YOP LIST 2023-2024

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Just Chillin


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That's me....................Just Chillin....................and if you believe that, you do not know me very well.  Just sayin.

After I finished my blog on Tuesday, I noticed my female dog was having some major issues when she got off the couch and even when she tried to jump up on the couch.  I watched her and called the vet and they were booked for the rest of the day.  So after dinner I took her to the emergency vet to have her looked at.  Diagnosis..............pinched nerve in her neck.  They put her on anti-inflammatory, pain pills and muscle relaxants.  She was such a mellow dog for the next 48 hours.  She is doing much better today and I have not given her any meds, but I noticed just a bit ago, she is starting to be very cautious about jumping off the couch again.  I will medicate her before bed tonight and see if that and sleeping for several hours straight will put the finishing touches on her boo boo.

I wish animals could communicate with us.  It would make it so much easier when we take them to the vet.  LOL  I am thankful it was just that.  He told me if she was no better or even worse by Friday to get her into our vet ASAP but he was pretty sure that was it.  I was concerned it was her back but he showed me how to read the signs of pain when you work certain areas of their body.  Good to know so next time, (hopefully there won't be one) I can work her body and look for the signs he showed me.  What a nice guy he was.  I knew he was not full of himself when he walked into our room and introduced him self saying, " Hi, I'm Brian".  Not Doctor attached to his name and so very laid back and easy to work with.

Wednesday was spent keeping an eye on the dog and trying and get a few household chores done.  I made another loaf of bread.  Those loaves are small and only last about 3-4 days max.  That's ok.  That way, they do not get stale at all.  I also cleaned out the fridge, made kale chips and chard chips.  Cleaned and froze my blueberries, blackberries, and power greens for smoothies.  I did not get to that on Tuesday so was scrambling to get it all done yesterday.  I also finished up all the laundry and got it all put away too.  That is the hardest part for me............putting it away.  I am so worn out after doing 4 or 5 loads of laundry I could care less if it got put away or if we used it out of the laundry baskets.  Bad Bad me.

Today was prayer shawl day.  I had not been for 3 weeks and decided I should really get back there.  I was glad I did.  There were only 8 people there total so it was a nice intimate group and we had a blast talking and laughing.

I started a new shawl too.  No, I am not done with my Grainne.  I wanted one that would work up fast and that meant crocheting one.  My grainne will get completed but right now I need quick projects for prayer shawl since I am not working on them at home until Log cabin is completed.

So this is what I started:


Not too shabby for only working on it for 1.5 hours total.  It is already half done.  I will complete it next week and get everything sewn onto it for the shawl closet and then that is another 2 skeins of yarn out of my stash GONE!  This is just an half granny square shawl and it being done with Premiere Sweet Roll yarn and a size J hook.  It may take 3 skeins, which is fine as I have 5 of this color.  We will see next week.

I also started reading a different book this week.


I am liking it so far.  I have a feeling I already know how it is going to end even though I am only in the 4th chapter.  I might get surprised and if I do................all the better.  I just hope this ends better than the other book I read about a Down's Syndrome person.

I have a pork roast in the crockpot along with baby brussel sprouts and apples.  (More leafy greens!)  It is a new recipe and smells really good.  Finger crossed it turns out wonderful as I am really getting hungry smelling it and it still has about an hour to cook.

After dinner tonight, I am going to make tomorrow night's dinner.  Cheesy Mostaccioli!  One of our favorites.  I will be using gluten free pasta, organic pasta sauce, fresh chicken Italian sausage (all natural from a local market) and then canned cheddar cheese soup (oops, can''t have everything) and lots of mozzarella cheese. 

I am making a double batch and will be taking one over to our friends house. I know the husband has not been cooking since the wife is not eating.  I can understand his feelings about not cooking, but he needs to eat! Plus their son lives at home and he also should not be grabbing fast food every night on his way to work.  I doubt Bev will eat any of it as I just found out she is having trouble remembering how to swallow now.  Bev's sister is in town though until Sunday, and I am sure she would like to have something in the house to eat that is REAL food LOL.

