Warmth!

 Hello and happy Wednesday to you all. I've been hit and miss around here recently and I'm sorry. Monday we had 73F and we decided to play outside most of the day. We went to the cemetery and put flowers on my parents and Dennis's parents graves and then took a long walk around the grounds. It really is a beautiful place. We're planning to order a headstone for Dennis's sister and have it put on the last family plot, next to his Mom's. Karen was cremated, but we would like to have a place to put flowers for her and I know she would like to have it close to Mom's. 

Then we came home and just spent time outside with Zoey since it was so nice. I wasn't allowed to eat at all Monday because of the surgery yesterday so we were also trying to distract me from food. Ha! Look who was in the field behind our condo building. Rusty, our resident fox that the neighbors have named.

In these two photos we watched him catch a mouse and...

...carry it off towards his home. We all like that he's taking care of the mice. Apparently they have been much less of a nuisance this year. We've never had an issue with them but I'm glad he's finding something to eat. Where you see those trees on the far left is the beginning of a big ravine that goes for blocks with trees and a small stream. Lots of wildlife live in in. We've seen the fox, coyotes, hawks, bunnies, etc.

I'm making a little progress on the cross stitch for the new baby. I've had too many distractions this week to get much crafting done.

I did finish another pair of socks. These were made with the Opal yarn I bought from Denmark while we were in London. The pattern is Petty Harbour and was a free pattern on Ravelry.

I've put up the Valentine's decorations for our 2nd annual cupcake decorating party on Saturday. Our normal group of friends that we camp with and did gingerbread houses together, will be here. I'll bake about 60 cupcakes and I bought lots of decorations, frostings and glitter to put on them. We'll provide pizza for dinner and have a grand ole time! :-)

Just a few fun things around the condo.

Some little hearts I embroidered a long time ago.

Outside the front door.

I made this Scandinavian Heart banner many years ago with the pattern from my dear friend Teresa Kasner.  She was a blog friend who lived near Portland, OR that I visited very often. I had four blog friends that lived in the area and we always got together for lunch when I visited Mandy, who lived in Portland for over 10 years. Teresa passed unexpectedly a few years ago and it was devastating to many people. She was very multi-talented and was also very active in the community. She freely shared all of her knowledge and skills with everyone. She designed these little Scandinavian hearts and provided the pattern from on her blog home page to whoever wanted it. I think her blog is still up if you're interested in reading about her. It's named "Teresa Kasner". I would love you to get to know her.

I had the surgery to remove the mass from my colon yesterday. It was 33 cm long! That's 12 inches! I can't believe it. The labs came back about an hour ago and it was NON-CANCEROUS! Praise the Lord! It says they took it out in 76 pieces! The surgeon look young enough to be my granddaughter. My nurse told me that he chose her to take care of both of his parents when they needed a similar surgery. That's a pretty high recommendation. That made me feel better going in. It took a little over 1 1/2 hours and they sent me home right away. That's just crazy to me. I'm a bit wobbly and very tired today but I guess that's to be expected. The GREAT news is that I get to have another colonoscopy in 6 months to make sure it hasn't grown back or turned cancerous. Oh goody!

Next Wednesday I have a CAT scan with contrast to check out a nodule on my adrenal gland that they're keeping an eye on. Labs for that are tomorrow. Who said getting old is relaxing? Ha! I've been blessed though with nothing serious coming of any of it. The Lord is watching over me and I feel it. As Christians, we're not promised that we would have no problems in this life, but a wonderful promise that He would walk through it with us and the promise of life everlasting with Him. That's what I'm looking forward to.

If all goes well with the next tests, we're still hoping to head south with the camper by the end of the month for at least a few weeks. We have to be back by the end of March for Dennis's doctor appointment. Although, it's so warm here, it may be better to just hang out here. It's 57F here right now with more 60's and 70's in the forecast for next week. It's really unusual. We've broken several records for warm weather while so many of you are freezing. March will probably be a humdinger!

Take care my friends. I'm praying for all of you and this crazy world we're living in. I sure appreciate my friends in blogland who bring sanity and love into my life.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE?

Text: Francis Ridley Havergal

Music: C. Luise Reichardt

1 Who is on the Lord’s side? 
Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, 
other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? 
Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? 
Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, 
by Thy grace divine,
we are on the Lord’s side. 
Savior, we are Thine.

