Errands and such

    Today I spent the day running errands, most of which I could do right from my chair. I finalized the baby shower by calling the restaurant and giving them the final guest count and menu choices.


    I took a call from my pulmonary specialist's assistant, and made appointments for a CAT scan and a follow-up visit. I also made more laundry sauce today.


    As I re-read the recipe, to make sure I do it right, I read some of the comments on the original post. If you really read the entire thing, it tells you explicitly that you cannot make substitutions in ingredients, or mason jar size, or anything. You have to do it exactly as written. Yet there are yahoos out there who don't follow the directions, and ask why it didn't turn out right. It's not like it's that complicated, it has only three ingredients, besides the water. I shake my head. It just boggles the mind.


    Anyway, I also went out today, to visit with a friend while she was at karate with her daughter. That didn't last long, as she ended up leaving, with the intention of picking said daughter up later. She didn't feel like sitting there for three hours today. I don't blame her. When I do it, it's strictly on a volunteer basis. I've already put in my time there.


    Before she left, we went to the supermarket. And as long as I was there, I thought I would order the cake for this weekends baby shower. So, the cake is now ordered. I hope everyone enjoys it! I'm really looking forward to this shower, and meeting some of my daughter's in-laws that I haven't met yet.


    At one point this morning, I remembered to call my mom, since today is her 81st birthday. I couldn't make dinner with her and Sara, but I am going to spend the day with her soon, and we'll do lunch.


    In between phone calls and errands, I got some knitting done as well. I also plan on doing more after dinner while watching TV with the Hubs. This blanket is never going to get done. I still have shower gifts to wrap, and edgings to crochet, and buttons to sew on too!


    Sometimes I feel that it never ends. I just can't wait for this baby to come!

Feeling a bit better today!

    I noticed as soon as I got up, I feel better today! I slept almost all the way through the night. I usually wake up at 5 am so I can start the coffee for Hubs on the days he has to work. I even wake up on the days he's not working.


    Today, his alarm woke me up, so that's when I turned the coffee on for him. I then went back to sleep, and woke up again when he came in to get dressed. Then I heard him leave and lock the door. I finally got up for good at 8 am.


    I made myself some coffee, and sat and savored it for a long time. I watched some shows On Demand, that I was interested in and had missed. In between shows, I went downstairs and did some laundry. I didn't take any cold meds until almost noon!


    This afternoon, I got some real energy, and took two bags of bottles and cans back to the store for recycling. I also took my change bag to the bank for counting and deposit. Since it's all in the same plaza, I took my son his karate uniform top from yesterday.


    I had hoped to time my visit to the plaza correctly so I could see my best knitting buddy Kim H. and her Cherub. Unfortunately I picked the wrong day and they didn't come. I am bummed, but at least I got a few things done. I go and sit and keep Kim company when I can, I know how boring it is to sit there for hours a day while your kid does karate, and helps teach the under belts.


    Right now I have to go get my last load of laundry out of the dryer. I washed my house hat, and I need it. My head is getting cold. It's gorgeous out today, and I have the windows open. I will close them before Hubs gets home. The breeze is making my head cold. Fresh air is a good thing.

So much going on....

    There is, and has been so much going on, it's difficult to decide what to tell you about. The Harley is awesome, Hubs is very happy. I'm knitting a little but not a lot, because I'm reading right now. Just finishing up book 6 of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. It's called The Killing Dance. And like all of Laurell K. Hamilton's books, it's absolutely awesome.


    Being of mostly Italian decent, I have tried to stay away from foods that have a "wurst" attached to them. I've seen liverwurst, and it looks disgusting. Well recently, my Hubs came home from work and told me that they had had a cookout there. He had tried a bratwurst for the first time, and it was pretty good. I told him that of course I'd never had one, but if he thought it was good, I'd be willing to try one.


    When we went to Sam's Club the other day, we bought a package of brats. We had them for dinner last night. We cooked them on the grill. They weren't bad at all! In fact I liked them so much I made more for lunch today for the two of us.  At long last, a "wurst" that I'll eat. I still won't eat liverwurst, and you can't make me.


    The karate school picnic went well. Lots of people came, and lots of volleyball was played. Also lots of swimming was done. There was lots of food too. It was a potluck affair as usual, I brought more than two dozen cupcakes. I didn't enter the chili cook off, as I believe I wrote about before.


