Snow Day

On Wednesday, Dec. 26, we were under a very rare blizzard warning.  I'd guess we had about 8 inches with lots of wind.  I usually feed the birds on the tree stump on the south side of the house.  I put chunks of bread on the stump and it all blew off.  I finally threw some seed out on the protected front porch.

Here are a couple of pictures from the blizzard Euclid:

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Angela's Eye View

Angela took several pictures of the dogs and forwarded a couple of them to me.

Here's what my dogs look like through Angela's cell phone.



Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Angela and the Tree Stump

Angela was amazed at the size of the tree stump.  She wanted pictures of her next to it so she could have a reminder/something to share with her friends.  I took photos as well. 

Here's the record of Angela and the tree stump:

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

A Frosty Sunrise

These photos speak for themselves.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Finished round blanket

Here's the second doll blanket for my great niece's Christmas present.

One of these day's I'm going to need to give my shoulders, elbows and wrists a break, but I still have a bunch of yarn and more ideas.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

New Back Door

Our old back door was a mess.  There was no glass in the screen part of the storm door, I had to caulk cracks in the wooden panel of the inner door, and there was a huge gap on the upper part of the frame.  This door faced west, so anytime the wind blew, hot or cold, it worked its way into the house. 

I wrapped the screen door in a double layer of plastic and lined the inward side of the wooden door with plastic.  That helped to a certain extent, but all measure were obviously only stop gap.

Today, our friend, the same one who built us a new shed, came over to replace the door with something sturdy and insulated.  Hallelujah!!

He planned on working for 1 - 4 hours depending on what he found when he pulled out the old door.  As usual, this house threw more challenges at him than he expected.  Nothing in this house is straight or true.  We do the best we can with what we have and improve as we are able.

Add into the mix that the electricity inexplicable went out in our neighborhood for about an hour and Les drove him home to get a couple of tools and some extra wood that he needed to finish the project.  It turned out to be more like 8 hours from start to finish and we still need the inside trim.  But that will keep until another day.

Here are a couple of the pictures from the project.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Works in Progress

I'm working on hospice lap robe #21 a striped one in navy and white.

I have one skein to go on this one.

I also found out that my great-niece would like a doll blanket or two for her baby dolls.

I have one finished and one half finished.

I'm giving my arms a couple of days off. They'll appreciate the rest.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi



More Crocheting

I've most recently finished prayer shawl number 20 for this season and two baby blankets for a neighbor and a coworker.  Here thay are:

Maybe I'll actually do something else for a couple of days.  I'm over 13,000 words into my story for National Novel Writing Month.  The election results have taken some of the wind out of my sails, but I'd like to have something prepared to post on Createspace, Smashwords, or Kindle Digital Publishing before Angela comes for Thanksgiving.  I'd like to publish at least one thing this year.  I should have two or three finished by the end of the year.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Knitted Squares Lap Robe

This one is a knitted lap robe for hospice.  It is item #19 for hospice and #23 for this season's crocheting.  I gave four away to other people who really needed them.

Also, the round afghan that I made in July has found its home.  I was pretty sure I would be giving it away.  I just didn't know who was going to get it.  It's on its way to Tennessee.



I'm on vacation this week.  I'm planning to come as close as possible to finishing my 50,000 words novel I started for NaNoWriMo and working on a couple more hospice shawls or lap robes.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Two More Hospice Entries

I am going a bit slower with the crocheting.  But I haven't stopped completely.

Here are the two most recent pieces I've finished.

Brown Lap Robe

This is a rose trellis. (Pun intended)

I have a pregnant coworker and neighbor, so I will also be working on two baby blankets.  And I have not finished using up either ideas or yarn.

I'm signed up to participate in National Novel Writing Month starting on Thursday, so I don't know if that will slow down my crochet progress or not.  My basic plot so far as I know it is that a creative, but self-absorbed youth who wants to make a pile of money for his own use ends up transported back to the time of his great-grandfather whom he resembles.  He does, in fact, find an excellent way to make large amounts of money, but when faced with the desperation of the Great Depression, he must make choices as to what he might be able to do with his fortune.

