The Anxious Knitter

New Site!

2011-12-27T08:45:00.002-05:00

I'm no longer using this blog site - come and see my new blog at FarmFreshMama over on WordPress.com :)

Haven't forgotten...

2011-07-01T23:29:00.000-04:00

Part three is coming soon! The notes have been prepared, I just haven't had the time to sit down and compose my thoughts :) It happens when you have a 4 yr old!!! We have so many things going on this week and weekend and I'm hoping to carve out some time to sit down and do this!

Love you all!!

XXOO

Part Two of Six

2011-06-24T22:53:00.000-04:00

Purpose #1
You Were Planned For God's Pleasure

One of the surprising things I learned here is the true definition of the word, worship. I always understood it to be going to church, singing some hymns, praying to God and that was it. I never considered that worship was so much more than that. A lot of people I attend church with now, think of worship as the music we sing on Sunday mornings or a Friday night Lighthouse service. What I didn't stop to consider is that our lives are lived in worship of the Lord. Anything we do that pleases Him is worship. That's HUGE! Love, trust, obedience, faith, praise and the use of our God given talents are what please God and all of it is a form of worship. We must be authentic and real when we approach God - we must have the right attitude or God won't listen. We need to surrender our lives to Him, trust in Him and tell him everything! God wants us to be in a relationship with Him and to do that we must be willing to release our grip on our lives and invite Him into our hearts. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. When we finally realize that and tell Him we believe in Him and love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul we will come into a relationship with Him that trumps anything else we could imagine. God's desire is for us to love Him and love our brothers and sisters as we love Him. This pleases God. This is ultimate worship. And He wants us to remember Him even in our pain and suffering, most especially in this time. This is when being real is where it's at. When we are genuine in our anguish and we cry out to God, He will hear us. He has promised never to forsake us or abandon us, so even if His answer is "no" He is with us.

I've heard "no" before I've even asked Him anything - I made the mistake of thinking I could manage on my own. I didn't want to bother God with trivial matters, after all He is God and I'm only...me. I've always been aware of my sinful nature. For a long time, I fully embraced it with a passion and a reckless desire to find something, anything, that would make me feel better. Anything that is, except God. I was so angry with Him I chose to turn my back on Him completely. I blamed Him for taking my mother at such a young age. Then, I simply stopped looking and merely existed. I never had the right attitude - I never knew, even when I was a child growing up in a solid, loving, wonderful Christian home, what that meant. Even when I was baptized at the age of 14, my attitude was not in the right place. I did it because I thought I was supposed to, not because I was moved by the Spirit. My view of God, church and everything was seriously flawed.

Now I realize that the way I choose to live my life is how I worship God. The decisions I make are being tempered by thoughts of "what would Jesus do" in this situation. It's a learning curve and I'm far from perfect. As I tell my son when he gets frustrated in learning situations...practice makes perfect. I'm going to keep the practice of examining my decisions through the eyes of the Word. Instead of one who says "do as I say, not as I do" I want to be a good example for my son. Someone he can trust will do and say the truth.

Now, onto less thought provoking things like, what's been happening in my yarn world!

Completion of the Shell Stitch Baby Blanket! It took a while only because I'd work on it and then put it down for months. I finally decided who it would be for and then had a reason to finish it! I'm also making a baby sweater to go with it - the right pattern is being searched for continually! I've also knocked off some towel toppers and dish cloths for charity. Otherwise, not much is happening now in yarnville :)

Next up, the chicks!

I feel like a bird woman all right! They are the sweetest things! My three Buff Orpington's are just as friendly as can be while the Silver Laced Wyandottes have complete lack of interest in me - LOL :) Oh, well - they are all growing so fast. By the end of summer I should be able to integrate them into the flock. I'm hoping Mister Sister will be so happy by the addition of new hens he'll help protect them from the rest!

And on the bunny front:

New hutch

Wild Man helping with hardware

Bunny's cozy hutch under the umbrella

Favorite hang out!

Yup, I've gone nuts over the bunny. He's the sweetest guy and he has the best bunny run a bunny could ask for. Complete with custom made shelter and hutch with added protection from the rain! He's surrounded by bunny luxury! We joke that any animal that strays onto our property is the luckiest animal alive since we treat all our furry/feathered/hairy friends so well!

Time to sign off -it's late and I've still got to change our bed before climbing in. Should head up now since we'll be getting a new charge in the morning. We're dog sitting a gorgeous and sweet golden doodle named Shami for some friends and she's being dropped off in the morning. Must get some shut eye before all the excitement!

Stay safe!

XXOO

Part One of Six

2011-06-22T19:28:00.001-04:00

My faith story is a work in progress much like many people I know. It is rare to find the individual who can claim they have nothing more to learn about the direction their faith is heading. More like impossible or that person is lying through their teeth! In any case, my journey has been and continues to be fraught with doubts and fears and the voice of Satan in my ears is louder than I care for. I have had a difficult time really believing that Jesus died on that cross to save me...worthless, sinful, prideful, full of holes me. I know better than anyone, with the exception of the Almighty, how much my life has reflected the temptations of this world! Yet I am choosing to believe in hope and to believe in hope one MUST believe in the Cross and everything that signifies. Despite the machinations of the evil one, I find myself believing more firmly now than I ever have. In fact, I thirst for more and more of God's precious presence. I find myself going to the Word to find answers instead of the world. I'm spending more time reading studies that are helping me understand certain truths and one of those studies is The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

Now this book isn't perfect - not one that has been written by man is - but it has helped broaden my base and see this life really isn't about me...it's about God and how I can learn to live His purposes for my life which is ultimately to His glory. My one HUGE criticism of this study book is the fact that Pastor Warren plugs all his other books and materials in it. It's rather annoying actually to read a really great point that is insightful and provoking only to have it followed up with a plug like "my book X would be a great place to explore this or please see Appendix 3 for a list of my X," etc. He should have saved his self promotion for a more appropriate place!

So here goes...
When we know our purpose in life we can operate more confidently, right? When that purpose is given to us by God so we may build up our character for our eternal home in heaven there is no greater purpose. We were made for God, for His design. We are living a temporary existence on this earth. But to imagine we are only here as ambassadors for God, that our permanent home is with Him and all this stuff around us is foreign soil, is overwhelming for me. Joy will come, I'm sure of it! But I never thought about our life on earth in such terms. Everything we do here builds our character for our heavenly home because when we die the only thing we take with us is our character - who we are. We get that from the sum of our life experiences and if we experience life through God's purposes, our character will become more Christlike. This is highly desirable for this sinful chick! WOW! So in other words, I shouldn't get too attached to life on Terra Firma...! It does make sense - the things of this world are earthly things, materialistic and fleeting, I can't take them with me when I die but the things of heaven are permanent and eternal. So I should fix my eyes on the end prize - eternal life with my Lord. And so here enters the voice of hope for me - the Voice that is slowly but surely drowning out the voice of the tempter. I want Jesus to shove aside all the negative and evil thoughts that pop up with unnerving regularity! As far as I'm concerned, I see no other choice for me if I want hope and love in my life. Life with no purpose equals life with no hope and I just can't reconcile that. We were made for something bigger than this life. So, for me? I choose to believe that Jesus died on that cross for me - to wipe the slate clean, to give me salvation. I choose to live my life with purpose. What that is I'm still working on but at least now I have a direction and I know that whatever God chooses for me I'll trust in His guidance.

Ok, I warned you! It's unpolished and rough but it's real. I've never felt so compelled to be involved as I am right now. Because of my weaknesses and my sinful past, full immersion is the way to go! I need to be surrounded by my church family and listen to Christian music and learn to pray with the right attitude. I am too weak to do this on my own. Thankfully I have the love and support of my family along with my church family - I've developed friendships with some really awesome people! With God's help and a little determination on my part (as well as some really "out of my comfort zone" experiences!) I plan to stay on the right path. I don't expect to be completely successful, I am only human and as such, prone to human failures but I do hope to deal with those failures in a more Christlike way. One can only hope! Which is, after all, the point!

Enough for now - must go snuggle my freshly bathed handsome wild man! :D

Stay safe!

XXOO

Back soon...

2011-06-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

I will be back among blogland again very soon! I miss you all so much!

Hubby and I have just finished our 40 day study of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and I can't wait to share what I've learned. It's been a remarkable journey, one of many "aha" moments and "WOW" comments. We did this study at this time in memory of our little angel, Owen, who only lived for 40 days six years ago. We wanted to see what God had to tell us about this period of time. He's shown us some amazing truths and caused us to begin examining what we are to do with the lessons learned from the discovery of His purposes for us.

I intend to summarize what each purpose meant to me so I'll have five posts coming up soon! They'll be rough and full of feeling instead of polished and well thought out - LOL!

I'll have an FO for you as well and some pics of how big our chicks are :)

Until then,

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Stay safe!

XXOO

{this moment}

2011-06-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

14 days old

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining up with SouleMama this week - have a great weekend!

XXOO

Inevitability...

2011-06-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

Never fails. Doesn't matter how old I get or how carefully I watch what I'm doing. Every season I end up with poison ivy. *sigh* This season is no exception, however, it is the most intense case I think I've ever had. I believe I had direct contact, usually I get it through secondary contact; like my dog, cat, chickens, etc. This year I think I managed to get into it somehow. My left arm is swollen, red and itchy/sore constantly. I have it on the fingers of my right hand which makes typing interesting and knitting or crochet impossible! I have it all around the ankle on my left foot and the ankle is also swollen and red, though not quite as itchy. And it's on my neck and chest, but those patches are almost done. Since I'm a veteran of this stuff I've tried everything under the sun and have a few favorite treatments, like Gold Bond Medicated powder. But mostly I wait it out the week to two weeks I'm covered with it. Even my Dr says I have a high tolerance to it and won't prescribe steroids. He is of the belief that steroids don't really enhance healing anyway and the side effects are worse than the treatment. I'm ok with that! I don't want to take or use anything else that has icky side effects! Unfortunately my regular course of favorites aren't cutting it. The rash is so intense and severe that I've had to research new options. I'm trying one now that's a bit on the expensive side but will allow me to reapply as often as I need to. Tecnu Rash Relief seems to be working and providing some relief from the relentless itch and inflammation. It should for $15! If this doesn't work then I'll go back to Ivy Dry which I've had success with in the past. The Caladryl spray works quite well too but on milder cases. I'd use jewelweed if there were any around here but I can't even find it in our local whole foods store.

We're supposed to head down to Massachusetts for a family reunion and 50th wedding anniversary party on Saturday. Not sure I'm going to go if this rash hasn't let up. Not my idea of fun, seeing family I haven't seen in years while I'm all covered in poison ivy and bandages!

On the yarn front, there is nothing going on. I had been working on a Shell Stitch blanket for some friends who are expecting in the fall but I've had to put it aside as I can't effectively work on it and be covered in an itchy rash at the same time! So I'm in limbo at the moment :\

I have been doing a lot of Bible study lately and I've been reminded how amazing God is in how He works in our lives. I've been discovering how all the books I've been reading and messages I've been hearing are tied together in God's Word. Our Sunday sermon series, Loony Towns, is focusing on fleeing from evil and pursuing righteousness and along with that I've started a book (and study) called Forgotten God by Francis Chan that ties in with the messages our Pastor is delivering. In addition, my small group in Women's Journey at Curtis Lake is studying 1st John and some of the Scripture we are reading also ties in with the message series and what Pastor Chan is talking about in Forgotten God! Also hubby and I are reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren which ties into all this as well! So, in my own inadequate words, to the best of my ability this is what I'm seeing; love the people of the world but do not love the things of the world because the things of the world are fleeting and you cannot take them with you when you die. God wants you to build your character by striving to be like Christ, loving Him first then others and viewing the things of the world as a good steward would. Likewise, pursue the Holy Spirit and let Him guide your actions because if you only concentrate on fleeing evil without pursuing anything you will only cycle back to evil and find yourself doing the very things you attempted fleeing! We have minimized the effect of the Holy Spirit relegating Him to our own comfort level when we should be embracing the Holy Spirit with fear and awe, knowing that our bodies and souls are in His hands alone. Our bodies can be destroyed here on earth but ONLY GOD can condemn our souls. Whew! We need to stop and ponder the awesomeness of that! Only GOD can condemn our souls and we are so busy ignoring the Holy Spirit that we are making a mockery of our belief. You cannot reject the Son and have the Father. The Bible says "No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well." 1 John 2:23 (HCSB) Jesus is the Way! We need to remember that the Holy Spirit is God as well.

I only want to be a vessel for God to use. I want to be His hands and feet. I want to learn more about Him because the more I learn the more I want. If I were to look objectively at my level of belief say six months to a year ago, I would have said it was the size of a mustard seed. Looking at my life and growth now, I would say the mustard seed has definitely sprouted!

I pray for the discipline and maturity to continue in God's Word. If I'm not surrounded by Him, I'm drowning in despair for I cannot live in a world without Hope. I am flawed, imperfect, and a sinner, completely unworthy to be in His presence yet somehow He loves me anyway! He loved me so much He sent His only Son to die for my sins so I might have eternal life with Him! In my finite mind, I can never understand that level of love and feeling. That being said, I have lost a child and therefore know the human limit of that kind of pain. Just thinking of the Cross brings me to tears... And knowing God is a God of emotion, His sense of loss is surely incomprehensible to us since it's of a level so much higher than ours. Remember to thank God for all your blessings!

