My un-birthday keeps getting less happy and more stressful, but my gifts to me are starting to arrive - yesterday the Denise needle set was on my doorstep when I got home. I was somewhat distracted by other things and didn't fire it up immediately, but I did take out and fondle the pieces for a few minutes - very nice, the cords are really soft and flexible - I was wondering, since they are curled up in that case, whether they would be somewhat stiffish, but they're the softest I've ever touched. Now I can finish the button bands on the rose cardie and the gray hoodie. Whoo-hoo!


Okay, so does anybody else drool over the menus and turn green with envy when you read about Rob's Third Thursdays? It sounds like so much fun, and I'm bummed that I'm so far away.


Funny thing is, I was going to ramble just a bit about the "House Wine of the South" (Sweet Tea) myself. I gave up sweet tea many years ago, because when made the traditional way it contains a ton of sugar. I tried Equal in iced tea, but somehow it didn't have the right sweetness. I can't describe the difference, but there's a difference. So I just learned to like unsweet and got over it, but I did find myself drinking less iced tea. But I tried Splenda recently, and I'll be darned - Splenda in iced tea creates the "right" sweetness, the authentic sweet tea flavor I'd been missing. So now I'm hooked on it again. I even bought a new Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker at Target to celebrate, I dump the Splenda into the brew basket with the tea bags, and a fresh pitcher of sweet decaf Luzianne (it doesn't turn cloudy in the fridge) sits in the fridge every day. Just thought I'd pass that along to any sweet tea addicts who haven't tried Splenda yet.


My blogging may get somewhat sporadic over the next week or so - my sister-in-law and her daughter and granddaughter are coming down from Atlanta tomorrow, and Sorority Girl comes home for a visit on Monday. And when I'm not busy with guests or at the nursing home, I'll be sitting at the door right next to the Bossy One, waiting for the mailman and my yarn from Threadbear - I'm just itching to cast on that market bag, but I think it'll have to wait until my SIL goes home - I am NOT a person who can work on a new pattern with distractions like chatty houseguests. I need quiet to concentrate. That's why I have been working the same easy, repetitive patterns so often - bags and mice require no thought. But at this point, between finishing projects and starting new ones, I have plenty on my knitting plate - it's time to go on a yarn diet for a bit, until I work through the stash.