I know it's been forever since I've posted on this blog, which is ironic because I'm the one who started the doggone thing! Between the writing, the grandkids, and other demands on my time, I just have not had a chance to get over here. Well, that is about to change...
I have a lot to talk about and no way that I can do that all in one post. I'll pick away at that stuff as I go along.
Health issues have kind of derailed me from doing a lot of the things I used to enjoy. With osteoarthritis in all the major joints and degenerative spine, I don't get around well and can't walk for long distances. So not only did I have to give up gardening, but I just can't handle all the wandering around at the local fairs, yard sales, and flea markets. I still get out to a thrift shop or craft store infrequently and with some additional pain management I hope to do that more often. I do babysit my two youngest grandkids twice a week most weeks and while I'm there I help my elderly mother with things like showering that she has trouble with now. I've had a bunch of other things come up this year, a thyroid cancer scare (multiple nodes in a goiter that all proved benign—WHEW!) and two eye surgeries for cataracts, implanted lenses, and stents to help control glaucoma. The surgeries were absolutely necessary and proved a success, though I am still on all of my glaucoma drops and now need a minor corrective distance lens as well as the reading lens. So I will be back to wearing glasses at least part time in order to see well enough to drive and do close work.
I am still writing almost daily. I have an author page on Amazon here where you can see all the things I have in print, and I still have the two sister blogs, WRITING FROM HOME & COMPANION DRAGONS TALES where you can see what else I've been working on. On the latter blog, my old pals Roger Stegman and Lee Houston Jr. are co-contributors to that series. Roger posts here regularly, and Lee does on occasion though you will most often find him on his own blogs, THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE & FILLING BLANK SPACES. Lee gets our dedicated blogger award because he's had The Free Choice since around this time of year back in 2008 and he has hardly missed a week.
WTG Lee! Now you have to post here too...
Over the last year or so we have put a tremendous amount of work into updating and renovating this old farmhouse, and believe me, there's plenty more to be done. But I have gained two new bedrooms that are finished and the house and a good part of the outbuildings are sided. I have a lot of pictures which I will be posting over time. We would have done this work sooner, but it was almost impossible to find someone willing to work on a place built in 1770. Glad to say that we did finally find the right company, and we're very pleased with the results. Thank you TEDCO!
Now that I have a living room that is no longer also a bedroom, I have a place to sit and crochet. Most of my evenings are spent that way, with the TV on with either programs I enjoy or a ballgame, and me sitting beneath a lamp with hooks and yarn scattered around me. I did a lot of handmade ornaments for the holiday tree that I finally had room for, and I've been making banners, buntings, wreaths, and other decorations for my living room fireplace or the big beams in the kitchen/dining room area. Now and then I turn out a doll or some other little doodad to surprise the grandkids with. I'll post a few pictures here for now, and dig up more of them as I go along. I hate to admit it but the yarn stash in my room is overflowing as are my idea files. There's worse things I could be doing.
So here's a few things I've done lately...
I went thrifting! It was just a single stop at a local Salvation Army, but you have no idea how wonderful it felt to walk in that door. I think this might have been only the second or third time I stopped in this year. I am supplementing my prescription Naproxen and OTC 8 hour time-release acetaminophen with sour cherry capsules and that has really helped me. It's been less than a month but I am beginning to get around better.
So what did I get? Not that much, but I walked through the entire store pushing a carriage and I found a few items.
A 4 cup measuring cup, and a giant spatula in almost new shape. Kept the measuring cup but gave the spatula to grandson Ben, who at 13 is starting to cook. He needed something big and sturdy to turn pancakes he made from scratch when I stayed at the kid's house for one weekend. Cooking is a great skill that this grandma wholeheartedly encourages.
I grabbed those two little folding chairs with the younger grandkids in mind. They were marked $4.99 each but are like new, no stains, rips, or bad seams and the mechanisms that folds and unfolds them are still stiff. We used them this weekend when we celebrated Labor Day and Zack's 4th birthday with a cookout/eat indoors feast. The kids loved the chairs.
Yarn. Yes, I bought yarn. Did I need it? No, but I wanted it. That's what I went through the entire store trying to find, and finally located the craft area up front in one corner. They had a laundry basket filled with tangled skeins and balls, and I picked out what I wanted. Only the Aunt Lydia's rug yarn was marked $1.99, so at the desk the checkout guy said, "$4.99 for the lot?" and that was fine with me. Don't care what kind of yarn it is, I use everything.
