TeaTime Ramblings

Superior Customer Service

2011-12-22T21:41:00.000-06:00

A few months back we bought ourselves our first rice cooker. I did a ton of research. The Oster brand kept coming up on top for what we could buy locally. It was in our price range so we decided to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed for the first time ever the rice cooked perfectly, there was no second guessing. Not only was it great at cooking rice but in the morning we could get it loaded up with oats(groats) and water and take our pups for a walk and when we came home we had perfectly cooked oatmeal. Life was great.

Then one day it started turning itself off randomly. At first I would think I forgot to hit 'start'. After a bit it no longer even turned on. I contacted customer service for Oster and was directed to take it to an authorized repair shop. I did so and was disappointed to find out that the part wasn't available for my machine, the big problem was that I hadn't kept my receipt and so the warranty was no longer any good.

I was really frustrated and I sent off a pretty fierce email to the company. I waited and the next day I had a reply from customer service apologizing for the inconvenience. They would send me a new one and it should arrive in 2 - 3 weeks.

This afternoon we had a knock at the back door and here was the replacement rice cooker. I'm very pleased with their customer service. I also learned a very valuable lesson about keeping receipts. The repair shop was very clear that Oster does back their warranties, clearly that is the case.

Thank you Oster!

The pooches

2011-12-09T07:53:00.000-06:00

My two pooches, make life so wonderful. When times are bad, they are always there waiting to be snuggled and to give kisses! They definitely make our house a home.

Piper and I went for a walk and we found this mini-snowman that some school kids had made in the school yard. I couldn't resist the photo op. I don't think she is happy to be sitting in the snow, but she did it. She can be such a good girl.

Then there is our Oliver, so snuggly! Piper isn't that snuggly yet. Oliver's favorite thing to do is snuggle under a blanket with you on the couch. If I don't have a blanket he just paces and nudges until I get one. He's always liked being in a cave when he sleeps. Both the dogs got a jingle bell collar but Oliver's has the best sound. He doesn't seem to mind and I always know where is in the house, his jingles always give him away.

Piper was spayed last week at the humane society. I was anxious about it, especially because of her size and how much she jumps and I knew we'd have to keep her calm for a week. At 7 months, that's quite a feat. I'm happy to say she is doing great, the vet there did a great job and she's back to having free reign of the house, well when we're home that is.

Right now Oliver is the only on with this privilege, he earned it after many trials. Thankfully the worst he ever did was drag some yarn about, eat my Valentine's chocolates and taste a few pocket books.

Beagles Rescued

2011-12-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

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Many of you may have already seen this posted on a friends wall in FB or in the news. These adorable beagles were used as lab rats in Spain. As I watched this tears were running down my face, these beautiful innocent creatures had never seen the outside world. Never went for a walk or sat in the sun, never sniffed at a puddle or had a snowflake on their nose. I'm horrified that dogs are treated in this manner. I'm thrilled that these dogs are safe at last. As you watch the dogs slowly take their first steps out of their metal cage you will surely feel the same.

We have a five year old beagle named Oliver, he's so special to this. It breaks my heart to think of him having led a life like that. We joke a bit as many know beagles aren't the easiest dogs to care for, ours has a bit of attitude at times, that being said I couldn't imagine life without him. He's so snuggly and on the flip side he'll go on as many walks as you want in a day. He's the perfect dog to blend in with any routine.

Thank God for rescue organizations like this and others who save dogs from this kind of inhumane treatment.

Christmas Treats

2011-12-06T10:31:00.000-06:00

Last night I made my DH's favorite cookie of all time, the gingersnap. I'm not usually crazy for them, but these turned out so good I couldn't stop eating them!

3/4 cup hard margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup fancy (mild) molasses
2 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp.salt
1/4 cup sugar

Cream margarine and first amount of sugar together in a large bowl. Add egg. Beat well. Add molasses, beat until smooth.

Combine next 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Add to margarine mixture in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition, until no dry flour remains. Roll into 1" balls. Roll each ball into the second amount of sugar until coated. Arrange 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, or until firm. Cool on wire racks.
Yield: Approx 7 1/2 dozen.

The knitting is a Hanging Kitchen towel and an old fashioned dishcloth, a Christmas gift for a friend.

Mrs. Claus

2011-11-17T11:15:00.000-06:00

I saw this pattern and I had to make it, even though I've never knit so much as one sock! Now I've knit three and two are for Christmas gifts. It makes me feel a bit like Mrs. Claus!

After seeing the one I made my Mom put in a request for me to make her and her DH one for Christmas. I am pleased to say I am just about finished the last one.

The cranberry one on the right is for my Mom and the thyme green one on the left is for her DH. I am just putting the ruffle trim on now. The only difference I made was to put only one row and use one colour for the trim. They are almost too hard to part with.

Candy Cane Sparkle Ball Band Duo

2011-10-19T07:55:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again! I stumbled upon some Bernat Holiday Handicrafter at Zellers on discount so I grabbed what they had. I had planned on doing a different cloth and then I thought it would be neat to have a pair of ballband in alternating main colour. The final product is very festive. Am I the only one who loves doing dishes with seasonal coloured cloths? I hope not! It seems though, that I am bypassing Halloween and going for Christmas. It's actually the first year I've been looking for Christmas supplies early enough to not find them available....wow! I am way ahead of the game.

I did these with a CO of 39 and worked five repeats of the pattern, ending with row 1 and 2.

I an sending a package up to my niece and I thought I'd add some cloths as my sister loves them so much and she doesn't
knit.

I've been knitting mainly dishcloths, although I did have a request to make two knitted stockings for a Christmas gift. I had decided to send gift cards to all the family who was out of the city, after my Mom saw this, she put in a request for a pair for Christmas. How could I say no?

Whole Wheat Sunflower Bread

2011-10-12T06:56:00.000-06:00

I adore my Bread Machine, it's so easy to get tasty and interesting loaves at home at a fraction of the cost. A nice loaf of bread runs you between $3 and $5. This is a variation of a recipe I've been doing for years. This version is a little lighter and the sunflower seeds are a nice addition.

2 cups water
3 Tbsp margarine(or oil)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk powder(I use fresh if I'm not using delay setting)
4 Tbsp sugar
3 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup 7 grain or Red River cereal
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 1/4 tsp yeast(I use 1 tsp of the fast acting yeast)

Measure ingredients into machine in order listed, place pan into unit. Select Whole Grain loaf and size. This makes a 3lb loaf. You can cut this in half if you have a 1 1/2 lb unit. Hit start and wait for the goodness to begin.

My family loves this bread and prefers it over to the pricey loaves you get at the super market. If you try it let me know what you think of it.

A Victorian Christmas Stocking

2011-10-11T06:56:00.000-06:00


The Story of my Victorian Christmas Stocking

The story started out on Sunday afternoon, I had just finished knitting a Christmas gift bag and I saw a Christmas stocking on the label. I checked out the label pattern and it was for crochet, but I wanted to knit. Although I have tried to knit a sock, I have never finished one. Off to Ravelry I went in search of a pattern.

That led me to the Ruffled Lace Christmas Stocking, it was the perfect fit. I looked at the pattern and got a little intimidated, but I just said 'go for it'. For the first time I just knit and didn't worry about the next step. The cuff and body of the stocking knit up very quickly, it was a breeze. When I got to the stuff that intimidated me(turning the heel etc.) I was patient, I started to second guess myself but I was firm - just follow the directions. What I learned was it all makes sense when you are at the right stage.

It's hard to imagine what they are talking about in the pattern if you aren't at that stage. I had done the Kitchener Stitch before so that wasn't intimidating me, but the heel and such were.

This was a great lesson in not trying to jump to far ahead for me. I learned a lot and I have a beautiful new Christmas stocking, which I truly love!

I don't know if I'm quite ready to go for socks yet, but I'm getting closer.

I had some Country Red and Ivory on hand. The country red was Lily Sugar and Cream, gifted to me from a friend in Utah. I had nothing that matched for the trim so I went in search. I finally found an Indigo blue in Bernat Handicrafter Cotton and a muted green by Phentex Merit for the ruffle.

I highly recommend this pattern, it is very well written and it turns out beautifully. I have seen it with and without the ruffle trim and variations in between. I prefer at least the ruffle at the cuff.

2011-09-27T22:08:00.001-06:00

I found this "getting to know you" meme on Dee's blog. It looked like fun. So, here goes, the ABCs of me:

Age: 41 (almost 42)

Bed: Queen.

Chore that you hate: Cooking,thankfully my DH loves it!

Dogs: Two, a 5 year old Bragle named Oliver and we just adopted a pup named Piper a cute Border Collie/Larador Retriever mix from the Humane Society.

Essential to start my day: TEA!!!

Favorite color: Red or Navy

Gold or silver: Gold, but silver is a close second ;)

Height: 5'5"

Instruments that you play: air drums

Job Title: Office Admin or something politically correct like thay.

Kids: Two

Live: Rarely

Mom's name: Carolyn Margaret

Nickname: My Granny always called me Missy, but she was the only one who could.

Overnight hospital stays: 5

Pet Peeves: When people say 'My bad'

Quote from a movie: "You had me at hello"

Right or left: Right.

Siblings: Two sisters, two brothers

Take-Out-Food: Quick, it is for running late moments.

Underwear: hate shopping for it.

Veggies: Pretty much all except beets, brussel sprouts rule!

What makes you run late: My dawdlng DD.

Xrays: Nothing major, never broke a bone.

Yummy food: Cinnamon buns, muffins.....oh any baked good, my big weakness!

Zoo Animals: Not really a person who likes zoos.

There are my answers. Where are yours?

If you decide to participate, please leave a comment so I can go see the A-Z on you.

2011-09-25T12:41:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still around! I don't have too many followers lately so I'm sure my absence wasn't noticed much. Life has been hectic since Fall kicked in. We also adopted a 3mth old Border Collie/Labrador Retriever Cross from the Humane Society just as our holidays ended. Let me tell you, I forgot how much attention a puppy needs. Piper is a ball of energy. When we got her she was obviously under weight, she weighed 16 pounds and you could see and feel her ribs. Since we got her in the middle of August she has gained 10.5 pounds and she's averaging a gain of 2lbs/week. We are busy playing with her and walking her so I don't get much time to do anything else. Knitting has been slow going, but I did finish this set for my niece's 10th birthday - she turns 10 in December and they moved farther North. I thought a nice scarf/hat sat was appropriate. Of course I had to bling it up, I used Red Heart Shimmer. Her mom is a busy one and this needs to be machine washable. Today I picked up the buttons at Michael's, I like they way they tie it all together. If you haven't tried either of these patterns, I highly recommend them!

I'm not doing a lot of Christmas knitting this year, I usually find I am too stressed out by the end and worried I won't finish in time. I'm also working on some 'me' knitting and I continue to try to fit in prayer shawl knitting.

A new Addition to the Tea Mouse Family

2011-08-20T07:16:00.000-06:00

Meet Piper, our new pup! Piper was adopted from a local animal shelter. When we picked her up on Monday she was a mess, she had been in the same kennel as her sister and brother. It appears that they were rolling around in their messes. She went straight home to her first bath and she cleaned up well.

She is a border colllie/labrador retriever cross and she is really smart! She has a toy box and she goes into the toy box and removes toys in her way to get to the toy she likes.

Our challenge now as a family is to get her ready to socialize with our 5 year old beagle in a non aggressive puppy mode way. According to what I've read she should pick up his 'back-off' body language by 4 months old.

I am looking forward to them becoming really close. Already Oliver our beagle is willing to jump up and sit near her and he's warmed up enough to go back to his rawhides. He's making good progress towards this.

Saturday Knitting

2011-08-06T11:27:00.000-06:00

Lazy Saturday morning spent knitting in bed. Working on an Irish Hiking Scarf, I love this pattern. I had got a gift certificate for Eat Sleep Knit at Christmas from my brother and I decided to knit myself a scarf and hopefully a pair of Bella mittens. I fell in love with Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Ravelry Red. This is gorgeous yarn, soft and squishy, it is going to be a wonderful winter scarf to keep me warm and toasty.
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Hazy Shade of Winter

2011-07-12T07:29:00.000-06:00

More 'me' knitting, sounds a little selfish but it really isn't. Lately almost all my knitting time has been for others. I was making the Everyway Wrap with this lovely Berocco Ultra Ulpaca but I just didn't like the results and add to that it was set down for Christmas knitting and I lost my place.....found it after frogging, but still glad I frogged.

