Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Make It Monthly

This month's gift is a crocheted tic tac toe board. Mine is 12X12.
It was easy to make, even someone new to crochet could do this.
I crocheted a rectangle that would become a square when folded. Then I made 4 chains for the lines and used yarn to stitch them onto the side that would become the "board."
I made 6 of each playing piece.





After that, I just whip stitched the sides together and added a loop for the button.




And the inside is the pocket you can store the pieces in.

Kaela loved it and insisted we try it out.
We played for about 30 minutes together after which she decided we should keep it.....or make one for ourselves.

Monday, February 27, 2012

February's craftyness

I was pretty crafty during February...

making an ornament for my YOE tree...


a cowl for someone's birthday...


and some owls for some peoples...

trash bag holder


pincushions...

and a little night owl...

I wonder if I can fit anymore craftiness in before the end of the month......

Saturday, February 25, 2012

saying goodbye

I want to thank you all for your good thoughts and heartfelt prayers concerning my brother in law, Bill.
Today is his memorial service.

Bill loved my sister fiercely and for that I will always be grateful.

Once he and my sister moved to their farm, you would usually find him in the garden or with this blue beast cutting hay for the horses. Other times, he was dragging home stray cats and dogs to care for.




but he was happy to hang with the rest of the family too...especially if someone was telling a good joke.


We love you Bill, until we meet again...

Friday, February 24, 2012

I got spoiled yesterday....Jill from Life with Nature Girl mailed me this sweet package...for no reason at all.
The thermos has been put to use and the cookies are GONE.....all that remains is for me to make something with that lovely ball of yarn.

Thank you Jill!!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

clean up clean up!

I am a neat person



I am a neat person


I am a neat person



EXCEPT

Except at Christmas time...hmmm...make that except anytime I am crafting and wrapping and packing and shipping...which is a lot of the time!

So the other day I decided to straighten it up. Four hours later it looked like this:






But it won't last long, you see the stuff on the table?
Yep.....more stuff I'm crafting and wrapping and packing and shipping!



the cycle begins again....

Monday, February 20, 2012

waiting for baby

A lady that works with Dean is going to be a grandmother in a couple of weeks so I made a few things to welcome her grandbaby into the world.

a large reversible blanket, the reverse is non-pill white polar fleece. I also made a hand's free baby towel (tutorial here) and some burp cloths.



We are giving her a baby book so Kaela made a bookmark to go with it. The turtle and butterflies match the nursery and shower invitations.


and a crocheted blanket....this one is made using two threads of soft yarn, it is bulky and super soft.


now we wait for baby to arrive.

Friday, February 17, 2012

pretty girls

Last Friday night, Kaela went to her junior high "Who's Who" dance with some friends.

This is the dress we bought her for the dance LAST year but she had the flu that night and couldn't go.
I'm so glad she got to go this year.


After the dance, everyone went out to eat...nothing like seeing 20 teenagers living it up at an IHOP while their parents sat across the room pretending not to know them!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Guido's New 'Do

The squirrels keep eating Guido's hair. Horrible. And with a name like Guido, you think he could defend himself.
Instead, he just sits on the fence and puts up with it. What is worse is that the squirrels actually sit on his head in order to eat his hair!


I decided to help him out so I got some asparagus fern with those ouchy little thorns. Those furry little critters are going to get a surprise when they try to snack on THIS new 'do!

The best part is that I think he looks rather spiffy.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Crock Pot cheating

I love my crock pot, especially this time of year. Since it is such a time saver, I try to use it at least once a week.

Today I have a twofer for ya!

Link

I love homemade tortilla soup but rarely have the time to do all the chopping, slicing and dicing. Instead, I pull out my crock pot and make it do all the work while I'm at work too. This has a little kick to it so if you have little kiddos, check the seasonings.

Cheater tortilla soup:


1 large can diced tomatoes (don't drain)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can roteil (I use original, don't drain)
1 can fiesta corn (or those whole baby corns in a can.)
4 cups homemade chicken stock***see below
1 tsp cumin (or thereabouts...I don't actually measure it!)
2-3 tbls. chili powder (okay, so I use a palmful...not actually measuring it....just so you know.)
2-3 frozen chicken breasts (2 is plenty if they are large) I trim the fat off the edges before placing into the pot.