There were two skeins that I did not buy because they were smaller and I didn't think I'd need them. But they are brown and that's a color that is hard to get right now. So since I lamented that out loud, Lee went back to the thrift store during a shopping excursion and pored through the basket of yarn until he found them. They let him have those for 79¢ each. Very inexpensive if it gets you a hug and a big smile...
So what have I been making? Well, this and that.
For Mother's Day I was given a yard or so of polar fleece in my favorite pattern by #1 son Jason. This summer I edged it with matching stripes of single crochet. Right now that sits on the back of my chair where I plop myself down to watch baseball and crochet. Go RED SOX!!!!
I simply blanket stitch onto the polar fleece after it's trimmed and then pick up the stitches with the hook and start the edging in whatever stitch pattern I like. I've done quite a few throws and chair shawls that way. Sure is nice to snuggle under one of those on a cold or damp night.
In my kitchen for the entire month of July hung my two patriotic garlands. The stars are the same ones I used on my holiday tree as ornaments, a pattern I found online and then made two of them for each and sewed them together without stuffing. Just enough bulk to have them hang fairly straight without being too fat.
Those are pony beads in alternating colors strung on soft red faux suede lacing that I got in bulk online. Each end of the garland had some metallic gold pony beads. I've made several garlands with that roll of faux suede so far and it holds up well without lots of stretching. The little translucent faceted plastic beads on the baker's string hangers gave just enough shine to remind us of fireworks.
So for the other beam, which faces the dining room, I made those half-circle buntings you see all over on the 4th, and used gold colored yarn to tie them together. There's a smaller one on each end because that was the size of the original pattern, and I thought it was too small, so I increased rows and made it bigger.
You get an idea of the simplicity of the bunting project close up. They have picot edging to make them festive.
Because I know the grandbabies love the twinkle star song and would want their own stars, I made them each some special ones. I'm thinking of putting them on beaded hangers so they can wave them around and sing the song. Grandma sings a lot to them.
Grandkids get spoiled here. I made some little teddies. Interestingly enough, the hook and yarn used were supposedly the same size and weight, but the tan teddy is bigger than her brown ted counterpart. He seems to have gotten straw on his face—where has he been? Crochet toys are wonderfully indestructible unless you have one of those dogs who chews things up. This pattern is interesting because both sides of the bear are made together, joined by the very end of one paw. It's pretty quick.
Poor dolly got set aside while I was finishing something else. She is naked and bald in this picture but over the last couple of nights I have been working on her hair. I made her a foundation wig cap and sewed that in place so her scalp won't show through, and I'm using the same yarn to root hair for upright pigtails. She only has one side of her hair done and looks odd so I will update later. I'm not sure I like her mouth. The pattern for the doll called for underclothing, shoes, and socks that were worked into the base stitches but I know my granddaughter too well to do that. All her babydolls get undressed so they can go potty and get imaginary baths. She would be frustrated if the clothes didn't come off and the dolly couldn't be 'nakee'. LOL!
That striped throw the doll is standing on is an oldie I made years ago from polar fleece with crinkly, ripply edging.
The big fall project was decorating over the fireplace. I started making fall doodads about a month ago with no plan for what I was going to do with them. Fortunately I have some big vine wreaths on hand so one of them got decorated with all sorts of things.
On either end of the big beam over the fireplace I hung some crocheted Indian corn...
And then I made a leaf and bead garland for each side. The left side has the oak leaves and acorns...
While the right side got the more colorful maple leaves.
I went back and made some in brown and green to kind of mute those bright colors a bit. All the patterns were found online but sometimes I tweak them a bit.
So here's the entire display! It's far from symmetrical and wasn't really planned well, but it's one of a kind and was fun to do. Crochet is very therapeutic, it helps me relax, when I'm not yelling at the TV because the umps are making bad calls. LOL! It's a change from writing too, which is important. It uses the same part of the brain, but in a far different way.
Oh and in case you wondered, Ariel The Wonder Dog is still very much with us, and she has appointed herself boss of the entire neighborhood. She spends time on my bed almost every day letting all the neighbors, bunnies, chipmunks, stray cats, noisy birds, mail carriers, wandering zombies, UPS or FEDEX delivery vehicles and any other loud traffic know that this house has the world's most efficient alarm system. This dog does not miss a thing. She can hear a mouse scratching its rump on the other side of the house. Nothing escapes her attention, and she works for dog treats and snuggles. You can't buy that kind of loyalty.
