Blessings

It's good to be grateful.

My husband and I were headed to Abingdon, VA, yesterday to meet friends and wander around the Virginia Highlands Festival. We knew heading out, of course, that the GOP vice-presidential pick was going to be announced. In fact, we already knew who was chosen. I felt very blessed that we had plans for the day, and only had to listen to a tiny bit of the Romney/Ryan Obama-bashing as we listened to NPR.

One of our friends' friends asked if we owned the white car with West Virginia plates with all the Obama bumper stickers on it. It's a blessing to share similar ideals and beliefs with strangers, and for them to know without knowing that we were like-minded souls.

We came home to a freezer full of grass-fed local beef, the bill for it placed atop the freezer. I'm so grateful for good friends with whom I can trust my keys and who return the favor, knowing I'll pay up when I see them next.

Part of yesterday took us down the Virginia Creeper Trail, one of the oldest rails-to-trails projects in the country. The weather was lovely – low humidity, moderate temperatures – and the trail was shaded most of the way. I loved every step of it. The company, the conversation, the slow pace, the decision to leave the phone in the car (and thus not feel I had to take pictures of everything I saw) … all of it made for a memorable walk.

While I usually don't feel very grateful for sleep interruptions, I woke up suddenly at 1:19 a.m., and caught three falling stars before 1:30. That was enough. Thank you, heavens.

What a blessing it is to have a lifetime supply of yarn at my fingertips. I just pulled the Obama-blue tote bag out of the washer and was surprised to see how very well Elann's Peruvian Wool felts. (I usually use Brown Sheep Bulky.) The bag is practically child-sized. I was able to dig up a few orphan skeins of a suitable blue, along with some navy for the base (to ensure there's enough of the lighter blue for the body and handle) and will begin another one today. The event isn't until the 23rd of this month, so – another blessing – I have plenty of time to complete Bag #2.

While I was looking for more yarn just now, I found FIVE MORE SKEINS of the Icelandic Wool I'm offering in the giveaway that ends at 5 p.m. EDT today. That's a total of 15 skeins (1305 yards)! If you're the winner, you're the one who will be blessed with even more yarn than you thought you were going to get. Thanks for all the comments/entries so far. If you're a new reader, here are the rules. Seven hours to go.