Friday, September 30, 2011

More Laundry Soap

Just wanna thank friends for enlightening me to two more blogs where you can find the recipes for making your own laundry soap. I will post all 3 and make it handy for anyone wanting to check them out:

1.)   http://sunnysimplelife.blogspot.com/search/label/making laundry soap

2.)   http://thebeehivecottage.blogspot.com/2009/07/fresh-batch-of-homemade-laundry.html

3.)   http://thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

These gals all have wonderful blogs, with so many great postings. The second one is for a powdered soap and looks so pretty. I can just imagine smelling the fresh fragrance. I must be crazy, but after reading what these gals had to say about the finished products I was struck with the desire to rev up the washing machine and tackle the laundry pile. We all know how expensive laundry soap can be. I am for anything that helps to keep cost down. I did notice that Beehive Cottage also says she uses vinegar to rinse her clothes and I will have to check that posting out a bit more. Wouldn't it be great to not have to buy any more of those costly rinse fabric softeners or dryer sheets! ♥

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Making Laundry Soap

One of my own pet peeves about myself is that I am always checking things out, writing down the interesting things on my scraps of paper, then at a complete loss where I wrote that notation and where I saw the info in the first place. So maybe you guys can help set me straight.....Homemade Laundry Soap......does that ring a bell with any of you?  Now I saw the recipes for making this on 2 different blogs and do ya think I can remember both, no, just one and I made it and it turned out really well, found here  http://sunnysimplelife.blogspot.com/  on Elaine's blog (check her out, she is great). I made it and very pleased with the outcome and it works on the laundry.

But....there was another similar recipe on another blog and I bookmarked it as well, do ya think I can find it, heck no I can't. I wanted to send both to my daughter. I sent the one......I'm still searching for the other. I know, I need desperately to get organized. Maybe the annoying scraps of paper should go and I should get a notebook where I can write down all the stuff I want to remember??? Any suggestions???

On another note I have finished the second AF blanket and just need to damp block it a bit and then I am going to take a pic for all of you to see. I plan to do that in a couple of days. Have family is coming this evening for taco pizza and I am a bit swamped with household chores at the moment. Hope everyone is having a great week. ♥


Monday, September 26, 2011

New Camera

Last Friday my husband gifted me with a new camera and I am so darn excited....well, that was until I saw the size of the instruction book and the 3 instructional DVD's. Oh boy, I now have the equipment to run with the big boys but can I even get off the START to make it to FINISH?  My husband said I deserved it for all the good care I have given him (silly man, I didn't need a gift for taking care of him). He says I have taken on everything around here, things that normally have been his job. But that is what you do when you love someone and are partners for life. 





When I opened the box I got a little intimidated by all the stuff in there. He suggested I go see about taking a class in using the camera. That might not be such a bad idea. Maybe sometime in the future when things aren't so hectic and I have time to think. Right now the best gift I can have is more time with him. Yes, that is the best gift of all. He is so good to me. I love him, ♥

Friday, September 23, 2011

Exciting New Find in Knitting




Good morning my lovely followers and friends. I am so excited, and if you are a knitter you will be too. Have any of you seen Tiny Owl Knits blog????? You can link up here and check out her site and video about The Beekeeper's Quilt. Oh what a wonderful project for knitters and using up that stash of scraps you have stuffed in the bag in the closet, drawer or where ever. The pattern can be purchased and downloaded from Ravelry, and yep, I bought it! I just had to have this pattern!!!! It is one of those portable little projects that you can stuff in a wee bag and throw in your purse or tote. The hexes can be so scrappy or you could actually make them into a Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt design......and oh, don't let me forget to mention that you can use all sorts of tiny little knitted designs incorporated in your hexes. She even used lavender when she stuffed her hexes with polyfil. Now how relaxing would that be. On the page there is all kinds of links to various places and there is also a group for those doing this pattern. I wanted to post a couple of her pictures so you would get a better idea of what this is all about and hoping to excite everyone about her wonderful pattern. She also has knitting patterns for sale on Etsy, so check her out. You won't be disappointed. ♥


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Digging Onions, Weeds & Flowers

I spent my Saturday changing and washing sheets and then went out and commenced to digging up the onion patch. Why does gardening have to be such back-breaking work????? No matter what type of gardening you do, whether it be flowers or veggies there just isn't any good way to get down and up from the ground, nor to avoid an aching back. At that time I didn't even bother to take the camera with me, but I did get a good 1/2 bushel of some nice size onions. Usually my husband lays them on top of the ground for a day or so allowing them to dry before putting them in a basket and into the basement, but since it has been rather dewy and foggy most mornings, I collected them and put them on newspaper on his workshop floor.