    My son called me today, they found a stray kitten at the karate school today. I brought over some litter for her, she is so cute. She's solid black and very friendly. Master Leclerc is either going to adopt her, or take her to the SPCA tomorrow. It was hard to leave her, I wanted her. But my Hubs doesn't want another cat. Heck, half the time he can't stand Ozzy!  

Weekly Craft Report

    This week, I can officially say that I've gotten past the 1/4 mark of the Super Secret Project. YAY! I'm thrilled to finally reach that point.


    Also this week, someone my daughter works with saw my blog post about the Lazy Person's Cat Toy and ordered two!  I whipped those out, and she is now the proud owner of them. I hear that her cats are having a fine time with them. If anyone else wants any, I'll have to go and buy more plastic rings. Those two used my last four rings.


    I'm looking forward to the Karate School Family Picnic tomorrow, I'm bringing cupcakes. I have also decided not to enter the chili cook off they are having this year. Every year they do a different food contest, and everyone is encouraged to enter. The last time that it was chili, I entered, but didn't win. I was disappointed, since one of the judges grew up eating my chili.  

Now for something completely different

   That was one of my favorite quotes from Monty Python. So this post will be about something different. Let's talk about crocheting first. I have finished the 2nd cat bed, after adding another row to the walls. My Hubs thought it was too short. I added the row, and he was right. Again.

    I am currently working on the 3rd and last of the cat beds. It will be just like the 2nd one, but a different color, and bigger. See, the last one I intend for the smallest of Sara's cats, Nermal. The biggest bed, the felted one, I see The Dude claiming. So that makes the newest one for Lemmy. He's bigger than Nermal, and smaller than The Dude. But really, they can sleep in whichever one they want to.


    Yesterday, I didn't post because I was not feeling very well at all. I just couldn't put any words together that I thought you might want to read. I spent most of the day on bed, with a worried Hubs hovering over me. I feel much better today, thankfully.


    This morning, I went to Stich n Bitch, then I went to the karate school to keep my good friend company while her Cherub tests for her 2nd degree black belt. During the actual testing a few months ago, she couldn't participate due to a broken bone in her wrist, and she was wearing a cast. She did take the written test which she passed. This weekend has been set aside for her to complete the physical portion of the test, along with the 3rd degree candidates. So in actuality, it's probably more intense than the original testing. I'm sure she will do very well.


    So I went to keep my friend company for a while, then went and ran some errands, then went back to keeping company again. Now I'm home, because I have my own chores to take care of. But if I have time later, I will go back again. Poor Kim is all alone, sitting on those hard bleachers, by herself.


    I do have something else to talk about, but I'm going to hold off for now. It's very exciting, and I'm thrilled to death about it. You will just have to wait!


   

A Karate Tournament

    Today was my son's Karate school tournament. I believe it was the 2013 New York State Championships. I got a phone call the other night, requesting my help at the front table. Just like last year, I got to take care of the spectators. You know, "You want to watch your kid compete? It'll cost you a modest sum."


    Don't get me wrong, it's fun. I get to meet all these people, and very few give me a hard time. Julie took care of the people who had pre-registered, and Jen Jackson handled the walk ins. That is one job I would not want to do. But they all come in knowing how much it's gonna cost.


    I got to watch my son compete. I enjoy that very much. Truly, the only time I see him smiling at these events is when he's in the ring, ready to spar. Anyway, here are a few photos I took today. My son has had that "Karate face" since he was 10.

    The final results for forms, Jess got 1st in that one:

    In this last one, that's my Hubs on the left, behind him is son-in-law Mike, daughter Sara, and Miss Julie is sitting on the floor. Believe me, it was cooler down there!

Stitch n Bitch and Other News

    This morning, we had our weekly get-together for Stitch n Bitch. All four of us were there. We had a nice breakfast, and got to work. Jan has been working on a hoodie for her son Sean, Kim has started a drop stitch summer sweater in a really cool thick and thin yarn. I am still working on Ozzy's cat bed. It's getting near the end, as I'm running out of yarn. I just have to make sure I have enough left to bind off. I think Cheryl must be too busy these days to have time to knit, I'm glad she finds the time to make it to group. Since her kids are no longer in Karate, this in the only time we get to see her!


