General observations and thoughts (non-knitting):

1) On letting things be: I have been fussing with a Christmas cactus for 3 years. I got it from SO's mom as a small cutting, and planted it right away. Despite all the fussing, it has grown slowly and looked kinda wimpy. I have mainly ignored it this winter, except for the occasional watering. Lo and behold, flower buds! When I stopped trying. Perhaps there is a moral to this story?

2) On meditation: I sure do have a busy mind! I had stopped meditating 2 years ago, because of general busyness. I tried again today, by burning a candle and meditating until the flame went out. I am always surprised by the volume of unnecessary thoughts that fly through my mind! I put the lovely thin candle in a small flowerpot (the previous tenant of said pot died and shriveled up a year ago) full of old potting soil instead of sand (no sand to be found in my house). I got a surprise at the end, when the soil caught on fire!

3) On exercise and diet and weight: Just do it for heaven's sake! I spent far too much time planning and scheduling, and it is much easier to surrender and just go to the gym. Or put down the Christmas cookie and back slowly away... This spring, I will go back to my baseline weight from college: 15 lbs less than current. It will be great to fit in my drysuit next winter!

More (holiday) knitting madness!

First, my very own Socktopus! (Rather, a gift for my 2 year old cousin...)


The best part about this pattern is that it was designed by my childhood best friend Laura, who I recently reconnected with after more than a decade of having lost touch! Awesome pattern!


Next, a hat for my Dad (terribly belated -- he picked out the yarn over 3 years ago!). If you look closely, there are neat texture details...


And then, there are the impulse-knit mittens for me! Some cream-colored clearance wool from the very beginning of my stash-building days combined with yarn that should look familiar to anybody that saw my rainbow sweater! So warm, for the deep, deep Seattle (??!!??!!) snow...
Happy holidays to everybody, especially you guys that I usually only talk to electronically (Liisa, Laura, Nancy, Andrew, Erin, Bernie, and on...)!

Projects for the holidays!

First, a somewhat dressy neck-warmer in Manos silk blend:
Next, a warm and woolley scarf in Noro, made by alternating skeins of the same colorway:
A roll-brim original Manos hat:
And a ShiBui alpaca hat, for someone with sensitive skin:

All the cold weather in Seattle is being good for my knitting! Nothing like being trapped indoors to make the wool extra-lovely.

On the needles now:
1) a green pastaza ear-flap hat for my dad, just waiting for contrast stitching.
2) Anemoi mittens in Jamieson Shetland Spindrift, for me (1/4 done with the first one).
3) Socktopus (grey with multicolored socks) for my uncle's kiddo (if I can bear to part with him).
4) 3 different socks
5) ugly noro scarf
6) blue ribbed sweater

Can we tell I am a bit "project-starting happy"? More photos soon. Fortunately, my economic nervousness has helped me to do the unthinkable -- USE THE STASH! Instead of buying new yarn, I am actually checking out skeins from my yarn-library!

In other news, lots of residency interviews, now over. The hard decisionmaking part begins. I'm heading out to the midwest for Christmas, to see family -- looking forward to the family but not the air travel. My next rotation (Pediatric Endocrinology) begins in January, which I am excited about. Endo is one of my favorite areas, and kids are a joy to be around. What could be better?