The tall phlox is in bloom.  It must really be summer now.  Yay!

Have a great weekend.

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on Facebook lately.  I like seeing what my friends and family are doing throughout the day.  I like seeing photos and updates and books that they are reading.  I don’t particularly like all the silly quizzes and games but when I saw this “Getting to Know You” one circulating the other day I thought I could use it as blog fodder. I eliminated a couple of the questions as they didn’t really work for a blog post (as in, who will you tag, who won’t answer, etc) but for the most part this is the original list.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6am
2. How do you like your steak? medium
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. What is your favorite TV show? Desperate Housewives
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? anywhere warm.
6. What did you have for breakfast? english muffin with peanut butter and banana
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican
8. What foods do you dislike? liver and lima beans
9. Favorite Place to Eat? home
10. Favorite dressing? parmesan peppercorn
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Jeep Wrangler
12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans and a flannel shirt
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Italy
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full!
15. Where would you want to retire? Plymouth
16. Favorite time of day? early morning
17. Where were you born? Stoughton, MA
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? women’s college basketball
19. Bird watcher? definitely!
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning
21. Do you have any pets? yes, a dog and a cat
22. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? I think you all already know any news I might have.
23. What is your favorite childhood memory? Spending summers at the beach with my family.
24. Always wear your seat belt? yes, always!  See #11.
25. Been in a car accident? yes but it was many years ago and I wasn’t driving.
26. Any pet peeves? when people use “your” and they should use “you’re”
27. Favorite pizza toppings? pepper & onion
28. Favorite Flower? tulips
29. Favorite ice cream? peppermint stick
30. Favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bell
31. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? none
32. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? L.L. Bean
33. Do anything spontaneous lately? went to a ball game.
34. Broccoli? yes!
35. What was your favorite vacation? when Dale and I went to Maine on our honeymoon
36. Last person you went out to dinner with? Dale
37. What are you listening to right now? The View
38. What is your favorite color? red
39. How many tattoos do you have? 2 so far
40. Coffee Drinker? yes.  black, please

And there you have it.  Did you learn anything new about me?

One of my favorite summer time activities is to go to a local ball game.  We are fortunate to have The Brockton Rox only 10 minutes away and Dale and I try to go as often as we can.  You can see that there aren’t a lot of people in the stands.  I’m truly surprised that more people don’t go to these games.

The baseball itself isn’t spectacular but it’s entertaining and there are usually a few good plays in every game.  Plus there are all kinds of crazy things happening between innings.  Samurai wrestlers.  T-shirt give aways.  Launch a ball.  The Rox’s slogan is Fun is Good and they certainly do it up right.

Here’s Dale, eating some chicken tenders – we both really like the chicken at the Rox games.  Here’s what we don’t both like – sitting behind the net at home plate.  Dale prefers these seats because he is paranoid about getting hit by a foul ball. I like to watch a ball game without the filter of a net and I’d rather take my chances.  I finally had him convinced that we could try sitting closer to 3rd base at our next game and then we saw a guy get nailed in the face at this last game.   There was blood everywhere and it looked like he broke his nose.  I guess we’ll be sitting behind the net from now on.

But that’s okay.  Because (even from behind the net) there’s nothing better on a hot summer night than baseball in a beautiful stadium, with reasonably priced tickets, good food and cheap beer. You can’t ask for more than that, really.

This photo has nothing to do with today’s post. However, since I’ve started using that LinkedWithin gadget I’ve noticed that my Ten on Tuesday posts come up a lot but they don’t look pretty because I don’t usually post a picture on those entries. I’m officially changing my policy on that now. Plus, it gives me a chance to show some of my random photos that never fit in anywhere else. We now return to our regularly scheduled Ten on Tuesday post.

The theme for Ten on Tuesday this week is 10 Favorite Sounds.  Ready?  Here we go.

1. Dale singing.  Mostly I prefer when he sings just to me but I’ll take the public stuff, too.

2. Dale whistling.  He does this a lot.  I can always tell when he’s about to move from one room to another because he starts whistling.

3. Hannah singing.  She’s got herself a very sweet voice and when she sings on stage my heart just bursts with pride.

4. The clinking sound of my friend Diane’s paper clip dish.  This one takes some explaining.  Diane was my boss for many years at the library where I used to work.  She was also my best friend.  And she had this glass paper clip dish.  It had a cover and whenever she got out a paper clip there would be this little clink as she put the cover back on.  It always made me happy when I heard that sound.  It meant she was in her office and I could go in and have a chat and we’d share a laugh or work out a problem or just enjoy each others company.  She moved to Florida a few years back and I sure do miss her.

5. The electronic beep that the scanner at the library circulation desk makes.  It lets me know that people are checking out books and my staff is working hard to serve them.  This makes me very happy.  Plus, people checking out books = job security.

6.  The sound of the ocean.  When I was a kid and I used to visit my dad at his house in Maine I used to fall asleep to the sound of the waves against the rocks.  I swear I never slept better in my life.  And I still love that sound.

7. A baby laughing.  Hannah’s was the best one, of course, but really the sound of any baby in the midst of a deep belly laugh makes me smile.

8. Mason’s meows.  My cat is quite vocal and expressive.  He and I have real conversations, I tell you.

9. Rain on the roof.  It’s such a comforting thing to hear the rain on the roof and know that you are safe and dry at home.  Unfortunately our bedroom is on the first floor so I don’t get to enjoy this as much as I’d like.

