Worth 4 Minutes of Your Time

Hope you enjoyed the message here as much as I did.

As for anything else today there's not much. We watched a couple Christmas movies last night on Netflix. Loved "Christmas with You" and "Father Christmas is Back". Tonight, we'll be watching the Thursday Night Football Game on Amazon Prime. 

I think I am going to fix salmon for dinner with a salad and roasted potatoes. 

It may rain this evening and tomorrow. Here in Arizona rain is something to be feared for the problems it can cause and celebrated because every drop of water is precious.

Image created by Bing's Image Creator from my search phrase.

What are you looking forward to today? Would love to hear all about it!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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A New Wreath

My house will have a new wreath to show off this year and I made it. The beginning of it was a round metal wreath frame. This came from a wreath Jim bought from a Boy Scout fundraiser when we lived in Jackson. It was a big beautiful pine and pinecone wreath. When the season was over, I took off the greenery and saved the frame meaning to do something with it for a long time.

I gathered up some old garlands of poinsettias and holly to wrap the frame in. I used twist ties to keep things in place. I thought the twist ties worked very well and would recommend them highly to anyone wanting to try the same idea. They of course were found on Amazon. 

The angel, I really don't remember where she came from or when I got her. She has just been in my Christmas decor boxes for years. I usually find a place on a wall to hang her, so she watches over us.

As I was putting it all together, figuring how to attach things, twisting the old garlands trying to show off the flowers to look their best I was so pleased with the outcome. Don't you just love it when the idea in your head works out the way you imagined it?

The final touch was to wrap a set of battery-operated lights around the wreath for a bit more Christmas sparkle. The lights came from Amazon too. They have 8 different lighting patterns and a 6 hour timer to save on battery life. We'll see how that goes between now and Christmas. I plan on timing the lights from about 6 pm to midnight. Jim's job today is to figure out how to hang this in our front window. That is his part of the project now that I am done with mine.

I currently have an ear worm. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". If you have it now, I'm sorry.

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Red Planet Day

It's Red Planet Day! Do you have a mild interest in outer space like I do? I can sometimes imagine humans like me living someplace like the moon. We are not ready for that, but NASA keeps chipping away at solving all the problems for us. I like that.

Back to Mars. On this day, November 28, 1964, the Spacecraft Mariner 4 was launched. When it did a flyby of Mars, we got our first close looks at the red planet in the 22 images it sent back. I tried to find those images on NASA.gov with no luck. The image you see with this post was made for me by Bing's image creator. I was hoping to find the real thing to put here.

So, are you a space fan? Would you consider living somewhere besides Earth? Did you ever have astronaut dreams? If so, I am wishing you a happy red planet day!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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A Sister's Gift

My sister Karen always keeps an eye out for great products that make living day to day easier or better. She brought Kristi and I each a couple of these paperless paper towels to try and see if we like them. The image you see is of the ones she bought on Amazon and she has been very happy with how well they work in her home. I do love the idea of these. Paper towels are something I have wanted to ban from the kitchen for a long time. Jim however always wants a roll of them around.

While I do really like the idea of these, I may not buy any just yet. Why? Well, I have a cotton flannel stash in my fabric bins. The flannels I have are baby prints that I used to make receiving blankets long ago. Those prints will work great as I experiment with the sizes I find most useful. Seems very simple, 2 layers of flannel, serge the edges and for mine I may stitch and X through the middle to keep the layers together nice and neat. If I like the ones I make I will watch for Joann's sale on flannel that happens a couple times a year and make some prettier ones that I would like to see every day.

I know that many of you may not have a secret flannel stash and some of you may not sew either. Because of this I am leaving an embedded Amazon affiliate link to the product my sister shared with me. If you are in a RSS reader you may not see the ad below unless you come to the website.

Are you ready to ban paper towels from your kitchen?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Decorating Downstairs

Yesterday we put up a Christmas tree for the first time in a few years. In other years we have been traveling, and I didn't think we were home enough to bother. This year is different. I told Jim I wanted to be home in December and he agreed. This tree is a prelit one so set up is easy. Because it is a slimmer tree, I didn't need a lot of ornaments. I have about 4 large storage boxes filled with dividers in layers to hold ornaments. For this tree I just used one box and I like the way it turned out. Each year I get a tree scented candle because I have to have the Christmas tree smell too. The candle is sitting on a table runner that Jim bought years ago. 