Put the chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour on top. Turn the crock pot on low and let cook for 6-8 hours.

Pull the chicken out, shred and return to crock pot. Turn crock pot OFF but put the lid back on so it will reheat through.

Serve with saffron rice, shredded cheese and diced avocados when in season.

***Since I make my own stock (see below) I do the taste test, it sometimes needs chicken bouillon or a bit of salt.

When I want to make chicken stock, I let the crock pot do that for me too:

Put 1 cup of water in the crock pot
Add 1 large quartered onion, a couple rough chopped stalks of celery and 3 large rough chopped carrots in the bottom. (You want at least 3!)
Place cleaned and seasoned chicken on top of the veggies so it won't "sit" in the water.

Cover and turn the crock pot on low 6-8 hours

Remove the chicken from the crock pot, strain the stock to use later (I freeze it if not using it right then.)
Eat the carrots...they are yummy, but ditch the celery and onion...

Once the chicken is cooled, you can pull it off the bone and use it in other recipes or add it to the tortilla soup!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

prayers needed



My Brother in law, Bill O'Connor is critically ill.....please put him in your prayers and thoughts as he is fighting for his life right now.

Bill is a brittle diabetic and has had numerous complications that began the latter part of the summer. He is now severely ill due to numerous complications including pneumonia and staph! He is in need of a miracle and I know no better way than to use my blog to reach out to you!

Please also put my sweet sister Page in your prayers. Thank you!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

more boy art

This is getting to be fun.....for me :-)
Matt had to draw something again for his visual art's appreciation class. With a deep sigh he told me he doesn't like drawing because he sees too many things he has done wrong.




Personally, I love it when my kids do art....even if they do it because their teacher says they HAVE to!

Monday, February 6, 2012

decorating and a dance

Saturday I had to restring the lights around my front door so I spruced up the swag for Valentine's Day. I had some tulle from Christmas and used my old heart shaped rag wreaths. It turned out really pretty.


front at dusk
and at night...sorry it is blurry but you get a better idea of how pretty it is when it is dark outside.

tulle is so cheap that I think I'll swap it out for Mardi Gras colors and some beads on the 15th!

Saturday night was a special night for my son. He and his girlfriend went to the Who's Who dance at his school.
Here he is....all smiles getting ready....


very proud of the tie he chose. (He wanted to look good for his sweetie..)



as usual, his smile never left his face....and I was told her smile didn't either!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

wonky pets

I made these little bears last weekend...



and decided to use this polka dotted one for February's toy drop.


I had a doctor's appointment and planned on taking it to the emergency entrance but once I got there, realized it was on the other side of the building.

I decided to give it a ride on the elevator..... and sent it to the first floor.

When I came out about 30 minutes later, he was gone!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Dreamin' Bohemian

When we lived in Forth Worth, I met an artistic lady named Adrienne. I couldn't believe someone crafty like me lived just down the block....and that I didn't meet her until we had lived there 4 years!
Adrienne is so talented. She does beautiful work...she paints, crochets and weaves rugs. Her work is so free spirited and fresh. I just love it.


When we moved, the two of us were pretty good about staying in touch at first. But eventually, we lost touch.

I was surprised when she commented on Kaela's art blog this week. I hadn't heard from her in 5 or 6 years!
We emailed a bit back and forth and then I poked around her website to see what she has for sale (yummy stuff.)
I found photos of Kaela "modeling" for her website. She was just 6 years old.


Hand painted Peace Daisies Overalls

Back of hand painted peace and daisies overalls

These photos brought back a flood of memories from our time in Fort Worth.

HERE is the link to this page from so long ago and here is the main website link in case you want to poke around.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

the boy does art

Louisiana is big on appreciation of the arts and all students have to have a year of some type of art or music class before graduation.
Matt decided on Fine Art Appreciation but he didn't know he would actually have to DRAW anything.
Then he went to class on Monday and the teacher said they had to draw an animal and paint it.
Soooooo, he decided the easiest thing to draw would be a jellyfish:


I love it. My boy does art :-)
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