Grabbing the bull by the horns

Once in a while, all you can do is hold on for dear life and go along for the ride. Life has been crazy busy for a while but I think it is finally starting to slow down a bit. I'm looking forward to a long holiday break with lots of knitting over the next few weeks.

So, what have I been up to lately? As the picture at the start of this post shows, I rode a mechanical bull on Thursday. In honor of my friend Megan's 30th birthday, we kicked off the festivities with a midnight bull ride to usher her into a new decade. It was a lot of fun but I wish that my work Christmas party hadn't been the same night. The food at the party was amazing and I had a little too much to eat to fully enjoy being spun around on a mechanical bull.

We continued the festivities Friday night with drinks and dancing to round out the birthday celebration. Saturday, I took the day off and focused on knitting e.'s Christmas present socks. I am now to the toe and should be able to finish them tonight. I must get them finished by Wednesday or else I will not be able to give them to him until after the New Year.

Sunday, very little knitting took place as p. had gotten tickets to go to the ballet to see The Snow Queen. It was an interesting production but I'm glad we got to maintain p.'s tradition of doing as she puts it "something cultural around the holidays."

On the knitting front, I am nearly finished with e.'s garter rib socks. I haven't worked much on Wicked this past week and need to finish Jamie's Christmas present hat. I knit a Mason Dixon dishcloth for my grandma and am hoping to squeeze in knitting her another one. Waiting in the "I'm dying to cast on but will wait until I finish e.'s socks" wing is a lovely skein of Yarn Love Joan of Arc in the Fling colorway that is destined to become a pair of Dublin Bay Socks. I was originally going to use this for plain stockinette socks but I like the little bit of visual interest that the lace panels give without competing with the vibrant colorway. I'm also really looking forward to doing an eye of partridge heel.

Pay It Forward

Would you like a handmade gift from jsins? Yes?
Want to bank some good karma in 2008? Yes?
Then read on...

I've just signed up for the Pay it Forward exchange, at Yvonne's Tales of an Arthritic Knitter blog. I'm really excited to take part in the exchange and to spread the handmade joy.

The concept is as follows:
"It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

I hope you leave a comment to join in and receive a gift as well as to Pay It Forward. It's an excellent way to share some good will and handmade goodness in the new year.

A little test for the Jane Austen Fans

Your Score: Elizabeth Bennet

72% romance, 65% sauciness, 43% etiquette, 71% intelligence

You believe in true love and standing up for yourself. You're also witty and reasonably well-read. What you don't have time for is kowtowing to society's expectations of you. So what if your hem gets a little muddy? Let the neighbors click their tongues! You've got better things to do. Like dressing down that tall, snobbish gentleman in the corner, or traveling 'round Derbyshire, or chatting with that pleasant young officer, or nursing your older sister back to health, or trading witticisms with your father, or keeping your crazy little sisters in line, or..... Ideal matches: Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth, Colonel Brandon Guaranteed heartbreak (their hearts): George Wickham, John Willoughby, Captain Benwick Not worthy of your affections: Mr. Collins, Henry Crawford

Link: The Jane Austen heroine Test written by SarahKath on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test