Back in the groove

We were supposed to have storms yesterday again but it just rained and then it cooled off, the humidity went away, the sun came out and it was a perfectly beautiful day!  I opened all the windows and caught up on a few things.  It's amazing how much time is spent watching the weather and planning around it especially down here in the South!  And with all the lightening you should not be bathing, washing dishes, running the washing machine or dishwasher or standing near windows and unplug t.v.'s and pc's. and don't flush the toilets.   I do follow those precautions as I had an uncle who's t.v. exploded right in front of him from a lightening strike, my Mother was hit by lightening washing dishes in a stainless steel sink in front a window and my daughter got hit in the ear while talking on a landline phone.  No one was seriously hurt but there was also a county extension person out examining a farm field on a sunny day who was struck and killed because lightening can travel 10 miles!  Needless to say, production slows considerably when there are storms here.  

I made some scrambled eggs with organic greens.......bacon. toast and orange juice got me off to a great start yesterday!  I find eggs really energize me and I can last until supper when I have eggs in the morning.  So, if I have lots to do I try to have eggs for breakfast.

 I vacuumed the closet floor and dusted the walls finally.  Hope to get some painting done this weekend.  I also vacuumed my bedroom.  The shedding by Nitty seems to be coming to an end, finally!  Annie, the dachsund, doesn't seem to shed much at all.

 I also got some more grout cleaning done although this section might have to have a redo.  It looked fine until I looked at this photo! LOL!

  I need to get some grout sealer too.

I finished all 30 of the Maybelle flowers...my Spring needlework project.  Last night I got all the ends woven in too.  Tonight I will start on turning them into squares. 

I've been fixing Reuben sandwiches for supper with turkey pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing on my SIL's homemade rye bread.  Delicious and a nice change.  I haven't had a Reuben sandwich for years.   We have a nice little deli department in our local grocery store that has some great meats and cheeses.  I had mustard greens as a side. 

While I was weaving the ends in I watched Little Bobbins podcasts and it amazes me how much knitting these gals get done. Dani is from the U.K. and they learn knitting young plus their technique is very fast.  I might have to learn how to knit faster.

I finished this old National Geographic magazine but age doesn't seem to make a difference as most of it is scientific or history anyway.  I find them so interesting.

Percentage of WIP's (works in progress) and a few others I forgot....actually I have divided "my list of Never-Ending projects" into categories as there are too many to ever get around to each in one day, or even a week....some may take a lifetime! LOL!  But it helps me to plan and prioritize and I have always been good at that....it's the action part I have trouble with.  But here are my categories and what is today's or this week's or this month's priority in each area.  These may change without notice also.  This does not include daily maintenance such as making the bed, washing the dishes etc.   There should not be 2 projects in the same area going on at the same time but as you can see there is one.....in Crochet.....need to remedy that soon!

1.  cleaning - grout (20%)
2.  decorating - entryway closet (30%)
3.  gardening - plant plants I bought (0%)
4.  landscaping - weed and mulch around propane tank (30%)
5.  crochet -Spring needlework project - Maybelle Baby Blanket  (30%)
6.  crochet -Happy Hooky Pillow, blocked and unpinned now (70%)
7.  knitting - secret gift #1 (45%)
10.quilting -  house blocks (25%)
11.cross stitch or embroidery - gather supplies for "secret project #2"
12.pets - make dog treats (0%)
13.sewing - 2 knot bags, need to cut out the bottoms (30%)   
14.cooking - plan next meal (0%)
15.moving -  pack a box  and take to basement or vise versa (0%)
16.organizing - clean out porch for repairs in July (5%)

There are a few categories I didn't put on here because they are either too personal or would give something away to someone who reads this blog....such as Friends and Family, Business, Personal, Spiritual,  Contribution and Financial.  I may shrink or expand this list at any time.  There are so many things I want/need to do that I have to prioritize or they will never get done.  It's so easy to get carried away with the "little dailies" as I like to call them and never get to "the big rocks".  Plus, I always need to schedule around the weather and have "rain plans" and "sun plans".  For example, today is nice and I need groceries out of town so that is a priority, I also need to go to the auction tonight and confront those people who have had every opportunity to call me and tell me what I am owed or tell me to pick up my stuff....neither of which they have done.  I took the items back in February and they are only there on Fridays so that's a priority and some other financial/bill paying obligations and then hopefully I will have some energy left to get a few more things done.
I hope you are having nice weather where you are and that you are doing what you need/want to do today.
Happy Trails!

Finishes and surprises in the mail.........

Look what I received in the mail from a drawing I won over at Carol E. Herman Designs on Ravelry!

First this cute card from Carol.  Carol designs knitwear and has patterns on Ravelry.

I won 2 handmade buttons that I will have to knit something special for so I can utilize them.  She also included those yummy-licious salted caramels!  How did she know I love them!?!?  Thank you so much, Carol!  YOU are the sweet one!

As for finishes..........this audio book was very good except for the love scenes...I'm from the generation where you didn't discuss that type of thing in public and I'm not much of  a romantic anyway. I covered the girl's ears...lol! But the rest of the book was very good and it was a good story.

I also finished reading the 2nd book in The Ladybug Farm series.....so good!  My kind of book for sure!  I highly recommend these books especially if you're older, like me.  It's about 3 older women but there are some youngsters in there too!  If you liked Jan Karon and the Mitford books you would enjoy these.

My next audio that I am listening to is The Beardstown Ladies Common Sense Investment Guide.  I'm not sure this information still applies as this is from quite a long time ago but I am sure I can learn something from it and it tells their history and story which is interesting.

I've decided that I will list my WIP's (works in progress) and not just needlework....all my projects I am presently working on...
 1)  Maybelle Baby Blanket - I have 23 of the 30 flowers crocheted and next will be weaving in all the ends (great for t.v.watching) and then you crochet them into squares if I'm not mistaken.  The dark one is a chocolate brown but it looks black in the photo.  I learned from The Patchwork Heart that it is more efficient to do all of one thing at once and then move on...kind of like factory work ie; do all the flowers, then all your ends, then all your squares etc. as opposed to completing each square before going on to the next.  Divide and conquer!

2)  grout cleaning -  no progress as there were storms and catchup around here.  Hopefully, I will get back to it today or for sure tomorrow.
3)  closet - needs vacuuming and dusting and I need to gather up my paint supplies.  It's amazing how several days go by without any progress but  there was laundry, ironing, and general maintenance that I can't let slip either or I won't have anything to eat or to wear! LOL!
4)  YOP 2016-17 starts in July and there are all those birthdays in July and my son is coming down to work on the porch then too so I have some planning, organizing and cleaning to do for that. 
BTW......our neighboring town (6 miles away) had their small airport and 5 small planes destroyed in that storm the other night.  There was also damage to the hospital and school.  The weather service said after investigating, that it was straight line winds and not a tornado but the winds were equal to an EF-1 tornado at 80- 100 mph.  I never go to the basement unless it's a tornado warning.  I'm thinking maybe I should set up a bedroom down there! LOL!
Stay safe and Happy Trails!

Didn't get much sleep last night....

We had a humdinger of a storm or actually about 3 storms that went through last night.  The weather radio went off 3 times and then there was the lightening flashing so I finally gave up trying to sleep and sat up and read some more.  I don't think it calmed down until about 2:00 a.m. and then I finally got some sleep.  Of course that meant we all slept in this morning until almost 8:30! 
I did get a few things done but it was a slow-motion day.  The satellite went out right after DWTS started last night so hopefully I can watch a rerun tonight since I missed it.

 My daughter sent me a beautiful card and pictures of 2 cute little soccer players.........

Sam...........

and Grayson............

Pictures of grandchildren......the perfect Mother's Day gift!  Thank you, Amy...you are my favorite daughter....you know that don't you? (She's my only daughter! LOL!)  I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

My peony bloomed for the first time in 6 years!  I love peonies for both their fragrance and their looks but they are so short lived.

The roses are going gangbusters...........

Coral Belles are blooming...........

strawberry plants have blossoms.................

American Iris.............

and Japanese or Siberian...........

 and my zinnias are growing too....pretty soon there will be blooms on them too!

I took these pictures the other day and glad I did before the storm came through.  I hope you are all safe from Springtime storms.
Happy Trails!

YOP Week #45

Week #45 of 52!  It's hard to believe this YOP year is almost over with but what fun to plan the next one!  I was "on the road" a lot this week so I didn't get too much done but...........I finished my 2nd sock.........(I know some of you saw this the other day...sorry for the repeat)

I also cast on my 2nd Canadiana yarn Hudson Bay sock but since this picture was taken I  have frogged it....I just don't feel like doing another sock right now.  I need another knitting project in between.  I wanted to do my first sweater and I have the yarn but I couldn't find my circular needle in the size that I need. I'll either need to order one or pray it will turn up before I do. 

So, of course I ran across a free blanket pattern that I happened to have all the materials for so I started a new project but it's crochet not knitting and I really want to do some knitting.  But for now at least it keeps my hands busy.
It is The Maybelle Baby Blanket over at My Rose Valley
These are the colors in Stylecraft Special DK and she uses a cotton yarn but I am substituting this acrylic and the hook size I am using is F.  I tried a larger but it didn't turn out like hers so I went down in size until the flower looked compatible.
The 2 yarns at the top are the joining and border and for some reason I put the wrong pink yarn in the picture as you will be able to tell.  You make 5 flowers of each of 6 colors for a total of 30 flowers but of course you could make a bigger blanket if you wanted to and you could make the flowers each unique or whatever colors you wanted to use.  I really need to place a yarn order soon!

5 pink flowers done....25 more to go but they are fun and easy and I am able to watch podcasts while making them!

I also FINALLY blocked my Happy Hooky pillow cover and there is a bad mistake on the front that even blocking won't fix but I will hide it within the seam.  My problem is that I don't think there is a pillow form that size so I may have to make one myself which is sort of the reason I put off blocking it.  Instead of using plain water to wet it down with, I used Mary Ellen's Best Press in the lavender scent.  If it doesn't look good at least it will smell good! LOL! 

 That is some serious "pooling" on the back!

