Jelly

Today I made jelly. As you can see by the recipe, it is SO easy!! You don't even need to hot water bath it. But apparently it doesn't make very much because I doubled the recipe and this is all I made. Guess I'll be making another batch tomorrow. Maybe I'll try something other than just plain grape juice. I bet white grape would be good. As well as the grape/cranberry. Maybe even just plain cranberry. Whatever I can find with 100% juice I'll give it a shot :)

My Surprise

This little guy came in the mail yesterday. I wasn't expecting him. My sister and Mom had been to Hobby Lobby and saw him and thought I should have him. You see, he looks an awful lot like my Dad. The piercing blue eyes. The wrinkles. Even the nose shape. And, AND he has a cardinal. That was his favorite bird. And they say that if you see a cardinal its a loved one looking out for you. Also it was on Christmas when we found out his cancer had spread to his brain. So now we have a sweet reminder of my Dad  for Christmas. We call him Poppy Clause. Poppy is what all his granddaughters called him. I just love him...Dad and Poppy Clause :)

They also sent this little ornament. My sister said that it reminded them of all the family get togethers at the Cabin when I would come rolling in with lots of chips and dip. My favorite snack in the world. Ever!! Give me a good tortilla chip and salsa..or quacamole...or queso and I'm a happy camper!!!

So it was a lovely surprise yesterday to see this smiling Poppy Clause.

This Week

This week....this week has been spent bundled up. Yikes, it's been cold for this Texas girl. It has been fun but I am a warm weather girl.

This week....not only me but my Bunny has been all snugglied up.

She's on an old,old blanket keeping her little nosy warm. The sweetest cat ever....ever!

This week.....as well as being bundled up I have been living on hot chocolate.

Yes, I know, I have traded my beloved tea for hot chocolate....oh the betrayal.

This week.....I have been spending gobs of time with yarn. Scrummy(cross between scrumptious and yummy) yarn. Ok, so maybe I need a better word?

Lots of ear warmers to pass out :)

Next week? More yarn, less hot chocolate, more snuggly cats, hopefully a little less time being bundled up. It should be a bit warmer. Fingers crossed.

Happy Veterans Day and BRRRRRRR

First off I'd like to wish all the Veterans out there an extremely heartfelt THANK YOU!! And to the spouses and children too. They serve as well. It takes a strong person to hold down the fort when your spouse is gone for who knows how long! You make this country great!

Second...BRRRRRRRRRR. It's getting a bit chilly down here in South Texas. Ok, Ok, I know all you northerners are shaking your heads and tut tutting at me. I am a Southerner and I am conditioned for the warmer weather. You may keep your cold weather(except at Christmas...I like it at Christmas).

Since I don't like it cold I popped these babies out in about an hour. I got the pattern here. easy! Ok, so my pic isn't downloading. Just picture a pretty red/tweed( I Love This Yarn) pair on not so pretty hands :) Wow, I'm wearing these as I type and they puppies are warm. I think I'm going to like these. I think I'll make me some more :)

edit: Ha! the pic has finally downloaded so here it is

A Few of My Projects

Ok, so yesterday I said I would show some of the projects I have been working on. I think I will do it in list form. We'll see how that works.

1. H's Houston Texans ear warmer/head band. I started it last season...just finished it about two weeks ago. What took me so long was trying to find a big flower pattern that I liked. I just couldn't find one that I wanted to use....so I just stopped working on it. Well, a light bulb moment hit when I realized H loves bows. So a bow it was. And it turned out great!! All I did was half double crochet around till it was the size I wanted. Same with the bow. I made a small flower and hot glued the Texans button(that I got of etsy) on. Simple.

Say hello to Bunny :)

2. My sister, brother-in-law, niece and Mom will be going to Disney next month....yes, I want to stow away and go with them. She wanted a Mickey Mouse scarf. Well, then my Mom said she wanted one too. And then my niece( the sister of the Harry Potter recipient ) had to have one too. I couldn't then leave my brother-in-law out so I made him one too. Not all  Mickeys. Mom got a Pooh, my niece got an Eeyore and my brother-in-law a Goofy. They aren't the best but they have them :)

Disclaimer...These are not my own patterns. Nor are they really the patterns others. I did look at some on Pinterest and just kind of followed them visually. So if any of these are your patterns. Thank You!



