Happy Last Friday of August!

Today is not just a Friday, it's the last Friday of August. Which used to mean that school would start soon, but these days a lot of schools have already been open for a week or two by now. In any case, this month is finishing up, and soon all things fall will be showing up, along with cooler weather. Meaning that I will be a lot less grumpy!

Tonight we are going to a baseball game - the Phillies vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is something we've wanted to do for a long time, but the timing didn't work out until this year. Yes, I hope the Phillies win, because they are having a decent season. But, both of us grew up as Pirates fans, so we'll be happy either way. And it's a chance to see the Pirates play, even though they are not having a good season. In any case, we are looking forward to it, and I know we'll have fun.

Now, for something else that is fun - announcing the winner of the surprise box celebrating sixteen years of this blog. I wrote every name on a piece of paper, mixed them up in a sunhat, and then put them on the floor. I let Alfie choose the winner, since he is the newest member of the family. And Alfie chose:

Kim in Oregon!!

Congratulations, Kim! I know I used to have your address, but all of the addresses I'd collected previously were on my previous computer whose hard drive died a tragic death. So if you could send it to me again, I'll get myself organized and let you know when the package is on its way.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and who left such nice comments and congratulations. As usual, it made me wish I had goodies to send to everyone. But then I decided that especially since I missed Christmas in July, I'll do a few giveaways over the year, since I enjoy them, and love sending packages to people. So be on the lookout.

Have a good weekend, and I hope the last few days of August treat you well. Here's a Friday Funny for you:

See you next week!

Sweet Sixteen

This past Saturday, August 20, 2022, this blog turned Sweet Sixteen!  

I thought about posting on Saturday, but ... well, I was too busy doing pretty much nothing. 😊 (God forbid I make an effort to do something, right??)

I remember when I started blogging, it was mainly because at the time, I had few knitting friends, but thought it would be a good way to make some online friends. I also liked swaps and knitalongs, and most of them were hosted via other people's blogs - this was before Ravelry and most social media!

I have to say I am both pleased and frankly surprised to find that 16 years later, there are people who read my posts about knitting, crafting, baking, cooking, cats, dogs, reading, and whatever happens to come into my brain on any given day. There have been different "waves" of followers through the years, but some people have been there from the start. And it's given me no end of happiness and comfort to have those friends - I think I've said it before, but I feel incredibly close to some of you, even if we have never/maybe will ever meet in real life.

Two people who are extremely special to me in real life that I would have not met otherwise, Dee and Vera, came from having this blog, and knowing them alone has been worth the price of admission! 

Since my bout with Covid meant that I had to skip Christmas in July this year, I have decided that my blog turning sixteen is worthy of a giveaway. It will be a surprise package, so I'm not going to show you any of the goodies it contains.

All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on this post by Thursday, August 25, by midnight (EDT), and I will announce the winner on Friday. I really want to do this, because I so missed having our July giveaways, and one to celebrate my blog's birthday seemed like a good way to have some of that fun.

The giveaway is open to anyone, living anywhere, in any location where you can receive mail.

Thanks to everyone who reads this blog, and also to those who comment. I really love being able to come here and see what everyone has to say. It's the best feeling to have friends!

One More Before the Big Trip!

Well tomorrow is traveling day - we'll be up early and on our way north!  We've looked at the weather forecast for the week, and though of course it could all change, right now, it's looking pretty wonderful.  We have a lot of our stuff gathered to take and pack, and will likely work on that tonight.  The cat sitter will arrive tomorrow, so that is sorted out, and we'll set out our trash tomorrow for Monday morning pickup (which will drive one of our neighbors insane, thereby only making it better as far as we're concerned).

The cats are already ensconced near and on our empty suitcase. :-)

I have some pictures to share, but not today.  For reasons unknown to me, they downloaded into my laptop, but I cannot open them.  The Tim has offered to look at things, so hopefully next time I can do a show-and-tell.

I'm bringing the laptop along on our trip, for various things, but I really have no idea if/when I'll post.  So you may hear from me this week, or you may not hear from me until we're back.  Enjoy the suspense!

Well, it's been nearly two weeks since I announced my giveaway winner, and I have not heard a peep from Lynn.  I sent her an e-mail, using the e-mail address in her blog profile, but nothing.  I know she gets busy once her kids go back to school, but I feel like two weeks has been plenty of time to even just say, "I'll send my info soon, I'm too busy right now."

So I decided to choose again.  Rather than go with the random number generator, I wrote everyone's name on slips of paper and let the kitties choose.  The first time, there were two pieces of paper stuck together, so we did it again.  Guess what?  Still stuck together, LOL.  So now there will be two winners and they are:

Vera   and   Dee!

