Don't Fight It

I was looking for a pic of me and the hubby and though I have tons, they are all in glued in the wedding album.
Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. Every year I ask him if he wants me to renew his contract for the coming year and I ask him for a two year extension. So I'm locked in until 2022 while he's only committed until 2010.

He didn't know what he wanted for his anniversary gift. Usually he'll want a book but he couldn't think of one he wanted this time around. I know he's been working really hard at his retirement job and around his mom's condo getting it ready to sell. Someone is giving me a free coupon for a massage so I am going to give it to him. I'll make the appointment and drive him to wherever it is and wait while he gets his body tended to. I'll even let him have a female masseuse.

What did I get? I got a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby and I got 21 skeins of yarn, 5 sets of double pointed needles and sequins in black, green, blue and pastels. I tried to buy more. Seriously. This was a different Hobby Lobby where I'd never been. It is a huge store, but the yarn department wasn't very big. There wasn't much in the way of clearance yarns so I went with the tried and true. I really did my best to clear out the store, but it just wasn't to be.

I still got a boat load of my favorite yarn. Didn't need the yarn but now I am so set. He didn't even flinch when he saw the total and he even carried the bag to the car.

We then went off to a restaurant where we'd never been called Pete Miller's - we got a $100 off certificate that cost us $50. We brought home enough food for a meal tomorrow - best kind of meal is one you can have twice and pay for once!

So how is married life? I love it. I've been engaged a couple of times and this was the only time I made it down the aisle. He was worth the frogs that came before him.

Conviction of the Heart

The Sit & Knit or SNK as Knitting Knoobie coined it, was a success. Not everyone who RSVP'd showed, but there were a couple of dozen knitters who came and sat on the Veranda of Pleasant Home - Mills Park and did some stitching for Compassionate Care Hospice.

Lisa, on the left, was the first to arrive and she did not know how to knit. She has a friend who does high end doggy sweaters and that friend gave her acrylic needles and merino yarn. I was assigned to teach newbies to knit and I tested my new teaching theory which is to teach people how to do a knit cast on because it's almost the same as teaching them the knit stitch. I am glad to say Lisa, Georgia and Aida were all knitting within a half hour! Lisa picked it up within minutes - this girl is going to be a knitting fiend. Georgia is going to be great, too, she has beautiful hand rhythm. I moved my registration table to the porch because I was stuck inside all last year and didn't want a repeat of that. The day started out rainy, cleared up long enough for some of our knitters to take a tour of the mansion (you can't take photos of the inside or you would have them here) and then stormed off and on and we stayed dry on the veranda throughout the whole thing.

You've heard me talk about Marilyn. Here she is already starting to put the squares together for the hospice afghan. I made my squares earlier - I made about twenty of them to get us started. She loves the challenge of getting all these different squares and making them somehow cohesive and she manages to do a great job of it.

Can I also tell you the food was great? Oh, my gosh. The grapes, cheese, goat cheese stuff tomatoes, chips, crackers, bagels and Georgia made her addictive sun teas and lemonade. Our thanks again to our corporate sponsor P.J. Clarkes.
Our youngest knitter was a teenager and our oldest is older than Marilyn (and Marilyn taught Mary how to knit - you know, that Mary.)

Maya Del Sol in Oak Park, IL

We received a $50 gift certificate to Maya Del Sol, a restaurant in Oak Park, IL and since I am suffering from a little bit of knit frustration (it happens when I am doing a pattern and I keep messing up so badly I have to start over) I thought it would be a nice place for the hubby and me to go on our regular date night. (We've been married for almost 12 years and once a week we go out!)

Maya Del Sol touts itself as being a little Mexican, a little Cuban, a little South American and a little...Californian. Well, my husband doesn't like Mexican food. He isn't fond of heavy spices and heavy sauce so he was a bit skeptical.

We started off with the Nachos Del Sol and they were wonderful. Honey braised beef over tortillas with beans, scallions, jalapenos, tomatoes and sour cream. Ohmigod! My husband LOVED them.

We then split a Caesar salad that was nice because it didn't have the standard iceberg lettuce - instead they had a mix of field greens.

I ordered the Enchiladas and the hubby ordered a Salmon Cervices. He loved his meal, but it was more of an appetizer so I gave him a portion of my generous plate of enchiladas with steak. I thought they were very tasty, but he didn't care for them at all. I couldn't finish them.

There was room, however, for dessert and he ordered a Chocolate Mousse Cake that was so creamy and so light. It was a perfect ending to the dinner.

We didn't do much by way of drinks: iced tea for me and Coke for him.

The service was excellent. We no sooner finished a course when someone came along and cleared the plates and gave us fresh napkins, plates, and silver for the next course. The owner stopped by the table and by the time we left, there was standing room only at the bar and he went behind the bar to assist his bartenders by cleaning the glasses!

And you know what? The bill was $50.49 before the tip. All in all, I'd say that was one very nice Christmas present.