Alas, I am going through one of those phases where I look at people around me and see selfish hypocrites who can only yell "me me me" or "my way or the highway!"

part of it IS that there are some people around me who give into their selfish impulses, part of it is that I am hopelessly idealistic about human behavior.

So instead of continuing to whinge, I'm going to list a few things that are Right With The World:

1. The Kureopatora that I won in Mary's contest arrived. I'm thinking of doing either a bag-shaped hat or a slightly peaked hat (like a shorter version of a stocking cap) with it. I think there is enough for either of those.

2. The swap-socks I made for Vicki arrived at their destination. Now I can talk about them: They are made of a dark blue Regia that had little short "blips" of fuchsia, turquiose, and peach shot through it. I used Judy Sumner's "Feather and Fan" pattern out of "Socks, Socks, Socks" for it. I like this pattern, it works up fast, is less boring than stockinette stitch, but is easily enough memorized that you're not tied to the book.

3. I swatched up the Mondial "Fur" last night. Got gauge, so I'm going to do the vest out of it. This will be a good, simple, almost-all-reverse-stockinette pattern to work on while I read.

4. I also need to plan my Christmas gift for the AAUW exchange. I'm trying to decide between making a largish teddy bear (sewing) - there was a teddy bear in the exchange last year that was "stolen" several times - or making a hat-and-scarf set out of the "Boa" eyelash yarn that I bought (admittedly, for that very purpose).

5. I have my Christmas shopping not exactly done, but well planned out. I'm buying several of my gifts from Flax Art: a "Make your own -opoly" for my brother and sister in law as a joint gift, a portable desk for my brother, and a kit that allows you to apply your own photograph to a fresco tile for my sister in law. I enjoy finding unusual gifts when I can. My dad is getting a knit shirt from Land's End and I bought a silver pin for my mom. No, no knitted gifts this year; I decided early on it would be too hectic with my tenure packet having to go in. And it got tiring trying to decide what my brother would actually USE.