What's Been Goin' On

We're still trying to get over the flu here. It's going right through the house; eight of the nine of us are battling this thing. I've felt under the weather all week but still functioning and was quite smug about it too! Afterall, I would tell myself, I eat healthy and exercise! I take flax and yogurt every morning, have given up sweets for lent... c'mon, I can beat this. Well, maybe not...

I went shopping yesterday, partly because I needed a few things at JoAnn's and Michaels to do a few projects AND they were having a terrific sale. I just couldn't pass all that up, now could I? So I trekked the hour drive to the hot spots, got all my goodies and realized I wasn't feeling so good by the time I hit the long line at the cutting table at JoAnn's. I decided to put the satin material back on the shelf and go wait in the long check out line instead. I got my prized possessions, all for a good price I might add, and headed home. By the time I got home and ate dinner, I knew I was getting IT! I was good, though. I brought out the knitting basket and continued on my latest project: a baby sweater, bunny hat and booties (maybe) for my friend's grand-child to be born SOON. I completed the sweater, blocked, sewn, the works, finished most of the hat, except the ears, but got a jump on those too! One good thing about being sick is you don't have to feel guilty about sitting knitting. I even listened to a book on tape with two of my daughters: Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. I read that book to my other kids twice, actually, and this time opted for the read-to-me version. What a delight! Funny...

Anyway, when I checked my e-mails good fortune was mine in one more way! Someone on Freecycle was giving away satin material! I was the first one to respond and my husband will pick it up on the way home from work today. What a price-FREE! And to think I was going to wait in the cutting line, feeling yucky, and having to pay for it. What a stroke of luck!

Today I plan on finishing those bunny ears and sewing them on the hat. I will start booties and if I can finish them before the baby is born I'll put it in with the sweater and hat. I will post a pic as soon as I'm done. It should (I hope) be some time this week, as I want my friend to have it when the baby is born.

Also, today is National Bird Watching Day across America. If you go to www.Birdcount.org you can find how you can participate, too. I believe it is for three days, so have some fun and join us! I've been bothering my kids to tap the trees, too, as they should have been tapped on Valentine's Day, but they didn't feel good and didn't do it. I'm hoping they get out there today. It's so much fun to collect the sap, boil it down and have our own home-made maple syrup. Again, I'll post some pics as soon as we get going on that.