Dinner by Alphabet – B

Before I get to our dinner, let me interject . . .

I felt like a young bride on my drive in to work this morning.  I was listening to a classical radio station and they played this:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ra9znj8tmU  I found my way to work despite my travel back in time to my walk down the aisle as that tune spilled through the church.  Made my dress, made my veil . . . . . . .

Back to Dinner by Alphabet – B.

We had so much fun last week with our new ‘out of the rut’ dinner idea that we decided to try it again.  When I picked up Goodnight from school, I reminded her that is was ‘B’ night.  We went straight to the grocery store to see what we could find.  She went to the far side of the store because that’s where Deli Dude works and she knew he would give her a cookie.  I started in the produce aisle.

When we got to the checkout counter, the gal who checked us out last week saw us coming.  She gasped out loud, “Oh my gosh!  Is it ‘B’ night?”  Then she had to explain to another checkout girl what was going on.  Then the second checkout girl had to look through what she had already bagged to see if she could guess the menu.  Honestly!!!  She took everything out, laid it on the counter and had to have a second look.  Too funny!

 Here’s what was in the bag:

1 Bartlett pear

1 Banana

1 Bunch of Broccoli

1 Butternut squash

1 Bag of Blackberries

1 lb of Beef tips

1 Box of Barley

1 Blueberry Streusel mix

 

Goodnight was on deck for the baking, so I had her read the Box of Blueberry streusel mix.  The package showed muffins, but she made the mix into a Bundt cake instead.  It’s a good way to keep her moving into more complicated things in the kitchen.

 

Everything else was easy to figure out how to put together, with a few ‘B’ ingredients from home.

 

So Dinner by Alphabet – B went as follows:

 

Salad Course:

Broccoli and Bartlett Slaw with Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette and a few Bran Buds sprinkled on top for crunch. (Sorry, croutons start with ‘C’.)

 

Main Course:

Beef tips with Brown Gravy

Barley

Boiled Buttered Butternut

 

Dessert:

Blueberry Streusel Bundt Cake

Banana Smoothie for Goodnight

Bush Tea for Gram (Can you guess what series of books by Alexander McCall Smith influenced me?)

 

Beautiful, Basic, Bounty!  B was easy and delicious.  So many possibilities, but we only had to come up with one dinner.  I spent $18.00 at the store, have leftovers, didn’t even need to cook all the barley, broccoli, or butternut so will do something wholesome with those later.

We had a great time in the kitchen.  Goodnight loves it when I ask her to bake.  When we have more time (for the clean-up) I let her follow recipes, but since it was a work/school night, I had no problem resorting to a mix.  We don’t eat dessert very often in any given week, so it’s fun for her to look forward to when we do.  And even more fun if she’s made it.

I did the dishes while Goodnight did her homework.  Even though there are only two of us, we still managed to dirty quite a few things. 

Then after the dishes were done and put away, I worked her math problems to see if she got them all right.  Sorry Goodnight – try again on these two problems right here . . . . .  “Oh!!! HEXagon! x6, then?”

“Yes dear.”

We chatted a while and before long it was time for those magic words . . . “Goodnight, Gram.”

Then I had time to sit down and knit a mitten.  It’s the second in a  pair of bright orange mittens that Goodnight can give to her Kintergarten buddy for Valentine’s Day.  Her K-buddy will love them because they match the one’s I just knit for Goodnight.  Little kids like that.  Goodnight is a good 6th grade buddy to her.  No need for a mitten photo here.  They’re just orange. 

“Thumbs in the thumb place, fingers all together.  This is the song we sing in mitten weather.”  Anyone remember that from your youth????  Or is my youth too old? 

I decided to try and enjoy the snow.  Looks like it will be around a while.  After all, I’m a knitter and I wear more hand-knit things in this kind of weather than any other time of the year.  Here’s a favorite of mine.  It’s perfectly round, but if one knits something round, folds it not exactly in half, it can have a nice drape to it.  This shawl has armholes and a button closure.  The shorter part of the folded over section looks like a large collar.  It’s quite cuddly.  It would be MORE cuddly at home on my couch with a good book . . . . but I digress.

