KTS4 - it's here !!

It's been a good mail week here chez Jickets -- my Knitters' Tea Swap 4 package has arrived!


My swap partner was Bridget, and she certainly came through for me. She sent me two types of tea, both of which smell wonderful; a tin in which to keep my tea, which I must admit was an accessory that I didn't know I Absolutely Needed until now, some very yummy Italian cookies, gorgeous blue and green stripey sock yarn, and some incredibly soft bulky alpaca yarn -- I'm thinking it wants to be a hat. Thank you so much, Bridget!

I live in Canada, and I do work for a living. The result of these two factors means that I'm often stuck, particularly in the winter, trying to find decent light for photographs. It's sometimes even difficult to get my trademark crappy front stoop photos when the window of opportunity is only an hour or two. I managed to convince myself that I needed help.

Help has arrived! I now don't have to worry about getting a quick shot between snow squalls and before my fingers freeze. It's just a matter of piling everything into there and snapping away!

Maybe not. This might take a bit of practise.

Not too bad.
Hmmmm - soft and squishy!

I had to go stash diving to play a bit.

Potential scarfey stripeyness!

This could be a bigger time suck than even Ravelry -- but I can drink tea and munch cookies while I'm at it!

Boston and Back

Yup, I went to Massachusetts, and didn't even have to leave home -- my "souvenirs" from the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap arrived!


Angela somehow knew exactly what I would have picked out to bring back home with me! Coffee, tea, Yankee candles, a beaded snowflake, tour book and baked beans (baked in Canada, I might say! LOL) And she made that very cool bookmark with the Red Socks! She also made the stitch markers which unfortunately you can see very well in that picture, but they have sea-themed dangleys on them -- sweet! And of course she sent yarn.


Cape Cod, of course! Thank you so much, Angela -- everything was perfect! My mini-vacation was certainly a welcome break.

Of course, once I got back to real life, I was still faced with my Dugly-Uck socks. I was trying to keep the coloured stripe pattern flowing through the gusset while maintaining the stitch pattern, and I think I succeeded.



The problem was that once I switched the foot over to stockinette, the striped wonked out on me. There were several ways I could have done it, but I decided it would be easiest to just put the pattern stitch on the front of the leg and foot and keep the back and the sole plain. It worked!

Unfortunately, I think the reduced patterning doesn't really do justice to the stitch pattern. There isn't quite as much variation as I had when the pattern went around the entire sock. Look here for an excellent example of what this stitch pattern can do for you.

By using only three Cable Twist repeats, I was able to keep the stripes from zigzagging. There are "gentle bumps" caused by the slipped stitches, but it's still a stripe.

On one sock, the stripe got a bit wider just before the heel. I lay the blame for that squarely on the horror movie I was watching as I was knitting it.

I still think this is a weird colourway. To be fair, in the pattern that came with it, they suggested that if you didn't want stripes, you could alternate ends of yarn. I was only able to find one picture of finished socks using that technique. I think it's nicer than the stripes, but I'm too lazy for it. (To the extent that I reknit these socks what? three times? LOL!)

The Socks that Rock yarn certainly feels nice as you knit it, and it makes a thick fabric that should be soft and warm. I had to wash these before I took pictures because the yarn was re-knit so often that it looked a little uneven. They were taking forever to dry, given our recent patch of humidity. I checked the label and Blue Moon recommended the dryer. In they went, and out they came, looking great. Bonus!

I was able to play with the band heel a bit more. I originally thought that you couldn't really alter the sizing of it, but you can if you treat it more like a short-row heel than a heel flap. In other words, you can't just make a longer heel flap, but you can use more than half the stitches for the flap, which has the same result. I ended up using half of the stitches plus 4 extras, which gave me four extra rows in the heel flap. The fit is perfect on my high instep, and there is no gusset wonkiness.



Other things I learned while knitting these socks:

1. Knitting with yarn that doesn't particularly appeal to you can lead to Second Sock Syndrome. I really had to force myself, often unsuccessfully, to work on the second one.
2. Repeatedly telling yourself "It will grow on you" doesn't necessarily mean it will.

Knitters Tea Swap - parcel received!