So, ladies, IF you are reading, please send your mailing info to me at baclancyATverizonDOTnet.  (Dee I think I have your address, but please send it along in the event I can't locate it easily!)  I will get the packages together once we get home, and send them, so it may be a couple of weeks until they arrive.  But I do hope to hear from you, as I was very excited to have my blogiversary giveaway!

And that's it for now.  Time to pay the bills that will come due while we're gone, and watch the Notre Dame football game, hoping they can win this one.  :-)

One story for you though - I shared this on Facebook, but I figure you guys will enjoy it too.

Every year when we watch the first home game of Notre Dame football, I remember how it felt to be there at the stadium in person the first time.  It was the home opener against Michigan (a big rivalry).  I was really excited because I'd spent time with my dad as a little girl watching the games on TV when they would be broadcast (he was one of the famous "subway alumni" - Notre Dame fans who have never set foot on campus, but are devoted nonetheless), and being able to actually go to a game in real life was a dream come true.  Anyway, the ND players came out onto the field, and the place went crazy, and the band started playing the fight song.  The Tim looked up from his book and said, "Is that us?"  I assured him that it was, and that it was also very unlikely that the Michigan team would have gotten the same welcome.  ;-)

It remains one of my happiest and funniest memories, ever.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Post Office Fail and Giveaway Winner!

Hello there - here's hoping your weekend was enjoyable.  Ours was fine, if unexciting.  Since the weather decided that once again, hot and humid was the way to go, I stayed put most of the time.

Yesterday, I grabbed my swap partner's package and another one I'm sending to one of my nieces, and walked up nice and early to the Post Office to mail things.  I figured if I got there early, there wouldn't be a long line.  Guess what?  There was NO line at all ... not so fast - it was closed, because apparently they had no electricity!  Grrrrrrr.  So I may not get the package in the mail until Tuesday, the very last day and what seems to me to be the very  last-minute.  The P.O. I pass on my way to and from work isn't open when I leave in the morning, and I won't have a chance to stop on the way home  tomorrow because I need to get home quickly, change, and head to Stitch 'n Pitch tomorrow night.  Perhaps The Tim will think to mail both things for me tomorrow, but there's no guarantee.  Sigh.  I can think of one other time I know the P.O. was closed unexpectedly when I needed it.  Maybe they are just messing with me, I don't know ...

I did open my package from my swap partner, Araignee, and it is AH-MAZ-ING.  She really spoiled me.  Once I get the pictures I took out of my camera, I'll show off here.  :-)  (If you follow me on Instagram, I posted some quick shots there already today.)

Anyhoo, it's Giveaway Winner Time!   It was so nice to hear from so many of you, thanks for your congratulations and for entering the giveaway.  Originally, I was going to use a random number generator, but instead decided that I would have The Tim choose the winner.  So, he swished all of the names around in a little bowl for way longer that was necessary, and chose:

Lynn!!

Congratulations, Lynn!  I don't have your mailing info, so please send it to me, either via e-mail at baclancyATverizonDOTnet, or via a Ravelry message (my Rav name is thekittyknitter).  I'll let you know when your package is sent out, so you can be watching for it.

Thanks to everyone for playing along - on the one hand it's so much fun for me to read everyone's comments and see whose name will get picked; but then of course, I wish I had more things to send to every single person ... so I promise if I ever win the lottery, I'll send something to all of you.  In the meantime, I hope you stick around, because you never know when there might be another "event" or what it might be ... :-)

I'll be back soon with swap stuff, a Stitch 'n Pitch report, and my Olympics knitting.  In the meantime, I hope a good week is in store for all of us, whether or not the weather forecast feels like cooperating.

Open Windows, Frustration, and Anniversary Giveaway

Well, I don't know how long it will last, but FINALLY the extreme heat and humidity have broken - so much so that *all* of the windows are open, and it's glorious!  Breathing is possible, you can walk around and not be soaked in sweat, and being outside is actually enjoyable.  I'm guessing it won't last too long, so I'm trying to soak in every second and really enjoy it.

I had a comp day that had to be taken before the 25th, so I took today as that day so I would have a long weekend.  One of the things I wanted to do was download and edit photos from my camera of the projects I finished during the Olympics (yes, that is plural - projects - it's like I don't even know who I am anymore!).  Downloading was no big deal, but editing got to be so frustrating, I just gave up for now.  My new laptop does not have Photoshop on it, and the program it has is beyond annoying.  I tried to download Photoshop a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't work.  I may ask The Tim to give it a shop, as he is much more tech-worthy than I am.  It shouldn't take more than 10 tries just to crop a photo.  Grr ...

So instead, I'm going to write this post.

