WEEK 44 OF YOP 12

 Week 44!  Yikes, this year has flown by.  April 2023 is just about in the books and May 2023 is on the horizon.  My crafting this week was practically nonexistent.  

This is truly pitiful.  I only did 12 rows all week.  There were only 2 days, this past week, I even picked this up.  Very sad.

Does anyone remember this?

I put in a few hours on it this week and got most of the black on it.  The rest of the black will be lettering and backstitching.  It was nice to pull it back out and give it some love.

So why was my craft time limited?  I have no idea.  I had 3 evenings out but other than that, it was a normal week with normal household chores.  In the evenings that I was home, I found myself engrossed in a few very suspenseful TV shows.  Those are not good for knitting lace and very bad for trying to XS.  Maybe this week will be better for my projects.  Time will tell.

Otherwise, nothing else major happened.  We did have 2 grandkids drop by last Sunday for a lovely visit.  It made us feel so good to have them just drop in like that.  We must be the cool grandparents LOL.  I spent quite a bit of time this week trying to revive my sourdough starter.  As of this morning, it is super active and in the process of making a lovely boule of sourdough for us.  Note to self:  Do not let starter sit on counter for 3 days without feeding in warm weather!  GROSS!

I also am learning on how to cook on a Blackstone Griddle.  It is a bit of a learning curve but I am loving cooking on it.  It keeps the heat out of the kitchen too.  Today's offering from the griddle will be carne asada with homemade sourdough tortillas.  YUM!

OK, that is about all I can think to tell y'all.  Like I said, it was a fairly normal week here.  Oh, we have already hit 100F!  Looks like summer is just around the corner with it's beastly hot temperatures. Swimming season is soon to start!

How was your week?

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

WEEK 43 OF YOP 12

 

It has been a very unusual week here.  Luckily I was still able to get some knitting done on my shawl.

From the progress keeper upwards is my progress for the week.  I am almost at the halfway point which doesn't mean it will be done soon.  There are 217 stitches on the needles and it stops at 481.  I would be further along but have needed to tink back 2-3 rows several times this week.  Evidently setting this down for the night and then me thinking I know what pattern row I am on, without writing it down, is not a good thing.  I now have a sticky note attached to the pattern to keep me informed.  Also, watching intense TV while knitting lace is not a good idea either.  Good thing I enjoy knitting this or I might have given up by now.

That is all I did craftwise this week.  In other news.................................

Both of my sons were out of town this past week.  One for business and the other for a family funeral.  I was privileged to take care of the dogs for the one attending the family duties.

This is Bandit.  If you look really hard, you can see his sister, Shiloh, in the kennel waiting for him to finish eating so they can go outside and play.  She is all black other than her feet.  Yes they are true litter mates and couldn't be more different from each other.  These are the ones that moved here from TX.  Very good doggos and I love taking care of them.

Everyone is back where they belong and this momma is glad to have her cubs back home.  It doesn't matter how old they get, they will always be my little ones.

We had another very dear friend leave the earth this week.  She passed on Monday and the funeral was on Saturday.  She was 85 and had one of the fullest lives of anyone I know.  Not to mention she was one of the sweetest persons too.  Never heard her say anything negative about anyone.  Always had a glass half full.

Enrique had a day where he wouldn't eat.  I got a bit concerned as he is a voracious eater.  But, the next day he was back to his normal self.  Phew!  

He loves to try and 'hide' in this bed.  It sits under our entertainment center.  

I have tried some new things in the cooking department.  Since we got the Blackstone griddle I have made a couple of things on it to get used to it.  I made pancakes and then hamburgers.   Both were a success.  I plan on making several meals on it this coming week.  So nice to be outside cooking and not heating up the house.  (We are already in the 90's!)

Quite a while ago, I ordered 5 inch cast iron skillets from Pampered Chef.  This week I finally decided to try and make pazookies in them.

This is a sourdough chocolate cookie recipe written especially for these little skillets.  The pazookies are very yummy but extremely rich.  I cut each cookie into quarters and that is still almost too much.  It's ok.  We will suffer through LOL.

Friday, Hubby and I decided to take the day off from all our household duties and took a trip to the our Premium Outlet Mall.  It was so much fun and gorgeous warm day to be out and walking around all the shops.  I did come home with a few new Vera Bradly bags as well as a new pair of 'dress' shoes.  Hubby got himself a new pair of 'dress' shoes.  All of my shoes are flats due to foot surgery that left my feet unable to wear heels.  They also have RA in them so finding shoes to accommodate that is not easy.  When I find a shoe that fits and feels good I grab them immediately.  The pair I got Friday fit the bill.  Good thing too since I needed them for the Funeral on Saturday.  Hubby refuses to wear anything that needs 'breaking in' so his dress shoes are not stiff leather but rather soft leather and very flexible. Also not easy to find that are not sneaker looking type shoes.

