Granny Squared

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When I was pregnant, I "blogged" an email to my Baby Distribution List every week with status on the baby.  We called her "it" and "the baby" back then.  I used cheese as a comparison tool for her weight.  When Carol was born, she weighed three large blocks of Velveeta and four Borden Singles. 

After she was born, I was lucky to remember how to eat cheese.

Eventually, though, I went back to work and started abusing my email privileges by occassionally sending a note out to the Baby Distribution List about some interesting accomplishment of Carol's.  Finally, in 2007, I decided to blog it.

My devotion to the blog has been aimless.  I've changed the name several times and I've gone months without posting.  Now, I am focused.

I have a new name, the final name, the name that I even spent $18 to register so you can see me any time you want at www.grannysquared.net.  How fun!

So why the name?  I've been crocheting a lot and even thinking about my Granny, who taught me.  Granny squares are absolutely part of the fabric of crochet.  And Granny is part of the fabric of me.  I'm her, multiplied by a few.

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I Love a Parade

If you’re interested in hearing about knitting, skip to the end and I’ll tell you about the really cool dress I’m making for Kayla.  But if you’re here for Carol, I’ve got a pictorial review of her recent appearance as a Princess on Parade.

 

Our neighborhood community center sponsors an annual children’s parade, led by the Boy Scouts and the University of Washington Alumni Band.  These kinds of activities make me wish I’d kept up with my instrument, though I don’t really know why.  I love the clarinet, but it’s kind of dorky compared to the brass instruments that make all the noise in the marching band.

 

OK, I know that the entire band is dorky, but I loved it.  So there.

 

I didn’t know that I could have created a float for this parade.  Man, that would have been so fun as we have lots of options.  First, there’s the John Deere Tractor, which Carol is probably going to have outgrown by next year.  This would have been the perfect opportunity to fix it up and show it off.  Can’t you just see Princess Aurora riding on the tractor and waving to her fans? 

 

Another option would have been the Radio Flyer Red Wagon Lenora gave to us several years ago when she sold her house.  I saw someone else who had made a wagon into a race car and I know Tommy and Carol would have loved to have done something similar.  Maybe next year.

 

This time, Carol dressed up and walked.  She had an hour from the time our neighbor told us about the parade until we had to leave and I think she changed her mind eight times during that hour.

 

Since she already had on her Cinderella dress from two Halloween’s ago, she immediately decided to wear that.  However, she quickly moved on to Minnie Mouse and even put on the dress and hat before changing her mind again.  She muddled through a few choices and never really seemed happy… until I mentioned the Sleeping Beauty dress hanging in the closet.

 

This is the true princess dress that Cousin Elizabeth gave Carol for Christmas two years ago.  She got one for both Carol and Courtney and they wore them in Disney World when we met several princesses for breakfast.  The poor thing had gotten pretty dirty when I discovered the best way to wash it was to just throw it into the bath with Carol.  She had fun stomping around on it and I held it under the shower for the rinse.  I believe the 300 pounds of taffeta and lace took eight days to dry.

 

The dress has been hanging up in my closet since she wore it to the ballet in late February.  I had a grand plan of having her photo taken for her fifth birthday in it, but we didn’t quite make it to Bagwell Studio at the right time this year.  Well, JA took pictures of her at Christmas and that’s pretty close to her fifth birthday, so we’ll count that for this year.

 

At least the dress was clean for the parade.  Or, I should say before the parade, because soon after, enjoyment of the festival led to the obvious thing that happens when you try to eat a blue raspberry snow cone in 200 yards of princess ball gown.

 

Well, she looked quite nice anyway.

 

Here’s Carol at the start of the parade, waving to her many fans.

 

Looking over at Daddy.

 

Dancing to the Alumni Band.

 

 

 Twirling that skirt.

 

For the festival, a fire truck arrived so Carol went exploring.  The firefighters told her she was the first princess to ride in the truck.

 

 

 

One last shot of the princess, out of her Sleeping Beauty attire.  Maybe this is more like a Cinderella picture as she’s down in the basement slaving away at her sewing machine.

 

 

Right before her birthday, Carol told us she wanted a sewing machine.  Since we had already completed our shopping, we didn’t cover off on that item.  She certainly let us know that she noticed the lapse.  In fact, for days after her birthday, if anyone asked how it went, she was always sure to state the fact that “I wanted a sewing machine, but no one got me one.”

