TGIF

Happy Friday, everyone.  Hope you are ready for a fun weekend.  We are.  Yet, before we could sit back and relax for the weekend, there were things we needed to accomplish.  

First thing this morning, I took the Grand Daughter to school.  That 5:30 AM wake up was tough.  Especially since I did not go to bed until almost midnight.  By the time I got back home it was after 8.  I roused up the hubby and got the dogs fed.  Around noon, we decided to get out and get our errands for the day/weekend done.

First stop was Costco.  I had picked up my sunglasses and regular glasses on Wednesday.  I discovered the sunglasses were not working for me.  The progressive part of the glasses started way too high for me to drive comfortably unless my chin was on my chest.  The tech at Costco was able to replace the nose pieces and adjust them so I now can use them to drive with no issues.  We have gotten our glasses from Costco for several years and have never had an issue with them.  They are always ready to help out and the cost is so much better than our eye Doctor's office.  I got 2 pair of glasses for under $250.  I do have insurance that covers  some of it, but still, at the Dr office, they wanted almost $400 for just 1 pair of glasses with the insurance!  

Our next stop was our favorite Mexican restaurant.  Their lunch special today was a spinach enchilada smothered in Fundido sauce.  So very yummy.  It was so nice to just be able to sit and talk with each other without any interruptions.

Our final stop was our grocery store.  They had a super great sale going on for so many items.  We picked up some spare ribs and t-bones.  There were fruits, fresh veggies and something new to me...... a horseradish root.  Hubby and I love horseradish.  Our issue is, all the store bought stuff is so mild even if it says 'hot' on the label.  Since we are making brisket for the Super Bowl, we wanted some horseradish to put on the meat after it was cooked.  We spent over an hour at the store but had so much fun.  I know, fun is not a word most people use while grocery shopping.  Anyway, we finally got home around 3:30 and are now kicking back and relaxing a bit.  (We did put everything away first)

Since we had a nice lunch out, tonight we will just have some shrimp cocktail and some veggies.  As we have aged, we can no longer have more than one 'large' meal a day.  I prefer to have it at lunch.  Hubby doesn't care when we have the 'large' meal, he just wants to have one each day.  LOL  Like I wouldn't feed him.  We eat late at night so often, having our main meal at lunch just makes sense.  Now, to just get my brain wrapped around that idea.

We got a call today from BBBS (big brother, big sisters) looking to see if we had anything for pick up in 2 weeks.  OH YES!  Come on by.  I have already started a couple of boxes of items to leave the house.  Knick Knacks are being scrutinized.  Or as I have come to call them.......dust collectors.  I do like to have little knick knacks sitting around the house.  Most of them are religious items.   I remember when my grandmother passed away and all the knick knacks she had around.  Good golly, I do not want my children to have to go through all that mess.  I really need to get that book Becki suggested, "Decluttering at the Speed of Life".  I have a hold on it at the library.  Hopefully it will come in pretty soon.

Are you interested in the Super Bowl this year?   

   This is the first time in many years I really want to watch the game.

                                                                 

Do you watch it just for the commercials or the half time show?  

  That was my normal MO.  I loved the commercials but lately, they have been very         disappointing.  Even the half time shows have left me feeling flat.

Who are you routing for this year?

   I was raised in Kansas, so this family will be routing for the Chiefs!  Go KC!

You are welcomed to answer these questions in the comments section.

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

Doggie Day

It was another dog sitting day for me.  Thor and I are becoming close buds.  The best part of being with him today was it gave me quite a bit of time to knit.  I also got to work on my computer for a while and got some needed emails sent out.  There was also several chick flicks watched with him.  He seemed to like the movies.

See how happy he is?  He has no concept about personal space.  This was my last day this week to dog sit.  His other grandparents will be with him tomorrow.  Although, I do get the pleasure of taking his mistress to school at 7:15 tomorrow morning!  Oh yea!

Hubby arrived home safe and sound. He is very glad to be back home and is looking forward to sleeping in his own bed.  I don't blame him.  I always miss my bed when I travel. 

