So That You Know

I would give my life to not have to write this post.  Seriously.  But I do have to write it, and I don't want to put it off any longer.

Yesterday afternoon, we took our sweet Dug the Doodle Dog to the vet's office for the very last time.

I've alluded to him not being his usual self here, but never elaborated, because to be honest, that was hard to write too, and I wasn't really emotionally able to deal with comments and support from everyone.  I know that sounds weird, but there you go.

Dug was never an active dog in the sense that he couldn't really run, and had an odd gait.  This was a combination of him having arthritis, but also because the vet told us that it was likely that whoever had him as a puppy kept him crated except for walks, so his back leg muscles never really had the chance to properly develop.  He wasn't in any severe pain, but he was slower than most pups and more deliberate in his movements.  Needless to say, we didn't care.

When he started having serious trouble walking a couple of months ago, we took him to the vet for a check.  She felt a lump in the area of his spleen, and suggested an ultrasound.  That scan showed that his arthritis was also really bad in his spine, and that there were several tumors and masses near his spleen, kidneys, and other places.

The vet prescribed some painkillers, and suggested two things: 1) let him enjoy his life and the things that made him happy, until they didn't, and 2) take him to a local rehab place, and see if that helped at least a bit in the meantime.  We agreed that as long as he was still his happy self, we'd do whatever we could for him.  But Tuesday night and Wednesday morning it was clear he was not his usual self, and so we knew it was time.

He died having gotten lots of love from the kitties before we left, everyone at the vet's office (where he was a favorite), who kissed him, hugged him, whispered special things to him, and of course, from us.  In his last conscious moments, he knew that everyone who loved him, and those who loved him best, were right there, petting him, talking to him, kissing him.  (We should all be so lucky when our time comes, no?)

We are grateful that we could help him, and that he is no longer suffering or sick.  We know there was an entire welcoming committee - animals and people - waiting for him, to be with him.  We know he will always be with us, even if we can't hug him, walk him, watch him love the cats and love his life.

But it sucks, and it hurts and that will never change.  We know we'll never get over it, but we'll just get used to it.  We've both been through it before with so many of our other family members (human, furry, and otherwise).  We would love to have him here still, but only if he could be healthy - because to wish otherwise is selfish and cruel.

Dug was always a happy boy.  He was full of love, kindness, and he loved his life.  Anyone who would give him attention was his friend.  He liked to play, though on a calmer level, like he did everything.  He was with us for 3 1/2 years, plus a week.  We think he was ~8 years old.

He was our boy, and he is our boy, and he will always be our boy.  We love you, Dug, more than our own lives.  We'll see you again someday. xo

I've been thinking out this, and Dug never wanted anyone to be sad or upset, nor did he like to be sad or upset. So I think he would want us to follow the advice in this quote attributed to Dr. Seuss, even if we can't quite do it right away:

Don't cry because it's over, 

Smile because it happened.

Dear Dug, we are smiling through our tears right now, but know that you will always bring a smile to our hearts and our faces. Thank you for forever being our Doodle Dog, and for saving our lives, especially mine.

Be sure to kiss and hug your family, both human and otherwise, today, as soon as you have a chance.  And if you are so inclined, please say a prayer, think a good thought, or raise a glass for our sweetheart.

A Most Lovely Summertime Weekend

Before going any further into this week, I wanted to share some pictures from last weekend, which was one of those weekends in the summer when the weather and your activities work together to make it just slightly more special than the average weekend.

I may have mentioned here something I've been calling Operation Reclaim the Garden.  To provide brief background: we have a garden area on the side of our house, where at some point in time another row house existed.  It's truly lovely, walled-in and very private, and was one of the huge selling points for us for the house.  For various reasons - construction and/or street repairs on our block, surgery and recovery, etc. - over the past few years, it has only gotten the most minimal care, and had the look of returning to the wild (well, as wild as an inner city plot can get).  This year I have been determined to fix it up and return it to the lovely outside area where we could sit and enjoy being outside when the weather permitted.

