Nana's Place

Bad Day

2010-08-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Did not get picks up today. Was not the best day. Did not get any crafting done or housework. Although I did a bunch of baking. I always seem to bake when I am happy or sad...go figure :D I made 3 dozen sugar cookies and have had 5 of them today.

So much has me down, but I am trying to not let it keep me down. I have been talking with my hubby and a couple friends from high school trying to get some perspective on things. I made some changes in friends today and have started talking about making changes in my daily life. I need to take better care of myself and start taking better care of my house and yard. I just get so down that I do nothing but sit on the couch infront of the tv or infront of my computer. I have let myself go. I know my depression and anxiety has got the worst of me...time to go to a dr and try to get myself back in order.

Been Away For A Long Time...

2010-08-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Life just became over whelming and could not bring myself to write about it. Things are still crazy and depressing but I am coping better. At least right now I am. My husband and my sister are the only ones that have been there to keep me going.

I actually went home to NY in April to stay with my sister who I had not seen in 12 yrs. It was sooo nice to get away and be funny and goofy with my little sis again. Granted I was stressed out over leaving the hubby but he was in the hospital so was in good hands.

I have been a crafting maniac....it has been my one hold on reality and sanity. I will get back here some time tomorrow to share some of the things I have made. I have even designed a doll in my time away! It is for my 2 yr old grandaughter for Xmas :D

Ok, time to go and catch up with some of my old blog acquaintances and see what everyone has been up to.....I am so glad to be back here!

I am still here....

2010-02-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

I am just a little overwhelmed right now. I have to much on my plate that must be finished plus some things that I am wanting to do for fun, and I do not seem to be getting anywhere with any of it LOL
I am in the process of getting hubby's health insurance switched and it is such a pain. Have to switch doctors, pharmacy's, infusion clinics....the list goes on and on. On top of all of this I have to go back to work. I should explain it is not back to work in the normal sense. Hubby's new insurance will pay for a caregiver. As I am a certified care giver they will pay me a set number of hours a week, but I have to apply at agency's, have them hire me, then the insurance will reimburse the agency. So, I have to find time to get to these agency's, get new CPR and First Aid cards,I let mine expire, on top of everything else.
I am working on some knitting, but it is for orders that were placed and of course I am behind. I am behind on my Easter Garland :( I have decided that I will no longer be taking orders for knitting. I had not planned on doing custom orders to begin with. I had planned on spending this year knitting things up that caught my eye and then in the fall offering them for sale. Once these orders are done I am done. I actually have decided that I do not enjoy knitting to order or to sell. I just want to knit to enjoy and then find someone to give it to! Plus I really would like to knit for myself. In the year that I have been knitting I only have one item for myself....a pair of socks that were my first pair and do not fit :(
I have been doing some baking :) I love to cook and bake...love to feed my loves ones and see them full and content lol. Must be the Italian in me :P
Anyways, I will be back soon, but am realistically looking at some time next week. Hugs!

I AM LOOKING FOR A PATTERN....

2010-02-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

for the filet crochet easter eggs that have the opening in the front. You know they were starched and decorated with ribbons and things. I have gone through some of my older pattern books and have googled it to no avail :( If you have one or know someone who has a pattern I am willing to pay for the pattern. I want to make these for my ornament tree. Thank you ;D

Will be away for a few days...

2010-02-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

I have a ton of stuff to get done in the craft room. So instead of worrying about blogging I am just going to spend a few days in the craft room getting it done :D Everyone have a wonderful crafty, productive weekend!

My Easter Ornaments for..

2010-02-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

The Easter Garland Along I am taking part in.The piglet is suppose to have a felt flower garland around his neck, but after 4 attempts at a flower I gave up and dug out the beads. It is not attatched in hopes that I will figure out how to make the flowers. also their are no hangers yet. I am half way through building an ornament tree, and I am praying that it turns out ok. I have seen tons of these in blog land and figured I would give it a try. If the tree works then I will figure out how I want to hang them lol

This is one of the items I received from my mother in law today. Oh the plans I have for this!!

This old cast iron corn bread pan will adorn my new kitchen wall this spring!

Have a few plans for this...am going to line the back with scrap book paper and modge podge and call it done.

I love this calendar! It is missing 3 numbers, but I am going to make them so no big deal! It has the cutest little painted tiles for the holidays :D

All in all I had a very nice day and pretty productive. I am off to knit on some socks :D

All The Wonder At My Mother In Laws

2010-02-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

My

Hmmm, not quite the way I had intended this to come out LOL My mother in law stopped by today and asked me to go to her house with her. She had some things for me...and no it is none of the above. Although, I will be buying a few pieces of the above in March.
The hand crocheted bed linens at the top of the page she picked up at a yard sale this weekend. That is just a small part of it. She bought a whole bed set with multiple pillow cases for $3!!!
The desk is a piece that she has had for some time now and is one of the pieces that I will be buying :D I am super thrilled :D
The long table with the green lamp on it she acquired last year sometime. She is debating on wether or not to sell this piece. I am really hoping she decides to sell, this would look amazing behind my sofa!
The spool table is another piece that she is moving out. She will not sell it, but says I can use it for the time being :D
I absolutely love her old office chair!! Let me tell you, this thing is HEAVY!! She is on the look out for a second one.
I think her two floral huricane lamps are sooo pretty, I just wanted to share! Behind the lamps she has the most beautiful tray and perfumes bottles. The next time I go over we are going to pull it out to take pictures.
And finally her glass vase! I love everything about this piece.
I hope you enjoyed!

