I don't drink, but I almost want one.

A lazy weekend seems to be far from the grasp of silfert. At least it was fun, for the most part. First and foremost comes the news that Mom S is eating and walking for several minutes at a time. YAY! She appears to have a touch of sundowner's, and is still a little urpy from the anesthetic, but her heartbeat is no longer irregular and the threat of a pacemaker has gone by the wayside.

But I'm about to be killed, I know it.

Remember the sister-in-law? She hasn't improved. In fact, she has earned the nickname of "Lady Voldemort", thanks to her oh-so-charming demeanor. Why am I to be killed? Well, Mom S has a budgie. Lady V insists on doing everything, including paying bills, making arrangements, and keeping the rest of the family in the dark. The bird gets about five minutes' worth of attention each night, nowhere near enough for such a gregarious creature, so I asked Mom S if she'd like me to take little Frosty home with us. Lots of attention, other birdies to talk to, that sort of thing. She thought it was a great idea. Lady V, when she finds out, is going to freak. Once again, I don't care. What's good for Mom is the only thing that matters.

On to fun things. We had our day at the Prairie, which included lots of music, lots of spinning and a fabulous lunch of beef stew. Ah! After lunch, we slid into lizard mode and wanted only to curl up on a flat rock to sleep. Luckily, a large crowd wandered into the barn and started requesting gospel songs. Who, us? Sure! It's so much easier to think of something to play when a title is suggested. At one point, a young man of about fifteen came in and watched, shyly, from behind a post. Himself noted the lad's intent gaze and said, "I'll bet you're a guitar player!" The young man smiled and allowed that yes sir, he was. Himself offered up a guitar and the two of them, plus my dad, played some blues. This was followed by a tune of the newcomer's own devising, which received a warm round of applause from the assembled visitors. Nothing like the grin of an encouraged musician, let me tell you!

Well, there's one thing. The grin of an encouraged new knitter! A young lady came in with her folks. The proud mother related the story of her daughter's solo efforts to learn the art of knitting. "...and she's made a scarf and it looks wonderful and she's picked it up all by herself but there's no one around to do any of this with her and I just have no idea how to help her finish it off because that's the only thing she hasn't figured out..." They were preparing to leave on the bus tour of the Prairie, so I offered to whip up a small swatch for bind-off practice upon their return.

When they made it back to the barn, it took a very few minutes for the girl to pick up the new and needed skill. I could still see teeth as she left. BIG smile!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the finished Doodle Bag! In color!

Ta-dah! You are impressed, yes? You want one, don't you? Ha HAH! I bask in your envy and refrain from telling you just how easy it was to make le bagge.

Whoa, it's almost closing time! Don't forget to take part in the poll and the ongoing question: Where are you from and what makes it special?