Erica’s Blog

 A quickie scarf and a couple of Barbie capes.  I’m sure the Things are hoping the capes don’t sell. 

Yesterday, Miss Claudia stopped by to lend me a couple of hanging displays that would be perfect for the felted bags.  I think I’ll use Nana’s towel rack for the scarves.  We’ll see.  I need to do a practice set-up tonight or tomorrow.

Here’s the inventory update.  I’m still feeling anxious.  Of course, I’m not sure what I’ll do with whatever’s not sold; I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

FELTED BAGS:  12 (I’ll post a picture of my weird Kureyon bag after it’s dry.)

SCARVES:  11 (Plus one on the needles.)

HAIR “FLOWERS”:  16

FLOWER BROOCHES:  9

BARBIE ITEMS:  7

TOYS:  2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANA!  Hope you have a great day today.  Special birthday greetings are here.

  THIS is Nana’s birthday present.  I’m glad I can finally post a picture of it.  This is from Carol’s Autumn Duo pattern.  I have to wonder if Nana knew what I made her b/c she’s been talking a lot about a felted bowl in the window of Mrs. Dvorin’s shop.  Hope it was just coincidence, and I hope she likes her bowl.  I think it’s sort of a cross between an Indian basket and a sea anemone (b/c of the Squiggle around the top).

At 4:45 a.m., I was in the Things’ room, having Grandma help me wake up Thing Two so I could give her more cough medicine.  Poor kid.  Hope Grandma doesn’t get sick from having her cough on her all night.

At 7:00, hubby and Grandma left for the airport in the cold.  It was clear out, but there was frost on the ground till after 8:30, so Grandma must have been absolutely freezing.  After that, hubby came home briefly to grab some coffee and leftover donuts, then head off to the early children’s ministry teachers’ service, then go to the Raiders game with Big Mike.  I feel like a dope; I don’t even know who they’re playing today!

  As you’ve probably guessed from the fact that I’m posting at 11:00 on a Sunday morning, the Things and I stayed home for jammie day today.  I just couldn’t feel good about Thing Two going to Bible class with that cough.  They probably wouldn’t have let her in, anyway.  They slept really late, then read and watched movies while I ran the Roomba in their room.  At the moment, they’re playing Barbies.  I have three loads of clean laundry on my bed, waiting to be folded, a load in the washer, and one in the dryer.  We ate the last of the cinnamon rolls (Pillsbury reduced fat ones) for breakfast.  Not sure what we’ll do about lunch — maybe popcorn, unless Thing Two is coughing too much. 

I’m almost done blogging for today, then I can go hole up and knit.  Knitting while I listen to new music on the iPod.  Ahhhhh……….

 The other thing I did yesterday was head back to Joann’s to buy a little more Bliss and Moonlight Mohair, then later go to Cottage Yarns to finish off my birthday money.  I was hoping they’d have some recycled sari silk yarn, but they didn’t.  As you can see, I ended up with two skeins of Kureyon (one already in use!) and three of Silk Garden.  The Kureyon is in a bag (with some Lamb’s Pride), but the Silk Garden will be for something for ME.

As for the KnitPicks order I placed on Thursday night, I got several skeins of WOTA in blues, greens, and red.  I also got some Shadow in Vineyard.  I think that’s it.  Honestly, I’m having trouble remembering, and I forgot to log in before I placed the order, so I can’t check the order status.  Silly me!

SO, now all my birthday money has been spent on knitting books and yarn.  Woo hoo!  So much for my usual clothes-shopping trip. 

 For Christmas last year, hubby got this book.  He’s been wanting to try out a new tamale recipe.  We’re going to Mark & Gabriele’s house for a SAND-gang pot luck next Sunday, and they’re having a Mexican theme, so yesterday hubby decided to do a dry run.  Everyone got in on the act, ‘cept yours truly (totally stressed out about having enough inventory for the boutique next Saturday).

Chicken mole tamales.  YUMM!  They were fab. 

  When the tamales were ready, we had a birthday party for Snooker, pictured here.  Yes, a party for a toy cat.  Around here, it’s always some stuffed animal’s birthday, thanks to Thing Two.  Somehow, she suckered Grandma into having an actual party for Snooker.  They went to the store and got a candle, cat toys for presents, party plates & napkins, etc.  We made it clear to Thing Two that she couldn’t expect this all the time.  It was really goofy, but it was something fun to do on Grandma’s last day with us this time around.

Thing Two started coughing in the morning & coughed off & on all day.  By bedtime, she needed the prescription codeine cough medicine.  NOT a good sign.  Grandma and the Things had their last sleepover back in the bedroom.  Guess the futon was too hard.

OK, time to get caught up….

