2/3/12

This post reminded me why I stopped blogging. I started it Wednesday morning. After over an hour I had unable to get pictures from the camera to the computer to the blog post. At that point, by allocated time, and then some was gone. I did manage to post 2 BLANK posts. Sorry!! So I tried again today. I have now gotten the pictures into the post, but they are in the opposite order I wanted them, so just pretend I spend some foreign unknown language!!!

I have FINALLY finished my Kate's Shopping Shawl by Wee Sandy on Ravelry. It is done in laceweight yarn on size 1 needles. Yes, I am aware that I am absolutely crazy!!! I have been working on it since May!!! It is knit with Knit Picks Shimmer in Sherry. I LOVE it. I feels marvelous!!

This is the detail picture of the pattern.

The is the pre-blocked picture of the whole shawl. Remember I said the pictures were in the opposite order of what I wanted!!! Anyway. That pattern says to lightly block the body and leave the ruffle alone. I am thinking the body is fine, but the ruffle needs a little blocking. It is awfully curly.

This is a really quicky, crocheted scarf. It is a Berrocco yarn that I can't recall the name of right at the moment, but it took less than an hour!!!

This is my Japanese Flower Shawl. Crocheted in Debbie Bliss yarn. It is yummy. It is on Ravelry and yes, the book is in Japanese, but it has charts, so it was easy, even not being able to read the words.

This or Cory modeling in front of the Japanese Flower Shawl. Sometimes I think I should rename this blog to "Cory Story". He provides most of the comic relief here at the home front. The other day, while I was "down in the back", I dropped the phone while talking to my mother. Of course, if it hits the floor, it is HIS!! So he grabbed it and ran off with it. I am yelling to try to let my mother know what is going on!!! Never a dull moment as long as he is present.

I have a new Pinterest addiction!!! If you haven't visited this HIGHLY ADDICTIVE sight, you should try it!!! But don't say I didn't warn you that it was a TIME SUCK!!

Let's see. I have read Michael Vey:Prisoner in Cell 25. Young Adult book. There are 17 babies born that are exposed to a new type of MRI which causes them to have special electrical powers. Now that they are teenagers, they are trying to gather them back up. Anyway. It is a good read. It is the beginning of a new series. No idea how many books in the series.

I am now reading The Scottish Prisoner. It is from the Lord John series that is a spin-off of the Outlander books. I am not crazy about the Lord John books, but they do fill in the gaps in the Outlander series. This is the best of the Lord John books, because it is over half about Jamie. And who doesn't like to read about Jamie???

Well since a small white terrier (not naming any names) thought that 4:30AM was a good time to get up this morning, I am going read and have a little power nap before my husband gets home from work!!!!

Chat later

Susan

Ok, now the words won't stay by the pictures!!!! Not happy blogger!!!

1/18/2012

This post was supposed to have been on Friday, but my spousal-unit decided to take a couple of days off. He really does cramp my style!!! ;-) Just kidding, but it does change the way I do things.

This is Chelsea after her groomer time. She is not much on pictures, so this isn't the best of her, but the best she would do for me. She says she is old and doesn't want her picture taken!!!







Have I mentioned that one of Cory's favorite past times is watching TV!!! Especially when there are animals, cartoons or sirens on. Please ignore my messy chair full of projects!!! ;-)

Cory's new hated thing is the shredder!!! He even attacks it when it isn't running. I finally had to close the door to the office to keep him from attacking and pestering it. It just sits there and ignores him!! ;-)





This is my latest e-bay purchase. Isn't it adorable? It is hand painted by Cherry O'Neill. She sells under Tail End Productions. She has many dog breeds that she does. She also had stuff on Cafe Press with her pictures on it. After I got this and loved it so much, I ordered a sweatshirt with a scotty and a westie on it.













This is my latest "up-cycling" thing. It is the leg of jeans with a liner in it to make a basket. The medium and large are westie fabric. Not sure what will go in them, but they were fun to do.

