In Which I Am Clearly Confused; And, A Friday Funny

As you may have noticed, the post for Week 3 of Christmas in July went up yesterday instead of today, when it was supposed to happen. Whoops! Not that it's a problem, since it just gives anyone interested an extra day to enter the giveaway, but it is just another case of me confusing the days of the week.

When I originally started my part-time job, the days I worked were Sunday and Tuesday. Then Wednesday was added, and that was easy enough to keep track of, since it was just an add-on after my regular days.

Then last month, my schedule was changed again - now I work on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Which is nice because then I get four days off in a row. BUT, I'm still not there in my brain. So every Wednesday, I think it's Thursday, and every Thursday, I think it's Friday. Inevitably, at some point on each of those days, I'll remember that I'm just getting things confused, but clearly it's gonna take a bit longer until it "sticks" in my brain and I am clear on what day of the week is actually happening. 😉

What can I say, I'm a creature of habit!

Anyway, it gives me a chance to share this cartoon that I saw the other day. I really like it, but I have to admit that it took me a minute to "get" it. Enjoy, and remember if you want to enter the giveaway, it's on yesterday's post.

Week 2 Winner!

OK, if I had really given thought to the question I posted last week for the giveaway, I would have realized that unless all of you answered "liver and onions," the foods you chose would make me feel hungry! 

The question was:

What is your favorite holiday food?

Not necessarily for Christmas, but for any holiday throughout the year.

So many wonderful answers, and stories that came along with them, and I was sometimes surprised (Dee, I've never heard of Strawberry Pretzel Salad), and/or further intrigued (Valerie, do you know I've never ever had Mince Meat Pie?). Fortunately, choosing a winner wasn't up to me, because I only had one prize and I liked all of the responses. 😊

Once again, though I was able to tell the random number generator to choose, and so I am here to tell you that the winner for Week 2 of Christmas in July is:

🎉🎈Meredith MC!!!

Which seemed particularly appropriate to me, since one of the things in the giveaway is something she has apparently wanted to have:

My favorite holiday food is Christmas cookies. Not the eating of them, but making them. They remind me of my mom, and the best parts of being a kid.
I’ve always coveted one of those wrist rulers. It seems like such a knitting meets punk rock type of accessory.
I hope you’re staying cool!

Congratulations, Meredith! Please send an e-mail to baclancyATverizonDOTnet with you full name and mailing address, and I'll get the package ready to send.

Thanks everyone for participating, I'm glad at least some of you think this is as much fun as I do. 

*****

How has your week been? Mine has not been awful, but it could also have been a lot better too. So, I'm gonna say it's been fine, but uninspiring. Plus, my throat has felt scratchy all week, which is just annoying. Oh dear, my life is such a trial, isn't it???😝

Since I finished my market bag and am so close to finishing my stripey summer top, I've been trying to decide - well, at least narrow down - what to start next. I considered starting another summer top, but then again, given my slow progress on garments, I thought it might be good to start on something that could be worn in the fall, since I don't have a ton of transitional things. Also, I want to get started on a couple of things I know I want to make for gifts for the holiday season. I think I'll work on Tim's socks and my stripey top, and then once the top is really and truly finished, see what I want to do. Who knows, there may be something shiny and new that will distract me from everything else ... OK, I kinda hope there isn't. I already have too many things in my brain that want to be next!

Anyway, that's it for today. I hope all of you are doing well. Meredith MC, I'm looking forward to hearing from you, and for everyone, our next giveaway will show up this coming Friday, so stay tuned!

We Have a Winner!

Thanks to everyone who responded for the Christmas in July giveaway! I so enjoyed reading all of the comments, it was fun to see what everyone had to say. Sometimes you read something, and think to yourself, "Well, OK that's true," because you just never thought about it that way. 

The random number generator has been consulted, and the winner for the first week is:

🎉🎈🎇Alison!!!!!

I think that makes it extra fun, because Alison lives in the Southern Hemisphere, and as you recall, I said I knew nothing about what the summer months would be there. But now I know, and I so enjoyed her response.

Living in New Zealand our summer is December January February. December is too busy with end of year parties, the rush to Christmas etc. Then comes January….we all heave a collective sigh of relief that “It” is all over, the weather settles into balmy long days, people flock to the lakes and beaches, the laughter of kids on trampolines wafts through the air in the early evenings, and we just enjoy chilling out. There is no rush to do anything, the gardens are having their mid summer break from growing so are content with a splash of water now and then. The days stretch out and with a huge amount of.folks on annual leave there is a calm happy buzz in the air. It is languid and oh so peaceful. Then comes February, school is back in with all the costs of supplies, uniforms, fees etc, the Christmas credit card bills have arrived, there seems to be a gritty look on people’s faces, and it gets HOT.

Alison, I know I had your address previously, but since then my computer has died several times, and the backup files were corrupted (Oh technology!). So, if you could send your full name and address again to baclancyATverizonDOTnet, that would be most excellent. 

And guess where I'm saving addresses now? In a PAPER address book. So suck it, AI!

*****

In other news, I am making slow but steady progress on my summer stripey sweater. I'm nearly through the body, and then only have the short sleeves and neckline to complete.

