Rising Sun Doily CAL

Happy Thursday ya'll!!  I just realized that I hadn't posted since Monday! I have been so busy, I just haven't had a chance.

I have been doing the CAL (albeit very slow) with Gloria at CrochetGalore (listed on my sidebar on the right).  If you go to her blog, look at her sidebar on the right and it's listed there, you can go look at the finished product.  This is the first CAL (crochet a long) that I've done.

I wanted to show you and Gloria pics of what I've done so far. I can't wait until it's done. I think the top rays of the sun will more than likely be pink to compliment the purple. 

Of course the pics colors aren't true to color. I hate when that happens!!  But whatcha think?? Pretty  huh?

I just finished row 10, and I think I screwed up somewhere. I don't have the required 78 ch3 spaces. I am lacking 8. So you know what that means right?? I gotta frog it!!! UGH.......dang it all.  I am conferring with Ms. Gloria so all will be right again soon. :o) I am determined to finish this one for a friend of mine who's birthday is next month. Her favorite colors are purple and pink so I think she'll like it. I'm excited!

Ok......I need to try to catch up on some blogs. I tried to read my fave's in between this week but didn't catch all of them up.  I don't know if I'll be able to blog tomorrow or not. Tomorrow is a very busy day for me.  More to come on that too......(gotcha wondering huh? )

May all the love you deserve, want and need come to you in hundred fold. Life is short.......very short.
TTFN
Kat
xoxox

Butterfly Splendor

Happy Monday ya'll!  Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. You don't know how much they mean to me.  I spent my birthday running errands and spending money. I was in Lowe's at one point and checking out stuff I'd love to have on my wish list. In truth I was there for a dang toilet seat. That's another post in itself! 

When I got home I spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch next to Mr. Lick Lick crocheting. And this little thing just rolled off my hook.  It's one of those hexies (in white of course) that I'm making Jen's tablecloth with, and a 2D butterfly pattern that I found online but can't remember who's it is. I thought I might put together a little something for one of my friends, whose birthday is this next Monday, the 31st.  Seemed like a good idea at the time!

I have a heck of a time joining. Why is it so hard for me? It looks really easy too. I probably could have done a better job joining but it's all done now...I'm not frogging it. I guess I should be happy it's all laying down - with the exception of the last two white rounds. They are going to be frogged. I did 19 singles at the tops of the butterflies and 15 in between. I should have done 20 and 20 I'm thinking. That's what I'm going to try when I get home tonight. I think if I had done that to begin with it would have been ok.  But I measured and the width of the top of the butterflies is more than the width between the butterflies and I guestimated on how many sc it would take for each. And I was wrong. :o(   Can anyone tell me the math for this?

And I'm not sure what I'll do after that but I'm sure it will come to me when I get there. Not a whole lot more. I wanted to add the white border to offset the white center but not take away from the butterflies. And of course I have all those ends to weave in. And I'm weird in that I don't mind doing that part. I've found that if I get a smaller hook that it's easier to weave them in. Wish me luck huh? I need it! :o)

Happy Monday!  May your Monday be your happiest ever and leave you with a smile on your face and love in your heart!
TTFN
Kat
xoxo

Another Wash Cloth

My teal #3 that took a bath in coffee?  It's strange that when you are crocheting with it you really can't tell where it got splashed with coffee, but on the roll it's very noticeable. Oh well. :o)

This is the same stitch as the other one (brown one in previous post) only it's crocheted in the back loop. I had done one for my son-in-law stitched like this and he loved it. The stitch definition was more tell tale on his because I used antique white and red and it stood out more. But I like this one too.  I think my next one will be the same stitches but in the front loop. That ought to be interesting huh?

I went to the doc yesterday.  I have blood in my urine. Nice huh? He asked was I spotting? I laughed at him..........um no doc...I haven't had a period since I was 24 years old. I forgave him that though.......he'd been on call at the hospital the night before and it wasn't a good night for him. He's doing more blood work as I told him about my last results of bloodwork with my tsh and vitamin d bottoming out. I go back in a week for this blood test.  He also gave me some Lunesta to sleep, which let me sleep a little bit more, I still woke up a bunch of times though. And he gave me some Maxalt for the whopper headaches. That's actually for migraines and he'd prescribed it to me before. This is some good stuff.