The past couple of weekends, I've done quite a bit to clean it up, and though it is a small space, a lot needed to be done.  I finally have it to the point where it just needs some fine tuning and last touches to be "habitable" again, and last weekend I was able to make real progress.  I had some plants and flowers and was able to put them into pots so that the garden would actually look more like a garden!  I also fixed up some pots to put at one of the fronts of our house. ***

 A geranium and an impatiens at  the side of the door

 A gerbera daisy and a sweet potato vine next to the carport door

The garden, 90% cleaned up and ready with some flowers and the bird feeder.  The flower in the foreground is a mandevilla, and in the other pot are some pretty lavender flowers whose name currently escapes me, and another sweet potato vine.

I'm hoping that I can find some more flowers/plants to join these, but even if not, they look nice out there, and if we can find some garden chairs, etc. on sale this July 4th weekend, we'll be pretty well set.  And at a minimum, if we have to wait until next summer for that part, I won't be starting from scratch again as far as getting things ready!

So that was a pleasing endeavor, I have to tell you. :-)

Then on Saturday night, we went to the Mann Music Center here in Philadelphia for an outdoor concert.  We'd bought the tickets months ago, and had been waiting for it to actually happen.

 Paul Simon!  This is the large screen that was set up for the people with lawn seats (us), so that we could see better what was happening on the stage.

This is a (blurry) shot of the actual stage from our seats.  (I told The Tim that I felt bad that Paul Simon looked like such a little speck from where we were, but then realized that even close up, he's a small guy!)

It was one of the best concerts ever.  He and his band came out about 8:15 p.m., and played/sang without stopping until 10:45.  There were songs from his new album, as well as some of the oldies everyone loves.  The audience consisted of people of all ages, which was nice to see.  The weather cooperated, and was perfect - you know, the kind of night you hope for when you know you'll be outside.

I think one of my favorite parts was when they got to "You Can Call Me Al," and the audience was up dancing and singing the chorus.  It was so much fun when every person was enjoying the same thing and singing along!

It's gonna be hard to top last weekend, I've gotta say ... :-)


***our house is two row houses joined back to back.  So we have two "main" entrances.  The entrance where the plants are is the one we use most often, since it's where the entry to the carport is as well.  We technically live at three addresses:  our mailing address on one street, and then our house and carport/garden/lot on the other street, where some of the utilities are registered.  

Buttery Rhubarb Muffins

Hello and Happy Friday!  I'm having a bit of a rough day, as I fell yesterday on my way home from work, and have some killer bruises to show for it.  On my elbows and knees, so of course where I actually need to bend ... but compared to The Big Fall, it's nothing.  But add to it that I have a dentist appt for later this morning for a filling, and ... well, I needed a way to make it a better day. :-)

So I thought maybe I would share some recipes with all of you now and then.  This first one is a true yum-fest!  Of course, if you are not a rhubarb fan, you won't think so - in that case, you should head over to someone else's blog!

Anyway, I love rhubarb.  And it isn't around for very long, so I thought I'd share this today.  Usually when we get rhubarb, I make stewed rhubarb, which both of us like, but I wanted to look for something different.  I have tried a rhubarb cake (recipe next time!) which was a winner, but just this past Sunday, I made these muffins, and they are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.  Unfortunately, I failed to note the source of this recipe; it's from a magazine, but I don't remember which  one, and for that I apologize.

******

Buttery Rhubarb Muffins

1/2 cup butter

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream (which is what we had), and it worked fine)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 cups diced rhubarb

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook butter over medium-low heat until browned (~ 4 minutes); cool.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate, smaller bowl or large measuring cup, mix sour cream, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and cooled butter.

Stir liquid ingredients into flour mixture, and fold in rhubarb.  Fill 12 lined muffin cups with mixture and bake for 18-22 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then remove and allow to cool completely.

Makes 12 large muffins.

******

It's really pretty straightforward, and the results are worth it.  I can also tell you that 12 muffins for two people is a lot, so I froze some.  I had one yesterday, and it was just as yummy, so they freeze well.

Let me know if you try them, and what you think. And have a great weekend!