So, that sums up our week.  I made out menus today as well as a grocery list.  The rest of the day will be spent kicking back and working on the shawl until time to make dinner.  (salmon with roasted asparagus and crescent rolls)

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

WEEK 42 OF YEAR 12

 

Hey there!  Here is what happened this past week here.

I cast on a new project!

The Mehujaa Shawl is started.  It is being knit in Scheejpes Whirlette in colorway Ice.  The photo does not do it justice.  It is actually closer to an eggshell color.  I love this shawl and the knit pattern is pretty easy to memorize.  If you notice some small 'holes' in the stockinette area, have no fear.  This yarn has some thicker areas in it and hence the little holes are made while knitting away.  This is all I have worked on this week.  Until this is completed, it will most likely be my only project.  Yes, I still have a sock going but it is sitting off to the side at the moment.  I am sure it understands LOL.

Last Sunday my home was filled with family.  After they all left, I realized I had not taken one photo!  I was enjoying having everyone at my home, I just flat out forgot.  There was so much laughter and love.  My heart was filled to the top by the time the day was over.  

Here is the photo taken the day after.

My Sister in Law and her friend brought me this lily.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I still have 2 blooms on it but have a feeling by tomorrow it will be ready to go dormant for a while.  I am going to research on how I can keep this alive until it is time for it bloom again.  

I have one more photo for you:

Josie's Senior prom was last night.  This is her and her beau of over a year.  They are such a cute couple and really compliment each other.  He is a super nice guy and a gentleman too.  Once again this year, her dad acted as their chauffer.

The kids love it that he 'dresses' the part too.  

The lady on the far right, is one of Josie's best friends.  She does a lot of things with Josie and her beau.

This is how the evening goes when Dad chauffer's the 'royalty'.  It is in slow motion.

That's it for my week.  How was yours?

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

WEEK 41 OF YOP 12

 

Blessings on this Glorious Easter morning.  I had a little bit of time before we started getting things set up for the influx of family arriving this afternoon.  So, what do you do with extra time?  Blog!  

I have an FO for this week.

My hands have finally settled down where I can work with super bulky yarn again.  That means Jaxon will get her second slipper today!  She is still in her boot from her foot surgery so I am sure this will get some wear.  It only took me two days to complete this.  Gotta love super bulky yarn!

I am still working on hubby's sock. 

The lone DPN is about where I was last week.  It is slow going.  Probably because I only work on it in bits and spurts.  Since our temperatures are heading into the 90's this week, I am not thinking he is going to need a long wool sock anytime soon.

Last week I talked about not feeling the urge to really knit much.  Well, this week my mojo has returned and I am wanting to cast on all things.  What I really wanted to make was another shawl.  But not just any shawl.  My favorite shawl.

I have made this shawl twice.  It is the shawl I use  when I need just a little bit of warmth.  Like, when the air conditioning is turned on full blast and I sit right under the vents.  Yup, it happened to me twice last week.  Thank goodness I carry this shawl in my purse when going out and about.  My problem was, I did not have anymore yarn with which to make this shawl.  No problem!

I will just order some.  Normally I make this shawl with Scheepjes whirl.  I was thrilled when I saw Scheepjes makes solid colors of this same yarn.  This off white (colorway Ice) and will go with everything my other two do not.  I am hoping to cast it on tomorrow.

The other acquisition we got this week was this:

A Blackstone Griddle.  This will be so nice to cook on outside so as not to heat up the house this summer.  Pool side cooking is wonderful.  

This past week has been a bit trying for us.  Sunday evening our kitchen sink backed up.  We tried everything other than chemicals to open it to no avail.  So, Monday we scrambled to find a plumber.  Not only did we find a plumbing company but also one that does electrical and water treatments.

After the plumber got the drain opened by scouring out our pipes, we discovered our dishwasher was not working and the drain had backed up into that!  Oh brother!  Called another company who works with appliance repairs.  Got him scheduled for Wednesday.

On Tuesday, we had a water softener installed.  We have the hardest water in the entire USA!  Not something we are very proud of.  All our faucets heads have horrible build up of white calcium on them which needs to be cleaned off about every 6 months.  Needless to say, hubby and I do not drink our tap water but do have an RO system installed for drinking purposes.  So, now with the water softener, we should not have these issues anymore.  Not to mention, we will be using less shampoo, soap and other cleaning supplies with soft water.

