"We think it might be her brains"

Years ago, fourteen to be truthful, a young couple sat looking over their finances (more accurately- their debts) and began to try to plan for purchasing gifts for their first chid's first x-mas. Hmmm. It should have been easy, then, but they've grown - and so has the number of children, but the budget seems to be holding steady (stubborn). They decided two things. 1) Christmas is for children. and 2) Every slimy dime spent should be to brighten the days of, extend the education of, and wonder in the joy of said children. So, we stopped buying gifts for each other. We tried to saddle up this ole horse again about 1/2 way through the 14 yrs. but it ended up being pants sitting on a shelf in the closet and me screaming 'what the hell do I need with a fish that talks? I take care of small children all day - why the hell would I want it to TALK? '. You see where this is going. We did it in the name of sacrifice. We perpetuated it in the name of frugality and our chosen and so casually referred to a 'simple' lifestyle. Simple, we will discuss another day.

Something happened this year...that hasn't happened for many. Perhaps it was the late October glaring across the dinner table, the early November cold shoulder bouncing back and forth. The broken down cars, the overstretched budget, the reason we continue to make things hard on ourselves and why we don't want to change that - but somehow we both, either organically, or the minor first baby steps of lucid insanity or just a stroke of good luck - we both decided to surprise the other with a gift. Hubster has long dismayed at how my pics look on the blog - saying he knows my stuff looks so much nicer and that I need a good camera to take the pics with - so he got me one. Not too expensive - but nice and having the features that I said I would look for in a camera. Psst - this means he must have been listening! Sadly, we have come to a different conclusion, now. Now, we think it might be HER brains because, the camera has changed but the photographer and the quality of photo-taking really hasn't budged a bit. Woest me with the manual in English, French, Russian, Chinese and, yes, I checked a few times for 'idiot' but it is not a language, apparently. I will now have to PRACTICE. Icky.

I was worried that with the influx of Knit for Kidlets donations I would make hats all day and never return to finishing my projects that I had going but stalled due to gift knitting. Not so, I made three more hats, and then found myself finally looking at the second sock of the 'deep blue sea' yarn I made back in the summer. They are really pretty but the photographer is useless (I like to talk to myself because it isn't hard to understand). The Elvish hippie sweater wants only for each sleeve to be finished (about half way through both) and a collar slapped on it, and I cast on for some mittens for thing 1 that were supposed to be a Yule gift but the kitten, now called 'rowena',decided they looked like her food because, well, they WERE brown - and, apparently, lots of freaking fun to tear into bits.

I have other stuff up my sleeve but I'll wait until another day dawns and I have at least one more 'practice' session. So much to do with the pointing, shooting, timing, daylight-enhancing, and why does the power button sit right where a non-digital person might assume the shutter button would be. Okay, I confess! On day one I ran down the batter setting the whole thing up three times only to go to take a pic and stupidly push that temptress of a power button and - you guessed it, set it up all over again. Save me from myself! Oh, and the hubter gift? I'm not telling. Okay, force it out of me - it was something he never does for himself ( and insulated work suit is a practical item for a man who works outside all year all day) and something he's always wanted since he was a kid ( a really nice sword). Because of that, my kids thought I was 'slightly cool' for at least half the day!