Friday, October 28, 2011

Cure

In the Marine Corps we used to have a saying, "There's no cure like SECURE".  That means nothing cures an unmotivated Marine like telling him it's libo time!  That's the way I feel this morning.  I'm sitting at work and all I can think about is getting off work.  I'm so ready for the weekend.  I'm so ready for my husband to be off the road.  He called this morning and is in Texarkana.  So next milestone is Little Rock, then Memphis.  He's about had it with the two cats.  They sleep all day and at night when he's trying to sleep they wander the cab and won't leave him alone.  They also aren't using the litter box very well so that's causing him some grief.  It can't be soon enough for his trip to over and done with.

I didn't crochet a stitch last night.  Although I really wanted to and I think it would have helped me relax.  I've been having terrible night's sleep and really bad restless leg syndrome.  When we are all moved in and our bed is up and I can really relax I am going to take some Benadryl and with luck get a full 8 hours sleep. 

Went up and saw the girls last night.  They are doing really well and Cheyenne seems to be loving the hay where as Dolly has been a bit more picky.  Last night the owner tossed Dolly two flakes of some lovely hay and she couldn't get enough so I'm hoping she's found what she likes.  Dolly has gained some weight.  Cheyenne needs a little more going into winter.  I have no doubt the owners will get her there.  They are wonderful people.  I feel very lucky the girls are in such good hands. 

I have been thinking of another granny square afghan lately - just sort of visualizing it in my head.  I love doing them when the mood hits me.  I've got one in mind using black - of all colors.  So we shall see if something comes of that.  Otherwise it will be working hard on scarves, hats and dishcloths for the craft sale December 10th. 

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Honey Bee" by Blake Shelton

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Yarn

My DH finally got on the road yesterday around 3pm PST.  He's currently in NM.  I don't think I mentioned that on that huge truck is about 13 containers of yarn.  I am sort of going through withdrawals at this stage.  I'm used to walking into my area and seeing the yarn and since arriving in OH my yarn has been hidden away inside the plastic containers. I'm one of those people that get inspired when I see the yarn, like walking through the aisles of JoAnn's I suddenly have flashes of blankets flickering in my head as I walk past colors.  Needless to say I am very anxious to get my yarn off that truck!  The DH being a handyman has agreed to make me the following bins on two walls:

Diagonal Bookcase Viceroy Santa Monica designed by Kelly Werstler

Looks a bit like a yarn store, doesn't it?  The craft show is December 10.  My cousin and I have been discussing ramping up our crocheting to build some inventory for this sale.  Our Moms are having a "sweets" table and my cousin's daughter (my second cousin) and her boyfriend also have some ideas for a few craftsy things.  I'm looking forward to it even if it doesn't generate a lot of sales.

DAUGHTRY'S new video is out.  "Crawling Back To You" off their soon to be released Break The Spell.  The CD comes out November 21st.  You can check the video out here.  Be warned - Chris looks amazing and remember, he's mine.  You can preorder on iTunes and if you preorder the CD off their site (http://www.daughtryofficial.com/) you can download both "Crawling Back To You" and "Renegade" for free. 

Naturally today's SONG OF THE BLOG is "Crawling Back To You".  Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Get Ready! Set! STOP!!!

My DH got less than ten miles from the house and had to turn around.  Seems he had no brakes on the truck.  He went to a good friend's house and called the rental company who sent out a mechanic.  The first thing they said was you'll need to move into another truck.  My DH told him unless you're bringing over a working party to unload and load another truck that is not happening.  Well they aren't doing that so they are going to fix the problem.  Seems the brake line rusted out.  With luck he will be on the road today at noon.  This sets us back a day for his arrival and our move in - at least that's what we are thinking. 

No crochet last night.  In fact I was rather bored last night.  With no furniture I find it very difficult to get comfortable to crochet.  My air mattress doesn't provide the right support so I slip down when I try to lean against the wall.  I was frustrated trying so I settled for Sudoku.  Finally fell asleep and woke up at 2.  I thought I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep but I finally did.  Then this morning I was actually out of the house on my way to work EARLY and I thought I was doing so good on time until I took a detour in search of a grocery for some breakfast and ended up all twisted around. 

