Goodness I didn't mean to skip so many days. It's been a little crazy with Thanksgiving. This is the beginning of my brother in-law's hat.  It's farther along now and I've added the black.  It really feels large but I think it will be o.k. I think it will be warm when it's doubled even if it's not wool.  I want to order some yarn for a scarf for my dad but I may have to wait for a while.  Other than that I really need to get that little fox sewn together, finish my daughter's other fingerless mitt and finish the cupcake pillow.  So many things to do.

I'm caught up on all my airing k-dramas but I did start Blade Man (Iron Man).  It's funnier than I expected.  I did play a little WOW.  Nothing really stands out with that right now.  I'm going to watch/listen to podcasts now.  I have some podcasts that have two episodes out. I did have trouble with A Night Bird last time so I'll try again.  I have lots of things to do for that too,

Thanksgiving was pretty good but we made a little mistake.  I wanted to put the turkey in the crock-pot so I was making sure it would fit.  I checked width but I forgot to check height. We had to jury rig a lid.  It turned out o.k. but not as good as last year. My husband really likes the crispy skin so he said he would do it next year in the oven and that's fine with me. I did not do any black Friday shopping.  Since I worked in retail for so may years I refuse.  It also bothers me that some stores start it on Thursday night.  Next week I have a ton on appointments so maybe I'll get my stripy sock and/or the hat done (well I don't have the patch for the hat but other than that).  I think that's it for today.  I'll see you next time.

This is the fingerless mitt I made for my daughter.  I still need to make another one.  The heart patter shows up much better now the I how how to do yarn overs properly.  The stripy section at the top is where I went back and forth to make the thumb hole.  If I was better at knitting I probably could have made a heart in there but I really didn't want to deal with it. If I ever do it again I'll see what I can do.  I worked on some charity knitting and my brother in-law's hat.  The hat is made really long then you fold up the bottom to make a lining.  It feels weird because it seems bigger than normal but that could be my imagination.  You were supposed to get 4.5 stitches to the inch but I got 5 so I went up a needle size.  I'm still getting 5 but I don't want to go up another needle size.  I'm trying to just trust the pattern but I feel a little like I'm going to have to rip it out and start again smaller. We'll see.

What I was doing yesterday instead of blogging was finishing up My Lovely Girl.  It wasn't my favorite drama.  I've seen worse and I wouldn't say it was bad just not as good as I was hoping.  A famous song writer is in a car accident with his girlfriend and she dies and he survives.  This turns him into a recluse and no one knows where he is for three years.  One strange night his dead girlfriend's phone, which is supposed to be deactivated, rings. (Why he has his dead girlfriend's phone is not something I am going to try and figure out) He listens to a voice message from her sister saying how hard it is and how much she has to struggle trying to make it in Soul.  He decides to find the sister and try and help her.  Of course there is confusion, misunderstandings, and hurt feeling for a lot of situations and different people.  The idea behind the drama is not bad and Rain is in it but it wasn't as fun as it could have been.  I kind of didn't like that they started with a mystical situation but then mostly dropped it till the end.  If they wanted to go that rout there should have been more and if they didn't want it they should have found another way for the couple to get together.  My biggest problem was Krystal Jung (from FX) who played the leading lady Yoon Se Na.  I haven't watched another drama that she has been in so I don't know if she is a bad actress or if that is just the way the character was written and directed. I know she is supposed to struggle but she seems like she almost always has a blank sad expression on her face.  I think some of it is I prefer my female characters with a little more spunk. There was a lot of crying in the drama but it still felt cold and stiff to me and I'm not sure why.  It should say something that I cried more over the dog than I did the people.  I wouldn't say not to watch it but keep you expectations low and there are a ton better ones out there.

I caught up on Running Man and I am on track with Modern Farmer, Tomorrow's Cantabile, and Pinocchio.  Right now I'm working on Pride and Prejudice.  After that I might watch Blade Man.  I passed it over at first because the premise seemed silly but I have been told it's good.  The other one that I might try and watch is The King's Face.  I have a long list like always.

