Another Finished Crochet Project

Yes, that's right. I have another finished project to share here today. This is based on the Summer Sprig Lace Scarf. I say based on because I did the main body according to the pattern, which you can find on Ravelry.com by the way. Because I was in serious danger of running out of yarn trying to do the edging pattern as written I modified it. In other words I made up a kind of shell and loop pattern and had just a tiny bit left when I finished that row. I do like how it turned out.

The yarn used is from Joann's. (It looks like lots of their stores will be closing soon, did you hear about that? https://knitting.craftgossip.com/joann-bankruptcy-updates/2025/02/14/). It is 100% cotton in the k&c line. It comes in hanks that have to be wound and has about 400 yards in a hank. Last time I saw it in Joann's it was marked half price, originally $10 down to $5 and because it on clearance you can't get any more discounts on it.

In other ugly news and for once I don't mean the current state of our dying democracy, Jim has a lot of little things going on that are taking lots of appointments to sort out. He started with fluid on his lungs, then stubbornly high blood pressure, a blood clot in his heart, some spots on his lungs that could be from Valley Fever and oh yeah, a mass on his right kidney. There have been MRIs and PET scans and sonagrams and blood draws. He is getting weary from all the appointments that don't lead to cures but just more tests and a new appointment at another specialist. It is worrying but I don't even know what to worry about most. I say he is going to pieces. He says, "How can so many things be wrong when I feel pretty good?" He did feel good until yesterday when he got what seems to be a terrible head cold and I have no idea if this could be related to his Vasculitis or any of the other issues that are being investigated. 

Enough for now.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

Happy Birthday!

It's my husband's birthday today. I am from June to January older than he is but now that we are the same I won't hear so much about being the old lady. It doesn't bother me, it's reality. The picture I am sharing here of him was taken on a day at Jackson Lake. We both love that lake and owned 3 different boats while we lived there to enjoy it with. It was always a good day on the lake.

Dinner, one of his favorites, is on the slow cooker. I will begin cake making soon. He has gotten texts from some family members already this morning. I'll see what else he wants to do to have a great day.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

First Game, New Season

Yesterday was a quiet Thursday. I actually took a nap. Maybe it was a let down from having company in the house for a week and always being busy, in a good way, but busy.

Jim had a doctor's appointment and it was good but a follow up chest x-ray has been ordered and will be done today. Just a little wheezing was heard. He is still and I am afraid always will be a smoker so got to keep an eye out for possible consequences of that habit. 

In other news we watched the Detroit Lions beat the Kansas City Chiefs. With that game the football season has begun, and we will be watching games every week. After the game we watched one episode of the new season of Virgin River. Jim picks mostly movies for us to watch in the evenings after dinner but this is one series he likes. 

So today I want to know, do you still watch football? Do you have a team you like to watch and root for? Let me know in the comments. Would love to hear from you!

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

Jim Cooks, Sometimes

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Sometimes Jim gets me and sometimes he doesn't. Isn't that the way of most relationships? Not always sunshine and rainbows but that's okay. I asked him on Saturday if he would commit to cooking dinner one night a week. He does the grocery shopping and so I thought it would help him understand the process better if he was doing some meal planning too. This gave me one day a week when I didn't have to think about and spend time preparing dinner. He could do this on any afternoon he wished after he watched his daily Judge Judy show. 

He made dinner on Sunday and last night too and then started to tell me what he has planned for the next few days. The problem is he tends to cook big and then has no plan for the leftovers. I need to help him change this since I hate to throw away food. Not only that, but he missed my point. I didn't want a "break" for a week and then he would quit, I wanted him to cook one day each week. So, this new to him habit is a work in progress and will need gentle, diplomatic nudging from me since, like most adults, he doesn't like being managed.

Getting this habit established will benefit both of us, I hope.

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

What We Are Watching

Jim and I have started watching season 5 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" on Amazon Prime Video. It will be the last season as far as I know. I have thoroughly enjoyed the show but this season is a bit strange. A few episodes in and I keep wondering what the writers were thinking because they keep throwing in random scenes in the future. These scenes take the story from the 1960s to the 1980s and I don't think they add to the show at all. 

