Friday, Friday

Hello again.  I’m back quicker than usual.  I keep forgetting to show you all of the beautiful Christmas cards we received this year. I still have them hanging up. I like to enjoy them until sometime around the middle of January and then I’ll take them down and re-read them all again. Thank you to each of you who sent me a card. 

You can also see a few of my angels from my angel collection up on top. Dennis built this shelf above our patio doors for me to display them.

Christmas decorations are gone, I even took down the outside lights yesterday, but my snowmen stay out until around Valentine’s Day.  The card on the right was handmade by Shaz in Australia. Teresa made me the sweet nativity that is next to it in the jar.  It stays on display all year.

The candle was a gift from Alicia for Christmas and smells heavenly. It is lavender and vanilla.  I have only been been lighting it for an hour or so each evening in order to make it last longer.

Another of my snowmen and the cute purple sheep that was also a gift from Teresa. Please excuse the hot pad on the counter. I’m in the process of making my lunch and I didn’t see it there when I took the photo.

More snowman! I adore Olaf from the Frozen movies.

The sweater that Dennis took back with him is a hit! Here is Aria wearing her new sweater and it fits. I believe a lot of you thought it was a baby sweater, but it was actually a toddler size 6X. A lot bigger than a baby sweater!

I have now started working on Maddie’s sweater. This one is a size 5.

Mandy, Papa and Piper went to the zoo yesterday before they went to Grandma’s house. Karen had several doctors appointments in the morning, so they decided to take that opportunity to go to the zoo.  Omaha has an amazing zoo, the Henry Dorley Zoo. If you’re ever there you should check it out. I remember going as a kindergartner in school. We had a zoo pass when our children were small and we used to go several times a week.  It’s so big you can’t see it all in one trip.

Piper received this Lego set for a Frozen II jewelry box from Amazon last week. They have no idea who sent it, it’s a total mystery, but she and Papa had a wonderful time putting it together yesterday. I think this little girl is going to be lost when her Papa comes home tomorrow night.

Sunset last night off of our back deck looking towards Mt. Spokane. Isn’t it gorgeous?

I wasn’t feeling very well when Dennis left Tuesday morning and I sent a download of my pacemaker in to the cardiologist. Imagine my surprise when they called me back very quickly. It usually takes several days to hear back! Apparently my heart rhythm has been a bit wonky and so he adjusted my medications yesterday.  No wonder I was feeling so icky.  I am exhausted today, but I guess that’s part of adjusting to the new dosages. It’s always something isn’t it?

I am so ready for Dennis to come home but I’m  very glad he’s had this time to spend with our family.  This house gets very lonely and quiet with just me and Chloe here. I can’t imagine what it would be like without her here.  I’m wishing you all a wonderful and relaxing weekend.  Do you all have big plans?

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things.”  Psalm 98:1

Blessings,

Betsy

It’s 2020 already!

Who would have thought that the year 2020 would be here so soon? It seems like just yesterday we were all concerned about Y2K and now here we are, 20 years later!  I remember everyone at work being very worried that the computers were going to crash at midnight in 2000 and yet everything rolled along just the same.

Dennis is in Omaha with family, and I have to admit that spending my first ever New Year’s Eve alone was a bit strange. Of course I knitted and I watched a lot of U-Tube videos. Alex and Tara FaceTimed with me from Liverpool, England where they had taken a Beatles tour earlier in the day. It was wonderful to see their faces.

I have some very good news. When they did a scan on Karen on Monday, they found that the spots on her lungs and her liver have disappeared! It is truly a miracle and we attribute it to all of the people who are praying for her. Please keep up the prayers. She sees another doctor tomorrow and as of now she still has cancer in her pancreas, lymph nodes and bones.  We do know that miracles happen and are happening for her.  I am very grateful that Dennis is getting this time to spend with her.

