Congratulations! As Rebecca said, yes, weave in your tail. Be sure to go up and down, not side to side. Side to side will take away from the stretchyness provided by the ribbing at that point. (I once did side to side weaving on a sock where I changed colors frequently, and it really make the sock hard to get on.) Can you join at cast-on so you don't have the dip? I join by the trading stitches method. I don't know how others do it. Yes, picking up stitches for the gusset is the hardest part. I usually pick up 2 extra also. I bought double sets of needles and worked on each sock alternating back and forth so they were both done at the same time, but I have never had "second sock syndrome" where I didn't want to start the second one. He wants to play with your masterpiece, your fabulous creation!!!??? LOL! Oh well, at least he takes an interest in what Mom's doing. Tell him you'll knit him a pair to wear one of these days. Cute story.

Marie - Progress! Itn't it great? ********************* The newspapers need to go! Are there any drop-off bins for them? If you find a bin along a route you often take, you can mke it go along with shopping ... papers go out to make room for groceries in. If your area is just not easy to recycle in, and there are no organizations that have "paper drives" ... trash them. ADS: The ads are short-term promotions. There will be more with the next newspaper. Would this work? 1. Coupons for things you buy? Cut them out and put them in a coupon wallet. Discard the rest of the ads. 2. Ads for things you need REAL SOON! Clip the ad for that thing and put it in your wallet as a reminder to buy it. Discard the rest of the ads. Throw out the ad as soon as you buy the product. 3. Ads for things you will need eventually (if you are planning a remodel or refurnish), or ads for "I can make that!" items. Clip the ad for that thing and put it in a folder labeled "Future Furniture" or whatever as a reminder to buy it. Discard the rest of the ads. Notice that you are only keeping the few square inches of paper that is of interest, not 8 sheets of it. With this approach, I turn a stack of Sunday ads into 15-20 coupons, and maybe a clip in a file folder of gardening ideas. A whole home and garden magazine becomes a few additions to the recipe folder and a clipping in a "How to" folder. ******** "filled a large garbage bag with unneeded stuff. It's in the corner of the garage for now because there are things in there that my kids might need for their kitchens." How old are the kids? Unless they are within a year or so of moving out, the stuff might not be worth the space it's taking up. And storing in bags doesn't work well - they don't stack tidily and the stuff breaks. If it's worth keeping, store it securely in boxes that stack. ********* "5-drawer filing cabinet" Storing at the point of need tends ot keep clutter down more than a huge storage place that isn't convenient.

Great to hear about all the showings. We got a call from our realtor's office today and our realtor is showing our house tomorrow. It hasn't been shown in about three weeks, so we are hopeful. In my dreams, they love the house, want to move in by Christmas, so they close with cash on Friday! A girl can dream, can't she? We are just passing a year of double house payments.

I had a bunch of errands to run today so I hit a few home stores like Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Sur la Table, Tuesday Morning and Crate & Barrel while I was out. Most had a mix of Christmas and Thanksgiving. I stopped by our wholesale florist supply for ribbon and saw tons of Christmas decor. In fact, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the time I left. I love Christmas and pretty much have it in the back of my mind all year long, but I don't even go in the stores after Thanksgiving. So, early holiday displays don't bother me.