Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Things to Do During "Me" Time

This week's 10 on Tuesday is a little late, but that's OK. I was too busy 2-ing yesterday to 9.

1. Knit
2. Design knits
3. Ogle/fondle yarn
4. Watch "bad" TV (ANTM, Real Housewives), though I do that with Nick, too
5. Bake
6. Read
7. Watch movies
8. Get a pedicure (no point in a manicure, I just knit the paint off)
9. Blog/Facebook
10. Sleep in

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Great Songs from the Last Year

I didn't even blog last week's Ten on Tuesday: Celebrities You're Tired of Hearing About, since I didn't want to give those people any more exposure (hehe) and since I like Angelina Jolie (long brown hair, plump lips, loves her kids - we could be twins!). And this week I don't even know any songs from the last year. I mean, we fast-forward through the musical guest on SNL unless it's Madonna or Beyoncé or someone like that. Even then we might FF. I will definitely have something to say next week, though: 10 Favorite Things to Do During "Me" Time. Of course, the Top Five are "Knit".

Favorites

This is based on House Beautiful's Favorites questionnaire in the June 2009 issue. I enjoyed reading all the designers' answers and kept replying in my head with my own. What are your favorites?

flower peonies, roses, lilacs, violets, ranunculus, hydrangeas, freesia (I know! I can't pick just one)
sofa shape traditional three-cushion or comfy equivalent (though not one of those with cushions you get lost in) without too many Cheerios under said cushions
stationery leetle note cards from Paper Source
comfort food home-made Tollhouse cookies with a bit of Kosher salt sprinkled on before baking & sushi
lamp one of those beautiful blown glass ones from Simon Pearce - I've never been able to decide which shape/size I like best so am still without one (well, that and they aren't exactly free)
alarm clock Isobel and Penelope - I'd sleep 'til ... 7:30 without those girls
mattress a great one from IKEA whose name looks/sounds like all the other IKEA mattress names
bed pillow extra firm one with mostly goose feathers, not down
car color varies but always with that green dot on the side
everyday dishes I'd like to say my Tiffany Nature china [PDF link] (sadly discontinued) but we're not quite ready for that chez Purly (despite its being microwave and dishwasher safe and all), so Nick's bachelor dishes and the plastic stuff from IKEA that every family with small kids seems to have these days
color robin's egg blue
coffee table book The Natural Knitter
all-purpose glass "Working Glass" from Crate and Barrel, though I'm thinking of changing to CB2's Marta
soap Lush Sea Vegetable soap - sea salt, seaweed, lavender, lime - what's not to love?
ice cream B&J's Chubby Hubby or Peppermint Stick
towel fluffy white ones from LL Bean
chair Louis Ghost - I have no idea if it's comfortable but I love the shape and lucite-ness of it - even better is the little Lou Lou!
scented candle I prefer the no-smell of a clean house.
wallpaper toile, pretty much any toile
sheets white damask stripe since college, just keep replacing them when they wear out
cleaning supply Mrs Meyers All-Purpose Cleaner, Lemon Verbena or Geranium or Lavender
toothpaste Crest Whitening Expressions Extreme Herbal Mint - dumb name, awesome toothpaste
showerhead Speakman Anystream
vacuum Dyson - the yellow upright one, had it for years
lightbulb We've gone to CFLs for the most part, but I still like those "natural light" incandescents
coffee or tea Zabar's or Fairway's French Roast or the equivalent - the darker and richer, the better; one of my personal failings is an indifference to tea
kitchen gadget footed end-grain cutting board and Wusthof Santoku
workhorse fabric don't have one yet but expect to shortly, now that I'm getting to know my sewing machine
pen Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine Rolling Ball in black
artist John Singer Sargent (wish he could have painted my portrait), Vermeer (what is there to say?), Van Gogh (oh, the impasto)

And a few questions that were oddly omitted from the HB list:

yarn Malabrigo Merino Worsted - such a joy to knit even if it might pill all over
needles Bryspun circulars and short DPNs, though I'm coming around on Addi Turbos for some projects
notion black sheep tape measure and silverplate leaf stitch markers (from Knitty City)

Scattergories

From Carole's blog...

Use the first letter of your name to find a word for each of the following:

Your Name - Kathleen
Four letter word - kick
Boy name - King (just watched It Happened One Night)
Girl name - Kathryn
Occupation - knitter
Color - khaki
Beverage - Kristal
Something found in a bathroom - knickers
A Place - Kennebunkport
Reason for being late - knot of traffic
Food - kumquat
Something you shout - Kampai!