10. The ta-da sound my computer makes when I get a new email.  Even after all these years, I still love email.

The Baby Chalice Blanket is a purple blob no more.

Now it’s a lovely and soft and beautiful blanket for the baby of a wonderful friend.

The yarn is Madelinetosh Worsted in the color Dahlia.  And I truly think it’s a fantastic match of yarn and pattern.

I enjoyed every moment of knitting this blanket, from the cast on by the pool in Gettysburg to the car knitting and deck knitting and binding off in the air-conditioned goodness of my living room.

I finished it up with my first-ever crocheted edge.  I think I did it right but don’t tell me if I didn’t.

And now it’s folded up and ready to be gifted just as soon as this new little one arrives.  I hope she’ll enjoy it’s warmth and comfort for many years.  And I hope that she’ll always know that it was knit with lots and lots of love.

Three years ago Dale brought home a limp clump of green shoots.  He told me his boss gave them to him for me to plant.  I looked at this mess and thought, “no way are these ever going to amount to anything.”  Turns out I was wrong because I now have a big beautiful bunch of black-eyed susans.  Ijust love it when things work out like that.

Have a great weekend!

I figure if I’m going to call this a knitting blog I really should talk about knitting every now and again.  So, let’s.  Here’s what’s on the needles these days.

Baby Chalice Blanket.  The yarn is Madelinetosh Worsted, color is Dahlia.  I’m really enjoying knitting this.  The pattern is fun and entertaining and the yarn is truly wonderful.  It is truly just a big blog o’ purple right now but I have high hopes for the blocking process.

Fannie Socks.  The yarn is Farmhouse Yarns Fannie’s Fingering Weight, color is Zinnia.  I’m also really enjoying knitting these.  The yarn is scrumptious and the color is gorgeous and so summery.  They are the perfect take along knitting for outdoor concerts, cook outs, ball games, etc.

And that’s it.  How about you?  What are you knitting these days?

I completely forgot to do a Ten on Tuesday post yesterday.  I was so excited to show you the photos from our Plymouth Harbor cruise that I totally missed my weekly contribution.  We can’t have that now, can we?  Particularly when the topic is about food – my Ten Favorite Places to Eat.

1. Mockingbird Restaurant and Martini Bar.  This is my go-to restaurant for special occasion dinners.  We almost always go here for my birthday.

2. Crispi’s.  A cute little Italian place in the next town over.  We took Margene here last October and she approved.

3. Heather’s Place.  I think I’ll always call this Pub 106 as that’s what it was until recently.  It’s truly just a glorified diner but the food is home cooked and it’s cheap.  A great place to go to grab a quick dinner on a week night.

4. T.J. Smith’s Victorian House.  It’s only open for dinner on Thursdays and Fridays.  Our weekly Kiwanis meetings are here and the food is delicious.  Turkey dinners, prime rib, baked haddock and chicken pot pie.  The menu is limited but the service is the best anywhere.

5. The Raw Bar.  We only get here once a year but it’s a must when we’re on vacation.  The lobster rolls are gigantic.  And no cell phones allowed.  They mean it, too!

6. Cape Cod Cafe.  My favorite pizza place in the whole wide world, simply because it’s the pizza I ate as a kid.  Pepper and onion is my favorite.

7. Johnny Macaroni’s.  Another little Italian place.  They have a great antipasto and the wine glasses are big.

8. The Chatta Box.  Thai food at it’s finest.  Fresh and delicious.  I recommend the Tofu Claypot Curry.

9. East Bay Grille.  When it’s a special occasion and the weather is fine this restaurant in Plymouth is my favorite place to go.  Outdoor dining overlooking Plymouth Harbor.  Sigh.

10. Home.  Or a friend’s house for dinner.  All the restaurants in the world can’t compete with a homecooked meal.

One night a week or so ago Dale and I took a little harbor cruise on the Pilgrim Belle.  This paddle wheeler goes on all kinds of excursions throughout Plymouth harbor.  There are brunch cruises and sunset cruises.  Historic cruises and fireworks cruises.  We chose the Parrothead Cruise, of course!

The night included lots of hor d’oeuvres, a guy singing Jimmy Buffett (but not enough JB for me – he didn’t even know “Boat Drinks”!), a cash bar, and a 2 1/2 hour cruise around Plymouth harbor.

I took a few photos, of course.

A night on the water in Plymouth.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

In no particular order, these are the things I learned last week.

~Sometimes, even though you invite friends over for spinning, you actually don’t even spin.  But it doesn’t matter.  And it’s awesome when they bring food and drinks and roses.

~Going to the movies (to see Harry Potter, of course) at 6:30 means having popcorn and M&Ms for dinner.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.

~Bobbing for nips is way more fun than bobbing for apples.  And apparently the husband and I have mad nip bobbing skills.  Who knew?

~Vintage Van Halen is still really good.  But all that head banging leaves you with a sore neck the next day.

~It’s possible to get together with high school friends and feel like no time has passed at all.  You can talk and talk for six hours and it feels like six minutes.  And they are really impressed when you serve them homemade blueberry pie.

~A Sunday spent knitting and spinning is a truly wonderful thing.