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As usual I am watching and enjoying and Jim doses off after a few minutes and it is only around 7 pm, after dinner, when we settle in the living room to watch. He complained last night about feeling tired all the time. He also is complaining of cold feet and legs. He has also changed the dosing schedule for the medicine he takes to keep his vasculitis under control from every week to every 2 weeks. I worry about this all the time and will keep an eye on him.

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

Just a Regular Day

Just a regular day, that is what I titled this post. The first obvious question that comes to my mind is "WTH does that even mean. 

From upstairs in our home office sitting at my laptop I can hear sounds of the master bathroom being worked on. That's not normal. I am not sure what to fix for dinner tonight and that is normal. We have lots of food in the pantry, fridge and freezer so I figure something out. As I finish this I will shut down the computer for the day and go read, knit, or Netflix (can Netflix be a verb?) until it is time to start cooking the undecided dinner. I expect Jim to fall asleep in his recliner after dinner and I will discover that when I turn my head to try and mention something that has crossed my mind and that is normal. 

The current knitting project is great for binging shows because it is squishy garter stitch and the yarn colors do the design work. The yarn company call this color Namaste Neutrals. I really like it!

So just a bit of upset and the rest of the day like every other day. Just a regular day.

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

A Little Something

Like so many bloggers I have grand intentions that include posting often, beautiful pictures, compelling content. Like so many bloggers I fail but like so many eternally optimistic bloggers we come back and try again and again.

So here I am once again with a bare post, no pics today, filled with the intention and hope that I can keep this little cozy spot I have here on the internet more active.

So what's up with me? Not much as usual.

My daughter's family did come for a visit on my birthday in June and we had a great time! We spent a week at their house over the 4th of July holiday. They have done a great job of masking and only doing essential errands out of their home just like we do so we were comfortable spending time with them. We also spent one evening with my son and his wife. We shared good food, lots of movies and spent time playing card games like 5 Crowns and Tripoly. I highly recommend both of these games for family fun.

Beyond that I am still reading through my gift stash of books and knitting to use up more of the yarn I have collected over the years.

Jim's recovery from shoulder surgery is going well. He has physical therapy twice a week now and is making good progress. He does not have a full range of motion yet but each week is better than the one before.

Leave a comment and let me know how you are doing these days. I'd love to hear from you!

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

Surgery and Recovery

The last couple weeks I have been spending a lot of time paying attention to Jim. He recently had surgery on a torn rotator cuff.

The day of the surgery I dropped him off at the hospital and came back home to wait. With the Covid19 complicating life right now I was not allowed to wait in the hospital. I did feel he was in good hands since he works there and everyone seems to know him. I got a call that he was ready to leave the hospital and went over to pick him up. At the main entrance my temperature and name were taken. I took advantage of the hand sanitizer station there too.

Next I had to walk back to the surgery department to sign papers and get instructions for him. I sanitized my hands again and of course I was masked for this whole process. I do think it is usually a good idea for instructions for care to be told to two people so that details that may be important are less likely to be missed.

Once home he had to keep a sling on, nearly 3 weeks out still using the sling. He handled the pain very well and the frustrations of being one handed as well. He went to work this week and is handling it well too. He has found sleeping in his recliner with the sling and the cpap machine he uses easier that trying to sleep in bed with those things. Physical therapy has started once a week so far and will change to twice a week at about 6 weeks post surgery.

I don't usually put pictures of myself online but I wanted to show Jim in better shoulder days. This was at Volcano National park last November. I finally got to see a volcano and loved being there! He always takes a great picture, me not so much. Oh well.

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

Reflections on Jackson Lake

In organizing my photos recently I keep coming across images that bring back so many memories. I plan to blog about lots more of them here mostly to create a record for myself but you (any readers) are welcome to come along.