Birds, Bugs, and Boxes of Water

Those are just a few of the topics that Kathy is asking about this week.  I decided to post this today, since I'm not participating in Ten on Tuesday this week.  Carole wanted us to list 10 Things To Do While Listening to an Audiobook, and to be honest, I only listen when I am working on a basic knitting project (no charts, counting, etc.) or when I'm wide awake and can't get to sleep easily.  So that was not gonna happen, you know?

So - onward to see what I have to say about the following questions.

1. My neighbor's trumpet vine is in bloom.  What's your preference?  Hummingbirds or butterflies?

I like hummingbirds, but I see more butterflies, so I'm going with that.

2. What's your preference - boxed water or bottled water?

I am one of the few people I know who drink tap water.  Even if for some reason I have bottled water, I'll generally refill it from the tap.  I have a container that I fill up and put in the fridge.

Every time I think of boxed water, I think of an episode of the show "Difficult People," where boxed water played a part in the overall story. It's a stupid show, about a couple of annoying and annoyed New Yorkers, and they are terrible people.  I think it's hilarious.   As I said to a friend, maybe I identify with them sometimes?

3. For next to your skin softness, do you prefer angora, cashmere, alpaca, or acrylic?

I'm not overly picky.  I hate anything itchy or too hairy.  And to be perfectly honest, the absolute softest sweater I have is a really old acrylic sweater.  So go figure.

4. Do you prefer an alcoholic drink before, during, or after dinner?

Depends on the drink.  I enjoy wine anytime.  I enjoy mimosas or bloody Marys with brunch.  But most mixed drinks I prefer after dinner (or very much before).  So ... yes? ;-)

5. What cuts into your knitting time more, others in your home or your wanderings on the Internet?

Most of the time I'm on my own, so it's usually the Internet black hole.

6. Would you rather have a snowstorm as in a blizzard, or a heat wave with violent thunderstorms?

Snowstorm/blizzard.  I like thunderstorms, but despise heat waves.  Summer and I are seldom on good speaking terms, whereas winter and I are best friends.

7. You just won an all expenses paid trip to a Fiber Festival. Would you go alone or try to bring a knit pal along?

I would ask only certain people if they wanted to come along, and if they could not, I'd happily go on my own.  For instance, when I've gone to MD Sheep and Wool in the past, it's been nice to have someone to go around with for at least part of the day.  But I also like to walk around on my own.  A few years back, I was with someone who stuck to me like glue the whole day and I was miserable.

Hm.  I didn't mean for my answers to sound so contrary ... I'm actually pretty easygoing, but I guess when you ask me for specific answers, I have a lot to say!  :-)

Like All Good Things ...

My vacation must end.  Sigh.  Tomorrow it's back to my depressing and frustrating job (I've already started back with my anxiety dreams!), and the schedule that is determined by someone else.  Such is life, and as I always tell myself, the good things are better because they don't happen all of the time.

And it was a great week.  Lots of day trips, lots of time with Dug and the kitties, lots of knitting and reading, lots of catching up on shows/movies we had recorded.

When I last checked in, we were having a day at home to wait for a furniture delivery and I had  haircut appt.  We are thrilled with our new chairs!  They look nice in the room - actually make the room look larger - and are really comfy.  I have been enjoying rocking in mine.  The cats are shocked because of course SOMETHING HAS CHANGED and that is always suspicious as far as they are concerned. ;-) And you know how it is, just one new thing makes the whole place seem new.

Thursday, we headed to the Barnes Foundation for the very first time ever.  We had seem some selections years ago at an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but had never visited the mother ship.  This was largely because it used to be in the 'burbs, and access was extremely restricted and reservations had to be made months in advance.  Once it moved to the city, it was within walking distance, but pretty expensive admission prices kept us from going.  At the beginning of last week, The Tim received a notification of a Funsaver that allowed you to purchase tickets for half price - meaning both of us could go for what it would usually cost for one person.  So we took advantage of it, and went first thing on Thursday morning.

