A fun weekend...

Okay...first and foremost, I want to say a big BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful son on his 19th birthday today! (Monday) I've said it before and I'll say it again....I would go through everything I've gone through in my life just to have him exactly the way he is today! He and the Sweetie Man have been my supports, my cheerleaders, my everything.....they've both stood by me when things look darkest and told me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope I've done the same for them.
And speaking of Sweetie Man....I hope we gave him a wonderful Father's Day as he deserved it in every way. He will be my son's "official" stepfather in a couple of years when Ed and I marry....but I give him the credit for my son being the great kid he is. He is so wonderful to him and my son respects him so so much. Happy Father's Day, Ed....thank you for being the best Dad ever in our lives! You were so worth the wait!
Now onto our fun Father's Day. We went to the monthly fleatique that is held at a place nearby call Tour Ed Mines. They really give coal mine tours but I've never had the opportunity to go on one. Anyway, here are some of the pics.
First is a small section of what the fleatique looks like on a fabulous early Sunday morning:
Here's the Dad with his cool T-shirt on that he insisted on wearing. (can you read what it says?):

Here's the Dad carrying a cool find of a antique coat rack he got among many other things as the morning progressed:


We found alot of goodies, namely some Kensington Ware which we collect. New Kensington was the headquarters till about 1967, I think. (click on the "Kensington Ware" words and go to the section entitled "History" for more info) Most of it is sorta like a brushed metal that I think just about was made in everything from bowls, pitchers, cups, furniture, etc.....I couldn't even tell you what all. My mom used to work in the offices as an office manager when she was young so I sorta have a special interest in it.
I also got my share of old Nancy Drew books which I collect as well as a Girl Scout Manual from 1933 for $5.00. Also for your enjoyment, I got these goodies for $5.00 in one big basket:
They must have been from an estate sale. Some of the threads look old but are in very good condition. They are all sorts of sizes too....no need to buy threads for awhile. There are also some doilies someone made....some finished, some not.
Then I also found this cool set of plastic knitting needles in a pretty flowered zippered case which the vendor said belonged to his grandmother's mother or something like that. It was $12 but we got him down to $10.00.
So needless to say, it was a good day. We came home, the Sweetie Man made a delicious meal with steaks, corn on the cob, and beans all on the grill and key lime pie for dessert. He loves to cook as you know.....but I cleaned up which his meals are worth the work, believe me. Oh yeah!
I hope your day was as awesome as ours!
Well, gotta go...it's about to storm and I need to shut down for awhile. So, catch ya all tomorrow!

A bookmark surprise....

THANK YOU...THANK YOU....THANK YOU, MOZE!!!! I love my bookmark, which is absolutely beautifully done not to mention the fact that I was so excited it was a butterfly! She also not only sent one book, but TWO!!! And as you can see, some tea from Israel which I will definately try in a new cup I bought specifically for tea that had it's own built in filter. And a really cool postcard in which she described where she lived in relation to the picture. This, by the way, is on my fridge right now. What a wonderful wonderful package, Moze! You are a sweetheart. I have not read either of these books and I am familiar with the author of the "Theory of Relativity." The other looks like a good mystery and being the "Court TV" addict that I am, as well as Ed, we should both enjoy that one.

This is really the first time I've participated in exchanges with yarns and books and such. I love this! It makes you realize how very thoughtful so many people are when they really don't even know you. When I was a little girl, I always wanted a penpal. One time when I was older, I actually found one in a crochet magazine. (this was before computers) I wrote this long letter and was so excited to hear back from her. But as luck would have it, I never did. I was so bummed. Everyone I meet online here and through the swaps are so nice and so worth waiting for all these years of being penpal-less (is that a word?) So, thank you to all of you, for being the best-est, fun-est, computer and swap pals ever!!!

Till Sunday (and don't forget Father's Day!).....tootles!

Twinkle twinkle....

...Little Star.....

and isn't it the cutest thing! Alot of people on a CAL that I am in are doing this star afghan. I'm going to try to make it bigger than the preemie size and go to the baby size and donate it to Project Linus. This is the pink start of it but it is actually going to be in pinks and whites. (left over yarns, if you know what I mean) Everyone is doing different color combos and each one is looking terrific. I'm going to post this pattern in my favorites on the side this weekend in case you are looking for it. Once you get the idea of how the pattern goes , as someone said in the CAL, it's really a "no brainer" and you can make it as big as you want....probably adult size. I just love the shape of it. Sweetie man suggested that the size it is now would make a nice hot pad. I thought that with this being six rows, using a worsted cotton, (Sugar and Cream) and maybe two rows each of red, white, and blue, it would be cute for a 4 of July picnic table. I'm not good with thinking up patterns, but give me an idea or a sample of one thing and I can usually run with it. Anyway, that's my post for today. The weekend is finally here and the weather is beautiful. Been spending alot of time outside just crocheting or reading with the sweetie man. So till tomorrow......happy crocheting/knitting!

Finally finished...

