"Jump back."

It's a phrase that Lorelai used in an episode of "Gilmore Girls" (first season), and it made me laugh. I guess it's something you can say when somebody tells you something that surprises you. Like -
"Oh my gosh, I fit into a size 8 now!!"
"Jump back!"
Cracks me up.

And now I have to say that it is abundantly obvious that Lorelai and Rory must have either eating disorders or unbelievably high metabolisms. On the show, they eat hamburgers and fries, ice cream, pizza, Pop Tarts, cake, blueberry pancakes, and other very high-calorie foods. And they're both total toothpicks. TOOTHPICKS, I tell you. Impossible.

Frogs

LOTS of itty-bitty frogs! So many of them that some parts of the ground looked like they were moving! Right outside our front door, around the bushes in the mulch. I don't know where they all came from all of the sudden but they sure are cute itty-bitty guys! They're really fast, but I managed to pick one up today. It weighed pretty much nothing. It hopped out of my hand back onto the ground and landed on its back....but within about a half a second, it flipped itself right-side-up again. But yeah, it's like overnight there are all these tiny frogs around. I wonder if some neighborhood frogs have been getting jiggy. LOTS of jiggy.

Speaking of frogs, Kelli finally found her prince. Kevin sounds like a really nice guy who really, truly adores her. She has been waiting a long, long time for this. I am so thrilled for her!! It was fun hanging out with Kelli this afternoon. It's been almost a year since I've seen her. After she gets married, she's moving up to St. Paul, Minnesota because that's where Kevin's job is. Thankfully, we have like three sets of friends who live up in that area so we'll be able to visit Kelli and Kevin once in awhile.
A Fall wedding! October 15. She asked me to be the guestbook attendant.

I'm soooooo happy about Mom getting Gabby today!! When I talked to mom this afternoon, she said they hadn't seen Gabby for the previous couple of hours. That poor baby had a confusing day! First her owner takes her to my house, then she goes back in her little carrier and rides for an hour to another unfamiliar house. Not too surprising that she's probably hiding under a bed. Her former owner says she's an extremely affectionate, social kitty so it probably won't be long before she slinks out from her hiding place and mingles with the family! I'm looking forward to seeing her again. For now, she is the wallpaper on my cell phone. : )

I need a Sookie

No, NOT Suki. Sookie.
She's Lorelai's best friend on "Gilmore Girls". (I am thoroughly addicted to that show now. Only two more episodes til I'm done with season one. Good thing I already ordered season two.)

So yeah, Sookie's one of those you-can-count-on-her-no-matter-what, she-knows-you-better-than-you-know-yourself kinds of friends. I haven't had that since Carolyn. And before that it was Amy. Amy and I were attached at the hip in high school. Carolyn and I were attached at the hip in college. I still keep in touch with Amy and probably always will, but our friendship is nowhere near what it used to be. And Carolyn. Well, she lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan I think - and no matter how many times I've tried to contact her I have never heard back. I don't think I could've made it through college without that crazy girl. She was the Oscar to my Felix. The Monica to my Rachel. The yoo to my hoo. I thought we'd be bosom buddies for always. Then Jeff Timmer came into her life and she didn't need me anymore.

Anyway....I miss that kind of friend. Not the kind of friend that drops you as soon as Mr. Wonderful comes along. The kind that forces you to jog with her when you're so tired you fall asleep while putting on your Nikes. The kind that loves you when you're laughing and when you're sobbing. The kind that wakes you up at three in the morning to tell you that she just got her first real kiss.

When you're in high school and college, it's easy to have friends like that. It was for me, anyway. You practically live with them. Well, in college, I did live with them. But after college, friendships change. And yes, my husband is my best friend. But he's not a girlfriend. He can't commiserate with me about period cramps and borrow my favorite sweater.

It's ironic, really. Back then, I had amazing friends but I would've given my left arm for a really nice guy. Now I have an amazing guy, and I'd give my left arm for a really nice friend.

Tragedy

It is a true tragedy when our message board is down. It's been down since yesterday. What are we to do? I had some stuff to tell my forum friends. I'm greatly chagrined.

Well, I guess the next best thing is to write in my blog. But it can't hold a candle, really.

