Five Favorites for This Friday - And Happy May!

Happy Mayday, Happy May 1, Happy Whatever You Want To Call It Day! It's a cool and sunny day here in Philadelphia, and it just seems like a good indication that May is here and will hopefully treat us well.

The past week had some good things in it. But let me start with some background for the first couple of things. Two weeks ago, I saw an Instagram post by Stephanie of Edible Thoughts Makes, where she showed a pair of socks she had completed. I really liked them and at the time, I was in a pretty big knitting slump. But I kept thinking about them, so I bought the pattern and thought I'd see how I did when I started. Well, it was exactly what I needed to start knitting again! 

I finished the cuff - with help from a close friend, as you can see - and then realized that I didn't have the needles to do the rest of the sock. So I ordered them, which meant I had to wait until they showed up.

During that time, there was an unfortunate event that led to me having stitches in my right hand. Which was bad enough, but the needles showed up and I was dismayed because I figured I couldn't even use them for a while yet.

But, Tim told me I should at least try, and that leads to the first thing on my list:

1. I *am* in fact able to knit! Not for a long time at one stretch, which is actually probably a good thing, but I can knit, and I got a good start on the socks:

The pattern is Little Boxes Socks, by Summer Lee. Since the above photo was taken, I have done the heel and am now on the foot of the first sock. YAY!

2. I read this book and it was just the right thing for me at the time. Yes, it does have romance, which is not usually my favorite, but romance done well is a different story.

I think that is the case with this book. Plus it takes place in Maine, and having been there one time, I love it forevermore.

3.  A good night's sleep. I'm not a great sleeper most of the time. And Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, I only got about 2 hours of sleep each night. Wednesday night I not only had a good rest, but except for waking up once, slept through the night! It felt so good!

4. A few years ago, in a frenzy of cleaning weeds, etc. out of the garden, I realized I had pulled out the clematis plant that I thought was just one of the viny weeds. It was truly heartbreaking. The next spring, it showed up, and there was one bloom - I was ecstatic! And each year since, it's shown up with even more blooms on it. This is how it looked around lunchtime today. 

5. Not being sick. Earlier this week, I started coughing and feeling like I was getting something respiratory. I took some preventative measures, and as of today, I think I may have avoided being sick. That makes me so happy! 

And that's it for now. I hope you can think of at least one thing this week that has been your favorite, or made you smile. I like to sit down and remember that everything wasn't bad, or boring, or stupid in my world. Even if I can't control the rest of the world around me, I have some control over how I can find the good. 

Have a good first weekend of May! If you are lucky enough to be traveling to Maryland Sheep & Wool, I hope it's full of good things, nice animals, and friendly people.