Photo a Day Challenge January 27-31

Here are my pictures for the rest of January:

January 27: Something I Bought

Maybe it's because I'm in Texas, but I noticed a lot of people wearing boots. I wanted a pair that was cute but comfortable and practical (I don't want much in life, right?). These were on a clearance table at JC Penney for $10, marked down from $40. They're now my favorite shoes :-) Ignore all the cat/dog hair on them; that stuff flies through the air in my house.

January 28: Dinner

This is a terrible picture! I didn't remember to take it until I was putting away the leftovers. It would have looked nicer with sauce, meatballs and parmesan cheese on it on a plate. 

January 29: Window

The view of my front yard through the living room window. It looks nice out, but the temperature was about 28 degrees. 

January 30: Best Invention Ever

The crochet hook. At least, I think it's the best invention right now. It's keeping me sane and out of trouble. And I have a lot of pretty things when I'm done :-)

January 31: Polka Dot

My suitcase. I have a matching train case to go with it. They came from Sam Moon, one of my favorite stores. I love the smiles on people's faces when they see it on the carousel at the airport. It's not hard to find my luggage :-)

That's it for January. 25 photos, 6 days missed. Not too bad. Let's see how I do for February. 

In case you want to join in, here are the prompts for February from Fat Mum Slim. You can also access them through the link in my sidebar.

And one last look at my January shots:

 Left to right, top to bottom:
January 6: Happens Everyday; January 12: Colorful; January 2: Begins With G
January 9: Natural; January 1: Lunch; January 3: My Town
January 15: Black & White; January 10: Manmand; January 16: Sun
January 4: Words to Live By; January 5: Found; January 14: 3 Things

Left to right, top to bottom:

January 21: Blue; January 18: Happy Place; January 20: To Do List; January 28: Dinner

January 31: Polka Dot; January 29: Window; January 27: Something I Bought

January 17: Tiny; January 22: Nice!; January 25: A Taste of Winter

January 26: Bedtime; January 30: Best Invention Ever; January 26: Fun Stuff

Photo a Day Challenge January 20-26

My photos for the week; I only missed one, and that was by choice. Not too bad :-)

January 20: To Do List

On my "to do" list for Monday was adding pom poms to these hats. It didn't get done that day.

January 21: Blue

Sorry about the glare, but I was trying to make sure the yarn looked blue, not purple. I have something in mind for this yarn; you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what it is.

January 22: Nice!

I made myself a nice mid day snack. Seedless grapes and a navel orange - YUM!

January 23: Bedtime

My bedtime ritual: remove my eye makeup (if I'm wearing any), wash my face, moisturize, brush my teeth, and put on lotion. Seems like a lot of work just to go bed.

January 24: Your Space

This is the one I skipped, only because my space is the corner of the couch where I crochet and cross stitch. You already saw that photo this month for My Happy Place.

January 25: A Taste of Summer/Winter

Yesterday, we had a "normal" winter day here in north Texas. Bare trees and dead grass, but temperatures in the 60s. I can live with that. It's the 20s and 30s I can't stand; we're getting more of that tomorrow. I know; all of you north of me are thinking "Wimp!" I am, I know it.

January 26: Fun Stuff

New yarn! Always fun :-)

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Today's Inspiration

Source: https://www.facebook.com/emotionalwellnessforpositiveliving

Source: https://www.facebook.com/hilaria.fina

Irony:

Both pictures were added to Pinterest via Facebook.

I don't use Facebook. 

Ever.

Photo a Day Challenge January 13-19

Here are my Photo a Day Challenge pictures for the week:

January 13: Makes Me Smile
No pic for this one. It was a rough day. I didn't find a lot to make me smile.

January 14: 3 Things

Three books from the library that I need to read. From top to bottom, I have an historical fiction, a fantasy, and a mystery. I like to read a variety of different things.

January 15: Black and White

I was supposed to take a black and white photo, but my camera doesn't do that. So I took a picture of something black and white: our cat, Oreo. As the only male animal we have, Tim bonds with him as much as possible. The other cats and dog and bird and people in the house are all female.

January 16: Sun

This came out neat. The sun playing peek a boo behind the tree branches.

January 17: Tiny

You all know I'm an owl freak. I even have an owl charm for my phone.

January 18: Happy Place

I spend a lot of time at home lately, so my happy place has become the corner of the couch with a crochet hook in my hand and yarn by my side. It helps if I have a cushion to lean on, a blanket to cover up with, and a drink on the side table.

