Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Are you doing the malls? Not us! We don't need gifts, and I neither want nor need anything at all and I hate crowds, so we are not going near a mall.
I was thinking about the difference between the winter holidays in my childhood, way back at the beginning of time. I am a war baby, so my take on the holidays is very different from baby boomers and you young 'uns.
When I was a kid, we never got Hanukkah presents. If we were lucky, someone gave us a shiny quarter for Hanukkah gelt (money). That was it. We lit the candles, said the prayers, sang the songs, and did not play dreidel (which is the world's stupidest game). All my friends were Christian, so I was invited to tree trimmings and such and was quite content with it. I don't ever remember feeling deprived. Jews had their holiday with its customs; Christians had their holiday with its customs. It was cool.
So along come my kids in the 70s, and I feel this need to do Hanukkah presents. Why? I'm not sure, but somewhere between the 1940's and the 1970's people began to think very differently about Hanukkah. Maybe it was all the ads on TV, but all of a sudden Jewish kids felt very deprived without all the presents, or at least their parents felt that they were deprived. So we turned this little holiday which is about religious freedom and fighting for that freedom into a marathon present giving opportunity. In short, folks, we got sucked into the present buying.
Stores are of course thrilled about more of the population buying presents, and kids love it, but I think we're nuts. Having said that, I belong into the "nuts" category, because I love giving presents to the grands. The daughters get gift certificates or cash, whichever they prefer, the little guys get gifts. (The Hubbo and I only exchange birthday presents, and that is usually a PayPal transfer.)
When my daughters were kids, we did the 8 gifts for 8 nights mishegoss (craziness). But they were small presents and I started buying them in the summer. The presents would all be wrapped up and put into 2 piles, one for each DD. First thing in the morning, they'd barrel downstairs and pick out a present, run back up the stairs, land in our bed and open the present. Lots of fun, and in the evening, we would light the candles, say the prayers, sing the songs badly and go outside to admire all those lovely lights. We pretty much kept the presents separate from the actual holiday observance and it worked out very well. I didn't go overboard and didn't get sucked into the latest and greatest junk. And they didn't much care.
I guess I'm grumping because I don't like seeing these two very divergent holidays getting mixed up with each other. Hanukkah is about fighting for the right to worship as we choose; Christmas is about the birth of the Christ Child. They are not the same animal, not even close. That's one side of the coin. The other side is that Jewish kids really do feel deprived and left out at Christmas time. So what to do? Turn Hanukkah into a present-giving holiday? The 8 nights makes it easy to do that. And it is hard on a kid to go to school and listen to everybody talk about what she/he wants for Christmas. You see my dilemma?
As it is, this whole present buying is lunacy. People getting trampled to death by crazy buyers? The pressure on everybody to give when their finances are not in the giving zone? The sheer amount of stuff that gets bought that nobody needs? And yet, this is the one season that retailers can get ahead and make a profit. So we need shopping and commercialism and such, and it really is nice to give and get gifts. But does it have to be at this level? Are people supposed to go into debt and spend the entire next year paying off their credit cards for toys that are discarded, or sweaters not worn, or gizmos that nobody needs or wants?
This is an annual rant of mine and I thought I'd share it with you. You do know that I have no solutions to any of this craziness, just babbling on here.
So, dear reader, any thoughts on the above? Have I lost my marbles? Am I not getting into the spirit of the holidays? Am I in danger of the "Bah Humbug" disease?
Feel free to agree or disagree, but nicely and politely. Tell me what you think. I'll answer in the next posting, and then you can respond to that, and this can go on until next December.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
The yarnarian is Zonked
Too much food! But we had a grand time with our dearest friends, the Mommie and elder DD.
The Hubbo is making turkey soup from all our bird leftovers and the house smells even better than it did yesterday.
What are we doing today? Not much, at least I'm not doing much. Knitting and reading and napping! Delicious!
The Hubbo is making turkey soup from all our bird leftovers and the house smells even better than it did yesterday.
What are we doing today? Not much, at least I'm not doing much. Knitting and reading and napping! Delicious!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Yarnarian Wishes You and Yours
And if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving at this time of year or not at all, the Yarnarian wishes you a lovely day, full of good food, good family, good friends!