I also went to the back doc today. In a week or so I get the pleasure of getting an epidural. I have to find someone to pick me up from home, take me to get it done, then drive me home. I'm looking forward to being pain free (we'll see how long it lasts) but not the procedure itself. I guess I'll need to juice up my Zen. I forgot to ask how long of a procedure it is. I guess I'll ask when they call me to set it up.

Anyways....I'm off from work tomorrow. It's my birthday. I'm really bummed about it though because this is the first birthday without my dad and I'll really miss his call. The faucet has been turned on for 2 days already just thinking of it. Can't help it. And it's supposed to be rainy and cold tomorrow......lovely. It'll match my mood. I guess I and Mr. Lick Lick will be piled up on the couch under some blankeys - me crocheting and him snoozin away. At least he'll be a happy camper to have his momma home an extra day.

I hope your Friday and weekend will be all you dreamed it could and should be!
TTFN
Kat
xoxox

Post of the Clean Kind

Not that the post would be dirty or anything but I just wanted to show you a wash cloth I finished last night. I absolutely love it. And I think I am going to be doing many more only in a lot of different stitch patterns and colors. It looks like a lot of people on my Christmas list may be getting a wash cloth. Do you think they'll be offended?

Gee I hope not. I'm going to see if I can learn to do some letters in Irish Crochet and somehow sew the first initial of the person receiving it so that it's personalized. That will definitely be a challenge for me.

Anyways, I have The Harmony Guides Basic Crochet Stitches - 250 Stitches to Crochet and will use quite a few of the stitches in there and create some awesome wash cloths in some awesome colors for gifts.

I actually thought this stitch combination was in this book but I looked through it twice and couldn't find it. It's really simple. The starting chain was an even number (42).  When I turned for the next round I did a ch 1, sk 1, sc in next st, then hdc in the same stitch, *sk 1, sc then hdc in same stitch* - in each row. 

I love how it turned out. And it was only two nights to finish it. Quick, easy, instant crochetification. What more could a girl ask for?? :o)

Hope your Tuesday is wonderful where ever your journeys take you.
TTFN
Kat
xoxox

*I Lied!!*

I guess I have to blame this one on the 'SomeTimers'. Sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't. It's hell getting old isn't it? I hate it. I never thought I would see myself here, and really never thought about growing old. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I had to take a couple of pics for work to send to a co-worker in India. My camera has been dead since I wanted to take a pic of the iced trees at the beginning of the week. So I juice up the battery and put it in the camera and take the pics. I go to download them on my puter and there are a few that I did take while in FL that I totally forgot about. Nothing too exciting....my fur son, of course, at my daughter's house. And the other one is how you make coffee when the coffee pot goes on Christmas night when nothing is open to go buy another one! 

Where there is a will there is a way!!! Always!  Thanks to my smart son-in-law I was able to have my coffee that night and the next morning.  :o)

I don't have a whole lot to say except that I think I'm coming down with the crud. I've had a bad headache the last few days and just generally not feeling good. I've not slept real good either this week. My head right now feels like a football. So I think I will make this short and sweet.  Here's to a great weekend of the warming up kind to all of us! (At least that's my wish for us) May you be warm and bright in a world filled with cold and dark.
TTFN
Kat
xoxox

I think I'm a train wreck!!

Ok....last night I'm sitting there trying to workout how I'm going to do my daughter's tablecloth. I know the colors, I know the motif, I just had to sit down, draw out how I want it shaped and the color scheme. So I get some graph paper, sit down and put my large cup of freshly heated up coffee on the bookshelf and start drawing out how I want it to be.

Well the first two I messed up because I was using a pen and drew the hexies wrong. Stupid....find a pencil so that you can erase! I did. So I get started on the third and really need to find a solid surface to put under the paper because that just isn't working out...the paper is rounded on the arm of the love seat. (Aha....one of my crochet books from the bookshelf!) Grabbed a crochet book. Don't ya know.....that particular crochet book was holding up all the other crochet books on my shelf. Don't ya also know.....my large cup of freshly heated up coffee was not 4 inches from said crochet books. What do you think happened??? CRAP!!

I am the biggest klutz and I haven't had a serious case of the klutz attacks in a while. I should have friggin known better. I'm such an ijit. I am so mad at myself. I don't just drink regular cups of coffee...mine are like 3 times the regular size.

