I Got Mail Again :~O

I got a big box from my friend in Colorado!! I was so surprised. I let Eon open it. :P   

Look at all the goodies she sent us. :D  <3  A basket, with all this in it. (I put magazines in the basket.) Three boxes of Cadbury's Caramel Eggs, Pirouline cookies, Sippah strawberry flavored straws (they flavor the milk), a bag of chocolates for Evan, a bag of Starbucks coffee beans (SOOOOO good!!), a little paper notebook, two sheets of stickers: Butterflies & Fishies (I gave the fishies to Eon).   She sent me two cards.. :P  I forgot to take a picture of those. (My family thinks I'm nuts anyway~~ "Why do you have to take a picture of everything?"  "So I can blog about something"..  lol

Two bags of goodies for Eli & Eon. Candies, and a little plastic fishtank you put water in and the thing inside it "grows". Eon's had fish, Eli's had a tiger.   Thanks Tash!!  <3

I had just pulled these out of the oven when the mailman (or woman?) knocked on the door with the box.  I was making tea to drink with my scone, but we made some of that awesome coffee instead.  :D    These are just raisin scones. I wish I had some lemon juice to have made some lemon curd, but...  Oh well.

I also managed somehow to crochet this dishcloth. Last Thursday in between helping with homework, dinner, eating, and then getting ready and going somewhere after dinner; I managed to get this finished..   It's CroJulee's Simply Sophisticated Shells Dishcloth. Now I am working on her Triangle Hotpad Pattern.  And patiently waiting for Tam's Granny Tissue Cover pattern, if she decides to post it....  :D     I am also working on finishing up my last Bed Bug in the whole Bed Bug "series" (??)  And working on my Ooowee Sweater (slowly..)  I got started doing all the rest of the bed bugs, then got distracted from my sweater for a while...  (Sigh)    Well I have bananas pulled out of the freezer to make muffins with and dishes to wash and a hotpad to crochet if there's still time.. :P    Oh, my husband "might" be back to work again. He went this morning (he left at 5:30 this morning) for an interview. It's almost 11 am and he still isn't back yet/hasn't texted me anything. So those are all good signs!! Woooo Hoo! He has been out of work since December. So~~ yay!!...

Forest Flower Pullover is Done!!! :D

I don't believe it myself. I also don't believe I actually crocheted something this nice.  :P  It was a bit challenging for me. But once I made my mind up I was going to finish it, and just concentrated on the line of words (seriously) I was on..  I did it.  I think I am getting so ADD or something...  I have a hard time concentrating on anything. This pattern is in the 2009 Spring Interweave Crochet magazine. (That is a link to the digital copy of the magazine..) The designer is Kristin Omdahl.  I HAD to make this, I love it.  Although, I feel self-conscious wearing it in public.  (I think that's just me, though..)  I wore it last night to our congregation meeting. EVERYONE loved it (and want me to make them one, too; now.... Sigh.) I was flattered that they would want me to make them one, but...  I really don't feel like I could do it for anyone else. I had a hard enough time making one for myself. You know what I mean?  I don't know if I could make a different size.  :(    The only thing about this sweater that bugs me is; the bottom edge curls up. I got it completely saturated, and squeezed it out. Then blocked it. But it still curls up a little. Especially after I've been sitting down then get back up again. :(  I might take it in somewhere & get it steamed, professionally.  Who knows. I still love it, though.  :D

I Have a New Pattern...

Remember my "Bed Bug"?....  Well I finally wrote the pattern up on my pattern blog.  I still don't know how to put a link in my sidebar (to my other blog) on this "new" blog...  Maybe some other day when I am bored & feel like trying to figure that out, I will... :)

Chicken Marsala.. Without the Marsala (lol)

I have been wanting to try making Chicken Marsala forver. I had printed out a couple recipes. I finally decided on one, but I didn't actually follow it exactly.. I just used four regular chicken breasts. (They were huge-- I cut the biggest one in half for me & Eon to share.)  And instead of using Marsala wine, I added chicken broth (didn't have chicken stock) in place of it.  I also thickened a little of the broth with flour and added that.  (And whole mushrooms. I LOVE mushrooms.) It looked and smelled so yummy I had to take a picture of it in the pan. :P

Here's my husbands' plate.  Oh, I used this recipe. I didn't make the "Essence". I just used a Tablespoon of Seasoning Salt, and sprinkled thyme & cayenne pepper in with the flour.  (I also didn't add the 2 extra Tblspns of butter at the end..)  lol..  ;)   

I have finished something.... :D I'm really excited about it. It's still blocking, though. So you will have to stay tuned for pictures. :D 

