WEEK 9 of YOP 12

 

Hi there.  Glad you dropped by.  Let's take a look at what kind of things have been happening since the last time we got together.

There are two finishes this week.

This is # 29

This is #30.  Yes, I have made the 'To the Point' shawl 30 times in the past 5 years.  Number 29 was made from my leftover Simply Soft Caron yarns that was used to make some of these shawls.  The black in #30 is the rest of the leftover black from previous shawls.  Have no fear, I still have plenty of worsted weight acrylic yarn to make many more of these shawls.  

I did cast on some more Rose City Roller socks on Thursday.

The yarn is Cozy Toes in the colorway Shine like Summertime.  These will be for ME this time.  The one of the right is ready for the FLK heel.  I am hoping to have the one on the left to that point by the end of today.  If I am lucky and there is nothing pressing for me to do today, I might even get the heels done today.

I spent two days working on our pantry.  I went through every box, can and bottle checking for expiration dates.  Then, I filled 2 boxes with canned goods as well as mac n cheese and salad dressings that I knew we would never get to before they 'expired'.  The food bank, through our church, will not take anything that is past its expiration date. But, my biggest accomplishment was getting my 'baking shelf' totally organized and labeled.

There are still a few more containers to go into this space.  I just got the last of the containers yesterday and need to wash and dry them before using them.  The powdered sugar will go into one of them and then I have rye flour and pumpernickel flour for two other containers.  This makes it so nice to do my bread making and baking of goodies.  No more having to pull bags and boxes out in hopes of being able to get them back in.  Not to mention, when the husband or  man-child needs some sugar or cocoa powder, they can find it without asking for my help.

This weeks cooking was fun for me.  Having our son live with us has given me the chance to really cook again.  I mean, I do cook for hubby and myself, but now when I cook I am much more mindful of making sure there is a protein, veggie and carb in each dinner I serve.  There is also always a sweet treat hanging around for anyone who needs it.  This week, some of the things I made were; bread, flour tortillas, a pot of pinto beans to go with our red chili pork, two batches of brownies and green chili meatloaf.  I discovered our son is not a bread eater but make flour tortillas and he is in heaven.  I enjoy making them too.  So, we have a steady supply of flour tortillas in our kitchen now.

Speaking of the son living with us.........he got a promotion at work this week.  Not too bad for only being here for 2 weeks.  Actually, the company he works for had him in mind for this position from the time they interviewed him.  They just wanted to see what kind of work ethic he had before promoting him.  After spending 23 years in the US Navy, his work ethic is spot on!  We are all very proud of him and the man he has become.  This is not the same person whom we never thought would graduate from high school because of his behavior and attitude.  

It has been nice to see 3 of our 'children' together again.  Our 4th 'child' owns his own business in Washington state and loves it there.  He has no desire to move here.  So we will just be happy with visits from him when he can break away from work.

My dogs are not happy with me.  I took them to the groomers this week for a pedicure.  Normally I do their nails but lately they both have been refusing to be held by my husband while I do the clipping.  Enrique was so good at the groomer.  He wasn't too bad in the car either.  Luna was a mess.  Just trying to get her harness on took two of us.  She kept trying to bite me. Not normal behavior for her.  Finally got her into the car and to the groomers.  I carried her into the groomers as the pavement was very hot and I didn't want to burn the pads of her feet.  It took two people to control her while they did her nails!  This is not Luna!  She is the sweetest and kindest dog I have ever owned.  We think it is because she is deaf and almost blind.  Therefore, she was scared and not sure what was going on and could not hear or see who was around her cooing soft words to her. I felt bad for her.  She has been a bit out of sorts ever since too.  Poor baby.

Today, our son is doing some honey do's for us.  Lights are being hung in the backyard, a new mail box is being installed and a tray added to our Traeger grill.  That pretty much takes care of all our home improvement projects we had lined up for him to do.  Then we can just enjoy our time with him and look forward to when his family comes to join him.

