Ho Ho Ho! Joyeux Noel!
Hi people! Merry Christmas!
First some sad news here chez Cactal: the Godfather of Soul died today.
Yep, James Brown has passed on. I know we had a moment of silence here at the Kenley household.
Ok, Christmas! We had a really fun one here in P-Town, and I wanted to show some pics so everyone could get a sense of the general jollity. First of all, big MEP props to Jenn for the beautiful scarf she made me! Check it OUUUUT!
I love it, and I especially love the "butterfly stitch." Here's a detail shot:
She's going to teach it to me. I can only hope that the presents I'm knitting for people turn out as well as hers did. :) Muah Jenn!
Speaking of presents I've knit:
My dad decided to wear this do-rag throughout the holiday. It's one of the first things I made without a pattern, and it has cool little ties in the back like a real do-rag. In case you couldn't tell, it has a skull and crossbones and says FEAR ME. Who says knitting isn't edgy?
This is our Christmas tree:
Nice, huh? But you don't get a full sense unless you see the ornaments. For example, this was a present I received this year:
You will note that Oski isn't wearing traditional Santa red, but rather Cal Blue and Gold. Go Bears!
Some people, of course, prefer the traditional Cal ornament:
And of course, it's me, so I have one of these bad boys:
Yup, it's a pickle ornament. Apparently (according to my old bf's parents, anyway) it's a German tradition to hide them in the tree and have the kids search for them.
Ok, just a couple more ornaments:
Can you believe they make this? My dad bought it for Colin on E-Bay. My family thinks it's funny to hang a crossed-out cross on the Xmas tree.
And one more, for fun:
That was me, Christmas 1983, all of five weeks old. I know, lookin' good.
So that's enough of the ornament pics, but I have more I could post (Super Mario, Care Bears, Chi.Cubs, Transformers, Star Trek: The Next Generation...). Who says Christmas is all about materialism?
I got some really nice presents from my fam, including:
The World Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents!!!!! WOOHOO!! I actually have some cactus to plant that I got in AZ, and now this book will tell me exactly how to do it. See, I didn't really know before and that can be a problem...
Here are some cacti I potted in July:
Nice, right?
Now here they are in December:
Notice anything?
Well, the Silver Torch (Cleistocactus strausii) is taller, and the Prickly Pear (Opuntia johnsonii) has a new pad (!), and the Thimble Cactus (Mammillaria gracilis) is blooming, and those mystery guys are definitely spikier. Anything else? Anything at all?
Here's the Indian Corn Cob (Euphorbia mammillaris var. variegata) in July when I planted it with Austin:
Ok, here it is now:
Yeah... it's pink. Bright pink. I didn't really know what happened until I looked it up in my new Encyclopedia. This varietal of Euphorb is actually really sensitive to direct light and needs to be in partial shade. In other words, IT HAS A SUNBURN. I feel really guilty for doing this.
In other Euphorbia news, did you know that the common household pointsettia is a member of the Euphorbia family? It's true! Euphorbia pulcherrima. That's why it has the white, toxic sap! (Netti, don't touch).
One more cactus:
Crow's Claw! We talked my dad into turning part of our yard into a cactus garden, and this is going to be the centerpiece.
ALL RIGHTY I got a little sidetracked with the cacti there. Let me try and end by getting back to Christmas. Here I am with some of my presents in front of the tree:
Mon encyclopedie, Luda's latest, and a Cal CD wallet. Oh yeah, and special Christmas pjs. I know, how can one girl manage to look so good first thing in the morning? Riiight. And finally, a blurry but still nice picture of my whole family in front of the tree.
I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends. Merry Christmas everybody!
First some sad news here chez Cactal: the Godfather of Soul died today.
Yep, James Brown has passed on. I know we had a moment of silence here at the Kenley household.
Ok, Christmas! We had a really fun one here in P-Town, and I wanted to show some pics so everyone could get a sense of the general jollity. First of all, big MEP props to Jenn for the beautiful scarf she made me! Check it OUUUUT!
I love it, and I especially love the "butterfly stitch." Here's a detail shot:
She's going to teach it to me. I can only hope that the presents I'm knitting for people turn out as well as hers did. :) Muah Jenn!
Speaking of presents I've knit:
My dad decided to wear this do-rag throughout the holiday. It's one of the first things I made without a pattern, and it has cool little ties in the back like a real do-rag. In case you couldn't tell, it has a skull and crossbones and says FEAR ME. Who says knitting isn't edgy?
This is our Christmas tree:
Nice, huh? But you don't get a full sense unless you see the ornaments. For example, this was a present I received this year:
You will note that Oski isn't wearing traditional Santa red, but rather Cal Blue and Gold. Go Bears!
Some people, of course, prefer the traditional Cal ornament:
And of course, it's me, so I have one of these bad boys:
Yup, it's a pickle ornament. Apparently (according to my old bf's parents, anyway) it's a German tradition to hide them in the tree and have the kids search for them.
Ok, just a couple more ornaments:
Can you believe they make this? My dad bought it for Colin on E-Bay. My family thinks it's funny to hang a crossed-out cross on the Xmas tree.
And one more, for fun:
That was me, Christmas 1983, all of five weeks old. I know, lookin' good.
So that's enough of the ornament pics, but I have more I could post (Super Mario, Care Bears, Chi.Cubs, Transformers, Star Trek: The Next Generation...). Who says Christmas is all about materialism?
I got some really nice presents from my fam, including:
The World Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents!!!!! WOOHOO!! I actually have some cactus to plant that I got in AZ, and now this book will tell me exactly how to do it. See, I didn't really know before and that can be a problem...
Here are some cacti I potted in July:
Nice, right?
Now here they are in December:
Notice anything?
Well, the Silver Torch (Cleistocactus strausii) is taller, and the Prickly Pear (Opuntia johnsonii) has a new pad (!), and the Thimble Cactus (Mammillaria gracilis) is blooming, and those mystery guys are definitely spikier. Anything else? Anything at all?
Here's the Indian Corn Cob (Euphorbia mammillaris var. variegata) in July when I planted it with Austin:
Ok, here it is now:
Yeah... it's pink. Bright pink. I didn't really know what happened until I looked it up in my new Encyclopedia. This varietal of Euphorb is actually really sensitive to direct light and needs to be in partial shade. In other words, IT HAS A SUNBURN. I feel really guilty for doing this.
In other Euphorbia news, did you know that the common household pointsettia is a member of the Euphorbia family? It's true! Euphorbia pulcherrima. That's why it has the white, toxic sap! (Netti, don't touch).
One more cactus:
Crow's Claw! We talked my dad into turning part of our yard into a cactus garden, and this is going to be the centerpiece.
ALL RIGHTY I got a little sidetracked with the cacti there. Let me try and end by getting back to Christmas. Here I am with some of my presents in front of the tree:
Mon encyclopedie, Luda's latest, and a Cal CD wallet. Oh yeah, and special Christmas pjs. I know, how can one girl manage to look so good first thing in the morning? Riiight. And finally, a blurry but still nice picture of my whole family in front of the tree.
I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends. Merry Christmas everybody!