Sunny or Cloudy?

From where I sit in my recliner as I type this I see sunshine out the windows facing west and I see big black clouds out the patio door facing east! I wonder which it will be today?  When we lived in the Midwest our weather almost always came from the southwest. If you looked that direction, you pretty much knew what was in store for you. Here though, I have learned that the weather can come from any direction at all. Since we live in a valley between mountain ranges, we kind of create our own little weather climate. Anyway, it’s always a surprise what will happen. I’m hoping for the sunshine myself!

This sweet package arrived early this morning from Sherri in Nevada. I love how she decorated the box. :-) I have removed her address for privacy reasons.

Inside were these two Christmas wrapped rolls.  And inside of those were.....

10 beautiful pairs of mittens for the school children! Sherri, they are perfect and thank you so much.

She also included a little surprise gift for me. Bath elixir, temple balm, hand cream and soap along with the prettiest crocheted wash cloth.  Sherri, this was so sweet of you. I appreciate all of your hard work on the mittens and the gift is beautiful.  Lavender is my favorite color! 

I started a new baby blanket yesterday. We have a couple at our church who have been married for many years and have never been able to have a baby. They have adopted four siblings from the foster system. One is a set of twins and then, as the mother had two more babies over several years, they also were placed with this couple and adopted. She was shocked and overjoyed to discover that she is now pregnant herself!  There is a baby shower planned at church the first week in November. As you can see, it’s a boy! I also want to try to make her a sweater, hat and sock set to match if I have time.

My carry along project has been this sock. I am truly enjoying this pattern. The chart is so simple that even I can read it!

Our sweet Chloe has been falling down the stairs over the past couple of weeks. She did this last autumn too with the arrival of the damp cooler weather. I think it is her arthritis that is causing the falls as she goes down the stairs. I tried putting throw rugs at the top and the bottom of the stairs but she still slipped on the stairs themselves. We ordered these treads from Amazon and they arrived last night. As you can tell, they still have to relax from being in the box. Honestly, I don’t like them at all but if they make it easier for her to navigate the stairs I will get used to them.

I’m heading to Jennys in a little while to help her with her exercises. Apparently the physical therapist gave her some new exercises yesterday that she can’t do by herself. We are enjoying all of our chatting time and I know that when she goes back to work I will barely be able to see her.

I hope you’re all having a great week and have exciting fall plans for the weekend.  I’m not sure yet what We’re going to be up to. It’s supposed to be rainy and cool so we may just hunker down at home.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 2:5

“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.“   Colossians 3:12

Blessings,

Betsy 

Another week gone by,

Hello again.  Has it been a week since I posted?  My goodness! Where does the time go?  I have been spending most of every day during the week with Jenny and our weekend was jam-packed. I have not been able to take pictures of what I have been working on almost constantly, because they are going to be Christmas gifts. Suffice it to say I have been cross stitching for the first time in a while. I’ve really been enjoying it too.  I did finish these socks.

These are knit in the Hermione pattern with Knit Picks Stroll Tweed in the Forest Heather colorway.  I really like how they turned out.

My new sock project is also knit with Knit Picks Stroll Tweed in Persimmon Heather.

This is a new to me pattern that is in a box of sock patterns I’ve had for years but not used.  The pattern is written using charts only and I much prefer a written pattern. This one is fairly simple and is teaching me the patience of reading charts.

Michaels had a great sale this past Monday only. Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn was on sale for $1.99 a skein. I stocked up. This photo was from my first trip in the morning and then I decided to go back in the afternoon since this is the absolute cheapest I have ever seen this yarn. I ended up buying 26 skeins. I should have plenty for the mitten project for next year. I can get three pair of mittens out of each skein with a little ball left over. I use those leftovers to make the stripes, so nothing goes to waste.

I also received a package in the mail from Debra who is “Araignee” over on my side bar. She is such a generous person. She makes soaps every season and then gives them away to anyone who would like some. She included a lotion bar and a sweet card that she made. She never writes in the cards so that you can reuse them yourself. Isn’t that just the sweetest thing? You should smell this soap. It’s wonderful!  Thank you so much Debra.

And look at the inside of the card.

And I couldn’t leave without sharing a picture of sweet Piper at the pumpkin patch last weekend. It looks like it might have been a bit chilly and windy there since she has her winter coat on.

I hope you are all enjoying the fall weather, or spring if you’re down under. I got my flu shot today and boy oh boy, is my arm sore! Mandy got hers yesterday and said hers was pretty sore too. Dennis got his at the same time as I got mine and he said he’s fine. I sure hope it keeps me from getting the flu this year.  Do you get a flu shot? I think they are becoming quite controversial.  A few years ago it seemed like everybody got their flu shot every year. I know that Mandy sure recommends them, especially now that she’s working in an urgent care.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”  Philippians 4:8

Blessings,

Betsy 

Snow!?

Oh my friends! I dread to think of what this winter is going to bring if we have had snow twice already this year. Look what I woke up to this morning.  3.3 inches of the white stuff! Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

Power is out all over the city and schools are canceled. No, it wasn’t a huge amount, only a little over 3 inches, but all of the trees still have their leaves on them and so live power lines are down all over the city.

Our neighbors tree fell on our fence and into our yard. Dennis will have a mess to clean up when he gets off of work tonight.  You can see where the trunk just snapped off.

This is a photo that I just took of the TV news.  It is beautiful but the roads are a mess.  The next two are live shots at 8:15 this morning.  See how the traffic is backed up on the bridge? Apparently the roads are just a sheet of ice right now.

Wow!  So pretty!  This is downtown Spokane.

This is another photo that I just snapped off of the TV news. Trees, trees, trees down everywhere.  It looks like a hurricane went through and brought snow with it!

Fall is what we are supposed to be experiencing right now. Summer just ended a couple of weeks ago! So I’m going to show you a few of my fall decorations like I had originally planned to post today before our surprise snowstorm. :-)

We didn’t have nearly as much snow as some people though. Montana is still in a winter storm warning. Our sweet little granddaughter Kyleigh texted me last night that she was playing her last soccer game of the season for school in the middle of a blizzard.

Lots of shadows today because of the clouds and the snow but here is my Hoosier cabinet.

Here is a better photo of the top of the cabinet.

Goodness it’s dark isn’t it?

The kitchen island. I love these little leaves that I crocheted several years ago.

And the little table by the front door.

Well, I need to get ready and go tackle the roads and see if I can make it to Neal and Jenny’s house. She’s doing very well.  Yesterday I drove her to physical therapy and he was very pleased with her progress. However, she still can’t be left alone for at least another week because of the fall risk. We had dinner with them again last night. I think we’re going to have Bible study at their house Thursday night. We are planning on taking dinner to them again that night and then it will be pizza night on Friday with them. I think they will be very tired of our company by the time she’s up and about again!

Several of you have asked how my back held up during the trip. I didn’t want to be a whiny baby about it, so I haven’t talked about it. As long as I didn’t do anything and just sat around, I was fine. As soon as I tried to do any standing or much walking, the spasms started. However, I was still able to spend time with our family and that’s what was important. Riding in the car is absolutely no problem at all at this point. I can recline the seat back while Dennis drives and everything seems to be fine.  I appreciate each and everyone of you who were praying for me. I just try not to talk about it a whole lot anymore because I don’t want to sound like a broken record.  I do have another injection scheduled for the end of October and I’m praying that this one works.

Wishing you all a wonderful day and I hope some of you are enjoying some fall, not winter, weather!

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”  Psalms 59:16

Blessings,

Betsy