Hope you enjoyed this indulgent little foray into recent events here at home. Believe me, there's more to come because I find plenty to do in my 'spare' time.
I have a lot to talk about and no way that I can do that all in one post. I'll pick away at that stuff as I go along.
Health issues have kind of derailed me from doing a lot of the things I used to enjoy. With osteoarthritis in all the major joints and degenerative spine, I don't get around well and can't walk for long distances. So not only did I have to give up gardening, but I just can't handle all the wandering around at the local fairs, yard sales, and flea markets. I still get out to a thrift shop or craft store infrequently and with some additional pain management I hope to do that more often. I do babysit my two youngest grandkids twice a week most weeks and while I'm there I help my elderly mother with things like showering that she has trouble with now. I've had a bunch of other things come up this year, a thyroid cancer scare (multiple nodes in a goiter that all proved benign—WHEW!) and two eye surgeries for cataracts, implanted lenses, and stents to help control glaucoma. The surgeries were absolutely necessary and proved a success, though I am still on all of my glaucoma drops and now need a minor corrective distance lens as well as the reading lens. So I will be back to wearing glasses at least part time in order to see well enough to drive and do close work.
I am still writing almost daily. I have an author page on Amazon here where you can see all the things I have in print, and I still have the two sister blogs, WRITING FROM HOME & COMPANION DRAGONS TALES where you can see what else I've been working on. On the latter blog, my old pals Roger Stegman and Lee Houston Jr. are co-contributors to that series. Roger posts here regularly, and Lee does on occasion though you will most often find him on his own blogs, THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE & FILLING BLANK SPACES. Lee gets our dedicated blogger award because he's had The Free Choice since around this time of year back in 2008 and he has hardly missed a week.
WTG Lee! Now you have to post here too...
Over the last year or so we have put a tremendous amount of work into updating and renovating this old farmhouse, and believe me, there's plenty more to be done. But I have gained two new bedrooms that are finished and the house and a good part of the outbuildings are sided. I have a lot of pictures which I will be posting over time. We would have done this work sooner, but it was almost impossible to find someone willing to work on a place built in 1770. Glad to say that we did finally find the right company, and we're very pleased with the results. Thank you TEDCO!
Now that I have a living room that is no longer also a bedroom, I have a place to sit and crochet. Most of my evenings are spent that way, with the TV on with either programs I enjoy or a ballgame, and me sitting beneath a lamp with hooks and yarn scattered around me. I did a lot of handmade ornaments for the holiday tree that I finally had room for, and I've been making banners, buntings, wreaths, and other decorations for my living room fireplace or the big beams in the kitchen/dining room area. Now and then I turn out a doll or some other little doodad to surprise the grandkids with. I'll post a few pictures here for now, and dig up more of them as I go along. I hate to admit it but the yarn stash in my room is overflowing as are my idea files. There's worse things I could be doing.
So here's a few things I've done lately...
I went thrifting! It was just a single stop at a local Salvation Army, but you have no idea how wonderful it felt to walk in that door. I think this might have been only the second or third time I stopped in this year. I am supplementing my prescription Naproxen and OTC 8 hour time-release acetaminophen with sour cherry capsules and that has really helped me. It's been less than a month but I am beginning to get around better.
So what did I get? Not that much, but I walked through the entire store pushing a carriage and I found a few items.
A 4 cup measuring cup, and a giant spatula in almost new shape. Kept the measuring cup but gave the spatula to grandson Ben, who at 13 is starting to cook. He needed something big and sturdy to turn pancakes he made from scratch when I stayed at the kid's house for one weekend. Cooking is a great skill that this grandma wholeheartedly encourages.
I grabbed those two little folding chairs with the younger grandkids in mind. They were marked $4.99 each but are like new, no stains, rips, or bad seams and the mechanisms that folds and unfolds them are still stiff. We used them this weekend when we celebrated Labor Day and Zack's 4th birthday with a cookout/eat indoors feast. The kids loved the chairs.
Yarn. Yes, I bought yarn. Did I need it? No, but I wanted it. That's what I went through the entire store trying to find, and finally located the craft area up front in one corner. They had a laundry basket filled with tangled skeins and balls, and I picked out what I wanted. Only the Aunt Lydia's rug yarn was marked $1.99, so at the desk the checkout guy said, "$4.99 for the lot?" and that was fine with me. Don't care what kind of yarn it is, I use everything.