Yep, that's right folks, one of the first WIP that I posted on this blog is finally finished. If you have been reading my blog since January, you would have seen this thing almost done. I started it so that it would be done in time for the Steelers trip to the Super Bowl. BUT...little did I know that everything in Pittsburgh that was yellow or black was sold out. So when I ran out of yellow yarn, lo and behold I could not get it. AND, when I tried to order it online, I got it about two months later due to some snafu in the order. But now it is done....okay, in time for sweetie man for Father's Day, how's that sound? I just sorta draped it over a table to give you an idea on the colors. It really is just your basic ripple...but it was my first ripple and was so easy that I started thinking about all the color combo's this would look good in. Being as I'm in a red, white, and blue mood (happy Flag Day, by the way!), I think that would make an awesome ripple afghan. This was really nice to work on now too on the porch since the evenings are still a bit cool and it covered my legs while I worked on it.
So that's it for now.....I'm sorta wiped out since I worked in the yard and cleaned out my cellar a bit (okay...that's "basement" for you non-Pittsburghers). So, I'm gonna head up to bed and probably just read some. So till tomorrow......nite all!

For all yunz guys....

I scored a 88% on the "How Pittsburgh are you?" Quizie! What about you?

And unless you are from Pittsburgh, I would bet yunz guys didn't score as high as I did! I was just thinking about how different we all talk even in cities we are close too. I mean, people can usually tell I'm from Pittsburgh as I am sure they can tell where you are from by the way you talk. I'm not talking so much about an accent but the words we use.
For instance, it wasn't until the last couple years that I realized "slippy" wasn't a word in the sense of "hey, it's slippy on the sidewalk." And "redd-up"....I mean really, everyone doesn't "redd-up" the house. There is even a billboard in downtown Pittsburgh in which the Mayor asks people to "redd-up" Pittsburgh for the All-Star Baseball Game in July. It gotta be a word...for goodness sake, the Mayor uses it!!! I was born "redding-up"! Did ya "redd-up" your room....did ya "redd-up" the table? I can't believe we only use it here!
And it wasn't until I took this quiz that I realized that everyone doesn't "run the sweeper"? To me "vacuum" was something that sucked up air.
And doesn't everyone go down the "cellar" to "warsh" the clothes? Sweetie man teases me quite a bit because I call everything a "cupboard".....no closets in my house...no, sireee!
And need I go into the difference between "pop" (aka, pepsi, coke, etc..) and soda?
Alright, alright.....so I talk funny. I love Pittsburgh-eez....I love being from this area....and I love the language, if that's what you want to call it. It's a great town, with great people....and where else can you say in the middle of November....."how 'bout them Stillers?" Till, tomorrow, yunz guys.....

TA-DA.....WELCOME TO THE MOUNTAIN HERITAGE ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL IN LOVELY WEST VIRGINIA!!!!

Okay, so I wasn't the spokeperson for the festival but I could have been cause I would have said it was definately worth getting up at 5:30 am and driving 4 hours! It was a beautiful drive with wonderful company (sweetie man, of course) and a beautiful day weather-wise. Once we got there, we started our trek through the many well-organized tents that were set up.
The great thing about this was that the crafters were set up in each tent depending on what they did...for instance, food sellers were in one tent, textiles in another, etc... It made it much easier when looking for a vendor that you remember seeing but couldn't remember where.

This button manequin was too cute to resist taking a pic of.

It wasn't for sale, but really, what a cool idea for those left over buttons...and that manequin in your attic.

Oh, and the wine vendors were all of course grouped together letting you taste their beverages.....as you can see sweetie man lined up for the testing.
We managed to get through most of the tents, but we did have to rest a bit and listen to the non-stop bluegrass music while sitting on bails of hay amist the chairs.
And no festival day is complete without the visit to the Porta-Johns...which we had to take a pic of for the fun of it!
Sweetie man (aka my personal chef) managed to have loads of fun in the food tents buying lots of dips and mixes and different types of honey and butter spreads...including, pepper honey and hot pepper spread (you see a theme here?)
I, of course, found the one and only yarn vendor.....and did I hit it big. Lots of wools at great prices along with some terrific patterns. I was a happy camper!!

So, friends, that was our day in the state of West Virginia. We've been to a few craft shows to say the least, but this was one of the largest and best. They do this again in September so you may want to check it out (see a couple of posts ago for the website).
And before I go, whether you love football and/or our wonderful Steelers, take a moment and say a quick prayer for the Steeler Quarterback BIG BEN, who was in a bad motorcycle accident in Pittsburgh today. They say he'll recover but not without a lot of fixin' up! We love ya, Ben! Get well soon! Till tomorrow, yunz, guys!

Bookmark fun...

Well, I'm back from the fabulous festival in West Virginia, but I'm going to make you wait till tomorrow for the pics. I was rather tired today and did a bunch of nothing but some WIP'sI had then I organized my yarn a bit plus I made this adorable bookmark.

It's a Sock Monkey bookmark and you can find the pattern at http://homepage.mac.com/coxsalida/Personal6.html

I made it in less than an hour. It was just so cute, I couldn't resist. I love anything sock monkey as I know alot of you do. I made a different one for my bookmark exchange which I'll show you when my partner receives it.

So with that I'm going to head on up to bed. Don't forget to check me out tomorrow evening sometime or Tuesday morning and I'll tell you about our fun Saturday. Tootles.

Yummy.....

What better way to describe this yarn from my One Skein Partner than YUMMY....

OMG....I just love it!!!! The colors are tremendous...I couldn't have picked better myself. It's really soft and my Partner said it's enough to make the cable slippers in the One Skein book (which I got!) I am definately going to do that! So....thank you, thank you, thank you, Partner.....Ya done good, girlfriend!!!!!
Next, keeping on a somewhat Project Spectrum theme, I thought I would show you the little yarn bag that I recently made in lovely shades of blue with some colorful butterflies (my favorite of course) thrown it.

