Green Cats: Dreams, Dogs, and Dishcloths...

I had a strange dream the other night, that we got a (mint) green, super fluffy cat. (It didn't have stripes like this one. :P) I got it from my sister; who didn't want/couldn't take care of it anymore (kind of like she didn't want Sierra anymore, maybe?). So we took it and it was going to be our twelve year olds' cat. Well the next morning, I got up and the cat walked into the kitchen. I said, 'Hi Kitty'. Then looked at our son and '(Gasp) Where has this cat been going to the bathroom at?! I have to get it a litter box!' 'And food. And a dish...' (Duh...) What a weird dream. I don't know where that came from. I forget if that was the night I took a muscle relaxer, or not... :P

I think Koda is getting a little better. (Maybe I am just not so stressed out about it anymore?) A couple of times I have said 'No', and he hung his head down like, 'Awwww, ma...' It was so cute. Then he does this thing with his lip. We call it 'The Elvis Thing'. 'Look, he's doing the Elvis thing! Come look!' :P He was doing it here in this picture (you can't see it very good from up top, it's the right side.) What a goofball. :P

He really stinks. He needs another bath. (Sigh...) Maybe it's time to let one of the older kids do it. And here are a couple of dishcloths I finished recently. The diamond one I've made before. The ballband one is one I have been wanting to try for a while now. It is super easy I don't know what I was afraid of. I like it. Same yarn used for both of these. The diamond blue var. looks brighter. Weird. :P

I am on the sleeve edging of my romantic shrug. Yay... Then on to the body edging, and I will be done. Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

I'm SO Happy!!!! ~ I Went To The Dentist...

Usually, for me; even thinking about going to the dentist would be an anxiety attack waiting to happen!!~~ After my last trip.... (Ugh...) But yesterday, I didn't have ANY cavities, and he said they all look great! Woo Hoo! I must be doing something right. (Wearing my nightguard every night, so I don't grind my teeth, and flossing every day?) Yay, me... Plus, I haven't been eating candy or gum (at all) like I used to. Or chewing ice cubes. Maybe it has all made a difference, too. In all my excitement, I crocheted a tooth! :P You can find the pattern here. I know, I'm such a dork! :P

RIP Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. I was shocked to hear about both of them. And I did hear about both of them, at the same time; too. We were driving home from the dentist, listening to the radio. It wasn't up very loud; and I said, 'Did he just say Michael Jackson is dead?' I was never a huge fan. I mean, I liked him when he was popular (I was a kid), when 'Thriller' and 'Billie Jean' and all that came out. But still, it's sad.

I hope everyone is having a good week; and has a great weekend coming up. :)

Progress on Romantic Shrug...

I finally got around to taking a picture of my progress on the shrug. I'm on the second sleeve, yay.... I tried it on, and it fits just a wee bit loose (but maybe that is how it's supposed to fit?) The sleeves are perfect though.

Koda is being pretty good, today. It's almost like he *knows* we have had it with him, or something. Or maybe he is starting to calm down (although I highly doubt that). He just must know when to be super sweet and cute, little brat. :P He's been laying right on my feet when I'm doing the dishes, or fixing dinner. And following me around. (One of the things he's doing, to be super sweet...) He's under my feet right now as I type.

I hope everyone s having a great week. 'Til next time~~ :)

Bakerboy Potholders

I finished these up today. The yellow one is for Pretty Bird Woman House. The Pillsbury Dough Boy is for my sister. (Long story :P) You can find the pattern here.

I have been working on my romantic shrug. 8 more rows of the body, then I am on to the second sleeve.

I am thinking about taking the puppy back to the animal shelter. He will not stop biting. Mostly it is what I would call 'puppy biting'. But tonight he bit our 6 year old on the leg. It broke through the skin, about a six inch long scratch. What will be next? His face? I have been going back and forth about this for a couple of weeks now. I don't want to take him back. I just want him to behave. But he won't listen. Maybe I am just not a pack leader. :( I guess this decides it for me. We had to have a dog put down because he bit our (now) 12 yr old (when he was about four). I think I am done with animals for good now.

