Fun for the whole family

Lilah and I finished grocery shopping and hit the post office on our way home, where we had a package! (Okay, that's atrocious grammar. You can't even tell whether the package was at home or at the post office. It was the latter.) It was from the lovely, wonderful String Bean and contained these goodies:

A hat and kitty doll for Lilah, toys for the guys, an awesome-sounding Harry Potter related book for me, and (not pictured, as they're cooling in the fridge) chocolate chip cookies and fudge. Wow! Thank you, String Bean. You made our day. I was too excited and didn't take pictures before unwrapping, which is a shame, because she did the cutest wrapping job. I tried to get a picture of Lilah wearing the hat. She was a moving target and not very cooperative, so I couldn't get it on right. This is actually the best one, if you can believe it, and it does not do justice to the cute hat.

Is Lilah thinking:
a) Hey, crazy lady, it's 96 degrees outside!
b) I'm in my high chair, now give me lunch.
c) Could you have put me in an outfit that goes LESS well with the hat?
I think all three, but it's hard to tell.

Knitting: I'm working on a shrug in Pakucho Organic Cotton. It's actually for String Bean, and I already told her that much because, well, I stink at keeping secrets. The worsted cotton is just the thing. I am making visible progress, it feels great, and I love the pattern so far. It's a perfect break from Irish Diamond. Just so I don't completely spoil any vestiges of surprise left, I'll wait to post progress shots until I've actually sent it.

Reading: I re-read Harry Potter and still loved it. Sure, there were things that bugged me, but overall, I was happy. Even better, Matt has decided to read it, so I won't have to ask him every day, "Are you REALLY not going to read it?" and lament that I can't say anything about the book (see above re: poor secret-keeping skills). He had said after finishing 6 that he was so mad about something that happened in the book (if you've read it, you know what it was) that he wouldn't read 7. He decided to reconsider, and I'm waiting for him to finish so I can talk about it. Incidentally, Rachel of Lickety Knit posted a link to her husband's blog. They did chapter-by-chapter commenting that was awesome. Plus, she has the US and UK versions of the books, so I'm not the only total dork who does (apologies, Rachel--you are clearly not a dork!). I am now reading a fluffy murder mystery to recover from all the Harry Potter. It's Putting on the Dog by I don't have the book with me so I've forgotten the author's name. It's not bad so far. The sleuth is a vet, and my main nitpick, besides that her boyfriend's a big whiner, is that she keeps leaving her dogs in her van and it's summer. And she always mentions that she's cracking the windows and leaving water, and she doesn't seem to be gone that long, but it still bugs me. DON'T LEAVE PETS OR CHILDREN IN THE CAR ON A HOT DAY, PEOPLE! Ahem.

Writing: Ha. I wish.

Cooking: Not at all, really. Too hot!

ETA: Lilah started stirring, so I hit publish quickly, and forgot a few things:

Stefaneener, I think the cooking spray method would be great for spanokopita. Yum, spanokopita. Do you have a good recipe for it?

Oh, and you guys all crack me up. Seriously.