25 things for charity in 2006

I don't know how to put this in my sidebar, so i'll just put it here and update it as i go. i was curious how much i could do in a year so i am keeping track. but it was taking up too much space in my c'ville signature. so, i'm cleaning house in my signature. hey, it's better than cleaning house in my house. GEEZ!!!

25 things for charity finished and mailed:
11 scarves
30 granny's daughters
23 granny squares
8 octagons
1 babyghan
1 lapghan
assorted crocheted goodies
tote bag
2 ferret hammocks
5 preemie hats and blankies

Chocolate Bunny

i saw a cute easter bunny on c'ville and thought he would look funny done in chocolate brown with a bite out of his ear. didn't you always eat the ears first? i did. after, of course, i picked off and ate his white candy eyes. GEEZ, i was a brutal kid. LOL!! anyhow, here's a pic of Chocolate Bunny. and i promise not to pick off his eyes.

Look at all the pretties!!

here is the package of goodies that i got from crochet fanatic (theresa) from the c'ville spring flower swap. this is my first swap and isn't it the coolest thing to get surprises in the mail? the little blue flower is my favorite. probably because i can't do thread crochet without a major crisis and this one is so tiny. THANK YOU, THERESA!!

recent crochet projects

here are some pictures of what i've been crocheting lately. i mailed off some before i took the pics, but here is a little bit. first, there are the blankies for the preemie project followed by some preemie hats. some may be too big, but maybe not.

and here are a couple of lapghans for sissie's nursing home project. i've got to get started on some chemo caps for the next blitz. i know once warm weather gets here, i'm not gonna be inside as much, so i'm trying to get as much done as i can now.

Flowers and Frogs and crochet, oh my!

It finally stopped raining for awhile, so i went out to start cleaning up the yard. how does the yard get so ratty in the winter when we don't go out there? it makes no sense. things are popping up all over. forsythia, daffs, snowdrops, hiacynths, and the flowering quince is leafing out. even the dandelions are blooming. and the tree frogs are singing at night. of course, we also have a winter weather advisory for tomorrow night. from 3 to 6 inches of snow. YUK!!
Friday i went for a job interview at a nursery north of here. The lady said she'd probably call after Tuesday when they finish with interviews. But, she went over the company rules and info, so i'm hopeful. It's fulltime, temporary just until june. but that will give me the rest of the summer for farmer's market. And i plan to take my crochet for lunchtime. I can't give up my other bad habit.
On the crochet front, i've been keeping pretty busy. i've sent off some squares for comfortghans, flowers for the c'ville swap, a totebag for the diabetes auction, a box of goodies for Jimmie Lu's amigoes, and i've got 2 more lapghans in the works and 2 ferret hammocks (that's right, ferret hammocks) ready to mail out. i've got a few hats for the preemies, but need to make matching blankies.
In the greenhouse i've started some herb seeds for the market this summer. i've planted chives, marjoram, sage, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, and even a few birdhouse gourds. I've got to order some pennyroyal seeds. everyone was asking for it last year. and i can't find the seeds in a store anywhere. i'm sure the herbs won't be ready by the end of april for the local church flea market that i sell at, but they'll be ready for market on may 20th. plus, i have perennials that i can sell. and maybe make some tufa pots and leaf castings(if i can find some big leaves somewhere).
But Melissa, you say, with all this fun you're having, when do you get any housework done? don't ask silly questions.

Spring is in the air

It's been awhile since i've written anything. My mother-in-law had a heart attack, then a stroke, then passed away. at least my Husband,Pete, and his brother, Scott, were able to get to Texas in time to talk to her while she could still communicate and that meant alot to them. she was flown back here and was laid to rest on Saturday. busy weekend, lots of family in town.
Spring is just 12 days away and it's beginning to show. I've got daffodils, crocus, snow drops, and tiny little early iris in bloom. The little black pussywillow i bought last year worked very hard and produced one precious little black pussyfoot. It's so cute. And the local grocery store has frost tolerant pansies for sale. I was a good girl and didn't buy any (yet).
I walked around the yard looking at how everything faired over the winter (what little winter we had). I found the tips of the peonies poking through the ground, as well as primroses, pasque flower, sedum, creeping phlox, daylilies, surprise lilies, and columbines. I am soooo stoked.
Pete got the stuff out of the greenhouse that had to be there while they worked on son's truck in the garage. Now i can get started on planting seeds. I've got to get herbs started , some annual vines, and see what else strikes my fancy. I've got to get the potted perennials cleaned up and set back outside next to the greenhouse. Some have already started coming back up. I've got to get busy. I've been invited back to a local church's community day sale on April 29th. sort of a flea market thing. I had a lot of fun there last year. And i got an e-mail that the farmer's market will begin on May 20th this year. that just gives me about 6 or 7 weeks to get things growing.
It's pouring down rain now and is supposed to rain and thunderstorm for the next 3 or 4 days. Yup, it's spring in Indiana. Can mushrooms be far behind?

