A little of this and a little of that.

Wow! It's Thursday already! The weeks seem to fly by these days now that I don't have a job outside the home. I remember when I was working, it seemed Friday never came soon enough for me! I came in from the lake Tuesday morning and my, how the weather has changed. The rain is supposed to begin this afternoon but the clouds are already here. It's still in the 60's today but that is also supposed to change. That won't keep us from returning to the lake tomorrow though! I have a bag packed to begin a crochet project while in my cozy home away from home.

Hopefully this ziplock bag of odds and ends and the more colorful bag of fuller skeins of yarn will become pillows for the trailer sofa. I thought that a couple of pillows would be a nice touch for napping and add a bit more color to the brown, brown, brown of the decor. These are all Caron Simply Soft. I like knitting/crocheting with it and it washes very well. I know a lot of people don't like it for splitting, but I don't seem to have that issue. It makes wonderfully soft hats for the baby's at the hospital.

I was reading Shari's blog, Kashmere Kisses this morning and she is making a quilt out of a sheet she found at Goodwill. It made me remember my rugs that were also made with sheets I found at a local thrift store. Both of these rugs were made when we first built our house almost 11 years ago. They hold up very well to traffic and wash great...after all, they're sheets! Look you can see my toes peeking out by the bathroom rug! My new spring toenails! The blue and off-white rug is by the garage door. Lots and lots of traffice and still looking good.


My current project is April's dishcloths. Can you see the butterflies in the finished dishcloth? I love the happy color in these two cloths.


Have any of you ever read books by Debbie Macomber? I think I have at least 60-70 of her books now. She has two series that I really enjoy. The "Cedar Cove" series set in the fictitious town of Cedar Cove, Washington. The town is based on Port Orchard, Washington where Debbie lives. She also has a series named the "Blossom Street" series. This series is set on a fictitious street named, appriately enough, Blossom Street in Seattle. The Blossom Street series is centered around a yarn shop. The newest book came out on Tuesday and I bought it yesterday. I'm making myself wait to read it until I'm surrounded by my pillows and blankets and listening to the rain on the roof of the trailer this weekend. Heavenly!


Debbie also was the writer of the books that inspired the Christmas Hallmark Channel movies, "Mrs. Miracle" and "They call me Mrs. Miracle that aired the past couple of years. They are now making a series based on the Cedar Cove books with Andy McDowell, (did I spell that right?) as the lead character.

My goodness! Can you tell I like Debbies work? She's an avid knitter. She even is a co-owner of a yarn shop that is attached to her office where she writes. So she understands us knitters and crocheters perfectly.

And now, one last photo of my Chloe this morning. She looks nice and cozy on her bed doesn't she? I had to pry her into the car to get her to leave the lake. It's her favorite place in the world, (besides our bed)!



Next week I'll be on my way to Portland on Wednesday to spend a few days with Mandy and her family. They've been battling lots of sickness and they need me. At least that's what Mandy says. It's really nice when your grown children admit to still needing you isn't it? A really wonderful benefit to going to Portland again is that I'll be having lunch with Teresa, Taci and Gracie again! Yippee! That's always a fun time. Chatting with girlfriends about yarny topics. :-)

And now I have a giveaway to tell you about at Evy's blog. http://www.yestheyareallmine-mom.blogspot.com She's celebrating her 700th post and would like you to visit her. This is one amazing lady with a big family and an even bigger heart.

Have a lovely day my friends. Remember to hug someone today!

Blessings,
Betsy

At the lake!

Hubby and I de-winterized the trailer this past Saturday. It's pretty much an all day endeavor. We headed home about 5:00 and gave serious thought to getting some food and clothes and going back for the night. Reason prevailed however in the fact that we are dog-sitting our neighbors pooches until Tuesday and we wanted to be at church early Sunday so we stayed home.

However, we returned to the lake after church and we grilled pork chops for lunch. It was great, along with a couple of deli salads. Dennis went home about 7:00 last night and left Chloe and I. He was going to bed after some reading and taking care of the dogs. Tonight he has a meeting so won't be home until late and agreed there was no reason we shouldn't stay at the lake. There are two other couples here too. They have been staying since last Tuesday! It did get cold last night. Down to about 40 or so but the furnace worked great. Today is supposed to be almost 70.

Here are a few photos I took this weekend for you. There is still some dirty snow piled in shady spots around the campground. Meanwhile we had water skiers on the lake yesterday for the first time this season! Hardy souls!

Our comfy bed with lots of pillows for reading in bed. :-) Flannel sheets too. So cozy. My knitting. And the view out my window this morning. Chloe is a happy camper! :-)

I'll be going home tomorrow but the plan is to return Friday night. Yeah! Spring has sprung finally.

I hope you all had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday, remembering that Christ is Risen and is alive today.

Blessings,
Betsy

Sunshine! Bright Sunshine!

Good Morning! Or should I say good afternoon? My goodness, it's almost 11:00! I've been so busy that I lost track of time. I've been busy vacumming, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, etc. I've kind of let things slip this week because I've been busy with my crochet hook.

I've been making more burial buntings for the hosptial and I find it's just much easier to let everything go and get them done in one "fell swoop". This is a photo of two more in process which will give me a total of eight. I think that will be all for this time as I just can't make anymore right now.



I've also been busy making a few doilies. I enjoy these and haven't made any for awhile. It sure feels strange having that cotton thread in my hands after using yarn for so long!


I have them blocking on a towel this morning and then when they are dry, they'll be starched and ironed and ready for use!



Hubby and I made a trip to Walmart last night for this little purchase. I still have to open it and make sure it works. We had a little white toaster oven that we purchased about 15 years or so ago to use in our little pop-up tent camper. It was a workhorse. Since the kids have all moved out, I find myself using it several times a week. It's much easier to use than heating up the big oven for just a baked potato or garlic bread, etc. for just hubby and I. I tried to use it to broil smashed potatoes on Monday and it wasn't working right. Last night I tried to make garlic bread and it wouldn't turn on at all. Hubby took it apart when he got home and pronounced it dead. Since I only paid about $20.00 for it so long ago, I think we got our money's worth out of it. Anyway, off we went to Wally-World and bought this beauty. It's huge compared to my little one, but I'm planning to take it to the trailer this summer and use it outside to keep the trailer cooler. It's big enough for a round cake pan and a much larger baking dish than my previous oven, so the possibilities are endless. I'll let you know how it works at a later date.



I realized as I was dusting picture this morning that I don't think I've ever shown you a photo of my son Alex, who lives in Japan. So here he is. These are pictures of pictures, so please forgive the blurriness. These were taken in Tokyo a couple of months ago. How I miss that boy. He used to sit on the end of our bed at night with his guitar and sing us to sleep. I miss that. Children do grow up and move away and I realize that, but I have days when I REALLY miss my kids. Not one of them ever gave us a spot of trouble or worry. They were all great students and we knew they loved and appreciated us. Now just why did they all move so far away?

I think I'm having a bit of a melancholy day. Blame it on the burial buntings, the fact that it's the Thursday of Holy Week, or just the fact that I'm missing my babies.

Anyway. Thank you to all that offered words of wisdom on the placing of photos on blogger. It's still not putting them where I want. I have to copy, move, delete and paste to get them where I want, but with a bit of persnickity tweaking, it seems to have worked better this morning. :-)

Have a lovely, lovely day everyone and please take a moment to remember why we celebrate Easter. It's not the big meal, bunnies or the egg hunts, althought they are FUN! It's because Jesus died for us to give us a chance to live with Him in Heaven some day.

Blessings,

Betsy