Monday, November 24, 2008
ThemYarnarian Blathers On Again!
The Yarnarian wants to schmooze today about all sorts of divergent stuff. Just 'cause she feels like it. Schmooze: To converse casually
Thanksgiving - What are my plans this week? I have to get ready for my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. I love this holiday because there are no commercial or religious demands on us, no presents, no church/synagogue/mosque/temple/etc/etc services that are required. Nothing in fact that divides us. The only issues on Thanksgiving are the menu and the football games. In my house, we don't do football games. Nobody is really interested, and that's fine with me.
And the menu? Lots of the traditional stuff but always with variations. So this year's green beans will be made with mushrooms and sauteed onions, instead of last year's tomatoes. There's always a sweet potato mess, but a different one each year. This year, I'm doing maple syrup with it, or if I can't find the maple syrup, brown sugar. That's good too.
And for dessert, I've gotten ambitious and am making 3 different kinds of cookies.
So the usual hummus and veggies and crackers for appetizers. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato mess, green bean mess, Judy's home-made cranberries, Hungarian cucumber salad, and then dessert.
Here's the thing about Thanksgiving: in the past when I had big crowds, I always had to deal with many allergies and diets. The worst year was the one when I had the following allergies: onions, nuts, soy, corn, honey, apples, peaches, apricots; and the following diets: low salt, low cholesterol, vegetarian. So having 6 people with only a few allergies is right up my alley. ;-)
What's on the needles? - A couple of scarves, the American Girl doll sweater, a sweater for moi, and assorted goodies that I've not photographed.
The sweater is from Just One More Row, and looks rather loud to me, but in the depths of winter or early spring, it'll be bright and cheery. It's in Baby Cashmerino, and I like working on this yarn.
The first scarf is an old Shetland lace pattern, Crest o' the Waves, in my hand-dyed Bambi yarn. It's very soft and cuddly and has wonderful drape.
The second scarf is from the new book by Elise Duvekot, the inside/outside scarf. I'm using Noro Silk Garden and cursing the twisty yarn. The scarf will look much better after a wash! Yeah, it looks pretty ugly in the picture, but is not that disgusting. It just needs a bath and a blocking.
And one more picture! Dianne of Creative Dyed sent me a skein of her Beaches Yarn, and the name of this colorway is "Ruth"! How neat is that! A scarf, I think. I'm not wasting this goody on my feet; I want people to see it!
I would love to show you all the beautiful yarns from my dyer friends, but that kind of works against my vast enterprise. giggle! I love their yarns and everyone has a different technique. Go look on Etsy. You can use hand dyed, sock yarn, hand painted as search terms. You will be amazed at the variety of yarns. If you gave 5 of us the same 3 colors, you would get 5 totally different skeins. Such fun! And not terribly expensive either.
More schmoozing next time!
Carolyn - Wouldn't that be fun? You and the husband would join us, and then you and Judy and I and Rachel and the Mommie would all talk about fiber and the guys would get this glazed look on their faces!
Thanksgiving - What are my plans this week? I have to get ready for my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. I love this holiday because there are no commercial or religious demands on us, no presents, no church/synagogue/mosque/temple/etc/etc services that are required. Nothing in fact that divides us. The only issues on Thanksgiving are the menu and the football games. In my house, we don't do football games. Nobody is really interested, and that's fine with me.
And the menu? Lots of the traditional stuff but always with variations. So this year's green beans will be made with mushrooms and sauteed onions, instead of last year's tomatoes. There's always a sweet potato mess, but a different one each year. This year, I'm doing maple syrup with it, or if I can't find the maple syrup, brown sugar. That's good too.
And for dessert, I've gotten ambitious and am making 3 different kinds of cookies.
So the usual hummus and veggies and crackers for appetizers. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato mess, green bean mess, Judy's home-made cranberries, Hungarian cucumber salad, and then dessert.
Here's the thing about Thanksgiving: in the past when I had big crowds, I always had to deal with many allergies and diets. The worst year was the one when I had the following allergies: onions, nuts, soy, corn, honey, apples, peaches, apricots; and the following diets: low salt, low cholesterol, vegetarian. So having 6 people with only a few allergies is right up my alley. ;-)
What's on the needles? - A couple of scarves, the American Girl doll sweater, a sweater for moi, and assorted goodies that I've not photographed.
