Scarf & Bowl

I made this scarf last night in about three hours.  I made it using all sc stitches with a size N hook and holding two different yarns together.  I love the colors in it…

Here’s a little closer look.  This picture was taken this morning in natural light.  The first picture was taken last night under the light of a ceiling fan.

These are the yarns I used.  The one on the left is some home-dyed yarn that KATE made.  The one on the right is I Love This Yarn.  I don’t remember the color, maybe Gelato?  I wish the scarf was a little longer, but I crocheted until I ran out of yarn.  It measures 49” x 5”.

I made this basket yesterday morning.  It’s a cute basket and an easy pattern.  You can find it on Paula’s blog HERE.  I didn’t follow the directions exactly, but it’s basically the same.  I had intended this to be a bed for Ollie, but it’s not big enough.  I also didn’t heed Paula’s suggestion to use double worsted, mainly because I have no idea what that is.  I’ve never heard of it before.  Or does “double worsted yarn” mean to hold two strands at once?  Either way I didn’t do that.  I used Bernat Softee Chunky for the bottom and Wool Ease for the sides.  I think if I had continued using the chunky yarn, it would have been sturdier (more sturdy?).  But I still love it.

And that, my friends, is all I have from the weekend.  The puppy got me up at 5:30.  I’m taking him to the vet at 4pm today.  I think I need a little more shut-eye right now.  Is 9:30 too early for a nap?  Not for me it isn’t.  Bye.

Oh, yeah.  I forgot it’s Halloween…

BOO!

The Captain advised me that we are going to sit in lawn chairs out front and hand out candy this evening.  I can hardly wait.  <---sarcasm

Yes, he’s feeling much better.  Now he can start “vacationing” and getting on my nerves again.  :)  “What are you doing?”  “What do you want to do?”  “Do you want to go anywhere?”  “What are you doing?”  “How about now?”  “Wanna go to lunch somewhere?”  “What are you doing?”  “Are you busy?”  “You hate me, don’t you!”

Okay, he’s really not that bad.  I may be exaggerating.  I love it when he’s home for days on end.  No, really.  I do.

When Crochet Goes Wrong

It was a dark and rainy night.  Okay, it wasn’t.  It was just last night and it wasn’t raining.

Anyway, I was testing a pattern for an owl.  The bottom part (white & tan) is the body of the owl.  Do you know what that black and yellow thing is supposed to be???  That’s right.  It’s ONE eye.  Bwa-ha-ha-ha!  I think not.  I have no idea what I’m doing wrong that is making the eyeballs too big or the body too small.  WTF?  I’ll try again another day.  I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.  I used yarn from a bin of little scrap balls of yarn, so it could be that it was two different types of yarns or something.  I don’t know.

*******************

So yeah…

The Rangers lost.

I don’t want to talk about it.

*******************

Ho-Hum.  I’m bored.

But I don’t want to do anything anyhow.

I think I have some new ghost shows to watch tonight.

I hope so.

* Sigh *

Did I mention I’m bored?

He sounds exactly like a squeaky toy when he barks.

The poor little guy has diarrhea…BAD.

I believe the technical term is “the squirts.”

See what happens when I’m bored?

I talk about inappropriate things.

I’ll be taking him to the vet this week.

Oh, and I’m going to the doc too.

The neck & shoulder thing.

On my birthday.

P A R T Y   D O W N !

*****************

Bye.

Tip for Beginning a Crochet Project

I want to show my fellow crocheters out there something I discovered.  Well, I didn’t exactly “discover” it.  I’d seen it written many times, but it’s nothing I ever paid attention to.  And if you’re like me, you haven’t paid attention to it either.

When you have any project that begins with a starting chain and then a row of sc, how do you make that sc stitch?  Have you ever tried making all your sc stitches in the back stitch or “hump” of your chain?

The picture above shows my starting chain.  I’m about to start my first row which reads, “Sc in second chain from hook and in each chain across.”

Turn your starting chain one-quarter turn towards you.  You will be able to see the back loops or “humps,” denoted with red arrows above.  These are the stitches you’re going to put all of your sc stitches into.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s not awkward to do at all, and the result is totally worth it anyway.

This is what your completed Row 1 will look like.  So nice and neat, and your starting edge will be equally nice and tidy (see below).

 

In this picture, I have turned my yarn over so you can see the edge of your starting row.  These are the stitches where you will start your border or final rounds when your project is complete.  Of course, you can always use the foundation single crochet (fsc) method to start your project, but this is so much easier and makes your edge look just as neat.  I can never remember how to do the fsc, and I have to look it up on YouTube and learn it all over again when I want to use it.  I love to use that stitch because it looks so nice and neat, especially along a neckline of a sweater or something like that where you want nice, neat edges.

Anyway, I hope I’ve convinced some of you to try this method of beginning a project.  Try it!  You’ll love it!

Did I use the words “nice” and “neat” and “tidy” enough?

Oh my Lord…did you watch the World Series game last night??  It was pure torture watching that game.  I don’t know why I watch.  I really can’t take the pressure.  But what a great game!  Unfortunately, the Texas Rangers lost in extra innings, but they have another chance tonight.  Whichever team wins tonight takes The Title.  Let the torture begin!

