Wool and Flannel

The thermometer on the backporch reads 48 degrees this morning, so I'll just sit inside this morning with my first cups of coffee instead of on the porch swing. Saturdays are such a treat, especially those when it's finally cold enough to wear my fuzzy pink bathrobe and quilted slippers and I have no obligations to change into something presentable until at least noon.

I hope this little cold snap finally convinces the last of my hummingbirds to head on to Honduras instead of sticking around central Arkansas. Still, I'll keep red syrup in the containers as long as I see them fluttering about.

My dad feeds hummingbirds in Texas. He has three feeders on his front porch and birds as thick as bees around a hive until late August when they thin out as suddenly as they appear in the spring. His recipe for hummingbird food is 1 cup sugar to 2 cups water instead of the recommended 1:4 ratio. And, yes, there's red food coloring in it. Of course, there's red food coloring in it. They're tough birds; they can handle it. My flock has steadily increased since I've changed to his formula, but it still doesn't come close to rivaling his.

I started over on a sweater that I plan to give my oldest granddaughter for Christmas. She liked the picture in the magazine, but we couldn't find that exact yarn in our LYS. She picked out something else, but as I worked it up, it just didn't seem to be working quite right. So last week, when I discovered it was October, I counted the days to December 25, gave a big sigh, frogged the back, and ordered the yarn used for the model in the magazine. It arrived in the mail Wednesday, and thanks to some significant sitting time Thursday at the volleyball game, I'm almost caught up to where I was before and the sweater is looking great. If our Lady Cat Vballers hadn't taken out their opponent in straight sets, I probably could have finished it. I had plans to make all six grandkids a sweater this year; I doubt that will happen but I have high hopes for Granddaughter #1 having hers.