GOT HIM

We have this FAT squirrel that has been hanging out in the front yard.

I had never had a squirrel that has eaten my pumpkins before this year.

Bless his tiny heart he did wait till after Halloween.

I would like to introduce to you

LUCKY ROCKY

This guy is getting fat on this pumpkin.

Everybody {everything living thing}

needs to eat..

right?

Just look at that belly roll !

Makes me smile from ear to ear !

Lucky Rocky has spent days getting into this pumpkin and his reward was a whole lot of pumpkin seeds.

I have been watching and trying to get some pictures of my little friend

and this morning I snuck up on him real quiet 

and got him.

He saw me there fairly quickly and off he ran across the street to his tree.

I am surprise by how fast Lucky Rocky can move with all that weight he is caring.

Lucky Rocky has no family to help eat the pumpkin or he has tied them all to the tree so they can't get to the pumpkin.

 I have not seen any other squirrel around but this guy.

He is LUCKY   

Lucky Rocky is rather cute.

FAT but cute.

I believe this guy will be putting on enough weight to wait out the long winter.

QUILT TOP

It is time to get some more tops done.

I have three girls to finish quilts for but thankfully they will not be sent as Christmas gifts.

I hope to have all three done and shipped by January.

Seems reasonable to me.

Today I am going to start decorating for Christmas.

This means I need to clean, put away and organize !

Sunday Mr.P and I went tree shopping. Anything Christmassy before December 10th is very early for this house.

But the thinking was that maybe, just maybe if we bought our tree early {meaning not a few days before Christmas} we would still have needles on the tree Christmas morning.

We found a seller {local} that harvested these trees last Tuesday. Yahoo, fresh very fresh !

Better yet  they are native Colorado trees !

The claim is that we will have needles on our tree through February !

imagine that...but by January I am tired of all the decorations and clutter,

the tree will be gone, recycled for mulch, so I will never know how it's needles fared .

We bought one !

Pics to follow when it is decorated

{ hopefully this will be before Christmas Eve }

PHOTOS and A LITTLE CROCHET

Last week I went on a little field trip into the foot hills. 

Of course I took my camera and had a great time taking pictures.

Caitlin was my main subject mixed with all the colors of fall and the old buildings.

Caitlin in Bellvue, Colorado

Here is another picture from class of my sweetie Caitlin.
I'm really enjoying this class but where to store all these pictures and keep them organized is what I also need to learn.
Any suggestions from anyone?

I have soo much yarn left over from my last afghan that I thought I would crochet a baby blanket for Catholic Charities.

I am in love with Granny Squares!!

Why, I have no clue

but I love the way they look

I love to crochet them

I love how I can use small scraps of yarn

I love all the different colors I can put in a blanket using one stitch....

I hope I stay in LOVE with the Granny Stitch till I use up a lot of my wool yarn.

I have also been sewing. Sewing some fun Little girls quilts for 3 wonderful little girls that live on the East coast.

I will have some pics in my next post.

Happy Monday !!

SOOC vs PHOTOSHOP

Caitlin
[photoshop]

I am taking an online photoshop class.

E bought me Elements 9, two years ago and I am just now taking a class on how to use it.

Am I a procrastinator?

Caitlin
[SOOC]

Me [photoshop]

I'm not sure if I thought photoshop would really change my looks. Kinda like when I go to get my hair cut/done, for some bizarre reason I think I will come out looking better,best,great. At least 15 years younger and 30 pounds lighter.

I wonder if it because I believe those magazines I read at the hospital that people leave lying around,

You know the ones...

loose 45 pounds by 7am tomorrow morning...

look 30 years younger by using this amazing product.

Yes I read those goofy magazines and so want to believe them too !
Any who, I'm not sure what photos I like better, the SOC or the photoshop pictures.

Caitlin
[SOOC]

Caitlin
[photoshop]

One thing for sure this teacher likes photos a wee bit over exposed.

But who am I to question....

I know nadda about this stuff.

What do you think?

FRIDAY FINISH

It is a Friday Finish !

I have wanted to have a Friday Finish for weeks now so I could be part of this group.

Now I am and this is checked off my bucket list...yippie yahoo !!

