Nifty

I found this to be such a lovely gesture that I have to post about it. There is a group of volunteers at the hospital where LA gave birth to Kyra and Ally, who call themselves the Nifty Needlers. (Adorable already, right?) They knit little hats and booties to give to give as welcoming gifts to the babies that are born in the hospital. The day after LA gave birth, a very cute older woman came into the room to ask what sex the baby was, and LA replied that she had two girls. A little while later, the woman returned with two little baggies, each containing a pink hat and set of matching booties. How cute is that? Rex suggested that me and my "crew" should be Nifty Needlers (ALL girls, I guess he means you). I kindly reminded him that we already are "nifty," to which he could not disagree. ;)


Also nifty (how's that for a segue) - frozen grapes. Yes, you heard me right. They're one of my all time favorite summer snacks and go-to choice at the moment (one can consume only so many lime popsicles). I want to say that it was Deane, a childhood friend, who first introduced me to frozen grapes, back in elementary school. I'm pretty sure I had them for the first time at her house, during a break from roller-skating. Anyhow, people usually think I'm weird when I pull these out, (which I do every summer), but they are sooo good! The best is when you can defrost them just a smidge, so that the insides are slightly slushy, not completely solid. I highly recommend them to combat the sweltering heat. Try it and let me know what you think. If you like grapes, that is.

And while we're on the subject of recommendations (wow, look at how I can connect topics that aren't at all related- ooh, aah), I thought I would take a moment to mention a show you may want to watch (or record) tonight. The show is called 30 Days, on FX. Morgan Spurlock, the guy who lived on McDonald's for 30 Days and then brought us Super Size Me, is also behind 30 Days. 30 Days is a similar concept, broken into one-hour episodes in which an individual is inserted into a lifestyle that is completely different from his or her upbringing, beliefs, religion or profession for- 30 days. It's so interesting to see what happens when people allow themselves to be exposed to something new. If you didn't get a chance to see any of the previous episodes, season one is now available on DVD. I highly recommend it. Especially if you are a documentary geek like me, you won't be sorry. Two episodes from the first season that I found particularly compelling: 1) Morgan and his then fiancee (now wife) live on mininum wage for a month, and 2) A conservative, straight man lives with a gay man in San Francisco for a month. Tonight's episode, in which a border patrol agent goes to live with a family of immigrants (some illegal) for 30 days, promises to be interesting!