Saturday, August 20 was the ten-year anniversary of this blog - 10 YEARS!  I was surprised, because though I knew I'd been doing it for a while, ten years seems like a loooonnnng time. :-)  I would have written this part of the post on Saturday, but I decided to wait until after I wrote about Sunday being the date of my father's 100th birthday - I wanted him to have a weekend post all his own. 

BUT - here we are today, and it's time to celebrate not just blogging here for 10 years, but having wonderful blog friends who actually read and comment.  It makes me so happy, and is often what makes me feel like I'm not all by myself all the time.  Granted, I would probably keep going even if no one bothered, because I enjoy writing and I enjoy being here.  But having all of you here with me, and getting to visit your blogs, is just something I enjoy more than I can say.  Thank you!

To celebrate, I've decided to do a giveaway.  The giveaway package will contain the following:

1. A knitting-related item.

2. A reading-related item.

3. A food-related item.

4. A Philadelphia-related item (please note: not a cheesesteak!)

5. A surprise.

and, if you have pets, please let me know how many and of what ilk, because if you do, there will also be:

 #6. A pet-related item(s).

Everyone has a chance to win here.  Any comment left on this post ONLY, between now and midnight EST this coming Saturday, August 27, 2016, will give the commenter an entry.   I'll choose a name at random, and announce the winner next Sunday, August 28, 2016.

Good luck, and thanks for sticking around - whether for all ten years, or just today!

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. The OK. The Happy.

The Good.

We had a FABULOUS weekend this past weekend!  One of my nieces and her husband have access to a beach house in Rehoboth Beach, and they invited us to hang out with them.  Even Dug the Doodle Dog went along, and all of us had a great time!  The weather was gorgeous - cool, sunny, and clear.  We didn't do anything special, just spent time together, hung out on the beach, and did a lot of laughing.  It was so great.  (Dug is still recovering ...)

The Bad.

I had big plans to finish my Breezy Turquoise by the first day of fall.  And I was making real progress, until the past couple of weeks, when we were getting ready for Members' Night at work.  It's a BIG DEAL, and by the time I'd get home, I would be too exhausted to think, much less knit.  Then the weekends were busy working on a house project, which was fortunately finished, but meant that no knitting was accomplished.  I took it with me this past weekend, and ended up not knitting a single stitch.

The Ugly.

Shingles.  I haz 'em.  On me, not on the roof.  Goodbye, small amount of sick time and vacation I had left at work.  :-(  I have been ordered to stay home the rest of the week to see how well I do/do not recover.

The OK.

In my effort to make lemonade out of the above lemon, I am hoping that over the next few days, I will be able to be comfortable enough somehow to knit on my Breezy Turquoise.  My new goal is to finish it before Halloween.  If I can find a way to sit that is not ridiculously painful, I could really make some progress.  This is currently the only thing keeping me from complete despair.

The Happy.

Ending on a good note, I am so very thrilled that those of you who received packages from my blogiversary giveaway were pleased with what your packages contained.  The lovely notes that you have sent to me has made me so happy, and I know that the things I sent out will have happy homes where they are loved and used.  Which was the whole idea in the first place.  So to those who wrote, you are more than welcome.  And to everyone else, I hope you'll keep reading.  :-)

Let's all hang in there!

AMAZING!

I cannot believe how many people read my blog!  I have "known" some of you for a while, but when I was reading the comments for my last post, I kept thinking, WOW this is a lot of people!  Thank you so very much, it was really exciting to meet some of you, and to touch base with old friends.  :-)

On the one hand, getting so many comments was great ... on the other hand, it meant that I had to draw names for the blogiversary giveaway, and couldn't send something to each person.  So for those of you whose names weren't picked, I apologize.  But I'm absolutely thrilled that you are here!  I hope you'll stick around, whether you comment or not.  I'm the same way, I read lots of blogs, and don't necessarily always comment, especially when - as someone mentioned - it's just to say, "Yes," or something similar.

I've sent e-mails to the winners, asking for their addresses. 

I also deleted three particular comments who were from people accusing me of most likely wanting to get rid of "moth-eaten" yarn.  None of the yarn I am sending has any indications at all of moths, and I promise that I am sending it to you in good faith that it is moth-free.  If by some chance it is not, you have my sincere apologies in advance.  Another person said that I should tell people what the books were in case they were things people already had.  And I guess I could have done that, but you know what?  I'm sending the stuff as a surprise, and if you don't want it or already have it, you are more than welcome to pass it along.  I am only including this here to acknowledge those people, and to say that I was doing this for fun.  Geez!

I have to say that as it turned out, it was an excellent week to be doing the giveaway, as it was a particularly horrible week at work, and having your comments and being able to think about what to send to each of you cheered me up each and every day.

