And finally pictures

The insinkerator was an easier fix than it might have been. The guy took it off, carried it outside, upended it, and shook it over a paper on the sidewalk. A bunch of glass fell out. He shook it a few more times to be sure, put it back on....and it worked. I commented that I was afraid I'd burned out the motor and he said "no, you'd have had to run it for like 10 minutes without it being able to turn for it to do that, it just was hung up on the glass"

So at least that's fixed.

I've received a few gifts over the past several days. First, a long time blogreader friend sent me some tea and a lovely card and a bunch of Kinder Eggs. I've been restricting myself to one per workday (at the most). They came on Thursday. A couple of the sets were "Enchantimals" themed. I've seen the dolls in the store (they are roughly Skipper sized) and I....didn't really know, they were a little Uncanny Valley. But the tiny toys with this are cute.

Like this bunny girl



I guess she's supposed to be sitting on something like a one-person see-saw.

And this little creature. I *think* from the artwork in the little paper that came with her she's supposed to be a mermaid of sorts, but I have to admit


 

She kind of resembles a baby Harpy....

There's also a set of eggs featuring Pets 2, but because they are from France, it is rendered as "Bêtes 2" on there and I find that more amusing than I probably should. ("Beasts, 2"!)

I had also ordered one of those "round seal pillows" that a Japanese aquarium was selling, but because it came from overseas, it seems to have got hung up in Customs. I was given a "new" tracking number (which I have not checked yet) and I am not at all sure it will ever arrive.

But no matter; some friends on Twitter (a couple) asked me if I wanted them to send me a "round seal" and they did:



Well, it doesn't look very round there, but that's how it's shipped. And the instructions are kind of amusing. (I put the seal - named Chunk - in the dryer on air fluff with some dryer balls instead)..





And then today....a "belated" (as the card said) sympathy gift from a fellow ITFFer - a little beanie style My Little Pony unicorn:





I've named her Teal Fluevog in My Little Pony fashion. (The gag is, on ITFF, the favorite colors are teal and mustard, and Fleuvogs are a favorite brand of shoe. And the pony's hair is teal, so....)

I also had an idea this afternoon, maybe I make yet one more of those Elisabeth Doherty-pattern based Ponies, but use the wildest, goofiest multicolor yarn I can (but plain yarn for the mane and tail) and name her Ranibow Sprimkle after the silly internet joke about a tub of sprinkles apparently labeled either by someone who could not spell, or for whom English was very much a second language. Maybe a bit like a distant cousin of Derpy Hooves...


 I gave an exam today and decided to work on the AAUW hat during it and did get some done; I'm about halfway done with it now:



(it looks small but it's a little folded up there). I had forgotten how comparatively-fast worsted weight hats are.

It's the "Antler Toque" pattern from Tin Can Knits - straightforward but looks good.

I'm going to choose a plainer pattern for my brother's hat, but, yeah, it's reassuring to be able to get something accomplished fairly well.

I also did a tiny bit of pre-Christmas decorating - put the Christmas dresses on my various Barbies



Sam, Gabby, and Olivia are in creations bought from "Buttercup Dress Up," the two Curvy girls are in standard Barbie (Mattel) dresses because the slimmer-cut BDU dresses won't fit them comfortably. And anyway: the goofy silver lame reindeer dress is perfect for Cinnamon's sense of style.

I do think later this week I will clean up my living room/put more stuff away and make room for my tree. I noticed tonight going out to Bell Choir that the neighbors kitty-corner across the street for me have their tree up already, and they are more Native-Southerner than I am* so I think it's OK.

(*The standard joke here is you can tell the Yankees because they put Christmas decorations up "too early" - i.e., before the day after Thanksgiving). As I said, I feel like I need it this year.