Winter is on it's way!

 So, I figured I should wash my winter socks and get them ready.  These are all my hand-knitted socks that keep me so warm in the winter.  I wash them before I put them away for summer but I like to wash them again after they've sat in the drawer all summer and fall.

It is beautiful today....going to be 71 and I went to get the mail and I need to sit outside or take a walk because the end is coming....the end of the warm weather that is.  I hope it's not the end but a cold front is coming in tonight which could cause severe storms in our area.  They always come at night too.  Thank goodness I have my weather radio to go to sleep with.

Meanwhile, I am working on final finishing the ornaments....a little late this year.  I also need to make some shrimp cocktail sauce for the shrimp cocktail tonight.  I will have some crackers, cheese and summer sausage.  I made the Cuban Black Bean soup and it was good but not good enough to make again.  This gal said they loved it so much they served it at their wedding reception.  Maybe they were Cuban but it wouldn't be my choice.....I'd go for Penzey's Beer, Brat, and Cheddar soup at my reception.....just sayin'.  

I ordered my first book for 2022 but they sent me part of it online until the real book arrives.....the Kindle edition was $13 while the paperback with free shipping was $10...it will be here the 4th..on my birthday....I can't wait!  I have some other books lined  up for 2022 which I will share with you later.  I checked out NYT's best sellers, NPR's editor's picks and Amazon's top 100 of 2021.....I found Amazon's lists and categories easier to navigate and find the type of books I enjoy.

I hope you have a safe and enjoyable New Years Eve and I hope all things improve in 2022.  Tomorrow is the Iowa Hawkeyes playing in the Citrus bowl game and my New Year's Day XS start.  Along with some pork chops, potatoes and gravy with green beans.....no, I don't do black-eyed peas and ham....I tried one year and I was not impressed so, no luck for me! LOL!

Happy Trails!!!
  

Grocery pickup this morning!

 Yes, it's grocery day.  I made my menu and ordered groceries yesterday to pick up at 10:00 this morning.  I could go a lot earlier but we seem to have a lot of fog early in the morning and if there's sun it shines right in my eyes so 10: 00 a.m. is a good time for me.

Yesterday I got a lovely card from my daughter and she wrote a beautiful note inside. 
Cards are still drifting in.  I have a few more to get out myself......better late than never!

I unearthed my backing fabric and batting for my Christmas quilt.  Christmas took over and I didn't get if finished but Friday is sewing day so we'll see if I can put a dent in it...........

I had my tele-med appointment yesterday and all went fine.  He said I could go for the blood work anytime this month and then make an appointment to see him in 6 months which is great.  I gave him my blood pressures and he said it all looked good so, Yay me!

I hope you are all well.  What have you got planned for New Years?  Mine is all based on food! LOL!

Happy Trails!!!

Mid-week already?

 Where does the time go?  I better get my act together as I was hoping to start daily blogging come the New Year.......although my life is interesting to me I'm not sure others will find it so.

My Holiday coffees arrived and they are tasty!  Yesterday I had Holiday Spice and this morning it was Merry Cherry. 

I finally finished Slice #2 of cleaning my kitchen and the dishwasher is done.  I also found some small brushes to get into crevices and they worked great.   Today I start Slice #3 which is the wall and ceiling above the sink, the sink, and the cupboard below.  It won't all get done today but progress is being made.

 I dug out my cross stitch journals which I have never used and I plan on using them this year and documenting all my projects in and out of Ravelry.  I researched cross stitch "rotations" that people do and I found there are many different methods.  I'm going to use rotations for all my projects.

I was supposed to go to Mountain Home today for lab work and doctor appointment.  I called Monday and said I was hesitant because I have remained very healthy for the past 2 years.  The Omnicron variant is raging in our state and only about 46% of the state is vaccinated so, I didn't want to travel there but the nurse said I had to have the lab work or they couldn't refill my prescriptions.  I call that blackmail!  So, I resigned myself to going.  Yesterday morning they called and said that my doctor would do a tele-med phone call instead!  That is like the 3rd time the nurse has assumed she knew more than the doctor and sometimes they do but not this time.  My doctor knows me after 16  years and he knows I have a lousy immune system plus I'm old! LOL!  I'm so happy to stay home plus we woke  up to dense fog this morning so I  would have canceled anyway! LOL!  I'm not driving through hill and dale for 1 1/2 hours in fog.  No sirree Bob!  Another example of the good lord shining down on me!

I hope you are all well and still enjoying the holidays!

Happy Trails!!!
 

YOP Week #25

I hope everyone had a great Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.  Today is the start of Kwanza which I had no knowledge of when I was young.  I think it's wonderful to learn other cultures religions and traditions.