After I got done fussing with the onions I ran back into the house to grab the camera and came back out to take a picture of what is left of the garden. There are still some beans out there (another back-breaking job). The tall plants over in the far left corner is okra, as tall as I am. The rest is weeds and some dried up corn stalks. But while standing and resting my back I happened to glance around and this caught my eye.....


I could see the bright yellow Goldenrod and the purple of another weed that I have no clue to it's name.....


Okay, so now what did I have here, a weed that has a flower similar to a daisy, how pretty! Does anyone know what this is called?


If you follow my blog you know that right before Christmas 2010 things have been crazy in my world when my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Years ago he had made 2 planting beds inside the privacy fence and he use to plant his onions, lettuce and cucumber plants in these. I told him he had that big garden and I was taking over those 2 beds for some flowers. Last year they were filled with red cockscomb and tons of marigolds. My intentions were all good, this Spring I was going to plant more flowers and I started with my one surviving geranium from the year before and this is what is there now....


this beautiful pink geranium among all the weeds, just as pretty as can be. I just didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It reminded me of my husband, still surviving despite all the bad things that have invaded his territory. And the ironic thing is that the flower is more beautiful than it was the year before. I will save this flower the same way I did last fall before the frost. I will take it from it's earth and clean off it's roots and I will trim all the flowers and green from it, leaving just a little bit of leafing on it's stems and I will store it in a bag in a cool place so not to be too warm or freeze. And when spring comes again, if I am still on this earth and able, after the danger of frost, I will once again plant this lovely flower. God Bless Us All. ♥

Friday, September 16, 2011

WINNERS!! and A Peek of My Winnings



TA DA!!!! And the winners of my GIVEAWAY are Mary and Debi Y......congrats to both of you. I will be sending winners a notice and will need them to send me their mailing address. I had 8 people leave a comment on my post, but unfortunately 4 did not follow the requirements to qualify for the drawing. But don't fret, I still love ♥ you anyways and hope that you will participate in any future giveaways.

Now I want all of you to see what I won on La's fantastic giveaway awhile back. (Sorry La that it took me so long to post a couple of show-off pics). (Now how did she know I like Paula Deen?????)


You will have to forgive me, I am having issues with my downloading of photos and the Paula Deen items pic just wouldn't download without an ERROR!!!! My IP is not cooperating this morning so I will do my best to describe the things to you. La sent me a little bonus package wrapped in this pretty polka-dot tissue paper, and in it was 6 Paula Deen recipe cards, a helpful Paula Deen ingredient magnet, and a box of 20 gift hanging tags for packages. There was a sweet little Thank You card included for participating in her giveaway. No, I say "Thank You" La for having this nice giveaway and including me in it. Some days we are winners! You can find La at her blog here. She has some wonderful posts and I'm sure you will find them as interesting as I have. ♥

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Update

I want to thank all of you sweet and wonderful blogging friends for your kind words and encouragement during this unsettling time with my husband. It means more than you know. It helps lift my spirits and gives me a boost. I am a bit behind with things on here and it seems there is never enough time to get everything done. I just want to say that I won a great GIVEAWAY from La, and I am going to post a picture of what all she sent me. It was like Christmas when I opened her package. Just a last reminder too that my GIVEAWAY ends at 11:59 EST this night. We will be drawing the winners and I will notify them ASAP on their blogs. The packages will be mailed as soon as I receive their mailing address. So, if you still want a chance to win you need to comment on the GIVEAWAY post.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Yesterday

Yesterday was NOT a good day. We spent most of the morning running to find me a push mower that was not like the other push mower we have, the one that feels like pushing a Sherman tank around to trim. No folks, we  do not have a lawn man who does our yard. Well, it seems that the one that is aluminum cast is actually 2 pounds heavier than the one made of steel.....now go figure :(  So by some quirk we found one that was small and just perfect, 20 pounds or so lighter than the Sherman tank, I pushed that thing around the Toro dealers store and said, "SOLD!"

We came home to eat lunch and I was off again to the vets to get the Heart Guard for the doggies, then made a quick trip to another town to the drug store. When I got home my intent and plans were to start up that new mower and do some trimming, but the game plan changed when my hubby's back pain was worse and so I insisted we go to the ER and get checked out (maybe an chest/back x-ray). Two nights sleeping in the recliner was not going to cut it anymore. Things were not improving. After all, there could be a fractured rib or maybe the start of pneumonia......the ER......oh my, was packed. It was a 2 hour wait sitting with other souls who were suffering. Then when we did get into the exam room they were fairly quick, but after the initial BP, pulse, temp and round of questions and the x-rays, it was another 2 hours. I will just say this, the doc was great, the nurses were very nice......and so 2 tabs of vicodin, it was not helping, a shot of morphine did help some and the ride to pharmacy was uneventful till I returned to the car and he was sick to his stomach......I will not go into details, but he did manage to retain stomach contents till we got home. Straight to bed.....chair with a bucket....wet wash cloth.....a bottle of water......and he fell asleep. It was dark when we got home. There was no grass trimming. I sat and finished up my posting about the miniatures, then sat and watched a bit of tv and crocheted a couple of flowers. My day was shot, and so was I......I slept on the couch....♥

