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.

So where's his attorney now?

He did it again! This dog NEVER quits.
He taught himself to head butt (I never said this dog was bright, did I?) the storm door in order to let himself outside at any given time. He did this a zillion times a day. After all, there are squirrels, a possum, a raccoon and occasionally a bear to bark at. There's also the neighborhood dogs, kids and occasionally a butterfly that needs his immediate attention. The list goes on and on.
We debated on installing a doggy door but then the inside cat would want out. Headbutts took their toll and the handle broke. It fell off the door yesterday morning. Which meant he only had to nudge the door to get out and of course the door wouldn't close. So Miss Aurora took every opportunity to follow him Every. Single. Time. He did this stunt. It was a very lo-o-o-ong day with Mr. Bettis yesterday.







Mr. Bettis's owner was told to stop at the local hardware store on the way home to purchase another door handle.

Last evening at 8:30 pm a new door handle was installed. He'd better not bust this anytime soon. I've caught him headbutting the door but the new latch is working and he cannot get outside on a whim.

I'm sure I'll be hearing from Mr. Bettis's attorney shortly.

p.s.The college daughter is on her way home for a visit. I haven't seen her in over a month and I'm baking up a storm. YAY!!!!!!!

Mountain Blessings

Chan is having a contest. Click over there folks and join the fun.
One of my blessings is my life in the mountains.
We went for a drive this past weekend to check out the fall foilage. Anything to battle the funk I'm in. Unfortunately the leaves are a bit slow in turning this year but that didn't stop me from capturing some beautiful pics of our area. This is my favorite picture. I love the logo on the barn. It reminds me of my grandfather's farm where I was raised. Do you see the old blue tractor to the side? Just like the red one on my grandparent's farm.


I love pictures of barns and covered bridges. I'm hoping we get to take another ride soon so I can take pictures of some covered bridges in our area.









This picture caused the hubby to come to a screeching halt on a country road.

Word of caution: DO NOT make the husband come to a screeching halt with dpns and camera in hand. Those dpns could become dangerous weapons when flying through the air........LOL









These fascinated me and I have no idea why. They were very tall and I wonder how the "artist" created them.










I love the mountains. The ride was pleasant (didn't require me to read a map and make feeble attempts giving directions......lol).
So much scenery and so very peaceful.

I did get some knitting done on my car socks but that picture will come later.

Knitting gods

The knitting gods have struck my knitting. Can't you just see them? I just know they're dressed in black and flying around with their sharp pointy sticks (no they're not needles, they just appear to be needles).
I have no idea why the struck. Maybe because I was a bit smug on gift knitting. I procrastinated and thought I was ahead of the game. Those little knitting gods with their dyes in hand (yes, I believe they also dye yarn) decided to strike my yarn.

This is what I get for purchasing yarn in increments. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to purchase all of the yarn at one time. But this yarn screams NO DYE LOT on it's little label. Well guess what? Apparently it does have a dye lot. The back of the sweater was finished. Grabbed the yarn last night and cast on for the front, held it up to the finished back and guess what? The knitting gods have struck the yarn! It doesn't match. I give up. Please dear knitting gods, I promise to never be smug again or to procrastinate on my gift knitting (well......after this year....maybe?)