Celebration

Gung Hay Fat Choy!  Tonight we're hosting a dinner to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the seniors' center.  There'll be lots of Chinese-style food, a piano entertainer, beer and wine.  Oh, and a 50/50 draw.  This is gonna be fun!

It is, of course, the Year of the Rabbit.  This little fellow was one of the UVic feral rabbits that were the worry of the gardeners and administrators for years.  We found him a couple of years ago in the rhododendron garden. 

We're having take-out from a local Chinese food restaurant.  I'm the delivery girl.  My culinary contribution to the evening is traditional almond cookies.  So simple to make - the hardest part is rolling out all the little balls.

But, I'm up to the best part of baking the cookies:  tasting!   Don't they look pretty?  I have the correct count put aside...we can continue to test the extras.

Still winning

Almost a year ago, I won a year's subscription to Knitcircus online magazine.  I'm still winning.   Spring 2011 has just been shipped and I'm having fun checking out the patterns and dreaming knitter's dreams. 

These socks got my attention.  I like the chevron effect of the slanted ribs.  It could be that the fresh yarn color is so invigorating but I just want to get at those socks.  It'll have to wait, though.  Look at what I went and did yesterday.

I bought some plain yarn for my long stockings.  I was not to be denied.  Sorry that they didn't have any bergundy, though.  I decided that this blue would be quite pretty with my denim skirt.  Actually, my only skirt but that's another story.

Since I was standing in front of a bunch of beautiful yarns, how could I help just treating myself to one more?  This is another sock yarn but it could grow up to be anything.  Love the sea-green that's teasing me from it's center-pull hiding place.  Wonder how long it'll take to get to that color?

But before I can actually cast on for these two projects, I have to finish the socks on the needle right now.  I call them Valentine Candy 'cuz they remind me of those heart candies with the sayings on them.  Not sure why but they do.  It was Knitcircus magazine that introduced me to Jane Prater who created this cool design.  And there's a new technique to learn which is always fun.  She calls them Paulies Socks.

And, I'm slowly working through a cardigan.  This is the gray yarn that was returned to the frog pond a while ago.  I think this design will work so much better.  And I can use my cool 'cup of tea' buttons that arrived in the mail one morning.  Of course, I had to find the perfect place to wear them.

I'd better get to it.

Victory

This is the sort of victory that is 'snatched from the jaws of defeat'.  And certainly not the victory I had imagined.

 I went off yesterday to find the perfect sock yarn for my lacy stockings.  I was meeting a friend at Dressew where the sock yarn is 1.99 a ball.  Real brands - not some no-name stuff.  But, there she was lounging outside the store with the news that there was a 5-% off sale going on inside.  How great is that?  I thought.

  Apparently not great because the place was a madhouse of crafters and costume creators with sharp elbows and loaded baskets.  Then there were the queues for the cash registers which were humming happily.  Oh, my!

We rolled up our sleeves, pulled our hats over our ears and dove inside.  She found her zipper.  I found only yarn that would produce well-defined and bold striped socks.  Not really going to work for my stockings.  We didn't think it worthy to stand in line for half an hour or more so we went to lunch. 

At Peckinpah's.  We always try something new when we get together.  You can read about it here.

Then we decided to go shoe shopping at Army and Navy.  This store is always clearing cool shoes - sort of like Winners only better.  Amazing shoes.  I found a gorgeous pair of purple slingbacks.  The perfect shade of purple with a cute silver  buckle on the open toe.   Nah, I left them there for someone else to take home.  I mean, really, where would I wear them?  They were dress shoes!

They also had a bunch of styles from some place called Naughty Monkey.  See example above - a very tame example but the best I can find online.  I tried one on which was such a piece of sculpture - in Chinese reds and oranges with mahogany wood accents -  that it should be on your shelf not your foot.  I loved it.  But couldn't really squeeze my foot in...even though it was a size larger than I normally wear.   We had such fun...did I mention the mauve ankle boots?  Heaven might be an exotic shoe store where you can try on as many shoes as possible for as long as you like.

I call that a victory.  But I'm still looking for the sock yarn.  I don't give up that easy. 

Ruby Tuesday

Today  I present...drum roll, please....

Books!  OK, no visible books but I'm sure this book return bin is full of well-read and happy books.  Several bins are standing guard outside a public library, just waiting for a 'feed'.

Need more red?  Visit Mary T right here - join in the Ruby Tuesday fun.