Monday, September 12, 2011

My Love of Miniatures


In a perfect world....oops, this is not a perfect world. There is no such thing, or is there? Of course there is, and it would be in my Land of Miniature, a place where you can make your little world as perfect (or imperfect) as you want. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted a dollhouse. I had a friend make one for my girls when they were in grade school. It is so true, parents usually buy things for their children that they themselves want. When my oldest got a home of her own she laid claim to the dollhouse that she shared with her sister. I was in my 50's when I finally got one for myself.


 In a previous post I wrote about my dollhouse and how it came about. My husband spent a good month putting it together for me. He made me a few miniature items that will one day help furnish this little place.
You can have things in that world that you can't afford in the real life and..............


you can dress up those things to make them interesting...........


you can have the house of your dreams, and paint it any color your heart desires..........


 you can have it as small or big as you want and have as many rooms as you like.......


you can collect all sorts of furniture and stuff to make it cozy and make this house a home........yes, the boxes are filled with wallpaper, furniture, curtains, fireplaces, and all sorts of accessories to make the perfect dust catcher, lol..............

Even the clowns know I have to put a plexi glass door on the back. To keep out little fingers and those pesky dust bunnies.

and to continue..... I could have a wooden wine barrel or it could be a rain barrel, complete with a wooden plug...........

 and what home would be complete without a handmade quilt for on the beds.......oh did I mention I love to quilt too.......some days it is just good to have rambling thoughts and dreams......more to come.....I promise ♥

Sunday, September 11, 2011

9/11

9/11    I don't think there is a need for any more words. No pictures on this post because after 10 years in my mind's eye I can still see the horror of the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Shanksville. God Bless Us All. ♥

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Giveaway Reminder

Just a reminder if you want to be included in my "End of Summer Giveaway" then you will have to go to the posting on August 30th for the details to be entered. Time is winding down and the 15th will be here before we know it. There will be 2 winners. Good luck :)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Feel Good Moment, Thank You Debi Y


Imagine my surprise when I saw that fellow blogger Debi Y (you can find her here) had passed on an award to me. I know some folks don't care to fool with awards. I think we all try and respect their desire to be "Award Free". I consider an award a  good thing and grateful that someone out there feels my blog is worth reading. There are some days I don't feel I am interesting enough, some days when I let feelings rule my thoughts and heart. My last intent is to bore someone out there to tears. But I try to care about others and be true to myself. My blog is such a mixed bag of tricks and originally I did not intend for it to be anything but crafty endeavors. It evolved into all sorts of things for I consider myself a well-rounded person. I have too many likes in my life to focus on only 1 thing. My life is truly like the patchwork quilt I speak of. So thank you Debi for adding me to the blogs you enjoy and I hope I can continue being interesting enough to keep you coming back. I understand with this award I need to post 7 things about myself, so here goes:

1.) I was born in West Berlin, West Germany, long before the infamous Berlin Wall came down. I came to the USA when I was just 3 years old and became a naturalized citizen in my early 30's. I was thrilled when that wall was torn down!

2.) I am the mom of 2 grown daughters. My first child was born after only 3-4 hours of labor, and she was born 15 minutes before the doctor arrived.

3.) I use to do craft shows with my friend Lora. It was a great way to meet other people who share the same love of handmade things. It was hard work setting things up and tearing them down, but spending the days with one of my best friends was great. We had a lot of laughs.

4.). I have a fear of heights. Just seeing a picture of someone looking over a cliff makes me cringe.

5.) I never learned to swim. I hate water in my face and up my nose. This is my one regret.

6.) I spent last fall making chemo caps as a charitable gift to give to a cancer center, only to find out in January that my own husband had cancer. One brought me happiness, the other great sorrow. The irony.

7.) I never meet a stranger. I can talk to anyone about any subject. I try to respect their beliefs even if they don't jive with my own. I love people, but I love quiet days at home, away from the maddening crowd.

 So there you have it, several things about me. ♥

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I'm a Winner!

I am so excited. Last evening I checked my blog and there was a comment from La informing me that I had won her giveaway. It is the first win ever for me. Check out her blog at  http://amusingpotpourri.blogspot.com/. She has wonderful and interesting postings and I have been a follower for several months. Oh, and did I mention I sold 15 knitted dishcloths??? What a thrill that was too!

I am still working away on the AF blanket and making good progress. I will take a snap shot and post it soon. This time maybe I will remember to load the memory card in the camera. I have tried to figure out downloading from the camera itself, but just can't get the hang of it. Time to get the instruction manual out I guess.

