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I’ve survived the holidays only to get a cold. The new year has barely begun and I’ve already taken a sick day and left early twice. Robitussin, how yummy.

Well, it’s better than phlegm.

I managed only one hat and a wrist-warmer knit over the holidays. No pictures: I gave the hat away and the wrist warmer is a tube with a hole in one side and is still waiting for its mate, as I still have two wrists. I finished another hat since we got back. It’s black with periwinkle stripes in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino on #2 American, but being black, it won’t photograph.

I’m tired of knitting in the round and have started (4 times) a scarf in Elsebeth Lavold Angora so I can do something that just goes back and forth. I still think angora is a bit like cat hair. Pictures when it’s done.

On Friday the 23^rd, I flew down to Dallas to visit Mom and the family. It took eleven hours and fifty-seven minutes door-to-door, what with the unnecessary requirement to be at the airport two hours before the flight and the long layover in Atlanta and the need for the airport shittle driver to drive around the airport for almost an hour after picking me up.

Everyone I knitted for appeared to like the product, except for Chloe the whippet, which was fine, because the coat was too big for her and fit Zoe, the other whippet, better.

It still needs some adjustment, but you get the idea.

Mom gave me chocolate, books and home-smoked chipotles, all of which are always appreciated.

Monday after Xmas, I returned to Brooklyn, (11 ¹/₂ hours door-to-door), finished wrapping packages, got everything lined up to load into the car, slept a bit, got up, showered, shaved, loaded the car and drove up to Rhode Island to pick up J at his parent’s house. I got there precisely at 1pm, exchanged gifts, had lunch, played two rounds of Taboo, and drove off at 4:01pm by the clock in my car.

Again, the knitted gifts and gift wrap, were well received and J’s sister and her partner gave me four skeins of merino wool from Knitpicks and his other sister and her family gave me cheese, so I did rather well myself.

Then we drove over to P-town to relax and visit with our friends and celebrate New Years. Save for this cold I had developing and the barbarians on the second floor who ate the meatballs I had brought for a mid-week dinner with our hosts (they weren’t even fully cooked), the trip was generally a success, with eating, drinking, reading sleeping and knitting. There were even cute guys staying in the house over the weekend. And a golden retriever, a retriever mix, two corgis and two rat terriers. We’re still finding dog hairs.

I even found a yarn shop in Dennis, MA:

I needed wooden #2 dpn’s to finish my hat and we had nothing else to do, so we drove down, about 45 min from P-town. Huge, well-stocked shop. And she had yarn on sale. J took one look, figured that this would take a while and went across the parking lot to get a slice of pizza. I got the dpn’s, the Elsebeth Lavold Angora mentioned above (sale bin), some Elsebeth Lavold Silk Wool (sale bin, again), some Noro Silk Garden and something by Noro that looks like cordage. I could have really done a lot more damage, but I was just in a tasting mood (and I’m running out of room for storing yarn).