Just a few, random things tonight:

If you want a chance to win a weekend at Shepherding Camp on Martha’s Vineyard, leave a comment to this post over at the MV Fiber Farm blog. Susan isn’t doing the drawing until she has 300 entries, but doesn’t this sound great?

This giveaway is for one two-night, three-day weekend for up to two people (who don’t mind sharing a room with twin beds) on the beautiful Island on Martha’s Vineyard on a mutually agreeable date. The trip includes lodging and three meals a day and all the farm work you can stand. The winner will spend the weekend at our townhouse (we do not live on the land where our animals live. Some day…) and on our farm, getting to know the flock, doing morning and evening chores with us and learning everything you ever wanted to know about the gentle animals that grow your yarn. Of course, if you want to spend some of your time at the beach, that’s okay too. You do not have to be a shareholder to win.

She further says that, “So email this url to you friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, preschool gymnastics coach, milkman and dog groomer. (If you know anyone in North Dakota, South Dakota or West Virginia in particular, because, according to the analytic software we use, no one from those states has ever visited at the blog. Weird, huh? I mean, people in 26 countries visit regularly, but the Dakotas and West Virginia remain elusive. What gives? It’s starting to bug me.) ” So, you know, feel free to spread the word. Because, really, a fully-paid weekend on Martha’s Vineyard with adorable sheep and goats? Well! What’s not to love? (You do, though, need to pay your way TO the island.) A week from tomorrow, and that’s where Mom, Chappy, and I are heading!

And then, speaking of winning things, Chris posted one of her many contest announcements the other day–this time, a chance to win a box full of cookbooks. Well, guess who won? Me! How cool is that? I guess having that annual Stollen Day ordeal has its uses sometimes. I admit, I don’t really have much use for the Indian cookbook or (possibly) the vegetarian books–we’ve got limited dietary options in this household–but I’m very excited about those Italian books! Thanks so much for picking my name, Marsha!

Okay, this is just weird. There was a thread on Ravelry the other day about what to do if you’ve connected circular knitting with a twist, so I chimed in with my favorite fix–drop the stitch at the join, ladder it down, untwist, and then pick up the stitches, leaving just a twist at the cast-on. I’ve done this myself on at least 5 different projects and I know it works. But, one of the Ravelers said that when she tried it out, she ended up with a twisted ladder, and didn’t see any way to get around that. And, here’s the weird part–when I tried it, after reading that, I’m getting a big twist, too. When I never have before. And I can’t figure out why (yet). But I’ve done this any number of times on my own projects without any problem. Did that comment jinx me? Am I doing something different, suddenly, than I’ve done other times? So bizarre…. This I’ve got to figure out.

• Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
• Turn to page 123.
• What is the first sentence on the page?
• The last sentence on the page?
• Now . . . connect them together….
  (And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

My nearest book is The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog by Elizabeth Peters.

Howard arrived in time to see the end of this performance.

“Bravo!” he called as the band began to play the performers off the stage. “That looked wonderful, I can’t believe I missed it.”

“Waylaid by thieves, no doubt?” I inquired gently, inquisitively raising one eyebrow.

“Of a surity. Definite thieves. I barely escaped with my life.”

“Yet you managed to escape with your theater ticket intact. How very fortunate. Were there many of them, to detain you through the entire first act?”

“Dozens.”

“But you managed to save your wrist watch, your cufflinks, and the flower in your lapel. Are you quite certain there were more than one?”

“The plural, decidedly,” said Howard.

This was fun!

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