Hey everyone. I am in Texas with grandchildren and adult children. I arrived last week Wednesday. It has been nonstop ever since. Adult child flew to Florida to spend the holiday weekend with his wife. I have 3 grands with me and they are fun, active and 2 are still in school until Thursday this week.
Lots of food has been prepared around here. I can't seem to fill these children up. They don't eat junk food either. So lots of fruits and veggies are kept cleaned and ready for consumption.
Adult son came home last night. His wife comes home on Saturday. Her duty station just got changed so she can stay home now. She has been away for 2 years. One year in Afghanistan and 1 year on New Orleans. It will be so nice to have that family back together again!
Hubby flies in tomorrow so he can spend a week with the family too. The kids are looking forward to his arrival. So is his wife lol.
As far as crafting goes.......all I have worked on is the test knit sock. One is completed and the second one's leg is almost completed. Hopefully I can finish it thus week. I am enjoying the pattern. It is hard to get a lot of time to knit with kids and dogs to deal with.
Right now, I am elevating my foot. I went to the store today and when I got home......I opened the tailgate of the Tahoe and.......a 12 pack of bottled beer landed squarely on my toes. It happens to be the toes with the severe arthritic deformities in them. I was very good and didn't say any naughty words in front of my grandson. Only blew up 1 bottle of beer too lol. I am hoping nothing is severely damaged. I put a closed toe shoe on immediately and iced it. Let me tell you.......it hurts........it's throbbing......but no discoloration......yet lol.
Not much else happening here. Oh.........the Texas grand daughter is heading to girl scout camp Friday and returns Monday. Going to go to the movies this weekend with the rest of the family. I planned the menus for up through Saturday. No snack food in the house so being good on my weight goals.
Until next time.........happy crafting!!!!
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Quick update
A very busy 2 days since I posted my YOP update. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 7:45. This puts me leaving the house at 5:30. That's pretty darn early!
Monday saw me going to my orthopedic surgeons office. I have been released from my broken thumb........woohoo. Afterwards, I did a little shopping for my mom. With being gone for 2 weeks, I always make sure all her "staples" are on hand.
I also took yesterday to make a list of everything I needed to do or pack. It was also my visit with mom day. Dinner was a nice easy night of hamburgers and chips. I don't know what you do with your burgers but we mix; garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper and ranch dressing mix in ours and then put Rudy's bbq rub on it. Super yummy.
Today was crazy.........hubby and I hit the floor and started running. We had 6 stores to go to. I had a list as long as your arm, of items we needed to purchase or things to be taken care of. It only too 2 hours to complete. That is why I make list. LOL
We came home and I started packing. Of course I had a list. Making lists is my favorite thing to do other than knitting or crocheting. Hence the reason I bullet journal. Other than my toiletries being used in the morning, I am done.
I did something today, I have not done in at least 10 years.
I got nails again. We are doing a bit of traveling over the next couple of months. My RA has messed up my nails so bad......they can not grow because of it. Let me rephrase that.....they can grow, but chip, peel, and split all the time. I am not normally a vain person, but I do like to look nice. I wear a bit of make up ( not a lot), do my hair daily, and dress in decent clothes (when leaving the house lol). My finger and toe nails are my big issue. I can wear shoes to cover my toes, but it's not possible to cover my fingers 100% of the time. I know.....vanity........sinful.
Hubby and I went out for street tacos tonight. It's our one date night we do almost every week. So nice to have a little us time.
It's getting late and I need to be up in 6 hours. Next tine I update.....it will be from Texas.
Until next time. . . . happy crafting!
Monday saw me going to my orthopedic surgeons office. I have been released from my broken thumb........woohoo. Afterwards, I did a little shopping for my mom. With being gone for 2 weeks, I always make sure all her "staples" are on hand.
I also took yesterday to make a list of everything I needed to do or pack. It was also my visit with mom day. Dinner was a nice easy night of hamburgers and chips. I don't know what you do with your burgers but we mix; garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper and ranch dressing mix in ours and then put Rudy's bbq rub on it. Super yummy.
Today was crazy.........hubby and I hit the floor and started running. We had 6 stores to go to. I had a list as long as your arm, of items we needed to purchase or things to be taken care of. It only too 2 hours to complete. That is why I make list. LOL
We came home and I started packing. Of course I had a list. Making lists is my favorite thing to do other than knitting or crocheting. Hence the reason I bullet journal. Other than my toiletries being used in the morning, I am done.
I did something today, I have not done in at least 10 years.
I got nails again. We are doing a bit of traveling over the next couple of months. My RA has messed up my nails so bad......they can not grow because of it. Let me rephrase that.....they can grow, but chip, peel, and split all the time. I am not normally a vain person, but I do like to look nice. I wear a bit of make up ( not a lot), do my hair daily, and dress in decent clothes (when leaving the house lol). My finger and toe nails are my big issue. I can wear shoes to cover my toes, but it's not possible to cover my fingers 100% of the time. I know.....vanity........sinful.
Hubby and I went out for street tacos tonight. It's our one date night we do almost every week. So nice to have a little us time.
It's getting late and I need to be up in 6 hours. Next tine I update.....it will be from Texas.
Until next time. . . . happy crafting!
Sunday, May 21, 2017
WEEK 47
Another Sunday morning. Can you believe it? I didn't wake up at 3 this morning. Nope, my body waited until 4:30 this day. But I was still up before the sun so got to watch the sunrise.
I had a pretty busy week. If you follow my blog, you know my brother left on Wednesday morning. That was also the last day of the crochet class at our church's school. We had a small party for the children and loaded them up on sugar and sent them on to their next class. I am sure their teachers were so happy with us.
Thursday was prayer shawl group and I was so hoping to finish my prayer shawl there. Oh well, I came home and completed it that evening.
This is how we send out our prayer shawls from our cancer shrine.
