Belated Christmas Post

I've been a bad blogger and failed to put pictures of the tree and a few gifts the elves finally finished. LOL Here I thought those darn elves were on strike.
I made a pair of socks for my MIL. Red Heart Heart & Sole.
I like people with small feet:)













I saw a hat similar to this one on Ravelry and I thought it was perfect for the college freshman DD. It was! It is! She loved it.
One skein of Noro Silk Garden. I started this from the top down so I had more control of the height of the hat.

This is a cowl made from my handspun merino/silk blend. Buttons are the most difficult thing to find around here. I managed to settle for the these from our very tiny Joann Fabric store.

Two hats for two very sweet little girls. I hope they like them.

Our Christmas Tree this year. It is bright. It is VERY bright. It's a large tree with 3300 lights. We're enjoying it as much as possible. We will be putting away the decorations very soon.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

Thoughts

Please keep a dear email friend of mine in your thoughts and prayers. Her beloved 16 yo Chihuahua, Goliath crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night at approximately 10 pm. He was ill for some time but took a sudden turn for the worse. He was held in his loving owner's arms as he passed and they are very blessed to have been there to comfort him.
It is always difficult when a beloved pet is gone. They are a companion in good times and bad without opinions, arguments etc.
I'm sure there were many beloved pets to greet Golaith as he crossed the Bridge and is now pain free.

Merry Christmas

This is a short post. I have no idea what is wrong with my holiday spirit this year. I'm in a bit of a funk.

To all of my blogging friends and those dear to me, Merry Christmas.

You've laughed with me, you've cried with me and I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

GOD BLESS US ONE AND ALL!

Snow!

It started snowing at 9 pm on 12-18-09. It is still snowing and it's 6 pm on 12-19-09. There's approximately 16 inches outside right now and absolutely beautiful:). Can you tell I LOVE snow?

This is our backyard beyond the dog fence.














More pictures in our backyard.



















God decorated the trees for Christmas a bit early.












A path must be cleared for Miss Molly and Miss Gypsy. If you think Miss Molly is going in the yard into the snow......think again.



















Luckily for them Mr. Bettis is the official snowplow for the girls. He thinks it snowed just for him.

12 Knitting Days of Christmas

I am not a writer or a poet but I had fun writing this little ditty. Please sing the following to the tune of 12 Days Of Christmas. Enjoy!

The 12 Days of Knitting

On the first day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, grabbed knitting needles and I very quickly cast on.

On the second of knitting I gathered all my yarn, Two warm afghans and One lacey shawl

On the third day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 3 wool hats, two warm afghans and One lacey shawl

On the fourth day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, two warm afghans and One lacey shawl.

On the fifth day of knitting I gathered all my yarn , a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, two warm afghans and One lacey shawl

On the 6th day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 6 pair of gloves, a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, two warm afghans and One lacey shawl

On the 7th day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 7 fair isle mitts, 6 pair of gloves, a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, two blankets and One lacey shawl

On the 8th day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 8 fuzzy scarves, 7 fair isle mitts, 6 pair of gloves, a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, two warm afghans and one lacey shawl

On the 9th day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 9 little snowmen, 8 fuzzy scarves, 7 fair ilse mitts, 6 pairs of gloves , a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, 2 warm afghans and one lacey shawl

On the 10th (hiccup) day of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 10 knitted toys, 9 little snowmen, 8 fuzzy scarves, 7 fair isle mitts, 6 pairs of gloves, a bot-tle of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, 2 warm afghans and one lacey shawl

ON the 11th day (hiccup) of knitting I gathered all my yarn, 11 cotton cloths (hiccup), 10 knitted toys, 9 little snowmen, 8 fuzzy scarves, 7 fair isle mitts, 6 pair of gloves, a bot-tle (hiccup) of wine, 4 soft sweaters, 3 wool hats, 2 afghans and one lacey shawl.

On the 12th day (hiccup) of knitting the dog ate my yarn (hiccup), the pattern is lost, I don’t care, it’s too late in the year, needles disappeared, snowmen have melted (hiccup) frogged the fuzzy scarves, scrapped those mitts, unfinished gloves, a bot-tle of wine (hiccup), sweaters with no sleeves, huge wool hats, raveled afghans (hiccup) and forget that lace shawl!