Wednesday the appliance dude came out, plugged the dishwasher back in and ta-da, it worked immediately!  Naturally!  He did run it through a couple of programs to make sure everything was perfect and then handed me the service call bill.  I was happy to pay it.  Better than buying a new dishwasher!

Everything is working just fine now.  Hubby and I got the house cleaned and ready for guests.  We attended our church's triduum (three holy days) starting Thursday night and ending Saturday night. All we have left to do is open up the diningroom table, ready our countertops for buffet style serving and then sit back and enjoy our day with family.

I hope your week went well and your Easter season is blessed beyond measure.

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

WEEK 40 of YEAR 12

 

Hey there.  I missed blogging last week.  Nothing is wrong with me physically.  I just have been in a bit of a crafting slump as you will see from what I have to show you this week.

The lap blanket is finished as of 3/22.

It is super soft and squishy.  It was a wonderful mindless knit.

After I bound off, I thought I would start working on gnomes.  As I was stash diving for just the right yarn for that project, I ran across some lovely yarn I purchase a while back and decided to make a pair of socks for hubby.

Here is the Scatterby Sock.  As you can see I have not really accomplished much in 2 weeks time of knitting monogamously.  My crafting mojo is kind of on vacation.  Maybe it has spring fever.  

The only other thing I did was throw away the granny stripe scrap blanket in fingering weight yarn.  I just could not love it.  Everytime I saw it I would quickly shove it back into the back of the bin it sits in hoping it would just disappear.  So POOF!  It is now gone!

Otherwise, things are pretty normal around here.  I have been baking, cleaning, and decluttering.  I will be hosting Easter dinner at our home this year with a total of 15 people enjoying the day with us.  With all of that happening, I am not sure I will posting here.  I am just hoping I remember to take pictures of the event to commemorate the day.

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

WEEK 38 of YOP 12

 Welcome!  So glad you stopped by today to give my little blog a read.  Monogamous knitting is still going on here at my Casa.

Another stripe is completed.  The little dark progress keeper is where I was last Sunday.  I am hoping this yellow stripe will be the last one needed.  If the lapghan is still not long enough, I do have another skein of the orange to add to it.  

Last night I found a boo-boo!

A dropped stitch!  It is in the row BELOW where I was last Sunday.  No way am I going to take out that much knitting for one little dropped stitch.  I will sew it in once I complete the entire blanket.

Friday was St Patrick's day but hubby and I decided to have our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner on Saturday.  This worked out so much better for us.  Since I cook ours in the crockpot, it was ready and waiting for us when we got home from Mass!  I also made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread from a recipe I got from Maureen.  (AKA Knitting is so Fun blog).

It was so yummy!  Even though it is called Irish Soda Bread, it does not have any baking soda in it.  But, the flavor..............of my goodness.  I cut a lovely slice of it for breakfast today.  I toasted it and slathered it with real butter.  OH MY!  Best breakfast ever.

I cooked this in my bread bowl from King Arthur.

This was the first time I had ever used it even though I have had it for several months.  I used parchment paper in it so the dough would not stick to the pan.  Not to mention the pan stays clean and I did not need to use anything to 'grease' the pan.  Parchment paper is my best friend.  I use it all the time when cooking and baking.  The bread came out so lovely from this pan.  Now, I am making a list of other breads I will be making in this bowl.  I do not know why I waited so long to try out this bowl. 

This past week was pretty busy for me.  First off, we were down to one car.  We loaned our other car to Josie's family as they were down to one car and three drivers.  So, hubby and I planned out our week so neither of us needed to be somewhere at the same time.  It worked out perfectly!

Monday was a quick grocery store run.  A nice quite day otherwise.  

Tuesday we went to my cousins for 'taco in a bag' party.  I made caprese skewers to take for an appetizer.  While tasting food from what others brought, I discovered a new dessert that I knew I needed to make for our next family get together.  Churro Cheesecake Bars!  A light and yummy dessert.

Wednesday I spent the day with my daughter on her side of town.  (About 45 minutes from my house) It was a gray and rainy day here.  So spending the day with my daughter really brightened the day.   We went to, As You Wish, to paint pottery.  I painted two items.  Hopefully I will be able to show you what they are next weekend.  After painting we went out for a nice leisurely lunch at a lovely Mexican restaurant (Barrio Queen)

 

Thursday I got an early morning phone call asking me to take Jaxon to her post operative appointment.  Guess where the appointment was............Same place as where I was yesterday!  Her mom ended up going to the ER as she had gotten acetone in her eye!  She is fine and her eye is fine but it was scary.  After the Dr appt, Jaxon and I went to see her Grandma who is in a nursing facility.  After that we went to have a yummy BBQ lunch at a Texas BBQ place.  (Rudy's BBQ) She was thrilled as she was missing her Texas BBQ.