Next you can see my new Christmas quilt on the back of the couch. The colors look really nice on my green couch. This quilt is one that I found in Pennsylvania when we were there earlier this year. It looks even nicer there than I hoped it would and I may just keep it out through the winter such as it is here in the Valley of the Sun.

We have 2 eating areas in this house. They are not really what I would call dining rooms. What you see below is maybe what would be a breakfast nook in the kitchen. It is a sunny place at the front of the house. Anyway, the red and white stuffed fabric tree is one I made decades ago and gave to my mother. In clearing her house, I took back the things I had made and given her over the years, and this was one of those things. The runner is is sitting on came from Guatemala. When we took our Panama Canal cruise, we took a tour of a coffee farm in Guatemala. There were local crafters set up to sell their goods and the weaving caught my eye, so I got this red and green runner for a Christmas time table decoration.

I do have one more decoration planned for the front window of the house but I am waiting for supplies to finish the project. I'll share that here when I get it done, if it comes together like I hope it will.

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Nice Thanksgiving in Good Company

We got back yesterday from spending a couple days at my sister's house or rather trailer since they are full time RV folks. Another sister came with her husband and fur babies. I think this was the first time we were together for Thanksgiving in more that 30 years. We were all busy raising families and living far apart. For each of us if we went to see family at all it meant going to Mom's house and not to see each other. We are all 3, us girls, living in Arizona now so we are much closer than we have been in a very long time. It feels good to have extended family close. 

Kristi, hosting us, created a wonderful meal. She had also invited a couple that lives in the park that they do so we had 8 around an outdoor table. We had turkey and ham. For sides there were mashed and sweet potatoes, dressing, asparagus, creamed spinach, rolls, gravy and homemade cranberry sauce. It was a lot of food even for 8 people and she will be busy planning uses for the leftovers now that we have all gone home.

My small addition, besides helping with cooking, was to make the bread you see here and make a cranberry salad that Jim loves. I saved this bread recipe a long time ago and this week seemed to be the perfect time to make it. You can find the recipe at Simply So Good No Knead Pumpkin Harvest Bread.

This bread has canned pumpkin, not pie filling, in it. You also put in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit. The recipe recommends the Golden Berry Blend from Trader Joe's. This is not a light fluffy bread, but it is so good. We set out a bread tray at dinner with this bread and the more traditional dinner rolls surrounding it. If you do not have a Trader Joe's near you this fruit blend of golden raisins, cherries, cranberries and blueberries can be found on Amazon.

In other random news about me, I made it to the 2nd skein in my knitting. That happened last night when we were watching the first Christmas movies after dinner. That accomplishment felt so good. There really is hope that I can get this done and blocked in time to travel with it.

Hope all of you readers in the US had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Great TV Knitting

This project is working out to be great for TV knitting. I can follow along with a movie or football game and not mess it up. I do think that this is going to be one of those projects that seem to last forever with no apparent progress being made on any given day. According to the pattern this will end up about 26 inches wide and 80 inches long so you understand why that would be so. It will take 3 skeins to make this, and I am still knitting from the first one. I am going to persevere on this because I can imagine snuggling under it to nap on the plane ride from San Francisco to Tokyo.

This is a lot of plain stockinette with a couple features designed to keep it from rolling. At each of the ends is a few rows of 2x2 ribbing. On both edges is a 5 stitch wide pattern with slipped stitches. This wrap will still need to be blocked to make it pretty even with those features but that is okay. The fabric created with the Cascade Heritage yarn feels nice to the touch and the needle size it perfect for having a nice drape. Now if I could just get past the first skein and into the second so I can feel a sense of accomplishment!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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The Great British Baking Show

The current season of The Great British Baking Show available on Netflix started with these contestants. I know it probably takes a lot of editing to get the vibe that the producers want but what I can get over is how they do such a great job of getting what seems to be genuinely nice personalities on the show. They cheer and support each other, and I have high hopes for all of them. Can't they all be winners? LOL.