Gray-cation to Camp – in Winter

For the new readers, it’s my word: Gray-cation.  It’s what I call our getaways when Goodnight travels with me – or me and my mother – because of the extra-gap in generations.  It isn’t meant to be derrogatory at all.  I have gray hair and so does Gr8.  I like the word.

What a great weekend!

For the curious readers, I sent Goodnight to school on Friday.  It had snowed all night and I wanted to see if it would slow down.  Goodnight loves school and didn’t really want to miss.  It was “Dress Your Best Day” and she wanted to wear her Christmas dress.  So, we compromised.  I picked her up at noon with a picnic lunch packed for her to enjoy while I drove.

We stopped at Gr8’s (my mother) house and stayed the night there.  Actually, we got there early afternoon, so had some wonderful time to chat and play Scattergories together.  Goodnight and Gr8 are both funny when they come up with their answers.  And we’re lenient on accepting them too.  If they make us laugh, the answers count!

Goodnight and my mother have had their own names for each other for a long time.  Goodnight didn’t want to take so much time calling her ‘Great-Grandma’ all the time, so she’s been calling her Gr8 for a long time.  And my mother calls her ‘Little Great.’  I love it!

Saturday morning we said our good-byes to Gr8, left Smalltownville and headed to camp.

When we got there, we checked in and were given our cabin assignment, a map of the camp, and an updated schedule of activities for the weekend.  Goodnight and I called ourselves the ‘Orange Team’ because of our matching hats.

Goodnight and I found our cabin, unpacked, got our beds ready and headed back to the building where we checked in.  There were several rooms in our cabin.  We were at the far end on the right. 

Our room had two bunk sets.  Goodnight choose to sleep on the top and stow her stuff on the bottom.  Not me!  I’m done climbing if I don’t have to. 

The first activity was decorating visors, or bookmarks.  Goodnight chose to decorate a visor with her name on it.  She ended up wearing hers even over her stocking cap.

12:00:   Lunch in the Dining Hall was spaghetti and meatballs with a salad bar, dessert and beverages.  Don’t you think we burned off our meals before with the climb to the Dining Hall?

1:00:  After lunch there were some get acquainted games in the Dining Hall.  It was great to have some ice-breakers because Goodnight and I weren’t the only ones who hadn’t been there before.

2:00-3:30:  Snow tubing!  Goodnight told me this was the best part of the weekend for her!

Here’s where the whole orange theme paid off.  I could spot her a mile away.  Here Goodnight and the others are listening to the rules for the tubing hill.

And then they were off!

Look at the long run they got.  There is a lake at the bottom of the hill.  The lake was frozen enough to be safe for them if they got that far.  Goodnight got that far several times and I could still see her orange snowsuit that far away!

 Coming up the tow rope.  Goodnight liked this part too.

3:30-5:30:  Break out sessions.  Adults met without children for structured discussion about raising children who have been traumatized.  I won’t divulge anything specific here, because each family has a right to their privacy. 

Children had their own activity options.

At one point during the adult session, someone came into the workshop in tears and said that two children had disappeared.  My heart skipped a beat!  You would have been so AMAZED at the quick response.  One woman jumped up and said, “Let’s go!”  I jumped up and said, “Who’s missing?  What are they wearing?”  We suspended our discussion for the hunt.

Below is a photo of part of the camp from the top of the tubing hill.  With the trees all around and the lateness of afternoon, you can understand our concern.

They were found within 15 minutes of us jumping up and running out.  They had wondered off into the wooded area looking for a medallion because one of the ongoing activities was a medallion hunt and the first two clues pointed them in the direction they had gone.  Problem was, they weren’t supposed to be out there alone.  The medallion hunt activity was immediately suspended.  That was a wise decision!

5:30-6:30:  Dinner in the Dining Hall was ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, salad bar, dessert and beverages.

7:00:  Talent (or Not) Show   What a blast!  The kids were cute.  There were little kid jokes, magic tricks, singing, a Michael Jackson impersonation, poetry, flute music, and at the end, two adults who had worked as clowns, made balloon animals for every kid.  I just loved watching the whole thing!

Below is a general photo to show the setup, but I took it from the back to protect their identities.