My thoughts and prayers have really been on Texas this week.  All of my family there is OK. My heart goes out to all those who have lost so much.  I think what really hits me is........This is the city where many Hurricane Katrina victims went to to start over.  What a horrible thing to have this happen again to them!

Until next time......................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

So Much Info

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Howdy everyone.  It is Tuesday afternoon and my brain is exploding with information we received from our nutritionist today.  But I will talk about that later.  I wanted to tell you about the books I am reading or have read.


I finished this book last night.  Oh my, it was quite funny and even if you have never been divorced, you will find parts of this book applies to anyone of us.  I recommend this book and give it 4 stars!

I ordered more books from Thrift books and received them last week.


I am sure most of you have heard of the Fly Lady.  I love her ideas and finally got her book so I could reference when ever I started to fall down a naughty rabbit hole.  I will be working with it daily for the next few weeks to see if I can totally get everything in this big old house of ours under control once and for all.


This is a small book but I am looking forward to reading it and having a good belly laugh from it.  Fingers crossed it does not disappoint.


Do I really need to explain this one?  If you have never had a hot flash, shame on you.  I have been dealing with them for 14 years.  They have almost become a way of life for me.  Hopefully this will make me chuckle at this phase of my life.............hopefully.


I am sure many of you knitters have already read this book.  I have no idea if it is a great book or not but I am willing to give it a try.

I am going to be ordering more books this next week.  They are the ones that were recommended from the conference and got sold out before we could get to them.  I have a list of about 7 I need to order and it will be split between Thrift books and Amazon depending on the price.

Ok, the nutritionist.  Each time we meet, we get homework from her.  The first time was to switch out from 'flour' and switch to bean flour or spelt flour.  We also needed to go as gluten free as possible as well as non GMO.  Label reading was very important. We also needed to start on some supplements too.

The second time we met with her we were challenged to start making more 'homemade items' like salad dressings, soups, all bread etc.  We were also to get our lazy bodies back to the gym for exercise at least 3 times a week.

We aced both of those homework assignments and today our new assignment was to add more green leafy veggie to our diet.  She is not talking about lettuce either unless it is Arugula.  She is talking about chard, kale, collard greens, spinach, etc.  We can add them into smoothies as well as adding some of the following; beets, fennel, lemon, celery, apples, honey (raw, non heated), ginger, turmeric, cucumber etc to the smoothies.  We are also to avoid corn (unless organic) soy and wheat as these are usually GMO products.

She gave me a recipe for fried rice that uses tofu, veggies, meat of your choice and eggs. Hubby and I both love fried rice so that will be made soon.  We were with her for over an hour today and my head is ready to explode with all the info she gave us.  We go back in 2 weeks again to report on how we did with our homework.  

After we left her office, we headed out and spent the next 2 hours shopping for our leafy veggies.  Dang.................that was a lot of work.  I am going to make kale chips and chard chips tonight in our dehydrator.  I am looking forward to doing that.  Lucky for us, using a dehydrator on 110-115 degrees stills leaves the nutrients in the veggies so they count as raw veggies.  Oh the things you can learn from Google!

Tonight we are having pork chops and I will make the collard greens to go with them.  I might make a small batch of quinoa too as I have a boat load of that and need to use it. I keep forgetting about it..............not used to eating a grain on the side anymore.

Off to do a bit of veggie cleaning and getting it ready to dehydrate and then I am going to sit and knit for a while.

Until next time............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Year 7 Week 9

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Hello, I almost did not post today.  Hubby and I spent the past 3 days across town sitting in a hotel listening to speakers with 1500 other fellow Catholics.  It was very up lifting, inspiring yet I am mentally exhausted.  i will sleep well tonight.

Let's take a look at crating sine that is why we are here.

First up........log cabin


Over half way done with square 2.  I took the last 3 days off from it but..........I still did crafting.


The Petty Harbour socks went with me this weekend.  The sock on the left caught up to where I left off (several months ago) on the right sock.  I then worked solely (pun intended) on the right sock.  I got it to the point where the pattern calls for a heel.  I think I want to make he leg just a tish longer.  I have plenty of yarn left so I am not worried about playing yarn chicken. Alas, the socks are going back into hibernation and the log cabin is my main focus again.

