Grandma's little helper...
helped make quinoa salad for lunch...
and cabbage soup for supper...
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
1-14-2013 Zelda & Harriet
Yesterday I finished
and also
for my granddaughter...
to match the 6 animals on her baby quilt:
The collection is now complete!
Ooops, my S-I-L pointed out
that I forgot the little yellow bird
sitting on the turtle's shell...
I think I already have a little yellow bird
in my Granny stash bag:
I think one of these should do...
what do you think?
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
1-12-2013 A Year in Review
Each year
I have my blog
printed into a hardcover book.
(I use Blog2Print)
It gives me a year in review,
a nice 'photo album'
from which I can re-live my memories.
My favorite event
made the front cover this year:
the birth of my first 2 grandchildren!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
1-8-2013 New Blades
After 30+ years of use
without ever being sharpened
my kitchen knives are more dull
than butter knives!
So, I decided to ship them off to have them
sharpened at the CUTCO factory
to regain their original razor edges!
During their several week absence
I needed something to replace them
so got these cheap (compared to CUTCO!)knives
at the grocery store...
$12.99 for the yellow serrated edge knife
and $7.99 for the orange straight blade.
They did a great job cutting up tonight's German stew:
pork sausage, cabbage, onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, zuccini.
Mmmmmmmm...
1-7-2013 Thrumming Progress
Here's the progress I'm making
on knitting my
With all this 'fleece lining'
(which will felt together from wearing)
they should be super warm!!!
Monday, January 7, 2013
1-6-2013 Hugs & Kisses
This granny got to give her grandson
some hugs and kisses today!
She also got to give HER baby/son
some birthday hugs and kisses!
Enjoyed coming to Chicago
and celebrating your birthday, son!
Love you all.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
1-5-2013 Mittens
This is my the first pair of mittens I've knit.
The one on the right was made according to the pattern
using the instructions for the women's medium
and was way too big for my hand.
The one on the left was made
with some tweaking of the pattern
and it fits perfectly!
So, I then unraveled and re-knit
the mitten that was too large...
...and I now have two mittens that fit perfectly!
I'm so happy that I have finally gotten to the point
where I understand how to change a pattern to suit me.
Makes me feel like a 'master knitter!'
Elizabeth Zimmerman would be proud!
Friday, January 4, 2013
1-4-2013 Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, son!!!
It's so hard to believe
that my son now has a son of his own
(and my daughter, a daughter of her own)!
Love you with all my heart!
1-3-2013 Roving
Today I cast on
my first pair of "Thrummed Mittens"
and got these hanks of roving (un-spun wool)
for the insides.
I need a good warm pair of mittens
for the cold Iowa winters!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
12-31-2012 Happy New Year!!!
DH & I popped the cork
on a bottle of bubbly
and toasted the 3 babies born
into our family this year ~
2012 ~ the Year of the Dragon!
It' been a good year!
...Our first grandchild/ a granddaughter...
...Our second grandchild/ a grandson...
...and our nephew's son... our great nephew!
Wishing all our loved ones
and you and yours
happiness, health and prosperity
in the New Year 2013
(as we dive over the "Fiscal Cliff!").
We love you all.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
12-29-2012 Ten Stitch Blanket
Tonight I started my "10 Stitch Blanket"
to use up yarn scraps/leftovers from other projects.
It will henceforth be known as
"My Ugly Blanket!"
I also finished JP's amigurumi tiger.
Isn't it fierce?!?!?
12-28-2012 Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday dear brother! Love you!
And Happy birthday to my dear Niece-In-Law!!!
Hope you both have a wonderful
celebration of YOU!
We went out to dinner at SensAsian
to help you celebrate! :*)
Mmmmmmm....
Whose birthday can we celebrate next?!?!?!
Dear Son's is coming up soon!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
12-27-2012 Mutant Ninja Turtle?
Yesterday I finished up
a 'little bigfoot turtle' amigurumi
for my gd...
it looks more like a
mutant ninja turtle, ha.
12-26-2012 It's Time
It's time to start dreaming of next summer's garden...
when those darn seed companies
send you their catalogues
in the dead of winter!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
12-25-2012 Dresden Stollen
I baked some Dresden Stollen
for Christmas Day breakfast.
It was the first time I have tried this recipe
and I really love it...
will be using it again!
Half the recipe
made one HUGE loaf.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 24, 2012
12-24-2012 Away In A Manger
In case you missed it...
check out this wonderful blog post (below)
about the Christmas Carol "Away In A Manger"
by Rev. Ed Hird
from Dec. 2010.
