Snow, Snow, Snow!

Hello and happy Friday to everyone!

It's snowing again and it's NOT a welcome storm.  We were planning to go to Montana to see our grandbabies, (their parents too of course, but that's just a nice cooincidence.   :-))  Now, because of all the snow we're not sure we'll be able to go.  I have the car all packed and Chloe was excited to see her bed being loaded into the car.  Road trip!  She know's we're either going to our daughter's house or our son's house and they both have dogs that she loves to visit with.  They are just like little kids.

Anyway 12-18 inches of snow is possible on the passes this afternoon and evening and again on Sunday when we would be coming home.  I'm waiting on a call back from hubby for a final decision.  I took him to work at 5:00 am this morning and was going to pick him up since his workplace is on our way towards Idaho.  Plan B would be that I still pick him up, but we go out to eat instead of driving 325 miles in a blizzard.  I love my grandbabies, but I personally think it's just plain silly to take our lives in our hands.  My son just called and told me to take a tranquilizer, have Dad drive and I'd be there before I woke up!  Nice plan except I don't take any medicine I don't absolutely have to so I have no tranquilizers on hand!  So I'm not sure what our weekend will have in store now.

I've done a little more sewing.  I made a couple of dresses since most of my clothes are wearing out.  I'm known in our circle of friends for wearing dresses almost all the time.  I just find them so much more comfortable than pants.  Warmer too.  You can wrap your legs up in a skirt for warmth and it's kind of like covering them with a blanket.  There's a pocket of air for insulation that isn't there with jeans or pants.  I don't know how much more sewing of clothing I will do though.  Those two plain no-frill dresses cost about $30 each for material, thread etc.  I went to Walmart this morning for a few things and saw a dress that I liked much better for $20!   I think I'll be checking out Walmart first from now on. Not the best quality but I can change my wardrobe a bit more often.

Here's a picture of Mt. Spokane this morning as the storm was moving in.  Isn't it beautiful?

 I thought you might be interested in this console/buffet table I got a few years ago from a thrift store.  I was looking for a piece of furniture for this specific spot, and just as I walked into the store this was being wheeled out from the back room.  It had just been donated from an estate sale that morning.  The guy took one look at my face, didn't even stop, just asked me where my car was and he'd load it up.  I hadn't even taken a close look at it but he said he had shopped enough with his wife to know the look on my face!  Isn't that hilarious?  The great part was I had a coupon for 50% off anything in the store, so I got this beautiful piece of heirloom quality furniture without a scratch on it for $75.00!!!!!

 I love the detailing of the wood on the doors.  I don't know what kind of wood it is but I've never seen anything like it before.  The color is off in the picture below, but you can see the details of the doors.

 And a few pictures of my cactus.  I have never seen it bloom as often as it has this past year or have as many buds.  I just counted 15 buds this morning.  I've never had more than two at a time before.

And I think that's it for today. I 'm going to go to the nursing home for a quick visit before we head for the snowy mountains if that's what hubby decides.  Personally, I'm for dinner out and a quiet weekend.  Everyone thinks we will be gone, so we can sleep in and do next to nothing tomorrow if we want.  I'll let you know next post how it all turned out.

Blessings.

Betsy

Whew! It's Monday!

Hello everyone!  I made it through the weekend in one piece.  I think.  It was the complete whirlwind I had been expecting, but it all turned out very well.

Friday afternoon our college kids arrived.  They were the most polite, curteous teenagers that we've hosted in recent years.  They even made their beds both days!  For some reason I think it's funny when guests make their beds the day they leave.  It's like they believe they're preparing for the next people to stay in that room.  Do they not realize I wash all the bedding between each person who stays here?!  Just a thought that popped into my little mind!

Saturday morning ten ladies from church came to the craft morning, plus the three teenagers.  The boy was the only one who crafted of the teens.  He used my round loom and made a knitted hat in about 3 hours!  The girls were very cordial though and visited with everyone.

