Snow

We actually got some snow here...  

The back yard.  The past two weeks have been crazy.  Not because we actually got snow, but...  they closed school for the whole week last week. And they went one day (with a two hour delay), this week.  Last week we got ice (which I think I posted about).   Then this week (not until Wednesday night), it snowed.  I am SOOOOOOOO sick of this!! They have to close school for two weeks because of a little ice and snow?  I have never lived somewhere so stupid. Ever hear of a snow plow?  Get a snow plow and plow the roads!!??? Salt the roads...  People here are like "Oh we just can NOT get a bus up in the hills..."  Why not?  I lived in Colorado for two years, with steeper hills than this. And they do not salt their roads in Colorado.  But they didn't close school because of a little snow...   They closed school as much as Michigan, if even that much.  This is so ridiculous. It is making me insane!!!  

My sister posted this on facebook, and tagged me in it...   I have said this before.  It's true! And they are making me lose my mind.  I wish we never moved here at all.  

Duke loved the snow.   He was running around like a mad dog..  Lol  

While we were getting all this ice and snow, my husband was driving to Nevada, to get the rest of our stuff out of storage. (Yay!)  But what a nightmare...  There were winter storm warning/watches everywhere.  It was snowing in Texas..   O.o  There was a 25 (?) car pile-up on I-40. One person died, I think.  My husband thinks he drove right past it.  He said people were flying past him, going 70 mph, then they hit the ice, and bam..   It wasn't too bad on the way back. But, he was right in front of the storm (which brought the snow)..    So, now we have all our stuff.  You can't really see how much the living room was packed..  bags and boxes...  This isn't even all of it.  We have most of it put away now. I still have about four boxes, and three garbage bags full plus two big rubbermaid containers.   There is no room in this house!! I don't even know where I'm going to put the rest of it...  O.o  That's another thing that is making me insane...

So what do I do? I start another shawl. (Yeah, start another shawl when you don't even wear them..)  I told you they are making me insane, here. Lol.   I had three shawls that were in storage. Which I maybe only wore one of them. Once.  But I am happy to have them back..  :D   It got me trying to find the patterns, and looking at them on my blog..   I knew I had started another plum colored shawl, too. But I don't know where it is...   I vaguely remember the yarn getting so knotted up and tangled, that I  think I threw the whole thing away.  It was the "Evening Shawl".   I was going to make another shawl like the green and off-white ones I did. But then I wanted to do the Evening Shawl...   I have a bunch of the dark blue Simply Soft. So...  That's what I am making it with. Even though I wanted a plum colored one.  

"Snow" Week?

The kids had a three day weekend (Presidents Day). But then this happened. So it became a four day weekend.  I was kind of in agreement with them, for once.  Ice was all over everything. 

My husband didn't go to work that day.  He went out and started the vehicles, though. Just so they would de-ice...

Icicles...

All our skylights looked like frosted glass...  Sheets of ice.

Ice on the trees..

It was pretty thick, and it kept raining.

Then it snowed....   We only got about an inch, maybe.    But with all the ice and snow, our power went out.  Thank god it came back on early this morning.   Now school has been closed all week.  It is supposed to snow more, and get really really cold.  

I wore my thick fuzzy pajama pants, that I usually sweat to death in, last night. And, a pair of slippers I finished yesterday, using some of the leftover yarn from my poncho.  Guess what? I still sweated to death. Even without heat/power.  

Cowl Neck Poncho

I forgot to post this yesterday. I finished it the day before Valentine's Day. I bought the yarn with money my husband gave me for my birthday since he "didn't know what I wanted"...    I wasn't sure if I would even like it. But, I love it!! :D

It is so warm, too.  

This is the yarn I used. I bought four more skeins than this. I only used seven (even though the pattern says you only need five). And I didn't use much of the seventh skein...  Now I have almost three skeins left. Hmmm.... What to make?  I want to make another poncho.  I bought the #25 issue of Simply Crochet to make the Cowl Neck Poncho in there. But I need to get yarn for it.