This is the tag we sew on the item letting them know where it is from. We also sew on a medal of St Peregrine, patron saint of cancer patients. Yes, this is the shawl I completed. Sorry for the glare of the bag, but I was heading out to church to turn it in when I remembered I had not taken a final photo of it.
I have started a new shawl. This time I am doing it in sock yarn and the pattern I am using is Eva's Shawl. I have made it several times in the past and it is a nice light and airy shawl and goes fairly quickly. It will be traveling with me to Texas this week. I will be gone for 2 weeks so should be able to complete it while there.
The only other item I am working on it my test knit for Knitterarium. It is a lovely sock and the leg of the sock when super quick. The heel flap, turn and gusset have had me working on it for almost a week now. It even caused me to bend one of my DPN's while picking up stitches for the heel flap. (Hence the reason I normally do the Fish Lip Kiss heel) The needle was able to be straightened again so all is good there. I really need to get the one sock done before I leave as I want to be able to weight and measure the yarn I have used for the sock. There will not be any equipment for me to do that with where I am staying in Texas. There isn't even a yarn shop within 50 miles of where I am staying! Trust me...............I look each time I go there.
I am interested in making one of these:
On the personal side of my life...........................Friday, I was asked to go with my BFF to lend moral support as she got her hair cut. I have been trying to get her to go with short hair for quite a while. She finally agreed it was time.
This is what she deals with daily. She has super curly hair and tons of it. She wears it in a pony tail ALL the time. If her hair was straight, it would be about 4 to 5 inches below her shoulders.
So her hair dresser took the first cut
The end result was this:
What a difference. She loves it and so does everyone that has seen it. It is even super cute when she lets it go naturally curly too.
After the hair cut we went out to eat with her and her hubby. Neither of us wanted to cook as we had been at the salon for 3 hours.
Yesterday, my BFF (Yes again) had a LuLaRoe party at her house. How fun was that to get to try on different types of clothing from my favorite line of clothes. I ended up with 2 dresses, a new style of skirt (New for me) and a blouse. I had so much fun. I am thinking of having one at my house later this year. I don't have tons of friends, but I think I could muster up enough interest with my prayer shawl group as well as my small circle of friends and family that it would be perfect.
Last night, our Daughter in Law took us out to dinner at one of the local casinos. She had won pretty big there a few days ago and treated us. We gambled for a bit after dinner but had no luck so we came on home. It was kind of nice to get away a little bit and do something different.
We did have some very sad news this week too. On Friday, the first grade teach at our church's school was found dead in her home. They have not released the cause of death but we have heard she had cardiac issues. It was so sad, as she was only in her mid 40's and her high school aged son is the one who found her. This is the second teacher we have lost at the school in the past 2 years. The students were pretty shaken up by this. Our grand daughter was quite sad as she loved this teacher so much. She was a kind and gentle soul. On the same day, our former music worship leader's father passed away. His father was the grandfather of one of the students in my grands class. Friday was not a good day at our church.
Today, is my menu planning day, but since I am leaving on Wednesday morning, there will be no planning this week. That means there will be no grocery shopping either. WOOHOO! I have a whole day to do nothing but knit and do laundry.
Tomorrow, I have my final appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon about my broken thumb from the car accident. I should be given the all clear to do what ever I want. Even though I am already doing that. If my thumb hurts, I stop doing what I was doing. Pretty simple plan if you ask me. LOL
So that is the total of my week. I will try and update next week, but it will be from my tablet. I have no problem typing in the blog, it is the photos that can give me issues at times. I will try though.
Until next time........................Happy Crafting!!!!
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Midweek Normalcy
Another day is almost over. It has been a lovely day, full of activities and accomplishments.
The day started early with my brother leaving so he could make it to his motorcycle rally in New Mexico. After he left, I got busy working on my test knit. The deadline is June 5th. I volunteered to knit the size large and it is taking quite a bit more time than normal. It is being knit on a smaller needle than I normally use and there are more stitches than I normally cast on too.
Today was also the last crochet class at our church's school. We got to have a little party for the kids. It was so much fun. That was a huge time commitment also, especially for the leader. I don't know if they will do it again next year or not. We will know more towards the end of the year.
Yesterday, my lovely grand daughter brought a decorative pillow home from school. She volunteered me to repair it for her school librarian. I hand stitched it up last night and returned it to the librarian today. She was thrilled. Found out, she doesn't even know how to thread a needle!
After the class party, I walked over to our cancer shrine and added my friends name to the prayer wall. I asked her if she would be ok with it and she was very happy to have people praying for her.
Home I went, then, to relax for an hour. After that brief repose, I was back at the school to pick up the grand and bring her home to do her homework. She was able to finish her homework fairly quickly. Off we went to Bookmans, to find some books for her to read while on her summer vacation. Three books were purchased and a nice smile was plastered on her face. I returned her to her mother and headed home once again.
With my brother gone, I did not lay anything out for dinner tonight. I ended up eating a veggie burger. They are quite tasty and satisfying. I used a sandwich round for the bun and just added a bit of mustard for umph. I am thinking a crockpot meal may be in order for tomorrow night.
So.......things are pretty much back to normal. That is, until next week, when I fly out to Texas for two weeks.
Until next time...............happy crafting!
The day started early with my brother leaving so he could make it to his motorcycle rally in New Mexico. After he left, I got busy working on my test knit. The deadline is June 5th. I volunteered to knit the size large and it is taking quite a bit more time than normal. It is being knit on a smaller needle than I normally use and there are more stitches than I normally cast on too.
Today was also the last crochet class at our church's school. We got to have a little party for the kids. It was so much fun. That was a huge time commitment also, especially for the leader. I don't know if they will do it again next year or not. We will know more towards the end of the year.
Yesterday, my lovely grand daughter brought a decorative pillow home from school. She volunteered me to repair it for her school librarian. I hand stitched it up last night and returned it to the librarian today. She was thrilled. Found out, she doesn't even know how to thread a needle!
After the class party, I walked over to our cancer shrine and added my friends name to the prayer wall. I asked her if she would be ok with it and she was very happy to have people praying for her.