AKA Sock Bags, it's what I've been carrying my sock swap project in as you can see from the dpn's sticking out....and which, by the by, is coming along nicely. I'll be taking this on our little day trip tomorrow that Sweetie Man suggested we do to a place called Harper's Ferry WV to the Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival. It's about 4 hours away from us so we are going to leave at about 6 in the morning. So I'm rather excited. We'll take lots of pics, or at least Sweetie Man will while I browse the booths and listen to bluegrass! (say that 3 times fast!)
So, that's it for tonight...6 am comes mighty early.....depending on when we come on will depend on whether I blog tomorrow.....but be sure to check me out on Sunday though for sure! Enjoy the start of YOUR weekend.....see yunz guys!

Don't worry...

I'm here. I didn't blog last night cause as soon as I came home, sweetie man surprised me and took me out to dinner to one of my favorite places.....Longhorn Steakhouse!!! We ate like fools then came home stuffed. And when you come home stuffed, you really don't feel like doing anything but sitting your butt down and moaning then eventually falling asleep. We did that on the front porch swing....so needless to say, I didn't do much of anything. BUT...never fear...check me out tonight as I've gotta show you a pic of the "delicious" yarn my One Skein Partner sent me...OH YEAH....it is beautiful! Enjoy the day!

The house that Jack built...

Okay, it's not built by Jack but Habitat..for Humanity that is. Remember the house a few blogs back that I took a pic of with the basement walls being placed. Well, this is where it is today...

I just find it very interesting to watch this all come together. And this is only a small house....think of a skyscraper or malls. I mean, Ed and I were so fascinated by the mall that was built near us that was nothing but a giant hill. Now it's a mall and restaurants and a huge Walmart, Lowes, and rumor has it, a Michaels! It's incredible the knowledge that goes into that.
Besides going to work, my day was sorta laid back, which is why you got a picture of the house that is being built. I did do some crocheting, namely my bookmark for the swap, but I can't show you that before my swap partner has it. Now all I got to do is pick a good book for her. And speaking of books, you know the paperback book exchange (see sidebar) I talked about yesterday? Well, I registered about 14 books and this morning I got a request for 3 of them. I sent them out this afternoon and as soon as they receive them, I will get 3 more credits towards books. (1 credit = 1 book) With my initial 3 credits for signing up and posting at least 9 books, that will make a total of 6 credits...or 6 books I can request at no charge. I've already ordered two. Sending out the three books cost me a total of $6.00 but receiving them will cost me nothing. I love this!!! Check it out if you haven't already!
And...one last thing....I neglected to post the two postcards I got for the Project Spectrum Postcard swap for May. The theme color was green.

The dino was from Coleen at Lighting Chick Knits I liked the weaving of papers and the fact that she coated it with a decoupage type varnish so that it wouldn't peel off in the mail. Great idea. The other is from Beth at Beth's Blog It's a photo of the shore area of a lake where she lives. Beth mentioned that the way the sun hit it, it gave off many shades of green....perfect for the May Spectrum. I thought what a great idea it was to merely take a picture of an area you like where you live in the colors for the month needed, and just make a little card. I'm going to try that one.
Well, that's it for tonight...I've been in the mood to read and I'm almost done with my current read (see sidebar) that I've been dragging my feet on. I do tend to read more in the warmer months as I love to sit on the porch or go to the park with Ed and sit and read. So, till tomorrow and one day closer to the weekend....pick up good book and read...it's good for your brain!!!

A so-so day...

Not too much going on today. Rather quiet. I did manage to sleep in and not in a good way. I overslept but managed to wake up a half hour before I was to be at work. Being as I live about a mile from my work, it did make it. (I'm good at multi-tasking) I'm usually a few minutes late, but my motto is, "when you get to work on time, it sure makes for a long day!" It's actually posted in my office.
Anyway, once the work day was done, I managed to purchase a weed eater since I burned up the other one. I tend to do that with power tools. I also tried to find this squirt bottle my neighbor has that runs on batteries and you don't have to keep pressing the trigger. Is that not the funniest thing...I mean really, how lazy can we get!!! But we just have to have one!
Got some yard work done then I crocheted on the porch a little. When it was too dark to do that, I came in and proceeded to join the Paperback Swap (see sidebar for button) It's really a cool program that someone mentioned in CAL group. I posted 15 books, one being on someone's Wish List. This will give me three credits towards books. One credit equals one book that I can get. No money involved right now. The website is thinking about charging in a year or so to join...maybe $10 a year. But you just swap books. Check it out for all the details if you have alot of books laying around and enjoy reading as I do. Never can find enough time to do it tho. There are all sorts of books...including various crafts. Hey, I'm all for FREE...I wouldn't steer you wrong!
Well, that's it for tonight....hopefully I won't sleep in tomorrow...so till tomorrow...happy whatever!

Just makin friends...

I had a nice evening tonight. A couple of summer's ago we had about 5 empty houses on my street....now they are all full. It's really nice because my neighbor directly next door is very friendly and talky in a funny sorta way. She's fun to listen too. Anyway, she came over and started talking then her son's girlfriend came over, then another neighbor came over and we were all talking and laughing. The best part was that the neighbor that was really new and that I was sorta being shy towards came over and I got to know her and her husband and vice versa. I was really glad to hear that she is quitting smoking being that she is pregnant. It was nice and now I won't be so shy around the neighbors....it was like a girl's night out on my porch.
Okay, enough of that chit chat....I did want to show you the yarn I got when I went to that yarn store and the dpn's.
I thought the yarn was a little expensive. I'm going to look for just the right sock pattern for them that's easy so I can start them after I finish the pair for my swap partner. Also, a few weeks ago, I ordered this book from Amazon.

