Friday Shuffle - What Day is it Anyway? Edition

I've been mixed up all week with what day it is. On Monday I thought it was Thursday and Tuesday seemed like Sunday and yesterday seemed like Wednesday. Today seemed Friday-ish but maybe that's just because I went grocery shopping yesterday and I tend to grocery shop on Thursdays.

Mixed up or not, I've had one of my more mellow weeks and regardless of what day I think it is, it's always the right day for a bulleted list. How's that for some rationalization?

• I've not been out very much this week and my days have been taken up with hanging out with B, watching movies, knitting and reading. I got a pile of books for Christmas and new books to me is like having money that's burning a hole in my pocket - they're irresistible. Currently I'm doing a re-read of The Commitments by Roddy Doyle. I got The Barrytown Trilogy, the other two books in the trilogy being The Snapper and The Van. I read these books years ago but didn't have copies of them for my own and B solved that problem. I love Roddy Doyle books. I'm fairly certain that all the things I know about Dublin I learned from Roddy Doyle books.
  
  
• I've set a goal for myself to knit fifteen pairs of socks in 2008. Crazy, I know, since I have only managed to do maybe eight pairs in a year but if I'm going to set a goal it may as well be a crazy one. I've signed up for a couple online knit-a-longs - one is for one pair every month for six months and one goes for twelve months so if I use the knit-a-longs to keep me on track then I should be assured of actually knitting all twelve pairs. And I figure that if I keep on track and not slack off then I can squeeze in another three pair. Yeah, I'm laughing at that notion too. I'm working on finishing a pair as it is that I started over the summer.
  
  
• This is the first time that the Christmas market is still open after Christmas. Normally the last day is December 23rd but this year they're staying open through the 30th. When I'm down there it seems so strange to see it still there and perhaps it's contributing to my confusion as to what day it is. However, it doesn't matter how weird and out of place it seems to have the Christmas market still open 'cause it's not gonna stop me from taking full advantage of it. I have yet to fulfill my cravings for the season for freshly grilled bratwurst!
  
  
• Last mention of knitting for today: I found that there's a definite advantage to being a fast and efficient sock knitter. The other day I saw a piece on a news magazine about hand knitted socks being sold in high-end boutiques in Switzerland. They're plain socks - nice yarns but no fancy patterns - being knit to standard sizes. Who's doing all that knitting? Little old ladies. They have a whole crowd of old ladies who crank out a pair of socks, on average, every two days. Swiss old ladies because one of the other selling points of the socks is that they're a product of Switzerland. Evidently the socks sell out rather quickly - at a price of approximately $30 a pair, mind you - and so these knitting grannies are in demand. Now you know to appreciate even more any hand knit socks you may ever have given to you as a gift.
  
  
• Darling Mollie, appreciative recipient of hand knit socks from me and someone who has such an eye for what's really gorgeous has, yet again, turned me on to something really gorgeous. Take a look at this guy's photography. Feel free to gasp while viewing them if so motivated. Seriously, this fella's photography is wonderful. And once again I am in awe at how people with that sort of talent can see and capture for all time scenes that are utterly amazing. I've been to some of the places in his photographs and all I can think is "Dang! How come the Jefferson Memorial didn't look like that when I was there?" There's a photo of a bluish-purple water lily that almost makes me weep to see it. That's how perfect that photograph looks to me.

Regardless of how many holidays we have in a week, Bixente the iPod knows when it's Friday. Time to shuffle.

1. Falling Slowly - The Frames
2. The Way You Do The Things You Do - The Temptations
3. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
4. What I Like About You - The Romantics
5. Twist And Shout - The Beatles
6. Angels - BoDeans
7. 'Til It's Too Late - LeRoi Brothers
8. It's The Little Things We Do - The Zutons
9. Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night - The Fratellis
10. The Ocean - Led Zeppelin

Y'all have a good weekend. See you again before the year runs out.