I stalled on this for about two weeks, but since technically I have until the last day of summer to call it a summer sweater, I think I'll make it. 😊

And I'm on the strap of my market bag, which is currently impossible to photograph, so you'll just need to take my word for it. 

Today is one of my non-work days, and I plan to knit and read most of the day. I am incredibly tired, I think because of the heat, and so today I have decided to make it a true day off and save laundry, etc. for tomorrow and Friday. I need to take a walk to the market for some milk, and water the flowers, but otherwise, I'm staying inside - even the health department said to avoid going out!

Wherever you are, and however your weather is, take care. Things seem so extreme everywhere around the globe, it seems like we all need to pay more attention than usual to the weather reports. (Me, at least once a week to The Tim: "Why couldn't I have lived during the Ice Age??")

IT'S BACK! Christmas in July, Week 1

Hello! I didn't mean to be gone all week, but nonetheless I'm here right now, to tell you that Christmas in July is back! Last year at this time, I had Covid and could barely function much less post to my blog and/or run a giveaway. So it all got skipped - but now it's back, baby!

If you are not familiar with this, I will ask a question for anyone interested in receiving the giveaway of the week. Then I use a random number generator to choose a winner, and notify them and then we go to the next week. So this week, these posts will be up today, then also on July 14, 21, and 28.

The "contest" such as it is, is available to  anyone interested, regardless of where they live. I have a little fund of cash that I keep all year long (random change from things, cash from my own yarny-related purchases where I didn't use all of it, etc.), so I'm happy to send packages anyplace.

OK, so let's get going, shall we?

This week's prize is this group of items:

There's a really sweet winter-y project bag, probably large enough for some socks or a small shawl; a set of US5/3.75mm wooden Lantern Moon double pointed needles in a little bag (I know, hard to see, sorry!); and a really wonderful book that I want to pass along. I received it in a little care package from Kym a while back, and it's a collection of little sayings, stories, etc. that keep you feeling upbeat and hopeful without being sappy. I decided that it would be only fair to share the joy.

So how can you win this set of prizes? Well, here's your question for the week:

June, July, or August?

Those are generally considered the summer months in the northern hemisphere (where I live). I want to know - which one is your favorite and why? Should you be someone living in the southern hemisphere, please answer using the months are considered summer months where you are (note I am not 100% sure so I'm not committing ...).

Please comment on this post only, by midnight EDT on Tuesday, July 11; I'll announce the winner the next day. 

For me, I did love June this year because it was actually still spring-like weather; but in general, I have to choose August. Not because I love what can be the hottest time of the summer, but because I know that when August ends, September begins, and we start moving into fall - meaning cooler temperatures and cozier weather overall. 

Now it's your turn. 😊

*****

I hope you have a good weekend. I have no specific plans, but I'm looking forward to it because The Tim will be off work, and I enjoy it when we can all be together, even if he mostly naps and I end up on my own anyway! We had a quiet July 4th, since he was working, but I felt inspired and made a yummy picnic dinner, if I do say so myself. Some dumb*ss in our neighborhood thought it would be a good idea to shoot off fireworks all day and evening on July 5th, so I guess their celebration continued, whereas everyone else was really annoyed. Other people, right?

Take care, and if you are anyplace where it's too hot, I hope you can stay cool. It's pretty deadly here - hot, humid, and really hard to breathe. Summer has decided to arrive in style ... 

See you next week!

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!

An FO for Friday - Not Blocked and No Longer a Secret

I'm glad that today is Friday, because this has been a rough week in so many ways, and since today (at least so far is rainy and dreary) I can just stay home and do what I want - or not do anything.

I have an FO for you today.  I almost waited to share it until it was completely finished - meaning blocked - but that will likely take a while, so you are getting an FO post anyway.

As mentioned during July, I decided to join the Stillness Shawl MKAL hosted by Helen Stewart.  To be honest, I'm not sure why, except that I'd seen the finished projects on several podcasts from previous MKALs and they were always lovely.  It could also be because at the time I was knitting a pair of socks designed by her and really enjoying it.  Anyway, I signed up.  More amazingly, I actually participated, in that I decided on yarn, wound it up, and not only downloaded the clues each week, but actually kept up with the knitting.  WHAT????

Project:  Stillness Shawl

Pattern:  Stillness Shawl MKAL, by Helen Stewart

Yarns (from left to right):  Indigodragonfly Tough Lester Sock, in the Dark Lord Bob colorway; Plucky Knitter Plucky Feet, in the colorway Good Ol' Pip; and, Sweet Swallow Yarns Nuthatch in the Shy Violets colorway

Needles:  US size 6

Modifications:  None, since I was flying blind here!

Notes:  First of all, I was pleased because I used all stash yarn for this project, and since that has been something I've been really trying to do, it was nice to use three skeins in one project.  Also, I was pleased because I got to learn two things that were new to me, which is something I have also been trying to do.  This pattern included an i-cord cast on; one of the sections was the Star Stitch, which frankly I was worried about since it looked rather complicated, but as it turns out, it's fairly simple to execute.

After finishing the first clue, I was feeling quite proud of myself, I must admit:

I think the fact that I was able to do this without [many] problems kept me motivated.  I will say now that the project is finished, that I feel confident that I can trust any pattern written by Helen Stewart to be not just well-written and understandable, but very easy to follow.  Even when I would mess up, it was my mess, not because of anything to do with the pattern.

