Fun Friday!!!!!

I've been watching Tammy over at T's Daily Treasures doing a creative challenge for 61 days and it looked very interesting.  I've been wanting to 'dabble' in drawing and painting just for the fun of it and Tammy's daily index cards of drawings and water colors looked like just what I would enjoy.  Of course, as always, by the time I realized I wanted to partake it was over with but that's okay.  The challenges and prompts are all still out there on this lovely artistic lady's blog. 
So, this afternoon, I went into the guest bedroom and 'stole' the grands watercolor paints, dug up some index cards I had and 'went for it'.  It didn't take a lot of time and I really enjoyed it.  It's nothing to write home about but it was fun and satisfied that inner child of mine...........

 This is what I came up with......the 1st prompt was SUNRISE..........

Of course, it can never compare to nature's beauty..............

For Fun Friday's I also decided I am going to share with you different fun sites, info, books, movies and t.v. shows or anything else that caught my interest during the past week.  Be aware that I have not read, watched or done any of these things but they interested me enough that I wrote them down when I came across them.  Usually they are suggestions from other blogging friends or interesting sites that I ran across.  So here they are for this week:

BLOGS:
Flamingo Toes  sewing and embroidery

FABRIC:
Glamperlicious by Riley Blake

SHOP:
Fabric and Papers    
wallpaper and upholstery fabric and more

WEBSITE:
Grammarly free grammar help for writing
Kadaza
a new homepage

BOOKS:
The Tour - Jean Grainger
Just Like Other Daughters - Colleen Faulkner
Crochet Crazy Girl - Wendy Erasmus-Koutlis
Boho Crochet Home

CROSS STITCH:
Pumpkin & Bittersweet by The Scarlett House
Simply Shaker - cross  stitch threads

The fun will continue into tonight!  I hope you had a Fun Friday and that you find time to fit some fun into every day!
Happy Trails!

Food fest..........

Well, not really but I have been making some tasty items these past 2 weeks........first was fruit pizza...........yum!

then macaroni salad..............yesterday...Pioneer Woman's recipe.....very good but a little time consuming...........

I also made fried cabbage and bacon but no picture..............and then today I made Mexican Wedding Cake cookies but with a different slant........whole wheat flower and pumpkin puree and spices.......
a healthier version actually...........from Tammy over at T's Daily Treasures (she's on my sidebar) very tasty!

The lawn man came today and did a beautiful job!  His 9 year old daughter was with him so I invited her in and she is an artist!  She drew me all kinds of lovely pictures for my fridge and I sent some washi tape home with her as she really got into that! LOL!

 She also made me some handmade 'spinners' ..................aren't they pretty?  They really spin too!

I went to the store for pecans and to the bank and then this afternoon the mower repair man came and it was the battery.....it was from 2009.....I am so lucky it lasted that long! LOL!  He'll be back in a few days to replace it but I told him no rush since I just had the lawn mowed.  I watered tonight and picked a few tomatoes and earlier I  was able to finish the toe on my 'toe up' socks.....it took me 3 tries but I finally understand German Short Rows.  Very Pink's pattern and tutorial anyway.  I have a whole sock left though so we'll see how many times I have to start over before I get a complete pair! LOL!

Happy Trails!!!

It's Tuesday.....what are you reading, watching and/or listening to?

I'm a day late and a dollar short but yesterday was unbelievably busy!  I had calls to make and I received calls....long ones!  But there's good news too!  I'm not sure if I told you but my lawn mower wouldn't start the other day.  I'm pretty sure it's the battery but  I called the lawn mower repair man and he hasn't called me back yet.  So, I had a recommendation for a lawn care man and I called him. The lawn is in dire shape because 1) the heat then 2) I had my RA then 3) I had my foot surgery and then 4) the mower wouldn't start! He came over and will be back tomorrow to take care of everything at a very reasonable price too!  I was so happy as I have been feeling a little overwhelmed having to take  all these meds with food plus soak my foot twice a day and change the dressings.  I am doing a happy dance!  I don't like asking for help even if I'm paying for it.....I am a stubborn old lady! LOL!
I didn't eat until 8:00 p.m. last night that's how busy I was!
So, because of all my 'busyness' these last 2 weeks, I have not done a lot of reading but I did finally manage to finish the over 500 page All The Light We Cannot See.....I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.  It was great writing and it is a Pulitzer Prize Winner but it dragged on and on and on.  I am also of the mind that there is enough bad and sad things that go on in our world without making up more but that's just me and this was fiction....totally made up. 

I am currently reading this non-fiction and so far it is really good and holding my interest.........it's about  a female fishing captain who is the best out there evidently.....she writes really well too!

For fiction I am reading one of my favorite authors, Sarah Addison Allen.....I have enjoyed every book I have read of hers!  Every book is unique so there is no sequence or order to reading them.
She always throws in some magic into her stories which I love.  This is on my tablet.

I'm still reading my Pioneer Woman magazine.....the very first issue!  Love this woman and her entire family!

