Sunshine Saturday

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I've been away so long. I'm still trying to decipher the picture mystery on Blogger. I think in order to post pictures, I'm going to either have to delete some old ones or pay. I think I'll begin with deleting a few and see what happens. But that will be next week when I have more time.

I've been busy traveling the past week. We went to our son's in Montana for Easter weekend. Three egg hunts with the grandbabies on Sunday and a WONDERFUL resurrection Sunday service. It was a grand fun-filled time. Hubby took Monday off work so we were able to stay an extra day. We drove home Monday and then Tuesday morning I travelled alone to Portland, OR to see our daughter. She is expecting her first baby and asked me to go the the doctors visit with her so I could hear the heartbeat. Oh that little one was kicking up a storm in there. I just can't wait to meet this little person sometime in September! I drove back home yesterday and finally relaxed a bit today. Almost 1800 miles driven in 7 days! My car definitely needs an oil change.

While in Portland I took a side trip on Thursday to Multnomah Falls to see a blog friend Teresa. She is also in the Lucy group on Ravelry. It was so good to meet her in person. She volunteers at Multnomah Falls and is a wonderful person. I'll have to figure out how to add links to others blogs on here. I know you would all love it. She posts beautiful pictures of the Columbia Gorge and her farm. And she is a much more regular poster than I am!

My new ipad just decided to quit working while in Montana so hubby and I took it to the geeks at Best Buy this morning. They did what they called a hard reset and it was just like new. Literally. All my information was gone and I had to start all over. Very frustrating. They said sometimes the software has a "little hiccup" and this happens. So I've been trying to reinstall all of my apps etc. this afternoon.

Hubby and I decided to put our little pop up camper on Craigslist today. We have one man interested and he's driving over from Walla Walla tomorrow to look at it. Yes, there is really a town called Walla Walla, Washington! Sounds funny doesn't it?

I'm hoping to be better about blogging, but with so much illness this year, I just haven't had the energy. Hopefully with spring arriving, it will be easier!

Have a wonderfully fabulous weekend.

Blessings,

Betsy

It really did snow!

On Friday in the grand saga of my life, the big question was if we should attempt to drive to Montana to visit our grandbabies.  We decided not to go, which I think was very wise.  The biggest reason however, wasn't because we were being smart at not attempting to drive through the blizzard, but was because hubby was detained at work.  That was very good for us though because look what we woke up to Saturday morning at home where snow was not even forecast!

When it was all over, hubby snowblowed about 9 inches of "flurries" off the driveway and sidewalk!  This wasn't even in the mountains!   There is another winter storm watch posted for tomorrow and Wednesday for just north of us.  (about 10 miles north and to the Canadian border is all)  We'll see how many "flurries" we get then. We've had such a mild winter until now.  That old groundhog was right after all.  Boo!

So, we stayed home and watched movies all day Saturday, snuggled in our cozy house with the fire going full blast.  I completed another blue baby set that I forgot to photograph.  After awhile they all look the same anyway, don't they?  I also started another baby blanket in a new pattern using Bernat "Pipsqueak" yarn.  I have never felt anythig so incredibly soft.  This is definitely going to be for one very special baby.

When we realized that we were going to be home for church yesterday, I came to the realization that I needed to make something for the potluck after services.  I had watched the "Pioneer Woman" on the food network on Saturday morning, so I decided to try out her meatball recipe.  Instead of her barbeque sauce, I just poured a jar of Prego over them and they were a hit!  Here are a few pictures.

First you brown them in a skillet with canola oil in batches of 8 or 9 meatballs, then...

You bake them for about 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

I ended up with 26 meatballs. My huge, enormous, stupid mistake?  I put them in the oven on cookie sheets-with NO SIDES!!!!  Can you guess what happened?  Yep.  Grease from the meatballs is now all over the bottom of the oven and the house filled up with smoke.  Yuck.  Yuck.  Yuck.  I need to wait for a halfway warm day when I can open the windows and clean the oven.  Soon.  Before I bake anything else in it.  I cannot believe I didn't even think about the fact that the grease that comes out of hamburger would have to go somewhere!   Oh well, live and learn and the meatballs were very good.  An ingredient that the Pioneer Woman used in the meatballs that I never would have thought of was milk.  It made them super moist.  Then they're dredged in flour before browning.  I think the recipe is on FoodNetwork.com/pioneer woman.  Not sure if I have that website correct but they did say the recipes from that show were available online.
Today I've vacummed, done laundry, caught up on my Bible reading and played with Chloe.  I have baby hats for the hospital in the washing machine to be delivered tomorrow.  I think I have about 45 hats done for this delivery.  This afternoon I'm going to work on my baby blanket with the wonderfully SOFT yarn.  I've got my chores done and now I can play.  A roast, potatoes, carrots and onions is bubbling away in the crock pot so my wifely chores are complete.  I love to find extra time to play with my yarn.

