The Grand Finale Winner for 2020!

Well, folks it's been fun - at least for me - and again, THANK YOU with all of my heart for playing along this year during Christmas in July!  I have started to really look forward to this, which is saying something since there isn't much about summertime that I look forward to, other than it being over.

Anyway, the winner for Week #5 is:

Nance!!!!

Here is what she had to say about who she would like to spend a birthday/holiday with, no matter what time or place:

If I could, just once, I'd like to go back and celebrate Christmas Eve with my family the way we used to long ago when all my Croatian relatives came to our house. I still don't know how we all packed into my parents' teeny little bungalow with its small front room and galley kitchen, but we did. There was terrific food and the grownups were so much fun to listen to. That was really Christmas to me.

I have to say that I loved this answer!  Maybe because I remember so many happy/noisy/crazy holidays as a kid with family and friends.  Our Christmases are lovely and fun and happy, don't get me wrong, but it's just the two of us and our sweethearts.  It would be nice at least one more time to have a big family Christmas again!  And I have to say, I'm sure I would be on board with the yummy food!  Congratulations, Nance!  Please send an e-mail to thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet when you have the chance with your name and address, etc.  

Note to all winners:  I'm hoping to send out packages this week - you'll hear from me once this actually happens.

For my answer, I would have to say that I would love to go back to any given Thanksgiving when our family was all together, before my father died.  The night before, I used to LOVE "helping" him get things ready (I'm sure I never shut up the whole time) and then the next day also "helping" him get things ready.  My mother wanted nothing to do with the whole thing, and my sisters were otherwise occupied so I would have him all to myself.  We would clean the turkey, start the stuffing, make sure we had everything for the rest of the dinner the night before.  Then the day of, after the Thanksgiving Day parade was over, we'd go to the kitchen and get to work.  Well, he got to work and I watched (and likely talked. And talked. And talked).  But it was the best, and as a result, I am the only one of the kids who actually knew what to do to cook Thanksgiving dinner.  What does it say when your older, married sisters call you when you are 14 years old and ask you to help them cook Thanksgiving dinner?  😉

******

Our weekend was uneventful as usual, but I got a good amount of knitting done and got a good chunk of my cross-stitch project underway.  This Tuesday and Thursday I am supposed to return to work, so this week will be a bit different as far as what goes on.  We are also supposed to be receiving the lingering effects of Hurricane Isaias for a good part of the week, which means the trees, flowers, grasses, and other living things who have longed for water should be happy.  

And that's the latest from here.  I hope all of you have a good week.

Christmas in July - This Year with Bonus Week 5

Hello all - well, 2020 may have been challenging and/or awful in a lot of ways, but then again, it did give us an extra week to celebrate:

Christmas in July!!!!

This means that anyone who is interested has another chance for a giveaway prize, and here is what it is this time around:

That's a skein of yarn from Puff the Magic Rabbit - Fairy Sock Silver base, in the colorway "Silent Night" (438 yds/100 gr; 75% superwash merino/20% nylon/5% stellina).  Mindy's yarn is lovely, and she is a one-person operation (recently moving from Virginia to Texas with all of her goaties), and this is a beautiful shade.  Then you have a folk-arty holiday print on a lovely project bag from The Stitchin' Ewe.  Riann's bags are always well made, and this one has plenty of room for a sock project, or any other small item.

To be included in the giveaway, I'd like you to answer the following question:

If you could spend your birthday or any holiday that you celebrate with someone, who would you choose?  A family member?  A famous person?  A celebrity?  This includes people from long ago and/or people next door, so give it some thought.  

Leave a comment on this post only by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 2 (August!), and I'll announce the winner on Monday.  Then I can give the random number generator a rest until next year. 😀

******

Yesterday I finished the knitting on my Mystery KAL project and frankly, I spent the day wondering who was I????  Not only did I participate in the KAL, but I kept up with the clues.  All I can say is, quarantine does strange things to people.  That has to be it.  It's going to be tricky to block, so you may not see an FO post for a while.

