He's at it again...

See these two??? Well they're not as innocent as they appear. And yes I reluctantly admit that I believe Little Miss Gypsy Jo was in on the sequin party. (she does like glam)
Life has been busy and hectic and apparently Mr. Bettis decided it wasn't busy or hectic enough so he created some drama.
We were gone for an hour and this is what greeted us.







First up a container of itty bitty sequins was completely destroyed. That is not the original container. I only found bits and pieces of the original and can only presume the rest of the container was eaten. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to pick up itty bitty sequins?








This is the lid to the container or should I say what's left of the lid.













My wedding corsage that was sitting on the antique dresser in our living room and there's only ONE dog who could reach it....yep! Mr. Bettis.
What puzzles me is this has been displayed on the dresser since Sept 12, 2011 and he chose now to destroy it? I just don't get it.
Of course his owner was a wee bit disgruntled but chose to overlook it. After all Mr. Bettis doesn't destroy one thing that belongs to the owner.
Thankfully we arrived home in what I believe was the nick of time because I found one of my bedroom slippers (that was in the bedroom) wet with slobber so I have a suspicion my slippers were about to be destroyed.
By the way: I'm still finding sequins. Maybe I should just ignore them and say they're part of our Christmas decorations.

When all else fails...

Ever feel like you were part of a train wreck and you missed seeing the train coming because you were too busy looking on the other side of the tracks? Well apparently that's what I was doing instead of paying attention to my 'gut' instinct. Someday I'll learn.
Anyway on to more uplifting things in Life. Hubby tried to uplift my spirits so he purchased these two magazines for me. There are some fine hat patterns as well as a handsome man's cardigan pattern in knitsimple. Sometimes he can be a true Knight (I'll overlook him forgetting our anniversary last month)


Crocheting is not my forte but occasionally I enjoy being a hooker ;). I designed this hat upon request from Chem Girl DD. It's a hit!










In spite of recent events I take comfort in friends and our pets. Do we have too many pets? Probably in some peoples' eyes but I gotta tell ya, they make me laugh and they make me feel loved. Here's Mr. B on the loveseat and ya know what? I don't care. He's a mischievous rascal from time to time but I'll admit that his love never ends. So what if he's on the loveseat. The cover gets washed every couple of days and he's our dog and it's our furniture...hrmph!





Of course I will not overlook the spoiled one, Miss Gypsy. She is a Yorkie/maltese and may I just say, she has that Yorkie terrier personality down to a science. She's not as fond of the camera as Mr. Bettis who is not at all camera shy. It took a few tries to get this pic but she indulged her dear owner.
Think I'll go thru the stash and look for some yarn for DH a sweater. ssshhhh.....don't tell him ;)
Our weekend is rather quiet. What's on your weekend agenda?

Trick or treats

It's a good thing I have friends. I'm a bit of a scatter brain these days and this post has been a long time in coming. Thanks Nic ;).

A while back we entered a contest on Lapdog Creations blog and we WON! Bright Bites dental dog treats were the prize.

Mr. Bettis & Gang were sniffing the box before I even opened it. Notice he's licking his chops and I haven't opened the bags yet. I've never seen the gang so excited over a box.
Bright Bites included a large dog collar (which was put on Mr. B immediately) and a book of 101 dog tricks. I had to laugh because teaching Mr. B tricks is a feat in and of itself but we're going to try. A lovely handwritten note was also enclosed.

Miss Gypsy pretending she's not really interested but she had her snout in there right before I snapped this one.

They LOVED the treats. Thank you Nic and fur-babies and a special thank you to Bright Bites for the fantastic product and extra goodies.

Miss Molly truly loved the treat. She's a bit pouty these days. Her owner is in college and she spends her days with her favorite toy and trying her best to keep Mr. Bettis in line *sigh*. Sometimes it's a lo-o-ong day around here.

Goodies Galore

I'm trying to win at the game of procrastination and thinking it's a no win situation. I received this box of goodies from Chan a week ago. A beautiful merino/silk roving aptly named Gypsy after my own little Gypsy. I love the colorway and it's from all my friends who sent the e-spinner to come live with me. Thank you all so very much. Miss Victoria Vespera and I will enjoy the spin.

Also in the box of goodies were scrapbooking stamps, instruction booklets, a skein of Ella Rae silk sock yarn and a book, The Mayflower.

Dearest Chan, you have succeeded in keeping me occupied. Housework has gone to the way-side and I'm knitting, spinning and now reading. Thank you, Dear Friend.

Of course there were goodies from Chan and the girl gang.
Miss Gypsy sniffing inside the box. She knows there are goodies for her in there.

I set the bag of cookie treats on the chest and Mr. Bettis could barely resist but he did. Because of his good behavior he was rewarded with a special treat. *sigh* Of course, he has no idea why he was rewarded but he was licking his chops and wagging his tail.
He and the gang send paw shakes to Sissy, Gretchen and of course their owners for including something for them in the goodie box.

