Saturday, June 23, 2012

Selling: The Midlife Crisis


The Oxford Illustrated American Dictionary describes
"mid-life crisis" as an emotional crisis of self-confidence
that can occur in early middle age.
And so it did at our home back when 
my husband was in his late 50's.
As I recall, the conversation kinda went like this:

Him:: You know I have always wanted one of those.
Me:: Oh yeah, since when? I do not ever remember
you mentioning anything like that in all the years we
have been married.
Him:: Well that is because you never hear what I say.
Me:: Excuse me, I sure do, and believe me I would have 
definitely remembered you wanting 
a monster like this.

He named her Pearl.
She weighs around 800 pounds, the engine, well, 
let's just say that when it is running you are 
reduced to yelling at the top of your lungs to be heard.
When he use to ride it to work I could hear him coming from
about 1/2 a mile away. The dogs knew it was him. 
They waited at the door.
He loves that bike. They have been to Washington DC 
three times for Memorial Day Rolling Thunder,
to North Carolina to the Dragon's Tail Trail,
to the Dakotas to see Mt. Rushmore, 
to Mackinaw Michigan across "the bridge",
and numerous other places.
I have never ridden on the bike.
I do not weigh as much as Pearl does, 
but I am no light weight woman.
People say heavy folks ride on them all the time, 
I say, "Yeah and have you ever noticed just how badly
they look? I don't want to have the Jaws of Life 
called to remove me from the passenger seat."

I always worry when he is away, riding on the bike.
Now that he is sick it has become an issue of a 
weak man being able to handle something so big.
He has decided to sell it and I am glad.
I am also sad because I know how much he enjoyed this
toy. I told him yesterday that if he wanted 
to hang on to it 
another year that it was okay. 
Maybe he will get stronger and feel better. 
I think I saw a glint of happiness in his eyes.

It has been a busy couple of weeks. 
I decided to clean out the garage and I started by selling 
a chest freezer that we bought 3 and 1/2 years ago.
There was a large screen color tv complete 
with stand that was in 
perfect condition that I gave away, a kerosene 
heater that was another "freebe" giveaway.
I took 9 boxes of no longer needed treasures to 
the Goodwill and 2 large boxes of paperbacks 
to the local library. Several things went into the trash, 
and right now I am in the process or straightening up
and organizing. Our little Holden came to visit for 3 days
and grandma wasn't prepared for his bath time because 
she didn't have a wash pan big enough.


But we managed to get him nice and clean and the 
next evening we had a better game plan for his bath.

Then I had planned to start that t-shirt quilt for my 
youngest daughter, and I'm sure you are all quite 
tired of hearing me procrastinate, but there are 
2 expectant mothers who I decided to make baby 
blankets for and so I started a small ripple.




I did finish the blanket and now working on 
the second one only this next one has a 
different color scheme. I love the ripple pattern.
It was the very first pattern I learned 
when I started to crochet

Then one late evening I happened to catch sight of 
this outside my kitchen window. I ran to get my 
camera and this is what I got.


And that is about all I have to write 
about for the moment.
Hope all is well with you.
~♥~

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Break From Blogging

I know I am not as faithful as some of you are to post often.
I do try to visit friends several times a week.
Right now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and need to 
put my energy into other tasks. 
In other words my plate is full and I'm finding the items 
on it a bit hard to swallow.
Blogging is the least demanding of the things I currently do,
but it does take time and thought and right now
I seem to be short on both of these things.
So for awhile I will lay low and just be on the fringes, 
checking back now and then on what is up with you.
I'm still here and wishing the best for all of you.
God Bless You All.
~♥~

Monday, June 4, 2012

Garage Sale "Stuff"

(photo is from www.garagesalefacts.com)

Here we are, it is almost midnight as I write this. 
It was a busy Monday. 
It actually started out as a busy Sunday and carried over into Monday, and if I tell you what I did 
you would think I am certifiable.
On Sunday I decided to have a garage sale on Monday.
There have been at least 8 full cardboard boxes labeled 
GARAGE SALE "STUFF" 
sitting along the wall on my side of the garage. 
I try to keep that area neat, but it has always bugged my husband because to him it is "junk" that has no place 
in "his" garage, 
you know,
the garage that he allows me to park my Jeep in. 
Never mind that the workbench is a fright 
(pretty much his mess there).
He hones in on those boxes filled with all sorts of things 
that I just don't need anymore.
About 3 years ago I hauled them all over to our oldest daughter's house when she had her garage sale, 
and I sold some things, 
but with 4 of us all chipping in all of our "stuff", there was competition for the buck. So I packed it all up and home with me it all came and of course he made the comment, "Didn't you sell any of it?" 
Well of course I did, but not all of it!
So, like I said, I decided to have this sale and so out in the garage I go on Sunday afternoon and I set up my 2 tables and start to unpack boxes only to discover I have more "stuff" that table space.
It didn't help that he came out there later when our youngest daughter showed up to chat about her remodeling of her bathroom, the beautiful vanity she bought and the slipper tub with feet that she is ordering. While all this chatter is going on I am becoming more tired and fretful over this table situation and so I grab an empty box and start packing the "stuff" back up again. 
Finally one of them noticed what I was doing and I told them I had decided not to have a sale, I was going to pack it all up and take it to the Goodwill, where it should have gone years ago. I had 2 boxes alone of paperback books that I had read. My daughter suggested I donate them to the local library. 
As I filled boxes, they went into the Jeep. 
I finished it all Monday morning and called the library. 
Yes, they do accept paperbacks as long as they are in good condition.
So I dropped those off first, and then to Goodwill to donate all the "stuff". I came home with a cleaned out car and feeling liberated. 
Now that I have the job started I will spend the rest of the week cleaning the garage. I have been eye-balling some things that will go into the trash and a few things to recycle.
All in all it was a good day because the library will have a book sale and the $ they make will buy things they need for the library.
The things that went to the Goodwill is helping to keep people in a job and maybe someone will find a treasure in the "stuff" I donated. 
It kinda made me feel like I did some good. 
If I would have had the sale I would have 
"stuffed" deposited the $ in my grandson's bank. 
Either way I would have done some good for someone and that is all that counts.
So what did you do these past couple of days, 
and did you do something good for someone?
~*~

