Started New Blanket

I've started a new blanket in pinks because I had a ton of pinks in my stash.  (Oh, who am I kidding?  I have a ton of nearly EVERY color in my stash!  Ha-ha.)  The colors don't show up as nice in this picture as they are in person.  I think that gray stripe doesn't look right so I'm going to rip it out and not use it.  I'll just stick to the pinks/reds.

The blanket is done alternating rows of V-st and Double V-st...easy and quick.  I'm planning to make a pretty lacy border on this one.  I have the pattern written out and will post it when I post the finished afghan pictures.  This pattern is also very pretty when done in one solid color.

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The Captain and I have been married 18 years today!  I better get off to the shower, fix my hair and put some make-up on so he doesn't look at me and think, "Geez, what happened to her in 18 years?"  Hee-hee.  We're not doing anything special really...just going out for a steak and maybe a little shopping.  We'll be home tonight watching the Rangers in Game 3 of the World Series.  They are bombing out so far.  They've lost the first two games.  Gah.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mmm…Pig!

Don’t look if you’re a vegetarian/vegan…

It’s a slab of pork ribs as they were browning in my oven.  I got them in the crock pot this morning.  They are all dunked and drowning in yummy BBQ sauce as we speak.  You’ve got to try this recipe, girlies.  If not for you, then for your man.  He will look at you (and the ribs) with love in his eyes.  I’ve posted about them before.  Go get the recipe and get to the store today.  They’ll be perfect for a weekend dinner!  The Captain wants Mac & Cheese again as a side, and I’ll probably make a salad too.

 

Ever since I finished The Bell of the Fall afghan, I’ve been wandering around my house thinking about what blanket I can start next.  I know I have a few WIPs, but I’m just not feeling them.  Ya know?  And instead of apologizing for not finishing them, I’m just going to forge ahead and do what feels right.  I’m starting another one and that’s final!  I just don’t know which one quite yet.  I’m on the hunt.  Suggestions are welcome.

The Bell of the Fall

Edging

I made up the edging.  It’s just a few rounds of sc, then a round of sc, ch 1, sk 1, sc, repeat.  The last round is done in a 3dc shell in ch sp, sc in next ch sp, repeat. Five-dc shell in corners. 

Thank you to Kate for her Orphan Annie Pattern.  I’d link you to it, but I believe she has made some corrections to the pattern since she posted it.  If you want it, I’m sure she’d be happy to give it to you.  Or if she doesn’t mind, I can email it to you.  The name of my finished blanket, Bell of the Fall, is for her.  I giggled out loud when I thought of it this morning.  She is such an inspiration to us all with her beautiful crochet and photography work.

I really enjoyed crocheting this blanket!

Details:  Worsted Weight Acrylic Yarn in various solids and variegated colors (Various Brands but mostly ILTY)

Hook:  Size J

Finished Size:  Approx. 52” x 72”

Not Tonight...

I had to give up for tonight or my arm will be screaming tomorrow.  I forgot that I had to weave in all those ends before I started the edging.  That took a couple of hours just to do that.  I have 2-3 more rounds to go on the border depending on what I decide to do.  No hurry.  I'm trying to savor my favorite part of crocheting afghans and not rush through it.  Stay tuned.

Wednesday Food

Before I get to the food...

I'm about to start putting the border on my Fall Afghan.  I'm so excited to show it to you.  I'm not good at guessing crochet timeframes, but my best stab at it is tomorrow sometime.  However, it could be late tonight if it goes faster than I think it's going to.

Okay, on to the food!

 

Cornbread Salad

 

Not the best picture in the world, but it’ll do.  You can see a better picture and the recipe HERE.  This is one of my favorite all-time recipes.  I usually always make it a couple of times during the spring and summer since it’s a cold dish.  It makes a ton, so beware if you are not making it for a crowd and cut it down some.  When I cut down the ingredient measurements, I still use the full 1 pkg of cooked cornbread.  Above I’ve used one can of beans, 1 small can of shoepeg corn, 1 large jar of diced pimentos (instead of bell pepper), 1 can of green chilies, and about 1/4 of a chopped onion and a chopped tomato.  No bacon because I didn’t have any.  I used about 3/4 cup mayo and 3/4 cup sour cream with one pkg of ranch dressing mix, and just eyeballed the cheese on top.  I promise you will love this and so will everyone else!  You can make some meat on the side if you just have to have meat (ham or pork chops are good with it), but this is usually our main dish when we have it.

