Lighting Up the Town

 

Brrrrr.....last night the town had it's annual tree lighting ceremony and holiday marketplace. The only problem was that it was COLD. Wind chills in the 20's. We were lucky enough to get a nearby parking space so we went back and forth to the car to warm up while waiting for the countdown. Pup was bundled in her stroller with no complaints.

In spite of the weather there was a big crowd.

There were a surprising number of vendors who came out to brave the winds. The Mister bought this collection of fancy whiskey. I bought some kettle corn.

Since Halloween, we've been watching the city workers put up the displays all over town. 

The koi pond park turns into a fairyland for the season. 

If this weather keeps up we'll be ice skating on that pond. 

It was so cold that the usually long winded mayor just did a short countdown and flipped that switch so we could all head back home.Thank goodness for that. I was freezing. The weather changed so suddenly here that I never had a chance to dig out my really warm things. I guess I'll be doing that today.

Giving Thanks Pt 2

We left early Thursday morning to get up to Daughter's so I could see the end of the Macy's Parade. I turn into a kid the minute Santa comes on the screen. It's always nice to have one of the littles around to share the excitement. 

Up in Detroit the other Little Grands had a bird's eye view of their parade. That whole city was rocking because of the football game being played there. They didn't win the game but they did win the half time show competition. Jack White AND Eminem? Yes, ma'am.

My artichoke dip was a bust but dinner went off without a hitch. SIL smoked a turkey and there was a honey baked ham. It made it very hard to stay a vegetarian but I stuck to the carrots, green beans and Brussels sprouts. 

We had arts and crafts time after dinner with the Really Big Grands. We made glittery turkeys.

There was a baby's idea of music but only when he wasn't running around the room. I can't believe how well he's walking now and how long he could keep it up. He rarely sat down all day.

After everything was cleaned up The Mister and SIL had a fire while watching the last of the day's games while sipping on Black Walnut Old Fashions in the 30 degree weather.

While the babies were in bed and the men were outside, Daughter and I put up her Christmas tree. When Big Grand came down in the morning he was very surprised that Santa had dropped off a tree for him to decorate. He liked the tree but said it needed "rainbow lights". It wasn't long before he discovered the switch that changes the color of the lights. It's going to be a battle between him and his mother from now on for control of those lights. So far, he's been winning.

And...I was asked about what went wrong with the dip I made. I think it was the addition of sour cream and Parmesan cheese. I've made this before and it was good but I think I pulled up a different online recipe this time. I do believe the recipe I have used in the past had no sour cream and used mozzarella instead of the Parmesan. I do know I spent a lot of money on the ingredients for something that went right in the trash. It was that bad.

Giving Thanks Pt. 1

 

Pup and I slept on the couch Wednesday night so I could be up bright and early to get food prepped. First was my grandmother's infamous jello salad. Carrots and pineapple in orange jello topped with mayonnaise. Everyone in the family hates it but I love it. It tastes like Thanksgiving memories to me. 

Then it was some Spinach Artichoke dip that had to be mixed. I was hauling all this up to Daughter's to be baked. I should have just chucked this whole thing in the trash before I left because it was terrible. I’m never making that again.

I gave a big sigh of relief when I was done chopping vegetables for a relish tray. I was certainly giving thanks at this point. I was thankful that this was all I had to do other than knit 2 hours in the car on the way up.

Gobble, Gobble

 

Old Tom Turkey wants to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving before he gets packed away until next year. I might get a little more done before the calendar turns over to December on Monday but I doubt it. We've got a long weekend packed with things to do. 

Wednesday WIPs: Something Done, Something New

 

I just made it. I wanted the last of the Halloween socks done by Thanksgiving and I pulled it off. The yarn is Static in The Bookhouse Boys colorway and now they are in the gift box. These are man sized so they did take me a bit longer than the others.

I'm past the waste yarn for the afterthought heel on the Christmas Stocking but I've run out of KAL podcasts to knit along with so that's no fun. Arne and Carlos ended their KAL on Sunday but will be back this Sunday to begin their Advent shows. That's a good thing because I need the company.

What's keeping me the busiest this week has been this. Remember my blankety blank Riddari? I complained for an entire year about it.  I got it out of storage last week and started wearing it again and The Mister could not stop harping about how I've never knit him a sweater and could I make him one like this one. Argh....Luckily for him I like my sweaters big and baggy so except for needing some added length in the sleeves mine fits him perfectly. I only agreed to this folly because I'm pretty sure he will wear it once and hate it so it will end up coming back to me. 

And....someone asked me if the new camel project was needlepoint and it is. I hadn't opened the box yesterday but I have now and this is what I found. As much as I love Funky Flowers, the yarn is cheap and old so I wanted to try something with decent yarn. This little thing wasn't cheap. It was gulp...$70 but I'm this close to my birthday so I threw the budget out the window and bought it. 

TNT: The Last of November

 

All the big stitching is finished on Matter's House. I'm saving the dots for its next outing. I'm bringing out the December projects on Friday.

I rounded the corner on Funky Flowers. This is what I've been picking up at night to work on when it's too dark to see tiny stitches. 

I've been liking those big needles and big yarn so much that I bought another kit. It's tiny. Only 6 x 6 but as slow as I stitch I'm sure it will get me through the winter. 

Dear Jane finally got some attention this week. I modified the heck out of her block and made it something that was actually easy and fun to work on for a change. The problem is the center circle that has to be appliqued down is too small now. I'm also going to have to add the borders before I can pull out those paper pieces so it's still got a ways to go.

Special Deliveries

I sense a theme. I just got these new cognac colored Crocs and a packet of Thanksgiving jibbitz delivered. My old brown Crocs had a hole in the bottom. They are the first ones I've ever worn out. 

On the same day they arrived, my new cognac colored zip up hoodie arrived. It's not any hoodie. It's an official Taylor Swift holiday merch hoodie from the acoustic piano collection. I know it probably looks like the ugliest sweatshirt you've ever seen but to me it's.....

...the memory of spending over 100 happy nights with 70,000 other joyful fans at the Eras Tour. It's been a year and we're still not over it. Lol. A week of daily surprise holiday merch drops left nothing unsold. I was lucky to get the hoodie. I've been trying to get an ornament for two years with no luck. Maybe next year.

And...I told The Mister we'd have the Thanksgiving puzzle done by the time we needed to get out the Christmas puzzles. Ta da....all it took was a little teamwork.