Three of our friends then spent the afternoon with us just eating pizza and visiting.  I hadn't seen my young friend from Oklahoma in almost 3 years so it was wonderful to catch up with her.  Their little family wants desperately to move back to the Northwest somewhere to be closer to family, but no job has been found yet.  She stays at home with their 3 & 4 year olds and loves it but misses having family close.  My hubby performed the wedding ceremonies for her and her husband and our other young friends that also visited with us on Saturday afternoon.  We had a wonderful time remembering how much fun we used to have together.  We met with both couples weekly for Bible study as they were all new Christians.  Our own faith grew and was strengthened by studying with them since we were seeing the Bible with the eyes of people who had never read it before.

Saturday evening hubby and I had a nice "date night" at the Spokane symphony.  The featured "soloists" were a brother team that we had seen in Hawaii on several occasions.  It was fantastic.  I couldn't fathom how Hawaiian slack guitar sounds could meld with the symphony orchestra but they did it in a beautiful sound.  We had front row seats and sat directly in front of the harpist!  I spent the evening just watching her hands.  Amazing!

Sunday was just as busy.  Church in the morning, bridal shower in the afternoon and then evening services.  After evening service we went to Arby's for dinner with about 10 other people and had a nice hour or so just visiting and relaxing.  Can you believe Arby's was out of roast beef!?  We had a laugh over that and then ordered chicken, fish or ham!

So----that was my weekend.  Almost no computer time at all.  I did read emails but didn't answer any until late last night.  Since I last posted pictures I've been so busy that not much knitting has been accomplished.  Only two little pictures to show you.

I finished another baby sweater set.  The sweater was almost finished when I last blogged, so it probably shouldn't count!  So really I made two hats, 1 pair of blue socks and one solitary pink sockie.  The other pink sock is on the needles right now.  I must admit I'm tiring of these sets but I still have 3 babies on the way and I'm not sure of the gender of any of them.  I'm making 3 of each color just to be prepared!  Any sets I don't need can always be donated to one of the many charity groups I'm in.  A friend also keeps buying them almost as fast as I've made each set.  She has bought 3 rainbow blankets and 3 sweater sets in the past 6 weeks for new babies in her life.  She pays me well and it helps purchase more yarn so I'm not complaining.  I just need to get busy with more sets before I lose my motivation!

This is a picture of our gray skies this morning.  That's Mt. Spokane in the background!  Ha!  This morning when I woke up it was beautiful.  Covered in fresh snow and blue skies.  Something happened in the past couple of hours.  Clouds have appeared.  Just north of us about 30 miles or so and up to the Canadian border recieved 8 to 14 inches of snow Saturday night, including Mt. Spokane.  We woke up to about 1/8 of an inch yesterday.  By the time church was over everything was melted away and that's just the way I like it.  Snow in the mountains but not here.

I've spent a lot of time at my sewing machine recently sewing bandana's for myself.  After much prayer and study, I have come to the conclusion that I do need to start covering my head for prayer and worship at the minimum as it tells in 1 Corinthians 11.  I just can't find the cultural argument no matter how much I tried.  And believe me I tried.  Remember me?  I'm the one who dyed my hair for the first time about two weeks ago and cut a lot of it off three weeks ago.  I've been fighting this for all I'm worth, but what I've discovered is this.  If we discount this as a cultural thing, what else are we going to deem cultural and thus stop following that Paul and others taught?  It's a slippery slope we find ourselves on.  I'm not trying to be legalistic and I definitely am NOT trying to put my beliefs on anyone else but I have to follow where I believe the Lord is convicting me in my heart. 

Okay, enough preaching.  That's not what this blog is all about, but it is about my life and that's an important part of my heart.  So, I've been sewing and it's been fun.  I haven't sewn much in years but I'm enjoying my time behind the machine.  Do any of you sew?   I used to make all of my daughters clothes and a lot of mine when she was small.  The price of patterns, material and notions became so expensive though that it was less expensive to buy things and so my machine was brought out for repairs or quilting, etc.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I'll try to be back soon.

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

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

Good Morning Week!

AHHH!  I feel like I might be on the mend.  Finally!  My fever has been gone for an entire day now.  My spots have all started the first steps to disappearing.  I think the anti-viral medication the Dr. gave me was the turning point.  Hubby and I had a very lazy weekend, full of knitting, (for me), and movies on the television.