I have finished Night Circus. It was very enjoyable, but for me it didn't live up to all the 5 of 5 ratings that it has gotten on the web. Of course, this type of fantasy book, is not my top favorite genre either, so that plays into it.

I have also read The Valise in the Attic. This is a cozy mystery. It is a series of books, I think this is #12, from Annie's Attic, the craft company. All the books revolve around Annie and things she finds in her grandmother's attic. Each has a story to tell. He craft group from her small town in Maine help solve the mysteries. They are a little like cotton candy. Quick, sweet and enjoyable.

I finished listening to Naughty in Nice. It is the latest in the Her Royal Spyness series. They are great fun. They are set in 1930's England. Georgie is 34th in line to the throne, and flat broke. They are very funny. They are cozy murder mysteries. I especially enjoyed the voices of the reader on the audio versions. I got them a couple of months ago on sale from Audible.

I still haven't done my reading challenge update, but when I started sorting my books for the year's reads, I decided I had bitten off more than I could chew!!! Seems every book I had planned to read was over 500, most of the over 800. So I am rethinking my list!!!

I have been looking at the Tagg GPS for dog collars. Anybody know anything about them?

Chat later
Susan

1/9/2012

Ok, I said there would probably not be a lot of Chelsea stories!! She must have read that post!!

On Saturday, I missed her. Hadn't seen her for a couple of hours. I looked for her. Couldn't find her. I was starting to get panic-y given her age. My husband finally said, didn't you go to your sewing room??? It is the room over the garage and I keep the door closed to keep Cory out. WELL, she had been locked up there for hours. She never made a sound. She was probably excited to get a peaceful nap, without Cory to torture her!!!

Next, we are changing food. Neither dog was eating their dog food, so I decided it was time to change. Chelsea's tummy is not dealing with it well. That is an understatement!!! I won't be more graphic, but it took half the day to scrub the carpet!!!

Today is groomer day. She comes to us. Cory is already back from the "spa". He is very stress by the fact the Chelsea is out in the van now. I don't know that it is so much that he misses her, but he doesn't want her to get any attention that he thinks he should get!!! Doesn't he look handsome after his grooming???

I finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. It is my least favorite of the 3 books. Still very good, but more of a legal thriller, than the adrenaline rush that the end of book 1 and all of book 2 are. All three books are well worth the read. I plan to watch the Swedish version of Hornet today. Husband unit has to work late, so it gives me plenty of time to watch it.

I started The Night Circus last night. I have only read 20 pages, so no review yet.

I am listening to the Her Royal Spyness series. It is a funny cozy mystery series. The heroine is 34th in line for the British throne. It takes place in the 1930's. The Queen is very worried about David and his lady friend Wallis. I got them during an Audible sale a couple of months ago. They are fun reads. I am now on the last one Naughty in Nice.

What have you read lately, that I NEED to read?

Still knitting on the ruffle of the Shopping Shawl. I have decided I need at least 30 rows instead of 20. ;-( But after working on it since May, I don't want to be unhappy with it because of a skimpy ruffle.

I still owe a post of my reading goals for 2012, but that can be another day.

Chat later

Susan

1/6/2012

This is Chelsea with Cory. Chelsea is the 12 1/2 yr old Scottie. You won't hear many funny stories about her, because she is old and sleepy!!! ;-) She sleeps, eats, and fusses with Cory. She, like myself, haven't given up on making him behave!!! We just haven't convinced him yet!!

But then there is Cory!! I would have no entertainment in my life without him!!! Took him to PetSmart the other day. I was buying up some of the Christmas treats that they had on sale 75% off. So he was in the basket with a pile of treats!! We got to the checkout and I was putting things on the conveyor!!! He jumped out of the basket and up on the conveyor and proceeded to just walk along like he was on the treadmill!!! The lady checking me out was laughing so hard, she was bent double!!! They do bring joy to our lives, don't they?

This is my stained glass masterpiece. I just love it. I have it on a timer, so it is on when I come down in the morning and it is still dark in the house except for my lamp!!! ;-) It brings me joy!! I have started a second one, but it is moving along very slowly!!!