I've been eyeing hackles for quite some time. They're a bit pricey and I would rather try one before buying. My dad made this hackle and presented it to me last evening.

Needless to say I've been playing. It works fine for me and I'm happy with it. The spinning DD is eyeing the hackle and the wool. I seriously need to padlock the wool stash room.

It's hot and humid again. Is it fall yet?

Week's End

It's another weekend and it looks like rain is in the forecast.

Spring has arrived in all her glory. I'm not a huge fan of spring or summer. Spring is a fickle season. Can't seem to make up her mind if it's going to be warm or cool/rain or sun.

This year, spring has spent a lot of time coming to full bloom therefore insisting on pollen sticking around a bit longer than normal. All well and good until the honeysuckle arrives. I am highly allergic to honeysuckle and it grows wild in our yard. aaahhh-choooo.


For those who inquired about the shawl pattern, it's the Gail (aka Nightsong). This is not a center stitch increase pattern but I added a center stitch in order to keep better track of the pattern repeats.
It's almost finished :).










Here's Mr. Bettis and Miss Gypsy sharing a moment together. As you can see he is on alert. The cat entered the room and of course he thinks it is his duty to monitor her activity.










Ho-hum. She only climbed on a chair and took a nap and it's raining outside. Nothing better to do but take a nap too.

We don't have any specific plans this weekend.
My MIL's birthday is today so we're hoping to catch up with her this weekend to celebrate her special day.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Random Sorts

It's been a very s-l-o-w week which has only put me in a funky mood.

Mr. Bettis has re-discovered his talent of head-butting the storm door to get outside. Now if he could only learn to get back inside. I'm certain we'll be purchasing another door latch soon.
Miss Gypsy follows him and Miss Molly stands guard at the door.
The spring/summer activities have returned, Mr. Squirrel and Wascally Wabbit make their rounds every day. Occasionally the bear and deer show up as well. It's going to be another l-o-n-g summer *sigh*.

The DH decided to do some patch work on the living room walls. He was in construction for years and yet when he does work here, he fails to use plastic coverings.
I wish he fixed this a few years ago before I painted the walls green. Of course we no longer have any of the green paint left and we couldn't match it. Out came the bucket of cream paint and that was the designated job of the weekend.

I appointed myself supervisor.

Spring Break

Spring Break! Yay! for the college daughter who is home for a week. Boo! For the dreary rainy weather that followed her home. But we'll still have fun for the week.
Of course anytime a college student enters the home door they bring laundry and requests for home cooked food.








Hanging out with her BF, the cell phone :). Within an hour there were issues with the phone and we thought her world was going to crash LOL. A phone call to the provider and five technicians later we discovered the phone inner workings needed to be re-set as they were working on the towers. Lo and behold while I was on the phone we found there were charges on the bill that didn't belong to us.
May I just suggest it would be wise for companies to skip the screamin-meaming music on the hold feature and instead replace it with soothing music for the frazzled customer.


Eldest daughter hanging with her best friend, the cell phone:) and Mr. Bettis who wanted his seat back.
He won.











Since Mother Spring decided to grace us with showers for the weekend, Mr. Bettis is restricted to outside play. Mud is no fun for the care-takers which mean we must tolerate the ripping, racing and play antics inside.

"Why Mr. Bettis, what big teeth you have.........."







".....and Mr. Bettis, what big ears you have..."

The daughter is settled for the week and I know it's going to fly. I'm off to do some serious baking and cooking.........oh........and the laundry.

I'm Ba-a-a-ck

I'm back. I warned I couldn't be quiet for very long......lol
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on the previous post. Personal issues continue but we will persevere.
Onto life now............

It snowed here yesterday. The storm was to be south of us. Uh......think the weatherman missed this one.
We awakened this morning to a temperature of 3 degrees Fahrenheit. bbrrrr.......






Mr. Bettis romped and played in the snow and finally came in from the cold. He actually crawled under this blanket on his loveseat. Silly dog.

I have been knitting but have very few pictures. I finished this hat over a month ago but I'm afraid it will be too small by the time it reaches it's destination. The recepient has a lot of trouble receiving packages and schedule conflicts (busy, illness etc) have not permitted a meet-up.

There's also a handknit sweater but it will be too small also. *sigh* I'm sure there will be someone in the future who will need a handknit sweater and hat for their little one.

I baked some oatmeal cookies last week. Anything for sanity.

