Finished Yo Yo Afghan and Christmas Cards

I finally finished the first yo yo afghan today!

It measures 48" by 58". I'm really happy with how it turned out.
I also made my last 10 Christmas cards in our monthly Stampin Up card class. We made 5 of each design.

Sorry Blogger flipped the picture sideways. The top one is my favorite because it's a real 3D snow globe.
I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend.

Today's Inspiration

Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

Shopping, Crashes and Christmas OH MY!

Shopping

After a most enjoyable Thanksgiving spent with good friends, we braved the crowds and went Black Thursday and Friday shopping. I felt a little guilty shopping Thursday; I really think stores should be closed on Thanksgiving so people can be with their families. We apologized to every store employee we saw. No electronic gadgets on the lists this year, so we didn't have to wait in lines, and we managed to get everything we wanted from each store. Success!

This was our big find: an art table for Hope, normally $180, on sale for $90, but when we added a 30% off coupon, only $63.

 Crashes

Don't worry, we weren't in a crash. We spent last night watching crashes at the Orlando Speedworld Crash-a-rama. It's a crazy event that comes along twice a year.People race cars with campers or boat trailers attached, cars without back tires, and cars driven in reverse. There's a demolition derby, stunts and a race involving school buses on a figure eight track.  We always have a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures.

Christmas

Today was decoration day. We put up the tree and some of the inside decorations.

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Blessings :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

WIP Wednesday

Because I've been working on washcloths and slippers for the last week, I've made only a little progress on my three large projects. However, my self-imposed ban to not start another large project until I finished one ended yesterday (I knew it would).

I started a granny stripe afghan last night using Soft Yellow, Frosty Green, Lavender, Light Blue, and Monet in Red Heart Super Saver. So far, I have 8 rows.

I started the Drop in the Pond Lapghan tonight using Eggplant in Vanna's Choice and some medium purple and light purple I picked up at Big Lots.

I also started another pair of slippers using Amethyst and Candy Print. I have found happy homes for all the slippers I've made in the last two weeks, with the exception of one pair, so I decided to keep making them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow! Eat lots of good food, surround yourself with loved ones, and remember to give thanks for all things in your life, big and small. I'm thankful for all of you!

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Two Tuesday

Thanks for the use of the picture, Debi :-)

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. I'm done with my Thanksgiving shopping. It was scary at the stores yesterday and today, but I'm finally all ready for Turkey Day!

2. The cleaning ladies came today and cleaned the house. This is a fabulous luxury we decided to indulge in about a month ago; they come once every two two weeks. The house is squeaky clean and ready for guests.

Two patterns I think are neat:

1. Shell and V-Stitch Round Ripple
can be found here.

2. Granny Stripe Afghan
can be found here.

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

More Slippers and Washcloths

I spent the morning scrapbooking with my friend, Sarah. We did more talking than working, however, and only managed to make 4 pages each in 5 hours. Not our best efforts :-) But it was nice to visit.
I made another pair of slippers; these are for my friend, Amanda's, mom.

I also made another two washcloths.

I've enjoyed working on the smaller projects. Now, I'm ready to go back to work on the big ones. The weather's been gray and chilly the last couple of days; perfect for working on a warm, snuggly blanket :-)

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Busy Saturday

Yesterday was so busy, I'm just now getting around to posting about it! I love this time of year because there's so much to do. It feeds my manic spirit.

I felt Betty Crocker-ish in the morning, so I made a pumpkin pie and a batch of Puppy Chow (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's Chex cereal covered with chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar.). My niece and nephew came over for the afternoon; while they played with Hope, I cleaned and organized the Florida room. 

I know it still looks messy, but it's A LOT better. You can actually walk in there now and get anything from the shelves or bins. It's a hard room to keep clean because it's small and we store everything in there: my library, Hope's school stuff, my craft supplies, my jewelry supplies, coats and umbrellas, and the dog crate. But if it's messy, it really bothers me because it's the first room you see when you walk in the house.

I also organized my scrapbooking supplies on these shelves. Now I can see what I have and find a specific item when I need it. Amazing!

I made a couple of washcloths yesterday. Tim wants to keep these; he's always complaining we never have enough because I give away all I make.

After my niece and nephew left, we went to see ICE at the Gaylord Palms hotel. It's a big arena they set up every year with 2 million pounds of carved ice. The irony was not lost on me; my family up north complains about the snow and ice while we pay to see it! We had a really great time; we're grateful we live in Florida where it's warm!

Here are a few pictures I took; remember, all the carvings are ice. It's truly a work of art.

Marty, Melman and Gloria from Madagascar

Lemurs from Madagascar

Statue of Liberty

Hope going down the ice slide

Madagascar penguins

Fruitman

Tim and Hope in front of the ice waterfall. The blue coats were provided; it was 9 degrees in there!

This was my favorite part: the ice Nativity scene.

We left there and went to dinner. By the time we got home, it was after midnight. What a day!

Hope and I rested today while Tim cleaned his shed. That's another monster project! We're leaving for the art festival in Kissimmee in a little while, then Walmart and Big Lots. 

I hope you've had a busy, wonderful weekend!

Today's Inspiration

 

Thanks for reading.

Blessings :-)

Shopping and Slippers

Christmas is 38 days away! Scary, isn't it?

I had a doctor's appointment today. Hope decided to stay home, so I used this rare opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for her on my way home. I bought her a rug for her room, pajamas, art supplies and a couple small toys from Target. Then I stopped at Michaels and bought her some beading supplies (her new favorite hobby). Of course, I had to check out the yarn while I was there.