Next…

If you haven’t tried these little snacks, you should.  They are yummy and there are 10 individual packets in each box.  We’ve had the Jalapeno and Cheese flavors, but they also have Pizza and some kind of Honey flavor too.  They are $3 per box here and are in the chip aisle.

 

I tried to take pictures of the TV earlier today.  I wanted to get a good shot of Sandra Lee’s hair.  It looked so good and I need a haircut.  Here are the crappy shots I got…

I think you can click on them for a larger view.

I’m running off now to start the border on my afghan.  The big reveal is next!

Tuesdays Are Boring

I've not been feeling very chatty-bloggy lately.  Yes, I made that word up. Working on these afghans doesn't give me anything to show you on the crochet front and takes a lot of time.  However, I'm making good progress and can see the end of my Fall Afghan now if I squint.

My ears have been screwed up since August 16th.  (I wrote it down on my calendar when it started.  That's how I know.)  Now I'm having balance problems.  Of course, I'm positive that I have a brain tumor.  I went to the doctor once, but I had to wait so long that I got pissed and left before my name was called.  It was only about 45 minutes, but I have no patience.  Then I cancelled another appointment with an ENT doctor because I just didn't want to get out that day, and I thought they were getting better anyway.  I guess if it gets bad enough I'll go sooner or later.  Brain tumors really need tending to.  I'm not complaining, just blathering because I have nothing else to say.

Do you have your Halloween candy yet?  I've bought mine several times, but we keep eating it.  Like I didn't know that would happen.  We haven't had any kids come by on Halloween since we've lived here.  Turning off the porch light and the "No Trespassing" sign must keep them away.  Who knew?  Get out of here, you little brats!  Go get a job and stop looking for a handout!  Hee-hee.

Nice Bag, Lady!

HERE is a really nice crochet bag to make with what looks like great instructions and pictures.  I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm keeping the link in case I get a hankering to make one.  I love the big flower she made for the red bag shown.

That's it.  I've got nothing else.

Oh. Em. Gee!

Texas Rangers Win!

Wow.

That's huge!

Happy Dance over here tonight.

I'm Skeered

Please Lord, let the Texas Rangers beat the Yankees tonight and go to the World Series for the first time EVER!

Friday Pretty

Did you see this on Flickr?  I think it's so pretty.  It was made by Babukatorium.  She has made some really interesting and colorful things.  I love the blues and greens together in this one.

I am seriously behind on my Bernat Crochet-Along squares.  Between work and the company we've had lately, I haven't kept up.  I'm printing the instructions for each week and putting them in a folder so I'll have all of them when I can get to it.  I did spend the money on their yarn for it, so I'll eventually get to it.  That's another one I forgot about when I was listing my WIP blankets the other day!   Sheesh!

It's cloudy and overcast here today.  I hope it stays that way and rains.  I'd love a couple of rainy weekend days.

Have a wonderful fall Friday!

The Dog Just Ate My...

...favorite bra!  He chewed the strap right off of it.  (No, not while I was wearing it.)  I have no idea how or where he got it.  #$%^&*!

I should strap it on him and make him wear it the rest of the day.  Bad dog.

Edited later to add:  He's now dragged it into his bed and is laying his head on it!  It will probably turn out to be his favorite toy or comfort item.  I'll have to remember to pick it up before anybody comes over.  How embarrassing.

Just Pictures

…because I’m busy and have no time.

My gift to my mom.

(The Bodum Ibis electric kettle)

And a rock I crocheted.

The rock made her laugh.

 

Pumpkin Bread…Recipe HERE

I made two loaves last week…one with cranberries and one without.  Everybody liked it best without the cranberries.  This picture is the second time I made the recipe yesterday (apparently at 12:56!).  This time I only made one loaf so it would be taller.  I hate short loaves of bread.  Making it this way, it needed to bake for 1 hr and 20 minutes.  Perfecto.

 

I finally made something in my new food processor.  It was amazing how fast it whirred up this chicken salad!  I just chunked up everything and threw it in there together and pressed the pulse button about five times, and it was done – 3 cooked boneless chicken breasts, about 1/3 of a big onion, a piece of leftover red bell pepper, 2 stalks of celery, salt & pepper.  After it was mixed up, I added about 1/3 cup mayo and 1/3 cup of light sour cream.  (Next time I’ll use all mayo.  It didn’t have enough mayo flavor to suit me.)