    It was so hot yesterday, and it's going to be even hotter today. Last evening after it cooled off a bit, I put our whole house fan on. I love these things. They are big fans in the ceiling in the center of the house. When they're turned on,  they suck air in from outside through the open doors and windows. In the summer, I put it on early in the morning and suck cool air into the house before it gets hot. Then in the evening, after it cools off some, and it's still hot inside, I put it on again. This is assuming we aren't using the air conditioners yet. And we aren't. Yet.


   Anyway, while the fan was on last evening, I could smell my lilacs. That made me very happy. Even Hubs could smell them. I'm assuming it was Miss Kim I was smelling, as she's in the front yard, and I was sitting by the window at the front of the house.


    In other news, I got a call from my son today. He asked me to help out at their Karate tournament tomorrow. I get to "man" the table that sells the spectator bracelets. I did it last year, and it was lots of fun. You get to meet all kinds of people.


    I'm going to try and remember to bring my camera. Maybe I'll get to take some photos this time. But don't hold your breath, just in case.   

My Legacy

    Last night, as we lay in bed, Hubs and I had a discussion. I had mentioned that I had been thinking about my kids, and how I have twisted them. I believe it's in a good way, as they are all superior adults.


    I was worried about their children. I don't see my two current grandbabies very much, and the other two of my kids don't have any babies yet. But my beloved Hubs pointed out what he referred to as the Ripple Effect. My twisted kids will twist the kids they come into contact with. And that could be a lot of little ones, as one of my kids is a pre-school teacher, and one is a karate instructor.


    I know for a fact that Sara, the pre-school teacher, has been sharing her twistedness with her charges for years. She gets them to call her "Your Majesty", and even teaches some to play backgammon. I'm sure there are many other little things that she does in her class and her life that just shout about how I twisted her.


    Jess the karate instructor, on the other hand, has a much stricter environment in which to twist the young minds. But I'm pretty sure he does what he can.


    My older son James may not be as twisted as his siblings, as I wasn't involved in his upbringing, due to his being totally removed from my life at an early age. It's very painful to talk about, so that's all I'm going to say. But, he also is around children. He is a school bus mechanic who also drives routes when needed. And how many of us have school bus drivers that we have memories of? I know that I do!


    And that's what my legacy is. My twisted parents twisted me, and I twisted my kids. I can only hope that they, in turn, twist their own kids too! I feel so much better now that it has been confirmed that I have indeed made a difference in this world.


    Not to even mention all the friends that have witnessed my twistedness over the years, and stayed my friends anyway. Love to you all!

our most recent trip

    We got home just a few days ago from our most recent trip. You might have guessed we weren't home, there were little hints in the posts I wrote while we were away. This time Hubs had to attend training outside of Boston. We were there about twelve days.


    This time, we weren't alone. Hubs' co-worker Jason attended as well, and his girlfriend came along too. So there the four of us were. I got a lot of knitting done this trip. But we had some fun as well.


   We went up to Nashua, New Hampshire to go shopping one evening. And they both came with us to the karate tournament that Saturday. It was held in a hotel only about eighteen miles from our hotel, so of course we went! That was one loooong Saturday!


    It's nice to be away from home for a while, but it's always sweet to finally get home. I was so happy to finally sleep in my own bed. I had brought my pillow from home, so at least I had that. But I didn't bring my body pillow. I made do with some of the many pillows that the hotel provided.


    I was afraid that our cat, Ozzy, would be really pissed at us when we got home. After all, I had reports from the people that we had checking on him that he was attacking them. I think he was mad that they weren't his mommy and daddy. Ozzy was, in fact, very happy to see us! He hasn't left me alone since then. The first night, he came into our bedroom four separate times, meowing loudly, and woke me up. I talked to him, but he wouldn't stop. Eventually he left the room. It's like he was reassuring himself that we were really home.

Adventures in parenthood

    This is my first post in two days. Truly, nothing was going on on Friday. Nothing to report, except progress on the current sweater. Which is a good thing.


    Yesterday, however, we drove out to Andover, Mass. to watch our son compete in a karate tournament. It dragged on forever. We had Jason and Becky with us, and I felt bad that it was so boring. This was their very first tournament to watch. When finally the Master Divisions were called, we all perked up. His being a 4th degree black belt makes him a Master now. He didn't do breaking, but did forms and sparring. His form was excellent, but he didn't place.


