Half-Way week 26

 

So hard to believe 2024 is almost in the rear view mirror.  I am ready to face 2025 head on.  Are you?

My knitting this week has solely been on my shawl.

There have been a total of 29 rows of the 6 row pattern completed.  I need to do 7 more of the 6 row pattern repeats before I get to do the final rows and bind off.  This pattern is addictive.  It must be as this is shawl #4 and I have the yarn to make #5.

I did run into a bit of a problem last night with it.  Stitches were just jumping off the needles in the middle of the lace work!  So, today, I unknitted 4 rows to get the stitches all picked up, straightened out and then was able to knit it back to where it was before those naughty stitches acted up.  This yarn is similar to mohair and a real pain to unknit.  But after 2 hours the 4 rows were undone.

The family had a great Christmas last week.  We had our gathering at Josh's house.  We had decided last year, not to have a big meal for the day.  Instead, we all pitched in and brought our favorite finger foods to share with everyone.  It was a very stress free day for us.  As for gifts............we decided not to do white elephant gifts this year.  We all drew a name and then were in charge of buying that person a pair of slippers.  The funnier the better.

This was so fun.  Lots of laughter ensued from this one.  Not sure what we will do next year to top this one.

I have been busy getting ready for the new year to start.  I have my new daily planner/note taking book as well as my new daily journal set up and ready to go.  Hm, when did we start calling them journals when in actuality, they are just like the little diaries I kept as a teenager back in the dark ages.  Hubby asked me what I was going to do with all the journals I have.  Good question!  Maybe, when I am long gone, my grands or great grands will enjoy looking at a day in the life of their ancestor.  But, I am not holding my breath for that one.

Enrique gave me a bit of a scare this week.  He started refusing food and was walking with his back arched, like a cat.  I got him into the vet immediately.  Pancreatitis!  Luckily, it was caught very early and is treatable and curable!  His diet is changed for the next two weeks and then we will have him rechecked.  Little stinker.  He is enjoying his new diet.  It is all wet food and he gets fed 3-4 times a day.  But, he is worth it.  He is my little buddy that follows me everywhere I go.  He is never more than a few feet away from me all day.

This was this morning after he had breakfast.  All curled up and snoring away.  And I mean he is literally snoring................LOUDLY!

That is it for this week.  This coming week is busy once again with transporting Josh to and from appointments.  I also start PT this week.  Good thing too.  I took a nasty fall this week, in the house.  I had a horrible time getting up off the floor.  My legs are not what they used to be.  That is what the PT is for.  To strengthen them.  Oh, as for the fall, I am ok.  A few bruises and a nasty scrape on my knee, but thankfully, I did not hit my head.

Here is my weekly humor.

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

Don't Faint! Week 25

 

This is going to be a little long, but I really need to post today.  I have had the past couple of weeks to sit back, relax, reflect and regroup.  Regrouping is still an ongoing process but I am ready to post a bit about all of that.

But before I get into my deepest feelings today, I want to show you, I have been busy with my needles.

First up.............toe socks

Last time I posted, these were in progress.  Since then, they are completed as well as another pair.  This is such a great project to take along with me while sitting in waiting rooms.  I have enough of these socks now, so will start back to making some RCR for myself.  Also, great waiting room knitting.

I had a request from Tiffany for another Azel poncho

This is the third one I have made for her.  Working with fun fur and size 13 needles is not for the faint of heart.  However, I did enjoy doing the striping on this.  It is knitted in one piece other than the cowl neck. Super easy.  

The buttons are so hard to see with all the fur.  But she really wanted buttons with bling.  Sewing these on was a challenge too.  Not thinking I will be working with fun fur anytime soon.

It looks like a blanket when folded up.  I will say, my legs stayed nice and warm while working on this.

I found something at Costco right after Thanksgiving that gave me great joy.

A puzzle Advent calendar!  Each little puzzle is only 50 pieces so perfect to work each day.

Remember the sea turtle blanket?  Remember how I did not like the puffy turtle?  I fixed it!

I simply used the bottom of the turtle for the top shell.  Easy peasy!  And , here it is in all it's glory.