 

Fortunately, Ronnie and Glenda had heard the desire for a sewing machine and fulfilled it.  Unfortunately, since Carol told them to keep her birthday present until our visit to Texas, she continued to voice that desire until June.  Finally, she got her heart’s desire!

 

When I went downstairs to sew last weekend, Carol immediately clamored for the unpacking of her own machine.  While others (whose names I will protect by not even mentioning them) could not get this machine to work, I was able to follow the instructions and get it going.

 

Carol made the skirt she is wearing out of two bandanas and a ribbon threaded through a drawstring hem.  In the photo, she’s sewing another pair of bandanas to make a matching shirt. 

 

FYI, this was not good enough for her.

 

Once completed, she lobbied for a skirt and top that are all one piece, “like a dress that Mommy makes.”  I don’t think she’s quite ready for a pattern, so I cut some squares out of leftover fabric and rigged up a tunic pattern that should satisfy her for awhile.  Certainly it is taking more than one sewing session to complete, which satisfies Carol’s need for complication.

 

Speaking of complication, take a look at the dress I’m making for Kayla.

 

 

This is Opal from Louisa Harding’s Bijoux pattern book, and I’m using Tahki Cotton Classic.  I had another pattern in mind that Kayla had already approved, but when I showed her this one, we went in this direction.

 

I spoke to Kayla on the phone one night at my knitting class to determine color.  She told me coral and my eye was immediately drawn to this, which is called Light Watermelon.  I took just one skein with me to Texas and Kayla said yes.  Unfortunately, due to some complications with my travel schedule at work, it would be over two weeks before I made it back to knitting class.

 

I emailed So Much Yarn that I would need ten more skeins plus the pattern book and they kindly put everything aside for me until I returned.  What a wonderful store!

 

And usually, I would say how wonderful Lauren is, but before I could get started on this dress, she made me do a gauge swatch, which took me most of the class.  OK, I was talking a lot, too, but still…

 

Happily, my gauge seemed right on, so I did get to start with the picot cast-on that night and finished it up during lunch the next day at work.  I haven’t gotten to work on this a ton, but last night I finished the back and started the cast-on for the front. Finished that on the way to and from church today.  Yay!  Now I’m moving on through the front, which I hope will go much faster as I’ll have more time to devote to it over the next couple of weeks.

 

I’d really love to get this to Kayla by end of July, but who knows how that will go.  I know that in Texas she can actually wear a dress like this all the way through October (probably even Christmas!) but it is a summer color and fabric and it’d be nice to get some use out of it this year.

 

Now, it’s time to go find my princess, fresh from the bath, and get some reading done.  Currently, we’re making our way through “Farmer Boy” and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and have just finished “Alice in Wonderland.”  Luckily, “Through the Looking Glass” is in the same book so we’ll get to find out if it really was all just a dream!

Cowboy Hat

Daddy sent this email to a few people some weeks ago.  If you ever wondered why my stories have so much detail (OK are so long), well I come by it honestly.   I like the story a lot, so with just a little bit of editing, here it is…

Here are a bunch of pictures of my Old Stetson after it has been totally restored. You remember it, I imagine. I bought it when we were living in California so it is about 33 or 34 years old. There have been lots of pictures taken when I was wearing it, some on Facebook.

It is a 40X Stetson; I originally thought it was 20X but they said it was a 40X. Anyway I cannot afford to replace it so I talked to the person that runs David's Western Wear here in Weatherford about cleaning it and he said it was too nice a hat to trust it to just any one.  He told me to take it to Peters Brothers in downtown Fort Worth (been there since 1911).

Well, it was a real corker trying to find the store but when we did it was a trip to walk inside, a really small hole in the wall. I guess it went back a lot more than we could see but it was only about 15 or 20 feet wide.

Your mother said it really did stink, but to me it was like a lot of old leather, felt, and board floors; it looked and smelled like it was easily 100 years old.

They stripped the hat inside and out, put it in some kind of solution and washed it completely through and through. Once they rinsed and dried it out, they put all new silk and then a leather sweatband inside.  Then, they creased it any way I wanted. I told them I wanted the same style it was and they said that was their "Old Bulldogger" style.