This is a lovely size 36" deep and over 5ft across. I have wanted a large cozy shawl for some time and I finally got it. I love this so much I started a second one, read yesterday's post.

This is going to be a very well used shawl, it's got that 'go with anything' look so I'm glad it is in a neutral colour.

I highly recommend this pattern!

More 'me' Knitting

2011-07-11T19:07:00.000-06:00

I have done a lot of prayer shawl knitting and I'm definitely in need of some 'me' knitting. I knit this Boneyard shawl already in Berocco Ultra Ulpaca and I loved it so much I'm making another one. I had six skeins of the Cascade handpainted in Red and I was planning on a FLS(February Lady Sweater). I decided I'd much rather have a shawl, they go with more outfits from casual to dressy. So here goes another one!

This was my progress so far, I started it this morning and I knit on it at lunch while listening to the audiobook version of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, perfection!

Namaste Hand Bag - A Knitter's Must Have

2011-07-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

Here is my new Namaste Purse. I was shopping at Eat Sleep Knit with my yarn lotto money $50 store credit and I had a few shekels leftover and I thought I'd find a small accessory. Boy was I wrong! Instead I saw this bag and I just had to have it. I searched and found a few youtube video reviews and I was sold. The hardest part, choosing a colour. I saw the Hollywood Pink and I was in love. Usually I'm a red or blue person but the red was more like a brick red and I didn't really want blue and I just could not resist this beautiful pink. I've definitely been on a pink kick all of a sudden. This just screams glamorous to me.

Here the bag is opened up, you can see how much space is inside. I just have my wallet on the bottom. The wide mouth opening makes it really easy to get to your stuff(knitting). There are also side pockets and a zippered pocket. The side pockets have a pouch for a cell phone but I have a BB and it won't fit there. The zippered pocket is a great place for me to store my little baggie of knitting accessories to take along.

This is the front accordion pocket, it opens up to several sleeves. This is a great place for those quick 'go-to' purse items. This is where I keep my cell phone, gum, mints etc. I like that it's right out front, super handy.


And here it is with my current knitting project inside. This is my 'Hazy Shade of Winter' shawl. See there is enough room for this and the shawl is almost full size at the moment. I have it stored in it's ziploc bag and underneath is my wallet and the pattern. The bag has three strong magnets to keep it closed, the bag opens very easy because of this and it closes on its own too. If it pops open you just have to give it a gentle push and it is closed. The bag costs about $79 but it is well worth every penny. When I picked up my parcel at our local drugstore there were Roughrider purses(our local football team) they are in the hideous rider green(grass green) and they are basically a green football with straps and the rider logo. So for the same price I could have had a hideous green bag with absolutely no storage space or this gorgeous and very practical handbag. I think I got a great deal. Not like I'd buy a small hideous green football purse bag, but I do feel better about buying a pricey bag spontaneously after seeing that for sale ;)

Happy Knitting!

Nail Fun

2011-07-07T10:36:00.002-06:00

For my DD's grade 12 grad we went and had gel nails done. I decided to keep mine a bit longer. When I went to get them filled this weekend I met some wonderful ladies. It was a great atmosphere. One of the ladies was getting a design with a gem and she encouraged me to try it. I quite like it, it's a little different and a little treat to me. I was finding them too long and had them shortened a bit and I'm loving them once again. I like to have nice nails and in May I still didn't have enough good nails for a decent manicure. These are a great option especially when you live in a climate that is so hard on nails like ours is. I don't know how long I'll continue with the maintenance of them, but I'm enjoying them thoroughly at the moment.

Prayer Shawl Progress

2011-07-06T10:00:00.003-06:00

I recently picked up a copy of 'The Prayer Shawl Companion'. One of the ladies brought a copy of it to our last prayer shawl ministry gathering. It's got some lovely patterns and great prayer ideas.

This is the Cornerstone shawl. It calls for 700 yards of worsted weight acrylic yarn and really big needles size 13(11mm). I tried that and it was way too loose. I went down to a size 11(9mm) and it was much better.

I love the look of this pattern. I will try it again but I'm thinking of doing garter edging instead of the seed stitch. I just find it awkward with big needles and small yarn. Also, I just like to try doing things differently.

It was still bigger than I'm used to using for that size of yarn, but it does make a quick project. I started this on June 27 and finished it up on July 4.

I like to create a nice relaxing space for my prayer shawl knitting. There are times when I take it in the car or the backyard. I'm trying to keep my knitting corner free of clutter, that's a BIG challenge. Usually this end table has patterns, needle accessories and other things piled on it.

This inspired me to make a change. I have a candle lit, a copy of the book and of course a cup of tea. Then I'm all set to knit on the shawl.

The demand for the shawls in our church has really surprised me, the stories of people receiving them are so moving. It really feels right to be a part of such a great ministry.

I have knit about seven shawls since I started and I plan to get one more on the needles but it's progress will be slow

as I have a lot of 'me' knitting to finish up. I have two shawls on the needles now and I have a FLS planned to knit before Fall. So many projects, if only there were more knithours in a day!

Things I like about Summer

2011-07-05T10:16:00.000-06:00

This year I'm determined to make the most out of summer, no matter how many mosquito's invade!I find that winter is a long hard go if you don't get enough outside time. This was the case this past winter. We had a long cold winter with a LOT of snow. It got downright depressing.

The fix I hope this year is enjoying as much as I can. My DH bought a canoe so we can enjoy the lakes.

We have been enjoying our backyard, our little oasis - a place to get away from the regular grind of work, committee meetings and other things that take up a lot of our time during the year.

I bought DH a zero gravity chair and I loved it so much I got myself one. Sitting back in that with a nice cool beverage is a great way to spend an afternoon. On a really hot day we stay tucked under our canopy house and turn on our mister and you can hardly tell how hot it is. If you live somewhere you hot, you must have

one, we got ours at Home Depot.

I've recently discovered my love for Stella Artois. Before Stella I really didn't think I liked beer. Oh I like it, just the really expensive imported stuff, figures. Oh well, all things in moderation. It does go well with bbq.

Also a fun summer treat is the Timmie's Iced Cap or a nice Strawberry Frappucino from Starbucks.

Add to that my knitting and I'm all set to have a great afternoon no matter how hot it gets.

Yarn Bombing, in my city really?

2011-06-15T17:30:00.002-06:00

On my way to work the other day I noticed this tree, I drive this way every day and this was definitely new. It has been Yarn Bombed! The question is by whom.

I made it my mission today to take a picture of it on my way home from work. This is quite unusual, I've never seen any evidence of yarn bombing before this and it's in an area that I wouldn't consider artsy.

It looks like it is crocheted - whoever you are yarn bomber, you rock!

I had fun editing the pictures, the second one is in honor of the Canucks who are playing in game 7 today for the Stanley Cup, here's hoping they bring the cup home to Canada, eh!

I've never yarn bombed. Have you? If so what did you bomb?

Worldwide Knit in Public Day - Knitting at Tim Horton's

2011-06-11T13:33:00.002-06:00

I know many of you already knit a lot in public so you were probably doing this today to celebrate. I don't knit too often in public, I guess it is my own issues that keep me from doing so. I don't normally like to stand out in public so doing anything that attracts attention to me makes me feel nervous.

This morning after I went for a nail refill I decided to be brave and go for it. I bought my Xlarge coffee and a muffin and found a nice table in the sunlight and went for it. It was liberating! You know what, I don't even think people noticed or paid any attention to me, yay! For an introvert it helped me feel less uncomfortable to be alone in the coffee shop. I normally don't do that.

I think knitting in public is a great way for me to get out and have this alone time when it's needed or if I'm going to be out by myself for shopping etc.

This is the Boneyard shawl I'm knitting for myself in Berocco Ultra Alpaca. I've named it Hazy Shade of Winter as it reminds me of a cloudy winter day. I love the pattern, very simple so it's great for t.v. knitting and it also just has a classic look to it.

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Relaxation Aroma Therapy

2011-06-10T19:12:00.002-06:00

A girl at work was having a Scentsy catalogue party so I decided to give the scents a try. I love the house to smell nice and I had recently taken to using the Glad Sensor air fresheners in the bathrooms, it just seemed to keep them smelling fresh. They aren't cheap a little replacement is between $6 and $10.

My wonderful DH bought me two full size burners for Mother's Day and six packages of scented wax. The Green Celtic Knot one is for my bedroom. I'm currently using the Cucumber Lime and it's very relaxing.

The burgundy one is the Roma and I'm using it upstairs, I like it for it's Victorian styling. I'm using the Simply Irresistible scent.

I got two full size burners and six packs of the scented wax. It's quite neat, I don't have to worry about candles and the scent stays the entire time. I've never found a scented candle that ever really had much scent to it. So there is no candle just a bulb to keep the wax melted. One square of the wax usually does a weeks worth of average use, which is mainly 5 hours an evening. The wax hardens until you turn it on the next day, lovely! This is just perfect. I'm looking forward to the different scents for the different seasons. There are pretty much scents to appeal to everyone, it's a pretty cool system. There are also nightlights, similar to glade plugins that work the same way and light up the room too.

Want to win your own plug in Scentsy click here for more info.

Graduation Day

2011-05-27T08:01:00.001-06:00

Today my little girl graduates high school! Here she is at age 5, it is obvious she's had some falls. These falls that caused little bruises or the need of a Band-Aid were easy to fix when she was 5.

As she grew into a pre-teen things changed, she was growing up and in doing so she began to have mood swings. Things weren't so easy to fix. There were many of those in the past few years. She had a wild ride to growing up and my hairdresser can attest to that fact...lol!

So in the early years it was all fixed so easy, a kiss on an owie or a hug was all it took. These last few years we had to give a lot up to God and pray like the dickens. I'm so glad we did. We never gave up on our little spitfire!

Today she graduates from high school, she's no longer a little girl or a snarly teen but she's an 18 year old woman and the world is her oyster. Today she will put on her beautiful purple(not bad considering all she wore is black for the last 3 years) and she will hold her head high and she can be proud of how far she came. I can't wait to see where life takes her. My DH also wrote a lovely post today, we are very blessed to have her in our lives!

On this day 22 years ago...

2011-05-26T08:00:00.010-06:00

To the Love of my Life

On this day, 22 years ago we were young and full of hopes and dreams and maybe even a little bit afraid of the future. We started our life of together doing things just a little bit different from the norm. We met in February 1988 and for me it was love at first sight! I knew withing days of dating you that we'd get married. I had never met anyone like you before.

On that day 22 years ago the odds were stacked against us - the whispers around the hall we were married in were not unnoticed by us. I noticed the glares my Granny gave us. We continued on, we knew and we smiled and had our day. It didn't even matter that we didn't pick the date and that an overbearing auntie-in-law had messed with the decor and made it a tad tacky.

When I walked into the room and saw your beaming face smiling at me I knew it would all be ok. I kept my eyes focused on you and nothing else mattered. In that moment of time everything else ceased to exist.
Here we were getting married, it was really happening! I loved you and you loved me. That love has gifted us with two beautiful children. Many years of good memories and so much more.

On this day I can sit and reflect on our life and the good times and the bad. We always managed to work together as a team getting past anything that seemed overwhelming. So many firsts we encountered together, discovering new things about each other each and every day! Knowing that my love for you grows stronger every day we are together.

I am looking forward to many more years of new discoveries and adventures. Oh yes, the adventures. One thing about life you learn is that it is full of many different adventures and you cannot always predict the kinds of adventures you will be gifted with. I am looking forward to many more years of adventuring with you. With you at my side I can do anything, we will see and so so much together. Like fine wine our love grows better with every year we're together.

Today when I look at you with all the love in my heart I say over and over again in my head "I do!"

Loving you Always and Forever!

