I am feeling special today because Joan, the Fairy Godknitter, awarded me the "you make my day" award. I started to wonder what it takes to make someone's day. If you're Dirty Harry, it takes someone pointing a weapon at you and trying to kill you!

It doesn't take much to make my day. A really good cup of coffee in the morning can do it. A smile from a stranger as I walk down the street. Checking my voicemail and hearing the recording "no new messages" at work. But mostly, I am responsible for how I react to the events around me. If the train gets stuck and we have to wait, well, that's just an opportunity to finish a few more rows on my socks. Yes, I may be late for work, but that is out of my control and I refuse to let it ruin a perfectly good knitting session.

So, now the hard part. I have a long list of blogs that I read and enjoy. These are the ones I check in on first.

"Give the award to 10 people who bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel good about blogland. Beware, you may receive more that one award!"



Bells. Her posts are interesting and she freely shares bits of her life both the good and the not so good in every post.
Mindful Her thoughtful posts always pose interesting things to ponder.
Knitsane Michelle truly knits fearlessly. Her knitwear is wonderfully creative and I love watching the projects grow.
Random Meanderings Bezzie single handedly encouraged over a hundred women to get their annual pap test done by offering a yarn prize every month for a year to anyone who made and kept an appointment.
We are all mad here. Total disclosure here, this is my daughter Emily. She is a strong, independent young woman who jumps into life with both feet. I admire that and wish I were more like her.
Nanairo no Ashita OK, more disclosure. This is my other knitting daughter, Kate. She is so creative in many fields. She draws and writes and knits and wears funny costumes and is a fearless young woman.
Dreaming all the time Olivia inspires me with her ability to take wool and turn out the most amazing objects. Check out her pods and dishes. I have a pod on my desk at work and I love showing it off.
Yarning to Write While ostensibly a knitting blog, Amy shares her life as a teacher and parent. It's never dull at her house.
Sheepish Annie Annie is also a teacher with a wonderful sense of humor about her profession and life in general.
Samuari Knitter I have learned more fascinating things from reading Julie's blog than from any magazine. She researches topics like the history of needles and presents it in a way that is easy to read and enjoy.

Is that 10 already? I have another daughter who has a blog but she has not made the commitment to keep it up, yet. When she does, I'll save a spot for her. We're working on getting some knitting needles in her hands as well.

I am plugging away at the shawl. The K3tog are getting easier and the K1,P1K1 in the same stitch is becoming old hat. Actually, it is coming along beautifully. Michele mentioned in the comments that maybe I needed larger needles to make it more lacey. She may be right but since I had nothing to compare it to I followed the directions. The pattern called for fingering weight wool and a 3.5mm needle. We'll see. I think it's supposed to be a more substantial garment instead of a whisp of a thing. It is made for Iceland and I hear it gets quite cold up there.

Down here, we are still waiting for our winter snow. The temps are moderate this week. Almost 20 degrees warmer than last week. No wonder the poor bulbs are confused.

It seems to me that knitting a lace shawl is an act of extreme faith. How in the world this is

supposed to turn into something light and airy and beautiful is beyond me. I love the colors together. I don't even mind the loooong rows of purl stitches. It is designed so that it doesn't have an obvious "right" side so there are lots of knit rows and purl rows. I have seen the magic blocking can perform on other blogs and I am trying to remember that it will look really different but like I said, it's an act of faith.

Today's Buddhist inspiration says that no matter our educational level or economic level , race or religion or sex, it is our purpose to be happy in life. I liked seeing that this morning because I believe it whole heartedly. I remember learning about the Puritans when I was a kid and wondering if they ever laughed because for them, life was about work and sacrifice. Katie complained this morning that PK and I woke her up because we were laughing in the bedroom. I asked her if it wasn't better to be awakened by parents who were laughing together than arguing? She agreed, yes, it was. We laugh alot here in this house. I can hear Kate now on her computer laughing out loud at something she is reading. Laughter makes me smile. It fills the house with sunshine on the cloudiest of days. To help you laugh today, here is my niece Maggie's favorite joke (remember she is 7),

Where did Napoleon keep his armies?

In his sleevies!

Ok, I know it's silly but it makes me giggle every time I hear it. I hope it made you at least smile. I am going to spend the rest of the weekend working on the shawl. I am almost finished the second Fools Rush sock and then I want to find a pattern for the Black Iris yarn from the sock club. The Fools Rush pattern made it pool in an unattractive way and I need something else. Elanor has really admired the yarn and the socks will be for her.