Stay safe y'all and have a happy week!

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T19:00:00.003-04:00

Thank you to all the men and women who have died protecting our freedom.

For without their sacrifice, we wouldn't be free to speak, pray, read,
or live the way we do.

We have not forgotten.

And,

Thanks are not enough.

May God bless each and every one of you

and may He watch over those who remain behind,
serving and protecting this great nation.

{this moment}

2011-05-20T17:12:00.001-04:00

Joining in with SouleMama
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Have a great weekend everyone!

XXOO

Still here...

2011-05-17T18:29:00.001-04:00

I'm still here, I'm simply taking a break from blogland for a little while. I'm realizing there are some things in my life that need taking care of and I'm focusing on that for right now. Part of that is starting a new Bible study with my husband using Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. We started on May 11th, which would have been O's 6th birthday, and we'll conclude on June 20th, O's day of passing. Since he lived only 40 days and the number 40 has so much Biblical significance, hubby and I wanted to do this 40 day study to see what God has to tell us about his period in our lives. We have been floundering around for a long time and we both feel that our focus needs to be refurbished. I'll be back soon, hopefully with something profound to say and if not, at least the experience will be one of growth.

Stay safe!

XXOO

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:47:00.000-04:00

I pray everyone has a wonderful day today!

XXOO

{this moment}

2011-04-29T08:25:00.000-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining in with SouleMama

My Beautiful Boy

2011-04-27T19:28:00.001-04:00

Joining in with Dayle at A Collection of This and That for Simple Pleasures this week :)

Happy Resurrection Day!

2011-04-24T15:38:00.003-04:00

HE IS RISEN! What a glorious day!

We have been spending a lovely weekend as family doing a whole lot of nothing much :) We did some grocery shopping yesterday with an attempt at couponing and managed fairly well! Hoping to see some real results within the next month when we start getting coupon packs in the mail and our rewards cards begin showing some savings. I guess if we keep at it we'll start seeing huge savings within about six months. If we could just cut our grocery bill in half we'd come out on top! Anyway, it was a pretty messy day so other than grocery shop we just hung around the house. Sometimes it's really nice to just do nothing!

We had a great morning at church listening to a wonderful and emotional message from our Pastor. Our worship music was even more amazing than it usually is - the band performed all new worship songs and absolutely rocked the house!

Then we came home and had an Easter egg hunt in our front yard:

Egg hunt booty

Foil covered chocolate eggs

More booty

Who knew Easter eggs contained money???

One happy boy!

Little man has been such a happy boy today...he's tooling around in his tee-shirt with a "He is Risen" sticker on it that he got from his Sunday School class :) We are truly having a blessed day! He was all dressed up in his freshly ironed Easter shirt and tie and was so proud of how he matched his handsome daddy :) Take a look:

I couldn't be more blessed than this - it makes my heart so happy to see my two favorite men so glad to be together! Of course you don't see me in any of these pics - LOL - I'm the one hiding behind the camera lens!

I'm taking a mini break from knitting for a while - I decided to finish a cross stitch project I barely started eons ago. It's a lovely angel playing a harp and I thought it would be the perfect gift for my MIL's birthday in July. This gives me lots of time to finish it up and maybe have it framed for her. No worries - she doesn't read my blog so I'm not spoiling her surprise!

I had done most of the dark blue years ago so that was the first color I finished.

Added the aqua accent to the gown and started the pink sash -
the book in the above ground is my current read
a thread so thin by Marie Bostwick

Here is my current work with the pattern photo - pretty, isn't she!

This is a piece I made for my Dad for Fathers Day nearly 10 years ago!
I still love the beaded stars :)

I wish you all a very Happy Easter! Eat a lot, stay safe and praise the good Lord above for all your blessings!

XXOO

{this moment}

2011-04-22T16:48:00.001-04:00

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,

stood at a distance, watching these things.

Luke 23:44-49

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama for more!

Feeling Plaid

2011-04-18T15:45:00.001-04:00

My sister in law is the crafty one. She always has great project ideas and is a very talented multimedia artist in her own right. And I try to copy her as much as I can! She gets a kick out of it and loves to share her projects so we can have craft time together :) Today was such an occasion! Our niece is almost eight and absolutely adores horses. She asked her talented Auntie to paint a horse in her bedroom. So my intrepid SIL went online to see what she could see for ideas and came across this lovely idea for cardboard horses. The artist, Ann Wood, made up 100 of these lovelies and named each and every one! She provides a link to her templates so today we printed off a couple and cut out some cardboard horses. My SIL has been working on this already and is making 25 horses to race across our nieces bedroom wall! What a clever thing to do! So I made this one for the wild man's room:

We originally were going to paint them and then I came up with the idea of covering the horses in fabric - see? Sometimes I have an original crafty thought! Anyway, she loved the idea and made one covered in pink flowery fabric with pink and brown legs for our niece. I wish I had thought to photo it before she left! Anyway, this is such a clever thing to do and with a little bit of time cutting out the pieces and decorating them you will a wonderful horse-y silhouette to dance across your wall, too!

In other news, I whipped up a beaded and felted purse for a friend who is getting married next month. It was a quick knit and the first time I've ever used beads! I think it's lovely and when it's completely dry I intend to do a little accent embroidery around the flap. I also need to figure out what type of fastener to use. Here's a peek!

Before felting...

After felting - still a bit wet :)

That's it for now! Hope you have a marvelous Monday!

XXOO

Ta-Dah!

2011-04-16T18:55:00.000-04:00

Finished project complete with buttons :)

Aren't they just darling?

Unfortunately my camera isn't very good at true color pics because this green looks very washed out. It's much prettier in person and doesn't clash so horribly with the buttons! LOL! In any case, it's been completed, wrapped and delivered and will hopefully provide my friends baby with many months of warmth :)

Have a lovely weekend!

XXOO

{this moment}

2011-04-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

*** *** ***

Yarn Along

2011-04-13T11:53:00.001-04:00

Joining up with Ginny at small things for her weekly yarn along :)

It's a ta-dah! moment over in my humble abode - the Bernat baby hoodie is done! Well, except for the buttons anyway. Instead of covering them over with knitted swatches, I'm getting something cute and baby-boyish. This pattern was super easy to knit up and very difficult for me to seam. I'm really all fingers and thumbs when it comes to sewing - I have no knowledge of how to piece things together - so I did the best I could using internet video tutorials and I think it came out pretty ok. The side seaming and sleeves came out very nice. The rest? Well, hopefully no one looks too closely!

I'm finishing up the Fannie Flagg book, I Still Dream About You, and it's really good. Started off slowly, in fact, I considered not finishing it at all it was dragging so much, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. About 2/3rds of the way through the story starts moving along and you get more background to the characters. I can't wait to see how she ends it!

I've got lots more to post about but little time to do it in...I still need to get lunch for my wonderful hubby and pick up the wild man from preschool. So I'll close out for now and catch up with you soon!

Have a lovely week!

XXOO

Yarn Along

2011-04-06T14:03:00.000-04:00

Joining up with Ginny at small things for her weekly yarn along :)

I'm doing Bernat's knit hoodie for a friend's baby shower in 10 days and I hope I can finish seaming and doing the button bands by then! I've never assembled a sweater this way. I've always done raglan style baby sweaters so this will be a new experience for me :) The pattern also calls for buying buttons and covering them with knit swatches - YIKES! I'll give it a try then maybe just get some cute baby boy style buttons that don't need any extra fiddling around :) I'm using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn in Dusty Green, worsted weight. The sweater should be size 0-6mo.

The book is Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You. You may know she authored Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I love her style and have just started it. So far so good but I'm only a few pages into it. I'm hoping it's as well written and captivating as Fried Green Tomatoes :)

We've been fighting a bit of the stomach flu around here...wild man had it on Monday and now I've got it. Blah! I'm hoping it's just the 24hr variety like he had. My poor belly is feeling very unsettled :(

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll post more when my energy isn't flagging so much!

XXOO

Photo Friday and Thoughts for the Week

2011-04-01T12:09:00.003-04:00

This is what we woke up to this morning...

It was coming down in huge sticky clumps.

The weight has crushed my outdoor chicken pen.

This tree has been shedding snow like mad, in great scary clumps banging on the roof.

Even the dog was thoroughly disgusted, picking his way out to do his business.

We also have a tree down across the outdoor goat pen - photos of that to follow when I get the gumption to don my boots and wade outside to see what's what... In the meantime, happier photos from earlier this week:

Biking at the school with Daddy

makes him a happy boy!

New haircut!

Maple Sunday - looking through a sap pump :)

Field trip to the local airport!

It's been a busy week for the wild man and despite a rather nasty cough, he's been having LOTS of fun!

On the knitting front, I missed Ginny's yarn along again this week...I'm working on finishing up a baby sweater for a friends shower next month. I still have an arm to finish up today and then I can cast on for the hood. I'm also reading Kathy Reichs' Spider Bones, it's thirteenth in her fabulous Temperance Brennen series. You probably know this series is the inspiration for the TV show Bones - if not you do now! Anyway, here is a poor shot of what I've done so far...the true color is more a sage green - this pic is a tad washed out.

Hubby and I have been doing our own Bible study after the wild man is in bed. We've done 22 sessions and have begun praying together. I've always been a skeptical believer, if that even makes sense - maybe more of a seeker, I guess, and this week God has given me glimpses of what awaits me when the skepticism finally drops away. We've been in a financial crisis and hadn't enough money to buy groceries. We had started praying about becoming good stewards with the money we were blessed with at the beginning of this crisis and as a result decided to cut out all unnecessary extras; such as eating out, buying magazines, toys, yarn (*sniff*) and we looking at other ways to stretch the dollars. During one particularly bad week we were trying to decide how we were going to get the bare essentials and put gas in the truck so hubby could get to work. I told hubby we needed to scrounge up about $50 so I could get enough stuff to stretch into two weeks. Hubby had about $23 in the bank after the bills were paid and needed $20 of that for gas and I don't work so we were really trying to get creative. I began rolling pennies from our penny jug and hubby made a trip to the recycling center with several bags of returnables. This is what became amazing to me - between the few dollars we had between us in our wallets, the rolled coins and the returnables we had exactly, to the penny, $50! Now you can't tell me God didn't have a hand in that! Not only were we blessed with this small windfall but I was also able to get what we needed for only $40, leaving us with $10 in case we ran out of milk or bread the rest of the week. The bottom line? We ended up with gas in both vehicles and plenty of food and still had a little left over. The math doesn't work and I can't explain it any other way except this is a glimpse of the blessings that await us when we continue in our obedience to Him.

I just read a familiar passage in Philippians 4:10-13 that has been resonating with me in a new way. I know the words, have read them many times before, yet never understood the context the way I think I do now. Paul is talking about learning to be content with your situation, no matter if you have plenty or are in need and then reveals the secret of contentment. It is "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Verse 13. The NIV describes everything to mean everything pleasing to God and him who gives me strength as Christ himself. Giving it all up to God and trusting in Him will give us contentment - the key being to give it all up. That's very difficult for those of us with control issues! It's a learning process, isn't it? And when I get encouragement from the good Lord Himself I know I'm on the right track.

Stay safe, God bless and have a lovely weekend! (Once the snow melts, of course!)

XXOO

**ADDED NOTE: We have two freezers full of poultry and hamburg so we aren't starving - it's needing fresh fruit, veggies and daily staples like milk and juice that supplement the meat. We are fortunate to be very blessed with the bounty of our farm and recognize that many people struggle every second of every day to put food on the table for their families and many are unable. My point is to emphasize stewardship - we created our own crisis by being irresponsible with what God had entrusted us. We have many blessings which we are very thankful for. To God goes the glory!

{this moment}

2011-03-25T21:19:00.000-04:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama - author of {this moment}

The Week So Far...

2011-03-23T18:27:00.001-04:00

Started Monday afternoon

Into Monday evening

Ending overnight and this was what we woke up to on Tuesday

And I thought it was supposed to be the first days of Spring?

Then my SIL came home from a FL visit this afternoon with a suitcase full of new clothes for the wild man. He really loves the care packages that come from FL and since my other SIL didn't have to mail a huge box she sent everything in the checked suitcase! It was great to see him so happy over "new" (gently used) clothes :) Then the icing on the cake, brand new SPECIAL duds for him to wear Easter weekend:

Oh, my aching sweetness! Can you believe he's only 4 and 1/2? What a gorgeous boy I have! Sorry, you won't get modesty from this mom - I'm proud of my good looking little man! He LOVES his new duds and can't wait to dress up for church on Easter :) After a little bit of ironing, that is - LOL!

The lace scarf is still in limbo...I needed to set it aside so I can knit up a baby sweater for a friends shower in a couple weeks. Think I can finish it?? Hope so!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

A Fun Day at Chuck E Cheese

2011-03-17T15:58:00.003-04:00

Am I buckled?

Driving with Chuck E

Can't believe it's Chuck E in person!

A lovely hug :)

Lunchtime!

Just sank an awesome shot!

This is serious stuff, you know

Flying high!