Okay, enough whining from me.  Here is a cute pic of my kitties traveling in the rental before he had to turn around.  The DH said they were quite content to ride like this. 
Not the safest way for them to travel but it sure beats their constant meows and clawing at the cage door.  He said he'll take his chances with them this way.

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Wagons East!

The DH is now on the road headed to Phoenix for the night.  With luck and good weather and no truck/trailer issues he should be at our door in Ohio sometime on Friday.  I'm hoping the cats settle in for the journey and their meowing isn't constant.  That would make for a very long ride. 

I did not crochet last night.  I ended up running some errands and when I got home, got a little bit of dinner I was just not in the mood to pick it up.  Tonight I need to do a little more straightening up to make ready for the big move in on Saturday. 

I think Wednesday evening I will go up and see the horses.  Spend some time brushing them out and feeding them too many carrots.  I miss their nickers and nudges.  Can't wait until they are in very own backyard.  I have narrowed down the fencing I want.  Thought I'd share a pic:

http://best4lessfencing.com/4%20rail%20fence%20with%20cover%20boards_edited.jpg

It's a very traditional four rail horse fence, but I love the style and color of the natural wood.  I was going to have black fencing, but now I think I want to just weather treat this and leave it natural.  Black seems very high maintenance to me.  Besides, this will look so pretty in the snow!  We will be putting the fence up ourselves.  We have been working out this plan for a long time.  We will have the portable fencing in the beginning and then as we slowly get the wood fence up, simply increase the area using the portable fencing.  It's not going to be easy or fast, but we want to do it ourselves.  The DH has the skills/tools and know how - I can't see paying anyone to do something we can do. 

I'd like to pose a question for all of you that stop by.  Maybe not every day, but just once in a while.  I hope you enjoy sharing your answers and ideas with everyone.

Today's question:  What is your perfect spa setting?  Include color, textures, style and anything else that will give us a feel for what you would consider "perfect".

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield

Monday, October 24, 2011

Definitely Monday

Happy Monday?  Oh, not so much?  Me either.  I think I got about 3 hours sleep last night.  Let me back up though and go through me entire weekend.

As you know Friday was the day I moved into our "new" home.  I had such big plans for a wonderful, relaxing evening.  Hot bath in my garden tub, some relaxation music on, a glass of Scotch and no other noise.  Well, I did get all moved in and after talking with the DH for what seemed like the 50th time I finally was able to get to some "me" time.  (I despise chatting on the phone and get very impatient)  So I get out my air mattress and pump and proceed to fill it.  We have one of the nice ones; queen size that sits up off the floor and has the pillow top.  It filled up in less than 5 minutes and I went to draw my bath.  Put the bubble bath in and went to the kitchen for my glass of Scotch.  When I got back the water was luke warm.  I let it run a little longer and still - nothing!  Of course, my DH text me to ask how my bath was going and I told him "no hot water".  So naturally him being 1) a worrier and 2) a handyman, he calls.  He walked me through all the possible scenarios of what it could be and after about ten minutes he figured out the water heater breaker needed to be tripped.  Sure enough the water heater started making water heater noises and in about 15 minutes the water was hot.  But by this time I was so exhausted and Scotch didn't sound very good and my CD player was acting up.  So I went to bed with my Sudoku and after about 15 minutes I realized my back was against the floor!  My air mattress was deflating!!  I pumped it up again only to realize it had a leak somewhere.  So I drug my tired butt into the living room where the previous owners had abandoned a sectional couch and slept on it.  Well, tried to.  I finally just got up and made a pot of coffee.  I went to the bathroom and what do you think happened?  The toilet overflowed!  I scrambled for all the towels I could find to sop up the water and tossed them into the tub.  I had a pile of them.  I put them into a trash bag and took them to the only laundramat in town.  2 loads of towels and 2 loads of my clothes.  When did the laundramat get so expensvie???  It cost me $2.50 for the regular size load and $4.00 for the heavier towels.  $.25 cents got me 5 minutes of drying time.  It about broke the bank!  But I got them done and was back home before 0900. 

