Happy 4th of July!

We had some glorious and long overdue rain the last couple of days. Monday night it rained like hell, very tropical storm worthy inches. Ten or fifteen more of those rainstorms and we won't be in a severe drought anymore, just a moderate one. It appears that we are going to be dry for fireworks, so Dudley is in for a rough evening. Some of the South Carolina-visitin' neighbors started last night, and damn, they had some fine stuff. Professional quality, really. The rockets were glaring redly, and bluely, and silverly, and it was lovely. And it had just rained so everything was nice and freshly drenched, so the fire danger was low. Dudley hates fireworks, and thunderstorms, and garbage trucks, and anything that makes a big scary noise. Murphy is bigger, badder and tougher than any stinkin' firecracker, he is a fearless little furball.

So today I did not sit on the couch all day. I put the nightstands in place, and broke out the seldom used ironing board to iron the tablecloths, and all of my linen blouses that haven't been ironed in forever because they didn't fit because I was too bulky for them, and now they fit and they are ironed, so my wardrobe has expanded, yay. I took all the nasty furniture off the patio, it is going out to the garbage tonight. It was sadly cheap, Walmartian plastic, I always intended to replace it with something nicer but never found anything suitable, so it lingered on, like the patio version of the Altima of Bad Karma, but far cheaper and uglier. I would rather have a naked patio than that stuff. Only the grill remains, it is also old and tired but it will limp along until it is time to move. It is not one of the Saved, it will not be scarfed up on the moving van when the Maryland Rapture happens. The latest timeline for listing the house - November. Girlchild wants to leave her job in November, she will have over a year in, and will collect an additional bonus for surviving the year (you know a job is really fun when they have to bribe people to stay with survival bonuses). She will move first, and her little dog too, then I will list the house and be gone from this place when it sells.

I had lunch with L on Sunday, and yesterday she sent me the contact information for her great painters and also an electrician. This house needs a coat of paint before it goes on the market, and updated lighting here and there. We are getting together with a bunch of her friends for happy hour next week. She wants me to meet these really great single men. So I'll go, but unless they are as eager to get out of FL as I am, not much is going to come of it.

No knitting pictures. I'm sooo close to done with that Prairie Lace Afghan Shawl, but it is all bunched up on the needle so a photo is a waste of energy. The yarn choice was a mistake, and this is what happens when one shops exclusively from stash. Okay, not a mistake, that's a bit harsh, but it's a serious, sturdy shawl. I am sure I'll use it, because it's a lovely neutral taupe and I do love the yarn, but I like the pattern enough to make it again, in something gently, subtly handpainted and, say, sport weight. I started another sock for my son, out of some Cherry Tree Hill from that seller on eBay - obviously seconds though it was not sold as such, the colors are not even, there are random grayish white patches where the dye didn't take right. It's fine for socks for my son, he will stuff them into a shoe or a boot, and the yarn is still soft and springy and nice, but I bought a large quantity of this stuff intending to make a shawl, and the flaws were just too obvious for that purpose. No More eBay Yarn! Which leads me to...

My Vow, for my 49th birthday and therefore my Fiftieth Year, is that I am through with settling for anything, ever, in any way, shape or form. I named this blog in this frame of mind, and then backslid into my old habits. Screw those old habits. I had an awakening when I started unloading my yarn stash, because I realized that much of it was purchased because, "It's a bargain!" and it really was, nice yarn and cheap, and yet, so not satisfying. From now on, only satisfying yarn will do. Make Do yarn will not do. It's like chocolate - I'd rather have two small pieces of something rich and indulgent than a pound bag of M&Ms. I'd rather have a bottle of good champagne once in a while than a jug of Gallo Rotgut every day. This does not mean that only the Expensive will do, because I do not equate Expensive with the Best, unless it really is the best choice I can make. Ferinstance, I truly love my little used Subaru so much that if I win the lottery tonight, and the jackpot is six million dollars, I would not give it up for a fancier car. (I'd buy the Subaru new floor mats, and maybe even new seat covers.) Never Settle Again! means that only things I really love will do. If I'm not really excited about it, it's not good enough. I think this is a good way to live, and I intend to make it my mantra.