That is all for today.  I just took a loaf of bread out of the bread machine and I am settling in to relax for a couple of hours by reading and then it will be lights out.

Until next time..............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Friday, August 25, 2017

Busy Bees

It is Friday and my weekend is jammed packed starting this afternoon.  Hubby and I will be attending a Marian Conference all weekend in Scottsdale.  We are looking forward to the time we will spend with hundreds of fellow Catholic Christians.  The speakers this year are very different from those we have heard in past years.

I have prepped for our weekend away by making bread, brownies, stocking up on sandwich makings and catching up on all the laundry.  We will take our lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner will be eaten at a nearby restaurant.  I decided to take the Petty Harbour socks to work on during the conference.  They fit very nicely in my large purse where as the log cabin square would require it's own tote bag.  

We were supposed to hit the gym this morning, but I nixed the idea.  Where the conference is, we will be going up and down stairs at least 8 times each day as well as there is quite a bit of walking from one end of the resort to the other.  I feel we will have plenty of activity over the next 2.5 days.  

This morning we have been watching the updates on Hurricane Harvey.  I was concerned about family that lives in Texas.  I do know one of our family members should be fine but am a bit concerned about the other member.  They could receive copious amounts of rain and wind.  The worst part is..........They are out of state and can not do anything to protect their property or animals from the storm.  Needless to say prayers are being said for them and all people in the path of this storm.

My YOP update will probably be late this week.  I should have it up on Monday at the latest. Just think...................you will see something other than a square lol.

Time to go and get ready the start of our weekend.

Until next time...............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Workin' it

I love my life.  I am such a blessed woman.  I have a wonderful husband, fantastic children, super cool grands and a couple of dogs that drive me nuts that I love very much.  It has been almost a month now, since hubby and I have started on our new life style of eating cleaner and with less gluten.  We started taking some new supplements also.  If I has to compare how I feel now compared to a month ago........I would not have believed this way of life could have made that much of a difference.

Let me give you a few examples.  I am not taking hardly any of my RA meds at this point.  I can go for about 5 days before I feel the need to take them.  I have so much more energy and find I am enjoying being busy all day.  My mood is much more positive and I see almost everything with a 'glass half full' attitude now.  I don't get near as irritated while driving or when shopping and people are rude.  It truly is a big difference that I have noticed within myself.  I don't know if hubby feels the same or not.  I will find that out when we go to see the nutritionist again next week.

Hubby and I have gone back to the gym and we have bee really good about it since last Friday.  We go on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's.  I was pretty sore the first 2 times we went, but don't feel that soreness today after spending an hour at the gym.  I was also able to increase the amount of weights today.  My 30 minutes on the treadmill netted me over a mile walk this time too.  I was barely making 3/4 of a mile before.  So, things are looking up for this old lady.

After coming home from the gym, we rested for about 20 minutes and then made our lunch. I did a load of laundry while hubby did errands to grocery stores for me.  While he was gone I did this:


Do you know what it is?  It is one of the reasons he went to the store for me.  I almost ran out of flour!


This is the final product.  A lovely spelt flour banana bread.  Because spelt has less gluten, it rises less than a normal 'white' flour.  Of course, hubby and I had to taste it to see if it tasted ok................................YUM!  It was perfect.  As you can see from the first photo, I made 2 loaves.  One will be going to our neighbor and friend whose wife has the cancer and is on hospice.  It is just the 2 guys there and trust me.................neither of them bake.  

I got my bread slicing guide and new bread knife today too.




Since that arrived I decided to cut the banana bread that I will be delivering later on.  I try and make things as easy as I can for them.  I am planning on making a nice casserole next week and will make enough for 2 pans and will take one over to them too.  I heard they are just snacking since neither of them want to cook and my sick friend is hardly eating anything at this point.  Also, my girlfriends sister is coming in on the 31st and I am sure it would be nice if they had something to feed her that night too.

