It was either the 5th or 6th day of Christmas, depending

You'd think that roughly 2000 years after Christmas, and many centuries into the tradition, there would be a consensus on when the 12th day of Christmas is. But no, there is not. Some consider the 12th day to be January 5th, and some consider the 12th day to be January 6th. Complicating matters is the fact that Twelfth Night is after sundown on January 5th (for everyone that celebrates it, as far as I know), but in the Hebrew tradition the post-sundown period goes with the daylight time of the following day. ("There was evening and there was morning, the first day." -- that comes from a pretty good authority!) So I'm celebrating the 5th day of Christmas today, and watching several of my Facebook friends celebrate the 6th day of Christmas.

Calendars are sneaky critters, and good for deceiving one's self about the weather. Consider: "It's fall, and we're having a blizzard. Oh well, snow from fall blizzards never lasts long." One month later, with the snow depth still over 6": "It's winter, and we're having a blizzard. But usually in January there's a thaw." (I'm not holding my breath. 2010 is certainly not starting off with a thaw, at a projected -12 and 5F.) Several months later: "It's spring, and we're having a blizzard. Spring blizzards can dump a lot of snow, but it doesn't last long." The only season I have NOT seen a blizzard in is summer. But next year, I wouldn't be surprised at all if one happened. I'm not talking Antartica in a northern hemisphere summer, either. I'm talking about a I-90-closing-blizzard in one of the months which are known in some locales for their hot weather.

I just hope we have enough of a summer that the farmers can plant, God can water and give growth, and then the farmers harvest the corn for our beloved corn stove.

But back to my normal subject: knitting. In a continuation of HatWeek, here's the next hat to jump off my needles. Will's Hat, modeled by Not Will. Twined,with black sportweight(cough) Telemark and blue worsted Wool of the Andes. I used my standard top-down pattern, but shifted the last row of triangles just because.

Today's burst of organization is directed to closets. Clothes closets. My husband's half of the clothes closet. It looks so purty now! I hope to keep it away after today's laundry gets finished, too.

And today's knitting? Nothing on the needles except a traveling sock. If some yarn doesn't arrive in the mail, I'll have to knit another hat. Or see how much of a disaster knitting new soles for felted slippers is. Will felting them without the rest of the slipper attached, then sewing them on, work? Or not?

2009 Knit From Your Shelf ... How did it go?

I realize the updates on our informal group have been few and far between ... but the year is running out, and so is the time for updates.

I accomplished what I set out to do. The six delicious knitting books I received in December are not knit from (or at least 5 of them aren't), but they don't count. Nor does Haapsalu Sall, or the Dale of Norway Commemorative Collection 8501. All the other books on my shelf are now USED!

2010 is close upon us, but no theme for it has jumped out at me. There are just so many lovely things to make! I hope to knit the Queen Susan Shawl, but a whole year of one shawl doesn't sound right. I'm not sure if I will muster up the proper insanity to tackle it either. There's still the Unst Lace Stole, or even Miss Hamilton's Gift that could be done also. Or an Estonian Lace Shawl. Or several of them. So much to knit, so little time.

The week between Christmas and New Year's is definitely The Week of Hats, though. One watch cap, two twined caps, and two unnamed Fair Isle hats. (Any suggestions for names? The pattern is destined for release as a freebie at Ravelry, and it's a stash-shrinker). I think 2010 would be a good Year of the Hat, too. Has someone already started a group for that at Ravelry?

I love the week after Christmas. Not because of all the chocolate within arm's reach, nor because of the silence that reigns while new gifts are being constructed, devoured, or rearranged. It's a time to wrap up one year, and prepare to enter a new one. A new calendar page, new check book register, new all sorts of things! There'll probably be a new knitting project too.

Best wishes to all of you for a happy New Year!

Mute Monday

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was different this year. I love the Christmas Eve service, and the Christmas Day service. Both those were no-gos this year, due to the abundance of SNOW! It's a terrible thing (not in the grand scheme of things) to be marooned 12 miles from your Christmas Eve destination, due to a blizzard whose idea of timing didn't match up with your travel schedule. So, Filius, Filia, and I packed up to go over the river and through the woods a mere 34 hours before scheduled.

The weather then cooperated, dumping all sorts of snow upon us, and even having just enough of a break for Vir to join us Christmas Eve. Hooray! Getting out of the driveway and into town for services wasn't really a good idea, though, so we curled up with White Christmas, Holiday Inn, tea, and hymnbooks. And knitting, of course. We had a lovely family Christmas, and headed home yesterday afternoon. Once Vir managed to get the van out of the driveway (not an easy feat, when the road has been plowed after 8" of fresh snow has fallen), we loaded up the van and had an easy drive home... where he valiantly battled the detrius left behind by the plow in OUR driveway. Three cheers for husbands who a) dig cars out of unplowed parking lots at work so they can get home, b) snowblow driveway so they can park, once they're home, c) battle the elements after dark to join the family for Christmas, d) shovel out the car so family can get home, and e) snowblow driveway so they can park. In a 24-hour period.

It's a lovely snowy world out there. Canis is having a few problems with the depth of the snow, since it's as deep as he is tall. When I first got home and opened the back door to let him out, we discovered instead of jumping down 10" to the ground, he needed to jump UP to the ground. And then sink. We normally have winds with the snow, which makes for nice drifts to walk AROUND, but this snowfall hasn't left any windblown patches for him to walk on. It'll melt ... one of these months. Vir is predicting a white Easter.

I'm predicting a long mud season.

Life is very quiet in our household right after Christmas, save for the occasional sports announcer. Some of us are exhausted from the physical labor involved in getting cars to and from the road, others are busy reading new books.... and some are building Great Things.