I'm Knitting!

Holy Cow!  Check this out!  Thanks to all those who encouraged me.  I know the picture isn't great (Wow! Didn't know my thighs looked that big, Ugh!). The colors are a little off.  I took it with Car Guy's iPod, but I had to show you the progress.  I'm still really awkward.  I'm having a hard time figuring out how to hold the yarn, but I'm getting there. Evidently, I make funny faces while I'm knitting

I'm afraid I'm being a little ambitious...which may be my downfall...but this is going to be a sweater. No scarf here.  No sirree! We are going to start out big....which means it may end up in a basket.  I hope not.  I'm meeting with a friend of a friend on Saturday and she's going to help me out. I'm so excited!

I'm off to try to get a few rows done before bed and I still have to get my bread in the oven. I'll be back soon with March's "Pay it Forward." I can't believe it's already March?!?!  Good Night!

Dreary Day

It's a dreary rainy day and I think Oreo has the right idea.  For the most part, rain doesn't bother me but for some reason, I want to go home and hide today.  Probably because this has been a long stressful week.  Too much to do and not enough time or energy. I'm wanting to relax and savor the weekend.  Hope everyone gets the chance to do that!  Happy Friday!

Geese

We are fast approaching the season change.  Bulbs are starting pop up in yards.  I'm seeing green patches in the grass.  The leaves are budding on trees....and......the geese are pooping all over the driveway again.  This used to bother me.  Hose off the drive...check your shoes before entering the house.....hose off the shoes....warn guest to check shoes...clean the poop out of the carpet......clean the poop out of the floor board of the car.....

That all changed last spring.  You see, there was this male goose and he had an injured wing and couldn't fly.  I felt so bad for him because all the other geese would fly off and there he'd be, all by himself, by the pond.  It got to be a daily habit for us to check and make sure he was still there.  Then one day, he had a guest with him.  This guest would disappear, but always come back.  Evidently, she really liked our injured goose, because she stuck around and the next thing we know, there were five little downy geese hanging out at the pond with them. They hung around until the babies were big enough to fly and evidently that was enough time for our injured goose to heal because one day, the whole family was gone.

Every time I'm feeling a little down, I think about that goose.  At first glance, he was an injured bird, all alone in the world.  But he really wasn't. He had a full life that we weren't even aware of. So many of us are like that.  There is so much more than what's on the surface, you just have to get past the poop.

Happy Friday!!

It is currently midnight, so I can wish everyone a happy Friday!  I should be in bed, but I wanted to stop by and say hello to everyone.  It looks like The Boys and Car Guy are finally healthy - YEA! Just in time for the Regional Wrestling Tournament this weekend.  While they were recuperating, they had to have something to amuse themselves, so they pulled out Car Guy's Scalextric Racetrack that I gave him for Christmas when The Boys were little. Car Guy bought a huge piece of plywood and put it on top of the pool table and he and The Boys set up the track.  All three boys had fun with it.

 While everyone was sick, I had to do something to keep busy, so I did a lot of crocheting for the store.  I'm afraid that the picture color isn't great, but I made a granny square baby blanket, a little girl's hat and in the picture, you can see the beginnings of a scarf.  I finished the scarf up tonight.  The yarn is Vanna's Choice which is a soft acrylic.  It's much softer after it's been washed and the reason I use this yarn for the items I make for the store is that it is machine washable.  So many people don't want to have to take the time to hand wash items any more.

I also finished the star baby blanket. I think I'm going to have to make a bigger one with heavier yarn for Number Two Son.  He really liked this one.  Of course, since he's now almost six feet tall at the age of fifteen, it's going to have to be a lot bigger than this one.

And finally, I made another little girl's hat and scarf.  (Again, I'm not crazy about the picture.) This one has fuzzy, fun yarn around the edge of the scarf and the brim of the hat. Very frilly.  I think that Car Guy and The Boys weren't feeling well because their masculine world had been invaded with pinks, purples and other frilly items while I was working on these projects. They just aren't used to a lot of froufrou in their lives.