He is always my simple pleasure! And we had such a fun time this morning I can't help but share ;) Ironic, isn't it? That Dayle chose today to be a photo album day!
Linking up:

Simple Pleasures ~ Photo Albums

XXOO

Wednesday Yarn Along

2011-03-16T13:27:00.003-04:00

Linking up with Ginny at small things for the weekly yarn along :) I just love this way of being held accountable for my knit things - it's encouraging me to complete items so I can post pictures of something new! This project, though, will probably take a while to do...it's my first time reading a chart and my first time using lace weight yarn. I normally knit with worsted and this threadlike, hairy stuff is confounding me! It's incredibly beautiful and I can't wait to see the finished project - I just want to make sure I don't toss it in the air in the meantime! LOL :)

The book is Nora Robert's The Search and I have to say her books are some of my guilty pleasures! She pretty much has the same type of story told in different ways but each new book thrills me :) It's like watching all the different incarnations of Law and Order...they follow a formula and though predictable, it's extremely successful. In any case, this is yet another highly entertaining story with strong female characters.

BTW, in case anyone was wondering, I gave up on Pride and Prejudice. For some reason, I just can't seem to finish it! Maybe I just like instant gratification or maybe more suspense - wading through all the pleasantries and intrigues of the time in that language just exhausts me! Someday I will prevail and conquer this classic then I might take on Sense and Sensibility! Ok, let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Hope you all have a marvelous Wednesday!

XXOO

Tuesday Pics::Things I'm Thankful For

2011-03-15T11:21:00.001-04:00

Out of season Christmas Cactus with drop of pink nectar

Clean spaces

Cozy warm and happy dog

Little boys and their bikes

Wonder what he's thinking?

Obnoxious roosters :)

Signs of spring buds on the Magnolia

Sunshine...


Complicated knitting

Pretty purses because let's be honest...who doesn't like a pretty purse!

There are several more worth mentioning that I unfortunately do not have pictures of:

My sweet hubby, who tweaked his back mucking out my chicken coop

Food on the table (especially now - with extremely limited funds)

Clean laundry (which means we have clothes to wear)

and this:

The freedom to read our Bibles...

...without fear of persecution.

Father,

If there was ever a need for Your presence, it is now.

People half-way across the world are in such pain and sorrow.

Please ease their suffering, help bring relief and hope and peace
to those who have lost everything.

Show them You have NOT forsaken them,
because You are steadfast in Your love.

Help speed relief teams and protect those who are still in harm's way.

Thank you for Your grace and Your mercy.

Thank you for the Blessings You have given.

Continue to break my heart with what breaks Yours, dear Lord.

Amen

{this moment}

2011-03-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

This Moment...

a single photo capturing a simple, special moment from the week inspired by Soulemama.

Simple Pleasures and What Turns Out to be a Testimony, of sorts

2011-03-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

Joining up with A Collection of This and That for today's Simple Pleasure:

Despite the challenges of raising a rambunctious and energetic 4 year old, and there are some, it remains one of my greatest pleasures and greatest treasures....and greatest sorrow. This precious little person was a later-in-life gift from God - given after a time of great sorrow. Each little challenge we meet shows us we are capable of handling it even when we are at a place where we feel we couldn't take any more. God proves His never-ending love by never giving us more than we can handle. And I speak from a place of some experience in that, having gone through the loss of a child. At the time, we wondered if we would ever see the light of day again. By the grace of God we survived one of the most difficult things any parent can experience. And, do you know what the miracle ending is? We were battling unbelief and this loss, this devastatingly painful loss, incredibly began to pivot us from our self-destructive path and lead us down a new path...one of truth and love. A path which we couldn't see at the time and has taken the better part of six years to manifest. The Lord knew and used this horrific time to enrich our lives, to break us and make us usable so He could work through us. He tore us down so He could build us up again and give us the most precious gift He could, next to salvation. At the time we asked, what could God possibly hope to accomplish by taking away our son? Does He think we'll go running to Him when He ignored all our "prayers" for healing? And of course we didn't but that seed of truth was there even when we outright denied it. And lo and behold, four months after the loss of little O, we became pregnant again. It wasn't supposed to happen! We had just made the decision that it might be OK if it happened again but it wasn't supposed to be so quick - literally within a month of saying "well, if we do, then we do but we're not going to make it a thang" and we were told, "Hey, guess what? Did you know..." Talk about a miracle! We barely had time to catch our breaths and pull ourselves together when this happened. In fact, I'm pretty sure we would have wallowed longer if it didn't.

So believe me when I say it's been a long, painful yet wonderful road. Six years later our lives are completely different now. We have a new home, a new church, hubby has a new job and we've both been given a thirst for God. Our wild man will be five this summer and hubby and I are constantly surprised by how much time has flown by since that tragic period in our lives. We wouldn't be in this place without that loss...a place of brokenness and surrender, crying out to God knowing He is our only lifeline. Little O's life, crushingly short, for only 40 days, showed us ultimate grace, infinite love and ultimately revealed the face of Jesus.

XXOO

Ginny's Yarn Along and other pleasures

2011-03-09T15:29:00.002-05:00

On board with Ginny at small things this week :)

Reading for pleasure, Nora Robert's The Search. Reading for study, Acts for Everyone (Part One) by N.T. Wright and No Wonder They Call Him Savior by Max Lucado. Also the jumble of knitting includes an i-cord I'm working on that will be felted, cut and made into cancer ribbon pins for a friend's fundraiser, two completed garter stitch dishcloths and one on the needles.

I have to mention this...the dishcloths are for a church project I'm working on. Our group is called Dockside Crafters and we are striving to make a tangible difference in the lives of marginalized women and orphaned children by making household items for an organization called Selamta located in Ethiopia... and they do something truly wonderful!

"The Selamta Family Project reunites extended families, sustains weakened households and rebuilds families affected by HIV/AIDS, post-conflict issues, and other diseases. The Selamta Family Project helps reweave the fabric of a society overburdened by extreme poverty, food instability and stretched community resources - one family at a time".

The above excerpt is from their website, so be sure you click on the link to see more about this wonderful organization!

In any case, we have been working hard and we can't wait to see what the final item tally will be. Here's a look at what we have so far:

Lap quilt - Around the World crafted by Althea

Lap quilt - Cornerstone crafted by Althea

Beautiful aprons

Quilted handbags

They are even beautifully lined!

Dish towels

Little knit bags, each lined and big enough to fit a Kindle

Slippers and two scarves

Baby blankets

Dishcloths

What a lovely rainbow!

We're hoping to have enough items to set aside to sell at a craft fair this fall as well as mailing some directly to Selamta. Of course we want the best of both worlds - beautiful things to mail and money to donate! Some of the things we've received will be donated locally as they just won't fit the warmer climate in Ethiopia :) I'm SO excited about this project! It's been in the works since January and we're finally seeing some completed items and I'm seeing just how talented our ladies are. I can't wait to see more!

I'll leave you with this:

LOL! Oh the things a four year old can do with a camera!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

What's For Dinner

2011-03-07T18:37:00.001-05:00

Chicken Prosciutto Rollups with Garlic Gruyere Bechamel Sauce

Vanilla Cupcake topped with Chocolate Ganache

Vanilla Cupcake filled with Strawberry Jam topped with Vanilla Buttercream

Mmm ;)

XXOO

Freshly Painted Livingroom :)

2011-03-05T11:41:00.001-05:00

The livingroom is DONE!!! Woot! I'm so thrilled with the results :) We have a galley style room, which means its long and narrow so it clutters up quickly. The dark 1970's paneling was making it feel downright stuffy! After we put things to rights this morning, we stepped back and admired our handy work. Hubby and I looked at each other and nearly at the same time he said, "Feels like a cottage in the Hampton's!" and I said, "I feel like I'm in a beach cottage!" Nice that we're on the same page :) I love the look of painted paneling - I wasn't sure at first but it really does work. Now all we really need is a new couch! ...If only I could keep it uncluttered!

Sorry this is a short post - we're trying to find something fun and exciting to do with our wild man this afternoon. Have a great weekend everyone!

XXOO

Tiring Tuesday

2011-03-01T19:43:00.001-05:00

Poor hubby had to do the brunt of the work today as I am terrified of heights and ladders! Poor man hauled in all his equipment and prepared to do a day of tall wall work and I must say - it came out terrifically! He did a fantastic job and I'm starting to realize we'll have this place all painted in no time!

And I managed to get a tiny bit of knitting in - not as much as I would have liked but 15 mins of knitting is still knitting time!

I've had two killer anxiety attacks, one today and one Sunday (the worst one ever) and I know I'm overly stressed with the wild man's behavior as well as some inconsistent parenting philosophies that hubby as I are desperately trying to work out. I've been praying that this panicky stuff was gone but I guess it's my body's way of grabbing me by the chest, screaming "Wake up! This is not working!" Just wish it was a less painful way of getting my attention. *sigh* I am in desperate need of Spring to come!

Father, I am in need of your amazing strength and grace. You know how long I've been battling this anxiety and you know why it came in the first place. I'm tired of trying to fight it on my own. I need your healing touch, Lord. I have so many things to praise you for and to offer my gratitude for, not the least of which is upstairs sleeping in his freshly painted lovely room. I offer him to you - cover him with your love and peace, let him know you are listening to him. He prayed to you tonight, "Dear God, thank you for everything. Amen." It was the sweetest sound I could possibly hear and a precious gift. Thank you, Father, it was what I needed to hear. He is hearing about You and questioning who You are and I've been praying for that. I thank you for my darling husband, who despite everything, still climbs up on a ladder that's too high for me so he can do something that will make me happy. I love him so much! You are gracious, Lord. I pray these things and more - you know what is in my heart. In Christ's precious name, Amen.

Have a lovely evening, my dears!

XXOO

Manic Monday!

2011-02-28T17:47:00.002-05:00

We painted up the wild man's bedroom this weekend and finished up all the little touches this morning. He loves it! He's even decided that we can take down the bed rail this evening because he's feeling pretty grown up :) We'll have to see how that turns out!

Anyway, it's been a wild sort of day with crazy weather and no school. Wild man is so ready to get back to school! To be honest, we are ready for him to go back, too!

Hubby is off all week and we are already starting on more painting projects to brighten up this dreary old place. No one has renovated or updated the walls since I was a wee mite! I highly doubt seventies decor is still in vogue :) LOL! The upstairs hallway, the stairwell walls and the living room walls (all paneled) are going to be tackled this week and freshened up with a bright coat of paint. It took some convincing for my Dad to agree to this change...he invested a lot in that paneling and it has served its time very very well. Realizing that it is indeed a bit drab in here, he reluctantly, then later, happily agreed as long as we did the work! The upstairs hall is already done and here are the results:

Very fuzzy before pic :) Handsome hubby though!

After - WOW! What a difference!

Time for some supper for this tired old bird! Good night all ;)

XXOO

Stormy Friday

2011-02-25T18:08:00.002-05:00

Dolomite makes the perfect measuring stick. He says it's about 10"! :)

Daddy's working hard!

Lots of snow = happy kid!

Dolomite says this snow is WAY too deep for me!

Goat girls - they didn't know what to make of all the swirly snow!

Please disregard the smear - it's hard to take pics in a snowstorm!

This was my Friday, how was yours?

XXOO

Simple Pleasures

2011-02-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

Linking up with Dayle of A Collection of This and That to share my simple pleasure for today:

Need I say more?? \~/

XXOO

Yarn Along

2011-02-23T10:15:00.001-05:00

Joining Ginny again this week for her wonderful yarn along :) I am in between at the moment trying to decide what project to start next so I'm working on a pair of socks for hubby. It's my go-to-when-I-have-nothing-else project. I haven't actually done socks in a couple of years. Which is how long most of this yarn has been on these needles!! Anyway, I pick at them from time to time and I'm back at it hoping to get the leg done so I can get to the interesting work of turning a heel!

3x1 Ribbed sock using Zitron Trekking Hand Art in Irland colorway

I have never read Pride and Prejudice before - it didn't seem like anything I would like yet I always felt bad about never having read it. Since I've been enjoying a lot of British TV lately, including period pieces like Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Theater, I figured I might actually like it. So I've bravely begun and lo and behold - I like it! I've only just started and met Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy and they are already intriguing me. It's a refreshing change of pace for me and I hope I enjoy the rest of the story - then maybe I'll go back and finish Wuthering Heights, though I think I'd have to force myself to finish that one :)

My quality control adviser and queen of all she surveys, Sox

All is well in my domain :)

Have a lovely day, my dears! Stay safe and happy knitting :)

XXOO

Stuff and Things

2011-02-17T16:00:00.001-05:00

First things first, my new hair! Light was wonky so you really can't see the lovely new blonde I'm sporting but the cut came out great!

Rocking the back!

Liking the angle on the front!

Missed Ginny's yarn along this week - totally spaced it. Here's what my contribution would have been had I been paying attention!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and another hat ;)

In other news, despite the pic above, I've been doing more reading than knitting in the last couple of days. I find myself in-between projects...not sure what I want to start next. The hat is just a take along type of thing, something I don't need to really think about. So while I'm in the process of figuring out what I want to do I decided to take a break for a while. This is what I'll be doing for the next week or so:

Don't you just love the mixed genres?