2 Not for weight of glory, 
not for crow and palm, 
enter we the army, 
raise the warrior psalm; 
but for love that claimeth 
lives for whom He died. 
He whom Jesus nameth 
must be on His side. 
By Thy love constraining, 
by Thy grace divine, 
we are on the Lord's side. 
Savior, we are Thine.

3 Jesus, Thou hast bought us, 
not with gold or gem,
but with Thine own life-blood, 
for Thy diadem.
With Thy blessing filling 
each who comes to Thee,
Thou hast made us willing, 
Thou hast made us free. 
By Thy grand redemption, 
by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side. 
Savior, we are Thine!

4 Fierce may be the conflict, 
strong may be the foe,
but the King’s own army, 
none can overthrow;
Round His standard ranging, 
Vict'ry is secure,
for His truth unchanging 
makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting, 
by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side. 
Savior, we are Thine

February!

Hello, good morning and welcome to February. I haven't heard if Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow or not, but I know lots of people are ready for winter be over and done with. We've warmed up around here. It was 43F yesterday. It was also my 66th birthday yesterday. I missed my third Sunday in a row at church yesterday. I don't know that I've ever done that in my entire life. I still have a ridiculous cough and I'm so over it. Even though the doctor told me that I'm no longer contagious, people really panic when they hear coughing in public so I've stayed away from everyone. The antibiotics for bronchitis finished yesterday so I hope I'm almost done with this stuff. I hope you're all doing well and ready for the month of hearts, flowers, pink, white and red and the hope of spring in the air.

Meanwhile, I'm still showing Christmas things! Ha! I didn't want to show the cross-stitch ornaments I made the family for this year until I knew that everyone had opened theirs. They've been finished since October and here is the revealing photo. 

Tada!!!!

I used to make each person a different one every year, but then I would forget who I gave which design to. Several years ago I decided to make them all the same and just write the year next to the pattern so I wouldn't repeat. It's worked out fine so far. They all seem to love to get them and I love to make them. The backing fabric is different every year. I just buy a package of fat quarters every couple of years and it gives me a choice of what to use.

The finished photo of the "Grace" baby blanket. I do love to crochet this pattern and you see it repeated a lot on my blog. Again, this is Lion Brand Mandala Bebe yarn in the "Diagon Alley" color way. I think my last post changed Diagon Alley to Dragon Alley and I didn't catch it. Ha!

This is the "Christmas Blanket" that I was working on in my last post. I was asked to share the pattern source. I do know that it's a free pattern on the designers blog but I can't find it now. I know I originally saw it on a YouTube video by Elise Rose Crochet. I copied and pasted the pattern into the notes app on my iPad but didn't copy the designers name. I'm sorry I can't find it, but I will keep looking for the website. I apologize. I'm usually better about writing the designers name down.

This was so much fun to crochet. I made it in three days last week and I did make it two rows wider and two rows longer than the pattern called for. It ended up being the perfect size for the back of the sofa to just throw over your legs on a chilly night.

I like how it fits perfectly on the back of the sofa. (Please don't look at the Zoey hairs on the grey sofa. They are impossible to keep off, no matter how much I vacuum.) 

First I made all of the centers and then crocheted the rest of the squares. Then I laid them all out in order and whip-stitched them together. Finally I just did a simple shell border as the pattern called for.

My current project is a cross-stitch birth record wall hanging for our granddaughter that is due in April in London. I think it's really sweet. This was several days worth of stitching. As you can tell, it's a fairytale theme. Perfect for a little girl with the last name of Queen!

We FaceTimed with the kids there for quite a long time yesterday and the Grandpa projects are already being listed out since we left in December! There are shelves to be put up in the playroom and a few other small items. We don't have firm plans yet to return to London, but possibly late spring, early summer. We'll have to see. Grandma will need baby cuddles and "J" is wanting to see us too. It's just that long flight...... Why can't we just twitch our noses like on "Bewitched" or nod like the old "Dream of Jeannie" show and be somewhere else? 

Here is the Mr. Snowman diamond painting that usually visits in January and February. This is my rotating frame that I switch out seasonal diamond painting pictures. Mr. Snowman has been too generous with his snow around the country this winter and I'm tempted to switch him to the spring picture so maybe the cold and snow will let up. Ha! I do wish you could see how he sparkles in the sunlight but I can't get it to show up properly.

