WEEK 41

 

Greetings!  Spring has finally come here.  We had a month of summer (March) and were kind of worried we would miss the mild spring temps.  Luckily, April has proven to be much more moderate in temps and our flowers and trees are blooming away.  

This tree is in our neighbor's yard.  It is a Plumeria tree.  I have never seen one in our area before.  They are very fragrant and the blooms are gorgeous.  Wish I had known they were good desert trees and I might have gotten one or two of those for my front yard last year when we landscaped.

I can not believe it has been 3 weeks since I last posted.  Time always flies by when we get close to Easter.  We have so much to do with the church, it tends to keep me away from my crafting.  But, that is fine.  Since Easter day, I have had more time to work on my RCR socks.

They are well past the halfway point on the foot.  Depending on my wrist, I would like to have them completed by the end of this coming week.

Speaking of my wrist, I see my Rheumatologist this week and am going to ask her if I should possibly get it x-rayed since it has been quite troublesome since my fall in February or if she thinks it is just more RA in that joint.  All I know is it is troublesome to knit and impossible to crochet.  This makes me very sad.

I did another craft while I was quiet on my blog.

I made the pink Lego roses bouquet.  I got these done on Good Friday so they graced my table for Easter Dinner.  Yes, I hosted Easter Dinner this year.  We had a total of 13 people for dinner and fun.  We planned the food much better this year and had very little leftovers.

Last time I was here I told you Josie got engaged.  Here is her photo of him asking her.

It was at the Renaissance fair.  And here is one of their 'official' engagement photos showing the ring.

They have the venue booked, invitations ready to mail, an engagement party set, and THE dress is bought.  They still need to do flowers, catering, his ring, and cake/cupcakes.  All this while he works full time, and she is going to nursing school and working as many hours as she can at the restaurant she has been at for almost 3 years.  

As for hubby and I, we are finally getting used to not having a pet around.  We have never been without a pet in over 45 years.  We have found it a bit freeing.  This is a true empty next now.  As much as I loved having a critter around, I am finding it ok to be without one.

We are starting to do a few minor repairs to the house.  It seems like when you have a 50+ year old home, things start to need more and more attention.  Hubby is trying to do most of them and when he can't we call in the professionals. 

I am wanting to dig into more decluttering.  We already did a bunch in hubby's office areas.  Actually, he did it all by himself!  I took a load to GoodWill just before Easter with all he cleaned out.  I am slowly working on other areas of the house.  It is amazing to me to see how much I can find to get rid of in an area I already had gone through last year.  My rule is, if it has not been used in 6-12 months, it is not going to be use in the next 6-12 months so donate it to someone who could use it.  Of course, this does NOT apply to yarn or crafting supplies LOL!

Ok, I have rambled on long enough. I will leave you with a little chuckle

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 39 OF 52

 

Back again this week with another update of my crafting and life.

Crochet

I did work on the Lego blanket for a bit.  I am offically half way complete with the blanket itself.  In case you need a reminder if what it looks like.

It is laying on the hearth right next to where I sit.  Hoping I will pick it up and give it a bit more love this week.

Lego

I completed the Lego Bouquet this week.  The base of it had given me fits getting it to stay together.  My son, Jay, came over one day and put the base together for me.  After that, all I had to do was make the top of the base and the flowers.

It is so pretty.  I will turn it periodically as there are different flowers on the other side of this too.

Knitting

I did work on the lap throw a bit.  Not enough to really show much difference from last week.

I succumbed and cast on another pair of RCR socks.  These will be for me this time.

I was very lucky in being able to matchy matchy them up this time.  I like doing them congruently on DPNs.  No second sock syndrome for me!

Baking

I pulled my neglected sourdough starter out last weekend.  I gave it a couple of healthy feedings and then baked a loaf for St Patrick's day dinner.

It was so yummy and our guests enjoyed having home made bread.

Life

Last week I forgot to post a video of what we saw going on at our home while we were away in Las Vegas.

Now, we do not live anywhere near a forest or open land.  We are smack dab in the middle of a city with over half a million population!  Finding two javalina walking nonchalantly across my front porch was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

HAPPY NEWS

I would like to introduce to you, Josie and Joshua.

