At My Own Speed Today!

Well first an update on my Pop - no change - he as of this morning is finally getting some sleep - we won't know until he wakes up how he's doing - they are trying to keep him on a slow drip of sleeping meds - After not sleeping all those days - I'm sure he needs it to heal. So hopefully we will have great news tomorrow. All his scans and bloodwork tests and all that they did the past few days have come back negative/normal so that's a good sign!


Well today I didn't even go out of the house - Wait a minute - I lied - I did - walked to the mailbox this afternoon! This morning I decided to start hooking - so made my tea and started - Of course there were times I had help...with picking wool...



Supervising what goes where...
And at times no hooking at all - he totally stretched out over the entire frame! Of course he didn't get pushed off or yelled at - he got hugs and belly rubs and kisses - and i was rewarded with his purring and rubbing.

Decided to do Mt. Saint Laundry today - it was getting out of hand! Also decided to make up a few things - My husband loves Mac and Cheese - not my favorite at all - but his Dad was English and this was a staple for dinner in his family growing up - 3 times a week! (blachhhhhhhkkkkk) Of course it can't be a box! But years ago I found out that making it in the crock pot tastes exactly like making it from scratch - and it's great you don't have to make a white sauce base or anything! What you do is boil your noodles (today i used mini penne) no need to boil them fully - but a little more than half done - throw it in the crock pot - add cheese (today I used a mixture of cheeses I had left in the fridge and freezer that I shredded up - hot pepper, cheddar, monteray, etc.), add a can of condensed milk, and some regular milk, salt and pepper to taste and put on high for like 3 hours - stir now and then and you have "baked mac and cheese". Another thing i did was saute onions in butter and threw that in - usually I add hot sauce too but since i used hot pepper cheese i didn't today. So what i do with the leftovers is put it in little containers and freeze it - that way my husband can grab one in the morning to take for lunch.

Also decided to make up some ham salad for lunches for my husband too - something else very easy to do - throw some chunks ham in a food processor, then throw in a couple hard boiled eggs, some sweet pickles and mix with mayo - another easy thing to make!

So why stop now - why not spend the afternoon in the kitchen since I already was making a mess - I decided to make Whoopie Pies - my friend Donna gave me the recipe a while ago (Taking a moment to say Hi to Donna right now as I know she reads this - she's a great cook and baker and is always passing on great recipes - the best was when she made them and brought them work to eat! LOL! ) Well anyway - the Whoopie pies came out great - if you google "Cooks Country Whoopie Pies" you'll get the recipe - the filling is made with marshmallow fluff and it's not overy sickening sweet. One of these days I'm going to try to make pumpkin Whoopie Pies - these were chocolate.

So after spending the afternoon in the kitchen - I sat down for more hooking . Felt good to finally get to pulling some loops! It's been a while. Just nice to do "normal" type things for a change - even though I could have done without having to do the laundry!

Hope everyone has a good day!
joanne

Not a Good Week

First I want to wish my sister in law Cheryl a very HAPPY FORTY NINTH BIRTHDAY TODAY - Hahaha - now we aren't the same age anymore! (she loves to rub it in that we are the same age for a few weeks!)

This week hasn't been the best. I'm still struggling with this cold - just can't seem to shake the coughing.

Normally I don't talk to much about health problems in my family but figured the blog was a good way to let everyone know how my Dad is doing - Wednesday morning I was awakened early with a call from my Mom, my Dad wasn't feeling very good - he's been sick with the "flu" for almost two weeks and had some other symptoms. Well he's had many many things medically to deal with in his life - so he really has no resistance - Last year we nearly lost him but got a new set of doctors and hospital and he was diagnosed correctly and has been in pretty good health for nearly a year. Back 1999 he had a "whipple" procedure due to pancreatic cancer - a whipple surgery consists of taking almost all of your organs out it seems - well not all but let me tell you - it's serious and a long recovery - one thing nice from when he was in the Cancer Center for that - they got everything out and he avoided chemo and radiation. Well back to the present - Spent a long nite in the emergency room Wednesday - I took my Dad and Mom down - got my Mom home near midnite and my Dad was admitted to the ICU. The round of tests discovered one problem was pneumonia in both lungs and low sodium and his electrolytes being off kilter - Low sodium can cause stroking and all sorts of problems- they were just starting to get everything under control and last evening moved him to Telemetry. Another early call from my frantic mother this morning and she wanted to go right down - my Dad apparently was calling her all thru the night extremely disoriented and not sleeping - So i got up and got dressed and drove to my Mom's to find out she already left - she apparently didn't want to wait - so i went down there - My brother and I arrived at the same time - My Dad was back in ICU and he's not doing well - he's extremely disoriented. He did recognize me but he didn't recognize my Mom or my brother and that's how it went all morning and afternoon - He's completely out of it and the drugs they are giving him to sleep aren't working - They are running all sorts of tests and trying to keep him "quiet" - he really needs to get some sleep but apparently he hasn't slept since he's been in there which I think this sleep deprivation is causing more problems! Oh my.

