It's Monday!

Hello again friends!

It's been a busy weekend and can you believe that January is almost over?  Considering that I spent the first two weeks sick and unable to do much, it was a busy month.

It was also a weekend for smashing any diet hopes that I had.  We ate four, yes four meals out at restaurants.  Admittedly, three of them were with friends that we had made plans with, but still.  Four meals out in three days?  I'm so very spoiled and my waistline is suffering.  Mexican food Friday night, breakfast on Saturday and then in the evening, pizza!  After church yesterday was lunch with a lovely bunch of friends.  I had a hot roast beef sandwich.  Yum!  Okay.  That's enough.  It's Monday and I absolutely HAVE to do better!

I did manage to finish the baby blanket that I've been knitting on for a week.  My knitting is much, much slower than crocheting and on top of that it was a lace pattern with a 20 row repeat so there was no way to memorize it.  At least not for me to memorize it!  And tah-dah!  Here it is.

Uh oh!  Now that I look at the pictures, I think I see a mistake, but since only God makes things perfect I think I will leave it alone and not rip it out as my hands are itching to do.

 And here are two up close and personal pictures to show the detail a bit better.

The pattern called for the border to be done in garter stitch, but I like the seed or moss stitch better so that's what I did.  The yarn is Caron's Simply Soft and it only took a little over a skein and a half.  So I made the blanket for less than $5.00.  Amazing!  And it's so soft and sweet.  Perfect for a special baby.

The next two pictures are of my needle case. I keep all my double pointed and interchangeables in it.  I have seen comparable cases online for upwards of $80 but I made this one in about an hour with my quilt scraps.  It rolls up into a tidy roll that fits nicely in my knitting bag and goes everywhere with me.

 A closer picture showing the pockets I sewed for each size needle and  a pocket for the interchangable cords.  See the new needle tips still in the packages.  My wonderful daughter got me duplicates of the tips I use the most for Christmas. That way I can have more than one project on the needles.  She's a knitter too and understands the necessity for being prepared when inspiration strikes!

 And here's a picture of the new haircut.  Excuse the double chins and the weird smile.  I took the picture myself holding the camera out at arms length.  It's strange to try to look normal for a camera with no one behind it!  How do you like the cut?  I'm finding that I'm enjoying different looks.  I can still clip it back with combs or barrettes.  Or I can leave it down or with a headband.  I'm taking an opinion poll so let me know your thoughts.

I've got my housework done for the day.  The last load of laundry is in the dryer.  We're having our best friends over for dinner tonight and I'm making chicken and noodles with homemade baking powder biscuits and green beans from last summer's garden.  I make my noodles from scratch and they seem to be very popular.  I get lots of requests and it's a perfect meal for a winter day.  No dessert after the weekend I've experienced!

I'm going to work on some burial outfits this afternoon for the local hospital.  Not too many people like to make them because it's a bit depressing.  The nurses told me when I made my last hat delivery that they were out of the burial gowns and hats.  They are crocheted, usually pink, blue or white.  Sometimes the baby is actually buried in it, but sometimes the parents keep it as a keepsake.  It does serve a need and the nurses tell me that the families are always grateful.  Not as fun as hats and blankets but needed, nonetheless.

I'm off to my yarn basket.  Have a wonderful Monday and I'll see you all again soon.

Blessings,

Betsy

Sunshine, Beautiful Sunshine!

It's a beautiful day today.  Cold, but sunny and happy out.  I've scrubbed my floors.  I've finished the laundry and now I can blog and crochet the day away if I want to.  Guilt free because my chores are done and the sun is shining!

I wanted to share this photo with all of you. I found this today when I was searching my cedar lined chest for something my son wanted.

This is the first thing I ever crocheted, way back in 1967! I was seven years old and my Grandma taught me to crochet by having me make a ripple blanket for my doll’s bed. She had me crochet every single stitch so I could always say I made it all by myself! I miss her every single day-she was full of wisdom and love, just as a Grandma should be! I keep the blanket in the chest so it can be passed down to my daughter’s children someday.  This project instilled a love of crochet in me that has never wavered over the past 45 years!

I took this picture yesterday off the back deck.  The sun was trying desperately to peek through for about half an hour and then disappeared again and we recieved another round of rain/snow.  This morning everything is icey and frozen.  You can hear cars crunching down the street as they drive by!  An odd sound!  Anyway, I love the dusting of snow on all the mountains.  It looks like someone has sprinkled powdered sugar on them from a flour sifter!