Home I went, then, to relax for an hour. After that brief repose, I was back at the school to pick up the grand and bring her home to do her homework. She was able to finish her homework fairly quickly. Off we went to Bookmans, to find some books for her to read while on her summer vacation. Three books were purchased and a nice smile was plastered on her face. I returned her to her mother and headed home once again.
With my brother gone, I did not lay anything out for dinner tonight. I ended up eating a veggie burger. They are quite tasty and satisfying. I used a sandwich round for the bun and just added a bit of mustard for umph. I am thinking a crockpot meal may be in order for tomorrow night.
So.......things are pretty much back to normal. That is, until next week, when I fly out to Texas for two weeks.
Until next time...............happy crafting!
Monday, May 15, 2017
Post Mother's Day update
Good day to all of you readers. I hope you are having a great day. I know I am. That makes 2 lovely days in a row. In all honesty, 99% of my days are lovely. I am truly a blessed woman.
Yesterday was Mother's Day, here in the good old USA. I never ask for anything for Mother's Day as far as gifts goes. The only thing I usually ask for is a day to be allowed to do what I want when I want without having to worry about any 'household' stuff. Ya know, like cooking, cleaning or laundry LOL. Every year, my family grants me my wish.
I will say, I am also,usually, given gifts and this year was no exception. I received some lovely jewelry from my hubby,
Earrings and a necklace in dancing white sapphires. Also:
This bracelet in yellow, white and rose gold.
A gorgeous maxi LuLaRoe skirt from my daughter
and beautiful flowers from my son that lives in town.
Aren't these flowers exceptional? I never think of tulips for gift giving. They are so pretty and springy. The vase they are in is oblong and I think I want to keep it out and try and keep flowers in it quite often this year. I know, flowers don't live forever, but they do brighten up a room so well. Our grocery stores sell some of the nicest arrangements for quite a reasonable price too.
I received a call from my out of town son who let me ramble on and on without telling me he needed to get off the phone. It was so special and lovely. Plus, I will be seeing him in about 10 days, when I go and stay with him and his family for 2 weeks.
We did go to my mom's yesterday, but there was no BBQ. Our son's BBQ broke as it was being lifted up into a truck. Plan B...........................Picked up fried chicken from the deli at the grocery store. Worked just fine and probably better as we ended up with some pretty gusty winds for our picnic. We still had a wonderful time with the family all gathered around.
This is my brother, mom and myself. I think mom thought we would blow away, so she held onto our hands. It was so nice outside. I was concerned it would be too hot, but the Good Lord blessed us with a day in the high 80's along with cloud cover, not to mention the 40 MPH breeze.
After the family picnic, we came home. Daughter and her husband dropped by for a little while just for some one on one time with us. After they left, son and his wife and daughter came over for dinner (we had to bbq those pork chops!) The grand went swimming again (water was only 72) and we even ate dinner outside. The wind had died down and it was so pleasant and mild out.
I got to work on my test knit sock as well as my prayer shawl. What more could I have asked for than a day with my family around me and doing what I love to do. Like I said.....I am a blessed woman.
Today, I am relaxing again. Trying to recoup a bit from everything that has been happening since my brother came into town. I worked on both of my projects today. I will be picking up the grand from school today and helping her with homework. She will be with us for dinner tonight and then I will take her home. Her daddy is out of town on business so we will be having her all week after school. Something we haven't done in a looooong time.
I only have today and tomorrow with my brother and then he heads back home to Texas with a 5 day stop in New Mexico for a motorcycle rally. He will be back later this year again. Not sure when exactly, but he normally makes it out twice a year.
We are having left over pork chops for dinner tonight LOL. We had 13 of them cooked up and have 6 left. Makes my life easy when everyone agrees that left overs are fine for dinner. Gives me more knitting/crocheting time LOL. And since it is another mild day outside, I have been doing some of my knitting in the great outdoors.
Speaking of knitting outside, I am trying to convince hubby to buy me a nice bench for the front porch so I can sit out there and knit in the mornings. It faces north and it always in the shade during this time of year. He thinks I am strange for wanting to sit out front where everyone can see me. Doesn't bother me LOL. I might get to meet a few more neighbors that way. After all, we have lived here for 29 years and I really only know 4 neighbors! That's because we all have 6 foot fences in our backyards. No way can you gossip over one of those LOL. Plus, I could watch as the children walked to school each day and that might dissuade them from throwing rocks over our fence into our pool or at our dogs. ( OK, so the barking dogs can be a bit annoying, but if you keep on walking they stop barking and you aren't upsetting this home owner.)
That is all for today. I am going to go and finish up the leg of the test knit sock and start on the heel. The heel is my favorite part of the sock!
Until next time.............................happy crafting!
Yesterday was Mother's Day, here in the good old USA. I never ask for anything for Mother's Day as far as gifts goes. The only thing I usually ask for is a day to be allowed to do what I want when I want without having to worry about any 'household' stuff. Ya know, like cooking, cleaning or laundry LOL. Every year, my family grants me my wish.
I will say, I am also,usually, given gifts and this year was no exception. I received some lovely jewelry from my hubby,
A gorgeous maxi LuLaRoe skirt from my daughter
and beautiful flowers from my son that lives in town.
Aren't these flowers exceptional? I never think of tulips for gift giving. They are so pretty and springy. The vase they are in is oblong and I think I want to keep it out and try and keep flowers in it quite often this year. I know, flowers don't live forever, but they do brighten up a room so well. Our grocery stores sell some of the nicest arrangements for quite a reasonable price too.
I received a call from my out of town son who let me ramble on and on without telling me he needed to get off the phone. It was so special and lovely. Plus, I will be seeing him in about 10 days, when I go and stay with him and his family for 2 weeks.
We did go to my mom's yesterday, but there was no BBQ. Our son's BBQ broke as it was being lifted up into a truck. Plan B...........................Picked up fried chicken from the deli at the grocery store. Worked just fine and probably better as we ended up with some pretty gusty winds for our picnic. We still had a wonderful time with the family all gathered around.