That's it for now.  I'm leaving you with this photo from our walk yesterday at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.  It's about 20 minutes from our house, and yesterday morning the weather was absolutely perfect for being out on the trails.  While you are walking around there, it's almost impossible to believe that across the interstate is the Philadelphia International Airport. 

Lucky Number 7

Seven years ago today, I started this blog.  I had wanted to join some online swaps, and they encouraged having a blog if you were going to participate.  Plus, some of my knitting friends had blogs, and I enjoyed reading them, and finding out what they were knitting, what knitting books and yarns were out there, and just meeting new people in general who were interested in some of the same things I was.

I never expected to become one of "the" blogs that everyone read all of the time, but I was surprised when quite a few people became regular readers and commenters.  I really enjoyed posting, and the fact that others read what I wrote and would comment was pretty exciting (still is!).  As I mentioned in the previous post, with Facebook and Ravelry, a lot of people abandoned their blogs, and also seemed to stop reading others' as well.  But like anything else, new people came long, and new friends were made.  I know that I don't read many of the same blogs I read seven years ago, but I am still an avid blog reader, because I really enjoy the ones I do follow regularly.

And so, whether you have been here for all 7 years, or are here for the first time today, THANK YOU!  I love knowing that you are reading anything I write, and that on occasion you feel comfortable enough to comment or ask a question.  I have no plans to stop blogging anytime soon, so I hope if you like it here, you'll stick with me.

For those friends who I have met as a result of this blog or you own blogs, I hope you will know that I often feel closer to you than to many of the people I see and talk to each day!  And I do hope to someday meet as many of you in real life as I have the chance to - but even if that doesn't happen, I hope we'll stay friends.

Thanks also for your blogs - they keep me informed, inspired, entertained, and amazed!

You guys are the BEST!

**********

In honor of my 7 years of blogging, I'm ready to give away packages of yarns and/or knitting books to at least 7 commenters here.  At the moment, they are not organized into packages, so I can't provide a lot of specifics, though I can tell you that the yarns are mostly wool or wool blends.

So, if you are interested:

Leave a comment on this post before midnight (Philadelphia, PA time) on August 24, 2013.  Please leave an e-mail address or Ravelry ID, since I don't usually get that from Blogger (which drives me nut, bthe way, but that's a post for another time).

I'll announce "winners" on Sunday, August 25, and once I have your address and everything together, a package will be on its merry way to you.

And whether or not you participate in this giveaway, let me just again say thanks for staying here with me!

This Time I Am Prepared

I realized one day last week that my blogiversary is coming up - which is pretty amazing, since the last couple of years, I missed it!  It's funny, I used to hear from a lot of people via my blog, but not as much anymore, I think Facebook has replaced blogs for a lot of people.  Not for me, though!  I *love* when people leave comments, but I also write this as much for myself as anyone else.

Anyhoo, we have been fixing up the room in our house where most of my knitting-related books and all of my stash lives.  Which means I've gone through both of those, and have some things that I have decided I'm just not ever gonna use one way or another.  Since this is all happening now, I thought it might be fun to have a blogiversary giveaway with some of those goodies as the prizes.  I'm still pondering how I'll do it, so if you want the chance to get some nice yarn and/or nice books/patterns, stay tuned!

Also, do you remember this sweater that I started long ago, and picked up and put down a number of times:

the pattern is from Knitty, and it's Amelia by Laura Chau.  I've been using some Cascade 220 Heather yarn in the colorway Mallard (which is more of a dark blue-green than the photo shows).   I truly love the yarn, but became less and less fond of the project every time I'd pick it up.  So I decided to deep-six it, and use the yarn for some future project that I just cannot wait to make.  The funny thing is that when I was frogging it yesterday, I realized that it was a good thing I was doing so anyway, since apparently every time I picked it up (and there were some long stretches in between), I had a slightly differing gauge!  If I had soldiered on, and noticed that at the end, it wouldn't have been pretty, let me tell you.  So rather than seeing it as a project that failed, I'm seeing it as a project saved.  :-)

Another good thing (I'm just Little Mary Sunshine today, aren't I?) is that now I only have three active projects: my Emerald Hedgerows ('cause I always like to have a pair of socks on the needles.  I also realize I need an updated photo), my Delaware River Waves Scarf (for which my self-imposed deadline is next spring!), and my Breezy Turquoise, which I am hoping big-time that I will finish no later than the first day of fall, so I can just pull it out and actually wear it next spring.  

Other than that, I have a couple of ideas for things in my head that I want to see if I can figure out how to put them on paper and then translate to needles.  My math skills are non-existent, but I'm thinking that if I have real trouble, I can ask some of my friends who design things regularly for some help.  And if all else fails, I'll get The Tim to assist me ... I mean, he has to be good for something, right????

Enjoy this last day of the weekend, and I'll see you in another couple of days with blogiversary info.