I found it on Amazon one day and thought it would be a good reference book. It has alot of stitches in it that's for sure. Any of you have this one? Let me know what you think if you do.
Well, that's it for tonight. Didn't get alot done this evening....but sometimes just making friends is worth the clothes waiting another day to be put away. Till tomorrow....tootles!

A quiet Sunday...

Ah...a nice quiet Sunday at home with my guy! He crawled out of bed before me and went downstairs I was assuming to finish setting up his new laptop since his old one died a quiet death. So I sorta turned over in bed and went back to sleep....but when I woke up again, I did so to the smell of bacon...oh, yeah! Before you knew it he was on his way upstairs with a tray of coffee, bacon, and french toast made with nice thick Texas Toast. It don't get no better than that. After six years together.....I am so very lucky to have this wonderful guy. So, he brought up his breakfast too and we finished eating. My son chose to go out to breakfast with a friend of his. Later in the afternoon we sorta just chilled.....him on the computer and me crocheting the edging on a Project Linus afghan.


This is the "boy" version of the "girl" one I did about a month ago (check past blogs) with the red hearts and red trim. These are so incredibly easy. Mark your holes about a half inch up from the edge and a half inch apart. Punch the holes with a 1/16 paper hole punch (yep, it will punch) and do any edging you choose. With this particular edging, I used a G hook, worsted weight yarn and did two single crochets in each hole and then another row of single crochet on top of that. I used about 2 yards of the fleece. Just think of the posssiblities in making a cute little baby blanket in whites or pinks, or blues or even variegated yarns. Some people sell these on the web...just google crocheted fleece blankets and I bet you'll come up with some great ideas.
Well, that's it for tonight. I've been cleaning up my blog a bit and adding some buttons and titles of blogs I read in case you want to check out whose on my list of bloglines.
So, till tomorrow....and the start of a new week....hasta manana!

The Strip....

Okay...get your minds out of the gutter...sorry, this is a G-rated post. It's all about the Strip District in downtown Pittsburgh. Saturday morning is a great time to hit the Strip District in Pittsburgh. It's an area in Pittsburgh very close to the main downtown area that is full of cool stores and fun places to go. We went there this morning specifically for the fish market. Here are a couple of pics of the Strip and Wholey's Fish Market.

The pics don't really give you the atmosphere of the strip....you really have to be there. There are people everywhere and lots of music and some street musicians and everything from food to books to kitchen supplies and flowers and t-shirts and all sorts of inside and outside vendors. It's fun to just experience it. We never even really hit everything but we do go to Wholey's Market to get the fish. This is a picture of the fisherman that greets you when you walk in. We bought some lobster tails for one night when the son isn't home and we want a romantic dinner for two.

There are alot of ethnic shops there also as well as alot of outdoor dining places. It's just fun to go there on a Spring like Saturday morning as this was.


Unfortunately I didn't run into any yarn shops but we did get some cool things at a couple of Kitchen and Wine stores. Believe it or not, I do enjoy those stores even tho cooking isn't my favorite pasttime. Sweetie man enjoys them even more being the cook he is.
So if ever you are in Pittsburgh, take a ride to the Strip on a Saturday morning......and tell them, Lucy sent ya (even tho they may look at you sorta weird like!) Till tomorrow....tootle-lu!

I'm almost here...

Well, the main computer is defragging (whatever that does) so I'm still stuck on the old laptop which is running a bit better but still frustrating. Anyway, wanted to tell you a little bit about my first trip to the official yarn shop. I've always gone to a JoAnn's or Michaels or some craft store for my yarn or the internet. Thought I would drag Ed with me to search out the yarn store. We did find it and I am sorry to say that I wasn't really impressed. First off it was really small....really small. And as I am a bit of an organized type of person, I felt the yarn was sorta everywhere and not real well marked. Some of the yarn had prices and others in the same cube thingy you had to look on the chart for the name to find the price...sorta confusing. I think I was annoying the lady there as I wanted to ask her some questions but she sorta talked to me like I was bothering her. For instance, I took in the yarn that Ed brought back from Mexico and wanted her to see what she thought about it. She sorta looked at it, didn't touch it, and said, "you just have to knit it up and see what kind it is." The end!!! No questions like where did you get it...that's interesting with the thread running through it,...nothing! Then being a newby to sock knitting, I asked her where the DK Sport weight was. She took me to this one little cube and said that's it there. Well, being as I thought with all the yarn from ceiling to floor sorta shoved in this room smaller than Kitchen, I figured that there had to be another area. So I was trying to get more info like on the fingering yarn, etc, but if I asked her a repeat question cause I didn't quite understand, she sorta got annoyed. I just said, "okay thanks." I proceeded to ask another question later about wool in sock yarn....she just said, "it's what you want...you can use any yarn you want." I was not impressed to say the least...PLUS...the yarn was so expensive in my opinion. I ended up buying a supposed self striping yarn (I planned to show you a pic but blogger just won't upload it for some reason) tho it said nothing of the sort on the package. And their wall of supplies ended up being a two or three sided spinning thing with mostly needles of which I bought some #1 bamboo dpns. I bought the stuff manly because I felt guilty asking so many questions of her.....but I really really doubt I would go back...not impressed in the least. Ed said he didn't notice her annoyance at me....but it just seemed to me that I was bothering her as she wanted to go back to her knitting and she didn't see me as a high purchasing customer. Really the whole trip was a waste of my time and money and I could have done much much better with knit picks!
Well that's it for the night. Hopefully I'll be working on the main computer tomorrow tho this laptop is getting better. The problem is that I can watch TV and be on the laptop and with the main computer I can't, but it would be alot quicker....and quicker leaves more time for crocheting and knitting...right? RIGHT! Till tomorrow....