The finished shawl is a really BIG one - so big that I do not have the space nor the pins to block it!  I mean, even before blocking, there's a whole lotta shawl here:

As a point of reference, this is across a double bed!

I do think it is pretty, and when I talked about my blocking issues on Facebook, Lorette offered to block it for me if I wanted to sent it to her.  I have to say, I'm giving that some serious consideration.  I know she does a lot of both shawl and lace knitting, so she knows much more about blocking this kind of item that I do.  I'll keep you posted.

In any case, this was actually fun to knit, and though I didn't really do a lot of the chatter, etc. type of stuff on Ravelry, I did enjoy seeing others' projects.  I think the reason that all of the planets or whatever aligned and I ended up finishing this was because at first it seemed a good distraction and a way to use stash, and then it became a personal challenge to me to keep up.  This is not to say that I'm likely to sign up for any KALs again anytime soon, but it was a good feeling to sign up and then actually *do* something!

 I guess sometimes you can still surprise yourself in a good way.  

******

Not a lot else worth reporting.  This morning I walked up to the Post Office, and finally mailed out all of the prizes for Christmas in July.  Why do I think I'll mail each one as it happens?  From here forward, if you win a prize, just assume it will go out all at one time with the others.  Geez.

I did feel bad because the woman who helped me was so apologetic, saying, "I just want to let you know that in the current situation, I can't guarantee that any of these will get there right away, or as soon as they probably should.  The Post Office is under attack, you know."  I told her that it was OK, I'm a big supporter of the P.O., and between the virus and the administration, they were getting hit everywhere.  She looked at me and smiled and I hope it made her day at least .000001% better.

Hamlet is recovering from a bad bout of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, which has really knocked him (and by extension, all of us) for a loop.  Fortunately, the vet took x-rays and it wasn't caused by any blockages, tumors, etc. - just probably from something he picked up and ate off the street.  We watch him like a hawk, but sometimes things get past us.  He is starting to seem more like his usual sweet self though, so that's good.  The cats have been very annoyed because they can't sleep on/next to him because he smells bad and that is a real inconvenience for them ...

Next weekend we had scheduled a trip to Baltimore to visit my niece and her husband (we made the plans back in April).  Now my sister and brother-in-law are planning to be there as well, which means most of the family will show up to visit also.  I had been leaning towards cancelling even if it would just be the four of us, but the addition of even more people has made me certain that I don't want us to go.  It just seems irresponsible, and though I know they are all careful people, I just think we have been so conscientious about things, why stop now?  Having to go into work two days a week has been making me anxious enough.  It is disappointing, since we haven't seen anyone for such a long time, but I'm not willing to take the chance, particularly when things are taking an uptick again.  Why can't people wear a mask? (Rhetorical, I know why and so do you.)

Anyway, it's Friday, and it's the weekend, and we have wine, and The Tim just informed me that he made some chocolate pudding!  All's well that ends well, right?  😃

Have a lovely weekend yourself, and take care.

Best Laid Plans and All That

Hello and I'm glad to be back!  It's been quite a few days, let me tell you.  Frustration mixed with fun.

First the primary frustration - I had all of the packages from Christmas in July ready to go (except the one for Roslyn, who I have not heard from yet), and walked them up to the post office on Friday.  But the post office had apparently suffered an electrical outage, and was closed.  So don't be on the lookout for your packages, because when I tried to send them again yesterday, there was a sign saying they would not be open until Thursday, due to electrical issues.  Sigh.  So hopefully I can get them out this coming Saturday - I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, FRUSTRATING!!!

And Roslyn - please contact me!!  If I don't hear from you by this Friday, August 9, 2019, I'm going to choose someone else for the final prize.  I checked on Ravelry, and the only person with your name in the same location had a photo that did not match yours at all, so I hesitated to contact her.  Please e-mail me at baclancyATverizonDOTnet with GIVEAWAY in the subject line!!

Moving on.

Yesterday I was all set to tell you about our weekend trip.  The weekend in Baltimore was SO. MUCH. FUN.  We got to see nearly everyone, and the weather was fairly hot but not humid, so going around to different places was actually enjoyable.  However, our Internet was down for the whole day, so I couldn't post anything at all (secondary frustration).  Grrrrrr.  I do have some photos to share, but they are all currently still in my camera, so you'll see them later. 

Lots of catching up, lots of laughs, and tons of food and drink.  Hamlet is still recovering.

Guess what?  No rats were seen.  SAD!  ;-)

Two Winners and Soon It Will Be August

Well, all of you certainly had fun stories about growing up, playgrounds, and subjects in school.  I so enjoyed reading all of your comments, often shaking my head in agreement.

And so that I don't draw out the process of letting you know who the Week 4 winner is for this year's Christmas in July, let me tell you, the winner is:

Roslyn!!!!

Here are her answers to my questions:

I don't think I've commented here before! This is a really fun thing to do!
My answers:
1. When you were a kid, were you more likely to want to go to the playground, or have your own fun at home in your yard or a friend's yard? - I grew up in a really tiny town and there were no playgrounds! But we did have tons of outdoors to run around in however. My favourite thing to do was to get a book and a blanket and go sit among the trees and read!

