What a Day...

Ugh... I won't go into too much detail, but today has been one of those days... I had an appointment for our youngest son to have his cavity filled at 12:30. So I made an appointment at 10 to have all the kids' pictures done. That went great. (I can't wait to get their pictures! They all turned out really good.) Well the morning started out well... then we got to the check out. My middle son wanted to buy a lego kit with his $29 he had. We get to the checkout and he hands me the money. "That's $19, not $29...." Now I wouldn't really care (we could take it out of his allowance), but I have only $10 left in the account, and I have a $10 co-pay at the dentist..... UGH.... So I stupidly bought it anyway. Borrowed $7 from my other son, went all the way to the bank... Okay.(Hopefully nothing will bounce!!) We go to the Petco over there to see if they had any puppies (just to look!).... nope. Get back in the truck.... Give the little guy his prescription... NOT even five minutes later... 'My throat feels funny' Oh no. (We got the prescription ahead of time and gave him a tsp of it just to make sure he wasn't allergic, because I am, and the oldest son is, allergic to penicillin...) Two minutes later...'My throat feels tight' Uh oh... 'Can you swallow? (Trying not to let him feel *my* panic... as I'm trying to drive through INSANE traffic... 'am I supposed to get over, here?.... WHAT is this idiot in that lane doing?'.....) 'Can you breathe?'.... 'Well, eat your sandwich and tell me if anything else happens like if you can't swallow or breathe...' Ugh... (What would I do if that happened?) He starts crying.... Oh brother.... Stress!! 'You're okay, you're probably just allergic to penicillin like Evan and me are.... it's okay....' We get to the dentist. Got in within five minutes! I was suprised. He gets in the chair (he knows he's getting his cavity filled today...) Starts crying again. His little lip is quivering... poor guy. The hygenist (sp?) puts a movie in for him and we talk; she says she'll come back in five minutes and maybe he will be calmed down.... nope.... he's worse, even. The dentist comes in. Tries asking him what's wrong (ha, I don't think HE knows....) I tell him ever since he broke his arm he has been super emotional, maybe he hast post traumatic stress, or something. The dentist tells me he broke his arm when he was little--six times. He tells him/me, we won't do it then, I can refer you to a (?) blah blah blah.... 'Where do you live?' (An hour away...) Man, you drove all that way? I hate to have you just go back, after you drove all that way... He finally calms Eon down, lets him play with the tools.... He's drilling... me--> (in ny head) 'No way!! He's doing great!!' got it all drilled. (No numbing, either, it was just a small one, in the front...) I was so relieved. Whew. That was the gist of my day, besides a MILLION other little things... When I got home, I made the pom-pom for the hat (above) and now it's finished. It's about a size four boys, probably... I used Robins' snake scarf pattern. I think I already posted a link to it in a couple of other places, but... there it is again. The hat is from a book I have, called 'Kids Caps' by Leisure Arts. The mittens used to be a free online pattern; but the link doesn't work anymore. They are very similar to the ones at Bev's Country Cottage, though. (The hat pattern on that page looks very similar to mine, too.) I just did a hdc for the sleeve edge part.... I'll be sending them to the PR Indian Reservation for the Scarf Challenge for January.

This is the beginning of a Noah's Ark baby afghan for my new nephew. It was in 'Crochet!' magazine a while back. I never did find the magazine, ANYWHERE, around here. I ended up ordering it online and now I can't find it anywhere on my computer. (Thank goodness I had printer ink then, and printed it out, then.) I wasn't going to make it, since I already have three million things going and even more coming up. But, here it is... a WIP....

The heating/cooling guy is here. We haven't had heat in this house since we moved here. GRRRRRR!!!!! Do not get me started... Hopefully we will have it fixed or at least one of them, today (there are two heating/thermostats (?) in this house, the one went bad, then the other went bad.... UGH) Calgon, take me away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well have a good day today. I need to go soak in a hot tub or something (soon as the heating cooling guy leaves!) Thank goodness we have hot water... (Our pipes did freeze up the other day, too.....) :P

Granny Scrap Baby Afghan is DONE!!

