Pimento cheese and tickles

Mother's Day. I don't care if it is a Hallmark-created holiday, I love all the attention. A tween-prepared meal of homemade pimento cheese sandwiches and a salad tossed full of plums, strawberries, carrots, peapods, and tomatoes, gifts of knitterly things and Scrabble for my computer, and a leisurely day of church and sunroom chats with the family. The day closed with a tickle fest before bedtime, as echoes of toddler chortles peeked through the more baritone laughter of my son. Yep, that's my kind of day.

May continues its mad dash toward summer, wrapping up school year must-dos and preparations for special stay-cation outings.

I just found a really cool one: houseboat stays at Hales Bar Marina! A cohort sent me a link: http://www.halesbarmarina.com/cabinsfloating.php. The kids want to go fishing and I want to get away from phones and email, so this looks like a winner.

Another family favorite is Lake Winnie. The unlimited ride pass is just $21 - and parents can pay $5 and not ride a thing. On Friday's, we can take advantage of the Coca-Cola 2-for-1 deal - that means both kids ride for just $21. What a bargain! Shady and old-fashioned, the amusement park is a must-do every summer for the Knitternalls.

Meanwhile, on the knitting front, I've cast on no less than three projects: a lacey scarf in soy silk, Elizabeth Zimmerman's moebius vest in one of Universal Yarn's varigated wools, and a looonnnng sweater coat in forest green wool, the Susie hoodie by Mandy Moore. Definitely indulging my inner overachiever. The latter will take all summer, while the others are much quicker knits. I usually knit just one thing at a time; I think a little variety will be a good change.