I Still Have Too Much Cocoon...

...but I'm finishing it.  I'll make something smaller now that I've got the pattern figured out; it won't take long.  But I sure like the way this looks.  I'm coming into a red-orange color which will be perfect for the edge of the frill.  I'll do a couple more rounds so that the red's really obvious and then bind off.  The pattern calls for a looooong 2 stitch I-cord with a tab for a closure but I think I might just crochet a long chain and call it done.  I'll see.

I'll be taking the April Men's Chemo Hats along to Friday Night Knitting to hand them over to MW who delivers them to the VA for me so I thought I'd take a picture of them all together.  I like 'em, and I like the pattern.  I'll be plunging into the May hats just as soon as the cocoons are done.  Or maybe sooner, I don't know.  That might be good car knitting/crocheting for the long Yarn Crawl drive tomorrow... hmm.

When I surveyed the front garden today I saw the first tulip bulbs.  Yay, tulips!  Tulips are DIL1's favorite flowers so I always think of her when I see them.  It's been so chilly that the lilies of the valley aren't sprouted in back yet; those are DD's favorites, they make me think of her and how much I miss her.  *sniff*

Another thing that's up and growing are the Asiatic lilies.  Don't you think they look like green stars at this stage?  I love them and wish they'd bloom longer or again.  I need to plant more lilies, I love lilies, especially the stargazers that smell so good even if they are pink and white.  Although I do have some all white ones that smell great too.

Mrs. Boss stopped at the dive shop yesterday to give us a transport wheelchair that they don't need anymore.  It's the perfect thing that will make our trip to Yellowstone in August that much better.  It's lightweight and easy to fold up and put in the van so now Durwood won't have to wait in the van while I walk to see things, I'll be able to push him along the boardwalks and some paths so we can sightsee together, and it'll be a godsend in all the museums we want to visit.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Boss.  We'll be passing it on to a Vets group when we don't need it anymore which is where it was headed, we're just a temporary stopover.

May 2--Joachim Tielke, Cittern.  The stringed instrument lay broken on the study floor, a jumble of inlaid ebony and ivory.  It looked like someone had wrenched the neck off and stomped on the body.  The metal strings quivered as if in fear but Vincent knew it was his footsteps' vibrations that had set them moving.  He wasn't sure what it meant that the little guitar had been trashed, it didn't seem to have much to do with the dead body on the lawn.  Or maybe it did, maybe the argument had started in here and moved outside.

That's as far as I got before I slid down into dreamland, as it was I woke up face down in my notebook about fifteen minutes after writing that and managed to shut out the light so I didn't spend the whole night sleeping on my words.  Today I want to whip up my dish-to-pass for next Thursday's Bay Lakes Knitting Guild annual cookout or at least buy the ingredients for it and then make it on Sunday so I'm not racing around like a crazed weasel at the last minute.  I'll tell you what I'm making later but it'll be yummy and cool looking.  Because I'm so cool myself, donchyaknow.  Time for cheerios, Durwood's got a podiatrist appointment in a couple hours and I want to strip the beds and put out fresh towels first.  Busy busy busy.
--Barbara