 I also have not auditioned any buttons yet for the closure.  For me, the "finishing touches" take longer than the initial project.

We are celebrating Mother's Day here in the U.S. so I bought myself some chips and dip and some butter pecan ice cream. (Holidays are a free zone where I get to eat whatever I want regardless) (I made up that rule myself because if the doc thinks I am going to give up ice cream and cheese and all dairy products from now until I die well then they might as well take me now! LOL!  So this is how I compromise.   Although I haven't told the doc yet but my tests are all good so what he doesn't know won't hurt him)  I will have the ice cream after supper with the cherry dump cake I'm making and then there's that yarn order!  Yes, Happy Mother's Day to all and you know who you are!
Happy Trails!

Another trip to Mountain Home.............

I went to Mountain Home yesterday.  Since I drive I really can' t take pictures so I got these off of the internet.   This is the bridge I drive over.  When my parents first came down here in the 70's there were no bridges and you had to take a ferry.  The first time I white knuckled it across but it is amazing what you get used to.  Although, I must admit I wouldn't want to drive over it in bad weather or if it was really windy.

 

Here is an aerial view............ there are several bridges now............

This is Baxter Regional Medical Center where I went for my bone scan

 Here are some other pictures of Lake Norfolk.................

 These are water caves that you can actually canoe or kayak into..........and out the other side in some

 This is the damn and I have driven over it (there is a road on the top) but thank goodness I wasn't driving....it's a little more intimidating than the bridge for me but then I got used to the bridge so who knows..........but I chose not to go home over the dam.  It's closed in this picture but when there are heavy rains they open those floodgates.

Tho "old swimmin' hole" also on the lake............and there are natural beaches where you can pull up your boat all over the place............

And as the sun slowly sets in the west............I bid you a fond farewell until tomorrow.........

Happy Trails!

 

Happy Cinco Demayo!

Look what I got in the mail today!  It came from Betsy who blogs over at The Simple Life of a Queen...she's on my sidebar.  I have wanted one of these after seeing them around the internet and blog world.  It is a holder for my DPN's....double pointed needles that you have probably seen when I'm knitting my socks.  It is "the bee's knees" 

 It keeps your yarn on your needles and you don't have to be concerned and so easy to stick it in your purse and take it with you.  Betsy sent it wrapped in this pretty tissue paper and accompanied by a sweet note.

 Thank you sweet Betsy!  I am thrilled and will think of you every time I use it and I WILL be using it.....see.....
I am thinking of something to send you so keep your eye out!  You are too kind!

 In honor of Cinco De Mayo I made my first BLT for lunch!  YUM!  Yes, it is offcially BLT season.  

 I made rice krispie treats for a dessert in trying to empty my cupboards and use up things.

 Remember that Thai meal prep I bought.............

well, i made it tonight for supper and it was easy and good.  It doesn't look too good but trust me, the chicken was cooked yet moist and very tasty with the peanut coating.  I had green beans as a side.  Heathy and tasty!   But that pan is going to be a bummer to clean! LOL!

I go for my bone scan tomorrow so between cooking and cleaning today and hospital tomorrow there wasn't any time left for grout or closet and none tomorrow but Saturday for sure and God willing!
Happy Trails!

Some finishes!

Yesterday was not productive at all.  There was a terrible case of animal abuse on FB that unfortunately I saw and couldn't get out of my head.  There was one a few weeks ago too. I have an extra amount of empathy evidently as there are certain things that I have seen in my life that stay with me and I can't seem to erase them once they get in my head.  I totally understand why our service people come home with PTSD.  Mine is nothing compared to theirs but I can understand how horrible it must be.  I shed some tears (and I hate crying and do it as little as possible).  It's okay as long as you stay busy but at night when you lay your head down there it is! I couldn't get to sleep and then had bad dreams.  Too bad you can't backup your mind like a tape on a tape recorder and erase those scenes.  I cannot deal with cruelty to anyone or any thing.  I sign petitions all the time but I wish I could do more.
But today was different..........
I took care of some financial things in the morning and then as I have been trying to "finish" things, I did some knitting and finished my 2nd sock.......

 Also, while I couldn't get to sleep, I was able to finish this........
the first book in a series which is my fantasy come true!  Three older female friends buy an old Victorian home in the country that is also a farm and the story revolves around their life there and fixing up the house and finding a home and a community.  This book makes for smiles and sweet dreams!

This is the second book in the series and I've already started it.  What a treat to look forward to at the end of the day!

 I also used my new tools and was able to get up the carpet tacking strips and the staples that they use on the padding.  Tomorrow I will vacuum good and dust down the walls in preparation to paint.

 I also worked some more on the grout cleaning in my bathroom.  This is what I am using and it is working really well.  I may get a bleach pen for touch ups but overall I am really pleased with the results and at the most I may use 2 containers of the gel before I am done.

 I spread it on the grout and leave it for 10 minutes............

then I scrub it and I decided after scrubbing to leave it on for another 10 minutes...........

I like the results! 

It's a slow process for me but it will get done eventually. 
I hope you had a great day!  The weather here is gorgeous and no need for heat or ac!  Perfect!
Happy Trails!