Don't panic...

I couldn't blog yesterday because the lap top just would not cooperate, no way, no how, whatsoever...BUT...there is good news....HOPEFULLY (keep your fingers crossed) I get my computer back all fixed....and it only cost me a bag of coffee (will explain later) Sorta sounds like the "trades" from the 1800's! Oh, well, that's it for now...catch me later!!!

Okay here goes...

Well, Sweetie Man is home!!!!! I am happy. I'll be showing you pictures of my newly painted kitchen vs. my old kitchen as soon as the old pics are hopefully saved from my sick computer but for now, you get to see one corner with sweetie man in it! (I made the apron for him too)
You cannot really appreciate what the Kitchen is like unless you've seen the old one...but here's a taste of the new....
And as my guy is the best cook I know and loves to cook in the kitchen, here is a pic of the delicious shrimp-ka-bobs that he whipped up for dinner tonight and served on rice....yummy!!!!
Now for some great pics of some things my sweetie man brought me from Mexico. First is this awesome stash of yarn.
The only problem is is that we have no idea what it is. There was no labels on it or anything. It's very thin almost like a fingering weight tho I'm going to do a swatch and try to find out. It all has this small thin silver like thread wrapped around each color as you can possibly see from the close up.
If any of you know what this may be or what I can make with it (crochet or knit) please let me know . It's so neat tho.
Next I got this incredible handspun, hand dyed wool.
He saw a demonstration of how they make it too. Some of it is actually dyed with a type of bug for the red. There is alot of it to say the least and at least three different colors . Now they use this for weaving as it is in pieces not one long piece. If I use it for crocheting I will have to tie it but I thought the knots would make what I crochet interesting....I'll have to play around with this one and see what I come up with.
Next are a couple of purses he got for me. The first is a really great beach bag sorta thing with a nice zipper...very colorful.
The second is a hand weaved purse. Sweetie man actually met the lady who weaved it. It's really beautiful.
He got me another purse that I forgot to take a pic of and which I am currently using. My man knows what I like.....yarn and purses.
Well, I hoped you enjoyed the pics and the stories...if you have any suggestions on my yarn, I'll be happy to hear them.
Oh, and before I leave here is a little riddle from the sweetie man to yunz guys....(answer tomorrow)
If I have a million dollars and I give you a quarter of it....how much will you have? (he made it up so think "corny") Gotta love him!!! Okay, till tomorrow....I'm BAAAACCCCK!

I'm back....

Okay...I'm back. BUT this is just an "appetizer" post as I wanted to blog yesterday and the old laptop I'm working off of is giving us trouble. Hopefully by the weekend we'll either have a new computer or the old main computer will be fixed. This is killing me. I have some pics to post and the computer won't cooperate...AAARRRRGGGGGG! So keep your fingers crossed and I'll try to get something on tonight. Oh, ya....sweetie man is BACK and life is GOOD!!! Till later....

A little big of romance...

Okay...if you ever read my profile, you will see that I planned to talk about a little bit of crafting, a little about my son.....and a little bit of romance. Well, today is the "romance." Most of you know that my sweetie man is coming home today after a month long absence and I am totally excited and cannot wait. I've done some things that I cannot post pics of yet, but I will next week, which include the painting of my yucky kitchen which is now a beautiful pepper themed extravaganza! (and if I don't get my main computer back in one piece, as it is in the hands of the repair guy, you won't see the before pics!) Anyway, I came back to work from lunch yesterday only to find this huge box that was for me....and this was what was inside:

A dozen beautiful purple/mauve colored roses. I nearly cried. They are from my sweetie man celebrating the start of his weekend home. I've never had anyone treat me like this. Even after being with him for the past 6 years, he treats me as tho we just started dating. We'll be getting married probably the same year my son graduates from college if not sooner and I cannot wait. I don't want to say or dwell on my previous marriage as my ex and I are still friendly towards each other, but I truly think it was a case of "we could be friends but not marriage partners." I've learned alot and have grown even more in the past 6 years and have truly become the person that I knew I was inside....hence my love of butterflies and their emerging out of cocoons. So that's all I want and need to say today as I'm going to get ready to head off to the airport....so if I don't post for a day....don't worry.....I'll be enjoying my weekend with my sweetie man. Hope you all enjoy our weekend.....and hope you have loads of SUNSHINE....cause I will whether it is raining or not. Tootles!

Ok...I finally did it...