2. In school, did you get better grades in Arts classes (humanities, art, music) or Science classes (sciences, mathematics, statistics)? I did better in science, although university level stats almost did me in! (ultimately received a BSc in Biochemistry!)

Congratulations, Roslyn!  Please send me your full name and address, if possible before this coming Friday, since I'd like to send the packages then.  You can contact me at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTcom, and please include GIVEAWAY in your subject line so I know it's spam.  EDITED TO ADD:  I have heard from one of you that this address comes back as Undeliverable - if that happens, try baclancyATverizonDOTnet, or send me a Ravelry message (I'm thekittyknitter there).  Sorry for any problems!

As for my responses, we moved around a lot when I was a kid, so I generally stuck close to home with my book.  However, anytime there were swings or one of those things that you pushed and jumped onto and then it whirled around, I'd suck it up and go to the playground on occasion.

In school, I did really well in Arts classes, and my grades in Science classes were always just barely passing.  Every year, every semester, they brought down my overall grade average.  Other than basic arithmetic, mathematics has always been a complete puzzle to me.  Same way with science, though I sometimes think if I could have taken more specific classes, i.e., botany or ornithology, I might have done better.  Who knows?  I just know that in my last year of college, I took a class everyone called 'Science for Idiots' and actually got a B.  I was ridiculously proud of it, and even *I* knew it was more basic than basic science .... but hey, I got to graduate!

*****

As I mentioned in the post about it being the last week for this year, I have never heard from Anne in Virginia, the winner for the first week's prize.  So I did another pick, and the new winner is:

nypeapod!!!!

Here's what she had to say in her response:

Iced tea, love the smell of coffee but hate the taste. Green salad. On another note I thought I was maybe the only strange bird that carried around her own tea bags. Now if I could only get eating establishments to offer real cream instead of low fat milk I would be totally tea happy.

So again, please send me  your full name and address, as requested above, and I can get your package in the mail on Friday as well.   (And I'm glad to know I made you feel better about carrying your own teabag ...)  :-)

******

THANK YOU SO MUCH to every single person who commented and played along this year!  I had so much fun with this and loved hearing from all of you and finding out more about what everyone had to say.  For my "old" friends, thanks for hanging in.  For the "new" friends, welcome, and I hope you'll stick around!

I'll see you all again next year.  :-)

Week 3 Winner and a Happy Milestone

Here's hoping we all managed to survive the weekend heat, and are still able to function.  It was pretty brutal here in Philadelphia, to the point where even if you were only outside briefly, it took a long time to cool off, and every day was a headache day. 

We have a winner for the Week 3 giveaway - YAY!  Drum roll, please, as the winner is:

Kim in Oregon!!

Here was her response:

1, Lake, river, or ocean?
I'm so fortunate to spend the summer where we have to cross a river to get to the ocean! So I'll pick ocean but I do love a river.

2. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?
Hmm. Not strawberry. I think it is easier to get really, really good vanilla (that I'd put fudge sauce on) than good chocolate, so I'll pick vanilla.

For myself, I have to say that I am generally fond of all bodies of water, but the ocean is my favorite.  I think it is because as a kid, going to someplace near the ocean was usually part of our summer vacation.  And I am always a sucker for chocolate anything, though I have never turned down an offer of vanilla or strawberry ...

I want to thank everyone who participated, I really enjoyed reading all of your responses.  And I also promise that it's not rigged for only people named Kim to win ... ;-)

So anyway, Kim if you could send me your name and address at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet, with the subject line of GIVEAWAY, I'll set aside your prize and send it to you when the others go out.  Congratulations!

Also - Anne in Virginia - I have still not heard from you, so PLEASE get in touch so I can send you your prize!

******

Yesterday was a big day for our family, as one year ago, this wonderful, beautiful boy officially retired from his duties as a Seeing Eye Dog, and came to join our family.

Hamlet turned out to be the perfect addition, and I like to think that he is enjoying his new life.  He has finally determined that the cats are OK (he wasn't sure what to do about them for a long time), and he is known by everyone in the neighborhood, and is, needless to say, *very* popular.  To celebrate yesterday he had some frozen green beans (a favorite treat), which is a safe treat in that the cats are not interested in that at all, like they are in some of his other treats.  So he can enjoy them in peace.

Not much going on other than the usual this week.  Today I am going for my annual physical, and I don't expect anything major to have changed, so it should go well.  Other than that, everyone in our house is just waiting for the cool down that is supposed to happen in the next couple of days.  It will feel good to be able to breathe again.  :-)

Have a good week!

Week 2 Winner and a Weekend Get-Together

Here's hoping that all of you survived your weekend - whether it was hot, rainy, hurricane-y, busy with work or errands, or whatever.  Weekends always seem to go by too quickly, but they can also be exhausting, even for the best of reasons.

There were only a few people who were in the running (so to speak) for the Week 2 prize for Christmas in July, so the random number generator didn't have a lot of work to do.  (And for all I know, those people weren't really interested in the prize, but since they didn't specifically state that thye wanted to be left out, I counted them as possible winners.)  So the little men I always picture inside the computer making things happen didn't have to do as much running around ... as a matter of fact, they probably only needed one little man to make it work, right?