I really enjoyed making this quilt.

I found 2 green check blocks together and was set to take the quilt apart

and fix this "eye sore"

However the day I was to do this was a day that I had my craft/quilt group over for a day of FUN.

Julie said she would not change/fix the quilt. That it looked great as it was and the 2 blocks together added to the charm of being a vintage quilt.

So I left the quilt as it was

and started the machine quilting.

I love the entire process of quilting.

I am not a perfectionist, I do not have to put a mistake in my quilts as the Amish women do.

I just simple love the process of designing, piecing, running fabric through the machine and finally the machine quilting.

My favorite quilts are the ones that made my heart sing while making, no matter how "perfect" the end product was finished.

Today is "Black Friday". I may go out today to get DD a pair of jeans, but I am actually ALL DONE with my Holiday shopping. Have been for weeks.

I have never enjoyed the craziness of Holiday shopping, always felt it was out sink with the whole Christmas Season.

Too much shopping makes me a tired crabby Old Lady.

Are you a shopper or button down the hatches during theChristmas Season?

TEA CUPS

I have a collection of tea cups that I inherited from my children's Great grandmother...

which would mean my husband's Grandmother

or said another way, my Father-In-Law's Mother.

Great Grandma,

Grandma,

Mother

was a collector of cups when she traveled.

Apparently in the 1940's and 1950's 

collecting tea cups was the "thing" 

I must have over 30 cups and saucers

no two alike.

Most are English made

but some are from

Occupied Japan.

I adore my collection and feel it a privilege to care for these cups.

I love using them for the Neighborhood Progressive Dinner.

{However I do have to check Weezie's coat pockets before she leaves the house.

Weezie is always threatening to walk out with a cup and saucer..}

So glad Great Grandma

Grandma

Mother

had the sense to collect tea cups and saucers

and not the later trend of shot glasses.

Do you have a collection that was handed down to you from a family member?

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

I am a book fan. I love to read a good book to escape my world and be in someone else's world.

This limits what kind of books I read.

They have to be "feel good" stories

and have wonderful endings.

The Laura Ingalls series is still my favorite,

The Long Winter the best !

The Library is my best friend. 

I enjoy walking the isles of books.

Looking at the titles and the covers.

{ some of the best stories I have read I picked because of the cover }

I always leave the library walking at a 45 degree angle.

Why ? I take out at least one bag of books if not two.

 These are what I chose for novels.

Love, love the Amish community,

and since Christmas is just around the corner thought I pick up a couple of Christmasy books.

The Louisa May Alcott book is about her life...

remember she wrote Little Women

which I have watched twice this week.

Tis the season for 

Little Women

I love when the blogs I read post about the books they are reading.
I have read some fantastic books from these recommendations.

What are your favorite books?

VINTAGE

Am happy today because I will be finishing my vintage quilt.

It is so sweet !

The fabric nice, worn and soft, that softness that takes years of using and washing to acquire.

Adding fun to the quilt, 

I made a pillow case and crochet the edge with Erin's favorite color

Green

I believe Erin will be very pleased with her new quilt and pillowcase.

I have started collecting vintage fabric. It seems I just can't get enough.

I love when I find bed sheet sets for $1:50. 

Can you imagine making a beautiful quilt for under $9.

And yes you will have plenty of left over fabric.

To

line a laundry basket

make pillow covers

edge in lace for head pieces on chairs

cut into 2 inch strips for rugs

oh my I have to go and have some Thursday fun with my vintage fabrics.

HELLO

Boy, I did not mean to be gone so long, sorry.

When I'm working a lot I seem to blog very little.

I have spent most of today catching up with blogging friends.

Good to be back.

I finished my bright colorful afghan.

I loved crocheting this throw.

I used 100% wool that is slightly soft but has that warm wool stiffness to the fibers.

And it is warm and cozy.

The afghan took be almost a full year to crochet.

Doing the majority of the blocks when we were out in our camper.

Great road trip, camping project. No counting to speak of, I never needed more than 5 fingers to total my rows.

The least favorite part for me was putting it all together... seemed as if it took forever!!

Yes, I am very Happy with this project and will be making another crochet throw soon.