I just found it today...
better late than never!
- - - - - - -
Childhood
memories inescapably come to my mind each Christmas. One of my favorite
Christmas Carols as a child was ‘Away in a Manger’. This delightful
lullaby still soothes my soul in unexpected ways. The term ‘lullaby’
comes from the Swedish term ‘lulla’, meaning ‘an intermission or lull in the
storm’. With three lively sons in our family, my wife and I have
always been grateful for any lull in the storm. My parents have often
reminded me of what a lovely son I was when I was sleeping!
The
inescapable season of Christmas is intended to be a lullaby, a lull in the
storm of life. So often we wear ourselves out trying to do Christmas
right. Without intending to, we spend too much, eat too much, and drink
too much. I am more and more convinced that the real key to a joyful
Christmas is less, not more; slower, not faster. The heart of Christmas
is simplicity. The heart of Christmas is a manger.
When
you think about the first Christmas, there was ‘no crib for a bed’. The
cattle were LOWING, which is an ancient term for mooing and making a
racket! No wonder ‘the Baby awakes’. I wonder how many mothers
reading this article have had to give birth in a barn? I wonder how many
modern-day Moms ever used a feeding trough as a baby crib? Yet that is
what ‘Away in A Manger/Feeding Trough’ meant on the very first Christmas day.
No one actually knows who wrote the words to this delightful carol.
I wonder if it was written by a stressed-out parent with several children under
the age of three. Personal experience has taught me that sleep is a rare
commodity for parents with babies. You just have to snatch a couple of
hours in-between feeding, cleaning and crying times. In my early
twenties, I said that I would never have children until scientists had solved
the problem of children crying! After being stuck in an hour-long traffic
jam with my wailing baby nephew Boyd, I started to fantasize about creating a
mechanism that would switch Boyd’s screaming into a flashing light on his
forehead. My hunch is that the author of ‘Away in a Manger’ may have had
the same desires when he wrote ‘But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes’.
The amazing thing about raising three boys is that after a while the
crying and wailing doesn’t traumatize you in the same way. I am not sure
if that is because you suffer from hearing loss along the way. Either way
I am convinced that baby Jesus, being fully human as well as fully God, wailed
and cried with the best of them. And mother Mary and Joseph probably
suffered from sleep deprivation, but loved the little Lord Jesus regardless.
There is something so amazing about being parents looking at one’s
sleeping baby. As our babies lay down their sweet heads, as the stars in
the bright sky look down where they lay, something stirs within the most
hardened workaholic heart. Babies are worth the sacrifice. Babies
are worth the investment. No wonder God became a baby at Christmas.
God stole our hearts by turning up ‘away in a manger’. Who cannot love
God as a helpless baby?
As a young child I sincerely sang in Sunday School: ‘I love you Lord
Jesus, look down from the sky and stay by my bedside till morning is
nigh’. I meant it when I sang: ‘Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay
close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.’ But as I became older, my
heart hardened. I became cynical and jaded towards Christmas and
Church. Jesus to me became little more than a swear word. The
miracle is that Jesus cracked through my cold distracted heart and showed me
real love. My prayer for those reading this article is that the Reason
for this Season, Jesus, may ‘fit us for heaven, to live with thee there’.
- - - - - - -
Merry Christmas (Eve)!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
12-23-2012 At last!
DH & I have tried and tried
on several occasions
to purchase these whiskey glasses...
to no avail.
Today, our dear S-I-L and his brother
made it happen!
Thank you sooooooo much guys!
You were able to get for us
what we could not get for ourselves.
Cheers to you and having friends in high places! :-)
Love you! Merry Christmas.
12-22-2012 A Few More...
A few more Christmas cookies
fresh from the oven...
Mmmmm...
the house smells good!
Friday, December 21, 2012
12-21-2012 Winter Solstice
...brought with it our first sleet & snow for this winter...
covering everything with a wash of white
crunchy ice and snow.
After digging out the front door and driveway
I decided to stay inside
throw together a pot of turkey noodle soup
start a batch of Christmas cookies
babysit the granddaughter
and do some needlework!
I just finished this ami lion for her:
Thursday, December 20, 2012
12-20-2012 First Winter Sleet/Snow
...accompanied by 50 mph winds...
...we may have a white Christmas after all...
~inside my warm kitchen
you can smell
the mincemeat (pot)pie
that I baked
for a new friend I've met this year!
I was able to deliver it to her this morning
before the roads got too bad.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
2-19-2012 It's Beginning...
It's beginning to smell alot like Christmas...
my German Springerle went into the oven this morning!
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