After the Talent or Not Show, the kids could watch a movie.  But the movie was stopped at precisely 9:00 because that was the beginning of the quiet time.  I LOVED it when the movie went off even though it wasn’t finished.  I do that at home when Goodnight has to get to bed.  It emphasized the importance of a good rest, a need to quiet down, and time for the grandparents to rest as well.

It was all so respectful.

Quiet hours were from 9:00 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. and I must tell you that our cabin was very quiet.  If any of the children struggled with the quiet time, I couldn’t tell. (except for Goodnight, who kept whispering to me about how much fun she had.)

Goodnight read in her bunk a bit with her bed buddies while I got things ready in our room.  I had to hang up her snowsuit and mittens so they would dry overnight and set her boots by the heater.

Pssst!  We didn’t go to sleep when the lights went out.

I had hidden some glo-sticks and glo-bracelets in my duffle bag when I packed.  I pulled them out when Goodnight and I got to our room.  She was excited.  She used two of them to put around her bedtime buddies that she brought.  She shared two of them with two other girls her age in our cabin.  And I hung one near the door so she could see where it was.

Here are the glo-buddies with backlighting from a small flashlight.  The glo-bracelets are around the necks and you can kinda see the dog ear on one buddy.

I love this shot of Goodnight just before I told her she had to try and sleep.  It looks like I used black and white film, but I didn’t.

And then I heard the magic words:  “Goodnight, Gram.”

Sunday morning I woke up early to a gently falling snow.  It was beautiful.  What a perfect setting!  Tucked away in the woods near a lake in the middle of winter with falling snow all around – I could have stayed . . .

8:00:  Breakfast in the Dining Hall was scrambled eggs, sausage, English muffins, an assortment of cold cereals, and beverages.  Can I just tell you again that I didn’t have to set foot in a kitchen or pick up a broom?  Yeah!

9:00-noon:  Quiet time, church time, adults and children could have separate time, etc.  I read while Goodnight went with the kids for an activity, but soon they were dressing for tubing.  I loved watching her laugh as she went down, so I went with them to the tubing hill.  Besides, it’s always handy to have extra people there to help with that first push to get the tube started.  The tow rope supervisor was busy settling the account of another group on their way out of the camp, so the kids had to walk up the hill.  (Secretly, I didn’t mind.  Goodnight would get even more exercise and be tired!

I took a quick break to call Gr8 to see if it was snowing in Smalltownville.  She lives north of the camp, and I had to travel north, so I was judging my trip on her weather reports.

We ended up leaving camp a little early because of the continuous snowfall.  I was concerned about the drive home.  Goodnight didn’t mind.  We stopped in Smalltownville to have a coffee chat with Gr8, but were only there about an hour.  The snow had been moving north.

We hopped in the red Chevro-sleigh and headed home.  I turned on some quiet classical music station and Goodnight was soon fast asleep and didn’t wake up until I hit the off ramp for our exit to home.

Goodnight was so glad we went.  She was tentative at first, because our early encounters with Grandfamilies didn’t give her any matches with kids her age.  But this time there were quite a few kids she could relate to.

I may not have the numbers exact, but all together there were about 32 adults, 47 children from over 20 different families.  It was the largest group they ever had:  kids who’ve had tough life experiences and relatives trying to make things better.  My hat’s off to all of them!!  My thanks to the staff and volunteers who made things go so smoothly.

 

On the Road with Gram

Goodnight’s orange mittens are done.  The Prayer Shawl to take to my mother’s church is done.

Tonight I pack the red Chevro-sleigh and head out on the road.  I’ts supposed to snow, so will keep an eye on that. (Just pretend that you don’t know it’s only Thursday here and pretend that you’re not wondering if Goodnight is skipping school Friday or not, ok?  (truant, hookey, mental health day? shhhhhh)

We  might as well be gone for longer than the weekend for all the stuff we have to pack:  bedding, pillows, towels, water, game for game night, keyboard and flute for the Talent (or Not) Show, snacks to share, double snow gear so Goodnight can have fun in the snow, sled, and so on.

