Road Trip

I am on a week's 'stacation' this week. I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this....some people are not happy that I am on 'stacation'. But, I have worked, earned this time off, and I suppose it is something they will have to live with...

So, Cara, Lydia and I took a road trip yesterday. First, we went out to breakfast--to the Soda Jerk in Hummelstown. This is one of my favorite breakfast restaurants.

Lydia was excited to be out and about in the car with her mom and Gram!!

And yes, she is getting so big!!

I am hungry!! When is breakfast coming??

This little one had bits of pancake, egg, mushroom, apples and just about anything else that came her way.

When we were leaving the restaurant, the truck parked beside us had these cars--glued, I suppose--to both sides of the running board. I felt it was unusual enough to warrant a picture.

We were actually going to the outlets in Hershey to look for a winter coat for Lydia. The antique auto show was going on at Hersheypark, and we passed this on our way to the outlets. Yes, there is a piece of a front end of a car in the back of this truck. This looked very funny when driving behind this vehicle....another picture opportunity that Cara had to take advantage of.

After much searching, we finally found a coat for Lydia for the coming winter season. A good buy....over 50% off....

Very tired after a long day for her....

This morning I finished the bear I was working on to send to children who have been taken from their homes for their own safety. This one is very special because he plays the piano!!

What am I going to do today? I suppose I'll find something to do......whatever it is, it will be filled with the love of God!!

Beth

Remember to Drink Water!!

As I walked outside this morning with my cup of coffee, I looked up at the sky. Yes, it is still dark. But, the clouds are visible with small patches of sky shining through....reminded me of a patchwork quilt....

I've always wanted to try my hand at quilting, but have never succeeded. Perhaps sometime in the future...or perhaps never.

I see that 'Tea' left a comment regarding migraines and drinking water. I'm going to give that a try. I very rarely drink water...mainly consume coffee as a liquid....and now I'm thinking that since coffee actually is a diuretic (making you go to the bathroom more!), that perhaps I'm actually dehydrating myself!! So, water it is....anything is worth a try!! And if this works, what a simple solution to such a complex problem!! This will have to a conscious effort on my part to try to get enough water into my system. I'm going to actually write myself a note that says "Remember to Drink Water!!" and post it to my computer...particularly at work...thanks for the suggestion, 'Tea'!!

I saw Lydia yesterday....unfortunately because she had a doctor's appointment. Poor little girl has a fever, both ears infected and a sore throat. So, she is now on antibiotics (which she doesn't like to take at all!). Both she and Cara looked like they needed a long rest.....Lydia has been up during the past two nights with pain in her ears...and I mean all night long!!

No work done on Lydia's CHRISTmas stocking due to the migraine over the weekend....there is no way I could have seen those tiny stitches...so hopefully this week some progress will be made.

My piano instruction books were to have arrived yesterday, and they did not. I am hoping for today. I've been fooling around with this, and if I am going to learn I want to learn in the proper way. I have a goal...by CHRISTmas I want to be able to play "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach...now that is a goal!! I have some Chopin pieces that are also my favorites. Talk about jumping ahead of myself......

So, that's all for today.....

Beth

On the Move

As you can see, this is a child who is on the move!! She is crawling at the speed of light and pulling herself up.....getting into all kinds of things she shouldn't be....such as in this picture where she is about to awaken Lindsay's sleeping kitty. Oh, I didn't tell you Linday has a kitty? He is fairly new to the household...only about 3 weeks now....his name is Ivan. And he is another one who is into everything.

And in case you're wondering if she is always a happy child, here is a picture of what happens when she has been told the word "no"....

What a sad face!!

As I told her mother--"Make sure your 'no' means 'no' and your 'yes' means 'yes'. Don't say 'no' if you're going to change your mind after seeing this face (and hearing the whining) and then say 'yes'.

Lydia's Starghan has been completed as of yesterday evening....washed, dried and put away until her birthday. This actually turned out a little larger than expected, but I wanted her to be able to have this not just as a small child but later into her life. I, myself, have an afghan that I made for my mother over 30 years ago---washed and dried many times--and it is still in good shape. So, hopefully, this one will hold up as well.

I tried to take some pictures of the completed project...none of them turned out very well. When Andrew comes home this evening, I'll have him take some using his camera (which is way better than mine!)...and post them tomorrow.