I Got an RAOK Again :)

It was (and is) so nice. Serena sent me some more beads (yay), some really nice cotton yarn. A Vintage Boye crochet hook (still in the packaging), some Candy Cane Lane decaf tea (I had just run out not too long ago), and a lovely letter written in special ink. Thank you so much, Serena. I don't know if you read my blog at all, or not...

This is another shawl. I actually did this one right after the cream colored one. Same pattern.

Front view. The sun was pretty bright~ even in the shade, it was hard not to squint.

Some Old Stuff I Never Posted About Yet...

... But took pictures of. This is a card I sent to my 'Gettin' Scrappy' Swap partner, Stacy. It was actually a card sent to me/ made by one of my swap partners in a Secret Pal swap I was in, when we lived in Colorado. (Kelle) She crocheted the flowers and tacked them on there. She sent me four, I think. Well I wrote 'hello....' for the stem, and drew a leaf. Then added the strip on the side... Not the best at card making. But.

Then, these are some cat toys I made to send out with an RAOK package that I sent out last week. I don't think she's gotten it yet. But she doesn't know she's getting it, either. (And I highly doubt she reads my blog, anyway.) The fish is from 'Mad About Scraps'. The catnip mice are from WendyKnits. (And, are knitted.)

When I was staying at my sister's while I was in Michigan, they made the comment that they should get their cat some more toys. So I was thinking about making one or both of these for Oliver. :) (Phone Pic) Well, woops! I guess I did blog about these toys. Back when I made them. Sorry bout that. :P

Potholders

I got a couple potholders done recently. The frog potholder I found on Ravelry.

This one is just 'granny's daughters' or 'saltines', whatever you like to call them.

They're for PBWH it's a June CAL in the 'Crochet Potholders' group I am in on Ravelry.

Pansy Doily

An old, old UFO that I forgot I had.... I was looking through my thread cupboard (?) for (I forget what?) something, and found this. I had 7 or 8 pansies and the doily done. I thought, I should just finish this and be done with it. I started it for my Mom. I think I already mentioned that, eh... Well there was a Doily CAL at CrochetMania, so I joined up so I could finish this. (Not that I needed to join a CAL, to finish it, but... they're kinda fun. :P)

It feels good to get an old UFO done. I think it's pretty too. I don't know if it would work as a bowl cover (what I originally started it for, in one of my old posts...), but... My Mom loves flowers, and doilies, too. So she will probably like it. You can find the pattern HERE.

Now back to my regularly scheduled crocheting.... ;)

Life....

This summer is not starting out so well. First my Grandma passes away. Then I found out today that my Mom's dog died this morning. :( Bottom line, she died from diabetes. They gave her insulin shots on the hour: but it was too little, too late. All of her problems stemmed from her having diabetes. I guess they just never tested her, or thought she had it; before. Then yesterday I got sunburned bad. Today I am feeling it. Nausea, chills. (Yesterday I was freezing, and my skin is like lobster meat.) A lot of good it did, taking the kids to have fun. :( I'll have to have someone put sunscreen on ME next time, whether they want to or not. :/

I have been crocheting a little. On my romantic shrug: I have 20 rows left on the body, then the second sleeve. I finished a potholder, for the June CAL at the Potholderalong Group on Ravelry. I am also supposed to be crocheting a pansy doily for the Doily-Along at CrochetMania. I am almost done with it, too. I am just dreading joining all those pansies to it. :( I want to finish it, though and be done with it. It's for my Mom. And it's a really old UFO.

Well, stay tuned til next time....

