Stitch Marker's Received!!

Gosh, I have been so darn busy lately that I have not had time to post about all the fun fun stitch marker exchanges I have received. I had taken these photos prior to X-Mas and am too tired/lazy (have been painting all day 10hrs) to go upstairs and look at the envelopes.





Sorry Ladies, I will have to update this post at a later time to give you credit:) Oh, forgot to mention that I got a fab 'Angel' puffie from Maile. I loved it and will post a pic once I have a chance.

Vegas Vacation...

Well, here are a few shots from our 'Vegas Vacation 2006'. We did a bit of gambling, but really prefer to drive about finding new out of the way places we have not seen before;) This first shot is in Death Valley.






This is another shot in Death Valley. I had to walk out behind a big mound of sand & stone to find this pic. The white on the valley floor is not snow. Can you guess what it is?








Here is a close up of the white 'stuff'. It is actually Borax. From what I can gather the pioneering desert folk would mine the flakes seen here off the valley floor in the winter because it is in a solid state at lower temperatures. Then the raw borax would be processed and shipped via a 20 Mule Team out of the desert.




And well, it just would not be complete with out a pic of Bill just done flying his rc plane in Death Valley.

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas is a time of giving. It is also a time when I try to put myself in debt so that no one gets left out:) Not that I am complaining! I have always enjoyed giving gifts more than receiving.


This year though, Bill one upped me! I got a fabulously fantastic sparkly expensive gift! And a bit early to boot!


Drum roll please!!............


I am now officially engaged! Never in a million years did I ever think that would happen. I had become very set in my pre spinster days prior to meeting Bill. Happily working away with horses, painting (houses) and of course knitting. When out of the blue he walks into my life.


It all happened like this..... We had a broken window at one of the rental properties and called on his families glass company to repair it. I met the service guy at the townhouse and proceeded to ask about Bill (married, kids, etc), his siblings, and family in general, but mainly about Bill because we went out on one date many, many years ago:) I thought nothing of it and after the workman was done locked up and went on my merry little way. Later that evening Bill called. We talked for a good length of time and agreed to meet for a date the following day. We have barely spent a day appart since!


And that leads me up to yesterday. We were on our way out to eat. When I asked him what pocket of his jacket needed stitched up and started to reach in. He pulled back got down on one knee in the kitchen and the next thing I knew..... I was giggling like a manic....hehehehehe....hehehehe
And have been ever since. I this pic of the ring with in the first few minutes. . . hehe Talk about a fabulous Christmas! I hope one and all have such a great christmas!

Stitch Marker's Received!!

I have just received some fabulous exchange stuff!!! Let me just say WOW!! You gals Sheri, Joye, Amy, Enid & Maude, really out-did your selves!

Teresa, Sick & Router!!

I just received this wonderful package from Teresa! There are some lovely teas that I can't wait to try once I am over being sick:) A macrame bookmark. I wish I knew how to macrame. Guess that will be my next borrow from the library! An adorable note pad. And the cutest red stitch markers!! I had been looking all over for the just right nail scrubber and Teresa found it for me with out even knowing it!! Is that an excellent exchange or what!! Thank you so much Teresa! That sure was a pick me up!!!



OH...I am starting to feel better...WHEW! And the replacement for the busted router I bought came in! So I am sitting on the couch and typeing all this....hehehe No more being stuck in the 'office'!!! This is great!! I have to hand it to BELKIN for finding out my problem and shipping me a new router free of charge! They have my business for life that's for sure!!!

Still Sick

Ok, I'm still sick. I have a case of strep throat and Cunjunctivitis (AKA: pink eye). I have never had pink eye before and I can honestly say that it is misserable! Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Not sure where I got it from, but there are a couple of possibilities: children, shopping cart, cleaning an apartment or coming in contact with someone who has it. I'm pretty crazy about spraying my hands with anti-bacterial spray when cleaning any of our apartments even though I have on gloves, so have pretty much ruled that one out. My best guess would be the shopping cart theory. Have found out it is highly contagious for about a week...UGH Get it on your hands and touch or itch your eye and there you go. I have always been fanatic about washing my hands (you know scrub with soap while singing 'happy birthday' then rinse well in hot water) and I shower twice a day (AM & PM), so I have no idea. The eye drops they give you to treat it are no walk in the park either! They burn, Burn, BURN!!!! Of course it makes it worse when you mistake your athlete's foot dropper with eye drops! You only make that mistake ONCE! I cried for hours trying to flush that crap out of my eyes. Ok, so not only am I sick, but I am an idiot as well! Will be back to posting when all this clears up.
Maybe I should go back to working on a farm instead of the family business.....hhmmmm Secluded on a farm with horses nickering out my window and all the solitude I could want....hhhmmm Nah....Life is too fun with family and friends surrounding you daily:)

Sick!!! Argh...