Anyhoo, without further ado, I can tell you that KSD (aka Kim) is the winner!!!  Here is what she had to say in response to my questions:

Favorite Christmas gift: a drum set. LOVED IT!

Best Summer vacation memory: Discovering English muffins and orange marmalade in our motel room's kitchenette in Daytona Beach.

I have to wonder if her parents loved the drum set as much as she did ... and what is more fun than discovering good food while on vacation and right where you already are!  I happen to already have Kim's mailing address, so we're all set on that front.  Congratulations, Kim!!

For my response, I have to say my favorite Christmas gift as a child was a stuffed dog that I received when I was four years old.  I named him Cream Puff (Creamy for short) and he was the only toy of mine that was allowed to call my parents by their first names.  I still have him, he lives in the bedroom and he is as sweet and loyal as ever, if a bit worn.  One of these days, I'll take a photo and share it. :-)

My favorite vacation memory as a kid was when I was about 11 years old, and my parents and I went to stay with my mother's cousin and her husband at their beach house in Beach Haven, NJ, on Long Beach Island.  We went there a lot of summers, and my sisters were often with us, but this particular summer they both had summer jobs and didn't join us.  Anyway, the highlight was when we went deep-sea fishing, because a) it was so exciting - and somewhat frightening to be out on a boat and not seeing land, b) the guy who was our guide was really nice and quite funny, and c) we didn't catch anything (we almost didn't go for fear we would actually catch something).  This was of course before sunscreen, so I got one of the worst sunburns of my life, but it was an amazing day.

*****

The weekend was for the most part, the usual mix of chores and nothing.  Though on Sunday morning, I met my friend Andrea for coffee.  She is the friend who used to also work on Sundays at our late, lamented LYS with me, and we try to get together regularly to catch up.  But it's been longer than usual, so it was especially fun.  We must have spent about 2 1/2 hours talking and laughing and it was just the best.  I don't miss any of the politics of the yarn store and some of the others who worked there, but I do miss our Sundays together.  Hopefully it won't be as long of a time in between get-togethers next time.

Have a good week, everyone!

A Winner and a Long Weekend Recap

Hi all, and I hope you have a lovely long weekend if you are here in the U.S., and a lovely regular weekend otherwise.  Alas, as usual, all good things must end, and Monday has returned as we knew it would.  I have a dr appt this morning, and I don't have to leave as early as usual, so I figured I'd go ahead and get this post out there.

Because although it is Monday, something good is happening - we have a winner for the first week of Christmas in July!   Some commenters particularly said they did not want to be included in the giveaway, so I took the number that were still participating, and cranked up the old random number generator.  It chose #7, who is Anne in Virginia!  Here is what she had to say in response to my questions:

Hi! Longtime lurker here, not having posted before. But the Coffeehouse Knits is one I've considered getting for awhile, so here's a shot at it: Iced coffee, oh, iced coffee, definitely! I have some of my own home-roasted Ehiopian Yirga Cheffee black over ice at my right hand at this moment. On this 98 degree day, it's what is needed. And as for the salads, definitely green salad with a homemade dressing -- it's what's on the menu at my house most days from Spring through Fall.

Thanks for taking the time to share your life with us.

How exciting that someone "new" (at least to me) took the time to comment and then won the first giveaway.  Congratulations, Anne!  Please send me your full name and address at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet.  If you could also put GIVEAWAY in the subject line, that would mean that should your e-mail go to my Spam folder, I can suss it out easily.  I will probably wait until the end of July and send all of the prizes at once, but this way I can at least have your package set aside and ready to go.  

As for me, I must admit that my first choices would always be iced tea and potato salad.  Not that I don't like the other choices, just that I drink A LOT of tea, and anything involving potatoes will always be my favorite (you'd never guess my ancestors were Irish, right?).

Thank you to everyone who commented and participated.  Stay tuned to see what will be happening on Thursday of this week.  :-)

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Our July 4 weekend was lovely.  We were both pretty wiped out by the heat, so we really didn't go out and about other than to walk Hamlet and run a few errands.  But I did get some cleaning done, and I got quite a bit of crafting done, which was so nice - having time to just work on something with no interruptions was great.  

I made some good progress on my Pabaigh:

It's a lot of stitches, in fingering weight yarn, but I am about 2/3 through the initial area where you do increases every eight rows.  I'm enjoying it, partly because of the color and partly because other than the decrease rows, it does not require any intense concentration.

Also, how cute is my crabby progress keeper?

I ordered him last week from Bad Wolf Girl Studios, and he is even cuter than I thought he would be.  This is the week my sister and all of her family will be at the beach, and since this year we can't join them at all, I decided that I deserved a treat - and what better thing to represent Maryland and Delaware (this year they are in Bethany Beach) than a blue crab?  

The other thing I did was watch the World Cup matches, particularly the final that was yesterday between the U.S. women and the Netherlands.  WOW - that was some match!  I have to say that the goalie for the Netherlands had some magic hands - I counted at least 4 times that she kept the U.S. from scoring.  I was so excited for the U.S. players when they won, and I hope that their attempts to get paid on par with the men will progress from here.  

