On The Road Again..

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to Get on The Road Again....

Yes!  We're finally going to be on our way to see family the day after tomorrow.  We're driving to Omaha, Nebraska.  Dennis is going to try to get off of work an hour or so early so we can get about 5 hours drive time in on Wednesday, stopping for the night around 10:00 p.m. in Whitehall, MT if all goes as planned.  Then on to Omaha over the next two days.  We'll have to make lots of stops for me to get out and walk around to stretch my back, but it will be worth it to see all of our family and PIPER!!  Yes, Mandy and Brad drove 23 1/2 hours straight through on Friday from Maryland to Omaha, so they're already at Grandma's waiting for us.  They have already put an offer in on a house and had it accepted over the weekend, so I know they're hoping to move in very soon and begin this new phase of their lives.  I'm so excited for them and for us to see them!  It's been way too long.

Ellen is staying at our house with Chloe.  She loves her almost as much as we do so no worries on that front.  She'll take care of the house and our baby!  :-)

I have lots and lots and lots of pictures for you today.  I promised photos of the curtains we made for the trailer so here you go!  This is the dinette area with the curtains open.  I've done a bit of redecorating since I took this photo on Thursday.  The angel I showed you in my last post is now hanging below the clock and the clock has been moved higher.  My Instant Pot has a new home and I have some photos on the drawer unit.

Curtains closed.

We took a new loveseat to the trailert a few weeks ago and it's been a big hit with all of our visitors.  On the wall is a cross stitch that says "The Queen's Corner of the World".  I made it about 30 years ago!

Curtains closed.

Here is the back of the trailer with Dennis' and my Lazyboy recliners.

Curtains Closed!

The hallway.  You can see I have angels everywhere.  People know I like them and I get them as gifts.  That's the refrigerator on the right.

The bedroom with a quilt I made a few years ago from leftover fabric.  Please ignore the not very good job of pillow smoothing.  It's hard to lean back in there with my back issues. 

The kitchen area.  We didn't make curtains for this window because it has nice mini-blinds and they would just get dirty quickly.

I hope you enjoyed the little camper tour. I just realized I forgot bathroom photos.  Oops.  It does have a shower, sink and toilet and it's nice sized as well.  We love our little home away from home and the new curtains make it extra cozy at night when they are shut tight.  It also seems to keep it cooler inside when the sun is beating down.

This next picture is one I took while taking Chloe for a walk Friday morning.  I was awed by how blue the sky is next to the pine trees.  That morning the pine smell was so strong.  Days like that I remember just how much I love the Pacific Northwest and all of it's beauty.

A few more angels and a flower pot on our doorstep.  Dennis made these wonderful stairs for us and several other people at the lake.  Much, much better than trailer steps.

Our backyard.

We are fighting these brown spots this year because of the voles.  They keep digging up the grassy area.

Stairs Lori, Paul and Dennis built to the lower area behind our trailers.  We can use that too but have not developed it at all.

We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather.  The park and beach looked like the 4th of July yesterday.  It was SO busy at the beach.

I've called a time-out on my beaded shawl until we return from our trip.  I was off one stitch and had to rip back 6 rows to get back on track.  Doesn't sound bad until you realize that there were over 480 stitches in each row. And it was lace.  And beads.  Enough said.

It is pretty though and I know I'll like it when it's done.  I just don't want to be chasing beads around in the truck.  So I'll work on baby sweaters, socks and mittens on the drive.

One last photo of my lavender blooming at home this morning.  It's grown from a 6 inch plant to over 4 foot in diameter in 4 years!  I'm going to have to divide it soon.  Any tips?

I'm sure this is way too long.  If I still have anyone here, thanks for hanging in there with me!  I won't be able to post while were gone, so I'll plan to do that once we're back home.  Be prepared for Piper photos! Thank you for the tips on Word Press. I think that will be my next project.  Switching over this blog so I can post while away from home.

I hope you are all having a lovely summer, (or winter if that's where you live.)  I'm going to see my girls in a few days!  I'm SO excited.  Can you tell? 

"For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:5

I'll be back soon!

Blessings,
Betsy

Happy Father' Day!

Hi Everyone~ Another week has passed and it did go by rather quickly.  I spent several days at the lake and several days at home.  I have been knitting, but on a new shawl and baby blanket that are currently at the trailer, (where I'm returning within the hour), and I forgot to photograph them.  Since I can only blog on our home computer I won't be able to show them to you this week.  So, I'll show you a few other items around the house.