The good part of my day was that I have Internet and a house phone.  It was nice to get online at home after so long.  My work firewall doesn't allow me to visit some sites (FB, etc).  I feel like we have made progress by having these two things installed.  But the installer snagged a thread in his drill when he was drilling the hole for the cable and put a run in my carpet of about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide.  His supervisor is supposed to contact me for resolution.  It was an accident, but I was like, "Really??"  The carpet in the house is less than a year old.  It will be under a desk (for the time being), but still. 

Sunday my sister, my niece, my Mom and I moved that sectional sofa from my house to my sister's garage for her to eventually put into her living room.  Let me tell you it was quite the ordeal!  We were often laughing so hard we couldn't get anything done.  It took us forever to get the 3 pieces into the truck, but we finally did manage.  We headed out down the road and it wasn't 10 miles when the back piece flipped out of the truck bed and onto the side of the road.  The strap had come loose and the wind caught it.  It landed across the street from a house and the owner came out and helped us get it back in and tie it down.  Fortunately we made it to my sister's without any further incident.  Getting it out of the truck was another thing.  Needless to say something that would have taken men about an hour took us almost four. 

Afterwards me and Mom went to see the horses at the stable.  They were doing well.  They had been turned out and were all muddy from rolling.  I didn't have time to clean them up, so I left them muddy.  That's a rarity for me.  I hope to make it up there on Tuesday and take a curry to each. 

Crochet?  Sorry - not this weekend!  No way.  Which is no doubt why I am a mess and tense!!!  Tonight I plan on making a couple of dishcloths for my sink!  Oh and that hot bubble bath?  I've managed to take two and they have been amazing.  Scotch?  Not so much...  Just not in the right frame of mind just yet. 

The DH leaves tomorrow morning.  We had to rent a UHaul trailer because the 24 ft Budget truck wouldn't hold all of our "stuff".  Here is what he will be driving cross country in:




SONG OF THE BLOG:  The only one that seems to fit..."On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson

Friday, October 21, 2011

Today is THE Day

I'm not sure I can contain my enthusiasm.  And why should I?  Moving into our new home has been a dream of ours for so many years and today it's coming true.  Well, partly.  The real "move in" happens the 29th, but still!  I will be living in our new place TONIGHT.  Woohoo!

I managed to finish the manly beanie last night.  Here is a pic of it.  The colors are pretty cool - I think even a teen girl would like it. 


I can picture myself crocheting quite a lot over the next week.  Or wasting time online because I have no TV.  Guess time will tell!  LOL  Hope everyone has a great Friday! 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Home

Greetings Ladies!  I hope you are all doing well this fine Thursday morning.  I am in a great mood for so many reasons.  Let's see; for starters today is payday.  Yay!  Second I am packing up all of my things I have at my cousin's house tonight with plans to not return, save for a visit and/or an overnight stay should the weather turn really ugly.  (She lives less than 6 miles from where I work so if a blizzard comes and I'm at work I'll be going to her house instead of trying to make the trek home).  And third - it's still raining here and I absolutely love it.  One thing I do need to do though is learn the finer techniques of using an umbrella.  I look more like a packmule trying to hold an umbrella than a professional career woman on her walk from her car into her office building.  Let's not spend too much time on that visual, okay?

I did start another beanie last night while watching Game 1 of the WS.  I grabbed a skein of Red Heart's Spring Green (love this color) and a dark shade of a teal/forest green.  My goal was to make a hat a little more manly and I think I have succeeded.  I didn't finish it and I fell asleep before I could take a pic of it, but I'll get that done and get it up for your viewing pleasure.  The craft show will be at a Church in Kentucky sometime the first part of December I do believe..

My Mother is the funniest lady.  I have given her quite a few dishcloths which she adamantly refuses to use saying they are too pretty to be scrubbing dirty dishes with.  So instead she has decided to display a few like this:

I actually like this idea a lot and I love the old container.  I finally talked her into using one cloth, but she does so begrudgingly.  I keep telling her I can make her anything she likes, but it falls on deaf ears.  Sort of like when your child colors her first picture or makes that first art project at school.  She enjoys saving my work. 

