Super Bowl Champions, Baby!

Well, I'm sure by now you have heard that the Philadelphia Eagles demolished the Kansas City Chiefs to become the Super Bowl Champions! I mean, I'm not sure anyone but the members of the team were ready for how well they played, but no one is complaining. It's so exciting, and especially after last week's terrible plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, it's nice that we all have something good to cheer about.

On a personal level, it was just such a relief to have something so happy and so joyous to watch and think about. The beginning of 2025 has been horrible for us so to just be able to watch and cheer and laugh was wonderful. Does it mean the world is immediately better and nothing else bad will happen? Of course not, but it's a small circle of joy that needs to be marked and celebrated.

As I said, 2025 has not been kind to us so far. I won't be going in to detail, but I really can't remember a year that has started off this way. I do want to thank every single one of you who left a comment on my post about Pip. It means so much to know people are thinking of you, and that other people "get" it. We are getting used to not having him here, ready to cuddle, or play, or comment on everything, but there's a long way to go. Alfie and Esme have glued themselves to each other, and Milo the Koodle walks around the house meowing in the most pitiful way that he never did before. It makes it extra hard because they of course don't understand what happened. 

You know, some people complain that too much is made of sports, particularly NFL football, which can of course having lasting, terrible effects on players' brains and bodies. And that is true, but to be honest, I don't see it going away any time soon. And in the grand scheme of things, is sports the most important? No it is not. Things are still horrible in the world, and Those People show no signs of stopping the terrible things they have started. 

But for the past week, at least here in the city, people have been walking around with smiles on their faces, and nearly everyone you pass or have any interaction with would end with "Go Birds!" And last night, The Tim and I sat here and watched the game, and for a few hours didn't have a reason to feel sad or frustrated or bereft. 

And we were so very grateful for that.

Fly Eagles Fly, indeed!

No Joy In Mudville

Or in Philadelphia, either. Sigh. Our Eagles looked good, until the end of the second half of the game when the defense apparently forgot there was still time left that they were supposed to play. It was at least a close game that could have been even better. Sigh. 

Oh well, it was a good season, and it was all fun while it lasted.

I guess it's also just as well, since it rained all night here, and those celebrations could have been even messier ... 😉

Moving along, I have been trying to psych myself up to start the pair of replacement fingerless gloves for The Tim. I think the fact that the weather has failed to feel like winter has left me devoid of the inclination to get them going. I'm telling myself - and him - he'll at least definitely have them by next fall.

When I went to come into the house yesterday after my shift at the yarn store, I noticed this in our on-the-street planter.

I love daffodils, and normally I'm thrilled to see the first one, but this is just way too early. We very well may not have a serious enough cold snap again to damage them, but if they start now, they likely won't last much into March. Stupid climate change.

The funny thing is that every year, we pull out a bunch of daffodils because they get green but never bloom. And then the next year, we have even more come up and bloom, like they are mocking us. Or maybe they're just saying, "Whew! Thanks for giving us some room." (I don't speak fluent daffodil, so I can't know for sure.)

This afternoon I have my annual appt with the gynecologist, which I'm not looking forward to because, really does anyone look forward to that? I really like the dr and most of the time it's no big deal, but there are plenty of other things I can think of that I would rather do. But the good news is that since that's today, it will be out of the way first thing, and the rest of the week is clear of any appts, which after the past few weeks, is a nice feeling. I feel like I've spent all of the time I haven't been at work in dr's offices, or waiting to have tests done someplace. To have a few days with absolutely nothing will be a treat.

I hope all of you have a good week coming your way as well. Hang in there.

FO Post: Last Year, Three Weeks To The Day

Hello, here's another Monday getting us into the week. This one however, has two things going for it for me. First, the Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the Super Bowl!!! They won their conference championship game yesterday, which was nice enough to be on TV for the most part after I got home from my Sunday shift at the yarn store. Second, for the first time since the end of October, Monday is my own day again! I was filling in on Mondays for a friend who had knee replacement surgery, and she is back at work today, so my schedule goes back to three days a week instead of four. I didn't really mind it, in that it wasn't a true hardship for me to work an extra day, but I like having Monday to myself.

Also, today on this Monday, I have a finished project to share. I know I showed you this picture a little while ago:

This was my New Year's Eve cast on, and I was enjoying knitting the colorful stripes. Well, I finished them on January 21, 2023, which was exactly three weeks since I started knitting them.

Project: Last Year's Socks

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern that I generally use

Yarn: Advent 2022 Serendipity Sock Yarn, in the colorway Sweet Shop, from the Freckled Whimsy; the cuffs, heels, and toes are leftover Hedgehog Fibre Sock in the Budgie colorway

Needles: US size 0 (9-inch circulars)

Modifications: I decided to do a ribbed heel flap, which is not my usual go-to heel, but I just felt like trying it. We'll see how much I do/do not like it.

So my last cast-on for 2022 has become my first FO of 2023, and I feel like that's a good start to things.

I was going to cast on another pair of socks right away, but The Tim informed me that he lost one of his "most favorite" fingerless gloves that I knit for him a couple of years back, and could I knit him another pair? At first I thought, well, I'll make them as a Valentine's gift, but then I thought why give myself a deadline, so I'll start them when I start them, and finish them when I finish them. He has other ones in the meantime to use, it's just that he liked this particular pair the most. So I'm willing to get them going right away, but not kill myself finishing them in record time ...

In other news, my Christmas cactus is still going strong:

For a plant that has done nothing for years, it's taking a good old time making sure to bloom for as long as possible, which really makes me happy. I figure I should enjoy it while I can, because who knows when it will decide to grace us with flowers again?? 😊

And that's it for the news from here on the last Monday in January. Today I have to pick up a couple of prescriptions, stop at the store to get some more milk, and decide what to fix for dinner. Which leaves lots of knitting time, and I'm definitely not complaining about that. (Especially after last week, which turned out to be a real sh*tshow.)

I hope your week starts well, and keeps up with good stuff. Take care.

Joy in Mudville!!!

THEY DID IT!!!!

Every single person I passed this a.m. on my way to work was smiling.  And looked tired.  I got a grand total of 4 hours of sleep. 

I regret nothing. 

E-A-G-L-E-S!  EAGLES!!!!!!