The sweater is from Just One More Row, and looks rather loud to me, but in the depths of winter or early spring, it'll be bright and cheery. It's in Baby Cashmerino, and I like working on this yarn.
The first scarf is an old Shetland lace pattern, Crest o' the Waves, in my hand-dyed Bambi yarn. It's very soft and cuddly and has wonderful drape.
The second scarf is from the new book by Elise Duvekot, the inside/outside scarf. I'm using Noro Silk Garden and cursing the twisty yarn. The scarf will look much better after a wash! Yeah, it looks pretty ugly in the picture, but is not that disgusting. It just needs a bath and a blocking.
And one more picture! Dianne of Creative Dyed sent me a skein of her Beaches Yarn, and the name of this colorway is "Ruth"! How neat is that! A scarf, I think. I'm not wasting this goody on my feet; I want people to see it!
I would love to show you all the beautiful yarns from my dyer friends, but that kind of works against my vast enterprise. giggle! I love their yarns and everyone has a different technique. Go look on Etsy. You can use hand dyed, sock yarn, hand painted as search terms. You will be amazed at the variety of yarns. If you gave 5 of us the same 3 colors, you would get 5 totally different skeins. Such fun! And not terribly expensive either.
More schmoozing next time!
Carolyn - Wouldn't that be fun? You and the husband would join us, and then you and Judy and I and Rachel and the Mommie would all talk about fiber and the guys would get this glazed look on their faces!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Yarnarian Spins!
OK, she attempts to spin. Nope, I actually produced yarn. Blubby, thick-and-thin yarn, yarn I would never knit with because I like skinny yarns, but it really is yarn.
I took a 4 hour spinning class from "dragonflyducky", as she is known on Ravelry. So patient and nice and didn't howl with laughter. I have to take another class or two with her; clearly this is not a one-class activity for me.
She teaches on a Louet spinning wheel. Man, getting the foot to pedal in the right direction, drafting the yarn, adding new yarn - I'm basically klutzy, so this is a challenge for me. But I made yarn. Whoo hoo!
OK, sit down, stop drinking tea because you're going to snort it all over the keyboard, but here is my first attempt at spinning.
Look Ma, yarn!
And to reward myself for all my arduous labor, I went off to Coldwater Creek armed with a $30 off $100 coupon, and bought a pair of velvet pants to wear to a dinner dance, and a cute black fleecy pullover. And between the two of them and my coupon, I only spent $79.
I'm exhausted; I need to knit! Tee hee! I made yarn! I need to find a local spinning group!
Don't forget to vote in my yarn poll; I need feedback here.
moiraeknittoo - No, I don't own a wheel yet. I can practice on the wheel at the store for about $10/hour, which is very pricey, but may not be a bad solution. I have to explore other wheels too. Maybe go down to the Spinnery and check out what they have. I want to wait a bit until I buy, because what if I decided that this is not my thing. It was fun though. and I made Yarn!!
Carolyn - I had real doubts, but you told me I could, and I always believe you.
MaryAnn - I'm still pooped. All that tension that built up in my body has been slowly releasing. I'm not "energized" any more. BTW, I really do not like to knit on singles. And I'm not dyeing roving!
Skepweaver - I practiced treadling and practiced and practiced. It was so hard for me to get the wheel to go right. OK, so we finished spinning and then had to ply. So guess what, it was now OK to go left. Uh huh! Now the bloody wheel just wanted to go right. My yarn is a combo of S and Z spins. Told ya I made art yarn!
KV - Nah, I want a goat. They are such charming critters. Sheep are dumb.
Jen - My "yarn" is kinda cute in a clunky sort of way! ;-)
Sharon - I don't know if this shop sells wheels, but Judy can easily get me a Louet wheel if I want.
I took a 4 hour spinning class from "dragonflyducky", as she is known on Ravelry. So patient and nice and didn't howl with laughter. I have to take another class or two with her; clearly this is not a one-class activity for me.
She teaches on a Louet spinning wheel. Man, getting the foot to pedal in the right direction, drafting the yarn, adding new yarn - I'm basically klutzy, so this is a challenge for me. But I made yarn. Whoo hoo!
