AuburnChick's Adventures

It’s the day after Christmas, and Rooster is still sick.  And it’s not just the sniffles either.  We’re talking raging fever since Monday.

Sigh…

After sleeping fitfully on Christmas Eve, he woke up fever-free and a bit sweaty.  We thought his fever had broken for good.  He felt well enough to open presents at two different family gatherings.  And what fun we had!

The in-laws gave me enough money to pay for a ball winder and swift…the two biggest items on my list.  I must take a moment to brag.  I am a smart shopper.  After scoping out the KnitPicks swift, I went to Joann.com and found this swift.   My mother-in-law found a coupon in the paper, so after the discount, I paid only $49.19!  Woo Hoo!

Knowing that I could only use one code at a time, I placed a second order for a ball winder.  I hesitantly tried a coupon code that expired on the 24th, and it worked!  So, before taxes and shipping, I paid only $25!  Woo Hoo!  I have $31 left!

Santa brought me a couple of knitting magazines, Ghirardelli chocolate, a pack of pens, and a bag of Twizzlers.  I love eating Twizzlers when I get to go to the movie theater.  Boy am I wanting to see the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”  Finances will dictate that I wait for the DVD version.

My sister gave me a Kohl’s card. Soccer Chick looked over my shoulder and ooohhhed and aaahhhhhed.

The in-laws are extremely generous, going beyond the money mentioned above.  They also gave me a new tripod, camera battery, SD card for the camera, and a Kohl’s card, which Soccer Chick was eying greedily (keep your paws off my stuff Sista!).

The kids got new iPods from the grandparents, along with a few other goodies.  Teenagers are very expensive these days, so the number of gifts has gone down as the expenses have increased. They’re very pleased with their iPods, though.  Especially since the one that Rooster received last Christmas recently underwent a bath in the washing machine. Dh got a Blue Ray DVD player. He’s nearly giddy!  You know how men are with electronic toys.  Of course, I’ll probably have to figure out how to use it and then give him a lesson on “DVDs for Dummies.”

I only knit a couple of gifts this year.  My mother-in-law opened her’s:

And exclaimed joyously “Oh, how pretty.”

And then, with nary a pause, she said, “What is it?”

We all laughed!  It was too funny.

I explained the best I could without having a mug to demonstrate, and we moved on, with the next person taking their turn opening a gift (we all take turns…enjoying each person’s moment…youngest to oldest).

My sister later opened her gift…

This year, I went with a tea theme.  It started when I knit her a cozy as well:

Once I had the cozy, I worked on the rest of the basket.  I had seen an clip on the Today Show with Martha Stewart, and she had stenciled initials on teacups.  Of course, she’s Martha Stewart.  My version didn’t come out quite as nice, but my sister was happy all the same.  The neat thing was on Christmas Eve, my sister told me about how much she loves tea…

Isn’t it awesome when things work together that way?

After we finished Christmas with the in-laws, we headed to my sister’s house.  She and her husband (who happens to be Mr. AuburnChick’s brother…yeah, we’re from the South, okay?) were hosting the afternoon gathering with my mom and her husband.

Mom is notorious for giving my sister and me lots of gifts.  Usually, grandchildren are the ones who are spoiled in families, right?.  Not in our case.  Mom shops the sales after Christmas and purchases everything for the next year.  However, this year, she only carried in one box of presents.  The recent downturn in the economy has touched her as well.

Everyone got money.  Mom has had too much trouble with gift cards not working properly, so she opted for the green stuff.

She also gave my sister and me our own blankets…crocheted by a friend of her’s:

Can you say GORGEOUS?!  I think that if I had received this gift two years ago, I would not have fully appreciated it.  Now, I sat in awe.  Rooster has already used it to cover up with.  Fevers make you cold, you know.

Mom only gave us one set of Christmas towels this year (we usually receive a half dozen or so) and, of course, a set of salt and pepper shakers.  Rooster and I got a good laugh about that later.

During the visit with Mom, Rooster started feeling bad.  His temperature was going up, but he was trying desperately to hang in there.  After she left, we returned to the in-law’s house, where I finally pulled out the thermometer.  Well over 102.

Sigh…

He went down for a nap but didn’t feel any better when he woke up.  Everyone retired early for the night.  Rooster woke up once in the middle of the night.  His temperature was over 103.  I trudged downstairs for Gatorade, and we both fell asleep again.  We slept late.  Everyone slipped out of the house to shop.  I thought this was a good sign…sleeping in.  Not so.

He had a temperature of over 102.

I called the doctor.

After consulting with him and talking to the Mr., we decided that the best course of action was to return home.  Poor Rooster.  In his words, “Christmas has been pretty crappy this year.”

No kidding.

We left Soccer Chick with the grandparents.  She had money burning a hole in her pocket.  My mother-in-law called, telling me she was peeking around the corner where Chicky was in Victoria’s Secret buying unmentionables.  Nobody was allowed to go into the store with her.  This purchase was to be private.  I’m sure I’ll see whatever she bought hanging on the line soon.

Mr. AuburnChick got us home and settled and then left again…driving the hour and a half back to his parents.  They will be visiting his grandmother tomorrow, and sick children do not make for a safe environment for a 90-something lady. I made sure to check with my mother-in-law about how much Christmas money we should be receiving…especially after the Mr. hinted that he would be taking half for himself.

Not nice.

Santa, do you hear?  Put him on the Naughty List for next year!

When we got home, I found a box on my porch.  It was from one of the Oddball Knitters.  She sent me two completed blankets…

The sweet gal included an extra gift for me…

Yep…it’s a wool/silk blend and heavenly!  I can’t even imagine what the yarn will feel like knit up into socks!  What a generous gift!

The best thing about the unexpected return trip is that the dogs got to come home early.  They are extremely happy…

So, it’s been a busy but strange Christmas.  Rooster is sitting on the couch surrounded by all of his Christmas goodies, reluctantly taking his temperature every couple of hours.  He says he’s going to get Thermometitis.  heehee

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: christmas, Knitting, regia silk, virus | 4 Comments »