I don't know where the work 'throw' got put on this pattern as this fits my daughters queen sized bed perfectly!  I really enjoyed making the blanket portions.  Making the appliques was not too bad either.  Sewing them on.............not my favorite project.  Will I make another one?  Probably not.

After all the 'commissioned' items were completed, I pulled out my shawl

Oh, how I love this pattern.  It is the perfect shawl for our Arizona climate.  This will be my fourth shawl in this pattern and I have the yarn to make a fifth one when this one is completed.  I wore one of them yesterday during Mass.  It kept the A/C from blowing down my neck.  Yes, we still have A/C going here with our daytime temps still getting up near 80!  No, this is not normal!

I have done a small amount of decorating for Christmas.

The little mice are new this year.  They make me smile each time I walk by them.

The tree is up and decorated.  And, that is all I did on the inside of the house.  Hubby has decorated the front yard but no photos of that to show.

We did have our front yard landscaped after Thanksgiving.  We added 2 trees, 6 lantana and 10 bougainvillea.  A watering system was added too, to make life a bit easier for my husband who goes out and waters our bushes every couple of days.  When spring hits and our front yard is in bloom, I will take a photo and post it for you to see.  I am so excited to finally have lots of color added to my yard.  We now have 'curb appeal'.

Now, on to my personal life news.  If you do not want to read it, that's ok.  But this will give you a bit of insight as to why I have slowed down on blogging.

Jaxon is doing quite well.  Her skin graft it healing nicely.  She is going to have some nasty scaring on her leg, but at least she has her leg and her life.  The same can not be said about her boyfriend who accidently hit her with his motorcycle. RIP

I was able to increase my injections for my RA!  Since I have been infection free for over 9 months, she has allowed me to up my injections to every other week!  What a difference that has made in my mobility and pain.  She has also prescribed physical therapy to help improve my lower extremity strength, mobility and balance.  I start right after the first of the year.  Believe it or not, I am really looking forward to it.  It has been way too long since I have been able to get on the floor and back up again.  Or even get off of some sofas that sit too low.  Climbing stairs is also an issue.  I am just a hot mess when it comes to some of my mobility.

An now, for the news that is not the greatest.

Josh had another MRI this past week and there are 2 new spots on his brain.  Until there is a biopsy we will not know if they are a recurrence of his cancer or radiation necrosis.  This was not the news we wanted to hear the week before Christmas.  Or anytime, for that matter.  Thankfully, he does not have any new symptoms which gives us a little hope it is from radiation.  But, with the type of cancer he has,(Glioblastoma) it could well be a recurrence.  There are a couple of new trials he is eligible for if this is the returning of his cancer.  This gives us hope.  The last trial he had was last year at this time.  It totally slowed the growth of his tumor down and even has extended his life past the time normally expected.  It breaks this mama's heart to see her first born going through all of this.  Watching his wife and daughter dealing with the fact his life is eventually going to be taken by this dreaded disease is gut wrenching.  Seeing his siblings gathering for family days and photos worried it could be the last milestone for them to witness, hard to watch.  This has all been heavy on my mind and heart.  There are tears being shed in private as I try and be strong for the rest of the family.  My faith has not waivered but there have been a few times where I just want to scream "why him, God".  We just lost a very dear friend at Thanksgiving to this dreaded disease.  A good man.  A righteous man.  A man of great faith.  It all hit way to close to home.  Yet, each day, I wake up, put one foot infront of the other and carry on with the life I have been given.  A wise person once said, we only die once but we live each day.  And as Josh keeps telling me, "I am not dieing of cancer but living with cancer".  A wise son I have raised.

Our family Thanksgiving day photo.  Love this family of mine!

And now to lighten the mood a bit...............................

I will be making Snickerdoodle cookies today for our Christmas gathering.  Luckily my dog is to darn short to be able to reach them.  LOL

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah etc!

WEEK ???

 

Hey there blog people.  I am only dropping in today for a quick little update.  I do not have any projects to show you.  Yes, there are things that have been finished and items on my needles being worked on.