Friday I finally got a chance to catch up on my household chores.  Menus were made out, groceries were bought, ran to WalMart and Sam's club to grab a few supplies.  Managed to get a load of laundry completed before my energy finally ran out.

Saturday hubby and I did our early morning food bank pick up and delivery run.  Afterwards we picked up a breakfast burrito to share.  I was able to get the rest of our laundry completed and put away.  I hate not doing laundry throughout the week, but this past week did not allow for that to happen.  Hubby and I went to Mass in the evening while the corn beef and cabbage was simmering away in the crockpot.  (it was super yummy too) When we got home we got a phone call from our youngest son (the one who moved here from TX).  His wife's mom had just passed away!  I had just visited her on Thursday and she looked great.  I was in total shock.  So is the whole family.  Totally unexpected.

This past week was also a week of getting used to having only 1 dog.  It seems strange not to fix two meals each feeding time.  In the kitchen I am no longer having to look down to see where our deaf dog is so I don't trip over her or walk on her feet.  Enrique is adjusting slowly too.  We got rid of the automatic water bowl they both used and I bought a smaller one for him.  I also bought him a new food bowl.  This way only his smells will be on these things.  The only thing I have not gotten rid of is her bed.  He seems to get comfort from seeing it next to his. He is eating and drinking fine and is enjoying being next to us without having to fight for attention.

Here he is on the couch sitting between myself and hubby.  He has even started playing with his squeak toys again!  It just takes time.

This coming week looks to be a bit more quiet and normal.  I have baking planned as well as actually cooking meals this week.  Last week was a hit or miss in that department.  

That's all from me this week.  I have high hopes of finishing the lapghan this week.  How was your week?  

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

WEEK 37

 

Hi again!  I have made some progress on the lap blanket.  

Can you see the little progress keeper?  That is where I was last Sunday.  It is coming along.  After this orange stripe, I will add another yellow and then measure it.  There is the possibility I will add a third orange stripe if it is not long enough.  

The progress keeper in the above photo is new.  I just got it last week and was so happy to find it.  Here is a close up of it.

Isn't she cute?  This is Saint Rebecca the patroness of knitters!  Did any of you know knitters had a patron saint?  That Mr Google is just full of information like that LOL.

The lap blanket is the only project I am currently working on.  Although, I need to make another slipper for Jaxon.  She sent me this photo this week.

The yellow sock fits!  She said it is super comfy in her walking boot and really cushions her incisions.  So, I will probably cast that on in the next day or two.  Once the lap blanket and sock are done, I have decided to get back to making more gnomes.

I joined Imagine Landscapes Grimblewoods Collection Knitalong.  Although I am not actually knitting a long, I have purchased the patterns and will work on them at my leisure.  Hopefully they will help to use up some of those bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn I have hanging around.

GOOD NEWS!  I went to the ENT this week.  She did not need to put a tube in my ear as the fluid is leaving slowly but surely.  She figured it will be another 3 months for it to clear out all the way.  She also told me to go ahead and start back on my Enbrel as there was no more infection in my sinuses.  WOOHOO!  I went home and started my injections immediately!  The reason I had to discontinue my Enbrel is because it is an immunosuppressant.  If an infection starts Enbrel will make it harder for you body to fight it.  Most of the time it is not necessary to stop but because I had ruptured the eardrum and my sinuses were totally inflamed and impacted, I needed to quit so my body could fight.  

SAD NEWS!  We had to say goodbye to one of our the best friends ever.

Our sweet baby girl, Luna crossed the rainbow bridge early Friday morning.

She suffered an injury that would have required surgery.  Because of her health issues she had been suffering from for the past year, it was decided that the surgery was not going to be wise.  We knew the end was near for the past few months but I kept babying her so she could stay with us.  She had been with us for 12 years and was one of the best dogs we have had.  This decision is one of the hardest every.  This is the fourth time I have had to do it and it never gets easier.

So, now, Enrique is an only dog and will remain that way.  He has been showered with so much extra love the past few days.  All of our kids have come over to love on him and make sure mom and dad are handling the loss ok.  Enrique misses her and looks for her several times a day.  This morning is the first time he came out for breakfast and did not look to see if I was putting her bowl down for her.  It will take time for all of us to adjust.

And that, my friends, is all from me this week.

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