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Saturday, July 29, 2006

Still Saturday Sky Watching


It's a lovely Sat. sky today, isn't it? It's a hot one too and it's going to get even warmer as we go through the weekend, which is the type of heat and humidity I detest. However, we're oh so thankful for air conditioning.....what a blessing it is!

I'll keep it short today other than to share this picture with a view of last night's sunset as seen from our deck. I love the sky around dusk all year round but my favorite skies are in the winter time just when the sun starts to go down. It's a myriad of colors and shapes which always fascinates me and I can lose myself in a sky like this more easily than sitting by the oceanside.
I'll leave you with this lovely sky to get lost in.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Tomatoes Aplenty :)


This is one of two pots of tomatoes which my husband planted and they are coming in by the bucket load, LOL. One is the cherry tomato variety and the other is an elongated grape like variety. The latter has skin that's a bit tough and we can't figure out why. The cherry tomatoes are luscious with tender skin and sweet enough to taste like candy. There's nothing like a home grown ripe tomato in the summer time, in my humble opinion. I can remember my grandfather loving tomatoes so much that he would eat them like an apple and he didn't worry about the juices running down his chin either! :) One memory of him doing just that stands out in my mind....it was a September day but a very hot one and we had stopped at a park type rest spot on our drive. He took a tomato from our bag and stood by the trash can eating it while it seemed as though every bee in that place circled around him. Did he mind.....not in the least! He just merrily ate away till he could eat no more, threw the rest in the trash and away we went. Funny, how I can remember it plainly in my mind's eye to this day.



I am still working on the lap blanket for my Mom for Christmas. I can write that here because she doesn't have access to a computer so she won't know what I'm working on unless I tell her personally. I finished the pair of socks (pictured in my last post) for her and forgot to mention that the reason the toes are a different color is because I ran out of yarn and couldn't for the life of me, find the remaining skeins which I know I have but just don't know where they went to. I'm fairly organized so this is still a dilemma which to date has not been solved.
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Also working on the Aran baby blanket which grows slower than I lost weight and let me tell you that's mighty slow. My sweet daughter announced to us that she and her husband are expecting again the end of February so I WILL complete this blanket for our new grandbaby which I'm predicting will be another girl although I'd love a grandson. I think my daughter would love having a boy and seeing all the differences in raising boys......I know I did. :)

So it goes and I'm still plugging away with my walking regimen and my low sugar, healthier way of eating. I feel thinner but hesitate to weigh myself for fear of sabotaging my efforts with a slight or "horror of horrors", no weight loss. I think I'll wait till my regular check up in Sept. as you see below to actually find out my current weight and thus the immense loss..........okay, how about the moderate loss?

Till next time dear knitters, be safe, be happy, and knit on!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Hazy Days


Here they are in all their completed glory, toes intact. I know my Mom will love these come Christmas time because they are very warm and will keep her nice and comfy.

The dog days of summer are here and has it ever been steaming hot outside. I thank God everyday that we have air conditioning and I often wonder how our grandparents and parents survived without it, especially the poor women who slaved over hot stoves, washed with wringer washing machines, plus, didn't have the ease of microwaves and frozen food. All this and when they reached menopause it must have been sheer hell on earth trying in vain to stay cool. Personally, I think they all deserve a gold medal for surviving and continuing to do for their husbands and children no matter how awful they were feeling at the time. Here's to you Mom and to my much missed Grandmother who even managed to bake occasionally in the summer time. :)

I'm still working on the lap blanket and using up stash yarn like it's water! I read somewhere that crocheting takes up to 30% more yarn than knitting for a project depending on how loose or tightly you work. All I can say is AMEN to that because I feel great finally using this yarn that I've had for at least 4 years now. Yes, Martha, it's a good thing! :)

Also, you'll notice I put a note under my weight loss ticker that I won't be updating how much I've lost until September when I go for my regular check up with my doctor. I figured I'd let her weigh me on the professional scale even though her scale always weighs me 3 to 4 pounds heavier than mine does. The reason being is that I don't want to get discouraged if I weigh myself and either there is no loss or there's only a pound or so off. I know how I get and I'd be saying to myself, "you mean to say that I'm killing myself watching my food intake and exercising till I drop and this is IT?" S0, to spare myself any possible disappointment which would only spell "giving up the ship" for me, I'll give myself 2 months (well, okay, just a bit shy) and see what the story is then.....................and by gads, it better be good! :)



"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, so wails the poet in his pain,
The saddest are, "It might have been," and world-wide runs the dull refrain.
The saddest? Yes, but in the jar, this thought brings to me with its curse,
I sometimes think the gladest are,
It might have been a blamed sight worse!"
Grantland Rice

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Sock It To Me


I was sailing along on moonlight bay, oh wait, no, that's words to a song.....I digress! Feeling rather confident about finally getting the hang (pun intended) of knitting 2 socks at the same time on 2 circulars, I was sailing along on the toe decreases and feeling pretty smug about the whole thing, LOL. I decided to count the stitches on my needles after about 8 rounds or so and wait a minute....what's this? 20 on one and 18 on the other!
Hey, how'd that happen when I was paying what I thought was close attention, even though I was secretly catching up on Friday's episode of General Hospital on Soap Net while I was knitting. What can I say other than that Sonny mesmerizes me so I guess that's where I lost count and missed a decrease!