After driving an hour and a half one day to JoAnns, an hour another day to Michaels, then to every WalMart around and NOT finding the yarn I needed to finish this... Then, ordering it online and paying $7.99 for ONE skein of yarn!!!! (GRRRR), waiting 13 days (not 7-10) to have it shipped, then the bag is ripped, and inside another plastic bag.... (there was a note of apology from the USPS... do you think they would give me free shipping on one item of my choice? nooooo....) After all that, I finally finished the baby afghan for the blanket drive. You would think, living where I do, there would be a good selection of yarn SOMEWHERE!!!! But not really. It's kind of discouraging. Anyway, here it is. I finished it. I haven't made a motif afghan in a long time. I was trying to think of the last one I did. I think it was my husband's anniversary afghan. Oops forgot about that baby afghan, and I know I made a comfortghan, too.... Anyway, I HATE sewing all those squares together. For this one, I did a join-as-you-go method, it made it a lot faster. Another big project off my WIP list. Yay!

I got some new flavored coffee cream~~ Vanilla Caramel. It sounded a lot better than it is, but it is still pretty good! :P

My Grandma is in the hospital again. :( This time with pneumonia! I talked to her about a week ago and she did NOT sound good. I didn't think it was pneumonia, though. She is in the ICU. I hope she will kick this. I feel so helpless so far away.... :(

Progress... And Flavored Coffee

on my Spideyghan. I waited til daytime to take a good picture of it, and it still turned out bad.... (sigh) You can see how far I've gotten though. I love making this thing. I am totally, officially addicted to round ripples. :p

I (ahem) also started another afghan last night. :0 It will go fast, though. I am finally making the Noah's Ark afghan from that one Crochet magazine. Sorry~ I am totally not remembering what one... I ordered the e-magazine, and now I can't find it anywhere on my computer, to even give you a link. Anyway. It is for my latest, newest nephew. I already made him two sweater sets, a ball, and sent a lot of money to go in on a camcorder. But, I told/showed my Mom the afghan, and every time I talk to her she asks me if I started it yet. (Sigh....) It is pretty cute though, and it is my baby sisters' baby~ and the first of my sisters to have kids. So I am entitled to spoil her with gifts... :-D She has to go back to work next Monday. :( I hated that, when I had my babies. I was fortunate enough to not have to go back, right away, anyway. Our oldest was a year old when I went back to work (part time, it wasn't too bad, and my Mom watched him & I paid her). Our middle son was 7 months old. :( Our youngest, was almost five. Now I am not working again. I kind of miss not having that extra little spending money..... but, my husband gives me money every now and then. (Or, I will just put things in the grocery cart at the store...) :-D "I don't know how that got there. It just jumped off the shelf..."

Is anyone else addicted to flavored coffee cream? I have been getting really bad, now that they have all these new yummy flavors out there!! I only drink the powdered stuff. Call me weird, but I am super picky about weird things... (The liquid cools it off too much, it doesn't have as much *flavor* as the powdered CoffeeMate does, IMO...) I like 'Italian Sweet Creme' as of lately. I have gotten peppermint mocha before, too. If they don't have anything else, I will get hazelnut biscotti. I love them all. Well anyway the other day I was making some coffee in the afternoon (flavored creamer time) and I didn't have any flavored cream left. :( I was really in the mood for it, too. Well then I thought of an old trick I used to do: Put some cocoa in the coffee filter w/ the coffee! I am talking about baking cocoa, not hot chocolate (although I have never tried that, maybe that would work, too... mix it in with your coffee after it is brewed?). Mocha coffee. Yummy! I just added regular cream as usual, and a teaspoon of sugar (I am just a cream coffee drinker). It was good.

Well I promised our middle son we would go to Game Stop today to look for this game he *has* to have. I have to drive an hour to get there, so I should be getting ready to go right now... I hope everyone stays safe and warm in this crazy weather.

Somebody, Slap Me!