Waiting for the new episode each week is hard but honestly I think I enjoy the show more than if it was all released at once and I binge watched it. We are down to 4 contestants now and the end is very close. Of those left they are all my favorites.

Have you been watching? Want to predict the winner in a comment? I am thinking Josh but of course editing the show could make me think that and it could all change.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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New Amsterdam on Netflix

I started watching New Amsterdam with my sister when we were in California together clearing out Mom's house. After busy days we would watch a couple episodes after dinner before going to bed to be ready to start all over again. We got through the first 3 seasons. I have been watching it occasionally since I came home and am now into the 5th and final season. I have really enjoyed this show and would recommend it to anyone who likes hospital shows with doctors and nurses who have real lives and flaws.

Next up on my list of things to Netflix and chill with is the final season of The Crown. What have you been watching lately? Any recommendations for me?

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!  

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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On This Day, Mickey and Minnie

On this day, November 18th, in 1928 Micky and Minnie Mouse made their debut in the cartoon Steamboat Willlie. From that small start in a New York theater, we end up with all that Disney is today with theme parks, movies, streaming services, and merchandise. If you love Disney I am going to share a couple finds you might like, one from eBay and one from Amazon. Even though you can find Disney on Etsy, if it is labeled handmade it is a trademark violation. I don't know many who list vintage Disney there because you can run into too many problems so let's just stick with the safer sites as sources, okay?

Starting with eBay...

Photo is affiliate linked

This porcelain item from the 1980s can be found in the eBay shop SweetMagnolias. With over 1500 reviews this seller is rated at 100% and personally if I was a collector, I would buy from a seller like that with confidence. The condition and photography quality tell me this is a seller that cares. Click on the picture to check it out.

From Amazon...

photo affiliate linked

On Amazon I found this Lego Duplo birthday set for toddlers. It definitely looks like something my children would have enjoyed during those early years. As of this writing it is 20% off and is rated 4.9 with over 2000 reviews. Again, you can click on the picture to check it out.

So, are you and your family Disney fans? I am not really but I am related to some who are in one of the parks yearly. My own link to Disney is tenuous. My husband's grandfather worked, and I am not sure in what kind of job, on building the original Disney theme park in Anaheim California.

Take care and stay cozy! 

 Back with more again soon. 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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National Homemade Bread Day

What a wonderful day! It, my friends, is National Homemade Bread Day! I love to make bread. These days I do a lot of artisan no knead breads. In fact, I will be going downstairs soon to shape, let rise and then bake a bread with all the flavors of fall. I will probably show that one off tomorrow.

For today I am showing of some of my past bakes, artisan no knead, sweet cinnamon rolls, a whole wheat traditional loaf bread. Will you be baking bread today or for the upcoming holidays?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Two New Projects

Well, the socks are on hold for a bit. I will get back to them sometime. The 2 new projects have a bit of urgency to them. I am using the same pattern for both, and it is a rectangular stole. One will be beige and the other grey. I am starting with the grey first. These will be my spare time fidget projects through the holidays. The yarn is Cascade Yarns Heritage fingering weight in merino and nylon. These two wraps are for me and have a purpose already planned so they need to get done.

After the first of the year, we have a big trip planned. It will involve a very long plane ride over the Pacific all the way to Vietnam. I am making these to be plane ride blankets because I want to try and get some sleep on the way over. No matter the temperature I always rest best with something over me and I am thinking a wider rectangle wrap will be perfect for this purpose. I will put more news about all this later. 

In the meantime, I have a lot of stitches to do but the pattern is simple and easy knitting. The needle size is large for fingering weight compared to when making socks, size 7. Progress pictures coming soon.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

(photo is affiliate linked)

The description on Amazon's web page for this book begins with the following description...

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Amy Harmon books I have read and this one I would put at the top of my list of her books. I loved the characters and how they are mixed into the history in Ireland in the 1920s. I learned about how complicated and dangerous those times were. The story of Anne and Thomas' love was inspiring and lovely to read and see it growing. I would love to know more of her grandfather's life, we basically see the beginning and the end, but I suppose that would be another book all on its own.