Frustration has struck me tonight.  We got a new printer a couple of weeks ago.  I have had issues getting it paired to my phone from day one.  OK, no biggie.  I did get it paired with my laptop.  I have used it from my laptop with no issue.  Tonight, I wanted to make a birthday card to be delivered tomorrow.  Nothing will print from any computer or laptop.  It keeps saying the printer is offline.  Hubby worked with it, I worked with it, we both are frustrated.  We will work with it again tomorrow.  Throwing it out a window has crossed my mind more than once.  Why do I have a feeling we are going to have to uninstall it and reinstall it again.  UGH!

Time to pick up my knitting again and see how much more I can get done on the item I am working on today.

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

LAZY MORNING

I did not make it to bed until 1 this morning and slept until 7:30, so that is not too bad.  There was a meeting scheduled for 10 today, at the church.  Good thing I check my emails first thing in the morning.  The meeting got moved to a phone meeting.  How nice to be able to sit in my PJ's all morning.  Even my dogs slept in with me and they have been pretty laid back all day too.

I will be leaving the house this afternoon to pick up a couple of gift cards.  My prescription sunglasses are ready to be picked up, so that will get done today too.  While there, I will hop next door to Winco and pick up the few grocery items I need for the rest of the week.  After all that, I will come home, put away the groceries, feed the dogs and then head off to Trivia.  Looks like there will only be my daughter and myself there tonight.  Hubby is still in Vegas, Grand is working on the school play and have not heard from the cousin as to his plans.  That's ok, we will still have a good time.

As for the shawl I was working on......................it is finished!  That is one of the reasons I stayed up so late.

Hopefully, I will have time to drop by the Prayer Shawl Ministry tomorrow and turn all the shawls in as well as all that yarn I cleaned out of my stash.

Now that I have 2 finishes this week, I am hoping the startitis has been cured so I can get some of my other projects (only 6 now) closer to the finish line.  There won't be much crafting time today, unfortunately.  Tomorrow will be a much better day for knitting.  It is another Grand Dog sitting day.  That gives me about 8 hours of knitting time.

My daughter sent me a request yesterday.  She would like me to make a dozen white dishcloths for a wedding gift.  What a wonderful idea!  I will be happy to make them.  The truth be told, I already have one or two white cloths made and in my 'quick gift' box.  That is one of the best 'take along' projects next to socks.  She doesn't need them until the end of April.  Gives me plenty of time to get them made.

Hubby is coming home tomorrow!  It will be nice to have another human to talk to again.  The dogs are great listeners but lousy at carrying their part of the conversation.  Since I am going to be gone for the day, there is a crockpot dinner being planned for tomorrow night too.  

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

TUESDAY

This day seemed to just fly by.  I got up around 6 and immediately threw in a load of laundry.  After that was done I got everything together I needed for my day of dog sitting.  I arrived for my doggie day around 9:30.  He was so happy to see me.  He was by my side almost all day long.  

This photo is quite deceiving.  You are probably thinking "what a sweet relaxed dog".  Well, he was until I took him for his last night of dog training at 6pm.  He became the most hyper dog ever.  He wanted to play with all the other dogs but does not realize how big he is and most of the other dogs are VERY little.  My daughter in law was there to work with him in the training pen.  I was going to watch but he kept trying to come to me for loves.  I finally had to leave the area.  There was no place to sit down so I walked around a pet store for 2 hours.  Not a lot of fun, but I did get to pet some of the sweetest dogs.    

While I was dog sitting I continued working on the shawl I started yesterday.  I am doing the "To the Point" shawl again.  It is one of my favorites to do for the prayer shawl ministry.  It lays over the shoulders so nicely and stays there.

I am making this one in black and white.  Do you see those little specks of white in the black section?  Those are sparkles.  The white has them too but did not photograph well.  I have about 7 more rows to do and then I will be done with it.  I still have hopes of completing it tonight.

I have a little funny for you tonight.  My Grand Daughter loves sayings like:  Not the brightest candle on the cake.  Or; Not the shiniest gem in the jewelry store.  So I found this one on FB the other day.

I sent it to her and she loved it.  

I have a chick flick on and will work on the shawl until my eyelids can not longer stay open.

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

Monday

Guess where I am going with the above lovely graphic.  Ding, ding, ding!  Winner, Winner chicken dinner!  Yup, I spent most of my day in my craft room closet getting it all straightened out.  I did not take any photos of it.  What I did take a photo of is what I have removed from that closet and also from other parts of my craft room.

