Coming 'round...

There's no better way to pass time than in a diner. There's no better way to pass time than in a diner when you've got no power.The other week, my mum went some 5 days without any electricity or heat; naturally, when she asked if I'd like to drive up, see the damage from a night of monumental winds and take a neighbor out for a hot lunch, I jumped at the opportunity--I knew it'd be diner coffee and comfort foods as it'd be their only real eats of the day, so gorging would be likely.And gorge we did. On one of the most delicious bowls of mac n' cheese I've ever had, as well as french fries, onion rings, and bottomless cups of not special but does the absolute trick joe.It was a wonderful afternoon.My mum's neighbor, Nancy, a close friend of my family, of course, rocked one of the warmest sweaters in her closet; a Fair Isle flower pull over with stunning detail, a sweater she knitted herself to help aid in her endeavor to quit smoking some decades ago.I can remember the day I went down to her house (she said she had a whole pile of old knitting needles she wanted me to have--those needles have since gone into the hands of my little knitters in school, ah! The satisfaction of bringing knitting to others!) and saw the sweater for the first time and heard the story about why she decided to quit smoking in the first place: her family was playing charades, and having never married and no children of her own, she always spends time with her brother and his family. When it was her dear niece's turn, she pulled a name from a hat and was thusly meant to "mimic" Nancy; all she did was stand up, tall, and put an imaginary ciggie to her mouth...it took the family all of .2 seconds to guess "Nancy!" So she quit, and she used knitting to help.Isn't this sweater gorgeous?