I Survived!

Good morning, er, afternoon my friends!


I had my nuclear cardiac stress test thingy this morning. I arrived at 7:30 and they finished with me around 11:15 or so. It was grueling and my BP went up a bit but I survived to tell the story! I'm told the results should be in around a week or so from now. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers. I appreciate them very much.

And now to more fun things than medical "junk". Hubby built a set of steps for the trailer on Friday night and we took them to the camper on Saturday. Then he built another set for the other door Saturday night and we took them out after church yesterday. Don't they look nice? They are so much nicer and more sturdy than the flimsy metal ones that you fold down from the trailer. He does spoil me terribly doesn't he? I am so grateful that God blessed me with him for a husband. Anyway, he made them wide enough so that I can put a potted flower on each step if I want to. It's too early to plant yet, but maybe in a couple of weeks. The unwritten rule here is, no outside planting until after Mother's Day. Please ignore the stuff under the trailer. A lot of it belongs to friends who don't leave their motor home here in the winter so they stored their wood and other "stuff" under our trailer. They should be bringing their motor home out in the next week or so and it will all leave our "house".

There was a young person stand up paddling on the lake on Saturday. Although the temperature was in the high 70's, I don't think the lake is all that warm yet so I was really glad he didn't fall in! The picture of a bird is a Loon. The lake that we camp at is named Loon Lake. You usually only see the Loons on the lake early in the morning once the boating season begins. They don't like it when the water is all stirred up.
There are also a few pictures of our drive out to the lake and hubby at the wheel of his new 4x4 pickup. He's really enjoying his truck. He doesn't like to get things for himself and he was feeling disloyal to his Expedition that we sold, so he was not enjoying it as he should have. This weekend he finally admitted to me just how much he likes his new truck. It sure came in handy for hauling the stairs out to the camper too. Isn't the drive pretty? It's mountains all the way from our house. I enjoy the drive almost as much as the lake! :-)



I spent some time yesterday finishing up a dishcloth while in my reclining chair overlooking the lake. These two pictures above are looking straight up at the trees above the camper. I love the blue of the sky against the greeen of the trees. Not a cloud could be seen anywhere yesterday or today. Beautiful.

These dishcloths have been my projects for the past week or so since I finished the doily. I'm trying to stock up on dishcloths again. I sent a batch off to Pine Rdige a few weeks ago and my finished project closet is very low right now. I've also got 3 sweater, hat, and booties sets, one pair baby socks, two sweaters and two blankets ready to be sent off to an online charity group I'm in. Keeps me busy-but out of trouble. I'm not sure of my next project. I have a Pimpleisse Shawl on the needles. It's been on the needles for a couple of months now, but I'm not feeling a lot of inspiration toward anything in particular right now. I did begin the first of my two monthly dishcloths this morning while at the hospital. Then I'll probably concentrate on some baby hats for the hospital for awhile. I must admit, I get bored with them after four or five hats and want to make something else!

Now, I need to get the laundry out of the dryer and start another load. I'm behind in my normal Monday chores because of that pesky appointment.

Have a lovely day wherever you are and know that I'm thinking of each of you and thanking God for your friendship.

Blessings,

Betsy

A Finished CAL!

Good Morning friends! It's a chilly 33F here this morning, but the weather person assures us that it's the end of the really cold weather for the season. HA! We shall see. They are wrong a lot aren't they? Hubby says he wishes he could be wrong at work as much as a weather person and still keep his job! It is supposed to reach 80F next week and I'm looking forward to that.

I have a finished CAL doily to show you. Stitchy McFloss has a CAL and KAL going on her blog. Her address is in my sidebar. Feel free to pop on over to see what's happening. She's also in the middle of telling us an intriguing mystery all about knitting/crocheting and a bus! The first photo is while it was blocking and the last two the finished object. It turned out bigger than I expected at 21 inches in diameter. I like how the points are so pointy! :-)


Yesterday I got up early and did some necessary things around the house like dusting and vacumming. It's amazing how having two dogs here causes so much more dog hair. They are also both shedding their winter coats so I think vacuuming will be an everyday thing for awhile. After finishing my chores I was at the nursing home visiting by 9:00 and spent a couple of relaxing hours just visiting with the lovely ladies there. They are so lonely for company. If any of you have a spare hour or two to visit a local care facility I know your visit will be the highlight of someones day.

After that I decided to pop in at the Tuesday morning knitting group at Paradise Fibers. Their internet address is www.paradisefibers.com. I know you would all LOVE this shop. Let me show you why. The first two pictures are of where we sit and knit and the others are just a glimpse of this two story paradise. There are spinning wheels, looms and fiber galore for both. These bins are just a fraction of the bins full of spinning fiber available. The spools on the wall are for the looms.

I could have filled many posts with all of the pictures of yarn displays and finished objects. This used to be an old carpet warehouse and it is now chock full of yarn and yarny things! SO much yarn, so little time.