GO RANGERS!

A Chilly Day

And The Captain is home with what seems to be the flu…chest congestion, sore throat, and low-grade fever.  He feels like crap.  And today is the first day of his 13-day vacation.  That sucks!  He couldn’t get warm so I lit a fire, and now it’s nice and toasty in the living room.

This weather put me in the mood to cook.  I’ll be cooking dinner in a couple of hours, but earlier I made…wait for it…wait for it…Maple-Pecan Fudge!  Oh my!  I found the recipe online yesterday (I wish I could remember where), and it sounded so good.  So while I was at the grocery store this morning, I got what I needed to make it.  Actually, the original recipe was Maple-Walnut Fudge, but I prefer pecans.

It could not have been easier or quicker to make, and it tastes fantastic.  I love maple and pecans.

Here’s the recipe:

(Click on it and you should be able to print it and be able to read it.)  I got to the recipe thru Mandy’s Recipe Box.  If you’re not familiar with Mandy’s blog, you must go there.  I spent a loooooong time there yesterday reading through recipes and printing like a mad woman.  The recipe link was there in one of the entries where everybody links-up.

Does anybody love these as much as I do?

I pour in the boiling water and let it sit for about 20 minutes.  Then I eat all the noodles and leave the broth.  But the broth is good if you’re sick with a cold or sore throat; I just usually don’t drink it after the noodles are gone.  The Roasted Chicken Flavor is my favorite and The Captain likes the spicy-hot ones.

The cut on my hand feels and looks much better today.  I’ll be spending the next couple of days trying to stay clear of Mr. Sickie because I sure don’t want what he’s got.  When I went to the store this morning, I loaded him up with cold medicines, Gatorade, Chicken Cup-O-Soup, and some Little Debbie’s Brownies shaped like footballs.  He was most pleased to see those brownies in the bag when I got home.  He’s so easy to please.

I’m outta here to go play nursie.  Bye.

Get the First Aid Kit…

Pammy Sue is in the house!

Ever since I can remember, I have always been known to be VERY accident-prone.  As soon as one injury healed, the next one was not far behind.  Adulthood has not changed that very much…okay, it hasn’t changed it at all.  I’m ALWAYS bleeding from somewhere!  (That didn’t sound right, but you know what I mean.  Ha.)

This little cut on the back of my hand doesn’t look like much, but it hurts like a mother you-know-what!  This is the same hand that was injured in the dog bite, flesh-ripping incident a few months back.

I was getting Taco Soup together yesterday morning for the crock pot which involves opening at least 6 cans of various ingredients.  I opened them all at once and left the lids hanging on the cans.  (You see where this is going, don’t you?  I should have too.)  When I was cleaning up and had them all rinsed out and ready for the recycle bin, I picked them all up with one hand (see above) by sliding each finger into a can and lifting them up.  As I put them in the recycle bin, I mashed everything down using the cans with my fingers still in them.  One of the can lids jammed into the knuckle of my middle finger.  Many foul words and running around the kitchen in circles with blood dripping followed.  I swear, it bled for hours and never did stop hurting.  Today it is swollen and bruised and WAH-WAH-WAH!  The worse thing is I CAN’T CROCHET because it hurts too bad!  (Insert more foul words here.)

It doesn’t look that bad, does it?  Well, it is!  I should just cut my arms off at the elbow and get it over with.

And on top of that, my hand looks so old in that picture!  What the heck?  When did that happen?  Ack!

I’m going back to bed.

Please carry on without me.

I’ll be here convalescing from another GASH.

And making a mountain out of a mole hill.

I swear, it HURTS BAD though!

Indulge Me

I know most people don’t want to see a thousand pictures of my dogs, but just indulge me today.  I took a bunch of pictures outside this morning.  They’re more for me than you, but I hope some of you will enjoy them.  If not, please feel free to skip this post.

I love this picture!  I like how you can see his shadow, how green and wet the grass is in contrast to him, and how you can see the blood veins through his ears.  (Click on any of these for a larger view.)

Eli would like you to see a better picture of his new haircut.

Fletcher always looks like he’s up to something…and he usually is.  He and Sammi were playing the whole time I was taking pictures.  They’d stand right up next to each other and pretend they weren’t paying attention, and then one of them would pounce on the other and the wrestling match was on.

I managed to get a picture or two of them standing still.

Aww.

I’m always surprised at how gentle Fletch is with Ollie.  He can be such a crazy maniac at times.

And now back to your regular programming…

 My crapped-up fall mantel.

I hung my wire pumpkins unevenly.

Darn it.  I’ll fix that.

And…

This is your last peek at the rainbow ripple before it’s finished.  Oooo…pinks & purples are next!  (I didn’t pose Eli there.  He walked right up and made himself comfortable when I laid it on the floor.  I guess he likes it.

Tomorrow…

Artsy-Fartsy Flower Pics!

(No Dogs)

I love you.

You look pretty today.

