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debetesse(This document will be going out to my relatives, who always want Christmas lists from everyone. I had a friend look over it, and she commented that she may steal the idea. I thought that others might be interested in doing the same. Also, it might be helpful for any Secret Santa types.)
I hate making Christmas/Birthday lists. Hate it. So, this is not a list of things to get me, although you would be safe with anything on here that I don’t already have (which will be indicated in the notes). This is more meant to be inspirational: these are things that make me happy, if you have ideas of things that you think might also make me happy, that’s more than okay. Also, there is the bonus effect of “Better Know a DebetEsse”
Nifty places to get things:
JoAnn (They have sewing things and knitting things. Truly, it is a magical place. Almost as magical as Sarah Jane’s, which is my Local Yarn Store [Technically, there’s also Knitting Off Broadway, but I haven’t been down there since they moved])
Borders (They have books and music and movies! I enjoy all of these things!)
Best Buy (They also have movies and music, as well as things to go with computers and tvs and video games. I have a Wii and half a PS3.)
Lowe’s (Last summer, I grew tomatoes and peppers on the patio. Having not caused their too-untimely demise, I intend to continue the experiment in growing things. Also, I like tools.)
Nifty Noms (that’s food for the lol-speak-impaired)
Panera, Chipotle—these places are yummy. Really, I’ll eat almost anywhere—I like McDonald’s for breakfast (along with IHOP and a couple of local places), but no other meal. I don’t do Burger King if I can help it. And, despite Todd’s repeated suggestion, I will not eat at Bar-b-Cutie. (No. Have you seen their logo? Let’s go to Moosewood or Smokey Bones).
I drink coffee, I love chai—more than is probably healthy. I try not to keep sweets around; because I will eat them; because I love them. I prefer darker chocolate to lighter. Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas—according to wikipedia I prefer the 3 most popular Girl Scout cookies.
I love pie: I am sad there are not more places to get pie in Fort Wayne. I am making my sad face right now about it, in fact. Woe for lack of good pie.
I will eat food of nearly any ethnic background. I do not like peanut and meat together, and have no great love of sushi (but I still find yummy food at Thai and Japanese restaurants). And that’s really about it.
Nifty knitting things
(I’ve been knitting for almost 2 years now. I feel it fits nicely with my “I could survive if civilization collapsed” skill set. Also, it’s fun to do, and there’s something really cool about making a really complicated knot in a piece of yarn and turning it into socks. Or a Kraken.):
Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines (book) I tend to prefer non-traditional knitting projects and will rarely do a pattern as-written. The Mason Dixon ladies have a similar ethos, plus interesting patterns: I know this because I’ve already got—and knitted from—the first book.
Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting books (especially Knitting Without Tears or Knitting Workshop). I have only once found her books in a store (it was a yarn store), although Amazon has them. But she’s a major figure in modern knitting, and I like some of the stuff I’ve seen of hers.
The Yarn Harlot. Actually, her name is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but she can never commit to a single project at a time—thus the nickname. I am, as of this writing, slowly reading her blog from the beginning. The book of hers that most makes me go “ooooh” is Knitting Rules!(Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title) because it seems useful. I like her style, even if I question her sanity for liking straight needles better than circulars—actually, having seen pictures of how she holds her knitting, it makes sense, but it’s a pretty weird way to hold your knitting. And I say this as someone who shuffles cards “sideways”.
Other knitting books that made me say “ooooooh” would be the Interweave collection (Officially The Best of Interweave Knits)
Yarn. I like yarn. Yarn is good for making things out of. I like pretty yarn, and yarn that is nice to touch. I make socks and critters and all sorts of things. I have not yet tried a sweater, but I intend to at some point (I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to attempt. Some might refer to this as “hard to please”. I prefer “discerning”)). I don’t like the feel of microfiber: it gives me the willies. I don’t generally wear pink or neon colors: of course, one of the first things I made was a pair of deep rose wrist-warmers, so I can’t claim that either is a hard-and-fast rule. I can find something to do with almost any quantity of yarn, even beyond petting it.