I started another HUGE project last night. A Spiderman Round Ripple. I have been wanting to make one of these. And, I have had the yarn for about a week or two, now. Yesterday I was not feeling well at all. I think we got a bug, here. (Just my oldest son and I, so far...) I didn't feel like doing much (I even took a nap). But I started this guy. :-D I think it is pretty cool. I have a feeling our 11 yr old will want one, too. Although now that we rented Iron Man, that's all they can talk about. (Before that, same day, even, it was Indiana Jones!!) I can't keep up.... I think Spiderman is one of those they always like, though... And I can see how everyone on Crochetville says round rippples are so addictive!! This is my second one in ?? less than two months, I think!! I started the Granny Star Afghan on Oct 30th and finished it either the 14th or 15th of November. That took less than a month. (I would have been done sooner, if I had the yarn to finish it with, too.) We'll see how long this one takes. :-D

I usually don't talk about my family on here.... But, I am really worried about my Dad. He is a dysfunctional alcoholic (well, aren't they all?) Sigh... He *lost* his job over a month ago, and has been on a bender (long drunk) ever since. I don't know all the details about his job, or anything else (I guess that living so far away has it's benefits...). But I have learned that he gets up in the morning and starts drinking whiskey right away. (Not beer, mind you, he goes straight for the whiskey, now...)The whole family is worried that he will drink himself to death. He also has an aneurysm on his heart which could explode at any time, if he is not taking his meds/drinking on top of them.... I called him and told him he needs to go to the doctor. I didn't really say 'why', but he probably knew... I don't know what else I can do. He has to stop because he wants to, no one can make him. They could have him committed (but I know no one will-- don't get me started on that...) Sigh... Maybe I should start planning a trip out there... for his funeral. :(

Some Roses for My Mom

My Mom just recently had surgery to have her gall bladder removed. I would have taken her over some flowers, but being over 2050 miles away.... :( It's kind of hard. I suppose I could go online to find a florist, or call one of my sisters who live there, but.... I decided to crochet her some roses. I got the idea while looking at Robins' snake scarf pattern. I saw in her sidebar, 'Crocheted Long Stem Roses' and clicked on it. I read through a little, and thought about it.... then thought 'I should crochet my Mom some flowers.' Well then I thought 'No, this is totally tacky, I don't even think she would like these...' Sigh.... I don't know if I should send them or not. What do you think, blog readers? I would love to get some crocheted flowers, but I crochet and I like just about anything. I don't know what to do.... :( I also bought her some chocolates, and some jelly belly jelly beans. Roses and chocolates.... ?

Here is a red w/ tan tail feathers rooster hotpad I made for myself. I showed my husband the black one I made, and he said 'I thought you were going to make a red one?' (I never *said* that, but, hey... duh.... my kitchen is red and tan, with roosters...) I don't know why I didn't think of that. I probably would have, eventually, but.... :P Well I should get to bed now. I hope everyone is having a good week (TGIF tomorrow) and staying warm and safe in this crazy winter weather!

Snow

I know that's not all that unusual, it is December.... but not where we live! In the Mojave Desert.... We had the 'Worst winter storm' since 1979 here yesterday. (They have not *seen* a winter storm... this is nothing!! But I guess for this part of the country, it is...) It snowed, the mountain pass was closed (I had to cancel three appointments!!! GRRRR).... then melted... The kids were upset, because they wanted to build a snowman (but only succeeded in getting super muddy...) Well they were so excited when we woke up to see this outside today. They got their snowpants, coats, hats, mittens on and went out before they even ate breakfast. :P I think they miss the snow.

I guess this will get the snow part of missing home out of my system for a while, anyway... (Not that I really *missed* the snow, but...)

Oh, I meant to say that I just put my bird feeder back up since we moved here. I had it up at the other house but the pigeons were emptying it in half a day flat. (grrr) So I took it down. Well just yesterday we started seeing birds on it!! (Non-pigeon birds... :P) Just in time for all the snow. I bet the birds are freaking out here, not being used to it...

