Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or does everyone have a bit of the blahs? Not to whine but my car broke down. By the time I get home I will have been away for 3 weeks instead of the one I had planned. Visiting with my kids and grandkids is fun but I am feeling a need for my own stuff and space. The weather has been Utah strange. This morning it snowed again.

On the bloggy front Project Wonderful may delist my ad space. Something about views and visitors. I don't get rich off that but I actually enjoyed seeing what ads showed up here each day. I discovered new shops and blogs keeping an eye on those spots and I hope some of you did too.

Enough complaining. I got to spend the day with Posie the 2 year old while her mom worked. How could I not have a good time with this face?

Getting Caught Up

After a week in Kansas I am back home. Being away breaks the routines that are part of daily life. Silly things like what am I needing in the way of groceries? What do I need to replace and what else did Jim use up while I was gone?

Part of catching up was doing some hemstitching for Strawberrylane who has a shop on Etsy.

So cute and so useful! Watch for these burp cloths in her shop once she gets the edges crocheted on them.

If you are a crocheter and especially like to do thread crochet you need to know about hemstitching. I have a machine that will put holes in fabric so that it can easily be crocheted. You can see an example of what the machine does in the picture below.


Hemstitching is not just for flannel or baby things. I have used the machine to hemstitch fleece, quilts, tablerunners, pillowcases and more. You can look at the pictues at the top of this blog and see headbands and bandanas that use hemstiched fabric and a crocheted edge. I think it is a charming way to finish the edges of things and could be very nice way to accent collars, sleeves and hems on skirts as well.

One other new thing here are family links on the left. My son has started a blog about his family that is expecting an addition in early October. The other new link is to my daughter's Avon shop. Selling is new to her and she is excited by it. She is spending time learning all about the products available so that she can be helpful and answer any questions you might have. As a proud mother, if you like Avon products, I ask you to please consider following the link and shopping with my daughter.

For today and the rest of the week be safe, be happy, be well and be cozy.

Royal Flush and Tammy

Sometimes on Saturday mornings Jim and I go to a casino. They are usually quiet on weekend mornings before about 10 a.m. and we like it that way. This morning we went to the Apache Gold Casino in Globe, Arizona. I like to play video poker. This place has machines that you can play on amounts from pennies on up. This morning I was playing nickels and played for several hours before it took the money I had put in it. I knew that it would be time to head for home soon so I put in the last of what I had budgeted for the morning and changed to playing quarters. I figured I was in budget if I lost or possibly a good 4 of a kind and I'd walk out even. I was down to $20 left in the machine when it dealt me four to a royal flush. If you play video poker you have seen a few of these yourself. I figured if it went as usual I may get a pair or if lucky a straight or flush. Anyway from the title of the post you should have figured what happened. I got a $1000 Royal Flush! So cool! I just love it when they have to come pay me! As for the Tammy part of the title - that is my daughter that checks this blog often. She never leaves a comment though. Hi Tammy! These are pictures from Easter a few years ago. Tammy came up with a tropical theme for our Easter meal and it was a lot of fun. Tammy is on the right in the first picture. She is standing between her sister Cindy and her dad, Jim. The picture on the right is of my sons in law. Tammy's husband, Jason, is the guy in the hula skirt. Cindy's husband, Kevon, is the other guy in the baseball cap. I thought Jason might really appreciate the picture.

Another Monday

I try each week to make a plan on what to do as far as home and chores and errands and crafting. Some of it gets done and some doesn't. I am terrible about procrastinating. Living a life without deadlines is not good for me. I try giving myself deadlines but I then ignore myself so that does no good at all.

I came up with a new to me phrase last week that kind of describes this. I thought it was cute and so did my daughter. My son in law wasn't amused and I didn't even say it to my husband because I knew I'd get the "that's great Kath" response. It is "distracted by my brain". What it means to me is that while I'm doing one thing I am thinking of several other things to do at the same time. Some of the ideas will get started right away so they are not forgotten which of course means that what I was doing at the time gets put on hold. Can you tell from this that I have a life full of UFOs (unfinished objects). I mean well - I really do!

As for my New Year Resolutions, I am just doing okay. The exercise is hit and miss. I have been smoke free since the 8th of January however. I wasn't sure I could do it. Each week is getting easier. I still get hit with a strong craving once or twice a day. The cravings come usually when I am feeling my energy levels start to drop. My mind tells me a cigarette and a cup of coffee would help. Much of the rest of the time I feel like a nonsmoker.

Anyway have a happy Monday and a great week with whatever you have planned.

It's Tuesday

Yesterday my oldest daughter turned 30. If you ask her she will say she's 29. I don't know why because at each birthday I was always happy to have made it that far. I does seem like a very short time ago she was the age of her daughter(9).

As for my crafting-yesterday I finished the knitting on a shawl I designed. I think it turned out very well. I still have to get the ends woven in. The next step would be to photograph it and then get it listed on Etsy.

Because I always have something to do with my hands when watching TV I started my next project. It is a very thick and warm scarf made from Homespun. I am using a broken rib pattern and will fringe it when the knitting is done.