Sunday, March 15, 2015

3-15-2015 St. Patrick's Day Parade

 Yesterday
DH & I joined
our daughter and granddaughters
at the festive St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown.
Both girls had the luck of the Irish was with them!
They both snagged some bead necklaces
thrown by the people on the floats!
 :-)

Saturday, March 14, 2015

3-14-2015 Last Remains


Went for a walk outdoors today
and the temps soared into the upper 30's and low 40's!
The last remains of winter cover the pond at the park
and soon these seeds will be dropping and sprouting...

Friday, March 13, 2015

3-13-2015 Boy Oh Boy!

Can't wait to see my grandsons again
in a few weeks!
I just love my daughter-in-law
for sending me all these cute pix of the boys!!!
OXOXOXO

Thursday, March 12, 2015

3-12-2015 A Fresh Coat of Paint

 Ahh, the joys of home ownership!
Today I decided it was time
for the water damage in my bathroom
to disappear under a fresh coat of paint...
These water stains were made 
by large melting piles of snow inside our attic space 
from the extreme snowfalls we have had
these past two winters.
(See 2-9-2015 post.)
The nine year old can containing the original wall paint
was un-usable (full of rust),
so I grabbed a bunch of paint chips at the local 
hardware store and found a perfect match among them!

DH went up in the attic last month 
and placed tarps big plastic tubs
below each of the attic vents
under which the snow had accumulated
so hopefully we will not have this problem again!
Thanks sweetie!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

3-11-2015 Black & Gold Jamberry Nail Wraps

 Check out these
Black & Gold Jamberry nail wraps
designed by my daughter...
perfect for Smith Cotton Tigers...
Mizzou Tigers...
Bettendorf Bulldogs...
Iowa Hawkeyes...

If anyone is interested,.
you can get them from my daughter



Tuesday, March 10, 2015

3-10-2015 New Knitting Projects

Last night I started knitting the
for a light summer wrap.

And today I started some toe-up socks,
two-at-a-time on two circular needles
with KnitPurlHunter.


Monday, March 9, 2015

3-9-2015 Decorating Shamrocks


Decorating and eating shamrock cookies
left my GD with green hands...


 ...nothing that playing in the water in the kitchen sink
for half an hour
couldn't fix!
She calls the crocheted dish scrubbies 'flowers'
and waters them to make them grow.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

3-8-2015 The ICE is Melting...

...and the ice fractals are still beautiful...

Saturday, March 7, 2015

3-7-2015 Retirement Party

 Attended a retirement dinner party for a friend from church
who is retiring from employment with John Deere 
after 30+ years!
We know the joys that lie ahead of him
and wish him and his wife all the best!

Friday, March 6, 2015

3-6-2015 Sweater Weather

It's still sweater weather indoors
(and parka weather outdoors!)
so decided to apply some
"Sweater Weather" 
today...
pretty cute, huh?!?!?

Thursday, March 5, 2015

3-5-2015 Finished my Green Bay Packers Socks!

...or, as my knitting friends
here in Iowa call them, 
my "John Deere Socks!"

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

3-4-2015 Eagerly Awaiting...

the Spring Equinox on March 20th...
Brrrrrrrr....

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

3-3-2015 ICE


Last night
Mother Nature
slathered us with a layer of ICE
leaving some 
beautiful patterns on the windows!


Monday, March 2, 2015

3-2-2015 Family Museum

Today I took GD#1 out to the Family Museum...
 Bought some apples at the grocery store...

Played with some trains...

Made some ice cream cones...

Sorted the laundry...

Washed the laundry...
  
Washed the kitty...

Shared some pizza with a stranger...

 Helped the boats go through the locks...

Also drove a firetruck and put out a house fire,
fed all the horses and sheep in the barn,
went down the slide,
ran over the bridges,
but Oma forgot to take pictures of that...

Sunday, March 1, 2015

3-1-2015 Frozen Fog

 -5*F out today...
woo-hoo...
a heat wave!!!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

2-28-2015 Steeking Demo

Tonight at "Sit & Knit"
we had a "Steeking" demonstration
given by several of the employees of the LYS.
They had all knit some lovely fair isle sweaters
and then cut them in order to add zippers or button bands.
 After spending hundreds of dollars on yarn
and hundreds of hours knitting
it was a bit un-nerving to cut into their knitting!!!
We all did a collective gasp
and held our breath during the demo.

Friday, February 27, 2015

2-27-2015 Record Breaking Lows

We had a record breaking low
of -14*F last night...
now it is all the way up to -11*F
at 7:20 a.m. on our way out.

And my current read:


Thursday, February 26, 2015

2-26-2015 Fired Up

 Today we fired up
our new snowblower
for the first time
after receiving about 6" of snow last night.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

2-25-2015 Pistachio Crusted Chicken Salad

...at Cafe Indigo...
for lunch today!
Yum!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

2-24-2015 Son's 1898 Seaman's Hat

I made my husband one of these hats
and he LOVES it!
It is his 'go to hat' every time he goes outside.
So, decided to make one for my son in Chicago
and use the Chicago Bears colors
of navy and orange.
I hope my son likes his too!

Monday, February 23, 2015

2-23-2015 Knit Night Shawl Progress

Here is my progress on my 'Knit Night Shawl'
which involves mindless garter stitch knitting
so that I can participate in the chit-chat around the table
during Friday night's "Sit & Knit" sessions at my LYS
without paying attention to my knitting!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

2-22-2015 Cabled Helmet Progress

I'm making this adorable cloche
from a book my dear sister-in-law gifted to me
and am thoroughly enjoying the process
as I have never constructed a hat in this manner before!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

2-21-2015 Cat Yarn And Green Bay Packers Socks

This is probably how my cat feels...
hee hee.

Here is the progress I'm making on my
Green Bay Packers socks
(or as my friends at the LYS call them,
my 'John Deere socks')...
It is the first time I have attempted
so far, so good!
The heels look rather pointy in the photo
but when I try on the socks
they fit perfectly! YAY!


Friday, February 20, 2015

2-20-2015 Sun Catcher

Check out my lovely sun catcher
handmade by my granddaughter!
I love it!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

2-19-2015 Minus 5 Degrees Outside This Morning

DH decided it was time for a hot bagel
and some hot coffee!!!


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

2-18-2015 Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday
to my dear husband
who is my high school sweetheart
my husband of 42 years
and my best friend!
Love you!

He requested a 'mug carrot cake' sans frosting
for his birthday cake
so here is what I made him
for his birthday cake:



Tuesday, February 17, 2015

2-17-2015 Happy Mardi Gras!

No King's Cake or Beignets or other such indulgences
for me this year...
they are definitely not on my diet!
But want to wish everyone Happy Mardi Gras!