FOUND IT!!!!!!

Yay, I found the charger.

The weather today is cold and snowy. Right now (12:45 PM EST) it is 17 F and snowing. The roads are covered and the forecast is for snow the rest of the day. Brrrrr! Actually, it's not as brrrrr as last week when it was 10 F and windy. The soft falling snow is pretty but that may be because I don't have to go out in it. One of the perks of being retired.  :)

The first 3 pics were made this morning about 10. It had been snowing about an hour by then. In the 4th pic, there is a cardinal on the tree branch above the feeder. Kind of hard to see. At one point, I counted 7 cardinals both in the tree and on the ground. Such a happy bright color against the snow. The last 4 pics were taken around 12 noon. Looks like we are going to get a pretty good snowfall.

As I said, I found the charger and I did photograph the dishcloths and the yarn I still have to work up. There are some crazy colors in the mix but I'm really enjoying working on them. They are sort of instant gratification for me since I can usually do one in 2-3 days. Sam, the pattern I used is from Heather at The Good Life. If you click on Heather, it should take you to the pattern. I did change it somewhat. I used an F hook instead of an H and I am now starting the pattern right away instead of sc in the first row. I also did the border with sc for both rows. I don't do reverse sc very well. I worked the dishcloth until it was even diagonally and then started the border. So since you guys were so nice to ask to see the photos, here ya go:

The color on the third dishcloth is a purple/green variation. I'm liking it. I wasn't fond of the really bright one until I got it finished and now I like it. What do ya'll think?

And finally, my sewing corner. Well, not really a sewing corner, more of a small place in the bedroom but I'm happy. I haven't gotten to use it yet but I'm hoping that since today is a slow, lazy day, I'll be able to get in there and at least, zig zag the edge of the cross stitch project I'm wanting to start. As I said in the last post, that's my Mom's cabinet sewing machine that my little one is sitting on.

I don't know what is really going on with me. The past few days, I've had more get up and go. I'm even getting up earlier and finding that I have more time to craft and read. Imagine that! I'm such a lazy person on the whole that getting up early has always been a struggle for me. But I'm FINALLY using the C-Pap all night (at least 6 hours and most nights 7-8), I feel better in the mornings and more ready to get up and start my day. Now if I could just find something that made the RA pain go away, I'd be in heaven.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are. Please comment if you so choose. I love to hear from you.

Hugs,
Sharon

Slipping

Well, that promise didn't last long. I wanted to do a post at least once a week but here it is 2 weeks since my last post. Hmmmm.

The cold weather the week of 1/6 really got to me and I didn't do much of anything most of that week. We did have some warmer weather last week and I've been busy doing year end reports for the couple of businesses I help out. I'm retired but I still like to do some bookkeeping to keep my mind sharp and these guys are great to work with. One of them has been with me since I opened my business in 1986. When I retired and decided to close down, he practically begged me to keep doing his books. So I agreed. I don't collect any money but he does help me out now and then. The other is a non-profit and again, I don't collect any money but they do such great work, I gladly kept doing their books. They provide a home for mature mentally handicapped men. Some of these guys have no one left in their families and would have nowhere to go.

Anyway, that has kept me busy all last week and now it is cold again with temperatures dipping down into the single digits tonight and only getting into the teens tomorrow. I had planned to make a bank deposit tomorrow but I think I'll stay in and try to stay warm. These ole bones are complaining enough without going out and exposing them to the really bad weather.

I have been trying to rearrange some furniture to make things more comfortable. Rather, I have had the Hubs rearranging. I'm still not sure what I want to do in the living room so all the furniture is sort of sitting helter skelter. I'm living with it until I decide how I want to place everything. Over Christmas, we moved my recliner closer to the TV to make room for the tree and I discovered I could see much clearer. Well, being closer and also watching the HD channels, so I really don't want to move my chair back but that causes a problem with conversation because the chair is more toward the middle of the room and and facing away from the other pieces. I'll figure it out but it may take a while.

I also had him moving things Sunday afternoon. I have my Mom's old cabinet style sewing machine. I have a portable sewing machine but I hate having to get it out and set it up and then having to take it back down because it is normally in the way of meals or work. So I asked that the cabinet machine be moved into the bedroom and my portable placed on top. PERFECT! It sits between the door and the closet and there is an outlet easily available under. Now when I want to sew (and I have several things to do, not the least of which is a bottom sheet that split leaving a long gash at the foot), all I have to do is take the cover off and get busy. I also like to zig-zag around the edges of my cross stitch projects to help with fraying and I have lots of projects to work on.

