Baby It’s Cold Outside

Right now at our house. Better than yesterday but still cold. Brrrrr. What is it like at your house? A warm up is supposed to begin today and I sure hope so.

I thought I would share a few more of my snowman collection with you this morning. I made this diamond painting last year. I hang him up after Christmas to welcome people to our home. I really like how diamond paintings sparkle in the sunshine. Because although it’s cold, the sun is shining beautifully here.

A good friend in Spokane made this quilted wall hanging and sent it to me a couple of years ago. She is very, very talented. For years, she displayed and sold her works of art at craft shows, but has stopped doing that.

If you look very closely in the tray by the word,”blessed” there is a little wooden snowman that my blog friend Cindy from the “Delighted Hands” blog, made for me on her wood lathe. I couldn’t believe it when it arrived in the mail one day and I treasure it.

A happy little snowman family! The rotating photo frame was a Christmas present from Alex and “T”. Both Mandy and the two of them, remotely upload new photos often. We absolutely love it! It sits right under the television, so it often catches our eye and we’ll both say at the same time. “Look a new picture!” Such a great invention. I know they’ve been around for a while, but I don’t know if you’ve always been able to upload remotely. That’s really nice for Alex and family being so far away.

If this looks familiar, and you think I’ve already posted it, you would be half right! It is the same pattern, “the baby diamond’s blanket”, and the same color, but it’s a different blanket! We have another baby girl that is expected at  church soon. The baby shower is this Saturday, so I quickly made another blanket for this new little girl. This is such an easy pattern that once you get going, you don’t even have to look at the instructions.

The vanilla socks are progressing nicely. I have turned the heel and I’m getting ready to begin the foot. I only work on these during Sunday school or when I’m waiting at doctor appointments, so they don’t move along very quickly. 

I am really enjoying this baby blanket. It is the “Grace” blanket and is a free pattern on Ravelry. I am using Hobby Lobby‘s Baby Bee Sweet Delight in the bare blue marled color way. The first 20 rows are each a different stitch and then you repeat rows 9 through 20 as many times as you wish, until it’s the size that you want. Since each row is different and I have to check the pattern, it is a much slower blanket than the pink one above, but I’m sure enjoying it. 

This blanket will go to the Open Door Mission. I have only four blankets ready for Dennis to take tomorrow when he volunteers at that location. I’ve been busy making blankets for baby showers and have fallen down on my donations! Today he is volunteering at the location nearer to us and I’m sure hoping they have the door shut! Usually they have the dock doors open so they can go out and get the donations from people as they drive up. It is so cold today, though. Last Tuesday he came home half frozen.

I spent a few hours crocheting on it yesterday while I watched the inauguration of President Trump. I missed seeing it when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated indoors so many years ago and had to have the ceremony inside. I was working then and you couldn’t rewatch things as easily as you can now. I thought this was a beautiful location chosen when the ceremony had to be moved indoors because of the cold.

I have so many odds and ends of sock yarn that I’ve started crocheting little three round hexagons and then I single crochet around them in a cream color. This is a very, very long-term project. I have baskets and bags of little balls of sock yarn that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with. I have already knitted two blankets with scraps. I’ve started keeping a small bag of little scrap balls next to my chair. When I remember, I can grab it and whip out a couple of these hexagons. When I get a stack of them, I will attach them together. I’ll just keep going until I think the blanket is big enough! I want to get more variety of colors made before I start attaching them together. This is my progress so far. As I said, this is a very long-term project.

In other news, the Portage sweater I was knitting and mailed last week has found its way to its new home. I sent it to a friend in Florida who received it just before the cold snap hit, so she is very happy. I’ll have to ask her if she minds me posting a picture of her wearing it on my blog for the next post. 

The neurosurgeon‘s office called yesterday and changed my appointment from April to the end of February! It will be nice not to have to wait so long to be seen and find out what, if anything, can be done.  Next Tuesday I have a CT scan on my adrenal gland. It will also be nice to see if that is anything I should be concerned about or can just be ignored. I guess this is what happens when you put things off until you get new insurance. Lots of doctors appointments all at once!

I am very relieved to finally have the election and inauguration behind us with none of the horrible attacks that so many were afraid would happen.My prayer is that we can put aside our differences and learn to work together again as a country. We are so divided and nothing good can happen when there is so much anger and hatred. What makes the United States different from many other countries is the peaceful transition of power. I was very happy and relieved to see that take place yesterday with nothing horrible happening around the country.

Well, my friends, I need to close and get a few housekeeping chores done this morning before I go to my crochet group where we make sleeping mats for the homeless. I guess it isn’t technically a crochet group since only three or four of us know how to crochet. The other ladies fold the plastic bags, cut them and roll them into balls called “plarn”.

I’ll be back soon. Always know that I’m thinking and praying for each one of you.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

LIVING FOR JESUS

Lyrics-Thomas O. Chisholm

Music-C. Harold Lowden

1. Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

2. Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.

3. Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy Name;
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

4. Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.