I finally did it...I turned on the air conditioner. I realized it's not all that warm outside BUT the one thing about my house is that I have no attic meaning the upstairs is like an attic. There can sometimes be a big difference between the first floor and the second floor only because of the lack of an attic. The house looks like a little victorian and is way different from any other house on the block...built we think in the 1920's.....I just love it! There must be something about older things that I like. For instance, I've been investigating and reading up on spinning yarn with a drop spindle. I think that is fascinating. I even found a site in which you could make your own drop spindle. Though I found a yarn store about a half hour from my house and I'm wondering if these yarn stores have wool for spinning and/or the drop spindles. I've never actually been in a yarn store. I've only gone to stores like JoAnns, etc... that sell yarn in addtion to other crafts and fabrics. I think I'm going try and have sweetie man take me over to this store. I'm not sure where it is, so being as I don't like to get lost while I'm driving, I'll take him along. He can drive and I'll "NAG-ivate" as he calls it. If anyone has any suggestions or has tried the drop spindle technique or knows any good sites to purchase the wool, let me know. I'd love to hear about it.
Okay...been spending alot of time outside since the weather is so nice, just sitting on my porch knitting/crocheting or reading. Karen asked me if the noise bothers me in the area. No....I sit in the evening and actually enjoy watching the cars go up and down my somewhat busy street. I think since I grew up with the noise, I actually have come to welcome it. I hear boats on the riever and trains blowing horns in the middle of the night and it's so peaceful. Plus we have a number of churches within walking distance that ring their bells sometimes playing a song. I'm so close to my new neighbors, that when they are out on their porch, I can still sit on my swing and talk with them. That's not to say I don't enjoy the quiet......when we go to Michigan and visit, the peacefulness is beautiful. So, I guess I like both...hey, I'm not difficult to get along with.
So, till tomorrow and the almost start of a long holiday weekend (and the weekend my sweetie man returns home....HOORAY!!!!)....tootle-lu!!!

It's getting warmer...

Oh yeah...the weather is breaking and it's becoming more spring like in Pennsylvania. Still a little cool but not so cool that I didn't spend a little time today on my front porch swing knitting my sock for the swap. It was great especially after all the cool temps and rain. Tho this morning we did have a little frost as we are in a valley. You can actually see the hills putting us in the valley from the picture I took this morning from my back yard window.



My town is made up of alot of older homes so it is a bit unusual to see a new home being built in my neighborhood. So I was sorta excited to see this huge crane looming over the back alley placing basement walls in the new home that is being built there. There used to be a very very old home that became run down and was eventually demolished. Now a new home is being built. I never actually saw how a home is built, so I thought I would take a couple of pics. As you can see we are surrounded by beautiful hills, which each have names, believe it or not. When I go on vacation it is quite unusual to see flat land since I've lived in the valley all my life pretty much. It does keep us a bit safer from things like tornados but we have had our share of bad weather. But I do just love the hills.
And just so you don't forget this is a crochet/knitting blog, here is a picture of another purse for a little girl that my niece took an order for.

This is the pattern from the Lion Brand site and I believe it's the blossom purse done in Microspun. I couldn't find the color I needed in Microspun so I made this one in Sugar and Cream crochet cotton. It worked up just as nice if not nicer than the Microspun. It's a Crochet Dude pattern. Extremely easy too!
So that's it for tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer than today, so I'll be visiting my porch swing again...oh yeah! I think it's finally Spring!!!!!
And for all you Idol fans...."SOUL PATROL....SOUL PATROL!!!"

Last lonely Saturday...

Oh yeah...the week I've been waiting for...the return of SWEETIE MAN from his month away which means that next Saturday at this time guaranteed....I WILL NOT BE BLOGGING!!! (OR CROCHETING OR KNITTING) I feel like it's Christmas and I'm a little kid. I hate when he goes away but hey...it's part of the job.
Okay....tomorrow I'm going to a birthday party. I'm not a party person. I'm a sit at home, one on one person. Not that I'm an introvert.....I'm just a real homebody. I am sorta shy until you get to know me and then I'm crazy....okay, not crazy....but no longer shy. Anyway, the party is for a friend of mine who is actually a 4th cousin way back. She is turning 50 and the party is a surprise. (she doesn't read my blog so I'm not worried) Anyway, she only lives a block away but I dont' really see her that often. She even works about a block from me. We occasionally email things but that is about it. But she is the first friend I remember having....my earliest recollection was being about 4, sucking my thumb, and her being over. She was probably one of the only people beside my family that knew I sucked my thumb. There are just so many memories of things I did with her....crazy things. Like when we would sunbath on the roof of my house outside my bedroom window....or we would paint our toenails flourescent orange.....hide from boys she didn't want to go out with.....and how I would go on blind dates that she would fix me up with (that's a whole other blog!) . I could really go on and on about her....she is different to say the least...she could tell you something bad that happened to her and make it sound so hilarious that you couldn't help from laughing. I guess it was just the way she told it. My mom would always say I got sick after coming back from playing with her...which was nonense. We went to school for eight years together and her family's house was less than a block from mine. We were never best friends.....just lasting friends...if that makes sense. So many funny times to remember with her that I figured as much as I don't care to go to parties.....I just couldn't miss the opportunity to rub it in that she turned 50 before me.....Happy Birthday, Elaine!!! (aka The Crumb!)

A little Dr. Seuss...

Knox in box.

Fox in socks.

Knox on fox in socks in box.

Socks on Knox and Knox in box.

Fox in socks on box on Knox.

And with that said....this is my completed FIRST SOCK...ta-da!!!!!

Okay...so there's a little furry stuffed fox in it....just wanted to make you smile when you saw it, cause I certainly did...even without the fox.