Happy Valentine's Day

I made some heart shaped pancakes for the kids this morning. No one even wants any/cares. :(  They will probably get eaten. But..  I guess that's the last time I do that.  :/       

I finished the baby blanket.   I didn't notice it until I was about halfway done; there is a HUGE mistake.  :(  The yarn I started out with is not the same as the rest of the yarn I bought to finish it with.   Sigh.....    I do like the over all blanket, though.  The color is the only mistake I made (well, besides the ones I fixed.)

Maybe they won't notice....

And this is the card I made them. I made a mistake on the card, too.   (The middle stamp/circle is off center..)   I should have just went with my original plan, which was to buy a gift card.  :(   Sigh...      I still haven't mailed it.  She is in labor, today,   She might have a Valentine Baby.  :)   (It's a boy, tha's all I know..)

ETA: He was a Valentine's Baby! 7 lbs, 15 oz. 20 inches long. They named him Jameson. 

I saw this on facebook. I didn't think I would ever try it, because of the vinegar. But.... this morning I woke up, and felt like I am getting my husbands' cold. My throat wasn't "sore", but felt swollen and on the verge (okay maybe a little sore).  So I tried this.  I couldn't taste the vinegar at all. I could smell it. But, if you think of it as a hot toddy, or medicine you have to take... It's not bad at all.  And if you don't have health insurance/can't go to the doctor/can't miss work/ or have a meeting at your son's school tonight, and a hundred things to do today...   It helps!  :)   (Unless, of course; you think it's strep throat or something serious! Then you should probably go to the doctor..) I'm going to see if my husband wants one tonight. 

I've been knitting a baby blanket for my cousins' daughter. She is due in four days. (Sigh....)  But, I did just get the invitation a few weeks ago.   I was going to just buy a gift card.  But...   I decided to start a blanket.  It is over 32 inches long now. So, a couple days of power knitting, and it will be finished.  :P   I am making a card, too. Like this one - second picture (similar, anyway). But in blues... since it's a boy.  Oh- I'm using the Newborn Baby Blanket pattern. But, I cast on 126. Because I want a blanket that is bigger than 21 inches wide.  The baby's room is in charcoal grey and a sky blue/light turqoise.  (That is why I made the blanket grey..)  A little (scary) side note: She is only about a year older than our oldest son, Evan.  :0

I haven't crocheted any in a long time, but... Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought I would share my Ami Love Bug pattern, today.   You can see all the ones I have made (that I remembered to take pictures of) on Ravelry. I kind of feel like crocheting another one. But, I have too much to do/finish. Plus I have an order to fill (a baby hat).  

My Baby Eli is 18

I can't believe it!! :(  They are all growing up too fast...    I wanted to make a colllage with some of his baby pictures in it, to now. But, I don't have any online and all my pictures are still in storage. :(  So this is what I got.  Some of his happiest moments. :)  

The cake. He just wanted chocolate, and "I don't care."  :P   (Easy to please...)  So I made the same old chocolate cake I always do. (I cheated this year and bought frosting. My head has been killing me; I don't know why. So... Makes things easier for me.)

Opening one of his presents....

Eon trying to get Duke's attention.  (Sigh...... Boys...)

ETA:  I don't know why this happened, but... someone left a comment on my navajo afghan post saying the link  won't work. I went to change the link for the pattern. Now it is saying I just posted that entry?...   Weird.

Navajo Afghan

...is done!  It only took me three years and nine months (less one day), lol.  I started this for the "Smoke Signals CAL" at Crochetville, August 12th, 2007.  And I finished it today.  This was just about the only thing I wanted to work on when Portia got hit.  And then I just kept getting closer to being done, and wanted to finish it.   It fits my son's twin bed. (Excuse his messy room~ this actually looks good :/  to be honest..)   It goes all the way up to the top of the bed, and hangs down a bit at the end. So it's a good size.

The diamond pattern.   My son says he wants one like this now. (Yeah, right..)  I said "I crocheted you an afghan, don't you remember?" "Where?" "Right there, on the floor. You never even use it."   (He wants everything I crochet..)

