5 a.m. -- My Masssachusetts kitchen window on December 27, 2010

We had about a foot and a half of snow; but the drifting makes it seem like more.  The trees were heavy-laden with the wet snow and the branches were bowing down toward the ground.  I noticed that my clothesline rope from a bent tree, was about 3.5 feet off the ground!
We did lose the power for an hour this afternoon.  What's on the outside of my kitchen bow window is the snow that was swirling and whipping around during the night.
This was a great day to stay in!

Christmas, 2010

                                             No explanation necessary!         What a doll my granddaughter is!

December 24th, 2010

Yes, it's true.  We have adopted Ty, who was hanging around our doorstep.  He quietly stepped inside one day when I had the door opened to feed him and another stray.  Upon close inspection, I saw that he had an imbedded  nail in his little pad.  I couldn't free it myself; so I made the appointment at the animal hospital.
Once there, he received his innoculations and had all of his health needs taken care of.

He has a damaged foot (thus, the nail which is growing awkwardly) and a cauliflower ear; but he now has a home and we love him!  He is a very thankful, quiet and sweet cat.  The doctor thinks he is about 9 years old.

A new baby is coming

 

I just finished this baby blanket for a neighbor, who is expecting.  Since I don't know yet whether it's a boy or a girl, I used a combination of white yarn and a yarn that is mostly white, with specks through it in pastel colors.         

I like to use that basket weave design because it's simple enough to do while watching TV and not get off track. It's just K a number of rows, then P a number of rows. (I used 10 rows in these blocks.)  On the edge, and in between the squares I used a seed stitch, which alternates the K and P stitches. When I use two strands of yarn together, I like to use a 10 1/2 needle, to accommodate the extra thickness of the yarn.

I also bought some pale yellow yarn for another blanket; but I can't wait until I can buy other colors to knit for this baby!   I remember waiting for the mother to be born...and now we are waiting for HER baby to be born!  Wow, time sure does fly.

Back to knitting talk

I made this little hat last night for my 2-year-old grandson.  I thought I'd try the rolled brim, which was so simple I wondered why I haven't used it much in the past.
However, I got the pattern online, and the question now is: Will it be the right size...and will he keep it on his head?  LOL
Well, I'll find out today.
I reworked the pattern and just "guessed" at the finished size, so here's what I used:
Size 6 knitting needles
Vanna's Choice baby yarn
4 markers
According to the directions, the rolled brim hat should be long enough to come down low on the forehead.  For a bigger or smaller hat, add or subtract stitches in multiples of 5.
Cast on 80 stitches and work in stockinette stitch (K1 row, P1 row) for approx 6 inches.
On the next row you divide up the stitches as follows: K 16, place a marker and repeat across row, ending with K16.
Purl all even rows.
Decreasing:
Slip one stitch, then knit across until last 2 sts before marker.  Knit those 2 together, then slide marker onto your right hand needle and continue across row.
After about 2 inches of this decreasing, I found that I had to speed up the decreasing before it turned into an elf hat!
After 2 inches, I simply K 2 together across row, purled next row, then continued with decreases in this manner.  When a handful of stitches remained I left a tail of about 8 inches and threaded the yarn through the remaining stitches at the top.
Sew up the back seam.  This is where I put the back seam yarn together with the 8 inch tail yarn.  I then added two more strips of yarn through the top area of the hat so that I had three units of double strands for braiding.  I wanted to add a short braid to finish off the hat, sort of as a little tassle on the top.
I braided those strands, tied a secure knot in the braid, then clipped the ends, making a little tassle.

Jambi's Last Trance, Pee-wee

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Spent the afternoon making some sweets for tomorrow.  We do have a turkey in the fridge for tomorrow, but I wanted to make a lasagna too, just to have something extra.   We will also have cut up veggies and dip, plenty of different vegetables to go with the meal and many things to nibble on.

We will also be singing Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law, as her birthday was a couple of days ago.

I think we have enough food and desserts to last us.   We will probably all feel like Weebles at the end of the day tomorrow!

Well, here are some Halloween pics of my family.  They got all dressed up and went to about 80 houses.  They came back with tons of candy and they were tired but very happy!  It was cold in Massachusetts this Halloween, but they didn't mind at all.

P-O-T-A-T-O......M-O-U-S-E

Yes, this is a real potato which my husband found in a bag of potatoes in our cupboard yesterday as he was planning on making some potato salad.  What are the chances that a Disney character resides in my cupboard?     (I was wondering if I could sell it on eBay.)

