2-16-2015 Fairies!

 Out of the blue

a knitting friend gifted me

with some little fairies!

Thanks so much, Suzie!

Good thing my house has an awesome fairy door!

2-15-2015 Kingsman: The Secret Service

DH & I went to see

Kingsman: The Secret Service

and have not laughed so much in a long time!

It is a proper spy movie

after the James Bond genre.

Loved it!

2-14-2015 Happy Valentine's Day!

DH planned a weekend get-away

for Valentines Day

so we went to Iowa City

and perused the museums of the U. of Iowa

did some shopping at the mall,

and had some meals out.

We got a chuckle out the the description plaque

for the homo sapien 

in the Museum of Natural History...

(you can click on the picture to enlarge it)

and while walking among the buildings on campus

we heard a chattering garbage can

so went to investigate...

found a hungry squirrel looking for a bite to eat...

We watched some tournament hockey games

being played at the ice skating rink at the mall

by 6-10 year olds

who skated (and acted) like the pros!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures there.

Finally,

some pix of my sweet Valentines:

2-13-2015 Endgame Finished!

Yay!!!

Finished and ready to

wrap around my neck during this 

February Arctic Blast!!!

You can click on the picture

to enlarge it.

2-12-2015 Blocking

Finally got my KAL scarf with reversible cables on the blocking wires

and steamed the heck out of it this morning!

After it dries, it is ready to wear and enjoy...

and may I just say,

it will feel WONDERFUL around my neck

during this arctic blast we have this February!

2-11-2015 Haute Couture for Nails

My DD loves the latest trend for nails...

Jamberry Nail Wraps

She came over today to help me apply my first set of  them.

Pretty cool...

Lots and lots of fun designs!

2-10-2015 Bookworm in the Making!

Dear granddaughter LOVES to go to the library!

Each Monday morning

we return the previous weeks five books

and then she pushes her 'shopping cart' up and down the aisles

scouring the shelves for 5 new ones.

The first thing she wants to do when we get home is read them.

I think we have a bookworm in the making!

YAY!

Her current favorites are any books 

about Mrs. and Mr. Wishy-Washy.

2-9-2015 Wall Art?

See this pair of wet stripes

running down the wall next to the door frame?

...and then horizontally across the wall by the light switch?

We have had such wet, heavy, deep snowfalls recently

that it actually snowed up to the top of...

and into

the attic vents on our roof!

DH went up into the attic to see if he could find the source of the leaks

and found sizable piles of snow under each attic vent!

He then went and purchased some tarps

and large storage bins

and put them under each of the attic vents

to prevent future 'wall art'.

I am thankful that our damage repair is minimal.

So many people have had entire roofs collapse!

2-8-2015 A Girl and Her Teddy Bear

I made this blue jean teddy bear

from an old pair of her daddy's jeans

for my #2 granddaughter's first birthday.

Because this little girl is like the bluebird of happiness

I found a bluebird fabric for her dress.  :*)

It was the 67th teddy bear I've made from this McCall's pattern!

I hope she likes it!

2-7-2015 Because I Love Purple

I started knitting a cabled helmet hat in purple

at last night's "Sit & Knit" session.

I wish digital photography did not have such a hard time

photographing purples...

this photo does not do the yarn justice!

2-6-2015 Endgame KAL

Today I finished my "Endgame" scarf

from KnitPurlHunter's online KAL

with just inches of yarn to spare!

Whew!

Now all that is left is the blocking

to bring out the reversible cable pattern.

I really enjoyed knitting this scarf

because I learned a new cast on,

a new bind off,

and how to knit reversible cables! 

Yay me!

2-5-2015 Cup Full of Love Coffee Cozy

Stitched up this coffee cup cozy

for the month of February...

Cup Full of Love

The pattern has you crochet it flat and seam it.

Next one I make will be stitched in the round.

Hate seams!

2-4-2015 Our New Best Friend!

After this past weekend's heavy, deep snowfall

and blizzard conditions,

DH & I spent over 10 hours shoveling snow.

We decided then and there

that if we are to continue living in Iowa

it is time to invest in a snowblower!

So, we did!

It is our new best friend!

2-3-2015 Crabapple Yarns

Here's the inspirations for February's

Yarn of the Month

from Crabapple Yarns...

Love this!!!

Think I'll be adding some of this to my stash!

2-2-2015 Down to the Nubbins!

After 7 hours of shoveling snow yesterday

and another 3 hours this morning

(in sub-zero temps!)

and 1 hour this afternoon

my snow shovel is 

down to the 

nubbins.

We received 14" of snow in the last 24 hours which

formed into 4 foot deep drifts across our 

driveway and yard sidewalk.

And, may I just say how much fun it was(n't)

to watch the Super Bowl (without commercials) last night

being streamed (and buffered) to the computer

since the television satellite was out!

But, I am thankful that

~I still have power

~I have a roof over my head

~I have a full stomach

~I have warm blankets under which to snuggle!

2-1-2015 Six Inches of Wet & Heavy Snow Overnight... 8 More to come...

 We got the sidewalk and driveway shoveled...

now to dig out the truck...

altho there is nowhere to go...

the plows have not yet been down the streets.

Perfect snow for a snowman!!!

Also, it is SuperBowl Sunday...

and our satellite signal is out

thanks to the heavy snow.

Dang it!!!

I hate to miss all those great SuperBowl commercials.

I'll have to watch them on YouTube tomorrow...

1-31-2015 Party Time!

Still a bit sleepy...

she just got up from her morning nap.

...a bit of birthday cupcake...

...a few presents to unwrap...

...a handprint on the Birthday Board...

(after smearing the paint all over her mouth!)

...playing in the toy box/hope chest made by Papa...

...and blue jean teddy bear made with love by Oma...

...for her little bluebird of happiness...

1-30-2015 Mortdecai

DH & I went to see Johnny Depp's new movie

Mortdecai.

Hilarious!!!

1-29-2015 Happy First Birthday!

Happy First Birthday 

to my dear granddaughter!!!

 I wish Oma could take better (non-blurry) pictures!!!

Checking out the toy box/hope chest papa made for you...

Looking forward to your birthday party this Saturday!

1-28-2015 Essential Oils and Healing

Attended a wonderful day retreat

at "Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat"

about the healing properties of Essential Oils

presented by a doTerra rep.

1-27-2015 Mmmm... Snowballs!

We tried making a snowman

but the snow was too dry to stick together

so we settled for small snowballs

and had a 'snow fight'.

1-26-2015 Bow-en-time Cooties

She Rolled 'em

Cut 'em

decorated 'em

(then Oma baked them)

and she took them home to mommy!

1-25-2015 Headless

...at Des Moines Art Center...