Merry Christmas to Me!

One of the perks of working for a major corporation, is that we do a lot of celebrating. By this I do not mean consuming adult libations; I mean recognizing the opportunities for joy that lie around us. And one of my favorite perks is the annual ritual of going to the electronic catalogue and picking out my Christmas present. Of course, they call it “2007 Select A Gift” time. [Remind me to ask my friend D if he gets to pick eight gifts for Hanukkah.] Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Yule, Kwanzaa or Festivus, it’s covered: ecumenically and non-denominationally and PC-ly. There must be something for everybody’s taste in that catalogue.

I was having trouble deciding what I wanted until I clicked on the “head outdoors” link. Now those of you who know me, know that I am not the Queen of the Great Outdoors. “Roughing it” means sleeping in a Motel6 that’s more than five years old. But they have a fishing kit, and one of my criteria for picking a gift is to get something that I would never spend money on. So we have a dome tent that sleeps two, which LittleBit has taken to Girls Camp, and we have one of those pop-up pavilions to keep the sun off [you would think that I’d remember to take it to the Fourth of July parade each year; you would be wrong], and I have a cordless drill, and I have two Calphalon pots that I seldom use because you can’t just plunk them down on a burner and turn it on “high”. You have to coax the water to a boil. And you can’t sling them into the dishwasher, either. And I have some other stuff. But this year, we are going for worm-drowning glory:

Features light-action spinning reel with aluminum spool and 5 ball bearings for smooth cast and retrieve. Handle fits easily on either side of the 5-piece 5'6" graphite power rod. Includes padded case with mini lure box.

Doesn’t mean the fish are going to bite, or that I can find a coach between now and midsummer when I go up to visit my friend who lives a mile and a half from Dad’s old trout-fishing stream. Doesn’t mean that I will learn to love fishing the way that my dad did, or that I’ll ever catch more than the seat of my pants. But maybe, just maybe, it will be fun, and I’ll get some fresh air and early-morning exercise. I bet I’d be good at tying flies.

I have the first few rows started on the wing of my MS3. And I thought it required my full attention before? Oye! At this point am *not* liking the P2tog where one stitch is before the marker, and the other is after. But the new three-into-one decrease is kinda cool!