As far as needles and accessories, please don’t buy me 8s. I have 4 different sets (In my defense, they are all different, and one was on sale, and I only got the bamboo double-pointeds because I forgot I had the metal ones). I don’t need any more. I have a set of circular 9s, a circular 6 set (plus a lonely one whose partner broke), some 4s, and a sock kit (itty bitty needles!). I think that’s all: I am not going to pull them out and see, though. I like bamboo and metal. I have a pair of super-speedy-shiny-silver circular needles (guess what size. Go on.) from Sarah Jane’s that are, indeed super-nifty. I dislike straight needles. Even for things knit flat (that is, where you go back and forth and make a piece of fabric, rather than a tube), I like circular needles. I’m not holding the weight of the knitting with my wrist, and it’s harder to lose one when they’re connected. I enjoy working in the round and don’t mind double-pointed needles. I find seams far more of a pain than 8 pointy needle-ends (some people think it’s like wrestling with a porcupine. I smile and nod politely at these people: to each their own). If all of this makes your eyes go crossed, but you’re interested in this area, you can show it to an employee at your Local Yarn Store or crafty box store. (I know that some people make their own knitting needles with dowel rods, pencil sharpeners, and sandpaper. I find this idea intriguing. It is possible that I have gone round the bend.)
Nifty geeky things:
Sarah Jane Adventures (I have none on DVD). I’m a big Doctor Who fan. I have all of the “new series” DVDs—well, except for the specials this past year. I’m hoping they release them as a set, so I don’t have to get them one-by-one (also, maybe there will be special features). And I have all of Torchwood. And the first soundtrack, and some magnets, and those wrist-warmers I made? Umm....well, they’re not as obvious as a 12-foot scarf, at any rate.
Buffy Season 8 (Comic books. I am woefully behind, and have only read up to Volume 3). I have all the DVDs, and I have no interest in the Angel: After the Fall, for reasons that don’t need to be explored at this juncture. I generally like Joss Wheadon’s stuff, but I think I like Tim Minear’s slightly better. Fortunately, they work together frequently.
Discworld! (I have and have read up to The Last Continent—in publishing order—plus I have The Truth because it was at a used book sale and cheap.) Terry Pratchett is pretty darn cool. I’ve got…more or less all of the Discworld DVDs, I think, but nothing beyond books (paperbacks with the black spine) and DVDs. Oh! That reminds me…
Neil Gaiman. No, you should not kidnap him. That would be wrong. Also, illegal. And probably dangerous. I have a broad mishmash of his stuff-—mostly books. Someday, I will win the lottery and buy the Absolute Sandman set, because they’re so much prettier than the set I have (I am not getting them now because the set I have is perfectly serviceable). I have a print of one of his poems plus art that I need to get framed at some point, too. And there’s a stage version of one of his books going up in Chicago sometime next year, I think. I will try to make the trip for that, because that would be cool.
William Shakespeare. He’s just nifty, and wrote lots of nifty things, when he wasn’t writing comedies with cross-dressing twins (which get old real fast). I have a complete works, although it is a rather elderly copy. I prefer annotations to “translations”. Someday, when I have spending money saved to buy things there, I will spend days up at Stratford (the one in Canada).
That’s probably enough of that section.
Other Nifty Things about which I have thought “I could use that” recently
Spoon Holder—-Something heat-resistant to live by the stove. I assume that you all know me well enough to know that nothing good will come from thinking that I should have any kitchen items with cows, roosters, or sunflowers on them, right? Good.
A French Butter Dish—-the dishwasher ate the butter holder—the heating coil thingy did not react well with the plastic bottom that fell out of the rack—so new storage is called for. I’ve seen these over the years (under various names), and thought they were cool. The butter goes in the lid, and then there’s water in the bottom, which serves as a seal to keep air out, keeping the butter from going bad when left out on the counter. Of course disherwasher-safe is preferred, and the thing about chickens also applies here.
A spray thing for olive oil. One of the refillable pump ones, not the aerosol pre-filled ones.
A digital scale. Technically, it will be a kitchen scale, but I will probably also use it to weigh yarn.
iPod Touch—-Of course, who couldn’t. But I’d like to take this opportunity to drool over something that not only holds music, but also web-browses. Ah, to not take a laptop on an overnight trip and still be able to check email. ::sigh::
A light for my bike. For the front. I’ve been trying to ride, rather than drive, when I can. Eventually, it will be spring or summer again, and I will be able to do so. I have a basket, but that’s about it as far as bike accessories go—apart, of course, from my styling blue helmet.
Things that Seem Really Nifty and I’d Like to Try
I seem to enjoy collecting hobbies/skills that would be useful if I had to Go Into the Wilderness and Establish Civilization. I hope that I have learned from the Greenland Norse—who died out because they could not bring themselves—to eat the flippin’ fish. They’re right there in the water. Seriously. These people starved in their no-fish-eating settlements with imported church bells from Scandinavia, while Inuit were happily eating fish and seal meat not 20 miles away. Craziness.
