"Can I get you anything else?..."

I'm having a crisis of sorts with my wardrobe. I love my casual clothes. They are nothing special, but I am comfortable and I am happy with them. It is my 'dress up' or 'work clothes' that I am having issues with at the moment. And given the transition of the seasons, I am at a loss with what to wear to the office or special occasions. I have no boots, so its too cold for my skirts. I have only 2 decent pairs of pants and a third that someone really needs to take away from me. I have turtlenecks, which it is still a little warm for, and I have t-shirts (the solid color ones from Old Navy) which it is getting too cold for. My handknits are also to a point that I don't have too many that can be worn in an of themselves. They are mostly either accessories or warm over sweaters. Most of my planned projects would fit this bill, but that doesn't help me this season.

Yesterday I found myself with the task of dressing for a wedding. It was an afternoon wedding at someone's home, so I knew I didn't have to get super dressed up. Everything semi-dressy was either sleeveless (with no properly matching over-garments) or corporate looking and covered up. I finally settled on my simple black skirt and my new fitted white button up blouse (purchased specifically as an undergarment for my Deep V once it is all done). I slipped on my black sandals and added a necklace I got from my grandmother. I felt like I had done a pretty good job of throwing something together. However, as soon as we arrived at the wedding, I realized my mistake...I was dressed like the catering staff. Sweet.

As for my knitting, I am slowly but surely working my way through my holiday knit-a-thon. I have divided my projects into groups based on when they need to be shipped. Given our oversees family members and a certain lambchop's approaching birthday at the end of this month, these gifts are taking priority as I'd like to ship one package with birthday gift and the Christmas gifts together. I also have a couple projects that will just take longer, so I'm trying to work those throughout the holiday knitting season as well. One has been coming along nicely and has a freshly added black heel.

And the other, well, it will probably receive more focus once I get the shipping presents done.

My biggest problem right now is my hands. They are interfering with my ability to make the progress I'd like to be making. For the most part, the gifts are simple ones that I normally would be able to crank out without incident. But my hands!!! They start bothering me pretty quickly and I have to stop and take plenty of breaks or stop entirely for the day. Besides the holidays, there are just too many things I want to make and have plans for and I don't want to be held back by my hands. Yet at the same time, I know that if I don't get this issue under control, I am risking my ability to use them all together. So, tomorrow (Melissa you will appreciate this one) I am going to talk to an acupuncturist. A friend of ours was able to avoid surgery of a torn meniscus due to acupuncture therapy and has recommended this particular therapist. I'm a firm believer in complements and alternatives to western medicine and I think that acupuncture may be just what the 'doctor' ordered ;-)

Finally, yesterday was Jenny's 9th birthday. Her birthday has always been easy for us to remember because she was born on 11/11 and she became part of our family on 1/11. So, on the way home from the wedding, we stopped by the pet store and picked up a couple plush toys for her to 'play' with.

As previously described, she destroys plush toys, so she only gets them on special occasions. And I think her 63rd birthday should definitly count as one of those special occasions.