Grateful

For a wonderful family, 

For a loving Heavenly Father,

For good friends,

A warm home,

Plentiful food.

Blessings beyond measure.  Too many to count.

I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Knitting on a rainy day.

It's nippy out and it 's raining.  I love a rainy day.  The moisture is so welcome here.

I am up early, working on Little Cotton Rabbits newest pattern the Girl Fox.

I am thinking that the purple tulips look like Easter.  These Fox patterns are the newest addition to Julie's Pattern line.  She designed the bunny patterns I used to make these....

This was the sunset a week before the wedding. Isn't it lovely?  The last days of summer, I think.
And one last look at the Bridal Bouquet...just because they're so lovely.

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I know technically it's not Fall yet, but it's starting to feel like it.  The chill in the air and the leaves starting to turn colors tells me that Fall is not far off.

The sun came out and I cleaned the pantry

It snowed again last night....2 feet more.  All I can say is thank goodness we will have water this spring.  We are getting tired of shoveling.  There is no place to put it anymore and there hasn't been much melt.  The snow on our patio table is the same height it was last week.    The driveway has melted now.  And we got to meet the new neighbors while we were shoveling.  I took this photo of their house across the street early this morning.  Notice the height of the snow piles?

And today I cleaned my pull out pantry in the kitchen.  I like things neat and tidy and clean but I DO NOT PARTICULARLY LIKE TO CLEAN THEM.  But since that's the only way to get things neat and tidy I do it occasionally.  Clearly not often enough, judging by a few expired pantry items.

I also found that I have been loading them up a bit too much.  Oops.  That meant a trip to the hardware store for screws.

And the last thing I have to say today.....Jeanne, you are a genius!
Jeanne is my sweet, kind, smart sister-in-law.  She told me a tip on getting those dingy whites clean  (think of your "unmentionables").  Good taste dictates that I not actually show ours to you but believe me they are white.  Never looked better.

Jeanne's fabulous tip:

throw a dish washing soap pod into the load with your usual laundry soap and add a second rinse to your wash cycle.  Glowing whites, I promise.

And Then There Were Two.

Remember this lonely sock?  It now has a mate and they are on my toasty warm feet as I write.

I have definitely come to the conclusion that everyone needs warm, wool, hand knit socks.  Well, at least everyone I love and that includes those persons who think that they don't need hand knit socks.  You know...the ones who say, "Why knit socks when you can buy perfectly good ones at a store?"  B, the next pair are for you.  You haven't lived properly until you have a pair of hand knit wool socks on your freezing winter feet.

First we had 2 feet of snow, then freezing rain, and today it's fog; so glad I finished my other sock.  The fog got much worse as the day wore on.  Here's hoping for a storm to clear out the fog (did I really just say that?).

Count Your Blessings.

Our daughter is living in Jerusalem this University semester.  Her University classes are in Middle Eastern Studies and the Bible; history and doctrine.  I have always been proud of her.  She is a wonderful person and a great daughter.  I wanted to share a paragraph from her blog.
"I joined Jaquel and her group in going to Ein Karem to volunteer at St.Vincent's. Miriam, a girl in our ward, is volunteering for six months at this Catholic mission. From what I gathered, this place is for severely handicapped children and it's run by nuns. In essence, they are extremely understaffed and the children do not get the amount of attention and physical care they need. This was probably the coolest thing I have done since I got here, because for the first time here, I felt like I was doing something for someone besides myself. I was put in charge of Abdullah, a six or seven year old blind boy.