Baking. I had a packet of sourdough starter powder stuff. It didn’t go real well. But I love the concept. If you know a baker with a pet starter, I’d love a piece of it. I’ll bake you bread.
Spinning, which, I am given to understand, is the natural progression from knitting. Following that comes sheep-shearing, so that you can go from baa to blanket. I’m kidding on that bit. I have nowhere to put sheep, which are smelly and dumb and you have to feed them. I might end up dying wool, though, at which point I would start scouring second hand stores for old large crock pots. But I’m not there. Yet.
Every once in a while, I worry that I’m becoming too domestic. When that happens, I microwave some nachos, grab a beer, and play the drums on Beatles Rock Band, or something similar. Someday, I’ll have space for a workshop. Then I’ll be talking about how nifty power tools are.
Things that I’m sure are Quite Nifty, but not my cup of tea:
Jewelry. I have and wear regularly 1 ring and 1 necklace. The rest of them usually just sit in their box (or empty facial cleanser jar) looking pretty. My ears are not pierced, and anytime I wear a bracelet, I keep checking it for the time, which, for some reason, it has no idea of.
Things that smell like flowers. Or food. Unless they are food. This goes for candles, soap, lotion, etc. I tend to prefer simple scents. I like vanilla or cinnamon alright, as long as they’re alone, rather than trying to smell like vanilla ice cream or cinnamon rolls or whatever. If the smell makes me hungry, it had better be edible. And the flowers, well, that’s a smell and a general principle thing. I think I have one floral garment, and it’s dark purple. Oh, that reminds me: pink and I don’t get along real well. The color, I mean.
Things that sit on shelves. I appreciate beauty, but I don’t really have the space for things that sit there looking pretty, unless they also serve some function. Plus, if they sit there, then they have to be dusted. Now, useful things that are also nice to look at? That’s cool, as long as they’re not…
Mugs. I do not need any more mugs. Students give teachers mugs (when they’re not giving shelf-sitters. If you are gifting a teacher, please think carefully about whether that mug-with-apples-on-it is significantly different from the half-dozen others the teacher has before purchasing it. I’m just saying.). I have enough mugs to serve everyone reading this. I have a full book-shelf of mugs, stacked 2 high, in a variety of sizes and themes. I do not need any more mugs at this time. Really.
There are many other nifty things in the world, but a 4-page Word document is probably more than long enough. If for some reason you do not better know me sufficiently, I'll certainly answer comments.
I hate making Christmas/Birthday lists. Hate it. So, this is not a list of things to get me, although you would be safe with anything on here that I don’t already have (which will be indicated in the notes). This is more meant to be inspirational: these are things that make me happy, if you have ideas of things that you think might also make me happy, that’s more than okay. Also, there is the bonus effect of “Better Know a DebetEsse”
Nifty places to get things:
JoAnn (They have sewing things and knitting things. Truly, it is a magical place. Almost as magical as Sarah Jane’s, which is my Local Yarn Store [Technically, there’s also Knitting Off Broadway, but I haven’t been down there since they moved])
Borders (They have books and music and movies! I enjoy all of these things!)
Best Buy (They also have movies and music, as well as things to go with computers and tvs and video games. I have a Wii and half a PS3.)
Lowe’s (Last summer, I grew tomatoes and peppers on the patio. Having not caused their too-untimely demise, I intend to continue the experiment in growing things. Also, I like tools.)
Nifty Noms (that’s food for the lol-speak-impaired)
Panera, Chipotle—these places are yummy. Really, I’ll eat almost anywhere—I like McDonald’s for breakfast (along with IHOP and a couple of local places), but no other meal. I don’t do Burger King if I can help it. And, despite Todd’s repeated suggestion, I will not eat at Bar-b-Cutie. (No. Have you seen their logo? Let’s go to Moosewood or Smokey Bones).
I drink coffee, I love chai—more than is probably healthy. I try not to keep sweets around; because I will eat them; because I love them. I prefer darker chocolate to lighter. Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas—according to wikipedia I prefer the 3 most popular Girl Scout cookies.
I love pie: I am sad there are not more places to get pie in Fort Wayne. I am making my sad face right now about it, in fact. Woe for lack of good pie.
I will eat food of nearly any ethnic background. I do not like peanut and meat together, and have no great love of sushi (but I still find yummy food at Thai and Japanese restaurants). And that’s really about it.