I have a finished object to show you! Yay! The Tiger Lily Cowl is done! It was a lot of fun to work on. The pattern repeats easy to remember and since it was simple knit and purl, it was a pretty quick knit. I love this yarn, too, it's so incredibly soft and warm. The picture isn't very good, it's still drying from a quick soak to block out the pattern. I can't wait to try it on and get some decent shots of it in use!

Almost done and unblocked, of course

Didn't expect the pooling effect but I like it!

Stitch definition and bottom edging - looks ready for some ribbon!

One more pic to leave you with:

The wild man in all his cuteness :)

Stay safe and happy knitting/reading!!!

XXOO

Baking. Baking. Did I mention baking?

2011-02-11T13:59:00.001-05:00

I really love baking and cooking - it's one of my favorite things to do. And, like everyone, I like to think I'm fairly good at it. I got to put that to the test this week! I baked cupcakes for a friends shower which we had yesterday morning and that proved to be a huge success :) My friend had a great time and received many cute and adorable things for her soon to be fifth child and the food practically disappeared! I got rave reviews on the cupcakes, too - bonus! :)

Then I had to start a volunteer baking project for a church event on Saturday morning. I was asked to make about six Blueberry Lemon Curd Coffee Cakes, approx 60 servings total. The recipes were incredibly easy, yet very time consuming. I did the Lemon Curd yesterday and prepared the brioche bread base because it needed to chill before rolling out. This morning I had to do a massive kitchen clean up from the last 3 days of baking before I felt comfortable about rolling out the dough on my counter! In the interest of saving a little moola, I went with frozen blueberries and didn't thaw them first. ( Makes for some runny business but not too messy). Then I started rolling and filling the dough. An easy process, yet again, time consuming...why? The dough needed time to rest after it had been rolled up. So I ended up doing three cookie sheets of two logs each. After baking the first batch I realized my oven temp was a little off so I reduced the temp and that seemed to work just fine for the middle and end batches. When baked, the logs rise considerably. I think if I'd had to do rings, it would have taken me all day because I would have only been able to do one ring at a time! YIKES! I'm not the best when it comes to waiting for things! :)

In any case I think everything turned out great and hopefully it will taste great! Here's the photo evidence:

Brioche dough

Rolled out

Spreading the lemon curd

Frozen blueberries...

Rolling the whole thing up

Resting...

Egg washed, sugared and ready to go in the oven

Finished logs, first batch is a little too brown

Off to rest my poor little head :) Don't let me kid you, I've enjoyed every minute! Oh, and the last project I have? I'm due back at the church on Sunday morning to bake muffins for the morning volunteers. WHAT was I thinking!!! I'll be taking a break from all the baking for a little while, to recoup my energy!

Stay safe and have a lovely weekend!

XXOO

Finished Cupcakes for Baby Shower and Yarn Along

2011-02-09T21:09:00.001-05:00

Would you look at the darling baking cups? They're tulips!

My piping skills are improving :)

Vanilla cupcakes filled with peach puree topped with green tea cream cheese frosting

My take on S'mores - you can barely see the sweet baby themed baking cups

Deep dark chocolate cupcakes topped with marshmallow creme frosting and graham crackers

Both flavors were so much fun to make and put together! The baby shower is tomorrow, she doesn't read my blog so I'm not concerned the surprise will be spoiled. I'm very excited to see her reaction! I just love the look of the marshmallow creme frosting - makes me want to sit 'round the campfire :)

I'm participating in Ginny's yarn along this week - go check her out! She's doing a give away! Much progress has been done on the Tiger Lily Cowl. However with two more baking commitments left this week, I'm not sure when I'll be able to sit down to finish it. I only have two more rounds to complete, too :( Pardon the poor lighting and focus in these shots!

Still reading the anthology :) Almost done the 3rd book!

This will look so pretty after it's blocked! Can't you tell how squishy it is? Oh, so soft!

Well, my darlings...I'm pooped! Off to bed I go :)

Stay safe and happy hump day!

XXOO

What I Woke Up to This Morning

2011-02-08T10:01:00.000-05:00

View from my back door as the sun was starting to break through

View just to the right of the one above

The wild man's play set and the barn.

View of the back hill - just so pretty!

What Not to Do When Assembling Cake

2011-02-06T18:42:00.001-05:00

Let's see if you notice what it was I did wrong with this checkerboard cake:

Looking good so far! Our Un-Superbowl Superbowl cake :)

OH! LOL! Total dumbass move - mental note to self, next time double check the layers!!!

The cake itself turned out delicious despite using new pans and not remembering to turn the temp down by 25 degrees because they were coated dark pans. *sigh* Not a good baking experience for me today! The wild man picked the colors. He's into purple right now ;)

This is what is brightening up my kitchen these days. I decided to splurge a little and spoil myself with some flower-shop flowers! There is nothing like a bright happy Gerbera daisy or Calla Lily to make ones day! It was a luscious experience from start to finish; walking into the brightly lit shop on a dreary day and smelling the earthy flowery scents of Spring, wanting to sit in a quiet corner all day with a bit of knitting simply inhaling the goodness and rejuvenating my sagging spirit. Now those precious blooms are giving my dark little kitchen a little spark and hint of what's coming as we head around the last corner of winter. And did you notice my other little splurge? Yes! It's a gorgeous hand bag made of recycled plastic bottles and other recycled materials because if I'm going to spend precious money on something fluffy (other than yarny goodness) it better be friendly! Take a gander :)

It was the gorgeous Springy colors that got me at first!

Then I read the tag and saw how eco-friendly it was and it was love at first sight :)

I'm plugging away at my Tiger Lily Cowl - pictures will follow shortly. It took me forever to get started on this project not for any other reason than my own dumbassedness! LOL, is that even a word? Well it's certainly appropriate! I read the pattern and reread it so I would know what to expect and it still took me three cast ons and rip outs and an email to the designer, who very kindly pointed out to me that the pattern was indeed made in the round and not on straight needles and didn't laugh too hard at me, before I was successful! Now I've completed the first two rounds of six and it's a really fun and easy knit :P BTW? When a pattern says "rounds" it really means "knit in the round" - just so you know. DUH! I just needed to turn my brain on!

Anyway, lets hope your Superbowl weekend was fun filled and happy! Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

Ginny's Yarn Along

2011-02-02T16:44:00.003-05:00

It's that time of week again! Here's my posting for Ginny's Yarn Along:

An FO!!! I just finished this up this afternoon. It's my very first pattern and I'm quite pleased with it! I'll have some tweaking to do on the decreases before I'm completely satisfied but for my first attempt, I'm happy :) It's a gift for a young man at our church who works with me on Sundays serving our 1st to 5th graders. I promised him I'd have it done before Spring so he can wear it and I think I've done OK on that - LOL! The book is an anthology of the first three scrap-booking mysteries by Laura Childs. I've finished Keepsake Crimes and just started Photo Finished. I'm really enjoying myself!

Over a foot from this storm :(

Wild man's tunnel! He was having so much fun!

As you can see from the above photos, we've had quite a lot of snow in the last few weeks! We've had over a foot today and there's more due in tonight plus another storm coming in Saturday. *Sigh* I've had quite enough! Poor wild man keeps asking me when summer is coming. I think we're all all a little sick of it! This storm spread across 30 states and affected 100 million people. That's just insane! My relatives in FL are laughing their butts off!

My next project will be the Tiger Lily Cowl by Christina Wilkins off Ravelry. Can't wait! I bought this beautiful yarn this past weekend and it is 70% baby alpaca and 30% merino wool and is so soft it was begging to be made into something I would wear close the to skin :) So after a little research on Ravelry, I love this site, I found this pattern and fell in love with it! I think it will show off the natural undyed yarn beautifully. So I'll be casting on tonight!

Doesn't this just beg to be squeezed?? It's so SOFT!

Stay safe and warm and as always, happy knitting!!!

XXOO

*Note: the yarn is Cascade Eco Duo in Natural #1705 100 gr 197 yds - Thanks!

Baking

2011-01-31T19:42:00.000-05:00

My first attempt with these cupcakes was successful but not outstanding. I made vanilla cupcakes and filled them with a peach pastry cream that had been lightened with whipped cream and topped the cakes with a green tea cream cheese frosting. I think I needed to slightly chill the frosting before I attempted to use it so it wouldn't be so prone to melting. Also the peach pastry cream was awesome on its own but really needed to be more intense in flavor and maybe not fold in any whipped cream. The green tea frosting was my very first attempt using this ingredient and I think I was too cautious. I felt the flavor was strong but hubby, my ever so willing tester, thought it needed to be stronger to stand out. All in all, a delicious cupcake; however, I will be tweaking it more before I do it again! Here's the end result - pardon the poor lighting and the sloppy frosting technique!

I've finished the cabled neckwarmer, pics to follow soon! My next project is a hat of my own design for a church friend. I'll include those pics later, too :) Notice my current read - the anthology of the first three scrap-booking mysteries by Laura Childs. I'm really enjoying myself so far!

Until next time, stay safe and happy knitting (and baking)!

XXOO

Hand Spun Scarf and Yarn Along

2011-01-26T13:58:00.003-05:00

Here I am posting again for Ginny's yarn along :) If you haven't hopped on over to small things then I highly recommend it! I love the idea of combining two things I love so much together! And, I also love having to be accountable for my hand knits! It's so much fun posing my knits along with my current read to get just the right picture. Hopefully I have that here and if I win the yarn give away? So much the better!

The first spindle full knit into half a scarf - current read was a National Geographic!

Just finished Monday evening!

My very first hand spun yarn made into the ugliest scarf - yet I LOVE it!

Currently reading the 16th installment of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries, Sizzling Sixteen. Such a funny series! I've enjoyed every one and it is one of the rare series to make me laugh out loud while I'm reading ;) Hubby doesn't even have to ask what I'm reading, he just knows!

I'm doing something light and entertaining now because this weekend I have to start in on my Bible study reading and I can't do light and serious at the same time! We're doing the book of Acts using Acts for Everyone Part One by N.T. Wright in our Tuesday night small group. Hubby is in this one with me and I'm going to enjoy reading the assignments to him! I'm also a table leader for our woman's group and we'll be doing Esther using Beth Moore's Esther study guide and DVD every Wednesday morning for the next 10 weeks. I've already done it and it's a great study! I'll try to fit in some light and non-thought provoking reading at some point.

Still working on my reversible cable neck warmer. Got very distracted with learning how to spin then knitting a scarf out of my own hand spun!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

Sweet Saturday :)

2011-01-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

Since I've been feeling better I decided to clean up the kitchen this morning and do a bunch of dishes that were in desperate need of cleaning. Once that was done and the counters cleaned and disinfected I decided there was nothing else to do but break out the cookbooks! First things first, I wanted to try this luscious looking recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures blog. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes topped with brown sugar buttercream frosting and filled with cookie dough - how can you go wrong! I took Tracey's advice and cut the recipe down. Twenty four cupcakes with all that richness would go to waste in the this house! So I halved it with the idea that I would bring some to friends tomorrow and let them get the sugar jitters! Anyway, the recipe was a huge success and the fam loved them. Hubby is not a big chocolate fan so even though he was kind enough to be a guinea pig for me he probably won't have any more. He said they were really good just not for him :) Such a nice man! Son LOVED them and Dad said they were very rich but very good. High praise coming from him! So they will be added to the Recipe book I've been working on with a note stating they are best when made for special occasions :) Here's some pics:

I put a little sanding sugar on the frosting for sparkle

The mini chocolate chip cookies I made weren't mini enough - I had to cut them in half - but it works!

The only other thing I would say about these cupcakes are they are fairly time consuming to make. The filling does need at least an hour for chilling and during that time the cakes will cool down enough to frost but there are still three levels to the recipe. They would be great made a day ahead and frosted on the day they were consumed. Overall I really loved this recipe even with the time issue and a four year old tugging on my leg asking if I was done yet!

Here's one last pic, it's the last of my dried oregano from last season :( Once this is gone I'll have to wait for spring. I use a LOT of oregano - it's by far my favorite seasoning!

Stay safe and have a lovely weekend!

XXOO

Photo Friday :)

2011-01-21T14:17:00.001-05:00

Storm 1 which blew through last Wed dumping over a foot of snow but making a good base.

Day after Storm 2 which was an ugly combo of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain...

...then froze everything up.

This morning, Storm 3...

This afternoon, still snowing, but starting to clear on the horizon.

Welcome to stormy weather in Maine! Today is the perfect example. It started snowing about 3am and is still going on now with a hint of clearing skies and sun peeking out on the horizon. We've got about 8" on top of what was dumped during the other two storms during this week! Plus school has been canceled twice and released early once...so for those of us moms who aren't quite as nifty or creative with things to do or patient in general, we aren't quite as excited by the prospect of the lovely little ones being home for so long! And I say that with all the love in my heart because my little wild man is most precious to me - but I appreciate him more when he's had a productive morning at preschool! LOL!

Here's a few more pics of a new hobby I've just learned...like I need another one of those!

Drop spinning!

With some gorgeous natural fibers like alpaca, llama, wool and a beautiful wool/silk blend :)

Just look at that roving!

