Here Comes the Bride....not yet

July 30, 2011-The bridal shower commenced. It was planned for the outdoors at my parent's beautiful landscaped yard but due to the oppressive heat and humidity we moved it indoors to the rec room.










Vet Girl had a blast. Games were planned by the Maid Of Honor and of course the TP wedding dress game was the finale.
Here she is (l to r) with her junior bridesmaid, Chem Girl (her sister) and a very dear friend Bio Girl.









It's very important to photograph the backs of the designer dresses :).












This pic clearly shows her excitement through the party.
The bridesmaids kicked in gear serving lemonade/ice tea, keeping food plentiful and presenting the gifts.
She received many useful gifts and appreciated all of them. Pics to come later.










Chem girl turned the bows into the traditional rehearsal bouquet.

Everyone had a good time. There was plenty of good food (although your's truly forgot to get pictures) so you'll have to take my word for it.

It's only a month till the Big Day and we're gearing up for the Celebration.

Three more sleeps....

I haven't left blogland, just been busy. Elbow deep in cookie dough and knee deep in wrapping paper. Still finishing gifts and it appears there are three gifts that will be given on the needles. I hereby state ALL knitted gifts for next year will be finished by Dec 1st 2011. hrmph! (You may want to mark that on your calendar and remind me Dec 2nd 2011 when I'm moaning about unfinished gifts)
A finished hat gifted in the nick of time . This was for our granddaughter and her mom loved it. I also made some really cool crocheted food stuff and completely forgot to take pics.

Nine pans of homemade sweet rolls were also on my agenda. As if I didn't have enough to do.
Some down time was spent watching the daughters play Wii. The youngest is attempting to box.
Our eldest daughter having a grand time laughing at her sister's silly antics.

Time is running out and the big day will be over all too soon. As of this writing, the husband is complaining of a sore throat, chills etc. This blogger is in denial of her own scratchy throat and chills. Say it isn't so.........

Party Time

There was a party in the house yesterday. It was our youngest DD's birthday. Our last year with a teen-ager.
She always requests a homemade cake for her birthday and this year she requested a Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting. Putting frosting on a two layer cake has never been something I have accomplished particularly with cream cheese frosting but it was good in spite of the appearance.





A handmade Teddy Bear has been on her want list for quite some time. She's trying to explain the size of the bear she wants.











Born on August 1, 2010 Miss Toffit sized up to 5 1/2 inches and is a fully jointed little bear. She carries her new owner's heart close to her own. The Birthday Girl loved her.










This kid of mine must've come from the 60's era. She's a conservative thinker but a 60's dresser. Peace signs and tie dye everything are favorites. I leave nothing white around the house or it ends up in the dye pot.
A peace sign scarf will be her trademark clothing this year.






She has been begging for spinning supplies.
Her dad made a spindle and I made a spindle bag and carded some batts for her new hobby.
She took to spinning like a duck takes to water and is requesting wool in her college packages. I'm padlocking my wool room....LOL

Her grandparents gave her a DVD set of The Universe and several reading books. It was a lovely birthday celebration and I don't know where the years have gone.
Happy Birthday kiddo! We Love You!

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.

Lookin' on the Bright Side

I'm glad this week is almost over. Recovery is s-l-o-w and frustrating. The week began with issues and steadily became worse as it progressed. But I'll spare the details and look for the brighter things in Life.

A package arrived yesterday chock full of goodies.

Jessi sent a trio of books and a beautiful handmade card (which I forgot to include in the photograph). A card magazine full of ideas and it's already dog-eared. No, Mr. Bettis didn't dog ear the book......lol

The Toe-up Socks for Everyone is an excellent sock pattern book. This book is chock full of fun and intriguing patterns for everyone. Yarn is ready and waiting for me to choose the first pattern. Last but not least in this pick-me-up package was the Knitsimple magazine, full of fresh spring knitting ideas.

Thank you, Jessi, these books will keep me off the knee and resting.