That, my friends, is all yarn in those bags.  There is blanket yarn, bulky yarn, scratchy nasty yarn, fake fur yarn, sequin yarn, and all sorts of strange yarn I will never ever use.  What a difference it makes when I walk into the craft room to find some yarn to make items with.  I also got all my loose patterns put into page protectors and into their appropriate 3 ring binders.  There is still quite a bit of 'stuff' I could probably get rid of but..................baby steps.  You wouldn't want me to have an anxiety attack, would you?  Before you wonder where all that yarn is heading....................I will be donating it to the Prayer Shawl Ministry at church.  They are always looking for yarn.  I am more than happy to oblige.  

Never fear.................I still have plenty of yarn.  Probably more than I will ever be able to use in my lifetime.

After I got all that done, I got the pleasure of picking up the Grand from school today.  I got her home, she ate a quick and early dinner and then I took her back to school.  She has 'tech' week.  This means she will be working at school each night helping with behind the scenes stuff for the school play that starts this weekend.  She is totally stoked about doing this.

I rushed home to try and get my dinner made as I was to be at the Church for a Bible class that started tonight.  Best laid plans and all that stuff.  I didn't make it to the class.  Instead, I am now sitting here with this serene scene in front of me.

I love my 'electric' candles.  This is our fireplace.  Since we seldom can have a real fire because of air quality, we have placed candles in it.  It creates quite an ambiance.  Love it!

Oh!!!!  While I was cleaning up the yarn mess I had made in the craft room,  I decided to start another shawl.  I KNOW!!!!!  But this one is crocheted and is the one I normally make for the Prayer Shawl Ministry at church.  It only takes a couple of days to complete this pattern.  I am hoping to be able to deliver all the shawls I have made for the Prayer Shawl Ministry as well as all that yarn, this week.  They meet on Thursday morning.  I have Grand Dog duty that day but should be able to drop it all off before I need to be with the puppy.

Speaking of completing something.  I finally finished this:

This is the Forest Path shawl.  But...............it is not a shawl.  It is actually the size of a lapghan. (it is folded in half lengthwise)  I am so happy to have this off the needles. WOOHOO!  Another Prayer Shawl item.  That makes 3 and hopefully one more before Thursday.

Time to go and put the trash out to the curb.  Then back to my crocheting.

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

WEEK 30!!!!

It's Sunday again.  That means it is time for another update on my crafting week.  Some of you read my blog daily.  So, some of this content will be a repeat of what got posted during the week.  Sorry about that.  So let's get to it!

I finished "the child" #2

It is a bit larger than #1 by about 2 inches.  I have no idea why other than the fact I used a different yarn for it's head/body.  The same hook was used and the same instructions.  Oh well.  It is ok.  The person receiving this is a big man so it actually was perfect for him.  Yes, he loved it.

This week saw me having a bad case of Startitis.  I tried to ignore the symptoms in hopes it would go away in a day or two.  No such luck.  Two new projects were started this week.  It's not like I don't have any projects on the go as it is.  Take a look.

I know there are some of you with way more than 7 WIP's going on.  This is not normal for me.  Let's talk about each one.

#1. My 'Kid Silk Haze Shawl' done in alpaca.  Started this in September and just stopped             after a couple of weeks.

#2 'Raspberry Field Shawl' started on Thursday.  I don't know why I started it, but it felt                good to do so.

#3  Boxy Sweater of my own design.  Started this in November of 2015!!!!  This isn't cheap          yarn I am using for it either.  You would think I would get it done.

#4  "Feather and Fan Shawl" started it on Monday.  The yarn for this has been sitting in my         stash for several years.  I got it on one of our trips to Las Vegas at Sin City Knits.  What          a great LYS!

#5  The 'It Really Fits Cardigan'. Started this in September with hopes of it being done in              October.  Seeing I had to frog it once and start again, since it was WAY too big.  I am            on sleeve #1 and I DID work on it this week.