We haven't had a house landline in going on 8 years.  Because we are out in the country and my Mom will probably be a frequent house guest we opted to put a house phone in.  So yesterday I went to Target and bought a phone.  I got the simple cordless version with a second handset you can put somewhere else in the house.  It was $59.99 which I thought was a decent price.  At times it is still very hard to believe I am actually now living in Ohio after so many years (28) in CA.  My horses are here and soon my husband and cats will be as well.  It's a whole new chapter in our life starting.  We have been dreaming and talking about this move for a very long time.  We are a couple that takes great pride in home ownership and we have always wanted to have our horses in our own backyard.  After years of boarding them and being frustrated with the conditions and upkeep of other's property we are now going to be able to take care of our own.  In the beginning we would have liked more acreage, but after a very long search (2 years) and some 47 properties later the place we decided on isn't exactly what we had in mind, but it turns out it is indeed perfect for us.  I can hardly wait to start "living" on this property.  I started a web site quite a while back for the move.  You can see pics of the house here

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Home" by DAUGHTRY

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Rain Dancing

I'm not even going to pretend like I WOULDN'T dance in the rain, because I would and I WILL.  I love everything about the rain.  Everyone kept saying, "You can't ride your horse in the rain!"  And my reply back is, "And why not?"  I absolutely love it and to be honest so does Dolly.  It might seem odd to anyone that riding in the rain would be pleasurable and perhaps to others it is not.  For me it takes me to a much simpler time.  I pretend as if I am a rancher out looking for strays.  Or a pony express rider crossing the plains to make a delivery.  Or I just unwind and let the rain come down and my little Dolly plod along, the rain drops dripping off her mane.  For me rain is a joyous thing! 

Last night was my evening alone house sitting.  You all know I had big plans to crochet!  Well, I did half a row which finished up the following hat:


After that I had some dinner and promptly dozed off in the recliner.  I woke up 9:30 and went straight to bed.  LOL  Go figure. 

Plans are still on to move into our house Friday.  My hubby starts his journey from CA on the 25th.  I will have a week alone in the house.  I didn't get the TV issue resolved, but I will have internet that week so life is pretty darn good. 


SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Songs About Rain" by Gary Allan.  Love this guy!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I Don't Wanna Be Here

If it were at all possible I would play hookey today.  Work is just not someplace I want to be.  You know those days when comfy clothes, something warm to drink and yarn are on the only thing you want to think about??  Well my butt is parked right there and I can't do anything to persuade it to get to work.  But alas, I am not able to leave work today.  Even though the house is empty.  Even though it's raining.  Even though I'm in the project area all by myself.  Work I must do.  Gotta work to pay the bills!

I started another beanie last night and will snap a pic of it tonight when I wrap it up.  Looks like my cousin Julie and I will be participating in a craft show sometime in early December, so I am working on my inventory.  We have decided to do beanies in school colors for the local area.  I do not have time to make any afghans so will work on beanies, scarves and dishcloths for this particular show. 

Two days and a wake up and I will be moving into the new house.  I have decided to paint a bedroom before the hubby arrives with the bulk of the household goods.  The guest room is currently a very dark shade of blue.  It really shrinks the room and I am going to paint it.  I haven't decided yet what color, but I am teetering between a light blue/periwinkle and sage/moss.  I am sort of thinking the sage/moss combo is what I will put in my master bedroom/master bath though.  I will enjoy going to Lowes this weekend (Sunday) and looking at the color selections. 

I wanted to say "Thank you" to all of you that stop be frequently and comment.  It's nice to see comments and I really enjoy reading your blogs. 

One of my long time friends on FB is getting on my last nerve.  I know I should just ignore the posts, but being a staunch conservative his liberal jabs are beginning to annoy me.  No one ever debates him which is another reason I am having a hard time ignoring him.  Sadly I cannot access FB at work, and my phone offers very limited ability to find articles and facts to post.  When I get home I am way more interested in relaxing than sitting at the computer trying to find debatable articles.  I know I shouldn't let him ruffle my feathers.  He believes what he believes and nothing I say or post is going to change that.  I just don't like to see my point of view not represented!! 