Damn coffee went everywhere!! I now have 3 balls of #3 thread - my beautiful teal, purple and cinnamon got splashed really good. The white and red were salvagable. Leo got a huge coffee buzz. He, like Pammy Sue's Eli, got down there to help me clean up and started slurpping coffee. He loved it!! I had to push him out of the way to clean it up. I put the 3 balls that were splashed bad in the sink and tried to douse them in cold water. I put them by my heater handler to suck up the moisture. I don't know how they're going to be when I get home.  I think I'm going to have coffee tainted teal, purple and cinnamon thread. :o(

Note to self.......DO NOT put your freshly heated large cup of coffee anywhere where you can spill it all over your crochet stuff!!! Sheeesh. :o(  Ohhhh I would have committed hairy kairy if I had spilt it on something that took me a long time to do, like in white.

I hope your little piece of the world is warmy today and please take my advice and watch where you put your coffee. You'll save yourself some grief, unlike someone we know. :o)
TTFN
Kat
xoxox

Georgia Weather

I guess I can't b*tch too much about our weather because at least we get all 4 seasons. And we are not inundated with snow all winter season.......but enuff is enuff already!!! lol. 

Yesterday that storm went through and it was very cold and rainy all day. They cautioned all day about freezing roadways and bridges and the possibility of snow and freezing rain.  I was happy to slide out of work a few minutes early yesterday and head home hoping that I had electric when I got there and that Leo was all snuggly comfy cozy warmy. Of course all he would have to do to keep warm is nuzzle underneath the covers. I got about 5 miles from home and all of a sudden noticed the trees covered in ice. Talk about beautiful, but very treacherous to be driving underneath them. I pulled my camera out to take a pic and I had a dead battery. :o(

My road had quite a few branches that had popped off of the trees under the ice weight that had accumulated on them.  I got worried then because I live on a piece of property that is fully wooded except for the part I live on and even that has a bunch of trees on it....pines, oak and sweet gum. And hanging over the driveway is a rather large live oak that I am expecting one day to fall over it and block my way out or in. (I can't cut it...it's a beautiful tree!! See it below??) Well I made it to the house and was pleased to walk in to a warmy house with the electric still on. But it wasn't long before I heard a boom on the roof. One of the branches had popped off of the oak out back.  Oh well, at least it wasn't large enough to come through the roof.

Then they were cautioning about black ice this morning. I made it in to work ok although I was hesitant and cautious the whole way. The temp was below 32 so I'm sure there was some somewhere but I managed to miss it!!

South Georgia is not equipped for winter weather in the form of snow or ice on the roads. If it snows then life will stop because it's too hazardous to be out driving. People don't have a clue how to drive in it here. And we don't have snow plows or salt trucks. I know if it snows like the pic below that I am not going anywhere. My butt is staying right at the house. That pic was taken in February of last year. I got 3 inches that night at the house. That's the first time I've had snow here. I went to sleep that night looking out my window watching it come down until my eyes couldn't stay open anymore......like a little kid. lol.

I am ready for spring. Bring it on!!! I want skies that look like this:

I'm sucking at hooky goodness. I think I'm in a slump right now. I have been on the search for a motif to make my daughter a table cloth for next Christmas. I think I found one last night. I've been going through all of my printed patterns (gazillions!). I found an easy hexagon that's kind of pretty and easy.  I think I'm going to do pale orange and bronze hexies with a kind of sage green in between them to join, in a #3 thread with a #2 hook. I made an orange one last night and I'm liking it. But my hand started hurting toward the end of it.  The hex is from a Lion Brand pattern called Crochet Shapes Table Runner - Pattern 60667AD.  There are 7 different shapes that make up this table cloth.  I'll see how they work together in color. If I like them I'll have to order some more thread, I only have one ball/roll of each color. Her kitchen is yellow and I thought these colors would look good on her round wood kitchen table. That's my plan and I hope I can stick to it. lol.

Ok...I've chewed your ear enuff this morning. Here's to a wonderful, warm, fuzzy day for all of us in bloggy land!
TTFN
Kat
xoxo

PS/I know what I forgot in my long winded post the other day. I cut my hair while on vacation. It was in my butt and it's now above my shoulders. I LOVE IT!! :o) Now if I can lose about 30 pounds I would be a very happy camper!!