I am going to take a break from my blog for a little bit.  Don't worry, nothing major is happening to make me want to take this break.  Josh is still doing well, Jaxon is well on her road to recovery, hubby is fine, my health is very stable, the rest of the family is well also.  I am just a little burnt out with all that has gone on over the past year.

While this blog has been great to express my thoughts and feelings, I have never really exposed my inner most thoughts and feelings here.  I try to keep things lights and positive at all times on here.  The world has enough Debbie Downers and I refuse to contribute to that.  I have just reached a point where, I need to just be for a while and process.  I am greatly blessed and have great gratitude for everything I have been blessed with.  I just need some time.

I am not closing my blog.  Heavens no!  I will be back.  I also still enjoy reading other blogs and getting ideas for projects and books to read from them.  So, while I am not going to be writing for a 'few whiles".  I will still be reading all y'all's blogs.

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

And, if I am not back before 2025......................Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 21

 

Are all of my US friends ready for this coming Thursday?  I think we are finally set and have all logistics figured out for the day here at our homestead.  So, now it is just gliding through the next few days.  Doing our normal routine things and then collapsing on Friday!

I had a bit of crafting this week.  Mostly waiting room knitting while waiting for Josh at his therapy appointments.  Here is a look.

Toe socks completed.  These are such a quick little knit.  Each sock take about 9 grams of fiber so using up bits and bobs of yarn is ideal for these.  I did kind of chuckle reading all the comments from last week.  It didn't dawn on me that when I call them toe socks y'all thought I was making socks with toe places in them.  Heck, I have a hard time making mittens with thumb placements.  I guess I could have called them half socks.  I just figures since they only cover from the tips of my toes to just the start of my instep..........well, toe socks.

Once they were done, I still had about 11-12 grams of this yarn left so............

I started another pair.  I have at least 3 waiting room visits this week so should not be an issue with getting these finished up before Turkey day.

My shawl saw some love too.

I wish this was smaller and easier to take with me places.  So, this is relegated to being my evening TV knit.  Maybe it will be done by Christmas?  One could only hope.

I think I have figured out the turtle issue.  Come back next week to see if I have conquered the issue.

That about covers all the crafting news.  Other news, I have gathered quite a few items that need to leave my home.  This morning I got them all boxed up and inventoried for tax purposes.  I am also finding creative ways to use up our leftovers.  Today, I will turn our leftover pot roast into green chili stew.  I have leftover carnitas too that will turn into tacos or burritos tomorrow.  That will clean out the fridge and prepare it for incoming food on Thursday.

And that, my friends is it for me today.  Here is your weekly chuckle...........

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting and Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!!!!!

WEEK 20

 

Happy Sunday!  How is everyone doing today?  I had a wonderful and productive week I want to tell you about.

Monday - This is always my day to take Josh to his therapy appointment.  We are now traveling a bit further for this appointment but that is fine.  It gives us more time together to talk about a plethora of subjects.  This is also one of the times I get to have some waiting room crafting time.  After I dropped him off at home, I took a stroll around Sam's club, picking up the few items we needed.  What a great way to get my 30 minute daily walk in!  I worked on making starfish and baby sea turtles for the blanket I completed last week.  I was not able to get a good photo of the starfish as they keep curling but here is the baby sea turtle.

I am not happy with it.  I was hoping it was flat but nope.  It is very puffy.  For it to be sewn on the blanket................not liking the puffy look.  Plus, she has a cat and I can just imagine her thinking this is kitty toy.

Tuesday - We had another Landscaper come and give us an estimate for making our front yard a thing of beauty.  Other than that, I worked on my craft projects and cleaned out our fridge. Cleaning out the fridge is one of my favorite chores.  I get all sorts of meal ideas while doing 'inventory' of items in there.

Wednesday - This was errand day for me.  I went to the post office to send back an item that was not as advertised.  From there I went to UPS to return several Amazon items that were not to my liking. (clothes that were way too large)  Next was a quick stop at my BFF's house to drop off some coupons I knew she would use and we wouldn't.  My last stop was Costco.  Another opportunity to get in my 30 minute walk.  Not to mention grabbing some needed items again.  I finished my puzzle!