The last two pictures are my small way of decorating for Valentine's Day.  I don't do much but I have a few things out that I'll be showing you.  I found these silk roses on sale at Michaels last week.  Two stems for $3.00.  I thought it was a good deal and I came home and took the flowers off the stems and put them into the big vase on the coffee table.  What do you think?  I'm not a very good decorator, but I do like the way they look.  The little cherub in the top picture was a gift a few years ago from my friend Jenny. 

And that's it for today my friends.  I'm off to find my crochet hook and yarn.  I'm going to take a short break this morning from my baby blankets, (I've made 3 this week), and try to make a candle jar cover to cheer up the kitchen.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Have a wonderful Monday my friends.

Blessings,

Betsy

It's still Snowing!

Good Morning Everyone!  It's Friday!  Yippee!  And....it's still snowing here in Spokane.  Admittedly, today they are small, teeny tiny flakes but they are still falling from a sky of gray.  We officially have 12 1/2 inches in our backyard according to the snow guage there.  (We choose a flat spot where no drifts form and stick a yardstick in the snow!)  To be fair, we probably actually recieved more snow than what was measured because it was blown around so much.  And here are a few pictures I took this morning while I was out shoveling.

I love the pretty "caps" snow puts on everything when it's freshly fallen.  This it the tub where I plant geraniums in the spring.

 My favorite little tree in the backyard.  Hubby thinks maybe it's dying as it's covered in brown spots.

 Look at the nice cone shape on the fence post!

 And the steps leading off of the deck.  I don't think Chloe will be navigating them for awhile.

Tomorrow is the monthly "craft day" that I have here.  It's usually the third Saturday of the month and ladies come and knit, crochet, embroidery, scrapbook.  Whatever they like to do.  And we visit.  And we eat goodies.  I've been doing this for a few years now.  It's my way of try to bring back the closeness of women in days gone by when there were quilting bees, canning parties, etc.  I think women need that time of bonding and togetherness.  In our busy world it often gets pushed aside.  Does anyone besides me think about the fact that we have all these time saving devices, washers, dryers, microwaves, computers, cell phones...just to name a few?  But we seem to have less time for each other than we ever have.  What in the world are we doing with all that time we've saved with these "time savers?"  Just a thought.

And now, have a lovely weekend and I'll be back again soon.  Stay warm and dry.

Blessings,

Betsy

The Snow Has Arrived!

It has been snowing off and on for two days now.  It hasn't turned out to be the huge storm for Spokane that was forecas,t but it came close.  A town just 30 miles away had 28 inches in 12 hours yesterday!  We ended up with about 6 inches yesterday, and it's been snowing all morning again.  We're told another 3-5 today with a chance for more every day for the next 4 days!  It seems winter has come in all of it's glory!
Here are a few pictures for you.  All taken from the INSIDE of the house in the comfort of my jammies! 

Look at all the snow on the floor of the deck.  We have a cover over it so you can see how much the wind blew inside.

This picture was taken after most of us had shoveled our driveways and walks.  They have all but disappeared again this moring with a fresh round of new snow.  I'll be back outside with the snowblower again this afternoon.

 But, the time inside while it snows hasn't been wasted.  Oh no.  Four new baby hats and....

another baby blanket done and one more started.  I have five babies that I know of coming in this new year.  I like to wait and find out if it's a boy or a girl before adding the last color round the edge in a gender appropriate color.  I find these blankets take me 2-3 days depending on the time I can dedicate to them.

Has winter, (or summer depending on where you live), settled in at your house yet?  We've been so happy to dodge all the big storms this year that I don't feel I can complain.  And the snow is really beautiful, I just worry about people driving on the slick roads.  I'm trying to turn my worries over to God, but I don't always do a very good job of it.  After all, what does all my worrying bring to me?

Well, I'm off to vacuum and dust so I can crochet for awhile with no guilt . :-)  I'll be out with the snowblower in a few hours so I need to get my "inside" work finished this morning.

I'll chat again with you all soon my friends.

Blessings,

Betsy

Good Morning Wednesday!

Good Morning friends! I can't believe I slept until 7:30 a.m. this morning.  That's very unusual of me and I now feel like I have lost part of my day that I can't get back.  I'm feeling a little better every day, but still very tired and sluggish.  So...I've spent my days crocheting.  I joined my first ever CAL, (crochet along) with the Lucy group on Ravelry.  That's ALL I have worked on for two days and this is all I have to show for it.

