Okay, let’s face it, there has been enough bad and ugly in my life the last week or so. This post is all about Good Things.

Good: As you may recall, before I had that Life Changing Thing happen, I finished the Adamas Shawl. I blocked it one day last week (it’s sort of a blur, last week and I’m honestly not sure which day it was) and managed to snap a photo for you guys.

Good: Writing a blog has enhanced my life in many ways but all the good things blogging has brought to me pale in comparison to the friends I have made. I know so many of you were with me in spirit during my dad’s services last week but I have to tell you about one incredible thing that happened. My dear friend Kathy drove all the way down to Brockton to come to my dad’s wake. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw her walk in the door.

Good: Ripe tomatoes. Need I say more? Nope, I’ll just show you.

Good: Cards and phone calls and emails from friends. A simple “you’re in my thoughts” means more than you could ever know.

Good: A picture of a grandpa with his two grandchildren. Nothing makes Dale happier than spending time with Patrick and Ambrynn.

Good: Wakes and funerals and things show you in many ways who you can count on. Thursday afternoon Blogless Sharon showed up at my house with Grey Goose vodka, wine, and her knitting. We sat on the porch and knit together, sometimes talking, sometimes not. By the end of the night we had been joined by Sharon’s husband Al as well as dear friends Steve and Debbie and Don and Lois. It was a chilly night and we had a fire in the chiminea and I even got to snuggle up in my new shawl. The thing that made me warmest, though, was being surrounded by friends who love me. It was exactly what I needed.

It’s been ages since I’ve done a Good, Bad and Ugly post. Really, I’m way overdue with this. But here you go. Hope you like it!

Good: Summer driving. The top is down on the Jeep and the wind is blowing through my hair and I’m loving it.
Bad: The wind is blowing through my hair. I spend most days at work with Jeep hair and it ain’t pretty.
Ugly: Unexpected thunder storms while the top is down on the Jeep. We drove home with puddles under our feet the other night.

Good: I’ve won a lot of prizes lately! There has been yarn from Karen

and stitch markers from Cece. And I’m expecting a prize from Christine, too. There was also the Amazing Lace Poetry Challenge win.
Bad: You know all this winning is bound to come to a screeching halt at some point.

Good: Eating locally. This is something we do quite often since our beef and pork is raised by Blogless Sharon. But now the garden is exploding and we’ve had our own squash and cucumbers plus local corn, too. It feels good to eat the vegetables we have grown!

Bad: Garden pests. I’m worried about slugs chomping the squash plants now.
Ugly: Weeds. Why oh why are there always weeds?

Good: Skinny-dipping. Remember skinny-dipping? It felt good. It was fun and freeing and just a little bit wild.
Bad: Opportunities for skinny-dipping these days are pretty rare.
Ugly: As my dear sister-in-law Jen (picture below on the left, Dale’s sister Lisa is on the right) pointed out recently, when you’re our size, you can’t really call it skinny-dipping. For us, it’s chunky-dunking

Good: Birthday socks for Jessica.

Bad: I have lots more socks to knit for upcoming birthdays. Hannah’s birthday is right around the corner. As is my daughter-in-law Heather’s. Plus the Toasty Toes swap. And then it’s Christmas knitting. Ugh.
Ugly: Deadline knitting.

Good: Speaking of socks, hand dyed sock yarn is pretty good. Mine looked like this, if you recall.

Bad: This is how it looks knit into socks, however.

Ugly: Is this a sock only a mother could love or what? I’m thinking it’s pretty ugly. I’ll leave the yarn dyeing to the experts from now on.

I’ve been postponing a Good, Bad & Ugly post for about a week because I don’t really have enough bads and uglies to even things out. So, this time, it’s almost all good. And that’s not bad or ugly, is it?

Good: My nephew Steve earned the rank of Eagle Scout on Sunday. Dale, who has been both Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster of Steve’s troop was so proud. The whole family was in attendance for the ceremony and reception and it was wonderful.

Steve, Lisa (Steve’s mom and Dale’s sister) and Dale. Too bad there’s no family resemblance, eh?

Good: I know I said it was great to see the whole family at Steve’s party. But can you guess who I was most excited to see?

My adorable granddaughter!
She just gets cuter all the time. And I managed to get her measurements so I can knit her some stuff. Yay!

Good: Since joining the Y I’ve lost 5 pounds. I’ve also lost 5 inches from various parts of my body.
Bad: You all can guess where I’ve lost the most inches, right? The only place I actually don’t mind keeping inches.

Good: A rainbow in my backyard Sunday night. It was a lot more vibrant before I took this photo. So bright that I gasped when I saw it.

Good: I hosted another spinning night at the library. Five people came, including Martha, Maggie and Blogless Sharon. Also in attendance was a woman who is a member of the Harlow House Heritage Crafters. She owns an original Canadian Production wheel. It’s actually the one that David Paul used as his prototype for his reproduction wheels. It’s gorgeous and I was very excited to meet this particular wheel. And, I learned to Navajo Ply! And, Maggie brought me some of her soap! I’m loving this group, I’ll tell ya.

