Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 is better in every way for everyone.

I think I've decided on my resolutions. I'm not going to do the "lose weight" "get healthy" route because I'm already trying to do that anyway. So in 2011 I'm going to make more beads instead of not doing anything and also I'm going to take more pictures and blog more. Those should be easy enough to keep. I hope. The ones I listed the other day also apply.

This afternoon we are going to Sarah's for a little get-together. It should be fun. Elizabeth got a guitar for Christmas so Robert and I are going to help her out a little bit. She's only five, so I don't know how much we can teach her or she will retain, but it might make it easier for Sarah to listen to actual chords than to listen to the noise that Elizabeth has been making.

How awesome are these shoes? They are metallic gold, with sequins sewn onto the sides. I was lucky enough to score these from my friend Ofilia who bought them in Murano, found they did not fit and sold them in the garage sale on Lampwork, Etc. I wore them on Christmas and Christmas Eve. I love, love, love these shoes.

I've been doing a little thinking on New Year's resolutions. I'm not sure I'm going to make any, because they don't last and I always break them. I think that I would like to be thankful every day, even when I'm not having a good day, because I think it's important to recognize the good even if you're feeling bad. I also want to increase my post count on the Woof Board.

New tank for Junior

We finally got our 11-year-old goldfish a new tank. Previously he was living in a 10-gallon tank, and we decided to upgrade. I hope he'll be OK in his new, larger home. I used some of the water from his old home to "seed" the new one.  I also am using the same filter, as it harbors beneficial bacteria.

We thought we'd put him in the new pond next spring, but I'm very hesitant to do that because there's a heron in the neighborhood and I don't want to provide it with an easy meal of my oldest pet. We thought the new tank would be a nice Christmas gift to him and to ourselves.

The orange fish in the background are fake - they're on the scene we put behind the tank so you don't just see wall.

We went to visit my mother yesterday and went to Exeter for lunch. Here is my mom and Martha in front of a store with very cute clothes for children.

We went to the Loaf and Ladle, a nice little sandwich/salad/soup shop. I experimented with my camera by leaving it on the table while I took the pictures.

Martha wanted to get in on the picture, too.

Elizabeth ate nothing of her lunch. She didn't touch her sandwich and ate only a few bites of her soup. On the way home she was complaining that she was hungry. Martha and I told her that we have no sympathy for her and that maybe she should learn to eat when there's food put in front of her. Good thing we're not mothers, huh?

The bubbler in the pond has created a dome of ice over the fountain part. It's kind of cool.

Yesterday a sweet little dog named Seamus passed away while undergoing an MRI. I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but grew to know his sweet, spunky personality online. He had been being treated for disc disease like Java, which is why I think I got so drawn into his story. I felt very connected to him and his owner Colleen, because we had been through the same things. Colleen was finally able to get enough money to get Seamus the MRI he needed because crate rest and medicine were not working. He went under yesterday and did not wake up. It turned out that in addition to the bad discs in his back, he also had a brain tumor. I don't know if the tumor caused him to stop breathing, but the only blessing is that his parents did not have to make the decision of what to do after finding out the results. Rest in Peace, little Seamus.

New Hat!

 

Here is a new crop of buttons. Some are experiments and others will have homes on hand-knitted garments. The red one is for Martha's coat, as I misread the directions and only gave her 5 buttons, when she needed 6. The blue ones are for my hat and cowl. They are Uroboros Alpine Blue with Silver Lake and  House of Blues frit. The square is black with ochre and red ; just an experiment. The black round one with the goldstone swirl is for my sweater coat when I finish it. The two on the front left are Kalypso, reduced and imprinted with a Jim Moore texture stamp. Fun! I had a good time experimenting.

 

The hat, taken without a flash and with the buttons placed.

 

The hat, on my head. The buttons have been sewn on. Just in time because it is coooooold out!

I heard from the lady who bought the BT tree and she loves it. She sent me this picture with the tree and her dog. I'm glad she's happy with it. I always worry. Her dog is very cute. I think his name is Vader.

I also have given up on that particular hat I was making. I was having a terrible time with it. I'm a pretty good knitter, but this one was really making me crazy. I was ripping out, knitting, ripping out, knitting. Bleah. Life is way too short, and knitting should be fun. I have ordered myself some different yarn - some of my favorite in fact - Malabrigo Merino. It's so soft and yummy. I also chose a different pattern - one that will need buttons for a decoration. I love Amy's system for making buttons. It is so easy. And fun.

I spent the morning watching TV from my childhood. I found the Poldark series on Netflix streaming, so I watched the first three episodes. Martha and I really liked that Captain Poldark, and 35 years later he's still pretty cute.

Carmen, thanks for giving me the cyber-elbow. I enjoyed the daily posts, too. I will try not to neglect my blog.