Absolutely wonderful.  Lovely, amazing, whatever you want to call it.  Of course, I am fan of the Impressionists, and there were lots of those paintings.  We did learn that Mr. Barnes had the largest collection of paintings by Renoir in the world!  They are arranged the way he had them arranged in his house, which is somewhat random, and which makes some hard to see up close, but it was still so much fun to see the art!  I learned that I like Henri Matisse much more than I realized before.  Which is fine with me, but I was kinda surprised.  The visit took up the better part of the day, and then we took Dug to his rehab appt.  For some reason, I had pad thai on the brain, so we went to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner.  A good end to a perfect day.

Friday, we used the day to work on things around the house.  We'd each made a list of five things we wanted to do over the week, and both of us had house and garden/deck things on our lists!  So Friday was our most productive day, but since we had wanted that, it didn't seem like a day of chores.  Does that make sense?  Then Friday night we went to Rita's and got gelati, and took Dug with us.  Both of us had also put "Do something special with Dug" on our list, and he LOVES Rita's!  He was one happy pup, let me tell you (we were pretty happy too).

Yesterday was "gardening" day.  The Tim worked on his vegetable plants on the deck (he'd refinished it on Friday), and I worked on what I am calling Project Garden Reclamation.  We have a lovely enclosed garden on one side of our house, and for various reasons, over the past few summers, we have not done anything with it.  As a result, weeds, overgrown bushes, etc. had taken over and needed to be dealt with. I spent the morning pulling weeks, and getting things so that you could see the exposed brick again. Another thing on both of our lists was "get a new dishwasher."  The dishwasher that was in our house when we moved in ~ 20 years ago was old even then.  It stopped working long ago. and since we want to replace the kitchen countertops (a whole 'nother story), we figured it was time for a new dishwasher.  So off to Home Depot, where - just because we lucked out - the one we wanted was on sale (by quite a lot!).  So our new dishwasher will be delivered on June 29!  YAY!

Today, The Tim had to return to work.  So I spent the morning sweeping up the stuff in the garden from yesterday, and putting it in trash bags to be picked up with tomorrow's trash.  I hereby declare Project Garden Reclamation Part 1 completed.

So the rest of the day has been laundry, bills - the usual weekend stuff.  But I did get out some of my wind chimes and put them out, and that makes me happy.  (There are others, but I have to get rid of stuff in front of them on the storage shelf before I can get to them.  I may have a wind chime problem.)

I really can't complain (though of course I do).  It was a week that was one of the best ever.  Once I get organized, I'll share some of the pictures.  The weekend after next is a long weekend for the Fourth of July, so I have my next thing to anticipate. (I do much better when I have a "next thing" to look forward to.)

Do I wish I had a different job, or that I could afford to work part-time?  You bet.  But I had a week of great vacation, and some people don't even come close to that.  So I'll live, you know?

Let's hope this week is a good one for all of us.  :-)

One Done

This one is done - time to start its mate!

Above is Sock #1 of the pair I'm making to send to my niece Amanda for Halloween.  She is obsessed with Halloween, and when I saw the name of this colorway - Slutty Pumpkin - I knew I had to make her a pair of socks from this yarn!  Once I finish the other one, I'll block them both and get them into a nice package to send her.

We are on vacation this week.  Our original plan had been to do a driving trip through New England.  But since Dug is not up to par (though he is improving), we decided to stay put and just do day trips and other things so we could be with him.  It's been great so far.  Monday we spent some time walking on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ, and enjoying our people-watching.  We found quite a few characters to give names, backstories, and attitudes to, and saw a guy who looked like Larry David.  That of course led to many impersonations of what he would say about some of the others there.  :-)   Then we went to Somers Point, NJ on the way home to a place that had been recommended as having the best fried clams in the area.  We were not disappointed, even if we were stuffed!  And since we mentioned to our waitress that it was our first time there, she brought us dessert to share (a slice of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream pie)!

