Thursday, January 4, 2018

It's my birthday today.....I can't believe I've made it this far or that I'm this old! LOL!

 Count those candles....there should be 69 of them!  I feel young...it's only when I look in the mirror I am startled by the old woman staring back at me! LOL!
Yesterday I was gone to Mountain Home to the doctor for a 6 month checkup for the RA.  I'm good and I stopped at T.J.Maxx and got myself a few little items........some body butter.....lemon and sage....
and some really yummy pine scented candles.....I love pine but most candles are a sad imitation.....but not these....they are the real deal and I am lighting them tonight!  Probably not all of them though....
I also treated myself to a Starbuck's Holiday Spice Latte............and what a treat it was!  Yummo!
I was early to my appointment so I sat in the waiting room and read but I should have brought knitting as it was loud in there!  People talking and their phones going off.  I've never seen the waiting room so busy before but I managed to read quite a bit of Outlander and it is very engaging.  I didn't get home until 4:00 p.m. so I was pretty tuckered out by then.  I fed everyone, got my jamies on and had a bowl of soup in bed.  Did I mention how cold it is here?  I think as you age you cannot tolerate extremes of any kind.....too hot or too cold....too salty or too sweet...too well done or not cooked enough......evidently it comes with the territory.
Being gone yesterday I had chores to do but I planned on having a nice birthday regardless.  I fixed a nice egg McMuffin with bacon and then cleaned up the kitchen.  I needed to call in prescriptions and pick them up along with some dog food and cat food.  I also picked up some butter pecan ice cream which was on sale for $3.50 for a quart of Edy's who has the best butter pecan.  I get it at the Dollar General.  I planned on pretty much taking it easy and just doing what I wanted to do.  One thing I REALLY wanted to do was cast on my birthday cowl!  I saw Little Bobbins knitting a cowl with her Advent mini skeins and I fell in love with it. It is a pay for pattern by Helen Stewart who is famous for her clear and wonderful patterns and I have been wanting to try one.  The pattern is based on the Nutcracker and is called The Land of Sweets.  I was so excited and made sure I had the right needles and I downloaded the pattern.  I cast on the required stitches only to discover my cable was too long.

  It called for 24 " and I measured but they must mean from needle tip to needle tip as there was no way I could join them into a circle!  I messed around most of the afternoon looking through my needles and cords but no luck.  I'll have to order one.....oh well....I don't have all the yarn either as it calls for 24 mini- skeins and I only have 3 but it's a start! LOL! 
 These are all Maker's Haven mini's that I purchased awhile ago........I love her yarns......
   Here's a picture of the cowl.........Helen's...not mine............everyone says it is a really fun knit and that is most important in my book!  Plus, it's pretty.......
Tonight will be Zuppa Toscana soup (leftover), Christmas Crack and some butter pecan ice cream while watching When Calls the Heart Season 4 on Netflix.   Even the girls will get some ice cream!  I read a bit this afternoon and tonight I'll work on my CMB or maybe drag out my sweater.....remember that one? LOL!  Oh, I did 10 rows on the washcloth today because I did none yesterday so I'm caught up.  Tomorrow will be some actual housework, I think. 
Happy Trails!!!


22 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday my dear friend Sam!!! :))))) xxxxxxxxx
    You are a beautiful woman! :) I hope you have a great time with your knitting, your girls, your soup and your ice cream!!! :)
    Age is just a number isn't it? I feel like I'm a young filly, with some aches and pains, lol! :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Rain...your friendship means a lot to me.

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  2. Happy happy birthday Sam!!!! Mirrors should be outlawed in the homes of people over 50 lol. I have an old woman looking at me too. Your birthday celebration sounds lovely and perfect. Your fur babies will love their special treat too.

    That cowl is lovely. You will be needing it with all that cold weather uou are having.

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    1. Thank you, Marsha.....the fur babies did enjoy their treat!

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  3. Happy Birthday Sam and Happy 2018 New Year too. It always gives me a surprise to see wrinkles when I accidentlly look in the mirror - those smile lines do show up when we smile. The rest I am just ignoring.
    Hugs.
    Joy

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    1. Thank you, Joy. I am happy to report that I have more smile lines than frown lines.

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  4. Happy Birthday Sam, it sounds like you have planned a great birthday! Keep warm.