    His first two fights were excellent, you can see he really enjoys doing that. But during his third fight (in a row, with only a 30 second break in between, I must add) I saw something I hoped to never see. He got a kick straight to the jaw, and went down like a sack of potatoes. My heart stopped. As soon as he hit the floor, he got up and wanted to continue the fight. But he was swaying, and unsteady on his feet.


     They made him sit down, and he got examined by someone. I'm not sure if that person had medical training, or lots of fighting experience.  Either way, he recovered, and wanted to continue. The Judges stopped the fight, wouldn't let him fight any more, and gave him first place. They gave second to the man who kicked him, but wouldn't let that guy compete in the Grand Championships either.


    I have to say, no matter that your kids are all grown up, that sight can still stop a mom's heart. He did have a whopper of a headache, and didn't want to drive home last night. He and Julie stayed at a hotel and headed home after breakfast.


   I must say, that in all his years of learning karate and competing in tournaments, he has been really lucky. He broke a finger when he was an orange belt, and as a red belt, got his chest wall bruised. But he has never been seriously hurt. Knock on wood.


    Even though I brought my knitting with me, I never broke it out during the tournament. There were like 10 rings going all at once, and there was a lot to see. There were people there from all over the country, and even the world! I saw teams from Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and South Carolina. There were teams in attendance from Canada, Wales, and even South Africa!! Amazing.


    It was very crowded in there, so we spent some time in the hotel lobby just hanging out until the crowd thinned down a little. As the underbelts finished, they would leave, and make more room. So the theory goes. It was still corowded when we finally went in, but we found a place to sit, against the wall, and when things got going we stood on the chairs to see better. Alot of people were doing that.


    All in all, Jason and Becky enjoyed themselves. They learned alot, and would like to see another tournament, maybe a little closer to home.


   

big news, although not unexpected, I think

    This morning, I got a phone call that I wasn't needed at work this weekend. That gave me free time today, to go hang out with my good friend Kim at karate. She would've just sat there, bored to tears, even though she was knitting.


    While I was there, I finished my sweater! We even made a trip to the ladies room so I could try it on, and figure out where the thumb hole went. I believe I finished just before 11:30 or noon, or whatever time it was the Demo Team practice started. I had my back to the wall with the clock on it.


    I even went back to the ladies room and put it on. I wore it for the rest of Demo Team practice. After I got home, I gathered up all my cotton hats and threw the whole lot, along with the sweater, into the washer. They are now in the dryer. I'm hoping against hope my sweater comes out alright. It's always a crap shoot, isn't it?


    So I guess this will be the last post about the sweater! Well, there actually be one more. I will post a photo as soon as I can get someone to take one of me in it.    

Busy Busy Day, and Crocheting Too.

    Today was a busy day, alright! I've been up since 5 a.m. I got up to use the bathroom, and couldn't get back to sleep. About 6:30, I gave up, got up and made some coffee. About an hour later, Hubs was up too.


    So by 8:30 a.m. I was ready for lunch, and by noon I was ready for dinner. But I had somewhere to go today. Son's karate school was playing a softball game for charity at 2 p.m. and I was going to support the team, and watch them get their butts handed to them. They were playing a team from Waste Management, who apparently belong to a league, and play on a regular basis. The Karate school team is made up of instructors and parents, and some adult students, who don't play softball on a regular basis.


    The good thing is that all the money raised was going directly to their charity, the Relay for Life to fight cancer. So far, the karate school has raised over $10,000!


    I brought my crocheting with me, but didnt' get a chance to work on it. I was too busy talking to people. I finished the one I was working after I got home, and started the next piece! Here is a shot of the first one I finished, all done!

    Here is the second side. I decided to have them not match.

   Here is the first side of the second one, finished today, I love it!

    The second side will look like the second side of the other one, but in pinks, purple and white. The skull is the same pink as the background of this one. I'm not sure yet what color I will use for the border. I might be thinking the white. Extra points to those of you who can spot the booboo.

The Picnic in the Park

    Every year, my son's karate school has a big picnic, at a local town park. There is a swimming pool, a big pavilion, and a large flat field where they set up a net for badminton and volley ball. Sometimes they get a touch football game together.


    It's a potluck affair, so everyone brings food, and there is usually a contest for the best particular food. One year it was chili, and this year was wings. They only had two entries, so they didn't do the judging.  The instructors are the judges.