Em and Jim are coming for dinner tonight. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and brownies. An All American Meal. It's cold out and this is comfort food.

Oh, and look what I found outside today. Yes, it's a bulb coming up through the soil. And it is still winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It has been cold these last two weeks but before that, we had very un- seasonable spring-like temperatures. I'm not sure what this is. I only hope it survives. Shoots, like shawls, involve faith. Faith that the weather will get warm again and the flowers will bloom. That the sun will get stronger and the grey coldness will give way to brightness and warmth.

And I hope you all have a warm, laughter filled weekend.

I am such a sucker for these things.

You paid attention during 100% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Today's inspirational thought from bighappybuddha.com is rather thought provoking:

People get into a heavy-duty sin and guilt trip, feeling that if things are going wrong, that means that they did something bad and they are being punished. That's not the idea at all. The idea of karma is that you continually get the teachings that you need to open your heart. To the degree that you didn't understand in the past how to stop protecting your soft spot, how to stop armoring your heart, you're given this gift of teachings in the form of your life, to give you everything you need to open further.

~Pema Chodron

What if, when something bad happens, we stop looking for ways we went wrong? What if we looked at it as something we needed to learn? In order to have an open heart and to fully exerience the beauty of life and the world around us, we need to learn certain lessons? What if we stopped being so hard on ourselves and remembered we are imperfect beings with things to learn so we can grow into our full potential?

What if we just let ourselves be?

This is our backyard on Thursday when we got some snow. It lasted a few short hours and when we got up Friday morning it was all gone. What a tease. The snow was big, heavy flakes and was gorgeous for the time it was falling.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the Mullica River just off Quaker Bridge. In art class last year Kate painted it. We framed it yesterday and it looks gorgeous. We bought the frame and had the mat custom cut. It will soon be hanging in the living room.

And finally, here is a progress shot of my Icelandic Lace Shaw. I can't tell you how many times I ripped out the dark grey section because the stitch count was off. I can't tell you because I lost count. I was determined to make it as near perfect as I could and so ripped and ripped. I was getting pretty upset with it after a while but I put it aside and now I am finally making progress. It doesn't look like much yet but all those lovely yo's will open up when it's blocked. I am almost finished with the light grey and then it's back to the white. It's a satisfying thing to knit. The pattern is subtle and because it's not laceweight, it's not too frustrating. Peter Kevin wants to build me a blocking frame because he found one on line. I'll let you know how that works out.

Kate taught my niece Maggie to knit. She is almost 8 and my brother reports that she picks up the needles and knits on her own. How cool is that? Oh, and even cooler, Franklin is coming to Kennet Square, PA to take photos for his 1,000 knitters project!!! We are so excited and can't wait. He is coming in April. Kate, Emily and Maggie and I are going.

It's been a lovely weekend. Monday is a holiday (Martin Luther King Day) and some companies are closed. Peter Kevin is off but I have to work. Mental Health stops for no public holiday. The upshot is that PK and Kate are going to do the house cleaning. All I had to do was the laundry (done) and grocery shop (done). Now, today, I can sit and read blogs and knit and listen to the wind blow the wind chime that is outside my bedroom window. We are also watching old episodes of the sitcom "Coupling". It makes me laugh so hard that my stomach hurts. Thank goodness for Netflix and their unlimited streaming video. I hope everyone else is having a good weekend.

On Saturday we traveled to see Emily's new home in Royersford, Pennsylvania. It's about an hour from our house, or longer if I drive. I tend to drive the speed limit. I promised Em I would not post photos of her house, she wants to do that, and so here is a photo of the lunch she made us. It's one of my favorites and very easy, cream of potato soup. She also made grilled cheese sandwiches and brownies. Sorry, no brownie photos, they were eaten too quickly. The house is really nice and I must admit, it makes me rest easier knowing they are in a good neighborhood. It was lovely seeing her in her own kitchen, preparing the food and serving us. It made me realize how lucky I am to have such a lovely confident daughter. This is Em at her stove. "Mom, why are you taking a picture of me cooking?" She should know that it's all good blog fodder!

I tried to take a good photo of the Fools Rush sock but it was difficult to get one that shows the pattern and the color bits in the yarn. This is the best I could do. I really like the pattern once I learned to count to 5!

On Sunday, we put the Christmas things away, finally. This is what the living room floor looked like when we took the tree out. There were more needles on the floor than were left on the tree.