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    1. Thank you, Sheila! Where have you been? You stay warm as I think you are lots colder than we are!

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  5. Happy, happy, happy birthday Sam! Sounds like you had a busy day yesterday. I’ve been watching everyone knit on that exact same cowl and have been debating buying the pattern. Sharon, on the “Knit Style” podcast just finished it too. Hers is gorgeous. You’ll have to let me know how it goes and maybe I will break down and get it when we return from Omaha. Could you tell me hat size needle it takes so I know if I have the correct needle before I get all excited. :-). I’ll have to sort through my minis and see if I have enough. Is it 5, 10 or 20 gram minis? Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day it’s cold here too but not nearly as cold as elsewhere in the country so I’m not complaining. Happy birthday again!
    Blessings, Betsy

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    1. Well, the pattern states 24" but that must mean needle included. I used a 24" cable length; needle length not included and it was too long. One gal I messaged said she had the same problem so she did magic loop for a bit until it got more workable. Helen Stewart if from the UK so maybe they measure the entire length where as I know when I order they talk about the length of the cable. All I know is mine was too long with a 24" cable. Good luck! I'll keep you informed....I have not ordered any new needles yet.

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  6. Happy birthday sweet friend! And you are NOT old!!!! Do you know how I know? because we are almost the same age and I know I'm not old!!! hahaha birthday hugs coming your way....save me some ice cream! My birthday is this month too!

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    1. Thank you so much! DO you have plans for your big day yet?

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  7. Happy birthday, Sandra! I hope I'm as young as you when I reach your age, friend. We have a brand new Marshall's in our small town (it's in the same company of stores as T.J. Maxx). I visited it for the first time the week before Christmas and it's going to be a tempting place to frequent. Though maybe I can hold out until my birthday in the spring. What a great idea that is, actually. There is always something at these stores to delight, so I could surely find me a birthday present.

    And okay... I guess I need to check out When Calls the Heart. I keep seeing it on Netflix, but keep scrolling on by it.

    My internal thermostat seems to be permanently set on high, but even I am struggling with this bitter cold we're having. Some joints ache and I get chilled. I don't know when it's been this cold, this early in the season, and for this long. I'm well and truly over winter already.

    Bless you, dear one. I hope you have a great rest of the week and know you are enjoyed by many. Thank you for sharing your days with us.

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    1. Thank you so much, Becky...what sweet words from a sweet lady! Yes, please check out When Calls the Heart...I think you will love it! It's very heart warming and great characters. Start from the first season if you can. It seems winter did arrive very early and much colder than normal for everyone...stay warm! As for the series....originally they were books by Jeanette Oke...I've read the books and they are also very good.

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  8. Happy Birthday!!! Butter pecan was my mother's favorite.

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    1. It was my Mother's too and that's how I got 'hooked' on it. I only have ice cream on special occasions because if it is in the house I will consume it and I need to watch my cholesterol. There's a new cholesterol free ice cream at Walmart (I didn't want to drive that far)....I forget the name of it but it is very good!

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  9. I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Sam! Mine is coming up in less than two weeks and I'm only six years behind you... how did we get to be in our 60s?

    I wanted to thank you for your sweet comment on my Christmas tree post. You asked about my finishing techniques--there are videos on youtube and I also highly recommend these two sites for great tutorials: http://tts-learntofinish.blogspot.com/ and http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com/2009/01/some-thoughts-on-finishing-touches-for.html. The main advice I can give is to practice and work slowly--good finishing takes a lot of time and mine has definitely improved through the years :)

    Wishing you a very happy 2018!

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    1. Carol, thank you so much for stopping by! I just love all your cross stitch projects. I'm in the process of framing a big project and it is the first time I have ever sewn one around cardboard for framing. It's taken me all afternoon and I'm only 1/2 done! LOL! But so far so good. What I learned from you is to do smaller projects so I have more finishes. I always chose these big pictures that take forever! No more....I'm downsizing everything now a days! LOL! Thank you so much for taking the time to list those sites. I will definitely look into them as I need all the help I can get. I feel like I've forgotten more than I ever knew about cross stitch! Thanks again!

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  10. hurray for January Snow Babies!! mine is coming up and not far behind you in age.. I have Psoriatic Arthritis

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