Updates, updates!
I finished the back of Satin! Hoo-bloody-ray.

It's not that I'm not enjoying knitting it, or that I don't like it, it's just that it seems to be taking so long.
In addition, I started something new :)
I've ordered Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. It was quite expensive locally, so I hunted about and ordered it from an Amazon dealer, saving around 25% on the local price. Did I check the local library? No. Because their knitting selection is crappy, and I just know that they won't have it. Guess what?
Of course they had it. So, being the impatient soul that I am, I went and borrowed it :)
I started the "garter stitch cardigan" which is knit in a 8ply (DK weight). Nothing suitable in the stash (!), so I headed off to Spotlight (bleurgh) to seek out something suitable. All the pure wools they carry are too scratchy for a baby, and they carry no "luxury" yarns, so I was about to give up when Em said "Hey Mum, what about this?" "This" was Patons Zest, an 8ply acrylic courtelle. I looked at the label and turned up my nose immediately. However, my little yarn snob in the making insisted I feel it. And damn if she wasn't right! It doesn't feel acrylic-y! It feels like a soft well worn cotton. So I bought it, and am pleased with it so far, but it is making my hands ache :( I'm nearly finished though, so it's all good.

The knit is super quick and easy, but cute anyway. I've never knitted a garter stitch all in one cardi before, but I am impressed by it. I like to see babies all dressed up and sweet, but sometimes simple is lovely too. The cardi is meant to have garter stich front bands and sleeve bands, but I think I'll leave it until the baby is born, then do the bands in pink or blue. It's making a nice change from Satin, at any rate.

Emily has been learning a duo dance with a friend. They competed for the first time last night, and they won :)

I can hardly sign off today without mentioning Pope John Paul II.
I am a Catholic, however until just a few years ago, I was most definitely lapsed. When Emily was 8 or 9, I started to take her to Mass, as I wanted her to make her First Holy Communion. I was surprised to find that I was enjoying Mass, and that Emily was too. Since then, we've been regular Church goer's. In fact, Emily is a regular Altar Server, and is attending the Catholic High School. I would never shove my beliefs down someone else's throat, I believe wholeheartedly in to each his own. DH's religious beliefs are vastly different to mine, and we respect each other's beliefs.
I was only a child when John Paul began his Papacy, and he is really the only Pope that I've ever known. His passing is not unexpected, but it is extremely saddening anyway. While he was very conservative, he always struck me as a kindly, loving man. He will be a hard act to follow, and sadly missed.
The prayer "In Paradisum deducant te angeli" from the Funeral Liturgy seems appropriate today.

I like to think that he was met at the gates of Heaven by Our Lady.