This is my brother, mom and myself. I think mom thought we would blow away, so she held onto our hands. It was so nice outside. I was concerned it would be too hot, but the Good Lord blessed us with a day in the high 80's along with cloud cover, not to mention the 40 MPH breeze.
After the family picnic, we came home. Daughter and her husband dropped by for a little while just for some one on one time with us. After they left, son and his wife and daughter came over for dinner (we had to bbq those pork chops!) The grand went swimming again (water was only 72) and we even ate dinner outside. The wind had died down and it was so pleasant and mild out.
I got to work on my test knit sock as well as my prayer shawl. What more could I have asked for than a day with my family around me and doing what I love to do. Like I said.....I am a blessed woman.
Today, I am relaxing again. Trying to recoup a bit from everything that has been happening since my brother came into town. I worked on both of my projects today. I will be picking up the grand from school today and helping her with homework. She will be with us for dinner tonight and then I will take her home. Her daddy is out of town on business so we will be having her all week after school. Something we haven't done in a looooong time.
I only have today and tomorrow with my brother and then he heads back home to Texas with a 5 day stop in New Mexico for a motorcycle rally. He will be back later this year again. Not sure when exactly, but he normally makes it out twice a year.
We are having left over pork chops for dinner tonight LOL. We had 13 of them cooked up and have 6 left. Makes my life easy when everyone agrees that left overs are fine for dinner. Gives me more knitting/crocheting time LOL. And since it is another mild day outside, I have been doing some of my knitting in the great outdoors.
Speaking of knitting outside, I am trying to convince hubby to buy me a nice bench for the front porch so I can sit out there and knit in the mornings. It faces north and it always in the shade during this time of year. He thinks I am strange for wanting to sit out front where everyone can see me. Doesn't bother me LOL. I might get to meet a few more neighbors that way. After all, we have lived here for 29 years and I really only know 4 neighbors! That's because we all have 6 foot fences in our backyards. No way can you gossip over one of those LOL. Plus, I could watch as the children walked to school each day and that might dissuade them from throwing rocks over our fence into our pool or at our dogs. ( OK, so the barking dogs can be a bit annoying, but if you keep on walking they stop barking and you aren't upsetting this home owner.)
That is all for today. I am going to go and finish up the leg of the test knit sock and start on the heel. The heel is my favorite part of the sock!
Until next time.............................happy crafting!
Sunday, May 14, 2017
YOP UPDATE WEEK 46!!!!!
Before we get started, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. That goes for everyone that is a mom, grandmom, mom to critters, aunts that fill in for moms, stepmoms, sisters that mother their siblings, dad's that are both mom and dad etc... Being a mother is the hardest occupation I have ever had and the most rewarding. Being a Grandma is the icing on the cake and the bestest job in the world.
Let's get on to the update now.
Once again, my eyes opened at 3am. I managed to go back to sleep until 4:30 and then my body got all twitchy and I had to get up. It is nice to be up so early and have a quiet house, watch the sun come up and can take the time to photograph my items for today's show and tell.
First up.........................A FO (finished object)
My Stitch Sampler Shawl is completed. This was a very fun project to work on. Because of the ever changing stitches, it never got boring. I seldom knit a shawl for charity as they take so much longer to complete than crocheting. This one was not bad at all. Took about 2.5 weeks to complete and for knitting, that is super fast for this tortoise knitter. I have enough yarn from this project to complete another stitch sampler. I will arrange the striping a bit different next time as some of the stripes broke the patterns up too much. I love the bright colors of this and hope it will brighten the recipient's day a bit.
After completing that I HAD to start another shawl.
This one is Crocheted Prayer Shawl by Kathy Knox. I am making it with my Sweet Roll yarn in the colorway Spearmint. I am not super happy about the jogging of the stripes, but not much I can do about. That is the way the yarn is dyed. This yarn is so soft and easy to work with. I loved it so much I had to go and get more.
JoAnn's had it on sale this week for 3 days only. I went and picked up 5 skeins of this colorway called Birthday. I will make the same shawl with this color. It is an easy pattern to remember and shows the striping off so well. There are several ladies in the Prayer Shawl ministry that use this yarn because of the ease of care and the colors that are available.
I am also in a test knit again. Once again it is for Knitterarium (AKA Ruth). She has designed another sock pattern.
I am using On Your Toes Bamboo/nylon blend this time. It had a tendency to split a bit while working with but.................the stitch definition is superb. It is fairly soft for a sock yarn too. Sorry, I can not show you any of the knitting I have done on the test knit. But until the pattern is released, it has to remain TS (top secret) LOL. I will say, once this pattern is released, you might want to give it a whirl. It seems to be knitting up way faster than I think I have ever knit a sock before.
That is it for crafting news. On the home front:
If you follow my blog, you know my brother came to town on Wednesday. Since then we have been pretty busy just enjoying his company and visiting mom and friends.
Last night we went to a fantasy football (American Football that is) party. It was for my dear friend who is suffering from cancer. She finally won with her fantasy football league this year. She has played for 7 years and never won...............got close but lost it on the last game. Here is a photo of her kissing her trophy
She was so excited to finally win. I don't know if she will be playing again this year or not. Because of the radiation she has had on her brain, her cognitive powers have been damaged quite a bit. Yet, she keeps a smile on her face and is as sassy as ever.
I volunteered to make dinner for this party. I made a double batch of Cheesy Mostaccioli. If you have never had it.................you are missing out. It is a super simple recipe and yet, I have not found anyone that has not liked it. Sandra asked me to post the recipe so here it is:
1 lb of Mostaccioli (cook according to package directions)
1.5 pounds of Italian sausage (I mix sweet and hot together)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (28 ounces) Any flavor you want works
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided ( I use more than this as I like it cheesy)
Cook pasta according to the package directions. Rinse and drain when done
In a non stick skillet cook and stir the sausage over medium high heat until done. Drain off fat
Add spaghetti sauce, and soup to the meat
In a large bowl, mix the pasta, meat sauce and 1/2 the cheese together
Poor into a greased 9X13 baking dish. (I use a disposable pan)
Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until heated through and cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
That's it! Super easy. I made this the day before and just put it into my fridge. It was over 2/3 gone when I left last night, so I am sure there was very little left by the end of the evening.
