And just like that, it's the penultimate month of the year.
It was a fairly relaxing weekend, mostly because we didn't do much. I was successful in my blood donation on Friday, so I couldn't have an adult beverage, but the Mister and I had a delicious dinner out, ending with a shared sticky toffee pudding topped with vanilla ice cream.
I somehow managed to sleep in a little on Saturday (the first time in a long time Ruthie hasn't barked upon waking) and passed the day by going for walks (on my own and with Ruthie), cleaning the bathrooms, reading, knitting, and even taking a short nap. Molly ended up staying home Saturday night -- this coming week is the last week of the term, so she had a lot of studying to do -- so we got some takeout and awaited the trick-or-treaters. In the end, we had exactly one: the toddler who lives down the street. It's a good thing I didn't overbuy on the candy!
Yesterday I woke up at what's become my normal time, but because of the time change, that meant I was up at 4:30 a.m. Ruthie technically slept in; I heard her barking at about 5:30, but if we hadn't moved the clocks back, that would have been 6:30 (so I'm hoping that means that I will be up before she barks this coming week). After a cloudy day on Saturday, it was nice to see the sun again and to enjoy its warmth on our jaunts around the neighborhood. We spent the afternoon curled up in the family room, watching some football, doing a little reading, and knitting.
And what have I been knitting? Well, my sweater, of course; I'm maybe a third of the way through the decreases on sleeve #2. But mainly I've been working on yet another scrappy marled charity hat:
This one will never be measured in Ruthies, but she was so cute all curled up that I didn't want to get up to try to take a photo elsewhere. The yarn used for what you see here is what was leftover from the two Hollyhocks Hats I've made in the last month or so, Malabrigo Sock and Steel City Fiber Collective Yinzer Sock. The lighter green is almost gone, and I'm hoping I'll use up all the darker green as well (I have additional scraps to add in as needed).
One of my errands over the weekend was sending off some of the hats I've made over the last year, so before I packaged them up, I pulled out everything I had set aside to donate and took a photo:
Probably 2/3 of what you see here was sent off to a Ravelry friend who collects every year for "Hatsgiving" through her workplace. The rest, plus the hat I'm currently knitting and any others I finish in the next week or so, will be sent off to another collection by mid-month. I've been keeping track of how much yarn from my stash I've used up this year, and looking at that number feels good, but it feels even better to know that I've used a significant portion of it to make warm things for people who could use them.
It's going to be a girls' week here this week, as the Mister's off on another work trip, and after Molly's tough week with two tests and a research paper due, she is off on Friday. I am hoping to be able to wrap up the last of the recent projects this week. And I assume we'll all be adjusting to the change of the clocks!