I am knitting on the square tonight.  I am making good progress on it.  I have to decide if that is going to go with me this weekend to our conference or if I am going to take the socks, since they are much smaller.  Hmmmmmmmm  decisions, decisions.  What do you guys think?  The square is going to be a good 24 inches square when it is finished and it is over half way done at this point.  The socks are small but will it will take me a few rows before I remember the pattern.  I also have a shawl that I could take but it has lace on it.  I would hate to make a boo boo on lace during a religious conference..............If you know what I mean. LOL

Off to make some dinner and knit some more.

Until next time........................happy crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Tuesday Happenings

So much has been going on since I blogged on Sunday morning.  Our Grand went home around 2 Sunday afternoon and boy, was the house quiet.  Before she went home, she did help me in my craft room.  She volunteered to clean up the BIG craft table while I worked on sewing her jean shorts hem and fixed a few broken items.

I will need to re-clean the desk as she arranged it for a right hander and that is not me.  LOL I was just glad she was willing to help.  Of course, she knew if that room got straightened up quickly, we would have time to go swimming before the parental units came to pick her up. Smart girl, huh.

Here is little sample of what I fixed:


I had to glue on the hand on this ornament but....................I think I glued it on upside down.  It is the hand on the left of the photo.  OOPS.

Then there is this little jewel:


She fell off a shelf and her left leg broke pretty badly.  I have started the gluing on it but there seems to be some pieces missing.  I was going to remove her clothing to see how I could re-attach the leg but.................the clothes are sewed shut.  I am gonna have to get my seam ripper and get it apart so I can take a look to see what I am going to do.  There is no way the legs are ever going to be joined again, so I have to decide how I want to attach the legs..................sitting or standing.  I am thinking sitting will be the best at this point.  We will see.

This is my hero:


This is the best glue for putting things back together.  I was introduced to it when I was in the throws of jewelry making.  I use it for just about everything.

Other than the 2 items above, I also fixed a frame and a refrigerator magnet.  After completing all the gluing, I decided to cut my kitchen towels in half so I could crochet toppers on them.


I think I will use either a gray or black yarn and the the other color for the button.  These will hang on my stove handle so I have something that does not fall to the ground every time I touch it with my body.

Yesterday I had the last feeding of my BFF's dog in the morning.  She had asked me to lock him up during the eclipse and then let him out after it was over.  She was concerned he would try and look at the sun..............................don't judge!  After he was fed and locked up, hubby and I hit the gym for about an hour.  We then proceeded home and had lunch and then I went back and let the dog out and went out to visit my mom for a while.  After the visit, we met up with our BFF's for dinner and then came home and I was ready to collapse after all the busyness of the weekend and Monday.

Today was such a treat for me.  I met a friend for lunch.  We had not talked to each other for almost 2 years.  Not because we don't like each other, but because our schedules are just so hectic.  We sat and talked for over 3 hours.  I am sure the restaurant would have liked us to leave earlier, but.................oh well.  LOL  It was so great to catch up with her.  We have decided we are going to do this at least every other month. It is so nice to have friends that you can just pick up talking like you were just together the day before.

After lunch, I headed to the Tonto Forest Ranger station that is here in town.  I got my lifetime national park pass.  If you are over 62 and don't have one, high tail it to where ever you need to go to get one.  The cost is $10 dollars and it is good for life.  After August 28th, the price goes up to $80!  We have quite a few national parks here in Arizona and have been to a couple of them before we turned 62.  Now we can go anytime we want and everyone in our car gets in free too.  How cool is that!  So go out and get that National Parks Pass before next Monday!

I am not home and when I walked in the door there was a huge bouquet of purple flowers waiting for me.



Aren't they pretty?  And my favorite color too.  He is so good to me.  

I am finally home for the rest of the day.  We have lots of leftovers for dinner tonight so I will be able to FINALLY pick up my knitting needles and have a bit of fun with the Log Cabin square #2.

Until next time..............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

YEAR VII, WEEK VIII



Hello everyone.  So nice to be here talking to y'all again.  This has been a fantastic week in our house and I am going to tell you all about it right now.