    I only took a few photos, as my camera battery is getting low, and I was afraid it would die on me. The above photo is a shot of one of the food tables. Salads, desserts, chips and drinks.  The next one is a photo of part of the pool, with lots of kids in it!

    My daughter and son-in-law came too, and here they are:

    Right next to the pavilion, there is a really adorable little copse, with some trees and rocks. I always think it would make a good photo, so I took one of it.

    And that is my day. I sat and ate, and watched the kids swim and talked to people. I was so very tired, so after a few hours, I left. I felt bad leaving early, but Julie said she would watch my taboule salad, and bring me home my bowl after the picnic was over. They were just here a little while ago. There was still salad in the bowl.


    Like I said, I was so tired, when I got home, Hubs was in the shower, he had just gotten home from the Fishkill house. Then we went into the bedroom, and took a long, well deserved nap. I got up about an hour ago, Hubs just got up a few minutes ago.


    I took my knitting with me, but didn't work on it. I made a booboo, and really, just didn't want to deal with it. I couldn't devote enough of my attention to it, to find the mistake, and possibly attempt to fix it.

A Knitters Work is Never Done

    Today, as Miss Malia slept,  I worked on my shawl. I did about three rows before she woke up, the first time. I got two more rows done before she woke up for good.  I got to knit one more row while she was avidly watching her favorite show.


    There really isn't much else to talk about today. I also got to knit with Kim while Cherub was in karate class. Perhaps I shall get to work on it some more this evening.


    I cooked chicken breasts for dinner, seasoned with Hubs' favorite, Montreal Steak. I use it on everything, from steaks to pork, to chicken. I haven't tried it on fish yet, I am the only one in the house who would eat fish, so I don't even cook it.


    Now we are watching a time travel karate movie, a kid goes back in time to save the Monkey King. The movie was my choice, there isn't much on tonight. I'm hoping Hubs will want to watch the new DVD that came today, the newest in the Underworld series.

In Which I Get To Knit Again!

    In the last few days, you may have noticed that I haven't blogged about my knitting project. Several days ago, I was really, really tired, and tried to work on my Arachno Shawl, hoping it would keep me awake. On my way back across the row, I came upon a mistake I had made in the previous row. I tried to fix it, but wasn't able to. I think it was because I was so very tired.


    I did manage to make my way across the rest of the row. Then I put it down. I figured when and if I saw my friend Kim, and if I felt she was receptive, I would ask her to see if she could figure out what I had done.


    Well, last night at karate I was able to show it to her. It took me a while to find the error, but I eventually did. She told me to work across the row until I got to it, and she would see what she could do. I was so excited! She fixed it for me! Somehow I had managed, in my delirium, to knit two stitches together. Somehow.


    I usually don't ask Kim to fix my mistakes. I try very hard to fix them myself. And so far, I have been pretty successful! It's nice to know that when I am beyond my depth, Kim is there to help me out.


    So now I can knit again! I am so happy! I have finished four repeats of the cobweb pattern. Only four more to go! If I have enough yarn, I may go for a fifth repeat. We shall just have to see.


 

Random True/Funny Stories

    Sitting here this morning, drinking my coffee, I was, as usual, wondering what I could possibly blog about today. Then something made me remember a few true things that have happened. I think they give a little clue to my personality.


    Our family was attending a karate tournament in Pennsylvania, along with many other karate families from our Do-Jang. It was Saturday night, and all the kids had gathered in our room, as the hotel pool had closed. Well, Hubs and I were tired, and wanted to go to sleep. We couldn't figure out how to get these kids to leave!

    Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea. I opened the drawer of the nightstand, and of course, there was a Bible inside. I pulled it out, and announced to the kids that since it was after midnight, it was now Sunday, and time for a Bible reading. As I flipped through the book, the kids all fell over themselves in a rush to leave our room. Mission accomplished. Besides, I have a feeling that should I have read aloud from that particular book, I would have been struck by lightning....


    Another year, another tournament in Pennsylvania. This time we were on our way home, complete with trophies and our son's friend who accompanied us. As we were driving down the never ending highway, I spied a flash in the sky, and promptly cried out, "Look, a Pterodactyl!" The look on the face of that young man was priceless. Of course, it was an airplane, but I am a bit twisted (thanks, mom and dad), and am always seeing either Pterodactyls or dragons in the sky.


