Friday, January 29, 2010

A Stitch in Time


Many years ago my great~Granny Smith started teaching me the basics of crochet. She was always crafting something lovely ~ lacy collars, darling little dolly clothes. And she was one of those rare gems who knew the delicate art of tatting. How I wish we'd had the chance for her to pass that on to me! I'll share some pictures of her beautiful work soon.

With my basics, I attempted a (very amateur) crocheted scarf for a friend at school, but didn't pick up a hook again for a long time until a few years ago when I thought I'd try again. I have a sweet friend who very patiently helped me with the stitches, and even gave me some of her pattern books and supplies. But if you don't have a Mrs. Rachel E. to give you her wisdom and you'd like to learn crochet, check out these sites for good instructions:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/how-to-crochet
I printed these out and carry them around in my yarn bag to refresh my memory. The pictures and directions are clear and simple.

http://crochet.about.com/od/learnbasics/a/beginners.htm

http://www.freevintagecrochet.com
This website is almost too much fun! Lots of free vintage crochet patterns like these baby bootees that I'm working on with some scrumptious silk/bamboo yarn in "sea" (is there anything lovelier?)


And no worries about crochet being stuffy; there are plenty of fun, modern projects for this generation, too. How about these super~cute juicy apple pot scrubbers?! Not sure if I'd even want to scrub some dirty ol' pot with them! You can find the free pattern for them here along with lots of others like scarves, afghans, baby toys...



Here's a "granny smith" apple I'm finishing. ;)
I think she'd be pleased.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Faithful Friends Giveaway


I'm not known for my "making up", so selling Mary Kay seems a bit odd. And there's the fact that I'm a terrible salesperson. I need to get this stuff off my shelves, so how about a giveaway?!

I offer to you a handy~dandy little color collection:

Enchanted Garden
includes:
3 eye colors: Natural Light, Cinnamon Shine, Enchanted Ivy
1 creme-to-powder cheek color: Russet Bloom
2 lipsticks: Pink Petal, Vintage Rose
1 dual-end eye applicator
1 lip color brush

I'm making the entry for this giveaway really simple. I'll add your name to "the hat" if you are a follow of this blog OR if you leave me a comment. It's that easy! I hope to draw a name on February 1st, and get your little pretties sent off in time for you to get all dolled up for St. Valentine's Day!

Happy entering! And thanks for making blogging so much fun!

Thank You

I truly appreciate all the LOVE and prayers from you, dear friends. Wow! This is a tough row to hoe! We miss our little LeRoy so very much, but the Lord is faithful; I know He will comfort our hearts. Thank you for all your kind words and healing Scripture.

I hope to share a little story about our good ol' boy and some pictures soon, but not quite yet...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Our Guardian

Michele is gone to the store right now, so Dad is going to make a quick post. Today was a sad day for us as we lost our buddy and watchdog Leroy. He was suffering from heart disease and took a bad turn overnight. I had to make the tough call to let him feel good one more time. We got to hold him as he went to sleep, and I know as the medicine took effect he felt good for just a minute. I am so thankful to have had him to watch my family in a rough neighborhood for the last 5 years while I went to work each day, maybe the only thing that saved my sanity in the months before we moved. Our girls dont really understand and still think he's getting fixed up. I know my wife takes great joy from her blogging friends so if you have a minute, please send a note. I'm sure she'll do a full post about him when she has time.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Lunch is Much More Fun

...when you cut the meat and cheese into shapes with a cookie cutter.




My mama used to do that and, for some reason, it always just seemed to taste better that way.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Seed Season

Let the spending begin!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Friday, January 8, 2010

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Monday, January 4, 2010

Gifts From Afar


How exciting to receive a package for Christmas from our sweet friends in Louisiana! Everything was so thoughtfully tucked in, from the handwritten note and darling little bird stamps, to the beautiful handmade cards (!) and cute felt penguin bucket ~ which held the most scrumptious cookies you can imagine, but I wasn't able to include them in the picture because they disappeared before you could say, "chocolate". =) All I heard was a small, full mouth confessing, "Mama, I got a cookie!"

Thank you, thank you, Miss Riya and your dear family! We treasure the goodies, and especially your friendship!

Friday, January 1, 2010