Today, we are going to my mom's and having a BBQ of pork chops. That is something she is not served where she lives. She loves her mother's day picnics as it is about the only time she get out of the building. We are hoping the weather cooperates. It is supposed to get a bit windy this afternoon. Keeping our fingers crossed it isn't too bad.
Until next time......................happy crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, May 12, 2017
Whoosh
Whoosh....................that's what has happened to my week. I have been on a roll and today is the first time I have had time to catch my breath.
As I wrote on Wednesday, my brother was coming to town. He arrived just about dinner time Wednesday night. He was pretty tired as he made the 2 day trip on his new BMW motorcycle. It is a super nice bike with all the bells and whistles, but you still need to sit up and drive the thing. He is a motorcycle driving instructor, so he is very careful. He wears a helmet as well as protective clothing, shoes and gloves on all his rides. No matter how hot it gets, he is never without his protective gear.
I did go to the crochet class. You could tell we are close to the end of the school year. The kids are already squirming in their chairs wanting to be outside and away from teachers. Next week, we are going to have a little party for them. In other words...............sugar them up and send them on to their next class. LOL I don't know if we will do this again next year. I am willing to pitch in again and help with the lefties. The main instructor got pretty burnt out this year as did a couple of our other volunteers. But they have been doing it for 3 years now.
After class I came home and folded laundry, emptied the dishwasher, straightened up things a bit and THEN, I started my new prayer shawl. I am crocheting it this time. I will post a photo of it this weekend on my YOP update. I am in love with the pattern and the yarn. It is going quickly too.
I worked just about 3 rows on my test knit sock. The ribbing on it is time consuming, so it goes pretty slow. Not to mention I am making a larger size than I normally do, so I have more stitches this time, but I am also working on a smaller needle. It should all work out in the wash, right?
Thursday morning, I accompanied my son to the vet with his cat. This cat is 14 years old and pretty grumpy. But there was blood in some of his litter box, so they wanted him checked out. I had to laugh at the vet. Son and I were petting the boy (cat) and he was loving all that attention. As soon as the vet stepped into the room, the cat hissed and turned his back to the vet. He was scheduled for a lion cut shave for today, so the vet said to just bring him back today and while he was under anesthetic, he would an exam to figure out what the problem was. He was not about to touch that nasty cat without drugs on board and I don't blame him.
I only got to be at my prayer shawl meeting for about 30 minutes because of the vet visit. I still enjoyed my time there and was able to turn in the completed prayer shawl. I have enough of that yarn left to make another prayer shawl. That is a pretty good deal for only $2.99/skein.
After prayer shawl, I ran over to my BFF's house, as she thought she had left her back door standing open. She hadn't.............but her doggie was so happy to see me. I petted and loved on him for a bit and gave him a few doggie cookies.
I got home just in time to eat a quick bite of lunch and then grab my brother and head out to my mom's for a visit. We stayed out there for a couple of hours and then came home, had dinner, and just enjoyed a quiet evening.
This morning, I worked on my test knit and my prayer shawl. After lunch, I made a double batch of Cheesy Mostaciolli. One of our favorite dishes. We are going to a party tomorrow night and I offered to make dinner for the occasion. If I hadn't, we would have ended up with sub sandwiches and chips. Nobody there is cooking at the present time so I thought a home cooked meal would be welcomed. I take over banana bread when ever I make 2 loaves and they are so thankful for it. This is the home where my girlfriend has lung cancer that has metastasized to her brain and her husband has had a stroke. Their son lives there but he works afternoons until midnight. Their daughters have been helping out as much as they can, but they also work and have families to care for.
Tonight, I am serving leftovers for dinner. We have a lot of them! I don't want to throw out a lot of food. My brother has no issue with left overs either. Thank goodness.
That way, I can work on my crafting tonight. I also need to do a few loads of laundry again. I don't know where all those dirty clothes are coming from. There are only 2 of us living here. LOL I am also in need of paying some attention to my craftroom. When I cleaned out the guestroom, I took a few items into my craftroom to store them. It is a bunch of photos from 15 years or more. I don't want to toss them. All of them are framed too. I might figure out a way to hang them in the hallway leading to all the bedrooms. It would make a wonderful story of our lives.
That is about all I have at the present time. Our plumber just showed up. Our faucet in our master bath is dripping and needed a new cartridge in it. It took 2 weeks for the cartridge to arrive. I will be so glad to have that fixed. I just think of all the water that is being wasted and we pay for that!
Until next time....................which should be on Sunday........................happy crafting!!!!
As I wrote on Wednesday, my brother was coming to town. He arrived just about dinner time Wednesday night. He was pretty tired as he made the 2 day trip on his new BMW motorcycle. It is a super nice bike with all the bells and whistles, but you still need to sit up and drive the thing. He is a motorcycle driving instructor, so he is very careful. He wears a helmet as well as protective clothing, shoes and gloves on all his rides. No matter how hot it gets, he is never without his protective gear.
I did go to the crochet class. You could tell we are close to the end of the school year. The kids are already squirming in their chairs wanting to be outside and away from teachers. Next week, we are going to have a little party for them. In other words...............sugar them up and send them on to their next class. LOL I don't know if we will do this again next year. I am willing to pitch in again and help with the lefties. The main instructor got pretty burnt out this year as did a couple of our other volunteers. But they have been doing it for 3 years now.
After class I came home and folded laundry, emptied the dishwasher, straightened up things a bit and THEN, I started my new prayer shawl. I am crocheting it this time. I will post a photo of it this weekend on my YOP update. I am in love with the pattern and the yarn. It is going quickly too.