SONG OF THE BLOG  "Perfect" by Pink. 

Monday, October 17, 2011

Exciting week!


Happy Monday Ladies!  This is going to be an exciting week for me.  As you might know I got the keys to our house and I can start moving in on Thursday (20th).  However, I am house / dog sitting for my cousin that night so it will have to be Friday that I move my first load in and will be my first night I spend in the new house.  The hubby leaves CA on the 25th and is planning on pulling into our driveway on the 28th.  He will have both of our cats and the bulk of our household.  I can hardly think of anything else, but I am trying very hard!!

The horses are both doing very well these days.  The new barn still holds some surprises for them.  It's been windy the past two days and the old barn creaks and moans and every once in awhile they will look at one another for reassurance that it's not a horse eating barn of some sort.  Sunday I went over to spend some quality time with my girls and I turned them out into a small pasture for a bit.  They both love to roll and scratch their backs.  But they were much more interested in eating the amazing green grass.  Here is a pic of them enjoying Ohio.  Dolly is on the left and Cheyenne on the right.



I also managed to finish the infinity scarf (no pic) and another beanie.  This one is in that bright flourescent pink (even though the camera didn't quite capture that brightness) and black chenille.  It's really cute on.



In an effort to make some room and empty a container for hauling things, I consolidated some yarn over the weekend.  I can't wait for the hubby to get here with my yarn stash as I have grown tired of the yarns I brought with me and since I have so much it's silly to go buy more in the interim.  So I am making do.  I did start another surprise yarn ball with the plans to eventually use the wonderful blue yarn I picked up while in Germany last year.  My Mom has asked me to make her goose, Gracie, a Christmas sweater and scarf.  So I have that idea bouncing around in my head.  I'm just going to make something that slips over head like the dresses she currently wears and make her a skinny scarf with fringe for her long neck. 

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Baggage Claim" by Miranda Lambert. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

Yay it's Friday -- and I have GREAT news!!!!

I am so happy to report that the sellers are moving out of our house this weekend.  I will be able to get the keys on Saturday and move in after they clean it on the 20th!!!  The first night in my new house will be Friday, 21st!!!  That means for a week I will be able to stay in my new home alone!  How great is this news??  No TV, no Internet (I'm working on this) - just me and my yarn and my Ipod.  Oh and my big garden tub.  Life, Ladies, is about to get AMAZING.  Bring along my 125 year old bottle of scotch my son gave me and I'm set for a week of complete "ME".  I can barely contain myself.

As promised here is a pic of my white double strand beanie.


No one has asked for this one yet and I'm guessing it's because it is so white that keeping it clean will be an issue.  I would use it but one run in with the horses and it would no longer white. 

I continued working on my first ever infinity scarf.  I snapped a couple of pics of it before I got started.  It's now more than twice as wide as the pics show.  I'm kind of excited about this one now and the color is actually really neat.  I love green anyway so I just might keep this one for myself and see if it "works" or if there is changed I'd like to make on it (length, width) as well as see if I get any compliments on it while wearing it or requests to make a few from buyers. 


My dear cousin Julie and I have already planned a gathering to crochet for an afternoon on the 22nd.  She is bringing her Mom and I will bring mine.  We will order pizza and eat yummy desserts all the while chatting and crocheting.  Now my Mom doesn't crochet at all, but she will enjoy just sitting with us.  My Aunt Sue has such awful RA, but this season she is in pretty good sorts and has been crocheting up a storm making scarfs and beanies for all the people that have cared for her through the past year with her RA. 

I don't know if any of you are DAUGHTRY fans, but their new CD is due out Nov 21st.  Two singles have been released; Renegade and Crawling Back To You.  You can pre-order the CD here and with that you get the two singles to download for free now. 