What's new with you?

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

WEEK 8 of YEAR 12

 

Welcome to my weekly Sunday update.  This week was a fun week both craft wise and with life in general.

I have another FO this week.

Another 'To the Point' shawl for our church's prayer shawl ministry.  This one kind of gives me a little Halloween feel.  Maybe I should have added a little orange to it to complete the effect.

Of course, I couldn't let my hook get cold for long so I started another shawl (same pattern) a couple of days later.

This one is using up all my bits and dabs of Caron Simply soft I had hanging around.  I have 5 more rows to do and this will be completed.  I see it being finished by the end of today.  Not sure if I will do another one of these this coming week.  I still have plenty of yarn ear marked for this shawl pattern.  Since they do not take long to complete, they are kind of nice to do.  Not to mention, the church's ministry is always happy to receive them.  

There was a little time spent on my small cross stitch project.

I put a bit more of the white on it and then decided it would be easier to do the white if I put the lettering in it and then did the white that goes all the way around it.  I got the 'J' completed and called it good.  Doing white on white is not for the faint of heart.

I also got my yarn and needles ready for the MKAL that starts September 2.

Did you notice I have light and dark DPN sets?  Both sets have the same size needles.  I use the lighter set when working with dark yarn so I can see my stitches.  Of course, the darker set is used for the lighter yarn for the same reason.  Yes, I know there are some needles missing out of the lighter set.  They are in my sock needle case and will be put back before the beginning of the MKAL.

Monday I made a loaf of banana bread in my bread machine.  EPIC FAIL!  I tried substituting apple sauce for the oil and the bread did not completely cook.  I have done this substituting when baking in my oven and it is fine but I guess the bread machine does not like me playing around with tried and true ingredients.

Tuesday I went to the funeral of a much beloved priest.  He was the one that confirmed me into the Catholic Church 23 years ago.  It was amazing how many people were there.  People I had not seen in over 20 years!  This was also the day I bought tickets to our Grand Daughter's play, went to the grocery store, and called a company to get a replacement for a dinner plate that got broken.

Wednesday I got 2 loads of laundry completed, watered all my inside plants, and set up my new counter top oven.

I refuse to use my BIG oven in the summer time.  It heats up my kitchen making it miserable to cook.  I have had a small Breville Smart oven for several years and love it.  But, I want to bake and none of my baking pans will fit into it.  The new oven will fit all of my baking pans and casserole dishes.  Now I can bake my cakes, brownies, cookies etc...without issues.  It is large and takes up a lot of space, but I will happily loose a little counterspace in order to bake again!

Thursday morning I spent running errands and getting a haircut.  After all that was completed I actually got to spend time in the pool.  I love being in the water!  This was also the day I deep cleaned my granite countertops in the kitchen.  They always look so pretty afterwards.  But it is a tedious job so I only do it a couple times a year.  Otherwise, they just get washed down daily (several times a day actually).

Friday was another laundry day.  I also ended up at my Dr office for a rash I developed over night.  I got some medicine for it and it is already almost gone.  I love my Dr office.  They can always get me in on the same day I call if I am 'sick'.  This was the night we went and saw Grand Daughter's play.  It was Bonnie and Clyde the musical.  They had major sound issues so we were able to clearly hear only about half of the play............and we were in the 3rd row!  

Saturday our son that is living with us did some more little jobs around the house for us.  We are almost done with everything we had for him to do.  We went to Mass and when we got home he was cooking dinner for us.  What a treat!

Today I need to make some bread and I also want to do a little baking.  Menu planning is on the 'to do' list also.  Might sit with the man child and see what he would like to eat this next week.  He is an excellent cook!

That wraps another week here in the great state of Arizona.  How was your week?

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

WEEK 7 of YOP 12

 

Hey there!  Nice of you to drop by again.  I have things to show you.  Let's get right to it.

I finished hubby's socks on Monday the 8th.

