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!

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