Then yesterday, we spent the day in Annapolis, MD.  When we used to live in DC, we went to Annapolis quite a bit, it's always been a favorite of ours.  But since we moved to Philadelphia, we haven't been there and that's ridiculous.  We had a fabulous day, with perfect weather and though there were other people there, it was in no way crowded.  The only down side was that a bookstore we wanted to visit was closed on Tuesdays.  I was a little happier when I noticed a yarn store right next door ... but it was also closed on Tuesdays!  OK, so in the end, it probably made the trip less expensive. ;-)

Today was a day at home, since two chairs we had ordered for our TV room were being delivered.  I'm sitting in mine right now, which is both a recliner and a rocking chair.  Neither chair is beautiful, but both are just fine, and comfortable.  And for as much time as we spend watching TV, movies, or things we've recorded, comfort makes all the difference.  Yes, we are old!

Best of all - we still have many days to go!  I'm hoping to get more knitting and reading done, as well as enjoying any additional adventures.  Vacations are the best.

That's it for now.  I hope your week is going well.

Package Deal

This post is very belated, but I wanted to wait until I could really tell you about it and not just do a quick LOOK post.

 About a month ago, Araignee wrote a post saying that with warm weather coming, she would likely not be making as much soap as usual.  She also mentioned having some of the stuff she had made leftover, and decided to do a giveaway.  All you had to do was send her a message on Ravelry, saying what kind of scents you liked, and give her your address.  It was a lazy person's dream giveaway and I contacted her immediately.  

A few weeks later, a package arrived in the mail (which in and of itself is just the best!), and when I opened it, all of this was inside!

Amazingly, even with my poor photography skills, you can see everything.  First of all, the handmade card.  I love the puppy and the kitten who is chasing a ball of yarn, but "You are pawesome" is the best - it made me laugh when I received it, and makes me smile still when I see it.

But as you can see, besides the card, so many goodies!  A set of dainty stitch markers, and to the left of that, Glycerin Facial Soap.  The label says it contains Coconut Milk with Olive Oil, Aloe, Honey, Colloidal Oatmeal, Kaolin Clay, Activated Charcoal, and 24 Carat Mica.  All of which sounds very glamorous to me.

Below the card, is Nantucket Briar, containing Coconut Milk, Aloe Butter, Sesame Seed Oil, and Kaolin Clay.*  It looks so pretty, like it has waves from the ocean washing over it.

The little pink round package is a tin of Mango Papaya Lotion Bar, with Beeswax ,Coconut Oil, and Cocoa & Shea Butter.

And finally above that is Night Sky, with Coconut Milk, Aloe Butter, Sesame Seed Oil, and Kaolin Clay.

Not not only are these things pretty in and of themselves, and packaged in such a lovely way, but OH DO THEY SMELL DIVINE!!!  I haven't started using any of them yet, because I am currently hoarding them to enjoy looking at, and sniffing them all for a while.

I am amazed that someone made all of these themselves!  I always enjoy reading about her soapmaking adventures on her blog, and love the pictures she posts, but seeing them in person is completely different.

Thank you so much, Araignee!  My package was so much more than anything I was expecting, and I know I'll be enjoying all of it for a long time.

What a nice thing to do, right?

*everytime I see the words, "Kaolin Clay," I think of Kato Kaelin from the O.J. Simpson murder trial.  He was such a weirdo, and I am amused all over again.  (Clearly it doesn't take much.)

Remembering to Meme

Sadly, the title of this post made me chuckle for about five minutes.  "Sadly" because it is real proof that it doesn't take much to entertain me.

But I digress.

Kathy had some good questions for us this week, and I decided I should play along. :-)

1. Do you prefer:  frozen custard; hardpack ice cream; soft serve ice cream; shaved ice; or, shaved desserts?

I would not say no to any of them.  However, my very most fave in the summer is a Rita's Water Ice Gelati.

It consists of a layer of water ice, then a layer of frozen custard, then water ice, then frozen custard ... 

2. Of all of the colors of the rainbow, which is your favorite?

Indigo.  I have accepted the fact that I am ridiculously drawn to blues.

3. How do you keep your sock needles together?

Because I have strong OCD tendencies, they are kept in their original packaging, or in a fabric roll that I have, or held together with rubber bands.

4. If you could run through a shop and pull as much of ONE yarn as you could carry, what would it be?

Hm.  Either sock yarn or rustic, tweedy yarns.  The colors/shades would matter more than the brand.

5. Are you over shawls?

No, I really like them.  It takes me forever to finish them, so I only have a few.  Maybe that is why I'm not tired of them.

