I mowed yesterday and my zinnias that I planted from seed are starting to bloom!

and the hydrangeas..........

 

and the tiger lilies..........

and the Stella D'Oro............

and this weed which fascinates me and is taller than I am!  I had to let it go to see what it would become and it is starting to flower.....the leaves are huge and like lambs ears............the biggest lamb I ever saw!

My flowers in my trough are also starting to bloom...they're called charabol or something like that.....

I have some volunteer tomato plants coming up in the trough also..........who knew?

I chose my next audio book and started listening to it today.
  It's very good so far.  I listen to my audio books in the kitchen while I'm washing dishes and cooking.  The girls seems to like it too as they all come in the kitchen and lay down..even the cats.  I tell them it's "story hour"....lol!

Sunday I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of 3 ring binders and organized for the next Year of Projects on Ravelry and many other categories such a lists of book series, recipes and my individual patterns for all my handcrafts...........

I print off patterns and put them in plastic covers that have holes for the binders and in they go!

I have a notebook for each Year of Projects...this will be my 5th year!  I was keeping the notebooks in my crafts room but since I am usually "crafting" at night when I'm in bed watching t.v. I decided it would be handier to have them on the shelf in my bedroom closet.  This may change though as I came up with a better idea!

BTW...my shelf and my clothes rod are not curved like that....I have no idea why it looks that way in the photograph?

I decided to use this cutie pie of a notebook to hold the patterns of what I am currently working on.....brilliant!

and in the same vein, I put all my current projects in this old porcelain container which I can easily transport to my bed in the evening.

I've had to rearrange my life and lifestyle because of Miss Peeps being able to "scale tall buildings in a single bound"....lol!  She's getting much better it seems since she turned a year old....no more biting or scratching or jumping on me but she still gets a kick out of knocking over garbages and this is where she likes to take her naps..............I make my bed every morning and then there's this..........
she's under there napping.....I declare!

I finished painting my old rusty chair.  I have another one in the basement to paint still and bring outside.  I painted it a cream color to go with the trim on the house.  I have dark brown and cream colors for accents on the house.

Did I tell you I bought a grill at Walmart?  They were only $14.00 so I grabbed it!  I have a built-in grill on my stove top but it is a bear to clean and I have another built in grill on my porch but it is too hot out there in the summer but great for winter grilling!  So, I thought this would be perfect for me outside.

I still have to put it together and I'd better hurry up as my next meal is going to be brats, potato salad and baked beans!

I hope you're having great weather and a wonderful week!  Happy Trails!

 

What are you reading?

I finished some books this last week........
and this magazine..........

This book on socks is excellent and a great reference too.  I'll be knitting some socks this Year of Projects season from this book.  Ann Budd is a wonderful teacher and she really knows her socks!

If you read my blog regularly then you know I received this book this week and read from start to finish in one day!  I loved it!  Big plans utilizing this book!

This book was $%#&*!  It was about "cashing in" on her name but I could get so much more from Pinterest for free than I got out of this excuse of a book.  All pictures and all of professional artists and crafts people that make a good living from it and have become famous and wealthy.  There was even one room that had sliding walls so she could design her quilts.  Really?  They all had dedicated rooms and big ones too.  They were professional studios and not within anyone's budget that I could tell.  The author is Jo Packham who made her fortune publishing Where Women Create magazines.  I should have known when a publisher publishes her own book.

I love Sylvia Brown and she is such an uplifting person to listen to whether you believe in an afterlife or not.  She spent her life comforting and helping others.   I've known Sylvia since I was a little girl as my Mother would buy her horoscope magazines.  She came from humble and hard time beginnings and she definitely had "the gift".  This was my audio book that I finished. 

As for what I am currently reading...........I used to have a subscription to this magazine and I am still going through them along with many other magazines.  This is a good one with Real Simple ideas, meals and great tips on any subject you can imagine and the articles are short and to the point.

