Surprise!

The thing I have resented most about being in my 40's is that my once-excellent memory has frequent, random moments of failure. My memory was failing so much a year ago that I went to the doctor, afraid I was suffering from early Alzheimer's. Apparently, I'm just a perimenopausal, middle-aged woman, and I have to get used to it. Well, crap. I don't want to get used to it. I don't like having to write things down in order to remember them.

Twice this week I have opened my front door to get the mail and discovered a small package addressed to me. I then looked at the return address and had no idea what was in the package, although I could tell it had to be yarn-related.

I couldn't remember ordering anything, let alone remember what I had ordered. I'm wasn't sure if this was middle-aged memory failure, or some sort of yarn-bender blackout problem.

The first package contained two sock kits I had ordered a couple months ago. They had been on back order, and therefore delayed for quite some time, so I could forgive myself for my intial puzzlement, but when I took a moment to process the return address, I realized what was in the package.

These beauties.



The colors, despite my attempt to color-correct in LView, are not quite right. The red is a deeper, bluer red. No so orangey. The blue is sort of right, but the photo is too dark.

The second package came yesterday, from Angel Yarns in far-off England. I had absolutely no idea what would be in the package. I assumed yarn, but what sort, I had no idea.

Imagine my delight when I found these inside:



Regia 4-ply in colors even better than they appear here.

And then this:

Be still my heart. I actually squealed, I was so delighted. I love variegated and self-striping yarns, but after a while, some of them start to feel awfully same-ish. Like I already have some pretty similar to what's begin offered.

But this.

This is so beautiful, speaks to me like no yarn has in a long while, I'm almost afraid to knit it up for fear that it will never meet my expectations. Almost. I had just started a new pair of socks the night before, though, and it took every single bit of self-control not to cast on a new pair from this Opal Rainbow. I did, however, knit long and hard into the night so as to hurry along the progress of the Austermann Step mit Aloe Vera sock.

Hmm. Apparently, the secret to good color matching is to photograph under my Ott Lite with no flash. Curious.

The sooner these babies are done, the sooner I can get to that Opal.

I'm beginning to think this whole middle-age thing isn't so bad. I get the best surprise presents, and they're always just want I wanted. I could get used to this.