It took quite a while for me to vacuum them all out of the rug. I know I will be finding them for the next three months. We left up the snowflake lights in the front window. After all, snowflakes are not strictly Christmas decorations. One could make a case for them being "winter" decorations. I am a huge fan of decorative lights and I will leave the snowflakes up until Spring and then replace them with some brightly colored lights to celebrate the flowers coming up. One can never have too many lights.

And speaking of flowers, I was surprised to see that some of the bulbs in the garden (the ones the squirrels haven't feasted on) are almost an inch above the ground. We have had an exceptionally mild winter but it is getting cold now and I am afraid that the blossoms will die before they are really born and we won't have flowers in the spring. I guess that will give me the excuse (as if anyone needs an excuse) to buy more flowers and bulbs. We may even get some snow this winter. Don't laugh! Miracles happen every day.

I just love finding out all these things about myself.

Take the Quiz here!

This is from one of my favorite web comics, xkcd. Notice the "knitting"accident? Whooppee. We made it onto a web comic! Written by a young man who doesn't (as far as I know) knit!

Happy Friday everyone!

As promised, here is the latest delivery from Roxanne at the Art Walk Sock Yarn club. It's from a painting by Leighton called "Flaming June". You can see the painting on the website.

I seriously love this yarn. It is superwash, bamboo and nylon. Soft and beautiful. I think it's my favorite one so far. Roxanne is amazing. She pulls colors out of the paintings and turns them into lucious yarns that beg to be knit up into gorgeous socks.

I am almost finished one sock of the Fools Rush pattern. It is so damn simple but I evidently cannot count to 5. Yep, the lace only involves 5 stitches and I managed to mess it up and had to rip it out several times. I have no idea what the problem was, but it seems to be fixed and I am getting ready to start the toe decreases. I want to make Peter Kevin another pair of socks. He wears the pair I made him during the Tour de France kal but only in the house. I want to make some socks he can wear to work but he tells me "they're special to me because you made them". What, they can't be special out of the house? I am glad he likes them, but it's kind of like having good china and never using it because "it's for special". Everyday should be special. Life is too short not to enjoy it. I use all my china and silver and "good" things. I can't see keeping them in boxes just to hand them down to someone else to keep them in boxes.

More and more people have thanked me for the positive email at work. I feel vindicated but will not do it again. What I will do is post the inspirations on my office door. I have done it before and no one said a word so I guess it's ok.

We are enjoying spectacular weather. It has been 60 degrees! In January! In the Northeast! I hear folks complaining and I must be getting old but I loved walking down the street without my jacket on. I know the cold is coming back and we have 2 and 1/2 months of winter left but I consider this a reprieve.

Smile, breathe and go slowly. Today's inspiration by Thich Nhat Hanh. Good advice.

Today I got my wrist slapped at work. Yep. For doing something I thought would make everyone smile on a gray and dreary Monday morning. I get my daily thought, reminder, call it what you will from http://www.bighappybuddha.com/. I love it. Some days they are more profound than my somewhat feeble mind can embrace but mostly they are thought provoking and joyful. Friday's was about hope and how hope is what makes a bad day bearable. Hope that tomorrow will be better. Well, today's was simple. "Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful". A simple thought, right? Not preachy? No promises of hellfire if you don't believe what I believe? I sent it out to all users in our building with a comment about how I don't usually do this but we should all remember that a smile can change someone's day for the better. Now, remember I work in a mental health center. My supervisor told me that she was told by "the administration" to tell me not to do that ever again. I know it's no big deal but it was a little demoralizing. I heard from a surprising number of people who were happy I sent it and said 'thank you for making me smile'.

So enjoy this photo of Quaker Bridge Road. It makes me smile and always makes me think of Tolkien's poem The Road Goes Ever, Ever On

The road goes ever ever on,

down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the road has gone

and I must follow it if I can.

Pursuing it with eager feet

until it joins some larger way.

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Coming soon: Yarn porn. The most beautiful entry yet from Art Walk Sock Yarn Club.