Yes, that is our Granddaughter you have all known for the past 20 years.  The young man she is with is Joshua (he prefers Josh) This young man came into her life about a week after she lost her father  (also named Joshua).  He is so kind and considerate and a joy to be around.  Which is a good thing since it looks like he is going to be around for a very long time.  They are ENGAGED!  Wedding plans are already happening with a date set for August of this year.  We are very happy for her and him.

Oh, they do not dress like this full time.  They go to the Renaissance Festival and love to dress in character.

As for the ring....She was given the rings from her mom and dads marriage.  Josie told me "My dad sent me my very own Josh to love forever".  Made me tear up a bit.  

Now, I leave you with my humor for the week.

Until Next Time.....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 37 & 38

 

Hubby and I are back from our little trip.  We had such a good time and met some very interesting people at the Bingo tournament.  

Guess what!  I actually have some things to show you this week.  Happily, the RCR socks are completed and our daughter is in possession of them and has even worn them.

These were done in Diversity Yarn.  It has a lovely memory to it so the socks never stretch out and the plus side is.....NO WOOL!  

There was not another item cast on after I completed these.  The decision was made to work on the languishing lap throw that has been hanging around for MONTHS.

The last time I showed a photo of this was on 2/1/26 and I had just added the contrasting color.  As you can see, there has not been much progress on it in the past 6 weeks.  This is the reason I decided not to cast on anything else at the moment.  Between this and the Lego blanket, I have plenty to work on.  Not to mention I have 2 cross stitch pieces that are still begging for attention.

Speaking of cross stitch.........those may be picked up again for a while.  My right wrist is still giving me fits since my fall.  Since I am left handed, my right wrist is not used in any repetition when doing cross stitch.  Since it has been a month since my fall,  I may need to suck up my pride and go to the Dr to get it looked at.  But, not today.

Last Sunday, hubby and I took off and went to Las Vegas for a bingo tournament.  Before you ask, no we were not one of the winners at the tournament.  But, we had a marvelous time and met some very fun people while we were there.  There was a visit with one of our nieces and her family and got to meet our newest grand-niece.

She is almost 4 months old and a very happy baby.  We love babies in this family and are always so excited when another one comes along.

We stayed at South Point Casino while away.  This is our favorite casino to stay at.  It is big and has all sorts of places to eat and things to do beside gamble.

They host many events there and the day we left they were getting ready for bull riding competition.  There were hundreds of boots, buckles, hats and coors beer around when we left.  Not to mention the music in the casino had changed from classic rock to country.

Oh, the picture is of me and Benny Binion.  He was quite a character and not always in a good way.  Look at his story on Wikipedia sometime.  Quite colorful!

Before we left on vacation, we had a bit of some sadness come into our lives.  Our sweet, sweet, boy, Enrique went to the rainbow bridge.

He had been acting very strange over the past few weeks.  He would stand in a room and bark incessantly for hours.  He no longer wanted to be by us all the time.  He would just stare off into space and then look around like he had no idea where he was.  His hearing was pretty well gone as was his eye sight.  The vet was pretty sure he had doggy dementia and things would only get worse.  It was such a hard decision to make and I miss him horribly.  He was my constant companion and followed me everywhere.  I still find myself turning around to talk to him about things.  Or, reaching over to pat him as if he were right next to me.  Coming home is the worse.  No little boy jumping up and down and making lots of noise welcoming me home.  I stayed with him until his last heartbeat.  Run free my best friend!

Here is your chuckle for this coming week.................................

Until Next Time....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 36

 

March 1!  I always think of spring when March comes around.  Mother Nature dropped springtime on us desert dwellers a couple of weeks early this year.  We have already gone into the 90's and will be there for another couple of days before we drop back to the 80's.  Luckily, our night time temps are still in the 50's so I can open up the windows after sunset and cool the house down and then close it up mid morning and it stays nice for the rest of the day.  *sigh* I do not want to turn on the A/C this early in the year.  Once it comes on it is so hard to turn it off again.

On to my crafting this week..........................................

I worked on my DD's RCR this week.

They should be completed this coming week.  I only need 30 rows on each of them to get to the toe.  

I also worked on the lap throw but, only did 5 rows on it.  Still no photo of it.  One of these days I will take a photo and show you have the second color is looking on it.

