Something to Keep You Guessing ...

You may (or may not) recall a month or so ago, when I said that I realized that my blog was three years old, I mentioned that I would do something to celebrate, but I wasn't sure what it would be. Well, I've decided that it will be another contest of a sort.

This post you are reading is my 432nd post. I try to post often, but some weeks are better than others, depending on what else might be going on around here. So I'm going to let you try predict something:

When will I write my 450th post?

Here are the rules:

1. In order to participate, you must send me an e-mail (thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet), or leave a comment on THIS post, saying when you think I will be writing my 450th post. For example: "I think it will be on November 29th."

2. You must also let me know if you would prefer: a) a knitting-related prize, b) a reading/book-related prize, or c) either one.

3. To participate, you must leave a comment/send an e-mail no later than October 10. If there is more than one person who guesses the correct date, I will do a random drawing to determine the winner. If one person guesses the day before, and another the day after, but no one guesses the actual date, I will do a random drawing to decide the winner.

4. If no one comes even close, I will make a contribution to the charity of my choice.

Please believe me when I say that I have no more idea than any of you do, when this post might occur. And I am too lazy to plan it out, so it will truly be a matter of luck for anyone to guess the correct date.

The prizes? Well, I'm still thinking. I will definitely have something in mind for either knitters or readers, in the event that the winner is only interested in one aspect or the other.

(If I have made this as clear as mud, please let me know.)

"Good luck, Wilbur ... and everyone else, too!"

Something Wicked This Way Comes ...

Yes, even though I am the world's biggest chicken when it comes to scary things, I've gone and signed up for the R.I.P. IV. In the past, I've read others' reviews of books they read for this challenge, and thought it sounded like fun. Usually though, it was nearly over by the time I realized it had even started ... but this year I found out about it at the beginning, so I have chosen

Peril the Second: Read two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

I will be reading: Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger; and, The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.

I think this will be a lot of fun, and since I have a lot more reading time than I used to, I shouldn't have any trouble finishing both books by October 31.

(BTW, Lisa - you should sign up too!)

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In other news, today was a day off, so I met Carol for lunch. We had a blast, and laughed ourselves silly! It had been months since we had seen each other, so it was fun to catch up in person, instead of only online. (In the interest of full disclosure, this may have been the reason some of you had the sensation of burning ears around noon ...) It sure is nice to be with someone who gets my sense of humor - the people I work with are nice, but I think they are fearful that I am flirting with commitment to a mental health facility. I'm not sure they have ever "gotten" any of my jokes - even those that are actually jokes that people tell one another.

Oh well, that's what true friends are for, right?

Falling Forward

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

-Emily Bronte

I have to admit that I love this time of year. The change in the weather (today's temperature notwithstanding), the anticipation of the fall and winter holidays, and even the shorter hours of daylight. Unlike most people, I welcome the days when the darkness comes earlier, because to me that is part of the change of seasons. When spring and summer come and the days stay lighter later, I am just as happy about that.

This is also the time of year when I tend to make plans for myself, much more so than in January when everyone else does. Maybe it's a left over mindset from all the years that fall meant the beginning of the school year, I'm not entirely certain. I've spent the past couple of days going over all sorts of knitting projects, sewing projects, and things I want to get done in the house and outside in the garden.

Over the years, I have learned that I have a tendency to get carried away with such things. This means one of two things happens: a) I feel overwhelmed, and don't even get things started, or b) I feel like a failure because I haven't been able to complete everything in the time frame I have set for myself. So this year I am working on lowering my expectations. Because I am the only one who is creating these deadlines for myself, so after years of angst, it has finally occurred to me that I'm the one who can make the decision to change the way I do things and make plans.

As a result, I'm feeling hopeful instead of already a little bit wary. I have made myself a very general list of projects, and put them into different broad categories. (I may not be working at the moment as a cataloger, but some things don't go away ...) I have decided that getting any of the items on the list accomplished will mean success, regardless of whether or not the entire list is tackled.

See? Already, it's better.

Now, if I could only force people to call me for interviews for jobs and then hire me ... sadly, there is only a certain amount of control I have over that aspect of my life. I can only hope that there will be some leftover good karma floating around in the universe that will make a stop at our house before too long ...

Good Times

During the last week in August, The Tim, Sebastian, and myself all headed to Fenwick Island, Delaware, where my sister and brother-in-law from West Virginia had rented a house. All of the nieces, nephews, and the grandson were going to be there, so we decided to visit for a few days. Some people might call this horning in on someone's kindness, but we call it VACATION!!

The house was really nice, and was located on the bay side of things. There was a dock down a little path to the side of the house.

As usual, my amazing photography skills illustrate just a taste of what the area was like.


This naked tree in particular intrigued me, as everything else around it was really green ...

But you didn't want to see only "scenic" shots, did you?

Zach - when did he stop being a baby and become a kid???

Zach was quite selective about his companions. Mostly he wanted to be with my sister (Gram), but occasionally others could grab a minute or two.

<-- Zach agrees to play a computer game with his Aunt Annie.

--> Zach and his best friend Seb. Anything Seb does is fine with Zach.

Zach [barely] letting me get a picture with him.

--> The Tim and I relaxing.

And my very favorite picture of all - GROUP CANNONBALL!!

We got all of the guys to do a group cannonball dive at the swimming pool that was part of the complex where the vacation house was, and my niece Julie got this great shot. It was pretty hilarious in person!

If only it didn't feel like it was such a long time ago ...

Just Play It Cool

This week's 10 on Tuesday topic was one I thought would be fun, and I decided that I would literally list the first ten things that came to mind.

10 Things You Think Are Cool

1. Animals.

2. Music.

3. Books.

4. The ocean.

5. Mountains.

6. Knowing how to read and write.

7. Knitting.

8. The Grand Canyon.

9. Old and ridiculously cornball movies.

10. Kindness.