 I was trying to find the one someone had started in this CAL, as a scrapghan. I don't think she ever made a whole afghan, but turned it into a doggy blanket.   I thought someone else had made another version of this using scraps, too. I don't know. 

Just for fun, I took a picture of all the ends I cut off from the fringe. I don't want to throw it away, it seems wasteful. (I know, I'm weird...)  I might use it for stuffing for a bear or something.  :P    You can find the pattern for the afghan here: Navajo Indian Multi-Colored Aghan

Last night after dinner, I decided to make a big pot of rice pudding...   I usually just make vanilla pudding, then put leftover cooked rice in it.  This time I wanted to make it the way my friends' Mom made it.. When I was little we used to be family friends with someone. She was a single mom with four kids (three boys, one girl-the girl and I were friends). We used to go over there just to hang out.  Once in a while she would make a big old pot of rice pudding, on the stove top.  I think all her kids were like, "Ugh.... Rice pudding, again?"  But it was new to me, and I loved it. I don't know exactly how she made hers. But I followed a recipe I have in a cookbook.  It called for six cups of milk, and only one cup of rice. You are supposed to simmer it for an hour...    Well that didn't seem like it would be enough, so I added another cup of rice.  Maybe I cooked it too long (I had the timer on for one hour)...  Next time I will shorten the cooking time, I think/watch it till I think it is done..

Anyway, it turned out good...   Here are the kids'.  (My Mom gave me these two bowls with a chili mix kit last year.)  Eon likes them. So....  :P  

I thought I would post last months' donation I sent in to the OB Unit...   

We were low on the sweaters category, so I made three more- plus three mittens, too. I also had a Santa Sleep Sack/Hat; but that category got filled, so I didn't send it. (I will send it this month, though.) 

Some FO's, And Lots Of Wonderful Birthday Goodies

I finally finished a Minion Hat, and mitten set. The hat is Repeat Crafter Me's . For the mittens, I used a basic mitten pattern and minion-ized it. The pattern I used is Red Heart's Crochet Mitens for All.  I made this set for the Preschool Drive in a group I am in. (I still have not sent it yet... sigh..)

I have gotten so many awesome birthday goodies in the mail from my pen pals!! I got some roasted coffee beans from Linda. (Sooooo good!!)  Thank you Linda!

I got a card with lots of stickers as a surprise from someone in a pen pal group I am in on Ravelry, from Belgium!  And an awesome Birthday postcard from Maureen.   Thank you both so much!

Then I got another package from Eileen! I love the dishcloths (I still haven't used them- I don't want to "ruin" them. They're so soft... ) Some card/envelope sets, and a book which I am currently reading. Thank you so much, Eileen!

Then yesterday I went to the post office, because I got a "We tried to deliver but you weren't home" card in my mailbox. This is what it was! From Sue. She even sent a little late birthday giftie for Eon-  the Kreo Transformer. He had it built by the time we were at his brother's school to pick him up, and he said it's cool.   Thank you so much, Sue!
I feel so blessed to have so many pen pals as friends.  The things they sent me were the only birthday gifts I got, besides some birthday money. It really meant a lot to me, thank you all so much!!!!

I went to Hancock Fabrics. I have never ever been to one (as far as I know).   I went to get a $5 pizza deal from Little Caesars, and as I was leaving I noticed a big banner above a store front (I never really paid attention, it was Hancock Fabrics)..  It said "Fleece Frenzy 50% off" (something like that).  I said, "Oooo, I should go there and get some fleece to make baby blankets."  So I did...    I did not know Hancock Fabrics had so much crafting stuff!! I thought it was all sewing, for some reason.  They have almost everything! With my birthday money, I got some yarn to make a cowl neck poncho for myself. :D   And two kinds of fleece for $4 something a yard.  To match some sweater sets I had started. And buttons. 