As for my healing after my fall.  Most of the bruising has gone away.  I still have deep bone bruising in a couple of areas. My wrist is still a bit sore and not happy when I crochet so the Lego blanket is in time out for now.  Thanks to all of you that wished me well.  Now, how did I do on my list of goals?

1. Fit into real shoes.........YES!  Wore real shoes to church yesterday!

2. Catch up on laundry....YES!  Two weeks of laundry washed dried and put away in 2 days!

3. Cook real meals...YES!  Felt good to be back in the kitchen making healthy meals for us.

4. Go on morning walks....NO!  My foot and knee are not ready for long strolls, yet.

I will not be posting next week.  Hubby and I are taking a little trip away for the first time in 2 years.  With being part time care takers for our son Josh, we just never felt we could take time away 'just in case'.  We do not regret that decision either.  Every minute we spent with him is a cherished memory now.  BUT, it is time for us to start back to enjoying things we like to do for us.  One of our favorite things is going to Las Vegas for Bingo tournaments.  We always meet some interesting people not to mention get to see family and friends while there.  

That wraps up my week.  Here is your chuckle for the week..................

Until Next Time....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 34

 

This post is going to be one of my shorter ones.  I took a nasty fall last week Tuesday and have been pretty well laid up for the past week with a severely sprained right foot/ankle/wrist.  I finally got my Crocs on today after being in a slipper all week.  Hubby has been a gem in making sure I have everything I need and even things I don't 'need' (chocolate).

I have only done 1 row on the Lego blanket because of my very sore and inflamed wrist.  However, I discovered, knitting does not aggravate it like crocheting does.  Therefore, I am able to work on a pair of socks I cast on before the fall.

Another pair of RCR socks for my daughter.  Doing them 2 at the same time makes it seem like they get done quicker.  

Reading has been my favorite past time this past week also.  I have completed one book and almost done with a second.  They are all the Glass and Steele series from C J Archer.  Only 6 more books in the series and then I will need to move on to something else.

My goals for the coming week:

1. fit into real shoes

2. catch up on laundry

3. cook real meals

4. go on morning walks

I will leave you with a little humor.  Even my hubby laughed at this one.

 Until Next Time..........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 32

 

Hey there!  Are any of you watching the Olympics?  How about Super Bowl?  I have been trying to catch all the ice skating and a few of the other Olympic events.  We will be tuning into the Super Bowl this evening.  Love the commercials LOL.

I am proud to say, I have a couple of finishes this week.

The RCR are finally finished!  Phew!  It took me so long to make these.  I started them in November!  Daughter has another yarn picked out for a second pair.  I am thinking I will take a little break before casting the next pair on.

After that loooong knit, I felt I needed a palette cleanser.  Sooooooooooooo

Another dishcloth to put in the grab box.  Now that all the grands have moved into their own places, it seems dishcloths from Mimi are the best thing ever.  I am happy to comply.

The Lego blanket got a bit of love this week.  Ok, it was only 2 rows, but it was something.  The lap throw got 4 more rows done on it.  They are never ending projects!

This past week kind of got away from me.  We had something on the calendar everyday this week.  I was a chauffer for family members 4 days out of 7.  I met up with 2 cousins for lunch this week too.  Had such a good time with them.  I only see the one cousin once a year.  The other cousin lives here, so we see each often.  But, it is always nice to get together with family.

Now, I am going to brag a bit.  This past week I managed to cook 6 days out of 7!  This is unusual for us. I have been in a mood to be creative in the kitchen.  Hubby has been quite happy about all the homecooked meals.  

The other thing that I have been doing over the past 3 weeks............My grocery shopping is being done via online pick up.  This lady has not stepped into a grocery store in 3 weeks!  I am lucky that my Kroger store makes it so easy to order what I need online and then I just go and pick it up.  This has cut down on my grocery bill A LOT!  It saves me quite a bit of time too.  

Time for me to go and start watching some Olympic ice skating.  I woke up at 4 this morning and was thrilled.  Why?  Because, I was able to make a loaf of bread (in the bread machine), hard boil a dozen eggs (In the egg cooker), cook 2 pounds of bacon (on my Blackstone) and washed dishes (in the dishwasher).  Now I can kick back until it is time for me to cook lunch (TGIFriday's Potato Skins) and then dinner (smoked wings).  Hey........this is standard football cuisine!  Right? 

