(Not so) Wordless Wednesday: Genuine Bliss

Flipping thru some photos on our computer, I found this gem:  Brian holding Will for the first time at the hospital shortly after he was born. (October, 2006)  Look at that proud smile, despite being up 40+ hours with me, that is one beamin' Daddy!  This will forever be one of my favorite photos of our family history.

Northern Lights Spectacular

The nightly news takes my breath away often, usually because of horrible tragedies.  In all honestly, that's why I stopped watching a long time ago.  But tonight I paused briefly on the News at 10, and I'm so glad that I did.  There was a video  of the Northern Lights, in Minnesota.  Just a glimpse and I was completely awestruck.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to see that in person.

In fact, I think that just made my bucket list.  To see the Northern Lights, up close and personal.  I think that's as close as one can get to Heaven without their feet leaving the ground.

Time for Some Movies

I think that it's high time to start working on # 49 of my Day Zero List:

49.  Watch 5 movies from the American Film Institute’s Top 100 list
I realized today that I actually have TWO movie-related items, this one and to watch "5 Classic Movies."  I suppose in a way, completing #49 would complete the "classic movies" item as well.  But that would be cheating, so there will be 5 classic movies as well.  I adore movies, I just don't take the time to watch them.  Instead, at night I will sit and watch crap TV or reruns of something that I have seen a hundred times in order to have something on in the background while I knit.  Rubbish, I say.  Is there some sort of law that says I can't stop a movie halfway through and finish it the next night?  No, I didn't think so.


So here are the five movies from the AFI's Top 100 list that I have chosen for viewing:


1.  The Godfather (1972)
2.  Citizen Kane (1941)
3.  Annie Hall (1977)
4.  Cabaret  (1972)
5.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest  (1975)


I couldn't really tell you what made me decide to pick these five movies out of a list.  Well, I read the summaries of several and these five intrigued me.  I also asked my father for advice, since he's a movie buff.  He absolutely insisted that I had to watch The Godfather, since it's one of his favorites.  He actually was shocked that I hadn't seen it yet!  
We'd cancelled our DVD program with Netflix a while ago, since we hadn't been watching the discs, opting to stick with the streaming version over the Wii.  No classics over the Wii streaming though, and the library didn't have any of the movies on the list.  (Surprising, that's the first time the library's let me down.)  So I've gone and upgraded our plan again to start sending one disc at a time.  By random choice, Citizen Kane is on it's way!

A Cheerful Stack

One of the many nice things about knitting little things for charity is that they have a tendency to pile up.  Right now this pile is sitting on the desk, three baby hats and  a pair of mittens.  I smile every time that I come into the room, they're an instant mood-brightener.  I let them pile up over there until they're threatening to take over that side of the desk, and then they get sorted in the closet bins.  That, and I make these mostly from scraps left over from other projects.  The pink, white and yellow ombre is from a baby sweater that I just finished.   The green is from a baby blanket that was stripes of purple, green and white.  And the purple hat and pair of mittens on the bottom were leftovers from several things, including a baby sleep sack and a cabled hat for myself.

I love knitting for charity, it gives me such joy.  And with that joy, I am happy to announce that I have completed NINETY baby hats that have been donated to Stitches from the Heart.  (well, not all at once.  I did fifty to commemorate Sean's first birthday, and that took the better part of a year.)  The mittens are a little service project that I whipped up, to see how many pairs of mittens that I could come up with in a year's time.  (tally as of today:  21)  It just gives me that thrilled feeling, that I'm making the world a warmer place for babies and kids.  

Wordless Wednesday: "Hey, Good Lookin'!"

Sean, age 2.  (or 27 months, whichever you prefer.)  As always, Joey works his way into the photo, too.  (Joey:  Age 10 years.)

Shaping Up

I've been working on this sweater for a little while now, and last night was the A-ha! moment.  The moment where it's not looking like a pile of knitted rows and actually starting to look like a sweater!  I started shaping the waist last night and it's looking good.   This is a easy, straightforward pattern that I am really enjoying.

Another thing that I'm enjoying right now:  startitis.  I've started a baby sweater for a baby's first birthday in November.  Also on the needles:  a floppy brimmed sunhat for my best friend's baby down in Florida.  (A Florida baby needs sunhats, even though I know she got some for her shower she can always use more!)  AND the 21st pair of mittens for Knit for Boston.  I guess I've been pretty busy lately.  :)  Truth be told, I'm also trying to use up some yarn in my stash so that I can make room for new stash next month.

Friday the 13th

On tap for this Friday the 13th:

-Started tours of the new building for potential residents yesterday.  It's kind of fun taking people through a brand new building, showing them where they're going to live.  Oohs and aahs over closet space and the "brand spanking newness" of everything.    Two more tours today.

-My poor Sean has a bug.  Nothing serious, just a fever that doesn't seem to want to go away.  Hubby and I took turns staying home yesterday, he went to work in the morning and I went in the afternoon.  Today he is getting some "Nana and Papa time" and hopefully will be on the way to his normal self.  Poor kid.  :(

-Dinner with an old friend tonight...one that I haven't seen in a few years.  I'm really excited!  Topped off with a spa reservation tomorrow for a massage and facial.  Ahhhh.....if Sean felt better this would be the perfect start of the weekend.

-Last but not least:  babies, babies everywhere!  There's a new bumper crop of babies to knit for in the upcoming months, three of my friends are due in 2012. Goodness, I love knitting for babies.  I've got patterns and yarn to peruse, people!    Still working on that shopping list for the upcoming Tent Sale at Webs next month, and it's growing.  :)