I know that time travel isn't real, and I have a hard time accepting that in a story line. For this one the time travel facilitator was a lake near where Anne's grandfather grew up. It can be a great way to tell a story however when a character from another time sees a new time and place with a stranger's eyes. 

Would I recommend this book? Heck yeah! Have you read anything lately that you would recommend to me? Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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A Happy Weekend

I spent the weekend and a couple days on either end of it away from home, the blog and my twitter account. It was for a very good reason. We went to a wedding, and I wanted to focus on being in the moment with family members who were there. My daughter in law's daughter got married. There were bits of family drama but what event with some pretty big feelings and expectations doesn't have that? The drama, however, did not detract from the joy of the days.

The wedding was (or sealing since this was a Mormon ceremony) was held at the Payson Temple. I of course, along with my husband, son and daughter in law are not members but we were there to be with the bride both before and after the ceremony.

Following the morning wedding there was a luncheon for family and very close friends. Later in the evening a couple hours were spent at a reception for cake cutting, bouquet tossing and desserts. Finally at the end of a very long day for all the families and the newlyweds, the happy couple left us for a week away from all of us. 

I will grant that the Latter Day Saints build lovely temples. I took a few pictures while waiting for the Sealing to be over.  

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

Swan Light by Phoebe Rowe

I recently finished reading Swan Light (affiliate link) by Phoebe Rowe. I think I added it on my Kindle because it was a First Reads choice earlier this year. First Reads is a program benefit for Amazon Prime members and our household has a membership. Each month Prime members can choose one or sometimes two books for free. These are typically books from new authors or books that are part one of a multibook series.

Swan Light was one of those twisted timeline books with one story told in the early 1900s and the other in the early 2000s, I enjoyed both story lines and found the historical events fascinating. I almost feel that the story of the families in the small Canadian town in the 1900s and their history would have, if fleshed out, been a great book all on its own. Historical Fiction has always been my favorite genre.

Do you have a favorite type of book to read? What have you finished recently or are reading now that you would like to share with me? Please, feel free to leave a comment!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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A Place to Stay

Finishing up my posts about Williams I want to talk about the place we stayed while there. We chose to get a house for 3 nights. The place we stayed at was a nicely done up manufactured home. Little touches like bottled water in the fridge, a basket of snacks on the kitchen counter and games and puzzles on a desk in the hallway made us feel welcome. A group of deer wandered through the neighborhood every evening and were a joy to watch. 

The place was good but not perfect. The biggest issue was the taking a shower. Whoever set up the handheld shower heads really blew it. This was true in both the master bathroom and the hall bathroom. The bracket holding the shower was set in such a way that you could not angle it for the shower water to flow over you in a normal way and these showers only had the handheld shower heads. To get wet and rinse off you had to take the shower head off the bracket.  I wish I had pictures of that, but I don't. 

My sister took some pictures of the house, and I am sharing those with you here.

You can check out the house if you wish. It was on the outskirts of Williams in a quiet neighborhood. Ask if the showers have been changed before you consider renting it. We did leave them some comments on the problem and hopefully they listened. You can use this link. It seems that right now the price has dropped and that may be because right now is the off season for the area.

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Bearizona in Williams Arizona

During the trip to Williams with my sisters our 2nd day was planned to be a visit to Bearizona and strolling historic Route 66 in downtown Williams. We did both and had a lovely time!

My favorite pictures from the visit to Bearizona include a fox, and very young artic fox and a bison and no bears. I do like bears but taking pictures of black bears in the shady spots of their habitat did not yield any results to be good enough to show off.

As I said before we ended the day with a stroll through many of the shops that historic Williams has to offer along Route 66. I have a feeling that I was in a car going through this town before Interstate 40 was finished when I was a child. My family went from our home in Southern California to visit grandparents in Kansas every couple of years.