Yup, I'm Still Here... ;P

I got a letter from Sue in Malaysia. :)  I was so surprised. We are in the same Ravelry Group: For the Love of Letters.  <3  She sent me a dishcloth she crocheted. How did she know my kitchen is red?  I love it. I already used the discloth. In fact, it was soaking wet in this picture. :P I took it out of the sink to take a picture of it before it got totally ruined. :(  Thank you, Sue.  :D

I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately (crochet or knit-wise). But I was bored. And in a mood to try and organize. Which didn't go far. lol (I did manage to organize my closet a little~ as much as I could, anyway.)  I picked this up and finished it.  It reminds me of chocolate covered cherries. But my husband says no.  I told him it wasn't up to him to decide. ;P

Well once I finished my dishcloth, and after organizing (and putting a bunch of bags of yarn under the bed); I got out my Forest Flowers Pullover (I have been working on it a little, here and there-- the flower motifs) and got a lot done on the flower motifs. I took this picture before I took apart that last motif and added two more. :P  I actually had this all crocheted to the sweater. I'm so dizzy I didn't even think. I have to add the sleeves... (Duh.)  So, I have the sleeves blocking. Then I have to sew the seams on them and sew them partways to the sweater. THEN, I can add the flowers. :P  I'm getting excited. It's almost done. This has been a challenging pattern for me. Mostly because it takes a lot of concentration, maybe? I don't know. I also had to re-do the flowers about forty thousand times. First I was adding an extra loop somehow. So I had to take apart the last row of three motifs, then re-do them. But once I got going, I started getting into it. So maybe all I needed to get my "mojo" back was to just start doing something...  Plus, a COOL new pattern to try!!...

While I have my sleeves blocking for the FFP, I started Sheila's Ooowee Sweater!! I. Could. Not. Wait!  :P  I only had enough of the grey (I bought it for another sweater which was too complicated of a pattern for me-- more of the foundation scs and stuff, I just did not want another complicated pattern again yet...  And I just love Sheila's two sweaters she made with her pattern.)  I LOVE the Purple Passion version Sheila did.  <3  I wanted to do one in Plum, but will need to get some more yarn first. ;)    Hopefully soon I will have some FO's to post here. :)   The kids have school off today and so I hope to get a lot done (if not all of it!) on my Forest Flower Pullover, today... :D

I haven't felt like crocheting or knitting lately. But I have been feeling "crafty", lately. I don't know what set it off. I think it was a combination of not having any money, and remembering a box I made ss a gift for my Grandma (back when we didn't have any money at all). It was heart shaped. (I don't have one pictured here, but I did start one. I started- and finished- these other things first, though.)  These little hearts are for little goodies; stickers, a candy or two.   This idea was in "The Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn.. I don't remember if it was one, two or three.   I found a video of an interview someone had with her, online the other night. I always wondered what she looked like. Kind of neat.

And this is a paper heart I weaved. Also from "The Tightwad Gazette". I just wanted to make one. The color is way off. It's hot pink and purple.    Maybe someday I will get a decent camera. AND figure out how to use it. lol...  Here is a similar pattern to make your own heart: She calls it a Swedish Heart..   :) 

Pillows!!

I finished two pillows today. I only started them in December of 2009. But, hey...  :P   I'm working on getting my UFO's done. Little by little.  This is the Pieces of my Heart Pillow by Melissa Mall.   It's cute. <3

And this is one of the Animal Pillows by Jennifer Muir. The Bear.   I made it off white. (It's a polar bear :P)  I'm sending these both to kids I send things to on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. 

I made a strawberry-banana smoothie last night, with the frozen strawberries I bought. Eon saved some of it "because it's too yummy". He put it in the freezer for tomorrow (today).  :P  I made mine with soy milk, since I'm lactose intolerant. It turned out a lot redder than the ones I made for everyone else. They were more pink.  It was yummy. And with no guilt, either. It's all fruit, soymilk, and a little bit of sugar. So I guess the sugar is fattening, (and there's fat in the soymilk), but...   A lot healthier than a Frappe or something else... 

I finished the bug! One down, two to go.  I have two more ideas. :D 

So you can see all the spots.. And the stripe.