WINTER QUILT

Winter has arrived and I might as well get into the swing of things.

Fall is my favorite season and seems to be the shortest season.

They say here in Colorado Fall lasts about 5 minutes

so do not blink or you will miss it.

That pretty much sums up Fall and Winter came in like a LION.

So I am pulling out some of my Winter quilts.

This one is Snowbound

a favorite !

Are you fluffing your nest for Winter with your favorite cosy quilts?

How are you getting your home ready for Winter?

WINTER

Winter has arrived in my neighborhood.

REMEMBERING

28 years ago today this little guy Ryan died from SIDS

Ryan is our second child

and number 2 son.

I have few pictures of Ryan.

Ryan had a wonderful heart singing smile....

He would only turned up one side of his mouth for a big smile

and he smiled a lot.

This is not a sad day for me

Just a day to Remember.

I'M THINKING .....NO

Colon Cleanse, Sauna Session, + Ionic Foot Bath $200 $99 view deal Just like the house gets a top-to-bottom scrub down twice a year, so should your body. That's where this deal from Living Arts Wellness will save the day: enjoy an ultimate cleansing and detoxification package for $99 (a $200 value). Begin with a 90-minute colonic hydrotherapy cleansing because a healthy... Find out more » I'm thinking this does not sound like a great bargain to me. I'm not sure I believe anyone can "enjoy" having their colon filled with fluid for 90 minutes. It would make me feel fairly cranky, desperate, crazy [ for thinking this might be enjoyable ], crampy, and not to mention crabby and crappy. I think I will take my chances making a "healthy....happy colon" with a triple shot at Starbucks. At least I will enjoy the coffee.

IN 12 HOURS

I came home from work yesterday around 4pm and this is what my street looked like.

Lots of down trees waiting for the city to come and remove them.

The sky beginning to look ominous,

yet cool.

I went back to the hospital at 9:45pm

after a very quick nap.

Leaving the hospital, I came out into this winter wonderland.

Sure wish I had worn my boots!

The snow was getting deep

and my feet were getting wet from all the water under the snow.

Not to mention my feet were COLD.

I had to scrape my car of snow,

and some how my car lost its window scraper, [ kids ]

so I made one out of hospital dinner plates.

Yes I am keeping my little invention in the car until I see my roses blooming again.

The mother of invention works very very well.

I will share my instructions for the " window scraper" with all who are interested.

However you must find your own hospital to "borrow" dinner plates from.

Upon arriving home Mr.P [ my steady Eddie ] was in the driveway shoveling so I could just swing my motor vehicle into the garage.

But I didn't want to put the motor car in the garage because it was covered in snow.

I was kinda surprise I was not pulled over,

the car could have been mistaken for a moving igloo

without license plates.

So Mr.P cleaned my motor igloo until it looked like a respectable vehicle

and into the garage we rolled.

The End

I am getting punchy [ silly in a manic way ]

so I am going to bed.

Enjoy your day,

and the snow 

if you live in my neck of the hills.

NEW GADGET

I am sooooo excited.

This is what came in the mail today.

Nikon 7000

I love this lens 18-105mm

[ the above picture is off the Nikon site]

 I am charging this baby's battery as I type.

To bad I have to be back at the hospital in a couple of hours and have no time to play with this baby today...

but tomorrow 

after a little sleep

Oh My

A HOMERUN, A TOUCHDOWN, A FINISH

A finish yippee, yippee yahoo !

I actually finished knitting this last year and gave it to Caitlin for Christmas,

But it has taken me another 10 months to weave in all the loose ends.

Silly, silly me.

I even wore it to my sister's Friday night before I gave it back to Caitlin.

I think I will have to knit me one 

and 

soon.

Yesterday was a busy day , lots to do and only so many hours in the day.

{ I have to work tomorrow...so felt a little crunch for time }

I made some more laundry soap...

I really really like this stuff.

It smells wonderful

I do not put in any essential oils

Just pure soap

I also made some artisan bread

not sure how it will turn out since I have not baked it yet

The bread is still rising.

 Sounded good to have some hearty bread to make our BLT's on tonight.

Will let you know how it all turns out.

Have a wonderful day

Knitting group tonight

a favorite !