Below you can see the little handprints that were left today by my little grandson, who was visiting with me.  I think he had melted ice cream on his hands.  Awwwww.

The Pee Wee Herman Show (Mails Here) Pt 8

One Minute Sermon

Avocado -- come in from the cold.

I was shocked that it quickly adjusted to the terrific heat and blazing sun that we had all Summer.  I watered it every day, letting the water soak through and out the bottom of a huge planter I have on my back step.

in July

We've had some really chilly nights recently and I kept wondering how I would bring that plant in.  I didn't have the right container....and the huge, heavy planter outside couldn't be budged.  Besides, it has those holes that allow water to leak out the bottom.

Well, today, while out shopping, I spotted this plastic tub.  I just wanted something temporary in hopes of this plant surviving through the Fall/Winter and returning outdoors next Summer.  (I have my fingers crossed.)
So, with my husband's help, after transplanting it (and it had quite a root ball on it) we brought it in and placed it next to the sliding glass doors.
This way, it will still get the sun daily, and I am hoping for the best.
I will update pics of Ava if she survives and grows.

Health Through Hands

Well, my neck and shoulder have been killing me all week.  I have spent several nights heating up those bean-bag type scented pads in the microwave and sleeping on them, or walking around the house like a zombie with one perched on my shoulder.
Finally I admitted to myself that I needed someone who could put their hands on my muscles and know where the work needed to be done.
I made an appointment in a neighboring town at a day spa where I used to work.  I very rarely even go into that town anymore.  It just seems like things evolve in your life, and I'm usually headed in the opposite direction.
I headed out yesterday morning for my appointment with Sheila, who happens to still work there and I knew her as a fellow massage therapist back 10-12 years ago when I worked at that location.
I was amazed to turn in the street and see what had been a decaying, old, neglected house nearby, which we could see out the front window years ago.  It was renovated and looked charming, with new-looking landscaping included.  A nice thing to see when you round the corner.
I parked in the ole parking lot, which used to be a part of my life, and felt a little sentimental about it.  I left that job 10 years ago, as I needed to work somewhere that provided insurance at the time.
Much had changed with the interior of the spa.  Different products were offered for sale in the waiting area, with candles and other items all lined up on the shelves.  They walled off part of the reception area, and I remember people entering that area and looking over my shoulder years ago while I was logging appointments in the book.  I like the way it is set up now.
There was Sheila and another therapist, waiting for appointments.  We caught up on old times and compared notes before I entered one of the rooms, which haven't changed too much.  In other words, the same layout exists in the building, but all of the walls were painted differently and everything looked very nice.  The spa is under a different ownership from when I worked there.
Ahhhhh....I soon realized that it has been way too long since I laid down on a massage table, nicely heated, with soft music around and candles glowing gently.
Of course, I know all of the rules.  I shouldn't talk, just relax.  Of course, Sheila and I continued our talking throughout the massage; but it couldn't be helped.  I immediately thought that I should stay on that table all day!
She worked on the adhesions in my upper traps and neck muscles.  It hurt!  There was no way that it couldn't.  Basically, my muscles were knotted into a mess and I gave her the go ahead to work them out as deeply as she had to.  Normally, I prefer a relaxation massage (Swedish) which uses firm pressure, but never really hurts.  She worked and worked and I could have cried!   Not her fault, by the way.  I was already in such pain before I got there, that I knew any work would be painful.  But I bit the bullet and allowed her to do what she needed to do.
Obviously, I need to get more work done before I'll even be considered ready for just a once-in-awhile "maintenance" massage.  Even after I left, I felt like lying down and whimpering.
Then, in the latter part of the day, I began to realize that although sore, I was feeling the effects of the improvements that she had made.
I am promising myself to drink more water, which I certainly know is of great importance, and I will be going back for more work soon.
I had gotten away from the fact that this is so beneficial to a person's body, including range of motion and posture.
Aside from that, what a wonderful, peaceful time to relax and take a little time out of our hectic lives....

In honor of our 9/11 victims

Recent cookout

She's a determined competitor

Uncle Chad teaches cooking

One if by land, two if by sea

Here are the kids at a cookout last week at Auntie & Uncle's house.  They got busy playing baseball, and the baby was busy investigating everything!

Little Xander is a good worker

We all had a good time.  This was the last hurrah before school started.