I took this picture on our last day on the lake last summer. It was such a lovely day without wind so the water was like a mirror. The mountain straight ahead it Mt Moran which is just to the north of Grand Teton. At the base of Mt Moran is a small bay that is peaceful and stunning.That is true especially in the fall when the slopes are blazing with gold, orange and red.

That day it was just Jim and I taking the boat out one last time before taking it from the buoy we kept it on and hauling it home to be stored for the winter. It was a day of gratitude for the weather and for Jim's great recovery from his heart attack. Jackson Lake is a place very dear to me and if you ever get a chance to explore it do so and I think you will find yourself falling in love like I did.

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park 2017

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

Weekend Happenings

Good Monday morning to whoever stops by!

At least now I can say it's good. Over the weekend Jim had to travel in Utah, in a snow storm, driving. He did okay but someone behind him did not. His truck was hit from behind by someone who the UHP ticketed. Both vehicles were driveable but damaged and no one was hurt so Jim was able to finish his trip.

Now comes the fun (not) part of dealing with insurance.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Well there's an original title for the first post in a new year. LOL. I do hope you are all full of grand plans and happy events in your future though.

Today is Jim's birthday. Like mine in June it is one of the 0 birthdays. We are both 60 now. Rather strange to think about being this age. I made him some brownies this morning to have as a treat this evening after work since he likes those better than cake.

This photo is from our trip to Hawaii last winter. I know he has in mind a trip to some place warm again in the next few months.

My shops on Etsy and Zibbet are reopened after being in vacation mode since Thanksgiving. I spent all that time away from home in Salt Lake. Some of that time was full of joy and laughter, some not so good, hellish at times in fact but let's just not go there okay.

That's all I have for you all today. I'll be back again soon, promise.

Handmade in my Home A Ship for Grandpa

Last week in this post  I started a series about the handmade things the surround me everyday in my house. All of them, like all handmade things, have stories. Stories about where they came from, who chose them, who made them and what they mean to me when seeing them each day.

Today the item was made by grandkids with some help from mom and dad. It was a gift to my husband who spent 20 years, 3 months and 1 day in the United States Navy. He keeps it in his office where he can see it all the time. I mostly just dust it but I am glad the ship and Jim are here.

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Handmade in My Home Jim's Paperweight

I have been meaning to do a series about the handmade items that surround me in my home for a long time. I started this idea on another blog that I merged with this one last year. This is mostly to document these things for myself but I don't mind sharing them with you all as well.

This is a paper weight I made more than 30 years ago for Jim, as you might have guessed from the picture. I made it during a visit at my cousin Jacque's house around Christmas time one year. She made one for her husband's office too. We filled a child sized high top sneaker with plaster of paris first. Then we painted accents and names on them.

Looking at it and taking the picture today reminded me of how long ago that was and the pleasant times we used to have visiting at her home. In the funny way families are her children were my age and she was more like an aunt to me.

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An Unplanned Day

Jim is home today which is unusual for a Friday. Since we have no urgent needs for car repair, landscaping project planning, moving chores or things to do on our rental house the day is free from appointments for him. Since those are the kind of chores he does around here when he has time off.

I think he is planning a small day trip for us. The lady on his Garmin keeps saying, "Please drive the highlighted route." in the other room. If I ask about it I get no answers. I now we won't get as far away as the picture but it is one of my favorites and I like looking at it. This was taken on the shores of Lake Louise in Canada.

Officially over

The holidays are officially over. In our family they begin with Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Year's Eve and finally on the 4th of January my husband's birthday.He had two long weekends at home and this morning he is back at work and I have the house to myself. Nice and quiet but strange.

He is not the type of person to sit around much. You know the type. When he works he works hard, when he plays he plays hard and when he sits he falls asleep. He spent a lot of his time off looking at our insurance coverage on different things. He checked out homeowners and our car insurance. He started gathering up information for taxes. We watched football, took a drive to Payson, played with a new mixer, snacked too much, put away the holiday decorations, got cars washed, and I don't know how many other things. Some days I get tired just watching him.