Nifty knitting things
(I’ve been knitting for almost 2 years now. I feel it fits nicely with my “I could survive if civilization collapsed” skill set. Also, it’s fun to do, and there’s something really cool about making a really complicated knot in a piece of yarn and turning it into socks. Or a Kraken.):
Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines (book) I tend to prefer non-traditional knitting projects and will rarely do a pattern as-written. The Mason Dixon ladies have a similar ethos, plus interesting patterns: I know this because I’ve already got—and knitted from—the first book.
Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting books (especially Knitting Without Tears or Knitting Workshop). I have only once found her books in a store (it was a yarn store), although Amazon has them. But she’s a major figure in modern knitting, and I like some of the stuff I’ve seen of hers.
The Yarn Harlot. Actually, her name is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but she can never commit to a single project at a time—thus the nickname. I am, as of this writing, slowly reading her blog from the beginning. The book of hers that most makes me go “ooooh” is Knitting Rules!(Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title) because it seems useful. I like her style, even if I question her sanity for liking straight needles better than circulars—actually, having seen pictures of how she holds her knitting, it makes sense, but it’s a pretty weird way to hold your knitting. And I say this as someone who shuffles cards “sideways”.
Other knitting books that made me say “ooooooh” would be the Interweave collection (Officially The Best of Interweave Knits)
Yarn. I like yarn. Yarn is good for making things out of. I like pretty yarn, and yarn that is nice to touch. I make socks and critters and all sorts of things. I have not yet tried a sweater, but I intend to at some point (I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to attempt. Some might refer to this as “hard to please”. I prefer “discerning”)). I don’t like the feel of microfiber: it gives me the willies. I don’t generally wear pink or neon colors: of course, one of the first things I made was a pair of deep rose wrist-warmers, so I can’t claim that either is a hard-and-fast rule. I can find something to do with almost any quantity of yarn, even beyond petting it.
As far as needles and accessories, please don’t buy me 8s. I have 4 different sets (In my defense, they are all different, and one was on sale, and I only got the bamboo double-pointeds because I forgot I had the metal ones). I don’t need any more. I have a set of circular 9s, a circular 6 set (plus a lonely one whose partner broke), some 4s, and a sock kit (itty bitty needles!). I think that’s all: I am not going to pull them out and see, though. I like bamboo and metal. I have a pair of super-speedy-shiny-silver circular needles (guess what size. Go on.) from Sarah Jane’s that are, indeed super-nifty. I dislike straight needles. Even for things knit flat (that is, where you go back and forth and make a piece of fabric, rather than a tube), I like circular needles. I’m not holding the weight of the knitting with my wrist, and it’s harder to lose one when they’re connected. I enjoy working in the round and don’t mind double-pointed needles. I find seams far more of a pain than 8 pointy needle-ends (some people think it’s like wrestling with a porcupine. I smile and nod politely at these people: to each their own). If all of this makes your eyes go crossed, but you’re interested in this area, you can show it to an employee at your Local Yarn Store or crafty box store. (I know that some people make their own knitting needles with dowel rods, pencil sharpeners, and sandpaper. I find this idea intriguing. It is possible that I have gone round the bend.)
Nifty geeky things:
Sarah Jane Adventures (I have none on DVD). I’m a big Doctor Who fan. I have all of the “new series” DVDs—well, except for the specials this past year. I’m hoping they release them as a set, so I don’t have to get them one-by-one (also, maybe there will be special features). And I have all of Torchwood. And the first soundtrack, and some magnets, and those wrist-warmers I made? Umm....well, they’re not as obvious as a 12-foot scarf, at any rate.
Buffy Season 8 (Comic books. I am woefully behind, and have only read up to Volume 3). I have all the DVDs, and I have no interest in the Angel: After the Fall, for reasons that don’t need to be explored at this juncture. I generally like Joss Wheadon’s stuff, but I think I like Tim Minear’s slightly better. Fortunately, they work together frequently.
Discworld! (I have and have read up to The Last Continent—in publishing order—plus I have The Truth because it was at a used book sale and cheap.) Terry Pratchett is pretty darn cool. I’ve got…more or less all of the Discworld DVDs, I think, but nothing beyond books (paperbacks with the black spine) and DVDs. Oh! That reminds me…
Neil Gaiman. No, you should not kidnap him. That would be wrong. Also, illegal. And probably dangerous. I have a broad mishmash of his stuff-—mostly books. Someday, I will win the lottery and buy the Absolute Sandman set, because they’re so much prettier than the set I have (I am not getting them now because the set I have is perfectly serviceable). I have a print of one of his poems plus art that I need to get framed at some point, too. And there’s a stage version of one of his books going up in Chicago sometime next year, I think. I will try to make the trip for that, because that would be cool.