My fiction book is the 2nd book in the Harry potter series.............

for my non-fiction I am reading this classic by a master knitter.........

I haven't chosen another audio book yet but I'll let you know when I do. Today was laundry, hanging it outside, ironing and that was about it for the day.  It's supposed to be sunny all week so there will be catch up outside this week for sure!  A little rain and then sun makes for tall grass and weeds proliferating!  It's also spray painting season and I have lots to paint! 
I hope you are enjoying your books that you are reading.  You are reading I hope?
Happy Trails!

YOP Week #49

Week 49 of 52!  I am so excited to start again!  I love a fresh start of anything. LOL!
I am sure to be more organized this year....or do I say that every year?

I am organizing and making lists and I have yarn and supplies to order and I am having so much fun!  I am dedicating Sunday's to YOP projects and organizing and probably Saturdays too. The week days are just too busy with household maintenance.  I work on projects when I sit down and take a break  and in the evening but on the weekends it's going to be all YOP!
For my weekly update I am just starting the toe of sock #2 of my Hudson Bay Blanket sock............

I was beginning to find my wooden needles grabbing too much which was fine when I started out with DPNs and beginning my knitting journey but now they are starting to hamper my speed....can you believe it?  Me.....Sam like a slug....I actually went back to the old aluminum cheap sticks and they seem to work much better although these are a little bit long 7" as opposed to 5" that I was used to.  I may order some carbons and try them.  Have any of you tried carbons?  What are your favorite needles before I place an order? 
I am also going back down YOP  "memory lane" to revisit projects I never finished, or frogged or wasn't quite skilled enough yet to tackle. My knitting confidence is pretty high now so I started back on some old projects. This is a gift so I won't say too much but I understand patterns so much better and I can focus more whereas in the beginning there was so much to think about.  Again, I found a pair of old aluminum needles that are working better than the wood ones I started out with.

 I also got supplies in this week so I can continue on with another secret gift project and a wonderful book that I bought which I read cover to cover already.............

I loved it and plan on gathering my supplies today to start making numerous idea books.  I first got the "idea" watching Stitched in Sweden podcasts where Maria uses a yarn journal to take notes about her projects, list any changes she makes to the pattern, yarn choices and labels, sketches of future designs, needles used etc.  I thought it was a great idea and then I saw Arne & Carlos's book and that "sealed the deal" ...finally a way to organize all those little 'bits and bobs" of cute items or pictures or inspiration and also to clear my head as it seems like it would burst some days with all my ideas!  No wonder I can't focus! LOL!  I'm not a scrap booking person  but I am a paper lover and idea books are right up my alley!  I highly recommend this book and it gets 5 stars from me!  Have any of you read any of their other books on crochet or knitting?  They are also on You Tube so there is something else to watch.  Oh, did I tell you I cancelled my satellite?  I'm so happy I did!  What a waste for me anyway.  I am immersed in podcasts and learning and old movies and the Feeln channel which costs less for the whole year than satellite cost me for one month and all I got was local channels.
For a little peek into YOP 2016-17 here are my categories..........
KNITTING
CROCHETING
QUILTING
SEWING
EMBROIDERY
CROSS STITCH
WOOL APPLIQUE
WOOL RUG HOOKING
HAND SPINNING
PAPERCRAFTS
 There you have it folks!  Onward and upward!
Oh also...a question....in watching knitting podcasts they mention ripping back like it is very easy and I don't hear them mentioning a life-life when they do it.  Is there something I don't know?  If I rip back in knitting it is tearing out the whole project.  I have no idea how to go back just a few rows to where there is a mistake but it seems there are knitters out there that do it all the time.  Is there a class I can take on this?  I want to make sweaters and bigger projects but I am afraid....very afraid! LOL!  Any information would be appreciated.  I do know about life lines and if  I were to do a big project they would be utilized for sure! 
I am also reading this book.  I got a  used copy on Thrift Books 
my favorite book store! 

Happy Trails!