We have a BAG full of treats for my mother because we are stopping in to see her on the way.  Goodnight loves her Gr8 Gram and I love having a coffee chat with Mom.  It makes all feel well with the world.

From Mom’s house, the camp is only about 20 miles, so we can tarry a while on Saturday morning.

When I get back it will be almost time for the big football game, Dinner by Alphabet – B and starting a new knitting project.  I will tell you about it next week.  Got it via a blog and wanted to try a web-generated pattern-maker that I found.  Should be some techno-fun.

Have a great weekend, all!  Catch you on the flip-flop.  I wish my Chevro-sleigh looked this clean . . .  It has that winter brown salt/sand/chemical look to it.  It will be warm enough to wash it today, but warm enough to wash a car in winter usually means more snow.  It’s a game, eh?

Warm Hands, Warm Hearts . . .

 

 

 

 

“But gloves from woman’s gentle hand,

Of cordial Friendship bear the wand;

And in return a single glove

Betokens emblematic Love.

 

Thy gift fair Ellen, then I take,

And cherish for the giver’s sake;

And while they shelter from the storm

My hands, the heart alike shall warm;

And speed for thee to God above,

The fervid prayer of faithful love.”

 

Excerpt from “To a Lady” in Poems of Religion and Society by John Quincy Adams

Gloves and photos by Goodnightgram

 

 

 

 

 

Check it out!  I was stopped at a red light and spotted this skein of yarn in the rear window of the car in front of me.  Hmmmm . . . a knitter?

And Goodnight will have orange mittens to match her orange stocking cap for our camp weekend!~

And lastly, today is Four Chaplains Day.

Check out this link for the story:  http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/chaplains.html

There are several Four Chaplains Memorials.  I have visited the one in Bottineau, North Dakota.  See it here:  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11789

Tick, Tock, Time’s Up!!!

Well the deadline for the contest is up!  I hope TONS of people came out to play with this one.  I have no idea what the turnout will be.  I wonder if the web-o-sphere was jammed with latecomers like me . . . at 11:59 p.m.

Here’s the contest scoop – and a big SHOUT OUT to Lion Brand® Yarn and Michaels crafts.  They are responsible for the contest to which I have been referring all week in my blogs.

The shout out is in thanks for the contest, but more importantly for the BLAST I had knitting madly to meet the deadline.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2010 was to do step it up a notch with my knitting.  I’ve been knitting more than 48 years  – I started before I was born but I believe I can always learn something new, try something new, rethink what I already know, do something I haven’t done for a while, etc.   So stumbling accidentally onto the information about the contest was perfect timing!

Like I said, I went into overdrive, dashed to Michael’s craft store, stood in the yarn aisle and thought, “What shall I do?  What can I possibly do in a week?”  I already mentioned, too, that I grabbed 14 colors (turned out to be 15, later), went home and stared at the yarn and then the ideas started coming in.  After that it was “Just let me finish this row . . . .” for almost a week of not-quite-non-stop throwing.  (I’m a thrower not a picker.  If you don’t speak ‘knit’, I’m referring to how one makes stitches.)

And the best part is that I have a bright array of colorful leftovers!!!

Here’s the scoop on the contest.  It was open to folks in US and Canada except for the states and provinces listed.  Follow the link.  I hope other folks had a BLAST, too!

http://www.vannaschoice.com/

Pardon the commercial-like post, but I really had a good time.  Goodnight asked me if I would be mad if I didn’t win.  What could I say?  Yes?  Not at all!  I’m a good sport.  And I packed more creative knitting fun into this past week than I usually allow myself.  If I had only known about it while I was still on semester break . . . . but I can’t blame Lion Brand® for that.  The contest was open from early November.  Where the heck was I?????

Now . . . .  it’s just a waiting game. Final announcement won’t be made until the end of May.  I can wait, but I hope you don’t mind if I knit while I do. . . . . . .

This was my second post for today.  I wanted to keep the topics separate, so now scroll down and read about Dinner by Alphabet. ↓↓↓↓

Dinner by Alphabet – “A”

Happy Groundhog Day!

Photo taken by Goodnightgram.  Groundhog passed out hot chocolate packets to students.

Dinner by Alphabet . . . . .