I am getting itchy to do other things now. I did take a few days to make a pretty shell stitch carriage cover for the new grand baby (due in March). I will post a pic of that as well.  I wish I would have made a longer chain base because it turned out more the size of a receiving blanket. The pastel colors are so pretty. I want to make some burp cloths from Jeanie's tutorial that can be found at Getting Started . Check her archives for the posting. She just went through that terrible hurricane Irene and what a feat! She lives on the coast with water surrounding her town on 3 sides.

Well today will be a busy day of housework. I have neglected my house and it is looking a bit frazzled and it will bug me till I get busy and do something about it. I would much rather be crocheting, knitting or sewing. What would you rather be doing? ♥

Monday, September 5, 2011

New Blog

A new blog is hatched, check it out  http://buyonlyAmericangoods.blogspot.com/

I hope my fellow Americans will take the time to check this out. It could be our answer to helping to fight the rising unemployment in our great nation. I am but an ant.......trying to do my part to move the mountain of jobless despair.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Quiet Sunday

Just a nibble of Jelly Bellies before breakfast. The kid in me insisted this could be breakfast.

Today is Sunday and I feel like my mind is mush. After all we have been through this past week I feel drained. So forgive me for any ramblings of my thought process. I had some pictures that I took about a week ago and when I downloaded them from the memory stick I realized they are not of very good quality but, I wanted to post them anyways, so please bear with me for my lack of photography skills. I keep thinking I will get better with a camera.....maybe that could be a New Year's resolution.



If you follow my blog you know how nuts-o  I am about the African Flower motif. I can almost hear some of you thinking, "Oh crap! here she goes about that flower again." I know, I know, I'm like a broken record playing the same old song, just on a new day, lol. You might be glad to hear that I think I am burning myself out on the flower. I do have that second blanket in the works and it is going quickly. I am back to making more flowers which do not go so quickly because of the tails of yarn. My pet peeve is that those pesky yarn ends have to be woven in and that is time consuming. I will post a pic soon of my progress. I just want it to be close to finished when I do.......in the meantime.......to relieve any boredom, I do a little quick project in between so I don't get to the hair pulling point. I am so trying to not revert to old habits of having a dozen UFOs hiding in containers and begging to "finish me"! So, I had 2 skeins of Lion Brand Fancy Fur and pulled out my circular knitting needle (I prefer that to straight needles) and I cast on about 12-14 stitches and I commence to knitting a quickie scarf. Just knit every row till ya run out of yarn, that's all ya do. It isn't a rocket scientist pattern, rather a no-brainer, but it keeps me occupied for a day and relieves boredom with the flowers.


 This yarn was so fun. The knitting was done in no time, and then I got back to making flowers and joining them to the blanket.


On a different note check my August 30th posting for the end of summer GIVEAWAY. It has all the details of what you must do to win. The comments will only be accepted on that post. There will be 2 winners so take a few minutes to enter before the September 15th deadline. And on that note I wish you a pleasant Sunday and hope it is the start of a great week for all of you. ♥

Friday, September 2, 2011

Cancer is HELL

I need to vent, so please excuse me for my ranting and raving. I just need to let off some steam. It really doesn't matter if any one reads this posting. I just need to get some thoughts off of my chest. It was a very busy Thursday. We were up at 4:30am and on the road by 5:30am.........GPS (a gift, thank you Mike) was set for our trip to Ann Arbor Michigan to go to the VA Hospital. Seems like we do a lot of traveling to hospitals. Last week it was to Cleveland Clinic. This trip on Thursday has me in a tizzy.....and I am about ready to just throw up my hands with all of these doctors. They all have their own idea on what to do and the VA being the Government (aren't we the government?) says they will not let the oncologist, who has taken care of my husband since January, manage the maintenance drug that he suggested, if we have come to them to pay for that $90,000+ drug......, my overall thoughts on this are #1. You are all doctors, no matter who you work for, government or private...."first do no harm" comes to mind, #2. When a patient has an incurable disease work together to help save their life or at least prolong it as long as possible so there is still dignity and quality of life. #3. Did you not all attend medical school and no matter where it was, you all had to take the same State Boards to pass, my belief is that your goal or Mission was that you wanted to keep and make people well. #4. Stop suggesting all these different trial treatments, agree on the one that would be the best, or at least the one you think would be best. My husband is NOT your experiment. #5. Having a diagnosis of cancer is depressing enough, don't complicate things by stressing the patient (and family) out with things that are out of our control. #6. Accept the fact that even a millionaire can not afford the cost of some of the drugs that you prescribe, but don't push us in a corner with threats that we can't have the drug if "you" aren't the doctor prescribing it............and so you have it............needless to say my car was all a buzz the entire hour and a half getting back home......the 206 mile round trip.......I have only touched the tip of the ice burg on what all was said to us. I could write a book!                    

     
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THAT THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE LIFE'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS~