Thought for the day from The D: “Bad grammar is cool as long as you use it on purpose.”

Here’s an example of why I’ll never really get along with my in-laws:
N: “If you need ideas for E for her birthday, why don’t you get her knitting stuff? ”
Mother in Law: “She doesn’t want to learn how to knit. Knitting is boring. She should learn how to crochet.”
N: “No, she really wants to learn how to knit. A lot of her friends are knitting, and she thinks it might be fun.”
Chuck, in the background: “Maybe I should start sleeping with her friends!”
N: “What?”
Chuck: “Maybe I should start sleeping with her friends cos then she’ll sleep with me.”
MIL: “Well I hope she likes being bored cos she’s not going to like knitting. She should learn to crochet. Knitting is boring.”
N: “Well she wants to learn to knit. And you wanted ideas. So there you go.”

This is exactly the same conversation we had the last time I wanted to learn to knit. I mentioned it to N, he said I should ask his mom to teach me cos she’d be thrilled – and she told me that I wouldn’t like it and that I should crochet instead. She sent me home with a crochet hook and a book about crocheting, which promptly sat on my shelf for a year until I took it back. If she gives me crocheting stuff, I am going to pointedly ask where she got it so I can exchange it for knitting needles and yarn. And then I’m going to knit every gift for her for the next year or more.

I’m reading Circle of Quiet and loving every minute of it. It’s so wonderful. I don’t know if I like it as much as Two-Part Invention, but it’s quite fabulous. More when I finish it.

Tonight I’m making Chicken Piccata from the new Fine Cooking. Last night I made Stir Fried Shrimp with Peanut Noodles, also from the new Fine Cooking. Yum. I would eliminate the spinach, though. It was limp and kind of icky and didn’t really add anything to the dish.

My birthday in TWO days! I know when you get older that your birthday is less and less of a big deal – but I still love my birthday.