Thursday 13 - My Love Story

2011-05-26T07:31:00.000-06:00

1. When I won tickets to the Contiki Night at the Keg, I almost didn't go. My friend Jane and I were struggling to decide if we should go or not. We weighed our options and thought at least if we went to the Keg we'd probably get a nice steak dinner. I remember dressing for the night in my brown mini skirt and leopard print top and doing my bleached blonde hair perfectly so not one strand was out of place. Off we went to our ‘girl's night'! Once we got there, we were extremely disappointed when we realized the whole evening was put on by Contiki to sell travel packages. As we sat through their videos of their different vacation packages we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that we'd soon be treated to a splendid dinner. Then dinner was served and weren't we shocked to see nothing but buns and cold cuts to make our own sandwiches! By this point we were feeling a little bummed out about our choices for the evening.
2. As we sat drinking our cokes and grumbling about the audacity of winning tickets to a promotional event we met up with Mr. Cool(as I'll call him) the cheesy Program Director of the radio station. Now we didn't know Mr. Cool was trying to get some underage loving but thankfully two of the other DJ's noticed us and came over to save us from Mr. Cool's evil clutches. Who rescued us you ask? Well a nice DJ that we both knew from various radio functions(I won a lot of stuff back then - movies, records etc.) and accompanying him was a young guy I had never met. He was all spiffed up in a blue sweater with a dress shirt underneath and dress pants - very preppie I thought to myself. Although I almost did a double take when my eyes moved downward and saw his high top runners!
3. Yes that was our saving grace that evening. We managed to escape Mr. Cool's Evil Clutches and I ended up meeting a very nice looking guy! He seemed ever so nice but he was a bit shy like me. I knew very strongly that I couldn't leave that restaurant without getting his number or him having mine. I have never felt such a powerful pull - so I very courageously bravely got my friend to ask him for his number. We swapped phone numbers and he told me he was off to work the night shift at the radio station.
4. I tossed my Midnight Oil record into the trash - I had never heard of this band before and I thought the night was a total bust. We stood outside on that cold February evening waiting for our ride (as we so graciously declined the cutie pie's invitation for a ride home).
5. When I got home I told my mom all about meeting this super cute guy and how he had saved us from this Mr. Cool. You see Mr. DJ and Cutie Pie told us all about Mr. Cool and why they felt the need to rush over to save us! Turns out Mr. Cool was infamous at the station for coming into the station late at night with some really young girls on his arms as he showed off where he worked. He was transported right out of the 70's with his shirt unbuttoned showing off his carpet covered chest and his flashy jewelry gleaming as he tried to weave some Mr. Cool magic. These guys needn't have worried about my friend and I, but I'm glad they came over. The evening went from dull to fantastic in just a few minutes.
6. I quickly ran to the local 7-11 to get a nice cold Big Gulp and when I returned my mom was standing at the door looking all ‘mortified'. The problem, well it seems that while I was off getting my caffeine fix Cutie Pie had called and she was annoyed that I wasn't there to answer the call. I guess she was in a huge rush to marry me off or something - sheesh I was only 18 after all!
7. I went upstairs to my bedroom and took up all the courage I had to call into the radio station and talk to Cutie Pie. In no time at all we were talking like old friends. We talked that night through his entire shift. I think at some points I was hallucinating as he swears I was talking about ‘pink elephants' but I'm sure he must have been wrong.
8. It wasn't long before we went on our first actual date. My mom saw him as she calls it ‘bouncing' up the steps with a smile from ear to ear carrying a golden box. In the box were 2 dozen long stemmed red roses. They were the most beautiful roses I had ever seen( I still have the petals from them as they dried up ever so perfectly). We were off to see the movie Good Morning Vietnam at the Capital Theatre.
9. The movie was great and after we went to a local burger place where I refused to actually eat a burger in front of this new Cutie Pie! It was going to take some time before I could actually eat in front of him! He ordered himself a huge burger, fries and a coke and I meekly selected an order of fries and a coke. I remember sipping that coke ever so I could prevent any burps from escaping.
10. Mr. Cutie Pie had to work after our date so he was dropping me off at a local club where I was to meet up with my mom. Off we went on our local freeway to the club. Everything was going fine we were cruising alone in his Ford Comet with the AM radio playing some tunes and all of a sudden we were doing a 360o in the middle of the intersection on the freeway. As we sat there spinning and spinning almost not realizing what happened Mr. Cutie Pie went all quiet. We got through the spin out without incident, thankfully there were no other cars around. He dropped me off and I just felt like he didn't have a good time. What had gone wrong?
11. When I got home that night I quickly called him up at the station. I had to know if he still liked me. He was so mortified that he had almost killed me that he didn't know what to do. He was quiet because he was certain I would want nothing to do with him. Boy was he wrong!
12. We dated all through the summer, visiting the local fair and having a ton of fun. Later that summer Mr. Cutie Pie landed a different DJ job in a small town. What to do? Well we were convinced we'd be getting married anyway so I'd go along too and we'd plan our wedding from there. We didn't do things the usual way. We were young and a bit stupid and thought why not have a baby - and we did. All of a sudden the parent's had no problem in planning a wedding. We didn't even mind(not really) that they chose the date, the menu well basically everything except the colors and my dress - we knew that we were in love and all that mattered was getting married. It didn't matter where or when or who came or who didn't. We didn't even really mind those looks and the comments we'd hear ever so quietly behind our backs about how this would never last.
13. We were married the following spring on May 26, 1989 on a beautiful summer day! Our colors were red and white. Mr. Cutie Pie looked so handsome in his white tux with red cummerbund and bowtie! Miss. Cutie Pie was all fancied up in a princess style wedding dress! And in an evening ceremony we said our ‘I Do's' with a small gathering of family and friends! I have never looked back, never wondered ‘what if'! I married my soul mate that day, my best friend and to you Mr. Cutie Pie I say Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you more now than I ever thought possible, with each day that passes I love you more and more. You were truly my saving grace that day 19 years ago on a cold February evening way back in ‘1988'. Together we have created a beautiful family with two wonderful children! I look forward to growing older with you and having the time when it is just ‘us' at home and to traveling and just ‘being' with you! I love you Mr. Cutie Pie.
Love,
Mrs. Cutie Pie

Happy Anniversary!!!

22 Years and still going strong!

22 Years of Wedded Bliss, formerly known as 20!

2011-05-24T07:43:00.000-06:00

This afghan was two long years in the making. I started it in March 2009 for our anniversary in May. Then the Swine Flu attacked and I was out of commission for around 6 - 8 weeks and my knitting really suffered. You know you're sick when you don't want to knit. Next thing it was summer and too hot to knit on a wool blanket. I'd pick it up off and on in the Fall but I had Christmas knitting to tend to. Over the last two years it's had it's ups and downs and there were times I doubted I'd ever finish it. I recently completed another afghan, my first with knitting and it inspired me to push through and finish for once. Thankfully we had a nice rainy weekend, perfect for knitting. I knit like crazy and before long it was done. After 8 balls of Cascade Heathers in Baby Pink and 2 years and 2 months it was done! I soaked it in Eucalan and blocked it. It now has a home on my bed with Blessings Bear! I am thrilled to have it done and just days before my 22nd Anniversary!

This afghan wouldn't normally take that long. I'm planning to make a few of the smaller carriage versions for a local organization that helps teen mom's who keep their babies. I've wanted to knit for them for a bit and I love how this pattern knits up. I will use acrylic as new mom's won't want the bother of washing wool.

Friendly Atlanta

2011-05-19T08:05:00.000-06:00

We went on a trip in April to Atlanta, my first trip to the US. I have to say this city is very friendly!!! No matter where you were from a food court to a high end store or hotel all the staff was so helpful :) I love the Ambassador system. I got lost once, quite lost and disoriented on my way to find a shoe store and a lovely shop manager actually walked me to my destination!!!

We stayed in the Westin Peachtree Plaza on the 42nd floor and the view from our hotel room was amazing! We enjoyed good food at Meehan's Pub, loved the pub fries and the deep fried pickles!

We had one day where my DH was not in meetings and it happened to be on the Fiesta Atlanta in Olympic Park right by the hotel, great food and music. We then headed off to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola. Plenty of souvenirs there as although I drink Pepsi, I love Coca Cola memorabilia. I actually have an antique cooler that my Granny had for years, it still works great better than any of our new Coleman ones!

I got around great on the MARTA system and

ventured off to Atlantic Station for some shopping. It was a great time! I would definitely go back!

Peace and Prayers

2011-05-17T07:46:00.000-06:00

This is 'The Cotton Dishcloth(once removed or dressed up) - I used Bernat Handicrafter cotton in the new colour Peace.I love this pattern and I have knit it several times over the years. It knits up very quickly and everyone seems to be intrigued with it because it is round :).

I have been working on a few projects. I'm almost done one of my PIFH gifts. It is a big project and I'm looking forward to finishing it later this week and posting pictures at the end of the month. I have to wait until the recipient gets it.

I adapted my Seeding the Fields Cloth by CO 57 stitches and doing a four row garter border, although it curled a tad so next time I will do a eight or ten stitch border on the bottom. It works nice for a simple rectangular shawl. I've named this one 'A Prairie Romance' as it's pattern is named after planting the fields it seemed to fit as the yarn colour was called Romance. I'm using Phentex Acrylic Worsted, one skein will make a nice sized ladies shawl, it is for our churches Prayer Shawl Ministry.

A Dishcloth Sampling

2011-05-12T07:54:00.000-06:00

Chinese Waves Dishcloth. I think next time I'll do a border around it as it tends to curl easy.

A Six-Pack, Cloths gifted for a friend.

The Dishcloth Jar when it is almost full, time to gift when it gets full!

A few of the cloths I've made - all gifted now to happy recipients.

A mitered dishcloth, the pattern is Mitered Scrubby Cloth. I CO 70 stitches for a larger dishcloth. I love the pattern, very quick and easy.

I love knitting cloths, they are quick so I get the instant gratification feeling and they are so handy for gifting. I usually have a stash going in my cloth jar and when it gets full I usually have someone ready for a gift, perfect!

A Shaelyn for Me

2011-05-10T07:43:00.000-06:00

I have made two of the Shaeyln Shawl's as gifts and I really love the pattern. I told myself the next shawl I knit for myself will be that pattern. I had some gift certificates for a LYS that were calling to me since Christmas. Finally I had a chance to get to the shop. I spent several minutes oogling the yarn before I went to my first choice upon entering the shop, Malabrigo Sock in Tiziano Red! It would be perfect for a shawl.

We went to Atlanta recently, my DH had a conference there and I had intended to visit Eat Sleep Knit with some Valentine's certificates I had and purchase yarn for a classic black February Lady Sweater. Unfortunately it wasn't a place I could get to easily by transit and the hours they were open my DH was in his meetings. I decided I didn't want to figure out how to get there on my own and I purchased the yarn online and had it shipped, I really lucked out when I did. If you've ordered from them before you know about the yarn lotto, I won a $50 store credit!

In the meantime I did need something to occupy my time while he was at his conference, aside from shopping that is :). I brought along a ball of my Malabrigo and my needles and I took some time to cast on. I find this part the time I need the most alone time as it's cast on is a tad different from usual. Within minutes I was zipping along on this shawl as I sipped some delicious Passion Fruit Iced Tea and enjoyed the view from our 42nd floor window of the Westin PeachTree Plaza.I also found some chocolate on one of my ventures on the MARTA and I enjoyed a few as I knit my Shaelyn, which as aptly been named 'Georgia on my Mind' for obvious reasons.

Knitting bliss, knitting and chocolate while on holiday in Atlanta!

Enjoying the Moments

2011-05-09T07:26:00.000-06:00

We had a great Mother's Day, I was treated to a delicious breakfast of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream with breakfast sausage. My DH and I went for a bike ride. Later he cooked up our first bbq of the season and Oliver and I enjoyed sitting out on the deck and catching some rays(he was being very photogenic) and later went for a walk. It was true bliss. I got a lovely 'Best Mom, Hands Down' apron and DH ordered me some Scentsy burners and scent packages, I can't wait to get them.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:53:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my mom in one of her roles as flower girl, for an Aunt. She is 6 years old. What a cutie!

I love you Mom!

Happy 18th Birthday

2011-05-06T07:39:00.000-06:00

To my dear daughter, Happy Birthday!!!!!

TUSAL

2011-05-04T20:58:00.001-06:00

Not much new in the TUSAL jar, I knit a few dishcloths.
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Biggest Flood in 25 years!

