Five Things

Generally a glass-half-full kind of person, I hate it when I get into a funk like yesterday. To counteract my bad mood, last night I wrote down five things to smile about:

1. I finished my Oolong socks and love them.

2. A new book arrived in the mail, thanks to Colin, who gave me a gift card for Christmas. Country Weekend Knits by Madeline Weston is full of beautiful ganseys, Fair Isle sweaters, Aran designs, and Shetland lace.

I have been wanting to make a gansey for a long time and I think I’ve found my pattern in the Eriskay Gansey.

3. I received my fourth and final shipment from the Year of Lace Club. It is a rectangular shawl by Nancy Bush—need I say more?

I am also eagerly awaiting her book, Knitted Lace of Estonia, which I pre-ordered ages ago. Amazon has not yet received it and I see that Chapters also shows it as unavailable. Has anyone seen it in the wild? I’ve seen the project pics on Ravelry and can’t wait to drool over it in person.

4. Warm, delicious rice pudding, full of raisins, cranberries, and candied fruit (you know, the stuff that goes into fruit cakes).

The quintessential comfort food.

5. Phone calls and emails from friends and family, checking to see that we were okay. It’s good to know that we are loved.

I’m not a morning person so I am not feeling quite so happy about the fact that I am up early, ready to begin the first of two or three looong days of work, helping Cameron and the crew get the new store ready to open Monday morning. But at least I woke up this morning. (See, glass-half-full.)

Have a great weekend!