OK, sit down, stop drinking tea because you're going to snort it all over the keyboard, but here is my first attempt at spinning.
Look Ma, yarn!
And to reward myself for all my arduous labor, I went off to Coldwater Creek armed with a $30 off $100 coupon, and bought a pair of velvet pants to wear to a dinner dance, and a cute black fleecy pullover. And between the two of them and my coupon, I only spent $79.
I'm exhausted; I need to knit! Tee hee! I made yarn! I need to find a local spinning group!
Don't forget to vote in my yarn poll; I need feedback here.
moiraeknittoo - No, I don't own a wheel yet. I can practice on the wheel at the store for about $10/hour, which is very pricey, but may not be a bad solution. I have to explore other wheels too. Maybe go down to the Spinnery and check out what they have. I want to wait a bit until I buy, because what if I decided that this is not my thing. It was fun though. and I made Yarn!!
Carolyn - I had real doubts, but you told me I could, and I always believe you.
MaryAnn - I'm still pooped. All that tension that built up in my body has been slowly releasing. I'm not "energized" any more. BTW, I really do not like to knit on singles. And I'm not dyeing roving!
Skepweaver - I practiced treadling and practiced and practiced. It was so hard for me to get the wheel to go right. OK, so we finished spinning and then had to ply. So guess what, it was now OK to go left. Uh huh! Now the bloody wheel just wanted to go right. My yarn is a combo of S and Z spins. Told ya I made art yarn!
KV - Nah, I want a goat. They are such charming critters. Sheep are dumb.
Jen - My "yarn" is kinda cute in a clunky sort of way! ;-)
Sharon - I don't know if this shop sells wheels, but Judy can easily get me a Louet wheel if I want.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Poll!
I have a source of some luxury sock yarns, some with a bit of cashmere, some with silk, etc. I'm guessing that the cost of a skein would run about $24-25. This is just a guess on my part at the moment.
Would you be interested in purchasing that kind of yarn? I have a poll posted over on the right.
I'm not sure I want to do this, and certainly not if I get a lukewarm response. The economy being what it is, these can get to be pricey yarns. Well, I think that $25/skein for sock yarn is pricey, but then I'm frugal, um, mingy, cheap, tightfisted. I'd use that kind of yarn for a scarf and not for my feet, but that's me talking here.
On the other hand, I love trying out new yarns.
What do you think? You can also post comments here; you know I read them.
moiraeknittoo - that's good feedback. the yarn is a bit pricey for me, so I don't want to go into it big time unless I think there's a market. I think it would be fun for me to try out some new yarns to dye.
skepweaver - I'm not sure I would use these elegant yarns for socks either. I'm more apt to make handwarming mitts or scarves or a tam.
Would you be interested in purchasing that kind of yarn? I have a poll posted over on the right.
I'm not sure I want to do this, and certainly not if I get a lukewarm response. The economy being what it is, these can get to be pricey yarns. Well, I think that $25/skein for sock yarn is pricey, but then I'm frugal, um, mingy, cheap, tightfisted. I'd use that kind of yarn for a scarf and not for my feet, but that's me talking here.
On the other hand, I love trying out new yarns.
What do you think? You can also post comments here; you know I read them.
moiraeknittoo - that's good feedback. the yarn is a bit pricey for me, so I don't want to go into it big time unless I think there's a market. I think it would be fun for me to try out some new yarns to dye.
skepweaver - I'm not sure I would use these elegant yarns for socks either. I'm more apt to make handwarming mitts or scarves or a tam.
Mystery Sock Clues
Clue #1: Sunday, October 26, 2008
Clue #2: Monday, November 3, 2008
Clue #3: Monday, November 10, 2008
Clue #4: Monday, November 17, 2008
How are you all doing? Post pics on Ravelry, please, please, please!
Jen - who isn't behind? Me, I've only had time to knit one sock. I'm starting to go into one sock only phase. Scary, no?
Clue #2: Monday, November 3, 2008
Clue #3: Monday, November 10, 2008
Clue #4: Monday, November 17, 2008
How are you all doing? Post pics on Ravelry, please, please, please!
Jen - who isn't behind? Me, I've only had time to knit one sock. I'm starting to go into one sock only phase. Scary, no?
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