I'm sure I have some type of attention deficit because I jump from one thing to another. Learning how to knit was supposed to offer a measure of patience and discipline so what the heck was I thinking when I signed up for a spinning class of all things!!! I knew I was doomed when I walked in and saw this handsome hunk of an angora rabbit being groomed of his lovely silver gray fur. Then I noticed all the batts and raw wool lying all over the room just begging to be touched! Then when the instructor said all we were going to do was handle this luscious fiber and spin? After the first hour I seemed to pick it right up. And carry it through to today where I'm still improving...! Wow! Now I'm dreaming about when I'm good enough to make my own hanks and D Y E them! My poor hubby just rolls his eyes at me when I mention maybe we should think about getting an angora bunny or maybe angora or cash goats! What can I say? Feed the fiber frenzy! And, I'm very lucky to know a lady who's been spinning and teaching spinning for over 20 years and she's offered her time and roving and wheels to teach me how to do it properly! I'll be visiting her next Friday for a couple hours of tutoring and playing :)

Next up, will I finally give in and learn to sew? That question will have to wait for another day!

All right, I've dallied long enough. Time to get back to spinning and more knitting!

Stay safe everyone and happy fiber-ing!

XXOO

PS - Pardon the photo at the top of my blog...it seems I've lost all my formatting and can't get it to center properly or stay behind my blog title :( I really should check out Wordpress or invest in my own design!

Yarn Along

2011-01-19T13:22:00.001-05:00

Still working on cabled neck warmer :)

Sox is very interested in what I'm doing!

Joining in on this week's Yarn Along from small things! Afraid I'm still working on the same cabled neck warmer - pneumonia saps all the bits of energy it can so I haven't done much for about a week now. I have moved on to two new books! Heaven has a Blue Carpet by Sharon Niedzinski is a funny, spiritual, and truthful account of a her journey into sheep farming and the parallels she finds between sheep and humans in God's eyes. Death by Design is an anthology of the first three Scrapbooking Mysteries by Laura Childs. I loved her Tea Shop Mysteries so I thought I'd give this series a try :)

We've had one storm after another here in Southern Maine and yet another big one reportedly rolling in on Friday. Means wild man hasn't had school and we are both bummed about that! He really loves going and I love the peace I get for the four hours he's in preschool - LOL! I love being a stay at home mom but I admit to not being the most creative with activities for the poor guy! I'm just so happy he loves school and I pray he'll keep loving it :) I won't stay long today...my energy level is dropping fast and I still have the afternoon with the wild man. I need to limit his time on the DS so he doesn't fry his little brain! Let's see if I can get through it unscathed and with enough juice left to make supper and maybe knit some this evening!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

Verdict is in...

2011-01-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

It's pneumonia. I finally couldn't take it anymore, especially after practically coughing up a lung last night, so I went to the clinic this morning and the nice Dr tut-tutted me, gave me a prescription for Zythromax and ordered me to take it and Mucinex and get some rest. HA! Not with a 4 yr old! Anyway, I'm hoping to get my taste buds back soon because I really miss tasting food :)

Finished Dyer Consequences and started Fleece Navidad the next in the Knitting Mysteries by Maggie Sefton. Such a great little series! Still plugging away at the reversible cable neckwarmer. Slow progress because my energy level has been so low lately.

Little man should be home anytime now so I'm off for a few minutes more of quiet time before he blows in!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

Dad's Birthday

2011-01-12T12:21:00.000-05:00

My dear Papa Bear has turned 80! So I thought I'd make him this fancy pants cake along with one of his favorite meals to celebrate. The meal turned out great! I mean how can you mess up ham, potatoes and carrots?! Anyway, the cake came out wonderfully except the ganache frosting didn't harden up the way it was supposed to...the recipe indicated if I chilled it, it would thicken and I could spread it like a frosting. It didn't thicken in time and when I poured it on top I had already seated the cake on a cake plate. So the ganache pooled around the base of the cake. It looks messy but it tasted fantastic!!! So I guess I can chalk it up to experience and now I know what NOT to do :)

Here's the photographic evidence:

Cooking the cranberries for the buttercream filling

Successfully baked chocolate cakes

Remains of the cranberry buttercream filling

The filled cake

Finished product with happy Dad :)

Inside and messy outside - amateurish but getting better!

Next time the filling won't be as thick and the ganache will be poured when the cake is on a rack. Then I'll cool it down and pour another layer of ganache so it will be thicker. Either that or I'll chill the ganache down overnight so it thickens up enough to frost the cake. It was my first experiment with a fancy pants cake and overall I'm very pleased!!! And everyone really enjoyed it :)

On the knitting side, here are some finished objects sans the hubby sweater! I can't catch him with it on long enough to photo it! I may have to have him don the sweater with the express purpose of getting some nice shots :) Here we go:

Double bump dishcloth - pattern from Ravelry

Nate's mitts - the color is off - they are deep red and dark gray

Current knitting and reading

Ponytail Hat - improvised and fiddled with and my very first design!

I can't wait to see if the ponytail hat is what my friend's daughter is looking for. The button unbuttons and goes under the pony tail to fasten on the other side. Took me a while to figure out button placement and how long to make the slit for the ponytail.

I'm loving my current project - I've modified the Palindrome pattern from Ravelry to make myself a buttoned neck warmer! I love this pattern and have made several scarves out of it. It's nice to have something that looks good on both sides :) I had only a little bit of this gorgeous yarn that's now discontinued, Reynolds Caviar - less than 150 yds) and decided I would make myself a neck warmer. It's coming along beautifully!

The book I'm reading is the 5th in Maggie Sefton's series the Knitting Mysteries, Dyer Consequences. I love this series! It's fun and the characters are enjoyable - it's a good read to snuggle up with a cup of tea on a snowy winters day :)

Well, I'm off for now - just made a lovely baked mac and cheese and even though I still don't have my taste buds back from this nasty long lasting cold, I'm going to do my best to enjoy it! Will try to post some pics of the the storm later :)

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

RE Stinkin Winter Colds

2011-01-11T21:27:00.000-05:00

Still stupidly resisting the Drs and still stupidly suffering through this never ending winter cold! Cough is still there but better and nose is still stuffy but better...only microscopically. *sigh* I know, I know - I should have seen the Dr last week. When will I learn? Now I'm off to bed to try to dream it into non-existence...

Stay warm and safe and happy knitting in this snowy weather!!

XXOO

Letter to the Editor

2011-01-07T14:39:00.001-05:00

Dear Flu/Cold/Bug Thingy,

I'm lodging an official complaint.  You've stuck around nearly 2 weeks now and for the last three days have made my life a miserable H E double toothpicks.  You were nice enough to leave my chest (mostly) but then you migrated into my nose and sinus' and that's where I have to draw the line.  I've done nothing but sneeze and blow my nose all day today and I've had it! It's time for you to move OUT!  If you do not comply within 24 hours I will have no choice but to take you to a professional for extraction. 

Thank you very much for your cooperation - NOT!

Best Regards,

The AnxiousKnitter

Stinkin' Winter Colds

2011-01-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

I've been miserably fighting this nasty chest cold for over a week now and while it is getting better it is only getting better millimeters a day *sigh* It gets in the way, can't walk across the parking lot without wheezing and gasping for breath. Then I have to have cough it out before I can catch my breath which brings up gobs of truly nasty business. Then the nose turns on...and runs...and runs...and runs! I feel like I've been run over by a bus! Not that I know what being run over by a bus feels like but it must be close to how I feel! I can't remember if I should feed a cold and starve the flu or feed the flu and starve a cold - either way nothing is working. Maybe the massive amounts of tea I've had will begin to drown it out. Of course seeing a Dr might go a long way to improving things but that's just silliness talking! I'd much rather whine about it and cough and sniffle then fix it - may as well have a little fun :)

Double bump dishcloth is done and I've cast on for the pony tail hat. I've had some ideas about that hat and I'm very excited to see how it comes out. The yarn is a beautiful deep hot pink and really squishy so I hope the finished product is approved of by the teen I'm making it for. I still need to get my man to pose in his hubby sweater...it seems to be cold enough now for him to wear it for the camera!

Thinking about starting a new book list. Didn't read as much as I would have liked last year so I'm going to go back to the previous years goal of reading 50 books in a year. I squashed that goal but failed last year's of reading 75 books. Used to be that reading 75 books would take place of just one summer, never mind a whole year! Now it's a struggle!

Off to gulp down another cuppa tea in the hopes I will drown whatever is flailing around and therefore avoiding Dr's office.

Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

Knitterly Thoughts

2011-01-03T15:33:00.000-05:00

I knit with such a frenzy in the last three months that I'm almost *gasp* knitted out! In fact, my brain's been so fried the best I can do at the moment is a dishcloth and that is taking me more than a week! But there is light at the end of the tunnel - after the dishcloth is finished, I'll be designing and knitting my own version of a pony tail hat. I've researched patterns and haven't found anything I really like so I thought "why not!" I have a friend whose daughter wants one in bright pink. I have the yarn, Full o' Sheep in Peony. I can't wait to get started! So I guess I'll have to finish that dishcloth soon!

After the hat, I'll be starting a neckwarmer using Reynolds Caviar yarn in a gorgeous purply blue with a gold thread. I'm hoping it will be stunning! So this is my plan for January so far... I'm also hoping to learn how to spin a little bit later this month. A friend let me know of a beginner's class that is a one night only thing and I'm pretty interested! Even if it's only to learn something new and I never do it again, at least I will have tried something different! Yay, me!

Ok, keeping this short today - the wild man is patiently (not) waiting for me to play Donkey Kong with him :) LOL!

Be safe and happy knitting!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011-01-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome 2011!!!

I hope you turn out to be a great year with many opportunities for growth and plenty of fun! So many milestones this year - my dear Dad is turning 80 in a few days, my dear son will be 5 this summer and he'll be starting Kindergarten, my dear hubby will be 40, his lovely Mum is turning 70 and my wonderful SIL 50 :) Plus hubby and I will be celebrating our 18th Anniversary! So many markers to meet with joy! I look forward to it all!

Hubby, Wild Man and Auntie - creators of the awesome Frosty!

Too darned cute :)

Peek-a-boo!

Aren't I the handsome one!

Happy New Year, Frosty!

My Two Cents...

2010-12-31T12:46:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends,

Maybe it's me but I've always been under the impression that when you send someone a card the intent is to let that person or family know you care about them with something that is at least hand signed. I'm sorry if this seems harsh and I really do appreciate all the photo cards I've been getting - I think they are a wonderful way of letting loved ones get a peek into personal moments, however; I have a HUGE issue with people not signing them. This idea of computer signed cards takes the "personal" right out of it. Seriously, what's wrong with taking a few moments out of your busy lives to make a personal note on the back or at the very least, signing your own names! It feels like an afterthought now to receive a card in the mail with not one handwritten thing on it - most are even addressed by a computer! What's the point? In the end, it feels more like an obligation than a nice remembrance. Call me old fashioned but my mama raised me to always make it personal. A short sentence or just sign it with love...but at least SIGN IT! I promise to always make my cards personal even if I decide to do computerized cards - this chick will at least sign my own name!

And that's my two cent thought for the day :)

Signed,

The Anxious Knitter

More Christmas Goodies...

2010-12-30T13:09:00.000-05:00

Edelweiss Neckwarmer - gift for friend

Never ending "Hubby Sweater!" Now I just need a pic of him in it!

Truly delicious blueberry pie

Always popular chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate whoopie pies with silky peppermint cream

Surprisingly yummy pistachio and dried cranberry sugar cookies

Thumbprint sugar cookies with homemade seedless raspberry jam

Between this post and the earlier one - this pretty much sums up the baked goodness that happened over the last week before Christmas as well as the yarny goodness that was completed...

and, hubby looks quite handsome in his new sweater!

The Coming New Year

2010-12-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

I recently read something on a Knitter's Review forum regarding having "intentions" vs "resolutions." (Credit to commenter KnittingKittens for the idea!) I love this idea - it seems much more realistic to me than listing a large checklist of practically impossible things to accomplish during the year. Most of us know when we list our resolutions that many, if not all, won't even be thought about several weeks into January! So it is my intention *snicker* to collect my intentions *hehe* and intentionally *too much?* list them :) Poor attempt, I know!

I've been giving some serious thought to starting some kind of crafting ministry at my local church. There are a few people on board and I have the support of a staff member but I'm not sure if I can be responsible enough for the endeavor. The goal would be to raise money for our Global Outreach missions project during the year. A few of us "core" crafters, those of us who would do more detailed or complicated items, would offer them for sale during the Christmas craft season and donate the proceeds. The rest of the group's goal would be to knit, crochet and craft like crazy for things that could actually be shipped overseas to the projects we'll be sponsoring. It's all good in theory but I know myself - I'm atrociously ill-equipped to be in charge of anything! In any case, I'm going to give it a go and even if interest falls off I'll keep doing my knitting and crochet and try to sell them. I'd really like to make this a success and be able to make a decent contribution to a worthy project. And, I'll admit freely, prove to everyone that crafters can make a difference!

I also intend to knit from my stash first - there are so many really nice things I can do from the yarn I already have!

Further intentions for the year:

pray more
read the Bible
play more with the wild man
be a better friend
become more responsible (LOL - really, ROFLOL)
get back into reading
design my own knitting project
try at least one new technique in both knitting and crochet
manage my eating/exercise habits to avoid becoming diabetic *sigh*
renovate the upstairs bath
paint the kitchen and living room
continue the process of decluttering
take up sketching/painting again
become less judgmental and more understanding of others
expand our veggie garden
continue pursuing "green" alternatives
learn to sew
prepare Christmas 2011 gift list and start knitting early!