P.S. And this explains why my Christmas gift knitting is not finished.........LOL

Prayers

Just a quick note to ask for thoughts and prayers at this time. Our daughter-in-law's father passed away last night. He put up a courageous battle against a diffcult bout with cancer. God Bless the family as they mourn their loss.
Rest in peace D.T.

He's checking his list

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It's snowing!!
The best Christmas present for me would to be snowed in on Christmas Day. One year we had 6 inches of snow on Christmas Day and I insisted we all go on the deck in our pj's with hot chocolate and admire God's handiwork. The children politely obliged until they were shivering and whining. LOL
Hey! They haven't forgotten that Christmas Morn.




Santa Paws is very aware of Mr. Bettis on the naughty screen in his workshop.
We left last evening for a brief time and this is what greeted us at the door. He was so happy to meet us that you would've thought we left him for weeks. Little did we realize it was only to disguise what he was up to while we were gone.










Potatoes were strewn everywhere. I found this lonely potato in the middle of the floor. I'm sure he had a hayday tossing and playing. He never eats them.














My dye stuff was sitting on the floor in a box. A closed box and I found it destroyed on the floor. Thank goodness I don't keep my dyes in there or I'm sure we'd be at the vet office right now.

Mr. Beau and Miss Sissy have warned Mr. Bettis several times that Santa Paws is watching but apparently Mr. Bettis is not interested in new toys and treats. He seems to find his own.

Just when I think he's going to behave and be good, whammy!

Holiday Package

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All of our family was in attendance with the exception of our youngest son and our daughter-in-law. Her father is very seriously ill and they need to be with her family during the holidays.


Good food and company.


















The college daughter was transported back to college yesterday in all of the holiday city traffic hoop-la. It was a mess! Instead of the normal 5 hour round trip, it took 9 hours. A very long day.
She will return in 19 days and I made a package of the final countdown to exams and Christmas break.
This is the count-down calendar.





There is a package for each and every day. Each little package is to help her through the stressful days of studying for finals.
She was thrilled when I presented this to her and I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed putting together the package:).

How was your Thanksgiving Holiday?

May the Great Spirit's Blessings Always Be With You

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

He missed the memo........

Apparently Mr. Bettis and his owner did not get the memo about my yarn.

I was unaware the husband set a tote of my yarn on the table. He missed the memo that my yarn absolutely cannot be within Mr. Bettis's reach. And yes Mr. B can set his head on the kitchen table. Look out Thanksgiving dinner (eyeroll).
Mr. Bettis missed the memo that he is to NEVER paw, slobber or otherwise destroy my yarn. Not that it would matter, I don't think he'd pay attention anyway. He also chewed a plastic hanger to bits. I have no idea where he found that one but he and his owner are in trouble. BIG trouble!

Here he is on his loveseat taking a nap. Gee. I wonder why (eyeroll).


I purchased new covers for the couch and loveseat. There's no way I'm buying new furniture with him in the house. He weighs 140 pounds and I can't get him to budge so he has taken over the loveseat. He paces the floor and stares if anyone is sitting his loveseat. Anyway back to what I was saying about the covers. The oaf wouldn't get on the loveseat because there was a new cover. I should've covered this one a long time ago and maybe he wouldn't get on the furniture. I laid the towel down and he jumped right on it. Big Baby!

p.s. He has no idea that Santa Paws is watching.

A ramble of sorts

The college DD was home for the weekend. Hubby picked her up. The trip was a 7 1/2 hour trip to and from due to the city traffic. I won't mention any more about traffic except to say I don't like traveling city traffic. Period.
The homecoming game commenced and our team won!! YAY!! Playoffs are next and if they win those then they're statebound.
While she was here she gave this book to me as a belated birthday gift. She saved her pennies (she's a poor college student, you know:) and found this book at a bargain in the campus book store. She knows I enjoy Christmas books. Cost never matters to me. My most precious gifts are the ones that have been so carefully thought out.
As if I don't have enough knitting to finish before the holidays I wound this skein of Araucania worsted to make a pair of pop-up paws for a gift. It is a blend of wool and alpaca and is so very soft.