We have two ceiling fans now! Jim was here yesterday and he helped Scotty put them up - and WHAT a help he was! We have one in the loft (I am enjoying that one currently) and a really cute one with punched tin light covers in our bedroom. It is SO wonderful to have these fans; they really cool things off and circulate the air on our second floor. When the forum's back up, I'll post pictures!

So yeah, Indy was here all day yesterday too. I adore that cat. Simply adore him. He is the cutest, sweetest gray kitty ever. I'll post pictures of him, too. Right now he's the wallpaper on my cell phone. He's grown a lot since he was here last - he's almost as big as Safari already! He is such a precious little guy. He seems extremely comfortable when he visits us here and my babies love to play with him. After Safari and Petoskey, Indy is my favorite kitty ever.

I'm going to Mom's this afternoon. Greg and Cheryl are visiting her and Cheryl is giving a Home & Garden show at Mom's tonight. So I'll hang out with them for a few hours, probably crochet over there a little, and then be at the little party at 7:00. Then I'll head home at around 9:00.

BUSY pet sitting week this week! Other than the heat, I'm glad - I love my doggy friends so much!

Oh, I gave up on the "whip stitch" blanket I was attempting to knit for my friend Tricia's baby girl. I frogged it five times and then decided to give up. Other than just straight knitting, I like crocheting soooo much better than knitting. Which is fine, because there are a million and one things I'd like to crochet before I die!

I have been enjoying my "Gilmore Girls" DVD set so very, very much. That show is great. The characters are all so witty and the dialogue is pretty much continual. I love the relationship between Lorelai and Rory. They're mother and daughter and they're best friends. Lorelai manages an inn and Rory is a student at Chilton, a prestigious school for the gifted. They live in an adorable Connecticut town. I'm halfway through season one already and plan to get season two immediately upon finishing one!

I'm drinking a delicioso cup of coffee this morning. Regular Folgers with caramel creamer. It's perfect. Coffee is surely one of life's simple pleasures.

I'm going now. Walking Dilly soon and then getting ready to go to Mom's. Oh, did I mention that I LOVE my new camera phone? I do!!

A happy girl

That's me. Happy!
Tonight I started in on my season one "Gilmore Girls" DVD set. I just really like that show. It's so quirky and witty and the storyline is somewhat fascinating. It's one of those shows that makes me feel all philisophical. Makes me feel like journaling. Brace yourself, dear blog.

YARN

So very much yarn. I LOVE Lizzie's Yarn Shop in Wheaton!!!
Mom and I stumbled upon it about a year ago (it's about five minutes from Mom's house) when we were really getting into knitting and crocheting. WHAT a FIND. We've been there so often and spent so much time there that the owner knows us by name. Oh, and she has a sheltie names Sadie who has free reign of the shop. Sadie is a very shy, very beautiful dog who does not allow just anybody to touch her. But I coax her to let me pet her every time, and then she doesn't leave me alone. I love the challenge of trying to show a timid, frightened animal that I want to be her friend. And I love succeeding at that challenge!

But yeah, this yarn shop - oh my stars. She has SOOO many kinds of specialty yarn that you would never see at Hobby Lobby or Michaels or Joann's. Unique stuff. Every texture you can imagine. Every color of the rainbow. 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply. Shelves and shelves and bins and bins of it. Huge baskets overflowing with brilliantly-colored hanks and skeins. It's enough to make my yarn-obsessed head spin!!

Her prices are very high. I buy two or three skeins at a time because I'd go broke if I bought more than that.

Just being in that store, in the middle of ALL that yarn, is like a little bit of heaven on earth!!

My current projects:
- A small brightly-colored, summery bag for my sister-in-law. I'm gonna put an adorable little flip-flop charm on the handle.
- I'm starting a new reversible afghan for Rachel's birthday in cream and dusty rose. Her birthday isn't til November so I've got plenty of time.

I wish SO bad that I had like $5000 to spend at Lizzie's shop! I'd buy every kind of yarn she has, in every color, and I'd store it all neat-like in some bins in my craft room and stare at it every day. ; )

I'm so happy I learned to knit and crochet. This is a hobby that I will be passionate about for the rest of my life. And I hope there's yarn in heaven. : )