6. Do your peonies open with or without ants?

I don't have a peony bush, so I guess they don't open at all for me ...

7. Want to share your favorite books as a child?

To be honest, I didn't read many kids' books as a child.  My parents didn't buy them, and I just read what was around the house.  But one year for Christmas, I did get Black Beauty and Little Women from a family friend, and I loved them (still do!).

8. Is it nothing but boring to you to knit stockinette?

I don't think I would enjoy only ever knitting stockinette, but I don't mind it as one of the choices.  I especially appreciate stockinette projects when I want to watch something on TV.

9. Are you more likely to get up early in summer or winter?

There's really no difference to me. I get up early all of the time, and there may be a difference of a half an hour one way or the other, if that.  

10. If you are disappointed with the way a yarn is pooling up, do you: a) carry on, b) mix it with a complimentary color, c) overdye it, d) give it away?

I've never given this a lot of thought, so I guess I just carry on!  Once I start knitting, I have to really hate the project or the yarn to intervene at all.

And now, I would love to have a Rita's gelati, and wear a shawl while enjoying it ... :-)

Rhetorical Curiosity

Well it's Tuesday, so Carole wants us to talk about:  Ten Things I'm Curious About. Right Now.

I guess I am a curious person, but no matter how hard I tried to come up with actual things I was curious about, I kept coming up with rhetorical things, or questions with no real answer.  They just wouldn't let go!  So here they are.

1. Why won't people share the sidewalk?  If four people are walking abreast towards you, why does it not occur to at least one of them to walk behind, so you can get past while also remaining on the sidewalk?

2. Why are there no unspoken thoughts anymore?  It seems like everyone has to share every single thing that passes through their heads.  I *think* a lot of things, and of course they are brilliant, insightful, and witty. ;-)  But seldom do I feel the need to express them to the world at large, particularly when no one asked.

3. When did it become a bad thing to be smart?  Granted, no one likes someone who goes around all day trying to make sure that everyone knows how smart they are.  But why is being smart something that is mocked, or that people hide so they can be popular?

4. Why is "vacation" such a bad thing in the U.S.?  Most people are lucky if they get two weeks in the whole year, and then for a lot of people, actually being able to take the time is a problem.  (Let's not talk about those who willfully don't take vacation.  They are eejits.)  Why do you have to be a muckety-muck or a forty-year employee to get more than two weeks?  (I could go on, but won't.  You get my drift.)

5. Why is it so important for people to give their kids a name that ends in "Jr."? (or worse, a number)  A friend of mine had a baby boy, and named him John Robert ___, Jr., but they decided to call him "Robert" to differentiate the son from the father.  I asked why they didn't just name him Robert John, thereby still keeping the "important" names, but letting the kid go through life not having to explain his name or whether or not he is "Big John" or "Little John."  You would think I'd tried to kill the kid.  I just don't get this.  Maybe because I come from a family of girls, or because we were not wealthy or part of royalty.  Anyway.

6. Why do the Kardashians and their ilk even exist? 'Nuff said.

7. Why can't most people *not* answer their cell phone if you are talking to them?  It makes me furious when I'm with someone and we're talking, and their phone rings, they answer, and then say, "Sorry I have to take this."  And then it's not an emergency, or the hospital telling them they found a heart for their transplant.  Nope, it's just someone calling to say hello.

8. Whatever happened to pedestrian-right-of-way?  I walk to work every day, as well as walk most places I need to go.  The way most people drive, you would think that a person crossing the street on a green light was as bad as being the Antichrist.

9. Why do people let their dogs walk on areas where there are signs posted asking them not to do that?  There is a park near me that has signs saying, "Please do not allow your dogs in the planting areas."  These signs are right there, in the planting area.  But I seem to be the only one who reads the sign and then keeps my dog out of there.  It's not hard, people.

10. Why are you considered a lesser type of being if you are a woman who does not have children?  Especially when no one cares if men have children or not.  Isn't it better not to have children if you don't want them, or if you are not really certain it would be the thing for you?