So Tired But Feeling Good.

2010-02-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

The grandson has gone home and I have to say that we were actually sad to see him go. We had such a wonderful time with the little guy. Now that he is older his stays are really so much easier; especially since he sleeps through the night LOL
I have to get my house back in order and catch up on laundry today. Also have to straighten the craft room, still have some mess from Valentine's crafts. I am super excited for my next little project!

Elizabeth of Creative Breathing is doing the most adorable Easter Garland Along!http://creativebreathing.blogspot.com/ Elizabeth has the most amazing blog and is also an amazingly talented woman. I absolutely love her blog! And she shares so many of her lovely talents with us all. So while out wandering blog land make sure to stop by Creative Breathing to see Elizabeth and her beautiful blog.

Will be back later with pics from our trip to the park yesterday and my first ornies for the garland :D

A Fun Day

2010-02-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

Oh what a day!! I fixed breakfast for the hubby and grandson, then it was time for us all to get dressed. Grandson and I played in the yard with the puppy then it was time for lunch. After lunch I had plans to do some shopping and to go to a local park. Well, we only managed to make it to the park and let me tell you I barely made it through the park LOL
The grandson had sooo much fun running around playing with all the other kids and I had fun chasing him...until the last 20 minutes. I was wooped! Poor thing came home asked me to take off his socks and shoes, laid on the couch and was out :D That was 2 hrs ago and he is still out! I am just too wore out to post pics tonight. I think I will get him up to eat some dinner, into the tub and p.j's and lay on the couch and watch tv with him. Have a nice evening.

A Wonderful blog and Give Away....

2010-02-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

Karen from http://mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/2010/02/500-followers-giveaway.html is a wonderfully talented and giving woman. I have only been following her blog for a short time, but in that short time she has become one of my absolute favorite blogs to follow. Her life, home and talents truly inspire me.

Karen is having this give away to celebrate 500+ followers and the gift she is giving away is to beautiful to describe. You must stop by Karens blog and see for yourself!! Good Luck to all that enter. OH and make sure to become a regular follower of Karen's beautiful blog!

Our Sleep Over Is Going Great!

2010-02-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

First we had dinner....grilled cheese, french fries, veggies, doritos and ranch. This little guy will eat anything if it has ranch on it LOL After dinner it was out to go for a walk through the park. He was so excited over the motion sensor lights on peoples homes! Oh to be entertained by something so simple. Come home and play some and now it is time for a bath. Ummmm.... "NO BATH" okay so it took me a half hour to convince him that he had to have a bath!

He survived the bath and into warm p.j.'s. I just love this picture of him. He just has the cutest smile on his face...almost like he has a secret LOL

Time to play with the dog! They had the best time playing under the table LOL

You remeber how it was to be at Nana's for the night...she let you stay up late and eat what ever you wanted....atleast mine did!

So at 8:30 pm it was time to take a road trip...off to Dairy Queen for ice cream and a quick stop at the corner store for M&M's! Oh his mother would have my head on a block! But when a cute little face like this asks you for ice cream and you have none in the house what else are you suppose to do LOL

And yes he stayed up way to late playing with Nana and Papa and Romeo the puppy, but OH WE HAD SOO MUCH FUN!! It amazes me watching this little guy turn into a little boy. It seems just like yesterday that I was at the hospital watching this amazing angel come into the world.

Well, It is 1 am and I better head to bed...we have a very busy day today. Shopping for toys and a picnic at the park!

Feeling a little better...

2010-02-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful early Valentine with the hubby Friday evening. He took me to Cracker Barrel for dinner and let me shop in the gift shop! I love their gift shop. He bought me an adorable chocolate scented teddy bear, an old time looking wire chick that is an egg holder; have plans to alter it. And he bought me a red, heart shaped flower vase that I also plan on altering at some point. I have pics but do not have time just now to get them up. To our luck Cracker Barrel was running a special that we did not know about before getting there, $5 off all purchases!! After dinner we came home to meet with my middle daughter and her hubby. We all went to see "The Wolfman" starring Anthony Hopkins and Benicio DelTurro! It was an awesome scarey movie! After the movie the hubby took us all out for a few drinks at our favorite bar :D
Saturday was a quiet do nothing day, and I literally did nothing. Played around on the computer and watched tv, absolutely nothing that required my brain to function LOL My middle daughter and her family and my son were here in the evening and we all sat out in the yard around a fire chatting. A very relaxing, therapeutic day.
Sunday morning, Valentine's Day, the inlaws showed up toting a huge bouquet of roses!! My wonderful hubby had given them money to buy them for him to give to me. So beautiful!!! On a sad note my cat decided to play with them that night and I lost some roses, but fortunately they fell off whole and have them sitting in an old tin bowl in my craft room :D
This evening we have our 28 mth old grandson coming to stay with us for a couple days. We have plans to have a picnic at the park tomorrow! I may not be back until we send him home to his mom and dad, but when I come back I will have picks of my goodies and our little visitor :D

With Everything That Is Going On, Now....