I am a fair to middling cook.  But it’s easy to get into a rut . . . particularly with a full time job and especially when I would rather knit!  And I went on a cooking marathon over semester break, so I have some great meals in the freezer ready to go.

But yesterday I got a great idea, and a new category to my blog - Dinner by Alphabet!  Goodnight is plenty old enough that I don’t have to practice her ABCs with her, but I picked her up after school, stopped at the grocery store and explained the rules:  “We are eating A’s tonight.  You go that way, I’ll go this way and look for foods that start with the letter A. 

She thought it sounded like fun and off she went.  Pretty soon she came walking up the aisle I was in and asked if it could be a brand name.  I said no because there enough foods that begins with the letter A to have a fun dinner. (I bent the rule slightly a few minutes later.)  So she went back to the hunt.

A few minutes later she came back to me and peeked in my cart.  She saw what I had and ran to the check-out girls and asked, ” What are some foods that start with the letter A?  Hurry!  Gram has Anchoves in her cart!”

They gave her a couple of ideas and then she had a brainstorm.  She was glowing with her three finds!

When I got to the check-out to pay, one of the girls asked me what we were doing and I explained.  She saw what we had and was curious how I was going to put everything together.  She wanted to know if we did this often.  I explained to her that this was the first time we were going to try this, but we’d be back for B!

Here’s what we got:

1 Apple

1 Avocado

Arugula

Anchovies

Asparagus

Almonds

Acini de pepe

Alfredo Sauce

Apricots

Asian Dressing (that’s where I bent the rules for Goodnight)

Here’s how our feast turned out:

Salad course:  Diced Apple, Diced Avocado, Arugula with Goodnight’s Asian dressing 

Main Course:  Acini de Pepe pasta cooked with diced Asparagus, Alfredo sauce, pan-fried Anchovies crusted with a coating of chopped Almonds and All-Bran (I had that at home and bent the brand name rule for me, too.)

Dessert:  Angel food cake (from my freezer) topped with Apricots and a reduction sauce of the Apricot liquid and Agave, topped with a few more chopped Almonds.

I know that you may thing the ringer in the meal might be the Anchovies.  Yah!  They were salty, but I crumbled only a little bit on top of the Alfredo just for a little crunch and seasoning.  It actually worked.  But . . . . 

Personal note here:  I could have kicked myself for not remembering Andoullie sausage!!!!!!  Oh well, Anchovies last night.  Andouille in what – 26 weeks – give or take?  We’ll see.

Goodnight had seconds of everything – except dessert. (because I limit the sweets.) 

When we were done with dinner, Goodnight asked me when we could do B.  It won’t be more than once a week, so it will give her something to look forward to.

But goodness gracious!  I couldn’t believe the pile of dirty dishes, pots, and pans I had after that.

But we had fun.  It was Absolutely, Amazingly Awesome!

After we cleared the table, we had another Jam with Gram session to practice for Saturday night at the camp.  Goodnight already has the music well-prepared, but it’s fun time together, so we practice anyway.

I finished knitting another orange stocking cap, because Goodnight wanted me to have one to match hers to wear to camp.  Fun, eh?

Whew!!! The entries are in . . . . but . . .

I did it.  The re-write went MUCH better and was so much fun.  I got the entry form for the third project filled out, photos attached, yada, yada, yada, electronically submitted, and confirmation of receipt returned to me.  Great exhaling sigh of relief going on here in “Seven Hills.”

But . . . . . I still have 16 hours before the contest entry deadline so I could whip up. . . . . nah!  I’m just kidding.  I have to keep my day job!  Three out of four categories is enough for one week.

I’ll interject a cue for laughter here – apparently the contest entries began in NOVEMBER.  I didn’t hear about it until last week.  So while a trillion other crafters were quietly working away, I was very late to jump on the bus!

I’m wondering if I can post the photos, though.  The rules say that photos become the property of the company that’s sponsoring the contest.  Hmmmmm.  I’m going to be careful about that for right now because I want to play fair.  Bummer though, because it’s always fun to share.