My partner in the Knitters Tea Swap swap was Allison, of Simply Socks Yarn Company. How lucky could I get?!! I was very much looking forward to seeing what she was going to send, because she had sent me such a fantastic package in Yarn Ahoy. She didn't disappoint. :-)

Yummy! Ceylon Breakfast -- one of my favourites! And a great assortment of other teas to try. Some shortbread, some chocolate and a tea infuser. Perfect!

Oh, and what's that in the upper left? Might it be ... yarn?

Oh, yes, yarn indeed. A gorgeous hank of Smooshy sock yarn, hand painted by Dream in Color. Look at those colours! I've been drooling over this stuff since Allison first listed it, and I am so pleased that she decided to include it in the swap package.

Thanks so much, Allison -- you've certainly got me pegged!

Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap Questionnaire

Yes, I am a swap-a-holic.

Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap Questionnaire

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?

Massachusetts. Because I want to go to Boston. Lotsa history and lotsa yarn stores. Sounds perfect to me.

2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?

Australia, because there's sunshine and beaches. And wool No, New Zealand, because there's green galore and interesting landscapes. And wool. No, Spain. I dunno why, but I've always wanted to go to Spain. Is there wool in Spain?

3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?

Yes, I've driven across Canada.

4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?

According to my dictionary, "exotic" can be defined thusly: of, pertaining to, or involving stripteasing: the exotic clubs where strippers are featured. I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?

It was a thwarted attempt to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Vancouver to San Fransisco. I ended up spending too much time in Seattle and had to turn around and come back. Even though the ultimate goal was not achieved, it was such a relaxed and go-with-the-flow type of trip that I didn't mind one bit. But I'd still like to drive the Pacific Coast Highway some day.

6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain.

Frequently. Since my early 20s, I've always lived away from family, so when they come to visit, I get to do the things that I wouldn't necessarily do as a local. It's fun!

7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker?

Museums, yes. Beaches, yes. Bungee jumping, no.

8. What's your favorite type of yarn?

Something about sock yarn just makes my heart go pitter-patter.

9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?

Something about fun fur just makes my stomach churn.

10. What items do you like to knit/crochet?

Mostly socks. I have a limited attention span, so I don't have a good history with larger items.

11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation?

Socks.

12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet?

I used to do cross-stitch but haven't for quite some time. I don't really have time to get into much else.

13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)

Nope.

14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?

Favourite: bluegreenbrowngrey. Least favourite: yellow.

15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?

Either.

16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?

Desparately needs to know? I hope not.

ISE4 - Scarf received!

Q: What's brown and blue and green all over?

Q: What's full of gorgeous little squares that go on forever?

Q: What's soft and warm and cushy-cuddley?

A: The fantastic garterlac Kureyon scarf that Kim sent me for the International Scarf Exchange!

In my semi-caffeinated state, I forgot to take a picture of the other goodies Kim sent. They included an extra skein of yarn so I can make a matching hat !!!, some yummy taffys, a mug and some coffee (which I should have drank so I wouldn't have forgotten - LOL!), some postcards and a fridge magnet ... and a nail and a yo-yo!! All very cool, and I am muchly pleased. Thanks so much, Kim! I hope the scarf you receive is as wonderful as the one you sent me.

ISE4 - Done!

It's been knit and purled, cat hair picked out of it, Eucalanized and blocked, and finally, after 510 cable crossings, the red cabled scarf is done!

What's that you say? You only see 205 255 (Ooops!) cable crossings? That would be because --

-- the other 205 255 are on the reverse side.

It's the Reversible Scarf from Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled, 5 balls of Luxury Alpaca. My partner wanted a scarf that was at least five feet long, and after the first ball I had ... 11 inches. A quick trip the yarn store revealed that, since this was a gift and there was a deadline, no more of this yarn in this dye lot was to be had. Much gnashing of teeth ensued. In the end, it turned out to be just over six feet long. Thank you, stretchy alpaca and the magic of blocking!

Mods I made: The pattern calls for worsted weight alpaca, which I could not find, so I used DK weight. To make up the extra width, I added one pattern repeat.