I told them just to keep my old hat band (you can see it in some of my Facebook pictures) because I was going to make my own. I had just bought myself a Nocona Belt from Sheplers I really liked and your Mother (always thinking sharp) said to buy another belt like the one I had just bought and make a hat band out of that so it would match. Duh... why don't I come up with these things?

Well she had a bunch of conchos in her sewing stuff and I picked out one I really liked and you can all see by the pictures what I did with them. It took me three days to make myself a hat stretcher like I wanted (they were $25 in the store) and then decide how I wanted to make the band, but I think it all turned out OK.

Now I have a brand new 40X Stetson (has Peters Brothers name inside now) for about $145 but that's OK because from what I have found out they are really famous hat makers themselves. They also make their own hats of almost any kind you could ask for but they are rather expensive just like any other famous hat maker.

Daddy doesn’t write a lot, talks a lot, but doesn’t write as much, so when I read this, all I could think is how much I wanted to keep the email forever because it tells me so much who he is.

A man who kept a hat for almost as long as I’ve been alive because he likes it.  Someone who loves the smell of old leather and boards.  A thrifty man who built a hat stretcher out of scraps around the house.  The same man who spent whatever he wanted to have his old hat restored.  And a man who gives credit to my sharp-thinking mother.

My Daddy, Carol's G-Pa.

Connected

Last night, Jennifer left a message that her brother had dinner with his former boss, Jack.  Way former boss.  Jack managed a Radio Shack in Weatherford when Jennifer and I were in high school.  We thought it was cool to hang out at the store after school, on the weekends, whenever.

So, 25 years ago, we were as dorky as we are now.

Jennifer asked if I remember Jack.  She said she had such a warm feeling when she heard the name.  I do, too.  I remember how nice he was, how he probably put up with a lot from two teenage girls, but what I really remember is that he is part of our story, our friendship.

In Beaches, CC Bloom says “I know everything there is to know about you.  And my memory is long.  Very, very long.”

Do you remember?

· Feeding cheese popcorn to the crickets?

· Buying hay?

· “Now, everyone hand gallop”?

· When you found me at school to tell me about Midnight?

· History Club?

· Smiles Forever?

· Buying 50 cents worth of gas?

· Cheese coneys?

I know; only Jennifer will remember these things.  The specifics don’t matter.  Everyone has this somewhere in their life.  I hope.  I hope everyone has this in their life… the friends they can point to and the things that don’t mean anything, but add up to everything.

Nothing matters, but everything matters.  Do I remember Jack?  I remember that one night, we went to Red Lobster with Jack and he had two of the drink specials just so we could each get a take-home glass.  And today, we found that we both still have our glasses. 

When I see my glass, I think of Jack Hanna, but what I feel is that Jennifer and I drove home in the dark in her van and we talked all the way home.   How do I know what we did on that specific night?  Because that’s what we did.  What we always did.

That’s what we did when we fed the crickets and bought hay and almost a gallon of gas.  What we did on the way to parties and on the weekends when she taught me to ride, during lunch and before band and in between classes.

We’re connected.  This glass is proof.

P.S.

I swear my new Pandora station is not all Kenny Rogers, but seriously, how can you not cry when the Gatlin Boys come callin' and Tommy says "sometimes you've got to fight when you're a man"?

Itty Bitty Baby Pants

I’m making a pair of baby pants for someone at work.  Not for him – for his baby.  If they were for him, he’d probably be pretty insulted that I titled this “Itty Bitty Baby Pants.”

Last night at knitting, I bound off the waistband and was so thrilled to be ready to sew up the legs when I realized that I’ve only made one half of the pants.  First instruction in the pattern: Make 2.  I hate that.

No picture of the Itty Bitty Baby Pants for now.  I plan to embellish slightly so they look like cargo pants by adding a pocket and maybe a hammer loop.  Now where can I find a baby hammer?  Oh, right, at any toy store.

This pattern is from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies, which is a great book with nice patterns that are easy to follow.  I’ve made the Matinee Baby Jacket, which was fast and easy.  And just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen once it was done, but it was my first baby sweater, so what do I know.  I’m sure everything looks cute when it’s shrunk down to sub-one-year size.

I also made the Ruby Slippers and the Vintage Pixie Cap.  Those Ruby Slippers are super adorable and took about an hour and a half so were perfect in the immediate gratification area.  For those of you who know how to knit, this is probably a ten-minute project for you.  The Pixie Cap is just a bunch of stockinette, but the little point on the end that sticks up from the baby’s head makes it worthwhile.