Chan introduced me to the world of card making and I dove into another hobby. I know you're thinking I don't need another hobby but....it's so much fun.
The youngest DD owns a few stamps. I put them to good use. The cards are not fancy by any means but I have had so much fun and now the new card book will add to my fun.









I finally finished my Yellow Dandy shawl. I love it. The pattern was a bit of a challenge at first but it soon was a joy to knit. I've already cast on for another one.










The DH showed up with these. He knows I love lilacs.
So on his way home from work he found these growing in a meadow and stopped to cut a few branches. I hope this wasn't a private meadow, he could be a wanted man....LOL
They're cut and in a mason jar (yep, just like my grandmother used to do) Lilacs bring so many happy memories of my childhood. Isn't it interesting how certain smells conjure memories?

I wish all of you lived closer so we could visit and knit for awhile. We could sip some hot or iced tea, munch on homemade shortbread and enjoy the lovely lilac aroma giving way to yet another happy memory.

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!

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!

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.

Of course my sense of humor and I just had to make the apron a fun garment. I found this fabric and whipped up an apron just for the New DIL- to -be.
I also found a pair of #2 Son's jeans in a box and before I gave away the box I cut out a pocket from a pair of his jeans to be sewn on the apron. Just a little personal touch:) The ties are ribbon tape measure ties.
She loved it!











Here she is modeling the pin-up guy apron.



















To be safe and so her new husband wouldn't get offended (lol) by her pin-up guy apron, I made the pin-up gal dish detergent apron so he has something to look at while doing dishes.
I raised those boys to help in the kitchen:).















We played games and the toilet paper wedding dress game was fun.
The girl second from the left won for the best "gown".
Another girl and I "designed" this dress so we were quite honored. I think the bow in the headpiece was the deciding factor:).
We put bows on the shoes, bustle on the backside and tied a knot with a piece of the toilet paper on her finger to signify she "tied the knot". It's all about details, folks. LOL
The Bride-to-be received a lot of beautiful and useful gifts and I think she is very happy.

Unfortunately on the way home I recieved a phone call from the Piccolo Pirate & her friends sobbing on the phone. mmmmm...........I wonder if the band director is aware that I have pointy sticks and I'm really not afraid to use them. (eyes-raising here)

oooohhhh.......Gifts Galore

Look what the postman delivered yesterday. A lovely box of goodies from Anita just for me.
Homemade bath snowballs that are grapefruit scented. I can't wait to lock myself in tub room and indulge in these. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful smelly jellies. I love the scents and they fill the room with aroma. Both of these will be on my gift list next year. Last but not least, a bottle of rainkissed lotion. Thank you so much Mrs. Grinch:). See? I knew your heart would grow 2 sizes. LOL Thank you so much!


I finished these in the nick of time (no pun intended to ole' St Nick). I felted sweaters and made purses for the kid's friends. These were fun to make. I found a collection of knitted belts and added them as the handles. Sewed a button or added an adornment and there you have it, purses!
They have been wrapped and sent with her this morning. She has an early class this morning and half day of school. They are going to get pizza after school and exchange their gifts. Oh to be young again.

I made a collection of little gifts for her to give to some of her friends. She's a senior and thought it was necessary to give to everyone. LOL
Cell phone sweaters. They're made from the sleeves of sweaters. Perfect for teens (although I admit to swiping one for self).

She did manage to squeeze in some knitting time and made 2 scarves. She ran out of time for pics. They were finished last night at midnite. I could hear the needles clicking. She also made several picture frames and inserted pictures of the past year's events.

The youngest son called yesterday and announced that he and our daughter-in-law to be is coming on Christmas Eve. I had no idea this son was coming and guess what? His gift is not finished. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to make it. I slept 4 hours last night and Mr. Lyme is not finished with me yet. By the way, if Mr. Lyme or Mr. Flu come knocking on your door for a visit (or in Mr. Lyme's case, a move-in). Give 'em the boot!



