eep.

I did not see the Pier 21 advertisement where Kirstie Alley allegedly* sings "Santa Baby" until Friday evening.

*(I say allegedly because her ability to carry a tune is worse than mine)

the parody was NOT inspired by that advertisement; had I known it was being run, I probably would have parodied something else.

sigh.

Anyway. Had a pleasant weekend. I knit the first of a pair of "Grandmother Vinson's Little Red Mittens" from the Cast-On winter 2002 accessories issue. This is a pattern contributed by Theresa, and it's an excellent pattern - the mittens are warm and comfy and they have a nice "folkloric" look, without seeming too...I don't know, childish-looking?

I used Stahl "Big" in an eggplanty color, from out of the stash, for these. I decided I needed some new mittens.

It really is a nice pattern.

I also baked a couple batches of cookies, and had to build a mouse-excluder out of aluminum screening. You see, my house is an old, old house and just about all the modern stuff in it is retrofitted. Like the vanity in the bathroom, which was placed over the region of the pipe-chase and the ductwork for the heating system.

Both of which are, apparently, gappy. I spied a mouse on Saturday afternoon, running right out in front of me - I'm sorry, but when they get that brazen, I stop being a Friend of St. Francis. So I got some d-con and the screen and pushed the box of poison back in under there, and stapled the screen over the opening, so they can't come out.

The staple gun is my new favorite implement of construction. It makes a very satisfying "chunk" when you squeeze the handle of it.

I also walled-off the area in my kitchen next to my dishwasher. When they rebuilt the kitchen (long before I bought the house), they left the area behind the dishwasher (pipe-chase again) open to the under-sink area, and they were coming in there, too.

I blame the HFOB for this - never saw/heard/smelled any evidence of rodents before they were there.