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Went to the fabric store to buy satin with which to line the hats for Jayla and the girls, so the wool doesn’t mess up their lovely curls, and then stopped at Trader Joe’s as long as I was out anyway. I bought ingredients for my pear and brie turnovers, yum! You just need puff pastry, jarred pears, and brie. I can’t find my recipe online, but I’ll write it down to share after I make them.

Giddy-up, jingle horse, pick up your FEET!

I baked gingerbread cookies today! My cookie cutters are all up in UC still so I simply rolled the dough into logs, refrigerated till solid, then sliced them into round-ish slices and baked. Not as pretty as cut shapes, but very quick and easy :D

I took half the batch to Em this afternoon. We made a batch of icing and she decorated them. So tasty.

Lots of knitting today. Started Dave’s hat while up north, and Em’s hat after I got home. I learned a new tubular cast-on that’s beautiful for hats and socks! Here’s the page; I like the long-tail version. https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/tubular-cast-on

Omg Succession last night. Everyone went to Tuscany for Caroline’s wedding. Roman was… Roman. So damn good, I stayed up way too late and watched it twice in a row.

I’ve just started baking a batch of gingerbread cookies, one of my favorite Christmas treats.

Our Portland house was appraised at a little more than we paid, which is excellent news. Now we wait for more paperwork, and then Dave will send them a butt-load of money, and then the house will be ours!!! Moving men are scheduled for January 8th. That date might change but not by much, I hope!

Our shower drain was clogged when we moved in, so you had to wade around in sludgy, slippery water but a few days ago Dave finally called Maintenance to unclog it and HOORAY IT DRAINS! I took a shower and washed my hair today.

I unlocked the coffee shop, the market, and Kapp‘s boat tours on my new ACNH island! The first stall I opened at the market is Redd’s art dealership. He still sells fakes so be careful what you buy! Next I opened Leif’s nursery, so now I’m growing wheat and tomatoes. Hope I can get potatoes soon! Mmmmm potatoes.

Mostly I knitted Christmas presents today, and worked on my embroidery kit a little bit too. Watched the first half of the second part of Get Back. So astonishing to be able to watch them actually creating the songs we love. Just remarkable.

You can’t go wrong with The Philadelphia Brass playing Christmas carols! I tried out all the brass ensemble Christmas carol recordings I could find and liked Philadelphia best of all. Lots more on YouTube and probably apple music and everywhere else!

Pen15 is a show on Hulu that I love. Been waiting for more episodes for ages and they’re finally here! I watched four and a half of the seven new episodes tonight. Oops.

And here’s your daily Christmas carol:

Knitted a lot, worked on my little embroidery kit, hung out with Em over FaceTime.

Every morning Dave and I look at each other and marvel that we’re both still alive. We treasure every single day together and consider it a miracle that we found each other. Here’s reason 768 that I love him — he’s not clingy! If he wants to go out to lunch but I don’t, he goes to lunch and it’s not a Big Deal. If he wants to watch something that I’m not into, he puts on his headphones and watches it without any hurt feelings at all (and vice versa). I like to hang out in the bedroom where there’s lots of daylight; he likes to hang out in the dark living room. We spend many days doing our own thing in different rooms, but we still consider it as “spending the day together”. He doesn’t need to be joined at the hip or constantly interacting in order to feel close to me. Lovely Dave *heart eyes*

Happy December! It’s one of my favorite months. Making presents, making ornaments, singing carols!

I probably won’t have a tree this year — teeny-tiny apartment plus we’re moving the first week of January and I don’t want to make more work for myself. But I will set up my sweet wooden nativity scene on the dining table. I’ve been knitting presents non-stop and listening to Christmas music! Maybe I’ll link to a favorite song each day.

Btw my covid test came back negative. Not surprised, wasn’t very ill. Just a bit sniffly still.

Still a bit congested but recovering quickly. Started knitting hats for the little girls but had a few false starts with patterns I didn’t care for. I figured out that I can shrink the October Hat by 1/3 (80 st instead of 120) and it should fit someone!

