Life

One Lone Christmas Catus Bud

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Late Christmas cactus bud

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While I was watering my plants this last week end, after neglecting them for a little over a week,  I noticed a single bud on my Christmas cactus.  It has already bloomed this last November or December and I have never seen one bloom so late.  Not sure why just one bud or why so late in the season.  But I will just enjoy the beautiful blossom when it unfolds and wonder.

Also this weekend when I was trying to update my wordpress software for my website, it failed and knocked out my blog and other pages.  I could see my home page but that was it, I had no access to my admin functions.  So I went to my brilliant son (who is the server administrator for my website, and a programmer). When I told him I wasn’t able to get into my admin functions, he looked at it and said “it is very broken”.  But he had it restored and up and running before I knew it.  If you are needing a new website and interested in someone who is willing to listen to your needs and work with you do check out his website TDM Web Consulting. 🙂

I’m still working on the design for the comfort shawl, but after having to frog it 4 times, I’m going to cast on a few patterns of the daisy with some scrap yarn and work on that instead of messing up this nice alpaca yarn, until I figure out what I need to correct the pattern.  Maybe this week end. 

Also we are suppose to have 40’s and 30’s the rest of the week, WOOT!!!  Gotta love that Spring is right around the corner.  I haven’t seen them, but someone told me that they have already seen male robins before March 1st.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them here before March.  I’ll be on the look out and see if I can get a picture.  🙂  I guess that means an early Spring, maybe that groundhog was right!!

Current Projects & a Tease of Spring

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Another Pair of Cabled Gauntlets

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Lest you think I haven’t been doing anything – tho with no current blog post or picture I can understand why you might think I wasn’t doing anything ;).  Anyway, I just finished another set of my cabled gauntlets, found on My Free Knitting Page here .  I use the 12″ circular needles to do them because I really don’t like working with double pointed needles (I will if I have to, but I try really hard not to have to :P.)  They always turn out nicely on the short cable circular needles.  I hope my friend will like them.

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2nd Comfort Shawl

This is the start, or restart, really it’s the 3rd restart of a comfort shawl I am trying to knit for the other mother who lost her son (to cancer) last fall.  It’s a rectangular shawl, unlike the one shown in the link a little farther below, I’m just using the daisy stitch for the shawl.  You can see the nest of yarn because I started it and didn’t think I had enough stitches so I had to frog it (rip out rows at a time) and cast on more stitches, only to find out I had enough to begin with, was just reading the chart wrong (I have to write charts out because I can not read them very well, thus the error in translating it to something I can read better) so I had to frog it again.  But the pattern, the daisy shawl pattern,  is pretty and I’m not one to give up when I start a knitting pattern.  This one has a double yarn over, which isn’t hard to do, but I’ve discovered that the purl row after the double yarn over is a bit confusing, so I’ve gone to my knitting list to enlist some help in how to purl a double yarn over and still have two stitches that are open and lacy when I’m done.  I may have to tink (take out stitches one at a time) the last row I knit, hopefully I wont have to frog two rows.  I’ll follow up when I figure out what I’m doing wrong and get a bit farther with the shawl.

We had beautiful weather Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, was awesome!!!  40’s and even middle 50’s.  But it’s just a tease of Spring, because Winter isn’t really over here in the Midwest until late April or early May.  But hey it was a week of 30’s to 50’s instead of teens and sub zero weather, and I’ll take it!!!  Come on SPRING!!!

The Blizzard – 2011

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Blizzard 2/11

Blizzard 2/11

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Thought I would post a couple of pictures to show you what it looked like when I got up this morning.  My work delayed opening until 11 so I did get to catch a few more winks :).  According to the news we got somewhere between 13 and 18 inches.  All I know is the roads were piled with snow on the sides.  The road crews did an excellent job of clearing the roads.    Is it spring yet?

Happy Birthday to my 2nd Son

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Tim

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!!!

This is my 2nd son.  Of course he’s “a bit” older now, but isn’t he a cutie?