They have already been worn and washed and worn again.  I have enough yarn left to make another pair of RCR for him.  I have put sock making on hold for a bit.  With the MKAL coming up in a few weeks, I wanted to make sure I didn't have anything on the needles since my sock needles are what I will be using for the MKAL.

It was hard for me to decide what I wanted to do while I waited for the first of September.  This is what I choose.

My infamous 'To The Point' prayer shawl.  Having never done one in white, I was kind of excited to try it.  Naturally, I ran out of yarn 4 rows from the end.  I picked up some blue out of my stash to finish it off.  Oh, the white is out of my stash too!

Once that one was completed, I started another one.

This is also from my stash.  Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a lot of acrylic yarn in my stash.  What a great way to use it up, right?

I got some treasures in the mail this week!

My fix-it tools!  This is not what I really call them.  My name for them is my Ah S**t tools.  I lost one this week and while trying to find where it went, hubby told me to go to Amazon and order another one.  Well, they sold them in a 6 pack!  As soon as I pressed the order button, I found the lost one.  At least, now I will not panic the next time my tool falls into the crack of my chair!

We have adjusted well to having another person living with us.  In fact, it has been nice having our youngest back here again.  This weekend, he has helped us with some projects that are hard for us 'old' folks to do.

#1  He installed my weather station that I received from my husband for Christmas.  Parts of it needed to be attached to the roof.  Hubby is not allowed on the roof, so this waited for a 'young' person to do it.  It still needs a bit of adjustment for the wind gauge is not high enough.  But for now......I am happy it is up.

I would have loved to have been a meteorologist.  My issue was passing science.  Not my best subject in school.  Except the section on meteorology.  I aced that one. This sets right next to where I knit.  And yes, at 10am it was 91F outside.  Welcome to living in the desert in the summer.

#2 He also replaced our Ring doorbell with a Blink doorbell.  We have Blink cameras around the outside of our house and decided to go with the same doorbell instead of the other brand we have had for a couple of years.

#3 The last job he did for us was replace the door knob and dead bolt on our front door.  It now matches the door knobs in the rest of the house.  It is hard for me to turn a normal door knob, so we have replaced all of them with lever door knobs.  No problems for me now!

There are a few more little things we will have him do for us yet.  We will spread them out over a few weekends.  That way, he will have time to enjoy his days off too.

We are smoking a brisket today.  I will make flour tortillas to go with it too.  Hopefully there will be some leftovers so our son can take it for his lunches this week.  I sent my husband to the store last week for one item and he found a brisket on sale!  The meat cutter there is so nice.  He cut the brisket into 3 sections and trimmed quite a bit of the excess fat off of it.  So, now you know how we ended up with a brisket for today.  Note to self....husband always finds the best unadvertised deals!

I was able to get into our pool a couple of times this past week.  Our weather is so unpredictable with the monsoons.  Today looks to be a good day for the pool too.  So if you can't find me, look in the backyard.  I will be the one floating around with a big straw hat on and an adult beverage in my hand.

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

WEEK 6 OF YOP 12

 

Once again, Sunday has rolled around.  Time to show you my accomplishments this week.

I expect the socks will be completed by this coming weekend.  At least I hope they will be.  And that, my friends is all I worked on this week.

I did spend a little time in the kitchen, a couple of days ago.  I made this.

A Bundt cake!  This is made using a devils food cake mix, 2 eggs, 1 tsp almond extract and 1 can cherry pie filling.  You mix the cake mix with the eggs and extract until mixed as well as you can.  It is super duper thick.  Then fold in the cherry pie filling.  Pour it into a greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 325F until a toothpick comes out clean.  It took mine 45 minutes to bake completely.  Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then turn it over onto a platter and allow to cool completely.  I do not put any frosting on mine as we like whipped cream with ours.  A dusting of powder sugar would fancy it up a bit too.