Just as we were falling asleep last night the phone rang.  We've learned not to panic when it rings after 10:00 p.m., it's usually Alex in Japan.  And it was.  He was calling to tell us all about the apartment he's found in Tokyo.  It's about a 15 minute walk to the university he'll be working at.  I was appalled at the price but he assures us that it's very reasonable for Tokyo.  He can see the Tokyo Tower, (Looks like the Eiffel Tower) from the street outside his door.  Now I have a fairly good idea of the part of town he's in since I've been to the tower a couple of times.  He begins his new job on February 1 and his emotions are torn.  He absolutely loves the people in northern Japan, but his girlfriend lives in Tokyo.  The jobs are in Tokyo.  You could just hear the excitement in his voice about new beginnings.

Here's a picture of Anri, (Alex's girlfriend), and me in September.

 And here's Alex, Anri and her dog during the same visit.

Now a few ta-da moments for you of different projects I managed to finish up while laying around all week.  Enjoy!  I also made 4 pink hats that I forgot to photograph.  These were boxed up this morning to send to the "Lil Troopers" charity.  It's a group that provides baby items for miliary families.  I just found this pattern and I love it.  A hat takes about 1 1/2 hours to knit so it's a fast, satisfying knit.  You can change the size just by adjusting your needle size.  Very easy.

 This will be a hat for our local hospital.  I was trying out a new crochet pattern and it looked huge so I tried it on a doll I have that is newborn size and it fits perfectly!

 This blanket is one I wasn't really happy with the end product, but too much work went into it for me to rip it out.  It was boxed up this morning too, for the ongoing baby shower at Pine Ridge Reservation, another charity group I'm in.  It's the feather and fan pattern.

 I think you'll be able to see the pattern better here.

There is another box to mail with two scarves and two hats for the "Outreach to Appalachia" charity group I'm in.  I forgot to take pictures of those items for you.

I finally finished the queen size crocheted blanket for the wedding shower I have later this month.  It seemed to take forever, but maybe that's because I was sick.  In actuality, it was only 9 days.

 A close up of one of the squares for you to see.  I love the pineapple detailing.

So apparentlybeing sick was a productive time for me!  Three boxes off to different charities and the wedding blanket done.  Now I can relax a bit and plan my next projects besides the ongoing baby hats.

I collect angels and my best friend gave me this one for my birthday last year.  She hangs on the wall right next to the bed.  Isn't she beautiful?

 And, of course, my Chloe baby.  She's been right next to me on the sofa the entire week.  How I love this dog.  She's such a great companion and so gentle.  She acts so shy when I take her picture!  Just like a girl!

I hope I'm well enough tomorrow to take all my boxes to the post office. I really want to beat the rate increase.  Now I need to get started on more hats for the local hospital.  My needles sure seem to keep busy. 

What are you up to today?  The sun is shining here.  How about where you live?  Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Blessings,

Betsy

Snow!

So much to tell you all.  Well, I didn't make it to my talk last Saturday.  The pass was actually closed for several hours Friday night because of an accident and I heard they got 19 inches of snow.  So...they Skyped me in!  Oh the wonders of modern technology.  I was able to attend the entire day and hear the other three speakers too!  I even ate lunch at the same time.  My DH went and bought me a hamburger and I watched the ladies eat at their tables while I ate my burger.  Amazing.  They put my face on a screen right next to the power point I had emailed them.  It all went very well and I've had several people email me asking for more information on the charities I knit/crochet for.  And...I got to sleep in my own bed.  The only downside was that I didn't get to hug my grandbabies but they skyped us later too so we got to visit with them.

The picture below was taken last Friday afternoon.  It's a view of Mt. Spokane from our back deck.  I think the ski area will be opening very soon.  Isn't it pretty with the snow just dusting the lower elevations?
We're expecting another 3-5 inches of snow today and another 5-9 inches on Friday.  It looks as if winter has truly set in.  Even the birds are trying to keep warm!  This is a picture of our neighbors house this morning.  The birds were all hundled together but by the time I retrieved my camera some of them had flown away.
I recieved this cornucopia of fresh flowers from my Secret Sister at church on Sunday.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I hope they stay looking this good until Thanksgiving next Thursday.
On the downside I'm sitting on the sofa sick with the "crud".  I have been able to get lots of knitting done this morning but otherwise I've very annoyed by it.  I have no voice at all.  Not even a whisper.  I had to call "Miss E's" mom this morning and tell her I have a temperature of 102F so she probably doesn't want me around a tiny baby.  I really HATE letting people down. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I've started knitting a drop stitch scarf for my Secret Sisters Christmas gift.  I hope she likes it.  It's really soft and bright.  I'll post a picture when it's finished.  I knitted two slouch hats for a father and daughter yesterday.  They're excited to get them-just in time for snow!