I will have to take some better pictures. (Sigh) Before I post it on my pattern blog, that is....  I took this picture, so you can see how the spots are "3D".  :P  I crocheted it just like I had it all written up before. I used my love bugs' nose and antennae, though.   I think it's pretty cute. I never did make this version before, just the ladybug version. And, I think I am a lot better at crocheting now than I was then. I still am trying to figure out when it was that I made this. I know our oldest son was still little. I don't know if we just had him yet, or not...  I will have to figure this out. :P  I need to text my Mom, and ask her how old a friends' grandson is. Because the weekend I made this, we went up North to their house and she had her grandson with her. He was still only about 18 months or so then. (I think we left it at their house, too. That was a toy that got lost fast..)  Well stay tuned.  :)

I Got a Gift, from an Unexpected Source... :P

My 18 year old son.  :0   He bought me these measuring tapes! AND a Thai Tea!! :0  I don't know if he is finally deciding to be nice to his parents, or what?...  ;)   I was pretty surprised.  The one on the left is a puppy. The thing you pull out the tape with is a doggy bone. The one on the right is a rooster. The thing you pull the tape out with is an egg. :P   Besides what he bought for me, he also bought his little brother something!...

A Spongebob hat!!   He was putting together his Spongebob Legos; and now he has a hat, too.  :P  I don't know what he bought Eli...  (They are pretty secretive. So, I'll have to ask him later.) 

I have been so sick lately. The two younger kids missed school last week. I was fighting it off. But Thursday night I was feeling pretty yucky. Then I "called in", to my job which I don't get paid to do anyway. ;P  (But I like doing it... volunteering at my son's school.)  Well the next day (Saturday), I felt worse than ever. I might have had a fever. I don't know. Stupid thermometer (sp?) doesn't work..   I just keep getting sicker...  Last night I was drinking cough syrup (Kids' homeopathic but hey..). I finally took some Nyquil before bed. It knocked me out. I could barely get up this morning. And I felt horrible.  Ugh...  I feel a little bit better now, though.  All I have been craving lately is ice cold fruit.  I've been trying to eat healthier lately, anyway. Eating more fruits & vegetables every day..  But yesterday I wanted icy fruit. (Weird... I know.)  I did buy some frozen strawberries. I was going to make a strawberry banana smoothie last night, but I felt so bad I didn't make one.

Anyway~~ While I have been sick, I was looking through all my patterns trying to find one for a short sleeved sweater I want to make. Not that I need to start a new one now, but...  For future reference. ;)   Well of course I didn't find the pattern I was looking for. But, I found another pattern I was wondering about; and was so happy I still had it!!  Our youngest son had been wanting a Pillow Pet for the longest time. Every time we'd go anywhere, he'd say "I want the whale" (It's actually a dolphin, I think.. He has since then gotten one..)  I kept thinking about some "Bed Bugs" I had crocheted our two older kids when they were little.  (Like, ten years ago...)  I wondered "Did I ever write down how I did those? I wonder if I still have it somewhere..."  And, I looked through my patterns a couple times, too. And never found it. Well, guess what I found yesterday?  I was so happy! First, I found the paper I had "drawn" my ideas out on..  Then the next paper I pulled out had "legs" and "ladybug spots" on it.  I flipped it over and it said "Bed Bugs". I was so happy, I started one right away.  I didn't have any good colors, so I had to use what I had on hand...  This is what I have done so far.   It's not "so" cute, eh? But I am still happy to have found the pattern...    When I have a few done, I want to put the pattern up on my pattern blog, for what it's worth..  ;P  I haven't posted any new patterns there in a while. I have been trying to figure out how to monetize my blogs. I can't figure it out with this one. But I thought I would try with my other one, since it's the old format (??? Is that what it's called? I don't even know computer language.. lol).  Well I think it worked. There's an ad on there. I am not sure if I am supposed to put my own ads on there, or what. I'll have to read some more about it.  Anyway I figured I should post to that blog now that I did that.  :P  Maybe it will get some hits. :D    

I hope this post makes sense, feeling kind of out of it...  :)  Going to go stick my head over a steaming pot of water, now..

My Ugly Blanket is Done

Well I guess it's done. It's long enough for me. And definitely wide enough.  We have a King size bed, so...  That's how big it is.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. (Grrr!!)  This is how far it hangs down on one side.

And even farther on the other side. :P  So it's probably just King size.  If I evened it out.  I don't know what I'll do with it. Probably just use it for an extra blanket in the travel trailer. Or for the living room, watching tv...     Well now on to my hubby's afghan...  (Sigh...) 

More on Crepes...

Paula had left a comment asking what recipe I used for Crepes, sooo...  I thought I would blog about it. :P Here is a recipe similar (I think almost identical) to the Crepe recipe I used.  And, a video. This will show you how to roll the pan, so you can make the crepes..  (I would use the recipe I posted first, though...) This is the pan I used. Nothing special, as you can see..   I remember the first time I ever heard of, or tasted crepes;I was staying the night at my bf's house. She made some (her Mom let her cook stuff in the ,as long as she cleaned up her mess..), and they were SOOOO yummy.  I never did make them, til I had kids, though..          