So, on to this week - let's hope it's a good one!

Now, the Reveal

If you recall, when I sent out the last package for my Christmas in July giveaway, all I showed was this:

Which, frankly, would be a good enough giveaway in my world, as it has Rudolph on it and you all know my obsession love of Rudolph, right?

But since it was the grand finale of the month of giveaways, I wanted it to be extra special, so I promised surprises inside of the bag.  This past week, Cheryl let me know that the package arrived in Canada, so now I can share what was tucked inside.

I wanted it to be full of goodies, but also not weigh too much, especially since it was headed across the northern border (wall-free, as of this writing!).  So I pulled out my bag o' yarn from my Cozy Squares of Memory blanket, and, including yarn from my Christmas in July socks, made up some minis - 24 of them, in fact!

Along with a ball of soft, pretty mohair yarn, and a mini-candy cane, I thought it was a happy surprise - or at least it would be for me!  I arranged it so that it would look more like an Advent wreath

and then I squoojed it into the project bag, so that [theoretically] it would have some semblance of that when opened.

The Debbie Bliss Gigi yarn and the candy cane were always going to be part of the package, but I had several ideas about what the other contents would be.  I don't have a scale, or any way to really be sure that the minis were of significant yardage, but I tried to make them all the same size, or as close as possible to that.  Cheryl reports that all was received safe and sound, and that her daughter claimed the minis for a scrappy project she was making.  Cheryl sounded really happy with the package, and that made me especially happy.

I have heard from a couple of the other winners that their packages arrived safely, and that they were pleased with the contents, so I feel that my Christmas in July was as successful as I'd wanted it to be, which is very exciting, since it was so much fun on my end!  Thanks again to all who participated.  I'm hoping I'll be able to make it an annual event, since I think I enjoyed it more than anyone else.

Have a lovely Labor Day weekend for all of those in the U.S., and have a lovely regular weekend to everyone else!  If you still have things you wanted to accomplish during August, I'd suggest you get moving ... ;-)

Well Hello, Land of the Living!

Yes, I finally feel like I might live and rejoin the world where people can function - phew!  I started getting a headache shortly after waking up on Friday.  I took some of my migraine medicine because though it wasn't really underway, I just felt like it wasn't a regular short-lived headache, and wanted to see if I could get it under control before it really took off.  Alas, I was too late, as by the middle of the morning I was in agony.  I ended up missing most of Friday and all of yesterday.  And I hate that, especially when it happens on a weekend.  I mean, who wants to be sick on their own time??

Anyway, today will be extremely low-key to say the least, but I didn't have any specific plans so it's just as well.  My main activity will be putting a couple of our quilts in the washer and the dryer.  I would hang them on the clothesline to dry, but the last time I did that on a really humid day, the stuff ended up in the dryer after all.  I'm just gonna skip the middle part, so to speak.

Unfortunately, one of the things that suffered from me being out of commission yesterday was that I didn't make it to the post office to mail the Christmas in July packages.  So for those who won a giveaway, please be patient a bit longer - I may not have another chance to get there until next Saturday, but you'll be the first to know when I have mailed them. 

And that's it for today.  I don't want to spend too much time on the computer until I am 100% certain that the headache is in the past.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll check in again soon.

To give you a smile, here is a picture of Hamlet as a tiny puppy, sent to me by the woman who raised him for the Seeing Eye Foundation.  That face!!!

Some things can ALWAYS make you feel better. :-)

Grand Finale Giveaway Winner

Well, folks, in just two more days, this month will be history.  August is just around the corner.  Theoretically, in Philadelphia, July is supposed to be the hottest month - the meteorologists tell us that every year.  Which means I always have unrealistic expectations for August, expecting it to suddenly be more comfortable weather-wise than it actually is.

But enough about August - we are here for the final giveaway for Christmas in July!!

The final giveaway was kind of a mystery - a project bag, featuring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with mysterious contents.

Again today, I asked Random.Org to do its thing.  I promised that it could take a rest after this week, and thanked it for its service.  Its response?  Comment #11, otherwise known as Cheryl!  Here's what she had to say:

I really like most foods but it seems any holiday contains cooked broccoli. Yuck. I like it raw but not cooked. Always the veggie everyone wants. Christmas for me is all about the cookies. I love them all. Can’t get enough. So I don’t bake them. Period. Lol. Love the bag. Love Rudolph. He’s my hero. 

Cheryl
Seajaes on ravelry

Well, it would appear that Cheryl and I are of like minds on Rudolph (because really, he is THE BEST), and cookies (because ... COOKIES), but I must admit to liking broccoli in all of its forms, so we part ways there.  It appears from her Ravelry page that Cheryl lives in Canada, which pleases me greatly, because The Tim and I have done lots of traveling in various areas of our northern neighbor, and We Love Canadia (as we call it)!!  Plus ,it means this little giveaway has gone international, and that the little Rudolph bag and its mysterious contents will travel over the border.  :-)

Cheryl, please send your name and mailing address to me at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet.  I'll get your package together and send it to you.  I know you don't have a blog, so once I am certain that you have received the package, I'll reveal the contents for everyone so that they can move on with their lives and not let the curiosity become an obsession ... ;-)

I have to say another huge thank you to everyone who participated in this month of giveaways.  I had so much fun putting the packages together, and thinking of the questions.  And I am thrilled that so many of you played along.  In one way, giveaways can be upsetting, as I always end up wishing I had more things to send.  But then I think how for myself, part of the fun is just being part of it, and if I win, fine, but to be honest, I never really expect to be the winner - it's just a fun thing to do.

