When it comes to frogging....

Man, I have to be the champion frogger! Since my dd's shrug was not a hit, I am getting it back from her and tearing it out and making something for myself and I am going to make her a sweater I found that I just have to get the yarn for. I also tore out the blanket I had started for the baby because I frogged it 4 times and couldn't get the pattern right for some reason so I gave up on it and am going to try my hand at a feather and fan. I may have made a lot of things, but they are all really easy. I am not a spectacular knitter and I wonder sometimes how these new knitters take to it so fast and make such wonderful things. I hate to spend money on classes but I may have to. I know that some of it is because I am left handed so watching how to videos at KH can be difficult, like I-cord. I mean, everyone says how easy it is, but I simply cannot get the hang of it! I am having trouble using dpn's too though I really like using circs way more than straight needles. Too bad so many patterns having to be transferred to dpn's to finish them up.

Now that I have the purse finished, I am slowing down with projects and doing more complicated and longer ones like the blanket and sweater. I do need to do something for my sister's birthday in April, but the live in Southern Calf so sweater's aren't such a good idea. She wears a larger size, not plus, but L or XL depending on the pattern and I wonder about fit making her a sweater and not seeing her for a long time.

I guess I should quit dawdling and get my upstairs bathrooms cleaned. I did get the downstairs all cleaned yesterday, which made me feel back in my "zone." I do hate having any clutter, mess or what I feel is a dirty house. It is ridiculous really because the dirtiest my house gets is the pets dragging food out of the bowl or fuzz from the dryer on the floor!

Next time I hope to show progress on my new projects.....

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree....

So much junk to put away from the trip. I have Christmas decorations to put away and cleaning to do. I hate being overloaded. I tend to keep myself copacetic by having a routine and when we go somewhere, for a couple days it is all shot to heck trying to get things back to normal!

On the good side, I finished my handbag and really like it. I have to do the closure yet and haven't decided just what I am going to do, but other than that it is done. I do know that I won't combine Paton SWS yarn with any other felting yarn again. I lost all the beautiful color from the SWS because it felted so much faster.

I am going to continue working on the hourglass patterned baby blanket. So far, I have had to tear it out a couple times because I did something wrong, but I will get the hang of it sooner or later.

Onward and upward. I am cleaning out my pantry and fridge of all junk and unhealthy stuff and going shopping for good foods to get Jack and I back on a weight loss program. I would love to be down 100 lbs by the time we go to Vegas the end of August.

Until next time..... (this is not I, as I am a lefty!)

Tralalalalalalalala...

We decided to come home this morning even though I still had slot winnings to play with, Jack was down to $5 and that was with an extra $50 boost from me on Sunday night!!!! Here are 2 of my 3 favorite guys discussing the intricacies of the mechanical pencil (this is Thomas's yearly gift to Granddad, who is a Soduku nut and uses pencils by the tons, but only mechanical ones) We had great fun, though the knitting projects weren't not as big a hit as I expected. My dd thinks the Beatle's sweater is too short and the blue one is too small. Her shrug she says is too big, so I am taking it and ripping it out and making a totally different one using more of a bolero pattern. She liked the hangbag and as you can see, Thomas liked the video games Nonny and Granddad bought him.

We went to dinner after opening gifts, then came back and went swimming in the hotel's marvelous indoor pool. It was way too warm though, more like bath water and I was already hot from trapsing around casinos all evening. They went home after that and Jack and I headed to the casino. He is a baccarat man and I am a slot girl, only. I gave myself $150 to play with period, had lost about $80, went and played another machine, cashed out, then put my $19 ticket into a machine and another $20 so I had used up $100. Nothing much happened there, so I cashed out and took my ticket and sat down at a video poker, which I am No ace at. I was down to about $20 after having put in about $40 when I hit a 4 of a kind Aces, which paid $200!!! I played for just a bit more than cashed out my $140 and went upstairs. Jack was still down playing so I sat and knitted for about 3 hours until he came in around 1 AM. We went to bed and laid and talked about a few things then I ended getting up at 5 AM and sat and knitted for about an hour then we cleaned up and went to breakfast. We headed to the casino after breakfast, but when I was down to about $150 I cashed out and went upstairs determined to just hold on to my original stash. Jack was already back upstairs and only had $5 of his total $240 so we sat around deciding whether to go home or not and decided to come ahead home as it was only 9:30 AM and a long day sitting if we didn't. When we got home we called the kids (son and dil) and then his sister to wish them Merry Christmas's and put stuff back, which is always a pain. I am finishing up getting the laundry dried and folded so I can get it put away and am going to sit and knit on the baby blanket I have started for the new grandbaby to be.