Yummy bacon for our BLT sandwiches tomorrow and then I am making a huge Cobb salad later in the week when the rest of the bacon will be used.  

The Lego blanket is sitting next to me asking me to work on it again.  I have a Lego build that needs to be completed too.  Maybe this week will be a bit calmer?  It could happen.  

I will leave you with a bit of chuckle...............

Until Next Time................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 31

 

Hello and welcome.  I hope everyone is staying warm and well.  We are having spring like weather at the moment and my plants can't decide if they should be putting on blossoms or shedding their leaves.  For the next week we are going to be in the 80's!  It is waaay to early for this to happen.   But, most of you are not here to hear about my weather.  Let's see what happened this week.

There was progress on a couple of projects.

DD's socks got a heel this week.  Only 89 more rows and I can do the toe.  I am so glad she is not in a hurry for these.

One skein of yarn has been completed on the lap throw.  I did decide to add a brighter color in the center of this to help break up all that BROWN!.

I thought this was a tan base until I started working with it last night and realized it has a lavender cast to it.  I still like it and am going to continue on with it.  There are brown specks in it so it goes quite well with the main color.  This throw takes 3 skeins of yarn to make it the length needed.  The person I got the pattern from (Josie's Grammie) said it is a quick and easy pattern.  NOPE!  I disagree.  This has been on my needles since November.  I need to be very careful at the start of each row to make sure I am doing the correct stitch to create this pattern.  Yes, it is good for TV watching once I start each right side row, but..........still not a quick project.  At least, not for me.

There was a little bit of shopping this week.  I just happened to stumble into my LYS on Thursday.  They had totally rearranged the entire set up of the store.  I went in to find out if they had any open knit/crochet sessions to just sit and knit/crochet.  Yes, they do!  They have open sessions from open to close 3 days a week.  I am so happy to hear that.  The deserts of Arizona are not exactly hot spots for people working with yarn all the time.  I really wanted to meet people, like me, who wake each morning looking forward to picking up their projects and giving them some love.

Excuse me, I digress.  I was going to tell you about my shopping.  I walked around the store, touching and caressing many skeins of yarn.  There was some nonwool yarn there that was so soft and lofty, I was dreaming of projects for it.  But, no, I did not purchase any of it.  I have way too much yarn in my stash now.  Once it gets down to a respectable size I will grab some of that lush and plush yarn.  So, I continued walking around the shop, admiring all the accessories they had.  I was about to walk out of the store, empty handed, when I spied this gem.............

OH MY STARS!!!!!!!  A gnome project bag from Twice Sheared Sheep!  I had seen this on her website but told myself there were plenty of project bags in my craft area now.  Yet, when I saw this in person, I knew I needed to buy it.  This is the medium size bag and is now the home of the brown lap throw.  This would easily hold a sweater project. I wish she had a gnome bag in her new mini size.  It is sock project size and if she had one I would grab it in a heart beat.  Hmmm, maybe I need to send her a little love note!

BTW, Can anyone tell me what a respectable size for a yarn stash is?  Asking for a friend.

I did finish one item this past week.

The Japanese Maple Bonsai Lego tree.  The colors on this make me smile.  I did start another Lego after this but have run into some difficulty with it holding together.  I have built it twice now and it still falls apart half way through. I got so disgusted with it, I actually tossed it across my craft table and there is sits now..........pieces strewn all over the table and I am not the least bit interested in picking them up and trying again............at this time.

There were 2 presents for me in the mail this week.

The 5th book in the series I have been reading.  I have had this on hold in my Libby account for several months and it was going to be several more months before I would receive it.  So, I went to my Thriftbooks account and found it for a really nice price.  After this one, there are 8 more in the series.  I will get them through my Kindle app when the time comes.

The other present I received was my new passport!  Good for another 10 years.  Hubby is still waiting for his to arrive.  There are no plans, at the moment to go someplace where I will need it.  It is just nice to have in case the opportunity would show up.

Hubby and I had a little fun night out on Friday.

We took Stacie to Bingo that night, to celebrate her big 5 0 birthday!  She and hubby both won a game.  I was just there to add humor to the night.

That covers all the excitement here.  I do have a little humor for you to carry you through the week.

Until Next Time........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!