A Fragrant Frock and Magic Yarn Balls

I just had to make one of these cute fragrant frocks Cupcake shared her pattern of... I need to get some potpourri or fragrance beads to put in. I have some mesh stuff, somewhere. You could put these on a hanger or in a drawer; or hang on a knob, or hanger loop in a bathroom cupboard... They're so cute.

And out of boredom, I took a picture of all my scrap yarn "Magic Yarn Balls". I have been saving any length of yarn when I am done with any project, if there is any significant length I tie it on to the end.... The two on the top are just whatever colors. The one on the bottom left is supposed to be greens only. I must have been tired or not paying attention when I tied that blue on there. The one on the bottom right is reds and pinks. I also put a couple plums in there. I think it will take forever and a day for these to get big enough to make anything with. But, hey.... it's something to do.

I finished a whole pair of mittens and hat for PR. I think I'll make a snake scarf to go with it. I also am about halfway done with a cupcake scarf. And almost done with the teddy bear hugs scarf. Kind of confused about the pink ear/paw part but I will figure it out... Another thing I started is a pair of socks for me, with yarn my slipper swap partner sent me. It is so yummy. I figured I won't even take a picture til they are done. I realized that metal dpns hurt my hands. :( I forgot I had bought some bamboo ones~ which seem to work out better. But I don't have any in the size I am working on my socks with. So I will just have to suck it up and finish them. Well that's all for now.

Rooster Lid Grabber/Hot Pad

I finally got around to making one; yesterday... Here it is below the original. Mine came out about a half an inch smaller than the original. Next time I'll go up a hook size. I am sending this one to my Aunt who writes me. She crochets, too. But I think she would love to get something someone else crocheted for her, too.

Here it is on the casserole dish. It's so hard to get good lighting in here. I haven't seen any patterns online or in any book or magazine, for this hotpad. But I know that Cupcake has some similar ones in her etsy store. One is a chicken. :)

We had a 'Winter Storm Warning/Watch' here yesterday (it actually snowed, so everyone freaked out)... I had an appointment to get the kids' pictures done. (GRRRR!!!!) And, an appointment for our youngest son at the dentist. I didn't know it at the time but the mountain pass was closed, anyway. But I rescheduled both the appointments. SOOOOOOO irritating. Now we have to wait til the end of the month to do it. Hopefully all the holiday shopping madness will be over with by then (doubt it...) and it won't be so busy everywhere by then. Oh well. It did snow a little here, but it turned to rain. Not enough for the kids to go out and make a snowman with or anything like 'old times'.... :( Well I hope everyone has a good day.

Child's Tool Belt

Our youngest son has been playing with his tools lately. Asking me, 'What do you need fixed?' :P So I thought, 'I could crochet him a little tool belt...'

I posted the pattern on my pattern blog. :) There are all kinds of crocheted things for little girls: Cupcake purses, cradle purses, dolls, doll clothes... But not much for little boys, to use their imagination. I thought this would be cute.

Here it is, on him. To give you an idea of what size it is. Enjoy :)

Newborn Hat Booties and Mittens

I finished this set up tonight. (One of the things I started the other night.... The hat and booties patterns I found at Crochet Pattern Central. The hat says you have to have email permission to post a link so I am not going to bother. I think it was called 'stretchy crocheted hat' under babies, hats.... The booties are 'precious booties and matching mittens' by Robbie Reeder. I love these booties. They're straightfoward and easy and look cute. The mittens I made up after getting totally frustrated trying to find a simple pattern that would work with the weight yarn and hook size I was using. I posted them in my pattern blog if anyone would care to make some theirselves. These will be going to PR in one way or another. :P

WIPs.... Help... I'm Drowning in Them!