So, in the meantime, here are a couple of knitting photos.  First, a pair of mittens I had time to work up this week, too.  They are a lovely magenta color and I added some lace at the cuff to dress them up a bit.  I wear mittens more than gloves when I go out to play in the snow with Goodnight.  Nothing says I can’t play in fancy mittens, right?

The second knitting photo is something I’m wearing today.  I forgot I had it on until someone came up to me in the hall at work and said, “That’s cute, whatever it is.  What do you call that?”  It’s called a shrug.  Basically, sleeves and the upper back part of a sweater.  One has to shrug their shoulders to keep it on.  I love how knitters can knit only the parts of a garment they need.  Today I must have wanted extra sleeves.  Here’s the shrug folded flat.

 

And here’s a close-up of the heart pattern I used.  Look at the more noticeably vertical lines.  Can you see the hearts?

The shrug is old, made from a nice wool with some flecking spun in.  I don’t wear it too often, but it’s chilly enough today to have it on at work.  And if the shrug isn’t enough purple for the eyes, I have a purple corduroy jumper on today, too.  So for you folks in UK – not the sweater jumper, but the sleeveless dress jumper. 

I must be comfortable in my purple.  I have a copy of this book in my cubicle . . .

Goodnight and I had our first ‘Jam with Gram’ session last night.  We had a BLAST.  My keyboard has a ton of bells and whistles to it, so we decided on a Raffi version of “Old MacDonald Had a Band.”  We added a beatbox rhythm and an electric piano sound.  The kids will love it at the camp Saturday night.  The grandparents might too.  Goodnight giggled her way through the practice.  I was a keyboard student, so I can’t claim to know much about wind instruments, but I’m quite certain one shouldn’t snort into a flute.  Wouldn’t you all agree?

My ham and barley soup dindn’t end up as ham and barley.  I thought I had barley, but it was no where to be found.  I threw in buckwheat groats instead.  Should I even admit that I had any?  And should I admit that I threw them into some soup with my New Year’s ham?  And should I admit that I served it to Goodnight? 

Well, I did.  And she loved it.  I’ve served groats before, so it wasn’t a shock to her.  Her buttermilk biscuits turned out just fine.  She ate hers with agave on them. 

Today is pajama and Whacky hair day at Goodnight’s school.  Luv it!  She’s comfy and there’s no hair code today.

Time to scoot to my job, but I can’t wait to travel the blog universe to see how you are.

“If at first you don’t succeed . . .”

Still knitting.  Or would that be knitting again?  I’m not sure.  Probably a combination of both.  Yesterday, I worked like a fiend on my entry for category three of the contest.  Maybe I should have left well enough alone at two entries.  Project three was cute, but I hated it.  Something was off and I wasn’t satisfied.  I went to bed and decided tothink about it as I drifted off to sleep.

New day, new beginning, so I started over on project three.  It’s not done yet, but I got past the part that didn’t look right to me yesterday.  That’s how designing goes.  I may have forgotten to mention that I’m not following patterns for this contest.  I’m designing my own.

Good thing I had to start over!  (I grew up watching Pollyanna, hence the positive attitude.) I didn’t write the pattern as I knit.  I should have, since project three has some stuff in it that I would elope on the way from short term to long term memory, like what I ate for breakfast.  Today’s version and notetaking are going much better.

Looks like Goodnight and I might actually be on the talent side of the Talent (or Not) Show for the coming weekend.  I forgot about her flute.  When I finish project three, I’m going to get my keyboard set up and we’ll practice a tune to play together.  Would that be “Jam with Gram” time?  Anyway – that’s the talent plan for now.

Back to my needles!  I’m in the home stretch of this marathon.  Ham/barley soup simmering on the stove.  Goodnight is on deck to make the biscuits for our dinner.  Just the thing for a chilly day.

Wishing you well.

Talent (or Not) Show

Goodnight and I received a packet of information about our upcoming ‘gray-cation’ with other grandparents raising grandchildren.  It’s a winter camp get-together.  The letter accompanying the packet said the camp was booked full of us oldies raising youngsters.  I am looking forward to it.

The camp get-together begins next Saturday morning – arrival between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.  Stowing gear, checking in, etc, then just in time for lunch.  Love it!!!  Gram is off the hook for cooking for the entire weekend!!!