All is quiet here for the time being. I have to wonder if this is the calm before a storm of some sort. The holidays are fast approaching and we're getting ready in this household:).

I Did it!!!

I did it!! I honestly did it! Drop spindles and I have never had a good relationship. We fought. A few not-so-nice words flew from mouth as the spindle would go flying across the room. So I put my spindles in a nice basket and went to my wheels for easy efficient spinning.
Out of the clear blue sky I decided I was going to repair the relationship with my spindle again. It was a tough go in the beginning but lo and behold we worked together and finally created a "masterpiece." (perhaps setting aside my name calling had something to with it:).

The above is a result of the beginning of our relationship and as you can see it shows how rocky it has been. However, it's a continuous "string" and that's all that mattered at this point. I navajo plied the yarn and I love this little skein of "string." I will keep it and not knit anything from it so I can reminisce about "our" relationship.

This is the second spindle of yarn. Like any relationship as you move along it gets better and soon I was in the swing of spinnning.

This is just a comparison of the handspun on the spindle and my wheel. I'm pleased:)
I also navajo plied the newly spun yarn on the drop spindle. On the left is a sample of navajo plied yarn from my trusty wheel. The right is the navajo plied on the spindle. I know it's a little lumpy but the spindle and I are happy that we have rekindled our relationship. Much like relationships in life, there are bumps and lumps along the way but if one puts forth a good effort they become beautiful "masterpieces" of Life.
So I'm tossing a challenge to a few of you out there who have given up on your spindles. Give it a whirl, you just might rekindle a beautiful realationship with your spindles and create a masterpiece of Life.

Spinning Wheel goes round and round.......

In 1980 the need to spin became an obsession for me. I found an antique walking wheel on the back porch of an old local store and the owner sold it to me for a cheap price. I taught myself to spin which was not an easy task by any means. There was very little spinning information available but I managed (or should I say, struggled). New wheels were born over the years and I want you to meet one of them. It's a Country Craftsman and was purchased in 1991. Unfortunately they are no longer available. The gentleman who crafted these beautiful wheels retired in 2003. I have two of these but this one is my favorite. I have no idea why, we just seem to get along well.


I have purchased masses of fleece along the spinning trail and was even known to pack a lunch, put the kids in the car and go for a ride looking for sheep farms at shearing time. Nothing like taking your kids to a stranger's door to find out if they were willing to sell a fleece. Trust me, I begged and managed to snag a few during those excursions:).
The spinning bug has recently invaded my knitting time and I've been spinning away. The red skein is romney, the other two skeins are unknown. I navajo plied the two on the left. Now to find patterns for these three.

Way back when (in the 90's) I spun and knitted a few items for the family. Here's a pair of well worn fleece stuffed mittens.

The yarn was dyed for the pink pair of socks. The pair on the right is a spun corridale.

The pair on the left are a border leicester fleece with a shetland sole. The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's design. As you can tell they're large to fit hubby's Fred Flintstone sized feet. The pair on the right are for me. They're thick and warm. Perfect for cold winter days.

There's a sweater hidden around here somewhere that my youngest son requested when he was 12 yrs old. I took him to my favorite sheep farm on shearing day and he chose the fleece that he wanted. I must find that sweater.

Okay, Anita, is this enough info? LOL There's an inside joke going on here and I'm going to ask for your help. Anita requested these pics and I requested gingerbread men stitch markers. If you haven't seen her new apple markers check them out and put in a request (better yet, demand) for cupcakes, donuts and of course gingerbread men.........hee-hee).

Trick-or-Treat

A Halloween box was shipped and received by the college DD. She was thrilled with lots of chocolate candy. By the way Jessi, you can tell the Dentist that this mom included a toothbrush and toothpaste:)

TRICK-OR-TREAT EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little late

Better late than never ;)

Pause

First off, this one is from Jessi. Really cool notepads, a lovely smelling soap cake that is sitting pretty in a basket and is hands off to the hubby and Mr. Bettis!
A most gorgeous skein of Miss Babs sport weight yarn. I must find a special pattern for this skein. The colors are rich and vibrant, perfect for something that will be mine. All mine:).
Thank you so much Jessi. I love it.




