The "before" picture

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Well, we went to the water park (Jellystone Park, in Warrens Wisconsin, the cranberry capitol of Wisconsin and possibly the world.....) The kids **loved** it, and it was just fun to watch them having such a grand time. My six year old has a few scrapes to show for it, but nobody broke any toes this time, always a good thing.

I really wish I could have attended your destashing party! I thought about explaining to dh that I had to go yarn shopping, and though he is always very supportive, I know he'd be thinking, "why?", and then it would have been even more difficult for me to mention that, oh, by the way, it's a six hour drive to get there..... However, if you have any sock yarn left, I might have an interest in it...just sayin'.

I think that ultimately, I took everybody's advice regarding the beads for the shawl. Thank you so much for your inputs! I started with the medium colored beads and was knitting them in, though after only three of them were in place, I took a look at it and decided that they just weren't fitting with the shawl. For one thing, I think they are too casual for the yarn. For another, I thought they wouldn't be that noticeable if I was to be sitting on them while wearing the shawl, but really, they are. I'm no princess, but beads aren't peas, either, so I decided to back up and take them out. Here is the completed shawl, **not yet blocked**, measuring 63 inches across the top and 31 inches from neck edge to bottom point. Generally, shawls grow about 30% during blocking, so this will probably be a little bit smaller than I had hoped, though still very adequate.

I'm going to wear it on a date with my dh on May 11th. My dh and I go on so few dates since we had kids that I think I've made an entire shawl for each of our (two) big dates during the past year.....

Well, Spring Break continues, and today it is gloomy and cold out. I take the boys to the gym with me first thing in the morning, though, on the days when they're both home, and that makes a huge difference in the way the rest of the day goes. And, my daffodils started blooming! My favorite flower -- the flower of hope!

Have a great day!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)