2010-02-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

someone has just tried to break in my house!!! Literally just happened less than a half hour ago. Hubby and I are laying in bed with all the lights off watching tv and all of a sudden we here someone yell "Anybody Home" What the hell ???? And that is what I yelled. Someone was in my house!! I came creeping down my hall and did not see anyone. So I get brave and grab a flashlight and a weapon and head onto the enclosed front porch. Still nothing. Hit the side yard and see that my inside shed light is on. Come back around to the front of the house and hear something on the other side of the house where my car and another shed are. Heard something and thought it was coming from inside the shed. I fling the door open and hear someone go over the fence behind the shed!!! Came running back to the house and called the managers
Just two days ago a neighbor had a bike stolen out of his yard and now this. We obviously have someone or two raiding our neighborhood. We live in a very small and quiet 55+ mobile home park, but on the other side of the property is a very large mobile home park. We are thinking whoever it is came from there. The managers of our park will be calling the police dept. tomorrow to report what has been going on here and ask for them to add the park to their patrols for a few days. Maybe it will scare whoever is doing this away.
So much adrenaline and now I am wide awake :( With the bad weather that we have been having my hubby has been having a very hard time with his breathing and sleeping; so now we are awake probably until the sun comes up. Hubby is watching a movie on his computer and I think I will cruise the web with a cup of hot tea.

This is How I Feel

2010-02-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is our weather today and this is how I feel. Dark, cloudy, cold, surrounded by vibrant people, but feeling naked and alone. It seems as if in just a couple of days my life has taken turns for the worse that will never be repaired. Infact some of these things will not and can not be repaired and it has me in absolute gutwrenching turmoil. I am unable to do anything to help heal my family that has been affected and do not know how to deal with this myself. My family has been changed in a way that will never be right again.

My mind is in hyper speed trying to sort everything into some semblance of reason and it is not working. I feel that I am at the edge of a cliff teetering not to plunge over into a dark abyss. When you are the glue of an entire family unit and you are falling apart yourself how do you hold everyone together? My family is coming apart in front of my eyes and there is nothing I can do to stop it! Between this latest nightmare and my husbands terminal illness along with all the other drama that seems a constant in my life I just want to crawl in a whole and never come out.

I can not keep one straight thought in my head, I can not focus on just one thing, I wander the house aimlessly wondering what I should be doing. What can I do?

My Hubby's Valentine.

2010-02-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

So once again all my blogger friends have inspired me. Looking at all of their wonderful vintage Valentine art made me want to do one too! I am not a huge paper crafter. I just have never seemed to have the knack for it. Atleast I never thought I had the knack,b but am thinking that I should give it another try. Hubby was oh so happy when I told him I had to buy yet more stuff for yet another hobby lol I will wait until next month to head off for paper and glitters and all the pretty do dads that go along with paper crafting. Can not wait to make a masterpiece for Easter!! Anyways, Off to google I went and found this adorable vintage squirrel! I have to tell you that my hubby has called me his squirrel since we first got together; so when I saw this adorable guy I knew I had found "the one" lol

Since I had no paper products I had to figure out something with fabric. I pulled out my box of scrap fabric and I found a box of old cards!!! I printed off my little squirrel and pasted it on to a postcard and then cut him out....hey whatever works right??? Then I found a vintage piece of lace...hmmm what next. How about a heart out of my glitter wool felt...great! OK....now what?? Found an older looking type print fabric for the background...perfect!! I got it!!! Take the back of an old card and cover it with the fabric for the base of my card. Hmmm...now where to put my squirrel....played around and did not like him just "put" on there. I need a pocket! Yep that is perfect :D Some vintage lace to hang and a little cream bow on the heart and Viola!! Done and I think it turned out pretty nice for my first attempt at something like this :D

HUH?

2010-02-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

wonder if it worked??? Ok so I have the template I want but it only shows up when I click on a specific post not for the main background. I am totally lost here ARG!!! Can anyone help??? ok I am about in tears..I am walking away :(
So, as you can see I did not get around to posting pics and if you have been here before you can see my blog looks different. I did not say better but different. I spent hours today trying to change my blog background and all I did was accomplish messing it up :(
Me and the hubby, middle daughter and her family had a nice couple hours with my son who turned 18 today! So hard for me to believe he is all grown up...he will always be my baby and my only son :) He let us know tonight that he is getting his first tattoo tomorrow. My hubby who is terminally ill has a "Mr. Lucky" on his chest...a skull in a top hat...it was his very first tattoo and he dearly loves it. Well, our son informed us that he is having "Mr. Lucky" put on his shoulder tomorrow for his "dad". Hubby is their step-dad but has helped me raise them for the last 11 years. He made me cry:)
I accomplished absolutely nothing today lol I had planned on finishing off 2 swags that I made yesterday. They just need some little bows, but I could not even get to that! I thought I would get some time to sit and work on the sock orders...yeah right! Housework, Laundry??? Ummm....maybe sometime this week :P And the poor hubby got left overs for dinner :D
Wednesday I am going to my oldest daughters to visit and have her computer guru fiance help me get my blog set the way I would like. I will be taking a notebook and taking very detailed notes LOL

Working on some more .....