It is very slow going because I'm ending each round a different color and finishing it as I go so I won't have thousands of ends to weave in when I'm finish.  It's supposed to be baby blanket size when finished, although I had intended to make it larger to use as a throw on the sofa.  However, after some pushing, hubby finally confessed that the colors aren't his preference.  Too bright.  Too Lucyish. The picture doesn't actually show how bright it is.  So, now I've lost my drive to finish it although I will push on.  It's not in my nature to leave a project unfinished.  However, it is destined to remain a baby blanket and will probably go to one of my charity groups.  I'm estimating at least 20 hours in this blanket already and at least that much more to go.  And I was very excited at the start.  However, as I worked on it, could see it's brightness, I didn't think it would fit in our home.

This is a tablecloth I made several years ago.  I've actually crocheted an identical one for my daughter-in-law.  We don't eat on it, but I leave it on the table.  With only Dennis and I, it gets folded back and we eat off of placements!  Then after dinner it get's put back in place and looks nice again!  Nothing has ever been spilled on it and I hope it stays that way.

 Layed out it all it's glory for you to see!  I measured it for you this morning.  Six feet across!  I can't believe it's so big!

 Some of the detail closer up.  The last ring of pineapples, (edging), was finished at the beach a few years ago.  We stopped at our daughters in Portland, OR on our way to the coast and I layed the last ring down on the floor to see how long it was.  It stretched from one end of her apartment to the other.  At least 30 feet!  I was astounded!

Hubby figured out that it took approximately 2000 hours to complete!  I don't think these will be sold on ebay!

A few last pictures I took today. The fist two are the full winter moon I took out of our bedroom window at 4:30 this morning!  (I got up to use the bathroom and couldn't resist).  Bear in mind, they were taken through the glass because it was 12 F outside and I was in my nighty! :-)

 I thought it was eerily beautiful.

 This is Mt. Spokane from my back deck a few minutes ago.  No snow here but the resorts are happy.  It's okay with me if it stays that way.  We've only had 9 inches of snow so far this season.  Very, very unusual but good for the City's snow removal budget!

And now, dear friends, I'm going to go crochet on that lovely little blanket some more.  My energy bursts come and go and I've been told to try to enjoy this quiet time in my life.  I'm trying but I'm not a patient person.

I'll be seeing you all soon!

Blessings,

Betsy

Typoon!

The world is sure getting hit with bizarre and powerful weather lately.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, drought and floods!

Last night we talked to Alex in Japan for quite awhile.  He's in the process of applying for a new job and wanted to bring his Dad up to date about it.  There was a major typhoon that affected central and western Japan this weekend.  Last I heard 8 were dead and 37 missing.  So tragic.  Our midwest is still underwater.  My brother and sister in Iowa both had such large hail that it went through the shingles, the tarpaper and the wood on their roofs.  The hail lodged in the ceiling of my sisters house but went all the way into the livingroom at my brothers!   I've never heard of such a thing.  Hail that big could have killed someone.  We must count our blessings where we see them!

On a much happier note, my dear husband is busy rescreening a few windows and the patio door.  Our son-in-law got him hooked last week in Portland.  They re-screened all of Brad & Mandy's windows.  Bless his heart.  Brad just cannot sit still.  On the bright side, nothing goes undone at their house!

Off to evening church now.  I'm singing tonight so I need to get a few minutes of practice time in first!

Blessings,

Betsy

Sunshine!

We have had the most beautiful weather the past three days.  After I mowed the grass on Tuesday we had the most tremendous rain.  You have to realize that's it's been over 2 months since we've had rain at our house!  I realize that some parts of the country are much worse off than we are-too wet or too dry.  This, however, is normal for a Spokane summer.  After a dinner that we ate while listening to the pounding rain on our deck roof this is what Dennis and I saw:

Isn't this beautiful?  This is the view we saw from our dining room table and the rainbow just seemed to get brighter and brighter as we watched!  Since Tuesday we have had three days of 70-75 degree weather with bright blue skies. Perfect Spokane weather.  I love my home.

 Wednesday I made zuchinni relish with some zuchinni's a friend "donated" from his garden.  We love this on sandwiches and especially meatloaf.  The recipe belonged to Dennis' grandmother.  She made this for years and years and the family all begged for it.  Aren't the jars pretty?

I love the colors of the peppers and zuchinni and spices.  And the taste is out of this world.  I'm hoping that I can still find enough tomatoes to can for chili sauce and plain tomatoes when I get home from Japan.  We've had the strangest growing season this year.  Spring was so cold and wet that everything is late.  I like to can my own tomatoes for chili, lasagna, etc.  Much fresher tasting without so much sodium.