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Renegade" by DAUGHTRY

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Finally Feeling Like I Can Breathe

I know we have all felt it.  That big sigh when things are finally dropping off of our shoulders and the burden isn't bearing down on our every move and thought.  That is how I feel this morning.  I don't want to go into details because that's boring, but suffice it to say I feel good.  I'll just leave it right there.

With that being said I started an infinity scarf.  I have been trying to do this for awhile but finally took the plunge and so far I am very excited about how it's turning out.  I must admit I am not as crazy about my color choice, but it's what I had in my car so I'm going with it.  I'm using two strands; one is a Caron light green and the other is robin egg blue.  Although they are so close in color there is a subtle difference and I think in the sunlight you will be able to see a difference where as indoors you can't.  I'm making it with no one in mind so perhaps it will go in the store inventory.  I didn't snap a photo of it because I was just in a funk and could barely move let alone work the camera on my phone for a decent pic. 

My daughter showed me a cute clutch she found online and wants me to make her one.  Here is that pic.  Looks easy enough - I mean I will do my own variation but this is the basic idea. 


T-17 days till move in.  The hubby is going stir crazy back in CA.  He has that whole "hurry up and wait" thing going on.  He can only do so much without the moving truck and he doesn't pick it up until two days before he rolls. 

I didn't go to see my horses last night as I was just so preoccupied.  I will go this evening for sure and give them both a good brush down and more carrots to spoil them rotten.

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Good Life" by One Republic

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A Horse of Course

I took the day off yesterday.  My horses arrived late Sunday night and by the time they were settled in enough for me to leave them and take Mom home, it was 0130.  I had hopes of getting up and going into work, but my older mare (Cheyenne) wasn't her self and I was naturally worried about her.  So I emailed my boss and at 0500 took back off to make sure she was alright.  She was and that was very comforting.  I stayed with them unitl around 0900 and then went back to Mom's for a nap.  I managed to get two hours in and then I was up and at em again.  Monday evening they were even more settled in and seemed to be enjoying not moving on the trailer and the comfort and safety of their own stall.  So I am back to work today.

I did manage to crochet two hats over the weekend.  Waiting on the horses to make their journey cross country gave me plenty of time and having something to occupy my hands was most welcome.  It was a real confirmation that I not only enjoy crochet but need crochet as a form of therapy.  Although FoFo sent me some great patterns, I opted to try one on my own I created and here is the result:

It's for my sister. She works in a warehouse and loves to wear beanies during the winter.  I made a second one in pure white -The Caron one pounder.  I love that yarn.  Anyway, I used double strands so you can imagine that one came out much thicker.  I didn't take a pic of it completed, but I will this evening. 

Now that my horses are here the next step is for my husband to pack up the moving truck and make the trip cross country himself with the cats.  Yes, I said cats.  This was his call and he thinks him and the two cats will be fine.  I'm certain by trip's end he will be very tired of the "meows". 

From today we have T-18 days till move in.  What a journey it has been!  I am so thankful and happy it's almost over. 

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "All or Nothing" byTheory of a Deadman

Friday, October 7, 2011

Horses

Well today is the day my horses leave CA for good.  I am a nevous "Mom" right now.  Although I did my research on this shipper and feel good about choosing him and to date he has been WONDERFUL, I am still nervous their health and safety in the hands of a complete stranger.  They can't arrive soon enough as far as I am concerned. 

I gave my cousin his hat last night without taking a pic.  Ugh.  I am so mad I did that.  He did love it though and it fit him great.  He is 8 and can be hard to please at times. 

His Mom liked it so much she asked me to make her one.  So I started one in hot pink and gray - using the two yarns together to make more of an adult version and hopefully with less space in the stitches.  I have started it about 4 times now.  I plan on really concentrating on it this evening and immediately jumping right into another so as to solidify this pattern into my brain!!

I will be staying with my Mom for the next ten days, so while packing up I came across a scarf I made using beads.  I have never incorporated the beads into the actual work, only used in fringe.  So this was a neat experiment for me and came out okay.
                                    

I will definitely be doing this again as I did enjoy the creative process involved albeit the beads were a bit cumbersome.