Unbelievably, HUBBY wanted to go shopping on Friday.  The day after Thanksgiving.  “Black Friday.”  Shopping.  We got to the stores late — didn’t leave the house till almost 9:00 a.m.  First, we hit Joann’s b/c he had to get some stuff for a secret project at work (I could tell you, but then I’d have to shoot you.  I’ll tell you about it once it’s over; maybe I’ll even post pictures.).  He had even cut out coupons from the flyer that had come in the mail.  I scored a couple of skeins of Caron Bliss, plus one of LB Moonlight Mohair with a bit of my bday money.

THEN, we hit the mall, where hubby dropped some money at Spencer’s.  Crazy store!  Don’t take little kids in there, folks.  You’ll have WAY too much to explain.  I do, however, like to go there for Valentine goodies….

After Spencer’s, we hit Macy’s, where hubby spent his gift card (plus a tad more).  He needed to get a new wallet and a new black belt.  Oh, yeah!  You know that braided black belt he’s been wearing for about nine years?  It’s MINE.  Yupp.  I got it at The Gap about 12 years ago.  Definitely time for a new one.  It will eventually fit me again; I hope it’s before I turn 50.

 After the shopping trip, hubby dropped me at Bobcat’s.  Checked out the addition, which is coming along (however, all the glitches are not making me excited about our work we need done).  For my bday, she gave me a copy of A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, then we went and got pedicures.  As you can see here, I was feeling a little silly, and chose blue polish.  The Things loved it, though.  The should — it matches their toes!  As soon as I got home, I cancelled my Amazon order for the book.  Then I thought, “Hey!  That’s $30 more for yarn!”  I’m pathetic.

Got a silly card and a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card in the mail from MEY.  Cool!  Can’t wait to use it.  I think I still have $1.50 or so left on the one from last year from Terry & Paula, too.

In the afternoon, hubby & MarkMark golfed at Sharp Park.  The rain stopped while we were out shopping, and by then it had turned into a beautiful day.  They were pretty excited.

Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner.  Grandma & the Things had their “sleepover” in the living room b/c the futon’s bigger than Thing Two’s twin bed.

Remember how hubby took the Things out shopping last night? Well, clearly they were DETERMINED to get me perfume b/c when they came home the Things STANK so badly I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with them! They each tried on about twenty different perfumes. They smelled. They stank. They reeked. Steam was rising from them. Even the towels they dried with after their showers stank.

In attendance, we had:

• Rick, Adri, Jesse & Steven
• Mike, Diane, Matthew & Michael
• Hubby, me, Thing One & Thing Two
• Grandma Ruthie
• Poppa, Nana & Auntie
• Uncle Barney & Aunt Becky
• Uncle John & Aunt Linda
• Frankie & Tina & Tina’s little sister Sierra

There was SO much food, but I managed to stick to my plan and was totally content with what I ate. I even managed to resist the “food pushers” who tried to guilt me into having chocolate cake: “But it was bought especially for YOU, for your birthday”. I was polite, but I didn’t eat a bite of it. Honestly, I just really wasn’t interested in it. I can have chocolate cake any time. I only get to have Nana’s special pecan pie at Thanksgiving — maybe. I wasn’t interested in birthday cake; I was psyched up for pecan pie, and I was very happy with my piece of it. Just when the stress was getting to me, hubby & I took the beast for a walk around the neighborhood. It was perfect, kept me from blowing or saying something stupid. 

Got some really terrific birthday presents:

• When Auntie was in NY, she got me a “Pashmina” from a street vendor (probably fake, but who cares?). It was perfect b/c this morning I had been wanting to wear a shawl, but realizing I didn’t have a black one other than the really sheer one from T’s wedding. She also gave me a couple of CD’s from my wish list — a Cars best-of, and the first U2 album, October.
• Adri (well, Rick & Adri, but I have no illusions; I know the wives in this family do the women’s bday gifts) got me some cool bamboo needles and a copy of Knit One, Felt Too.
• Diane (Mike & Diane) gave me a really pretty Cookie Lee silver-colored cross pendant with crystals on it on a chain. It fits me (but just barely), and it’s really pretty. If I decide I need an extender for it, I can probably get one from Michelle, since it’s Cookie Lee.
  
• Nana & Poppa gave me a cool Christmas plate (I collect the Waechtersbach Christmas tree stuff) and shopping money (some has already gone to knitting books).
• Grandma Ruthie had done all that weeding & planting, but she also gave me some birthday money with a card that had instructions to “have a great yarn-buying day.” Who am I to disobey my MIL? So, within an hour or so of getting home, I had placed my first KnitPicks order. Woo hoo! The rest went toward knitting books.

