Life

Murphy’s Law – ARRRGGGG

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Murphy

Ok the day is just beginning but it’s already been a Murphy’s law day.  I work at the Family History Center this morning and I babysit on Monday-Wednesday mornings.  I have time, barely, to get from the babysitting, back home to eat and finish getting ready and then to the Family History Center.  This morning the dad (who works days) as he was leaving for work forgot to the let the dogs out to go to the bathroom (they are in cages at night to prevent accidents and a knocked over kitchen trash can) and I will usually let them out when he forgets because I feel bad for the dogs.  However, the mom (who works nights) has planted a garden and if the dogs are let out they have to be watched so they wont dig it up.  If only you knew where I am going with this.  I didn’t let the dogs out because getting two small children bathed, fed, dressed, teeth brushed, lunch made and off on the school bus takes my full attention.  The biggest dog (of course)  had an accident in the cage, which is in the kitchen, sigh.  The little kindergartener did not want to go into the kitchen, lol, not that I blame him, but that meant I needed to let the dogs out, watching over them or not.  I do not have time, nor did I want to clean out that cage :P.  While all this is going on the lady that reads the water meter came in the back yard and was a bit intimidated by the dog – so I had to come out and hold him so she could read the meter, all this time I’m thinking, are they going to miss the bus?  They made the bus and I sent a text to the mom (who I was hoping would be home before I left so I could tell her in person) saying I’m sorry that I couldn’t put the dog back in the cage and it was a mess and I hope he didn’t tear up her garden.  And I am sitting at work (on a break) enjoying some peace and quite and wondering who will be in trouble tonight, it wont be me, I’m family and I do this without any compensation lol.   I made the sign above and will print a copy to give her to put on her door for the future to let “Murphy” know he is not welcome in her house.

Spring! & Spinning at the Park

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Blueberry Bush

Blueberry Bush

 

I have been going to put a little garden on my patio for several years now.  Last year I finally broke down and bought 2 large pots and 3 small rectangular potting boxes (you can see part of them in the picture on the left)  and didn’t get the soil for planting, lol.  This year I bought the soil and mulch and started, inside, two squash plants (a zucchini and a yellow squash).  They are officially growing and planted out in the pots.  For Mother’s Day I received a potted blueberry bush – which I had wanted for a couple of years but it wasn’t in my budget, it is shown in the picture at the left.  I have planted spinach in the rectangular boxes and am very excited about having some fresh veggies this summer ;).

I forgot to take my camera out today when I went to the park to spin but you can see the park here from another year.  I try to get out to the park once or twice in the spring to spin.   After being cooped up inside most of the winter, it was wonderful spinning in the shade of the lovely large trees and  was beautiful and with all the green grass and the leaves on the trees, and the temperature was absolutely perfect, such a wonderful peaceful thing to do. 🙂

Is it Spring Yet?

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Installing Spring

We got a tease of spring, but it’s cold today again in the 30’s.  Spring in the midwest is off and on again and I saw this and this is exactly how I felt!!!!  Tho’ Hawaii is what comes to mind instead of FL, FL has alligators, snakes and sharks, Hawaii doesn’t have any alligators or snakes, only sharks lol.  Hope you laugh as much as I did.

Meet Boo

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click picture for larger image

 

 My parakeet passed away this week.  He was 13 years old and I had had him for about 3 years.  He wasn’t really friendly but did seem to enjoy my company and I enjoyed his wonderful little songs. My son and his spouse decided that I needed another little friend. So they showed up last night with Boo (Cockatiel) and cage and toys and food in hand. He’s about a year old.  He’s not real friendly yet, but he should accept me and will be nice company.  He’s very pretty, he’s a yellow with a modled grey on his back and wings.  Thank you Tim and Ev.

 

 

Polypay Ewe roving almost full single spool

 

I have been spinning, and knitting (2 comfort shawls for some sweet ladies in my ward that lost a husband and mother) so I have been keeping busy.  You can see how the roving to yarn is coming along 🙂 

We have been cold and snowy, though that is what the Farmer’s Almanac predicted, I was hoping it was wrong :P.   Is it spring yet? 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day

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Waldorf Salad

 

 This was what I made for the Thanksgiving dinner I attended today.  Good stuff 🙂 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day some good food, family, friends and football games :).  Oh yeah the Cowboys won today :).

Snow is here 2013

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November 11th – First Snow

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  Well, we had our first snow, was only ground cover and didn’t stick to the streets as you can see in the picture on the left, on November 11th.  We had a similar ground cover snow the next week.  I woke up this morning to some real snow, not alot of snow (about 1/2 to 1 inch) but it did cover the ground and the street.  The city has it’s snow plows out and the stores are plowing parking lots.   Ok the first few snows are all right, pretty, etc, etc, etc.  HOWEVER, it’s cold and the snow doesn’t stay a pretty pristine white.  It gets grey and dirty and that is what the winter will look like alot as the winter drags on. sigh.  Is it Spring yet?

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Newer Car!!!

Yep, I got a newer car (9 years younger than my little red putt putt).  A friend of mine (the one I walk with on Monday and Thursday evenings) and her husband got new cars and had this one sitting arournd.  They told me they would like to give it to me, but I’m stubborn and proud and told them I would take it if they would let me pay something for it.  Wasn’t much that I had to give them but it was something and now I have a newer car that I don’t have to worry about needing fixed all the time. 🙂  It has the key device  that you can unlock it from a distance and it has power windows and a radio that works :), I feel like I’ve moved up in the world, lol.  It drives smoothly and I have to say the color is one of my favorites :).  What a blessing my friend is. 