I hope all of you are well, and if you are in this heat wave, I hope you are finding a way to keep cool.  That's always my problem - at a certain point when I am too hot, I cannot cool down no matter what I try.  So I've been pretty miserable, but realize that it is in fact summer, and this is what summer does (and why it's never my favorite season).  Other than that, I am supposed to return to work two days a week starting next week and frankly, it's making me nervous.  But with The Tim laid off, and the chance to get 40% of my salary as opposed to only 20%, I really don't have much of a choice.  Since the extra unemployment payments are ending, we will be more strapped than usual, so that extra 20% of salary will make an especial difference.  In any case, this is a whole 'nother saga, not worth going into here.  I'll just do the best that I can.

Have a good rest of the week!

Here's the Winner for Week #4!

I don't know that I've laughed as hard in a while as I did at some of your worst gifts!  One was more ridiculous than another, and I just have to wonder what makes people think some things are good ideas as gifts for anyone. 

In any case, the winner of the fourth giveaway for Christmas in July is:

Caffeine Girl!!!!

Here's what she had to say:

Worst X-mas gift came from my wealthier (former) SIL: It was a children's book about the planets. Clearly from the Border's clearance table. I was 30 and have no special interest in space!

You gotta admit, that's one crappy gift.  Go figure.

Congratulations - from earth! 😉  When you have the time, please send me an e-mail at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTcom with your name, address, zip, etc.  Believe it or not, I may actually get everything into the mail this week - in any case I'll certainly e-mail everyone to let them know when things are on the way.

I have to say that my worst gifts - yes, gifts because there were more than one time I received these - were birthday gifts from a great aunt.  My father had two aunts who were Catholic nuns:  Sister Mary Joseph and Sister Marie Jeannette.  Sister Marie Jeannette was the "fun" one - meaning that she was only about 100 years old (to us, I'm sure she was much younger in her actual life), she was really nice, had a good sense of humor, and seemed to really like kids (which was a good thing since she was in charge of an orphanage).

Then there was Sister Mary Joseph, who had to be about 150 years old, and was everything the stereotypical nun was - old, mean, and expecting everyone to serve her every whim ("What can I say - again, it's your father's family," my mother would regularly remind us).  She never announced visits, just showed up and expected the world to stop for her (I have many funny stories about this, for another time), and even my father would get exasperated with her.  Every year on my birthday she would send me a birthday card.  I LOVE to get mail (still do!), and every year, I'd open the envelope and there would be some kind of religious happy birthday verse on a card, and then inside there would be a holy card.  Which is a crappy gift in and of itself, BUT - when you turned it over, it was always from some dead person's wake!!  She sent me a free card from a dead person who I didn't know's wake Every. Freaking. Year.  When I was really little, I would use them for bookmarks, but after a while, even my father said, "Throw it away if you want to, I don't know what the h**l is wrong with her."  Part of the problem was that I always would expect to open the envelope and find a regular birthday card, and that was disappointing enough.  My sisters used to at least get a dollar bill in theirs.  One of my mother's theories was that she did this because not only was I named for my *mother's* grandmother, and also that Sister didn't like the way my parents spelled my name.  In any case, "death cards" as we called them, were terrible gifts, especially for a kid!

******

The weekend was fine, if uncomfortable.  I did in fact go to my haircut appt on Saturday, and it went really well, and I'm very happy with my cut.  I'll give a fuller report on another day.  I didn't do as much knitting or reading as I'd hoped to do, but since neither is required, it's not like I'll be in any trouble for it. 

Hopefully this will be a good week for all of us - it's July's last chance to impress us, you know ...

Christmas in July - Week 4

It may not feel like Christmas, but it sure feels like July, right???

Regardless, it's time for Week 4 of:

Christmas in July!!!!

As I'm sure any previous winners have noticed, I have not yet mailed their packages.  I am hoping to get to it this week, and will send an e-mail when they are on their way, so you can be on the lookout.