Planning on working on Lydia's stocking last night, but my eyes were too tired for the tiny stitches....so this evening this project will take the forefront.....and remain in the forefront until completion.

Beth

And the week begins...

a day later than usual....but still beginning.

The three day weekend is officially over, and I feel like it has just begun!!

Cara brought Lydia over for a visit on Sunday, and she played the piano (in her own fashion, of course). She seemed to enjoy the fact that she could make "music", and kept saying "Ooooohhh!".....I think we have a natural on our hands....

I did a little shopping around for piano instruction books, and finally decided which to order. I've gotten as far as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", using both hands. which I consider to be an accomplishment since I haven't played anything or read music for quite a number of years.

Lydia's Starghan is almost completed, and then I can move on to her stocking. I had every intention of finishing her birthday project this weekend. But, as each "go-around" is longer than the previous, it's taking me a bit longer than anticipated. I have two more rows and then the edging....then completion!!

After I posted my "gratitude list" yesterday, I walked outside for a bit. Almost immediately, two more items to add to my list occurred. I've written them down, and they'll have to wait until next week's posting.

I hope to have a photo of the finished Starghan tomorrow. Never did find those batteries...I wonder where they walked to? Hmmmm.......

Beth

Don't Wish Your Life Away.....

as my Grandmother admonished me many times!!

When I was a young child, I wished to be 13; when I was 13, I wished to be 16; when I was 16, I wished to be 21. I expressed these wishes to my Grandmother, and her reply, as always, was:

"Don't wish your life away!! It will be over soon enough, and you'll have missed these special times wishing for future times!!"

Yes, Grandmother was very wise, even though she had practically no formal education having left school at the age of 9 to pursue full-time employment in a chocolate dipping factory. She was self-taught in the basics of math, reading and writing.....and I loved her dearly. She taught me the good of "hard-work ethics". Having worked for years in the hand-dipped chocolate industry, she never ate chocolate that I can remember. She just absolutely refused to eat chocolate--even expensive chocolate!!

So, I'm not wishing my life away, Grandma....but I do wish that the time on this computer said 5:38 p.m. instead of 5:38 a.m.!!

My long awaited surprise is arriving early this evening, and I am telling you--I can hardly wait much longer!! I realized this morning that I will need some books to go along with this, so I spent a little time searching Amazon for the best available. I haven't definitely decided, so I'll need to go back and research some more.

Let's say, I hope my long awaited surprise comes this evening....I talked with the person who is bringing said surprise yesterday. Yes, he remembers me. Yes, he knows the town where I live. But, he did not receive any of my emails with the pick up and delivery instructions (and they were very explicit). He told me that he does have my phone number, he will call if there are any problems, and would I please email him the instructions again?

I did this yesterday when I arrived home from work, and to quiet my mind that he had received this, I requested a "read receipt" from my email. I checked this morning....none has arrived. I can only, at this point, rest assured that this will all go off as planned.

Moving forward--this is a much needed three day weekend. I'm not planning on doing much picnic-wise as some are. I will be meeting up with a friend for some time together on Monday. Other than that, I plan on relaxing, enjoying the surprise, finishing Lydia's Star Afghan, and then moving on to her CHRISTmas stocking. Lindsay reminded me how long this is going to take, and if nothing else gets accomplished for CHRISTmas, this project will.

These stockings are important to my children. Each child had their own handmade stocking for their first CHRISTmas. I didn't realize how important they were to them until the year we couldn't find them. Apparently, they were packed away with "non-CHRISTmas" items (how that happened, I'll never know), and they were not happy with this situation at all. There was a mass undertaking of looking through boxes in the attic until they were found. Of however many presents there are under the tree (and some years there weren't too many), they always went to their stockings first--to find the small, wrapped and especially picked "just for them" items.

Lydia didn't have one last year, being born on Thanksgiving Day and only a small infant. Cara picked this particular one especially for Lydia, and it WILL be finished by CHRISTmas.

I'm going to be posting some pictures over the weekend--what the finished project will look like and how far I've progressed (which isn't too far!!). Then, I'm thinking that each weekend I'll post a "progress photo". This will help to keep me accountable and working on this. This stocking is complicated, time-consuming, and somewhat tedious...but it is for Lydia which makes it all worthwhile--something that she can have forever--and hopefully learn to do herself (lessons from Grandma--or whatever I will be called) someday.