That's the start of it! I hope to add to this list of intentions as the year goes along.

What are some of your intentions for the coming New Year? I'd love to hear them!

Stay safe and have a wonderful week!!!

Christmas Goodies

2010-12-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

Bouche de Noel

Raspberry mousse filled Bouche

Dark and White Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Coconut Macaroons

Chocolate cups filled with raspberry mousse and homemade whipped cream topped with fresh raspberry

Almost there...

2010-12-19T23:18:00.001-05:00

I'm within 2" of finishing the never ending hubby sweater!! Yay!! It's been three years and my poor man has been waiting for his Christmas sweater and this year he'll finally have it :) For such an auspicious occasion, photos will be taken! I'm predicting the sweater will be finished in the morning, loose ends woven in and buttons sewn on. Then massive cookie baking and candy making will commence, not to mention all the wrapping that needs to be done!

Stay tuned...

Have a safe and happy week!

The Approaching Season

2010-11-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

Society bombards us with images of all the hottest gifts for the season from the moment Halloween ends to the minute Christmas Day arrives. We are flooded with ads and commercials on TV, websites, even our social networking sites. Companies are doing more and more to learn about our interests, what will catch our eye, and compel us to buy, buy, buy. They use tactics that categorize us, filters and tracking cookies on the internet, databases that sort and slot us where they think we fit. All in the name of product promotion and profit. Individualizing marketing tools are aimed directly at each one of us who has a presence on the internet whether we realize it or not. We are tracked and categorized. And the result? Christmas has turned into a circus. We no longer have a Season - we have a season. God has been surgically removed from the commercial vision of what Christmas is. Christmas itself has been turned into "Xmas" or the "Holiday Season." More to the point, we've been anesthetized. Numbed to what this Season should really be about. Blinded by glitter, confetti and twinkle lights that are bombarding our senses every day.

Now there is nothing inherently wrong with decorating the house with lights, hanging wreaths or raising a tree - it's that we've forgotten that the Day should be a celebration of Christ's birth. A Day that should have so much importance for the meaning behind it than the pretty picture it presents in Martha Stewart magazine. We've even been taught to be careful not to wish someone a Merry Christmas for fear we may offend that person's belief system.

I may receive some criticism for this post but I feel compelled to remind all of us that the reason we have Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the Redeemer, the Messiah who defeated death as prophesied, so we might all be saved from eternal darkness and live in Him. We are meant to see this Season with Hope, Love, Faith, Mercy and Grace. We are to live as Christ lived, with Love in our hearts for God and for everyone we meet along the way. No matter our backgrounds, our religious beliefs, our locale, our spot on the income scale - we are all neighbors. What good is this life we are living if we are living it without these gifts from God? I don't know about you but that alone is enough - the rest is gravy.

So go ahead and decorate to your hearts content! Throw parties and buy gifts for all your loved ones this year. But don't forget that Jesus IS the Reason for the Season. Give thanks to the King for all the blessings you've received this year. Praise Him above all else and remember those less fortunate than you. Don't be sucked into all the ads and commercials that make this time of year impersonal and false. Remember my charge to you to find an organization or place where you can volunteer or get involved in making a difference. You never know who you are going to bless with your time, treasure and talents. Are you willing?

As for me? Well, it seems God has given me the gift of knitting and a love of baking. So I'm going to do the best I can to put those talents to good work in His name.

Kick off the Season right everyone! Put Love in your heart and have compassion for those you see bustling around you. Offer them a smile, you never know whose day you'll make!

Stay safe and Happy Knitting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:22:00.000-05:00

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Here hoping you all have a safe, wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving day!

In Tune with the Message

2010-11-23T08:57:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends,

I know my last post was heavy duty but know that I'm not the only one noticing these things. And know that it doesn't take a study like The Hole in Our Gospel to figure it out. Follow this link to Courtney's page and read her Thanksgiving post for today. She highlights an email quote she received that illustrates how ridiculously we treat the American Dream and how given we are to the feeling of entitlement.

We need to always remember to be content with the blessings God has given us and give Him all praises.

What are YOU thankful for today?

God bless, be safe and, as always, happy knitting!

Don't Know Why...and More Important Things

2010-11-21T12:49:00.008-05:00

It's been so long since my last post! I visit my own blog at least once a day and think "uh oh, time to update" and then I get wrapped up in visiting everyone else!

We've been quite busy lately. Wild man is in preschool and it's such a blessing in so many ways. Since he's an only, it's difficult teaching him some simple social rules that are a given in families blessed with multiples. It's hard to share when there is no one else to share with! So some things that are taken for granted as skills that are naturally learned don't happen in our family. We have to work on reminding him to be nicer to the littler ones and share, share, share! It's hard for kids to do anyway, so imagine an only child being asked to share a toy he doesn't normally have to! Yikes! So preschool is doing it's thing - and he's making friends and learning to be a helper, too. Another huge plus? I get four mornings a week...FOUR! My house is finally getting clean, laundry is finally on a regular schedule, and I get to grocery shop in peace! Plus the quiet time - and I still feel guilty about that. I feel like I should fill up my mornings with lots of tedious and useful chores and not take any time for myself. Really? I have to force myself to just sit. Still. Don't move. No twitching. No TV. Or music. Or noise of any kind. It's WEIRD!!! I admit I just can't do it for very long before I have to grab a book or my knitting or hop up and clean something :) With this free time I could actually blog! LOL! So errands and housework aside, I do get some time to myself to try to relax.

The chickens are getting bigger and the rooster has finally asserted himself. He starts crowing at 4am and then goes periodically throughout the day. He's gorgeous, though! They're growing an undercoat of downy feathers for the winter and are so cute! All puffy and fluffy with a lovely iridescence on each top feather. The hens cluck to me and talk, talk, talk. I feed them a snack of Rice and Corn Chex sort of mushed up and they peck it out of my hand nice and gently. Mr. Sister, though, I don't recommend anyone besides myself feeding him by hand. He's your typical paranoid rooster and will rip bits of skin off before you even know it! I feed him whole pieces of the cereal and he's pretty good with me. He gouged a chunk out of hubby's hand when he tried it! Anyway, I should be seeing some eggs in a few months :) Can't wait!

On the knitting front, I've been going great gang busters...churning stuff out pretty quickly! I finished a baby gift - hat and owlie sleep sack, a lacy scarf, a hat and scarf set, a baby afghan for my grand-nephew (LOL!) and I'm working on another hat and a lacy neck warmer. I still have one more neck warmer and something else to knit for another friend, who happens to be a great knitter herself. I have no clue what to do for her! I also have another baby afghan to finish, a red scarf for the red scarf project, a pair of socks and the never-ending hubby sweater. Of which I only have a sleeve left to do...and hubby keeps bugging me for it...and making me feel guilty I haven't finished it yet...*sigh*

Now, onto more important things, what are you Thankful for this week? I have too many blessings to list them all but I thought I'd share my top 10 list with you:

Top Ten List of Things I'm Most Thankful For...

1. Christ

1. My family

2. My home

3. My church family

4. My freedom

5. Clean water

6. Sanitation

7. Plentiful food

8. Accessible health care

9. Books

10. Yarn (of course!)

Some of you might question why I have 4-8 listed. Since September, I've been studying, along with the rest of my church, Rich Stearn's The Hole in our Gospel. It's been impressed upon me how much we take these things for granted in our country. We are one of the, if not the, wealthiest countries in the world. We consume 3/4ths of the world's food resources and we make up less than 1/4 of the world's population. Think about that. What does that leave the other 3/4ths of the world for food? Or clean water? We waste much and want not. Our society is one of entitlement and self-service and somehow we've ended up perverting the American Dream. We no longer think of others in our mad scrabble to the top of the tower. Did you know if every American Christian tithed the full ten percent, we could end poverty as we know it? The gap between the wealthy and the poor grows exponentially every year. With greater advancements in technology and business and transportation, the richer continue to get richer. The middle class is shrinking and the poor are swept away. We think if we don't see it or hear about it, it doesn't affect us. We live in our little bubbles and ignore the world around us. (And don't think I don't include myself in this - I do. I've lived an incredibly privileged and sheltered life). We see this image...

and turn off our web browsers or our TV's, close up our newspapers because we don't want it to become personal. Because if it's personal, then we have to do something about it.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

This is what we are studying. This is what is breaking our hearts and forcing us to see that we are not the only ones in this world. Our church is on a mission to change hearts and make a difference...to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Can you look at the image above and not be affected in some way? You might ask, "I am only one person, how could I possibly make a difference?" You would be making the difference in one person's life that might not have a chance any other way.

So my charge to you today is this: find an organization to support, whether it's global or local, and volunteer, give, or create for them...but make the decision to be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem. You don't know whose life you may affect. You don't even have to be a follower of Christ to affect change. But for those of us who call ourselves followers, we are required to help when we see the need:

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

Halloween Pics

2010-10-31T20:26:00.001-04:00

The wild man as my White Knight :)

So cute!

Yes, that cowl was handmade - good thing, it was freezing!

Aw, another picture???

Fuzzy pic but happy kid!

We had a lovely, though chilly, time at our church's Trunk or Treat event! The wind really kicked up the frost factor! We had to leave before the fireworks show - tired kiddo and frozen parents :) It was quite nice to see the town out and about at this event, too. We had advertised for nearly a month, so a lot of labor went into it. Happy to see so many little ghoulies out and about! Here's a taste of our church band singing Nickelback's If Today Was Your Last Day off their Dark Horse album:

They pretty much rock the House on Sunday morning! Wonder if God's up there nodding his head and tapping his toes while he listens :)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Photo Friday :)

2010-10-22T18:48:00.000-04:00


Bedouin Cowl - made for a friend's friend who is recovering from a stroke. I need to scan the finished pic!

Lacy Bowknot Scarf - separated stitches for the bowknot.

Lace pattern in Bowknot Scarf

Owlie Sleep Sack in progress :)

My awesome niece at the Maine Karate Classic - she's so intense!

Massive tree

Hubby had to use everything he had to heave that log onto the splitter!

The next piece was just as big!

Wild man and his Memere' :)

Look at that punum!

Out cold!

Hope for the Future

2010-10-18T17:08:00.001-04:00

Hubby and I have been married for over 17 years and each year seems to be getting better. We've mellowed a lot and grown much. I love him more today than when I said "I do" all those years ago. He is my man, my love, my help-meet, my best friend, my lover. So many people are unhappy in their marriages and turn to some horrific "solutions" to try to save what they have. I believe the keys to having a successful marriage are #1 RESPECT for each other, #2 COMMITMENT to each other through all hardships, #3 LOVE and #4 FAITH. We live in a disposable society that says it's OK to get married because you can always get divorced if it doesn't work out. When my man and I got married, we agreed to never say the "D" word. We made a commitment to work things out and if that meant going to bed and talking all night to resolve whatever issue we had then we were both going to be pretty darned tired the next morning. We NEVER go to bed angry - when you do that your problems simmer and steam, marinating in their own stew of ugliness that gets harder and harder to resolve until you've got a hard stubborn crust burnt into your relationship. Marriage takes hard work and a lot of tender loving care. Those romantic moments at the beginning of the relationship are fleeting. Real love takes mutual trust and nurturing. It grows stronger and deeper as the years go by and you rely on each other more and more. It is a necessity in a strong marriage for each person to grow and change, to mature, to mellow and age. We are like fine wines, with the proper care and nurturing, we just get better and better. I believe a committed, respectful, loving and faithful marriage is the binder for two such people.

I had the honor of meeting a lady today who embodies these things. She and her husband just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. She'd known him since she was 6 years old. When she was old enough to date, she wondered why no one ever asked her out. Soon after she was married she discovered her husband had warned off all her potential suitors because he had determined she was the one. She shared this charming story with such a look of love and peace on her face. Reminded me of my mother - she would have been about this lady's age and she and my dad would have celebrated their 60th this past summer. I wish I had asked her for more; her name, another story, anything...because she had given me hope for the future. Not necessarily for me but for others out there. It doesn't all end in heartbreak and divorce. My heart was warmed and I was truly blessed by her.

On another note, my darling hubby is getting domestic on me! He saw this picture in Taste of Home magazine of some fancy schmancy turkey themed cupcakes and decided to get creative! This is the result of several hours of hard work:

The "Drummie King"

Turkey Cupcake

Lots of turkey cupcakes!