Right now though, it's time to show you this week's prize in the giveaway.  I present to you a kit for the Annalise Wrap, from my LYS, Loop:

package front

package back

I won this kit a couple of years ago when they had a giveaway to celebrate an anniversary.  The kit contains a printed version of the pattern, as well as six skeins of Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM), enough to make the wrap.  The colors are lovely, and of course you could use them for whatever you like.  But I can tell you the wrap is truly pretty in person.  Please note that this is one single kit - I took two photos so you could get an idea of all of the colors of the yarn.

I have kept this kit, and have finally realized that you know what?  I'm never going to knit the wrap.  I like it, but there are things I like better that I hope to knit someday.  So I thought it would be a perfect prize for this week.  I've never opened the package, so there should be no worries regarding moths or weird odors, in case you were wondering.

Are you interested?  If so, let me know your answer to the question below.

What is the worst birthday/Christmas/other holiday gift you have ever received and why?  A Chia Pet?  A gift card to a restaurant not in your town?  Let me know!

Be sure to leave your comments on this post only, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 26.  Then it will be up to Ye Olde Randomme Numbber Genereightor to pick a winner, which will be announced on Monday, July 27.

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In the never-ending saga this is this year, when my computer died, and our oven died, guess what kids?  Our bedroom air-conditioner died over the weekend!!  We do not have central air conditioning, but we did have an old unit in our bedroom that didn't work all that well, but kept some of the heat and humidity at bay.  Ugh.  This will be something that we likely will not be able to afford to replace this year, as it is a unit for a casement window, and those are fairly pricey, and require professional installation, which of course adds to the overall cost.  Granted, the unit that died is one we have had since we moved into our house eleventy billion years ago, and as I said, it wasn't working in an optimum fashion anyway.  We had not replaced it before, because again, money.  Sigh.  We'll live, but it's pretty miserable.  Neither of us grew up with air-conditioning and only one apartment we had ever had it already installed, so we know how to exist otherwise, but I have to admit that it would have been nice if it at least could have waited until mid-August to die, when in theory there would be fewer horrible heat and humidity days left. 

Oh well, who needs a good night's sleep anyway, you know?  😢

The Week 3 Winner Is Announced!

I have to say, I really enjoyed all of your responses to the most recent question for Christmas in July.  And frankly, I'm glad it was the random number generator that had to choose, because as I read each comment, I'd think "Oh yeah, me too!" - at least until I saw the next one. 😀

In any case, the random number generator decided that the week 3 winner is:

Cheryl!!!!

Here's her answer to the question: What is your favorite holiday symbol?

As for holidays I adore my New England Christmas village we set up on our mantel. It usually comes out about mid November until end December. I guess it is Christmas to me. Recently I split the village in half as we have downsized and gave half of them to my niece. On the promise someday she will get the rest. I love looking at all the wee lighted pieces.

I can picture it in my head, and would actually love to see it in person.  I love little villages of any kind - I guess because they are usually old-fashioned looking and for me at least, evoke scenes from stories in books and occasionally in old movies.

Congratulations, Cheryl!  You know the drill by now:  Please send an e-mail to:  thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet with your name address, zip, etc. and I will get the package ready to mail.

I'm afraid I'm very fickle with my answer - I tend to think whatever holiday is happening NOW is the one with the best symbol!  Though overall, I'd have to say that lights - twinkle lights, Christmas lights, candles - anything that is extra light to just what the everyday lamp or overhead light provides makes me happy.  I remember when I was a kid, and we would be driving at night around Christmastime, I liked that the brake lights on cars were red, and traffic lights turned green, which I decided meant they were for the holidays.  Having said that, today I noticed that some twinkle lights I had put up in the craft room/office had 1/2 of one of the strings out.  I fooled around to see if one bulb was loose, but none of them were.  Most of them are still fine, but it was a bit disappointing, I have to say.

