Recent good things

[magid]

• Going to Reign of Revelry (and being comped a ticket for having helped set up, also proofing the program), a circus show with music by Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band. There were 50s housewives who transformed into silvery belly dancers, jugglers, aerialists on silks, lyra, and that single rope that must have a name but I don't know it, a nun burlesque dancer, a sad clown, and many other feats of balancing. I remain impressed by what talented people I know. It was a great show, ending with everyone getting up to dance to the music, made better for there being so many friends in the audience. I was surprised and pleased that some of them saved me a seat; I hadn't expected to sit with anyone in particular.
  
  
• Investigating a new-to-me yarn store in Dorchester, Stitch House. It's one of those yarn-and-fabric stores that has some sewing machines at the back for people to work on (one opened in Cambridge on Broadway; I keep intending to stop by to check that one out too). It's not as large as some other yarn stores, but the selection was still decent. It included a line of yarns that they dye there themselves (well, presumably in the back, or upstairs, or something), with beautiful colors and a variety of textures (including the style of boucle with little loops all over it that someday I'll afford....). Also, a sale section, which is what I focused on once I'd checked out all the rest. I'm in the market for a reasonably light (cotton) yarn in black, but what I found were some Malabrigo yarns, in an intense fuschia and cadmium. I couldn't resist the colors (feeling a bit like Pearly Soames (Winter's Tale), plus they were on sale....
  
  
• Posting photos of last week's hats on Facebook, which seems to have lead to a number of inquiries and a couple of commissions. One is done, one I haven't yet found the right yarn for, and the others haven't worked towards anything specific yet. Still, it's exciting to have a lot of interest all at once. Plus I got a couple more ideas for hats.
  
  
• Winning a free book from LibraryThing. Travel and Trade in the Middle Ages has already arrived; I suspect it will be Shabbat reading, though I find the 2-column format they chose a bit harder to focus on. I know it fits lots more words on the page without being too wide, but I still wouldn't choose it for a non-textbook.
  
  
• Finding some interesting moop, including buttons (the 1-inch kind with slogans on, not the kind off blazers), earrings and other bits of jewelry, and dead glasses. Also a phone-with-keyboard in the road in pieces. I've put it together, and it turns on, but the screen is the kind that's locked, requiring a particular pattern to unlock, so I have no idea whose it is or how to return it to them. (It would let me make an emergency call, but 911 is not appropriate.) Any suggestions? (I can try random patterns and hope, I suppose; it will only let me try 5 at a time.)
  
  
• Finding not only the usual chive volunteers on the porch, but also mint and shiso volunteers. Yes, I know mint is pretty hard, but I don't assume anything will necessarily return after a winter in a pot, rather than the ground; it gets that much colder.
  (Um, not that I've set up the porch for the summer, though.)