I didn’t even realize until I just now saw this picture that the bowl was perilously close to the edge of the counter and even hanging off a bit.  This is how I make so many messes, people.  I don’t pay attention!

I Confess

I lied to you and I'm sorry.  I said I wasn't going to start anything else until I had that pink popcorn ripple finished, but I did it anyway.  I blame it all on G.B. and her pretty Legends of the Fall afghan!  I just had to make one...


This is what I have done so far.

And then there is the Pastel Granny Ripple…

This is what I have done on it.  Eli approves.  I hate the color of that pink yarn.  I’ll be glad when I use that all up.  It’s the color of bologna.  Yuck.  I should have just thrown it out or given it away.  I’m sure there’s somebody out there who wants to crochet some bologna.  A-hem.  Queen, can you think of anybody?  Hee-hee.  (She likes to crochet food, which I just don’t get at all.  But I still love you, girlie!)

AND the old Pink Popcorn Ripple, which I love, so I don’t know why I don’t crochet on it more…
The color of this is so much prettier in real life.  It’s a soft baby pink.  There’s really bad lighting in here at night.

I am going to finish all of these.  I hope to finish this one by December 1st.  Legends of the Fall will be finished somewhere in that timeframe too because that one seems to go quickly.  The Pastel Granny Ripple will mostly likely be turned into a Granny Shrug after a few more rows.

I just wanted to go ahead and post again today since I’ll be busy working tomorrow.  So these are my main WIPs.  Unless someone distracts me with something else, this is what I’ll be working on for the next couple of months.  I’m sure there will be a few instant gratification projects thrown in there too.
Bye now.

Edited to Add:

Oops.  I forgot about another afghan I started that I haven't finished...the Fireside Afghan.  I want to finish that one too!  :/

Surprise Ta-Dah!

Finally!

The 16 x 16 pillow form arrived so I could stuff the pillow cover I made a while back and sew it together.  Unfortunately, I messed up the joining in the corners of the squares on the front, but it doesn’t look too bad.  You probably wouldn’t even notice if I didn’t tell you AND if you didn’t see Jacquie’s perfect one.  THIS is the pattern I used for the front, and the back is just a granny square.    I covered the pillow with red material before I sewed the cover on.  I’m not showing you the buttons because they don’t look good.  Next time I’ll know how to do it better and will use less of them.  I think Jacquie’s instructions for making the button holes were for smaller buttons than what I used.  Despite all its flaws, I love my red & white pillow!

I took my sister to the airport this morning.  :(  My aunt goes home tomorrow, and then things should get back to normal around here.  My mom’s birthday party went great and we all had a good time.

I’m off to sit on the couch and do nothing until The Captain leaves for work in a few minutes.  Then I may take a nap or just sit on the couch some more.  I enjoyed seeing everyone, but I miss my solitary time (which includes my dogs, of course).  Poor things have been left alone way more than they’re used to.

See ya.

Crocheted Vest

Checking in just super quick to show you something I love and save the link so I don't forget...

I LOVE this vest!  http://beatesbunterblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/granny-weste-jenny.html

So cool!  In the entry just before this one, she shows an adult-sized one.  I just happen to like this one more.  Love that peace sign on it too.

No Updates

I probably won't be talking to y'all until Tuesday or Wednesday. I have family in town over the weekend. We are having a 75th birthday party for my momma on Saturday.

Wait! I just have to show you this since I was talking about ninjas the other day.

From Blogger Pictures

Ninjabread Men!  Ha-ha.

How dumb.

Take care. Talk at y'all in a few days!

Those of you who do not live in the U.S. and won a mandala in my giveaway, listen up! There were two of you in Australia and one in The Netherlands.

I had your packages returned to me several days ago and will not be able to mail them again until next Tuesday. The girl who helped me when I mailed them apparently didn't know what she was talking about or doing. I apologize for this delay in getting your mandalas to you, but I will get them repackaged properly and mailed next Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. I plan to throw a giant fit at the post office if they make me pay again!

Smart Jesse

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Grump, Groan, Grouch...

I received my Bodum order in this GIANT box.

WHY?

I don't get it.

Two electric kettles (no glass).

I want to meet the person who thought this was a good idea.

