Things that make me happy...

I've been sensing the breath of my faithful companion, the Black Dog of Depression, close behind me, so today I want to think about (and share) a few of the things that have made me happy recently.

First, a lovely surprise from Michelle, my partner in the Swap-Bot Felted Sweater Creations swap: These sweet handwarmers. They're soooo soft and warm, and of course the little birds are exactly perfect. When they arrived in the post, I put them on and didn't take them off all the rest of the day. These will be amazing when I'm having trouble with the Rayaud's.

Next, here are the moose mama and calf in the Chena River. Moose make me happy because they're so unlikely. I never could have imagined an animal that huge, and they're surprisingly graceful on those ungainly-looking legs. I love the strange horse-y, mule-y face, with the soft nose, and their color, which is so much more than brown, but which I cannot name.

Here's Leaf, doing his best imitation of Jabba the Hut. He looks disgusted, no? That's because he follows the sun around the room, and he'd worked himself into this position to get maximum belly exposure, but the light has moved on and he's almost too lazy to move again.
This is my hoya plant, which has just begun to bloom for the first time since I've had it. Actually, until last summer, it was just a stick in a pot of dirt. I'm not sure why it decided to grow leaves all of a sudden after five years (or why I kept it that long with no sign of life), but it did and I did. This pic is just before the buds popped open. I haven't gotten a good photo of the full bloom yet.

The twig was a gift from a former client, when I used to do respite care for elders. I know she told me she'd had the plant for at least 40 years, probably more, and I think that it had come from her grandmother. (That seems to happen a lot, which is why I guess they also call it "Grandma's wax plant." )

Finally, a couple of knitting pix. The first is a pair of Peace Fleece socks I finished sometime in February (I think) for Afghans for Afghans. I took the photos and then forgot about them, so it was a joy to find them again... I think they may be my favorite knitted object ever: Not the fanciest, but certainly the most cheerful.

The pink and brown Sugar 'n Cream dishcloths are pure instant gratification. I never used to understand why anybody would knit a dishcloth -- until I did it myself. I don't particularly like knitting with cotton (too rough on the hands), but there's nothing better when you need to do something quick, if only for the satisfaction of actually binding something off not too long after casting on. (I made the finished one yesterday.)



Also, it's true that these things beat store-bought rags and sponges all to heck and back. I love how soft they are in the water... almost makes washing dishes pleasant. (This colorway is just like Neapolitan ice cream: Yummy. And like the ice cream, not something I'd ordinarily like, either, but I really really do.)

It's 4:30 a.m., again, so off to bed I go. Later today I have marigolds, petunias, gloriosa daisies and geraniums to plant. G and I visited the Plant Kingdom, and I behaved resonably well... Will have to go back again soon to snag the herbs and pothos and lantana and bamboo I pretended to ignore today.