A Very Slow Sock

I started this sock back in October, when the trees actually looked like this. I haven't even finished the heel flap, and its December! I seem to vaguely remember a time when I could finish a pair of socks in 4 days. For the most part, I'm knitting on Mindy's Stole and spinning the Corriedale you saw yesterday, so Mr. Sock is being ignored, but I know I need to get this pair finished because Fall is gone and I'm wanting to knit socks of other colors.

Since Winter has come to many parts of the country (we won't discuss the mid 70's and humidity we had here yesterday - it was yucky), and we all know what the cold, dry air can do to our skin, I'll share my body scrub recipe again. Take 2 parts brown sugar and 1 part olive oil and stir together. Add a little ground ginger if you want to really wake up your skin. Mix it all together. Get nekkid and hop in the shower with the water off (scrubbing in the shower makes clean up easy). Now grab some of the scrub and rub it gently into your skin starting at your ankles and working your way up your legs, making sure to get your knees really well. Then do your arms from the hands up, finally do your torso, front and back working towards your heart, but be careful of the more delicate skin on your upper chest and neck. Finally, scrub your feet (doing your feet last makes you less likely to slip, but be careful - they'll be oily when you're done) - really go to town on any calluses or rough spots. Then, turn on the water and rinse it all off. If your skin still feels too oily, you can soap up gently and it won't wash all of the moisturizing goodness off. Pat dry and enjoy your gorgeous smooth skin all day! I like to do this two or three times a week during the Winter. You don't want to scrub right before bed - it gets your blood flowing really well and you'll have trouble falling asleep.

For keeping my hands soft over the Winter, my favorite products are the Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Recovery (a scrub) and Hand Therapy (a thick cream that soaks in quickly). They package them together in a set. They make the sets in several scents, but I think the Gardener's set is the most heavy duty. This is also great for using before you spin silk or angora that might catch on rough spots on your hands.