Gratitude

The fourth Thursday of November is not the only day to give thanks, but a good reminder to list out loud what things we are grateful in our lives, so here, in no particular order Jess, in case this is the one day you decide to read my blog...

1. My daughter Jessica.. 22yrs old and graduating this december. the graduating is my expectations being met I know... but still I'm excited. She'll be moving away from central Iowa but its time we all grow up...

2. My husband Dean... who just this morning drove all the way back 35 miles so he could be with me while I tried to capture that rascal Spencer....

3. All the animals in this house... Gretchen, Madaline, Gabriel and yes, even that rascal Spencer who took total advantage of the nice guy at the dog food place and squirmed (yes Mr. Muscle) out of the car while he was trying to put the bag in... he then proceeded to run in the neighborhood (rural) for 45 mins before he finally came to me. Spencer will be spending the next few days in some serious call/recall training.

4. Matthew.

5. Knitting and quilting and all things fiber.

6. Growing, every day.

7. Home, local foods and work to keep me busy.

Wow, I won!

If I said, I hardly ever win... you'd say sure, me neither.

but today, I received an email from DonorsChoose.org informing me that because I blogged about my participation, I won in a drawing, and I had a gift certificate I could put towards another challenge. So, I immediately did. For the 3 or 4 of you that read the site... click on the site link, head over, check out the straw poll that makes a difference, or the bloggers challenge and working together with others just like you across the US, help teachers make a difference in the classroom. These teachers know what makes their students tick, and they just need a few dollars to bring some unique teaching tools to their classrooms.

Caffeine swap II on Ravelry--am I a lucky gal or what?

Here's what I found on my doorstep this week

and all the goodies exposed: two skeins of sock yarn (yahoo!) in colors out of my normal colorways and I love them. stitch markers, dark chocolate, a new mug, green tea and whole decaf starbucks beans. My swap partner read my mind. I hope she reveals herself to me soon. Thanks swap partner, I'll be thinking of you often. Now, I must finish up my shopping at my LYS to get my package out the door so I can make someone else's day.

A Little Yarny Update

Now that Socktoberfest is over, and I cast on several socks, but unfortunately did not finish a single one.. I've joined up here. This project commitment shall help me finish the projects I've started, resist the yarny calling and appreciate the stash goodness I already have. So help me Yarn Goddess.