The scarf exchange circle is complete

It was only last week that I sent off the scarf I knit and the goodies to my downstream scarf exchange pal, Sue. Today I received the scarf from my upstream scarf exchange pal, Christie! She did a great job. She knit me a great scarf out of some very cool yarn that has all of my favorite colors:

And the yarn has just a bit of glitz and bling in it, which is, well, so me. :)

Christie also included some great goodies: some bamboo circular knitting needles in a size I don't have (how did she know?), some darning needles in a case, two skeins of some heavenly Debbie Bliss yarn, and a cute flip flop keychain that Aidan has already claimed as his own.

How fabulous! The scarf exchange has been a wonderful experience. What a pleasure (and a bit nerve wracking) to knit for someone I have never met and how splendid to receive a knitted gift. I had no idea knitting would be so much fun!

A moment of silence. Please?

During the summer when school is out and particularly on summer weekends, there seems to never be a waking moment in this house when it is quiet. I would like to say that it is all due to Aidan, but it is not...James is just as bad, if not worse! He cannot read the newspaper without commenting out loud or reading it to me, or surf the Internet without chatting, or even watch television without making comments every few minutes. No wonder I can hardly concentrate on anything - I am not given the opportunity.

And it is not just that one or both of them is always talking, it is also that they talk LOUDLY. I cannot seem to get the two of them to understand that every conversation - particularly between people who are located right next to each other - does not have to be conducted at the top of their lungs.

So what I treasure most is the rare moments when I can enjoy the silence. Most days, that only occurs in those few minutes when I am in the shower! Do you think they will get suspicious if I start taking seven or eight showers a day?