I guess all this baby work is making me weepy because tears are pooling at everything these days.  Two days ago, I read someone’s Facebook post about the weather in Texas and burst into tears.  At my desk.  At work.  I don’t cry at work.

Last night, we watched the final episode of “Lost” and I cried every ten minutes.  I was actually satisfied with the final episode in a way I have not been satisfied with participating in this series for three years.  After the first two seasons, I decided to quit watching, but got sucked back in by the commercials! 

I hate to admit that, but it’s true.  I had told Tommy I wasn’t going to watch “Lost” anymore and did not for several weeks.  He was saving the episodes on the DVR just in case I changed my mind.  Good thing, because while catching up on some of ABC’s summer programming, I kept seeing those dumb commercials and finally decided that I just had to go ahead and watch the next season.

What were the commercials?  Oh, I really can’t even remember anything about them now except that each one usually started with a medium shot of Kate or Jack or Lock or Sawyer (“James”) and then showed some action and went back to the character.  I believe they each had something to say.  It may not have stuck with me, but it did suck me back in.  Thank you Tommy and the DVR.

Among other facts I hate to admit is the new station I just programmed on Pandora.  I swear I’m just listening to this so I can sit and cry all day long at work.  Every song brings tears.  Oh, you know what, I wasn’t even going to tell you, but some stupid, stupid song just came on and I can’t help myself.

My name is Brenda Massey and I listen to sappy, old country songs and cry at the heart break.

“… you picked a fine to leave me, Lucille…”  Sniff, sniff.

It's Done!

Seriously, one of these days, I’m going to go back and tell you about the scarves and other items I was finishing a month ago.  The post is actually already finished, but due to a disturbing circumstance, I have not taken the photos or even finished a couple of the items.

Why?  Because the date of the family reunion was changed without notifying me or Tommy.  I guess since we’re in Seattle no one thought we’d be interested.  Oh, except for all the items I’ve been trying to finish to ship off in time for BINGO prizes.  Whatever.  I will take those photos and post that previously written item soon, but if you can’t tell, I’m bitter.

Onward.  Today’s title: It’s Done!  What is it?  The Empire Waist Pullover (details Raveled here) that I started in January for myself.  I put it aside so I could work on all this other… shtuff [sic].

The sweater is beautiful.  This Cascade Sierra is the first really nice yarn I bought and I started using it on a crochet sweater in the fall before I learned to knit.  Unfortunately, the size was way off for me or my gauge was off or something was seriously wrong.  Regardless of the reason, I frogged it and moved on to a knitted sweater.

I made no changes to the pattern and found no errors.  This pattern is easy to follow and this yarn is amazing to work.  (I know I said that before when I first wrote about it, but I still believe it.)

The only thing I did to modify the pattern is sew the side and sleeve seams at about an inch instead of just a stitch.  I’d like to say that’s because I’ve lost a ton of weight since I started the project, but really I just chose the wrong size.

If I knit it again, I will make one change: the sleeves are too long for me.  I’m short so three-quarter sleeves always look like too-short long sleeves.  This is really bad when you’ve custom sized something for yourself.  Anyway, if I make it again, I’ll either add an inch to make long sleeves or take away two or three for the three-quarters.

 

I really love the ruffle on the bottom, don’t you? Tommy took this picture this morning before Carol and I went to breakfast.  It’s knitting class tonight; since I don’t get to see her on Tuesday nights, we go to the bakery for breakfast on Tuesday mornings.  I’m showing off my sweater tonight in class, and have unashamedly told everyone I talked to today that I made it for myself.

Here’s a bonus picture of Carol from when we were in Mexico.  She gave it highest praise: “This is better than Disney World.”

 

 

And two pics of two beautiful sisters.  Kayla was here for a visit and a few sessions of roughhousing, as in "Let's roughhouse, Kayla!"

 

 

Self-imposed Deadlines aka Hooked Again

Just a quick note about those deadlines I mentioned in yesterday’s post. 

 

Tommy’s family reunion, held in May in Azle, Texas, features multiple games of BINGO for prizes.  The prizes are contributed by the family in attendance and vary from home-made items to garage-sale cast-offs to newly-purchased treats.

 

This year, someone suggested that I make a few light-weight scarves and someone else (to whom I’m married) suggested I make an afghan or a quilt.