    As you might guess, my beloved Hubs has quite the sense of humor, to put up with me for so many years. It is extremely important to me that life never be boring. I love spontenaety. As my favorite quote from facebook states, "I try to never make plans, because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around in court!"

The Parade, Then and Now.

     Back when my daughter was in high school, she was in the marching band. So of course, she got to be in the parades. I remember driving down Rte 9, and the ungodly hour of 7:30 or 8:00, and even at that hour, people had chairs out already, marking their territory of where they were going to sit.


   It is still like that now! I no longer have to drop anyone off at the drive-in for the parade line up, but my two friends who do have remarked to me that this is still the case. And Jan even said, "Only in Hyde Park could people put their chairs out without fear of them being taken!" I agree, Jan!


   My poor daughter in the marching band had to wear this god-awful heavy wool uniform, even in July, and those stupid looking tall wool hats too. She would arrive home after the parade, practically fainting from heat stroke. She was furious that shortly after she graduated, the powers that be changed the marching band uniform to black pants and a white T shirt! I remember that she wanted nothing better than to burn that awful heavy uniform!


    This years parade was pretty good. I took a few photos, we were sitting on the east side of Rte 9, here are our views looking south, then north.

     Of course, the parade hadn't started yet. Even after it starts, we are near the end of it, so it takes forever for it to get this far!

    This nice family were also at the Memorial Day parade, when they were the hit of the street! They brought a duck, on a leash, with them. Everyone wanted to go say Hi to the duck!

     And of course, they can't have a parade without old military vehicles. Here is an old Jeep.

   
    And here is my fantasy boyfriend. I do like a man with a shed over his tools.  I don't want me no skinny men with bones sticking out. They hurt.

      And lastly, the highlight of the parade for me, a purple tractor! Gotta have a purple tractor, it sure is different!

 
                                   HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, EVERYBODY!

Random Observations

   I just have a few things that have been on my mind lately, I thought I'd share them and see if anyone else agrees with me!


   I watched HP and the Deathly Hallows again this past weekend, and something struck me. You know the scene where they all go to Uncle Vernon's house to get Harry out of there? And how they use Pollyjuice potion on 5 or 6 people so they look like Harry and the bad guys won't know which is the real Harry?


   My thought is this: Wouldn't it have been better to have Harry be the one disguised, but as someone who didn't go to the house?(So there wouldn't be two of them...) Then when they all leave, the bad guys would think Harry is still there. Just a thought.

   I watch a lot of TV. I've been noticing that lately, the people who make movies seem to be out of new ideas. It seems that all the new movies coming out are remakes of older movies. I think what they should do is go waaay back in time, and remake some really good old movies, like the Charlie Chan or Thin Man series. Can you even imagine what wonderful things they could do to those stories, with all the new technology we have today? Just a thought.
 
    Tomorrow is the Independence Day Parade in our little town. This year, I hope to remember my camera. I forgot it for the last one, on Memorial Day. I hope to get some good photos to post. We three karate moms will be sitting together, in the same place as the last parade. It was very hot that day, just like it's supposed to be tomorrow, and we were very cool under those trees!


    We will be cheering for our kids when they pass, and knitting (Jan),crocheting(me), and possibly spinning(Kim) as we watch the parade and wait for our children to march by. Jess knows where we will be sitting, so he will probably have them perform in front of us. They do that when they see parents or relatives.

The Karate School Picnic!

   Today was the annual karate school picnic. We usually have a really good time. This year, however, it was raining and I think that's why so many people didn't show up. There was supposed to be contest for the best tasting ribs. But no one who came brought any. There were lots of salads to eat, four different macaroni salads and a cole slaw. There were also several batches of cookies, and some brownies too. They were all good! One adult student brought the only warm food, some corn on the cob... it was yummy!
   The kids all went swimming, and most of the adults played volleyball. It rained on them the whole time, and they all got wet! No one seemed to mind getting wet. I am not athletically inclined, so I sat at a picnic table and worked on my knitting. I got quite a lot done today!
   It did get chilly, though, so I eventually put on my sweater. We called it a day early, around 4 pm. Some people had to leave for various reasons, and I think the rest of us had had enough of the frivolity.
   All in all, it was nice to see everyone who came, I just wish more people had come. Well, there's always next year.....