Mondaying

Happy Monday, friends! I submitted my last papers of the semester on Saturday and it feels so good to be done! This fall was pretty rough, and I'm ridiculously proud of myself for handling it as well as I did. I have six weeks off until next semester, and while I'm looking forward to my spring classes, I really can't wait to spend the next six weeks reading for fun and catching up on movies and tv shows I haven't been able to watch the past few months.

Xmas knitting continues apace, and I'm happy with where I'm at so far. Apologies for no photo again today, but my mum reads the blog and I can't just go around ruining surprises. I also made an executive decision about a shawl sample that's been on the needles for a while now, and I'm hoping to get caught up on pattern writing before the spring semester starts. 

Yesterday I mixed up some pepparkakor dough, and I'll probably roll those out later today. I've not done any real holiday treat-making yet, aside from the Chex Mix, and pepparkakors sound like the perfect start. I also want to try making cardamom rolls sometime in the next two weeks—they've been on my to-bake list for ages, but I haven't managed to get around to them yet. 

More Numbers, Because Why Not

 1. I have half of my last final paper and a reflection left to write and then I am done until January 25th.

2. I finally started Xmas knitting last night. I do not know if I'll be done in time, but I will be giving it my all. Especially once my papers are done.

3. Using the food processor to make latkes is absolutely a game-changer. 

4. Lee Lee continues to improve. We have started going for (very short) walks again, and she has resumed stealing all the blankets in bed. I think over the weekend we'll scale down from one pill in the mornings to half a pill.

5. Yesterday I made Chex mix and ate two whole bowls of it and only barely managed to stop so I could put it all away. I haven't been able to find my usual GF bagel chips this year, and I don't know if the company has stopped making them or if they're a temporary loss due to Covid (it was really hard to get GF mac and cheese for a while), so I just added more nuts and pretzels. 

6. I hope you all have a good weekend! 

Numbers on a Monday

 Okay, we're doing numbers today because it's the last week of the semester and I am EXHASTED.

1. I'll be giving 25% of my December sales each to my local food pantry and emergency fund. The area I live in really struggles with poverty and food insecurity (35%!!), and these organizations work really hard and struggle to meet all the need even in non-pandemic years. If you're not already working with your local orgs, please reach out to them, especially if you have less to share this year than usual. They're the ones in the communities, with the connections and the boots on the ground to keep people warm and fed, and they've really been hit hard this year with the double whammy of increased need and less money coming in.

2. Lee Lee continues to improve! I'm letting her go cone-free most of the time now, and we're down to pain meds once a day, in the mornings. Thank you all again for all your support the last two months, it's so good to see her getting closer and closer to her old self.

3. It's the LAST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER. I have two papers, a project, and two presentations this week and then I am DONE until the end of January, I cannot WAIT. I have promised myself a Lord of the Rings marathon as soon as I turn in my last project and I plan to spend my break knitting and reading my stack of library books.

4. I just recently learned that you can shred potatoes for latkes in a food processor instead of grating them by hand. It blew my mind, and I'm extremely excited for Hanukkah now. I love latkes, but having to grate potatoes AND clean up from frying is usually Too Much for me to handle in one night, so the food processor tip is a real game changer for me.

5. There are eighteen days until Xmas and I have not started gift knitting. I'm not panicking. Yet.