Sound like a plot?

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Chocolate Granny Square Shawl

This is number 16 for hospice, a chocolate granny square prayer shawl.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Blue Lap Robe

Not all people in hospice care are women.  I seem to fall into a series of shawls and then suddenly recall that I need to make some lap robes for men.  I finished this one and have another under construction.  Also another granny shawl is nearing completion.

Here is number fifteen in the hospice collection for 2012. It is a v-stitch holding two strands together and crocheted with a P hook.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

John's Visit, October 2012

My brother John came to visit last Friday and left this morning.  I miss him already.  We had a pleasant visit - nothing overly strenuous - just an easy few days.

We walked for miles and miles on Friday and Saturday during Oktoberfest.

John walking around the neighborhood.

Whether I've posted this picture or not, it belongs in the record of John's visit.  This was the first day he was here.  He likes firm beds and the floor looked pretty good to him after his long drive.  Abby wasn't too sure what to do about Uncle John sleeping on the dog bed though.

This morning when John was loading the car, the dogs got sadder and sadder.  Abby was doing the dog version of weeping.  Buddy just laid down on the couch and put his head on his paws.  They both hate it when "their humans" leave.

Here are pictures of two sad dogs.  We're hoping to see Uncle John come back soon.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Green Triangle Shawl

I'm trying to keep track of the numbers and patterns of the prayer shawls I make this year.  Since I make a few and turn them in, this is my record of items.  This green triangle is number 14 for hospice and number 18 total this season.



Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Playing Dogs

My dogs like to wrestle with each other for exercise.  Sometimes it looks like they are going for the kill, but they never leave any blood on the floor.

The dog-play is usually followed by a round of Abby licking Buddy like she's his mama dog.

P.S.  John's visiting for a few days.  He laid down on the floor and fell asleep.  This is what I caught on film.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Two more prayer shawls

Blue woven prayer shawl

I've made lots of granny squares.  I believe this is the first one edged in orange.  Also this is the first one that I used a join-as-you-go method.  It certainly shortened the finishing time.

More to come.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Scrappy Stripe Lapghan

Here's what my work table looks like on a typical day.  There are three projects going here all at once.

Here's one of those projects completed.

This is called the scrappy stripe pattern.  I made it as a lapghan hopefully for some gentleman in hospice care.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Buddy Blog

When Les pets Buddy, he gets these wonderful looks on his face.  I attempted to catch some of them here:



Here's one of the two dogs sleeping.  Please notice their use of pillows.



Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Anne's Short Visit

My sister Anne visited with me for a quick overnight.  I managed to get two quick pictures of her with Abby.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Blue Shell Shawl

I made this one fairly quickly for a lady who is seeing her mother soon.  Her mother is the one in need of a prayer shawl.  God bless them both.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Extra Ingredients

Soup sounded good tonight, so I looked through the cans of soup I have stocked under the counter.  The most appealing was a can of New England clam chowder.

Now I've had REAL New England clam chowder and the canned stuff is NOT it.  So I enhanced the ingredients.  If I'd had a can of clam bits, that and a dab of butter might have upgraded the flavor.  I had no clams.

Here's what I added:

About 1/4 cup diced turkey ham
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup frozen corn

It turned into a really excellent chowder and definitely better than plain canned soup.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Purple Shawl

In making prayer shawls and lap robes for hospice, I'm trying not to make any two the same.  This is number 10 and, so far, I've had fun trying out different patterns.  However, if I make very many more before Valentine's Day, I may have to count color changes as part of "no two the same".  There are certain patterns that I enjoy or that work up quickly.

I'm going to give my hand a few days off from crocheting.  I don't want to do damage like I did last year.  At some point it might decide not to heal up like it did last time - and even that took several months.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Green Shawl

This one is not for hospice.  Someone I love is going through a tough time and I want to bless her with something special.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi