The most spoiled spoilee ever

I really am the most spoiled spoilee ever. And Lizzie worked the Magpie theme so well. There are feathers snuck in here and there, and of course she really worked the black and white color theme to perfection. I opened the box left by her owl, and found it filled with Magpie-wrapped parcels.

Isn't this awesome? She even printed her own wrapping paper:

I started opening them with the biggest one first. It is a knitting bag, lined, with pockets, including long ones for straight needles. It's black and white, of course, and it's got a feather pattern knit into the bottom of it, and colorwork Magpies knit into the top. I love it so much!!

Opening the next parcel, I found a great little tool bag, and in exploring its pockets, saw that it was filled with more little parcels! This is even better than Russian nesting dolls!

Inside, there was a snitch tape measure, a gorgeous set of colored wooden double points in size 2mm, perfect for sock knitting, and a set of stitch markers with black and white beads, of course, and feather charms.

Next came 3 balls of yarn (all with bamboo, a favorite of mine) one black, one white, and one in variegated blues, pinks and purples, which of course is my favorite colorway. I got a tote bag with the Montrose Magpies logo magically adhereed to it, a small handmade notebook with the logo on the cover. There's a bookmark with Hogwarts stitched onto it in runes, snitch-shaped chocolates, and Bertie Bott's every flavored beans. There's also some tea in a tin cunningly shaped like the Ministry of Magic's entrance.

I got 2 patterns to go with my yarn: a feather :-) and fan sosck pattern, and a great little colorwork bag with a cat pattern. It will be just the thing for my first ever colorwork project!

Last, and definitely NOT least, a pair of quidditch sock earrings and a quidditch team sweater pin, hand knit of course, and complete adorable.

Here's the whole kit and caboodle:


Rascal, wearing Magpies team colors, inspects and approves.

Lizzie, thank you so much for your hard work. I feel like I got 2 kits, especially since Emma helped you with it. Many thanks to you, too, Emma! Lizzie, what charm did you use to fit all of that into that little box?

quidditch and Winnie

I can't believe we're only a week away from the end of quidditch season. Excuse the pun, but it has completely flown by! And I've got my spoilee's kit well in hand. No running around at the last minute for me! I think that's a major accomplishment :-)

Now for Winnie. This week seems simple. She's in Transylvania, and had a close call with a certain vampire. The week before, that's a little trickier. But a large city with plenty of holy water and crucifixes, maybe she's in Vatican City or Rome.

A spoiling I will go...

I found what could be the best ever book to give my spoilee. Even my Muggle family members were impressed by it when I showed it to them. I wish I could post a picture to show off its awesomeness. And I'm ahead of where I thought I'd be on the item I'm making, so Helena might not have to wait for me to mail it at the last possible second! I'm all kinds of excited about that! I had lots of fun today flitting around picking up some little things here and there for the kit, too. When I tell people about doing these swaps, they have no idea how much fun it is to stalk someone, and find just the right things to put into the kit.

A broom!

I got home this morning from a week in Massachusetts and in my mail was a package. I wasn't expecting anything, which made it even more exciting. And what do I find in the package? A little broom! Sort of Barbie-sized. My assignment is to take it on a tour of my area, and photograph it's journey. This is going to be so much fun!

What am I thankful for, and what makes me happy?

This is an awesome idea for a blog post, Devan. I do know that I have a lot to be thankful for. And the happy part is pretty easy for me. I'm one of those people who's pretty much naturally happy. I try to always look for the positive, not dwell on the negative, and don't look back with regret. Even if something doesn't work out, I take it as a lesson in life and move on.

What am I thankful for? (Not in order of priorty, just how they pop into my head)

1. My house sold, so I don't have to try to maintain a house in NY after moving to Mass.
2. My company has a relocation group help me move, so I don't have to do all the work myself. They're helping me find a temporary apartment in Mass.
3. I get to have movers pack and move for me. Let me repeat that. I get to have movers PACK for me. How awesome is that?
4. I'm very thankful for my family.
5. I'm very thankful my aunt and uncle will be visiting for Thanksgiving. I don't get to see them nearly enough.
6. I'm thankful for my health.
7. I'm thankful for my job. I enjoy doing it, have great coworkers, and good benefits. So many people are stuck in jobs they don't like, or have no health insurance.
8. I'm thankful for the chance to move to Mass, and start a new adventure in my life. I'm sad that I won't get to see family and friends back home as often, but it's only a 4 hour drive. But I can't wait to start exploring Mass and New England, finding new places, meeting new people. It's going to be a blast.
9. I'm thankful for my kitties, as trite as that may sound. They're such loving little fur babies, and keep the home life from getting too dull.

What makes me happy?

1. Spending time with my friends' 10 year old triplets. Last weekend I was watching them, and we had so much fun. We did crafts, and drove around doing some errands, ate out, and ended the day by cuddling together by the fire talking.
2. Weaving makes me happy. A lot. I love the process of planning a project. And I love how it reveals itself as I start weaving. It's always a thrill, seeing an idea from my head come to life on my loom.
3. Knitting makes me happy. It's similar to weaving, but not as big of a thrill.
4. Sometimes cooking makes me happy. Especially when it turns out well :-) Cooking for just myself gives me a lot of freedom, because if something doesn't work out, no one has to know, and I don't have to worry about other people not getting fed.
5. Baking makes me happy. It's a little bit chemistry class, and a little bit magic. And I love it if something I baked makes other people happy.
6. Reading makes me happy. I love to lose myself in a good book. I love learning about new places and people, and I love reading history to learn about the past. I love to see how people lived in past times, and how they live now in different places.
7. My job makes me happy. There's enough challenge and variety to keep it from getting boring, and I get support when needed from my boss and coworkers. And all the people in my new office have been so nice and welcoming, it feels good to come here.

Another week, another mystery note from Winnie

And she's certainly covered some ground this week! All the way from South America to Egypt, with a stop to visit Professor Slughorn. I'm so jealous, too, because I'd love to see the pyramids. One of these days, I'll get there, but for now I'll have to content myself with the US.

Today I got to babysit my friends' 10 year old triplets, which was a blast. We worked on a craft project, for them to make presents for their parents and grandparents. I was hoping to get some knitting done while they were working, but of course I couldn't resist joining in their fun. We ended the day hanging out by the fire cuddling and talking.

Where's Winnie

So our beloved headmistress has gone galivanting around the globe, leaving us little clues to guess her location. This week's clue seems to me to point to Brazil. I hope she brushed up on her Portugese before she left!

Muggle life is definitely intruding into my quidditch fun this term! I'm still trying to sell the house, and I have to start working in Mass full time as of December 1st! Yikes! I've got to find a place to live! I sure wish I had one of the tents Mr. Weasley had. That was easy to set up, and plenty of room. Now I'm probably going to be using something the muggles call Craig's List to find a place for a short while. But I have to find one that will let me take the kitties. What else can I do with them? Even a stunning spell won't keep the quiet long enough for me to sell this house and buy another.

Ok, off to shop and cook for a fun potluck tonight!