Secret Pal Revealed

I received a BIG package from my ANGEL SP9. She is amazing....just look at the wonderful goodies she sent to me:

an ASTOR Belgian Almond chocolate bar (yum), two tins of tea: black leaf tea decaf vanilla and herbal leaf tea cha cha, lavendar/citrus bath salts, the smaller skein is Karabella Aurora 8 yarn (100% Merino Wool 50G), and hand-dyed lambswool/cashmere...all in a GORGEOUS Lantern Moon bag that I just love, love, love. My angel-pal revealed herself as Jessica from MA. I have to find something special to make with these yarns, they are just so nice. And I'll be trying out the teas this week as I always make a travel mug of tea to drink on my way to work. Again, Jessica, thank you for the LOVELY goodies you sent to me and thank you for

volunteering to be a SP9 angel!

Celebration!

Today we had a little gathering to celebrate my DH's end of interferon treatment (for cancer, that lasted a year). We had some friend's and family in, people who have been very supportive to us this past year and a half. We chose this weekend because Gerry's good friend Dave was visiting from Ohio, which he does each Feb. I wanted to cook myself, but waited till the last minute to decide on what to make. I wanted something simple, tasty and easy to make earlier in the day so didn't have to fuss when guests were here. My daughter Alison gave me a delicious recipe from Kraft foods - 15 minute Italian Chicken & Rice w/vegetables. I made 4 times the recipe in two batches and it was GREAT! The night before I made a maple pecan pie...and almost killed it. I took it out of the oven and part of the crust lookes raw (beige, dough colored). I put it back for 10 more min...same thing...then another 5 minutes more. Finally I took it out and as I was putting in onto a cooling rack I noticed...paper! I had left the paper that separates the frozen pie crusts - on the crust. Luckily I was able to use a spatula to s-l-i-d-e the innards into the crust as I pulled out the paper. Miraculously, the pie tasted fabulous. Guess it's a hard pie to kill!

My cousin Ann came with her hubby Ray and their 2 yr old daughter Genia, and a surprise visitor...my cousin Steven from NY. He came with his dad, my Uncle Mario, who had been spending the day with Steven. Also here were my mom, my son Adam (who brought a fabulous tiaramisu cake) and his girlfriend Melanie, visiting from NYC for a few days,

and some of our good friends...

Gerry was exhausted but had a nice time,as we all did. It's great to have good friends and family to share your good times with you.

I Am In Love

...with a little baby boy named Avi, my grandson. Mom and I flew up to Atlanta to spend a long weekend with Alison, Michael and their beautiful baby. The weather was really cold, unusually cold for Atlanta and the entire east coast (even Florida was cold). We only went out on Saturday, for breakfast and to Trader Joe's. I love that store, even though I only buy some toiletries and green tea extract capsules. Of course, I have to limit myself because I have to fly home. I wish we had TJ's in South Florida...a less expensive version of Whole Foods (where I have started to shop a little bit more but would love to pay a lot less).

Ok, back to the family. It was such a pleasure to watch Alison and Michael with Avi. They are amazing parents (you might have read that here before), and is shows in Avi. He is so happy, smiles easily and loves to play, hear music, cuddle. Alison and Michael work with Avi on sitting up. If you gently pull his arms he lifts his head and shoulders to begin to sit up (and he's jsut 3 1/2 months old). My mom and I had a great time with him. When we sang to him (in our off key voices) he "sings" along with us. And can this baby laugh!...right from his belly!

On Sunday Mom and I sent Alison and Michael off on a "date" - a little time alone to have lunch and a movie, while we watched/played with Avi. My stepdaughter Suzzette lives in Atlanta, and she came over to see us and the baby.
On Sunday night I gave Avi a bath for the first time (not his first time, my first time). He LOVES his bath and after he is soaped, washed and rinsed he love to play and hates to get out.

My daughter Alison is now on a campaign to get Gerry and I to move to Atlanta...in her neighborhood. This thrills me, as we are so close, and I would LOVE to live near her and Michael and of course, Avi. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Delray Beach, South Florida and my home, but would give it all up to live by A,M & A. However, at this time I can't do it (don't stop asking Alison....one day, it might be feasible). I hate missing out on every accomplishment that Avi makes day to day. Thank goodness for the internet, cameras, and now I have a webcam - hoping that they hook theirs up and then Avi and I can visit online.

Here are some parting shots of my beatiful grandson...

Finally...from an "Angel"

I have been participating in Secret Pal 9, which ran from October through January. I was a good girl...I kept in touch with my SP (the one I was sending packages to), and sent my 3 required packages. I had heard from the person "spoiling" me, and while she sounded really nice, she kept apologizing for not sending anything because she was really busy. Several times I even had to contact the hostess to say that I had not received anything and had not heard about receiving anything (I know it's better to give than to receive, but SP is about BOTH). My SP then wrote and said that she was preparing one big package. Well, the deadline came and went and....pfffft! Then about 2 weeks ago the SP hostess (who shares my first name, the lovely lady) wrote and told me that an "angel" would be taking over and "spoiling" me. I heard from this angel within a day. She asked me many questions to refine my original survey of preferences. Today I arrived home to find a package (and the mention of another). What a great package it was:

All items were inside a lovely little gift bag (fabric) that will be very useful for keeping silk scarves or my lace blouse. Inside was a lovely note and: a skein of Rowan soft baby yarn, 50% wook, 30% polymide, 20% cotton...50g; a darling little tin of tea...rooibos, peppermint and chamomile (herbal tea, no caffeine) - yup - I'll be having THAT on my way to work tomorrow; a bar of brazil nut soap from The Body Shop (great for travelling), alba papaya mango body cream, purse sized and smells SOOO good; and, in a little envelope made from a map (clever) stitch markers for resizing, a larger set for larger needles, smaller for smaller needles and one on a business card for Zero markers..."jewelry for your knitting." This was definitely worth the wait. Thank you so much, Angel....you are terrific!!!!

Finished at Last

It took me about 1 1/2 to 2 months but I finished the sweater I was working on when I went to Hawaii before Xmas. I had nothing to do and I figured I would just make a baby sweater. I bought Caron's Simply Soft in white and followed directions from Top Down For Toddlers. Well, for some reason, it came out really big! But that's ok....once completed I added little white teddy bear buttons (don't know why it only worked up to 4 buttons but hey, I really didn't care to worry about it). I gave it to the parent of a boy who was in my class last year. She had a beautiful baby boy named Diego. He was born one month after my grandson Avi, and he's beautiful. Last year's class and parents were fantastic...I just had to give it to Mrs. L.