When Winter Comes a Knockin'

I get a hidin'.

Or so it may seem. It's actually just general malaise from the short, dark days (I think 75% of December has been overcast or raining), cold making it hard to move, and trying to be part of three tabletop RPGs, ride horses, and get ready for the holidays. But I think I've done it.

Point one: I'm ready for the holidays. All my presents are purchased, I'm just waiting for one to come in and only two need to be wrapped yet. Now, I'm only buying for eleven people, so it's not that many.

I also knitted this scarf, since every Christmas my 4-H club goes around Christmas caroling on horseback. There's a chance it's going to be cancelled due to weather this year, but I'm ready! And festive. We always don our gay apparel, and generally go overboard, decking the horses in garland, antlers, and red and green until your eyes bleed.

My plan this year was to be more classy (black wool hunt coat, my scarf, and maybe a festive saddle pad with some red ribbons for the horse). The horse I plan on taking has been through this a lot, so I'm not too concerned, although with all the jingle jangle of bells, it gets loud!

But she knows what she's doing. Of course, I rode her two weeks ago, but haven't ridden her since. Last week the weather was terrible, and the ring a swamp, so I didn't bother bringing her from the fields (it's a ten-minute walk).

This week she had a cough, so wasn't really fit to be ridden hard, but should be okay for an easy ride out caroling.

Here's hoping!

A fair chunk of my time has been lighting a fire under my butt to finishing a big knitting project (it's a baby blanket, but on small needles with a not-thick yarn). It was knit in the round (and around and around), and I want to give it to my friends for their newborn's first Christmas. It's taken a little longer than I expected it to (and I expected it to take a while!) but I'm NEARLY there. Just adding the outward black lines, then filling in the center, and then I'll be done!

And then back to writing ;)