Let's talk about crafting first:



If you follow me regularly, you know I completed square 1 on Monday evening.  Yes, those are live stitches all the way around the square.  They will be used for either joining the squares or putting the border on.  This is really a very ingenious pattern.  With the first square done I immediately started on the second square.



This is all the further I got this week with it.  I have not touched it for the past 2 days as we have had one of our Grands staying with us and that has consumed all my time.

I have been reading though.  I started a new book last week.



I have not gotten very far into it yet.  It is my bedtime reading and I have only been able to read about 3-4 pages each night and then I am falling asleep.  I have it on my kindle and when you fall asleep with the kindle in your hands, it sends quite a shock wave through you when it falls onto your face LOL.  I will let you know later on, if I like it or not.

I also ordered a couple books this week from Thrift Books..................................

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This is the first time I have ordered from Thrift books but it will not be the last.  Their prices are unbeatable.  Even at my used book store I would have paid way more than I did at Thrift Books.  Shipping is free on any purchase over $10.  That is a pretty good deal in itself.  I have 2 more books coming and they should be here on Monday.  They are both cooking type books to help hubby and I with our new way of life in the kitchen.

I need to thank Sam from farmgirlsam for the recommendation of the 2 books I just received.  If you haven't ever been to her blog, you need to go and give it a shot.  She has some great ideas for reading, home improvement, cooking and of course crafts.

I also am reading this:



I subscribed to this magazine about a year ago and I love it.  I read it cover to cover each month.  It is the only magazine I get and will continue to get.  It has so many great ideas and you can adjust them to make them work in your home.  Plus, there are great articles on so many different things.  This month has a wonderful article about exercise and the fact, slower is better.  Quite timely since hubby and I started back to the gym this week.

And finally...................I present to you.........................................................(drum roll please)




The stinkin' puzzle is completed!  This was a good 6 week project.  It is the map of Disneyland................the happiest place on earth.  Let me tell you................I was the happiest person on earth when I completed it.  I have delivered it to my daughter in law and she has already backed and glued it.  I know this would have gone much quicker if I would have know what places were in which 'land'.  It has been over 25 years since I have been there.  It was 1000 pieces but might has well have been 6000 for the time it took to put it together.  I love puzzles, but this one was a stinker.

I need to start on my Christmas ornaments this week too but before I do..............my craft room looks like a tornado hit it again!  I have been just putting my craft stuff on top of my large craft table and it is now over flowing.  Maybe blond Grand and I will go in there today and do a little work.  She loves to craft and she can do that while I do a bit of tidying up.  We will put on some tunes and dance our way to a clean craft room.

Hubby and I have a religious conference starting on Friday afternoon and it goes until Sunday night.  I am taking my knitting with me as there is lots of sitting time listening to inspirational speakers.  Maybe I will be able to make lots of progress on square #2.  That would put me at the half way mark when that one is done.

I am on dog feeding detail this weekend too.  My bff and her hubby moved their daughter in law to California this weekend.  It was kind of hard to see the young lady go but, her hubby is in the Marines and that is where he is stationed at the present time.  He is deployed right now and she wants to get their apartment all nice and ready for when he comes back.  So while they are doing the moving, I am feeding their big goofy dog.  He thinks he is a lap dog but weighs about 80 pounds. He knows my routine too.  As soon as I get in the door, he runs over to his 'cookie' jar and waits for me to give him his 2 cookies.  Then he eats his food and then he gets lots of petting and loving and I talk to him about all sorts of worldly things.  He agrees with all my points of view too.........................what a great dog!

I am going to bake another loaf of bread today too.  I made one a couple of days ago using our nutritionists recipe................it still did not turn out even with the spelt flour.  So I am going to make my honey spelt flour recipe again.  It turns out every time and I love it.  I also need to take the Grand back to WalMart today.  We got her a pair of ballet flats, on Friday, to wear when she serves at church.  They seemed to fit fine in the store but just about killed her yesterday when she wore them.  Need to go up at least 1/2 size.  While there I am also going to look for a bread slicing guide.  Something like this:


It will make it much easier to slice the homemade bread evenly.  Otherwise, I get super thick or paper thin slices.  