2011-04-25T09:48:00.000-06:00

This video shows a local man made lake in our city that has filled to the max because of all the spring melt runoff. We had much more snow than usual, yes my snowblower was put to the test this year! Watch in the video how it has washed up over the walking paths and is now on the road and still continuing to rise.

No, I'm not in any danger I live in a different end of the city, but homeowners near this creek and lake area have to be concnerned. There has been a lot of sandbagging but I"m not sure how much that will help at this point.

I'm going to try to head out and capture some video myself.

Seeding the Fields Dishcloth

2011-04-13T17:29:00.001-06:00

Here is my 'Seeding the Fields' cloth. I thought of the design on the way to work last week. I did a trial run and I didn't like the look so I reworked it so that the seed rows really stand out. I wanted it to look like a freshly planted field or garden. A simple little cloth to perk up your kitchen. The seed stitch gives it the scrubbing power for when you need it.

I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'm going to try making it in some solid colours too so that it photographs better.

If you're on Ravelry the link will take you to the free download page. If you knit it I'd love to hear your feedback, if there are any errors please let me know.

Enjoy!

Dishcloth Stash Rebuilding

2011-04-06T14:49:00.001-06:00

I really like this pattern, it makes a nice sized cloth and it is quick and easy to knit. It is quite a pretty little cloth and it's a free pdf download at Ravelry! I finished the one in Faded Denim and now I'm working with this bright summer colour. I love knitting dishcloths in crazy colours.

I am trying to replenish my 'Gift Cloth' stash. I had depleted it a bit through Christmas and I haven't been knitting cloths since then. I love these little travel projects. I can enjoy knitting time on my work commute and there portable enough to bring to work on at work during my lunch break. When I'm in need of knitting and need the feeling of accomplishment, especially when working on larger projects, dishcloths are the perfect fit.

Pay It Forward Handmade - Take One

2011-04-05T18:17:00.000-06:00

Multnomah knit for my Sister Michelle as part of Pay It Forward Handmade - Facebook.

TUSAL Time

2011-04-04T23:26:00.002-06:00

A bit more ORT's in the jar with a few more projects on the go.
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Sunday Brunch

2011-04-03T13:04:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Dee for this fabulous recipe Dutch Baby! I was reading her blog this afternoon and I couldn't resist making this after seeing the pictures she put up, my mouth was watering! This is such an easy breakfast to make. I love how it just grew and grew. If you are going to take pictures be very quick as just like a yorkshire pudding it does deflate quick, but it sure looks stunning when it grows.

I just took some frozen raspberries and blueberries with a bit of sugar so they created a nice sauce, this was super quick and then I just dusted them with a bit of icing sugar before I served them. Everyone was impressed. Pop over to Dee's and get the recipe, you won't be disappointed.

Friday Lunch Adventures

2011-04-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

I was so lucky to be the recipient of a $30 gift certificate for Golden Willow Natural Fibre, a LYS. Today I finally got around to visiting. I had some free time at lunch so I popped in to see if I could find any yarn. Oh there were such pretty yarns, some that just looked like they jumped out of an Easter basket they were so bright and cheery. It is weird shopping without a project in mind, you end up wandering aimlessly for quite a bit. Thankfully I went back to the starting point of entering the store where I had first seen the Malabrigo. At first I decided not to buy it as I wanted two skeins to ensure I had enough for a big shawl and second I thought perhaps I would use a different yarn. I guess I am truly in love with this yarn. I am glad I went back for a second peek as I did not notice at first the Tiziano Red. I had been thinking about getting this colour for a bit but I ended up choosing other colours when I ordered from Eat Sleep Knit.

So now I own these two gorgeous skeins in this wonderful red and I am jumping up and down thinking of what pattern I will use.

Then I tried a sandwich I never would have tried if it was not fact of it being Lent. It was a cheese bagel sandwich toasted with four slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber some mayo....it was just wonderful. Now I am back at the office sipping on a new Lipton Tea - the pyramid ones - a nice Spiced Cinnamon Chai....not a bad Friday after all!

My New Shawl Pin

2011-03-29T07:21:00.000-06:00

I love to wear shawls, they're so pretty the size is always right and they keep you nice and warm on a chilly day. The problem, they always slip off. Finally I sucked it up and ordered a lovely Sandalwood shawl pin off from Etsy at Steve's shop. You won't be disappointed if you get a shawl pin from him, it came sent in its own pouch with care instructions I am just thrilled - this hand carved pin is so beautiful! I'm so glad I finally ordered myself one. It is such a beautiful pin and it goes with pretty much any colour or style of shawl. Here it is pictured on my birthday shawl that my sister knit for me. This is Mara, knit up in lovely Berocco Vintage, Red! I had so many compliments wearing it with the pin this past weekend at church.

Trying my Hand at Crochet Again...

2011-03-28T09:14:00.000-06:00

Life has gotten busier lately. Our DD is graduating from high school this year. I've been crazy busy with knitting and crochet. I finished a Pay It Forward Handmade for my older sister and I'm just over half way done on the one for my younger sister. I'm also very involved with my churches prayer shawl ministry. On March 20th we had 21 more shawls blessed at Mass and distributed, it was a huge success again. Actually there are people now on waiting lists to get a shawl for a loved one. Previously I had only knit shawls but I thought I'd try my hand at crocheting. I learned how to crochet first but since picking up knitting in the last 6 years I've really put crochet on the back burner. I'm pleased to say that I have already finished one shawl and am over half way on the second, this is since March 22! I can crochet much faster. As the goal is to get several shawls made I plan to crochet a few more before trying another knit version. This is a very easy pattern found at LionBrand's website - 'Caramel Tweed Shawl'. All done in half double crochet. I made this one in more masculine colours. The second one I started is in a simple closed shell pattern.

The last picture is my DD's very unique 'conversation piece' Grad shoes! We picked her dress out on Saturday, she looks like a princess!

TUSAL

2011-03-06T17:00:00.002-06:00

Sorry, two days late with my post - some difficult family stuff going on.
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Chocolate Covered Cherry Anyone?

2011-02-14T08:02:00.000-06:00

This shawl has been on the needles for longer than I care to admit. I had started it way back in September. Then came Christmas knitting and such and the time I had to work on it was very limited. I made a huge effort this past month to turn it from an UFO into an FO. A perfect FO to picture today, the name of the yarn is Chocolate Covered Cherry - it's your viritual, fat-free Valentine treat from me to you!

Very easy pattern, I CO 58 sts, This gave me a 3 stitch garter edge on each side and then I worked a double seed throughout. I used one skein of Phentex Worsted Acrylic, 582 yards. Nice to throw over someone's chilly shoulders.

In other knitting I have started another of my Pay It Forward Handmade gifts yesterday. I'm officially working on three at once! I've got a bit of Startitis.

I'm going to have to really learn to manage my knit time. I just finished spending my Christmas certificate from Eat Sleep Knit and I got to more from my DH for Valentine's Day!

I guess I won't have any reason to be bored in the next while.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

TUSAL

2011-02-03T20:54:00.002-06:00

Not too much progress on the TUSAL front.....knitting was a bit slower this month. I find January is so cold I just want to sleep through it.

February is here and I'm excited to have begun my first Handmade Pay it Forward. I also have a gift certificate for Eat Sleep Knit that is calling to me and one from a LYS. Time to choose some projects :)

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Christmas Knitting

2011-01-23T15:24:00.000-06:00

Irish Hiking Scarf for my brother Chris. I used chunky wool so I CO 30 stitches and had two cables.

Bag from Hakucho - great pattern, I highly recommend it. I want to make many more to use as gift bags for next Christmas and for birthdays throughout the year. On this one I did a stockinette top, but I prefer the pattern as it is written. The only thing I didn't mind in this one, I added an extra repeat round as I knew that I needed a bit more room.

For a dear friend for Christmas - Shaelyn Shawl, I absolutely love this shawl, great pattern.

My second Shaeylyn, this time for my Mom. I did hers in KnitPicks Stroll Tonal and sock. It's named FrogPrincess for the colours. She absolutely loved it, I'm so happy!

Here is the first bag I made, I followed the directions to a T, I'm very happy with it. It held my sisters Christmas gift this year, she was thrilled that hers was the gift in the knitted bag.

Irish Hiking Scarf for my brother Mattty, this one is just like the one for Chris, the only difference is the colour.

For Judy, my Dad's new wife - single cable scarf. I like it ok, if I did it again I would use a different wool and make it a bit wider. I do like the asymmetrical look of the cable down the side.

January Knitting

2011-01-12T10:44:00.000-06:00

Here is my first 'me' knitting of 2011. I am knitting myself my 3rd February Lady Sweater. This time it's in Cascade 220 dip dyed, Cranberry. I love this colour. I had made another in Dream in Colour Smooshy and I do get a lot of wear out of it. I bought this yarn while on holiday with my sister awhile back and had every intention of it becoming a FLS but things got away from me and I ended up knitting on other projects. I also knit my younger sister one in LionBrand CottonEase, on that one I chose to make more of a short cap sleeve as I thought it would suit her better, I was right and she loved it. It's a great pattern and I'm happy to be starting another one.

This is some 'challenge' knitting. I have had this Bella Mitten pattern since last Fall of 2009. I had thought I'd make my DD a pair for Christmas but I thought there was no way I could knit a mitten. I was working away on an EveryWayWrap and having no luck after having set it aside to hibernate for Christmas knitting. I had lost my place and frankly lost interest in the pattern all together. So with the same yarn I picked up my circular needles and CO for a mitten. I remembered the magic loop method fairly well and was humming along quite good. I was amazing myself. Even the thumb didn't seem daunting. When it was all finished I did see a small bit of laddering just before the thumb so I obviously need more practice.The main thing I tried it, I did it and I now know that if I want to I can do it! It feels good to know that. Now I haven't knit the mate due to the fact of the laddering I really need to start over, but that will be for another day, for now I'm just happy knowing that I challenged myself.

I have made a lot of shawls lately and I was lucky enough to have a shawl gifted to me. The bottom red shawl was knit for me by my sister and given to me as a birthday gift. I went there for Christmas this year, our first together in 35 years! Isn't this shawl simply gorgeous? It's also very warm and cozy for our chilly winter evenings. She knit it with Berocco Vintage.

Before Christmas when I was in the midst of a ton of Christmas knitting projects my Mom asked me to knit a shawl for her MIL. Her only concerns were colour, shape and the softness of the yarn. After receiving this shawl from my Sis I knew I would try that pattern. It met the shape requirement(triangle) and I knew I could find some comfy yarn. I chose Bernat Softee Baby in Garden Ombre and Fresh Green. I began with the ombre and after it was about 10" I began to alternate 4 rows of each colour. Next I will go to 6 rows of the solid with 4 of the ombre. The bottom ribbing will all be in the Fresh Green. I hope her MIL gets a lot of use out of this.

Pay It Forward 2011 - Handmade

2011-01-11T16:11:00.003-06:00

This morning my sister had posted a Facebook status about paying it forward with handmade goodness. What you do - be the first of five people to respond that you are in, post it as your status update. The just of it is, you agree to make something handmade for the five that comment and they agree to do the same, multiplying the handmade goodness.

Pay it forward 2011. I promise to send something handmade by me to the first five people who comment on this post that they are in on this. They in turn will post this on their status and commit to sending handmade items to the first five people to respond to their post. The rules are that you must complete this task in 2011 and it must be handmade by you.

I'm not sure who started the idea, but I'm definitely excited to be a part of it!

I'm excited about the possibilities of what to make. I've already got two ideas in mind for the first on my list.

It will be exciting to watch how it grows - I'm excited to see what everyone makes and to make the hamdmade goodies for my friends and family.

I will even pay it forward here, if you will do the same. I will make something handmade for the first three people to comment that 'they are in'. You then will agree to do this as well and must do a 'Pay It Forward' post inviting three others to comment. Sound like fun? Keep in mind that it can be anything homemade, although I knit there are a lot of crafts that interest me. Get creative and most of all have fun!I
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TUSAL

2011-01-04T21:46:00.004-06:00

The 'tusal' jar, had a bit of progress. I had a bit of Christmas knitting to finish for a gift exchange for work.