It snowed a lot yesterday. Some of it has melted but it wasn't fun, I had to put a coat on just to do the laundry.  I pulled the turkey out of freezer so it can thaw.  The kids have off tomorrow so I'll try to blog but I might miss it.  Have a great day

These are the toddler mitts.  They are from a pattern called "Made With Love Layette" and it's free on Ravelry.  In the pattern the heart if the other way.  If I were to do it again I would put the "blank" rows on the top of the heart instead of the bottom. I realize it after I finished the first one but I didn't feel like ripping it out and fixing it then I had to make the other one match.  I did the heel on the stripy sock and am ready to start the leg.  I bought some yarn for a Christmas present for my brother-in-law.  I'm making him a hat.  The pattern is simple but I messed up the cast on twice so I figured I should set it aside for a while till I can pay more attention to it.  I still have to put the little fox together but I'm avoiding it.  I have plenty of projects to work on :)

I tried to play WOW but it wasn't much fun.  Things are changed so I have to re-learn it a little.  My other problem is that my computer can't really handle the new graphics so it's running weird.  I probably won't be getting a new computer any time soon.  Our car is dying especially with the cold weather.  The money we would have used to get my husband a new computer will probably need to be used a deposit on a "new to us" car.  I new car is kind of exciting too.  Talking about these things always makes me feel weird.  I know it's a first world thing but around here it's really difficult to get any where without a car.  It would be different it we lived in a big city but out here there are no side walks and the bus only comes by once and hour in opposite directions (so if you are going west it's two hours between buses). I know a lot of people have it worse so I'm not trying to be ungrateful it's just difficult.

The weather was nice today. It was wet but it felt like spring.  I just hope all that water doesn't turn into ice tonight.  It think I might go watch some k-drama, I'm behind on Running Man at least.    I think that's it, I don't have anything else anything else to say.  I'll see you next time.

This is the most recent charity knitting I have done.  I haven't put the little fox together but I did finish the first of my daughter's fingerless mitts.  I'm working on the heel of the stripy sock.  The other thing I have been doing is spinning.  I'm going to the yarn store tomorrow to get some yarn for some Christmas knitting.  I may also order from Knit Picks for another Christmas knit.  Without the new yarn my plans are: finish the fox, finish the cupcake and then the heel of my sock.

I will be caught up on my podcasts today.  I might actually play WOW tomorrow.  I don't have anything interesting to say right now.  We have all our ingredients for Thanksgiving.  I think that's it. This is a really shot post, sorry.  Have a good day.

These are the hat and mitts I made a while back.  I lost one of the mitts for a little while so I didn't get a picture. I finished all the pieces for the little fox so now I just have to sew it together.  The decreases do show up if I stuff it as firmly as I like so I'm going to have to lighten up on that a little.  I was going to send some hair bands with it but I think I'll just make another tiny fox in another style.  I don't know why I feel like I have to add extra things but I do.  I'm just to the thumb for my daughter's fingerless glove.  I'm going to work back and forth for a while then connect it again to make the hole.  I'll decide later if I wasn't to leave it like that or add a little to the thumb hole.  If I do add something I'll probably crochet instead of trying to pick up stitches,

I was listening to an episode of In a Sknit (the one before the newest one) and I had a little problem. They were running a knit-a-long where you were supposed to make things that were the same but different. For example you could make two mittens that were the same pattern but different colors, that kind of thing.  I entered my totors but I made a mistake. For many knit-a-longs it doesn't matter when you start the project just when you finish.  This one it did matter and it didn't dawn on me till after I posted that the white totoro wasn't started at the right time.  I thought about deleting it but I thought it would be o.k. to leave it since they were the same but different and I wasn't going to win a prize anyway.  I won.  I sent a message to one of the hosts to pick someone.  That was kind of embarrassing.  I'll be more careful in the future.