Good: Speaking of Blogless Sharon, her daughter Heather has started a blog. Go on over and say hello, wouldya?

Good: I’ve finally met Melanie and her twins. The babies are adorable and Melanie is a sweetheart. I’ve been able to visit twice and can’t wait to go again.

Good: Prizes and Prezzies. In the past couple of weeks I’ve received a Martha’s Vineyard postcard from Deb and official Maryland Sheep & Wool notecards from Norma. Clearly, I’m not on the shit list if I’m getting gifted, right, Vicki? I also won a custom made bag from Julie as a prize for donating to her Relay for Life fundraiser. You can still donate. Maybe you’ll win a prize, too. Speaking of donating and prizes, don’t forget to pledge to Claudia’s MS Bike Ride. You could win some great prizes there, too.

Good: Massachusetts Sheep & Wool is this weekend. And now that I know how to Navajo Ply, I can gleefully purchase all those lovely multicolored rovings. Yippee!

Welcome to the newest installment of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, brought to you by your friends at Carole Knits. Where knitting isn’t the only thing happening.

Good: Last week my stepdaughter, Jessica and I joined the YMCA in our town. We have gone and walked on the treadmill faithfully. I am determined to get my 40 year old body into better physical condition.
Bad: Now that I’ve told you, I can’t back down from this.
Ugly: So far, with the exception of one time, I’m always the fattest person in the exercise room. Sigh.

Good: I received authorization from Blue Cross Blue Shield for a zyrtec subscription until the year 9999. I might not need it for quite that long.

Good: We had new walkways put in at home. No more puddles and mud!

Good: The perennial garden is beautiful right now. I love the lushness of all the plants in May.

Bad: I can already see weeds!

Good: My prize winnings from Ann and Kay arrived. They signed the book for me and it’s fantastic.

Good: Knitting in the Suburban while Dale fills it with gas.
Bad: There are no words. This picture will have to suffice.

Ugly: The tank still wasn’t filled.

Good: My blog schedule. Did you even know I have a blog schedule? My goal is to publish first thing in the morning, Monday – Thursday.
Bad: Schedule disruptions! Hackers! Twice in the last two weeks we’ve had hackers attempt to get into the system and knitblog has crashed and then I can’t post.
Ugly: Me without my blog. It’s not pretty. If you don’t believe me, just ask Lauren. She knows exactly how I feel.

Good: A new haircut.

I know, I know, it’s only been a week since the last Good, Bad & Ugly post but, honestly, other than Good, Bad, & Ugly, I’ve got nothing. Nada. And I’m too cranky to try and come up with something else that’s clever or witty or even remotely entertaining. So, this is what you’re getting. Sorry.

Good: Hannah is home from New York. She had a wonderful time and was bursting with stuff to tell us. Thanks again for all your encouraging words of support during this little trip. Feel free to tell me all of your school trip horror stories now.
Bad: The boy that liked Hannah apparently doesn’t like her anymore. (While this is a bad thing to Hannah, I can’t help but be relieved. Sorry, Hannah.)
Ugly: Hannah called her sister, Jessica, to discuss the woes related to the boy. Not me. Her mother. And I’m sure this is just the start of things she won’t talk to me about. Waaah.

Good: Wicked. It was wicked good. If you live in the Boston area and you can get your hands on some tickets – GO.
Bad: People bringing children to see this show. While it may be the untold story of the Witches of Oz, and therefore loosely based on The Wizard of Oz, this is not a performance intended for children.

Good: The second wedding of one of my dearest friends. Linda, the bride, and Tracy, the other woman in this photo, and I have been friends since high school. Linda’s first husband was a real ass and I’m so happy she’s found a wonderful guy for her second go.

Good: Blue Cross approved a Zyrtec prescription for me.
Bad: The paperwork hasn’t come through yet so I still don’t have allergy relief.

Good: Mim’s Seraphim Shawl pattern. It’s easy but very pretty.
Bad: Running out of yarn. This is my own fault for not using the recommended yarn weight but it’s still a bad thing.
Ugly: While Robyn at Red Bird Knits is able to get the yarn for me, it’s going to take 4 weeks or more. And, of course, this will make my $45 shawl a $90 shawl.

Good: To Do Lists. I love To Do Lists. I love finishing something and crossing it off. The sense of accomplishment I get at that moment makes me giddy.
Bad: Honey Do Lists. These are the lists I give to the hubbo for him to accomplish. The things on these lists generally get started but not often finished. Or, at least not finished according to my time frame.
Ugly: My reaction to the unfinished Honey Do Lists. You see, the major item on the list is to paint and wallpaper the room that we reorganized a few months ago. Painting is Dale’s thing but wallpapering is something we need to do together. However, Dale is behind schedule and the room isn’t ready for wallpaper yet. This means that I won’t be able to go to WEBS on Saturday and see Stephanie. Shouldn’t it also mean that Dale doesn’t get to go to a Civil War monument re-dedication on Friday? Shouldn’t both worker bees have to make sacrifices for the cause? You’d be correct if you surmised that this is the cause of my previously mentioned crankiness.

Good: Because I must end on a good note, some sky for Sandy.