Scarecrow & Old Ripple

I spent ALL DAY yesterday making him (9 hours)!  He is totally worth it.  I love him.

I got the pattern HERE.

WildAboutColor had a giveaway and was giving away two that she had made.  When I didn't win, I knew I had to make one of my own.  He makes me happy.  I want to make a girlfriend for him, but I think I'll wait awhile.  I'm not up to a 9-hour project again so soon.  Maybe I'll just make her a little bit at a time instead of having another crochet marathon.  I can see her in my head with a cute skirt instead of the jeans and ponytails sticking out of her hat.

I took out the ripple blanket I made a couple of years ago and put it on the bed last night.  I had forgotten it was big enough to cover the bed.  

Ain't it cool?

It's Lucy's pattern from Attic 24.

All Red Heart yarn.

(Before I discovered H.L. I Love This Yarn)

I named it Dreamweaver.

What a dork!

See ya...

Saturday Boredom

So tiny!

So cute!

*******************

New Crochet Project Started:

It will be a rainbow blanket made completely from my stashed yarn.  No fair buying anything new!  No worries though, I have PLENTY!  I'm a little worried that my colors aren't bright enough, but oh well.  We shall see.  Have you ever seen an ugly rainbow?  Me neither.

I haven't mentioned the World Series of Baseball here since it started, but with the home team in it, of course we are watching and cheering them on.  Tonight they are back home for Game #3 of 7 and tied at one game apiece.

Go Rangers!

P.S.  Do not worry.  My template is not staying like this!  I don't think it's so much that the new Blogger format is harder, because it's not...it's just me not knowing what I want and taking the time to make it that way.

Ugh

I cannot get my blog template to look good to save my soul.  I tried!  I will try again tomorrow.  I'm over it today.

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

They should just call these You’re a Fat-Ass Cookies, because if your ass isn’t fat before you eat these, it will be after!  LOL.

 Oh wow

Oreo-wrapping in progress

Right out of the oven

My review:  These were better than I thought they’d be.  I would say everybody should make these at least once.  They are not as rich as I thought they’d be.  I had my first one this morning with coffee.  They would be a neat thing to take to a party or the office or something like that.  They’re definitely a conversation piece…and they’re good.  I would wait until they’re completely cool and then cut them in half with a knife (as the first picture above shows) and then place them on a plate to serve.  One cookie is just huge and too much if you have other food to sample. 

My Notes:

*I did not refrigerate my raw dough before assembling the cookies.  It worked fine.  I would think it would be harder to do if you refrigerated it and the dough became harder.

*I used mini chocolate chips only because that’s what I had.  But I think they worked better than regular-size chips because it was easier to wrap the dough with little chunks instead of big ones.

*I baked them 6 full minutes longer than the recipe calls for.  They were just raw cookie dough at 13 minutes.  These are still soft and just perfect, in my opinion, baked for 18 minutes.

*I used Double-Stuff Oreos like the author did.

Here is the recipe link if you missed it the first time:  Buns in My Oven

See ya tomorrow.

 

Food, Eli, Momma

 

Autumn Pot Roast

Recipe: HERE

I made Kris’ recipe for Autumn Pot Roast yesterday and it turned out fantastic.  It’s cooked in the oven for several hours on a low temperature instead of the crock pot.  I may never make a roast in the crock pot again!  You must try it and follow the instructions she gives on her blog.  Thank you Kris!  I even made REAL whipped potatoes to go with it.  We just had it leftover for lunch.  Nom-nom-nom…so good!

When I looked at my email today, I had an email from The Captain.  He sent me THIS LINK and said he thought I ought to try it.  I’m going to the grocery store in a bit to pick up the Oreos to make them.

OH MY

One more recipe…

Left-click on the pic and then right-click and print.

Doesn’t that sound delish?

Sounds like a good one for the Holidays.

It was on the back of my Cinnamon Chex Cereal box.

Along with these:

The mobile pet groomer was here today and gave all the dogs a bath and toenail clipping.  Eli got a shave.  He looks like a totally different dog!  Yes, his long hair is beautiful, but it’s a mess to take care of.  What a pain.  So he got a total shave-down except for his head and tail, which just got a trim.  He looks so goofy and cute, and I know he feels better without all that hair.

Papillon-loving people will probably send me nasty letters for shaving all his hair off.  I don’t plan on keeping him this way all the time, but it sure does seem like it’s going to be easier for him and us with it this way.  We shall see.

I have nothing of the hooky kind to show you.  I’ve taken a bit of a break from it because my arm & shoulder (and neck) were bothering me as I finished that last afghan.  I fear the neck crick was just a symptom of a bigger problem.  An appointment with the neck doctor who did my last surgery is in order.  If it’s anything serious, it needs to be taken care of before new deductibles kick-in at the beginning of next year.  Maybe I just strained it, but I need to go check and make sure.  I HAVE to stop picking the dogs up too.  I’m sure that’s not helping things.  DUH.

Okay, the groomer is gone and I have to run to the store and then get busy making cookies.  But one more thing before I go…

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y

M O M M A ! !

Bye!