This will be the last one I will work on until after Thanksgiving.  I need the dining room table for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday - Finally was able to complete my nuclear stress test!  I am so done with all the testing that has happened since June when I ended up in the hospital with AFib.  This was the last of the tests needed to be done.  Now I sit and wait for results.  I do not see the Cardiologist until January!  Hopefully, if anything is really wrong, I will be notified before then.  But, this did give me some more waiting room knitting time.

Friday - Grocery shopping day!  Another day to get my 30 minutes of walking in.  I find walking around a store is much more fun than walking around my neighborhood.  This was another day to finish one of my projects.

My toe socks.  I find it interesting that one has a zig zag pattern and the other is just a pooling line.  Same skein of yarn.  I decided to go with the toe socks to see how the yarn responded.  I do like the yarn and it was not splitty as many cotton yarns are.  These are just a little too loose so will decrease the stitch count by 4 or 8 stitches next time.  Thinking the next socks will be RCR from this yarn and if anything is left over I will do more toe socks.  I wear toe socks 90% of the time.

Saturday - Hubby and I both woke up at 4:30am!  That worked out well for us.  We got up and I managed to mix up a loaf of SD bread.  We left around 6 to pick up the food for our church's food bank. After we got home, I got 2 loads of laundry completed and baked the SD loaf of bread.  We went to Mass in the evening and then returned home to relax.  I worked on my RCR sock and TA-DA

I finished sock #2 about 11:30pm.  So glad to have them done and off the needles.

Today - I have been working on this blog since 9am.  There was an interruption when one of my cousins called to let me know she could not get in touch with her brother.  Hubby and I did a wellness check only to find out he had been taken by ambulance to the hospital about 7 this morning.  Since I am his Medical Power of Attorney, I was a bit dismayed that I had not been contacted.  So, now the search as to which hospital.  There are 7 hospitals in our immediate area.  We got lucky and found him at the second one we called.  We went to go and see him only to find out they have no clue what is wrong with him.  He has a test tomorrow morning and hopefully they do not find anything there and let him go home.  

It is now 2:30pm and I am finishing up cooking lunch.  Luckily, dinner is in the crockpot so I will not need to hurry to get that done.

Here is your funny for the week

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

WEEK 19 A Good Week

 

Hello from lovely Arizona.  Our fall weather is in full swing.  Our mornings are very chilly and our afternoons are perfect for a light long sleeve shirt and leggings.  This is my happy season!  

I was so busy this past week.  But it was a good busy.  Let's take a look!

Monday - I took Josh to his counseling appointment.  So nice to have that little one on one time with him.  That evening Jay, Tiffany and Jaxon went with me to our local appliance store's preferred customer sale.  My dishwasher was in need of replacing and they were looking for an all in one washer/dryer.  We both were able to get what we were looking for at a wonderful price. This was also laundry day as well as a few other household chores.

Tuesday - I started my declutter of my kitchen....again.  For some reason I manage to collect all sorts of 'stuff' I do not use.  Each year I do this and each year I am amazed at how many items I have that never get used.  I was able to get 3/4 of the kitchen completed before I needed to go and get my thyroid biopsy report.................It is BENIGN!  The Dr did not see any reason to remove it unless it grows more or causes any issues in the future.  WOOHOO!

Wednesday - Made hubby some mini pumpkin breads.  Don't get too excited.  I use a mix for it.  I also finished up the declutter in the kitchen.  I always feel so good when I complete a room declutter.  Everything is all shiny now.

Thursday - This was the day for my lexiscan nuclear stress test.  I have been waiting to have this done since July!  Let's just say, I really would rather not repeat this test again.  I still have another appointment this coming week to complete the test.  But, it is just an IV of nuclear meds and then 15 minutes of photos while I lay down and rest.  Results will be given to me on my December visit unless something major shows up.  After this day of stress I was still able to make out menus for the coming week as well as a grocery list.