This package was given by Chan .

Miss Sissy and her Little sister, Gretchen included a small gift for Mr. B & co.
As soon as Mr. Bettis was shooed so I could get pictures, Little Miss Gypsy showed up to see what all the fuss was about. Carrot flavored treats for all.
Mr. Bettis & Co humbly thank Miss Sissy and Lil' Gretchen for thinking of them with all this birthday fuss:).
Mr. B thinks it should be party time ALL the time. LOL





This lovely package contained yummy pumpkin butter, a gorgeous skein of Wollmeise and a beautiful colored Vera Bradley wallet. The rings are not for Mr. B although he may think so. They're to make buttons.
As soon as I got in the car I was transferring everything from my old wallet into the new one. There was a shriek which caused the hubby to hit the brakes.
Chan put a penny in the wallet so I may never be broke. I know it's a simple gesture but simplicity is never over-rated.



Tucked in the bottom of the bag was this beautiful shawl handknit by Chan. This is my absolute favorite color of Noro sock yarn and I love it! Thank you, Chan.

The Little Black Bag

This is the birthday that never ends and I must admit I'm enjoying every bit of it.
The black bag arrived. Not sure if it's because my birthday is close to Halloween or because the giver was indicating my age.............LOL










Anita sent this bag full of goodies. Cute note cards, a notepad, gorgeous spinning fleece to fill my fiber stash and the most beautiful knit scarf. Check out the handmade button. I must figure out how to make these.
There was more in the package but it's for the DH so I'll post that later.







She wanted a picture so here it is. I'm sure there are quite a few people who think I should wear it like this all the time in order to keep my trap shut. LOL
She purchased some of my handdyed roving, spun it, designed the pattern (Mermaid scarf) and then knitted it. There are a lot of firsts in this scarf for Anita and she should be proud of her work. I am surprised at the softness of the scarf. It is definitely a next to the skin wear.
Thank you so very much, Anita.


I made some time to spend my birthday with my mom, dad and grandmother. After all, they were just a few who were present the day I was born:).
My mom knitted a Central Park Hoodie for me. I made 5 of these last year. They were Christmas gifts and I have been wanting one for quite some time. I have a tendency to knit for others and not myself. Any of you like that?
I absolutely LOVE this sweater. It will be my new go-to sweater. Hey mom, I'm putting in an order for another one. LOL










Mom outdid herself and gave these as well. This is from a sock blank that I handdyed last year.
Aren't they cute? Perfect Halloween socks.
Dad didn't have much input in this birthday gift but I received a beautiful handmade cedar chest from him last Christmas so I'm not complaining in the least.

Thanks mom and dad. You're the best!

Mister

Anita sent a video birthday card . Mr. B was fast asleep beside me on the couch. Or should I say, I was crammed in a corner so Mr. Oaf could have the rest of the couch!

I played the video and he quickly raised his head and watched in amazement. I re-played it and grabbed the camera.

Here he is enjoying my birthday card from a dear friend.

Thank you Anita, Mr. B and I enjoyed it:)

Birthday!

Today is THE day. Another year older but who's counting? lol
I received a lovely package from Grace and this post is full of the lovely goodies from my package.

Isn't this the cutest handknit cupcake? I'm not seeing a cake around here so I think this is the cake for the day.






Tom Turkey for my Thanksgiving dinner table. A namaste notion bag (love the colors), notepads, bookmark, croc buttons, a key chain, tape measure ( because they're always going down the black hole for lost things around here) and a lovely skein of lace yarn. I think Grace is throwing a hint for me to knit and actually finish a lace shawl:).









Last but certainly not least, a dainty, beautiful handknit shawl. The colors are perfect. It is exquisite and I love it. I am wearing it today and hopefully the husband can get a picture of me wearing it.

THANK YOU GRACE!

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today, October 13, is our eldest son's birthday. He turns 36 yrs old today.

