Happy Belated Birthday to Me and Feeling Lucky

Monday (April 21) was my 27th birthday. I can't believe I'm 27. After high school graduation time seems to be passing by at warp speed. In a happy coincidence I was also off on my birthday because of Passover. I spent the day doing some flower shopping, knitting and just enjoying the gorgeous day. I even picked up some lunch at the grocery store and took it out to enjoy at a park in Germantown, where instead of 'people-watching' I 'duck & goose' watched. I got a free mocha frappe my my coffee shop since it was my birthday (score!) and Doug and I went to eat at Swanky's Taco Shop and then had birthday ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. It was a nice day.

Despite having a birthday on Monday I was in a funk most of last week, feeling sorry for myself about my infertility issues. Then I heard about high school friends of mine (sisters) who lost their father in a sudden accident. And then I heard this heartbreaking story and I couldn't stop crying about the unfairness of the world. That this woman died without getting to hold her daughter and this man was left without the love of his life. Then I didn't feel so sorry for myself anymore and the petty crap I'd been moping about seemed ridiculous. I felt lucky. I'm thinking about and saying little prayers for the people I know and don't know who are hurting.

Books

I love books. I've always loved them. When I was growing up the library was a place we walked to in the summer. I remember walking in there and being hit in the face immediately with the cool air and that library smell. Miss Boyd was the librarian for most of my childhood. She was what people used to refer to as an 'old maid.' She was probably in her early seventies when I was a child. She was the person who stamped the little card in your book and let you take it home with you. I read everything imaginable. Amelia Bedila, Jam for Frances, Richard Scarry, the Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, the Babysitter's Club and eventually as I got older Stephen King, Anne Rice, Lee Smith, Ellen Gilchrist and others. I always took a book with me everywhere I went. Even on the less than 10 minute drive from our house to Wal-Mart I had to take a book. I read books at lunch at school, in the car, in the bathtub, everywhere. I had dreams about having my own personal library in my house with book shelves stacked to the ceiling. I am lucky that my husband loves books like I do and came into our marriage with boxes and boxes of books from when he worked at a bookstore. Currently, I believe our book habit keeps Amazon in business. I'm constantly hearing about a book on NPR or reading about it in a magazine or on someone' blog. Which is how I ended up with a stack of fresh reading material that hasn't even been cracked yet. (Mainly due to my working non-stop on that Juliet sweater)

These are on my desk, waiting to be read:

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science & Sex by Mary Roach
The Book of Dahlia by Elisa Albert
The Sky Isn't Visible from Here by Felicia Sullivan
Boom: Voice of the Sixities by Tom Brokaw
How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time by Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer

I'm not really sure which one is going to win the battle for being read first, I can't decide because they all look so good. They taunt me every time I pass them on the desk.

Blog Neglect, A Sweater & Spring

I've kind of neglected posting recently but since I'm pretty sure this blog is only an exercise in self-indlugence I think it's okay.

I've been knitting a lot, so much that I've even neglected the STACK of new books I have on my desk. During March I cast on and completed my first 'sweater' although it's more of a cardigan than sweater. It knitted up pretty quickly and turned out rather adorable (at least I think so). There are a few minor mistakes, but hopefully no one else (except other knitters) will notice.

It's the 'Juliet' cardi from Zephyr Style. They have the best designs, I love all of them. After I finished this one I ordered these interchangeable circular needles from Knit Picks so I could cast on the 'Green Gable' pullover from Zephyr. It's going pretty quickly too. I'm really empowered by knitting clothing. I want to make clothes for myself and despite owning a sewing machine, fabric and patterns for 6 months I have yet to make anything.

The weather has really warmed up, we have a frost warning for tonight but I think it's the last one. The temp is supposed to be in the mid-70's by the end of the week. Lots of plants are coming up and I'm starting to plan and buy new things for the flower beds and garden. One of my favorite things is this tree ring of hosta's I did last year. This tree was surrounded by tons of crappy weeds, overgrown monkey grass and other junk, I spent two days digging it up last spring and then my mom gave me a ton of hosta's from her garden that I planted around the tree. And the stones were already there from a previous owner so the whole thing was free, save for the mulch. I love the bright green hostas. I can't remember the name of the variety but I think they are so nice.

We're still a long way from finished on landscaping but it's getting there. We're hoping to rent a tiller this weekend and till up the back location for the raised vegetable garden beds. My peas and tomatoes are ready to get in the ground, plus I have all my seeds from seed savers to plant.