2010-02-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day projects. Hope to be back later this evening with some pics. And I am still trying to change my blog template! I have the WORST time everytime I try to do this. I really could use some help in this area from someone please!!!

Want to introduce a brand new blog to you.....

2010-02-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

Go over and check out Jamies blog about her Life as a Momma! She is brand new to blog world and I am sure that she will keep us laughing day to day with stories of her little ones. http://lousmomma.blogspot.com/

And obviously now I have to figure out how to link.....ugh!

My Valentines Day Project

2010-02-07T13:02:00.001-08:00

Well I did it again! My pics are backwards! How hard is it for me to remember to post them backwards to begin with?? So I have to say thank you to all the wonderful women whos blogs I follow for inspiring me to do this!!!I seem to get myself in a "rut" persay. When I start to knit that is all I do, or crochet, or paint or paper craft. Thanks to all the wonderful blogs that I follow I have gotten out of my "rut". I have learned that I can set down my knitting and head to the craft room for some quick, cute, fun project and no one will be injured because of it. LOL
So, through all the wonderful blogs that I follow, which you will find listed to the right side of this post, I found the alphabet templates at Happy Together. They are originally posted for "rag alphabet" letters for little ones to play with. Anyways, I took those letters and started by pulling out my felt and finding a glitter wool red felt. Then I came across a stash of glitter white felt..more on the thin side and cut around the letters a little larger with my pinking shears. Ok, so what to do next? I had plenty of both felts left so cut some red hearts.....decided to stay with the layout of the letters and cut white centers. I used the pinking shears for both red and white heart.
OK...so now I have all of this....what to do with it???? Start looking at more blogs! Viola!! I have an idea. Kind of LOL So I head to JoAnn's for some ribbon. Found the main banner ribbon in the Valentines 50% off section and the ribbon that the letters hang from! Chaching!!
Come home and start playing with ideas.....after a little brainstorming :P and some added red bows to the hearts this is what I came up with! I had origally wanted to "curl" the ribbon on the sides but it did not work:( and I did not want to cut so into bows it went! Hope you enjoy :D

UGH!!!!

2010-02-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

Ok I am trying to get my blog set up with all my bells and whistles to no avail. I by no means very computer literate and I think I am making it look worse instead of better! If anyone can tell me how to move my followers to the side of my blog and the blogs I follow I would greatly appreciate it!!!!

Finally some time to update part 1

2010-02-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

This little storage unit I found at Family Dollar for $20, just perfect for
putting in the closet to hold yarn!

A bookshelf holding an assortment of things.

My mother in law found this at a yard sale and bought it...I just had to

have it! Have to figure out how and where to hang it.

One of my favorite chairs, a lap quilt waiting to be quilted and

another shot of the old bottles

a few days ago this was just a large cupboard. After a trip to

Lowes it now has shelves and is more usable. It is not the best

place for my fabric, but it works.

So, I have been trying to get the socks done for the orders that were placed. It is slow going. Since getting home from the hospital there has been so much to do in the house and for the family. And I am finding that I am just very easily distracted and frustrated lately. Think I am stretching myself to thin.

I am excited to tell you that the first week of April I will be going to my hometown for a week! I have not been home for 12 years and can not wait to see the old town. I will be staying with my little sis and her family. I had not planned on leaving her house except to video around town for my hubby and kids, but just recently hooked up with a load of highschool friends through Facebook! I am hoping to be able to meet up with some of them while visiting :D A week just is not going to be long enough :(

Finally some time to update

2010-02-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ok these are backwards LOL This is an after shot of part of the craft
room. Before I started this room you could not open the door and I
forgot where the table was. It is by no means done. Have to get the
walls painted, curtains made and some more storage shelves.

this is is a little guy I made a while ago, but felt like sharing.
Baby Snow Dragaon
One sock completed for a 2 pair order...have a ways to go lol

the skull lcaps I made for my hubby

More to follow above this.

Going Home

2010-01-26T17:52:00.001-08:00

Hubby is doing Pulmonary Function testing tomorrow and we will finally be going home! I sent the pup home with my in laws earlier today. I am so looking forward to sitting on my couch knitting and watching tv. Or sitting in bed knitting and watching tv. Or sitting on my porch with a cup of coffee. Can you tell I miss my house? LOL
I know I have promised pics of my finished projects and have been bad and not posted them. They have not even been photographed yet. Hospital lighting is not the best. Before the weekend is over I will overload you with pics. The socks that I am working on for hospital employees are going well, but slow. Well, the first one was really slow. The second one is going much smoother. The pattern I am using is for a sock made on 2 circular needles and I am working on 5 sock kneedles. Needless to say the first one took some figuring out. But for only knitting one pair of socks and one single sock before this I think I did pretty well figuring it out! And just incase you are wondering, the single sock is the first in a pair that I was making for myself before the orders were placed. I will get to finishing the other one sometime. Ok I am getting back to packing to load up the car. Night.