3.These are the head bands/ear warmers and slouchy hat for my friend. I really need to find a better yarn. I'll just keep plugging along until I find what I really like and works well. I need to hurry. I only have about a month left to get them done .

I do have specific patterns for these. And as I finish them I will try and find the original site I got them from. I just printed them off without really paying attention where they were from.


4. H's first block of her Texans blanket. Not sure if I really like how I did the numbers. I got the pattern from here. I'm just not very good at the numbers yet. Lots more practice I think. I still have to work on the letters for the names too. Do I crochet the letters or just embroider the letters on ? AARRGGHHh I dont know! Can you guess the Texans player from the number?

5. And finally this little blanket. It isn't for anybody. I sometimes just need a simple project that I don't have to think about. This will be a baby/doll blanket. I don't know if I want to make it Cinderella inspired or Frozen inspired. It was originally supposed to be Cinderella but with all the hoopla over Frozen, I now am not sure. What do you think? I'm thinking a coach for Cinderella(in one of the squares) or snowflakes for Frozen. We shall see.

Well that's it so far....well, honestly, I have a gazillion more little projects floating around but this would be a giant post if I uploaded all the pics of those :)

But now, now I have a new project that I need to start. Remember back when I did a blanket for my first niece to get married? Then I did the Harry Potter for my next niece to get marred? Well, I have a new wedding blanket to make. And this time it isn't for one of my nieces( only have one of those left :) ). This one if for my daughter. Yes, I'm happy to announce that my oldest, R, is getting married. We don't know when or where yet but with in the year. I am so happy for her. I just finished talking to her and her blanket theme will be Texas. Not to be confused with H's Texans blanket. This one will have the Texas flag in the center and other Texas symbols...and possibly other symbols from their lives... surrounding it. Once I mock up a drawing I'll post it. I just hope I'm up to the task. I'm SO excited.

Yes, Its Been Awhile

I know, shame on me for being gone for so long. This seems to me my modus operandi :) Geez I need to look back to see when my last post was to see where I need to start. Ahhh, it was the morning glories.

Let see. I posted my Harry Potter blanket. I am pleased to say that she LOVED it. It makes my heart happy to know it will be loved. Every time I crochet something and give it away it's like sending one of my children out to make their way in the world. It's kind of bittersweet. I love giving them away but at the same time I miss it. Though with this one it gave me an ulcer....why, you ask? Because it took it nearly two weeks to get to my niece. For some reason it had a different zip code on it. Can't for the life of me think of who could have put the wrong zip on it....she says as she inconspicuously looks around for someone to blame :) The thought of it being lost out there in no man's land was giving me an upset stomach...really. But I called on St. Anthony and he found it and sent it on its way.
For those of you who are not Catholic here is a snippet about him.I always seem to be calling on him to help me find things...this is the prayer "Dear St. Anthony please come around something's lost and can't be found if you find it bring it to me dear St Anthony I love thee." And every time you ask St. Anthony for help..and you get it, you are supposed to give some money to the poor. St. Anthony loved helping the poor.

So my niece finally got the blanket and I must brag just a weeny bit. She said it was the best wedding present ever!! I'm just happy she got it :)

I have several other projects I am working on at the moment. I've started on H's Houston Texans blanket...it's going to be a toughy. I have a friend that wants a chunky slouchy hat/or ear cover. And I am having a difficult time finding a pattern that I'm good with and works with chunky yarn. I'm just not very good at figuring out the different hooks with the different yarn when the pattern calls for something else. I also need to start a slouchy hat for S as well as a Dr. Who scarf. AND my niece ( the same as above) wants cat butt coasters. Yes, I said cat but. Here is an example.

I got the pattern from here. They are so cute!!! Kind of gross but still so cute :)

I've also finished a few other projects that I'll add to another post. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow.

Morning Glories

Morning Glories. They hold a special place in my heart. When ever the granddaughters would visit my Dad would always say "mornin' glory" every time one would wake up and come sleepily through the kitchen. I want to fill my yard with them. All colors. They make me happy. So from me to you, "mornin' glory". I hope you have a blessed day.