It's a touch warmer today that it was yesterday.  27 (F) feels like 7 is much nicer that 9 feels like -7.  I'm tired for no reason. I think it's just the weather.  I want to curl up under the blankets and hibernate like a bear. I think that's it for now, see you next time.

Wow the light is really bad.  Look at the progress on the sock.  They yarn is from a yarn club based on studio Ghibli movies.  This one is based on Princess Mononoke. The sock is ready for the heel but my size 2's are busy.  It went pretty quickly but I think it had more to do with being in too many waiting rooms than anything else.  Since I'm trying to free up the size 2's I've been working on the fingerless mitts.  I'm almost to the thumb on the first one.  I've been working on the little fox as well.  It's not a hard pattern but I'm not a fan of the writing style. The other problem I've had is that all the other stuffies I've made have the decreases on the back or bottom an this one they are in the front.  I'm hoping the stuffing won't show through too much.  I've made all the pieces except the tail.  I'm not looking forward to sewing it together.  That's the part I always hate about stuffed animals. I am out of waiting room knitting.  Everything I have has too much thinking till I can free up the size 2 needles.  I don't want to start another project (well I do want to but I shouldn't) I'll spin till I can work on something else.

I finished my story for NaNoWriMo.  I knew I was going to run out of plot and I did at the 27,926 mark. After I spell check it and have a couple of people read it and see what they think.  It was somehow easier and harder at the same time.  The actual writing wasn't hard at all and at times was really fun.  Finding ways to explain and describe things was interesting.  It took up a lot more time than I though.  Someone experienced with writing could probably make the story 50,000 but that's not me (not now anyway).  I'll probably leave it for a wile then look at it and see if I can do something with it. Now that I have my time back I'll try and post more often.

I'm still watching the k-dramas with the kids but what I'm doing most of is catching up on podcasts.  Some of them have three episodes out.  I'm getting through them slowly.  Amy Beth (The Fat Squirrel Speaks) made me actually laugh out loud but other than that I don't think there was anything extra special.  If I run into anything I'll let you know.

It's really cold and my husband is still on vacation but that's about it around here.  I'm not complaining though.  We are mostly ready for Thanksgiving.  I have a few more things to buy but as long as I buy them early in the week we should be o.k.  I don't want to shop anywhere near Thanksgiving or Black Friday.  I think that's it so I'll talk to you next time.

These are the finished mitts for my niece.  The pattern is a free on on Ravelry called Maize by Tincanknits. I really didn't enjoy picking up the stitches for the thumb. The mitts aren't hard they just weren't as fun as I thought they would be.   The toddler mitts are almost done.  I did a lot of waiting room knitting so the sock is up to the point where I need my size 2 needles.  The problem with that is my size 2 needles are in the fingerless mitts for my daughter. I need to find something else for waiting room knitting. The plan now is finish the toddler mitts, make the little fox (which I'm kind of not looking forward to because of sewing), and finish the cupcake pillow. If I can find a patch for the Iowa Hawkeyes I may make a hat for my brother in-law for Christmas.  

As far as NaNoWriMo goes I hit the 25,000 word mark.  I think I may make another day or two of the word count but the story is almost over.  I'm kind of getting the same feeling with this that I do during Tour de Fleece,  Doing so much all at once kind of gets tiring.  I don't know if I'll ever write  again since I may never have another plot.  If I ever get a plot I may try it again but I'm not holding my breath.  I'll let you know what the final word count is when I get there.

I haven't been watching any podcasts and I'm so far behind some people have two episodes out.  That's next on my schedule.  I did watch the first two episodes of Pinocchio.  I like it so far but the first episode of back story was really painful to watch.  The set up is a little weird but I think it will be a fun ride.  

It's been snowing on and off for the last few days but today is the first day there is any accumulation.  There is a light dusting on the roofs and sidewalks like someone is sprinkling sugar but it's not thick yet. My husband has taken a bunch of days off to play the new WOW expansion.  He has one toon that is level 100 but it was kind of hard for him to level because the site had a lot of issues.  I think that's all that's happening around here.  I'll see you next time.