Now there are alot of little boo-boos in it and that toe is certainly not the tightest...but I got the idea of how to make a sock and I've already started on the one a little different in style and colors for the swap which by the way is going very nicely and much easier. I really don't know if I'll make a match to this one since it isn't the most perfect one, but I may make another pair like it for myself. It is a warm sock but I can't seem to quite use the fingering yarn yet. I'd like to try a sport weight next and gradually go to thinner. I can't do 5 dpn yet...this one was only 4 dpn. I've never attempted a round needle yet...but I'll learn...hey, I taught myself to knit and this is really a big accomplishment for me.

So with that ....I'm gonna chill a bit. Most of my work is done with the Kitchen tho I can't show you the pics yet...but I will, not to worry. Oh, and thanks for all the knitting/crocheting tips on how to get more done. You guys are great!

Okay, till tomorrow and my last weekend without my sweetie man as he will be returning next weekend....and I hate to tell you this but....I may have to skip a few days of blogging next weekend.....and ya all know what I'm talkin' about!!!

Okay, till tomorrow...and sleeping in!!!

Hey y'all..

Not much to say today. Cleaning up this and that in the house and a few small draws and cupboards so that the house looks great when my sweetie man gets home next week. Plus the more I get done...the more I can just relax with him. Tho he keeps telling me I'm going too far...I need to rest. But I do...not to worry.
But I do have one question for everyone. How do you all get so many projects done so fast? I feel like I take forever to finish something. I wondered that about reading books also. I love to read, but it seems like it takes me forever to read a book. The book listed on my blog, I am still reading. So, what I want to know is whether you only crochet/knit at home...(or read if you do)...or if you do it whenever....like do you take it with you everywhere in a separate bag and carry it with you so you can crochet or knit while waiting for someone or the kids or waiting at the mall? How do you guys/gals get your projects done so fast. I really envy you. I would love some hints and tips. It seems, for example, one day someone shows a project started on their blog...next day it's done! How do you do it? I have so many projects I want to do but it seems like I'm just slow...or am I not taking good opportunities to work on my project. I'd love to hear from you all. Being as I'm getting close to or just about done with my kitchen and cleaning up things...I really want to invest my spare time in my yarn projects.
So, with that...I'm going to head to bed....looking forward to your answers...till tomorrow!

The return of Goose and Duck...

Goose and Duck were actually meant to appear as a Mother's Day picture on Sunday. But seeing as my lovely lap top computer was not functioning up to snuff....they are appearing for your enjoyment a few days late.

The picture isn't all that great as the weather has been rainy...rainy...did I say, rainy!!!! We actually did see a bright light in the sky today in the afternoon.....someone said that it is called...the SUN? mmmm...interesting! Hope we get to see it again....it was nice!Anyway, as before, Goose's attire is from the Month of May section of Annie's Attic Goose and Gander Parade Crochet. Duck on the other hand is a creation of my own. Yeah...really...I did that one all by myself. That's really not like me as I'm a die-hard pattern person...gotta have the pattern in front of me. But I created the bee outfit. I put Duck in front of me and just kept measuring the outfit as I was crocheting. Cool eh?
Okay...that's it for now.....let's hope we see that bright light in the sky soon....I miss my porch swing (I've actually had the furnace on today...brrrrr) Till tomorrow.....stay warm (if you live in PA anyway!)

It's prom time!

Well, my computer connection to the internet is getting better. Unfortunately the weather is not. It's cold, it's damp.....and it's MAY??? Oh, well, leaves me more time to sit inside and post a couple of prom pictures that I promised you last week.
This is my son and his lovely lovely date (not to be confused with the gal pal.....which is literally what the name inplies....Pal who happens to be a Gal) So I guess you can say that his date for the prom is also his "gal pal" but not the "gal pal" I usually speak of. Anyway this is them before the prom...
Aren't they just the cutest? But what prom couple isn't? They are all so darn cute!!!!
Okay...next pic is Mom (me) and the Aunt (my sister) posing with "the man" (my son). Not as cute as the first pic...but I thought I would throw it in as a bonus! (it's not one of my better pics as I was unprepared and had just come from cutting the grass).....
Now my son's date is a senior in high school and as you know my son just finished his first year in college. So that was sorta cool that he got to go and visit with some of the kids he knew when he was a senior. They did it a little different. Used to be the prom was an all nighter but this time the kids were bussed to Pittsburgh's Hard Rock Cafe till midnight. They were bussed back and most just went out to breakfast and headed home. Seems like everyone had a safe and fun night!
Well, that's it for tonight. I'm off work tomorrow for election day, so after I vote, I think I'll just chill, crochet, knit, and rearrange some stuff in the Kitchen which is coming along really really nice. Can't show you any pics though until sweetie man sees it in a little less than two weeks...cause he reads my blog and I told him it was a BIG surprise.
So, till tomorrow...tootles!

Happy Mom's Day....

HAPPY HAPPY MOM'S DAY

TO EVERYONE!!

I'm just wanted to be sure I told you all that. My computer is not being nice and I'm being very cautious with it right now. For the last couple of days it was on and off with it. I wanted to download some pics of the prom and a special Mom's Day picture but I can't take the chance right yet till I know this is working back to normal. Especially since my main computer is on the blink and I'm on the laptop.

So, please understand...hopefully all will be back to normal tomorrow and this snafu is caused by all the Mom's who are getting wonderful messages online from their children.....commonly referred to as "online overload"!