******

The weekend was fortunately not humid, but stupidly hot.  And I'm sorry, but it CAN be too hot, even if it's not humid.  We also got some sad news from a dear friend whose father died.  Mr. E. was one of the few people I ever met in my life that I can truly say found God in every person.  He was a freedom fighter, a minister in every sense of the word, and one of the kindest and funniest people I have ever known.  A few years ago, our friend's older sister died from MS, and his mom died about a year and a half ago, so it's been a few hard years.  And now he is the only one left from his family of origin, which must be a sad feeling.  Of course, we have always considered him, his wife, and his kids to be part of our extended family, so I am hoping he feels the love from all of us.

So that is the 3rd parent of a friend who has died from Covid-19, even though according to some people it's no big deal.  It's extra heartbreaking because they couldn't be with loved ones, and if you need loved ones any time, it's during a loss.  I would ask that even if you can't be with loved ones right now, that you make sure you say you love them.  And please keep a kind thought and/or prayer for Mr. E.

And so, on to the week.  It's supposed to be in the high 90s/low 100s this week here in Philadelphia, so it will be a mostly inside week for us.  I have three Zoom meetings - two are an hour only, and then there's another 3-hour one, which if there is a God, should be the last one.  Three hours is too long for any meeting, but even worse via Zoom, if you ask me!  My non-work related plans otherwise are to finish a book I'm about halfway through, and finish the second sock of the pair I'm currently knitting.  Thrilling stuff, no?

Stay cool if you are in this heat wave, and in any case, have the best week that you can!

Christmas in July - We're in Week 3 Already!

Hello all!  I was surprised myself when I realized we were already in Week 3 of

Christmas in July!!!

But then I also remembered - this year, there are actually five weeks - count 'em FIVE weeks during the month, so you have an extra chance to win, or win again, or ignore the whole thing.  😁

This week, we have two books for the giveaway - one with knitting patterns, and one that is about knitting:

The book on the left is Knits About Winter, by Emily Foden.  This is a lovely book, very evocative of time and place and gives background on what inspired Emily Foden to create the lovely patterns.  It contains 12 patterns, including hats, mittens, sweaters, and shawls.  (Please note that this one is the first edition - a second edition was published in 2019.)

On the right, is Vanishing Fleece : Adventures in American Wool, by Clara Parkes.  As usual, it is written in Parkes' conversational way, and makes you feel that you took the trip with her during a year when she wanted to see just what it takes these days in America to create yarn.  I really enjoyed it.

Here is your question for this week:

What is your favorite holiday symbol?  A menorah? Thankgiving turkey? Your nation's flag on a national holiday?  Sunrise on the winter solstice?  Tell me which is your favorite and why.

Be sure to leave your comments on this post only, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 19.  Then it will be up to the old reliable random number generator to pick a winner, which will be announced on Monday, July 20.

BTW, in a case of Well Who Knew, the winner for week 2 - Karen - turns out to be someone I know in real life!!  We both worked at the University of Pennsylvania at the same time, and we were two of the founders of the Penn Knitters, which still exists today!  This makes me all kinds of happy, since I lost touch with Karen after both of us left Penn, and though occasionally, I'd come across her one way or another, I'd often hope she was well and still crafting away, because frankly, she had some serious talent. 

******

In other news, I - who has never even started the project during an "official" KAL (meaning one is actually officially joined), have completed Clue #3 for the current one I joined.  WHO AM I??  I have to figure out how to get a photo of my progress so far to show you (notice I didn't say a *good* photo, let's not get carried away here).  I'm pleased with how it looks, even though there are of course a couple of places where I successfully fudged things to make it work. 

Today I have a single Zoom meeting but it is scheduled to last 3 freaking hours.  That's inhuman.  But it's also one of those where they are taking attendance, so you know you have to show up and look thrilled to be there.  Wine o'clock cannot come early enough!

I hope the rest of your day is more interesting than mine will likely be. 

Week 2 Winner - Holidays and Virtue

I hope all of you had a good weekend - mine was for the most part uneventful, mostly because I worked on some stuff around the house since it was too hot and humid to be enjoyable outside.  I did get to spend Sunday working on my Cozy Squares of Memory blanket, which was a good thing because it had been a while.  I finally decided to move along on it, after something that I felt had messed it up.  But it is supposed to be a patchwork blanket, right, so I decided it didn't need to be 100% perfect (spoiler alert - it already wasn't ...).  Anyway, it felt good to work on it again.