Now that I have gotten way off track here let's get back on topic.
This post is to say-

Happy Birthday Jim

and many, many more!

What Happens?

This is what happens when your DH who obsesses about a green lawn puts down pounds and pounds of winter grass seed on the backyard. He seemed to act as if I should spend my day scaring them away. I would rather take their pictures. The lawn will be fine. I am sure of that.

Never Again

Never again. Those are the words I heard this weekend. A guest room is being painted and carpeted in my house to make a cozy place for visitors. For at least two people we will have a bed rather than air mattresses on the floor. Jim's home office was moved from that bedroom to the formal dining area of our living room. We don't do formal often enough to keep that space as is anyway. The move involved taking down the head damaging chandelier and putting up a new ceiling fan with a light fixture on it. the ceiling fan installation did not go real smoothly even though Jim is a very talented handy guy. The box said "The 5 Minute Fan". The box lied.


So now there are two things that will happen here when hell freezes over, I find an eye wrinkle cream that works or pigs fly. The first is laying a travertine stone floor and the second is installing another ceiling fan.

Just for Me

Well not actually just for me. I suppose I will share these with Jim when I fix dinner. These are one batch of my oven dried tomatoes. I put olive oil, salt, pepper and dried basil on them. I am looking forward to using them as appetite suppressant pills or rather appetite satisfaction pills on my homemade pizzas, pasta dishes, stews and whatever else crosses my mind when I get them out of the freezer this winter.

Do the experts, who ever they are, still say that tomato stuff is good for heart health especially for men? If so I got you taken care of honey.

In A Funk and Determined to Get Over It

Click on the card to see the shop on ArtFire it came from.

I had a birthday this week. It was on the 8th and I am now 54 and for the next 6 months a year older than my husband. He likes to remind me of that. It was a nice day spent at home and then out for dinner when Jim got home from work. I don't think any of this has anything to do with the state I am in right now. I am finding it hard to function, I feel irritable and angry and there is no outside source to be causing any of these feelings. I am going to have to fix this from the inside out and I will because I don't like me this way. Maybe it is just me and special days. I remember, now that I think about it, feeling a bit of why bother around Christmas and Easter and Mother's Day this year.

Thinking back on my own birthdays, the ones that I really enjoyed they really had nothing to do with gifts or food. It had to do with spending time with the family. My favorite times are when we are all gathered at the kitchen table playing cards or other games. The radio is on and we finally settle on a station for all age groups, singing along, laughing, talking and relaxing. It gets a little silly when Tammy and Cindy start singing along with Journey. Jimmy and Jason both had great nights beating me at Scrabble which does not happen often. I think I hold the family record for being on phase 1 and having the highest points in the card game Phase 10. I don't like sitting next to Jim when we play cards. He always figures out what I need and never discards anything good to me. But it is all fun and the winners are gracious and the losers had fun too.

Smart and Forgetful

Movie Reviews

I found this quick little evaluation to be a bit surprising. I found the link on Musings of Mommy Bee. Not too shabby a result for a girl who only was in college for a couple semesters before she met a certain sailor who whisked away from all that to live on Guam and start a family.

While basking in the glow of pride I have to admit something about the certain sailor. It seems, as I was informed by my daughter Cindy, that I forgot to post about his birthday on Sunday. He never wants much fuss made over him on that day but it was remembered. We had one of his favorite dinners, which is his grandmother's spaghetti sauce and garlic bread. He had a carrot cake for dessert. I also found some reed diffusers for his office at home and the one at work. He mentioned he had seen them somewhere else and liked the idea.

Being from June to January older than he is I always like it when he catches up to me in age. Then the teasing can stop about me being an old lady!

If you read this blog regularly you will know that I am famous or is that infamous for the pictures I choose of the birthday person. I don't know what he will say about today's picture but I suspect not a thing. He doesn't read my blog because as he puts it I live with you I don't need to read about your life. Oh well.

So here is Grandpa Jim with all six of our grandkids in the picture on Thanksgiving.