Sophia, the volunteer supervisor, said that she was told he is also deaf but that she thinks he responds to sound but hasn't had the time to really sit down and see if he is. Compared to all the kids there, he had fewer physical disabilities, but he would have muscle spasms that looked really painful. I just sat with him in the grass and massaged him and rubbed his arms, which made him smile a lot. The volunteers kept saying how great it was that each child there had someone to hold them or be with them. Sitting in the grass, holding Abdullah I felt the Spirit so strongly. How did I get so lucky to have a healthy mind and body, parents who love me, and medical care that I need? The world really isn't fair. Here is this sweet little boy, who can't even have someone sit with him for half an hour and stroke his hair when he is in pain. It really was heart-wrenching. But sitting there with Abdullah, watching him smile just because he felt his arm being stroked and his hands getting a massage, felt like in this little corner of the world, I was making a difference. It hit me that the world needs The Savior, and I am so glad to know that we have Him, and that Christ has atoned for all of our pains."

Thank you Rachel, for reminding me to count my blessings every day and to do my best to be a blessing to those around me.

A Busy Day

Cleaned the house from top to bottom; 4 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 family rooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen.  Mopped all floors.  I can't remember when the house was this clean all at once.

Cleaned out the refrigerator and side by side freezer in the basement.

Washed the car.

Shopped for groceries and new linens.

Washed 6 loads of laundry.

Made 2 pot roasts in the pressure cooker for the freezer.

Made one batch of soup for the freezer with extra beef leftover from the package purchased for the stuffed bell peppers.  Used lots of fresh garden vegetables and fresh herbs.

Made stuffed Peppers for dinner.  Put 4 away in the freezer for a busy day dinner.

Made 4 batches of homemade ice cream....peach and salted caramel.  Yummmm.

Made huckleberry honey Greek style yogurt.

Washed lots and lots of dishes.

Washed all pumpkins and squashes to get them ready to display.

Off to put my feet up.

I happened to glance out the bathroom window early Saturday morning and saw these little guys across the street.  What????

Our town is rural and we often drive through flocks of sheep on the highways moving to greener pastures but little baby lamb flocks are definitely uncommon.  Where did they come from and where are they going? 

 Clearly they are not supposed to be eating our neighbor's grass...

or their potted petunias. 

Seems they escaped from the pasture just across the street. Another neighbor herded them back in and patched up the fence.

Is there is anything more beautiful than a June morning?

Linked to Garden Tuesdays.

Random Ramblings

I have a new project in the works.  Here are some hints.

Starting a new stitching project?  Make yourself a cardboard rectangle and punch holes.  Thread your floss through the card but save your original thread packaging and labels so that you can put the floss back when you are done with the current project.

I also like to add the symbol from the chart I'm stitching above the floss as well as the color name.

I always photocopy my charts.  I purchased the pattern and the chart is for my personal use so it's not a copyright infringement.    Notice the X under the bird's wing left of the pink arrow?  That's the middle of my design chart and I like to draw on the copy instead of the original.

 I bought myself a bit of much-needed Spring.

And last and definitely least, R. sent me this link.  She knows how much I like to entertain.  I guess SOMEONE (who has clearly lost all of their marbles) thinks spraying cherry tomatoes with edible paint is appetizing.   REALLY......................what will they think of next?

Resolutions?

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions.  In the past I have made them, but rarely am I able to keep them.  So now I just make a few goals... I feel less pressure having goals.  They are more flexible, aren't they?  And by-the-way, where did 2011 go!?!  Do you feel like it came and went too quickly?

Every year I have a goal to become healthier.  I made a goal (again) to finish Abby's petit point Christmas stocking.  Hers is the last one of our daughter's still unstitched.  I just might finish it this year.  Yesterday I cast on for a new pair of knitted socks and prepared strips for the braided rug for the upstairs bedroom, and I have one more closet to clean out.  That's all I can manage for now.

New Years is a time of new beginnings.  In our family, One is on the other side of the country this new year; Two and Three are an hour away still; but Four is moving to London for a semester.  I really feel like an empty nester now.  (Not sure I really like New Beginnings) but 2012 is here, whether I like it or not.
So here's to goals and new beginnings.  2011 was a good year.  I feel blessed and look forward to 2012.

Do you make New Year resolutions?