Great New Swap - ya think?

Parents Day Out
Yesterday was my monthly "take both folks out to lunch" day. I wish I could take them both out together more but, quite frankly, none of us can handle more often. Dad gets tired from the "bigness" of the world and having to cope; Mom goes right into the "oh, I didn't know we can't drive" and poor me mode; and I - well, I get tired of having to come up with new answers for the same conversation. The only good thing is Mom doesn't think about not being able to drive until we actually get in my SUV and go somewhere. When we're at Dad's place or when Mom and I are at her apartment the conversation doesn't come up.

Yesterday I drove them around a bit to look at the leaves changing. I asked Dad if he knew what season it was - nope. I gave him a couple clues - leaving falling, weather getting colder.. still no clue. Is it winter? Is it Spring? - Yeah, I thing it's spring. It's tough to see basic things start to go out of his brain. But ask him what 2x9 is and he's right there with the answer. 24/2 - right there. I'd love to know how the brain works or fails to work.

They say dementia is the inability to learn new things. I can see that. Mom is also at the can't learn new things stage. But - so far she can still manage the basics of her apartment. Well, for now. We'll see how long that lasts.

On the cheerier topics -

Cats & Yarn
I have to say a quick Thank You again to my Secret Pal on behalf of the boys. The multiple presents she sent them are very loved. The Fish on a rope has been dragged around the house multiple times a day since I opened it. Bert hauls it into the jungle gym, into bed at night, into the bathroom, you name it - that fish has been there. You're probably thinking - I only sent one present for the cats- what's she talking about. Oh no - you sent 3 presents. The tissue paper has been properly chewing, mauled and destroyed by Chief. There have even been a few naps taken on the paper. Then there was the other present - the box. It's had a busy life this week. Chief (the 18 lb. cat) sits in the box. Sort of. It's too small to really sit in it so he gets about 10% of his body in it and pretends to sit. The box is also a drop spot for Bert and the fish. You know - the fish he hauls all over the house. The box seems to have become it's home in Bert's eyes. So - other than the 4 AM visits in the bed of Bert and the Fish, we all thank you for the fun they've gotten from the presents.

Cats & Yarn - Chief sits on my lap while I knit and usually ignores the yarn, other than to hold the strand in place for me. Hate to have the yarn escape! But there's something about the Tofutsie - he loves it. Can't keep his paws off it and will occasionally chew it. Is it the powdered shrimp? He hasn't been going after the finished sock only the sock/yarn in progress. Anyone else have this happen?

New Swaps
There are so many swaps going around I thought I’d suggest a few new ones.
The Dirty Laundry Swap – Send all the dirty laundry you don’t have time to do because you’re knitting to your secret pal and let them do it for you. Problem is – your pal is probably too busy knitting to do your laundry too.
The UFO Swap – You send a project you never got around to finishing to your pal and you get one from another person. At least you never have to look at your own and feel guilty about not finishing it.
The Yarn from the 70s Swap – send some of your stash from the 70s to another person. With any luck your partner will forget to send you yarn and you’ll have space in the stash for some new goodies. This swap would also work with the 80s and 90s. Although, yarn from the 90s really isn’t THAT old yet!
The Knitting Round Robin – send off a UFO for the next person on the list to knit a bit for you. Then it comes on to the next person and so on until you finally get your FO back and finished. Problem – if you send it off to other people with UFOs it may just become their next UFO and you’ll never see it again.
The NO fuss Recipe Swap - send recipes to the others in the group that take “no prep” giving you more time to knit. Hey – wait – this one may actually work!!!

You have any good swap ideas?