Mods I wish I made: I should have added half a repeat. As it is, it's truly reversible; each side starts with a knit section and ends with a purl section. I think I would prefer to have either a knit section or a purl section on each side. You know, so each side is either framed with an inny or an outy. :-)

I enjoyed this project very much, and if I do say so myself, the alapaca feels absolutely wonderful. I'd love to make one for myself ... but not in red. That colour has been close to impossible to capture with my crappy camera. It's not scarlet, not pink, but red.





In the Other News Department, I've been tagged several times for the random things meme that has overtaken blog-land recently. Thanks for thinking of me, but I respectfully decline. I have one of these:

Continueing to continue

So, the red cables ... they continue.


About comments: That Lavendersheep, she's a smart one. It turns out that the new Blogger did NOT mess about with the ability to reply to comments and it actually works exactly the same as it did before. It also turns out that the new Blogger DID mess about with your settings. If your email address was public before, you've been reset to private. If you edit your profile and check off "show my email address," your email address will show up with the comment and restore reply-ability. Pass the word around, eh. I shall now return to my previous position: If there is no return address with the reply, that means you don't want one. If there is a return address, I'll use it. Thank you, Lavendersheep!

The red cables .... they continue to continue.



About the contest: About time I announced a winner, eh? Many of you correctly guessed that the knitted tube was a dying blank. Many of you suggested that it could be a neck or leg warmer for a giraffe, or a snake warmer, or a willy warmer. All cute ideas, but the one that made me laugh out loud was:

I’m rather certain “it” is a trunk warmer for a recently-widowed elephant. Such a comfort in trying times. Especially when one’s ankles tend not show off one’s socks to advantage.

Congratulations, blogless(?) Mike!

The red cables ... they continue to continue to continue.

You Can't Get There from Here: A Rant

I sat down the other night to start knitting my scarf for the ISE -- the one on which I had already spent four and a half hours stringing 1,680 beads onto a skinny little piece of string. It's from a kit purchased at my LYS. The yarn and the beads were packaged together with a pattern pamphlet entitled "6 Scarves and a Shawl." It's put out by a Canadian company, so I was quite happy to find something with local flavour.

Before I bought it, I opened up the package to see what the patterns were like, etc. Most of them had fringe on the ends, which I thought looked kind of ratty, but one of them, the Charlotte, had beaded tassels instead. I thought that was a nice touch and would be something a little different, so that's the one that I planned on making.

According to the pattern, you first make a tassel for each end, and then you just knit away on the scarf until you run out of beads or yarn, attach the tassels to the ends and you're done. Very cool. After a bit of futzing around to figure out how to get the beads to lay nicely in the knitting, I was well on my way.

For each tassel, you knit a small band 10 stitches wide, with beads. You then make two loops in each stitch, with 70 beads in each loop. These loops then dangle and jangle and are generally very snazzy.

Knitting, beading, tasselling, looping -- much fun ensued. Until I finished stitch number 8, at which point I casually remarked to myself, "Hmm, this tassel feels kind of, well, heavy." I looked over at my remaining beads and, not so casually, commenced to curse. Let's see: 8 stitches with two loops each is 16 loops, each with 70 beads, means I've used 1120 beads, plus the ones in the band. Two more loops to go just on this tassel, which is another 280 beads, so over 1,400 beads in this one tassel. That leaves less than ... 280 ... beads for the other tassel and the entire scarf.

I must have done something wrong. I re-read the directions. Nope, I did it right. I look again at the remaining beads. Nope, they didn't magically reproduce while I was doing the math. I curse some more. I flip through the pamphlet looking for clues. And I found one. Page 6 of the pamphlet has a materials list. Most of the patterns call for 100 grams of #6 beads. My friend Charlotte? She needs 50 grams of #6 beads and 50 grams of #10 beads. Nowhere in the pattern directions does it mention different sizes of beads.

Arrrrgggh

and also

grrrrrrrr.


Memo to Swallow Hill Creations Ltd.: If you package up a kit entitled "6 Scarves and a Shawl," you should include in the kit a note such as, "This kit contains the material required to make pattern A, B or C. If you wish to make patterns D, E, F or G, you will have to buy additional materials; please refer to materials list." If you were to do so, a gullible knitter would not purchase your kit and blithely attempt to make Pattern D. Also, upon a further and more careful perusal of your patterns, the second pattern in the booklet is Exactly the Same as the first pattern, but six stitches narrower. I don't think you can legitimately call that a separate pattern.