Do you have any memories of historic Route 66? Do you remember how you had to slow down or even come to a stop sign or traffic light in every small town along the route? Do you ever feel like a lot of very cool culture has been lost by going past these towns at 75mph on the big interstate highways now?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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A Day at the Grand Canyon

Last month I took a girl's trip with my sisters to Williams Arizona. We spent the first day of our trip at the Grand Canyon. To get there we rode the train from Williams to the canyon and back the other way to get back to Williams. The train ride went through a lot of wide open high desert and took a couple hours. The staff on the train was entertaining. We had a guitar player/singer, a sheriff that interacted with the passengers and on the way home the train was "robbed". It was a lot of fun.

At the canyon we went first to the rim and took pictures of the views. Of course, a mere camera image pales in comparison to the view from your own eyes. I liked watching the clouds moving shadows on the canyon walls. Next, we checked out the buildings in the area, the Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge, the Hopi House and the Lookout Studio. By the time we did all that a got a few souvenirs it was time to get back on the train. 

Have you ever visited the Canyon? Leave a comment about your experience there. Would love to hear from you! 

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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By the way if you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish.

I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Not Much Done Lately

With all the traveling that has been part of my life lately, I haven't got much done on what I am calling my practice socks. Hopefully over the next little while I can change that. Now that I am more comfortable with handling 4 double pointed needles these could become tv knitting. Since we watch something together every night after dinner that is a couple hours a day of knitting time. 

In other crafty news, one of my sisters would like to try selling at a nearby swap meet. This one is pretty big but the prices for a booth are very reasonable. She would like a partner and goodness knows I have lots of stuff to get sold and out of my life. We could maybe do a month in the fall and a month in the spring. This could work for me since I have put the idea of an Etsy shop or any online shop on hold for now. I made this decision because Jim wants to travel so much and putting a shop in vacation mode all the time just doesn't work. 

So, what I want to know today is how do you balance your crafty life with other parts of your life to get along with your loved ones who may never understand the importance of being a creative is to you? I would love to hear from anyone who has thoughts about this. I can't be the only one or am I?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Another Quilt

The quilt you see here was a group project. Several years during the 1980s I hosted a quilt group pretty much weekly in my home. I was living in Navy housing at the time in San Diego. We had formed a group of Navy wives who got together to make a quilt each year. The quilt was usually raffled, and the proceeds went to things like "Breakfast with Santa" and an Easter Egg Hunt each year at our Community Center. For this one all of us put in our blue or brown scraps so a little bit of all of us was in this quilt. The reason I have this one is because my mother bought out the raffle by giving us a price a bit more than we usually made selling our raffle tickets. In clearing Mom's house earlier this year the quilt came back with me. I have a guest bed in my craft room/office that I keep this quilt on, so I see it every day now and remember fondly the times gathered around my quilt frame working, laughing and sometimes crying during the time shared with some amazing women.

Have you been part of a community group? Do you have fond memories of working on a group project?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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New Look and New Quilt

Souvenirs from our trip last month to New York and Pennsylvania sparked a refreshed look for our bedroom. It started with a new quilt. This quilt was hand appliqued and hand quilted and embroidered accents are also done by hand. The quality of that stitching made it well worth the price we paid. Jim fell in love with the look and the rich colors. 

 

This close up shows the beauty of the fabrics used. The fabric on the right side of the picture below is rich looking in brown and gold. There is a metallic gold line that outlines the flowers.  I know some might not like them, but I think even the black hearts are pretty.

The gold metallic accents on the quilt lead me to choose curtains that had a touch of gold in them. Up close the gold really shows but at a distance it is hinted at. These curtains and the rods they are hung on were bought on Amazon. We used adhesive rods this time and so far, they are staying up just fine.

The next picture is an Amazon find too. I like art work with birds in it. The birds, the colors and the gold accents helped me choose this 3 piece wall art for above the bed. The birds look like chickadees to me, what do you think?

The last piece of art we bought in New York City. We bought it from a spray paint street artist on 7th Ave. He was finishing this up as we were walking by, and we had to be careful with carrying it while we finished our day in the city and our trip back to our hotel in New Jersey. He seemed to put a shooting star in most of the city scenes he painted. You can see ours in the upper right. I wish I could say I know the artist's name, but I don't, and the signature is hard to make out.

There you have it. A refreshed bedroom that will always remind us of a wonderful trip.

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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