Here is the start of the next sock.  It's the one my daughter wants.  I made these with a few less stitches than I usually do so I can see if it fits better.  I'm really enjoying the stripes.  I got the ends tucked in on my nieces fingerless mitts so I'll be able to take pictures of those soon.  I have some waiting room knitting to do today but other than that I will work on the toddler mitts. I think we are finally free of lice so I can start on the little fox for the craft exchange.  I always have too many plans.

NaNoWriMo is going fairly well.  At last count I was up to 18,429 but I'm getting to the end of the story.  I still don't have a title or a clear ending.  I'm sure I'll get to 25,000 but after that I'm not sure.  There are some things I'll need to fix like descriptions and explanations. I feel weird sometimes about why I'm writing so much when it won't ever be published.  I'll keep you updated.

The kids and I watched a few more episodes of Tomorrow's Cantabile and are caught up on Modern Farmer.  It's fun to have my daughter enjoying the same thing as I am.  My son likes it too but not as much.  Because I've been watching so much kdrama I'm behind on my podcasts, that will be what I work on today but I will be out for a while so I don't know how much time I'll have.

The weather has gotten colder but that is to be expected.  Today was the first day that it was below freezing when I got up, I even saw a few flakes in the air.  I'm not the biggest fan of winter.  At least I have lots of hats and scarves.  See you next time.

Progress on the "Don't Cage Me In" socks.  The colors aren't my first choice but it looks like it's turning out well.  I added five stitches so it will go over my heel.  I usually only add four but the pattern is in multiples of five.  It think it will be o.k., I'll keep you updated. I also started a pair of plain self striping socks so I would have waiting room knitting. My daughter likes it and wants them.  I told her no but it won't bee to long before her feet are as big as mine and then I think she'll steal my socks.  It seems like I always have quite a bit of yarn left over so maybe after I finish mine I can make her some short ones.  I'll have see when we get to that point. I did ask for self striping sock yarn for Christmas so this could be fun.

I've been listening to a lot of kpop lately.  I listen to it when I'm writing my story and yesterday I ended up watching lots with my daughter and critiquing the videos. She enjoyed the time we spent together but I'm afraid I'm overdosing on kpop. I'll have to listen to something else to even it out.  We have been enjoying Modern Farmer and are waiting for the next episode.  

I'm still working on NaNoWriMo.  I'm up to 13,396 words at last count.  It's 21 pages.  I don't think I've written over a 10 page paper.  Of course talking takes up room so that's part of it. It doesn't even have a title yet. It is taking up most of my time so posts will probably be sporadic.  This is an interesting experiment.

Parent teacher conferences went well.  The weather is getting colder but it is November. I think that's it.  I'll see you next time and hopefully there won't be so many days in between.

I'm sorry I don't have a picture.  I have been working on things I just don't have any pictures.  I finished the tops of the cupcake (remember that project?) but I haven't put the "wrapper" on yet.  I finished the fingerless mitts for my niece except for tucking the ends in and started on the mitts for the other niece.  The thing that has been taking up my time though is NaNoWriMo.  '

I'm having fun with that but it's taking over more of my day than I thought it would.  When I was originally planning on doing it I was just going to try for one hour a day and whatever happened that was it.  With me basically getting the word count the first day I kind of feel like I need to get the word count,  I stopped timing it now but I think it's around an hour and a half to two hours especially when you include spell checking (I'm a really bad speller).  I don't necessarily do it all in one chunk either.  Sometimes it's in little bits through out the day so it feels even longer. I'm not really doing any editing except to make sure everything makes sense.  The plot feels like it's moving to fast and that I'll run out of plot (what little plot I have) before the end of the month.  There are things I can definitely go back and expand if I need to.  I'm in this weird space where writing is fun while I'm doing it but when I'm not I feel bad about how bad the plot is and that I don't actually know anything about what I'm writing about.  Right now I have 8,478 words and today's goal is 10,000. This might be hard to achieve because I have errands to run today.  We'll see how it goes.