And for the cuteness factor, here's a pic of my wild man with the new beanie I whipped up for him this weekend :)

Ooh, I could just squeeze him!! Right, I already did! :) "Mooommmm"

Have a safe and happy week! Happy knitting :)

XXOO

Yarny Goodness and Fall

2010-10-11T13:25:00.003-04:00

Ooh, I just LOVE this time of year! The nights are deliciously cool without frosting over and the days are still so bright and lovely. Especially if you can find a nice spot to park your chair in the sun and bask! This is, by far, is my favorite time of year. Though I haven't dug out my decorations, yet. I usually decorate from September to December with fun pumpkins and harvest themes to spooky ghosts, goblins and witches to white twinkle lights, tinsel and manger scenes. The house always feels so festive and smells so good! But this year I haven't found the inspiration yet. It's tough when you live in a small space that constantly needs sprucing up. We don't have enough room for our everyday stuff nevermind the myriad assortment of glitz and sparkle hanging about. So I'm thinking Thanksgiving may be the first Holiday I decorate fully for. I'll dig out a few fun things for Halloween but leave most of it packed away. Christmas is what I wait for, clean for, reorganize clutter for - just so I can squeeze out as much room as possible for one more ornament! We want everyone to feel the Spirit when they come to our house! And just so you know, I am NOT Martha...nothing coordinates, there is not matchy-matchy stuff going on. Just a bunch of mismatched, glittery fun splashed willy-nilly! I think the manger scene my Dad places out front is older than I am! This year we'll have an intimate Christmas celebration at home then travel to our extended family's house the next day. In any case, I find this time of year seems to fly by way too quickly :)

Crochet Witches Hat

Crochet Shell Stitch Baby Afghan

Crochet Versailles Baby Afghan

I've finished one baby afghan, started another and I'm making a prayer cowl for a lady recovering from a severe stroke. I've also dashed out two very cute crochet witches hats and I'm planning on making at least one more and making two little ghosts to string them all into a cute little garland. I have so many projects planned! I have to start planning out my days better if I want to accomplish everything! There are hats, scarves, arm warmers, mittens, and cozies on my list. Not to mention several baby items for pregnant friends. I really need to prioritize and get cracking!

Wild man crunching away - don't these Red Delicious look scrummy!!

Wild man has the day off today and we're making the best of it. Movies, playing outside and games for this afternoon. He's been patiently waiting for Mummy to finish playing on the computer!

So I'll sign off for now. Have a lovely, safe week and happy knitting!

Lots of Yarn, Little Time and How God is Working in my Life

2010-09-26T16:19:00.001-04:00

Oh, I've been bitten by the biggest knitting bug around - I have so many projects lined up in my Ravelry queue, not to mention what I've been saving from all the knitting magazines. I'm trying to finish up a baby afghan now. I have 7 12" blocks crocheted and one more almost done. I'll finish that up today and get the last block started tonight. Most of it is already pieced together since I thought six block would be enough! It looked wrong - too skinny - so I decided to do 3 more blocks. Once the border has been crocheted on it will be beautiful and just the right size for a baby/lap afghan :) I also have a Bedouin cowl to start this week which will be a Christmas present for a friend. I'll be using 2 strands of Malabrigo merino worsted in Dark Earth colorway. I've also got a gorgeous crochet cloche to make using Mirasol Tupa (a 50/50 merino/silk combo) in an absolutely beautiful turquoise colorway, a knit cloche using Mirasol K'acha and one in Malabrigo silky, several scarves, lacy fingerless gloves, a felted tote and a felted bag, and some more baby items for upcoming deliveries! And, if I have the time (LOL), socks! Oh, and I still have the dreaded hubby sweater to finish...I only have one sleeve left, you'd think I'd just bite the bullet and get it done, right? *sigh* Like I said, so much yarn, so little time!

Wild man started preschool last week and seems to really love it! Now we've both got to get used to the schedule of getting up and out the door in the morning. I really need to adjust to having free time (I know!) in the morning. I mean, finally, I can clean the house or write in my journal or read or KNIT for a few uninterrupted hours! That is, once I get over the anxiety of wondering if the wild man is doing ok in school, if he needs me for anything, if he's hurt and the teachers can't reach me for some strange reason, or get over the guilt of finally being able to do something for myself. Sometimes I make life way too difficult! Breathe, Annie, breathe! It really is ok to relax and have fun - it even says so in the Bible:

Ecclesiastes 8: ¹⁴ There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. ¹⁵ So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

My church schedule has kicked into gear again. We have small group on Tues eve, I have my ladies Bible study Wed morn and my mom's group Fri morn. I've got my Sunday volunteer schedule laid out for the rest of the year, too. I help produce the kids service, which just means I'm the chick behind the computer hiding in the back of the room hoping no one has noticed I missed my cue with a slide or video :) It's a lot of fun, watching the kids respond to the antics of the adults on stage. Someone once told me we may be the only positive influence on a child that week so if the opportunity for a bond arises we should take it. My hubby volunteers in one of the preschool rooms and he's said how true that statement is. It's sad when you think about it... Anyway, I'm looking forward to having a great year, learning and volunteering where I can.

A bunch of us from the ladies Bible study are heading down to Lowell, MA this coming weekend for a Beth Moore conference! We are all SO excited to see her in person! I've had my ticket since February! I'm hoping for a really great conference, to meet some wonderful ladies and get to know the ladies I'm with better and have an encounter with God. Because that's what it's ultimately about - getting closer to God. Wavering, searching, mustard seed sized faith like mine needs constant care. It's one of the reasons I've chosen to be involved in so much - if I don't then I'll slide back into my old life and I don't really like that person. She's selfish, cruel and dis-compassionate to say the least. I've found my life to be better when I live by God's commands and the more I learn from the Bible the more I understand how depraved I really am and what a miracle we've all been given. Whenever we are asked to look at the Cross, it's all I can do to maintain my composure. Maybe it's because I've lost a son so I know what that kind of pain is like but this is God we're talking about. His love is so boundless he chose to take on that grief and sacrifice His precious Son so he could have a relationship with us. It's all by the grace of God that I'm here and without God in my life it's just an empty void. I've been hearing a lot about being in love with the Lord and yes, it does sound strange to me. Worship Him I can understand, revere Him, fear Him, see Him with awe - yes, I'm there. But falling in love? Sounds crazy, right? Well, it turns out, not so much. I realize all this intensity wouldn't be here if I wasn't somehow in love with my God. I haven't reached the joyous stage yet, it may be a long time coming. I've spent too much time trying to understand things I'm not meant to. I'm in the "feeling overwhelmed realization of just finding out I'm falling in love" stage. My faith is growing and changing me. It's a bit scary, yet wonderful all at the same time. The faith I've believed for a long time was nothing more than a mustard seed has sprouted - still small but definitely growing!

Well, I'm off to finish the 8th square for this afghan and to hopefully start the 9th square. Hope you have a wonderful week! Stay safe and happy knitting!

XXOO

The Terrible Fours?

2010-09-10T18:25:00.001-04:00

Is this a real phenomenon? I think I can safely assure you that it is...some of us experience the terrible twos not realizing that the terrible three's are where it's at! And some of us, myself included, are simply lucky enough that it carries through to the fours. I believe we are the parents of strong-willed children. A lot of us in this group are parents of only children. My son is an example of that and I've heard from parents of other onlies that this is an ongoing issue. Now I'm not sure if it's because there aren't any other siblings for the one to split his/her time between and with that the focus falls on "Mum" that the real issue is. Some would say the simple answer is to have more children. What can I say to that other than, to each his own. I had my two kids, one only lived to be 40 days old, and the other is this amazing miracle of a child who is as healthy as a horse, eats as much, and seems to be everything his poor brother would never be. I know my case is unusual, to say the least. However, I don't happen to agree with the theory that having more kids works. Since each child is their own individual then it would only work according to that particular family's dynamic.

Back to the point, strong willed children can be the most frustrating, defiant, sharp-tongued, hyperactive creature around - yet these children also turn their wills to the end end of the spectrum and are tender hearted, loving, very protective of family and friends and are a real joy to watch and care for. My son fits these examples, both positive and negative, and we've been on a crazy ride over the last couple of weeks. His behavior has definitely been in the negative zone and some consistent disciplines that worked before are simply ineffective now. I find with my son, he starts to expect us to respond in a certain way and decides he's going to kick it up a notch to see how far he can push. When we change it up, do something different, have an unusual diversion, or even lower or raise our voices in different ways, we seem to get better results. Yet I'm so exhausted from this "push-me, pull-ewe phase" I think I'm way past anger and smack dab in the middle of disappointment. He's so smart, overhears everything and can put most things together, and he uses it all as much as he can. Oh, I'm so afraid he's got some of my nastier skills - I was praying he would lean more toward his daddy in personality. Looks like God is testing me with a little of my own medicine!

This isn't a plea for advice or an article on the psychology of only children. This is my opinion and I'm at fault if there are any wrong assumptions. I simple wanted to put it out there that onlies have a different set of issues than multiples - neither is better or worse than the other. So when the mother of an only vents out her day and is greeted with snorts or raised eyebrows or even worse, a comment like "why don't you take a few of mine and see how badly you have it!," from a mom of multiples, please understand we all have valid and important issues with our kiddos. Regardless of how many we have. We need to respect each other as moms should and support each other in our struggles and endeavors no matter how many children we choose to have.

Have a safe and happy weekend :)

Photo Update

2010-08-19T11:26:00.001-04:00

The new henhouse seems to be working out just fine for my little darlings! Of course it can house up to thirty hens and I've only got five! I told my Dad we'd have to wait on a rooster to see how I would do with the chickens I have before adding more :) I hope they turn out to be good layers - we go through a lot of eggs in this household. Especially in the winter when I bake tons more than the summer!

Speaking of baking, this is my new venture into the world of cupcakes - vanilla cake with strawberry pudding filling, topped with a kiwi buttercream frosting. The cake turned out a little dry and the filling overly sweet but the kiwi buttercream was A W E S O M E !!!

Another new venture in preserving...mock zucchini marmalade - and it's really delicious!

My Roma tomatoes are really coming on - I just love fresh homemade tomato sauce!

Foggy (and cold) night at the beach Tuesday. We still managed to have a really great time!

Wild man's newest activity!

Have a great day everyone!

On Being Productive

2010-08-14T16:21:00.001-04:00

The Bible says the following about productivity:

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV)

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

Titus 3:14 (NIV)

Clearly through the folly of Adam and Eve, God has charged us to work hard for our food. We must labor and toil to get the hard land to respond to us and give up its fruits. Maybe this is why it is so satisfying when we see the results of all our hard work. Harvest season is beginning here in Maine and evokes in me a sense of hope and feeling of a job well done. We have been truly blessed this year and I've been working hard thinking of creative ways to preserve all our garden-y goodness. I've started canning tomatoes and making sauce. Next I'm hoping to have enough Romas harvested to try a batch of paste - I'm super excited about this! We are big red sauce eaters in this family and in the winter it's so nice to trot down cellar and grab a tasty jar of homemade sauce to brighten up a dull day. I think of the ant proverb when I look at our growing collection of homemade goodies.

I remember the last year before my mum passed was a banner year for their garden. My mum was a country girl from way back and canned, processed, froze and preserved everything she could get her hands on. I have a picture from that year of the pantry shelving packed full of that years harvest. When she passed away the following year there was more than just her presence missing. We were missing her busy-ness, her constant productivity in providing for her family, whether it be standing by the stove cooking whatever that days meal was or flouring her bread board to knead some freshly made dough. As the next several years went by, that full pantry diminished and with each jar consumed we thought of the wonderful woman who worked so hard for us. Finally I was left with a few precious jars of my favorite thing - canned green beans. I hesitated each time I wanted to open the last one, wanting to save it for a special occasion. In the end, I added it to a simple meal and savored the last bites, knowing it would be the last thing I would ever have that was made by her loving hands. My mother was a servant to the end and went home to her Lord in December 1993.

Now when I can and preserve my harvests, I always think of her in this same kitchen, slaving over a hot stove with the pressure cooker ticking and hissing next to her. The kitchen is alive again with the sights and scents of another harvest year. My counters are heavy with zucchini marmalade, wild black cherry jelly, tomato sauce, pounds of nearly ripe tomatoes, several long cukes and a pile of zucchini! We're waiting on the green beans to kick in - they're coming, too, we've already had a meal with some freshly picked. We also have onion and potatoes for later in the season. Each year we add something else, next year I'm hoping for garlic, bell peppers and carrots - we'll have to see!

In the meantime, I'm striving to follow the Lord's commands from Proverbs and Titus - to work hard and not live an unproductive life.

Stay safe and God bless you on this gorgeous weekend!

Seed and Bean - New Local (sort of) Coffee Shop

2010-08-13T13:15:00.004-04:00

This coffee shop?? It's fantastic! I heard about them from one of my Ravelry groups (thank you so much!) I was invited to attend their Thursday knit nights there. I haven't been to knit night yet - I'm thinking of going next week! But their shop, oh it's just beautiful. It's an urban refuge in a rural setting! It's a gorgeous old renovated farmhouse and attached barn with refinished hardwood floors, lovely hardwood tables and chairs, soft leather couches - very modern yet cozy at the same time :) It has a great ambiance, local artwork on the walls, and a barn cat they call an attack kitty! Apparently he will try to climb your legs - I didn't get a chance to meet him this time. He's out in the renovated barn which is where the men's room is...LOL!!! I had an iced latte with a shot of blueberry (they have every flavor possible) and it was delicious! I also had an absolutely to-die-for orange cranberry scone that was flavorful, moist and not too sweet. I will be going back soon AND I'm spreading the word!! It's called The Seed and Bean and it's located on 154 Alfred Rd, West Kennebunk - Google map the address or type it into your GPS and you will be able to find it with no problems! They also had a display of luscious looking muffins, donuts and pastries - not for the fat- or sugar-free die hards - and an impressive menu of drink offerings. The staff was super friendly, too! It's a bit of a drive for me, about 30 min, but so worth it I'm going to try to get out there at least once a week :) My four year old son loved it, too!