Super Excited!

2010-01-19T22:55:00.001-08:00

Ok I will get to the super exciting part in just a bit. First let me update everyone on what is going on with the family. Hubby is still in the hospital. He does pulmonary function testing again tomorrow. We are not feeling very positive about an increase. Yesterday evening he came down with a virus cold thing and it has knocked him to the ground again. We will be happy if their is not a decrease. Looks like we will be here for another week.
My middle daughter went today to the local community college and signed up to train for a respiratory therapist and she starts in March!!! Hubby and I are very excited for her and proud of her :D Oldest daughter and her fiance are now settled in their new place and seem very happy. My son, the baby, lol is plugging along at his last year of high scool. Will be happy to see the last one walk across the stage to recieve their diploma.
Ok, now on to what I am really super excited about. I have toyed around with the idea of starting my own business selling handmade goods. I want to be able to sell hand knit items and also sewing crafts. I started knitting about 9 or 10 mths ago and have to say that I am very happy with the amount of progess and the quality of my work. I am always working on something here in the hospital and the staff is always commenting on it. Well, this evening in a matter of 30 minutes I took orders from 3 different people for 4 sets of socks total at a price of $25 dollars apeice!!! I was not sure what to price them at; or should I say what others are pricing theirs at, but I figured it was a pretty reasonable price. What do you think? You can leave me a comment if you have any suggestions. I am super super happy :D So, tomorrow I am off to pick up cotton and wool in their colors and setting my self down for a set amount of hours a day to get them done.
Oh, and the pics of the hubby's caps' have not been taken yet and as for my socks....I just finished the first one and now it will sit as a UFO until I have these three orders done. Depending on how hectic things are tomorrow I may be able to get to it.
I will be stopping by all my friendly blogs I am following before the end of the week...I promise. Looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to :)

Oh I miss my house....

2010-01-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

We have been in the hospital now since the 5th. Hubby's lung function was only 20% when he was admitted :( He seems to be feeling a bit better mentally, but lung wise is just not improving. Tomorrow he does Pulmonary Function testing again so we will see where he is at.
I have been knitting :D I have finished one of the hubby's caps and am working on the second. He asked me if I could make him two tight fitting caps that would not come off while riding his motorcycle. The hats are made with Paton wool and I really like how these hats fit. I made them 2 inches smaller than the circumference of his head and they fit like a glove!!! The hats are "opposites", I flipped the colors to make the two. I will post pics when I finish the second one.
My next project after the hat will be a pair of socks for myself. A few months ago while at Michael's I found stretchy sock yarn and just had to have it. It has been sitting waiting for me to have the time to use it and the perfect pattern. Well, I will soon have the time and have found the perfect pattern LOL My fingers are itching to make socks!
Tomorrow I am going home to do our laundry and to go to my oldest daughters to pick up a couple pieces of furniture from her. She and her fiance are moving into a new place this week and will not have room for them. Now I have to find room for them!
I have plans to clean my sewing(junk) room while the hubby is in the hospital. It is a total disaster do to the holidays and just throwing everything that does not have a place in it. I am determined to throw out quite a bit of stuff! The hubby bought me an embroidery/sewing machine over 3 mths ago and I have yet to even plug it up; the main reason being that I can not get through all the junk to get to the sewing table LOL
Guess that is all for now. I am quite tired and think I will lay on my cot and read a book.

What a Monday.......

2010-01-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

It started out ok. Had to be up very early,well early for us, to have hubby to the Cystic Fybrosis Clinic by 10am. And the clinic is a good 40 minute drive from us. The appt. took about 45 minutes and we were on our way to breakfast. The docs let us know that the hospital would call when they had a bed. So off to IHOP we went. We always like to have a "last meal" before going in. The hospital food is not that bad but when you are there for 3-4 weeks it gets old fast.
After getting home and getting the hubby settled on his computer I took off to do some shopping and to pay some bills. I always have to pick up new socks and little odds and ends to pack. While out I stopped at JoAnn's Fabrics to pick up some new knitting needles and some wool for a hat I will be knitting for the hubby. Then I made a trip to Petsmart to pick up the pup some goodies and a new coat :) Then I paid the bills I had to and came home.
After a few hours I decided that I really did not want to cook dinner and mess up my clean kitchen so I called the in laws and invited them up for take out dinner. My in laws are lovely people and we really enjoy having them here but they never stay long when they stop by. My mother in law has Alzheimers and just does not do well sitting in one spot for long. While here she wanders alot and tries to clean and just does not seem comfortable away from her home. Tonight was an exception to the rule! They stayed for over an hour and we had an amazing time sitting and talking with them :)
On to the bad part of today. While in line at the drive thru for dinner my car sputtered and died!! It acted like it had run out of gas but I had over a half tank of gas. I could not get the darn thing started and had to have two young kids from inside come out and help me push it into a parking spot. Who says the young of today are not helpful and polite!!! Not me :) So, I tried a few times to get the car started with no luck and called my father in law and hubby. My father in law showed up and informed me that he thought my fuel pump was out :( I call my mechanic and he can not get to my car until tomorrow morning so my little car will sit in the parking lot all night! I hope it will be ok.
In the meantime the hospital called to let us know that they would not have a room for the hubby until sometime until tomorrow...thank goodness! And thankfully my in laws are going to let me borrow their van until my car is back up and running :)
I am hoping that Tuesday is better than Monday :)

Slowly getting there....