Comfort kitty

Recently, my little grandson had to make a trip to the ER because of a fall.
While he was there, he was the recipient of a "trauma teddy" that someone had knitted.  What a great idea to give comfort to a scared little kid.

Here's my 2nd one

I looked at it, and it was quite plain.  I wondered if that would be a good way to use up scraps of different colors of yarn.  His teddy was pastel blue and white.  You could use almost any colors for a stuffed animal, so I looked up possibilities online.
I decided to give one a try to see how labor-intensive it would be.  I have sent many newborn hats to hospitals in the past, and wanted to see if it was too time-consuming to make teddies.  With the many similar patterns online, I tried one and found that it was too big and used up too much of my yarn.  I don't want to go broke buying yarn to make teddies.  I mean the intention is there....but the money isn't.
So, after perusing the patterns, I whittled one down just a tad, and turned it into a comfort kitty.
The reason that I wanted to do this is because with the trauma teddies,  I noticed that the ears had a "cat" shape to them.....so why not just go with a kitty?
I think it's cute, but I put a little more detail in it, with change of yarn colors and the scarf, etc....
In any case, this is my first one.  And who could go wrong with a kitty?
Speaking of kitties, this is my grandcat, whom I have been babysitting this week:

Redd is 14 1/2 years old, an indoor kitty, and two weeks ago, we thought we were losing him.  He was vomiting up blood, and we still don't know the source.  He also had a fever and was prescribed an antibiotic.  We all prayed for him; but said "goodbye" also.
He bounced back and is eating, playing and just being his old, lovable self!  Thank the Lord.

Generous people

Even though money is tight right now for a lot of folks, they reached in their pockets and gave.

 

My grandson was collecting for his football team yesterday and found the clue to getting lots of dollars stuffed in that can he was holding.  Being posted outside a liquor store on a Friday afternoon is the key, I think.  LOL

Actually, all kinds of people stopped and shared their money with him in an effort to promote something that is worthwhile.

He's also cute and carefully thanked the donors, calling them Sir and Ma'am.

------------------Look out, N.E. Patriots!

Gone Fishin'

It was a great day for fishing today, so we took the grandkids to a place called Johnston's Pond in Raynham.
They didn't mind the worms that we used for bait, surprisingly enough.  They just seemed  very curious.
Yes, they actually did catch some fish -- 13 between them!
They were small, but so are the kids.  LOL

More summer fun

Chuck-E-Cheese

Competition

Well, as you can see, Chuck-E-Cheese was our next stop where we played various games and won LOTS of tickets, too.  We enjoyed lunch there and the kids got to climb and ride the kids' rides.  They've moved things around somewhat and changed the place for the better.   We went to the Chuck-E-Cheese in South Attleboro.

After that, we spent part of the afternoon at the World War I park, which now features animals!

The Rehoboth Fair

Another place we visited this summer was the Rehoboth Fair, which isn't too far from where we live.
They had a lot of 4-H animals on display there and some rabbits and ducks for sale.
Large, small and all kinds of animals were begging for our attention, and hinting that they would like for us to buy some pellets of food and feed them. 
It was an extremely hot, humid day, but the animals, thankfully, were under a tent and safely in the shade.

This guy was out in the direct sunlight; but I think he was the only animal who could tolerate the desert-like temperatures.

Ouch!

Here's our precious little one after a recent trip to the emergency room.  He fell off the riding lawn mower, which was parked in the back yard.
He just loves to pretend he is driving and moves the steering wheel back and forth.
He is a great climber and this time the fall was not so soft.  He fell onto the crushed stone and has several abrasions.  The emergency room doctor used a glue to close the skin up in one spot, and the other injuries are fading quickly.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for his well-being when the word went out.

So much internet...so little time

I have noticed that with being on Facebook and showing pictures of my family and places that I have been lately, I have been neglecting my blog!

There are just so many places online one can chat, post their thoughts and also their pictures.
So, let's catch up: 
Here we are, heading out to another PawSox game in Pawtucket. This time it was a "me only" day for our grandson, who accompanied us.
We saw Spongebob, ate at the concession stand and got up many times, squeezing people's knees aside as we made various trips to the bathroom, food court and the souvenir counter.

We bought anything that our grandson wanted that day, even though we're on a budget.
After all, that's what a special day is all about!

Garden time

Here's my mother, who is 91 yrs. old.  I brought her over last week so that she could see how great my garden is growing.