Dennis is mowing right now, so I ran out and took a quick photo of the marigolds and rhubarb.  See the first pass of the mower around the rhubarb?  Gosh, that rhubarb just keeps going this year with our cool weather.  I've harvested about 14 one gallon bags from this plant already and it needs picked again!  Yum.  Lori made rhubarb/apple crisp at the lake last night and it was SO good.  We had vanilla bean ice cream with it.  Not weight watcher friendly, but delicious  nonetheless. :-)

The marigolds haven't grown much in recent weeks either because of the cool, wet weather.  That is supposed to change to more summer like over the next few days so maybe they'll be huge by the end of the week!  Ha!

Friday afternoon I was sitting in the trailer knitting during a big windstorm and I heard a knock on the door.  Our neighbor a few doors down was coming to visit and brought me this beautiful folk angel as a gift. Isn't she lovely?  We have the best friends.

She is joining some of my other favorites on the Hoosier cabinet.  The purple sheep I received as a blogger gift and my knitting bunny live there.  A depression glass plate that belonged to my Grandma and a cookbook full of vintage things too.

I am so glad we found this cabinet a year or two ago.  It's one of my favorite pieces of furniture.

Yesterday we made curtains for the trailer.  The accordion blinds that came with the camper are breaking, one by one and they are SO expensive to replace. They do get a lot of use and most everyone is or has experienced the same problem with their blinds.  I much prefer the cozier look of drawn curtains at night anyway.  Nita brought out her portable sewing machine.  I cut the fabric, Nita sewed the hems or rod pockets, whichever was needed.  (I don't have a cabinet large enough for my Instant Pot, so it  has to sit out in the open.  I'm not fond of the look of it, but I don't want to give up the convenience of the Instant Pot either.)

Dennis is a wonderfully good presser.  He pressed the panels before I cut them and again after they were sewn before we hung them up.  Lori and Paul contributed the little ironing board and iron to the endeavor.  It was a group effort!

This was Larry's contribution.  :-)  He held Sophie.  I forgot to get a photo of the curtains all hung so I'll do that this week for you too.  The loveseat Larry is sitting on is the one that we brought from home last month.  We gave our other sofa to another couple at the lake who had an identical one that had had a lot of use.  We rarely used ours because we have our lazy-boy recliners to sit in.  Now, we have four recliners and our trailer has become the gathering place on evenings when it is too cold or rainy to sit outside. 

Yesterday I made Thanksgiving in a Crockpot for all six of us, Paul, Lori, Larry, Nita, Dennis and myself.  It was really good.  The recipe was given to me last week by a friend at the lake.  It was a cool day and after making curtains all day, it was nice to have dinner ready for us in the evening.

Here's the recipe.

In a large crockpot layer but DON'T stir together.

4 Chicken Breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery OR chicken soup. (I used celery and it was delicious.)
2 cans drained green beans
2 boxes stuffing mix
extra sage if desired, (I used about 1 tablespoon dried sage.)
1 small can chicken broth, (pour over everything)
french fried onions (Like used for green bean casserole)

Cook on high for 6 hours and then turn to low until you're ready to eat.  I did about 2 extra hours.

Let me know if you try it and like it. :-)

Update:  The physical therapist really worked over my back last Monday and I have been in intense pain ever since.  He said at the time that he was sure my back wasn't broken anymore hence the more intense therapy.  WELL SURPRISE!  They did another x-ray on Tuesday and the bone is still broken with NO healing at all no wonder the things he did hurt so bad.  Basically my back feels like it is on fire all of the time now.  I see my Primary Care doctor tomorrow to discuss options.  I would appreciate any prayers you could send up.  This is definitely getting old and we're planning a 26 hour drive at the end of the month with another 26 hours back home.

This is why Nita was a sweetheart and sewed my curtains for me.  There is no way I could possibly sit at the sewing machine that long.  I appreciate her doing that for me so much.  Just as I appreciate each one of you who asks how I'm doing and shows such love and concern for me.  Thank you, thank you. :-)

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

My friends, you have all given love and caring to me and I appreciate it very much.  I hope you all have a most wonderful week.

Blessings,
Betsy

Sunday, Sunday

Happy Sunday!  It's a beautiful sunny afternoon here in Spokane.  It's 65F and so beautifully calm and serene here.  Dennis is outside mowing the yard and I'm inside doing laundry so tomorrow I can go back to the lake!  Yesterday we were woken up again by the carbon monoxide detector in the trailer.  We knew there was nothing wrong, as the same thing had happened earlier in the week and we had all of the windows open.  Upon further investigation we found that the devices are programmed to sound the alarm intermittedly after 60 months of use.  We've had the trailer since 2012...it's now 2017 so it was time to buy a new one.  Dennis called around and the only place we could find one in stock was in Post Falls, Idaho, so off we went.  We drove to Spokane and dropped Chloe off at the house and then drove to Idaho to buy the detector.  There was no putting it off because it's hardwired to the electrical system.  We couldn't just disconnect it because then nothing worked, apparently it's a safety feature.  **sigh**  Then it was back to the trailer to install it.  I'm so glad I have a handy husband.  It did take the majority of the day though, and of course we had to take some time to look at the new trailers while we were there. :-)  He also did all of the mowing and trimming for our lot and four of our neighbors last night after the other repairs.