I did catch up on my kdramas. Right now I'm watching My Lovely Girl (or She's So Lovable), Tomorrow's Cantabile, Modern Farmer and Pride and Prejudice.  My Lovely Girl rends this week.  Tomorrow's Cantabile and Modern Farmer I'm watching with my daughter and Modern Framer is crazy enough that my son can even follow it when he can't read so fast.  It has some crazy and disgusting scenes in it so it's not for everyone but it's not worse than U.S. television.  In the show they buy a puppy and spotting the puppy in different scenes is kind of a game for us now.  Pride and Prejudice has nothing to do with the book, it's a police procedural.  The plots aren't the greatest but the over arching mystery is interesting and there are so many good looking guys.   One of them, Lee Tae Hwan, is only 19.  It blows my mind, he looks so much older.  Some of it of course is styling but I was surprised.  The other actor that is in it is Choi Jin Hyuk who was in Fated to Love You. If I have time today I'll probably listen to my podcasts but I'm not sure I will be able to.

I guess that's it.  We have parent teacher conferences so that will be interesting.  I think my kids are both doing pretty well.  I'll try to make sure I have a picture for next time.  See you then.

It's very pink isn't it?  Now that I know how to do yarn overs correctly the heat shows up a lot better.  I used a free fingerless glove pattern. with no design, to get the stitch count and am using the "Hearts for You" chart to make the shapes.  I did some charity knitting and that's it.  I'll work on the mitts for my niece later today so maybe I'll have those done for next time.  I'm just not enjoying the pattern even though it's easy.  Most of the pattern it o.k. it's just the thumb.  I just need to get over it and do it.

Yesterday I caught up on the few U.S. shows I watch.  Today I'll work on my kdramas, I'm really far behind.  The only other thing that's going on is NaNoWriMo.  The first day was kind of easy.  I had the scene clear in my head and when I put it in Google Docs I had 1650 words.  To hit the 50,000 mark you need to do 1,667 words a day.  I added a few words and ended up with over 1800.  The second day was harder.  Part of it was there was more talking but it also felt more like I had to hit that goal.  I did hit it and it only took me about an hour and a half.  I think that's not too bad.  When I'm writing it's fun but at other times I feel embarrassed because the plot and the writing are not good, As of right now I have 3,468 words.  It sounds like a lot but according to the count it's only six pages.

I think that's it for today. Halloween is over with so now I have to plan for Thanksgiving and decide if I want to knit for anyone for Christmas.  I'm kind of thinking that I won't.  I'll see you next time.

This mess is the fingerless mitts I'm working on for my niece.  One is finished and the ends need to be woven in and the other is up to the gusset.  Yes it's missing a needle.  I broke one of my U.S. 7s so the other one travels between projects.  When knitting in the round the right needle determines size so if the left needle is smaller it doesn't matter.  This is what I've been doing between this project and my charity knitting.  The other thing I have been working on is the fingerless mitts for my daughter that I will show next time.  Nothing else interesting going on with my crafting right now.

I haven't really done any watching or listening to much at all. I did get caught up on Running Man.  They did have a name tag ripping game so that was fun.  I am so far behind on my kdramas and I haven't played WOW in a wile.  I don't know how my free time will shape up now the NaNoWriMo has started.  I did type for an hour today but my word processor doesn't count words so I had to count by hand.  I got about 1300 but I could have counted wrong. I'm going to figure out a different word processor that counts and copy/paste to that.  We'll see how it goes.  This will be an interesting experiment.

The only other thing that is a tiny bit interesting is that I'm figuring out Korean writing (Hangul) a little bit.  I learned a few letters to try to spell my family's names but now that I know a few I can kind of sound things out like song titles. Doing that made me figure out more letters.  It's kind of like a puzzle. I don't know what the words mean and there are still a bunch of letters I don't know but it's still kind of fun.  I'm not going to go out of my way to try but I may learn more kind of accidentally.  That's it for today.  See you next time.