I'm a lover of the scrap afghan.  I never throw out a piece of yarn more than 12 inches long.  I tie them together and then roll them into one large ball of yarn and I call it my "Surprise Yarn".  Then I use it to make blankets like this one:

                                       
I gave this to my Mom who has it on her couch.  It looks lovely.  I used green and white as the base colors and then the surprise yarn in between.

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Airplanes" by B.O.B.  I love this song.  I think it has a great message. 



 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Just a pic

Forgot about posting a pic earlier.  This is a set of dishcloths I did over the summer.  Love them!

Thursday

Not a very creative title for today, but I'm not feeling very creative.  I have a lot on my mind; specifically my horses ship tomorrow.  Needless to say I am nervous and anxious about their long trip.  They will arrive Monday evening and I feel the urge to spend the night with them.  That, of course, is silly because it's a barn and an old icky barn at that.  They are being quarantined from the other barn population for two weeks and the quarantine barn isn't the most desirable.  It's dark and very different from anything they are used to so I will want to reassure them that they are okay and now with me.  I will be happy when they are moved (after two weeks) to the big barn with other horses. 

I did manage to finish the beanie last night and silly me, I didn't snap a pic of it.  I will tonight for sure.  I like the way it turned out, although the open stitch pattern because of the triple isn't my favorite.  I prefer a tighter stitch so I will need to experiment further.  I am working now on a matching scarf for my cousin.  I guess he really loves his beanies and scarves during the cold winter months. 

I am enjoying reading your blogs and looking at your projects.  It never ceases to amaze me how creative you ladies can be.  You all should be very proud of your work! 

I am having difficulties posting on some of your blogs.  I get an error when I try to post as a user with a Google Account. So I must resort to posting using a name and URL.  Not sure what is up with this.  I even had to comment on my own blog using this method.  Does anyone know how to resolve this?  On one blog (I can't remember which) I was able to use my Google Account with no problems whatsoever.  I'd appreciate the help.

I will be staying with my Mom next week.  She lives closer to where the horses are going to be, but further from my work.  After work each day I will be driving up to see the horses to make sure they are alright so my Mom suggested I stay with her.  She said she will have sandwiches ready for me and do my laundry to help me out.  How can I resist? 

There's not quite enough coffee for me this morning.  I'm going to have to go grab another cup and try to focus!  Hope you all enjoy your Thursday.

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "Second Chance" by Shinedown.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

T-25

I realize many of you reading this might not understand the countdown.  To fill you in my husband and I are moving cross country.  Well, I have already moved.  He is still in CA and we move into our new home on the 30th.  He is now leaving CA on the 25th, arriving on the 29th.  T-25 is how many days till we get the keys to our new home.  It could be shorter than that depending on the sellers, but right now I'm not getting my hopes up and going with the original agreed upon date.  That being said the anticipation is almost too much for me to bear.  I find myself whirling throughout the day (and night) thinking/dreaming about being in our new home and making it ours.  We have talked about this for so long and now it's happening. 

Along with my husband, we have two cats (Hooters and Dumpster) and two mares (Cheyenne and Dolly).  The cats will be traveling with the husband and the horses actually are scheduled to arrive this Sunday.  I've never shipped horses this far before, so the stress and nerves are really starting to kick in.  They leave CA on Friday and you can bet I will be a bundle of nerves the entire trip. 

I posted a pic of me and the hubby in my profile.  I know it's nice to put a face to a name/blog. 

I finished up the small bag I was working on last night.  The plan was not to put a liner in but after I finished I decided it needed one.  So once the dust settles from the girls arriving I will take care of that.  I didn't take pics of it.  I will when I finish.  So in the interim I started a beanie for my cousin.  He's 8.  So far, so good.  I started it over only once and now I feel like I've really got a good pattern and shape going with this one.  The funny thing is I've only used two stitches and I honestly think I can repeat it.  A first for me!  I'll take a pic of it this evening when it's all finished for you gals to check out.  Maybe you can give me some advice on what I am doing wrong and how I can improve my beanies.  I am having such a hard time with them!! 