Paradise Fibers is family owned and operated. The kids all knit and spin and Dad has designed a spinning wheel. They raise sheep just outside of Spokane, although they have fiber from all of the well known manufacturers. It started out as more of an internet only business. They were located in a questionable part of town that not very many knitters/crocheters were interested in venturing into. A couple of years ago they purchased their "new" building and now enjoy quite a lot of foot traffic along with their internet busines. No I'm not being paid to tell you all of this. I'm just sharing my local yarn shop with you. After I took the pictures I got home and was concerned about privacy issues and all of that so I called Kyle at the store and he told me to have fun sharing with all of you. They don't mind at all! Check out their website, you'll be amazed at everything they have in their store. I've never seen so many needles and hooks in one place. There are HUGE walls full of needles alone. And if you ever make it to Spokane, I'll be happy to take you on your own sightseeing trip to Paradise Fibers. It really is like a Paradise for knitters.

Goodness! I sound like a commercial don't I? I apologize. I just love this shop. I love supporting a family that is working together and they actually seem to enjoy us fiber peopel too. :-)

And now, I'm off to the lake for the day. Thank you for all of your prayers. I'm feeling much better and I'm scheduled for a heart treadmill test next Monday morning. I'll let you know if I survive it. I had one a few years ago and thought I was going to die right then and there!!! Thankfully I'm still around to chat with all of you.

Have a lovely day and know that I appreciate each and every one of you.

Blessings,

Betsy

A Full Heart

Lots of happiness at our house this weekend! It was over way too fast. Kyleigh was indeed a little Mommy to Piper. She read dozens of books to her and helped her use her sippy cup. Our son Jamie seemed quite enamoured of Piper too, that's him holding her in the chair. Caleb soon discovered his Daddy's old lego's that I had kept in storage these many years, just for this opportunity. He had a wonderful time playing with them. Please excuse Grandpa's hair. This was VERY early Sunday morning before showers and breakfast. It was just Grandpa up with all three kids and he was quite happy and really didn't care what he looked like. He had his grandkids in his lap! Do you like Kyleigh's big girl tooth just coming in? Last week she had an accident with some gravel and got an abrasion next to her eye. It seems running and gravel don't mix very well!

That's Brad holding Caleb upside down in the living room. Caleb adores Uncle Brad and they tease each other constantly. He also loves Chloe and likes to lay on her bed with her. :-) Polly is staying here with us for a few weeks while Mandy and Brad go to a wedding in Nebraska. I'll be making a trip to Portland to take her home next month. Meanwhile both dogs are happy to be together again. Both Kyleigh and Caleb amazed us with their reading. Kyleigh is in second grade and can read very well just about anything you give her. Caleb is in kindergarten and likes to read too. Obviously not as well as Kyleigh but he's trying to catch up! Both do math problems in their heads and kept us busy supplying math problems for them to do. This Grandma realized very quickly just how much I depend on my calculator.

Uncle Alex facetimed with us from Japan and he taught Kyleigh and Caleb some Japanese which they proceeded to use the rest of the weekend! He took a very cute screenshot of all three kids and posted it on Facebook. I'm trying to see if I can get a copy as it's very cute. He called again last night to talk to them, not realizing they had already gone home. The only person he had to talk to was me since an exhausted Grandpa had already gone to bed. He is on a short vacation for Golden Week in Japan and was at Hirosaki where the cherry blossoms are and wanted to show the little ones how pretty it is. Mandy, Hubby and I all were there with him three years ago this week and I can vouch for how beautiful it is with the castle and the cherry blossoms. There is a big festival going on at the same time.

Yesterday we took them all to Red Robin after church and right afterwards they all left for home. It's about a 5 hour drive for Jamies family and about 6 hours for Mandy's family so they were all gone by 1:30 in order to be home by bedtime for the kids. Oh my! That was traumatic for Grandpa and Grandma. Would you believe that I have tears in my eyes right now just thinking about it? Ever since Kyliegh was born our way of coping with them leaving our house is to put everything back into it's proper place like a couple of whirlwinds. We had everything put away within an hour and the first load of bedding was in the washer. Otherwise, everytime we see a toy or all of the chairs around the dining table I start crying again. It's easier emotionally to get it out of sight.

They all had great trips home. Jamie had beautiful weather over all the mountain passes. No snow! His kids are seasoned car travelers and are used to long rides to see their other grandparents too. Mandy and Brad had a good trip as well. Miss Piper slept about 3/4 of the drive and was happy the rest of the way. Mandy called and so we could talk to Piper as they drove. She was jabbering and laughing at us in her car seat. :-)

My, oh my, this house is empty now. The devotion last night at church was about contentment. Being content in all things. So I'm really trying to be content with having seen all of my kids this weekend, (even Alex on Facetime!) I still miss them, but I do know that they love us and we love them and nothing can change that. And we're all happy.

Brad is looking at airplanes to buy. After another 6 hour trip here and back in two days, he says he could fly it in an hour. That way, he says, he can come get me to babysit anytime I want! And I want!!! He's wanted a plane for awhile but I think he's getting even more serious about it. He can fly just about anything and is a flight instructor too.

Thanks for putting up with my family babble today. I'm feeling very blessed. We had lots of loving and kisses and hugs all around. Grandma got to help with all three baths, (that's important to us Grandma's isn't it?) I got to change lots of Piper's diapers and I'm feeling very contented about all of it.

Yes, the Lord truly blessed Hubby and I this weekend in many ways. Don't ever take your family for granted my friends. If they live close by, realize just how blessed you are. And if they are all far away like ours are, be thankful for modern things like Skype, Facetime and emails!

Have a lovely, blessed day.

Blessings,

Betsy