I also decided there was an area that I was skipping over and I don't want to......craft books.....I wasn't sure if I should include them on my weekly Year of Project's post or here.  I may do both as YOP is all about 'the making'..........but for now here it is..........
I have read about 3 chapters so far and it is really good!  I think I may just be able to get my sewing (and maybe my other crafts too?) organized with her step-by-step approach.  Plus, there are sewing projects to do to get you started gently back into sewing like me or starting to sew.  I'm very excited about this and I look forward to implementing her strategies!  She has a blog too where you can download (I did already) project bag labels.  Her blog is The Fabric Mutt where she has lots of information and tutorials too.

That's it for my reading this week.  As for watching....and listening..........I am watching mostly podcasts; I've caught up with Ruby Moss Cottage, The Little Tailoress, Brooklyn Knitfolk, and Maker's Haven and I am working hard on catching up with The Knitting Expat and Homespun House.  I've sort of begged off of Inside Number 23 and I've watched Betsy Makes too.  I want to get back to Sew Sweet Violet and Stitching the High Notes.  I also listen to Daily Hope by Pastor Rick Warren.  Oh, and I haven't caught up with The Grocery Girls but I have watched all their episodes on Craftsy of "Off Our Needles"......love that show!  I know I'm forgetting something but if I remember I'll stick it in next week.  I haven't watched any movies or t.v. shows besides the news that I can recall.  Please share what you've been reading, watching and/or listening to!  I'd love to hear about it!
Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #5

Finally, I was able to upload pictures...not sure what the problem was before but all is good now.  I sent 'feedback' and within seconds it was working....magic!
I have a finish this week............my Christmas Eve cast on socks worked on size 2.75 mm DPNs (my standard size as I tend to knit tightly).  The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinner's 75% wool, 25% nylon signature 4-ply.  It has 35% Bluefaced Leicester in it and I love this yarn!  I was able to get it through Deramore's.  They have not been blocked yet but they are done.  I'm in no rush...with the temps here it will be quite awhile before I will be wearing any wool socks! LOL!  I used Susan B. Anderson's free pattern "How I Make My Socks" on Ravelry.  The only thing I changed was instead of the Kitchner toe I did a rounded toe.  This is my go to pattern for most of my socks.

Remember my poor little bird last week where I evidently did not understand the WT (wrap and turn) like I thought I did?  Well, my next socks were going to be toe-up as I have wanted to learn new techniques this year.  I had a free pattern on Ravelry by Wendy Johnson (?) and started out with those but once again there was a WT and/or German Short Row which I thought I knew but evidently not so "when the student is ready the teacher will appear".  I looked on You Tube for a tutorial and lo and behold up came Very Pink with a class for toe up socks including German Short Rows.  I had come full circle since Very Pink is the tutorial I  used to learn to knit socks in the very beginning!
So, I just started the class...it cost $8 and she is such a great teacher with her videos.  Hopefully, I will have a bit more to show you next week.  So far I have learned the provisional cast on though...that's more than I knew last week! LOL!  This pattern calls for DK or Sport  weight yarn so I am not using my Paton's Kroy Sock Yarn.....yet. 

 I basically finished my Kitty Blanket as I ran out of the yellow so it will be for a table or the back of a chair.  I still need to put an edging around it and weave in ends.  I will be trying Becki's edging that she showed on hers last week.  Thanks, Becki!  I love how yours turned out!  

Here's  a close up of the 'kitties'...............

I did get some work done on Ms. Frosty....the pumpkin cross stitch I've been doing......most of the dark orange thread on the right hand side was from this week.............

I'm hoping to gather my Mother Bear project materials this week and get working on that for charity, the pumpkin is for me and the socks and then I need to work on a gift......
Oh, I almost forgot my Christmas in July Gift List...........so in addition to YOP here are the gifts I will be making for Christmas..........

C H R I S T M A S    G I F T    L I S T

On Maker's Haven podcast Amber mentioned the following little poem for a guide to buying for your children which she wanted to utilize this year as she and her family are trying to simplify their life....I shared it with my daughter and will try to use it for the grands also..........
"Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read"....and Amber from Maker's Haven added "and something homemade".  I love it!  In this vein, I have decided to make Christmas Eve boxes.  Here's an example from Pinterest..........if you search on Christmas Eve Boxes for Kids on Pinterest there are all sorts of them............there are adult ones too.......

I am hoping to make these for the 3 grands and it will include a pair of pajamas (hopefully handmade), hot chocolate mix, a Christmas movie, some homemade Christmas cookies, their annual ornament, a book and a homemade I Spy quilt with instructions for the I Spy game to play with it.
As for "the rest of the gang"....there is the Frida Kahlo basket with some Frida Kahlo stitch markers and stationary, my sons will probably all get hats and fingerless mitts and the family canines with get homemade treats and the family felines will get little crocheted mice filled with catnip.  That's all for now but it is plenty to keep me busy from now until the holidays! LOL!  Watch this space!
Happy Trails!!!