Zoolights

Christmas lights + zoo = amazing.

Sadly I don't think we saw any real animals...

Holidays...

The Arizona break has been exactly what I needed.  Warm weather, relaxing, continued dog drama...Also managed to mangle her ear in a rose bush resulting in emergency veterinary care (stitches, bandages, a cone).  She is coping surprisingly well, but we could have done without the whole charade.

Sadly, I did not bring my sewing machine, so I have been doing some knitting.  I did find a forgotten stash of batting at the house, so I will be able to finish some of the million quilt tops waiting in Lincoln. 

Little Angel Also with her "halo" also referred to as an Elizabethan Collar in our instruction manual. 

Fortunately the cone does not get in the way of Maybe and Also's loving relationship...

With all members of the family now 21, we had numerous booze themed gifts, including these beers matched to the personality of each recipient.  Classy.

Settlers of Catan is an epic board game.  With a novel length rule book, no one really knows how to play, so cheating abounds. 

The tree Christmas morning...

I did some creative wrapping.  This rodent-reindeer-vampire was for my brother...

He was attacked while unwrapping but should survive.

Home Sweet Home

After only 22 hours in the car the dogs and I arrived in Arizona to spend the holidays with the entire family...I left my sewing machine in Nebraska, so binding quilts and knitting cowls will have to suffice until 2012.

For everyone who worries about who slept in their bed at a hotel, it might have been these two if you are in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Flagstaff looming in the distance...

Whenever Betsy (the GPS) announced an upcoming turn, Also got very agitated thinking "who is this bitch?"

The ever classy white Christmas tree.  Very fitting for a desert Christmas.

Holiday art courtesy of my Grandma, possibly the most festive human on earth. 

Check out the M with the ice skating elves holding hands...

Real flowers to compliment the fake tree.

Stockings and trees.

Tinsel tree.

Maybe and Also are so excited to spend approximately 23 hours per day on their couch...

Time

Life is a balancing act.  Lately I have been adding twists and turns to the end of the semester drama by putting everything off until the very last moment.  Case in point: I woke up early this morning to finish up the paper that is due today and now I am writing this...

Yesterday someone said to me, "but you have to ask yourself how much time should you be quilting in graduate school?"  The implied answer to the question was something along the lines of "you probably shouldn't be quilting at all as you are on a scholarly journey of epic proportions."  In my sleep deprived, hungry, mildly bitchy state, I almost exclaimed, "I am studying effin' quiltmaking!  I should be making bajillions of of quilts!"  Instead I did a face scrunch, mini eye-roll, giggle, and I wandered off before I lost it.   

And that event provided me with my avoidance-of-homework mind suck of the evening...People have all kinds of hobbies.  Some don't really seem like hobbies, like watching TV.  People go to the gym.  People are in book clubs.  Are these activities ever put on the chopping block in the face of graduate school?  What is it about a craft-based activity that calls into question its legitimacy as a use of one's time?  Should graduate school be conceptualized as an activity that requires total focus for the duration?  My program has not required that investment of time or mental energy, so quilting seems like a better alternative to fill my time and occupy my mind than other more traditional graduate school activities: drinking, drinking, and whoa, I'm drunk!  (As a general rule, drinking and quilting don't mix. That rotary cutter is sharp...)

Anyway, I hate to use my blog as a platform of sorts to bitch and moan about life, but, in conclusion:  I AM A QUILTER. I SPEND A LOT OF TIME MAKING QUILTS.  AND I'M PROUD OF IT.  I am also a student, and somehow I do finish my work in that realm too...

Awwww...

The dogs are just too cute.  They are struggling to adjust to the winter weather, so they have been spending even more time than usual lounging around in bed.  Our upcoming journey to the desert will be a welcome dose of warmth for dogs and humans alike.  

On the craft front, instead of finishing Christmas gifts, I have gotten sucked into a new knitting project.  Ravelry is so addicting...And on the homework front, I am taking procrastination to new levels.  What happened to that over-achieving perfectionist? 

The Fiber Fun Addicts had a holiday gathering today, complete with a gift exchange.  I received some awesome cards from the talented Julie...check out her blog!

Maybe and Also wondering "why don't you just write that paper already?"

Maybe and Also wondering "its cold, do we have to get out of bed?"

Also is such an intelligent little thing. She managed to wrap herself up in the flannel sheets.  Why can't she master lay down or shake?

Oops.  I dropped a bag of flour on the dogs today. 

Latest knitting project - natural dyed yarns!!!  I am so glad the dogs don't have cat-like instincts when it comes to yarn.  Also just likes to admire my handiwork. 

The cards from Julie obstructing the paper that I pretty much have no choice but to write.

Holiday attire.  Goodwill was out of ugly sweaters, so we did what anyone would do, rocked ugly 80s dresses.  Maybe is thinking "you aren't leaving the house in that, right?"

Is it really almost Christmas?

I am not prepared for the holidays.  Heck, I am not even prepared for the end of the semester.  But, my priorities are definitely straight, and I am making serious progress on the gift front.

So, I offer some small hints as to my productivity over the weekend:

PROJECT ONE: This might be a cliche Christmas tree...

PROJECT ONE: I am becoming a thread snob.

PROJECT TWO: my new favorite color scheme.

PROJECT TWO: What's a quilt without polka dots?

PROJECT THREE: Quilt me...

PROJECT THREE: Almost out of a favorite print.

Fence Weaving: Concluding Remarks

The adventure in fence weaving is officially complete.  The weather forced me to get serious and finish it up.  As with most things, the last little bit felt like it took forever, but I forged on thanks to some encouragement from a neighbor, who while driving down the alley gave me a double thumbs up! 

The final result yesterday...

It snowed today.