I did start my Christmas Day cross stitch but didn't get much done.  I started on the basket....

   

I heard Lori Holt talk about a Sabbath Stitch and I thought that was an excellent idea.  I've had several in mind but this one will be my first...............I was going to start today but I don't have the right material.........it calls for 14 count Aida but all I had was 18 count...it didn't work as the Caron skeined floss is too thick for the 18 count.  Maybe next week.

I knitted more on last years Christmas socks and I'm heading towards the toe on the 2nd sock............

Here is the last Advent gift from my daughter and I love it!  I wear these cobbler aprons all the time because they have pockets and I always need pockets.....

My T-bone steak dinner yesterday turned out great and it was delicious!  I also had time to refurbish my cutting board with the kit I had ordered.  It looks and feels great now.  I highly recommend!

This week I will be reviewing my YOP goals as I know I have gone "off track" plus I need to update my Ravelry project page.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I'm looking forward to 2022 with all of you!

Happy Trails!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

 

Well,  last night I tried to watch Scrooge and I couldn't find it (I don't have regular t.v.) just Roku and You Tube and Netflix.  I did find It's a Wonderful Life but I would have had to rent it.  So, I tried to find a Christmas Eve church service.  It was all mega churches and it looked like a theatrical performance more than church and the pastor was wearing a black leather jacket.....I was looking for something a little more traditional.  Finally, I put on a video of a fire crackling and a blizzard howling outside.....a gal can pretend.  I knitted on my last year's Christmas sock and I'm ready to knit the toe now.  Maybe I'll be able to wear them next Christmas! LOL!  All in all it was a great day.

BTW the soup was delicious too.  Amy couldn't find her Advent gift from me but I opened mine.........a backyard bird jigsaw puzzle from the Audubon Society.....maybe it will help me learn which birds are which finally............

I'll be finishing up my Christmas mystery book today....There were 3 mysteries by 3 different authors and they have all been good.  I love reading for the season.........

The girls are enjoying Christmas morning...........it's already 68 F outside so Grace is taking a sunbath............

and Miss Peeps is watching bird t.v.............

I took my neighbor her little gift of cookies and a card and she had a gift for me too.........so sweet ...literally......candy and cookies..........so thoughtful!

Today I'll be starting my Christmas Day cross stitch........

I've also got mashed potatoes to make, roasted brussel sprouts, and a T-bone steak with my name on it!

Since it is already warm out  I may even do some painting outside.....for whatever reason I will be outside...it is beautiful!

Here's a little holiday humor......

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Happy Trails!!!

Mrs. Claus was busy in the kitchen today!

 I would make a great Mrs. Claus and especially today as I was baking Christmas cookies among other things.  I managed to get some Rollo candies made for my mailman.....he always dresses up like Santa Claus.  I missed him this year but I know he got his gift and card.  He is a great mailman!

I got busy making my beef and barley soup and it is still simmering away....it's an all day soup. 

Meanwhile, I got my snowballs (Mexican wedding cake) cookies made....my favorite!  They need to be rolled one more time in the powdered sugar.  I made up a container of these for my lawn guy and my neighbor..........

Today was the annual Christmas Eve cast on with the Christmas yarn I bought..........so pretty with sparkles too!

Unfortunately, when I went to get my needles to cast on I discovered they were still attached to last years Christmas cast on...........uh, oh!  So, I guess I will finish these before I cast on the new ones.  I think they were the Grinch colorway.

I was going to fix an eggnog with spiced rum and have a fire in the fireplace but it is 67 F here and tomorrow will be 75!  But I will still have the eggnog and rum!  Maybe I'll be painting outside again.

I'm off to get my pj's on, Amy hasn't called yet for Advent and I am going to have my soup with my whole wheat bread that turned out.........I've never made whole wheat before......

After supper I think I'll watch a church service online and It's a Wonderful Life or the original Scrooge.  I hope you are having a great Christmas Eve!

Happy Trails!!!

It's getting close!

 It's Christmas Eve Eve!  We already opened our Advent gifts for today so I have yesterday's and today's to show you.  But first......look at what I came home to yesterday...........Santa had been accosted while I was gone and they left him for dead!  Thank goodness he came to and he will recover by Christmas Eve!  I have only one suspect............Miss Peeps!  Grace would never do anything like that...especially to Santa Claus!  Evidently, Miss Peeps does not grasp the full meaning of Christmas!

Now, for my Advent gift yesterday.............so cool!  This will be going on my rabbit wall! LOL!  I have a special place in my heart for rabbits and I will explain on another post but this is the bees knees!  Plus, do you see the ball of yarn! LOL!   I will be ordering a frame so I can get it up on the wall A.S.A.P.!

