So....

Let's see if we can get a little caught up, shall we? Where to start, though? I suppose I could go with this photo of my cyclamen, which now has two big blooms opened and a couple smaller ones, with more on the way. I love the look of cyclamens, almost as much as I love the fact that they pretty well thrive on benign neglect.



The head tech at work has given me one from the clinic to bring home and neglect for a while, since it's been getting overwatered. I am so on top of it.

And now let's go back to Christmas Eve. I was between nights on at work, so it was a very low-key one. I love this pics of David and Tuck, though:



Tuck is doing well, by the way. His lung x-rays the other day were much improved, so I'm cautiously optimistic we may have knocked this thing out. Still, time will tell, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. At the moment he seems to have caught the same cold I've had, so we've been coughing in tandem all week.

Oh, there's also the sweater I finished for him from the Japanese sweater leftovers:



This one is the best yet, I think. I did I-cord edging in a darker blue around all edgings, mostly to help it keep its shape at the neck and bottom edge and keep it from sliding down too far. It's the longest one he has, too, so it's particularly nice this time of year. Down the back, I worked the cable chart from Samus, and the rest is just simple 3x2 rib with increases for his broad chest.

Okay, one more photo for now. Just after the new year, I picked up some yarn from the spinning mill. On the left is a 3-ply sportweight I had spun from a couple years' worth of Madelyn's fleeces. I'm thinking of dyeing and reskeining at least some of this for mitten kits or something, but it's going to take a bit of development when I can find the spare time. On the left is a 3-ply worsted I had spun from Juliette's first shearing and the black Shetland fleece I bought at Rhinebeck. I am so very pleased with this yarn. It's the color of extra dark chocolate with the tiniest bit of grey fiber to make it a little heathery and oh so very soft. It's destined primarily for a sweater for me, but there should be plenty left over for some smaller special projects as well.



Aside from that, I'm in the middle of the I-cord for the second pair of mittens for my sister's two girls. I'll do a photo shoot when I'm all done, but they're fairly basic mittens designed on the fly and knit in Plymouth Yarns' Happy Feet sock yarn in colorways appropriate to each girl. I'm pretty sure they'll squeal.

Also, a couple people caught the mention of living on one income. David didn't draw a salary for December, as part of trying to keep his business going through the recession. He's still putting in around 60 hours or so a week, just not bringing in income for the time being - one of the hazards of being a business owner. It means a bit less padding financially, but we can get by reasonably well for now on my income alone and there is a fair bit in savings in case of emergency, so we're not sweating it too much at the moment.