But what I am really here to tell you today is that we have a winner for the second week giveaway for Christmas in July 2020:

Karen!!!!!

Here is what she had to say about people in her family or that she actually knew who had a name related to any holiday:

My grandmother had a friend whose two grandchildren (twins) were Holly and Noel.  I thought them wonderful names!  Still think they're pretty good.  My husband's family has a tradition of virtue names; his mother, God bless her, was named Prudence.

This answer had something of everything - good holiday names, twins, and some "virtue names" thrown in!  I think those twins were lucky, because Holly and Noel are actual lovely names, so not made up ones that the kids have to spend their lifetimes spelling or explaining.  And Prudence is one of those names that makes me think of someone dressed as a Pilgrim, but it is also a name that I think is kinda pretty.   I must admit that I also find "Pru" to be a cute nickname.   So congratulations Karen!  Please send an e-mail to:  thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet with your name address, zip, etc. and I will get the package ready to mail. 

The reason I thought up this question was because it was right after the Fourth of July, and every year at that time, I remember this one person's name that frankly I don't know if I'll ever get over.  In one of the jobs I had, we had transcripts from an affiliated college that had closed.  So when someone needed one, they called us.  This guy called for his transcript once, and I said, "Please give me the name your transcript would be under - so for instance, if you use a nickname, but the transcript is under your proper name, give me that."

His response was "My name is E Pluribus Allen; the letter E with no period after, then P-l-u-r-i-b-u-s then A-l-l-e-n."  Now for those of you who do not live in the U.S., or maybe just don't pay attention, the motto of the U.S. is "e pluribus unum," or "out of many, one."  Well, I guess some patriotic (?) parents thought it would be a most excellent name for their child.  Personally, I so wanted to know what this guy was called on a daily basis - "E" or "EP" or maybe just "Chip" - who knows?  But it's truly one of the most - shall we say - Unique names I've ever heard.  And as a co-worker said, "Just remember: Out of many, Allen."  Which I have to admit makes me laugh every single time I think of it.

It *is* memorable, you've got to admit.

Sitting in the Dark

Well, here I am sitting in the dark, even though it's daytime and we have lights on.  Tropical Storm Fay is visiting today, so it's really really really dark outside, and you have the sense of being in a cave.  I'm just glad to be inside and dry at this point.

I just finished a two-hour webinar for work about White Supremacy and to be honest, I don't think I'll do much for the rest of the day.  It was exhausting both physically and emotionally, plus given how this week has gone, I was tired even before we started.  I used to not mind webinars/Zoom/online meetings, but now that they are the norm, I find them difficult, and my eyes start to bother me at some point.  I'm sure others are feeling some kinds of effects as well.

Thank you for the compliments on my in-progress KAL shawl from yesterday's post.  Clue #3 arrived yesterday, and it includes Star Stitch, which will be a new one for me.  Not today though, since I know my concentration wouldn't be on point.  Besides the shawl, I'm working on the second sock of this pair:

I started these for myself in December of last year, but only got the first sock done with everything else happening.  So I decided to put it away and work on the second sock during Christmas in July.  Which works out really well, but if you don't pay attention to what you did on the first one, you can get well into the second one, realize you did something different, and have to rip back quite a bit.  It's all good though, since I am now beyond where I was when I had to rip.  

Speaking of Christmas in July, if you want to be included in this week's giveaway, remember to comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. this coming Sunday.  I'll announce the winner on Monday.

I hope wherever you are, you're having a decent Friday, even if it's dark and stormy.  I have no specific weekend plans, but I'm sure I'll find something I want to do, and if I'm lucky it may even be something beneficial, like cleaning out a closet.  (Don't hold your breath on that one, though.)  Have a good weekend, and please please please if you leave your house, wear a mask!  And if Tropical Storm Fay is visiting you also, I hope you can stay dry.  💧🌧⛈☔

Christmas in July - Week 2

Another Wednesday, another post for this year's

Christmas in July!!

