It's Tuesday and my books arrived!!!!

This was the sunrise coming up early this morning....clouds today but no rain until Thanksgiving which I am grateful for as I have to drive to Mountain Home tomorrow for my last doctor appointment before Winter. 

 "You're leaving me?  Alone?   With all these animals I have been harassing for months?  Uh oh....I might be in big trouble!"

 But on a brighter note...my books finally came yesterday....it was SO hard to chose which one to read first

 I might have to read this one on the sly too as I could use some miracles in the financial department! LOL!  I just found out I need new tires at $600-$800 for 4.  Last time I got them it was $400 for 4.  Everything's going up except my income!

 Isn't this the cutest cover?  I'm a sucker for a good cover.

 I finally narrowed it down to this one and the next one................

 and I chose to start this one........I couldn't wait either so I grabbed a water and went outside and sat in the sun and read for a bit......it doesn't wast time either....the story takes off immediately...quite a bit different than Kate Morton's long tales but I love her books too.  It is cold here at night and we've had several hard frosts now but during the day it heats up to the high 50's or low 60's...my perfect temps!

 I'm still reading these 2...not sure if I mentioned Extra Virgin last week?  It's my non-fiction of books I own and it's about 2 sisters who buy an old ruin of a house in Italy and fix it up but it's much more than that as she talks of the people and the regional differences and it's entertaining so far except the Italian words she throws in as if you know Italian.  It takes place in 1983...Annie Hawes is one of the sisters and I'm guessing that might actually be a picture of the house they fixed up.  I love the red metal roof but I'm curious about the rocks on it...hmmm.....I'll let you know if I find out.  

 Still slogging through this one and hardly touched it this week but I'm on page 289 now....

 I thought I'd be done with this audio by now and I'm close but "no cigar".....this is truly enjoyable and Richard Thomas does an excellent job!  It is a "performance" by Mr. Thomas...not a "reading"...big difference!

 Well, that's all for now!  Happy Trails!

Happy Days!!!!

I had a talk with my daughter and asked her not to read my blog until after Christmas as I couldn't blog about anything!  Every time I wanted to share something I couldn't because it had something to do with Christmas or so it seemed.  So, I am now at liberty to share everything!  Well, almost everything....LOL!

Remember this yarn...Lion Brand Homespun...the yarn from hell as I once described it?  3rd time is charm!  I finally found the perfect pattern for it and we are now working well together (although I still will never buy it again....nothing with those little squiggly fibers!).  The Corner-to-Corner blanket pattern is perfect!

   

It still won't be ready by Christmas but it will  get done eventually!  It's almost as wide as I want it to be and then I am going to follow Mickey's instructions (Crochet Crowd on You Tube) on how to make it a rectangle and I will probably make it the size of the top of my bed.  It is for my daughter and her family for their couch and her husband is a big guy!  6' 4" so a "throw" size just wouldn't make it.  

I can practically do this in my sleep and it has been great for t.v. watching...no problem!

 My daughter picked out the yarn and the pattern several years ago and they're still waiting! LOL!

Miss Peeps is a professional "photo bomber"!  She's slowly....very slowly learning to leave my yarn alone.  Grace never bothers it but Miss Peeps cannot be left alone in the room with yarn or any WIPs.

 

 As you can see this hat is almost done but it will get ear flaps and braids still.  There is a blue one that is finished that is for Sam and this one is for Grayson.  Uriah got his last year in tan.

 There's another project but I couldn't find it...imagine that! LOL!  I'll find it before next week.

Here's another Christmas present....a baker's dozen of plant markers for my son and daughter who are both gardeners.  They need another coat of paint but I ran out.  I used my wine corks that I've saved for years (no, I'm not a lush..one glass a day is all).  These are rubber but they worked fine and then they can write on them what the plant is with a permanent marker.  I used skewers you use for shish-kabobs.  A big package is really inexpensive and I already had all the supplies except now I need another can of spray paint.  I'm not sure if they'll last more than one season.  We'll find out!

The girls and I picked these up on one of our hikes this week and I'll show you what I'm going to do with them next week.  It's not your usual pine cone craft so stay tuned!  First I have to "bake" the bugs out of them.

Oatmeal cookies were baked last night as I was needing something for my sweet tooth.  I used this recipe

 from King Arthur Flour's website.  Another fun website to visit this time of year is Williams Sonoma

They both have lots of great recipes and baking goodies for the holidays.

I feel so free now that I don't have to keep things a secret! LOL! Whew!  

Oh, I almost forgot..........I sent for a free (postage paid) ThredUp  bag that I will be filling with some items I hope to get paid for.  I'm not expecting much but anything is better than nothing so I am sending them my very best....some of which has only been worn once for special occasions and then I gained weight so adios to those sizes!  I'l let you know how I fare and I will take photos and post of exactly what I send them and what I get in return....cash wise.  Have any of you used this site before to buy or sell?  They have free shipping from now until Christmas Eve and I have a 40% off coupon for first time user.  

I hope you  had a good week and enjoyed your weekend.  The Iowa Hawkeyes won again!  10-0 record so far!!!!  The Bears lost...per usual when I get to watch them....and to a backup quarterback on the Denver Broncos!  Geez....Bears!  Oh well, at least one of my teams is doing well! LOL!

I'll be by this week to check on everyone.  I'm still busy packing and cleaning and tossing!

Happy Trails!