Eating On The Stree, Knitting Machines,and Digging Iris

Busy, always busy. Yesterday DH and I drove into the city take my prescription for new lens to be put into my current frames, they should be ready the first of next week then we'll go in again to pick them up. I'm not minding the two trips because it means we get to 'eat on the street'. When we worked downtown we would join hundreds of other people during the lunch hours to buy lunch from the street carts then find an empty bench in one of the parks or someplace on the street to eat. The cart we frequented the most was 'Christopher's Run-away Gourmet' a salad cart serving wonderful pasta salads, tuna and tarragon chicken salads, and a few others along with fruit, cheese and french bread; all deliciously fresh and flavorful. Hubby's suggestion of lunch on the street was well received by DW.

Tonight we are attending a wedding reception for our longtime friend's daughter. The family is originally from Pakistan and we've been friends since shortly after their arrival in the US back in the 80's. The wedding was held week before last in Jamaica, then the honeymoon, and now we friends are joining them and their families for a Pakistani reception. I know from past experiences of attending Pakistani functions with our friends, this will be a treat to attend. We've joined one another for celebrating holidays both American and Pakistani over the years and its always been enjoyable for our family as well as theirs. How wonderful it is to be friends with this family.

DH and I are about to start our fall digging for the bearded iris rhizome sale to be held at the Botanical Gardens next weekend. It's lots of work but we enjoy it and we'll enjoy being at the Botanical Gardens for the sale along with a few hundred other plant vendors and a zillion people coming to buy. The sale starts on Thursday afternoon for members of the Botanical Gardens and is then open to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have to leave my $$ at home, there will be too much to tempt me otherwise.

We are almost through the first week of September so I've begin thinking about a gift to send my pal in SP-11. Today I will put it together and have it ready to mail when I decide on a day. I don't like to wait until the last minute to do my exchange s. I don't want my partners to feel they have been forgotten by waiting until the last minute to think about what I plan to do and then being late to follow through. If I sign up for an exchanges the least I can do is, 'do it right'. I've never send things that are laying around, or things that have already been used and shows it, or bags that have been knit so long and left in a shop window that the outside has faded a half-dozen shades lighter than the inside of the bag and is splotchy on the outsides. I recently received such a package and I'm still so hurt that this could happen to anyone, not just me. And, it wasn't as if this person couldn't have done better, she certainly knows how to knit well (she has patterns published), certainly had access to yarn and other knitting products (she owns a knitting shop), and certainly had the time, (at least the same amount that everyone else participating had). My point is I want to be kind to the person I am treating and send them the kinds of things that I would be happy to receive, not just something to put in a box. Generally I have been well treated and my partners are a treasure to me, especially those who still keep in touch. The purpose of these exchanges is to make new friends who have an interest in knitting and/or crochet. The gift part is to 'make your new friend feel special'.

I've been in the yarn stash again looking and changing my mind over the colors, or the yarn, I want to use for the Fall Felted Bag I should get started on. I'm spending too much time doing this when there are so many other projects on the needles or waiting to go on the needles. This week I've even though it might be nice to have a knitting machine to help out. I've never used one and don't know enough about them to know if I would want to use one. Is there anyone out there that can share your experience with me about "yes I love my knitting machine" and what kind it is, or "no, I hated my knitting machine" and why? I can share an e-mail address with you if you'd like me to.

Time for me to get busy with thoughts of what to wear tonight. I've not worn any of dressy clothing since before my chemo-treatments and most no longer fit. I've lived in pants, jeans, and shorts for over a year now, waiting, waiting, waiting to see whats around the corner. I don't want to buy new clothes yet and since I no longer work I'll continue wearing pants, jeans, and shorts most of the time. Still, one can't go to a party dressed this way so I must get up and pull something out of the closet that can be put with something else and come up with a suitable wardrobe for the evening. I bet I can.