I do not have for you a picture of one humongous and heavy -- and rather expensive -- tassel. I ripped it so fast even my head spun. I again poured over the information I had for my swap partner. Even though she is in what I would consider to be a warmer climate, she has a lot of Very Nice wooly-type yarns. No evidence of lace or froufrou. Perhaps my first inclination of cuddly cables was in order after all. Enter Plan B.



In the Other News Department: The Knitters Tea Swap 3 -- go sign up!!

A Question: I've been hoping that Blogger would remedy the lack of return address on comments. It was there before, but in the new Blogger it isn't. It takes way too long to click around trying to find an address to reply, so I kind of gave up, but I like replying to comments. Are those of you who use Haloscan able to easily respond?

Mail & Miscellaneous

My mail box has had another very good week.

Mail No. 1: I recently won a blog contest over at StarzAbove and look what she sent me!



Some wonderful roving! I don't spin, but I've always wanted to try thrumming, and this will be perfect. Some cookies! I love chocolate and mint together and have somehow already managed to scarf down half the box. And ..





Some sock yarn! I'm thinking it's hand-dyed, in a gorgeous slightly variegated mixture of subtle greens and browns. This will make some Very Handsome Socks! :-) The package was a most welcome break in busy week -- thank you so much, Starz!

Miscellaneous No. 1: Several people asked where I got the Apple Pie yarn that I used in my March socks . That, along with this ...





... came from Pick Up Sticks . No affiliation-yada yada-blah blah blah, but I must say that I have made, ummm, several purchases from Connie and have received excellent service every single time. I highly recommend her. On the yarn itself, several people mentioned that they have had a knot problem with it. I didn't have any knots, but just so's you know, m'kay?

Miscellaneous No. 2: Locals might be interested to know that another yarn store in Ottawa finally got some Koigu. I feel safe in sending you to Yarn Forward on Bank Street because ...

... I've already been there.

Miscellaneous No. 3: I finished stringing the beads for my ISE4 scarf.

That is 427 cm., which is 168 inches, which is 14 feet, of beads. There are 10 beads to an inch, so ... 1,680 beads. I now understand why people who work regularly with beads get a bead spinner. Onward!

Mail No. 2: Thanks very much to everyone who offered to trade me for their Monsoon STR yarn. Blogless Elizabeth, with whom I traded my previous club yarns, came through for me!

Me likes it! I likely won't do the Inside-Out pattern, but who knows. I'll let it marinate for a while.

Elizabeth also sent me something else, along with a note that said, "If you don't know what it is or how to use it, LMK!"

I don't really KNOW, but I do have some guesses. It's an open-ended knit tube, with the ends unfinished, 229 cms or 90 inches long, 12.7 cms or 5 inches across, so 25.4 cms or 10 inches around.

I love mysteries, and I love contests, so closing off the circle in this post, a Contest! Email me (address in the sidebar) your best guess -- I said best, which doesn't necessarily mean correct -- as to the use of this object, and in two weeks time I'll pick a winner and send them some sock yarn goodness!

Yarn Aboard!

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

'Tis Meriwether and --

What? I don't know any Mary.

No, sir. We are Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.



Sorry, dudes, but whatever you're selling, I don't need any. Wouldja mind moving on? I'm kinda busy right now.

Sir, we're sorry for bothering you, but we seem to have become lost.

Dudes, go down to the corner. There's a bus stop and a map with all the bus routes.

Sir, please. We've been wandering for days. We have asked many strangers for assistance, and no one will help us. Everyone is speaking a language we don't understand, and we fear we have wandered into the Spanish territory.



Dudes, you are Very, Very Lost. That isn't Spanish, it's French. And you're in Canada, not the Spanish territory, whatever the heck that is.

Oh, my, we are much worse off than we previously thought. Please, sir, would you render us a kindness and assist us in regaining our way?

Dudes, I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but if you don't move along I'm gonna call the cops. Go find some other scam -- this one is kind of lame.

