Odds and ends

A nice person thought of me ...

Guess what came in the mail the other day?

(Cat not included.)

I came home from a rather long and overall icky day at work on Tuesday, and there was a package waiting for me! Which is always exciting, but usually it's because I have sent away for something, and as far as I knew, I wasn't waiting on anything I'd ordered. But then I saw the return address, and realized it was from Suzie, who was the person who started the Knitters Tea Swap and Knitters Tea Swap 2! I had been one of the "co-hostesses," meaning I volunteered to help keep track of one group of swappers. And she sent me these goodies as a thank you! It was the best thing that could have happened after the day I'd had, and I was touched by her kindness. (Plus it gave Tim a chance to practice more using his digital camera, and the Garden Kitty a chance to pose for photos.) She sent a package of biscuits covered in dark chocolate (insert Homer Simpson drool here), a tin of Breakfast Assam black tea, and some sock yarn that is all kinds of neat colors. It was like Christmas!

The Gift That Can Now Be Named

Well, the yarn for the six rows I needed before I could finish Tim's birthday present didn't arrive until a week ago today, and his birthday was last Saturday, so he opened a gift bag containing one knitted back to a vest, and a nearly finished front. The yarn is alpaca, so it is incredibly soft, which makes it great to use for a project. At this point, the front is just about done. When it is, I'll have him take a picture with his new digital camera (another birthday present) of both pieces and post them here. (Wow, actual knitting on a knitting blog, who'da thunk it?) Then once it's been blocked and finished, I'll show all of you the finished product.

Turkey tendons

I got some really funny notes, and some comments about the turkey tendon story. Alas, my turkey-tendon-pulling days are behind me, as we have been vegetarian for the last ten years. But it was a fun part of our holidays, and I must admit that I miss it, though not enough to go back to eating meat.

Thanksgiving

We had a great day, very relaxing. It was dreary here, and rained on and off, though fortunately it stayed dry for the parade (unlike NYC where it poured during the Macy's parade). Though I will admit that I was surprised to learn that some people really dislike Thanksgiving, with a passion equal to those who dislike (or even hate) Christmas and other holidays. I was reading some online news, as well as some of the other knitting blogs, and learned this. I have always thought that Thanksgiving was one of the nicest holidays, because I think it's cozy. Who knew it was evil? Fortunately, since the commentaries were things I was reading, I could more easily ignore them and enjoy myself ...

37th Anniversary

Today is the 37th anniversary of my father's death. Even when it happened, it seemed like a cruel joke that someone who loved holidays like he did, would die on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. At the same time, even though I was just a kid, I knew it would be OK to keep enjoying the holidays as they came along from year to year. So every year during Thanksgiving week, I think of my dad, how I used to "help" him make the holiday dinner, and how much fun it was. Which for me is just another reason to like Thanksgiving.