Ok, so I was bad

Yepper, I did not take one pic while I was gone for the holidays. Leo and I were constantly on the go trying to see everyone. You know how if you don't see someone when you're in town they get mad? Well I am happy to say that I did see every one on my list with the exception of Miss Jitter. She probably likes it like that. Sigh.

And Kylie and I did not make cookies. Too much going on. Her mom did make Santa some cookies but they were the quick pre-made kind. I was so looking forward to doing that with her. But ya know, things happen for a reason. Always. Bella was a handful. Jen has her hands full with that child. One minute she can be so sweet and the next she can be the most bratty, mean child. Being the granny that I am I told Jen she needed to start spanking that butt!!! I'm a firm believer in 'use that rod to tame your child'. LOL. But Jen being the good mama that she is only wants to resort to that if nothing else works. I respect my daughter and how she's raising her children. She truly is a good mama, but..........  lol. My generation got their butt blistered for things and we turned out fine. Look at all the younger generations out there now who have no respect for others and their property. This is just my opinion, and we all know that opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one, but I truly believe there would be a lot less crime if people paid attention to their children instead of letting them run wild, and spank that butt to keep them in line. Ok....that's enough of that soapbox. Let's go on to the PetSmart saga with Leo.

My fur son is so smart!!  This was his first ever time in a store. He had a ball!! He was a big boy!! We have a PetSmart in Savannah but I always go on my lunchtime from work because it's so far from my house to go on the weekends. So I find these treats that I had gotten him before here but the last few times I went to get some they were out totally. I bought 2 of each kind (3) that would last him a while. Next I asked about some food my sister gets for her Rottweiler, Akaana Pacifica (not sure about that spelling). Leo loves that food! He ate Pebbles food every time he got the chance. And I think it's good for his skin cuz it's salmon. PetSmart doesn't carry that brand but I did get the salmon Blue Wilderness to see how he likes that. ANYWAYS....we go rounding a corner and he squats and POOPS!! In the damn store!! I was like...oh great son...now what!!  I looked up and lo and behold we are directly in front of the clean up station! Phew. Perfect place for a poop for your first time in the store. To tell you the truth I had never thought of that before when I've been in PetSmart, I guess because I've never taken Leo, or my other two for that matter when they were alive, and I've never seen a dog poop or noticed the clean-up stations. Makes sense though.  Anyways....I ended up spending $70 on Leo. Does his mama love him or what? That was my biggest expense the whole trip.

My main reason for going there though was to get something to chill him out while riding in the car. The whole way to my sister's (368 miles) he gave me this high pitched whine and a lot of them ended with a very loud yawn. And a few times he started barking and about broke my ear drums!  I was very glad that I had put him in his cage though because traffic was horrific. I was doing 5mph over the speed limit in the slow lane and everyone else was hauling butt. And there were a few times that there were people going slow in the two fast lanes and peeps would get over in my lane on my butt.  I so wished I had a screen on my back windshield that I could text to, to tell them to back off, that I was going over the speed limit as it was. Anyways (I always get sidetracked...how does that happen?? lol) I found some boneys that were called Pet Ease I think. He seemed to like them ok. He wouldn't eat them when I first put them in the cage with him. He wouldn't take them out of my hand. I just laid them on his pillow and he'd eat it a minute or two later. I think they worked. I don't truly know. I do know that each time we got in the car he would jump right in the cage and his little whiney's would get quieter but never totally leave. By the time we came home he actually would lay down for short periods of time. He never slept while in the car. But on the way home he was pretty good and I could actually drive without worrying about him back there. The only thing I couldn't do was tell him 'good boy' because he would then become vocal.  I basically had to ignore him.

All in all we had a really good time while gone. I was praised many times for how good he was. Ohhh....the cat saga. Gotta tell ya this. We went to one of my other sister's house on the Sunday after Christmas. She has two cats. Leo and kitties just doesn't work. Well, one of the cats unbeknownst to me, was in the house, underneath the couch. Don't you know, Leo sniffed around until Smokey batted him from under the couch and then it was on. Oh man....what a time that was. Leo barked and was a little mad man trying to get Smokey. So I had to hold Leo - not an easy feat. Have you ever tried to hold a maniacal little Jack Russell? He scratched the crap out of my arm. My brother-in-law had to get Smokey and get him outside. Once he did though and I could let Leo down, Leo went nuts sniffing the couch and trying to get behind and under it. I felt bad because Smokey got put out of his own house. I know he was glad to see us leave. Leo doesn't know any better, he wasn't raised with cats. As a matter of fact when Jeff was alive, he would tease Leo when cats would be outside out front. It wasn't a mean tease, just that he would do a cat's meow while Leo's going nuts about the cat outside.