So that's been my week. Haven't gotten much else done except read a few books - it helps to escape reality. Oh I did pull a few loops on a new rug I started but that's as far as I got - a few loops.

Hoping today is as bad as it will get and praying my Dad will get the rest he needs for a full recovery. Wishing everyone a good week! Now I'm off to do something I hardly ever do - and that is - take a nap!

joanne

Round and Round the "Roundabouts"

Happy Friday!

Well this week my birthday surprises continued! My friend Betty sent me a candle cuff (Candle Muff, Candle Collar) she made - she did a wonderful job - it's so nice and prim -and there is a black kitty on their to boot! The candle she sent was yummy too Honey Vanilla - mmm smells good - I love the candle container too - it looks like an agate milk can - I have a small collection of tin milk cans so this fits right in! Check out her blog, http://primitivebettys.blogspot.com/, Betty is one talented lady and has a better picture of the candle cuff - She also has lots of gorgeous freebie patterns on her site!

Today I got up early (at least for me lately with this darn cold) and set out to Flemington, New Jersey to go to a Guild Meeting. I belong to the Hunterdon Rug Guild so decided to go show my support today. Sharon, a friend of mine and also a member of the guild was coming too so it made the day fun! Here's a pic of Miss Sharon and her big smile - this is a woman that is forever bringing smiles to everyone with her humor and positive energy!


Sharon surprised me a with a present she just made last nite! A beautiful wool heart - I love it. She did a great job - the wool is "weaved" and the back of the heart looks like the front.

Here's a close-up -
After I took the picture - Riley had his head on it like a pillow but moved when i tried to take a picture! It's now safely displayed - Thanks so much Sharon!

The reason for the title - Round the Roundabouts is that part of Jersey has so many "circles" - I followed Sharon to the restaurant where we had lunch and I think we went thru three of those darn circles - Sometimes they make you feel you are taking your life in your hands going round and round them! To be sure I was going home the right way I put on my Garmin and it kept saying "in .2 miles take Roundabout and take 3rd exit" over and over! LOL! Too funny

Now I'm at home and trying to decide what to hook next - just can't seem to get started on a project. I know once I start I'll go to town - it's the getting started that has me stalled! I narrowed it down to two patterns I bought in Vermont and have them layed out on the floor in front me - just trying to decide!

I read several more books this week and then took a bag of books to the paperback trader - Told myself I would not buy anymore as I have a lot lined up to read, but somehow two more came home with me. It's kinda like wool with me - I can't resist a book - love savoring a book but when i start reading one I can't stop and that's all I do - then I'm sad to see it end! Same with my rugs! Hmmm is this an addiction? Books, Wool? I will have to think about this one - guess it could be worse!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and chocolate!

Hugs everyone - Joanne

I'M SO SICK.......

OF WINTER

HAHAHA - Love this pic (thanks for sending it Sharon!)

Truthfully - I'm so over this winter already - one day it feels like zero degrees then the next it's warm and then the next afternoon I'm out shoveling snow. No wonder I came down with this horrible cold - Up until last year it was probably over 5 years since I had a cold -- this past week I've been down and out with a fever (another thing I don't think I've had in well over 10 or more years), chills, sweats, and this never-ending coughing! I'm not one for naps and laying around and I tell you - it's rough on the body - my back was hurting from sleeping so much - not that I had much of a choice but I just hate that weakened icky feeling I get when I "slug" too much! Either way I'm still not 100% but I do feel a lot better than I did a few days ago!

There were some pluses however with being sick - My trusty sidekick absolutely did not leave my side except to go get his breakfast and dinner and litter breaks - honestly - he was glued to me - even would follow me to the bathroom. I hate being around anyone when I'm sick but there is something comforting about having a warm furry body just "being" with you! Know what I mean!

So today I decided to give him the day off since I was planning on going out for part of the day - however he still insisted on staying close - like that's a hardship for me! Here he is while I was watching TV in the hooking room - he's laying in my box of worms keeping his eyes on me.

And here he is with one eye ready to keep an eye on me!

And again - I said - Hey Rye - give me a kiss - and he's puckering up here! LOL!