I am starting a bunch of new projects and that's BAD! I think I am *justifying* it; because I just finished that HUGE afghan, and am almost done with the baby ghan in my last post (need to get more yarn to finish it though...) When we went to WalMart here last night..... ugh.... Their yarn selection (and just about everything ELSE) SUCKS!!!! ~_~ grrr So I couldn't get any more yarn to work on it yesterday (even though I was on a roll...). So, I started something else (instead of finishing or working on other projects I already have going...). I am making a baby hat. (Almost done with it, too.) I will probably make these mitts to go with the hat. And some booties. Don't know which ones yet.... I joined the Hat, Mittens and Scarf CAL at Crochetville. I want to make the same hat and scarf as I did in this post. I couldn't remember what the hat was (why do I blog?) After looking through a bunch of hat patterns at CPC, I found which one it was...... So, I am posting it here for reference: Durango Hat and Shelly Scarf. I also love the One Skein Scarf. Jana sent me one last year for a giftie and I wear it all the time. (Well, when it's cold enough...) AND, I am making some leg warmers. I am halfway done with that (have one done :P). I'll send it to PR, so it will be for a good cause. I think they are for a little girl. I tried putting them on our six year old, with his jeans on, and they were tight. (Maybe for a little girl with tights on, though they will be just right)... I tried putting them on my leg (ha) I could only get it on my ankle. If you ever try that pattern, I think that what she meant by two hooks was, (she didn't state exactly) use a bigger hook for the hdc part, and a smaller hook for the sc part. Not sure if it is an I hook and an H hook, or what. That's probably what I would use next time. I just used an I hook this time. Halfway through it, it hit me, 'oh... use a bigger hook for the slouchy part...' oh well. I don't know why I start new projects I just make myself feel more scatterbrained than usual.... (sigh). I saw a cute bear hug scarf that I want to try too. I saw a bear hat *somewhere* that would go with that... A snake scarf. And then there's this hooded scarf that I have been wanting to make for years... I should make one for my Mom. She is having gall bladder surgery next week. (I know; I won't be able to finish the scarf, box it up, mail it, and have it get to her by then, but...) It should go well but I know she is worried. (She has never been 'cut open', as she says...) I have had three C-sections so maybe that's why I don't think it is a huge deal. Although I am worried, for her; too. Anything could go wrong. And I know if you go into something being anxious it will make everything worse than it would have been. Maybe I should send her some of my anxiety pills.... Anyway~~~ Well have a nice day everyone. Maybe by next time, I'll have that baby afghan done. :)

Scrap Baby Granny Ghan Progress...

Well all the squares are done. I do not believe it, but they are. Now to crochet the rest together. I am almost positive I will need more of the white. Sigh... So I don't know when I will be able to go get some. That might or might not be this weekend. I still haven't decided where to send this. It's for Pine Ridge, that much is for sure. But, I don't know if I should send it to the OB unit or to an elder I send things to. One of her daughters is pregnant and is due in January. I am leaning towards sending it to her. Just wanted to show you all my progress. Thanks for cheering me on, everyone! ;-D

Poinsetta Doily and Coaster Set

Just off the blocking board! (Or should I say, ironing board... :P) This is a pattern I got from Mimi about a year ago, I think. (See how long it takes me to make things...) I still am technically not done with the set (I wanted to make three more coasters), but I wanted to show it here. I was thinking this would be pretty in pink, red and white, too. Like this poinsetta. Sorry for the bad pictures.... I took different ones, and they still came out blurry. I am too shaky, and my camera is too sensitive. :( There is a nice picture of it on Mimi's site where she sells this pattern, though! :-D I will try to get a better one in the daytime. Better lighting.

The peppermint towels to go with the hot pads

... I got at Walgreens today. I think I got the last three towels left. Oh, no-- there was one I put back, and got a different one; because it had black stuff on it. (No one is going to buy that.) It was 'Buy Two, Get One Free'. So since I was buying two anyway, I got an extra one. So I thought I would show them together. :-)

Another Ball, and a Chicken Potholder

that I didn't crochet... (but I want to!!) I knitted another ball yesterday. In dark sage and buttercup yellow. It didn't turn out like I thought it would, but it's still good. I'm sure the child who gets it will like playing with it.

We went to a thrift store which was connected to an antiques 'mall' (it was more like a tiny 'room'); that I have been wanting to go to since we moved here. I saw this chicken potholder and had to have it. It's pretty cool. It reminds me of cupcake's casserole toppers. Well that's about all for today. Short post but I think my chicken is burning on the stove! (Making chicken for dinner...) :P