I am still plugging along on Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I haven't had time to sit down and really get into it. Hopefully shortly. Just a few more things to mark off the to do list, before I am allowed to read. Chores don't get done at all if I don't finish them before I start reading.

Chat later

Susan

1/4/2012

Well, I'm back. Someone has been calling me "Basically Blogless Susan" to try to get me to get back to it. I don't plan to have a regular posting schedule, just when I finish a book or project that needs reporting on!!!

Brief update on what has happened in the last 2.5 years.

Daddy died on June 25, 2011. He had had heart valve replacement surgery and just wasn't strong enough to recover.

Mack has gone to doggie heaven. But Cory has come to live with us. He is a WILD 21 month old westie boy. Love him to pieces but anyone who stole him, would bring him back!!! ;-) I have never learned to put pictures where I wanted them, so the picture at the top is Cory. He had to have knee surgery before he was a year old. I carried him around for the 8 weeks he was supposed to be in the kennel healing, so he is SPOILED!!!

Let's see. Most of 2011, I knit on Kate's Shopping Shawl. It is with fingering weight yarn on size 1 needles!!! I started it in May 2011 and hope to finish it by the end of January 2012. So look for pictures soon, I hope!!

I took up stained glass. Both fused and soldered. I will post a couple of pictures later. Seems I needed to put all the pictures in first, then write around them. As I am typing it is coming back to me!!!

I read 111 books for 37,600 pages. That is a drop from 2010, when I read 134 for a total of 49,600 pages. But I was having fun!!! ;-)

So far this year I have read The Girl who Played With Fire. I had been putting off reading this series because folks told me how hard it was to get into. Well, the movie came out and I didn't want to see the movie until I read the book. The first book did take the first 65% to get into, but the last 35% was excellent. Played with Fire, I was engrossed from the first page. I think I liked book 2 better than 1. I have watched the Swedish movies for the first 2 books (dubbed in English). I started the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next last night, but since I hadn't finished Fire until 2:45AM the night/morning before, I didn't read long before I fell asleep, so you will have to wait until a little later for an update on what I think of book 3.

I have 10 Reading Challenges, I am playing along with for 2012. I will do a separate post on them soon. I did 14 in 2011 and completed 9. I never really sign up for them, just follow the rules and keep track of them on my own.

Ok, before you get bored.

Chat later

Susan

8/17/09

Happy 81st B'day Daddy!!! ;-)

He is doing well currently. Hopefully it will stay that way for quite some time. My uncle, Daddy's brother died the 25th of July. He had such a rough last week, that it was a blessing. He would have been 83 the 15th of August, had he made it that long.

This is my second Classic Cardigan. It is mindless knitting and it fits me well. I have the third one underway. It is teal. You will be seeing it soon.




This Nonna's Garden, the kit came from Knitpicks. it was NOT a mindless knit. I love it. It feels so good. I have to get a backing for it. And, of course, block it. I have a stack of about 10 things that need blocking. Guess that is why I like socks, I don't block them, I just wear them!!!

I started the first block of the Lollypop Tree quilt. I have reduced it by 25% in size. I started it the weekend that my uncle died. It got laid aside and it is still "resting". I LOVED this when I saw the picture online. But when I got it the blocks were HUGE. I fell out of love, so I reduced the size. The love hasn't returned yet. I need to work on it more, now that things have calmed back down, so see if I can rekindle the romance.