Friday - We got our new dishwasher.  Dang, I am going to need a college degree to figure out how to work this thing.  All sorts of features.  Hubby and I went grocery shopping and then had a late lunch early dinner at our local Mexican restaurant.  We had a landscaper come by and give us quote to upgrade our front yard.  He will replace our broken bubbling system, plant a couple of trees and add plants that will give us color 90% of the year.  I am so exited about that.

Saturday - Hubby and I were up at dark o'thirty to go collect food for our church's food bank.  We washed our car and grabbed breakfast burritos to complete our morning.  There was Mass in the afternoon and then a lovely evening of a crockpot dinner and movie watching.

So, what does this have to do with crafting?  I will show you.

Look at the progress!  This was my waiting room project this past week.  There was about 2 hours total of waiting room time so this was good progress.

My new puzzle sees love mostly on Monday and Wednesday evenings.  That is when hubby has online classes and I try to do something quiet so he can concentrate.

This is what it will look like when completed.

Daughter's blanket is completed.....sort of.  This was supposed to be 54"x66".  Well, I must be a really loose crocheter as it measures 60"x72".  There will be 2 starfish and 9 baby sea turtles to be added to this.  My goal is to have it completed by Thanksgiving so she can take it home with her.

Because I was such a good girl at the Dr's offices, I rewarded myself by casting on a new 'sock' with my new Cotton Sox yarn by Cacade Yarn.  I am not sure if I am going to make a 'real' sock or do a  toe sock as some call it.  I love toe socks.  They help cushion my poor arthritic deformed toes from all sorts of rubbing in shoes.  Plus, they help absorb moisture in the heat of our summers.  Since this is first time using this yarn, I am leaning towards the toe socks.  There will still be plenty of yarn to make a 'real' sock after that.  I just want to get the feel of how the yarn acts.

That sums up my week.  A very good week!  And now, for your chuckle for the week.

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

WEEK 18

 

See my header today?  I am celebrating the season of autumn!  We have finally gotten our cooler temperatures and I am loving it.  The A/C is off and windows are opened.  The next 6 months is the reason I live here.  The weather is glorious!

Let's take a look at what went on with my crafting this week.  First up;

RCR socks.  The heel is turned and a couple rows of the foot have been added.  

The shawl:

It saw a few rows being added too.  This project is one I really love even though it takes quite a while to do each row.  Since I have several of these shawls already, I am not in any huge hurry to get this off the needles.  I am just enjoying the process on this one.

I completed the puzzle.

This is "At Bat".  I completed it the day before the Dodgers won the world series.  I have started another one but only have the border completed so no need for a photo.  The new one is only 750 pieces so should be a quick one to complete. Hopefully.

I started a new project this week because I could.  My daughter sent me a photo last week of something she loved and wanted to know if I would be interested in making it.  I found the pattern and told her I would be happy to make it for her.  This is how much I completed since Monday.

This is the Sea Turtle throw by Mandy Huseth.  I am half way done with the blanket itself and then need to make the little sea turtles and starfish to go on it.  I am so glad our temperatures have dropped down.  This makes having this on my lap a pleasure.  In the above photo, the throw is folded in half width wise.  This thing is going to be large!  I am hoping to be completed with the blanket portion by the end of the coming week.  My other projects will be on hold until then.

This coming week I get the results of my thyroid biopsy as well as a lexiscan test for my heart.  That should complete all my 'special' appointments for the year.  After this, it will just be regular visits with my doctors for follow ups.  FINALLY!  This has all been going on since June.

Here is your chuckle for the week....................

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

WEEK 17

 

It's coming!  Fall is coming to the deserts of Arizona!  This week we are going to drop 20 degrees in 24 hours.  I am so excited!  We will still be considered 'warm' by most folks.  But, for us, it will be sweater weather.  

This past week saw so much happening.  I tried very hard to maintain my, 1 hour per project per day, routine.  For the most part, it did happen.  Let's take a look at progress.

I finally finished sock #1

This little gem was cast on in April!  I have no idea why I let it sit and stew.  Well, yes I do.  I started working on cross stitch again and it consumed me.  You will be happy to know I was a good knitter and cast on sock #2 right away.