The hubby came down with a fever and sore throat last weekend. I have never understood how this man never said a word when he fractured his back or had the table saw war . Yet you'd think he was the only one in the world with a sore throat. (eyeroll)

By Wednesday he was no longer complaining. When he no longer complains, I know there's trouble brewing. (he says the same thing about me but.....pppfffttt whatever)

The fever raged and I began to see the warning signs of his old buddy, pneumonia. He went kicking and screaming to the dr and sure enough he had pneumonia in both lungs, ear infections and sinusitis. He has been receiving injections and put on some hefty antibiotics and other medications. Thank goodness he's improving and will be returning to work soon. ...........did I say that? LOL

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.

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?)

Happy Birthday Wishes

There's a birthday in the works. Grab your party hat and hop over here to wish Little Miss Gretchen a Happy First Birthday!
Gypsy partied too much in advance and is sacked out on the floor.









On the other hand Mr. Bettis thinks Life is one BIG party. He also thinks Sissy is the greatest Big Sister ever. She has made some very good birthday gift choices for her little sister (wink). We all know Sissy only has her sister's well being in mind (wink).
Molly is.........well.....Molly. She truly wishes Gretchen a very Happy Birthday and she secretly hopes Gretchen receives a nice squeaky toy.








I asked the cats if they were interested in sending birthday wishes to Gretchen.
I believe this picture of Phoebe says it all.
(after all, in their opinon Gretchen is a d-o-g)

Surprise!!!!!

Finally! It's opening day. Not really. We opened the box a few days ago but I haven't had time to post. We're packing the new college freshman. But that's for a later post.

Chan sent the package to DD and me, so I not so patiently waited to open it with her.







First was the little treat package for Mr. Bettis & Co from the fur-girls.
It said, " For Mr. B & the fur girls at our house! Slobbery kisses
Sissy & Gretchen"
Aren't they just the sweeteset fur girls? Oh, you too, Chan :).
Mr. B & Co sends slobbery kisses right back.






Next were these wonderful tea mugs from Aladdin. We've never seen anything like them. I told the DD she had first choice in color and she chose the purple one. She drinks a lot of tea and as she put it, "this will be perfect when I'm running to class."









The lid comes off to reveal where to put the tea leaves. The lever at the bottom drops it into the hot water of the mug to be brewed. This is absolutely ingenious. We love it, Chan.










She dove into the box to find boxes and tins of flavored teas. Scrumptous teas like Blueberry, Pineapple Mango, Twinings assortment, Pink Lady Green, Golden Breakfast and many more. Every one of them drew oooohhhhhs and aaaaahhhhhhs from us as we pulled them from the package.
The theme of the gift is to have a mother/daughter tea party although we do not live close, Chan is going to us at our tea party. Feel free to grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us.
There was a beautiful card handmade by Chan which is packed and moving with the DD. She wants to mount it on her dorm wall.

Chan, this is a very thoughtful gift and we are enjoying it immensely. Thank you so very much! HUGS:)

Cars

Enjoy this post, particularly as you scroll down and read about Mr. Bettis's choice for Chan, The Knight & the fur-girls.

Hubby spent the hottest weekend of this year at a car show. My dad has a show car and he's been wanting to attend one of his shows.
I don't know much about older vehicles but they seem to have enjoyed the show.









He's driving it off the car trailer.













Here it is, spit shined and ready to go.
It's 1959 Italian made Bianchina. It has bells and whistles (and I'm not exaggerating, it really has a bell and a whistle horns). It is also a convertible. There were only 1500 of these made between 1959 - 1962. It's a 2 cylinder and gets 75 mpg. I'd say this was the first "smart car."








It never takes long for a crowd to form around this little car. Which means dad has found someone new to talk about the car:).











Some of the trophies that dad has won at the shows.

While at the car show hubby got to thinking about Chan and her search for a car. Then he got to thinking about her fur-girls riding in style.

So pictures were taken for Chan to consider as vehicle choices. Mr. Bettis has seen the pics and has given a lot of input. Keep in mind these cars do not have air conditioning but Miss Sissy could hang her head out the window with her ears blowing in the wind with style.

This is Car #1. Mr. Bettis thought it had a sleek look and gave it 3 paws.

This is Car #2. A nice Bel Air. The color choice is good and there's a large back seat. Mr. Bettis gave this 4 paws.

This is truck #1. Mr. Bettis was a bit concerned about seating for the fur-girls and only gave it 2 paws.

This cadillac had everything and I do mean everything. Loaded to perfection. Mr. Bettis thought Miss Sissy would love the convertible and he knows she and her sister would need special seating. But he thought this was perfect for Sissy's ears blowing in the wind. He gave this 5 paws until he saw the following truck.

He gave this truck 5+ paws. The front was perfect for Chan and the Knight. It is red for the fire department and just look at the little truck for the fur-girls. Couldn't you just see Sissy and Gretchen in the little truck? Perfect!

So go ahead, comment and feel free to pick your choice for Miss Sissy and Miss Gretchen. You can choose for Chan and the Knight but Mr. Bettis says it really isn't about them but all about the fur-girls:). Sorry, Chan.