• I love the navigation system. I don’t often need the GPS function but it’s nice to have it right there on the dashboard. I also love that silly back up camera that’s part of the nav system. I can finally negotiate my friend Sharon’s driveway! Okay, almost on that one.
• I love the leather interior. The heated seats don’t suck either.
• I love that I have Sirius XM radio back. I had this in my Jeep but we didn’t get it with the Outback and I really missed my Margaritaville Radio.
• I love how easy it is to use the Bluetooth feature with my phone. It automatically updates my contacts and I can make phone calls hands free now. I don’t often use my phone in the car but it’s great to have it so easy to do.
• I love the moon roof. It’s a simple pleasure but it’s a good one.
• I looooooove the gas mileage. I drove the car for 2 full weeks before I had to gas up and even then it wasn’t on empty. I’m averaging 32 miles to the gallon around town.
• I love that I have only seen 2 other Crosstreks since I bought this car. You know how it is when you buy a new car – suddenly they are everywhere. Not the case with this one, though, and I think that’s cool.

I know that there are people out there who don’t care what they drive so long as their vehicle gets them where they need to go. I, however, am not one of those people. I have always strongly identified with the car that I drive and I want it to be cool. Or at least my idea of cool. It’s why I loved my Chevy Blazer and my Jeep Wrangler and my Subaru Outback and probably also why I hated my Ford Tempo. That car was definitely not cool.

Mini Pearl, though? Man alive, she is cool.

I know, I know, I said I wasn’t going to take macro shots of flowers this month. But then my kid bought me a pretty bouquet for Mother’s Day and I found myself unable to resist the tiny little daisies.

Makes me think of a song . . . hold me closer, tiny daisy . . .

Wow. That’s bad, even for me.

Enjoy the weekend, my friends!

Yesterday I went to a library network meeting and was excited to hear about a program that Overdrive is offering right now called Big Library Read. It’s like a digital version of a One Town, One Book event and it boils down to this: right now anyone with an Overdrive account can download the book The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone for free. Don’t have an Overdrive account? Check here and see if your library participates – and I bet they do – and then create one for free. Then go download the book and we can all read it together. It was selected by librarians so I’m betting its good. Hurry, though, because this offer expires on June 1st.

It’s perfect.

1. Marion Cunningham from Happy Days. Of course she’s first, she was the best and didn’t we all want her to be our mom and cook us a pot roast?
2. Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Mostly I just wanted to wear long dresses and be married to Pa.
3. Carol Brady from The Brady Bunch. This show is airing these days and Dale and I have really gotten a kick out of watching some of the old episodes. Carol Brady was the perfect 1970s mom and you had to love that flip hairdo!
4. Lorelie Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. She was one amazing single mom.
5. Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show. She had it all: the career, the kids, the doctor husband and that great brownstone in New York City.
6. June Cleaver from Leave It to Beaver. She was the quintessential 50s mom with her full skirts and pearl necklace.
7. Nora Walker from Brothers and Sisters. Meddling but loving and what a strong matriarch she was.
8. Miss Ellie Ewing from Dallas. Strong and loving but don’t cross her or her sons!
9. Abby Bradford from Eight is Enough. She was a great stepmom, something I strive for myself.
10. Olivia Walton. She was understanding and firm and held that whole family together.

I had a lot of fun writing this list and thinking about all of these awesome TV moms. Hope you all enjoy the topic and don’t forget to add a link to your post if you happened to write on. Sign up for Ten on Tuesday emails here.

This weekend was the first one in ages that did not include any obligations
And so we made the most of it
Friday was a much needed day to myself that included
a nice 2.5 mile run
sushi for lunch
sunning, knitting, reading on the deck
The evening brought music
homemade steak fajitas and tequila
and dancing in the kitchen
Saturday morning was relaxing
coffee and more coffee in my pjs
shopping for new pillows in the afternoon
and dinner with our cousins in the evening
Sunday was a perfectly lovely Mother’s Day
quiet time with Dale
and a brisk walk
a phone call from Brant in Florida
flowers from Hannah
and the sweetest card ever from Jessica
breakfast made just-for-me by Dale and Hannah
a ride to Plymouth for cocktails with friends
brought the day and the weekend to a lovely close

How was your weekend?

We had friends over on Sunday for an impromptu Cindo de Mayo celebration and I picked this pretty little bouquet from the flowers blooming around my yard right now. Simple and colorful, just what I love.

Have a great weekend, my friends!

• For someone who loves knitting and has great reasons for doing it you would think I’d actually spend more time knitting and less time, well, playing Candy Crush. Seriously. I may be in need of an intervention.
• The other thing I’m doing – when I’m not knitting or wasting my time with Candy Crush – is reading the first Outlander book. I’ve resisted these for years, not wanting to get caught up in the gazillion page saga but I finally succumbed and I have to admit it’s pretty good. Or, at least, I can see what the hype is all about.
• I keep hearing about people who are chronically dehydrated. I truly enjoy drinking water and probably have no reason to fear that I have this syndrome and yet I’m feeling quite paranoid at the moment. I’ve upped my water intake considerably and that means I’m spending more time than ever running to the bathroom. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why my knitting production has slowed down so much? Nahhhh, I’m pretty sure it’s Candy Crush.
• The other night we had  our monthly spinning group at the library. I chose some pretty fiber and packed up my wheel and was ready to settle in for a nice productive time. And then I realized I had packed a woolee winder flyer and a regular bobbin. Sigh.
• I started a plank-a-day challenge for the month of May. Today I’m supposed to plank for a full minute and that’s not a big deal for me but tomorrow it jumps to a minute and a half and by the end of the month I’m supposed to plank for 5 whole minutes. That is a looooong time.
• It’s May and that means it’s time for Macro May. I’m trying really hard to not take pictures of bugs and flowers this time. It’s a challenge, I tell ya. It will also probably mean that my photos will all be of food.
• And finally, on the whole knitting thing, a sweater on size 3 needles? What the hell was I thinking?

Powerful words from the recruiting station at this past weekend’s Frank Harlow Day.

I printed out all of the comments and then cut all those comments into strips. I also made an extra comment strip for each of the bloggers who linked to their Ten on Tuesday posts. My basket was very full when I closed my eyes, reached in, and pulled out:
Kat from Purl of a Girl! Congratulations to Kat and thank you all for participating in the contest.

Okay, onward. Since we’re already on the topic, this week, let’s talk about the thing that brings us all together: knitting! Here are the Ten Reasons Why I Knit:

1. I enjoy it. This is the obvious one, right?
2. It keeps my brain engaged. Getting completely absorbed in a complicated knitting project is a great way to work the brain.
3. It can be easy. There’s nothing like a tried and true pattern that you’ve knit over and over again.
4. It can also be challenging. Then again, there’s nothing like a challenging lace shawl, too.
5. It passes the time. I never mind waiting at the doctor’s office or waiting in line or waiting in the car because I always have something to do while I’m waiting.
6. It reduces stress. There’s nothing quite as soothing as endless stockinette when I’m stressed.
7. Hand knits make great gifts. I’m not someone who knits for Christmas but I believe very strongly in knitting for birthdays.
8. I never get bored. There are so many patterns and so many beautiful yarns out there and there’s always something new to knit.
9. It keeps my hands occupied so I’m not, say, eating when I’m not hungry.
10. I love handknit things. Sweaters, socks, shawls, you name it, I love them all!