I’ve been teaching in Primary for about 4 1/2 years in my ward.  I got a new calling on Sunday, Compassonate Service Co-ordinator.  I’ve served in many positions in my church but have never filled this calling before.  I know a little about what to do, not alot, I know it’s not one that most people covet :P, but I like people and I like helping, so I’m hoping I will be more of a blessing to others in this calling than a burden as I learn.

Fall is Coming

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Funny  Note Pad

Ok, I was shopping at JoAnn’s Fabric store and saw this note pad and had to keep myself from laughing out loud in the store, so I had to buy it.  There are many days I feel like this. 🙂

Yes, Fall is coming.  Offically I think they said it was the 20th of this month.  But we went from upper 90’s (ambient temperature, not including the humidty that made it a heat advisory) a week ago this last Monday to 60’s on Sunday.   It’s back in the low 80’s and 70’s this week, so I know Fall is really coming.  I will enjoy the warm temps while we have them, Fall doesn’t usually last very long and winter is very cold and long here.

My New Favorite Cookbook

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LDSVenus

Ok I know I’ve been MIA from my blog for a little while.  Not sure why but last year was especially hard for me in regard to the 2nd anniversary of my son’s death .  I am feeling better and will try to be more diligent in blogging.

I hadn’t planned on posting a blog today but I found a cookbook I ordered last year sometime and realized it was a southern style cook book and might actually have a recipe for hush puppies, being a southern cookbook.  I had been looking for a recipe in the numerous books I already had and use often, but none of them had one.   It is the Southern Living Heirloom Recipe Cookbook.  Low and behold it has a hush puppy recipe.  The next page showed a Southern Cornbread recipe, this is when I realized I love this book.

My dad is from the deep south, my mom from the desert south west, that is important for the next memory.  My mom liked to make cornbread but she always put sugar in it.  My dad would tell her “that is not cornbread, that is cake”.  They don’t put sugar in cornbread in the south.  I have to say here that I never saw my parents fight, but this was a standing disagreement, lol.  Ok back to the book.  As I was reading the recipe (which does not include sugar), my memories, regarding my parents disagreement on how cornbread should be made, flooded back.  Then I saw the quote under the recipe by Mark Twain “The North thinks it knows how to make cornbread, but this is a gross superstition.  Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern cornbread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it.”  At that point I burst out laughing, hahahaha.  I do love this book!!  It is filled not only with recipes but with much humor and memories from the author.

I miss my mom a lot, so many times I wish she was still around to talk to, I lost her to cancer in 2000.  I am thankful to have many memories of our lives as a family and to be able to see the love and humor that was a part of it. 🙂  You would love this cookbook, Dad :).

Yet Another Storm, More Snow and Wool!

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2013 Polypay Ewe Fleece

Spring 2013 Polypay Ewe Fleece Up Close

 

You might wonder what storms and snow have to do with wool.  I was given a Polypay fleece by a friend who owns a farm where along with growing corn, they also raise sheep for meat.  Just before spring they shear the ewes in preparation for lambing.  Last year my friend gave me a Polypay lambs fleece (1st shearing at a year old).  This year she gave me a fleece from one of her ewes.  I needed to skirt it (taking off the dirtiest parts and the short fibers)  so that I can send it to the fibermill I use, who will clean it and prepare it into spinnable roving.  Because there was a storm on the way, I had to bring it into my house.  For those of you who have not been around sheep, they are a bit pungent, but I don’t find the odor that bad, tho my poor neighbors might :P.  I did the first picking through for VM (vegetable matter ie: hay, straw, and sheep “stuff”) outside on Monday because I knew the snow was coming and wanted to get through that part before it snowed, it was cold, brrr.  But I needed to bring it in where I wasn’t rushed because I was too cold to work on it outside for more than an hr and these sheep are not coated so their fleece has a lot of  stuff other than wool in it.  I learned from the last fleece I sent in that I need to try and get all the shorter (2nd cuts) out because if I don’t the resulting roving is full of noils (small knots in the roving).  They are not preferable to me for spinning.  I will mail this fleece off on Monday to the mill and we will see how the roving turns out this time, it’s a learning process for me.  In the 2nd fleece picture you can see how nice and crimpy and springy Polypay fiber is :).  This fleece also has a lot of lanolin which seems to keep the fleece nice and soft.

Yet Another Storm and Snow

 

This started yesterday afternoon about 3:00 pm, so far we have a couple of inches of new snow, but it’s still spitting snowing.  I know spring is just around the corner, I know spring is just around the corner, I know spring is just around the corner……

*Update*  We got 5 inches of snow.

 

 

Another Storm & More Snow

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Late Feb Snow Storm

.This is what we got on that snow storm last Thursday.  They had predicted up to 8 inches of snow.  We got about 4 inches.  I’m not really complaining, I’m not really a snow person, but I know we need the moisture and the weatherman said it takes about 12″ of snow to make 1 inch of rain.

More snow is suppose to be on it’s way this coming week.  We will see what it brings.  Hope you all stay warm and safe!!