This is one set I have since finished...   :)  I just have to sew the buttons on the sweater.    For the Bundles of Joy Ravelry Group. The other sweater set to go with the pink/purple fleece, is lavender. I am almost done with that one, too. Well. I have to do the skip stitch blade, and the crocheting on the fleece; and I have to crochet the booties. Then it will be done. I finished  the sweater last month and was going to send it to go with all the hats (we are making purple hats for  awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome.  The past couple months we have had a hat column, and a purple hat column.   Anyway I never did get the lavender sweater in the mail. So now I am doing a whole set to go with it. :P    This week has been crazy (I will have to do a whole other blog post about that...).  Somehow, I did something (I don't know what because I don't remember even bumping into anything, or anything) to my knee.  I followed my Mom to get her car worked on, then we went to lunch.  Then later went to pick the kids up from school. When we were getting out of the car to go in the house, my knee just started killing!?  What the???  It hurt so bad, I could hardly walk.  I managed to get dinner done, and the dishes washed. Then I sat on the couch with the ice pack, a pillow under my knee, and I took an Aleve.  By the time it was bed time, it did feel better enough to go to bed. :P  I couldn't even move, it hurt to just sit there.  Then it was okay- until today. (I actually woke up in the middle of the night, it hurt so bad.)   :(   Soooooo.... The point of my long story is, I am going to be sitting on the couch with the ice pack again today. Crocheting.  :P

Apples

One of the things we used to love doing was going to the apple orchard; when we lived in Michigan.  Nowhere else that we have lived in any state has good apple orchards. (I haven't technically checked here, but..)  Well when my Mom recently went to Michigan, she brought us back some Michigan Apples!  :D   It might sound like a strange thing to be happy about..  But, after living in Nevada for six years, and eating fruits and vegetables with no taste at all, you might understand.  These are mostly Cortland.  They even smelled good. I put them in the pantry. And every time I opened the door, they smelled so good.. 

I wanted to make something more special than just Apple Rumble, or Apple Pie or Apple Bread...  So after looking through my cookbooks, I decided to make Bavarian Apple Torte, first.  It was sooo yummy.   It is really fattening, though.     Next, I made Apple Pie Breakfast Bars.  I thought they were okay (I didn't take a picture.)  If you think, oatmeal squares.  I'm not sure if I would make them again.  

Then yesterday, I made Apple Spice Cake.  This used up almost all the apples (there are two left, which we will just eat).  It's pretty good.  I have baked almost every day this week. I am glad all the apples are gone. Lol. I am tired of baking for a while.  But I'm also glad we have/had the apples.  

Some of my favorite memories are going to the apple orchard, riding the tractor and going to pick apples. They also had a play area/barn for kids to play in.  Then there were the cinnamon sugar apples, and apple cider.   This was the only picture I could find of "us" (minus me, since I was taking the picture) drinking cider.

One of Eon sitting on the pumpkins.  :)  He was so little then..   :)
Maybe we will be able to find a new apple orchard or pumpkin patch, here.

My "New" Kitchen

When we first moved here, our house was not finished. (It's a rental.) They were putting in all new skylights (the old ones were leaking-- some spots on the ceiling are stained still.)  Part of our rental agreement was "No down payment/do some work on the house"..   (Why do we always get into these situations?)  So my husband has to finish the sklights.  Which also means re-doing the whole ceiling.  and paint the whole room.. (Sooooo not worth it, IMO.)  But, it is what it is..    This weekend, he worked on the kitchen.  One skylight is done.   (This one was the biggest one/biggest job.)

Ceiling.  Just has to paint it.

The new paint- "Vanilla".  

Goodbye, "E"..

Goodybe, "F"..   (This one is technically in the kids bathroom... Which is next..)  BTW, whoever did this, had to climb on top of the bathroom counter, and stand up on it; to write an F on the wall ABOVE the mirror. You can see it is almost to the top of the door jam. Monkey. There is also pink paint (or marker?) on the cupboards, and door in the bathroom. :/

The finished kitchen.  Not bad for a tiny rental...   Amazing what a new coat of paint does! The whole kitchen (and laundry room) look so much cleaner now!  And, I have more counter space. :D   Makes it a little nicer.