Now everything is working again...did I mention the shower knob didn't work when I tried to take a shower yesterday morning either?  At least we were already going to the parts store, so we bought a new one.  Everything is made of plastic to keep the weight down in these trailers and since we spend so much time at the lake, it all gets used a lot.  We do try to take good care of everything and do routine maintenance.  In fact, just last weekend Dennis spent all day Saturday washing the roof and resealing around all of the vents and skylights just as a preventative measure.  He is such a hard worker.

Now to reveal my Amulet Shawl.  I finished it last week and wore it to church last Sunday.  What do you think?  I absolutely love it.  It's hard to see the beads in these pictures, but it has over 500 beads knitted into it.

In fact, I loved the pattern and the way the author wrote it so much, I immediately cast-on for another Helen Stewart pattern, the Asana Shawl.  Here it is in it's beginning stages.

This was it last night just before I put the first row of beads on it.  I can only work on it when I'm alone because now that I'm past the garter stitch section each row is counted and needs to be completely accurate.

Friday I woke up to a flat tire so off I went to get it fixed.  Dennis was already at work so it was up to me!  Here I am in the waiting room of the tire shop while the tire is being fixed.  I finished another pair of mittens while I waited.  There was a nail in my tire!  I have no idea where that came from but they fixed it at no charge so all is well.

That made two pair for this week.  I need to up my game on these mittens. I find I am very distracted by all of this shawl knitting and I don't want to make mittens anymore.  :-)

On Wednesday I was wandering around our local yarn shop, Paradise Fibers, which many of you know of since most of their business is online.  I saw a lonely skein of 75% merino/25% nylon undyed fingering weight yarn on a shelf all by itself.  Needless to say I bought it and promptly dyed it.  It was my first attempt at dying yarn and I must say I really enjoyed it.  I used a very easy method using Kool-Aid.  This was Mango-Mango flavored Kool-Aid that I had had in my cupboard since our kids were little!  Who knows how old that stuff was but it worked for dying yarn!  I love the pretty peach color it turned out and the tonal qualities were exactly what I wanted but I never thought I could end up with.  I don't know if I'll ever dye yarn again, but I sure have fallen in love with this skein.  It will make a nice pair of socks or a shawl, I haven't decided yet.

I bought new curtain panels at Shopko today to make curtains for the trailer.  The ones that came with the trailer are just plain icky and I've never liked them.  Would you believe they are GLUED to the valances?  I was going to buy material at JoAnn's and make the new curtains, but then, when we went to buy the curtain rods I saw these.  The perfect color for the trailer to match the valances and on sale too.  Normally $21.99 a panel, on sale for $7.99!  You can't beat that price.  I bought all they had and hope it's enough.  Worst case, I have to make a different color for the bedroom as I think this is plenty for the living room/hallway.  Much less expensive than the material I was looking at, they're room darkening to block sunlight AND most of the seams will be done for me already! ( I will be cutting them up to fit the trailer windows.)

We got new gravel on the road by our trailer at the lake last week.  It's very welcome as the dirt was making lots of dust when cars drove by.  Please ignore the trash cans across the road, it was garbage pickup day when I took the picture.

The maintenance staff has been very busy getting the cabins all gussied up for the summer crowds.  This winter was a hard one for everyone and everything, including the buildings on the grounds.

Here's my handsome Hubby replacing the outside shower hose on Larry & Nita's trailer.  He does most of the maintenance on their trailer too since they are somewhat older than we are and have a difficult time doing it.  This guy is amazing.  He works 12 hours a day/five days a week without complaint and then does everything else he does for me and everyone else too.  I am blessed to have him as my husband and I never, ever take him for granted.

I think that's about all of my news.  I'm still trying to adjust to my medication and find myself exhausted a lot.  We're planning to drive to Omaha at the end of June to spend a week with family and friends.  It's a 25-26 hours drive each way, so please pray that it is doable for me with my back, etc.  I'm determined to go because Mandy, Brad and Piper will be there by then too.  I can't wait to see everyone.  My sister, my brothers and Dennis' family all live there too. 

I hope you're all enjoying your summer, (or winter if that's the part of the world you're in.)

Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment."   Matthew 22:37-38

Until next time!
Blessings,
Betsy