 

I started the afghan on the way back to Fort Worth from Lubbock when we took Kayla to college last year.  It was the second item in my crochet obsession that started me down the road to learning knitting.

 

Recall that last summer I crocheted a simple chain for a scrapbook page, quickly completed a baby blanket and then moved on to my first granny-square afghan – all of this after ignoring crochet for over five years! 

 

I hibernated that afghan for a long time while I reveled in learning to knit; I knew I didn’t need it until the May family reunion, but now May is upon us.  I finished it up a few days ago.  And lo and behold, my crochet obsession returns.

 

I hadn’t much held a crochet hook since my beginner knitting class back in October.  I’ve been so interested in knitting that I actually had to promise NOT to knit on a scrapbook retreat with bff Robyn in January.  I made it through that weekend yarn-free, but haven’t touched my scrapbook pages since!

 

Anyway, last week, I picked up the granny-square afghan so I could finish sewing together and send it off to someone who will actually attend the family reunion.  (Tommy and I are not able to make it this year.)

 

After I sewed up all the strips, I realized I had made more squares than required, but one too few to make another whole strip.  On advice of Carol, I decided to crochet one more square.

 

And I was hooked.

 

Having the hook back in my hand, knowing what to do without thinking, counting easily while watching TV, recognizing my errors and knowing how to fix them… these things appealed to me in a way knitting may never.

 

According to Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers,” it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve expertise.  I’ve been crocheting since I was seven years old.  This is something I know.

 

I’ve been knitting for seven months.  I’ve got a lot of hours to go.  Trust me, I love it, and I’m not going to give it up.  But it feels good to go home again.

 

I’ve been working on this Amsterdam sweater for several days, and I’ve made some mistakes.  No one had to help me find them.  I haven’t had to lay it aside until I can get to the knitting store.  I just find the error, rip back and fix it.  It’s freeing.

 

You know, the last few paragraphs should really be a sidebar.  I planned to tell you about deadlines and didn’t.

 

I’m going to change the title right now, and we can talk deadlines tomorrow.  Until then, here’s that Amsterdam sweater.  I’ve used one skein of Tahki Cotton Classic Lite so far.

 

 

 

 

 

Back and strong

Here I am again, and I can’t believe it’s been so long since I wrote.  Suffice to say that year-end got away from me.  And then, I was just lazy.  And then I contemplated the full-blog-stop.

 

But I decided to come back.

 

Mostly because I started this Amsterdam sweater this week and just can’t believe how obsessed I am with crocheting it.  I’ve been staying up late nights just to work on it, but I make myself do other things.

 

This is my second attempt at crocheting a sweater.  I did frog the one I started in the fall; I hope this one does not fail in the same way.  The other one didn’t fit when I got to the try-on point, and I didn’t liked it well enough to try again.

 

Instead, I ripped it all out and started over on this pattern, which was created especially for the yarn, Cascade Sierra. 

 

Here’s a quick pic of the Empire Waist Pullover in its current state.  My vow is to finish it up during Movie Night, so maybe I’ll have a FO picture by the end of the weekend.  All it needs is a little seaming and ruffle edging.

 

 

I made myself quit working on it a few weeks ago so that I could finish up several other deadline-oriented projects.  Those are almost all done, so I feel pretty good about working on this tonight.  I’d like to wear it next week.  Don't you just love the ruffle on the sleeve?

 

Anyway, the Amsterdam is my current obsession, and with only one more deadline project to be complete in the next two weeks, I feel like I can indulge myself.

 

Picture tomorrow!

WIP: Carol's Cardigan

I'm finishing (cross fingers) my first sweater this weekend. 

You may recall that I started my first sweater back in September in crochet, in some lovely cotton yarn.  I still like it a lot, but unfortunately, when I got to the point that I could try it on, it no fit.

I considered completing it for Kayla, but we didn't get a chance to try it on her at Christmas, so I think I'm going to frog it, and knit a pattern I found on Ravelry.  It's third up in my queue, so we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, Carol had requested a "coat made out of yarn."  I compromised with a cardigan, letting her pick the yarn.  She chose pink (big surprise) and darker pink (technically red).  The yarn is Blizzard, which is like knitting with cotton candy -- though no sticky fingers.  I love this yarn, even though it sheds a little. I hope it stands up to Carol's use, because it's so cute.