Sierra is in Surgery :(

Sierra is my Mom's dog. Our old dog, Sunny's, mama. I took this picture while I was in Michigan for my Grandma's funeral. You can't see her face very well. I thought it was cute though so I took a picture of her. She has been sick off and on for a long time. Seems like every time I talked to my Mom, Sierra was sick. Well yesterday my Mom thought she was dying. She took her in to the vet, and they said they needed to do emergency surgery and they are taking out her uterus. I forgot all the details, but she got some kind of infection. :( I hope she will be okay. I haven't heard from my Mom yet today.

Another Shawl

I know I haven't posted in a while. I have had a death in my family, and have been very depressed. I haven't felt like doing much of anything. I wanted to crochet something, but didn't have any motivation whatsoever. Then I thought one day, 'I want to make myself a shawl'. I looked on ravelry and found one I liked, then looked through my patterns and realized a pattern I had printed out was the same one as the one I liked on ravelry. Something simple. I made it in off-white, I believe. With a J hook instead of a K. My husband said 'You look like a thunderbird in that picture'. :)

He said I looked like I have been drinking in this one. (I hadn't.) Just tired.

I got about six inches cut off of my hair. I had this hairdo when we lived in Michigan. I was just sick of long hair (again). I don't know if I will keep it short now, or what.


The pattern I used is the Tassled Wrap Around Shawl at Ravelry.

Some Phone Pictures and a Video With No Sound...

Not a very good blog post... I am still working on the romantic shrug and don't have any other projects to post about. So I thought I would show you some blurry phone pictures (one with my finger in front of the phone) of Koda's Mom, and littermates (some of them). This is the mama. She had the blue eyes. She was super friendly. And some of his littermates. These were in the kennel next to him. Only one was a male in this kennel (I don't know which one). I vaguely remember them saying the other male was all black. Not that I wanted a male, but he was the coolest looking one of the litter, IMO; so I wanted him. I didn't even know if he was male or female, until we were pretty sure we were going to adopt him, then it was like, 'Oh okay.' :P

And, a (soundless cuz my camera doesn't have sound) :( video. I got it to make a video of him barking at the puppy in the mirror. It was so funny. Of course, by the time I got it and started recording, he wouldn't do it anymore. So this is what I got. Nothing big, but this is when we first brought him home and he was checking out the room.

Well that's all for today folks. I hope you are all having a good Monday. It is 101 degrees here (and it's only May, still!) :( Anyone want to trade some weather? :P

Romantic Shrug (WIP)

This is a shrug I have been working on testing for Mimi: You can find the pattern at her Etsy shop, or at Ravelry. I was doing it wrong and had to frog the whole sleeve. Now I got it going right; and have started the other half. I was going to see what other colors of thread I have (in large amounts) that I could make another one with. I wanted to make something I could wear with a lot of stuff (and with the horrible dry furnace-like weather we have here). I wear a lot of black and white. Although I have been trying to wear more different colors lately. Anyway~~ Stay tuned for more pictures later. ;P

No Internet

We didn't have any internet for a couple days. Did you miss me? :P I got an RAOK while I was *gone*! The 'Crochetville Fairy Godmother' sent me(us) a BIG bag of candy (for the kids :P we ate some, too), and some really cool beads for me!:

I still don't know what to make with the beads. They're so pretty. Sorry my camera does not do them justice. I still do not know who it was that sent me this RAOK. Although I have a sneaking suspicion (sp?) I may know who it is.... She drew a couple little pictures on the other flap of the box. :-D

While not being able to go online, I was able to finish this lapghan. I only had four squares to do since last time I blogged about it. I wanted to get it done. It turned out pretty good, all together. (When I first started it I thought 'this will never work out'...)

Of course, I have to post some more puppy pictures... His face looks weird in this one. I think his eyes are closed.