In the meantime here is a pic of a blanket I did awhile back for a friend.  Her daughter loves the LA Lakers and that's what inpired the colors.
RESERVED LISTING - LOS ANGELES LAKERS COLORS BLANKET

SONG OF THE BLOG:  "I Got Over You" by DAUGHTRY.  One of my favs. 

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Web page

Forgot to give you guys the link to our web page.  Stop by and visit it, too!

http://www.red-k-ranch.com/

I'm on a Roll!

Second day of blogging!  I'm on a roll!  I have been trying to read a few blogs this morning and following a few I think I'd like to read daily, but I haven't made it to all the ones I want to check out just yet.  That thing called "work" keeps getting in the way.  Blah!  I didn't crochet last night.  Not sure why but if I had to guess I'd say it's a comfort thing.  I miss "my" loveseat, light and pillow.  Because of the move cross country I have been living with my cousin since the end of July.  Although their home is wonderfully comfortable and they make me feel so welcome, it's not "home".  My husband is still in CA with all of our "stuff" and our two cats, Dumpster and Hooters.  My two horses are shipping Friday and it will be wonderful to have them here with me.  My husband will leave CA for good on Oct 25th.  T-26 till move in.  Cannot wait.  Then I will get into my normal routine of crocheting and building up my inventory.

In the mean time I wanted to post a pic or two of my work.  I really do crochet - not just blog about it!  I love to make these bags.  I call them my Messenger Bags or Pony Express Messenger Bags (because of my love for horses).  This bag is one I made for a good friend of mine who is a survivor of brain cancer.


My turn around time normally on one bag is 4 days.  They are so fun and versatile.  I carry one all the time.

SONG OF THE BLOG"Crawling Back to You" by DAUGHTRY.  New song just released on ITunes today!  Their new album will be out November 21st called Break The Spell. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Welcome!

I debated whether to call this blog "Beyond Obsessed" because at times that's how I feel about crocheting.  To say my stash is large would be an understatement, but you first need to understand why it's so large before you decide if it's too large or just right.  I started crocheting years ago when I was 12 or 13.  My Aunt Sue taught me and along with cousin, Julie (who I will refer to often) we learned our art through trial and error.  Julie and I have had a connection from the beginning so it's no wonder really she and I share a love for crochet.  I dabbled with it all through school and then immediately upon graduation I joined the Marine Corps.  I didn't pick it up again until I was pregnant with my son in 1989.  My husband at the time was not supportive of my craft and I found it difficult to get enthusiastic about it.  I ended up overseas on an unaccompanied tour and as fate would have it my roomie was also a crocheter.  Charlene had her own stitch, and even today I've never been able to duplicate it.  She and I would share yarn as we could get it.  In those days (1990) the overseas exchange carried a very small inventory of yarns.  There was no Internet ordering then!  Money was tight and yarn was precious.  But together we sat for hours watching movies and crocheting. 

I met my now husband while I was there.  He and I were inseparable and he encouraged my crocheting.  That's where it all began the second time around.  I haven't stopped since.  I've been fortunate in that I have been able to buy yarn whenever the urge hits me.  Like many I buy yarn with good intentions only to find the project just will not come together or the colors I have selected are all wrong.  So the yarn goes into my stash.  Recently my Mother ran into a friend who's Mother was recently put into hospice.  She had a room of yarn my mother's friend didn't know what to do with.  My Mother said I would gladly take it and I became the owner of a large stash of yarn - most of it vintage. 

My husband and I are in the process of moving from California to Ohio.  I put my beloved yarn into sturdy plastic containers for shipping and they are sitting in our California house waiting to be loaded onto a truck to arrive at our newly purchased house in Ohio.  I have been in Ohio since early July working and on the weekends I was searching for our retirement home.  I finally found our piece of heaven in mid August and we just closed Escrow.  Move in is T-27 days - give or take a week.  At that time I will set up my yarn room with the help of my Handyman Hubby.  He is going to build me a wall of cubbies for my yarn.  That's when the real journey will begin for me and I hope you decide to come along for the ride!!