Country Loom was half price so I grabbed four skeins in Nobility, a color I've never seen before. I also picked up two skeins of Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Claret. My friend, Amanda, wants me to make her mom a pair of slippers for Christmas.

Speaking of slippers, I took a little break from my three big projects and made two pairs of slippers in the last couple of days.

I'll put these in the gift drawer with the other two pair. No one will have cold feet this winter :-)

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Kindle Woes

Has anyone else had problems with Kindle?

In January, I bought my first Kindle. It had the 3G Wireless and was a really good deal, probably because it was white. I discovered very quickly how dirty it got.

A few months ago it started giving me problems. The screen froze a lot and I had to reset the system all the time. The battery wouldn't hold a charge. This past Friday, it died. After a five minute online chat session with Amazon, it was determined I needed a new one. They sent it immediately free of charge.

It arrived on Tuesday. After charging for 24 hours without any response, I started to think the new one had problems too. When it finally woke up, I wasn't able to download my books from the archive. And then it froze up. I called Amazon this time; after a five minute discussion, during which the Kindle woke up and then froze again permanently, it was decided I needed another new one. They sent it immediately free of charge.

My newest one arrived today. I'm happy to report it works great. Unfortunately, all 2,245 of my Kindle books are in the archive and must be re-downloaded to the device. One at a time. But at least it's black and won't get quite so dirty so quickly. Electronics are fun.

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Thank You and WIP Wednesday

Thank you to everyone for your sweet, sweet messages on my last post. I felt everyone's hugs and have wrapped everyone's prayers around my heart. I am so blessed to have all of you.

I'm much better. I have more good days than bad now. Life is returning to normal with me in it. And I'm happy to be back :-)

WIP Wednesday

I have three projects on the burner right now and have banned myself from starting anything new until they're done! That ban probably won't last long :-)

The first yo yo blanket is coming along nicely. I finished the yo yo's (all 500 of them!) during our Texas trip and am now making the rows. This picture shows 15 rows done; just 10 more to go!

I started a second yo yo blanket for a friend of mine for Christmas; she has brown luggage with turquoise polka dots, so I wanted to make her a matching afghan. I'm working on this one in chunks; I make 100 yo yo's (enough for 5 rows), then stop to add the rows. This one will be the same size as the other so I'm almost halfway done.

This polka dot blanket is for me so I'm working on it slowly. Low priority, no rush. Maybe halfway done? I have another 12 squares to make before I assemble it.

Finished!

Now, once in a while, I actually finish something (it feels like I start more than I finish!). I was in bed last week with a nasty cold but had ample time to crochet.

I made a baby blanket for a friend of mine who's due next month

and two pairs of slippers. I had to change the pattern a little because I didn't have enough yarn; I made the cuffs short but kept the rest the same.

These two projects have been done for a couple of months but I'm just now posting the pictures.

This is the ripple afghan I made for my friend's birthday in September. She loved it!

And this is the lapghan I started a year ago and posted about when I first started blogging. I like how it came out but didn't like sewing all those squares together. It's draped over the living room chair waiting to go to Project Linus.

Today's Inspiration

 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

 

Difficult couple of weeks

You can be at the top of the world one minute and down in the deepest trench the next. I was re-reading my last post and remembering how excited (and scared) I was about our upcoming arrival.

Two weeks ago, I went for my ultrasound and found out the baby had died.

God lets these things happen for a reason; I have to believe that. The doctor said there were a lot of health problems showing in the scan and this is really for the best. I have to believe that, too.

So it's been a couple of really bad weeks. But, day by day, I'm not as depressed. Life does go on. I haven't been able to be around people I know, but I'm doing better with being around strangers. Does that sound weird? Most days, I get dressed and do school with Hope and run whatever errands are needed. I'm crocheting again. I know one day, a long time from now, I won't be as sad. I have to believe that.

Thanks for reading.

Hug your babies tight, even if they're grown up and taller than you.

Blessings.

I'm back!

Please forgive my very, very long absence. When I saw the date of my last post, I was mortified! It doesn't feel that long. Life sure flies by!

Several reasons I've been gone from the blog world: 

Until recently, we didn't have a consistent working computer. One got fried by lightning, one crashed, and the laptop has been temperamental. Through several weeks of swapping parts and hard drives and wires and who knows what all, Tim managed to cobble together a working model. Yay!

We all got a nasty sinus infection when we returned from Texas. We're a family who shares, so it made the rounds with each person twice, staying for at least a week each time. Tim and Hope got better but I didn't. 

After a few weeks, we made the discovery why: after 6 years of trying and getting through one miscarriage, I'm pregnant with our second child! Woo hoo! It's very exciting and very scary at the same time. It's been 10 years since I've been through this. I'm a bit older and a bit (okay, a lot) heavier than I was then, and I'm afraid I've forgotten everything about how to take care of a baby. It'll all come back, I'm sure (I hope). 

Well, just like last time, I've been horribly sick for the last several weeks. The couch has become my home, and the worst part is I feel too crummy to crochet most days. But the last few, I've been feeling OK enough to attempt some light housework and sit at the computer for a little while. I'm hoping the next few days will bring with them the ability to crochet some. Oh, and I should be able to upload some pictures as soon as I find my camera and computer cable. With all the computer problems, everything got moved.

I hope all is well with everyone. I haven't had the chance to check anyone's blogs lately. Soon, I hope. 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)