Things to Celebrate

Hello from cool, dreary, and rainy Philadelphia! The perfect kind of day to just stay inside and be cozy, and that's pretty much what I plan to do.

We have been kind of busy lately. I have been getting ready for both The Tim's birthday, and for Thanksgiving. The Tim always gets into a flurry of cleaning activity around this time of year, in preparation for holiday season, so he's been working on that. The cats are either sleeping and avoiding it (actually preferred), or busy snooper-vising. 

Yesterday was The Tim's birthday, and unlike today, it was a perfect fall day - sunny, cool, and just a touch of wind. He took the day off from work, and I swapped my volunteer shift with someone else, so we were both home for the whole day. He had asked to go out to breakfast at a place in the neighborhood, so we headed there first thing. He had one of his fave things, a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, with tomato, onion, etc. as well. I had the tofu scramble, which is really good, and comes with fried potatoes, which we both enjoyed. We were stuffed until it was time for dinner!

The Tim had told me what he would like for his birthday, and for once, I had been ready for over a week, so that worked out really well. He requested a cheesecake for his birthday dessert, and we enjoyed that after presents, while the kitties enjoyed some kitty treats. 

We had originally planned to go out to dinner, but he said later in the afternoon that he was feeling slightly out of it, like he is getting a cold, so we decided to do that another night, and just had leftover chili and some grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. It was a lovely day, and fortunately, this morning he felt much better. A good night's sleep I'm sure helped. 😊

Over this past weekend, I put out our Thanksgiving decorations. I don't have a lot of them, but I love having them. Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday, and I feel that a lot of the time, it gets short shrift. 

I posted this photo as well as a few others on Instagram, and got so many comments from people saying they remembered these particular candles from their families growing up! I just have always loved them.

My other exciting news is that I finished the body of the cardigan I have been knitting! Here is a not-lovely bathroom selfie for you to get an idea how it looks.

This is the Fidalgo Cardigan, and it is one of the most favorite things I have ever knit. I love that as you are knitting the sweater, you are knitting the button band - no hassle having to pick up stitches after the fact! I have learned a few new-to-me skills with this pattern, and it is so well-written that I feel like it would be understandable to just about anyone. I watch the designer's podcast, and she is just one of those people that I would love to be friends with. Yesterday afternoon, I managed to knit half of the first sleeve, so I'm hoping this will be an FO before long.

So that's been what has been going on around here. The Tim had a lovely birthday day, even though it means that now for a few months, we'll be same age (he always loves being "the younger one" for most of the year). We're looking forward to Thanksgiving next week, not just because we both love the holiday itself, but for the first time in four years, The Tim won't have to work! He also took the Friday after off, so we will have a nice long holiday weekend together to enjoy. I'm so happy about that. Obviously, we've survived the years when he had to work on Thanksgiving Day, but it's just so much better when he can have the day off and be at home too.

I hope your week has been kind to you, and that you are enjoying any crafting projects you have. See you next time!