We have no plans for the Labor Day weekend except to rescreen a window and the patio door. (Someone tried to walk through it!)  And of course, church on Sunday.  This will be our first weekend with no plans for almost three months and we're looking forward to sleeping late!  That's about 7:00 a.m. for us! 

I leave for Japan a week from today and I'm getting SO EXCITED!  I just want to thank all of you for making this happen with all of your contributions.  I can't wait to get there and take lots of pictures for you all to see.

I'll be talking to you all again soon!

Blessings,

Betsy

Feeling Better Finally.

Hi Everyone.

Thank you all for your prayers.  I'm feeling much better today.  So much better in fact, that I mowed the grass for Dennis today.  He will be very happy when he gets home.  He always mows on the weekend but we were in Portland.  We've been busy since we returned home so it just hadn't gotten done.  I feel better too.  A little exercise never hurt anyone.

I thought I would show you a picture of my current project.

It's a wave pattern crocheted blanket.  It's not very big right now, but it takes quite a lot of time because it's pretty solid.  When it is completed I'm going to give it to an elderly lady that I visit a couple of times a week in a nursing facility.  She lost her husband in the spring and she loves bright colors.  She has altzheimers but seems to remember me.  Since she's always cold I thought this would be a cheerful room brightener for her room.  A plus is that it use up lots of scraps.  When done it will (hopefully), be big enough to cover her hospital bed.

 I always keep a knitted baby hat in progress in my purse.  When I have 30 or so I deliver them to our local hospital for the new babies.  Usually that's every six to seven weeks.

Mom made it back safely to Omaha last night.  I think she's happy to be back home in her own bed.  But we sure had a good time together when we weren't sick!

Alex, (our son in Japan), called last night.  He's applied for a new teaching position at a University in Aomori Prefecture.  According to the posting for job requirements, he has all of the requirements, but he doesn't know if they've already hired someone else.  He just found out about it on Monday and sent off his resume right away.  This sounds like the job he's wanted since he graduated with his Masters so we pray that if it's God's will, he will get it.  He loves teaching.  Right now he teaches Jr. High and he's also taught elementary but he enjoys University students best.  He taught English Compostion at the University here in Washington when he was only 17!  All of his students were older than he was!  He got his Masters Degree at 19 and moved to Japan the next week.

Well, I'm off to grate zuchinni to make into relish.  I think I have enough for about 10 jars if I'm lucky.  We love it on meatloaf.  Have a wonderful evening!

Blessings,

Betsy

Good Morning!

It's another beautiful day in Spokane, WA.  We are supposed to get up to 90 today-which is pretty warm for up here.  I know a lot of you are suffering greatly this summer with terrible heat that just won't stop, so I refuse to complain about our few days of heat!

I know I promised pictures of our trip to Northern Idaho on Saturday but I didn't take one picture.  My dear mother-in-law started feeling ill while we were driving and I completely forgot to take pictures.  She's still in bed this morning with what I hope is just a stomach bug.  She's been very sick since Saturday afternoon but this morning ate a bit of oatmeal and a little of her beloved coffee. :-)   I don't drink coffee and I can't understand this addiction to it.  Our daughter is worse than my mother-in-law!

However, I do have a few pictures of our house and backyard for anyone who is interested.

These are my english roses.  I don't remember the actual name but I love them.  I wish they would bloom earlier in the year, but it's usually the end of July, this year because of the cold, wet spring it was just this past week that the first bloom appeared.  Notice how it hides the garbage can-that's an extra bonus!

These are our new front steps.  We had a wooden deck until 2 months ago.  Since the house faces west, they were constantly in need of staining.  At least twice a year we had to stain them.  We are so happy with these steps and we won't have to worry about scratching the wood now when we shovel the several feet of snow that arrives each year.

This is the deck off the dining room.  We have a roof over it and I love to read my Bible in the rocker in the mornings.  I also enjoy knitting out here since we have a lovely view of Mt. Spokane.  Oh yes, that's my "baby" Chloe.  Isn't she sweet looking?  She has the best disposition of any dog I've seen.

This is the sitting area under the deck.  It's so much fun to sit under here and read a book or knit while it's raining.  Summer afternoons are nice and cool in the shade since we have virtually no humidity.  I get books on tape (or CD) from the library and listen to them while out here knitting in the afternoon whenever I get a chance.  Next best thing to Heaven, (besides Hawaii). :-)

This is the backyard and patio.  Behind the trees are view of the mountains that you can see very well from on the upper deck.

Sorry about the glare from the sun.  I am far from a professional photographer, but I wanted to share a bit of my world with all of you.  I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to try to take a few minutes for yourself today.

Blessings,

Betsy