See you all again soon-please leave a comment if you would like.  It helps to know you're out there.

Blessings,

Betsy

Busy Monday

It's been a busy day today.  I got up bright and early this morning and painted the bathroom off of our bedroom.  I painted the bedrooom itself about a year ago and just kept putting off the bathroom.  I have no idea why.  It only took about 3 1/2 hours for the entire job and looks pretty good if I do say so myself! :-)

I had painted the sink area and closet when I did the bedroom, but just never did the shower/toilet area.  I have no excuse, I just didn't do it.  But I sure like it now.  The color is a dark vanilla but looks pretty light in the pictures.

This sweater/hat/sockie set was my weekend project.  I need to get my gift closet stocked back up.  So far I've got three rainbow blankets done, this sweater set and I have the booties done on a girly set, with the matching hat on the needles.

I thought I should take some pictures of my geraniums today since the next 3 days are supposed to be below 20 degrees outside.  I'm sure that will be the kiss of death to them and they're looking so beautiful these days.  I really detest winter and I just keep thanking God for every day without snow.  We've had snow for Halloween many times and I just hope that doesn't happen this year.

I worked for about three hours today on my "talk" for the ladies retreat next month in Helena, MT.  It's supposed to be about the difference even one person can make and they want me to focus a lot on the Japan trip and the charity groups I'm involved with online.  Everyone has something they can do and it just takes some figuring out what you can do to help someone else.

It was a busy weekend here at the Queen household.  Saturday morning was "craft day".  A group of ladies come over and knit, crochet, latchhook and cross-stitch.  We visit and eat goodies and just have a great time.  Kind of like the "sewing circles" of the olden days.

Saturday afternoon was yard work and my wonderful husband let me go yarn shopping!  Michaels was having a wonderful sale on a lot of yarns I use and I also had a coupon for 25% off regular and sale priced items.  I ended up getting $156.00 worth of yarn for $85.00!!!!  What a deal.  I shouldn't have to buy yarn for a long time.

Yesterday was church in the morning and evening and lunch at Olive Garden with friends.  We also attended a memorial service in the afternoon for a wonderful lady from church.  She'll be missed by many but to know she's at peace with no pain now is a wonderful thing.

Now I need to think about dinner.  What sounds good to all of you?  Any of you have some good fall recipes to share?   See you soon!

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

Two More Packages!

Hats, Mittens, Cowls, Washcloth, Scarf & Headband

Two small packages contained a lot of goodies.  See the cowls on the left?  Yoshie hand spun and knitted those.  (Not the same Yoshie that is staying with us!)

Meanwhile, Yoshie, (the one who IS staying with us!) and I spent over six hours sewing tags on the items that arrived on Friday.  I had been caught up with the tagging until Friday thank goodness. 

We also took her to the top of Mt. Spokane yesterday.  It was beautiful weather for the trip since sometimes it's pretty cold up there.  It was perfect-about 74 degrees at the mountaintop.

 This is my wonderful husband with Yoshie at the very tip top of Mt. Spokane.

These were beautiful flowers on the mountain top.  I wish I were a better photographer to do them justice.  The purples and lavendar colors were so vibrant.  After this we visited a lavendar farm and that, my friends, is when I had found my camera battery had died.  The farm was so beautiful.  Rippling hills of lavendar.  I bought sachets for both Yoshie and myself.  I also bought a plant to put in my garden.  I used to have lavendar at our old house, but had to leave it behind.  I'm excited to have it again to use in cooking, sachets and other misc. gifts.

I hope you have a blessed Sunday.  I'll be back soon with more updates.

Blessings,

Betsy