Today we spent the afternoon on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. It was 40 degrees and damp. There were lots and lots of people on the boardwalk. Don't they know it's January? The photo of the ocean with PK and Kate makes it look a little brighter than it actually was. You can see that they are bundled up. We took Holly to AC because she is going home tomorrow. This is an elephant modeled on Lucy the Elephant who lives in Margate New Jersey. This one is covered in Jelly Belly jelly beans. The jelly bean elephant is in the store called ItSugar. After we walked down the boardwalk and admired the ocean, we headed to Harrah's casino for dinner. They used to have a buffet called the Fantasy Reef. It was so cool because the walls looked like sand and there were large fish tanks all over the place. It was like being inside a sand castle. And the food was incredible. I was disappointed to find out that they had closed and opened something they call The Waterfront buffet. Nice but sterile. No character or charm. The food was good but part of the fun was the atmosphere. We had a good time anyway. My brother and his wife and their children were there. I love spending time with them. He is ten years younger and I spent a lot of his younger life teaching him the finer things. Like zombie movies and creature double features on Saturday afternoons. He knows how to kill a zombie and is likely to be good in a fight with a monster. All good and necessary skills for life in NJ in the 21st century.

I have been working slowly on my shaw. This is what 15 rows looks like. I tried to stretch it out some so you can see some of the pattern and individual colors. I really like it but there are a lot of K3tog and I am grateful for the addi turbos I bought to knit it on. I don't know if I really think they are all that better than my Susan Bates circs. I bought them for the 32" cable.

I like the fact that some white sections are knit on one side and some on the other. It is supposed to make the shaw more two-sided.

The Fools Rush pattern is one of those that moves along fairly quickly. Here is my sock after three pattern repeats. See how the color is a faded denim? I really like this yarn. I don't know the name of the color but I know it is Opal superwash sock yarn, probably 70 percent wool and 30 percent nylon. In my quest to be a little more organized this year, I bought some magazine holders to put on my shelves. They are holding my knitting magazines on the shelves with the books. It's real nice to have everything handy.

This was such a nice day. I think I need to be fairly productive tomorrow to make up for taking today off! There is grocery shopping and laundry and cleaning yet to do. And those lazy elves have not put away the holiday decorations yet. I think the decorations will stay up one more week. There are only so many hours in the day and some of them should be set aside for knitting.

Happy New Year! My family, knowing my love of pop-up cards and books, found these. They are perfect. When you open them up, the stars pop out. They seemed particularly appropriate for today.

I am sitting in my room, catching up on blog reading because tomorrow is a work day. Kate and Holly are in Philadelphia watching the mummers. If you are not local, the Mummers Parade is a tradition. There are clubs that prepare all year for a march down Broad Street in fancy costumes. They compete for prizes. I tried to put the photo here but I'll have to settle for the link from the Philadelphia Inquirer. There are a lot of string bands and "fancies" ( music and lots of feathers and props), and comics. These are mostly men dressed as women and clowns that strut down the street. It is a strange and wonderful event. Kate has never been in person and decided that Holly should go. She also made sure Holly got to a diner (a Jersey specialty). I'm waiting for them to call me to pick them up at the train station. We have a wonderful train that goes across the bridge into Phila and back. It's how I get to work in the morning. It's about 5 dollars round trip and when you balance that against parking in the city and wear and tear and gas not to mention traffic, well it is a bargain.

I cleaned off a shelf in the bedroom bookshelf for my knitting books and magazines. They have been living in the bottom of the yarn tote. I found a book I had forgotten I had. Now, I have to get some of those magazine holders to keep the magazines organized. I want to try to go throught he closets and bookshelves throughout the house and clear out the clutter. This is a no pressure goal. I just think I have too much stuff and I am ready to part with some of it. There is a local Goodwill store that will take most of it.

My embossed leaves socks are finished. I used Louet Gems in French Blue. I used more yarn that the pattern called for. I needed well over 100 grams and yet the yarn was the correct weight for the pattern. They are great. I love this pattern. I love how one leaf just flows into the next one. I started a new pair of socks last night for train knitting. I was using the Black Iris from the yarn club but it has been frogged. It pooled in a very unattractive manner. I'm going to try to rewind the ball and start at the other end and maybe it won't be so bad. I was so disappointed. I am making Fools Rush Sock. I found some Opal sock yarn without a ball band so I am not sure of the color. I think it might be denim or something like that. It has a heathery, faded blue denim look to it.

For some reason, I am having an allergy attack. My nose is running like a faucet and the antihistamine is not working, or not working enough. I realized that I have not felt sinusy all week and have not awakened with a headache every morning. I think I am allergic to my office. The ventilation system is old and they clean it yearly but it's not enough. I'll know if the sinus and headache problems start this week. The weather folks are calling for some snow tonight (yay) but I don't think it is nearly cold enough. We are planning a trip to Atlantic City on Saturday to show Holly the Atlantic Ocean and then dinner at Harrah's. All the casinos have buffets but we think theirs is the best.

Happy 2008!