And then stuff him into this HUGE box and fire him.

Because I'm just bitchy like that sometimes.

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Did I tell you that I ordered two 16 x 16 pillow forms and two round pillow forms from eBay?  I can't find either of those things around here.  I have a 12 x 12 and an 18 x 18 already.  I see some crochet pillow covers in my future.  And I'll be able to finally reveal the red & white one I made a couple of weeks back.  I love pillows.

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I can't sleep.  No sleep makes Pammy Sue a very grumpy girl.  I must have my sleep...and a lot of it.  I need nine hours per night.  That's just the way it is.  I haven't been taking naps lately either.  I've been saying that I think it's the B-12 I've been taking with my other pills in the mornings.  I noticed a big difference and feel so much better during the day since I've been taking it, and it was almost immediate.  But I think it is keeping me awake.  What to do?

Then yesterday The Captain was telling me that some guys were talking at work about that 5-Hour Energy shot that you can buy almost anywhere.  They said that it has less than a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine, but it has lots of Vitation B-12!  Me thinks I may be right about the B-12 being the culprit.

But I don't want to stop!  I feel better!  I'm just grumpy from no sleep.  Do I want to feel better and be grumpy or sleep?  Hmm.  No dilemma for me there.  I think I'll stop taking it and see what happens.  But not until next week.  I have a busy next few days coming up through the weekend.

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When I push on the side of my cheek, I can feel and hear something squiching in my ear.  That can't be good.  Probably the allergy thing again.  I'll be glad when we get our first freeze (usually mid-November) so it will kill everything and stop the pollen.

Okay, now that I've grumped my way through this entry, it's time to go.  I really don't feel grumpy, I just am.  Does that make sense?

Grouch, grouch, grouch...

Monday

Love that creative blog title…NOT.

Look at this pretty blanket:

This is Laura’s blanket.  I saw it on iCrochet and just had to point it out.  It just goes to show that you don’t have to have a fancy pattern or use fancy stitches to crochet something beautiful!  I hope people don’t mind me snatching photos of their crochet stuff for my blog as long as I leave a link.  If you want anything of mine, snatch away!  I see so many pretty things on that iCrochet site.  What a great idea.

 

I made this coffee cake this morning with some of the sourdough starter and had it ready when The Captain got up today.  It smelled so yummy.  He liked it, but I thought it had a wang to it…and not a good sourdough wang either.  I guess my taste buds are messed up.  I’ve had bad allergies the last couple of days.

 

Fletch thought it looked good.

And so did Eli.

Talk at y’all tomorrow.  Bye.

Ninja's Are Breaking In!

I just had to come and post.  I'm sitting here crocheting and watching the Crazies on Cops.  The cops were responding to a shots fired call and when they got to the house, you could hear another gunshot go off.  They got on their loud speaker and told the Crazy to come out of his house with his hands up.  He did.  And then he said there were Ninja's rattling the windows and trying to break into his house.

I hate when that happens.

Have another drink, Crazy-Ass.

Hee-hee.

Christmas Crochet

I made this little 6-square mat yesterday.  I was surfing around all the crochet blogs I read and came across some Christmas stuff.  Since I was in a red mood yesterday, I grabbed my yarn and hook and just started crocheting red & white granny squares.  I slip-stitched them together, made a border, and voila!

See the sparklies in the red yarn?

Very Christmasy!

I’m in Love…

With pretty much anything BODUM.

Bodum Ibis Electric Kettle

I ordered two of these this morning.  One for us and one for a gift.  We use our electric kettle almost daily and have replaced it at least twice (just a cheap $15 one from Rival).  But I saw a little snippet in one of my magazines about this one from Bodum.  It boils up to seven cups of water in four minutes and automatically shuts off once the water starts bubbling.  And it comes in some gorgeous colors too!  I got this red one.  I guess I’m in a red mood today.  I usually don’t go for red.  It’s a little expensive at $50, but we will definitely get our money’s worth out of it since we’ll use it so much.

And then…

Pavina Porcelain Cups with Silicone Grips

Pavina Glasses with Silicone Grips

I didn’t order the cups or glasses, but I wanted to!  I love them and I love all the bright colors to choose from.  That’s all I’ll show you here, but they have lots of other cool things too.

 

 

Hee-hee.  I just stuck those baby pictures of Eli in here because he’s cute.