So, between the sick men, work and hooking, I've managed to stay out of trouble....that just doesn't sound right.  Now I'm working on another hat...this time, for an adult.  We'll see how it turns out.

I'm off to bed now.  You probably won't hear much from me this weekend as I will be sitting in the bleachers at a high school yelling at my child to "Pin Him!!!!"  So I hope everyone is enjoys their weekend, takes good care of themselves and is sure to drink plenty of water (Denise)!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I hope this lovely day finds you well and happy.  Don't you just love that picture?  Those people so lovingly embracing are my paternal grandparents.  This is possibly one of my favorite pictures because my Grandfather was very old school and stoic, but I never once doubted that he loved my Grandmother. This is one of those pictures that is timeless in it's beauty and the emotions it conveys.

I am happy to report that the icky sickness has left our house, except for the occasional sniffles.  The Boys are back to school and Car Guy is back to work.  I managed to get through all this with just a cold and can honestly say that I'm quite happy that's all I had to endure.  I don't know that dealing with sick males and being sick myself would have gone over too well. As you all know, Mommies aren't allowed to get sick....

I was able to get quite a bit of hooking done and hope to get some descent pictures to post tomorrow. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and receives lots of love!

Quick Note

Just a quick note to "Hi!"  I'm still alive and working in the infirmary that my home has become. There are three very pathetic, sick males in my house at the moment and one mom who's not allowed to get sick.  There is a lot of '"not feeling" going on right now.

The baby blanket is done, along with a really cute hat and some booties! I hope to post picture soon.....once I'm able to quit my nursing job. 

 
Hope everyone else is able to dodge the flu bullet.  Take care!!

February's Pay It Forward or Good Old Fashioned "Show and Tell"

It's so hard for me to believe that February is already here!  It seems we spend so much time rushing the week, wanting the week-end to "Hurry Up and Get Here" and then wonder where the week went.  I guess it's just one of those crazy paradoxes of life.

So it's time to introduce everyone to a "new" blog.  I've probably spent way too much time browsing the blog world and I've come across some really great ones. I think, at the rate I'm going, my list is so long that I might start doing two a month. I do have one question for you.  I've noticed that there are a lot of blogs where people used to post regularly, but aren't anymore.  They have some really neat information contained in them, even if they aren't currently active and some of them have amazing "eye candy." Are you interested in seeing those as well?  I could possibly make those a mid-month "Show-and-Tell."  I would love to hear back from you on this one.

Drum roll please.......

Elaine Thronton's Cosmic Earth Beads

This blog comes to us from Elaine Thornton and is ChatElaine Jewellry.  I don't know Elaine, but we share a love for lamp work beads. It's been a few years since I've made any, but it is a beautiful craft to be involved in and this lady makes some really beautiful beads.  That is some her handy work over there.  Love the swirls!  She also makes some really cute ghosts, angels and Christmas tress. Pop over and take a gander. And if you have a little money to spend, she has an Etsy store too! She also is participating in the "One World One Heart" Blog event.  

The "One World One Heart" Blog event is kind of like a blog world open house.  I just found out about it and am a little disappointed that I didn't know about it sooner because over 1000 bloggers participate from around the world. If a blog is participating in the event, they will be displaying this lovely little badge somewhere on their blog.

"Joyride and The Muse" by Lisa Swifka

This leads me to that other blog that I want to share with you and it belongs to Lisa Swifka at A Whimsical Bohemian.  She is the host of the "One World One Heart" event and also an amazing artist in her own right.  I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what she is trying to accomplish so I greatly encourage that you pop over to her blog and read about this wonderful event she is hosting. She created this lovely little character to the left, (Joyride is the bird and Muse is the rider) and Lisa is giving them away as a door prize.  Aren't they absolutely quirky and adorable!  Also, before I forget, click HERE and this will take you to a list of blogs that are participating in the "One World One Heart" event. 

I hope you enjoy nosing around with these two beautiful, talented ladies.  Be prepared to sit for a while and be mesmerized. I'll be back to my regular posts soon with the normal wrestling updates and a ta-da moment for the baby blanket.  Have a joyful day!!!