We have finally given in and bought a new dishwasher. I wanted hoped the old one would last a few more months but it's not really doing a good job on cleaning and makes a really horrible noise when it's changing between cycles. I keep expecting to walk in the kitchen and see water everywhere. So we ordered one online to be delivered to the Lowe's store and Hubby picked it up today. It will be the weekend before he will have time to install it but that's okay. I'm probably not going to be doing a lot of cooking between now and then anyway.

I have been crocheting dishcloths. This is my new passion. They are easy to make and use only one ball of cotton yarn. I have bought wild variegated colors and it is interesting how they turn out. I need to take photos and will when I charge the battery on my camera. (First I have to find the charger!  One of those "I put it up so I would know where it was" deals. *smile*) I'm having a lot of trouble with my right hand and can only crochet for a short amount of time but several of those short amounts of time will produce a dishcloth in a couple of days. It's annoying because before this damage to my hand, I would have been able to make one in a couple of hours. But I can still use my hand, so I am grateful. When I saw my rheumatologist last week, she suggested I see a hand specialist about it. I'm going to talk to my orthopedist when I see him in February and see what he says. I think there is a hand specialist in his practice so maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.

Sweet Baby James will be a year old in 2-1/2 weeks. It hard to believe it's here already. He is such a delight. He's walking now. His Mom and I Skyped today and he was all grins when I popped up on the screen. He makes my heart smile. We clapped hands and squealed and bobbed our heads together. Oh my goodness, is there anything better than a grandchild?!?!?!

Sorry for the word heavy post. As soon as the camera gets charged, I'll start snapping photos again.

Thanks for stopping by. I love having you here and love hearing what you have to say. Have a great day/night wherever you are.

Hugs,
Sharon

The weather outside is frightful!!!!

Gee whilikers, is it cold! 14 degrees F with wind and blowing fine snow. I don't like this weather and neither do my bones. I'm hunkered down and trying to stay warm and just letting the world go along without me. :)

I'm trying very hard to do something I promised myself for 2014. I want to do a post once a week if at all possible. We'll see how well that goes.

We had our family Christmas on Saturday, Dec 28. I was surrounded by family and it was such a wonderful time. All the grandkids were in one spot along with my children, sister and her family and our Mom. It just made me smile and smile. We decided this year to only buy for the little ones and the teenagers so getting to watch all the unwrapping (ripping) of paper and excited squeals was so much fun. James was more interested in his cousins than in presents but next year, I'm sure that will change. Grammy and Papaw bought Swingcars for the older kiddos and a stationary car for James and they were a BIG hit. The older ones got to ride on my sister's screened in porch and had a great time. Swing cars are propelled by moving the steering from side to side. They move on their own without pedals and all 3 knew how to do it right away. To stop them you lean forward to slow down and then put your feet on the ground. James liked crawling in and out of his car and inspecting all the fun things on it. Abby said they put it in his room and it keeps him occupied while she is folding and putting away laundry instead of having to chase him down and bring him back. The GA kiddos moved to a new house the first of December and have a cul-de-sac to ride their cars on when the weather gets better. For now they are riding in the garage.

All four in one spot - a rare moment.

James and Grammy. Love this little guy.

Elijah and James check out the car.

Sharing Papaw's hat

My Mom with all her great grandchildren. Elijah wouldn't sit on her lap so his Mom had to hold him.

Elijah, Trisha (dil), Ella, Gran Gran, James and Lilly.

Last night was the start of season 4 of Downton Abbey for the US. I'm so glad this show is back on. I really love this show. I'm also looking forward to Sherlock in two weeks and the return of Call the Midwife. I am a nut for English shows. They always are so well made and so interesting. I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for them.

I'm in the process of reading The Games of Thrones book series. I'm on the 5th book of the series and I have to say they have grabbed me. I can hardly put them down. I'm also reading the Call the Midwife books, the ones the series is based on. I'm loving them too. Do you read more than one book at a time? Do you like to hold the actual book or do you use an E-reader? I love my Kindle but right now I'm reading physical books. Using the Kindle does make it easier especiallly when my hands are hurting. I just love to read!!!

On the craft front, I'm slowly finishing up the sampler piece I started in a class in September. Now that the shop has closed, I'm not as eager to finish it but I don't want it to just lie around. I have the pattern and fabric for Elijah's birth sampler to do; I just have to get the thread, and I need to finish designing James' birth sampler so I can start on it. I have so many projects and so little time. Cold weather makes it hard to do things but I can't abide sitting with nothing in my hands. 

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll be back soon with more crafty stuff and maybe some adventures in cooking. My Sweet Baby James got Grammy and Papaw a food processor for Christmas and I'm looking forward to trying new things. 

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave a comment if you are so inclinded. I love seeing your comments.

Hugs,

Sharon