ho-ho-ho.....

ho-ho-holiday bumps....

This week is officially 'Cookie Week'.  I love making holiday cookies, even though a whole lot of our favorites don't look at all like holiday cookies.  (If I made the shortbreads and spritz and decadent chocolate ones that we all !!!LOVE!!! [love, love, love!!!!] more often than once a year, we'd be in serious trouble with the scale.)  So, once a year it is....I go through pounds of butter and sacks of sugar and flour.  

I bought it all last week. 

When my oven still worked.

In anticipation of this glorious traditional family Christmas marathon....I decided to clean the oven.  Not only did it never make it to the 'clean' cycle, but after the door magically 'locked' the way it's supposed to....it refused to unlock....the way it's NOT supposed to.  

There are many many many wonderful reasons to live in a small town, but appliance repair is not one of them.  Our repairman is scheduled to come between 9 and 10 am on December 18th.  (I have a Viking oven...this guy is the only one in town who does repairs on it!) 

So, to get myself out of the holiday baking funk...I've been casting on a whole lot of stars...

and sprinkling them around town.

I cast on a Madalynn cowl; I knit this pattern several years ago and it's been my go-to-favorite-cowl.  I have an extremely knit-worthy friend who will now get this for Christmas instead of her birthday in August.  And then, Taproot came.....and I!HAD!TO!CAST!ON!THE!KNUSA!SHAWL!!!; just last week I ripped apart a sweater--- the yarn I rescued will be perfect for it---and I don't believe in coincidences.   This was destiny.

I really didn't have time to make cookies this week anyway!

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Reading:  Taproot, of course.  I have every issue of this magazine and I know every time one arrives, I say it's the best one yet.  This issue?  THE BEST ONE YET....!!!!  Really.

Listening:  The Year of Living Danishly: uncovering the secrets of the world's happiest country.  I now know what all the hype and hygge is about.  Love it.

Just finished:  Fredrik Backman's  (Man Called Ove) And Every Morning the Road Home Gets Longer and Longer  This little novella is simply a gem.  A single sitting-memoir about the relationship between Backman's son and Backman's dad as his dad sinks deeper and deeper into dementia.  So far, this might be my 'book of the year'.  

Comments

[Jacqueline Webb]

Oh dear so sorry to hear about your oven. Mine went down in the spring. We then weighed up do we repair or have a new one. We decided on a new one as my oven was 25 years old and I was worried that it would go wrong again around Christmas. I bought what I thought was a simple oven but somehow I still need the manual to keep checking I've got the correct settings. Good luck I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. P.S. I read your email to Murphy ( alas he's not as clever as Freddy) and he looked confused, but I now move my yarn bowl when not knitting, this seems to have worked.

[Caffeine Girl]

That is such a bummer about your oven. You will have to bake like crazy when the oven is fixed.
I LOVE Denmark, thus I must get that book!

[ellen]

Oh man I can't stand it when I can't use my oven. This is the third one I've had in the apartment I've been in 13 years. Every time the range/oven gets cheaper and cheaper from the landlord. I love baking like knitting. I buy pounds of butter, sugar and flour all the time. We don't keep that stuff in the apartment though, it's usually given away, neighbors, soccer teams, co workers, parties, school. :)

The stars and cowl are beautiful. I love your complimentary colors.

[Jane]

The stars are darling and the cowl looks so pretty and warm. We are going to read A Man Called Ove in our bookgroup next year some time. I will have to keep the memoir in mind. I hope your oven is back in baking order soon. This is not a good month for an oven to go on the fritz.

[Andrea @ This Knitted Life]

Just think of the calorie consumption phased! At least it wasn't the fridge...

[Gale Zucker (she shoots sheep shots)]

Putting the book about Denmark on my list...and that cowl looks pretty amazing, too.

[Eileen]

So sorry to hear about your oven and at this time of year! Love your little knitted stars and of course your cowl. Happy Wednesday.

[karen]

did you try turning the electricity on and off at the circuit breaker? maybe that will make the oven open. What a challenge!! My baking is next week or next next week. I'm not a fan of doing that chore as much as I am at knitting :)

[Laura G.]

Ovens always break when you need them most... but more time for knitting is always a blessing, and your projects are gorgeous!

[Amy Caroline]

Our oven quit working the week before Thanksgiving. It was horrible. Sigh.
I have always been curious about Taproot magazine. I really need to get one!

[CathieJ]

At midnight last night I was making lists of things that I want to get done by Christmas. Cookies were on the list, but they may have to wait until a couple of days before as there are so many other items. I actually made 4 lists at midnight. So much for sleeping and so sorry about your oven. What a bummer. Your knits are so pretty. I love the colors of your yarn. You should be able to make good progress because you won't be baking.

[AsKatKnits]

Ugh about your oven! That is the absolute top of the ARRGH list! And, I have held off on reading Backman's new book. I want Ove to be my favorite for the year.

[Martha]

love your cowl!!

[DIane]

I really love those stars you've been knitting up! Those are so nice they'd make great little hostess gifts and I could see me using them together with gift tags too. Cute.
So sorry about your oven -- and at the time of year when an oven gets used the most! For years I've been cleaning my oven with a paste of baking soda and warm water. let sit ~10, 15 minutes. Rinse, then wipe clean with a vinegar drenched rag to remove any excess baking soda residue. Quick, no expensive energy or harmful chemicals, and sparkling clean.
I'm loving your stars so much I'm going to go check and see if I can locate the pattern on Ravelry. :-)

[allison]

Dang! The worst time of year for an oven to break! And I agree with you on this Taproot. Definitely the best yet.

[Tahnee]

Those stars are so pretty! I was planning to knit so much more Christmas decorations this year but only managed a couple of snowmen in the end..