Progress may slow down as I'm working on a FLS but not much else at the moment.

It's Daffycat is hosting the TUSAl, stop by to say hello and see more participants.
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Cooking with Jamie

2011-01-04T19:53:00.000-06:00

My Dad and his wife bought my DH the Jamie Oliver 'Food Revolution' cookbook for Christmas and we've been having so much fun trying out the recipes. We've had both the beef and chicken stew and I've got ingredients to make Chicken Tikka Masala and Aloo Gobi(we love Indian food).

Tonight I made a batch of the granola it looks and smells delicious, very easy and healthy too.

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Christmas Baking Relief!

2010-12-14T09:00:00.004-06:00

What do you do when you are tired and get a cold before Christmas and you want to have baking to share with the family? Well if you're lucky like me you'll know a great baker who loves to bake and she'll make you 12 dozen of the most delicious cookies for $25. This was just what the doctor ordered to keep me sane! I am almost done baking. I did make some Cinnamon Roll Cookies this weekend, but when you get a bad cold it takes a lot of energy. I was going to do jam jam's but I'm thinking now that it's just not going to happen.

I'm trying to remind myself that it isn't about how much you bake or how many gifts you have to offer, there is more reason to the season. So instead of ending up celebrating Stressmas, I'm going to take a cue from my good friend and boss and 'take it easy' and actually celebrate a joy filled Christmas!

Christmas Baking

2010-12-13T07:09:00.000-06:00

Cookies anyone?

Out to Dry

2010-12-11T09:44:00.002-06:00

Just a fun way to capture some of the dishcloths I have stashed

in my dishcloth jar.

My Spring Meadow

2010-12-08T07:37:00.000-06:00

So I finished my Spring Meadow(Shaeyln Shawl) this morning - it was done last night but it was time for bed so I cast off this morning. I love how the yellow went with the three little pigs, quite lucky actually. Lesson learned don't ever attempt a project with discontinued yarn unless you know for sure you have enough on hand to finish.

I took some good advice from my sis and a fellow blogger and used the yellow as much as needed and added the three little pigs at the end to pull it all together. I think it worked very well, thanks for the great advice.

I think Judith is going to love this shawl, it has a 59" wingspan and is 28" deep - perfect Christmas Gift!

Tiger Bars

2010-11-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

This recipe was on the back of the Hershey Butterscotch Chipits package. I have never tried it before but I needed a quick no back treat and I'm sure glad I tried it.

CHIPITS TIGER BARS

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (50 mL) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter or margarine
1/4 cup (50 mL) golden corn syrup
3/4 cup (175 mL) CHIPITS® Butterscotch Chips, divided
2 cups (500 mL) rice crisps cereal I only had on hand the Holiday Rice Krispies - works great and has festive colours for Christmas baking.
1 cup (250 mL) CHIPITS® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 teaspoon (5 mL) oil

Directions:
1. In large saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; bring to boil over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

2. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the butterscotch chips; stir until melted. Stir in cereal until well coated. Press into greased 8-inch (20 cm) square pan.

4. In medium bowl over hot water (or in microwave), melt semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spread evenly over surface of bars. I didn't have enough chocolate chips so I modified this and I think it is even better. I took 9 Tbsp. of cocoa with 3 Tbsp. margarine, sugar to taste(I added as I went maybe 3 Tbsp. and melted that in the microwave. I had about a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips so I added that and melted it with the cocoa and margarine, add a few tsp of vegetable oil to make it a nice consistency and the cocoa gives a nice break in the really sweet flavor of the butterscotch.

5. In small bowl over hot water (or in microwave), melt remaining 1/4 cup (50 mL) butterscotch chips and oil. Drizzle in lines over surface of bars. Chill. Cut into bars. This works great with a fork and I just shook the fork across and it made nice design.

You may need to make a lot of these, I guarantee they will be a family favorite!

Butter Tarts

2010-11-21T20:03:00.001-06:00

This was a recipe passed on from my DH Grandma, I like it as it is not sickly sweet yet it is still very tasty. I picked up mini-tart pans recently, usually I used muffin tins - either will do, bit the mini are perfect for one bite nibbling :)

Filling:
1/2 cup hard margarine(melted)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 eggs(lightly beaten)
2 cups raisins

Pastry - make your own if you choose or buy pre-made shells. There is enough filling for 6 dozen mini tarts.

Melt margarine, allow to cool a bit. Lightly beat eggs. Pre-soak raisins(if desired, I do this) in boiling water to plump them up, drain. Mix all filling ingredients. Fill shells.

Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, enjoy!
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Christmas Fun

2010-11-20T19:09:00.000-06:00

We are doing something different this year at work for Christmas gifts. We drew names and for the season of Advent we pray for the recipient and at our Christmas staff. Party on December 30th we reveal whose name we have and exchange gifts.

I've decided to make up a gift basket. I couldn't think of just one thing. I'm doing two embroidered tea towels, three knit dishcloths, herbal tea, white chocolate peppermint bark and maybe a few more things. The price limit is $30, so I'm limited some what, but I think I can still come up with a nice variety.

Went in search of tea towels that could be embroidered on, thankfully I tried Home Outfitters first. Initially I only found coloured ones, just when I was about to give up I saw a four pack of white flour sack tea towels for $12. Great deal!

Christmas baking started. I did holiday Rice Krispie treats today and butter tarts planned for tomorrow.
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Modified Irish Hiking Scarf

2010-11-19T07:16:00.000-06:00

Blessings Bear loves to model homemade knitting. Today he decided he'd give knitting a try ;)! He looks pretty comfy with those needles, I may have to keep an eye on him. On the needles an Irish Hiking Scarf in Bernat Softee Chunky, Faded Denim. I CO 30 stitches and have two cables instead of the traditional 3. This works great with bulky weight yarns and it knits up super quick. I've already made a twin in burgundy and have another one planned. Fun, easy Christmas knitting!

Getting Cozy

2010-11-10T06:48:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe it's heading to the middle of November already! We had some snow last night and it just seems like it should be sunny and warm still. Just the other day I was able to wear capris and sandals and today I have to drag out my boots.

Working away on a few Christmas projects, there in secret so you'd have to check out my Ravelry page to see them - don't want to ruin any surprises. This one is a new favorite of mine. It's fun when you find a pattern that just clicks with you.

Have yous started Christmas Baking and Christmas Shopping? I've done a bit of shopping but no baking yet. I am beginning to plan what I will bake though. On the weekend we went to Home Depot to pick up another strand of Christmas lights for our yard and I walked past their Electric Fireplaces and this one was so cute I HAD to have it. The best part, not only is it cute but it warms up to 400 sq ft.

My evenings are now spent with the fire lit(lol) and cup of hot tea and my yarn and needles, could life get anymore cozy?

Halloween Fun

2010-11-01T07:46:00.001-06:00

We had some snow last week, really wet snow - in what the weather man called a 'weather bomb'. If we had been somewhere warmer it would have stormed really bad with a tornado or a hurricane. Needless to say this snow made a big mess, our roads were horrible. The plus, it's already beginning to melt and should be gone by the end of the week and the snow on Halloween was sticky snowman snow so my DH had fun making an additional jack-o-lantern while my DD and I were carving ours and while I whipped up a batch of delicious caramel apples. We had a lot of fun!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T20:57:00.000-06:00

Scary classic horror movies in a darkened room lit only by various candles - a perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit!

Tomorrow it is pumpkin carving and caramel apple making :) then time to hand out candy.
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Calling All Knitters - Yarn Shortage Emergency!!!

2010-10-28T07:45:00.000-06:00

I am trying to finish this shawl but I'm short at least a skein, although I'd love to get two if possible. It is Artful Yarns Fable in colour Three Little Pigs #98 dye lot 1906. If you have some in your stash I'd love to buy it from you as this yarn is discontinued. Or, suggestions on how to finish....couild another colour be added for the bottom portion? It cannot be wool as the recipient is allergic. The yarn is a mix of pink, yellow and a hint of green. I have enough left that I could blend in another colour, perhaps off white???

The current yarn is a blend of 85% Pima Cotton and 15% silk. Possible to put mercerized cotton or some Poima Cotton in Ivory or cream after?

This is a gift so io want to make it as beautiful as I can.

Any ideas of how to finish would be greatly appreciated!!!! ~Hugs~
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Inspired

2010-10-25T10:25:00.000-06:00

My sister knit this shawl, well in fact she was just finishing it up when I visited her this summer. Right away I was in love with the shawl. Yesterday I was bored, I had things I could be knitting but I was in the mood to knit a shawl.

I quickly went to Ravelry and downloaded the pattern, it was money well spent. I can tell that this is going to be a shawl I knit more than once.

I'm currently knitting this one for a friend for Christmas. I had originally knit a dayflower lace scarf but the colours seemed to childlike and I decided to donate it to a silent auction for some fundraising our church is doing for orphans in Kenya.

So on to the knitting, I knew I wanted to knit something for her for Christmas but she's allergic to wool. I had found Bernat Mosaic and it seemed like the perfect yarn as it was acrylic but almost like a wool free Noro. Then in my stash I discovered I had some Fable, reading the label I realized it was perfect! A nice cotton/silk blend and enough yardage in the stash to knit this shawl. The CO was tricky but I just did what they had written and in it all worked out fine. Now to think of a name and I'm set!

Autumn

2010-10-11T17:46:00.000-06:00

Great Autumn day! A walk in our city's most beautiful park, great tea and relaxation!

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Chocolotate Covered Cherry Prayer Shawl Progress

2010-10-04T16:12:00.000-06:00

My fifth prayer shawl, knit in Phentex Worsted, big ball - chocolate covered cherry. I sat and had quiet knitting time in my prayer room, I couldn't resist a photo op. I had this with me at my retreat this weekend and made some good progress.

Autumn Beauty

2010-09-30T08:56:00.000-06:00

Wascana Park in Autumn

A day at the park

Our Twin Towers, decked out in Saskatchewan Roughrider Logo's

I think Ducks are so beautiful, this little guy was swimming over to his mate and trying to avoid the commotion of the Canadian Geese.

Prayer Shawl Knitting

2010-09-28T08:49:00.000-06:00

This is my fourth prayer shawl for our new ministry at our parish. We felt there was a need to begin this ministry due to the fact that we serve a large amount of seniors in assisted living facilities. This shawl was done in Phentex Worsted(oh so soft for acrylic) in Neopolitan. I lucked out and got it on sale at Zeller's for $4.00 for 10.5 oz, enough to make a shawl that is 49" long. I used the pattern from Prayer Shawl Ministry website. The only thing I did different was an extra stitch at the beginning and end. I CO 59 sts. This gave it a bit of a border. I have another skein of the same yarn but in Chocolate Covered Cherry, for this one I'm doing a double Moss stitch pattern and I CO 58, this gives a three stitch border of garter on each side.

After hearing how moved the recipients were at receiving the shawls I'm even more committed to knitting these on an ongoing basis. I have a bit of Christmas knitting and some for myself but they generally require daylight and more concentration so the prayer shawls are perfect for evening knitting. I make sure to say a prayer before I begin and off and on during, pausing to think of the recipient and as I do so I knit loving prayers into the shawl.

We had a blessing service for the shawls at Mass last weekend and all the shawls were immediately taken by those who knew someone who could use one, we were really shocked by how great the interest/need was for the shawls - I'm sure this ministry will be going strong for some time.

Fun with Technology

2010-09-21T09:42:00.003-06:00

Here is my latest addiction, well there are two in the picture. I'm still going strong with knitting. The current project is an Irish Hiking Scarf for my DH. I'm using Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Merlot. He chose the colour.The way our Fall is going I better speed up the knitting. He may need this very soon! I've made this scarf before some years ago for myself and I fell in love with the pattern. I am going to knit myself one to replace my old one using the same yarn but in Hollyberry.

As you can see I'm the proud owner of an iPad, I have to say I fell in love with the concept when I first saw the commercials and then I hummed and hawed about it a bit. I was lucky enough to be able to purchase one about a week ago and I'm very happy with it. I didn't get the 3G rather than just the wi-fi. I have wireless internet at home and work so it's quite handy. I've put it to use quite a bit. It never fails I have a question about knitting or a pattern and I want an answer sooner rather than later, pop open this and I'm off and running. I'm not going app crazy but I'm having fun having the internet literally in the palm of my hand.