Another good thing - i was able to read three books without feeling any guilt about not hooking, not doing laundry, not cleaning, not doing things I should be doing. I so love to read but it's so hard to find the time sometimes with all the other things I want to be doing or think I should be doing.

Well Wednesday was my birthday - the first day I was feeling awful - went out to lunch with my parents and came home and took a nap. In my mailbox however was a wonderful package from my friend Paula- She is such a sweetheart - with all she has on her plate right now (New grand baby and sick daughter) she thought to send me a gift - A huge piece of linen all ready for a design to be drawn on it and a little plate. Thanks so much Paula - warm hugs to you!

Hoping you all have a wonderful week!
joanne

Can You Believe Tomorrow is February????

I just can't believe today is the end of January - didn't it just feel like Christmas - New Years! Heck even Thanksgiving! Wow 31 days into 2009 already! Time sure flies!

Well all the wool is washed and put in tubs - the tubs still sit in my living room! I'm not sure where to go with them - Have to do some serous rearranging in my hooking room to make room for it - Plus a lot of it I want to dye - so one of these days I plan on spending a day in the kitchen just playing around in the dye pots!

I went over today to get the rest of the wool! She had another full bag - Oh my - plus inside that bag was two huge patterns - old ones - and get this one of the price tags on the one pattern is $5.00 and it's huge! I'll get pictures later in the week to show you - If anyone is interested in them - they are on burlap (burlap makes me itch like crazy so i left them out in the car until i find something to put them in) and one is started! They are both florals by Rebecca Rugs - never heard of that! There was also some more cut strips. I will be washing some more wool but not for a few days! There was also a cutter in the bag - but it's a plastic one - haven't played with it to see how it works.

When I got home there was package sitting there for me and then I see it's from my friend Kathy - and I just knew it had to be great. Check out her projects on her blog, http://woolfind.blogspot.com/, she occasionally posts pictures of what's she working on (and she has a link to her Etsy store when she's selling stuff) everything she makes is wonderful! Next week is my birthday and she sent me the most wonderful items! She made me a wool tissue holder - how cool is this - it will go right in my purse and now hopefully I'll find my tissues inside of a ripped up ball of them! She sent me a redware ornie heart which is on my feather tree, and she made me a SNIPPET BAG - too cool - I love it and the fabric is a great old looking print! (I had asked her to make me one that i fully intended on paying for- sneaky woman this one!) , a couple pieces of hand dyed wool which is beautiful, and a utensil you use to get your hot teabags out of the pot - very cool - will save my hands and of course a cool kitty card! I'm so lucky to have her as a friend in my life! She keeps me laughing! So THANK YOU KATHY!

This past week i got right on making a rug for the women that gave me all the wool - I did a "sampler" look to it as she's a quilter - Not sure what her tastes were so just did hit and miss and things like that - The bird i traced from a pattern from Kelly Belfast and the cat from a pattern from Debbie St. Germain. So thank for the inspiration ladies. The pic came out awful - the colors are much deeper in person - the bird is really old gold with red and a darker tan background - all the colors are "richer" in person. I finished whipping this rug this morning and put on the label and took it with me to pick up the wool - I think she really really liked it! She said it would be a wonderful memory of her "donation".

It was a pretty dreary week weather wise but the sun's been out the last few days! Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and lots of sunshine - I'm hitting the road to the Jersey Shore - it's nice to see the Ocean in the winter! Plan on spending some time with my friend who lives down there part of the week.

I'll end this with a pic of my two boys together this a rare site - I woke up in the back bedroom (I often sleep back there rather than our bedroom due to the pain i have at night in my arms) and when i move back there normally Riley follows me) Well sometime during the night Miles came in too! Too funny - i was wondering why i couldn't move when i woke up - I scrunched myself out from under them and grabbed the camera since it was shocking as Miles can't stand to be in the same room with Riley!

A Tiger's Work is Never Done

My name is Riley and I'm a Bengal - Mom and Dad call me Tiger Buns all the time they seem to forget I have leopard spots - That's okay - it makes me sound tough! Just wanted to tell you about my weekend - Geez - I never get a break around here - work, work, work - I know my Mom appreciates my help - she's always saying all these mushy things to me (believe me I won't repeat them here - bleechhh!) I don't think anything would get done around here if I didn't help - I got to keep everyone in line! Anyway - it's a tough job but someone gots to do it.


This weekend my mom left early Saturday morning and was home a little later - Her and Dad drug in these large tubs and I'm thinking - Oh boy - I know it's going to be work for me! Well I know Mom already told you about all that wool she got (Geez who knew tubs of wool could make someone smile like that!) Anyway - I'm here to tell you MY side of the story!