As if all THAT weren’t enough spoiling, Bobcat & I are going to go get pedicures tomorrow before hubby & MarkyMark go golfing. Should be fun.

AND I got a nice email from Dani, an email from Arlene, and a call from Chiquitita. All in all, a great birthday.

Zo.  Tomorrow eez zee birthday. 

When we came home on Sunday, I had a great surprise waiting for me.  As an anniversary/bday gift, Grandma & the Things had weeded in front & back and had planted phlox and pansies for me in purples and whites — the main colors I have in the garden.  They put in SO much work!  It was really cool.  Now, if I’d already had a nice garden, and she’d replaced something I’d had, this would have been bad.  However, my garden is thrashed, so this was a VERY thoughtful gesture, NOT a controlling one (unlike when N’s MIL re-organized the kitchen when she was gone or undecorated then re-decorated her Christmas tree “right”).

Since today’s the last mail day before my birthday, I was right there when the mailman came.  (Yes, in case you can’t tell, I’m like a little kid when it comes to birthdays.)  I was bummed that no cards came.  About an hour later, though, FedEx came with a beautiful bouquet of irises and lilies from Will & T.  THANKS, T! 

Right now, hubby and the Things are out shopping.  Poor hubby.  The Things wanted to get me something for my birthday.  Thing Two has it in her head for some reason that she wants to get me perfume.  That could be interesting — a four-year-old’s sense of what nice perfume is.  I gave hubby a couple of ideas that would keep him from having to go all over the place, but they’ve been gone for a while.  Hope they’re not driving him crazy.  Hope they remember the milk & Sudafed.  I need the milk for the yams, and the Sudafed for my head.

While they’re gone, I’m 1) enjoying the quiet b/c I have ANOTHER headache and 2) making food for the “Thanksgiving Feast” tomorrow.  I tried to call hubby on his cell b/c I realized I don’t have anywhere near enough sage (and I’m not going to the store in my Mickey & Minnie Mouse jammies).  No answer.  Oh, well.  Right now, I’m sauteeing the add-ins for the stuffing (OK, OK, technically “dressing” b/c it’s not going in the bird, but who cares?!).  Onions, apples, raisins & walnuts.  If you didn’t see the onions, you’d think I was making strudel!  Auntie will freak about the walnuts but hey, what can ya do?  When she makes it, she can make it w/o nuts.  Me, I make what I like.  (NOTE to Susy & the Superstars:  NOPE, neither recipe is at all WW-friendly.  Some things just don’t taste right unless they’re done full-fat, full-everything.)

Christine from Fremont (as opposed to Chrissy from PTA or Christine from Stockton or Kristine from Maryland or Christine from Sunnyvale or Kristina from Santa Cruz or any other Christines I’ve forgotten) called today, too, to wish me a happy birthday.  She knew she’d forget tomorrow.  Rough holiday season for them:  her grandpa isn’t expected to live till Christmas, her mom totalled her car a month or so ago, and her 18-year-old cousin was in a car accident last week and was killed instantly.  Ugh.

Lastly:  Mimi, if you’re out there, happy belated birthday!  I meant to call you before we went to Squaw b/c I’d be out of town on your birthday, but with the butt monkeys, etc., I forgot.  Hope it was great!

I feel like dirt and am officially fighting the crud that’s going around.  Last Wednesday & Thursday, I had butt monkeys (Surely you MUST know what I mean by this, right?  I don’t have to spell it out, do I?).  Thank God for the box of Pepto that Grandma gave me.  If I hadn’t eaten half of it on the way up to Squaw, I wouldn’t have made it there. 

Allergy-type drive-you-crazy symptoms.  Sore throat off & on.  Monkeys came back briefly yesterday.  Today, I was barely able to wake up all day.  Didn’t get up to go to Curves.  Wore exercise clothes so I could work out between dropping off the Things at their respective schools, but didn’t get aroudn to doing that till nearly 1:00, after Thing Two & I both decided we didn’t feel like taking her to school. 

Barely got a shower before we had to go get Thing One.  Feeling generally more & more cruddy all day.  Cancelled an appointment and stayed home tonight instead of going to the Thanksgiving thing at church.  I may even change my ultrasound appointment that’s tomorrow.  The thought of all the logistics that go into a 4:00 appt in San Mateo on a full bladder are just too much for me.

Anyhow, I gotta stay well for Thursday.  Then again, if I’m sick, spending my birthday home alone, sleeping, watching movies, and knitting might not be such a bad deal.  I’d feast on Diet Pepsi and popcorn and not have to worry about overeating.  I guess either way I can’t lose, eh?  Hmmm…I don’t remember ever being sick on my birthday before (though as sick as I was as a kid, I must have been at least once or twice).  I’ll keep you posted.