Rib and Cable Quartet

2010-09-17T08:36:00.003-06:00

Some Christmas gift knitting. My first FO, this is the Rib and Cable Quartet, single cable. I like the asymmetrical look of a single cable running up the side. I used Paton's SWS in Raisin. My little Blessings Bear loves to try on new projects, I think she's jealous that she can't knit ;)

Delicious Multiseed Bread

2010-09-12T08:28:00.004-06:00

As I watched it rain the last couple of days I couldn't help but think of the poor farmers. We had a very wet spring and a lot of crops didn't get put in. What did get put in was their hope. Summer storms were hard on them and now when they need to get what they have left off of the fields we get yet more rain. It reminded me just how precious the grain really is. I felt called to work with bread dough and the precious wheat that got to the local store through the blood, sweat and tears of a farmer.

I hadn't baked bread by hand in some time as I got a bread machine about 7 years ago. But this time the bread machine just wouldn't do. I wanted, or needed rather to knead the dough by hand. I wanted to feel the dough and work my blessings into it.

After searching a bit online I found this recipe at RobinHood Flour and I am not disappointed! In fact, this is simply the best bread I've ever made or eaten - it is THAT good! It's a great multiseed bread with lot's of seeds and nuts and uses all whole wheat flour. The end result is a nice loaf with great consistency, not too heavy. I kneaded it just as the recipe called for, a full ten minutes. I have to say it was that much easier to make since I got my Kitchenaid mixer - the only real work I had to do was knead it at the end.

For anyone like my family who loves a nice loaf of whole wheat bread with lots of seeds and nuts, this is a must to make.

Here it is toasted up for this mornings breakfast of tea and toast! The sesame seeds on top get toasted up even more when you toast the bread and it's quite nummy!

A Christmas Post in September

2010-09-04T08:28:00.002-06:00

Yes, it's been some time since I actually posted. I really stayed off my computer on my holidays for the most part. I work on a computer Mon-Fri so I was ready for a break.

Now why the Christmas post in September you ask? Well for the first time in my life that I remember I will spending Christmas with my Dad(his new wife), older sister(and her family) and two younger brothers!

My mom and dad divorced when I was about one year old and my Mom moved back to the city she grew up in and my Dad stayed in Vancouver. A few years later when I was 6 my older sister went to live with my Dad. I have no memories prior to this so I don't remember a Christmas with her in it.

The family grew over the years there were marriages, births and divorces. I have two brothers, whom I adore very much and my sister has a great husband and two boys whom I love to spend time with. Unfortunately the distance between us means this doesn't happen very often. At the most the visits are a couple of years apart.

I've always dreamed of having a Christmas with this other side of the family but thought it likely wouldn't happen until my kids both moved away, and then I thought not even then as where do kids go for Christmas but back to their parents home.

I'm not going to get into all the reasons why the family we do have here and us aren't on great terms, but it's been a rough year for my DH and I. All my family lives elsewhere so when the other side of the family all of a sudden has issues with you and begins to question you parenting, things get ugly fast. As for our DS he's decided he likes his GF's family better and it's not a concern if we aren't here.

When I was down this summer for my Dad's wedding to Judy we casually mentioned how nice it would be together for Christmas. It kept repeating itself over and over in my mind and I knew what Christmas would be like here at home, probably just the three of us. Here was an opportunity to have the Christmas I've always wanted to experience and not be home alone. Not only that but they don't just 'have Christmas dinner' - they really have some good times, play some Improv games and a talent contest and it all sounded like so much fun - too much fun to resist!

The crux was getting time off. We both work at a church and in years past we've had a staff/volunteer lunch on Christmas Eve and of course getting Oliver into a kennel. Thankfully our new pastor had no problems with us having the extra time off and although the first kennel and our preferred kennel of choice was already booked up in August for Christmas, it's true! I did find another kennel in our city who had space and booked him in. I don't like to leave him in a kennel or be away from him at Christmas but I'm sure he'll be nice and safe and as for the day of the year, he doesn't know which is which anyway.

So for the first time since 1975 I will have Christmas with my big sis and for the very first time I'll have Christmas with my Dad and Judy and my two brothers and my sisters husband and her two sons and I couldn't be more happy! We are all really excited around here. I didn't have to ask DH or my DD twice we are more than happy to pack up our gifts and send them off ahead book a flight and create some new Christmas memories. The only drawback that I can see thus far is that we may really, really like it and I know that I can't do it every year. For now though we'll be happy with this one and hopefully the memories last a long, long time!

Pacific Breeze

2010-08-15T08:59:00.003-06:00

While visiting my sister in White Rock we did our annual yarn crawl and visited Three Bags Full in Vancouver. I picked up this gorgeous Sweet Georgia yarn and knit myself the Shadow Scarf. I love using scarves to dress up an outfit and yet until recently hadn't knit one. The shawl I made to wear to the wedding also works good as a scarf but I wanted a narrow scarf. I did the scarf version of the shawl pattern. Quite a bit was knit sitting on her back deck which faces the ocean so it is aptly named Pacific Breeze! This Sweet Georgia yarn is simply gorgeous. I also picked up some Berocco Ultra Alpaca to make myself the Every Way Wrap, some Louet Euroflax for another scarf and some cascade 220 for a beret! It was a lot of fun doing the yarn crawl - we had a delicious pistachio and rose water milkshake and a great lunch at a wonderful Parisian bakery!

British Columbia Bound

2010-08-04T10:34:00.003-06:00

I'm leaving in just a few hours for just about a week. I'm flying out to Vancouver, B.C. for my Dad's upcoming wedding on Saturday, August 7th. I'll be staying with my big sis and family in White Rock, B.C. My DH is staying home with the pooch as we had spent enough money on our home renovations this year. He will have a quiet relaxing time as our DD isn't back from her trip until next Monday.
Yarn is packed and I'm ready to Knit! My sister has a very quiet home - they don't watch t.v. so that gives us plenty of time to sit and visit while we knit.
I picked up some Phentex worsted in two different variegated colours - Neopolitan and Chocolate covered Cherry. These are for our prayer shawl ministry at the church. I'm using the basic pattern as it requires 555 yds and these skeins have 582. I started the Neopolitan one yesterday on some nice Clover bamboo needles. I am pretty sure I can take them on the plane and knit during the 2 hour flight. I also packed a skein for a gift I'm knitting - I can't say too much as this person sometimes reads my blog. I also am planning a yarn crawl into Vancouver to get some yarn for some other gift items that I have planned for Christmas.
When I return from my trip not only will my DD be home but my little sis and her two kids will be here for four days. Should be yet another great visit.

Happy Knitting!

Andean Treasure Shawl Success

2010-08-01T16:53:00.004-06:00

I finished the Andean Treasure Shawl yesterday and blocked it this morning. I knit until it was 54" but I never realized just how much this would block out to once it was wet - that's ok, I'm happy with a long shawl. This enables me to wear it as a scarf wrap-around style, which I love! The width of 15" makes it just right for that use.

I have never been more pleased with a FO before. Although the pattern is quite simple the end result having used the Malabrigo Sock yarn is just stunning. The garment is feather light and the drape is exquisite!

After having to frog the previous start of a wool peddler I am happy to have finished 'Happy Place' in plenty of time for the wedding next weekend. This shawl deserves it's name as I was very happy to knit on it and I was extremely happy with the end result. The only glitch was colour variation between the two balls even though they were the same dye lot, but because of the variances in each ball it doesn't really affect the outcome that much.

The colour of the shawl goes great with my dress so having it done in time and to be pleasantly surprised by just how much I love the shawl is a pleasant gift!

Oh, I guess you can see our tuckered pooch in this shot - he had a walk and spent some time outside and this is a big AND, he got into his dog food and had a FEAST! I think he is experiencing 'Thanksgiving Sleepiness'.

Basement Reno

2010-07-26T07:09:00.005-06:00

We finished the basement reno yesterday, ending with our room. We replaced some old nasty berber looking carpet in a very unforgiving white to a floating vinyl floor with a wood look. I absolutely love it!

My husband did all the work, I assisted with handing the flooring and clean up.

It is such a nicer looking space. I can't wait to move the furniture back into my bedroom now that the floor is done there too.

First picture is of the living room progress, the second shows the living room done but the baseboards not yet up and lastly is the photo of the living room with baseboards on - our bedroom furniture is still there so that's why you'll see my nightstand in the shot.

It's a Dog's Life

2010-07-23T19:18:00.002-06:00

Here is Oliver and he's as happy as a pup can be. You see we are continuing some home renovations which means we are pulling out the carpet in our bedroom. Tonight we emptied out our room and brought our bed into the family room. Oliver couldn't wait to get on it, he tried jumping on it when it was just the box spring. He doesn't normally sleep with us, he's had a few sleep overs as we call them but generally he's in his kennel at night. Getting to even lay down on the big people bed is very exciting for him. Because the bed is in the common living area there is no way to keep him off of it, so he will be in his hay day this weekend. Little does he know he's still going into his cozy kennel at bedtime......shhhhhhhhh don't tell him, that is our little secret!

Weekend Get-A-Way

2010-07-20T07:35:00.009-06:00

Queen Anne's Lace

A cabin that remains from the 1800's. No longer rented out it is used by the park staff.

Weekend get-a-way knitting. I started on Friday evening and I made some good progress. It was a relaxing place to sit and knit.

A walking path up to the chalet.

Oliver hanging out in our rented cabin. This was a wonderful cabin and I'd definitely rent one again.

One of the old cabins is used by a local artist, she was busy painting inside.

The Chalet, built in the early 1800's it was a busy site in the early 1900's as people gathered for many social events, a bustle of activity. It was later destroyed by fire one winter and the snow was so high that year that the volunteer fire trucks could not get passed the snowed in roads. Thankfully there was a water tower nearby. As the chalet was built of stone most of it was preserved. They built again re-doing everything from the inside. It is now used exclusively by park administration, although when we were visiting someone was getting married in the garden, just up those stairs.

Car Knitting

2010-07-19T10:23:00.001-06:00

We are on our way home from a fabulous three day stay at a lovely cabin at Kenosee Lake! I've taken the opportunity to get more done on my shawl. After having to frog the first attempt at a wool peddler I'm way behind. Thankfully I've decided to do a nice simple shawl 'Andean Treasure Shawl' found at Knit Picks, very pretty but easy and quick to do.
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Kitchen Re-Do

2010-06-29T11:34:00.006-06:00

My new yellow kitchen with red accessories!

Record-rain fallout (Leader-Post, 23 Jun 2010, Page A1)

2010-06-23T08:44:00.001-06:00

Record-rain fallout
By TIM SWITZER
Leader-Post
23 Jun 2010

As workers toil feverishly to try to repair the hole in the Trans-Canada Highway left by last week’s flood, towns on the detour around the mess are noticing the change. “It’s just non-stop traffic — more semis, more everything,” said Sue Maddin, a...read more...

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

2010-06-22T09:19:00.003-06:00

Mosquito's are ten times as bad than normal for this time of year! As reported in the news today. Our abnormally WET spring has them out in record numbers. It doesn't take much water. Any small amount of standing water will do. We've got that in spades!

They are big too! My DH swears he saw one as big as his thumb! Taking the dog out to the backyard you are met with a swarm of them, they're loud too! It sounds like helicopters overhead. They circle and stalk you as you run quickly hoping they can't catch you. Then they land, with a big thud. You always know they're there but how can you swat them when you've got 50 on you at the same time?

What can you do except reach for the huge can of DEET spray and hope for the best. Oh you will get many helpful advice from people on how to deal with the pesky buggers. Cover up in Avon's skin so soft oil, sure nothing like getting all greased up to go sit outdoors. So now I'm a slippery mess and I'm itching all over.

Then there is the good 'bug torture machine'. You know the ones, they're zapping all evening long - gross! Not only do mosquito's only make up 1% of the bugs that actually get caught by it a lot of beneficial bugs get decimated in the process. It's just nasty!

Light a citronella candle. Now I like a nice candle lit evening just as much as the next person. Let's not pretend however that this works in any way shape or form. All it does is provide mood lighting for the lil buggers!