Today's Advent gift was also very cool as I love this stuff...if you haven't tried these products you should....they're not greasy and I can knit and do handwork after putting the hand cream on.  The foot cream will make your feet feel as soft as a baby's butt!   Great stuff.  I highly recommend.

Here's my little tree with my Aunt Alice's ceramic choir members that she made years ago.....I cherish them....

I received my cutting board refurbishing kit and I am hoping to work on it soon but I have bread in the making right now...it was the one thing Walmart didn't have and didn't substitute.  I also want to make some cookies so we'll see if I get to the cutting board refurbishing today.  Here's the kit which contains soap, oil,wax, and a buffing pad.  I'm thinking I will get one for my SIL who's birthday is in January.   I got it on Amazon and there were all kinds of kits for your boards.  I think it will make a nice gift.  I know I like mine! LOL!

 

I hope you all take time to enjoy this special season and reflect on all your blessings.  I know one of mine is all of you who visit my blog , comment,  and have become my friends even though we've never met.  Thank you.

Happy Trails!!!

I'm back!!!

 So sorry I've been gone but my pc monitor went belly-up so I had to quick order a new one and it arrived and I am back in business!  To catch you up on the Advent gifts I received from my daughter (in no particular order except for the last one from yesterday.)  Some antique wooden alphabet blocks.......I think I can spell ZAP with them............

Some cute little tiny skeins of cotton yarn............

A box of bottle brush trees.....so cute!  The box is not full because I already started spreading them around the house....

Yesterday I got a card from my cousin and her husband (she always sends beautiful cards) and this one was no exception...........I love foxes and I told my daughter when she called last night that I thought I would frame it..............it is from a painting..........

We always open our Advent gifts over the phone.  Well, when I opened mine guess what it was......

a box of fox note cards............I told her I think I will make a wall of foxes!  I had a fox at my front door one night just like the one above.....he came up the stairs to the front door and then trotted back down and around the garage......I've never seen it again...I should get one of those outdoor cameras to see what wildlife comes around when I'm sleeping.

I've received some beautiful cards and several are hand painted!  I've also received some special gifts from friends......thank you! 

After I got my new monitor, which is beautiful and the colors are brighter and the screen is bigger so things don't get chopped off or compressed....I then made my menu for the holidays and grocery list and ordered groceries which I picked up today.  I also went out to the highway and got gas in the truck.  My menu is as follows.........

Christmas Eve - Brie Bites, Potato latkes and onion dip, and eggnog with spiced rum, there's also some summer sausage and pimento cheese spread but I doubt if I'll need it! LOL!

Christmas Day - I don't eat much meat but I've had a desire for a T-bone steak for quite awhile now.  I'll make some mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts to go with it.  Hopefully, if I get my act together, there will be Christmas Cookies for dessert.

I haven't thought about New Years or my birthday but some King Crab legs would be a real treat!  I have to go to Mountain Home for a doctor appointment on the 29th so I might be able to snag some there in "the big city". 

I've got soups on the brain this month too....I'm thinking of a Black Bean Cuban soup by Crescent Dragonwagon who's cookbook of soups and breads I adore.  Another old favorite.........on the box of barley.......beef and barley soup.  I think it's time to get supper on....I'm getting hungry!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the season!

Happy Trails!!!  

God is good...

 The 15th was my son's birthday.....he would have been 40 years old but he passed away a few years ago.  I think he wanted to ensure I would not dwell on it too much.....so........in the middle of the night I woke up to what I thought was the furnace...I tried to go back to sleep but it kept running.  I thought maybe I had turned on the fan instead of the heat so I got  up but that wasn't it.  I went to the basement and the furnace wasn't even running.  I could not figure out where the noise was coming from.  I even thought maybe it was a car engine outside so I opened the front door but all was quiet.  I went into the kitchen and I could hear the water softener recycling and I figured that was it but it was on the other side of the house from my bedroom.  Hmmmm....I finally went into my bathroom on the other side of the wall from my bedroom and I put my ear to the wall....oh yeah....pipes were banging and they are under my bedroom in a crawlspace.   I turned on the water and there was little water pressure so I figured there was a leak under the house in one of the pipes.  It was about 3:00 a.m. and I had been up since 1:00 trying to figure out what was going on.  I went back to sleep until about 6:00.....waited until 8:00 when my neighbor calls to check in on me.  I asked her if she knew a plumber as mine had retired.  No, so then I called my lawn guy but he didn't know one either.  Then I called my pest control guy and he gave me the name of a plumber.  By now it is 9:00 a.m. and I hear noises outside.  I go to see what it is and the city is digging up my front yard by the water meter............hmmm.......coincidence?  I don't think so!  I call one of the guys over and he said there's a leak (no kidding!) and they are trying to find it and fix it.  I told him my nightly adventure and he said he was pretty sure it was their problem.  PTL!  Who needs a plumber bill at Christmas time?!?  I also got a call from a company letting me know they were sending me something they thought they were out of and would not charge me shipping.  It ended up being a day where I was grateful instead of feeling sorry for myself.  I can't help but think my son had something to do with it.  Love you, Jim!

