Do you see it?

It's not much but it's starting. The grass is actually turning green! We got about a half inch of rain yesterday. Now if we get some warmer temperatures things will really get going....

I have daylilies that are starting to show up. They are the kind that will grow anywhere under any conditions. Actually, the lady I got them from had thrown them away in the trees around her yard and they took root and grew. So she asked me if I wanted some of them and I took them. They are spreading like crazy but I put them where they can do that so all is good.

I also have irises that came up awhile back but have since turned yellow. Too damp and too cold. They should be fine once it warms up. Can't be too soon for me. I visited with a friend yesterday and all she wanted for Mother's Day is to be able to get outside and work in her flower beds. I second that motion!

Lullaby baby afghan progress

I don't think that I'm 1/2 way done yet, but I'm still loving the pattern and the yarn and the pink color and especially the needles. They are Susan Bates Silverado circular needles. Love the cord. So flexible. I don't have to fight with it at all. That makes the whole process so much more enjoyable. I usually don't care for metal needles but these have something done to them that makes them just the right amount of grip and slip with the yarn. Did I say I love them??

When I get done with this one and the blue baby afghan, I have some very pretty lavender colored yarn that I'll be making into another baby afghan. I'm thinking I should have a baby afghan on the needles all the time. I'm hoping for lotsa grandbabies! Just don't tell DSs that I said that! ;)

Diet Coke

So. I've been trying to cut back drastically or completely eliminate diet Coke from my life. A little over a month ago was when I made this decision. It's going along okay, but on Saturday and Sunday mornings it is especially difficult. During the week I would just grab a can from the fridge and head to work. But on the weekend, it was...the diet Coke, ice, my special mug, the fizzing, the clinking ice, even the pop of opening the can seemed to give extra expectation. It's was all so alluring. The iced tea just doesn't come close and is such a disappointment in comparison. I'm going to keep on but the weekends it's just so hard trying to break those old habits.

I'm a copycat!

I've seen this in a couple other blogs today and thought it was a good idea so I'm doing the same thing!


You know you are from North Dakota if...

you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by,

you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Devils Lake is the coldest spot in the nation,

your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,

you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year,

someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there,

you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time,

your town has an equal number of bars and churches,

you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number


YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE North Dakotan WHEN

1. "Vacation" means going east or west on I-94 for the weekend.

2. You measure distance in hours.

3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.

6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.

12. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

13. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.

14. Down South to you means Nebraska.

15. A brat is something you eat.

16. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.

17. You go out to a tail gate party every Friday.

18. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

19. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

20. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."

Random

Yesterday was a long day. I got a lot done but realized when I got to work this morning that there were still things that I forgot to get on my list so that means I'll start a new list for the next trip to the "big" city! :)

I have 2 new books to read. Michael J. Fox's newest book "Always Looking Up" and Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons". I'm really looking forward to both of them. Now the big question is do I start them both or do one and then the other? Besides that I told myself that I was going to reread "The Shack" and I haven't started that yet either. I don't think I could do 3 books at once and keep track of what is happening in them. Easily confused.

The daylilies are starting to show up on the west side of the house. They are only about 2" tall. But they are green and that is more than I can say for the grass which is still brown. The next few days won't help any. Colder again and snow. Of course snow at this time of year isn't all that unusual. We've had snow in May too. The only good thing about that is that you know it won't last long.

Maddie is wanting to get outside in the worst way. She can smell the springtime smells and she can hear and see all the birdies. Teddie doesn't know outside yet so he's not interested at all.

I didn't knit a stitch yesterday. Some days end up like that.

Wonderful weather....today at least

It is looking like today will be the best day of the week. It'll be a little windy (what else is new), but the temperature is forecast for the 60s. Super. And....later this week.....snow. Yes, you read me right. We are looking at snow again. AUGH!

I have a dermatologist appointment today and so will be out of the office most of the day. Wahoo. I made the appointment a year ago and who woulda thought that I'd get such a nice day to be out and about.

Well, I'm gonna get off here and on my way. Things to do. Places to be.

A 1st birthday party in a few hours?!