Is he a goofball or what? He'll sleep any way. He already is spoiled, and thinks the couch is his big bed. This is our 'eat drink and spill whatever you want on it' couch. I gave up with the 'No eating or drinking' on the couch rule. If my husband does it, the kids can make it any worse than he does! The puppy is not allowed to chew on it, though. If he starts to chew, he goes on the floor. One good thing about saving baby stuffed toys is I can give them to the puppy. (As long as they don't have plastic on them.) LOL

Well have a nice day everyone. Til next time :-D ~~~~

More Puppy Pictures, and some WIPs

Of course I have to take lots of pictures of the new puppy. :-D He's my baby. He can fall asleep in the weirdest places. I think he liked the coolness of the tile here.

Trying to get a close-up of his face. Little bit blurry.... We have to keep him isolated for ten days. Then we can take him out. I think he is getting used to us, and likes us. He is being more of a real puppy. Like climbing up to see what is in a pot on the patio and trying to dig in the dirt. Eating rocks (ugh!), and grass and weeds. Just laying outside. Today he got down on his front paws like he wanted to play. He's been doing the cutest things. We just love him! If we could just get him to stop whining at night. I think he will get over it soon, though. Especially now that he is warming up to us.

I am insane. I am trying to make a bed for him out of some old jeans. I just cut them as straight as I could, and sewed them together. No easy feat~~ My sewing machine is broken. (Which is why I said I am insane!) Here are three legs. One seam is done. One pinned.

And the piece of foam I am going to cover up with the jeans:

He has already been laying on it. I think he likes it. I have no idea how I will finish up the sides of it. I really haven't enjoyed sewing in a long time. (I *used* to do minature quilts by hand.)

Here is my progress on the squares for the wheelchair lapghan. Only four left to go. Technically, less than four. I have one almost done.

I have my swap partner's box ready to go; for the Scrap Swap. I will probably mail it out Monday. I hope you are all having a great weekend. :)

We Got a New Baby!

A baby dog! Yesterday we went up to the Animal Shelter to see if they had any new puppies and boy did they! Nine husky mix puppies w/ their mama (well, the mama was in a separate kennel), and another one that I really liked-- til I read that it was a Pit Bull mix. (I actually still liked it, but I just don't want to mess around w/ dogs that have agressive traits/tendencies after our incident with the dog we had to put to sleep.) Anyway, we went back today cuz my husband was home from work. We had to go to the DMV, which is right by the Animal Shelter! (Yay!) I said 'You have to see these husky puppies.' Well the man in there must really know how to get the puppies adopted. He let us take one out (I chose this one) and play with it outside. I love his markings, and he is so sweet. He's only six weeks old (I was suprised they let him go that young-- I thought they had to be eight weeks old to be taken from their mama). (The pit bull mix puppy was adopted today, too.) His ears are plastered to his head here. He has been whining a lot since we first got him home. I think he wants to be loved, cuz if we pick him up and hold him, he stops whining. Or, if he's asleep:

I got that old sheet out to put in his kennel/cage and put it on the bed. He laid down on it, and fell asleep within two minutes! It was like he knew it was for him to sleep on. We all liked the name Dakota. But, we have been calling him, Koda. If you recall or have been reading my blog since I first started it, that is what we named one of our old dog Sunny's puppies, too. (Just Koda. We had originally named him Taz, but then changed his name to Koda when we thought we might end up keeping him--which we didn't...) Anyway! If you don't hear from me in a while, it's probably cuz I am busy taking care of our new puppy..... :P

Wheelchair Totes and Lapghan

This is what I have done so far. These (in the top picture) are for UC Davis. (Part of the Crafting for a Cause group.) For kids undergoing chemo treatments, and maybe other stuff. :( I still am not done with the pink one on the top right. I want to crochet a Hello Kitty head and sew it on, too. This was for the April CAL. (Plus the toys I posted about a while back.)