I worked just about 3 rows on my test knit sock. The ribbing on it is time consuming, so it goes pretty slow. Not to mention I am making a larger size than I normally do, so I have more stitches this time, but I am also working on a smaller needle. It should all work out in the wash, right?
Thursday morning, I accompanied my son to the vet with his cat. This cat is 14 years old and pretty grumpy. But there was blood in some of his litter box, so they wanted him checked out. I had to laugh at the vet. Son and I were petting the boy (cat) and he was loving all that attention. As soon as the vet stepped into the room, the cat hissed and turned his back to the vet. He was scheduled for a lion cut shave for today, so the vet said to just bring him back today and while he was under anesthetic, he would an exam to figure out what the problem was. He was not about to touch that nasty cat without drugs on board and I don't blame him.
I only got to be at my prayer shawl meeting for about 30 minutes because of the vet visit. I still enjoyed my time there and was able to turn in the completed prayer shawl. I have enough of that yarn left to make another prayer shawl. That is a pretty good deal for only $2.99/skein.
After prayer shawl, I ran over to my BFF's house, as she thought she had left her back door standing open. She hadn't.............but her doggie was so happy to see me. I petted and loved on him for a bit and gave him a few doggie cookies.
I got home just in time to eat a quick bite of lunch and then grab my brother and head out to my mom's for a visit. We stayed out there for a couple of hours and then came home, had dinner, and just enjoyed a quiet evening.
This morning, I worked on my test knit and my prayer shawl. After lunch, I made a double batch of Cheesy Mostaciolli. One of our favorite dishes. We are going to a party tomorrow night and I offered to make dinner for the occasion. If I hadn't, we would have ended up with sub sandwiches and chips. Nobody there is cooking at the present time so I thought a home cooked meal would be welcomed. I take over banana bread when ever I make 2 loaves and they are so thankful for it. This is the home where my girlfriend has lung cancer that has metastasized to her brain and her husband has had a stroke. Their son lives there but he works afternoons until midnight. Their daughters have been helping out as much as they can, but they also work and have families to care for.
Tonight, I am serving leftovers for dinner. We have a lot of them! I don't want to throw out a lot of food. My brother has no issue with left overs either. Thank goodness.
That way, I can work on my crafting tonight. I also need to do a few loads of laundry again. I don't know where all those dirty clothes are coming from. There are only 2 of us living here. LOL I am also in need of paying some attention to my craftroom. When I cleaned out the guestroom, I took a few items into my craftroom to store them. It is a bunch of photos from 15 years or more. I don't want to toss them. All of them are framed too. I might figure out a way to hang them in the hallway leading to all the bedrooms. It would make a wonderful story of our lives.
That is about all I have at the present time. Our plumber just showed up. Our faucet in our master bath is dripping and needed a new cartridge in it. It took 2 weeks for the cartridge to arrive. I will be so glad to have that fixed. I just think of all the water that is being wasted and we pay for that!
Until next time....................which should be on Sunday........................happy crafting!!!!
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Lots to do
I have a busy schedule today. Good thing my dinner is in the crockpot already or we wouldn't be eating tonight lol.
After our shopping trip on Sunday I was exhausted and didn't clean up my fruits and veggies like I normally do. So, that is getting done this morning. I need to put pillow cases on the guest pillows and then that room is ready for my brother's arrival later today. The dishwasher needs emptying as does the dish rack with the hand washed pots and pans. I have crochet class today, just after lunch. This is the next to last class and we are moving quickly in there now.
Yesterday, my main goal in life was to clean my shower curtain rod. My shower curtain hooks were supposed to be "rust resistant". Not.......I have a stainless steel shower curtain rod and the hooks had rusted all over it. I finally got it clean after using; dry paper towel to remove loose rust, magic eraser, non scratch scotch brite sponge and best of all, baking soda paste. I now have a lovely new shower curtain and plastic rings hanging up.
I finally finished my prayer shawl yesterday evening............um, make that LATE evening. I was up again until midnight, but it is done and all the labels from our prayers shawl ministry are sewn on it. I will turn it in tomorrow. I already have a new pattern printed and the yarn ready to go. I will start that this afternoon after I return from class.
I am also in another test knit. I love doing them and I almost exclusively do them for Knitterarium. (AKA, Ruth) This is another sock test knit and I am learning a new stitch with it. How exciting that is for me.
So between those 2 items, I will be plenty busy for the next few weeks. I am hoping to get the shawl done in 2 weeks. I am leaving for Texas on the 24th and want it completed by then. The sock will travel with me as it isn't due until June 5th. I should have plenty of time to work on it while being with my grandchildren. I have other WIPs that will travel with me, just in case, too. My Spring Tulip Socks will go with me and maybe another shawl will sneak into my suitcase.
Until next time. . . . . . . . Happy Crafting! ! ! ! !
After our shopping trip on Sunday I was exhausted and didn't clean up my fruits and veggies like I normally do. So, that is getting done this morning. I need to put pillow cases on the guest pillows and then that room is ready for my brother's arrival later today. The dishwasher needs emptying as does the dish rack with the hand washed pots and pans. I have crochet class today, just after lunch. This is the next to last class and we are moving quickly in there now.
Yesterday, my main goal in life was to clean my shower curtain rod. My shower curtain hooks were supposed to be "rust resistant". Not.......I have a stainless steel shower curtain rod and the hooks had rusted all over it. I finally got it clean after using; dry paper towel to remove loose rust, magic eraser, non scratch scotch brite sponge and best of all, baking soda paste. I now have a lovely new shower curtain and plastic rings hanging up.
I finally finished my prayer shawl yesterday evening............um, make that LATE evening. I was up again until midnight, but it is done and all the labels from our prayers shawl ministry are sewn on it. I will turn it in tomorrow. I already have a new pattern printed and the yarn ready to go. I will start that this afternoon after I return from class.