I joined a MKAL that starts on September 2.  I have never joined one before and am quite excited about it.  It is a Gnome mystery adventure.  Here is a link that tells you all about it.  The yarn for it will be here on Wednesday.  I already found the correct sized needles I will be using so I am set.  Once the socks are finished, I will work on other WIP's so I will be ready to start the MKAL on time.

Our TX son arrived here late last night.  It seems strange to have another person in our house again.  We have him until December when the rest of his family moves out here.  He will be house hunting over the next few months and hopefully he will find something that fits their needs.  About the only 'must have' is a pool and hopefully turn key.  

I have a loaf of bread in the bread machine.  Love the smell.  Next you will find me deciding what meals to make over the next week to include enough for 3 people.  I just got my cooking down to cooking for 2!  I replanted both of my hydroponic gardens this week.  One of my tomato plants has already sprouted up.  So excited to see if I figured out the right combination of plants in each planter.

All other household chores were completed during the week.  Hubby has painted all but 1 interior door.  He plans on painting that one on Monday.  Our son said he will put up our last string of outdoor lights for us today.  (We will see about that)  If the rain holds off that is.  Hubby and I both have our Medicare yearly Dr appointments this week.  We had our bloodwork done and I have to brag and say............mine is better than his!  And, he eats healthier than I do!  

I am off to tend to my bread and knit on some socks.

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

Busy Week

 

This week has been busy.  Trying to get things finished up before the 'kid' lands at our house this weekend.  The room he will be staying in has been finished up.  This meant a trip to Goodwill to give them some goodies to sell.

Look at all the items that left my house.  I always feel a bit lighter when I donate a car load of things.

Hubby has been painting doors.  These are all the interior doors that were replaced this spring.  There are 7 total to paint and he is on numbers 3 and 4.  They will be done tomorrow and he should be able to get the other three done by the weekend.

Monday I took both of my hydroponic gardens and removed all the plants out and cleaned them up.  I learned so much from my first plantings.  This time I am planting smarter.  The larger garden has 2 heirloom cherry tomato plants as well as Thyme, Mint, Thai Basil, Curly Parsley, and Dill.  The smaller garden will house my salad greens (lettuce).  I am excited to see what kind of lettuce will pop up.  There are supposed to be several different kinds scattered between the 6 pods I am planting.

Cleaning out the gardens took almost 2 hours.  The root system was unbelievable.  I wish I had taken a photo of it.  The roots actually ate the pump filter on the smaller garden.  So, now I am waiting for filters to be delivered so I can get my lettuce going.  (Hurry up Amazon!)

Tuesday I had a massive headache.  It had started Monday and I was really hoping it would go away after a good nights sleep.  Nope!  But I did not let that stop me from finishing up my book on kindle.  I know, reading with a headache is not the smartest thing to do but, it was such a good book and I only had one chapter left to read.

Today I woke up without a headache!  PTL!  I left early this morning and headed to my Dr to get my blood work done.  It is for my yearly Medicare wellness check-up.  Afterwards, I went to my local Kroger store.  Today is senior day and us 'old' folk get an extra 10% off our groceries.  I had gone through all the digital coupons before I went there.  Gotta save all the money I can these days.  

Once I got home, I got busy making dog food for my sweet Luna.  It takes be about 2 hours to get over 3 weeks of food made for her.  She's worth every minute of my labor too.  I love to watch her when she starts to smell all the yummy ingredients being put together.  She dances and jumps and makes cute little yips to let me know it's ok to drop a little of the food.  For being 16 she sure does act like a puppy when food is involved.

Tonight we are having homemade Mexican food.  Hubby made his famous salsa and I got all the veggies chopped up so all I need to do is cook the meat.  Mexican food is my husbands favorite.  I just like FOOD!

Tonight I am going to pick this up.....

I am about half way done with the foot on both socks.  They are the perfect TV watching project.

Time to go and watch the evening news, feed the dogs and the make our dinner.

Until next time...................................................