And more sweet with the bitter...

Mr. Freeman, the nice man I go to church with, who was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year - he's not been back regularly yet and his wife says he "needs to build back up" (he was THIN to begin with and I can't imagine how he managed with the weight loss that usually comes during cancer treatment). But - she said he got a "good report" earlier this week - apparently the cancer had NOT spread and the chemo/radiation combo pretty much knocked it out.

The funeral for Mr. AJ is Tuesday - which means I'm in class at the time*. However, they can use me to bake a cake or two for the funeral dinner - which I can do in advance and drop off Tuesday morning before I go to work.

(*I have a small list of people whose funerals I'd cancel class to attend. Mr. AJ was a friend but not quite close enough, I didn't know him long enough. I hope that doesn't sound cold but...I have my duties.)

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I'm almost done with the Dulaan socks. Next up will be to cast on for the pink and green Fleece Artist merino wool socks. For me, this time.

I'm also spending a little time browsing the web, checking for new free patterns. I'm thinking about toys again...and there's a cute "mascot" doll called Active SStanley on the UK Coats and Clark site. It calls for Paton's "Fab," which I believe is a dk weight yarn. It would be a good toy I think for a boy who wants something cuddly, but "not a doll."

There's a directory of free toy patterns here (and TChem, they've linked your Gir - as a "stuffed robot")

They also have a link to the knitted Wombles toys. I often think I'd like to make myself one, just for old-times sake (the Wombles "cartoon" [actually animated puppets] used to be on Captain Kangaroo when I was a little kid and I also had a Wombles book). But I always get busy with other things and never get around to it.

I can't remember now if Tobermory was the youngest Womble - the one who always seemed to get into adventures that usually wound up as messes - or if it was a Womble of another name. I'd have to consult my book. (Which I must admit I have here with me - it's on my Bookshelf of Children's Books that I have in my bedroom).

(I also have to admit I have some children's books - like the Toot and Puddle series - that I bought as an adult, which didn't even exist when I was a kid. And that I've bought other books - like a big treasury of Paddington Bear stories - that I read as a kid but only in the form of library books. For some reason it is important to me to have copies of the books I loved as a child, even if I only rarely even glance at them.)

It's chilly and raining like crazy today, a real fall day. It makes me think of knitting and making toys and that sort of cozy indoor stuff. (And I'm so glad we planted the prairie seeds last week - this rain will be good for them.)