2010-01-03T21:51:00.001-08:00

I am by no means a computer wiz and trying to get a nice looking blog is driving me insane! Hopefully by the month of January I will have it figured out and looking the way I want LOL My daughters boyfriend is a computer wiz so I plan on asking him to help me sometime very soon to help me set up the first time with all the bells and wistles that I want. Then hopefully I will remember how he did it and be able to do it myself.
So,we are packed and ready for the hospital tomorrow. Atleast I hope the hubby is able to get a room tomorrow. We have been told that the floor he is admitted to is not so awful full right now. My laptop is currently with my daughter and her boyfriend so that he can set up some things for me. I hope to have it back by the end of the week. Once it is back in my hands I will post about our wonderful Christmas along with some pics.
I will also be posting pics and patterns of the next 2 knitting projects that I will be working on. One is a hat for the hubby. This pattern is a pattern that I am proud to say I created myself specifically for him :) The second project is a knit slipper pattern for little girls that I have taken the liberty of changing here and there to suit me! I am so thankful for the person who taught me to knit and the knitters bible that she gifted me with. Her help and my experience with creating my own crochet patterns has made it that much easier for me to create my own knitting patterns and having the knowledge to be able to alter a pattern to my liking. That person would be Carrie from wonderfullysewkni Thank you Carrie!

Having probs getting my blog set for the New Year

2010-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Just trying this out. I may be down for a while; having issues getting my blog reset and not sure why. Hubby goes in the hospital tomorrow and will not have time anytime soon to work on this.

So Ready for Christmas

2009-12-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy baking that I have neglected my little blog here. This year all of the adults in the family; including my adult children are receiving "goody bags" instead of the normal gift of money. So I have spent the last two weeks getting everything ready for the bags.
I canned 8 quarts of mixed berry jam, 8 quarts of strawberry, 8 quarts of blueberry and 4 of mango. I made 2 big batches of peppermint bark, 3 dozen ginger bread cookies and 7 dozen sugar cookies, and 2 gingerbread houses. Oh, and so far have made 2 double batches of rum balls, unfortunately the hubby keeps eating them before I can get around to bagging them. LOL Now I am on to the breads. I have made 5 loaves of cheddar/garlic beer bread and now am going to take on the scarey task of making yeast breads for the first time ever! I am excited to see how I do :D
I have the house clean and the carpets shampooed for the 20 guests I have invited for Christmas dinner! I live in a small place, well it is a 2 bedroom doublewide with an enclosed porch and a side yard. So, I am incorporating the porch and yard into the party. The porch is set with a table and chairs and will hold the cooler of ice for drinks. The side yard has my gazebo and table and chairs and I borrowed another table and chairs set from the inlaws. I have the tables all prettied up with table cloths and more chairs around my fire pit. I will keep the fire pit going for those that wander out there. Being in Tucson,AZ I am hoping that the weather is mild, but at this very minute it is very chilly, windy and raining! I hate to think of having to cram 20 people into my house :{
We will be opening gifts with the grandbabies on Christmas Eve Night. I want to have the time to really just relax and enjoy watching them and Christmas Day is just going to be to busy with cooking to do that.
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year! Will post again after the first of the year.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-12-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

So, we got home from the hospital the day before Thanksgiving. We went to a pot luck dinner which was very nice as I had nothing to cook LOL Hubby actually should just be getting out of the hospital, but he wanted to be home for the holidays so here we are.

I have been decorating the house, doing some canning and knitting like a fool. I have a few more batches of jam to make, tons of baking to start, and a few more items to knit. I have most of the actual Christmas shopping done. The only gifts left to get ready are gifts of money. Well, I lied. We are going to be buying things for Christmas stockings.

This is a very special Christmas for us this year. It is our first Christmas in 4 years that we will not be in th e hospital! We will be home for New Years also, which we have not done for 4 years also.

Below are pictures of my tree and decorations.

Been sick,,,,

2009-11-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have been sick and so has hubby. Actually we are both still sick and hubby is going in hospital today. So will update when I can.

Family time and some crafts Part 2

2009-10-27T22:32:00.001-07:00

Ok so this is not how I wanted this either but will have to do. Ok so you can see the back of Anthony's jacket. And Lil Miss LeAnna eating a marshmallow :D I went and had my nails done or Halloween. I think they are very cute and LeAnna just loves them. And above is a pic of the door wreath that I made this evening!