I was looking at my daughter’s youngest (my only grandson) the other day and thought oh my goodness, he looks just like my son!  He’s a cutie too. 🙂

Comfort Shawl

 I finished the comfort shawl that I have been knitting on for the last several months.  This is as it lay blocking.  I didn’t get a chance to get a better picture of it on someone before I gave it to the intended recipient.  I hope that it will bring her the comfort intended. 

I have begun the next comfort shawl that I wanted to make for the other mother in my church who lost a child last year.   Last year was a hard year.

 

We have gotten quite a bit of snow from this storm.  Blizzard winds today and forecast for tonight (about 40 mph) – we’ve got about 5 inches of snow so far today and it’s suppose to keep snowing through the night.  I’m suppose to call a number in the morning to see if we will go in at the regular time, late or no work at all.  Guess you know which one I am hoping for :P.  

Ok I’m a klutz!

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 This isn’t me (and yes it makes me feel less embarressed to know there are other klutzes out there too) but this was the gist of what happened Friday morning after leaving my apt and just starting down the stairs to the lobby of my apt complex as I was off to work.  I missed the first stair and the rest was all “down hill” from there ;).  I have bruises down my right side and sprained my left ankle (not sure how that happened) but yes, I am a klutz.  This accident is making me stay mostly on the couch with my feet up (the other ankle was injured but not as badly as the left one), so I have lots of time to knit until I go back to work on Tuesday – I should have the comfort shawl finished and blocked by tomorrow – I’ll post a picture of it when it is all blocked.  Yes I went to work on Friday and they let me leave 2 hr early to go home and put my foot up and I went to the Dr yesterday morning and they sent me for x rays, which I haven’t heard rather it is just a sprain (as I suspect) or fractured (which I doubt), so for the most part, it’s feet up girl.  I’m glad I work for a bank and have a paid holiday on Monday!!!

My “little” sister has begun a new blog journey.  I loved her old blog and was sad when she let it go, but I’ve been pestering her for a few years now to restart it.  She has and it looks like it will be even more wonderful than the last one.  She is quite a photographer, into paper making, fused glass, mosaics and other things.  The name of her new site is “Eat It Anyway” just click that link, I hope you will enjoy it – she’s awesomely talented :).  I’ll also put this link on my blog roll ;).

Back to the couch for a while to put my feet up.

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year

.Ok, I know it’s Jan 2nd, so I’m a day late. 😉  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and Day and that you have an even better New Year.

I think New Year’s Day is a wonderful time to take stock of your life, the things that didn’t go so well and the things that did.  Looking back helps us determine what we need to work on and what things worked, it helps us to move forward when we can take that more distant look at our life instead of the up so close we can’t see the forest for the trees type of thing. 

Last year was a really hard year for me.  I lost my youngest son, an uncle, my previous mother-in-law (who I thought more of as a friend),  my car quit running and I had a really bad bout of bronchitis (my voice is still suffering as far as singing goes – singing is a comfort to me).  Those are just major highlights. 

I had some good things happen too (and you have to see the good things or life would be a real bummer), I found a permanent job that I enjoy, my dad is still healthy, I have very supportive siblings,  I have been able to keep my apartment through all the upheaval with temp work and that it is close to a bus line that goes to my work and house without having to change buses,  one of my co-workers lives not to far from me and gives me rides to work and home, and when she can’t I can catch the bus.  I have my faith and what a blessing that has always been in my life, it’s seen me through some pretty tough times.  Even tho my life has not been a bed of roses, I’ve always had a warm place to sleep, food on my table and family and friends, what more could I want.

Merry Christmas 2010

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Christmas Eve Snow

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This is what I woke up to Friday morning, so I got a picture of it on my way out to go to work.  It snowed all day and we ended up with about 7 inches of snow.  Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas  :).

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Merry Christmas

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 (and this taxing was the first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, unto Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger: because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country sheperds abiding in the filed, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host prasing God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  (St Luke 1:1-14)

Winter Weather & Thor

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Christmas Tree 2010

.I put my tree up the first week-end after Thanksgiving.  It’s a lovely little fiber optic tree that I bought from someone at work about 4 years ago.  I love the color changes and that it’s small enough to fit in my apartment.  Brings back memories of my mom’s first favorite tree.  It was one of those silver aluminum trees that had the color wheel that you put close to it, and the sliver aluminum branches would pick up the changing colors.  Later in her life,  she had a beautifully flocked artificial tree that looked as real as any I’ve ever seen, and the skirt was a beautiful alpaca fleece, it even looked soft in the pictures.