So, now onto the Advent gifts........so sorry I haven't blogged...it's a busy time of  year.  In fact, Amy and I delayed for a day until my gifts arrived........so, without further delay............

Gift #1 - melties!!!

Gift #2 - a sani-key; anti-microbial copper coated stylus that helps you not touch dirty surfaces

Gift #3 - gourmet almonds

Gift #4 - Sharpies!!!  I needed these....the metallic ones I will use on my oven as the numbers have worn off the temp dials etc.  The other ones will be used for my "lists" of which I have many!

Gift #5 - so nice....this is lemon hand cream with shea butter....ooh la la!  it smells really lemony too and not greasy.....

That's all for today folks!  I will try and keep up now.  It is stormy here today but mostly pouring rain.  There are flood watches but I never worry about that as the lake has a "spillover".  It is really dark out there today.

I hope you are all safe, dry, and healthy!

Happy Trails!!!

Only a few things left to do for Christmas..........

 Of course, the  minute I say that I can think of a dozen more! LOL!  I did get the last Christmas present for the grands in the mail except for Disney which  I will renew on December 26 for another year.  There are still cards and decorating and baking...but I can decorate now as the lights came today!

and my cleaning bottles............they came with labels too!

But best of all............the Advent gifts came today!  We are a day behind but tonight we'll open 2 presents...........Amy didn't want to open hers until I got mine...........I can't wait!

It's gloomy, rainy, and foggy here today but still in the 60's.  I'm already making plans for next year.....mostly crafts and cross stitch! LOL!  Yesterday I had to pick up prescriptions and I made an Italian sausage skillet dinner which was good, along with a salad and some garlic bread.  That's about all the news that's fit to print for today.  I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I received for Advent!  The countdown begins!

Here's some holiday humor..........

Happy Trails!!!
 

  

YOP Week #24

 It's been a very interesting week...some good some bad but I'm still here so I'll show you what I got done and what I did not get done...........

I finished ornament #2 and started on ornament #3 and then ran out of the brown floss!  I'll go ahead and finish everything else on it and wait for the floss to arrive.......

Meanwhile, since I didn't want to order  just one skein of floss I decided to "kit  up" my new starts............for my Christmas Eve sock cast on this is coming in the mail............

since I spend every holiday and birthday alone, I need to give myself things to look forward to....it's my way of enjoying the holidays...........Christmas Day will be a cross stitch start.......I've had the pattern but just now ordered the material and floss that I didn't have......

For my New Years start it will be this pattern which I have also had for a while.........this is a reproduction of an 1896 sampler............and I need an alphabet sampler....

For my birthday this will be my start.............I have lots of crows inside and outside my house so it is appropriate that I put up some family pictures..........I also have a sign that says "Olde Crow Homestead" that my daughter got me...........this gal's name is Ida Mae.....I have the pattern for her husband too which will be after Ida Mae.  I think his name is Ira..........

As for other happenings around here....we had a big storm but it was nothing compared to what others experienced....there were tornadoes to the north and south of me but we dodged a bullet here.  I continue to pray for those who lost so much and so many.

Here's a picture of all the Advent gifts wrapped up and ready to go..........in fact she's already received them! 

I've been sticking to my cleaning regimen from the book, The Lost Art of Housecleaning by Jan Dougherty.  I have the Kindle edition but I need a hard copy because you go back and forth in the book more like a reference.    I also watch Andrea Jean Cleaning on You Tube...she has some great tips and techniques.  So, I have not gotten a lot done but it's getting there............this is DEEP cleaning folks....everything from the ceiling down even washing the wallpaper, inside and outside of the cupboards and getting rid of things too.  I'm feeling good about it even if it is slow going.

I finished the re-read of the first Mitford series book and I'm still reading Candy Cane murders although it is a compilation of 3 mysteries and I finished the first book.  I started the 2nd Mitford series re-read...A Light in the Window,  and for my non-fiction I am reading When Elephants Weep.....about the emotional lives of animals.

I also made a really good sandwich this week and I don't  usually like sandwiches.......but this one is healthy and excellent except maybe for the mayo and bacon....lol!

I'm no food stylist but as long as it tastes good that's all that matters to me! LOL!

Here's the recipe

and a little Holiday Humor for you............

I hope you all had a great week!

Happy Trails!!!