The theme for Ten on Tuesday this week is 10 Guilty Pleasures on TV.  Thank goodness it isn’t a sports theme again.  TV is a subject I can get behind.

1. Everybody Loves Raymond.  I can watch the same episodes over and over again and I never tire of them.

2. Days of Our Lives.  I’ve watched this soap since I was a kid and even though I stop watching now and again something always draws me back.

3. The View.  No one argues hot topics like this bunch.

4. Ghosthunters.  My favorite part is when they turn off all the lights.

5. As the World Turns.  Another soap.  Pathetic, I know.

6. South Park.  I’ve kind of gotten out of the habit of watching this since it’s not on at a time that I tend to be looking for something to watch but it still cracks me up.

7. Alias.  I can watch season 1 over and over.

8. America’s Funniest Videos.  There’s nothing quite like seeing someone get whacked in the crotch to make you laugh.

9. Army Wives.  Just another soap, if I’m being honest.

10. Wife Swap.  Although, now that it’s not on Monday nights anymore, I don’t get to indulge.

I do watch a lot of television I suppose, but how else do you think I have time to knit all those socks?

So the Buffett concert was awesome.  Again.  I feel like I never get tired of this.  How could I tire of all this good fun?  Think I’m exaggerating?  Just look at these pictures.

People bring their living room furniture for tailgating.  Fun!

Dale says he only goes for my sake but I think he’s lying.  Look at that smile.  Fun!

This is my sister-in-law, Jen.  This was her first Buffett concert.  That’s a very unique kind of fun.

Fins up!  Even on trucks.  Fun!

This girl was our neighbor to the right.  She brought lots of jello shots to share.  Fun!

And this guy was our neighbor across the way.  He learned to play ladder croquet and forgot his job troubles in the process.  That’s good.  And fun!

Pirates.  They are naturally fun.   Well, at least the pretend ones are.

Palm trees, hula hoops, Hawaiian shirts.  All fun!

Get my point?

I had this fantasy that the skies would miraculously clear when we pulled into the parking lot yesterday for the Jimmy Buffett concert.  It wasn’t quite that dramatic but it was still pretty good.   More about the concert on Monday.

Have a great weekend.  Fins up!

I’m not going to tell you where I’m going today but I am going to give you some clues.  Here’s all you need to know:

1. There was a hint in Monday’s post.

2. I’ve been twice before and loved it.

3. There will be tequila and cheeseburgers.

4. There will be singing about these.  Sort of.

Can you figure it out?

What comes the day after a post about the cat?  A day of random posts, of course.

~You only have until the end of this week to donate to Claudia’s MS Ride.  There are some fabulous prizes available and Claudia sure could use your support.

~Hannah got her Learner’s Permit yesterday.  If you are a driver in the Southeastern MA area – watch out.

~The Bristow Sweater for Lois is coming along nicely.  I’ve finished the back and the two fronts and I’m working on the sleeves.  These sleeves seem quite full to me.  I even went down a size and they are still rather full.  I hope it works out okay in the end.

~The rainy weather continues.  It’s supposed to be better late this afternoon or tomorrow.  I sure hope so as I think I’m starting to grow mold around the edges.

What’s random in your world?

Ten on Tuesday this week is 10 Favorite Sports Plays Ever.  Me and sports – not so much.  I couldn’t even think of one favorite sports play.  What’s a blogger to do when she doesn’t have a post?  Post a picture of the cat, of course.

Here is Mason.  You may notice that he is lying on my Felted Project Bag.  MY bag.  He has commandeered it for himself and naps on it every chance he gets.  A long long time ago I knit him a felted kitty bed.  He ignored it.  But my bag – my NORMA bag -  that he just loves.

Typical cat.

On Friday, Sunflowerfairy left a comment, as she often does.  She complimented me on the strawberry photo and then said, “Have great adventures this weekend! I can’t wait to read about them on Monday.”  Talk about pressure!  I thought all weekend about what I could possibly show that would look remotely like an adventure.    I think I came up with a couple of things.

On Friday afternoon we went to see Angels and Demons.  It was great.  We came home and spent the rest of the evening on the deck, eating more of those grilled shrimp and just hanging out.

On Saturday Dale had 2 band jobs.  The first one was in the afternoon and I opted to stay home and hang out and knit.  I spent the better part of the day trying to get photos of our resident hummingbirds.

After lots and lots of pictures of the feeder without birds, I finally got this one.  Hooray.

Saturday evening was Dale’s second band job and I went with him.  It was an oldies night at a local social club and there were costumes and old cars and stuff.

I liked the yellow ’57 Pontiac Chieftain the best.

Sunday being Father’s Day it was all up to Dale.

Lobster, corn and beer.  I’m glad he has good taste.  And I’m glad he shares, too.

And that’s my weekend recap.  I hope the adventures were exciting enough for Heidi and the rest of you!

The local strawberries are ready – and delicious – despite the cool temperatures and persistent rain.
Have a great weekend!

I can’t believe I finished my Acer sweater weeks and weeks ago and I am just now showing it to you. Sheesh. I guess it’s a true indicator of how cool the weather has been here lately since it’s mid-June and I’m wearing a wool sweater and I’m not too hot. In fact, I’m comfortable.

Anyway, the temperature actually worked to my advantage and I was able to take these pictures yesterday to finally document this here sweater. The pattern comes from the very talented Kirsten. And the yarn comes from the very durable and very wearable Peace Fleece.

I made the sweater a bit longer than the pattern called for and I’m glad I did as some of them look a little short to me. That’s fine if you’ve got the butt for it but me, I kind of like to cover it up.

I will confess that the shoulder increases confused the crap out of me. I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of them and I’m still not sure I did them completely right but it looks okay so I’m good with that. Honestly, it was such a relief to finish these up and just knit rows and rows of stockinette.

The buttons are from Saftler’s, which seems to be my go-to button shop these days. They haven’t let me down yet and I think these are perfect.

I’m glad the sweater is done and I’m glad I’ve had the chance to wear it without having to wait until this fall. Honestly, though, I’m ready for the warm weather. I’ll happily put this sweater away if summer ever arrives!

A few weeks ago we went to a party and the hostess served a delicious appetizer of shrimp, basil and prosciutto.  It was really wonderful and I’ve wanted to try making this myself ever since.  So last Friday night I gave it a go.

I bought jumbo shrimp and some imported prosciutto at the grocery store.  I picked basil leaves from my herb garden.  I soaked some bamboo skewers in water.  And I cleaned the shrimp.

I then took a shrimp and wrapped a basil leaf around it.  Then I wrapped a piece of prosciutto around the whole thing and stuck one of the bamboo skewers through the whole deal.

I lovingly placed them on the gas grill and cooked them on medium heat.  I turned them a few times to make sure they cooked evenly.  These shrimp were pretty big so they probably took about 10 minutes to cook through.  You could definitely do this with smaller shrimp.  They’d cook faster and be easier on your wallet, too.

And here they are – grilled to perfection.  The shrimp was tender and the prosciutto was crispy and the basil added just the right flavor to the whole combination.

Simple!  Delicious!  Impressive!  The perfect summer appetizer.