I baked Gobs over the weekend hoping we would have the opportunity to meet up with him, his wife and daughter last weekend when we transported the college kid. Unfortunately there's just not enough time in a day. (sigh)

He became the proud father of a beautiful baby girl 2 months ago.

Like most of you, I'm hesitant to post pics of little ones due to safety concerns unless the parents give consent.

This plate was his favorite when he was a child. It's showing wear but it's a keepsake in my cedar chest along with handmade cards, school papers and a few other mementos. Plenty for this mom to reminisce on this memorable day.

Happy Birthday Son, I hope it's a good one.

He does it again and again......

The title belies something other than Mr. Bettis. This time it's his owner aka the hubby.
This post is not a whine but rather supposed to be a little humorous.

But before I get to that I'll sum up the weekend. It was busy to say the least. The college daughter came home for the first time since she left in August. We took her shopping to the local store to stock up on the necessities of college life (remember the shopping, it's mentioned later in this post). Saturday was a home grilled steak dinner upon request and Sunday was a brunch for all, grandparents included.
It was fun and went by wa-a-ay too quickly. We had every intention on leaving early to head back but company was later leaving and packing took longer than expected. I was happily knitting in the car on this new pair of mittens.
They have a flip top for the fingers and an itty bitty flip top for the thumb. Makes it easier for texting. So you know who will get these don't you?I don't text so they're not for me.

Now onto the reason for this post.

Remember the shopping I mentioned above? Hubby was on his own in the store. Not-a-good-thing. He called me to meet him in the kitchen gadget aisle, he has a thing for kitchen gadgets. I do not. He has been wanting a griddle for a long time. I have an $8 stove top griddle that has worked just ducky for years. Nothing doing but he found griddles on sale. LARGE griddles on sale. Keep in mind our family is grown and are rarely here for anything so why in the world do we need a large griddle?

Ahem. I'll give you his reasoning (my comments are in the parentheses):
1) WE can cook everything at once i.e. eggs, sausage, bacon (but dear, we don't eat all of that anymore)
2)WE have been wanting one of these for a long time (but dear, WE haven't wanted one. YOU have).
3) This is on sale and it's a good deal (but dear, what difference does it make if it's on sale? WE don't need it).
4) IT's a large griddle at a good price (for some reason he thought it was necessary to go on and on about the good deal/price).
I was powerless once I realized I was not going to win this one. Like a kid in a candy store he promptly picked up the box and grinning from ear to ear, he toted it to the cashier.

And here it is, in all it's glory. It is big. I have very little counter space and have no idea where I'm going to store it.

But here's the kicker to this story. My birthday is fast approaching. He walked out of the store pleased as punch and announced this IS my birthday gift!
Years ago I would've balked but now I can only laugh. You see, I have opened gifts year after year with great anticipation, hoping beyond hope there would be something to celebrate ( a lot like hoping there would be a nice family dinner on my birthday......LOL). Unfortunately here's a list of some of the "thoughtful and wonderful" gifts from my dear hubby.

1) Swiffer Wet Jet (which he and the youngest kid couldn't wait to put together and try out while I sat on the couch and watched. I thought they were going to battle to see which one of them could use it first. They took turns.)

2) Salad shooter (he also brought home a head of lettuce so he could try it that evening)

3) Sweeper (he purchased it with all the gimmicks at a "good deal")

4) Dishwasher ( to help me with the dishes)

5) New roof on the house (with all of his buddies here for the weekend to help and I had "the pleasure" of using the above appliances to cook for them ALL weekend.)

6) A handmade broom (because he wanted a handmade corn broom. Trust me, there were a lot of jokes with this one considering my birthday is in the month of Halloween)

These are only a few of the highlights. The list goes on and on for 25 yrs.
Oh, I almost forgot the one and only year he ordered and purchased a birthday cake. With the wrong name. That wasn't his fault but he should've checked it before he came home.
So go ahead and have good chuckle. I am. Just don't let your hubby see this post.

I must admit, the gifts have been memorable.......LOL I already have a guess at next year's gift. A waffle maker. He was pricing them at the store.