The skies are blue, blue, blue today so I may take my Chloe-baby for a walk in a little while.  She's been cooped up with no long walk since last Wednesday.  We could both use the exercise.

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

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

Random Thursday

Life is slowly returning to normal in the Queen house.  Dennis is working Tuesday through today and then another four day weekend for him before he's back to 12 hour days.  After eight days in Hawaii and two four day weekends, I think normal life will be difficult for him.

This is how Chloe is recuperating after the weekend romping with Polly and Tucker.  They are really lovely dogs and very well behaved, but she was exhausted from all that playing.  And yes, we let her on the sofa, but notice the sheet covering.  It catches most of the dog hair!

 I don't remember if I've already shown you this picture, but if I have, please humor me.  It's rare that I get more than one child together at a time.  From left to right, son-Jamie, hubby, granddaughter, me, grandson, daughter-Mandy and son-in-law-Brad. Tucker is the black lab, Chloe in the middle and Polly a yellow lab on the right.  See how small Chloe is?  We had a wonderful time!

This is a wreath that Mandy taught me to make last summer. I keep forgetting to show it to you.  It uses one old paperback book and a wire coat hanger.  I love it!  I used a duplicate copy I had of a Debbie Macomber book.  Have you ever read her books?  If you knit, you'll love her Blossom Street series.  She even includes free knitting patterns in the books!

I made this ipad cover the day hubby bought me the ipad last week.  I used one of my Mom's buttons from her button box.  My mom died when I was 29 and I inherited the button box.  Everytime I get into the box, memories rush back.  I think the cover turned out well, don't you think?  It only took about 4 hours to make.  The pattern is a free download on Ravelry if you want one yourself.

Well there it is, a few random thoughts.  This morning I visited my friend in the nursing home.  She was not in a happy mood and nothing I could do cheered her up.  Some days are like that, but most are still good.  Then I took a big bag of baby hats to the local hospital.  The nurses ooohed and aaahed over them and were so grateful.  It's cold up here in the northwest and those babies need hats to go home!  It makes me feel good to see their faces and know they appreciate them.  I do a lot of knitting for online groups, but those items are all mailed away.  Sometimes it's fun to actually see the faces of the recipients.

Tonight is our annual Bible Study potluck and gift exchange.  We always do it after Christmas so everyone can relax more.  Usually it's in January!  This year we're squeezing it in before the end of the year.  It's always at our house and we have about 20 people here.  I supposed I better get off the computer and start cooking or my food will be the only food not prepared in time!

Happy New Year and Blessings to all of you in the coming year.

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

Home Again!

This has been a busy summer for traveling and this past weekend was no different.  Since rain/possible snow was forecast for the area we planned to camp in, DH and I changed our plans and set off for the Seattle area instead.  Rain was also forecast for Seattle but it was a BeAuTiFuL day once we crossed Snoqualamie Pass to the west side.  I have some pictures of the trip for your enjoyment.  We were able to visit friends in Marysville, WA and I saw my first ferry that carries both people and cars.  Yesterday, we ventured back to Spokane via Stevens Pass.  We've never driven that route before but the autumn leaves made the longer trip very worthwhile.  We ate lunch in Leavenworth, a quaint bavarian town tucked into the Cascade mountains.  They're celebrating Octoberfest there and I've never seen it so busy.  We managed some Christmas shopping and were still home in Spokane in time for my wonderful husband and I to go to Red Robin for dinner!  Here are the promised pictures:



Windmills near Ellensburg,  WA




These cows were right outside our hotel window on Saturday morning!  We stayed in Ellensburg,  WA.




Snowqualamie Pass summit




Dennis looking over Puget Sound toward Whidby Island





The love of my life since I was 15 years old!




Light House and Ferry to Whidby Island in Mukliteo,  WA.





Heading up Stevens Pass, WA.  I wish the camera had captured the brightness of the leaves.  It was breathtaking.