I am also in another test knit. I love doing them and I almost exclusively do them for Knitterarium. (AKA, Ruth) This is another sock test knit and I am learning a new stitch with it. How exciting that is for me.
So between those 2 items, I will be plenty busy for the next few weeks. I am hoping to get the shawl done in 2 weeks. I am leaving for Texas on the 24th and want it completed by then. The sock will travel with me as it isn't due until June 5th. I should have plenty of time to work on it while being with my grandchildren. I have other WIPs that will travel with me, just in case, too. My Spring Tulip Socks will go with me and maybe another shawl will sneak into my suitcase.
Until next time. . . . . . . . Happy Crafting! ! ! ! !
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Knitting at midnight......not smart
I am trying so hard to finish my shawl. Each day has seen quite a bit of progress. There are a total of 98 rows and on Sunday I was at row 48. By Monday evening row 82 was just about to be completed when I noticed my pattern stitch count was off. As I looked over the row, I discovered the mistake 15 stitches from the beginning of said row. Each row is 225 stitches and i only had 4 stitches left to complete the row. Could I live with the mistake? Was it going to mess anything up in the grand scheme of things? I looked at the clock and it is 11:45pm. Nope, there is no way I am going to allow a shawl with my name on it, to go out with a mistake that will throw off the rhythm of the pattern. I started tinking back and by midnight, I still had about 100 stitches to go back. I gently laid the shawl down and proceeded to retire for the evening.
It is now 8:30am and as I sit here looking at the shawl, I actually am excited to complete the frogging and to carry on with the knitting. I had planned on the shawl being off the needles today. That may not happen but.......it will be completed before our next prayer shawl meeting on Thursday. Each row takes me about 30 minutes to complete, depending on what stitch is required. There are 17 rows left to complete so I am figuring 8 hours of knit time. Totally doable.
My brother arrives tomorrow afternoon. He is riding his motorcycle from East Texas to here. Needless to say, it is a 2 day ride. I have all the menus planned, his room is ready, bed has fresh linens in it, window has been opened to make is smell fresh and nice. Hopefully he will be comfortable and enjoy his stay. We do not make any plans for him as he does have a couple of friends in the area that he likes to visit. However, we also do not change our schedule because of his visit. That's how our family does things. He is here to see mom and only sees her twice a year, so we let him have as much time with her as he wants. She so looks forward to his visits too.
On a totally different note..............we are having the craziest weather here in the Phoenix area. This winter was sooooo mild. I never wore anything heavier than a hoodie for warmth and that was only about 5 times. We started warming up quickly in March and then we would cool off for a few days and then hot then cool than hot....anyway, you get the picture. So last week it was over 100F and dry as a bone. That is normal. All of a sudden, Saturday, the wind was gusting at 50 MPH, the temps were dropping and the humidity was rising. Sunday was pleasant although a bit dreary looking with the highs in the 80s. Monday was sunny and bright with 80s once again. Monday night.....the rains hit. WE DON'T GET RAIN IN MAY IN PHOENIX! Woke up to 55 degrees this morning with a high in the low 70s expected. I love the cooler temps, but by the weekend we will be flirting with 100 degrees again.
Some of you might wonder why this is so important. I have a swimming pool. It is heated by the sun and outdoor temperatures. For me to stick my body in the pool, I need the water temp to be nearing 80. For that to happen, I need hot days and warm nights to be consistent with no rain. The pool was up to about 74 before yesterday hit. Now it is back to 70. I would love to be able to swim right now for my exercise. Not gonna happen for a while now. Oh well..............It should be ready by June lol.
Better close and grab that shawl and finish frogging. Lots of small details to finish up today before I can sit down in good conscience and wordk solely on my shawl.
Until next time............Happy Crafting! ! ! !
It is now 8:30am and as I sit here looking at the shawl, I actually am excited to complete the frogging and to carry on with the knitting. I had planned on the shawl being off the needles today. That may not happen but.......it will be completed before our next prayer shawl meeting on Thursday. Each row takes me about 30 minutes to complete, depending on what stitch is required. There are 17 rows left to complete so I am figuring 8 hours of knit time. Totally doable.
My brother arrives tomorrow afternoon. He is riding his motorcycle from East Texas to here. Needless to say, it is a 2 day ride. I have all the menus planned, his room is ready, bed has fresh linens in it, window has been opened to make is smell fresh and nice. Hopefully he will be comfortable and enjoy his stay. We do not make any plans for him as he does have a couple of friends in the area that he likes to visit. However, we also do not change our schedule because of his visit. That's how our family does things. He is here to see mom and only sees her twice a year, so we let him have as much time with her as he wants. She so looks forward to his visits too.
On a totally different note..............we are having the craziest weather here in the Phoenix area. This winter was sooooo mild. I never wore anything heavier than a hoodie for warmth and that was only about 5 times. We started warming up quickly in March and then we would cool off for a few days and then hot then cool than hot....anyway, you get the picture. So last week it was over 100F and dry as a bone. That is normal. All of a sudden, Saturday, the wind was gusting at 50 MPH, the temps were dropping and the humidity was rising. Sunday was pleasant although a bit dreary looking with the highs in the 80s. Monday was sunny and bright with 80s once again. Monday night.....the rains hit. WE DON'T GET RAIN IN MAY IN PHOENIX! Woke up to 55 degrees this morning with a high in the low 70s expected. I love the cooler temps, but by the weekend we will be flirting with 100 degrees again.
Some of you might wonder why this is so important. I have a swimming pool. It is heated by the sun and outdoor temperatures. For me to stick my body in the pool, I need the water temp to be nearing 80. For that to happen, I need hot days and warm nights to be consistent with no rain. The pool was up to about 74 before yesterday hit. Now it is back to 70. I would love to be able to swim right now for my exercise. Not gonna happen for a while now. Oh well..............It should be ready by June lol.
Better close and grab that shawl and finish frogging. Lots of small details to finish up today before I can sit down in good conscience and wordk solely on my shawl.
