Merry Christmas

LLBean/FedEx Watch: No package yet...LLBean says it will be here today. I'm on the phone with the post office now and they still haven't seen it yet. They said to call back by noon... (The photo copy is ready if need be!)

The scarf was finished Thursday night and looks cute. I hope she likes it...it should go with her black coats...

The princess came over Thursday night to ice cookies. She is of the school of thought that "if some sprinkles are good....lots of sprinkles are better!) Her birthday was yesterday, so it was fun for her to come over and do that. Chaser X was sick, so he didn't get to decorate this year... (Let me know if you can identify any of these shapes...)

So I had lunch with Anna yesterday, who desperately needed a break from work...A couple of days off will be good for her. After lunch, we went to the yarn store - Chris'. Now that I know what I'm buying at the yarn store, it's really dangerous for us to go in there together! I did find yarn for the cabled scarf that I want to try, but we found some new gadgets....

I never thought in a million years that I would be interested in the loom knitting, but the hats from the Knifty Knitter are so cute and so easy, that I couldn't resist! I bought the looms at Michael's, but got the Plymouth Jelly Beenz yarn in red, blue, pink & purple because they had a sample there that was SOOO cute. Anna got the little one too and some Debbie Bliss cashmerino (I think) in baby pink to make some baby hats for gifts for friends. We also bought the pon-pom makers that were so cool too...

So I broke out the Knifty Knitter last night while watching TV at home...I just wanted to see if it was as easy as they said. After finally figuring out how to wrap the yarn and the correct tension, I set out to make a hat. 2 hours later, I was finished, complete with a pon-pom. I ended up making a second hat and starting on a third before going to bed last night. They are SOOO EASY TO MAKE! I don't know if I will ever knit a hat on needles again! The design is ribbed and has built in rim, so it can't be much easier than that!

In other news...I was watching the local CBS news last night and they were running a tag line for the stories coming up and I could have sworn I saw my aunt on it, but didn't hear the entire thing. My aunt and uncle are very active in an organization in St. Louis called Santa's Helpers that collects toys for needy kids, then delivers them on Christmas Day in a Santa suit. They were on the news last night because their house had been broken into and they stole some of the Santa gifts, along with electronics and valuables in the house. I hadn't even heard until then that it had happened and I had even talked to Alice that morning to get a recipe from her. So I got a hold of Mom & Dad and they were buying replacement gifts. I just talked to my uncle and he said that they have had an outpouring of donations of gifts, toys & money and so much that they were able to sponsor a family that wasn't referred until late yesterday afternoon! The people of St. Louis are soooo generous! (Just to note, the organization is having a "matching gift" drive right now for any new donations that come in for next year. For more information, click on the link above for the phone number.)

So I bid you Merry Christmas for the rest of the weekend. It will be fun to spend the days with family and friends and enjoying each other's company.