Saturday, December 25, 2010

Furry Friends


Here's our BIG dog. His name is Buddy.

Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas 2010?? Can it really be the end of the year 2010? I’m feeling like the calendar is racing from one year to the next. It’s not the days that go by so fast, but the months and years (gulp). It seems like it was just yesterday that I was hurriedly putting Christmas cards in the mail and here it is déjà vu all over again. The New Year arrived and then summer came and went and we rolled up the garden hoses and put away the lawn mower, fired up the fireplace and in the blink of an eye – it’s Christmas and the end of another year! Whew. Time’s just going too fast.

I’m not planning any new year’s resolutions this year; I’m still working on last year’s and the year before. Time is just going too fast. I guess it doesn’t matter – just keep on peddling and if you lose your place, just start over. You know the story of the turtle and the hare. Let’s see what was that? Oh, yeah. The moral is that the early worm get’s the apple or something like that, but you know what I mean, time’s just going too fast. Have I said that already.

We’re all fine here at our house. There’s just the two of us (real people) and then the four / five dog people. We made it through the first six months of Bob’s retirement (AKA – twice as much husband and half the income - ha ha). We’re planning to live off the land with our big garden. Training the dogs to like vegetables as much as hamburger will be a real trick.

We stay busy with eating, sleeping, running and playing and “Bark, bark, Look, it’s a UPS truck.” says the husky yellow lab to the multicolored Walker Coonhound. “Bark, bark” choruses the other BIG black dog sleeping in the corner. He slowly lowers his head back into snooze position deciding to let the others take care of this matter. He’ll save his energy for the next feeding frenzy. He remembers fondly those tasty dog biscuits the cook made – liver and whole wheat. Ummm.

A highlight of the 2010 garden year was to see Bob’s ’71 John Deere combine chugging through the field to bring in a bounty of buckwheat seeds for future planting. Due to minor mechanical difficulty, the trusty ole combine will need a few more hours of intensive labor to participate in another harvest, but we’re hopeful.

This holiday greeting and my cards are somewhat post Christmas, but like I said, it’s a calendar thing – it’s just going too fast. I know I’m among people who understand this time challenge. One year we received a Christmas card in April (you know who you are) and we were glad to get it (better late than never).

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

UFOs - They're Everywhere!

I love to start projects. Finishing is the big challenge. I'm easily distracted -- usually by a new project. Judy at www.patchworktimes.com has thrown down the gauntlet so to speak - she's daring us to finish some of those UnFinished Objects in the coming great year of 2011. The UFO challenge button on the right will link you up with the guidelines if you want to join us.

My camera is in hiding (probably tucked under one of those UFOs). So I will just do a listing of said UFOs to be completed as the number is drawn.

1. Green and Black throw
2. Flowered bed cover
3. Red / Blue knitted Scarf
4. Off White Baby Blanket (crocheted)
5. Bow Tie Quilt (Yellow & White)
6. Duck Throw
7. Fleece Throw (Pink)
8. Knitted Baby Sweater (Red)
9. Striped Fleece Throw
10. Ball Fleece Throw
11: Denim Quilt
12: Pink Knitted Scarf

There's my list. Can't wait to get started finishing.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Design Wall


I'm working on this jacket. Decided to add more colors to the pattern and have started over a couple of times, but it feels like I'm making some progress. You knit two identical rectangles and stitch them together. I'm still learning how to count rows and can get confused easily so I decided I'd better work on both rectangles at the same time. I have about 8 inches of each side at this point. The finished rectangle will be 50 inches. I plan to begin wearing this in the fall of 2011 although sooner would be nice too.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Dehydrating Bananas


I'm having just a little bit of trouble dehydrating bananas. I bought a can of Planters nuts mix. It also had dried banana chips that were so good. So ... I ran to the store for some banana poundage. Did a google search on just how to get started. Seemed pretty simple, but two trys later, I still have no bananas dehydrated. The first batch got burned to an untasty mess. The second batch wasn't completely dried. Maybe the third time will do. I'm going to the store later. I think I'll try again.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sock Knit Along


I'm pretty excited about the progress I've made on learning to knit socks. Judy L. at http://www.patchworktimes.com/ has a knit along going and I think I've finally got the flow of it for two socks at a time on two circular needles. I'd like to be knitting right now, but I just stopped in here at the computer long enough to update my progress on the knit a along. I'm headed back out to the garden. I may have ordered too much garlic, but since I have it, I guess I'd better plant it. Cold weather is hot on my heels so I'd better not slow down. I also have a few other garden chores on the before winter list. I'm sort of looking forward to the "too cold to be outside" weather, but today it's really beautiful out.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Day Two


I'm going strong. Wow, I've been blogging for two days and it seems like it was only yesterday that I started.

I'll just jot down what I did today. It's always good to write things down. I can always use help in the remembering department.

I'm working on getting the garlic planted. I ordered it online. Next year, I hope to be able to save some of what I grow to use for seeds. My dear husband has been busy, busy getting the garden beds ready for next planting season. I'll need to mark the beds I'm planting with garlic so it stays undisturbed next Spring. It takes about 9 months for it to be ready to harvest. I planted row 18 today.

You have to be careful with blogging. I was very proud of my shiny sink and freshly mopped kitchen floor. Yes, a picture - that's what I need. To get things into picture shape, I moved a few things, put a couple of things away, wiped off some smudges. In a hurry I grabbed the clorox bottle from the counter to get it out of the picture. Lifted it up to the shelf in the laundry room, the lid wasn't on well. It spilled on my hands and hair and clothes. Spotted clothes. Haste makes waste.




Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Day One


I'm trying a blog. Not real sure how committed I am. Will I write a few entries and then forget I even started it? We'll see how it goes. I need a picture of something. What's a blog without a picture? If a picture is worth a thousand words I've either got to think of alot of words or insert some picturs. Since I'm in a little of a rush today, a picture seems in order.
Ahh - Our garden. That's sweet potatoes, zinnias and chires (baby corn).
Let's see what was I doing before I stopped by the computer to check email? Oh, yeah, it was laundry, planting seeds for the greenhouse, vacuuming, making grilled cheese sands for lunch, knitting a swatch for a new pattern, trying to decide - What's for Dinner, finishing up that package of quilt scraps for Colorado Lady and some other stuff. I get distracted verrrry easily. Multi-tasking should be employed with caution.