Give this place a try - if you love great coffee in a fabulous atmosphere you'll love this place!!

Stay safe and happy knitting!

Some very good advice!

2010-08-11T16:47:00.001-04:00

Women Living Well Blog

Check out this site I recently discovered in my blogging travels! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and viewing the videos Courtney has to offer. She gives some sound advice from a Biblical standpoint, she's well written and engaging on camera! She reminds me of Beth Moore in many ways! Today's posting is about teaching your children the same lesson over and over again. I know I can relate with the wild man! He has been so challenging since he turned 3 last year! We've noticed some progress with his aggressive behaviors in the recent month since he's turned 4. For some reason, he thinks 4 is pretty grown up! I'll take what I can get! More to the point, I've found myself on my knees more than once in the past few months praying and asking God what I was doing wrong. I felt I was consistent in his discipline yet he was continuing to misbehave in the same ways. I want to thank Courtney for the reminder that he has only been on this earth for 4 years and is a sponge soaking everything up around him. It must be extremely overwhelming to be that age, curious about the world, wanting to explore, yet having what must feel like constricting boundaries. He's a wonderful blessing in my life and I need to continue to remember what that childlike curiosity feels like :)

On another note, I've signed up to do book reviews a site called Book Sneeze that allows bloggers to review books on their blogs. I thought it sounded pretty cool and signed up! My first book is Captured by Grace: No One is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God by Dr. David Jeremiah. I'm very excited to get started!

Journaling has been difficult lately. I haven't written anything since July 27 and then my entry was interrupted by the wild man. It had been fairly cathartic for me - jotting down thoughts in the old fashioned way! There's nothing quite so therapeutic, well, except for knitting or a really great movie! I see my journal lying on the coffee table with pen beside it and pass it by every day, thinking "oh, I should really sit down and write a little" yet it doesn't happen. It was nice, I was writing down what I was thankful for that day, my prayers, my concerns, conversations with God, rants about the wild man, thoughts on that weeks sermon. I need to get back into it. It helps keep my mind on the right path.

Fall is quickly approaching and so is fair season! Oh, I can't wait for the first fair!!! There is nothing like the smell of the animal barns or the fair food, or the sights of all the crafty exhibits to feed the creative mind - it's my favorite time of the year :) Too soon after comes hot days and cool nights, fall harvests, yellow mums, apple picking, trees changing color, Halloween. *Sigh* Unfortunately it all goes by so quickly. I'm thinking about entering one of my knit items in a show - maybe a selection of hats? I don't know! I'm going to soak up the atmosphere as much as I can to carry me through winter's colorless season.

I have some unexpected quiet time so I'm heading outdoors to enjoy the late afternoon sun and watch my hens for a while :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Stay safe and happy knitting!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-31T22:18:00.002-04:00

To ME!! My man and I have been married 17 yrs today and we're still going strong :) I love him more than I ever thought I would. So Happy Anniversary, my love! Here's to many, many more!

The Plan...

2010-07-28T13:47:00.007-04:00

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the following axiom:

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!

I should wake up fully conscious of this before I even attempt making plans for the day! The wild man rules whatever plans are going to be made and he is great for changing things midway through. Whether it's due to changing his mind, temper tantrums, weather or forgotten obligations suddenly coming to mind, we never seem to get where we originally planned to go! This morning, I admit, was a goof off kind of morning. I had great plans to bake and clean and maybe, if early enough, hit the beach for some morning fun in the sun. Needless to say, here I sit in the early afternoon having accomplished none of the "plan" - other than the necessary task of baking zucchini bread. Necessary because I will soon be inundated with more zucchini than I can keep up with! What exactly does one do with so much zucchini? There's only so much bread and muffins or sauteing one can do! I need a new "plan" - one that will handle the overflow of squash! I will end up "Googling" zucchini recipes, searching for that one great delicious alternative requiring dozens of squash. Oh were it so *sigh*...

The other great distraction of the day, for me anyway, is this darned computer and facebook. It's life-sucking games and features could easily take me away for the rest of the day. When I pull myself away, my poor bleary dry eyes are visible evidence of my addiction - LOL! Oh, and hand cramps from all the typing and mouse-work! The wild man's current addiction is an off-shoot of mine, the Nintendo DS and in particular, Super Mario Bros. At 4, he has already mastered the first of a dozen worlds, which means at least a dozen levels within each world, and he's several levels into the second world! I know, I know - BAD MUMMA!!! At least I set the timer on him so he won't get too carried away! Right now he's comfortably ensconced in our green cushy recliner watching Iceage: The Meltdown and laughing his little buns off :)

In any case, the "plan" also called for some crochet time and some journaling, none of which has even been looked at. In fact, the last two journal entries stop suddenly because I was called away by the wild man and never got back to finishing my thoughts! The crochet? Let's just say I hope to have it finished before the little guys first birthday - never mind finishing before he's even born! It might get done in time for his birth, if I'm lucky! Not to mention the other babies due by the end of this year/start of next... As I was saying, so much for the "plan".

I can't believe it's the end of July already! My 17 year anniversary is this weekend and the wild man will be staying with his beloved Memere' and cousin for three days. I'm excited, yet I know I will miss him :) The quality time with my dear hubby will be much appreciated, though! We plan on taking in several movies, having a lovely dinner out and staking out a small corner of beach to slug in for the better part of a day. My Dad is actually happy we'll be out of his hair for a while. I think he needs peace and quiet, too. When he asked about the wild man staying at his Mem's house, he questioned my comment about spending quality time with my hubby saying, "what about quality time with (the wild man)?" To which I replied, "I spend quality time with him every day - now it's time for (hubby)." After harrumphing at me he seemed to think about it for a minute, then said he would be happy to have the kitchen all to himself so he could can some piccalilli. HA!!!

My chickens are loving their new home! They happily peck and scratch around, entertaining themselves and me, whenever I get the chance to watch them. Their feathers have grown in and they look like miniature hens now. They have gotten used to me, not so much the wild man because he's just, well, too wild! But they will come to me when he's otherwise occupied and I get the chance to love them up. Sounds funny but chickens can be quite affectionate! I've been tossing them clover and grass and this morning gave them the added treat of some apple scraps. Wow, does that ever get them excited! Soon I'll start giving them more bits of scrap, like cucumber peelings and bits of gone-by fruit.

It's a balmy 92.5 degrees so I think I'll dress my little man in his trunks and take him for a refreshing dunk in the river. Perks of living riverside! I loved it when I was growing up here and now I get to share it with my beloved wild man...I just love how life can turn you in circles! Had we stayed in our old home we wouldn't have any of this type of life. I quite frankly don't know what we'd be doing but I'm guessing it wouldn't be this fun!

Here's hoping you all have a lovely day!

Miscellaneous Friday!

2010-07-23T19:38:00.000-04:00


Fallen maple - just missed barn but smooshed turkey pen (no turkeys were harmed!)

Big storm came through the other night and tore up the neighborhood! Trees fell on cars and houses and we lost power Wednesday night. Power didn't come on until 5:15am Thursday morning. Thank goodness the evening was nice and cool - if it had been hot like the previous weeks we would have baked in our beds!

Wild man's 4th Birthday on Tues the 13th!

He was so excited to have cake in the middle of the week! He couldn't stop telling me he was a big boy now that he's 4 :)

Special Caillou cake for his party last Saturday!

He loved his special cake! The day was pretty brutal in temperature (mid-90's and humid) but we all managed to have a really great time! Swimming in the river, bouncing in the bouncy house, eating lots of good salads, drinks, and good friends :) Family was a godsend that weekend, too!

Wild man's favorite person, MEMERE'!!!

Go Sox!!!

Roma tomatoes - I have a ton!

Our garden took quite a beating from Wednesday evenings storm. We even had hail mixed in with the torrential downpour. There were several confirmed reports of tornado's in the area, too! In Southern Maine, of all places! Anyway, the garden has rebounded and I don't see that the hail damaged any of the fruit. I should have quite the harvest of tomatoes what with all the bunches hanging off their vines!

Mmm...Zucchini!


My Barred Rock chicks :)

This pic is several days old - they have since been moved into their brand spanking new, fancy shmancy, Taj Mahal sized hen house! (Pics will follow soon :)) They are in chicken heaven with all the room to flit around! They were given some handfuls of grass and clover today for the first time and there is little evidence left on the hen house floor. The house needs a permanent door and finish work on the outside, like shingles on the roof and shiplap siding. But it's buttoned up enough for them to hang out in with no danger of wildlife getting to them. I just love my little ladies!

Haven't done much in the way of knitting or crochet for the last month or so. Been too darned hot to think of yarn. I need to get my buns in gear though...I have several friends and a relative all expecting babies at the end of the year or beginning of next. Whew! Better get crackin'!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Stay safe!

Photo Monday

2010-07-12T09:06:00.000-04:00

My darling man checking his lobsters on Father's Day :)

Doing what he loves to do best!

My beautiful boy :)

Hot Hot Hot!!!

2010-07-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Holy Monkey - it's like a bizillion degrees out there! We are recording 96 degrees in the shade, the SHADE! It's over 100 in the sun. I don't know about you but this heat belongs in Arizona or Florida, not little ol' Maine. There's a little tiny breeze blowing the hotness all about, and thank the good Lord for what little breeze there is, but it's still ineffectual *sigh*... This is the only kind of weather I simply can't function in. My poor little man is bored to tears and begging to go outside and play. I had to tell him it was just too hot out. I have his little wading pool out but it's right in the blazing sun. We'll have to wait until later in the afternoon when the shade begins to cover it. Whew! I'm sitting in an A/C'd house and I'm still sweating!

Speaking of suffering in this heat, my poor dear hubby has a blistering case of poison ivy and the heat only makes it worse. It's all over his arms, neck, and chest and it's taking every ounce of his considerable self control to not itch at the stuff! I sent him to work with a bag of lotions, sprays and gauze's hoping he can get some relief. He just called to let me know he's gotten in at the Dr's to hopefully get a shot and find some relief that way. The poor man - he has no idea how he got it because he's been so careful. Yet with all the projects we've had going on I'm really not surprised. He's weed whacked the crap out of all kinds of undergrowth and cleaned it all up so he's bound to have picked it up from there. Unfortunately we are a haven for tons of the nasty stuff.

The wild man has been doing good lately. We've beached it the last couple days trying to beat this heat. He LOVES it!!! So we may attempt it again tonight when the dear man comes home.

Which brings me to another point - the truck has died. Big time bummer because we are using it a lot these days. Hubby goes to and from softball and also uses it for hauling lumber for our screen house project. It's going to cost $1,500 to fix and that's money we don't have. So it's just going to have to sit there until we can fix it ourselves or save up the money to do it properly. This means back to carpooling and the loss of hubbys independence - BLECH!

I Felt the Need...

2010-06-25T17:02:00.001-04:00

I just have to comment on today - it's so tremendously lovely out! If you can find a shady spot, it's so worth it - there's a beautiful breeze and clear skies. So beautiful only God could have painted it this way. We had a lovely morning together, the wild man and I. We met some other moms at a park here in town and all the kids played themselves silly! Our town offers free lunches to all the kiddos at the local parks, so we picked up our lunch boxes from the wonderful serving ladies and found ourselves a little patch of shade to eat in. Wild man was so anxious for play he only ate his apple and drank his milk :) I had his broccoli and dip and his yogurt and we shared his grilled cheese with an teen boy who is clearly growing like a weed! The food was great, the company even better. It's so nice to be able to sit with other moms who have a Christian nature and just be able to chat freely, without the judgmental looks one tends to get when expressing religious standing. We talked books and families and jobs and other normal stuff, all with a bent toward God. Very sweet and soul refreshing.

I've been reading so much lately. My crochet and knitting has suffered for it! I go through these phases, though. I'll read until I feel the need to get back into the yarn work. I just finished an incredible book by Anne Perry, The Sheen on the Silk. So well written and researched - I couldn't put it down! And it's over 500 pgs! It only took me four days to finish, what with all the running around the wild man has me doing :) If you love court, international or religious intrigue, murder, greed, betrayal, love, deception and vivid descriptions of a dying empire, you will adore this novel. Set in the 1200's, it's an intense portrayal of the after effects of the fourth crusade's invasion of Constantinople and the Roman empire's increasing reach into the old empire of Byzantium. Kings, popes, doges, royalty, commoners, courtesans and eunuchs are featured, interacting with each other in intricate relationships. Rich colors and lush scenes, combined with complex and enjoyable characters, this novel was a true literary joy. I hope you take the time to read it and savor the complexity!

Watched the finale of Saving Grace last night and was fairly disappointed. They can never get series' completions right, can they! I knew she was going to die I just didn't know how they were going to get there. And I was sincerely hoping she would have earned her own set of wings and become a Last Chance angel along with Earl. She could certainly relate to the people she'd minister to! Oh, well. I'll have to live with the disappointment of an excellent show's demise. I hope to be seeing Holly Hunter in another kick butt series very soon - she's a great actress!

Here's some pictures of what's been going on lately:

Have a great weekend everyone!
XXX OOO