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Teresa's Faerie Garden

I have something special that I wanted 
to share with all of you.
Isn't this the most darling little faerie garden 
you have ever seen.
The creator, Teresa, is a friend 
and long time ago co-worker.
She posted this photo on Facebook and 
when I saw it I just knew I had to 
ask her if I could share it on my blog.
She has posted several other photos 
of other amazing landscaping feats 
 (on a much larger scale) that 
she and her husband, Gary have done. 
Teresa doesn't have a blog, but she should 
seriously consider starting one to show her lovely
gardening projects.  So a big THANK YOU to Teresa
for allowing me to show her sweet little garden.

Another person who recently shared her 
little garden is Brenda over at 
Cozy Little House. 
You can link to her site here
Brenda is amazing, and despite several life-changing
obstacles, has replanted herself in Tulsa Oklahoma.
Go visit her, she has a darling little house that 
is every bit as cozy as can be, and 
she has started this Spring to whip her unruly
and neglected back yard into a garden spot.


 This is Brenda's picture of the fairy garden
that she made in a washtub. How cute!
She also recently blogged about helping her 
grandson make his very own little garden.
Brenda's camera is attached to her hip and she takes 
the most gorgeous pics of her home, gardening projects 
and more recently her new neighborhood.
So go visit her. You won't be disappointed. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday.
~*~

Saturday, June 2, 2012

More Hex Pics


I love my hex blanket, but I won't bore you all
to tears with constant posts about it.
It just didn't seem quite right that after working on it 
for 3 months that I was reduced to getting pics of it 
inside the house.
It is a beautiful day outside and the sun is shining.
My usual over-the-deck-rail site 
was not going to do. 
I have robins out back and they are nesting in the trees
and pooping where ever they land.
I moved to the outer yard and spread
my blanket in the grass.

 
 The wind kept whipping up the ends and 
after running around and fixing it I did manage to 
get some colorful shots. 
These just show me why I  
 need to start saving for a wide angle lens.


Hope your weekend is going well for you.
Take care.
  ~*~

Hex Afghan/Blanket TA-DA Moment


It is after 1am on Saturday morning.
Yes, I am still up. I should be in bed.
Last evening I finished my 3 month project,
the notorious Hex Blanket.
I could not wait for sunrise.
It has been rainy, cold and damp
so no outside photos.


 So (sigh) I laid this project out on the spare bed 
and grabbed the camera.
The room is small and I have a hard time 
getting a good photo, but I think you can 
still see it well enough to check it out.




 163 hexes, a multitude of color changes, actually 817
counting the 2 rows of border, 1634 ends to weave in,
join as I go, and add 2 rows of mindless single crochet 
for the border and now it is finished.
I am relieved because I would not allow myself to 
pack it up so I could dread the thought 
of completing it eventually.
Believe me, it was getting to me,  
you wouldn't believe how many times 
I told myself not to 
 stop until it was finished.


 I have to laugh because my intention was to 
put a huge dent in my yarn stash,
but my mother gave me all of her yarn, 
and then my youngest daughter brought me 
this huge monstrosity of a single crochet 
blanket that she had going and never finished.
It was from the days when I taught her to crochet.
She was a fast learner, 
but refused to move on from single crochet.
So I find myself ripping out all of her hard work
 and having so much more yarn that the plastic tote,
where I kept the yarn I was using, was over-flowing.


 When I packed away the yarn that was left 
 I could barely get the lid on the tote.
In total I have 3 large plastic totes of yarn. 
This one has mainly RH yarn, 
then another is stuffed with Vanna Yarn, 
and a third has some kits and odd skeins.
I have a plastic tote bag filled with DK Stylecraft.
I have 9 skeins of sock yarn because I have 
convinced myself I CAN and WILL knit 
a few pairs of socks, lol.
Now I can move on to doing Meghan's t-shirt quilt.
But, there is one thing I will finish first
and that is another knitted sweater like the one I 
knitted recently for our grandson Holden.
Yes, yes, my dears, one night I picked up a skein 
of a variegated yarn and thought to myself,
Oh this would sure make a pretty sweater.
So naturally I had to do a test swatch.


One stitch led to another and the next thing I knew 
my hex blanket was screaming at me,
"YOU STOP THAT! YOU NEED TO FINISH ME!"
So I reluctantly laid down the knitting and 
picked up my crochet hook.
The rest is now history, but I do want to 
thank my Meghan for this lovely yarn. 
Ya da, ya da, one man's trash 
is another man's treasure, and all that jazz.
Love you gal.
~*~


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