Ten Pounds of Sugar in a Five Pound Sack

I have several topics to cover, which is so highly unusual for me --- generally there has to be an intense fishing expedition for blog material.

Firstly, a belated birthday present from the Always Glorious Camille:

Outlander stitch markers!  And, as if that weren't enough, a second set --- a clue to which you can see there on the right.

Dr.  Who!  They were all made by an artisan in Australia, whose etsy shop is here.  She has amazing things;  the Harry Potter markers are as wonderful as these.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hannah, Briton and I met for late lunch/early dinner yesterday.  On the subject of birthdays, the two things I asked for this year were a cake and a picture of the three of us together.  I didn't get either.  I was determined to at least get a photo yesterday, but Hannah was unhappy with how she looked (it was at the end of her Starbucks shift) and shut the thing down.

The two of them talked and talked and talked.  You can always tell how long it's been since they've seen one another by how much and how enthusiastically they talk.  I had to leave to get back and give Madeleine her injection, so Briton took Hannah home.  He got to meet her new (and still unnamed) kitten, so I did get a couple of pictures from the afternoon.

Those of you with siblings: how often do you talk to them?  It has bothered me in the past that Briton and Hannah go long stretches of time without being in touch with one another.  All their lives, I've told them that I don't have any idea how brothers and sisters are supposed to work, and that they were going to have to sort of sort it out themselves.  Though I never gave being an only child a second thought growing up, the major events I've had in my adult life have made me long for the kind of support and love that --- I assume --- only a brother or sister can provide.  They didn't have their father for very long, and I won't be around forever.  I just want them to have someone who's been through these things, who understands them, who gets them.  Yes, spouses and children are vitally important, but I want them to have each other, too.  If they can.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're a regular visitor to the Mason-Dixon Knitting website, you know that the March Madness tournament is going on.  If you'd like to get in on the action, click right over here right now.

The sweater my cousin sent is plodding, plodding along.  She doesn't have a timeline in mind, I don't imagine, but every day that goes by without my making substantial progress on it is quite disappointing.  It still doesn't quite fit into my hands, and I cannot keep up with what should be a very simple stitch rhythm.

The other day, I came across some yarn that I ordered long ago from Three Irish Girls --- the "Katharine Hepburn" colorway, because. . .  Katharine Hepburn.  Actually, I saved my pennies so that I could buy enough to make a sweater, and it's been here all this time, waiting for the right pattern.  Having found the yarn, the search for The Pattern began, and, because of course it would go this way, I cannot find a pattern worthy of her that matches up with the amount of yarn there is.

Everday life, huh?