Mom kept that big white box filled with water all day and that other white box that makes that noise (but is warm) going too - All day! So she would pull these piles of wool out of the white box that is warm and bring them into the living room and me and her would sit there and fold all that wool . Here's the proof - just so you all knows - that I did most of the work -

Here I am trying to grab a piece that got away:

Oh - you weren't supposed to see this picture - I needed a break!

Dear God, Please let this be the last pile of wool - I'm tired of folding.

It took me all weekend but my work here is finally done - I put in some serious overtime I tells you. Here's Mom's wool all washed, fluffed and folded and put back in those tubs! Now see that sunbeam - I'm off to take a nap!

Uh oh - Just heard Mom tell Dad that lady that gave her all the wool called and found more! I best rest up for the next load - Like I said - A Tiger's work is never done!

Wow is all I have to Say

What do you think is in these huge tubs - I wonder what it could be?

Hmmm, All I know is when Mom brings things in the house - it's just more work for me - I have to supervise and inspect everything around here you see - and here I thought it was my day off -Okay - I'm getting up - just give me a minute to wake up my eyes.

I know, I know, I know what's in the tubs (I peaked don't tell anyone)

It's four huge tubs of wool! Oh please, its just wool - What we need more of around here is Shrimp and Tuna - not wool - I can't eat this stuff - so what good is it - I'm going back to my heating pad and taking a nap.

Early this morning I picked up these tubs of wool! Thursday my Dad was at Church folding bulletins with a woman named Betty - Betty asked my Dad if I would like some wool - She had "some" wool and knew I hooked rugs and would like to get rid of it. My Dad being a typical male tells her that he isn't sure he has to ask his wife! Well my Mom took control of the situation and called Betty later in the day and got the details. Apparently about 25 years ago she was living in California and stopped at a yard sale - A man sold her all this wool and a cutter for $20. She's a quilter and always wanted to learn rug hooking - but she never did - She's moved this wool about 5 times to different houses - her husband was a Minister and they moved a lot! So she wanted the wool to go to someone who could use it - She called me Friday and of course i said I would love to have it (What am i crazy - turn down wool?) So this morning i picked it up - I expected some wool - not this much! My word, I couldn't even judge how much wool there is - most of it is from recycled garments as you can see "shapes" of pants and skirts. All taken apart, all safety pinned together - whoever took this apart kept every available piece of wool possible - so there are many approx. 1/2 yard sizes, 1/4 yard sizes, lots of long wide strips and small pieces!

I brought it home and immediately decided to start washing it and sorting in - Believe it or not it wasn't even musty or dirty - I just felt better washing it - Actually there is so much I'm on my 10th load i think and still have more to go - it's taken all day so far!

I am just amazed at the generosity of people - She would not take any money for it. She even would not take her tubs back! She is just tickled that she has some free space now! I haven't decided on a design yet but I will be making her a rug to thank her - I noticed walking thru her house it's full of quilts, pincushion collections and antiques - so since that's my 'style"- I will make her something I like and hope she likes it too! Just need to come up with a design.

After I get all this washing and sorting done - I will have to find a place to store this - and I foresee a whole lot of dyeing in my future - out of all these tubs there was only two fabrics that were plaid! Hard to believe - it's all solids - There is some that looks hand-dyed but I think it is marbelized. What a day - tiring, but fun!

One of the tubs was half full of already cut strips - I put it in one of those huge ziploc bags and it's stuff to the brim - These are cut in probably a #3 or #4 cut - way to skinny for me (think dental floss) - Kathy said maybe her group could use it since a lot of those ladies use these cuts - I'm happy to pass them on.

Here's my helper helping me fold one of the loads of "blues" Here he is again supervising my sorting and folding and re-tubbing the reds, lavenders, oranges, etc.
And again - "Hey Mom, I think you should start washing the greens - they match my eyes"

"Yo Mom - No breaks here - there is folding to be done - Get your buns back here""

"YooHoo Mom, get a move on - I got myself an emtpy tub here to fill - get those greens folded"

And here's a pic of my little helper a little while ago - the poor guy has been up all day helping me - guess he decided I can do the job on my own for a little while. I'm sure his inspection of my work will continue after his cat-nap - let's hope I get the pawprint of approval!

So that's my day - it's 9:30 and i still probably have 3 more or so loads to do - I don't think I will have this all cleaned today as right now I feel like curling up like my tiger - I'm tuckered out myself!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Joanne