As I sat pondering (much like Brain of Pinky & the Brain), I decided that I could slip this sock off the circs, rip back to the offending row and be well on my way to sock perfection once again. Boy, was I wrong!!! After several attempts to figure out why one sock was on a decrease row and one was on a straight row, I wisely called it a night.
This morning I took a picture of the socks closely watched by my trusty, mini sheep!

I'm probably going to put the offending sock on a piece of yarn and finish up the well behaved one and then attempt to fix this and jump for joy when I am finished and have TWO socks and no need of knitting another one. In retrospect I don't know why I didn't just leave it alone and make an extra decrease and go merrily on my way.....it's in the toe area after all, so who would be the wiser? A lesson learned!


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Here's another picture of today's, Saturday sky...pretty, isn't it? I'll have to snap a couple of pictures of the sun setting since we have a great view of that each and every night. I think that the winter sunsets are by far, the prettiest of all because the sky has so many colors and shapes as the sun goes down.

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These beauties are out front and they get prettier with each bloom. I wish you all a wonderful weekend with much joy, and good knitting!


"Some things have to be believed to be seen." Ralph Hodgson

Thursday, July 13, 2006

On A Mission!

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Yes, I'm on a mission......a healthy eating and exercising plan. I've been watching what I eat for some time now since I had a scare with my blood sugar going up, so to avoid the dreaded "diabetes", I got serious about cutting the sugar way down and watching what I eat and cook. I began last August so it's almost a year now with just 10 pounds lost and they were lost in the first 2 months! Since then my weight has been STUCK in neutral.....not going up, but more importantly to me, not going down either. The 5 pounds I put on the ticker I've finally dropped just this week, which is a good indication that maybe consistent weight loss is in my future?

On that note, I've decided to take my Mom's advice (because she's always right anyhow, and that's the truth) and I've started walking on my treadmill every day for at least a mile or more. This should jar some of this flab loose one way or the other, shouldn't it? Say yes, please!!! :) Once autumn rolls around, I can get outside and walk but the temperature here is just too hot and humid for outdoor walking. I do feel better and have more energy throughout the day and this, in just 2 weeks.

I hope that those of you who can commiserate will let me know of any tips you might have to improve either the exercising or the food part of this "now" way of life for me. I would love to hear from any and all with advice or just plain comments. Ahh, come on now, I'm counting on you! :))

On that note, I'll leave you with one of my favorite, most appropriate quotes, although I don't know who said it originally,

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

Monday, July 10, 2006

Summertime



Our petunias are in their glory and keep getting more blooms every day! We have other flowers on the deck doing equally well so I'll take more photos later today. I don't know about you but I love looking at bright, beautiful flowers with such lovely colors. These may not show up as a buttercup yellow color but that's just what they are.

On the knitting front, I'm just about to the toe area of the Rowan socks but I can't find my extra skeins of yarn anywhere....ACK.....so, I'm going to have to substitute another color and brand to finish up each toe! I don't know where the skeins could have gone other than walking away on their own steam. I had 10 skeins of this yarn and began the socks with 2 thinking I was home free if I needed another 2 to complete them but I guess the jokes on me! I should finish them sometime this week so I'll post a picture of my 2 tone socks (well, actually, my Mom's 2 toned socks....hope she likes them).



Another project I've begun (like I need another) is a pet blankie for our own sweeties! However, I'm crocheting this rather than knitting it because I've noticed that not only can I get finished much faster, but I can use up enormous amounts of stash yarn for these projects, which is a very good thing in my case! :) The kitties can share this one and it's turning out quite cushy, so I know they'll love lounging on it. I have loads of the Aspen yarn and have no idea what I was thinking when I bought 2 entire bags of it, but crocheting this type of project would use up most, if not all of it. I would definitely feel good about that because I've sworn to use stash yarn for any future projects and not buy NEW! This, of course, to the dismay of my LYS owner but needs must, after all.

It's not like I don't have lovely, top quality yarns to use from stash because I do so this isn't some sort of punishment but lately, I've felt as though, it's time to simplify my life in many ways and this is just one of them. I don't need new yarn and it's time to 'fess up and admit that to myself......and now, to you, too, LOL. The time has come for me and mine to say, "do we REALLY need this" and most of the time, the honest answer is NO.

So, enjoying everything we already possess and being contented with the many blessings we've received will be more than enough. So, until next time, dear readers, be well, be safe, be contented, and knit on!

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility." Eleanor Roosevelt

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Saturday Sky




Here is the Saturday sky in my little corner of the world this morning and it doesn't get much bluer than this......not a cloud to be seen! From the sound of the weather reports this will be the best day, weather wise, of the 4 day holiday weekend.

On the knitting front, I finished the little animal blanket for the charity drive I mentioned in one of my posts below. It's still not too late to donate something if you would be interested. I feel so strongly about anything to do with animals who are in need of adoption and love. I wish I could take at least 2 cats and 2 dogs but I already have my own. I think the work that the ASPCA does along with the Humane Society is exceptional!

Well, I must run and get busy for the activities of the day, so until next time, dear knitters, knit on!