight of such responsibility so well!)

Book 19: Failure is Imminent

Well, my goal this year has been to read 24 "real" books.

I'm going to fail.

I was doing great this fall. I was even two books ahead! So what happened? Well, I started comfort-reading.

Back in September, I tore my rotator cuff and that sidelined me from most normal activities, which was kind of unhappy making. Then as I started to get a handle on that, I got a cold. Then another one. Which turned into a sinus infection. And then, when that went away, I got another cold. All of these things made me sad. So I've been living in some state of disgruntlement for the past three months. And my normal response to grumpiness it to read (and re-read) fluff.

So have I read some new books in the past few months? Yes, quite a few, actually. But it's all been romantic fluff, which I am not counting towards my goal as they are not the books that I wanted to get read this year (since I typically have no problem reading those fluff books on my reading list). I've also re-read some of my favorite fluff books. And I've read a fair amount of fanfic online (which really doesn't count as any sort of book in my world). But I haven't really read any "real" books.

I'm half way through Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld by David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro, which I started reading back in September. But it's been kind of difficult to get through (and to get to the point) which, combined with my need for fluff, means that I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it this year.

So yeah, my chances of getting through enough "real" books in the next two weeks to meet my goal of 24 are fairly low. Though now I am, at least, one book closer. Because audiobooks count.

I used to listen to audiobooks quite a bit on my drive to and from work. But since I'm not working anymore, I don't have a commute. And I can't normally focus on audiobooks unless I have something to occupy me visually (like driving) so my remaining audiobooks have just been languishing. Until I realized I could listen to them while knitting, cleaning and cooking. So the past couple of days I've been listening to The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille. It's presented as a business/marketing book but it covers some pretty interesting psychology, specifically how (and in which culture) someone learns about a concept impacts the subconscious associations with that concept, giving certain "codes" to certain words and ideas. The codes differ from culture to culture as an American and a German will have had different experiences when first learning about/experiencing something, for example cars, and that means that different advertising will be required to "speak" to each culture's experience.


Overall, it was quite interesting. The narrator was a bit flat but not so annoying as to be difficult to listen to. I did sometimes question how up-to-date the book was; a few of the studies seem like they could be many (many) years old even though the book was published in 2007. (For instance, when talking about the concept of beauty in Japan (and associated codes), it spoke about how women would dress in their kimono to accent their neck, as the neck was seen as sexy. Yes, that's true - the Japanese view the neck as very sensual. Geisha makeup is even done in such a way as to accentuate the neck because it is alluring. But the book talked about kimono like it was daily wear, not the special occasion wear it is now. That made me question how current the information was and if the author was fudging things or skimming topics, potentially ignoring facts that didn't match his conclusions. There are other instances that made me question how current (and thorough) the author's studies and conclusions were, but the kimono one stuck in my mind the most.) Anyway, I took the information presented with a tiny little grain of salt but I really found it interesting. And I'd love to know more specific codes, actually, because it was very intriguing.

But for now, I'll switch gears and pick another "real" audiobook to see if I can't get closer to my year-end goal before failure happens. My goal now: little failure instead of big.

Christmas-fest

Dan and I were out and about today, and not just to the grocery store. We went to an event!

This weekend is the first annual Arlington Christkindl Market.

It was described to Dan as basically the Christmas equivalent of Oktoberfest. So we figured there should be beer.

There was!

Of course, food was also another draw. Dan saw a snippet about the festival on the news and they had a shot of what looked like a tenderloin sandwich. So we went thinking that there might be one of those, too.

There was!

There were other goodies, too, so naturally we had some of those, too.

Potato Pancake & Sausage


Peach & Cheese Strudel

(Unpictured are a fantastically tasty and sweet apple cider and Dan's second favorite wheat beer.)

It was just the first year of the festival, so it was pretty small, but it was still neat and gave Dan and I couple of hours of meandering and munching. And pointing out folks in funny hats and/or lederhosen.

A good time was had by all! (Except perhaps by the guy that was there in the shorts. Cause it was cold.)

Grr

I feel that it is too early in the year to awaken to this:

Yes, I realize that there is no way to expect any day in December to be anything other than late in the year, yet I still feel like it is too early for snow.

When is the first day of summer? Oh well, at least I'll get to wear some of my cuddly knit goodies.

Speaking of which, I went to a new yarn store this weekend. I got goodies!

Exciting, isn't it? Yes!