Sir, we have no scam, whatever the heck that is, as you might say, but if you would but give us a moment of your time, we do have trade goods to recompense you for your efforts. We can offer you some wonderful tea and --



Tea, didja say? Well, umm, yeah, I could use some tea about now, but, you know, I'm really too busy to stop for tea right now.

Sir, we also have chocolate, which is a confection that is savoured --

Chocolate? Why didn't you say that in the first place? Come on in.

(a few minutes later, over a nice cuppa and a munch of sweetness)

Dudes, according to this map, all you hafta do is head south and west, and you'll eventually get where you're trying to go. It might take you a few days, but you'll get there. Hop on the No. 7 bus and transfer at the --

Sir, we know naught of any bus. To be honest, this strange country of yours has us totally befuddled. You have strange, hard pathways with eery lights and --

Yeah, well, all you hafta do is just walk along one of them pathways and stick out your thumb, like this. Someone will give you a lift eventually.

Sir, we beg of you. We are finding the language here difficult, and navigation next to impossible. Whatever path we take, they all seem to lead to a territory strangely called "Construction." Given your familiarity with this area, if you might take us only to the border of your Canada and our --

Take you to the border? Are you nuts? That's like an hour and a half away. The train station is just over --

Sir, please, we realize you are busy, but if we are only an hour and a half off our route, that is most wonderful news! We have other goods we can trade for your assistance. We have a wondrous letter-writing material, with incredibly beautiful pictorials of spun fibre that can be --

Spun fibre? You guys are starting to get a little more interesting. I kinda have a thing for "spun fibre." Those are really nice note cards. I guess I could give you a lift to the train station.

Sir, you drive a hard bargain. We need to get to the border, not a "station." Perhaps we can barter some livestock --

Dudes, I don't want any livestock. Trust me on this. I really don't need livestock.

Sir, this livestock is of a rare variety that you may have heard about but which you undoubtedly will not have seen previously. You may actually find it to be very useful, given your propensity towards the fibres.

Aww, dudes. That is so cute. Look at his liddle measuring tail just a'wiggling away. Err, ahem.

Okay, tell you what. I'll take you to the station and make sure you get on the right train, but I'm not going all the way to the border. That's too far, and I just don't have the time right now. If I were you, though, since you seem to be in such a hurry, I'd probably fly. Rather than a coupla days, you'd be back in Oregon in a few hours.

Sir, are you mocking us? You want us to fly like a bird? We beg of you, take our plight seriously. The American Congress has authorized us to --

Whoa, dudes, I am NOT getting involved in some international incident. Why didn't you say you were feds? I'm gonna turn you over to the embassy and they can ponder your problem. That should give them bureaucrats something to do for a coupla months.

Sir! You offer to assist us, and then you threaten to detain us? Your moods are most mercurial. We are not "feds", as you say. We have a commission to fulfil, and we must be on our way as expeditiously as possible. Perhaps you will reconsider if we offer you a bag.

A bag? Dudes, I'm gonna bag you if you don't --

Oh. That kind of bag. Wow. Look at that. You know, I think I could actually think of a purpose for a beautiful, hand-made bag like that. Yeah, it'll come in pretty handy. It's the perfect size for what I have in mind, the colours are fantastic, and the craftmanship excellent. Ok, no embassy. We're back to the train station.

Sir, you do indeed drive a hard bargain. We almost wish we would have started our journey with you in our Corps of Discovery. Perhaps our trading would have --

Dudes, I don't want nothing to do with no corpse. If you're going to get all weird, you can leave right now.

Sir, you misunderstand. Very well. You leave us no choice. We will offer you the finest trade goods we have in return for conduct to the border. We will give you .... Toast.

You are the strangest little dudes I have ever met. I can make plenty toast all on my own, thank you very much.

This is special toast, Sir, made by a woman in the fine state of Virginia.

Oh, great, stale toast that you've dragged all the way from Virginia to the "Spanish territory." Forget it.

Sir, this woman, by the name of Claudia, is world-renowned for her expertise. I think you will reconsider once you see this Toast.

Grab your coats, dudes. We'll hafta gas up before we leave town.

Credits:

Fun courtesy Amanda, host of Yarn Aboard -- thank you, Amanda!

