Okay, here’s my (ridiculous) trepidation over secret swaps:
1-Picking out gifts for other people really makes me anxious in the first place. Perhaps this is because my family (or certain members, anyway) has a habit of 1a-not dropping hints for what they’d like when gifting-times roll around, or 1b-when I flat out ask what they want, say “Oh, I don’t need anything” or “Just a card would be nice” or “I’ll like whatever you choose,” and then 2-not getting hysterically excited over what I did end up getting them, so I’m not really sure just how much they like or dislike it. Oh, and on one occasion my actually-quite-thoughtful gift was totally forgotten after the fact, so the receiver was convinced I had just not given a gift. But I digress. I like giving gifts, but I want people to like what I give them, and the less I have to go on, the more anxious I get.
2-The last secret swap I participated in was also my first secret swap: the Secret Pink Earring Swap that Pinku! organized. And the rules were 1-cute, 2-pink, and 3-earrings. Simple, right? Well, I don’t know. I found these little pink ladybug earrings that I thought were too adorable to pass up, and I totally would wear them every day if they were mine. They’d be fused to my ear holes. They were part of a three pack, that included faux pink pearl studs, and little pink flowers. I think the flowers and the ladybug were polymer clay? I’m not sure. Anyway, I excitedly mailed the set off, and have not heard word one about whether they even showed up or whether the recipient liked them. Which is fine – maybe her taste and my taste are rather different, and maybe what I thought were cute, slightly ironic pink ladybug earrings were, to her, just dumb. Or maybe they didn’t show up. Or maybe she’s perfectly fine with them. It’s just that I don’t know, and it freaks me out when I think about it for too long. Actually, I really just wish I knew they showed up. I mean, it’d be sad if she didn’t like them, but at least she wouldn’t be wondering if I totally stiffed her.
(Which reminds me. I’ve got a Secret Pal of my own out there somewhere, and I *promise* I’m going to put up a little “about me” section, so you’ll have more to work with. Or, hopefully it’ll give you more to work with.)
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I just got my Secret Pal, and I am so psyched! I love giving people gifts, and I love mailing things, and now I can start Secret Pal-ing!
Later today I get to mail out my last two Critter Knitter blankets – eeeeeeeeeee!
Today is a very squealy day, it seems. But that’s good.
Critter Knitter: 5 blankets
Yay! I finished the last blanket up in time to mail it off with the other one tomorrow! I forgot to take pictures of the first three before I mailed them off – but here are my last two:
Fourth Critter Knitters Blanket
Fifth Critter Knitter Blanket
I finished the LB Homespun Coral Gables hat, and it looks rather nice. I’m considering making a matching scarf, and I’ve gotten over its cuteness so I shouldn’t have any problems giving it away. I started another hat out of PolarSpun, and so far it’s nice and squooshy. Unfortunately, I took it with me to Dylan, Matt, and Nick’s house, where the grrlfriends waited for XBA’s arrival Saturday night. I ended up getting drunk (on slightly less than half a bottle of Boone’s Farm because of my ridiculously low tolerance), and so I’m not exactly sure how many rows I’ve already knitted. I’ve decided to call it twelve, since that’s the last number I clearly remember, and it’s still short enough that twelve seems a reasonable estimate.
I also finished – TA DA! – the Giotto tank. And it’s okay. It’s cute, but not as cute as I was expecting. The armholes are definitely too revealing for it to be worn alone, as a regular tank. I don’t consider myself very busty, but when I tried it on, there were some coverage issues. But I think it’s pretty cute over a little black top, too, so I’m considering it a success. I’ll see if I can remember to put up pictures later.
Last night I worked on Kyoto some more. I’m a little nervous about how it’ll fit, since the cast-on edges look a little tight. I’ve decided, based on looking at and fretting over Kyoto, that I need to start seaming and trying on as I go, so I catch problems sooner. But since I’ve already got so much done on Kyoto, I’m going to finish her up before I try to break old habits.
I can’t wait to get started on Grace!
XBA’s tour van (it’s Dylan’s van, actually) broke down on the New Jersey Turnpike yesterday, so they did not make it to their last show (in Maryland) and they did not make it home. 
But they did get the van towed to a dealership, and are waiting to hear what’s wrong with it. So I’m a little bummed, and Daoine definitely seemed a little spazzed yesterday (and today, too). I don’t know how she picks up on this stuff, but her behavior when people should be coming home (especially if they then don’t) seems to indicate that she knows. Anyway. Greg should be home relatively soon, and I guess a couple more days waiting won’t kill me or Daoine.
Well, my day’s pretty much ruined. (There’s still hope it might get stopped in the Senate, right? Please? I should’ve listened a little better in ELPSA. Damn.)
What I want to know, though, is it just marriage between two people of the same sex that They’re against? (Yes, “They.” Damn Them!) Or is it the [heavy sarcasm ahead, people] deviant sexualities [/end sarcasm]? So, how exactly would they feel about, say, two bisexual people, who just happened to be male and female [referring to sex, not gender], getting married? Or maybe that example makes it too easy for Them to decide that obviously that couple isn’t really bi, since they married each other and they’re not same-sex. Or that maybe it was a “phase.” So, how’s about this, then: a bi-guy and a bi-grrl get hitched, have an open marriage, and same-sex extramarital relations on the side? Or maybe not so much “on the side,” maybe right up front. Maybe they’re all polyamorists. (Hey, it might not be my lifestyle, but that doesn’t make it wrong.) Now, in that scenario, I’m assuming They would find the married couple incredibly immoral – but would They be outraged enough to try and prevent the couple from marrying in the first place? Or would They just whine about the breakdown of family values leading to deviant yada yada blather blather hi I’m closed-minded and fearful and blah diddy blah blah.
And how do you look at what is obviously a loving family and even start with that “deviant yada yada, breakdown of family values” bullshit?
I hate Them. And what really gets my goat is that, since I’m all about compassionate living, I feel guilty for hating Them, even though They’re horrid and hateful beyond all belief.
The blocking turned out well. I unpinned it this morning (I’m mailing it off today, so I kind of had to unpin it this morning), and the stockinette border curls a bit, but the middle section (with the DNA, you see) lies flat, and that’s all I really cared about.
I’ll have to get a picture of it later. The cables turned out so well for my first attempt, I think it’d be a shame not to have a picture.