This week is a little bit different, because the giveaway consists of five small needlework kits - mostly cross stitch, with one embroidery kit.  They are from needlework magazines that were being taken off the shelves to be tossed a few years back when The Tim used to work at Barnes & Noble (previous issues would be tossed when new ones arrived; it was the way the arrangement worked with the publishers).  He would bring me the little freebies that were inserted into the magazines.  While I was sorting through my craft things recently, I realized that some of them were duplicates - and though there's a good chance I'll make one, there's a very very small chance I'd make two!  So I thought some of the needleworkers, those who wanted little projects to try and learn needlework, or those who might know someone who would enjoy them. might be interested.  Here they are - I apologize for the really awful photo, believe it or not, this was the best one I got ...

(Descriptions, starting at the top left, going clockwise: A Sunflower Card; 2 Christmas Card Kits; Handbag Mirror Kit [kind of Delft-inspired blue and white] (includes mirror); Beaded Notebook; and, Michaelmas Daisy Gift Sachet (embroidery).  These are all kits including everything you need to make the items)

Here is this week's question:

Do you know anyone personally, or through a friend, whose name is related to a holiday or something related to a holiday?  For instance, I used to work with a woman whose sister was named Ave Maria, because it was her mother's favorite Christmas song.  Now that's one thing, but the family wasn't even Catholic, and so I thought it was just extra weird.  For those wondering, they called her "Ave" for her everyday name (as one would, of course ...).

So time for you to share some of the names you may have come across.

Be sure to leave your answer in the comments for this post only, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2020.  I'll fire up the random number generator again and announce the winner on Monday, July 13, and let them know once their package is on the way.

I don't know about you, but I am endlessly fascinated with names and how people ended up with the ones they have.  Then there are those that you'll never know that story of - like Pinkie Eldorado Parrot, listed in an 1858 directory as the wife of a Presbyterian minister.  What I wouldn't give to know how her name came to be!

Your turn next.  😁

Our First Winner, and Her Easter Basket

Hello all - Well, July is taking itself very seriously, at least here in Philadelphia, where it is ridiculously hot and supposed to become hotter and more humid as the week goes on.  Ick.

I am happy to announce our first winner for Christmas in July 2020:

steph!!!!

One of her funniest holiday memories was this:

i was an only child...so it was a big deal to visit cousins on holidays. We all got up early one Easter morning, only to have my youngest cousin announce to all 5 of us...you can't eat your candy because I licked it all, and it's covered with my cooties, so it's all MINE. This didn't bother me at all....she left my Easter basket alone, because it was full of black olives, cottage cheese, and cocktail onions. The Easter bunny knew me well; and I had never thought of my Easter haul as unusual until that Easter morning. (Boy, did Cousin Jane get a lickin' for her antics, though.)

A fun little trip down memory lane!

I loved this answer on so many levels - not just her cousin "getting hers," so to speak, but also the contents of her Easter basket.  So many people would not be willing to give their kids the things they actually liked, because they weren't the usual chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, etc.  Congratulations, Steph!  To claim your prize, please send an e-mail to: thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet, with your name, address, zip, etc., and I can get the package ready to send.

As for my answer, one of my funniest memories is from a Christmas dinner.  My parents went all out at Christmastime (which is probably why we were so poor the rest of the year), and would always kind of collect extra people to come to Christmas dinner, which in our house was on Christmas Eve.  One year, it was the first time my father's Uncle Bill and his wife Aunt Viola were on their own for the holidays, as both of their adult daughters had moved to California.  So my parents decided to invite them to come and join us. 

A bit of background:  Uncle Bill was well known as being really really cheap, and my father used to always say that "he was so cheap, he wouldn't pay a nickel to see Christ jump off the cross."  (!)  Aunt Viola was an amazing cook but whenever you went to their house, the servings were always incredibly tiny - so we all used to wonder, was she really that good of a cook, or were we just always hungry when we got home because there wasn't enough food ...

