Christmas in Effingham?

Which is a town in Illinois, I promise! 

As it turns out, Effingham is pretty nearly halfway between where we live and where our son's family is stationed, so we made a plan to meet up after First Christmas on Dec 25th 

for a second celebration! 

A hotel stay with some rooms adjoining meant that the cousins could play, 

and we could all exchange gifts (the sweaters!)...

and just hang out together for a couple days, which was way fun! We made stops at a trampoline park, 

Andi, Aaron, Aiden and Allen, and
some random girl in purple...

we played in the pool, 

some of us napped, 

and some of us poked the [Pop Pop] bear while others took pictures!

There was eating (and waiting for food),

and playing (and knitting) and loafing, 

and fun, and a couple of cousins got to know each other a bit better even. 

All in all, a great couple of days with 10 of our favorite people!

Note: hotel employees thought we had so much fun, they even tried to get [their thumb] into the pictures! (Still a great pic, though we cropped out Diane's thumb!)

Today, we are on our way home, and the Christmas vibes are still pretty strong! (But we miss the rest of us...)

I hope you are also still having fun! What was your favorite gift this season (if you have/received gifts, that is)? Whatever it is, I hope it hasn't broken yet! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Halloweekends, and More!

I know I've said it before, perhaps even last week, but I really love to spend time at our local amusement park, Cedar Point! I was there last Saturday, even while the pre-scheduled blog post was going live! 

Our oldest Grandson noticed that the merry-go-round was running backwards (for HalloWeekends) on our last visit, but we weren't able to stop for a ride that day...😪. So Pop Pop and I picked that boy up and took him again last week, and he rode it twice!

We rode lots of other rides as well, and we stayed much longer than we had planned, because we were having So. Much. FUN!

On Sunday, I spent time with friends and cats, 

and I worked on my Christmas sweater!

Which is good, because I have two more sweaters to knit this month (for the girls), so I've gotta get that cardigan finished! I mean, the boys already have their hoodies, and they love them...

Of course, they also like to pick their noses and make stinky toots! As a coping strategy to being a boy-mom, my daughter has taken to buying me early Christmas gifts...lol!

That's right, I'm knitting a Christmas cardigan, and she bought me a Christmas cardigan! It's a good thing that I'm into Christmas!

Oh! Christmas is coming! I gotta get back to my needles and yarn...the sweaters won't knit themselves, ya know!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Stick Season? Not quite...

It's not quite the 🎶 season of the sticks here, in northeast Ohio, but it feels pretty crunchy in our current state of drought. Even our wetlands parks are looking dry...

Despite the dry, it is still a beautiful autumn, with lots of green plants for our friends to hide in! Can you spot the praying mantis? He (or she?) certainly spotted us!

... and our mums are looking lovely on the front stoop, in the company of pumpkins! 

Temperatures are dropping, which made today the perfect day to bake an apple crisp...yumm!

It's also a great day for knitting. In fact, I've heard that today is I Love Yarn Day, something for knitters everywhere to celebrate! I think I'll celebrate by admiring the finish of three hoodie sweaters for three darling boys!

And perhaps I'll celebrate a bit more by casting on a new sweater for Pretty...I have three possibilities on my mind, but I'm not sure which to start: A Christmas cardigan or vest in green, with colorwork...

A pullover in cream and minis, inspired by Daisy Jones and the Six...

Or maybe something in blue?

Yeah, I dunno either. The only thing I know for sure is that it is too late to cast on for a Halloween sweater...which I was never planning on anyway...lol! 

Stick season is the perfect time to knit sweaters, so watch me now, hey! 🎵 Work! Work! I'll work the stitches, baby! Work! Work! Stitches driving me crazy! 🎶 🙃 Lol

Yeah, I love Ohio, and it's almost the 🎶 season of the sticks...so, I suppose I'll turn up the tunes and get busy with my needles! I hope you'll sing along! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Unlikely Hymns

As I finished up my work day, heading to the ladies' room before locking up, a song 🎶 popped into my head: 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 
I did not wet my pants!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 
Must have done the right dance!
I got to the potty in the nick of time, 

And I'm happy to say that my pants are still dry!

Those of you familiar with the hymn will recognize that these lyrics are fairly far-removed from the original...which is entirely on-brand for Pretty! The fact that the lyrics are new doesn't make my hymn any less of a praise, though, and I do regularly praise the Lord in small victories, as well as the big stuff. As a "woman of a certain age," not wetting my pants is occasionally a major victory!

I'm glad that I can praise the Lord in all things, and I'm glad that I can do all things through him who gives me strength! 

Like knitting!

And knitting makes my heart joyful, which is good medicine.

Knitting has brought joy and so many fun friends into my life, and friends increase joy, too! 

This weekend I'm spending time with some friends near the lake. 

Some of us enjoy a nice drink with dinner...

Some of us have matching pajamas...

...and all of us have knitting! 

So, praise the Lord! for dry pants, and a Lakeside weekend with friends, patio donuts and knitting...among other things. 

What's making you happy this Saturday? I hope it's something you can share with friends, because laughter multiplied increases joy exponentially! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Porch with knitting (where are the knitters?)

There they are!