Here are three I have done so far, for the Pass Creek Elderly Center on Pine Ridge. The elders go there for their meals and crafts. I hope to do more of these, this is for the May CAL. I am also making a wheelchair lapghan. I am using the Starburst Granny square by Priscilla Hewitt. (It can be found on Ravelry, it is an archived pattern.) I have a few things to put inside, you can see: Kleenex travel packs of tissues, little notepads. I hope to find some (inexpensive) crossword puzzles, maybe some kids stuff for the kids wheelchair totes. Sudoku for the older kids, coloring books for the younger ones... Maybe some markers or colored pencils? Chapsticks...

Don't they totally clash, so far? Ugh... I will have to do more (obviously-- about nine more! :P) to make them all come together. They measure 12 inches across. That way I will do only three wide by nine long. About 3'x4'.

Well I think I am going to go look for some more colors to start another square... Hope you are all having a great day. :-D

We Had a Pet Lizard...

For exactly two and a half days. LOL :P The two younger boys were outside trying to catch lizards (the twelve year old is really good at it). He kept saying, 'Can I keep it?' I said, 'I don't know.... Ask your Dad.' Well of course, he said no. I googled lizards and tried to read about them... I said 'Lizards carry salmonella (sp?), I don't know if you should even touch it...' Although I remember playing with salamanders when I was little... and baby mice.... and I never got sick from it. Maybe I just got lucky. Anyway, I took them (and the lizard--in a shoe box w/ holes poked in the top of it) to a place here that has all kinds of animals; pigs, bunnies, mice, gerbils, rats, lizards, birds, fish.... And I asked them if they knew what kind of lizard it was, would it be a good idea to keep it? One guy was really helpful and told us what all we would need; an aquarium, a screen for the top so the lizard can't escape. A heat lamp (50 watt bulb), water dish.... crickets for food. Well we went back home and I found the old fish bowl. The kids found their dad's lamp (75 watt bulb, but ?) in the garage, and we made this set up. They caught a bunch of crickets in our yard (they are literally all over the place), and put them in their for the lizard. (Until we could afford an aquarium, etc....) Well on the third day I got up and went out in the back porch (you didn't think I would let this thing in the HOUSE, did you? :P) and he was 1. still alive, and 2. still in there. Well a couple more times I checked and yup, still there. I told the kids, 'Do you think the lizard ate all the crickets? Maybe you should catch some more for him...' A little bit later on, the twelve year old comes outside and asks his brother 'Did you take the lizard out?' No. 'Did you take it Mom?' 'No way would I even touch that lizard. Is it gone?' Yup. He got smart and figured out a way to get out. I said 'Well maybe when you save up enough money for an aquarium, you could get another one. And it wouldn't get out.' 'No'. I guess he got it out of his system. I am kind of glad, because of the salmonella thing. I just hope he doesn't ever want a snake, I draw the line there!! :P

Toys for UC Davis

Here they are, all together. I finished the brownish stripey bear last night. I haven't decided if I will do any more right now. I am trying to get organized and finish what I have going. I am stumped on a couple of things, I think that is what has me at a stand still. They look cute sitting there all together.... Well have a nice day everyone.

Horseback Riding

We got invited to someone's house a couple weeks ago to see their horses. They have seven. It was so neat. All the horses had their own personality, you could tell almost right away.

We got to ride one of them. He is 30 years old, and was a trail horse. So he is really good with kids, and people who are afraid; cars passing by, etc... Our six year old got to ride him,even. (I think he was a little bit afraid. Even though he said he wasn't, he acted like he was...) :P This isn't the horse we rode, this is a younger horse.

These two are yearlings and are half sisters. (And inseparable, in case you couldn't tell from the picture :P) The one (one on the left, I believe) was SO sweet and lovable. She just wanted to give you kisses and be by you all the time. It had been YEARS since I have gone horseback riding. Even though I only went around the (? what is that thing called ?) a couple of times, it was still so much fun. She said we could come back anytime.

I knitted her a horse dishcloth as a way to say thank you. (I have a thank you card I am going to give her, too.) I am thinking about mailing it to her; but I don't know yet. It was from knitting pattern central: Giddy-Up Horse Cloth