Anyway, when my mother called to invite them, Aunt Viola asked what she should bring.  My mother said to bring something that they always have for Christmas dinner that they would miss by not eating at home.  Aunt Viola said she would bring some of her homemade noodles. 

Well.  HOMEMADE NOODLES!!  We were in heaven, waiting for that goodness, as my mother never made homemade anything, and we talked about those stupid noodles most of the day in anticipation.  When dinnertime came, everyone was around the table, and just as we all had our plates full, and everyone started to eat, Aunt Viola asked my mother where the homemade noodles were.  My mother responded, "Oh my God, things were so hectic, I put the bag on the table, and then forgot to make them at all!," to which Aunt Viola said that was too bad, but she guessed she would just take them home with her after dinner.  (Meaning we would never actually taste said noodles, ever.)

Only later in the evening when all the guests were gone did we get the actual story.  I guess when my mother talked to Aunt Viola on the phone, she said she would bring homemade noodles because "we always have them at Christmas, and [Uncle] Bill loves them."  So when they arrived she handed my mother a small plastic bag with the homemade noodles in them.  As in, ONE SERVING - for Uncle Bill!  Because you know, he loved them!  Both of my parents said there was no way they were cooking something that had only one serving and then giving it to a single person to enjoy.  (Needless to say, it was said in much more colorful terms at the time.)

As you can imagine, this is the stuff of family lore.  Uncle Bill and Aunt Viola never joined us for Christmas - or any holiday dinner - ever again, because for a few years their daughters' sent them plane tickets to visit, and eventually they moved to California to live near them.

So the next time someone offers to bring something for a meal, you may want to ask them about the number of servings ... 😂

Christmas in July 2020 - Week 1

In this year when we seem to especially need something fun, I am particularly happy to see the return of

Christmas in July!!!

and I hope you are as well. 

For anyone new here, or who just needs a reminder of how it all works, here are the details. 

Every Wednesday during July, I will make a post that will show a prize for that week.  In order to be eligible to win said prize, there will be a question or questions to answer, and the comment must be on the post for that week to be considered and must be posted in the comments no later than 11:59 p.m. on the following Sunday.  Winners will be announced on the Monday after.

So let's get started, shall we?

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First up, here is the prize for Week 1:

Here we have a book that is really kind of a journal for your projects; it's geared towards knitting and crocheting but I'm guessing you could adapt it for your own needs.  Knit Notes : Explore * Design * Create, by Nadine Curtis is a handy item to keep track of things, and with things happening on Ravelry causing people to have migraines, etc., it may be time to use paper and pencil to do that.  I picked this up at the public library's book sale last summer.  It was a whopping $2.00, because the elastic that goes around it was broken off; it's been a year, and I have never picked it up again, so I decided that maybe one of you might want the chance to give it a good home.  What is hard to see in the photo due to my poor photographic skills is that in addition, there are some heart-shaped stitch markers that will come with it. 

Here is the question I would like you to answer to have a chance in the drawing:

What is one of the funniest stories you can remember from a holiday when you were a kid?  It doesn't have to be related to Christmas - it can be from Halloween, Purim, Arbor Day, July 4th - any holiday at all (though you can't say something like, "When I was 5, and my parents celebrated Ladybug Day ..." because even though Ladybug Day sounds awesome, I have never seen it on a calendar).

Please make sure that you leave your comments on this post only, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2020.  That way, I will be able to find the comments all in one place.  I will choose a winner through a random number generator and announce it on Monday, July 6, 2020.

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And here it is, the first of July - what?  Philadelphia was supposed to move into the controlled Green Phase of activities reopening after the stay-at-home orders for Covid-19 this coming Friday, but due to spikes in cases, that is now delayed.  Not surprising, at least not to me, and personally, I'm glad they are working with an abundance of caution.  So Yellow Phase it will be, at least for a bit longer.

Wear a mask, people!!!!  It is seriously the minimum you can do for the rest of us.