crochet olympic update

i thought i'd post a picture of my progress so far on the shrug i'm making for the crochet olympics. the sleeves went really fast, but the trim is taking longer and it's a bit of a hassle turning it around all the time. i was going to make it long, but i saw at the mall yesterday that alot of the shrugs are little short things, so i may split the difference and make it about waist length. i've got to take it to have my daughter try it on and see how it looks on her and how long she would like for it to be. and i've still got to do the cuffs, which i think i'm going to make sort of flaired like the one in mrs. who's picture. i think the next shrug i make is going to be like the farmland shrug i saw in the clothing show and tell on c-ville. it is very pretty. anyhow, here's my shrug so far. and in case you're wondering, 33 days til spring!!

crochet update.

i've mailed off some charity crochet things and started some new projects. i'm up to 16 on my 25 things for charity. i've also finished some preemie hats and blankies and some things for afghans for amigoes, but haven't gotten those mailed yet. now i'm working on some crocheted hearts that i'm going to embelish and attach pins to for our local nursing home. they can use them for bingo or some other valentines day activity. wonder how many i can get done by then?
another thing i've started is a striped sarape' style poncho for myself. it's mostly being done with worsted weight, but i've thrown in some textured yarns just for fun and variety.
here are some pictures of my hearts (undecorated) and the poncho.
and , if you're wondering, only 45 days till spring!

Daffy-Dils

can you believe it? it's january and my crazy daffodils are up about an inch or more. i tried to talk some sense into them and tell them it's still winter and they should go back to bed, but they aren't listening. and now they are being a bad influence on the daylilies.

adventures in brain surgery

as i promised, here is last week in a nutshell. my mom had not been feeling well for quite some time and her doctor was of little or no help. so, she changed doctors and they did a catscan and found fluid on her brain. amazingly, he said it was also on the catscan the other doctor did in 2002 and had said it was fine (grrr).
anyway, we got her into the hospital last monday night, and they did tests on tuesday and on wednesday, they drilled a hole in her head and put in a shunt and a valve that will open whenever the pressure builds up. the fluid will drain back into her body and be absorbed. i know it sounds weird(sorry if i gross anybody out), but it was so interesting to see what they can do and what a difference it can make. she even came home on friday. she is still recovering, but has already made great progress. she can walk without assistance unless she gets too tired, she's eating again, and she can read and concentrate better. the valve will take some adjusting, but, she's getting back to being mom. and she's well enough now for us to start giving her a hard time and making light of it (ok, making fun of her). but, it's what our family does. like my cousin says, "she needs us like she needs a hole in her head".

Meet our Daughter

i previously posted a picture of our son, but we didn't have a recent pic of Casey, so we cornered her last week and took a couple of quick snapshots before she could get away.
like i said, her name is Casey, she's 25 and she's "fabulous". just ask her, she'll tell you it's true. LOL!!
she lives in Bloomington, about 45 minutes north of us. she has 3 spoiled cats and a thing for chinese food and Bob Dylan. and she's taken up crochet, too. she likes to make scarves.
well, enough chatter. here for your viewing pleasure, the fabulous Casey!!!

next time, i'll tell you of our adventures in brain surgery this week.

Dreamsicle Dog

check out the precious sweater Alisha "chiscrochetcrazy" sent to my weinerdog. it's the cutest peachy-orange and yellow variagated cotton that won't itch deedee's skin. deedee has synthetic issues and she has to wear shirts to keep from scratching. this is just the sweetest thing. thanks bunches, Alisha!!
BIG HUG!!!