The top of Stevens Pass.  So glad it wasn't snow!  We were actually IN the clouds!





Heading back down the other side of the pass into Leavenworth,  WA.



I can't belive I didn't take any pictures of Leavenworth to show you.  It's a beautiful little town.  We try to visit once every year.  It's about 3 1/2 hours from home though so it's a long day.  We usually leave early in the morning and come back the same day.

This weekend is a ladies retreat for our church.  Another night away from home!  I can't remember ever having a year like this when I'm gone so much.

On the knitting front I have one sock done and the other began for Alex's girlfriend in Tokyo.  I also finished two hats on the drive this weekend.  One for Alex and another for Junko, a friend of his that saw all the hats we sent to Japan.  She didn't want to take any hats that were going to the victims of the tsunami but really liked one of them so I tried to duplicate it for her.

Neither of them know that a box is on it's way tomorrow for them!  Alex also requested Sour Patch candy, (Yuck!) and had never heard of the pretzel M&M's when I told him about them.  Of course I bought him some and also Ibuprofen for his headaches.  Another request was Lowry's season salt.  It's always fun to send a box of things I know he needs and wants.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and I'll be back soon!

Blessings,

Betsy

Pictures.

First of all I'm posting a picture of some of the people who welcomed me at Narita Airport.

This is Mayako, Yoshie, Me and Alex.  Mayako and Yoshie stayed at our house this summer.  It's no small trip to go to Narita, it's about 1 1/2 hours by train so I really appreciated the time and expense they went to to greet me.  And that, is my wonderful son, Alex.  It was SO GOOD to see him and give him a huge hug.

This was Alex's car trunk and backseat the morning we left for Kamaishi and Ishinomaki.  There was barely room for us! 

The following pictures are people who actually chose things directly from the trunk of the car!  It was raining but that didn't stop these ladies.  Each chose a hat and one also picked a baby sweater for her grandchild.

Here a just a few of the boxes that we mailed off to places that were too far for us to drive to.

Tomorrow I will post pictures of Ishinomaki and Kamaishi and the damage that still remains.  As I said before, I didn't get out of the car and we didn't take pictures of the recipients in those areas.  It just seemed that it would have been too much like we wanted to take advantage of them.  I'm not saying that very well.  It was just so sad, we didn't want to seem like tourists who were just trying to take photos of their sadness.

Thank you so much.  I hope you enjoy the happiness in the faces of the ladies in the pictures above.  That was the reaction everywhere and it wouldn't have happened without all of you!

On another note.  Here's a quick picture of the blanket I finished yesterday for Virginia.  Excuse the dark picture, it's raining cats and dogs here today.  I seem to have brought rain home with me from Japan.  We haven't had rain for a couple of months here in Spokane, until the day I get home!  The blanket is really very bright and I think it will bring cheer as well as warmth to her room in the nursing home.

 It's the Scrumptious Scraps Afghan on Ravelry if any of you would like the pattern.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of the damages BEFORE the typhoon in Kamaishi and Ishinomaki.

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

A Small Addition

Today after taking a drive in the mountains with my dear mother-in-law, I came home to find a bag with 9 more hats hanging on my front door!  I have no idea who brought them as there was no note attached.  A big thank-you to whomever it was if you're reading this!

So the total is revised a bit.  966 hats and 1460 total items!!!!

We had a beautiful day today here in sunny Spokane.  It was 81 and blue, blue, blue skies.  The drive we took was north in Washington State, almost to the Canadian border.  The mountains are on either side of you on the highway and it's so very, very beautiful.

Tomorrow our plan is to take Mom to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and then northward to the town of Sandpoint, Idaho.  This is truly God's country.  I've never seen so much beauty all in one area.  Having grown up in Nebraska/Iowa, I know the prairie has a beauty all it's own, but in my humble opinion, nothing can compete with the inland northwest.  I love the summers of no humidity.  I remember, before moving out west, the summers of taking a shower, drying off and being icky, sweaty before you could even get dressed!  It's not like that here at all.  We used to drive 10 hours to get to the Black Hills to camp on vacation.  Now we drive less than 20 minutes to find the same type of countryside.  I'll try to remember to take some pictures tomorrow to show you this beautiful part of the country.  The camera was left on the kitchen counter today.

Thanks for reading my rambles and I'll see you all again soon.