Tolentreasures

We had our knitting Christmas party last night. Now there are only three of us that knit together, but Carol planned it and she has wonderful gifts of handspun yarn for us that we dyed last night. This is mine and I love it. I can't wait to start a scarf with it. Wonder if hubby will hold it tonight so that I can wrap it in a ball? Who can hate ironing when you have such a fresh clean cover on the ironing board. One of my projects for yesterday. Mine was a terrible mess. Actually it sort of looked real primitive with it's burns and water stains. And this rug. I can't tell you why it is so crooked, must not have been paying attention. Oh well, it is more for function than beauty. It is going in our bathroom and no one but us really goes there. So nice to step out of the shower on nice soft t-shirts. Curtains! My sewing room finally has curtains! It has only been a year since I redid that room and never got the curtains made. Thanks KIM, for the fabric. Ki...

Yesterday morning on the way to church, I was telling my husband how I wanted things to be different this year. I had spent the morning making my lists for the year, organizing the projects that I would like to complete, refocusing on how I would like things to be in the coming year, reflecting on mistakes in the past year and trying to learn from them. I think that the past year had been particularly hectic. There was no time to do some of the things that I wanted or needed to do. Part of it, I am blaming on having the hysterectomy. Someone told me that I would "lose" the rest of my year after having it and while at the time, I did not believe her, I have since confessed those thoughts to her and told her that she was right. There was not time to work in my yard, it was a disaster! There was no time to ride my motorcycle! Not many miles on that odometer this year. Toward the end of the year, I was not even spending time with God in the mornings, just rushing head...

First let me say after over one year of blogging and over 200 blog posts, I NEVER saw that little blue sentence that says "Add Another Image" on the picture loader window. I have been loading pictures one at a time instead of the five at a time that Blogger allows! The things you learn. And how easy is that? Mom bought me this pattern for Christmas. I have been saying that I would like to tackle a wool quilt and I have several yards of thin black wool that I bought for the base of quilt. This is my challenge item for this year. My Mother makes these great pillowcases. The night before her surgery, I helped her make the last four sets of them. Very easy and fun to make and so much nicer than any purchased pillowcases. As a sidenote : If I had a maid, or if I didn't have a job, I think that I would have clean pressed sheets and pillowcases every day. Well let's just go with a maid. I wouldn't do it myself everyday! And this table runner was quite the ...

Today is our Christmas with our family. The girls, son-in-laws, grandchildren, parents and this year as a special treat, my cousins will be here. By noon the house should be bursting with 19 people if I am counting right. How fun! Yesterday was just a quiet day, spent the morning with Gracelyn and a short visit to Kendall. Everyone had other obligations and that is fine. I like having it this day, no one is rushing to get somewhere else. It is way more relaxed that way. John got all the meat ready yesterday and I have some new appetizer recipes to try and stuffing balls. So far this morning, it is 6:31 right now, John has already called twice. Forgetting it was Saturday, he was up and at the gym (that does not open until 8 on Saturdays) at 6:00, then he went to the grocery store and filled his cart only to be told that they did not open until 7:00. Wouldn't you think that they would lock the doors? or that someone would have told him that BEFORE he was done shopping or ...

Can you tell which ones I let go until last? The ones that are out of my comfort painting zone! I just have a hard time doing these houses although people seem to want them and hopefully like them! I put them off and really it was not that hard to do. I am always gun shy of them because of a bad experience one time. I had a couple bring a picture of their house to me and I painted it. I THOUGHT it was OK, (well really I thought it was good) and when they came to pick it up, she picked and complained and whined about how she did not like it. She really made quite the scene and I told them that was fine they didn't have to take it. When they walked out the door, I simply picked up the board and walked to the basement of the shop that I had at the time and threw the board in the coal furnace. Not a happy moment for me, but such a release of anger! When I came back upstairs, they were explaining to the woman who worked for me at the time (who still had the shocked look on h...

Why do my pics disappear? This belongs in the next post!

Our Sunday Lunch Menu consists of Mixed Green Salad Sun-Dried Tomato Bread with Artichoke Bruschetta topping (my contribution) Crispy Skinned Baked Potato Gorgonzola Bread Crumb Encrusted Delmonico Steaks Cabernet Sauvignon DELICIOUS! The steaks were done is a cast iron skillet, browned and then finished in the oven. They were perfect. Nothing better than a cooking husband! Why didn't I start all this handwork months ago instead of sitting and knitting every evening. I would have had it all done! Well, not this. My Mom just mentioned about two weeks ago that she would like a penny rug for on the back of her commode. I took the plunge and cut it out Saturday, we'll see if it gets done. And this is the start of Gracelyn's stocking for at home. It does not need done for Christmas though so I am not working as hard on it, although this little scarf that I am knitting for on the snowman is fascinating. I am hoping that I can knit the front of a little stocking cap to sew on ...