January 19: Breakfast

Oops! Forgot to check the prompt until after lunch so I didn't catch this one. Just picture in your mind a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. It's my standard breakfast.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Today's Inspiration

Source: http://www.inspirationalfamousquotes.com/2014/01/in-world-full-of-people-expecting.html

Photo a Day Challenge January 6-12

Here are my photos for the Photo a Day Challenge this week. I missed a few days so there aren't that many.

January 6: Happens Every Day

This happens every day, several times a day in fact: Sugar waiting patiently for me to open the back door so I can let her run around the back yard. Can anyone say "doggie door"?

January 7: Upside Down

Missed this one. Couldn't find anything interesting around the house to flip upside down and photograph.

January 8: Lucky Number

Missed this one, too. I don't really have a lucky number.

January 9: Natural

My favorite photo from this week. This is one of the pear trees in our backyard (at least, we're told they're pear trees). I love all the spindly, bare branches. And the fog that day was really thick so it made a nice background.

January 10: Manmade

After our day of maternity clothing shopping, we had dinner at Cheddar's, one of our favorite restaurants. They bring you honey butter croissants to start your meal. Yum, yum!! So good they melt in your mouth. (A big sorry to all of my dieting friends for this one!)

January 11: Looking Down

Another one I missed. I had a great idea for it but forgot to actually take the photo, and, of course, the idea didn't come to me until late at night. Oh well.

January 12: Colorful

One of my current WIPS, the Yo Yo Blanket. I know a lot of people find it tedious work, but I love making all the little yo yos with scrap yarn and attaching them. I find it very soothing.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Stashbuster #2 and January Photo a Day Challenge

 Hope wanted a winter hat so I made her this one today with this pattern. It was supposed to be for Tim (originally, Hope wanted a purple one), but it came out a little small for him (he has a big head). Hope decided she really liked the color and the fact that it was a little loose on her head. So, it wasn't a wasted effort. I'm making Tim another one with a different pattern and thicker yarn.

January 2014 Photo a Day Challenge

I'm doing the photo a day challenge again, but I'm only going to post the pics once a week; that way it's not so obvious when I miss a day :-)

January 1: Lunch

 

Purple spaghetti, anyone? This is what I was doing at lunchtime on the 1st day of the year: untangling yarn. It was a nice new skein; with just one pull, the entire center fell out into a huge tangle. Fun :-)

January 2: Begins With G

 

These are our two Girls: Cinnamon (left) and Marshmallow (right). 

January 3: My Town

This is the entrance to the DeSoto Town Square. It's really nice; all in one complex we have City Hall, the local theater, the Civic Center and the Library. Oh, and a nice parking garage. It's very convenient and only a few blocks from the house.

January 4: Words to Live By

 This is one of my favorite verses. Good thing God has plans for me; mine never seem to work out right :-)

January 5: Found

 

 We found this little desk and office chair on Craigslist for free. The desk had a couple of cracks in it but some wood glue made it good as new.

All the daily prompts for the Photo a Day Challenge can be found here.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Today's Inspiration

Source: http://permanentsunshine.tumblr.com/post/6657813094/neverfaraway-god-doesnt-call-the-qualified

Finished Blanket, Scarves, and Photos

Thanks to everyone for all your good health wishes. I am feeling a lot better; still a little achy and I tire easily, but much better.
It's almost Friday, so I'll let you see what I finished this week.

I finally finished the Drop in the Pond Lapghan! And not a moment too soon; my friend's birthday was today. She really liked it :-)

I started another yo yo afghan.

I've been making yo yos since July for this one, just a few here and there with any little bits of yarn I have, and I hadn't planned on assembling it until I had all 500 done (I have 270 so far). But my friend, Kay, really wanted to learn how to make and assemble her own yo yo afghan, so I showed her how.

I'm still making Ruffled scarves.

They're a lot of fun :-)
I have to find a new stashbuster project. I'm thinking something heart related.
I'm headed to bed; it's been a long day. Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

Photo a Day January 30, 2013

Yesterday's prompt was Down. Not very original, but I took a picture looking down into one of my WIP baskets.

Photo a Day January 31, 2013

Today's prompt was Yourself. I am not having a good photo day, so I'm skipping this one. New month starts tomorrow :-) Where did January go?

Daily Inspiration

 

Catching Up

I'm back :-) At least, I hope I am. I've been off and on sick for the last week and a half. I had a nasty sinus infection followed by a bad cold. The worst part is I'd be sick for a day or two, be fine for a day, be sick for a day, be fine for two, and so on. Can't shake it completely. I still have my cold but am able to sort of function.

