I am so excited. L. brought two skeins of yarn and some knitting needles to my house today, and I am going to desperately try to learn to knit. It may be a futile effort. My aunt Bev tried to teach me how to crochet many years ago, and she went away in exasperation. Well, I'm trying it again... this time with two needles (with safety caps on the end so I don't poke myself in the eye!). My goal is to knit a shawl. I was looking on Ebay for one,but did not find one I liked... my only alternative is to create one myself. It won't be easy... when I hold those needles, I feel like each of my fingers have morphed into thumbs! I need to find a website with a knitting tutorial.

L. and I went to the movies today, and saw the Jennifer Aniston flick, "The Good Girl". She can act when she sets her mind to it! I liked the movie, but you walked out of the theatre sort of depressed. I don't think you were supposed to laugh as much L. and I did... we saw the irony in almost every scene (I think we even made some of it up!). There is one scene where Jennifer's husband is having his sperm tested, and needs assistance giving the specimen (it isn't what you think!). Jennifer is really good at her facial expressions (guess that's why she's an actress, duh!).

We took our dogs for a walk around my neighborhood. Suddenly, my mild-mannered-sometimes-excitable-but-not-goofy Dalmatian Fredo became this big loud-mouthed brute. He never causes a commotion when we see other dogs, but for some reason, when we passed three different dogs in three different houses, he starts barking and jumping and twisting like he wants to break free and sink some teeth on the dogs! He doesn't act like this! It was embarrassing, especially when people started to come out of their houses to see where all of the noise is coming from! I know the word is spreading, "watch out for that crazy Dalmatian"... UGH! How will my dog redeem himself? I'll have to walk them at night when no one can see us!

Bill was off from work today. We left the house early, with no plans on where to go or what to do. He made a suggestion... why don't we go to Longwood Gardens? Why not? It's only one of my favorite places in Pennsylvania! I knew there had to be a reason I left my house this morning with my camera! I love Longwood Gardens. I'm happy when I am there, and so at peace. I am amazed at what the earth can create. You can tell autumn was on it's way, as some of the trees, though still green, had a slight red-brown cast to them. Most of the summer flowers were gone, replaced by the deeper and richer colors of fall. Because of the severe drought in southern Pennsylvania, the fountains were turned off, but there was still alot of beauty to see. Bill knows how much this place means to me, so he is content to wander along with me, sometimes waiting on benches, other times suggesting shots for photos. Honestly, I sometimes thing that I get more excited over leaves...



Once I read, maybe in a Hallmark card or a poem, that the earth laughs in flowers. Well, I think I found some happy flowers...

L. and I went to the pottery studio this afternoon. L. dived right in and knew immediately what she wanted to do. It took me longer... I was so indecisive today! I think we both made good choices! Below are pics from the day!


This is my "fake" mosaic napkin holder that I hand-painted at "The Painting Place". I tried to get the colors to match Fiesta colors.


This is the other side of the napkin holder.


This is what I painted today. It's going to be a utensil jar. I drew the fruit on the bisque and then handpainted it. I'm curious to see how my shading will look after firing. I tried to get texture, especially on the orange and lemon.


This is a creamer that L. is making. She keeps saying she isn't creative or artistic, but she hand drew the design on the piece! Each piece gets better than the last!

I've been going to USA Today and reading the stories about 9/11. I still cry when I read about it. The stories are about the survivors, what they saw and how they got out. I know some people don't want to be reminded of that day, but no matter; the networks will run repeats of what happened and we will have no choice but to be drawn to our tvs and watch. One photo in yesterday's USA Today newspaper hit me like a punch in the stomach. It showed three, possibly four people jumping out of the North Tower. They estimate that upwards of 200 people jumped or fell to their death (it's believed that not everyone jumped of their own accord... some couldn't see in the heavy smoke and stumbled out the window, while others were blown out by explosions in the interior of the building). I'm not sure what I will be doing on 9/11 this year, but I hope I won't be alone. Bill has to fly to Vegas for a business trip on the 9th and won't return til the 12th. I am hoping to spend the day with my friend L., as we had talked of going to an art museum that day. I think that would be good... to see beauty and be reminded that not all is ugly in this world.

I didn't post much yesterday because Bill took over the machine and wouldn't let go! Actually, he did something called a "defrag". I don't know what it is, but it has never been done on the laptop. It took 5 hours! Phew! All I know is that this puter runs better than ever! Thanks, sweetie!

The Name's The Same

This or That for today!
1. Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise? Tom Hanks… I’ve never been a Tom Cruise fan.
2. Julia Roberts or Julia Stiles? I don’t know who Julia Stiles is, but I still wouldn’t pick Julia Roberts.
3. Kevin Costner or Kevin Spacey? Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors!
4. Ben Affleck or Ben Stiller? Ben Stiller
5. Sean Connery or Sean Penn? Sean Connery
6. Jennifer Lopez or Jennifer Aniston? Definitely Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Lopez needs to decide what it is she wants to do…sing or act. I think she used to be a great actress until she started to wear herself thin with all of her endeavors.
7. Courtney Love or Courtney Cox-Arquette? Neither
8. Sarah Michelle Gelllar or Sarah Jessica Parker? I love both of them!
9. Michael Douglas or Mike Myers? Yech to both!
10. Nicole Kidman or (Anna) Nicole Smith? I loved Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge”. The other Nicole is an embarrassment to herself and to the American society. I used to be so happy that here was a plus-sized gal doing well and proving you didn’t have to be reed thin to be wanted and popular. Now, it’s just painful to hear about her.

Remind me again why I shouldn't go grocery shopping in the rain, please! I should have known that everyone and their cousin would be shopping. I went to the Giant Market, and the place was packed. They didn't have enough people working the registers, so it was just one big heap of congestion. I seemed to follow the same two shoppers up and down the aisles, and they seemed to stop in front of the same things I needed to buy. They probably thought I was some sort of weird food stalker!