In case I don't get an opportunity to read blogs and respond, I apologize. I will read them as soon as I find those elves and put them to work. Now where are the little creatures?

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!

Parcel, Package & Post

Look what arrived today! The postman was blowing his horn and Mr. Bettis was barking and bouncing on the deck. He must have sensed there was something in the box for him. Although he barks and bounces at everything:)

Chan sent this lovely Christmas package to our family. An adorable picture of the "girls" which is hanging in our garland now. My daughter came home and chuckled when she saw it. There is a brand new potholder mitt. A much needed brand new pothlder mitt:) Mine are a mess and while in the midst of some heavy cookie baking this is perfect. There is a bag of Lindnor candies under the picture and I promise I will share with the DH and DD:). Unless of course there is an urgent need for a chocolate fix.
There's a jar of pumpkin butter that I am dying to try. I will be baking bread next week and I plan to pour a cup of tea and lather the bread with the butter to enjoy. Last but not least a box of gingerbread cookie treat for the doggy brood here. (I'm sure Sissy and Gretchen sent licks of kisses on the box:)

Here are the dogs circling the treat box. Mr. Bettis was so excited I had trouble getting a picture. He rarely gets gifts as he has a knack of "stealing" presents. You know, MY stuff!
I am keeping their treats until Christmas Day. I had to snatch the box from Mr. B's mouth and hide it in the closet.
Mr. B and the girls send their adoration to Sissy, Gretchen and of course their "parents", Chan and the Knight.
Thank you, Chan and family:).


I have been meaning to show off the Christmas Mice markers that Anita made. I am in awe of her artistic talent.
I put the cheese at the beginning of the round and the mouse behind it. I liked to think the mouse is chasing round and round for the cheese. Okay, I'm losing it here but it was the only thing that kept me motivated (and awake) to finish this hat. If you don't have any of her markers go get a set, they'll make you smile.




See? The motivation worked! A finished hat. I did find it works up a little big for medium sized women so I stuck with the size 6 needle through out.
(No son, sorry to say, this is not your hat:)






And here is the other finished hat. Modeled by the reluctant DD. YAY! Another gift finished. It needs to be shipped along with a few other gifts by the weekend. I'm a bit behind on getting my gifts shipped out but trust me, they're on their way.

Same goes with the Christmas cards. They're almost ready. I have no idea where the time goes at this time of the year but you'd think I would have this under control. After all, I knew the day was coming 359 days ago. LOL


The following is a post for Sissy from Mr. Bettis,

Dearest Sissy,

Thank you for the box of treats. I know it was difficult for you to part with them but they are truly appreciated. My "person" has made an attempt to hide them but I know where they are hidden. I have every intention of sneaking and grabbing that box of wonderful smelling treats the first chance I get. I sense she will be leaving the house at some point and that will be the perfect opportunity to snatch them.

I will try to share with Gypsy and that barking Molly. That dog gets on my nerve, she barks at my every move. Very irritating when I'm trying to chase one of those darn cats.

Did you get any of that wonderful fluffy white stuff on the ground? We did and I had great fun playing in the wet stuff. Unfortunately my "person" yelled when I later jumped on the bed. She yelled about muddy prints or some such bother. I have no idea why I got into so much trouble. I was tired and cold from playing outside and just wanted to snuggle in a warm soft place for a nap. And there she came, marching down the hall and telling me to get off the bed. I did. I went to the living room and jumped on the loveseat while she fussed about the bed cover. Later on, she yelled about the muddy loveseat cover but I just yawned and rolled my eyes (she thinks I'm pitiful when I do that) and she walked away mumbling.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Shake a paw ('cos, I'm very good at shaking a paw),
Mr. Bettis

p.s. I read you have a taste for Toefutsie yarn and plastic needles. I like needles too and any kind of yarn. Perhaps you could explain why we get into so much trouble with those items? Particularly when they are left within our reach.