Now--off to get ready for work--which will at the very least occupy my mind and restlessness until this evening!!

Beth

Fooling Around

I was going to make a bear--a bear of many bright colors for Lydia. I finished the head and then I realized that this yarn was not thick enough--she would be able to pull the stuffing out between the stitches. So, here I am--left with yarn. Fooling around, fooling around, and fooling around some more. And here is the result--not quite finished, but it will be by Lydia's birthday:

Beth

August 29, 2010

Wow!! It's almost the end of August already!! The summer has passed by quickly, and I'm thinking about CHRISTmas (which if I remember correctly I said I was going to start thinking about in January).

Before I share any CHRISTmas projects with you, I'd like to direct you to my friend Kathy's new blog, Freely You Have Received, Freely You Give. She has based this blog on the premise that our salvation is a gift freely given, and we should be giving to one another also. She has some great prizes to give away. So, why not stop over and give her a visit, follow her, and find out how you can win.

Maybe I should share some pictures from our summer before launching into CHRISTmas. Yes, that's what I'll do:

Here we have Aunt Lindsay with Lydia on her first sliding board experience at our Small Group picnic in July

She seems like she enjoyed herself!!

I love this picture--Lydia looking up with love in her eyes for her Uncle Andrew!!

This is one of the most recent pictures I have of her. Nine months old already, crawling and three teeth. She's keeping her Mom busy, and she is a happy and well loved baby!!

On to CHRISTmas:

I'm kind of at a loss this year. I made both of the girls afghans last year, so they won't be needing another one of those these year. I do have all the necessary items to make them satin pillowcases. I think I said I was making those two years ago, and I never got around to it! So, that may be an idea for starters.

I was looking at a shawl for Lindsay, but I'm not sure if she would use it. She seems to me to be a "shawl-type" person, but I'm just not 100% positive. Perhaps I'll have her sister ask some leading questions regarding this and go from there.

As for Lydia, I ordered yarn to make a sweater for her for the fall. Then, the "terrible tendonitis" struck my left elbow, and I wasn't able to do much of anything until recently. So, this could be an idea for her an early birthday present for her.

Lydia's CHRISTmas stocking is still a work in progress. This is going very slowly, but I'm determined to have this finished by 12/24/10. It needs to be hung with care along with my children's stockings that they have had since they were very young.

I'm going to need to be thinking hard on this. If you have any ideas as to what I can make these girls for CHRISTmas this year, please let me know. After years of doing this, I'm running out of options!!

Beth

Of Dishcloths and Hotpads

Hmmmm...............I've been looking in my dishcloth drawer, and honestly....it looks very sad. Many of my dishcloths are old, tattered and worn. Some have hardly any color left at all...just faded away with their many washings.

So, I decided to start working on some dishcloths. As each one is completed, it is placed in the drawer and an old one is placed in the "rag bag" to be used for dusting and floor scrubbing.

Dishcloths and hotpads--start a project, finish a project in no time--mission accomplished!!

Let's see what I've managed so far this year:

This is the January KAL for the Monthly Dishcloth group:

and here we have the Mid-January KAL from the same group:

This one is from the Knit Dishcloth group for the beginning of January:

This is from a pattern that I've had for quite some time and use over and over again:

Cara has decided that she would like to learn to crochet, so I'm going to start her off with these hotpads--easy, quick, only one stitch:

She and I are thinking that if she gets the hang of this, we can go to some flea markets during the spring, summer and fall with our wares and hopefully end up with a little extra cash in our pockets!!

I told Cara that if we take Lydia along we'll be sure to have more people stopping by to at least look at what we have for sale.

Making her silly face just before breaking into a smile!

Amongst all the many blessings my family has experienced, I'm feeling somewhat down due to my job situation. This job is becoming overwhelming and very mentally exhausting.

I've been dealing with this for some time, and I'm to the point where I basically work and sleep--with a little knitting and crocheting in between just to keep my mind off the job. But thoughts of this creep in even when I am sleeping.

I think the time has definitely come for a change.

Beth