Dr. Zhivago and Land Sharks

Coming off a lovely weekend can be kind of a downer, you know that? The thought of Monday looming ahead just really takes the wind out of my sails.

Being kid-less for a big part of the weekend meant knitting and movies and cooking and just catching up on sleep. Friday night Buddy Bill and I rented an old movie, which we've both seen, but not in years, Dr. Zhivago. After cooking dinner together, we managed to get through half of the film. Saturday we decided to cook corned beef and sauerkraut and invited a friend to join us, then ran errands and picked up a few more grocery items. I was so excited to find this at the market: Straight from the Margaritaville Brewing Co., it's LandShark Lager! Fellow Parrotheads will understand the significance.


I also bought this pretty potted flower for my mom for Easter - it's called "Cineraria." The flowers are really that blue, and my mom's favorite color is blue.



While the food was simmering away, I napped, I knitted on College Kid's socks, and Buddy Bill and I finished watching the rest of the long saga of the Russian Revolution. I couldn't help but admire the blooming daffodils I had given to Bill earlier in the week as tightly closed buds. They were part of the American Cancer Society fundraiser. Yes, I gave Bill flowers. He was delighted!



Our friend joined us for corned beef with the announcement that he will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the school system where we work (and he & Bill retired from) in the fall. This comes after nearly 30 years of service as a coach for the district. What fun it was to celebrate our friend's recognition - we were the first to know and share in his good news! Good food, three great friends, laughing and happy together... it was one of those moments that you want to file away in your mind for the future, you know? I put it right up there with the memory of College Kid asking me to knit him socks, and the memory of him trying to decide which yarn I should use for his socks. I wish you could have seen his delight when I said, "I'm sure this won't be the only pair of socks I ever knit for you."

Speaking of knitting...

The knitting 8th graders are doing great! We knitted again this past week, and one of them asked to take his knitting home for the weekend. He was prepared to face questions from his family about knitting, and was armed with ammunition that it relaxes him, like meditation, and also that he thinks it helps him prepare for track meets. P- wanted the knitting for a long car trip Friday evening. J- is persevering, and still moving along. P- is flying, has even, consistent stitches, and knits at a decent pace. I'm taking in dishcloth cotton to start a "real" project during our next "group counseling" session.