this is not a journal title

Found some people to go see fireworks with, and took a bunch of crappy photos. The only one I actually liked was this one.

OMG, I finally "get" knitting! Thanks so much to soapfaerie and the_xtina who made it possible! If soapfaerie hadn't sent me the "ingredients," I would've sat on my @$$ forever before getting started on this. And the_xtina, one thing that KnittingHelp.com made clear to me through it's many videos on how to do the exact same thing, is that there really ARE many ways to do each thing. By comparing the "suggested" video with the book soapfaerie sent me, I was able to put together a 3-D image in my head of which string is going where, and realized that I didn't have to hold the string like either was showing me and could instead do it the way I was used to doing for macrame (friendship bracelets) with only very minor modifications, so what looked to me (in my previous attempts at knitting) like a Gordian knot of sixteen steps for each individual stitch, is now just one or two steps!

Next step: learn purl. :-P Maybe I'll change my mind about the ease of this now... But thanks so much guys!

Edit: OMG, purl is so much harder! Not impossible, but significantly more difficult. I think it'll take me a few rows to feel comfortable with this one. Then I'll get to switch it up! I want to learn cables and braids - I'm going to need to buy more stuff for that.

I totally forgot about Meta Wishlist until now. It's a way you can make a wishlist for stuff you can get anywhere on the internet, not just Amazon or one other particular vendor. Mine's here.

I still need an icon for money/commercialism/consumerism.

Well, Christmas. I was trying to be PC but the meme isn't.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Warpping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real, but I haven't had one in a while. Had a menorah as a kid too.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Whenever I remember to get one. It's been a few years.

4. When do you take the tree down?
When it's brown.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Ew.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Wow, I can't recall... I know that when I was 12 I bought my first cockatiel, Peeper, and my parents got her cage and other stuff, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't for a holiday.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Either my dad or T$.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Mom: dark colored T-shirts w/ logos.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
No

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Sometimes, and then mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Lots of clothes I'd never wear.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
That one with the mice.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Year-round. I buy things when I see things my friends would like, and save them for holidays or birthdays, or just give them for no reason. Many Christmases I don't give people things b/c I never found anything, or just give some generic thing to everybody.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Don't think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Butter cookies - I like when my mom makes them, even though it's the same recipe as my Aunt's.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yep, and origami, and popcorn. :)

17. Favorite xmas song?
Handel's Messiah

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel to my parents and sometimes T$'s.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Around 8 of them.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
I have an angel, but I've done a giant origami star before too.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Morning ... well, afternoon...

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Mall crowds, and the music at malls.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Blown glass balls, and origami.

24. Favorite memory of Christmas?
Playing with my older cousins at my Aunt's house. One of them gave me a rubber hot dog. It was awesome. Really! Stop laughing at me!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Audible.com gift certificates, cash, donations to charity - I really want chickens, but unfortunately it looks like Mercy Corps only has goats, pigs, and camels Give a gift of chickens via Heifer International!

Forwarded to me by "Foxtrot", who got it from tiurin42...

ETA: My [Jewish] Dad's response -

That's both disrespectful & ridiculous.
Spiral cuts are totally against Jewish tradition!!

Some of these are quite amusing. Yoinked from kadath.

( Fake Christmas Carols )

If you're planning on mailing cards or packages to friends or relatives, the following links may be helpful to you.

To ship via USPS without leaving your house:

1. Find the Zip Code (+4)


2. Print Shipping Labels


3. Schedule a Pickup

If you do want to leave the home, Find a Post Office.