Until next time............Happy Crafting! ! ! !
Sunday, May 7, 2017
YOP 6, Week 45
Welcome friends and family. Another YOP week has passed by again. This week flew by for me. I have been so busy getting our guest room decluttered and still maintaining my normal weekly schedule.
I am pleased to announce.....................the guest room has been decluttered and is ready to receive my brother's arrival on Wednesday this week. The bed still need to be made, but I prefer to do that just before he arrives so the sheets are crisp and non-dusty. Living in Arizona, we could dust daily and you would never know we dusted. That is what happens when you live in a desert. The decluttering went fairly smoothly. Hubby allowed me to have full reign in there and never once came in to make sure I was not throwing away anything that he might 'need'. I even found some treasures I had forgotten we even had. Some lovely pictures from about 25 years ago, when I was skinny and young and hubby had dark hair and lots of it.
My other weekly activities of visiting my mom, teaching crochet, prayer shawl ministries went off without any problems. There are only 2 more weeks of the crochet class, I am going to miss those girls. They have been a joy to be around. The prayer shawl ministry is on going and I am happy for that. I have grown very fond of the ladies in the group and so enjoy being with them each week. It is the perfect time to let ourselves be ourselves. I have learned some new skills and am so excited to try them out shortly. Let me show you:
It's a rotary cutter, skip blades, cutter guide and self healing cutter mat. Don't get all excited, I am not taking up quilting. I gave that a try 35 years ago and had no love for it at all. This is going to make it possible for me to put EVENLY SPACED holes in the edges of dishtowels and baby blanket fleece so I can crochet borders on them. We have an unwed mother's home attached to our church and they are in need of blankets all the time. We house up to 7 mom's there and they stay there for up to 6 months after their babies are born. Those babies need blankets along with other items we make for them in crochet class. As for the dishtowels..........................my family uses those all the time by hanging them on the stove handles. They make wonderful gifts, so that will be part of their Christmas this year.
Other items that have been going on this week craft wise:
Finished mom's second pair of bed socks on Monday. She was so happy to get them. I need to dig through my stash and find some more feminine colored yarn for her. I am sure there is some in there somewhere.
I have also been working on my stitch sampler shawl:
Last time I showed this, I had just completed the second row of the pink. I am enjoying working on this in the evenings while watching TV. I would like to do another one and next time, I think I will just use a variegated yarn. Trying to figure out where to add new colors on this pattern has not been easy and is not working out the way I had planned. It has been fun to work with though. I also think, if I was not changing color all the time, it would progress much faster. I will say, I am more than halfway done with it so it should be coming off the needles in the next week.
I have not worked on anything else this past week. I was way too bush to try and work on multiple projects so have been pretty much monogamous to the shawl once the socks were done.
This being Sunday, and having gone to Church last night, hubby and I will be doing some shopping today to prepare our cupboards for our incoming guest. I already made the menus and grocery list for the next 10 days. Now I need to take the grocery list and go through my pantry to see what I already have so I don't duplicate. I also need to go through our freezer to see if I have all the meats I need for the menus. I believe I do other than a roast I might need for our Italian beef sandwiches.
Next Sunday is Mother's Day, here in the USA. We are planning a BBQ at my mom's assisted living facility. She loves getting outdoors and doesn't get to do that unless we take her out. Hopefully the weather will behave. Right now it is predicted to be near 95 that day, hopefully it will be late in the afternoon before it reaches that high. And if there is a breeze, that will help a lot.
I know I am forgetting something of importance here...............................I guess I can always blog about it tomorrow or the next day, when I remember what it was. Thank goodness I use my bullet journal for jotting down things like that.
Until next time......................Happy Crafting!!!!
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Tuesday morning
It is very quiet in my house. I woke up a couple of hours ago, have watched the sunrise, made my to do list for the day and now am waiting for the Mr to awaken so I can get a shower and head out to do errands. Our temperatures are heating up which means errands will be done in the early morning hours and the afternoons will be spent knitting, crocheting, decluttering and anything else that can be done indoors. We will hit 103F on Friday.
Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day for me. I did go and visit my mom in the afternoon. I worked on the bedsock and got past the heel. But my proudest accomplishments yesterday, were the two meals I made.
Most of you know, I am on Weight Watchers. I have good days and not so good days. My eating is controlled by my emotions which is what I am trying to work through.
Yesterday was a pretty good day..........the afternoon got to me a bit but over all, a good day.
Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day for me. I did go and visit my mom in the afternoon. I worked on the bedsock and got past the heel. But my proudest accomplishments yesterday, were the two meals I made.
Most of you know, I am on Weight Watchers. I have good days and not so good days. My eating is controlled by my emotions which is what I am trying to work through.
Yesterday was a pretty good day..........the afternoon got to me a bit but over all, a good day.
This was my lunch. I love adding fruit to my veggie salads. It brightens up the appearence of the salad and tickles the taste buds. This is what it had; romaine lettuce, smoked deli turkey, cucumbers, jicama, strawberries, mango and grapes. Topped with a raspberry vinegrette dressing. Made me so full and was so delicious.
Yummy dinner. That is spiralized zucchini to substitute for noodles. This is kung pao chicken from Skinnytaste.com. We love her recipes, but most of them require a bit of prep and time. Being retired, that isn't too much of an issue.
Tonight, I am making a new recipe. Fingers are crossed that it is yummilicious. Hubby is a great sport about trying new recipes. In the past 5 years, we have only come across 3 that we threw out. Not a bad average since I introduce 2-3 recipes a week.
Today I am starting on the declutter of the guest room. First off is taking all the completed puzzles to the used book store to see how many they will buy from me. I probably have 25 puzzles from my mom that need to leave the house. Then it is a matter of going through the book shelves in there and tidying them up. I will get the bed made and the room dusted and viola!!!!!! All ready for my brother's visit. It should be completed by Friday at the lastest.
What is on your agenda this week?
Until next time...........happy crafting!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)