The striping is not going to match 100%.  I really don't care as these are for me and being short socks, you really won't notice.  This baby is ready for me to do the heel.  That will happen today, hopefully.  I want these off the needles so I can cast on some more socks for ME with my new Cotton Sox yarn I purchased a few weeks ago.

I also finished the Basic Baby Beanie for Josie's pregnant friend.

I always like the crown of hats.  Now, all I need to do is get it to Josie so she can get it to the expectant mom along with the matching blanket and sweater.

I was good and worked on my shawl this week too.

A few more rows added to it.  It is almost halfway completed.  Hopefully I will hit that mark this week.  I always seem to forget how large this shawl is.  The size is the reason I really like it.  It actually is a shawl for warmth and not just for the looks.

There will be a new project started this week once I obtain the yarn.  My daughter has requested a throw blanket.  I have the pattern and only need to purchase the yarn ( which is on sale this week) and I will be set to go!  It is a crochet project so I am excited to add that to my list of daily projects.  Come back next week to see what I am making and how far along I got.

The puzzle......This one has been a real challenge.  Yesterday, I was able to really get some pieces put in and now all the main figures are attached to the edging.

Most of what is left to do is grass and dirt and blue jeans.  So, it will be a challenge to work on from this point on. Will it be completed by the end of the World Series?  Maybe.  Depends on if the Yankees manage to win a game against the Dodgers.  Dodgers are ahead 2-0.

I continue to make goodies in my kitchen.  This past week saw another loaf of sourdough bread made for hubby and I.  There will be another one made for us today.  I also made a spice bundt cake ( one of hubby's favorites), sourdough brownies (for our TX son and family) and a loaf of cranberry orange bread (for Tiffany).  My sourdough starter (Dottie) is the best I have ever made.  I think having the little sourdough fridge has been the secret to it's success.  A constant temperature is the key. 

Have you ever heard of a blind book date?  Am I the only one late to this party?  I was introduced to this fun thing last week at our church's annual fiesta.  Here is the gist of it.

You pick up a brown paper wrapped book.

On the front is a little synopsis of what the book is about.  It is a VERY general synopsis.  You purchase the book on what you read of the synopsis.  Once you have your purchase, you open it up and see what you received.

It is really fun and I purchased two blind book dates.  Here is what I got.

Four really cute stickers....two in each of the books wrapping paper.  I have no idea what I will do with them, but they are so cute.

These are the books I received.  I doubt I would have even picked them up to look at them in a book store.  Yet, the synopsis of each book is something I will enjoy reading.  Just so you know, these are not used books either.  They are brand new and just waiting for me to dive into them.

In other news..............................I went for a needle biopsy of my thyroid this week.  Holy Moly!  My throat has been sore every since and I have a lovely bruise on the base of neck where the Dr put the needles in and out.  Now, I wait for the results.  This is the hard part.

Jaxon is back in the hospital.  She went in because they thought she had another hematoma in her leg.  It was not and the Dr's saw she had healed enough to do her skin graft....FINALLY!  The graft was done yesterday and she will probably be in the hospital until Tuesday to make sure things are going well for her.  Poor kid has been through the ringer from this accident.  Hopefully this will be the last stage she needs to go through and can just finish healing up.

Josh is doing well.  In his last MRI, they can still see the tumor that was there after the surgery he had a year ago, but it is just sitting there and not growing.  This is good and we hope and pray this will continue for a long time.  He and Stacie just returned from his business trip in Florida.  They were there for a week.  It was a little mini vacay for them.  I am so glad they went.  He tolerated the trip quite well and is planning several more trips to different places over the next few months.  Traveling and making future plans seems to agree with him.

The rest of us are doing well.  Looking forward to the cooler weather.  I want to open my windows and let some lovely fresh air in.  Our birds, that fly down here for the winter, have arrived and it is so nice to hear their singing each day.  We normally only have mourning doves and pigeons.  So it is nice to hear other bird songs for a few months.

And now, for your humor for the week........................

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