Backseats, Baptisms and Birthdays!

To stay with the "B" theme of my title, I will start by saying it's been a busy, Busy, BUSY week!!! All good things, and I am now on Spring Break (yay!), but I could also use some rest!

Last Saturday, while the blog was going live, I was just arriving in Louisville, KY for a kind of girls' weekend with some online friends. These are very special friends indeed, and it was the first time many of us had met in person! Members of our little, online Bible study group live in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Great Britain and South Africa! 

Not everyone made it (we were missing 2 of our lovely friends), 

This is the "Backseat" portion of the blog!

and not everyone was able to spend the whole weekend (we arrived from Thursday through Saturday), but once we got there, we hugged and laughed and ate and took photos and spent our time together with smiles, tears, LOTS of talking and all the good things about great relationships between women!

There were even gifts, including some "peeps" I made for my peeps 

and this beaded beauty from South Africa (now residing in my office, thank you, Rita!).

We had come together in this place for a very special occasion. One of our friends had made the decision to be baptized, and she wanted to do that at the church that brought us all together online, Southeast Christian Church. (Thank you to the online team that made our Bible study group possible, and then facilitated the baptism and our time together at church on Sunday morning!) 

We enjoyed a time to meet the senior pastor of Southeast, 

and a sweet time of worship in the sanctuary we see each Sunday online;

some of our group was interviewed, 

and then we baptized Kathleen into Christ! Happy spiritual birthday, Kathleen!

After that, we celebrated with more hugs, laughter and photos, 

I love this church, coming or going!
Thank you Southeast and SE Online!

and a final meal before we all got on the road back to our homes (OR the rest of our US tour, right Rita?). As for me, high on the fumes of a great weekend, I returned to work in a bit of a fog. But I kept on going to make it to this weekend's birthday party! Somebody is 3 this year...

That's right! It's Casey, and we had a lovely party with him and the family last night, 

presents and cake, and all that jazz,

including the new puppy! 

Wait, I didn't tell you about the puppy at the boys' house? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's another...

Yes, she's adorable. Super cute, and we all love her! Again, it was the start of another busy weekend, I'm already a little tired (I stayed up late to watch the Good Friday Service recorded from Southeast)...but it's almost Resurrection Sunday! So, the eggs and bunnies have been delivered...

and the baking has begun!

Bread will be baked before breakfast, and we will all gather to celebrate some more tomorrow! I know that Easter isn't everyone's tradition, but it is mine, so Happy Easter, Peeps! 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! 

Whatever your tradition around this time of year, regardless of whether you knit or knot, I wish you the best, and I hope you'll leave me a little comment about what's keeping you busy this Spring (or Autumn, if you're on the other side of the earth!).

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Even Pop Pop had some fun on my road trip, where he met his favorite vegetable, a giant jelly bean!

Making New Friends (I hope!)

Thursday Knit Night has been a staple of my weekly personal and crafting scheduling since somewhere in 2008 (I think? CKW peeps, correct me if I'm wrong...) I've knitted, crocheted and beaded at Thursday meetings. I've even brought my laptop to complete the occasional work-day there. But above all that, I've made some really good friends in this lovely group! 

This week, to challenge myself and to complete a birthday-boy request, I thought I might try to make a new friend...so i got started by unpacking the box and assessing the materials.

Looks like everything I need, so I picked up the larger, purple hook an started to crochet a foot and leg,

Then a second...

Then a little bit of body...

It was at about this point, while I was watching that first pile of plush, shedding, chenille yarn dwindle, I started to wonder about how I would join that second pile of yarn...

Turns out that it wasn't to difficult, so I kept plugging along. One arm...

Then a second...

Then a head, nose and ears. By then, knit night was over, and I realized that I was not going to make a whole new friend in one Knit Night. 😪 When I got home, I laid out all the body parts to admire...

As it turns out, my "recovering, Type-A personality" could not go to bed until my new friend was complete. I'm sure that "Benjamin" was relieved as well! 

All-in-all, I'm calling this one a success, and also a reminder that plush, shedding, chenille is not my favorite. In order to get the taste (and fuzz) of that yarn out of my mouth and memory, I dove into a tiny dino, 

and some peeps!

Easter is coming, and friends are essential for building community (faith-based or otherwise), so why not celebrate the peeps in my community right along with the holiday? 

Easter is a time to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, the reason for my faith. It is a time to remember the pioneers of my faith, those who taught me how to grow in my relationship with Jesus. It is also a time to celebrate my peeps, who walk alongside me, creating a community and helping one another to live in a way that glorifies God.

What are you celebrating this Easter? Alongside the candy, eggs and holiday ham, have you considered the case for Christ? 🤷‍♀️ If not, maybe it's time. If you've already investigated, I'm glad. 🥰

<steps carefully down from soap box>

Whatever your faith and traditions are, I'm glad you spent a few minutes with me today, and I hope the change of seasons has brought you good things. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Birthdays and Worms

I had a birthday this week, which you may know if you follow me on IG or FB, and it's been a great time! Not only was my actual day full of fun and good wishes at work and home, 

but I also got to wear a newly finished sweater,

and I received some pretty cool gifts!

Digital photo frame from the girls (& Allen)

Craft fun from the boys (& Jess)

To top the day off...Jess was super proud that she was able to gather EVERYONE* to sing "Happy Birthday" to this gramma, in person and digitally!

*Almost everyone...she accidentally forgot that Aaron (her hubby) wasn't here, lol! I edited him in, for the...win?

Yeah, there are two less than perfect choices...

Which of these ridiculous edits is your favorite? Bwaaahahahahaha!

On top of a great birthday week, we've also had a pretty great start to the weekend...with bike rides,

roller skates,

and squirmy worms!

Now it's time to switch out the winter/summer storage (hello Spring!) and maybe get in some knitting time, so I'll sign off here. 

Thanks for stopping by, and for all the good birthday wishes! Knit in Good Health! 

Sleeves and Sweets

Another week, another knit coming right along! The purple sweater I started at the beginning of the month is ready for sleeves...

In fact, sleeve one is over halfway done, but I don't have an updated pic yet. I've been too busy taking pictures of gummies made for the kiddos...

It's a simple, jello recipe I found online months ago but just recently tried. I've made a couple successful batches, and these red cars are pretty good!

The yellow gummy bears and dinos were good, but I used way too much cornstarch to make them less sticky. You just need a pinch...

Now that I've made a couple of good batches, I may look for some other recipes, too! But no funny business stuff...just treats for the kids. 

Sooo, yes, still knitting and trying new, fun crafts. And yes, still loving my job and new friends! And yes, still having fun as I wrap up my 57th trip around the sun. 

Walking with the boys before lunch today.

How about you? Have you tried anything new recently? I'd love to hear about it, if you have. 😀

Thanks for stopping by! Knit, and try new things, in Good Health!