#6  'Scatterby socks" for the hubby.  Started on December 18th.  I really did try and get                 these done this past week.  Still have about 4 inches to go on the leg or until the yarn           runs out.  Whichever comes first

#7  'Forrest Path Shawl" started July 2018.  This is a shawl for the prayer shawl ministry at           my church.  I have not attended any meetings since January of last year.  My heart has         not been in it since the death of my mom and brother.  I will finish this shawl and turn it         in to the group so it can be used.

There are 3 other project bags sitting in my craft room with the yarn and patterns in them.  I really am trying hard not to start anymore projects.  There is another shawl pattern I want to start, 2 sweaters and several more socks.  Lucky for me, I only have so many needles and hooks.  Hold me back!!!!!!  

I did take a little look at my Year 9 list and really, I am not doing too bad this year.  Wanna see?  Of course you do!  

YOP 9 GOALS

Finish Boxy Sweater started in 2015   ZERO WORK DONE ON IT

Finish Eva Shawl started in 2011  FROGGED

Finish Forrest Path Shawl started in 2018  HAVE ADDED 2 MORE SECTIONS TO IT

Summer Top for me HAVE 2 OF THEM IN PROJECT BAGS AND READY TO GO
  Spotting Clouds ( this time with fingering yarn )

Cardigan for me  HAVE 1.5 SLEEVES AND BUTTON BAND LEFT TO DO
  It Really Fits  Cardigan 

Short Socks  4 PAIRS COMPLETED

Regular Socks  1 PAIR DONE AND 1 PAIR ON THE NEEDLES

Project bags/totes  ZERO

Market bags  ZERO

Produce Bags  ZERO

Tissue Box Covers  ZERO

Plastic Canvas Nativity bought in 2009  CUT OUT A FEW PIECES

Bookmarks  ZERO

Shawls for both Prayer Shawl and Personal  1 COMPLETED AND 4 ON THE NEEDLES

Blanket/Throw  30 VICTORIAN LACE SQUARES DONE
  Polly Plum Squares
   

Dishcloths  ZERO
  DW Pattern (no longer available online!)

Doilies/Table Runners  ZERO

Baby Items
Wee Sherlock  4 COMPLETED
Little Boy Blue   4 COMPLETED
Easy-Peasy No Sew, Stay On Baby Booties  2 PAIR COMPLETED

Purchase of yarn is prohibited!!!!!  I have over 21,000 miles of yarn to play with this year.  (38,481,140 yards)  DID PURCHASE COZY ALPACA YARN FOR ONE BABY OUTFIT BUT ALSO GOT A SHAWL OUT OF THE LEFTOVERS

Any other project that falls into my lap.  1 BABY BLANKET AS WELL AS 2 BABY YODA'S AND A BABY LOVEY.  ALSO BEEN MAKING FUN THINGS WITH MY CRICUT.

Now, if I can complete the 7 items I have going and stick to the above plan........and that is a BIG if,  I would feel accomplished.  The one thing I have noticed is, I am in love with shawls.  Our weather here is so moderate, shawls are the perfect thing to carry with me in case someplace has their A/C really cranking out cold air.  There are 4 or 5 shawls in my closet and I do wear them quite often.  I started out making them in neutral colors.  Now I am having fun using colors I love.   My second favorite thing is socks.  Now that I do the short socks, there will be more of those coming up.  Short socks get worn here year round with our tennis shoes.   Do you have a favorite item you knit or crochet?

I do have something else to show you that is NOT fiber related.

This is the orchid my hubby purchased for me last year shortly after my brother passed away. I have transplanted and babied this thing for the past year.  My efforts have been rewarded with new blossoms.  I am so happy.  My mom tried for over 2 years to get hers to bloom again and it never did.  I have another orchid sitting next to this one.  It is a lovely purple one.  The blooms on it are almost all done and then I will transplant it into a larger container and hopefully it will reward me in another year with blossoms too.

Hubby left this morning for Las Vegas to see his mom and make sure things are ready for her to move back home.  While he is gone I will be busy helping out with my Grand Dog and Grand Daughter as my son is going on a business trip for the week.  Hopefully, I will also finish getting my craft closet cleaned out so I can move some more things around in my craft room and open up some more floor space.  

There is a loaf of bread cooking in the bread machine.  There will be some knitting done today as well as watching a couple of chic flicks.  Time to go and get busy if I am to get everything on my "to do" list done before I fall asleep tonight.

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