Man last Sunday’s ep of Succession was so damn good (Too Much Birthday). Like, insanely good, incomparably good. Watched again today.

Also watched the first ep of The Beatles: Get Back and it also was insanely, incomparably good! My god, it’s like being there. Would have Blown My Mind as a teenager. Also wtf do people blame Yoko? She didn’t say one single word.

This morning I straightened out another pharmacy problem and then I finished knitting Henry’s hat — so that makes two finished Christmas presents and it’s not even December yet!

In the afternoon I drove to a rather far-away Rite Aid for my covid test. It was quick and easy. You pull up to the drive-through pharmacy window, the guy checks your name and birthdate, and sends you the kit through the drawer. Then you stick the swab in your nostrils and swizzle it about, drop the swab in a test-tube, clean the tube with an alcohol wipe, and send it back through the drawer.

I feel a lot better today (a one-day mild sore throat is such a luxury) and I doubt if it was Covid but it’s free and easy to check so why not?

Woke up with tiny sore throat. Dave says I coughed in the night. Yesterday I had some nausea and a slight headache. Arghhhh.

So, Second Thanksgiving is canceled (but Dave is roasting the turkey and potatoes anyway because I WANT THEM.)

Probably it’s just a cold… but Covid test booked for tomorrow afternoon just to be sure.

I’m obsessive about masking in public and I’m triple-vaxxed, so I doubt if it’s Covid, but it’s something. How did I pick up a bug? Probably because I’ve gotten lazy about scrubbing my hands after every outing and there are a lot of public doors and elevator buttons I need to touch in order to get to and from my car, so… keep scrubbing your hands!

This morning I made banana-oat bread (to use up three antique bananas) and then, since we’re having Second Thanksgiving tomorrow with Dave’s sons, I made stuffing and cranberries. Couldn’t help eating some — I’ve been craving Thanksgiving food but we left all the leftovers at Kirsten and Marcos‘s house. YUM. Dave will make roast potatoes, gravy, sausage stuffing (mine is bread/celery/onion) and he’ll roast our little turkey. Can’t wait!

Nearly done knitting Henry’s Christmas hat. Already finished one for Jayla!

This advertisement by the Norwegian Postal Service will warm your heart and probably make you cry a little, unless you are made of stone:

We’ll be going up to Union City for Thanksgiving (tomorrow) so today I cooked food to take along — stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, and gravy. Kirsten, Marcos, and Em aren’t crazy about turkey so they’re planning roast chicken, beef, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Yummmm!

I, however, LOVE turkey (and Thanksgiving food, in general) so Dave bought a small turkey for us, and we’ll have Second Thanksgiving on Sunday here with his son :D

After all that cooking this morning I’m absolutely beat, so now I’m going to chill-n-knit. Finished Jayla’s tam already so next I think I’ll knit a hat for Henry.

Went up to visit Em today. Lovely Em. Such an amazing kid! She has a new boardgame called Ultimate Werewolf that’s super fun! We played when Kirsten got off work (needs at least 3 players) and I hope we can play again on Thanksgiving.

Slept badly, woke up drenched in sweat. Tired day. Blah.

Nice day. In the morning I took a shower, did laundry and dishes, re-dyed my hair (teal), and cleaned the toilet. In the afternoon, as usual, I hung out in our bright and sunny bedroom while Dave hung out in the gloomy living room. That way, we each get enough alone time in conditions that suit us, and then in the evening we eat dinner together and cuddle up on the couch and talk or watch tv. Idyllic *heart eyes*

Started a tam for Jayla, to replace the one I knitted for her last year which shrank in the wash. Using superwash wool this time. :D

While I was knitting I mostly listened to ancient episodes of Loveline (from 1998) and laughed and laughed. I always think of Chloe when I hear Loveline.

Just finished!

Ravelry link: https://ravel.me/kayray/ah