There are helpers who will attend the weekend, having activities with the children so the caregivers can talk if they want to.

Here’s the deal, Saturday night – after the second meal I don’t have to prepare – there is a Talent (or Not) Show.  The families can present something, anything for the entertainment of the group.

Goodnight and I were talking just this morning about what we should do together.

Goodnight sat down in the chair and said, “That’s easy, Gram.  Knit, knit, purl . . . . knit, knit, purl.”  She’s a pixie, but I was laughing with her before she got to the second ‘knit, knit, purl.”  Do you think she’s trying to tell me something?

So, today and tomorrow we are going to try and come up with a talent.  If we can’t, I guess we’ll be part of the ‘or not’ group.  Whatever way it goes, we’ll have fun doing it.

My weekend gray-cation with Goodnight is actually going to start a little sooner than she thinks it is.  We’re heading down on Friday to stay overnight with my mother.  From her house it’s less than 20 miles to the camp.  Friday night in Smalltownville there is a Girls’ Chocolate Night at the city library.  Yup!!! That’s what they advertized.  Now I don’t eat much chocolate, but I like the notion of supporting my childhood hometown library’s summer reading program.  (That’s my story and I’m stickin to it!)  Sounds like a great start to a winter camp outing, don’t you?

In the meantime, it’s cold here in “Seven Hills”.  Goodnight has choir practice today and then we are going to make a toy drop.  I decided it was my turn to pick the location.  We are going to attach the toy drop to signs at a nearby church that notes two parking spaces reserved for single parent families. It’s not the denomination I attend, but I have a great deal of respect for the signs they posted.  Goodnight’s childrens’ choir sings for services tomorrow and I am . . . . . working on my entry for a third category in the contest.

Oh dear!  As I typed that last paragraph, I just realized that I have a Prayer Shawl in progress that has to go with me when I visit Mom.  She takes them to church and they are given to people who need them.  Mother told me that the last one I donated was given to the wife of a teacher who works in the high school where my dad taught for his entire career.  I had planned to remain anonymous, but the lady who gave it to the woman knew I grew up in town and mentioned that fact.  It was quite touching to hear the story via my mother.  So, of course, I decided to make another one.  Looks like another busy week . . . . . Knit a million, purl a million?   ;-)

Knitting Madly – or Mad (as in crazy) Knitter? You decide. ;-)

Seems like AGES since I posted, but in reality it hasn’t been.  I think the reason that it seems longer is because sooooooo much has been crammed into this past week.  Wait!  That’s passive voice.  I crammed too much into this past week.  That’s more truthful.

But it was a mad kind of fun. . . .

Less than a week ago, I found out about a not-too-little contest and I decided to enter.  If it has anything to do with yarn  or knitting, I’m game for a go-round.  Only glitch was that I found out very late and the deadline is February 1, 2010.

“Huh!!!  No problem!” thinks overconfident gram!  I’ll just whip something up!

I went to the store to buy the yarn for my project, but guess what?  I hadn’t even decided on a project yet.  So I bought a total of FOURTEEN different colors thinking that something would come to me.  It was on sale as a two-fer – if that makes you feel better.

Something came to me . . . . so I started clicking.

Well – ‘whipping something up ‘ isn’t always as easy as it sounds.  I have been working at a frantic pace since last Saturday. . . . because . . . . well, I wasn’t content to enter ONE of the categories.  I had to go for TWO because I finished the first project in three days.  The second one took three days, also.

Lest you think I’ve been ignoring Goodnight in the process – uhhh, that’s a negative!  I got up at 3:30 in the morning and knit until it was time to get ready for work.  Then I would knit after work, dinner and homework with Goodnight.  For all the time I had, I thought I could make a third project, but I am a knitter who likes the finishing work of projects, so I tend to design things that take more time to finish.  Such was the case.  So two projects it is. (even though I have two more full days til the deadline . . . . . . .)

So, whew!  Photos taken, patterns typed, entries submitted (thank-goodness it could be done electronically).

I’ll show pictures when I get the chance. I used all the colors but one!  Fun.  Very, very fun.  But my knitting needles need some sleep.