                                                 Hope that helps!

Dessert Quesadillas :P

Well I ended up making the Dessert Quesadillas the other night, and not Monkey Bread. ;P  If you are wondering what dessert quesadillas are...  They're crepes.  (It's what our youngest son thinks they are called... :p)  They aren't "hard" to make, similar to making pancakes; but I do them in a small pan..  I made them Thursday night.  We put blackberry jam in them, roll them up & sprinkle them w/ powdered sugar.  The next morning when I was trying to get Eon to eat something for breakfast, I went through the usual "What do you want for breakfast? Cereal?" "No.."  "Pancakes?" (I still had a couple in the freezer from last time they were made.) "No..." "Oatmeal?" "No" "Eggs?" "No"  "Come on, you have to eat something..."  I went to look in the fridge, and saw there were still some crepes left. (Bonus!) So, he ate crepes for breakfast...  And some applesauce which was the only other thing he wanted before I said crepes..   I had taken a picture of them Thursday night, but my little card wasn't in my camera. (Duh!) So... here are the actual crepes Eon had for breakfast Friday morning...  :P 

Look at the afghan my husband crocheted!!  lol..  He's so funny.  This is my 3SUB. I was working on it yesterday. I'm so close to having it done and I just want to finish it. I was reading Missy's blog and she had posted about her 3SUB. (Hers is looking great, btw...)  I thought "Oh, man...  I really need to finish mine.."  ;)  Since I am still sick, and yesterday I felt worse than ever...  I just sat on the couch and crocheted.  I did from the red part all the way up, yesterday. I'm * * this close to being done.  It's going to be humongous.  I kept putting it on my bed, to see how much more I had to do. Each time it seemed like it shrunk...  (Sigh.)  I figured at least 20 rows. And I did more than that.  I need to go make my bed, so I can see how much more I need to do now...    Then after that, I need to work on my husband's afghan... he keeps asking me if it's finished yet.  (I will probably finish it right in the middle of summer, with 115 temperatures, knowing me..)

Making "Muddins"

I have been baking more lately...   I made some more muffins yesterday; "Fudgy Banana Muffins".  I usually make Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, but I didn't have any chocolate chips. I had a chocolate bar though. So I used this recipe. It's yummy.  These four are all that are left. Actually, I ate one...  :/  So there are only three left now. lol  One of our boys used to call muffins "Muddins".  (I'm pretty sure it was the 14 year old.)  So I still call them that. :P  I'm kind of in the mood to bake today, too. I don't know what. I want Monkey Bread. But the recipe I use is pretty time consuming. So, I don't know. Eon said last night, "Can you make dessert Quesadillas?"  I said "Dessert Quesadillas?... I don't think I've ever made those.. Oh, do you mean Crepes?"  :P  I guess he saw something on TV.  So, maybe I'll make Crepes later for dessert.  (That sounds easier.)   We've all been sick with something. Sore throat, stuffy nose (Hmmm... A cold?)  The kids both missed school this week they felt so bad.  They're both back today. Eli had a Pizza party at school today. I wonder if that wasn't going on, if he would have been so eager to go. ;P  It was 16 degrees here this morning!! :0  I know, compared to the rest of the country/Out East, that's nothing. But it's still cold. So I made sure they dressed warm and bundled up.  I'm still cold, in the house. 

Here's a dishcloth I recently finished. It's the "Short-Row Sweetie Dishcloth", from the Feb Crochet World. I thought my subscription ran out but apparently it hasn't, yet...   The one in the magazine was done in "Black Cherry".  I went and got some, but I'm making a different dishcloth with it, now.

I found out yesterday that my husband's Grandma fell, and fractured her hip. :( She's in the hospital. I talked to her yesterday. She sounded upbeat and optomistic. I guess that's a good thing. She said they gave her "a little" Morphine.  (I had asked her if she was in pain. She said "Not anymore, they gave me a little Morphine". She's so cute.)  She did sound a little out of it, but she had just woke up. So.  Anyway. I wish I could go see her/help out, but...  It's kind of hard living so far away.  :(    She's 90 years old. Fortunately, she already was living in an Assisted Living Facility. And, there is a Rehab facility right next door. That's probably where they'll take her. Her (Late) sister went there a few times;we visited her there (before she even moved into the Assisted Living place, if I remember right..)   Anyway~~  I hope everyone is staying warm!!  <3