Family time and some crafts

2009-10-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

ok so I am having issues tonight with not doing anything right here LOL and all my pics did not upload. Anyways the first pic is of my son, Chad tending the fire. Next is my grandson, Anthony who showed up sporting his leather Harley jacket that his papa boughty him. Then there is me with the babies and a neighbor. Off to get the rest of the pics up..One of these days I will figure out how to post this stuff the way I want. LOL

Busy busy....

2009-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

will get on later tonight to update the blog will have loads of pics

Yesterday was super busy!

2009-10-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh yesterday was non stop! Hubby and I spent the day shopping :D I went and did Christmas shopping for 2 of the grandbabies. I had set myself a limit for each of the kids. Yeah, well that did not work. Once I got to the store that limit went right out the window LOL There was just to much cute stuff that they just had to have :P Over $500 dollars later I was loading up the back of the car!!

After getting all of that loaded into the sewing room I went back out. I picked myself up a firepit for the back yard. It is soooo nice. Once I have it together I will post pics. I also went and got a few Halloween decorations for the side yard and front of the house :D Nothing fancy just enough for the grandbabies and niece to enjoy. Tonight we will be having a smores party in the yard!

Today we will be doing some more Christmas shopping :D I am super excited to be getting it done so early, but bummed that my sewing room will soon be unusable do to all the stuff LOL OH! I am buying a Brothers embroidery machine today!!! Found it on Craigslist brand new in an unopened box super cheap!!! To bad the sewing room is going to be so full LOL

Ok, well hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Will try to get some more pics posted tomorrow :D

Not much happening today...

2009-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

I finished the light pink and light brown scarf last night :D Right after I started a hat for my grandaughter. I have been working on it today and am cooking a small "Thanksgiving" style dinner for me, hubby and in laws.

I am still sitting in my pj's LOL Just am not motivated to do much today. I think I have caused some sort of damage to my left shoulder from all of the knitting I have been doing. I can barely lift anything with my left arm and if I move a certain way the pain brings me to tears. I know i should put the knitting down for a while, but everything I am working on or have to make is for Christmas so there is no slowing down. Off to check the turkey

2009-10-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ok we have my messy sewing room with some of the fall decorations I am working on and somewhere there is the stuff for the grandbabies Halloween bags LOL. Then there are a pair of slipper socks...the first pair I ever made!!! Next is the crazy Romeo who is now 6 mths old. Then there is my handsome 2 yr old grandson Anthony and my beautiful 1 yr old grandaughter LeAnna.

Some of my crafts

2009-10-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ok the top pink and brown is a scarf that is not quite finished yet...should have it done this evening.
Next are a pair of wool slippers that I made for my self.
Then there is a pink and brown hooded scarf that I made for my sis in NY.
Last but not least is a smokey blue scarf that is a X-mas gift.

Internet was down....

2009-10-21T11:39:00.001-07:00

yesterday :( And I did not get anything done as far as taking pics.

I completely hauled out my kitchen yesterday. What I thought would take a few hours ended up taking all day. I had to keep stop working on what I was doing to do for others. Hopefully today I can get some things done for myself.

Today I have to take hubby to an appt. and he wants to stop at his favorite Chinese place to eat lunch. We get up late so our lunch time is everyone else's dinner time LOL When we get back I will finally get the material for the grandbabies bags in the washer. I also have a ton of laundry to put away and to clean our bedroom.

Trying to get this started again....

2009-10-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

Life has been absolutely crazy here. My kids and whole family have gone to hell and been sicker than dogs for months now. One thing I have been able to do to help me keep my sanity is knitting.

My kids hopefully are getting their lives back where they should be. Hubby has been in the hospital multiple times since my last post and needs to go back in again. My in laws have been doing poorly. I am going down there 3 times a week to help them.

A few months ago we bought a puppy and we have a private trainer so that he can be a handi dog for my hubby. He is doing very well with his training.

I have been doing a lot of knitting and sewing. Tomorrow I will have to take pics of my finished projects and of Romeo the pup and post them. I have a ton more knitting and sewing to do for the fall season and for Christmas but at this rate with everyone being so sick not sure how much I will get done. I am also in the process of pulling the carpet out of the house and laying tile. Wish I had never started this...what a pain in the butt!

I have also started doing some preserving to give as gifts for the holidays. So far all I have made we are eating LOL Next month I will get the gifts done. Today on the way to my daughters for dinner I noticed that the road to their house was jam packed with prickly pear cactus that was full of fruit. I went on line and looked up when to harvest the fruit and how to make and can prickly pear jelly. Will be going back by my daughters later this week with a large box and heavy duty gloves....I am super excited to try my hand at this. :D

OH....we had horrible electrical problems with our house last month. It blew up or flat screen tv, hubby's xbox, my coffee pot and our cooler :( Had to have new wire ran and a larger fuse box put in.

Ok guess that is it....off to pull out all my finished projects to start taking pics :D

UGH!

