A day off for the news folks

What the heck are the news people going to talk about today? Grey Thursday and Black Friday are over (unless you count the large number of retailers who are extending their "Black Friday deals" to the end of the year). Small Business Saturday is in the books, as well. Cyber Monday is tomorrow; I suppose the talking heads could breathlessly predict massive failures of the internets because of the sheer volume of online shoppers.

It. Makes. Me. Tired.

Not as tired as actually going out and braving the crowds, of course. Since I got home on Thanksgiving afternoon, I've stayed tucked in my nice warm house with my knitting and, um, football snacks. So I'm not tired at all.

My knitting is progressing nicely. Instead of a pair of clogs, I decided to start this.


Naturally I'm using some wool I already had in the yarn closet, an unlabeled blue-and-white tweed  which, doubled, is working out nicely.

Five years ago I might have gone out searching for the neutral tweed illustrated in the video. My favorite colors then were black, grey and taupe. And, honestly, I can't say that blue is my favorite color. But if you're going to be an active Democrat, you really need some blue stuff in your wardrobe.

Before the 2008 campaign my go-to winter cover-up was a green fleece half-zip pullover. Now it's a blue fleece zippered cardigan. Of the last four knitting projects I've started, three have been blue. The pink-and-grey slippers won't be for public display, thus they could be, um, not-blue. I've recently added to my wardrobe:

• a blue-and-black top
• a blue-and-white skirt and
• a blue twinset

I'm ready, ready, ready to … rock the blue.

I started the current hat when WVU kicked off Friday afternoon at 3:30. After two days of nearly non-stop football, I have just 23 rounds to go, 10 of which are decreasing to shape the top, and then I'll be searching for the next project.

The felted bag I made for the WVFDW auction last summer was a big hit, and I'm thinking of going in that direction. I might also whip up a pair of mittens to match the Cabled Helmet. None of these projects has a deadline or is targeted for anyone in particular. I'm just knitting because I like to knit.

And I eat far fewer football snacks when my hands are busy.

November 24 - A sound you heard

All football, all day. I heard The Ohio State University marching band
as they performed the script Ohio. Does anyone remember when halftime
of a televised football game meant you got to hear the band instead
of analysis of the game you just watched?

Just clogging along

The first pair (child-sized) is done!

The little ghost is my granddaughter's footprint.
I love how unfelted clogs look like clown shoes
right off the needles!

There are four games today. Theoretically that's enough time to make the two adult pairs on my list. HOWEVER, I don't think I'll be knitting non-stop from noon 'til midnight. (And I won't be felting them until all three pairs are done.) A girl's gotta eat. And walk. Because it's going to be nice again today – light winds, mid-50s, sunny. I'm not turning my back on an opportunity like that. And, frankly, a girl's gotta sleep. I haven't seen one complete night game yet, although I hear the Baylor-Washington game last night was an Instant Classic!

I hit the elliptical day before yesterday but got back outside yesterday. FIVE DAYS IN A ROW, people. Woo hoo!

I thought of a new reason to get back in shape in 2012:

I want to feel as comfortable in my street clothes I do in my pajamas.

~ Debbi McNeer

Whatever it takes, right?

To wrap up this randomness, I'll leave you with sunset at dinnertime, December 29, 2011.

A stunning image to remember when I start missing bookstores and coffeeshops
and shopping opportunities, oh my. I truly have a wonderful life.

So much to say ...

and even this somewhat anonymous blog isn't the place to say it.

I have opinions that are probably not politically correct. To get the heaviness off my chest, I will just say I'm really glad it's September 12th. There, I feel better already.

I have sad personal news that I will never share here. If I haven't met you in person, you don't need to know. No, I'm not ill and I'm not getting divorced. I would definitely share that here.

The weekend retreat we went to in Kentucky (an AA event) was great. Good speakers, lots of fellowship, too much food. The planners make sure we're not meetinged to death; there's a lot of free time built into the schedule. And since it's early in the college football season, we have a tailgate party and watch a game or two.

A large group of Ohio State Buckeye fans always arrive from Columbus, Ohio, but the OSU game wasn't televised. Thanks to modern technology, one of the group was able to find an animated play-by-play that he projected onto the wall. We called it Pacman football.

I found the WVU-Norfolk St. game on ESPN3.com and a few of us watched it on the MacBook Air's 11-inch screen. The Marshall game wasn't televised locally, so we depended on online sources to update those scores.

Sooooo many people were kind enough to remember why we weren't there last year and to share their own stories of losing a loved one.

I matter-of-factly got up each morning and walked/jogged three miles. In previous years I've gotten up very early to run seven miles as part of a training plan for a half-marathon. Those were better days; I was thinner, fitter, more motivated. This year, three was enough. I walked alone, lost in thought and wrapped in the early morning Kentucky fog.

I felt good about the walks, like maybe this was the start of a new habit. I plan to walk again today. If there's anything I've learned in AA over the past 20+ years, it's that today is all I have, really. I try to plan the plans, but not the results. Today's walk will be harder than yesterday's; the hills of home are steeper and more plentiful than the two I had to ascend/descend in Kentucky. But it's not like I haven't done them before and lived to tell about it.

As y'all well know!