Due to my fuzzy head, I've been unable to follow any patterns that require more than two different stitches. I tried, and frogged, several projects over the last week and a half. I did finish a couple things on my good days.

The A La Mode Boa Scarf:

Here's a closeup of the chains:

I finished the Cascade Scarf:

I found a tutorial online and made T-shirt yarn from a T-shirt I got at a yard sale for 10 cents. Then I turned the yarn into a trivet.

I'm past the halfway point on my Stashbuster project and will reveal it soon. No one's guessed what it is yet, although I've enjoyed all the guesses.

I made 3 more Ruffled Scarves from Sashay yarn, but haven't taken any pictures.

I haven't done any mini projects for the week or any dishcloths since last week because I've been sick. I'm hoping to catch up on those soon; well, as soon as I can follow a pattern again!

I hope you're all doing well and staying healthy :-)

Dishcloth a Day #19

Shells in a Row Dishcloth
This one was fun. I'd never tried the FPDC and BPDC before.

Dishcloth a Day #20

Granny's Path Dishcloth
This was a nice combination of traditional granny and solid granny.

Dishcloth a Day #21

Daydreaming DishclothAnother nice, textured one from Heather at The Good Life.

Dishcloth a Day #22

 Garden Flower Dishcloth
This pattern from Bernat is almost too pretty to be a dishcloth. It would make a nice doily instead.

Granny Square Saturday January 19, 2013

(I still need to make one for this past Saturday, the 26th)

Peace Sign Granny Square

This was not as hard as I thought it would be. Round 2 was definitely tricky, and it was a new experience working with 2 colors at once and inserting them at different stitches. But, on the whole, I really liked this one. Hope really likes it; she's into peace signs right now. She's asked for a blanket of these for her birthday in April, all different colors. I'll have to get moving on that.

Photo a Day January 18, 2013

Finally got my Shadow picture. This is Hope at the Museum of Science and Industry. She's playing in their shadow room; the butterflies are supposed to land on your shadow. There's another screen where fish will chase your shadow, and another one where little rocks will fall on your shadow and bury you. Fun.

Photo a Day January 19, 2013

The prompt was Delicious. What I liked was it didn't have to be food; it could be anything you thought was delicious. I love antique furniture; I love to look at it, touch it, imagine what I could do with it and where I could put it. I find it delicious.

Photo a Day January 20, 2013

The prompt was Something You Saw. We went to the Chocolate Festival at MOSI (the aforementioned museum). I took a lot of very cool pictures of what we saw; this was one of my favorites. It's an edible basket made from pretzels and modeling chocolate. Pretty cool, huh?

Photo a Day January 21, 2013

The prompt was What You Do. As a mom, I wear many hats, but the two main things I do are homeschool my daughter by day and sell jewelry by night. Now, where did I hang my cape?

Photo a Day January 22, 2013

The prompt was Corner. This is a wildflower garden planted on the corner a few blocks from our house. I love to see it in bloom each year.

 

Photo a Day January 23. 2013

The prompt was Electric. This one was tough to make interesting. I liked this Electric Fisherman I saw at Bass Pro Shops. I thought it was cute. 

Photo a Day January 24, 2013

The prompt was Stripes. A house a few blocks from ours (not the one with the garden, a different house) has Old Glory displayed proudly. Best stripes out there.

 Photo a Day January 25, 2013

The prompt was Landscape. This is out at the farm where Hope takes her horseback riding lessons. It's a very peaceful place to crochet.

Photo a Day January 26, 2013

The prompt was Together. These are Tim's favorite Muppets characters together on his computer monitor. 

Photo a Day January 27, 2013

The prompt was Sun. It was another overcast day (very warm, though), so I snapped a photo of the sun hiding in the clouds.

Photo a Day January 28, 2013

The prompt was Through. This is our bird, Tweety, through the bars of her cage. She's a little blurry in the photo because she was doing her "let me out, let me out" dance across her bar. She does that anytime I go near her cage door. She loves to sit on top of her cage and watch us without the bars in her vision.

Photo a Day January 29, 2013

Today's prompt was Grow. I took a picture of our dog, Sugar. She very quickly grew from a tiny puppy into the 80-pound beast she is now at 3 years old. She's a good dog; a little overprotective, not very bright, and totally ADHD, but a good dog.

I really enjoy the photo a day challenge, even if I have to take a few pictures a day because I get behind. It makes me really look at my surroundings and find the beauty in the ordinary.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)