Nothing new today. Will be absent for a while as I think I have strep. Yuckie!!! :(

New Beads!

I made new beads last night! Here we have corn on the cob, apples, sweet potatos, dog bones, yellow roses & peas in a pod:) Great way to pass the time while Bill falls asleep on the couch at night... hehehe

Toes Have It!

Finally, I am finished with the toe and the first sock of the pair! I love socks, but they do take me a long long time! But oh the joy of wearing your own socks!!! This has led us to the toe portion of the Pattern! And it is Really simple!










Fin of Pattern

After knitting the desired length (mine is 5").....

Round 1: *Knit 4, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of round.

Rounds 2-5: Knit all

Round 6: *Knit 3, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of round.

Rounds 7-9: Knit all

Round 10: *Knit 2, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of round.

Rounds 11 & 12: Knit all.

Round 13: *Knit 1, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of round.

Round 14: Knit all

Round 15: *Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of round.

You should now have 10 stitches. Cut your yarn leaving a 9 inch or so tail (I like a long tail as it gives me play room:). Use a darning needle to pull the yarn end through the 10 remaining stitiches and weave in the end! I'm bad here, I tie the yarn with a small knot to one of the adjoining stitches before I weave in my end. After that, weave in the cast on end and then you are ready to knit your second sock! Enjoy!






Here I am trying on my new sock!

Sock Continuation

Okey-Dokily. Now for the next sock step. In this picture, you see how the stitches dispersed on the needles are numbered. Needle numbers One and Three contain the heel flap & picked up stitches. Needle number Two contains the old unworked stitches. Just wanted to explain this because it makes life a lot easier when reading the pattern.

Pattern continued




Round 1: On needle #3 knit to last 3 stitches, Knit 2 together, Knit 1. On needle #2 Knit all. On needle #1 Knit 1, Slip-Slip-Knit slipped stitches together, knit remainder of stitches.

Round 2: Knit all needles


continue rounds 1 & 2 until you have a total of 60 stitches. Second photo is of the end results.



After that, you knit in the round until you have achieved the desired length of your sock minus a half inch. Toe pattern to follow!

Next step

After you have knit up 60 rounds or 5" (hint both are the same:), it is time to start on the heel!


Heel Pattern

Knit 15 stitches. On a new needle knit 30 (this will leave 15 stitches unknitted).

*turn, Slip 1, Purl 29. turn, slip 1, knit 29*. Continue from * to * for a total of 18 rows.



*Turn, slip 1, purl 2 together, purl to last 3 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 1. Turn, slip 1, knit 2 together, knit to last 3 stitches, knit 2 toghether, knit 1* Continue from * to * until there are 18 stitches remaining on the needle.

You have now made a pretty little flap. If you have done this correctly, you can pick up 13 stitches on one side and 12 on the other. On the side with 12, I pick up an extra stitch to make both sides even:) I then knit round once to properly place all stitches(see picture). The stitches that were not used are all placed on one needle with a stitch marker placed where I started knitting. The heel flap stitches are all placed evenly on the other two needles. When I knit the picked up stitches I like to twist them so that the new fits snuggly up against the old stitches:)

Cooking with Mussels

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Last night we had mussels & corn on the cob for dinner. This is the best I have ever cooked mussels. I took about a lb of precooked frozen mussels (do not thaw) bought at kroger ($5-6), put a bit of water in a sauce pan with fresh sprigs of rosemary, 2-3 tablespoons of garlic & juice of 1 lemon sliced in 1/2. I put all this together including the used lemon halves in a large saute pan with lid over high heat on the stove top burner. About 1/2 way through I flipped everything around to make sure each mussel got covered with the water on the bottom and to ensure that each got thoroughly cooked. It should only take 5-10 minutes to cook. If the mussels do not open do not eat them! With the corn I simply boil them to desired tenderness with a teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Zesty Blend or the Kroger equivalent. Strain the water out of the cooked mussels and dump on a serving dish. Put the ears of corn around the shellfish. Last but not least take one of the cooked lemon halves and squeeze it over the mussels. Talk about delicious! I really wish I had taken a picture of this last night before it was devoured. It was pretty and yummie to boot. Will definitely take a picture of it next time I serve it. Instead, this morning, I took a pic of the spices I used. Yes, that is fresh from the plant rosemary:)



Update on the sock.............
The darn little thing is taking quite a while I am still knitting in the round (OK, I'm a slooooow knitter:). I intend to do this for 5 inches.