Keep your fingers crossed and hope you had a Mom's Day as great as I did!!!! Till tomorrow....

I'm a pepper, you're a pepper...

....wouldn't you like to be a pepper too!! Okay, please tell me someone out there remembers that song??????? Oh, well, even if you don't, you will certainly like the little gems I received in the mail today from two of my favorite people. Actually they are for my sweetie man and me and our newly painted kitchen.
First, a surprise I received in the mail today was an awesome pepper potholder crocheted by my online little sis, Courtney from Candel in the Wind. Thank you soooooo much LG!
Now I have to say I had made a similar one but wanted another (or more) cause I really liked this potholder as did my sweetie man. So without lifting a finger, I got one. Her's is much brighter than mine which I really like and actually crocheted much neater than mine. But she's got them thar youngin fingers so that's probably the reason!!! Love ya , Court....thank you again! You are the best ever!!! And sooooooooo Sweet!
Next....another one of my favorite people is my darling niece who, on the same day I received my pepper potholder, sent me and my sweetie man, a great array of pepper this and that's for our kitchen. I love them ALL!
Everything was so cute from the pepper chinese lantern to the little salt dishes for margaritas....mmmmm.....as well as a pepper tray and some little dishes and a trivet. We will use all of this I can tell you that for sure! She also send a few little gardening do-dads for ME..ME...ME! I plan on using them on the front porch as that is sorta my space with regards to gardening....sweetie man got the back yard. The tins off to the side, she sent for me as well and I will use them in some other crafts (which you may be seeing on our upcoming website in which we will sell some stuff!) So, thank you Alexis.....I love ya bunches....you are the best niece ever.....and Happy Birthday on Monday!!!! (thought I didn't know that...didn't ya!!)
Okay....off I go to do whatever.....it's the weekend and I'm hoping to catch up on all my emails and blogs I've neglected for awhile. Things are getting back to normal and I'm starting to get organized again....so I'm glad about that one! Okay...till tomorrow....and hopefully some prom pics of my son!!!! Tootles!

The sock...almost!

I think this is one of the first days that I haven't picked up a paintbrush. I do have a little bit more to paint and I may have my sweetie man do a couple of areas when he comes home since he'll have a little vacation......like behind the fridge and stove.....let me tell you though...my house does not have normal straight walls like the more modern houses. Any of you that have a house that is very old....we're thinking mine is over 80 years old....you will know what I'm talking about. So if you are thinking...heck, if I were painting that kitchen, it would have been done in one day....I'd like to know your trick!

Anyway, I did manage to work on my sock a bit on my front porch cause the evening was so warm and beautiful. I'm working on the instep now. Here's what it looks like at this point. (check out that beautiful heel!)

I think my sock swap partner will get something else since this color isn't too exciting. But now that I know how basic sock knitting works...I think the next one will go alot quicker. I'll probably finish off this one sock and start her pair then finish the match to this one after that. I learned alot with this sock. So it's not perfect but I did learn out to fix things like dropped stitches and why I somehow picked up another stitch from somewhere. I also learned new stitches where when I started I knew only knit and purl and couldn't do them in the same row. But I gotta tell ya....I'm really hooked on this....it's fun! If you are patient and can pace yourself and teach yourself things (which I've done with most crafts if not all that I know) then definately go slow and try sock knitting! It's awesome! I don't know why...maybe it releases some special happy brain cells....but it is addicting!

Okay...off to bed and maybe ......shhhhh....a couple more rows of the sock before I turn in!

Till tomorrow!

even shorter post...

hey...didn't forget yunz guys!!! Just got busy last night and was too pooped to post!!! Catch me later for a pic of my sock...HONEST!!!

I'm here...

Short post...I'm here...I'm tired...I'm going to bed. Worked really hard on my Kitchen today cause I was a bit frustrated over some parent/son situation. Don't worry, my son and I made up and myKitchen is just about done aside from the decorating I plan on doing. It's good sometimes when I get mad about something....cause I get a ton done! When I'm happy I'm lazier. Anyway, the only othere thing is that my main computer is unconsious right now...we think the fan died causing the mother board to burn out. Meanwhile I'm on an old laptop luckily. Hopefully I won't lose all my stuff in there cause I put the pictures of the BEFORE kitchen......I really wanted to show you all the difference in it. Sorry about all the Kitchen talk...but I'm just so excited that it's finally getting done. I love it!!! Okay...I'm falling asleep here...so till tomorrow and I promise I'll show you my sock...hey, I got past the heel and survived....couple of little boo-boos but I think I may have fixed them. It's really starting to look like a sock! Okay.....check ya all out tomorrow.

Nothing new to me...

Yep...I figured I wasn't Type A. I'm far from Type A. Found this quiz at Debs Down Time. So I have to say, if you want to know me...read the Type B personality. I don't know about the guru part though! (okay, maybe not always calm and level headed either...is there a Type C????)

You Have A Type B Personality

You're as laid back as they come... Your baseline mood is calm and level headed Creativity and philosophy tend to be your forte Like a natural sedative, you have a soothing effect on people Friends and family often turn to you first with their problems You have the personality to be a spiritual or psychological guru

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

I was going to show you a pic of my sock but I think I'm going get past the heel first and see how that goes...I'm not going to jinx this one! So stay chilled cause tomorrow is Monday and the start of another exciting week of work and playing with yarn! Till tomorrow...