Hi ho, MMMLOGerinos!

I have a dear, dear friend with whom I exchange Xmas prezzies. This year I thought to make something really special for her as I remembered that I could crochet when everyone else is knitting their little fingers off. I've been working like mad to finish the project, but it's eyelash yarn and feather-like, very difficult to work up quickly. Took me five hours last night to work one little skein.

I learned to crochet from the almost ninety Polish grandmother of the Ex of Mmmmmmm back in the day of crocheted vest, hats and whatever else you could dream up. This drive to crochet the world seemed to occur just after the macrame craze, for me anyway. The Polish grandmother was a quiet, seen-but-not-heard little round woman who'd lived with the Ex's parents forever. As she grew really old and had difficulty walking and seeing, she did less housework and stayed mostly in her room where there was no TV, but she had her rosary and a very active interior life, I imagine. She fascinated me and I was determined to get to know her, for I thought she was lonely as no one seemed to notice or talk to her. Her Polish-inflected English was difficult to understand, but we persevered and I learned some Polish (especially a swear word or two). She showed me how to crochet with the tiniest of hooks and very skinny cotton doily yarn. I couldn't get the tension right and would consistently double wrap my left index finger with the yarn, cutting off the circulation. A busybody aunt of the family witnessed this and made a snide carp about my lack of ability. My goodness, that was the first and only time I saw that little Polish grandmother get angry. She snapped something ugly in Polish and the nasty aunt recoiled but didn't criticize me ever again.

I went on to crochet a vest or two and a hat. Then I saw an advertisement for a pattern and yarn with directions for a crocheted bikini in Cosmopolitan and ordered it. I then crocheted a neon yellow string bikini that I actually wore! Thing was, I did something wrong on the bikini bottom as the front and back were not particularly different and no matter which way I turn them, the front came higher up my stomach than the back. Weird. And yes, I said I wore it.

Here's a big Christmas hug to the Polish grandmother who passed away many years ago but I think of often, especially these days now that I'm crocheting again.

Ciao, ciao, mmmmmmmmmmelinda