That is about all for today...............I hope you all have had a wonderful week.

Until next time..................................happy crafting!!!!!!!

    

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Terrific Tuesday

It is a glorious day here at Casa De Noce.  The sun is out, the sky is blue, the humidity is lessening and I have been super productive today.

Hubby and I got up early this morning and went to Mass.  It was nice as I got to see our Grand Daughter there and got to meet her 'buddy'.  Each year the 6th through 8th graders 'sponsor' a child from grades 2nd down to Kindergarten.  The older student attends Mass with them each week and makes sure they understand how to behave and what is going on. They also help them learn their way around the school and introduce them to the staff and other students.  In general, they are like a big brother or sister.

Anyway.............I met the Grand's buddy and what a cutie.  She is in the 1st grade and has those cheeks you want to grab and squeeze and then cover them with kisses.  She is very petite too.  This is her first year at our school and my Grand is the one that normally helps new students to feel at home.  It was a match made in heaven.

After Mass, I headed off to Winco to pick up more Spelt flour along with Coconut Palm Sugar and a few other things we were in need of here in the larder.  I left there and flew home so I could get a loaf of bread going in the bread maker.  Now that I have found a flour and recipe that we both love.............it is wonderful to make my own bread and have the house smell like the loving home I have.




Can you smell that yeasty goodness?  This is not the best photo of it, but this is the only one I have.  It is getting cut and eaten for dinner tonight.  I have been having sandwiches on it each day and am loving the flavor of it. Spelt flour is NOT gluten free but.......................it is recommended for people that are sensitive to wheat but NOT for Celiac or gluten allergy people.  Hubby and I are not gluten intolerant, but the nutritionist wants us to eat more naturally and non GMO and try and get away from things like processed flour (even whole wheat).  I will say, when I eat this bread, I do not have that feeling of a rock sitting in my stomach.  I am full, but not miserable.  WOOHOO

As long as I was baking, I decided to make some more brownies (again with the spelt flour).


I had made a batch last week, but they seem to have disappeared.  These are so easy to make from scratch.  They are moist in the middle and very yummy.  Also, spelt flour is high in protein and fiber.  It really is much better for you than processed flour.  There is a learning curve to baking with it and I am still learning that curve.  Right now, I am printing out recipes that use spelt flour but am hoping to be able to take my old recipes and figure out how to do the conversion.

My house smells lovely........................I love the smell of home baked goodies.

I also managed to get a load of laundry done this morning while all that baking was going on.  As I finished up the baking, laundry and lunch, I was just settling in to do some knitting when my phone lit up..............................Doggies have a pedicure appointment in 15 minutes!  WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????   How did I forget about that?

Off I went to the vet to get the dogs toenails trimmed.  Lucky for me we only live about a 4 minute drive from the vet.  It takes longer to get them calmed down so I can put their leashes on them and get them to the car.  They love to go for rides and walks, so the leashes cause quite a reaction.

I arrived back home and put in a few rows on the log cabin blanket SQUARE 2!!!!  Yup, you heard that right.  I finished the first square on Monday evening.  I was so stoked.  I started on square 2 right away.  


There are live stitches on all sides of this square so there is waste yarn threaded through it until I put it all together.  The black will be the outside corners and the orange will make a lovely cross in the middle of the blanket.  Only 3 more squares to make.  I figure another 9 - 12 weeks and I should have the squares done and be ready to assemble it and border it.

As for reading............................I have almost finished another book on my Kindle.


It is a cute book even though it is pretty predictable.  I have really enjoyed reading it before bed as it does not tax my brain too much.  I only have 4% left of the book to read, so should finish it tonight.  The main female character loves to bake which is why I have really enjoyed reading this book.  I too love to be in the kitchen, whether I am baking or cooking.  I just enjoy making things for people to consume.  The satisfaction comes from watching people enjoying something I made with my hands.  Kind of like my knitting and crocheting.  Same feelings.

That gets everyone up to date.  I am going to go and work on a puzzle for a little while. Then back to knitting on square 2.

Until next time......................happy crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!