Oh and I received a beautiful apple and cinnamon candle from my dd and gorgeous candle holders for my dining room table, though the new candle is too fat for any of the three of them. They also bought me a lovely necklace and Thomas bought me his regular present, candles, as

usual and full of love so I of course adore them.

I am out of here until after Christmas. Wishing all who peek in a very very Merry Christmas!

And then there was one....

Projects that is. I am just working on my handbag at the moment. Finished my red hat for my chapter luncheons. Doesn't look great on me, but at least I have a hat to wear. It wasn't a felt design and I felted it, so it is kind of short and sits on the back of my head, but that is ok. I don't have to wear the sun visor, which is the only red hat I have at the moment.

I am going to start a baby blanket, but am looking for just the right one. I want to do something just a little bit difficult or at least takes a bit longer because it has a pattern so I haven't found what I wanted yet.

I am going to start my cookies and fudge and get it finished today and may delay doing the carpets until tomorrow since it is pretty wet outside today. I want the stupid things to dry.

My sister loved her shawl and that surprised me. I figured she would hate it. I guess she has a wedding next month she is going to wear it to. Her birthday isn't until, Tuesday, but Happy Birthday, Alberta!

All things being said, it came out well all the way around.

On to other things....

The rain is really coming down here!

Our little yorky went outside this morning because he really had to go, did his thing and zoomed back in again.

Jack is still sleeping and has just about half an hour before he has to get up and ready for work and get out and face this rain. The drivers here are nuts on dry weather, but go totally when it rains here! It is like their brains have shriveled up or something.

I have a new goal for next year, 100 lbs down, at least 2 adult sweaters made, and exercising at least 6 days a week. I have to get this weight off and keep it off. I cannot believe I have slipped back into all these old bad habits. I am an enabler to Jack and he surely doesn't need the sweets and fat with his heart stuff.

I am just hohum about Christmas. I miss my children not being little and doing the things we did when they were little, I don't get to see my grandson but 3 or 4 hours over the holiday and the family as a whole live in two different places and aren't together. As far as the celebrating, it is just another day to me. The religious side is something different, but the other part I am just off about this year. I didn't put up any decorations (I can't see why when no one comes to visit, the tree can't be seen to outsiders because of our front windows being blocked by tall bushes and our back is totally block by the garage, the cat fools with the tree stuff so why bother?) I had to mail my son and dil's gifts to them and don't even get to enjoy watching them open them, Jack and I don't exchange gifts preferring to save the money for summer vacation and I get that smidgeon of time with my grandson. His mom doesn't particularly like her parents so she would prefer spending her time elsewhere. All in all, I am not very jolly this year at all.

Boy, that sounds like depression, but it really isn't. I am looking forward to going down to the hotel for a little fun on Sunday night, seeing my grandson for even a short time and seeing them open their gifts and just being with my husband. I am not sitting around grousing all the time or I just miss what we did when the kids were little.

Back to the start of the day and a whole lot more knitting!!!!

Woe is me....

I have been trying all day to log into my blog! It has been a nightmare. I am not even sure that when I try it next time it will work.

I have started my newest knitting project, a handbag, a BIG one for me! I am using yarn I bought and yarn my dil bought me for Christmas. Yes, I already opened my gifts from my son and dil!









I love the colors. I have a solid purple Merino, a fuzzy Bernat Frenzy, then a Paton's SWS self striper. I am using a whole skein of the fuzzy right now, then changing to the solid purple to finish it up. I am felting it, but not the handles/straps. I knitted the purple and fuzzy together on 6 dpn's and it is nice and tight but stretchy so I am going to use it as is. I am going to try and make a hat out of the purple and fuzzy, but not felt it so I have a set then on to my Red hat fuzzy hat. I have red Merino wool and purple eyelash for it!

Poor Jack has had to work all alone this week. The two other guys that do the same job as he are having to use up their leftover vacation or lose it. Jack says it is still pretty boring as they haven't had much to do this week. Tomorrow is his last day until Tuesday and they usually let them off at noon so I expect him home early tomorrow.

Wish us luck witht the Powerball! We could sure even use the couple hundred grand!

Time to go back to the knitting.

Donna