He will be home Saturday night. I was supposed to drive him to the airport yesterday morning early, early, early. However, it snowed all night and he did not want me driving those roads in the dark with so much snow. So he left his truck in the parking garage at the airport.  It was snowing so hard that they sat on the plane at the gate for over 2 1/2 hours before they could take off. They couldn’t keep up with removing the snow and deicing the plane. Thank goodness we had allowed a long connection in Seattle because of this possibility.

Almost 7 1/2 hours after he left our house, he flew back over Spokane on his way to Omaha!  He had to fly from Spokane to Seattle and catch a connecting flight to Omaha. How crazy is that? 7 1/2 hours to end up just above where you started out!

Then, Neal came over and shoveled the driveway out for me when he got off work in the afternoon. We have the most wonderful friends and family you can imagine. I haven’t left the house since Monday and I’m not sure if I will go anywhere today or not. I have a hankering for fried chicken and I may just treat myself and do something I never do. Go through the Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through!

As I said, I have been getting some knitting done. I finished the sweater just in the nick of time to run to JoAnns and buy some buttons and get them sewn on before Dennis left.

I also made five hats for the ladies at the retirement home to donate.

And I made two pair of mittens yesterday.  A pair for me and a pair for the school children.

Now, there is a story about these mittens I made for myself.  Dennis and I took a walk up at the lake on Sunday to check on the trailers. I had my mittens on because it was very cold.  I remember having them on when I got back into the car. However, when I went to put them on Monday morning for the drive to JoAnns for buttons, they were nowhere to be found. I searched the car. I searched the house. I looked in all of my coat pockets, even the coat I didn’t wear! Nowhere! I thought I must have dropped them when we stopped in the little town of Deer Park on the way home.  

I went ahead and did all of my errands including a few other stops at the grocery store, Walmart and Staples. I had been talking about making a second pair anyway, so I could have a pair in my dress coat and in the coat I wear with jeans. I had just never done it.  So, I went back out Monday afternoon to Hobby Lobby and picked up another skein of the exact same color because I like them so much. When I opened my purse to pay for the yarn guess what was in my purse? My mittens! I have never, ever put my mittens or gloves in my purse before. Plus, I had paid for things at JoAnns, Staples, Walmart, and the grocery store and I never saw the mittens in my purse. How does that happen? I went ahead and bought the yarn and made another pair of mittens anyway! I think I’m losing my mind.  That was my first purchase with my Christmas gift card. :-)

This is Papa‘s plane taxiing to the gate in Omaha yesterday. Does someone look excited to see him?  I can’t believe they had such a good view of the gates from where they were waiting.

This one is really blurry because they were both in motion but it gives you an idea of how excited they were to see each other.  I love this picture.  A moment later and she was in his arms.

I had a few other lovely goodies arrive in the mail. First of all was a sweet card with a Christmas tree framed behind a sweet window with birds. Sam who is “farmgirlsam” on my side bar, sent Dennis and I this beautiful ornament that she made. Unfortunately it was broken when I received it but I have a glued it back together as best I can and I will cherish it. Thank you so much Sam.  We love it.

I also got this handy needle sizer from Judy who is “cozythings” on my sidebar.  It is the perfect size and I can keep it right next to my knitting chair.  I can’t believe how much I have used it already.  Thank you so much Judy!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful New Year’s day and are finding some time to do whatever makes you happy. I’m wishing you all a wonderful 2020. I am so grateful to be starting the year out with wonderful friends like I have here through this blog. You have all come to mean so much to me.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Blessings and love,

Betsy

More Christmas?

Happy Friday everyone. I know Christmas is over, but I had a few ornaments that I still wanted to share with you all. The next three photos are ornaments we bought on our three trips to Maui that we took in December each time we went.  We haven’t been able to go to Hawaii for several years now and Dennis really misses it.

Angels and seashells are a common theme. I love angels. Each time I see one it reminds me that God has sent them to watch over us, along with being His messengers throughout the Bible.

Isn’t this one beautiful?

It is our dream to go back again someday.