When I went to see my friend whose bast**do of a husband is doing whatever he's doing, her daughter had been out back (they have a fenced in yard with a pool) and her mom asked her if the gate was closed so Leo couldn't get out. She said yes and went upstairs to play games. So time rocked on and all of a sudden I happened to think that I hadn't heard Leo outside in a while. So I go out the door and call for Leo. No Leo. I walk out further and the friggin gate is open!!!! I'm freaking out. I run back in the house and yell to Irene that the gate is open and Leo is gone and I grab his leash and run out the front door calling for him. She runs and grabs the golf cart to go hunting for him. I'm frantic calling for him, not wanting to think about losing him. I happened to turn back toward the gate on that side of the house (we're talking massive house) and there he is with  his ears up looking at me like "what's all the commotion about I'm right here!". I called him and he came right to me. I think he knew how freaked out I was.  I was never so happy to see him. I can't tell you how devastated I would have been to lose him. The house was about a block from the major road but still. I shudder to even think about it now. He's all I have left of my dogs and of Jeff. I can't lose him before his time....ya know???

I'm not much of a movie watcher. Jen and Chris got a movie for Christmas - Apocalypto. OH MY GOD...you do not want to watch it unless you are a fan of sub-titles and blood, gore and killing.  I guess that's what you get for a Mel Gibson directed film??? Holy cow - seriously, if you are a nightmarish person like I am, you don't even want to watch this. It was horrible. Nothing but killing, death, blood and guts. The movie started out innocent enough but once the slaughter started it was blood and killing from there. 

I know I'm forgetting something but I'm sure it'll come to me. I know I didn't do one bit of hooky while gone, even though I took some stuff with me. I did when I got home, I was so missing it.

This weekend is supposed to be cold. Sunday is going to be really raw here with cold and rain. They say no snow but it's going to be cold enough with rain to snow. I missed snow here when I was in FL. Oh well. I hope your weekend is wonderful, filled with love and light.
TTFN
Kat
xoxo

Birthday Wishes and Some Give Aways!!

Paula is having a birthday and some give aways!!!  You can find Day 5 of her give aways here. Of course I have signed up. Who would pass up yarn?? Surely not me, Ms Yarn Ho! lol

Happy Birthday my bloggy friend!

Time is a flying Already!

I thought I would stick my head in and say hi!  Hi! :o)

I have been super busy since coming back to work and whooped when I get home at night. I had a great week off and I hope your holidays were as super as mine. There was a lot of good and a little bad. Not too much bad but it always has to rear it's ugly head.

I got to see everyone except my one friend who stressed me out a few months ago. I'm not sure if she wasn't there or just didn't want to bother seeing me. I hung around outside for a bit but she didn't come to the door.

I went to see my ex neighbor because my daughter told me I needed to. It seems after 23 years of marriage her husband has told her that he doesn't want to be married anymore. Yea ok.....been there done that. He's screwing around on her although he's said he's not. Whatever......that was my story she was telling me....all over again. I told her....now do you see why I moved out of state? I feel so bad for her. 23 years of her life gone down the tubes. And supposedly he's been feeling like this for two years. Yea...whatever. I cried with her and for her. I hate it for her.

Leo was, for the most part, a very good boy!!  He stressed me out most on the way down. I left that Thursday night because I knew I-95 was going to be a nightmare Christmas Eve.  It was a nightmare that night!! But the more Leo got in his cage in the back seat the better he was. I'll have to tell you the Petsmart story later but he had a ball. And we found some new food for him.....well down there. I have to find it up here.

Anyways...I need to get back at it....just wanted to say hey....I'm not dead....just super busy.  And damn it....I DID NOT win Mega Millions!!  Not even 3 numbers. :o(

It's raining here today and cold. (And it was cold in FL the whole time I was there!!) I hope your corner of the world is warm, bright and cheery tainted with a smidgeon of love and laughter. :o)
TTFN
Kat
xoxox