Meet Bella. I made her yesterday. Here's her story.

I got a phone call about 9:30 a.m. inviting us to our great niece's 1st birthday party. I immediately got on Ravelry to look for toy patterns. I wasn't having a bunch of luck when I remembered that Lion Brand has toy patterns. I found Bella there.

I got started crocheting about 10 a.m. and by 11:30 decided that there was no way I was going to get it done on time since I had another obligation for most of the afternoon. So I thought about what makes a bunny a bunny and of course that's the ears and the tail. So Bella didn't get any arms and legs, but the mom of our great niece said she looks like the Velveteen Rabbit so Bella is in good company!

I finished crocheting Bella about 1:15 p.m. and headed to our Church Ladies' Pie Social and got home from that about 4:30 p.m. I wrapped Bella in some pretty pink tissue paper and tied it with some yarn that's the same as her tail. We arrived at the birthday party about 5 p.m.

Here's the scoop on Bella.
Caron Simply Soft yarn.
Size G crochet hook.
Bella the Bunny pattern.
Just a bit of embroidery thread for eyes, mouth and nose.
That's it...and a few hours of crocheting as fast as you can go! :)

BTW, a very happy ending, great niece absolutely fell in love with Bella.

Updated blog and a question

So I updated the blog a little. Chose a different color template. Twiddled with the colors. I think I like it better. It's not as heavy looking. It has a little more spring/summer-like appearance....

Our Ladies' church group is having a Pie Social/Bake Sale with musical entertainment tomorrow afternoon. I'm needing to leave work early to bake a pie and 3 other things for the sale. I'd love to do bread but don't think there will be enough time. A banana bread would work and they go over pretty good. Some cookies....maybe a fruit pie or a chocolate pudding one....Decisions!

I'm knitting every spare minute I can on the Lullaby baby afghan. I'm enchanted with the pattern. And the yarn (Simply Soft) is the most yummy color and softness. I know I keep talking about it but I just am enjoying this so much.

Our weather is cooler again today and there is a slight chance of snow Sunday night. But on the other hand the forecast is saying possibly 70s and 80s for next week. Many years ago we had 100 degrees in the beginning of April. THAT was unusual. But then most of ND weather is rather extreme. The saying goes, Wait 5 minutes and the weather will change. It's almost true.

I have payroll to do today and should tackle the bills. Same old, same old.

I've been thinking of doing a series of posts about the farming season. When things got planted, how they are advancing, with pictures along the way. I think it could be interesting if I could get lots of pictures taken. There might be people out there that are interested in how food is grown and what all goes into it. Anyone interested in seeing something like that?

Nothing new

We had a nice Easter. Quiet. Ate too much. Did a little knitting. Watched some TV. Deadliest Catch was on all afternoon and watched several episodes of that.

I'm loving knitting on the pink baby afghan. I've almost finished the 1st skein and am still enjoying doing the pattern. I'm a bit afraid that 4 skeins might not be enough.....I need to measure after I'm done with a full skein and see how long it'll turn out to be.

I'm at work and bored to tears. It'll get so busy I won't know what to do with myself shortly but for right now I'm only here to answer the phone and it's not ringing. The weather has improved and the snow is rapidly disappearing...Thank goodness. Farmers will be in the fields and chomping at the bit before we know it. In some ways I can't wait. It's better to be busy than just hanging out.

Maddie & Teddy are busily chasing flies in the house and Maddie is watching birds out the window. I know she'll be excited to get outside even if it is on a leash. I went out to see if there is any green showing in the flower beds even though I know good and well that there can't be yet. I'm just anxiously awaiting greenness.

Easter preparations

So today is housecleaning and meal planning for tomorrow. I've gotten a start on the cleaning and mostly have decided what to make for dinner tomorrow but just can't decide on a dessert. I guess in the overall scheme of things it's a pretty minor problem. Maybe I'll just make some brownies with fudge frosting and offer some vanilla ice cream. I also have frozen fruit, blackberry, raspberry and blueberry combination, that I have made a sauce out of with just a touch of water and a bit of sugar. Simmer on the stove until things get somewhat mushy, cool and use as a ice cream topper. Yum yummy! Either one would be a good dessert or maybe a combination of all of it.....?

