Today is my dear friend Ben's 30th birthday. What better day to tell you about this incredible person who means so much to me and Kevin. I met Ben (aka Binty) through The Choral Project and rejoiced to find a fellow Minnesotan and kindred spirit in him. He is one of the most generous, funny, charming guys you'll ever meet. Always ready to lend a hand or a hug when you need it most. He can be kind of shy and I think that sometimes he really doesn't know how important and wonderful he really is. Over the past couple of years I have watched him really come into himself. He lost a tremendous amount of weight and started taking good care of himself, eating right and exercising. His confidence has grown and he seems so much happier than when I first knew him. I am proud to call him my friend. I love you, Binty!
A bunch of us gathered last night to celebrate with Ben. We met at The Loft in downtown San Jose and had a spectacular dinner (the scampi was delicious) and then trouped around the corner to Jack and Johnathon's place for cake and presents. Britta outdid herself with Ben's cake. It's a chocolate iced chocolate cake, covered with 30 Twinkies. The idea for the cake was born out of a commercial that played before The Simpsons Movie. Britta sculpted the Diving Ben out of modeling chocolate. The look on Ben's face when she presented it was priceless!
I didn't quite get Ben's present finished, so I Tuppered it completely and wrapped it up, needles and all to present for him. The My So Called Scarf is a great pattern, spectacular to show off the beauty of variegated yarns. This one is Schaefer Yarns Miss Priss in the Elena Piscopia colorway.
The rest of the weekend was busy as well. Saturday was Britta's annual Halloween party. I taught Saturday morning and worked all day, so I was tired by the time evening rolled around. I was at a loss for a costume. Nothing really fits at this stage and Debbie Lyn's closet had nothing that caught my eye. I finally just rolled into some pjs and declared my costume "Cranky Pregnant Lady." As always, the decor and food were fabulous, with so many tiny details it would take a week to describe. Britta always does a smashing job with her parties and this one was no exception, despite the fact that she is very worried about the health of her kitty, Kylie. We're all praying that Kylie will be ok.
There have been goodies in the mail. I received a terrific Boo-ty Swap package from Rosana. Inside was the cutest crocheted pumpkin you've ever seen (with clever use of snaps for eyes), a sock kitty in colors that make my heart sing, a quilting pattern, a skein of Tofuttsies, a tiny skein of baby yarn, a pencil and eraser set, stickers for the girls and Callebaut dark chocolate (oh, I have a sinful lust for Callebaut chocolate!). Thank you for being a wonderful pal, Rosana! And my pal got her package too!
And to top it all off, my October Rockin' Sock Club package arrived. You cannot imagine my delight. This is absolutely the most perfect color. It could not possibly suit me better. Tina and co., you have really outdone yourselves this time. I could just dive into the depths of those luscious shades and die happy. Along with the to-die-for STR is a beautiful pattern designed by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. This is the most excited I've been about a sock pattern yet this year.
Recently I've lost my sock mojo. I still haven't finished my Winter's Eve socks from last year's club, or my Nodding Violet socks. I don't even have any others on the needles (well, except my long lost Pomatomus, but that's been shoved in the UFO bag). I've not even cast on any of the Sock Club socks from this year yet. This shipment may just be the jump start I needed. Just yesterday I had a really cool idea for a pattern....
I'm so glad you love the pattern!
Posted by: Stephanie | October 29, 2007 at 08:06 PM