Inflation

This blog doesn't get many views.  Most of the views originate from Ravelry.  I look at the number of page views each time I log in to create a new post.  Today I was stunned to see that on a day last weekend I got 17 page views.  My heart leaped with joy.  Then it was crushed.  I realized I was the viewer.  Last Saturday I updated my projects on Ravelry and had been bouncing back and forth to the blog.  I inflated my own numbers.  Oh, well.  Maybe my efforts will spawn some real views.

One project that I wish to share and hope gets noticed in the afghan I was making for my personal trainer.  I finished it Wednesday evening and wrapped it in pretty wrapping paper.  I delivered it to him yesterday morning when I went for my 6:00 am workout.  I hope he and his bride like it.

I steamed the edges a little because they wanted to curl.  Because of the cables, it wants to draw in a bit, but when stretched out it covers nicely.  The recipients are both around 6 feet tall (she a bit under, he a bit over).  It won't cover them head to toe, but it will be a nice lap afghan.  Something to snuggle under when watching TV or reading a book.  This went to them with many wishes for a long, happy marriage and an eternity of love.

Now I need to decide what my next project will be.  I'm very close to finishing the Taize shawl.  I should just buckle down and get it done before I start anything else.  What I really need is a nice, long car ride.  That would give me uninterrupted time to work on it.

Tomorrow I am hoping to get out in the morning to do some strawberry picking.  The place I hope to go is closed today to allow their fields to replenish.  Rumor has it that the crowds have been larger this year.  I'll need to get up there right when they open to get a good spot.  Blake put in a request for strawberry freezer jam.  I also want to make a strawberry pie.  I have my mom's recipe and it is delicious.   It does not use gelatin, rather corn starch to create the glaze. The recipes that use gelatin just taste strange to me.  I wish I had my grandmother's strawberry cake recipe.  Some of my sisters have the recipe, but I've never gotten it.  I'll have to call my mom tonight and ask for it.

Last fall, after Kristin went away to college, I bought her a plant for her dorm room.  It was a succulent.  I figured it didn't need much water and would be easy to care for.  Boy, was I wrong!  When we picked her up before Christmas, that poor plant looked pathetic.  When she went back for second term, I told her I would keep the plant home and nurse it back to health.  My attention has been rewarded.  The plant is now blooming.

There doesn't seem to be any fragrance to the blooms.  They remind me a bit like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors.  If I hear a voice calling for Seymour, I'll know we are all in trouble.