How many times.....

Ms. Summer's hot flash resulted in this blogger playing a game of procrastination. I have so much to post on the blog and I need to take some photos. So bear with me during my game of procrastination.
Speaking of bears.....this is a friend in progress. I made teddy bears for many years and recently reconnected with the craft.
This little one is for a birthday celebration that is fast approaching. sshhh-it's a secret.




How many times have I told Mr. Bettis, "no more jumping on the couch?"
I caught him in the act of bouncing and romping on the furniture! The moment he saw me, he laid down. The 140 lb oaf thinks he is small like his 8 lb sister, Gypsy. He is too big to romp on the furniture but try explaining that to him. I'm going to purchase the book, No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and replace the words with Mr. Bettis and couch.

He is having way too much fun in the cooler temps that have finally reached our area. By cooler I mean temps in the upper 80's F. So far this morning he has let himself out the door at least 10 times to bark at the neighbor's dogs, the rabbit and the possum.
It's gonna be a lo-o-ong day.

It's a Parasite

Our youngest son is a talented artist. He is a graduate of MICA, founded in 1826—the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art in the nation. It seems only yesterday that his artwork was selected for local art exhibits. His work was chosen for many years beginning when he was 7 yrs old. We were and are very proud of his many accomplishments.

He designed some artwork and decided to publish it on a line of clothing and other merchandise. He recently visited here and we had the pleasure to watch as he created the artwork. While browsing in the store take note of the Bomber shirt and you'll see our son :).

The store is an online shop. So go ahead and browse by clicking on the shop link or the store front on the upper right of this blog.

Christmas in July

There's more than one way to beat the heat. Since the a/c is on the blink and I'm water logged from the swimming pool, the college DD and I came up with a plan to celebrate Christmas in July.
We dug out the Christmas DVDs and our favorite movie White Christmas was first on the list.
Instead of homemade cookies and hot chocolate we had mint chocolate chip ice cream and fresh squeezed lemonade.




Christmas certainly cannot commence without a tree and decorations so the silver tinsel tree and colored ornaments came out of the box. There weren't any lights since no one volunteered to go to the attic in this heat to get them.
Of course there must be presents and we agreed they had to be homemade.








DD played Santa and distributed the gifts.
She made a print of the lyrics of a favorite song from Celtic Thunder for her dad.












For me, she made this plaque. It spells family in Cherokee. She embroidered the letters and flowers on the fabric background and it's mounted on an old picture frame.










I knitted a hat for her and here she is playing a goof with it. She also received a red and silver glitzy handsewn scarf.

Our eldest DD was at work but there's a handmade gift under the tree for her.

Instead of ending the day with a sled ride we'll end with a midnite dip in the swimming pool.
I think this 'holiday' will become a tradition in this household. It certainly helped to take our minds off the oppressing heat and humidity for a little while.

Here comes the Sun

It's hot. It's humid. And I'm sweltering. This is one time Mr. Bettis and I are in agreement, it's too hot to resume our normal activities. For him it's barking at the wildlife and for me, it's knitting/scrapbooking/sewing. I'm trying to stay cool which is not an easy task, that's for certain. The central air conditioner is on the blink. Thank goodness for the pool.
In the meantime I'm doing some mindless knitting because I can't even think clearly in this heat.




How are you surviving the heat and humidity?

Victor/Victoria

The e-spinner and I have become best friends. It's a she and her name is Victoria Vespera. She was named Victoria because my wonderful friends helped to overcome my disability in order to enjoy something I love, so victory it is.
Victoria and I spun some BFL roving I had laying around. A navajo plied worsted weight with a generous 250 yds. I still have a bit of the roving and will spin it to match.




My apologies to ravelry stalkers for the following post.
I carded some corriedale fleece with a small batch of alpaca and spun it on my Kundert spindle.











When finished I had approximately 500+ yards of a singles.
It grew up to be a Swallowtail shawl. Since there was so much yardage I added a few more repeats to the main part of the pattern as well as the edging.








It is unbelievably soft and I love it. I must admit (rather sheepishly, no pun intended)that I am so proud of this project I could bust at the seams.
It is drapped over an antique quilt rack in the bedroom and I gently touch it every time I pass the rack. From start to finish I think this project is my most accomplished project since I started knitting way back when at the ripe age of 9 yrs. Trust me, it's been a long time.

What do you think is your most accomplished project?

Playing catch up

The rain mentioned in the previous post gave way to less humidity. Whew! I seriously thought I was going to melt. Poor Mr. B & Co. had the same sentiment.
Since lower humidity has arrived, I'm playing catch up on blog reading and posting.
An email pal was de-stashing fiber so she sent a box of fiber goodies my way.






A few of these samples are a new spinning experience for me and I can't wait to try them.
Finn and Llama as well as a nice bag of Romney.
Thank you, Beth for thinking of me in your de-stashing process.
I can't wait to spin these fluffy goodies.

p.s. My sock knitting mojo was on hiatus during the heat but has returned. Pictures coming soon.

I'm dreaming of a .......

I'm dreaming of a white.....ok. I admit. I'm a wee bit crazy right now. Just blame it on the heat.

Seriously I am dreaming of fall and winter. It's been miserably HOT here. Temps hovering between 98-102 F. Add in the humidity and it's stifling.
So I'm sitting here in front of the fan, cold cloth around my neck and a glass of ice water with lemon.





The swimming pool which is in constant use these days. I don't miss one bit of the snow. Summer? meh.....not my favorite season particularly with these temps.
Poor Mr. Bettis doesn't even bother to bark at the rabbits anymore. It's too hot and he spends most of his time in front of the wind turbo fan. His owner picked up the fan just for Mr. Bettis although I find Mr. B's owner sitting with Mr. B enjoying the fan also.






The grass is dry and flowers are wilting (along with myself).
An hour ago a thunderstorm arrived. It is now raining and this blogger is hoping it brings a much needed cool front.

We're heading to the DH's company picnic tomorrow. He works in another state so it is a day trip and should be a lovely ride in the air conditioned car :D.
Anyone else having a picnic this weekend?

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

July 4, 1776 - Late in the afternoon, church bells rang out over Philadelphia heralding the final adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Hop over to the link and take a few minutes to read this very important and eloquently written document by Our Founding Fathers .
This country is rich in history and we should never forget or forsake it.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! - Patrick Henry March 23, 1775

High Alert

There are goodie pictures to post but that will have to wait until the next post.
The past two days have been weather heaven. I've taken advantage of the cool days to clean out the rec room.
Unfortunately Mr. Bettis has also taken advantage of the nice weather. Instead of sleeping due to the heat as he did last week, he has been on alert and this is one of the reasons why.
Seems there were 2 bunnies (and well you know about rabbits) and now there are babies. Lots of babies just so Mr. Bettis can run in and out all day long to bark and bark and bark......

Little Miss Gypsy isn't about to be left out on the rukus but she doesn't bark, she yaps.

Mr. B on high alert.

It won't be long until we will need to replace the storm door handle. Again. He head butts the door to go outside.

Of course he can't get back in so he nose nudges the glass. I won't even tell how many times I clean that glass in a day's time.

While Mr. B is on alert for furry creatures, Miss Aurora is at the front door on high alert. Oh how she loves to watch wittle birdies. Hey! At least she's leaving the fish alone.