Here he is at Jump Planet this morning, wearing his new pair of socks.

He is one grateful little guy. This morning he said, “Mom, the only socks I like are the ones you make for me. I don’t like white socks at all.” That’ll score ya more socks right there, honey. More than that, I realized yesterday that I think I’ve knit him 5 pairs now, and he hasn’t lost a single sock. That’s love.

I had to rip back the toe to add about 6 rounds to Clark’s first sock. It’s not done yet, but it’s very close.

He tries it on periodically, and when I asked him how it felt he said, “warm.” This yarn has alpaca in it, so I bet it’s warm.

I started a cozy house shawl yesterday…

I’ve wanted to knit this pattern for years, and I’m finally getting around to it.

Liv also knit this weekend

She’s making a slouchy hat that isn’t going to end up being as slouchy as she’d hoped, but she doesn’t want to rip it out and redo.

On Saturday, Nate, Liv, Veronica and Clark painted on canvases.

And just now, I turned around to find Max making use of a roll of toilet paper on the couch.

Abby and I are sick. Our family’s been sick for 6 months now, ok 5, and I’m really, really tired of it.

I’m linking this post because I remembered the cute picture of Liv and a little boy that is relevant to what I have to say today. Liv knit this (much bigger now) boy a hat for Christmas this year. We’re delivering it to his house Friday morning. They still fancy each other after all these years, and it’s still a very casual, matter-of-fact kind of thing. They like each other. They talk, they get on well, and while (at least on Liv’s side) it is a like-like thing, it’s still not a giggly, rollercoaster, ridiculously immature thing. I find it adorable.

He gave her chocolates for Christmas (he obviously knows her well). She asked if he’d like her to knit him a hat. He requested black.

So cute.

While digging through the ghost of blog’s past for that particular post, I felt a pang of regret. My blog used to be so colorful, descriptive, interesting (to me at least) and right now it’s a bare bones shadow of the blog it used to be.

I know I’ve whined about this before, and you all are so kind and say the nicest things like, “get over yourself, just blog what you can and be content, we don’t care.” To which I respond,

“Yes, but I blog for ME. I like writing it all down and seeing it and having it to look back through.”

But honestly, I just don’t have the freaking time anymore! So while I’m not quitting, I don’t know when I’ll get it back to where I want it to be. And it makes me a little sad.

However this is, legitimately, the holidays. And while it never actually does, January and February should slow down. Maybe I can get it back.

I’m going to take a couple pictures. For old times’ sake :-). Here you go.

Liv knitting-

The finished hat-

Our tree-

Nate and the kids did the tree all by themselves this year, ’cause I was half dead with the flu when December hit. They did a very nice job, and aside from not fluffing the tree much at all (straight out of the box in the garage was good enough for them. Many of the branches are still pointed the wrong direction, but you really can’t tell), I have no complaints.

Things are going along. The kids are home on winter break. Clark can’t decide if he has a stomach bug or not. If he does, it’s very mild. If not, then maybe it’s the holiday treats? Don’t know.

We’re all excited for 2011, and hoping it’s a better year than 2010. Everyone I talk to seems to share that sentiment. 2010 was hard. Not all bad, but hard.

I’ve been so very sick. I had the flu really bad all last week. I’m still not well enough to drive or do much of anything around the house.

So that’s why I haven’t been on the blog in a long time.

I finished the little blue scarf before I got sick, and it’s very pretty. When I’m well enough, I’ll take some pictures. I started a little secret Christmas knitting project today that I can hopefully finish quickly while I’m down for the count.

I finished spinning the silk last night

(it’s SO pretty!) and in my excitement to get this scarf done, I didn’t even wash it to set the twist. But I’m using so little, I don’t think it’ll matter.

After knitting a sample of the border, Nate thought that it needed to be a longer, so I experimented a little bit, and I think he’s right. What do you think?

I’m using size 2 needles to get tiny little stitches. Even though I did a provisional cast on so I could knit onto live stitches, this border is technically supposed to be sewn on afterwards but I resisted because I’m not confident in my hand sewing skills at all. However, it seems like that’s what I need to do.

It’s so cold here (snowing now and the temperature is supposed to drop further) I want this thing done so I can wear it and feel cozy.

I’m about half done with the main part. I blocked it last night, so it’d lay nice and I could see it better.

You can’t really see them, but there are clear, iridescent beads all over it. This time, I’m making the scarf with a snowflake stitch pattern instead of the catspaw I’ve done in the past. It’s a messier looking stitch than I anticipated, but it’s still pretty. I’m planning to spin some silk for a smooth and shiny edging which I’ll knit onto the top and bottom only, not the sides. But I haven’t decided yet what color to dye the silk. Probably a very dark blue, but there’s always that part of me that thinks, “no, RED!”

The yarn I’m knitting with came from a little pile of baby alpaca top I’d test dyed in a couple shades of sky blue a long time ago that I happened to come across the other day. I can’t remember when I dyed it, or what I dyed it for, but there was almost an ounce of it. I added enough white, undyed alpaca to make a full ounce, and blended it together into rolags with my handcards to spin. It took two hours to spin the singles, and probably about that long to ply. So a satisfyingly quick little project.

And as usual, this was intended for me, but as I’m knitting it, I keep thinking of people to give it to. That’s why I’ve knit so many little shawls and neckwarmers, but continue to not have one of my own. I always give them away.

The lady that commissioned them is picking them up tonight.

Now, I can knit something for me! My list of choices is pretty long… I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.