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Evening of Snow Storm

 

Next Morning

Well, we had a blizzard yesterday evening and through the night.  However because the snow was heavy and wet it didn’t blow around in the up to 40 mile an hour winds, so we were spared that part of what most people experience in a blizzard.  This was our second snow of the season and the snows are coming late this year, tho I’m not complaining, we will have plenty yet to come.  We didn’t get very much, certainly not as much as those north of us. 

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Can I come out now?

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Thor is doing well and is such a joy in my life.  He has been such a blessing to me.  He only expects food, water and time with me.  Well, and an occasional treat that I can’t resist giving to him.  He’s getting older, he will be 5 next spring which is getting old for a ferret.  I’m blessed that he has been and continues to be healthy, but I know the time will come when his health fails, then he will need me to be a good mom taking care of all his medical needs, which I will do with as much love as he has given me. 

I’m still knitting on the comfort shawl, it’s about 3/4’s finished now.  I’m also finding time to work on spinning the cria fiber, I love the softness of it as I spin it.  I’ve found that working on the comfort shawl for someone else who lost a child and spinning that wonderfully soft fiber has been comforting to me this Christmas season as I find my self missing my youngest son so much.

Navuoo Temple

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Early Morning Trip to Navuoo, IL

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I had the chance to go to Navuoo again.  It’s about a 2 & 1/2 hr drive and it was cold with a bit of freezing rain this morning until we were about 1/2 hr out of Iowa City.  The Temple in Navuoo is so beautiful inside. 
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On the way home we stopped at Stringtown Grocery (a grocery store with lots of bulk spices etc) run by the Amish.  I’ve been there once before and hadn’t noticed that their lights are gas lights since they don’t use electricity.  I love their bulk spices and other bulk items.   I was able to do some knitting on the way back (I was napping on the way up :P.)
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 I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas Season and that we are remembering the “reason” for this season.   May the Lord bless and keep you all.

Harry Potter and Other Things

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2nd Spool of Cria

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I’m finally spinning my 2nd spool of Alpaca Cria.  This is the softest stuff!!  It’s so wonderful to spin!!!  Knitting it will be wonderful too :).  This will be my 2nd skein of yarn and I might need one more, then I can make the shawl I have in mind for this wonderfully soft fiber.

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spinning BFL/Romney

I got a friend of mine at my church interested in spinning with a spindle I made her, and she has gone whole hog, buying whole fleeces and carding them herself.  I thought wow, I love to spin, but I’m not into getting a whole fleece, washing it, and carding it- yet! 🙂  She kindly gave me some of a BFL/Romney fleece (already carded of course) that she had purchased.  It’s a very springy and surprisingly soft fiber.  Not as soft as the Alpaca, but it will make a nice pair of socks or a scarf :).  She has 7 whole fleeces on order for next spring.  🙂

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I did go see Harry Potter 1 & 1/2 weeks ago.  It was wonderful, and well worth the 2 hr wait in line (yes my daughter and I were one of the first in line so we could get good seats.  Didn’t want a crick in my neck from having to sit way up front like I loved to do as a kid – can’t even imagine why I wanted to do that ;).  I think they chose a good place to break the movie and I’m anticipating the next and final installment of the movie series.  Nice thing is I don’t have to wait 2 years, it will be shown this coming June, so only a 7 month wait. 🙂  If you haven’t gone to see this yet, I encourage you to do so.  If you haven’t seen any of them yet, I suggest you rent them in order, and then go see this one (it won’t make a lot of sense unless you’ve seen the others, like starting a book near the end and then wondering what in the world it’s all about.)  Wonderful visual effects.

I will be a permanent employee as of 12/1.  I’m very excited and it relieves a lot of “uncertainty stress”.  I will still have to watch my finances until my son’s funeral is paid off, but it will be a permanent income source now instead of wondering how long will this one last and not losing pay on my paycheck for the holidays the company gives.