Here's a pic of the blocking from last night.  I lightly pinned and sprayed just to make it easier to sew it together, which I get to do tonight.  I can't wait.

And a close-up just to see how pretty the yarn is:

And because we're talking about Carol, here's a picture of her, trying on the hat I made for my sister-in-law.

Cute hat, isn't it?  My first try at making cables, which were super easy, even though they look complicated.  I love this hat and have just enough of this yarn left to make one more.  I don't know who needs it, but someone will get it.

If you want to know, the cardigan is from the "Yarn Girls Guide to Older Kid's Knits," which is a fabulous book.  Easy to read, easy to follow the pattern, Don't Curb Your Enthusiasm.  Plan to make another sweater for Carol out of this book as soon as I make (or don't make) the one for me.

Sandie's hat is the Basic Aran Hat by Jennifer Hagan.  Super easy to follow. 

Off vacation

I'm back and I'm busy.  Year-end at work, and finishing up projects at home.  Just have to tell you two quick stories.

The first is mine.  Just before I left town, I delivered Molly and Jane to the Disco Dog Ranch.  Great place, but unfortunately unable to retrieve dogs from a locked car.  Just as I arrived to drop off my wonderful pets, I hung up the phone with Amy, took off my headset and locked the car door.  Without removing the keys from the ignition.  I guess talking on the phone is just one thing too many when it comes to me leaving the car.

Because this is not the first time I've done it.  But it is the first time with the dogs in the car.

Too bad we never trained our puppies to unlock the car doors.  No matter how much I tried to excite them, they never stepped on the door lock.  At least they were quiet until the locksmith arrived -- one hour and fifteen minutes later than promised!

Arrgh, by the time I got back home and did some cat things that absolutely had to be done before leaving, I had only 15 minutes to pack.  Luckily, I had been gathering items into a central packing location, but I still forgot quite a bit:

• T-shirts
• Sneakers (though remembered sweats!)
• Pajamas
• Turtlenecks or cami's to go under sweaters that deliberately gape
• Tommy's Christmas present
• Various yarn projects
• Extra yarn to go with yarn projects I did remember

Well, Tommy bought me some pajamas while I bought one T-shirt, didn't bother to wear the gaping sweaters and wore the Crocs I packed whenever sneakers seemed necessary.

And once I ran out of yarn projects, I visited a store in Texas: Jennings Street Yarn Shop.  Nice store, and I was lucky enough to shop during their year-end sale.  Thirty percent off my entire purchase.  Too bad I didn't know how deep the discount was before I checked out.  All I bought was a set of Addi lace needles and three skeins of yarn.

Well, home again, home again, and I have all my yarn, needles and projects together again.  Last night, I finished a hat I had started for my SIL and tonight I hope to finish the matching scarf. The yarn I bought in Texas will make a hat for her son.  Then I just need to finish up another scarf and hat for her daughter so I can mail the package off to Minnesota, my brother's new, much colder, home.

Funny story about Carol... Tommy's just celebrated his birthday by having dinner at his mom's.  Carol said they were going to have cake and a birthday party, but on arrival, MIL was making dinner, but no cake.  Carol made a fuss about the cake, so Nephew Coty prepared for a quick trip to the store...

Carol: "...to get cake and ice cream."

MIL: "Ice cream?"

Carol: "Yes, it's a birthday.  We have to have cake and ice cream."

MIL: "OK, Coty, get cake and ice cream."

Carol: "And balloons.  We have to have balloons for a birthday."

At this point, Tommy stepped in and suggested a trip to Braum's where everyone could enjoy some cake and any flavor of ice cream they like.  Everyone except Coty liked the idea.  He was looking forward to the chance to drive the car for an errand.

Tommy and Carol took awhile getting out of the driveway, so by the time they met MIL and Coty at Braum's, guess what? A balloon had arrived.  They made a side trip and arrived in advance of Tommy and Carol.  Tommy got to sit in the chair with the balloon.  And after everyone got their treat...

Carol: "We need to sing happy birthday."

Just as they got the "Happy Birthday, Dear ___," Tommy wondered what his mother would say since he is Tommy to her and Daddy to Carol.

Instead, the song trailed off completely because...

Carol: "Coty's not singing."

They sang again, this time joined by several other tables full of customers and Coty.  In the end, Carol laughed and clapped, happy the birthday party worked out just as she expected.