My very first giveaway! Cath at http://cathspennies.blogspot.com/ picked me to win this cute little pillow. I love it! And just when I had packed away the fall ones that she made for me, this one just stepped in and took their place. Thanks so much, Cathy! If you have not visited her blog, do so. She has the neatest wool things and is now publishing her own line of patterns. I am really on a "finishing" kick and none too soon! Finished these on Thursday, they are on the Varnishing Table in the basement. An order for a customer. Next year I am not taking orders. Someone please remind me of that about October or November when I am weak and can't say "NO!" That reminder can be from anyone in Blogland or of course, my family and friends. To my family and friends, you have permission to snick me if I say yes! Finished these for Shelby and family for at her house. Made this just because the thought popped in my mind. It is really not for anyone alth...

17. The number of projects that I have to finish before Christmas 16. The number of people that I have yet to buy Christmas gifts for; 4 grandchildren, 4 daughters, 4 SIL's, 1 husband, 2 parents, 1 MIL. 15. The number of phone calls that I had yesterday as I was home babysitting my granddaughters, c'mon FIFTEEN!!! Really does anyone need to talk to me that bad? And I had the phone off the hook for the two hours that they both slept! 14. The number of projects that need completed here at the shop before Christmas. 13. The temperature outside! Who feels like shopping in this weather? 12. Children/Grandchildren in our family to figure out what they need/want. 11. The hour of the night that I break into the first coughing fit of the night. 10. The amount of Advil that I am taking every 24 hours to keep the throat pain at a minimum. 9. DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!! 8. Rooms of the house that need cleaned. 7. Types of medicine that I have tried for this cold, Zyrtec, Robitussin...

We woke, here is Western Pa, to an ice storm. Roads were closed, our church was cancelled (I can't even remember the last time we cancelled church, hearty country people that we are) and everything basically came to a standstill. Not a bad day if you are home and toasty and have a husband that likes to cook. This is the meal he came up with, Pasta with chicken, and green and red bell peppers, covered lightly with asiago cheese. The nice glass of wine allowed me a bit of a nap and a break from the coughing and hacking that I had been doing since 3:30 AM. Yes, I have settled into my yearly cold. I could feel it coming and it took it's time taking hold, but Thursday night it finally settled in, just in time to feel guilty at the hospital and get some not nice looks every time I settled into a coughing fit in the waiting room, sitting right under the sign that read something to this effect, IF YOU HAVE COLD OR FLU SYMPTOMS , PLEASE GO HOME! So, I tried to knock some more it...

Thank you everyone for all the prayers for my Mom. She had her heart cath and everything went really well. They did not have to do a stint and they think that just a change in medication will solve her problems. Great news! A few more finished projects. I liked that last one and this person did not care what I did, so I made two more just like it. I have no idea why this picture is so blurry. Stopped at Claypoole's Fabric Store in Worthington on my way home from Ohio. That is where I bought the fabric for the boys' quilts and I didn't have enough left for the binding. Luckily they had the fabric left that I wanted for the binding. While I was there I found this. The boys are crazy for Tom and Jerry. Who would have thought that I could have found something with them on it. It was the last panel on the bolt. Another project before Christmas. A woman in my Mom's quilting group was passing these sample books out. Apparently she has 800 of them. Hmmm , a ki...

After reading my blog post yesterday morning, Jenn and Tyler showed up at 7AM ish to help decorate my tree. Now this is Decorating the Tree at My House 1. White Lights 2. Red Lights 3. Mixed Beads 4. Red Beads 5. White Beads 6. Red Ornaments 7. White Ornaments 8. Crocheted Ornaments 9. White stars 10. Snowmen 11. Hand Blown Ornaments 12. Tin Icicles 13. Star on Top 14. Vacuum and lay down the tree skirt I never realized how Obsessive Compulsive I was about decorating my tree until 24 hours ago. This is Decorating the Tree with An Overstimulated Four Year Old Lights, Fling the beads like a lasso, wow look at all this stuff, slide in the ornaments as if into first base, jump in the ornaments as if they were a pile of leaves, hang one snowflake on the tree, jump over the love seat to see what Mommy is doing in the back, run upstairs and find a toy that he had last week and bring it down to play with, pick up the beads again and fling them at the ceiling, hang another ornament on the tree...