And talking about ice cream reminds me to say that if you can get Schwan's ice cream, do it. It's the best. No doubt about it.

It is wonderfully sunny and warm out today. That nasty snow should be melting like crazy. I am so tired of snowbanks and mud. We don't have much to complain about though. There are parts of the state that are flooding and will spend Easter sandbagging and watching their sump pump.

Oh, and if you are wondering what we are eating tomorrow?? Well, it's pretty traditional around our house. Ham, raisin sauce, hash browns with cream of chicken soup and sour cream on top and all topped with melty cheese, asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower salad, olives, dill pickles. And if I really get my act together I am planning on homemade overnight buns.

I hope everyone has a good Easter and that you get to spend it with family and friends.

Pics of afghans and a knitting hint

This is the baby afghan that I finally decided on. It is Lullaby in Leisure Arts "Our Best Knit Baby Afghans". It involves counting which, as you may remember, I'm not particularily fond of...but I found a hint, that makes it easier, that I'll talk about later in the post. The color on the picture is pretty close to the real thing. Isn't it the prettiest shade of pink ever?? It makes me want to work on it just to look at the color!



This is the original baby afghan that is now a dolly blanket for DGD's favorite doll. Boredom and too many ends to weave in made me decide to make it a small size! I gave it to her for a birthday gift and I think it'll be put to use. I've made Dolly a lot of clothes and blankies and they all get used so that is a good thing.


And now for the knitting hint that I found in the magazine "knitsimple". When knitting a pattern that changes every row, copy each row onto a recipe card and punch a hole in the corner and attach the cards to each other with a bit of yarn. Now while doing the pattern you can see each row without searching through the full pattern to find where you are at. I used to use Post It Notes for keeping track of things like that but you have to move them each row and eventually the sticky wears out and it'll fall off at a most inopportune time! I now have 2 baby afghans going with pattern row recipe cards and it is SO much easier to do. You can also break down each row into sections and write them on separate lines on the recipe card making it even easier to follow. This hint may be an obvious thing to everyone else but it was a real "light bulb" moment for me!! :)


We still have snow but it is sunny and slowly the snow is melting away. The streets are pretty good now and grass is starting to show in the yard. Brown dead grass but a real improvement over all snow!!

Back from Vegas!

The only pictures I took while we were in Vegas were pictures of flamingos at the Flamingo! It was so nice to find a green area and benches to sit on. I think all of the strip has a plan that the only available places to sit are at the slot machines!

It was a nice trip. My only advice is if you get to see Donny & Marie or Bette Midler...do it. If you have a chance to see Barry Manilow...skip it. We thought Barry would be a slam dunk but were fairly disappointed. Too loud. No connection with the audience. We also saw the Titanic and the Bodies exhibits at the Luxor. They both were interesting in their own way. I was especially amazed at the Bodies. How they were preserved was extremely cool.

I knit a few rows on my socks while DH took a quick nap one afternoon. I didn't try taking the knitting on the plane. I love my Crystal Palace size 2s that I use for sock knitting and it would break my heart if they were taken from me.... On the way home though, we sat next to a young gal with bamboo needles. She was making a baby afghan. She was also traveling with her cat. I didn't know you were allowed to take animals on board, but she said as long as the carrier would fit under the seat you can. I didn't even know she had her kitty with her until she started talking about it after we landed. Our cats would have thrown a total hissy fit if we'd try something like that! :)

I'm working on the blue baby afghan as much as I can stand....still don't like the counting. And am looking to start a pink one too in case the new grandbaby is a girl. The patterns I'm looking at are also a bunch of counting but they are very pretty.....just have to pick the right one. They are in Leisure Arts Our Best Knit Baby Afghan. I think I'll do a little sample knitting to see what pattern I like the best.

On Saturday afternoon we will be celebrating DGD's 4th birthday. It'll be a fun time. She's been having an earache though. Hope she feels better for the party.

Our weather has gotten really boring. Snow and cold. Yet. Still. Will it be here forever? Where is the global warming when you need it!!!