If you are getting more bites than a friend you'll be told 'you must eat a lot of bananas' or 'if you eat garlic they'll leave you alone'. True, but so will your friends...lol! No there really isn't any scientific proof that confirms that your diet plays a big role in whether or not you get bit more or less than your family and friends.

What crazy mosquito prevention ideas have been passed to you by your helpful friends?

Thinking Positvely

2010-06-21T18:44:00.002-06:00

Shelly posted a great question on her blog, she's also having a cool contest - check it out!

I don't deal with stressful situations well. I'm the chronic worry wart. For me the glass is always 'half-empty'. I married someone who is of the 'glass is half-full' mentality. What a combo hey!

So at times when I'm feeling stressed or my attitude is not the most positive I don't always go for the healthy options. My feel-good choice is chocolate, only followed by a close second of ice-cream! I know this isn't the way to deal with my stress, yet somehow I continue to do it. Sometimes when I'm feeling sorry for myself it feels like the only thing that will make me feel better. It is however, a temporary fix.

Some of the healthier ways I deal with life's little and big disappointments is to KNIT. Knitting has been a savior for me during many troublesome times. When I sit with my yarn and needles it seems like all of life's worries seem to drift away. It mustn't be just me, a recent article in a local newspaper talked of the increase of popularity in knitting. It's very meditative and relaxing and the secret is out.

Add to that a nice bit cup of tea. What is life without tea? For me, it would be so sad. There are many good and tasty beverages that I enjoy. Tea, is the one that will be there to comfort after a day that you didn't think you'd get through. When your heart feels like it can't possibly feel any more pain or it will surely break - then there is tea. Somehow it makes it feel just a little better - I feel calmed.

I can't possibly end this without a big one - and that is the big one, prayer! When this past year had some things I didn't think I could handle on my own, I sought out a spiritual director and I've been journeying with her since the Fall. She's helped me to see God in places I hadn't before. The images God has shown me have really helped me to realize that I'm not alone. I am loved and that yes even God has said 'this too shall pass'.

I was initially commenting on Shelly's post and I was finding more words coming that really fit into a comment box. I think it's important to share with people how you manage to deal with life's bumps, we all have them. You also realize that other people are also facing struggles. Even though we seem like we have it all together the challenges of life do not discriminate and we all face them in our own ways.

Maple Creek flood 2010 Trans Canada Highway dissapears

2010-06-21T08:48:00.000-06:00

Mom, there is a Tornado Warning!!!!!

2010-06-17T07:49:00.003-06:00

That's what woke me up just after one a.m. this morning, by my 17 yo DD none-the-less. Yes it was storming, quite well actually. The thunder and were quite intense!

Our DD has had a rather huge fear of storms since she was little. We had a few scary moments camping. One on particular trip we were having a great time, the day was perfect. We spent the day at the beach because it was so hot. That evening roasting our hot dogs on the campfire I began to see clouds rolling in.

One thing you learn growing up on the prairies is to keep your eyes on the sky! Summer months produce wicked summer storms. So I grew up with a great ~~respect~~ fear of the summer sky. As I watched the sky I got more and more nervous, it seemed like we were the only ones in the campground to be so nervous. That's when I had the brilliant idea to phone into the weather office and see if there was any danger. Why I did that I'll never know. What I heard scared me and it transferred on to my DD. There was a Tornado Warning. The warning means that funnel clouds have been spotted in the area.

We made a decision to seek the nearest shelter, which was the service centre. As we were waiting for the storm to pass, several more seasoned campers were coming and going, having their nightly showers and getting the kids to bed. I guess they hadn't phoned the weather station so it was just another summer storm to them and therefor no big deal.

Last night though, there was no such warning. I think she started to hear the thunder in her sleep as it was so LOUD! After listening to it for some time, it started to work its way into her dreams. When she woke up she was positive she had heard that there was a tornado warning. She came scrambling to our room in a panic, asked us to get the dog so he'd be safe too. I could quickly tell she was in a semi-conscious state. We quickly checked for any weather warnings and when she was assured that it was just a regular T-Storm she was ready to go back to bed.

Getting back to sleep was a trick unto itself. The thunder was so loud, every time I'd start to nod off there would be another HUGE clap of thunder would hit and I would be wide awake again!

Put on Your Dancing Shoes

2010-06-16T16:08:00.003-06:00

Growing up we didn't have a lot of money. Somehow we always managed to have fun.
As kids we didn't need video games or computers to amuse ourselves, we had our imaginations.
A summer day was filled with endless possibilities!

We would walk into town, a bagged lunch was all we needed. We'd collect pop bottles on the way. Gosh, we got so good at spotting them in the ditches.
They used to call me 'Eagle Eye's'. Funny, considering I've been wearing glasses since I was six(horrible brown owl style too!) By the time we got to
the local confectionery(not 7-11) we had enough bottles to buy a few treats. Creamsicles were a good bet along with rootbeer popsicles. Just enough to maybe buy a Hires Rootbeer or a Coca-Cola. We'd feel cool and refreshed for all of five minutes - but it was really worth it!

When we were older Mom and Dad(step-dad) would go out dancing every Saturday night. Saturday couldn't come fast enough! I always managed to find a friend or two who wanted to go dancing and we'd spend the day 'getting ready'. It was a big deal, t-shirts and jeans were not good enough - we wanted to look our very best!! The whole day was an event and we looked forward to all the moments including the make-up!

The AA group that my parents belonged to had this dance every Saturday, the cost was low and they always had a live band. We'd get there early enough to choose the best seats. We had this down to an art, not too close to the canteen line so that you weren't pestered by people moving in along behind you and not too close to the speakers as the volume would give you a headache after awhile.

Ready to go at the dance we didn't wait until someone asked us to dance, we would start dancing as soon as the music began. Mom was a great dancer, showing us a few jive steps. She could rock-n-roll with the best of them. We had the time of our lives. Breaking only long enough to take in a beverage as the band rested between sets. We danced the night away. We were always polite, we would see the glare of our Mom if we said no to a dance. So we daned, all
night long. We were the first to get there and the last to pull out of the parking lot, we didn't want the fun to end.

When I think back to these dances I'm reminded just how much fun my Mom was - she was up there with us all and all my friends thought I had the coolest Mom and I guess I did!

Now the dancing days are behind me, simply because there is nowhere to go to dance anymore. I don't do the bar scene. So on occasion on a Saturday I sit and my feet will start tapping
at some music I hear on the radio and I think back to the many nights spent dancing the night away.

Will it be pretty?

2010-06-15T14:11:00.001-06:00

This was a question posed to our ministry of care worker when she mentioned to one of our seniors that she could bring her a hand knit/crocheted shawl. How sweet! On this particular visit she was relaying how chilly she feels when she sits out in the dining hall. Little did she know that we have already been getting a prayer shawl ministry in place. She'd love a shawl but just because she's in her 90's doesn't mean she's willing to sacrifice her sense of style – why should she?

In the last few months a buzz has begun to grow about knitting shawls for our seniors. They are often cold and in need of just a little something to wrap around themselves to take the chill off, even in the summer months.

I happen to love knitting shawls and as soon as I heard there was a need/desire to make some I was pleased to be involved. Several churches now have a Prayer Shawl Ministry. There is such great comfort in receiving your very own shawl that someone knit/crocheted just for you.

When I knit for someone my thoughts automatically go toward that person and I begin quietly praying for the recipient. For me my knitting time is my quiet meditative time with God. I've had some really close moments to God when I knit so it seems quite logical to me that praying/knitting go together.

A close friend of mine took up her crochet hook after a 30 year hiatus – to make shawls for the ministry. She remarked at how calming it was. She found that by crocheting before bed instead of watching TV, that she had a much more relaxed sleep.

I think the Prayer Shawl Ministry is a gift that gives equally to both. My goal is to have enough shawls made that whenever we need one there is one available. There are so many times in one's life where a shawl would be needed. I'd like to be able to offer up a shawl to a recent widow or someone who is dealing with a serious illness.

The other day I was crocheting on one of these prayer shawls and my DD who is currently quite sick with Mono asked what I was making. When she realized it was a prayer shawl she immediately wanted one. This is coming from a 17 year old girl. Even she could see how a shawl like that would make someone feel.

So this summer my needles/hook will be flying. I'm going to take a bit of a break from some 'me' knitting and help our church get a stash of shawls ready so we are always ready to hand them out to someone in need. Then in the Fall we'll gather all the shawls and at one of the Masses we will bring them forward to be blessed and then they will be personally delivered with a special prayer card letting the recipient know that the shawl has been knit just for them, prayed for while it was knit and blessed – then to continue the circle we'll ask them to say a prayer for the person who knit it for them.

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-06-14T13:10:00.003-06:00

My wonderful sister awarded me with this - what a nice surprise!

The challenge now is to think of 10 things to share with you all - I'll try to come up with some unique things that I haven't shared previously.

I am passing this award on to:

Lovin Comfort Knits
Tangled up In Sticks and String
Life in Westcliffe
CuraAnimarum

Things About Me:

1. When I was little my Granny nicknamed me 'Missy'. I hated the name and only let my Granny call me that. When I was really young I had bed wetting issues and you can figure out the rhyme in your head I'm sure. So the name really rubbed me the wrong way, today though I have no problem if someone calls me Missy. It's too bad it had that association with it. If you call me Mel on the other hand I'll probably give you a bit of a glare.

2. In the 90's I had my own website where I offered free Outlook Express Stationery. Back in the good old days of 'dial-up' internet. I met a lot of nice people through Excite Chat who taught me a lot about computer graphics. I still like playing around with Paint Shop Pro.

3. I have never been outside of Canada. I hope to remedy that soon. My husband and I married young at 19 and we didn't have a honeymoon. We're planning to take a trip away for our 25th instead of having a party. We want to travel while we can still enjoy it.

4. I came into this world three weeks late. I took my time coming and every day the neighbors in the apartment building would say to my mom 'You still here'(she loved that btw). I was in no hurry at all, well that is until the big day. The day I decided to make my entrance I was in a huge hurry. In fact the doctor who lived right across the street from the hospital couldn't get there in time and I was delivered by the head nurse. She didn't believe my mom when she said the baby is coming. I guess I wanted to be here in time for Christmas. They brought me to my mom in a red Christmas stocking with a red ribbon in my hair. What can I say that was the start of my love for Christmas - I go crazy for Christmas decorating.

5. I love to collect things. It started with a button collection(pin types not shirt buttons) and I have since had a collection of tea cups and tea pots. I also like to collect Coke memorabilia even though I drink Pepsi. My Granny gave me her old Coke cooler(the metal type). I love that cooler and it's actually better at keeping things new than my new Coleman one. Since I have the nagging need to collect I try to keep it in check, if not my house would be full of junk.

6. I've never been to a concert - there I've said it. I don't know why I find this embarrassing but I somehow do. I just never had an opportunity when I was younger and now I can't see spending money to see one.

7. When I was 20 my sister and I did the 'Penguin Dip'. We had a local winter festival and they had a penguin dip. We had to jump into the ice cold lake where they had about 4 feet cut out - walk to the other side and walk back. All for a t-shirt that said 'Penguin Dip'. When I jumped in the water I just wanted to jump out, but they had people in wet suits that kept you moving, truly the coldest I've ever been.

8. I'm just now reading the last Harry Potter book. I'd read all of the others but for some reason I got stalled out reading the final book.

9. I miss the 'drive-in' movie days! Some of the best fun we'd have when the kids were little was packing up the car and heading to the drive in. The kids always wanted their favorite snack of 'pickle-on-a-stick'! It was good family fun. If I had the money I'd open up a drive-in just for nostalgia. We mustn't be the only ones. I noticed the other day that our neighbors have taken to watching t.v. in the backyard. They have a t.v. sitting on a shelf in the window of their garage and the enjoy watching it outdoors.

10. When I grew up I wanted to be a librarian or a teacher. I loved the library and I still do! I'd make my little sister play school in the summer, I loved correcting the work. It's a little quirk that I notice spelling errors even in things like love notes. Spelling was my favorite subject.