Anyway.  There you go.  So many more things could be on this list, as well as things I am curious about like "Who decided that C was where you start in music?  Why not A?"  (This is something I once asked The Tim when he was trying to explain a piano keyboard to me, and he responded. "We're done here." I however still think it's a legitimate question.)

Maybe I'd be better off as a cat.  They are curious, but also happy to sit in a box.

May Harry's Hundred Update

Before we go much more into June, I wanted to give you an update on May's contributions to Harry's Hundred.  Only three more things this time around, but three more helps the overall count, and more importantly, three more mean that that many more people will be helped by receiving something someone made for them, hoping it will brighten a day or bring on a smile.   That's really what I want this project to do - the number is 100, but the items and the recipients are what really matter.

I do have to say that GringaTurista (Rav page) is probably the one person who is making the numbers go up - she apparently is not just a speed knitter, but also does tons of knitting for charity.  When I think of how many people receive things she has made, I imagine nearly everyone in the world receiving something!

Anyway, here are her two contributions for May.

 En El Lodo Mittens

Newspaper Mittens

I think she will be responsible for so many cozy hands once cold weather returns!

And I actually managed to knit something, albeit something small.  

Baby version - Zach Attack Hat

This is a baby-sized version of my own pattern for the Zach Attack Hat.  It's a little bit funky in spots, but much cuter in person, and I am hoping that some little one will be what makes it really look good. 

Goal:  100

Tall so far:  33

Granted, at the rate things are going, we may very well not hit the goal number.  And though I have to admit that would be slightly disappointing to me, I am blown away that there are so many things already made and donated/ready to donate as part of this project - I'll take it!  :-)

Hopefully, I can get myself in gear to make more things - I just recently convinced myself that they don't need to be major items (hence the baby hat), so that may very well help my contribution level.

Thanks to all who have participated, and who are still planning to participate.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I find out that one more thing has been added.

Onwards to June!

*****

You may have noticed that I [finally] figured out how to make links open in a new window.  It used to be part of the settings for the blog, but I recently learned that now it's a check-box in the window that opens for adding a link.  Better late than never ...

Five Favorites for This Friday

June is busting out all over!

OK, so it's not, at least in Philadelphia.  For most of the week, the heat and humidity have been busting out all over, and then today rain.  But that does not a hearty, happy song make ...

No matter, though, 'cause today is Friday and it's time for me to remind myself of some good things and push the bad things out (or down, away, whatever).  So here you go.

1.  Memorial Day weekend.  I think I mentioned that our plans changed due to some problems Dug was having.  The good news is that he is feeling better, and that we had a lovely four-day weekend (we'd both taken last Friday off since we thought we'd be traveling).  It was relaxing, fun, and both of us actually got some things done we'd had on back burners for a while.  We even had company on Sunday late-afternoon, when The Tim invited some of his co-workers and former co-workers for a drink.  I can't remember the last time we had non-family company, and it was great.

2.  A short work week.  'Nuff said.  :-)

3.  Potato salad.  I made potato salad for our at-home picnic, and I finally got a combination for the dressing that hit the perfect mark for both of us.  It was incredibly yummy!  Plus, we both love potato salad so it was even more exciting that it turned out extra well.

4.  Ice cream.  We don't usually have ice cream, but The Tim bought some for us to have for the holiday weekend, and it was such a treat!

5.  Lunch with The Tim on Wednesday.  I had to go for my six-month versions of x-rays and MRIs on Wednesday.  The Tim was off work that day, so he took me out to lunch at one of our fave places that is just enough out of the way that we seldom get to go.  We got grilled falafel sandwiches and baklava.  It made up for all that happened that morning, trust me!

Hm.  Food played a large part in my favorites this week.  Not surprising, but kinda funny.  I guess with everything else swirling around us, having the chance to have some "special" foods to eat made them even better than usual.

This weekend, The Tim is working both Saturday and Sunday during the day, so I am left to my own devices.  I don't have any special plans, other than the usual hilarity of laundry and other household wonders, but I'm sure I'll manage to think of something to entertain myself ...

Have a lovely weekend, and I hope there were at least five things this past week that made you smile.