Well, my family was supposed to be in Mississippi yesterday, but were instead enjoying the amenities of South Beloit, Illinois, while waiting for car repairs.  They will have to skip Mississippi altogether and should be in New Orleans sometime today.  I still don't have a clear read-out on what all had to be done to the van -- I did hear distributor cap and spark plugs, and that was not as bad as the original diagnosis of timing belt/chain (I guess) -- but the grrs called from somewhere south of Chicago last night and they were happy to be moving!  DH was sleeping at the time (I'm sure he was pretty stressed).  Mdd only wanted to know how her dog was doing!

Kt was so happy with the knitterly gift bags she found this year (at Target, I believe -- on sale NOW!).  Inside this one was my very own copy of "Knit Lit, Too."  She'd also found a bag with some mittens on the front and used it to hold the thrummed mittens she knit for a friend.  She was thrilled to find such fitting bags.  I can't wait to tell her how much you all liked her Point 5 scarf.  The funky quality definitely comes from the Target scarf that inspired it, but the yarn most certainly makes it artsy, don't you think?  All three grrs have creativity coursing through their veins -- I'll take credit for a teensy bit of that, but the vast majority comes from the greater gene pool!

I have a step-sister who is a clothing designer (nothing to do with the grrs' gene pool, but I think association counts).  She was commissioned to make something for the grrs this year for Christmas and they each got a very nicely made faux fur vest.  My niece (on the left) received the "mink" one because it went best with her coloring (she's a natural blonde, but dyed her hair black this summer and now, after some recent "color correction" has a hint of red!); Ai's is white and the softest of all; Mdd's is pink (she was wearing the pink skirt I made for her, too); and Kt's is a soft tan.

My nephews got a karaoke machine, an extra microphone, and some Disney CDs for Christmas.  Do you see any little boys in that picture?  Actually, I think they're going to have the toughest time getting the mike out of my sister's hands!!  One of my nephews got a drum set from Santa, so they're going to have a very musical house!

My knitting news is dismal.  I did finish the first North Star mitten on Sunday night.  My camera is heading south, though.  I was so distracted yesterday (I'll tell ya, it wasn't the relaxing day off I'd envisioned) that it was hard to concentrate on much of anything.  I thought of casting on the second mitten, but pulled St. Brigid into my lap instead.  It sure would be nice to finish that and still have time to wear it this winter.