Let’s see…

Oh, I made this yesterday…

A fall Mandala for my living room.  There WAS a pretty lamp on this table.  Fletcher and Eli were tearing through the house a couple of days ago, jumped from the couch over this table, and didn’t quite make it past the lamp.  It came crashing down, smashing the light bulb and the light bulb housing thing-a-ma-bob all over the floor.  The Captain is going to fix it, but until then these candles will have to do.  Yes, it’s mighty exciting around Scotty’s Place with those dogs.  I love them though.  Heck, I break things all the time myself around here!

Pumpkin Parfait

I made these the day before yesterday.  I’d give you the recipe, but it wasn’t that great.  If you want to make them, just make instant vanilla pudding, mix in some pumpkin and Cool Whip, and layer it in a parfait or wine glass with some crushed up ginger snaps.  Top it with a dollop of whipped cream and some cinnamon, stick a whole ginger snap on top, and you’re a genius!

I really rattled on today, didn’t I?  Time to go to work.  Have a fab Friday!

Punkin’ Stuff

Looks kinda ugly, huh?

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix, any variety

1 Can Pumpkin

Mini Chocolate Chips (1 cup), optional

 

Mix dry cake mix and pumpkin and stir in chocolate chips if using.  Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes.  Makes 1 dozen.

Variations:  You can use a Yellow Cake Mix or Spice Cake Mix too (and still use the chocolate chips if you want).

HERE is another yummy recipe for pumpkin cake/pie too. 

 

OR you could make this sinful Pumpkin Bread.  Eat it warm and spread it with butter.

 

What?  It’s health food!  Pumpkins are packed with Vitamin A in the form of cancer-fighting Beta Carotene, not to mention the B complex and C Vitamins as well as Potassium, Calcium, and Iron.

What are you waiting for?  Get to baking!

Ribs and Still No Ta-Dah

Somebody at Hobby Lobby decided they no longer needed 16 x 16 pillow forms and ordered all 18 x 18.  So I guess I'll make a trip to Walmart and see if I can get one there.  I have no idea when I'll go, but in the meantime, I'll make another pillow for the 18 x 18 form.  I know you're wondering why I don't just add two inches to the one I have done, but I'm using buttons on this one and already have the button holes crocheted.  I could just rip it out, but I'm not going to.

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I made Beverooni’s Slow Cooker Pork Ribs yesterday.  (Scroll down that page for the recipe)

 

Yep, it’s a keeper.  The Captain loved it, and he’s not a rib-eater.  He is now!  The only thing I did differently was I only made one rack of ribs (about 2.75 lbs) since it was just me and The Captain.  I made the same amount of sauce as in her recipe.  I also cooked mine on high for about 5 1/2 hours because I didn’t get them started until around noon.  They were perfect!

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Just for the record, Blogger is still not uploading pictures for me.  I’m using Windows Live Writer again today.

No Ta-Dah...Boo!

Well...

I was unable to get to Hobby Lobby yesterday as there was a family emergency and I was gone all afternoon yesterday.  Family is about the only thing that trumps crochet around here!

Anyway, I hope to get out today.  We'll just have to see though.

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There's a lovely giveaway at a lovely new blog, Stitching n Shipping.   Go visit her and see her cute doggies.  I'm partial to Lulu and Mr. Bugz.  Gee, I wonder why?

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I'm kind of out of sorts this morning and can't get my thoughts together.  I'll be back later if anything extraordinary happens or I just get bored.  Maybe more coffee will clear my head.

It's a smashing day here in Texas again!  Ahh...so cool!  Have a good one, y'all.

Cuteness & Yumminess

Once again I’m coming to you via Windows Live Writer.  If it weren’t for you, Live Writer, I would be cancelling my Blogger and buying my own site for my blog!  They’d better to get it together soon, or that’s exactly what I’ll do!  I’ve resorted to threats.  We should all boycott them.

Wanna see something too cute?  Do ya?

This is totally something I would put on my car.  And they’re affordable too!  You can order some HERE.

I got this picture at this website:  Inspire Me

Go be entertained.

The bread…

It turned out FAB!  Wanna bite? 

Open wide…

I have to work this morning, but this afternoon I’ll be off to Hobby Lobby to exchange my pillow form for the correct size if they have it.  Then I shall have a Ta-Dah for you tomorrow!

Have a good one.  Do something nice for somebody today, m’kay?