A most excellent Yarn Aboard package courtesy Allison , enabler extraordinare -- thank you very much, Allison!!

ISE3 - Rocked by Betty Crocker

It was a good mail day today -- my ISE 3 scarf arrived!



My swap partner was Liz, formerly bettycrockerpunkrocker, but now blogging here. She sent me this gorgeous scarf knit from Debbie Bliss Soho, some wonderful tea, chocolates, and a very cool "pencil case" which we know is not likely to see any pencils but will instead house a tape measure, stitch markers, scissors, etc. -- totally cool!



Thanks so much, Liz -- the scarf is perfect!


The mistake rib pattern really shows off the wonderful colours and texture in this yarn. This is exactly the kind of yarn that would follow me home from the LYS. The scarf is soft, cuddly, thick, warm ... and it smells real nice too. :-) Thanks, Liz!

In the Other News Department, I'm onto the second of my Socktober socks (yes, I know it's the middle of November), and I've finished the back of my Noro sweater and barely started the front. No progress pics, sorry. I also have a secret project that is temporarily stalled while I sort out some equipment issues. I've been digging about in my UFO pile -- chucked some stuff and resurrected others. What I really need right now, though, is something big that I can just knit away on without having to think too much and that won't have any tricky bits that hit me at 11 o'clock at night just when I don't want to get hit by tricky bits. I'm thinking afghan. I have the yarn and pattern in mind. Will it materialize? Stayed tuned.

Cabled Rib Scarf

I have finished and mailed off my scarf for the International Scarf Exchange. From reading my recipient's blog, I got the impression that she wasn't too much into the frou-frou but definitely would welcome a touch of utilitarian luxury.

The pattern is the Cabled Rib Scarf, designed by Anne at Knitspot. It was easy to remember after the first repeat and fun to knit.

I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which apparently may or may contain cashmere, but in any event was a pleasure to knit with, has great stitch definition while remaining incredibly soft and cushy, and has wonderful drape. This yarn also apparently has a bit of a reputation for pilling, but it behaved well as I dragged it to and fro while knitting.

I have fallen in love with reversible cables. I may have to make another one for me, but in a different colour because 5.5 feet of grey is quite enough, thank you very much. :-)

In the Other News Department: I continue to be amazed by the generosity of knit bloggers as they support each other in various activities, be they walk-a-thons, causes for cures, blankies for various people or general emotional support. With this in mind, I come to you, hat in hand, and ask for your assistance. It seems that one of us is in desperate need of an intervention. I ask not for your monetary assistance, nor your knitted squares. I simply need someone, anyone, to please, please, please design another dish cloth. I am feeling extremely guilty. (Hi, Shannon!)

Knitters Tea Swap 2 - Package Received!

A most delightful package arrived in the mail yesterday -- my swap package from the Knitters Tea Swap 2!

Melinda, from Chicken Without a Head, sent me this delightful assortment of tea, yarn, cookies and chocolate. Yummm!!

Melinda is lucky enough to live in the beautiful city of Seattle. Ah, the joys of living in a port city! She sent me some green pear tea from one of her local shops, as well as a sample of their black tea. She also sent a box of her favourite herbal - Strawberry Vanilla - and some Seattle signature tea, Market Spice. To munch while drinking the tea, she sent some Ginger Nut cookies (I love ginger!) and some chocolate. (Note to self -- remember to renew membership at gym.)

For the yarn portion of the swap, Melinda sent me three skeins of deliciously soft and beautifully blue baby cashmere and .... a humongous hank of her own handspun!!! This yarn is gorgeous, and I tried to capture it in "pr0n" shot.

Blues, green and -- sparkles! How totally cool is that!! Melinda reminded me that it should be knit tightly to improve durability if I were to use it for socks, but I'm thinking maybe scarf? I'll wait to see what Anne comes up with for her next man-lace design. Sparkly blue and green man-lace -- yipeee !!!

This was a most delightful ending to an extremely hectic week. Thank you very much, Melinda --

-- I'm about to enjoy a cup of green pear tea (which smells wonderful!), some ginger cookies, and catch up on my blogs, a great way to spend a Saturday morning.