I have reached 100 followers!!!! Drawing Monday!!!!!

I can't beleive it.....it's only taken me for forever but that's okay...I'd rather have quality than quantity in my followers! LOL!
I will start a drawing on Monday and will pick the winner the following Monday to give all a chance.  Also, this is for all my followers where ever you live...across the pond or Timbucktoo.....it makes no difference!  Come one, come all!  You all mean so much to me and I so appreciate your visits and comments.  Unbeknownst to you, you have kept me sane and uplifted during some pretty "rough roads" this year and I am extremely grateful. 

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch...........I finished a book last night and I loved it! It may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you like non-fiction well-written books about nature that read more like a good story than a travelogue, you will LOVE this book.  

 It was written by Margaret and Olaus Murie in 1966 and republished in 1985.  I got it from a friend who got it from a used book store but hopefully you can still get it.  Wapiti is the Indian name for Elk and Olaus Murie was a field biologist for the U.S. Biological Survey (now the Fish and Wildlife Service) from 1920 - 1946.  During this time he studied and wrote his life history of the elk in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Some of the chapters are written by Margaret and some are written by Olaus and it is much more a story of their family and the years they lived in Jackson Hole.  Olaus was also a great  pen and ink artist and the book is sprinkled through out with his drawings.

There's also a lot of history of that area included in the book regarding the pioneers who settled it first.

There are a few photos of their family and living quarters which really make you feel like you were part of it all by the time you finish the book and boy do I wish I had been!  They lived a glorious and abundant life in many beautiful, wide open spaces.  What tales they got to tell their grandchildren!  I loved this book and will probably read it again whenever I feel "hemmed in" or the wide open spaces are calling me.

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday!  I've still got it "goin' on" here! LOL! 

Working hard or hardly working?

 I have been "remodeling"  my blog and there are still parts that are a "work in progress" such as the new tabs at the top.  If you have any suggestions please let me know or if there is something you don't like or find difficult.
I've also been trying to join some groups that will not only make me feel accountable for some of my projects but also allow me to connect with other like-minded people. Now, if I could only find a group for staging and selling my house. Thanks to Ruth of Ruth's Little Leprechauns for exposing me to all these wonderful groups and for inspiring me to spruce up my blog. 
So, here I go for Finished Objects Friday and lo and behold, I have something!!!!!

This is a"double" potholder and/or trivet.  It is crocheted and the pattern is free on Ravelry as "The Best Crocheted Potholder" by Heather Tucker.  It is crocheted in such a way as to be double thick and really sturdy.  It's also very easy to crochet just a little harder on my arthritic hands but I muddled through...LOL!
I used Peaches and Creme cotton yarn that I can pick up at Wal-Mart.

 I have to include the pictures below because I thought it was so funny.....can you see the dachsund in this picture?  My little Annie sleeps in a chair in my bedroom.  She has a dog bed under there too but she gets cold so easily I cover her up with a blanket at night.  I think she gets cold because her little legs are only like 2 inches long and thus she's close to the ground where the cold air settles.

I know they have a way to get rid of "red eye" in photos but green eye????? LOL!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Progress in the wrong areas..........

 

I was supposed to start a sock knit along today but couldn't find the needles needed so instead I took down some filthy old fabric blinds and all their hardware and pitched them and washed the window (inside only at this time of year) and put up some cloth napkins I got at a sale for curtains.  I then started in cleaning my open shelves and decanting beans and other staples into canning jars for storage.  No knitting but the night is young!  Now where are those darn needles????  Stay warm!!! Or cool depending on where you are.

A pox on me....no, not a real one, thank goodness!

It was a rough week but I don't like to complain as it took generations to breed it out of me but every once in awhile there is some melancholy, assisted by watery eyes from a cold and miserable failure at knitting AND crocheting....you could call it "the lost week".  But today was a trip to Wal-Mart and lo and behold they have alcohol now!  Much of Arkansas is "dry" so you have to drive at least an hour to get to the closest "wet" county but they voted it "wet" in the county where the Wal-Mart is which is much closer.   I'm not a big drinker but nowadays it's good for you so when I spotted this bottle I thought "after my lost week"  HALLELUYAH!  Maybe it will help my knitting?  I must admit the name sealed the deal although I am not a housewife, I can relate!  
I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday so wine AND chocolate?  I think I'm on the road to recovery!

There was a heart shaped one too and I didn't "shape" it...it was the old knife and teaspoon method.....that alone made me feel better.

I also picked up a few knitting aides.....heaven knows I need them!  This is a nice laminated pocket guide that I can keep handy in my knitting basket.  They have one for crochet too but they were sold out.

Available at your local Wal-Mart and no, I get no "kickback" from mentioning that.  I also picked up some DPNs and and a gadget for checking needle size and gauge. 

 

It was almost 60 today but the weather "it is a changing"....winds, cold and freezing rain late tomorrow and Friday but I have "supplies", kindling and set to stay home and stay safe.  Next week it will be warm and then we might have severe storms.....never a dull moment in the South!  Stay safe, warm and happy!

YOP Update!

Not much this week as I've been getting outside (working and walking) with the weather in the high 50's and 60's.   But I did start my Blackberry Salad throw and will probably get a bunch done on it today since there are 2 championship football games.  The winners go to the Super Bowl!  I can crochet and watch the telly I just can't knit! LOL!  Hope you're having a lovely Sunday...I'll be by later to see what everyone's been up to.  Fighting a little cold today so I might be under the covers before long. 

 

BTW this is such a fun project and the "bobble" stitch is easy to learn and a joy to stitch!  (Tammy...you would love this!)  It was Faith who's blanket I fell in love with and then Sharon did one....fun, fun, fun!  You are all SO inspirational!