William Shakespeare. He’s just nifty, and wrote lots of nifty things, when he wasn’t writing comedies with cross-dressing twins (which get old real fast). I have a complete works, although it is a rather elderly copy. I prefer annotations to “translations”. Someday, when I have spending money saved to buy things there, I will spend days up at Stratford (the one in Canada).
That’s probably enough of that section.
Other Nifty Things about which I have thought “I could use that” recently
Spoon Holder—-Something heat-resistant to live by the stove. I assume that you all know me well enough to know that nothing good will come from thinking that I should have any kitchen items with cows, roosters, or sunflowers on them, right? Good.
A French Butter Dish—-the dishwasher ate the butter holder—the heating coil thingy did not react well with the plastic bottom that fell out of the rack—so new storage is called for. I’ve seen these over the years (under various names), and thought they were cool. The butter goes in the lid, and then there’s water in the bottom, which serves as a seal to keep air out, keeping the butter from going bad when left out on the counter. Of course disherwasher-safe is preferred, and the thing about chickens also applies here.
A spray thing for olive oil. One of the refillable pump ones, not the aerosol pre-filled ones.
A digital scale. Technically, it will be a kitchen scale, but I will probably also use it to weigh yarn.
iPod Touch—-Of course, who couldn’t. But I’d like to take this opportunity to drool over something that not only holds music, but also web-browses. Ah, to not take a laptop on an overnight trip and still be able to check email. ::sigh::
A light for my bike. For the front. I’ve been trying to ride, rather than drive, when I can. Eventually, it will be spring or summer again, and I will be able to do so. I have a basket, but that’s about it as far as bike accessories go—apart, of course, from my styling blue helmet.
Things that Seem Really Nifty and I’d Like to Try
I seem to enjoy collecting hobbies/skills that would be useful if I had to Go Into the Wilderness and Establish Civilization. I hope that I have learned from the Greenland Norse—who died out because they could not bring themselves—to eat the flippin’ fish. They’re right there in the water. Seriously. These people starved in their no-fish-eating settlements with imported church bells from Scandinavia, while Inuit were happily eating fish and seal meat not 20 miles away. Craziness.
Baking. I had a packet of sourdough starter powder stuff. It didn’t go real well. But I love the concept. If you know a baker with a pet starter, I’d love a piece of it. I’ll bake you bread.
Spinning, which, I am given to understand, is the natural progression from knitting. Following that comes sheep-shearing, so that you can go from baa to blanket. I’m kidding on that bit. I have nowhere to put sheep, which are smelly and dumb and you have to feed them. I might end up dying wool, though, at which point I would start scouring second hand stores for old large crock pots. But I’m not there. Yet.
Every once in a while, I worry that I’m becoming too domestic. When that happens, I microwave some nachos, grab a beer, and play the drums on Beatles Rock Band, or something similar. Someday, I’ll have space for a workshop. Then I’ll be talking about how nifty power tools are.
Things that I’m sure are Quite Nifty, but not my cup of tea:
Jewelry. I have and wear regularly 1 ring and 1 necklace. The rest of them usually just sit in their box (or empty facial cleanser jar) looking pretty. My ears are not pierced, and anytime I wear a bracelet, I keep checking it for the time, which, for some reason, it has no idea of.
Things that smell like flowers. Or food. Unless they are food. This goes for candles, soap, lotion, etc. I tend to prefer simple scents. I like vanilla or cinnamon alright, as long as they’re alone, rather than trying to smell like vanilla ice cream or cinnamon rolls or whatever. If the smell makes me hungry, it had better be edible. And the flowers, well, that’s a smell and a general principle thing. I think I have one floral garment, and it’s dark purple. Oh, that reminds me: pink and I don’t get along real well. The color, I mean.
Things that sit on shelves. I appreciate beauty, but I don’t really have the space for things that sit there looking pretty, unless they also serve some function. Plus, if they sit there, then they have to be dusted. Now, useful things that are also nice to look at? That’s cool, as long as they’re not…
Mugs. I do not need any more mugs. Students give teachers mugs (when they’re not giving shelf-sitters. If you are gifting a teacher, please think carefully about whether that mug-with-apples-on-it is significantly different from the half-dozen others the teacher has before purchasing it. I’m just saying.). I have enough mugs to serve everyone reading this. I have a full book-shelf of mugs, stacked 2 high, in a variety of sizes and themes. I do not need any more mugs at this time. Really.
There are many other nifty things in the world, but a 4-page Word document is probably more than long enough. If for some reason you do not better know me sufficiently, I'll certainly answer comments.