There were two skeins that I did not buy because they were smaller and I didn't think I'd need them. But they are brown and that's a color that is hard to get right now. So since I lamented that out loud, Lee went back to the thrift store during a shopping excursion and pored through the basket of yarn until he found them. They let him have those for 79¢ each. Very inexpensive if it gets you a hug and a big smile...
So what have I been making? Well, this and that.
For Mother's Day I was given a yard or so of polar fleece in my favorite pattern by #1 son Jason. This summer I edged it with matching stripes of single crochet. Right now that sits on the back of my chair where I plop myself down to watch baseball and crochet. Go RED SOX!!!!
I simply blanket stitch onto the polar fleece after it's trimmed and then pick up the stitches with the hook and start the edging in whatever stitch pattern I like. I've done quite a few throws and chair shawls that way. Sure is nice to snuggle under one of those on a cold or damp night.
In my kitchen for the entire month of July hung my two patriotic garlands. The stars are the same ones I used on my holiday tree as ornaments, a pattern I found online and then made two of them for each and sewed them together without stuffing. Just enough bulk to have them hang fairly straight without being too fat.
Those are pony beads in alternating colors strung on soft red faux suede lacing that I got in bulk online. Each end of the garland had some metallic gold pony beads. I've made several garlands with that roll of faux suede so far and it holds up well without lots of stretching. The little translucent faceted plastic beads on the baker's string hangers gave just enough shine to remind us of fireworks.
So for the other beam, which faces the dining room, I made those half-circle buntings you see all over on the 4th, and used gold colored yarn to tie them together. There's a smaller one on each end because that was the size of the original pattern, and I thought it was too small, so I increased rows and made it bigger.
You get an idea of the simplicity of the bunting project close up. They have picot edging to make them festive.
Because I know the grandbabies love the twinkle star song and would want their own stars, I made them each some special ones. I'm thinking of putting them on beaded hangers so they can wave them around and sing the song. Grandma sings a lot to them.
Grandkids get spoiled here. I made some little teddies. Interestingly enough, the hook and yarn used were supposedly the same size and weight, but the tan teddy is bigger than her brown ted counterpart. He seems to have gotten straw on his face—where has he been? Crochet toys are wonderfully indestructible unless you have one of those dogs who chews things up. This pattern is interesting because both sides of the bear are made together, joined by the very end of one paw. It's pretty quick.
Poor dolly got set aside while I was finishing something else. She is naked and bald in this picture but over the last couple of nights I have been working on her hair. I made her a foundation wig cap and sewed that in place so her scalp won't show through, and I'm using the same yarn to root hair for upright pigtails. She only has one side of her hair done and looks odd so I will update later. I'm not sure I like her mouth. The pattern for the doll called for underclothing, shoes, and socks that were worked into the base stitches but I know my granddaughter too well to do that. All her babydolls get undressed so they can go potty and get imaginary baths. She would be frustrated if the clothes didn't come off and the dolly couldn't be 'nakee'. LOL!
That striped throw the doll is standing on is an oldie I made years ago from polar fleece with crinkly, ripply edging.
The big fall project was decorating over the fireplace. I started making fall doodads about a month ago with no plan for what I was going to do with them. Fortunately I have some big vine wreaths on hand so one of them got decorated with all sorts of things.
On either end of the big beam over the fireplace I hung some crocheted Indian corn...
While the right side got the more colorful maple leaves.
I went back and made some in brown and green to kind of mute those bright colors a bit. All the patterns were found online but sometimes I tweak them a bit.
So here's the entire display! It's far from symmetrical and wasn't really planned well, but it's one of a kind and was fun to do. Crochet is very therapeutic, it helps me relax, when I'm not yelling at the TV because the umps are making bad calls. LOL! It's a change from writing too, which is important. It uses the same part of the brain, but in a far different way.
Oh and in case you wondered, Ariel The Wonder Dog is still very much with us, and she has appointed herself boss of the entire neighborhood. She spends time on my bed almost every day letting all the neighbors, bunnies, chipmunks, stray cats, noisy birds, mail carriers, wandering zombies, UPS or FEDEX delivery vehicles and any other loud traffic know that this house has the world's most efficient alarm system. This dog does not miss a thing. She can hear a mouse scratching its rump on the other side of the house. Nothing escapes her attention, and she works for dog treats and snuggles. You can't buy that kind of loyalty.
Hope you enjoyed this indulgent little foray into recent events here at home. Believe me, there's more to come because I find plenty to do in my 'spare' time.
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