Thankless Knitting

2010-06-02T09:20:00.002-06:00

When your passion is knitting it only makes sense that you will inevitably knit items to gift to your family and friends. There is so much love that can be knit into an item or an article of clothing. I've always been a 'gifter'. When I knit something most times it ends up being gifted. I actually have to make myself knit for me.

So when you spend all the time and energy knitting something truly wonderful it really feels horrible when the item seems to be unappreciated. I'm sure you've all experienced this at one time or another. I've even given people a second chance in this. Maybe the first item really wasn't special, and then the self doubt comes in - aren't I a good enough knitter to gift items? And on and on it goes.

This past year I knit a truly delightful dress for a niece of ours and I was truly disappointed that I never even received a picture of her wearing it, or even comments on how it fit. I ordered the yarn from the U.S. and put a lot of work into the item. It was quite a popular item on Ravelry so it's not an outdated - ugly frock from the 70's. As far as I know, the dress has never even been tried on.

Yesterday I was kind of down on myself. I had decided to knit the Wool Peddler Shawl in Malabrigo Sock yarn in Impressionist Sky. This is not cheap yarn, by any means. After having another look at the pattern I realized I'd need yet another skein. The practical me - the 'I don't need to knit for me' - me, wanted to return the yarn and go and buy some cheap acrylic and just 'make do'.

Then I thought about all the knitting I've done over the years and how much was gifted, some appreciated and some not. Here I have the opportunity to knit myself a gorgeous shawl, something I'll have for my lifetime and I'm actually second guessing myself. Really, if I can order yarn from the US and knit for someone who will not appreciate it, surely I can buy one extra skein and have my own beautiful shawl that I will truly enjoy for many years!

Puffed Wheat Squares

2010-05-21T11:13:00.002-06:00

We had a garage sale at our church last Saturday and one of the ladies had her grandson selling puffed wheat squares, rice krispie treats and lemonade. They sold great. I think the biggest seller was the puffed wheat squares. They were delicious! Nice and soft and the chocolate taste was out of this world. I ~~asked~~ begged her for the recipe. She was kind enough to share it with me. It's so easy, cooks up so quickly.

Puffed Wheat Squares

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup honey or syrup(I used honey)
pinch salt
5 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

6 - 8 cups puffed wheat

Bring the first 7 ingredients to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan. Boil one minute, stirring constantly. Pour over puffed wheat and mix well. Press into a 9 x 13 greased pan. Cool and cut - enjoy!

Summer Has Arrived

2010-05-18T10:02:00.003-06:00

Summer has finally arrived in my neck of the woods and we couldn't be happier!

On Sunday I did the first mowing of the season. Then I took my little guy outside to sit in the backyard. I enjoyed some cool water, a bit of the shade that our neighbors tree provides and some knitting. Oliver didn't mind having a rest in the grass while I sat and knit. The only thing that bothered him was a bumblebee looking for a place to make her nest - he is terrified of bumblebees!

It was just a perfect day! I'm looking forward to many more lazy days spent in the yard with knitting. Time to get a few flowers planted to beautify our little piece of heaven.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T13:43:00.000-06:00

This morning at church we prayed for Mother's, Grandmother's and anyone who has acted in a motherly way towards us. Both those living, and those who have died.

To my mom - I'm so thankful for the closeness we share. All the 'Smitty's' days, when I need someone to listen you are always there! I miss our coffee visits - wish you lived closer. You blessed me with the creative gene - showing me how to crochet and when we were small you drew a Christmas scene for us. I was in awe of your wicked drawing skills!

To my Granny who is no longer with us. Your caring, loving ways will always be remembered. You always took the time to give hugs and fill the tummy with your delicious baking and homemade soups. I loved helping in the garden and our walks to the store, sipping pic-a-pop in the backyard while you showed me the best way to open a nectarine. I remember you sitting patiently trying to show me how to knit. You made so many moments so special!

To all my friends, I hope you have a wonderful Mothers Day!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Blackrose for Me

2010-05-08T07:11:00.000-06:00

Well I finally got started on my Blackrose socks. The yarn and new Harmony needles arrived late last week from Knit Picks. I chose the Stroll Tonal in 'Gypsy'. It's a beautiful red!

I haven't done magic loop for a couple of years now so I was afraid I'd forget how to to it. So far so good. After I got the ten rows of ribbing done it seemed to be going great, no laddering, yay!

I can see how they go quickly!

Cinnamon Swirls

2010-05-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

Mixing the dough - I love being hands free. It left me free to take a few pictures.

Mixing up the cinnamon and butter spread.

Voila! The dough has doubled in size.

Ok - not the best rolling job - but look below they still turned out ok.

Ready to rise once more!

The first stage of the caramel glaze is now boiling.

Mixing the evaporated milk/brown sugar mixture with icing sugar and vanilla.

The results - oh so delicious!

She's Just Seventeen!

2010-05-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm borrowing this from last year - my hopes and dreams for my DD are still the same - I hope she has a wonderful birthday!

Today is my DD's Seventeenth birthday - there she is on the left in the purple dress. This was taken when she was 3 months old!
It hardly seems like it's been 16 years already!
She is a very extroverted girl with a flair for the dramatics.
From the time in the hospital when I was holding her and she was already holding her own head up - it's true! I knew she could always handle herself. She's a leader a take charge kind of girl and of course it causes some friction - she's a teen growing into her own maturity and independence. She's a 'big idea' person - planning huge events, nothing ever seems impossible to her.

From the time she started walking at 9 months she made sure everyone in the family knew she was there. We were intrigued with this tiny babe shaking her fist at her brother and acting like a fish wife when she didn't get her turn on the chalkboard.

She came into this world right on schedule at a healthy 7lbs 6oz and almost completely bald. I wondered when she'd ever get hair that I could play with! And then did I! I would sit while she watched Sesame Street and braid her hair and spend hours curling it to no avail - it's poker straight like her dad's and that's what it likes best so a curl lasts all of five minutes and falls flat again. But it didn't stop us from trying and trying and trying. We spent many hours on her hair. She must have taken a liking to hairdressing at some point as about a week before she was to be the flower girl for my SIL's wedding she got into the scissors and cut her bangs right to the root. Thankfully we had an amazing hairdresser and we managed to have her looking cute as a button for the special day!

She didn't want to grow up - I still remember when she was five and her Dad and I were trying to start teaching her to read and she was adamant that she wasn't going to learn. We didn't understand this as our son was a huge reader and reading since he was around 4. When we questioned her further she simply said "I don't want to be big and if I read I will grow up"! Funny how she made that connection as from a parent's perspective once they enter school it seems like they grow up overnight.

Today is her special day and I wish her all the happiness and joy she deserves!

Love
Mom

Process or Project Knitter?

2010-05-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

I've seen this question posed on a few different blogs lately and it got me to thinking. I guess I'd like to be a 'process' knitter. To just enjoy every moment but I'm such a 'get-it-done' kind of person that I am more of a 'project' knitter. I guess that's why I enjoy doing small projects such as dishcloths and why I'm going to give socks a try. I like the process part, don't get me wrong but if I have a project on the go I'm going gang-busters to get it finished. What happens to me if I leave it too long is it loses it's appeal.

For that reason I've yet to complete an afghan that I started last winter(to be finished last May) - the project is knit all in one piece and it seems like it's taking forever to finish. I need to just smack myself and enjoy the process of it. It's going to be finished though, I'm NOT frogging a blanket that is almost half-way done. So now I take it out on occasion and work a few rows and try to just enjoy the process of knitting it as I know I can't finish it quickly. I get bored on a large project like that.

Knowing this I have to question my ~~decision making~~ sanity. I ordered enough knit picks comfy worsted to make another afghan. I started this and stopped it many times. I couldn't find a pattern that really called to me. Convinced I would never turn that yarn into a blanket I made myself a shawl. In the meantime I had ordered yet even more of the yarn in different shades. So I still have a considerable amount of this yarn. The plan now is to continue making these cabled squares and sewing it into a small blanket/throw. I'm hoping by making little squares that I can finish quickly will help me stay on task. I love the yarn, it's so soft and cozy. I wear my shawl a LOT so, I must persevere and get the project done one way or another. I'm already really enjoying knitting this new throw and the pattern really suits the yarn quite well.

My New Toy

2010-05-04T08:31:00.003-06:00

Here she is in all her glory! I ordered it from the Shopping Channel and she came with a bonus of a 3qt bowl and combi whip - which is great for smaller mixing jobs.

I have wanted a stand mixer my whole married life. I remember seeing my MIL's old Oster mixer and I thought it was just great. I had at best an Oster hand mixer in the past years, I was excited about that too. My previous hand mixers have had very little oomph to them.

This baby can move! We made some whipped cream to go with our strawberries for our dessert and it was the best whipped cream I've ever made!

Now the question remains, do I buy more of it's attachments that allow it to do more food processing or just jump in with both feet and get the 12 cup food processor, also in the beautiful Empire Red.

Soon my kitchen will be painted in CIL's 'Daisy Chain' and possibly painting our current cedar wainscotting in white. I'm ordering some red table/kitchen linens to pull it all together. I'm very excited to make this kitchen mine. We've lived in our home for 3 years now and I'm ready to put my stamp on it.

Cable Cloth

2010-04-27T08:57:00.006-06:00

As promised here is a picture of the cable cloth that I made. I adapted it from `Knitting Made Easy - Coats and Clark - Beginner Basics: Patchwork Afghan(Cabled Square).

I CO 38 sts(this produced a 7 x 7 cloth) - next time I will CO 42. It is a multiple of 6 +2.
*Because my cloth was 7 x 7 I decided to pick up stitches along each side. I don`t know exactly how many I picked up but I did goof up on the top and for that reason there is a ridge along the top, that normally wouldn`t be there.*$

C4B or C4F - slip next 2 sts onto a cable needle and hold at the back 0r (Front) of work, knit next 2 sts from left hand needle, then knit sts from the cable needle.(I slide the stitches back onto the left hand needle and then knit them).

The original square for the afghan had you CO 56.

1st Row (RS): Knit
2nd and every alt row: K1, purl to last st, k1.

3rd Row: K3, C4B, *k2, C4B; rep from * to last st, k1.

5th Row: Knit.

7th Row: K1, *C4F, k2; rep from * to last st, k1.

8th Row: k1, purl to last st, k1.

Last night I cast on with my leftover knit picks comfy worsted. I am going to knit as many panels in this as I can in my different colors for a light and cozy throw.

Two Color Lattice Cloth

2010-04-26T09:07:00.003-06:00

I've been fiddling with different stitch patterns for some cloths. This is my second cloth. This time I used Barbara's Two Color Lattice in summer splash and white. I CO 42 stitches and did 3 rows garter before beginning pattern. This gives me two stitches on either end for a garter stitch edge. I like to have a nice border on a cloth. So if you follow the two color lattice pattern and you want a border then you need 42 if you don't want a border this cloth would take 38 sts.

For my cloth Color A is white and Color B is the summer splash.

This is what happens when I get bored of the patterns that I've done before. I also did a cloth from a cable pattern that was in a book for a block afghan. I'll post about it tomorrow.

Red n' White Gingham Cloth

2010-04-24T17:20:00.003-06:00

The challenge! I downloaded this pattern free from ravelry but then it sat in my pattern binder. I kept looking at it wondering why I ever downloaded it, it looked complicated and why did the cloth require circular needles if it was a square. These and other things prevented me from taking a stab at knitting one.

That was though, until yesterday. I decided that I was going to just try it. Surprisingly enough it is relatively easy. The only thing is that you need to know what row you are on all the time. In the pattern she is quite clear about it, and she's serious! I did a slight mistake at one point, you probably won't be able to tell from the picture - but it was from a silly goof up. I learned quickly if I was stepping away to make a note of what row was next. My border is a little more full as I used a 5mm crochet hook as ~~it was on hand~~ I was too lazy to go downstairs and look for one.

Forgive the poor picture. Our camera is at work and I had to use my BB to snap a picture of the FO. If you haven't tried this cloth I highly reccommend it. I'm not sure how much actual use it will get. To me it's just to pretty to use. I'm going to cast on for another one tonight using bright yellow and white.

Gifted

2010-04-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my DH and wonderful co-worker for this lovely, and unexpected gift! It is an honour and a joy to work with you each and every day! I'm glad you appreciate what I do in the office!