"don't hate me because i'm beautiful."


"my belly is cute, too."

a lovely saturday

i'd had a pretty stressful past week, so on saturday, my husband (Pete) took me on a surprise date. first he took me to the greenhouse at Indiana University. i've always wanted to see what was inside there. he had done a job there recently and found out that it is open to the public and what the hours were. we wandered from room to room. the desert, the tropics, the houseplants, etc. . huge cacti, palms, ferns, orchids and spanish moss hanging on trees, a papaya tree with fruit, lemon trees hanging with lemons. and the smells. it was like walking straight into summer.
then he took me to "cheeseburger in paradise". a very jimmy buffet type burger joint. lots of atmosphere and burgers so big, there was no way i could down one. so i ordered popcorn shrimp and fries. i couldn't believe how much they brought. i finished the shrimp(the most important part of a balanced...anything!) and most of the fries. next time, we'll share an order of fries. that was a bunch of food!!
after lunch, we went over to the mall and waddled around and did nothing for awhile. what a wonderful change of pace. nowhere to be, nobody wanting anything, no phone calls(left the cell at home. hehehe).
all to soon, it was time to come back to the real world. but it was the best day i'd had in....way too long. and now i know that i can take my mom back to the university to show her all the wonderful things they have. i might wait till the middle of a cold, dreary spell when the summer sensations would be most welcome to us both.
and now, back to my regularly scheduled life.

Grandmother's flowergarden baby blanket finished

i finished the Grandmother's flowergarden baby blanket for my friend's granddaughter-to-be. i used 123 hexes. i made a little hat to match, but it didn't quite get in the picture. i was going to jump right in and make a bedspread sized one for our bed, but i think i'm gonna do some other, smaller, things for awhile. i've seen enough hexes for now. i'm going to work on my 25 things for charity, and my UFO CAL.

and this lump in the covers of the bed is my mini weinerdog, deedee. she gets out of bed when she gets darn good and ready.

garden time isn't far away

i know, i know. it's winter. but i start looking for signs of spring as soon as the first day of winter. i've started getting my seed catalogs in the mail, and walmart has their racks of seed packets out. i know not everybody sees the excitement in this, but we garden junkies see it as a ray of hope. and my husband keeps reminding me that the days are getting longer. i start my greenhouse up in later february and early march so the plants will be ready for farmers market in mid may. i sell mostly herb plants and lesser known novelty plants just for fun.
and, in case anyone is counting(and i am), there are just 75 days till spring!!

charity crochet

i've joined the 25 things for charity gang and am going to do my best to help as much as i can. i think 25 is do-able for me. i've already got 5 scarves for red scarf project ready to mail, 2 chemo caps and 8 warm hats that i need a place to send them to. and i'm working on a lapghan and some dishcloths for the afghans for amigoes. i want to check out the project linus site to see what it's about. afghans take me soooo long that i'd rather stick to small things. a bed sized one would never get done in time.

Great buys from Michael's

My daughter called this evening to tell me to drop everything and get to michael's. they had some of their yarn 70% off. It's a 40 minute drive, but what could i do? i got 2 skeins of Moda Dea eden in a burgundy color called apple, was 6.99 (2.09 each), 2 skeins of Moda Dea Wild called russett, was 7.99(2.39 each), and a multicolored skein of Fun Fur called confetti, was 4.99 (2.77). the fun fur will be for a scarf for my daughter. gotta reward her for the heads-up on the sale. all together i spent about 12.50 on 5 skeins of neat fancy yarns. Here's a pic.

my latest follies

Here is a picture of a poncho i've finished and the baby blanket i'm working on. the blanket is in the grandmothers flower garden pattern.

Hi there.

since this is my first post, i think i'll start with some bragging. this is a picture of my husband ,Pete, and myself with our 21 year old son, Dan at our volunteer fire depts. annual banquet. my husband and son are both volunteer firefighters and son is an EMT. this year, the guys at the dept. voted our son EMT of the year and he tied with another fella for firefighter of the year. pretty good for a young guy. he's been on the fire dept. for 5 years, starting as a junior and taking all the training. he plans to make a career of firefighting.
now, off to make christmas candy.