2009-05-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

So after getting hubby home from hospital I came down sick with pneumonia :( Today is the first day in almost a month that I feel human again. I woke up this morning and had my first cup of coffee in like over 2 weeks! Talk about a caffeine buzz lol. I have some crafting to get done, not alot and a few swaps that I need to get mailed. Unfortunately it will all have to wait to get mailed for 2 weeks. That is when I will have swap and craft money again :D

I will soon be looking for plane tickets for my sis and her son to come here from NY in July!!! I am super excited as I have not seen my sis in 12 years. I am going to buy a second sewing machine so that we can craft while she is here. Poor hubby will be run out of the house with our crafty mess :P

Will be doing my best to keep up on this now that I am on the road to recovery, but hubby is now starting to feel bad again :(

I'm back!!!

2009-04-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Atleast for tonight. I have been in the hospital since March 16 with my hubby. This has not been a good visit. Thankfully I have my cell phone with unlimited talk, text and picture.....My friends and family have been keeping me occupied and amused. We are usually out of the hospital within 3-4 weeks, but this looks like it will be a long stay.

A very dear friend of mine has been a godsend through all of this. Bringing me things, calling me, keeping friends updated for me, having me over for coffee and teaching me to knit!!!!! I have always wanted to learn to knit and now I am :D I have made 2 knit washcloths, a childs size bath matt- it was an adult pattern but I used the wrong size needle LOL. And I have started and tore out 3 scarfs that I was going to design :P I finally got a pattern going and got stuck on exactly how to add a specific element to my pattern and my dear friend came to my rescue and helped; actually finsihed out the pattern for me!! :D It is now completely torn out and I will start over tonight, somewhere I messed up and when I tried to take it apart back to the mistake I had a total disaster :( I am ok with it though as I am learning and this is just one more learning experience.

Unfotunately I can not upload pics but I do have my digital camera with me so when I get home and settled I will slowly get pics posted here. I will do my best to get out on to one of the hospital patterns for a short time each evening, but don't hold me to it LOL

Been MIA...

2009-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

because hubby is sick. Will be calling Monday am to get him an appt. to go into the hospital. On top of hubby being sick and waiting on him and fretting over him I have not been feeling well.

Today I started ordering things for my oldest daughters baby shower that is set for April 18th. This will be grandbaby number 3 and 2nd grandson :D I also started doing some crafting again today. I have not crafted for days! Today I finished a waffle icecream cup pincushion and I am half done with one of 5 dottees that I need to make :{ I just do not seem to have my crafting bug or inspiration :( I know that it is because I am overwhelmed with everything else, but this is stuff that I have to get done! And it is important that I enjoy it and not just throw something together...hence why the first dottee is only partially done. I just was not feeling it. And I just can not make myself work on anything else either.....ARG!!!

So, I am off to lay in bed and watch tv and hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Been Feeling Blah....

2009-02-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

for the past couple of days. Have not been crafting, really have not done anything but lay on the couch. I have a bad ankle that has been bothering me and have not been able to walk. I have to keep it wrapped or my ankle swells to the size of a baseball.

Today I decided it was time to get out of my funk. I invited my middle daughter and her husband and 2 babies and my youngest to come spend a few days with us. And this evening I made a cute little pincushion that brought my craft bug back LOL

My daughter and I went to the store this evening and bought pizza, chips, sodas and I made a salad. The hubby and boys have been playing video games all night and my daughter and I have been on the computer. The babies are sleeping in my sewing room so no more crafting tonight. Tomorrow I hope to get started on a few dottee dolls and maybe a couple more pincushions.

A very boring day.....

2009-02-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

I was sooooo lazy :) I've spent most of the day on swap bot and have been working... very slowly....on a cotton dishcloth. I kept walking into my sewing room with intentions of creating something fun and cute and just could not get inspired to do anything. So, back to the computer I would go.

I just finished eating dinner....which hubby has still not touched as he is playing xbox live! I am getting a little irked :{ When he does decide to eat he will reheat it himself! Hmmm.....do I sound a little grumpy today :P Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day :D

I finished the quilting....

2009-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

on my mother in laws quilt today!!! I cheated....I decided to finish it on the sewing machine. It was definitely harder to keep everything straight and taught, but it was alot quicker and like the look of it better. Now all I have to do is bind it.

I am very excited that I am getting a Brothers embroidery/sewing machine next month!!! Not exactly sure on what model I am getting yet as I am still not really sure on how much embroidery I will really do. You know how it is....you just have to have some sort of machine to do this or that. I can do all kinds of things to go onto my etsy store, make for the kids, grandbabies.....but when it comes right down to it how much will I actually do LOL

Speaking of kids and grandbabies....My middle daughter and her hubby and 2 babies just left. They came over with the movie "Quarantine" If you are into scarey, creepy movies this one is for you!

Well, I am off to spend some time on my home away from home swap-bot.com.

Slowly Getting Set Up

2009-02-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

So today I decided to join the blog wagon. I really enjoy reading others blogs and seeing the awesome things that they make. And hope that others will enjoy reading my ramblings and watch the progress of whatever my current project is.

Today I am was suppose to have a little crafting get together, but my friend has a sick child so I will spend my day working on hand quilting a blanket for my mother-in-law. I have been working on this darn thing since November and am ready to be done with it.

Well, guess that is all. Am off to get sewing and check on the corn beef I have cooking :)