Thus endeth this year's event.  I will get everything ready to send out, and likely get to the post office here next Saturday.  I'll let those who have a package on the way know for sure when it goes out, so that they can be on the lookout for its arrival.  

Who knows, maybe this can be an annual event?  I know I think that would be worthwhile.

*********

In other news, I finished the Christmas in July socks I was knitting this past Thursday, and I'm really happy with how well they turned out!  I want to get a good photo of them, and will likely be posting about them on Monday or Tuesday.

As for our new family member, I want to thank you for the nice comments and good wishes about Hamlet.  He is settling in quite nicely, though I think he is still a bit confused about it all.  Yesterday we took him to a local wildlife refuge, and hiked around for about an hour and a half.  He seemed to really enjoy it, though he was literally a tired puppy the rest of the day.

The cats have all made friends with him, and he clearly likes them, but is not quite sure what they are, which is kinda funny.  Pip of course, is still keeping us informed, and was quite shocked that this morning THE DOG was sitting in the doorway to the bathroom, meaning that it was necessary to walk right past THE DOG to come into the bathroom and sit in the tub!  Can you imagine??? 

Enjoy your Sunday evening, and hopefully this week will treat all of us well.  Take care.

Third Giveaway Winner!

It's that time again - time to announce the third winner of the Christmas in July giveaway!!

This time around, the answers to the question posed were both illuminating and hilarious.  When I posted it and first hit "publish," I thought to myself, "You know, someone is gonna say that they would take x projects with them, and not worry about it because they could buy more yarn on the way ... and I'm guessing the first person to say so will be Dee." Well, read the comments, and you'll see I hit that nail on the head.  :-)

Anyway, the ol' Random.Org was cranked up again, and after only very brief consideration, chose the winner of this week's prize.

This package will go to Araignee, who posted comment #8, which is one of the ones that made me laugh out loud:

"This is an easy one. I have two sweaters I just started and the only chance in hell they have to ever get finished is if I am on slow boat to China!"

I am 99% sure that I have her address, since she was kind enough to send me some of her soap during the last call, but just to be sure, I'm going to ask her to send her mailing address to me at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet. 

Thanks again to everyone who participated - there's still one more chance to win when I post the final prize and question this coming Wednesday, July 25, so if not before, check this space again then.

******

Have you ever been thisclose to finishing a project, only to realize that you are going to run out of yarn?  That happened to me yesterday, but fortunately I can get not just another skein, but even one in the same dyelot!  It will probably arrive this week, so I can still finish the project sooner rather than later.  Which makes me feel like I've won a prize ... :-)

Wishes for a good week for all of us!

Second Giveaway Winner!

If it's Sunday, it must be ... time to find out who won the second giveaway for my Christmas in July!

There were fewer entries this time, which I expected, since the prize was sewing-related as opposed to knitting-related.

But those who did respond had some really great ideas - none of which I didn't have in some way myself - about what they would do if money were no object and they could do whatever project they wanted to do.  Some reponses even added to my own ideas. :-)

So I cranked up the old Random.Org, and demanded that it tell me who would get the package.  I am always surprised by how quickly the response appears - but I guess when it's your only job, you need to do it well, right?

The number it chose was response #2, from Kat!  Her response was:

"Oh my... if time and money were no issue, I would love to go to Alabama Chanin and take a work shop! What fun that would be! Also, high on the list would be to join Maryjane Mucklestone and Gudrun Johnston in Scotland for one of their knitting tours!

Good luck everyone!"

I thought it was a funny coincidence that she mentioned the Scotland knitting tours, since my friend Kathy (she of helping me seam together my Custom Cranberry Sweater) was in Shetland at the time, on a knitting retreat/tour/workshop!  The photos she was posting on Instagram made it look even better than it had all sounded before she even left.

In any case, Congratulations Kat!  When you have a chance, please send me your mailing address at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet, and I'll put the package together to send.

Well, that was even more fun than last week.  Join me again this coming Wednesday to see what the next giveaway will be!

*******

In related news, yesterday I finished the first of my Christmas in July Socks:

These were fun to knit, and I had no issues, so hopefully sock #2 will go as well as this one.  The colorway of this yarn is Peppermint Mocha, and I think it's definitely truth in advertising! 

I hope the upcoming week is a good one for all of you.  I have Part 2 of my dental implant procedure tomorrow morning (ugh), but next weekend should bring something fun.  I'll keep you posted. :-)

First Giveaway Winner!

Well, I have to hope that you are having the same kind of nice weather that we've been enjoying this weekend.  I can't really think of how it could have been better.  And today was a perfect day to choose the winner for the first giveaway of Christmas in July!

As you may recall, here is what will be sent to that lucky person.

I fired up Random.Org, and asked it to choose a winner, and it showed me Comment #5, which is Karen51, who said:

Happy 4th of July! Of the three this is my favorite summer holiday. We are usually at the cottage with many family members. It’s the time to enjoy good food, good family times and nice ,hot!, weather.