Christmas Meme

I read this on Carol's blog and enjoyed it. Hope you will, too.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper (from IKEA usually) or tissue paper and this wonderful ribbon from Paper Source (wish they would open one here in NYC; I always visit when in the Chicago area)
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real! We're going to get ours this weekend from one of the Quebeçois vendors who sell trees on the street in New York.
3. When do you put up the tree? We haven't solidified a tradition yet but sooner rather than later, as we will be in Chicago for the holidays.
4. When do you take the tree down? A week after we should have.
5. Do you like eggnog? Noooo. That may be the one dairy thing that I do not like.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The dollhouse my parents made for me when I was six.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My father. Added bonus: his birthday is just a couple of weeks before Father's Day.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Isobel. So much fun to find gifts for my little/big girl.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Not here, but my mother has a beautiful one that was her parents'.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Maybe New Year's cards in the mail? I still have to send out Penelope's birth announcements, but she's been a pickle on naps thus far. Next year?
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Netflix (nothing against them) from my now-ex-husband. I should have known he was having an affair at that point.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life followed by A Christmas Story. Is it being a Midwesterner that makes it such a resonant movie for me?
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December, though I try to start knitting any presents earlier.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mother's Boeuf Bourguignion and her mother's thumbprint cookies.
16. Lights on the tree? Of course! White lights.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Pretty much all of them. Well, except for the dog barking ones and such. All the real Christmas songs.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Winging to Chi-town.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? You bet.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? My family does one Christmas Eve, usually with family friends, and the rest Christmas morning. Not sure what it will be like this year (we're staying with my in-laws).
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The buybuybuy mentality, particularly this year. I'm trying to do handmade - we'll see.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Lots of red, since that shows up against the tree, and silver, which is just my thing.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Anything from my wishlist.
24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Very pretty angel at my parents' house. I need to do something about the dreadful papier mache star I have for our home.
25. Favorite Christmas dinner? See #15. And there's usually shrimp cocktail and champagne to start. Last year I had to forgo the champagne, and that's how I told my dad I was expecting.

Meme-orama

Bridget tagged me with this meme last week (and Sandy did an open tag which reminded me to answer the questions). And now that we're back from a lovely long weekend in Maine, I'm ready to answer questions!

The rules: Posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer. Play nice, children.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I think Peter and I had just found a place for his parents to stay for a month in Newport, Rhode Island, that summer. It was a condo in an antique house in The Point district, which I fell in love with. Funny where life takes you, isn't it.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today - I wrote this yesterday but had to go to the park before I could decide who to tag... I did get a start on everything but made more progress on my Celtic Cardigan kit from Ellen at Purl Diva - LOVE!

Take Isobel to the park for some much-needed exercise. Whenever we stopped on the drive home yesterday (from Bath to NYC in six hours with a stop for lunch and numerous potty stops thanks to our newly potty-trained girl), she ran everywhere, so she definitely needs some activity, and we can't just send her out the back door like we do in Maine.

Make a grocery list and start restocking the kitchen. We did a good job of eating things down before going up to Maine, so the cupboards are pretty bare.

Clean. At the very least this place needs to be vacuumed. Amazing how Riley-fur tumbleweeds accumulate even when he came with us to Maine (and tried to make a break for it on the last night there - luckily, I cornered him under someone's trellised deck and was able to get him back in the house - silly, indoor, city cat). And some clean clothes might help.

Devote some mental time to packing up/disposing of the last of the stuff in Gloucester, as our potential buyers found a buyer for their house. YESSSS! Well, they still have to do the inspection, and we know how that went (egregiously) last time. But I will continue to hope that this last burden will soon be lifted.

Organize the stash, inspired by Stephanie.

3. Snacks I enjoy - Chubby Hubby ice cream, honey roasted cashews, blondies, cider donuts from the farmer's market, just about anything with dried cranberries

4. Places I've lived - Evanston and Wilmette, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Brighton, Somerville, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Gloucester, Massachusetts; Wilmette (again) and Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin; New York City, New York, and Bath, Maine. I also spent every summer of my childhood in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire - Wow, what a question. I'm going to stick with selfish answers today, but know that I would do philanthropic things, too, just not sure exactly what they'd be, but probably things to do with children, the arts, the environment, and such. So, I'd pay off our debts and plan a lovely little wedding. I'd put enough aside for the childrens' educations. I'd buy a Lexus 400h - the hybrid - billionaire's need a little style, you know. I'd do a historic renovation of our little Bath cottage or maybe just sell it and buy a larger but still antique house on the water in Maine. I'd travel to Venice (again) and all over Japan (for the first time). I'd start a foundation that would employ my sister here in the States but allow her to continue her amazing work in Afghanistan - she works for Care International setting up schools in rural areas that have had no education system. Amazing work, but we'd all like her to be State-side. (Hey, there's some philanthropy, albeit with selfish motives.) Buy yarn (duh). Give Nick a generous antique book-buying allowance. Get Riley an amazing self-cleaning litter box (hehe). Furnish the apartment from top to bottom. Upgrade my wardrobe (and Isobel's) - it's tough living in NYC without a job yet: so much style, so much out of my non-existent price range.

6. Peeps I want to know more about - Jenn, because she needs a distraction while waiting to go into labor; Tanya, because she hasn't posted anything to her blog in a while; Annie, just because; and Keri, because I'm curious to know where all she's lived.