The surgery to remove the mass in my colon is scheduled for February 10. I don't know if they'll do it if I'm still coughing, so I would definitely appreciate prayers that I would get over this plague quickly. I really don't want to have to wait another month or more to get scheduled in. I'm not worried about the procedure itself, just that nasty prep that will have to be done again. They said a colonoscopy usually takes about 5-10 minutes of actual surgery time and that we should plan 1 1/2 to 2 hours for this surgery. Not fun although I guess I'll be sleeping through the entire thing. :-)

I hope you are all doing well and digging yourself out if you're in the areas that received so much snow and cold. Dennis's brother just called a few minutes ago and said it was 43F at the time at their house near Miami, FL. It's 10:30 in the morning, well, I guess 11:30 there! That's almost unheard of. And the snow in Pensacola, FL last week! It's really a crazy winter this year. I sure hope you're staying warm, or cool depending on where you are in the world.

Also, keep praying for the craziness that seems to keep creeping into every part of the world like an invasive species. I pray for peace and comfort from the Lord to His children everywhere. Every day I pray that I can be more like Him and share His love with everyone I can. I hope you can feel that love.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

MAKE ME A BLESSING

Music by: George S. Schuler

Text: Ira B. Wilson

1        Out in the highways and byways of life,
          Many are weary and sad;
          Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
          Making the sorrowing glad.

 

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
  Make me a blessing to someone today.

2

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,
  Tell of His pow’r to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
  True, every moment you live.

3

Give as ’twas given to you in your need,
  Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
  Unto your mission be true.

Brrrrrr.

We're heading into the deep freeze this week. I'm told on Friday it will really hit and we'll stay there awhile. Doesn't matter much too me. I've been inside with a head cold since last Friday. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time on my iPad on a coloring app. It's mindless and relaxing and sometimes that's all that my stuffed up head can deal with. :-) I should be cleaning. Or crocheting. Or knitting. But I'm not.

I did finish the Christmas stocking for the new baby. It does still need to be blocked. Once she's born, I'll put her name in the red space on top like I did for Alex, "T" and "J". I enjoy the color work but it's not super relaxing for me. I admire those of you whose blogs I read that do a lot of it. I have definitely come to realize that I'm a production knitter/crocheter, not a process one. I like to get a lot done so I can donate it to those in need. It takes me a lot longer to do color work. I'm trying to force myself to slow down and enjoy the making of things though and not just rush through them.

I'm working on a "Grace" baby blanket right now. I really like this pattern. Each row changes and keeps interest going. I'm using Lion Brand Mandala Baby in the "Dragon Alley" color way and an "H" crochet hook. 

I'm planning to make an afghan for the back of the sofa that I saw on a you tube video last week. It's called the "Christmas Blanket" but I'm not really sure why. It's done in an off white/cream for the main color and small bursts of brown, dark green, and burgundy. Although it could be for Christmas, it looks more like cottage colors to me and would be appropriate year round. I hope to start working on it soon.

Good golly the world has gone completely crazy lately hasn't it? I'm appalled by so much that I'm seeing on the news and reading and seeing in other places. I'm SO glad that I have the Lord of all creation watching over me. No matter how dark it gets, He will be standing right beside me. You can also have that certainly if you don't already know Him. He's just waiting for you to turn to Him in faith. 

I'm praying in particular for the Christians in Nigeria who are being killed by the hundreds, but yet it doesn't seem to be important enough to make the news. I'm also praying for the Iranian people who are closer to ridding themselves of the evil regime that his been dictating their lives since 1979. I can't imagine how brave they are being right now. So many people needing our love and support. I can't help but think the return of our Saviour is closer than we could have ever thought. 

I'll be back soon my friends. Stay warm and toasty unless you're down under, in that case, enjoy your summertime!

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Are You Washed in the Blood?

by: Elisha A. Hoffman

Verse 1

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus

Are you washed in the blood, In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 2

Are you walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the Crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus

Are you washed in the blood, In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 3

When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus

Are you washed in the blood, In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 4

Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb; There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Chorus

Are you washed in the blood, In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?