I'm getting some stuff squared away at the day job before I leave for two weeks (though I'm bringing the work laptop with me so I can keep on top of things). There is always a new wrinkle, and I wouldn't put a minor calamity past the editor.

Mark's socks are scooting along, but they are way longer than I wanted--it's just the nature of the pattern. I'm actually going to need another ball of yarn. Now I'm worried that the cuff will be too tight. I guess I could always snip the cast-on and do a really loose bind off, if I have to. Hopefully they'll be okay, but I won't know until December 25!

Here's a quiz from Knotty Mouse--Question 11 made me laugh out loud. Extra credit if you can guess which response I chose! (By the way, I am the opposite of cold, calm and calculating--not to mention amoral!! So I don't think the quiz is particularly accurate.)

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Sorceror   Control is the name of your game. You are a studied tactician and scientist and you seek a kingdom where things make sense, damn the morals, even if you have to create it. You are cold, calm and calculating.
Werewolf
Cthulu Spawn
Ghost
Incubus/Succubus
Vampire
Demon
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

The other night we had hockey tickets, and they were giving away Christmas ornaments. I got one of the 20 signed ornaments in the arena! And it was signed by this man, Tuomo Ruutu:



Pretty, hmm? There's a reason so many ladies were wearing his sweater at the game. (Also, I don't understand this commercial. It's like a Mentos commercial, minus the plot. Do Europeans laugh at our commercials, I wonder? I doubt it, since they're mostly stupid and/or about boobs.)

I frogged the sock I was working on for Mark--you had to pick up the heel flap stitches in such a way that the cables looked continuous, and I just couldn't get it to look right. So I'm making these. (Have fun reading Finnish! I think the pattern's only available on Ravelry.) Here was my progress Sunday:


Yet another absolutely awful photo, courtesy of yours truly! These are really fun, and surprisingly quick. It's basically a 3x1 rib, with cables every 4 or 6 rows. I'm working on the heel flap now.

I just realized I've made two completely unrelated references to Finland. Does that mean I have to like lutefisk? Mark's mother had two cousins (brothers) who both married unrelated Finnish exchange students. When we were in Colorado for Christmas in 2003, we visited one of the couples in Breckenridge (they live there full-time, so they're only kind of rich). Indeed, there were various dried/jellied fish items served. Luckily our very sweet Finnish hostess (whose name escapes me) understood that she'd probably be the only person enjoying them. I think I did try something, and it was very salty and fishy. I'm no fan of my own cultural touchstone, bacalhau--and it at least looks appetizing, like a little super-salty fried fish doughnut--so it's understandable that these delicacies wouldn't appeal to me...

Speaking of Portuguese food, I've been meaning to pick up some linguica (and I always buy this brand, for reasons that would be clear to some of you)... Mark doesn't like it, ostensibly because the sausage bleeds orange paprika-colored oil when you bite or cut it. But it actually works really well on pizza, or in spaghetti sauce, and the carnage is not noticeable in these applications. I am much looking forward to the Portuguese food extravaganza that is staying at my grandmother's house.

Michelle posted a link to this contest to win a pretty apron. Her aprons are so cute! I wish I were a more talented seamstress. Also, she has fun recipes.

Speaking of making aprons, I have to break out the sewing machine this weekend anyway...Lane Bryant had an enormous sale last weekend, and I managed to pick up a cute top and a pair of jeans for $20. Total! Anyway, the jeans are literally about eight inches too long. (Cathy, maybe I should give them to you.) I should probably hem them by hand, since it's hard on the machine to handle denim (ask me how I know), but I have a few other things I need to mend and/or make before I leave for New York.

Gah! That trip is coming up way quicker than I thought it would. I do need to get my butt in gear.

I have turned the heel on Mark's socks, but things are getting confusing. I think I need to break down and use stitch markers.

My supervisor joked that we should all get these at work:



I wonder how many takes they had to do before the actors stopped falling out of the chairs...

I finally have some progress to show on Mark's socks, though it is a crappy picture:


Can you even see the cable up the side? It was a huge pain in the ass at first, but then I remembered how to knit the stitches out of order, and it's not so bad (I only use cable needles when I've got really big cables to deal with--it's so much faster). I may add an extra repeat or two to make them a little longer. I also finished my father's felted slippers the other day--Mark even helped a little with needle-felting the "thrums" to the insides--but I won't bore you with another (even crappier) picture. Trying to take pictures of dark yarn at night is just a bad idea.

No holiday decorating yet--last night's House was just too captivating. Tonight, probably.

True story: A few weeks ago we got a Hickory Farms catalog in the mail. I left it for Mark to look at, assuming he'd just recycle it. A week or so later, I found him snuffling in the living room, looking around for his "cheese magazine". Yes, he was reading the Hickory Farms catalog like a magazine. I mean, I like to hang onto KnitPicks and Lion Brand catalogs for a while, but they actually contain valuable information (and yarn pr0n). Apparently my husband likes to look at pictures of summer sausage and cheese logs. I don't know if I ought to be worried.

Had another successfully productive day, though not as productive as I'd like. Arias do not learn themselves, folks. I did finally finish the cuff on Mark's first sock, though. I'm using Patons Kroy, which I'd never worked with before. I understand why this is such a popular yarn in Canada! It makes a lovely soft fabric for a great price ($5 a skein at Michael's!).

Getting ready for my trip to New York! I'm hoping to catch up with a few friends from college--one of whom I've been out of touch with for five years or so, and have just caught up with on Facebook. (Oh yes, I was a doubter, but you can count me as a fan.) That, and I'm trying to schedule a time with my vocal coach. I hope I can work that out.