I have been doing a lot of reading. I joined the Sookie Stackhouse challenge. You are supposed to read the 9 books between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. I read all in about 3 weeks. They are written by Charlaine Harris. The are quite good. They are vampire books, but not scary vampires. And somewhat tongue in cheek. You have to read them, just to find out who "Bubba" is!!! ;-)

Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire #1)
Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire #2)
Club Dead (Southern Vampire #3)
Dead to the World (Southern Vampire #4)
Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire #5)
Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire #6)
All Together Dead (Southern Vampire #7)
From Dead to Worse (Southen Vampire #8)
Dead and Gone (Southern Vampire #9)

Now I have started a Lisa Jackson challenge. I have started her "New Orleans" series. So far I have read

Hot Blooded
Cold Blooded
The Night Before

So far Hot Blooded is my favorite. Cold Blooded was a little predictable, but I still enjoyed it very much. The Night Before is very different. It is actually the start of a separate series of her books, as well as #3 in the New Orleans series. I would recommend these. They are mostly murder mysteries (serial killers, all, so far) with a little romance thrown in!! So there is something for everyone in these books.

I also read Snowbound by Larissa Ione. It was good, but not nearly as good as her Demonica series.

Also, Jackie and Bobby by C David Heymann. The premise of the book is that Jackie and Bobby Kennedy had an affair from the time Jack was shot until Bobby was shot. Rehash of a lot of things we had heard before.

At this point, I am reading books 60 and 61 for the year. My goal was 52, so I am somewhat ahead of target. Course, if I would quit reading so much, I could get some other things done!!! But the weather so so nice to sit on the porch with my nose in a book!!

I have also made Watermelon Rind Pickle and Dill Pickle. It is my first attempt at pickle, so in a couple of weeks I can find out how I did. I am "crocking" the dill pickles, so they have to sit in the brine for 3 weeks. I didn't have a crock big enough, so they are in the punchbowl!! It looks pretty funny sitting on the kitchen counter full of pickle.



This is who is sitting next to me while I type this!! They have to keep me company!!

Chat later
Susan

7/21/09

Where have I been for a month? Well, it is July, so that would be the Tour de France. I am not a big sports person, but I do love the Tour. I sit and stitch for HOURS on end while it is on.

Here is the Baltimore Halloween quilt top finished. YIPPEE!!! This is such a fun quilt. Now for the quilting.... That is a lot like blocking knitting. Something to be done, someday. ;-)





Here is another pair of my 2 at once toe up, K3P1 socks. These were knit at swim meets. Not sure of the yarn, I lost the ball band. But is was from one one's sock club.

My plan was to finish Nonna's Garden (from KnitPicks) during the Tour, BUT I ran out of 2 colors of yarn. That really slows you down. Now I am waiting for more yarn. ;-( So this challenge will not be meet.


I have been doing some reading. I finish Vampire Diaries: Return: Night Fall. This is the sequel written recently. It was quite disappointing after the earlier books. I loved the first 4, doubt I will even read any additional ones.

Then I read SweetGum Knit Lit Society. This is good light reading. A lot like the Blossom Street books. There is a second book in this series and it is in my near future.

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure. This was fairly light reading and quite eye opening. How far the President has come since Truman. At that time, they were paid no retirement and no help for their offices. He lived on just his military retirement in his post Presidential days. This book covers a car trip the Truman's took in their retirement. Quite entertaining and educational.

Doomsday Key by James Rollins. This was the first book I had read of his. It was a very slow start. He spent the first half of the book setting up all the players. Then the story really started. By the last third, I couldn't put it down.

I joined the Sookie Stackhouse Read along. You are supposed to read all the books, 9 I think, by next June 30. I had read book 1, Dead until Dark, but decided to read it again before reading the others. I have read the second book also, so far Living Dead in Dallas. They are both very good, quick reads. Sookie is a telepath dating a vampire, working for a shapeshifter. So there are plenty of paranormal "folks" to keep things interesting. I recommend this series. It is what HBO's First Blood is based on.

Daddy is doing much better, still weak, but getting around some. Uncle has taken a turn for the worse, so we just can't get them all on their feet at the same time.




Unusual to get the Pups together for a picture. Chelsea (scotty) will be 10 on the 31st of July. Macklin (Westie) will be digging a hole to celebrate!!!

Have a weekend stitching event this weekend. I hope to get Lollipop Trees quilt started, but I decided to resize the entire thing, so that is slowing me down on getting started.

Chat later.
Susan