Hmmm.  I like the idea of the family at a cottage, and the good food, but had to hesitate at the part about nice, hot weather ... but the interwebs have spoken, so the package goes to her. ;-)

So Karen51, please send your name and mailing address to me at thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet, and I'll get things ready to mail.

Thanks to everyone who played along - I loved reading your responses, and must admit that some of them were incredibly lovely and touching, and made me tear up.  There will be another giveaway this coming Wednesday, so stay tuned!

Here's to a good week for all of us - stay comfy and enjoy your knitting, reading, or whatever time makes you happy.

In Which We Go To Rehoboth Beach

Hello all!  First of all, I have to say that I LOVE the responses I've received so far for my first Christmas in July giveaway!  I love that all of you are so on board, and the stories you have shared make me so happy.  Of course, as with every giveaway, I wish I had something for everyone.  There's still time to get in on it, if you are interested.  Here is the post with the info.

We got home yesterday from a few days with some of my family at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Every time we get together, I realize how lucky I am to have a family that truly enjoys being together, and having fun.  We are all VERY different people, but even with that, we have such a good time together!  This was my middle sister, her husband, and their kids with their families.  They had all rented a big house that was about 3 blocks from the beach.  We were lucky to find a motel that had a room available at a very reasonable rate for a few days, so off we went.  The motel said it had free wi-fi, but for reasons known only to cyberspace, The Tim could connect, but I could not.  I was able to connect at the house where everyone else was staying but mostly could not be bothered to drag things around.

Anyway.  We had a blast. But as you all probably know, it was just too hot.  We left Monday after work, but I was so sick with heat stroke that Monday night was a loss.  Which was OK, because by the time arrived, it was late enough to just put on pjs and go to bed.  Fortunately, by the next morning, sleep and a/c had helped me recover.  We did spend some time on the beach, where there was a nice cool breeze, and the water was cold but refreshing - though the sand was so hot it caused blisters on your feet if you were barefoot.  But mostly we ate, drank, laughed and just overall relaxed.  We got to meet our newest great-nephew Oden, who was born this past April.  He is a cutie, and for such a young baby, very alert - in our family you have to pay attention, and it seems he has already figured that out.  His big sister Penn is very devoted - almost too devoted, you might say! :-) 

We arrived home late yesterday afternoon, and were happy to see that our garden was in OK shape.  I guess there was a pretty serious rain storm the other night, and it  must have rained enough to keep them going.  The kitties were glad to see us and of course Pip had a whole lotta 'narc-ing to do.  It was fun to be away, but we did miss the furballs.

The Tim had to go to work today, but I took the day off and I'm glad I did.  I have no special plans for the day, but I want to do some laundry and put some stuff away from our trip.  We have a house guest coming for the weekend, and fortunately we did a lot of cleaning before we left - though I doubt our guest will care.  And the weather is supposed to improve, so hopefully that means that we can be outside at least some of the time, and even more importantly, I will be able to breathe!

One of my nieces took this photo of myself, The Tim, and Miss Penn at the beach, and I'm sharing it because she is such a cutie (and quite a character!).  We really did have so much fun, and it will probably be our "vacation" this summer.

So that's the news from here.  I hope you have a good weekend, with nicer weather as well if you have been melting.  Enjoy!

Christmas in July!

Hello there!  I hope you are having a nice day, like we are here in Philadelphia - warm, sunny, but breezy with no humidity.  The kind of weather that I wish summer would have the whole time.  And maybe somewhere it does, but not around here.  By the end of the week the heat and humidity is predicted to be way up there, meaning that it won't just be miserable (in my opinion), but it will be really hard to breathe.  Ick.

But I am going to do something to try and make me feel like summer isn't that bad, by hosting Christmas in July here on my blog.  Here's how it will work.

Every Wednesday during July, I will post something for a giveaway for that week.  It might be a book, or some kind of accessory for crafting or for your person, a pattern, yarn - to be honest, I'm not even sure right now exactly what each week will bring.  All you'll have to do is answer a random question and then have your answer chosen in a random drawing later in that week (I'll let you know each time). The final Wednesday in July is the 25th, and since actual Christmas is also on a 25th, that will be the "grand prize" so to speak. 

I've been thinking of this for a while, and initially was thinking it would be related to an informal make-along.  But I know that many of you are like me, and as soon as you say you want to participate, you lose all crafty interest.  So the giveaway idea came to me and I decided I liked that better!

This will also mean that I will be forced (in a good way, I mean it!) to respond to comments.  I have tried the "notify me" thing but I'm still not getting comments mailed to me.  I will admit that this has made me lazy about it, and I really haven't been making any effort to respond, and I miss the back and forth.  I know that some people prefer responses via e-mail, rather than on the blog (I know I tend to forget to go back and see if someone answered me in the comments), so this will be a good way for me to get back in the habit of responding whenever I can.

I thought I'd announce this today, because a) I wanted all of you to know what was coming and not miss out by finding out too late, b) it's Monday, and something good should happen to make up for that, right? and, c) July begins NEXT WEEK!! 

I hope that Christmas in July will be fun for all of us.  :-)