On Christmas, even though we had already exchanged gifts at Thanksgiving, Mandy had left a couple of packages under the tree for us so we would have something to open on Christmas day. Dennis got some much-needed clothes and this was what I had from Piper.

Aren’t these both just perfect for me?  A sweet little wood block with a beautiful saying on it. Piper picked it out for me and it’s in my favorite colors of purples and lavenders, although it looks more pink in the photo.  I wear these sort of slipper socks around the house all the time. If this saying isn’t perfect for me I don’t know what is!

This was my gift from Dennis.  Another $100 gift card to Hobby Lobby. He did this last year and I absolutely loved it. The only rule is that I cannot use it to buy anything for anyone else. Since I buy so much yarn to make things to give away, I always feel guilty buying anything for myself. Last year I made that gift card last until October when we were in Omaha. Then I broke the rule when I used the very last of it to buy Piper an outfit for her baby doll. I was so excited when I realized he had gotten me another gift card. It’s a gift that keeps giving to me all year long. It’s amazing how picky I get about what I buy when I’m using this card.  

Goodness I feel spoiled. 

It snowed again last night. Not a lot, but enough to make the roads slick. I had planned to go to Trader Joe’s and JoAnns.  Yesterday I received an email that all of their yarn is on sale. Now I think I’ll just stay cozy inside the house instead. 

Goodness knows I need to be knitting on this...

I should have been done with it by now. I have ripped the right front out three separate times. The directions just say to make it a mirror image of the left side and somehow my brain could not comprehend that. Even though I’ve made this sweater before. Several times.  I honestly don’t know what was wrong with me. Sometimes I worry that I’m losing it.

A close-up of the smocking on the top of the sweater. This is what is so time-consuming.

I finally was able to start a sleeve last night. Now all I have to do is finish the sleeve, knit the second one and do the button band before sewing it all together. And make an identical sweater by next Tuesday.  Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’m going to give it a good try!

I received a few beautiful gifts in the mail from you, my blog friends.  This first one is from dear sweet Gracie who lives in Oregon.  Isn’t this ingenious? It’s a towel holder! You put it over the handle on your stove or refrigerator and loop a towel through the openings. I think this is beautiful. Thank you Gracie!  You can find Gracie at “One Saylors Log” over on my side bar.

This very imaginative gift is from Kathy in Wisconsin. It is self-explanatory when you read the card. Isn’t this a great idea? Thank you so much Kathy.  I’m going to plant these in a pot at the lake and think of you every time I see it. Kathy has a blog called ”Compassionknit”and you can find the link on my side bar.

And just look at this treasure trove! A bag, buttons and yarn from my dear friend Lorraine who lives on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.  She made the beautiful bag and sewed the buttons on the individual cards. I wish you could smell this wool.  I’m sure it’s from one of the sheep who live outside of their cottage on the island.  She is ”Mama’s Mercantile” over on my side bar if you would like to check out her blog.

On Christmas afternoon we went to see Mr. Rogers at the movie theater along with Neal and Jenny. We have never gone to the movies on Christmas before and I was amazed at how busy it was. There are 20 theaters in this complex and we were told they were all sold out for the showings while we were there. I just could never imagine that many people go to the movies on Christmas. I don’t know that we will do that again.  It just didn’t seem right. Although the movie was very good. 

This is a photo of the Christmas tree at the mall as we were riding up the escalator to the theaters. The tree is three stories high and absolutely gorgeous although the color doesn’t show up very well in this photo.  I guess you can get a bit of the perspective when you see the people standing down below.

And here’s one last photo of our tree that I took on Christmas Eve.  Oh, the memories that this tree holds. I look at the ornaments that the kids made when they were small and ornaments that have been given to us by friends and that we have collected over 41 years of marriage.  It’s probably not as beautiful to most people as the perfectly decorated ones that you see, but it means more to me than one of those trees ever could.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday week and that you had time with family and friends.  Now, I’m heading out to shovel snow yet again. It’s that wonderful time of the year!

“Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”  Luke 2:11

Blessings,

Betsy