Tiny Terrarium

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This is what we did with our Sunday.
My oldest daughter is moving out of her old apartment and thought she'd be nice and change out all the blown bulbs, most of which were already blown out when they got there, so I figured now would be a good time to try out something I've been wanting to do for a long time.

The hubs followed the directions (found here) to hollow out the bulbs.
OK, he mostly followed them as our bulbs were a little different.

Only one had the kaolin in it and came clean and clear, so that one got used for the terrarium.





The rest were acid etched and will never come clear, so those got to be the rooting vases. I found the ornament hanger at the dollar store after Christmas for 10 cents (I'd had grand plans of hand painting some Christmas ornaments for next years gifts, but never found any on clearance) But, it worked perfect for this.



I'm really happy with the way these turned out!
And we got to break things, which is very therapeutic.

There are many, many different styles and sizes of glass and plastic objects you can use for terrariums. Use your imagination! Or, just look around the internet - people have used some cool stuff. Salvage stores are sometimes treasure troves. You just have to look around and think outside the box a little. The next time you spy something odd, clear and empty that you think is really cool but don't know what to do with . . .

Happy (tiny terrarium) Growing!
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Folded Newspaper Pot Pictorial

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Since I get so many questions about how to make newspaper pots, and it's really, really hard to describe how to make them through emails or on the phone, I thought I'd just do the complete instructions with pictures here. It'll be much easier to point someone to this rather than explain how to fold them!

I've used regular lined paper instead of newspaper because it's easier to see in pictures, but the instructions are exactly the same for newspaper (one single page - rip down the fold in the newspaper and you'll have 2 sheets), you just get larger pots. The smaller ones I make from junk mail and the small size works great for seedlings since they fit together perfectly in trays.

I know this looks like a lot of work, and very confusing work to boot, but they really are easy once you do one and get the hang of it :)

Got your paper? Ready? OK, let's start!

1: fold the bottom short edge of the paper (A) up to the opposite short edge (B).



2: Make them even (you shouldn't be able to see B) and press the fold down well.


3: Now fold edge ( C) over to edge (D).


4: Make the edges even and press the fold down well.


5: Now comes the part that seems to be the hardest for everyone - slip your pointer finger inside the fold of the top layer only and pinch the bottom of the fold with your thumb. (We'll deal with the fold layer beneath this one in a minute.) Ignore the crease line - yours shouldn't have one yet.


6: Pinching the fold between your thumb and finger, pull (E) up and to the left until it meets (F). Line up the crease with the fold the best you can and press flat.


7: It should look like this:


8: Now take edge (G)


9: and fold it over to edge (H) and flatten.


10: Now let's do the same thing with the fold on the other side. Put your finger inside the fold at (i), your thumb under, pinch and


11: bring (i) up to meet (J). Press flat. It should look like the photo directly below this one (12).


12: Grasp top layer edge (K) and flip it over to meet edge (L). press flat.


13: You should have this:


14: Take edge (M) and fold it in to meet the center crease at (N). Line up the crease with the edge and press really well. Do the same with the opposite side - bringing edge (O) over to meet center crease (P). Press really well.


15: You should have this:


16: You're going to repeat what you just did with the last fold to make a second fold the same way. Take (Q) over to meet (R) and (S) over to meet (T). Line up the folds with the crease neatly and press down really well.


17: It should look like this:


18: Flip the whole thing over.


19: Repeat what you just finished doing on the other side. Fold both edges to the center once,


20: and then again. You'll have this:


21: Now, grasp the very top edge flap, pull it down toward you and fold it down flat.


22: It will look like this:


23: Flip the whole thing over and fold the other flap down.


24: Now you have this (at this point you can do a quick snip with scissors and cut off the bottom point for a drain hole if you'd like - don't do too much at once, you may end up with a larger hole than you wanted!)):


25: Pick the whole thing up,


26: push the side folds out with your fingers and press the bottom down flat.


27: Congratulations! You've made your first pot! You can staple down the flaps if you'd like - the staples rust away pretty quick in the soil and I've never come across one anywhere I've put these pots in.


28: Have fun making lots more!
Tip - If you plant pot and all, be sure to bury the top edge of the pots, or rip them down, as they can sometimes wick water away from your plant once in the ground. If your sure to bury all of the pot, it works just fine.

Happy (in newspaper pots) growing!

2009 Pressed Flower Christmas Cards

This years cards turned out absolutely gorgeous!

I didn't include seeds this year because I don't think anyone is planting them and with D losing his job money is squeaky tight for seed purchases. I'll be down to having only what I've saved in flower seed and not buying much for veg :( But, I think they look pretty awesome with the other additives in the paper.

Now, if I could just remember to start pressing the flowers in the spring . . .

Handmade Seed Paper Cards

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Pictures removed because they're being stolen by Polyvore!


I got such wonderful responses to last years Seed Paper - Pressed Flower - Rubber Stamped - Christmas Cards , I thought I'd go ahead and do them again this year.

Somewhere along the line I seem to have gotten stuck on a star pattern with the ferns.

Last year, I left the edges ragged/torn and this year I straightened them up. I really like them both ways.

Of course, there would be a bigger variety if I had remembered to collect and press more flowers. Oops!

The youngest daughter thought she'd make a few for her teachers and friends this year. Yay! I'll happily involve her in anything crafty. :)

Here are a few finished examples (yes, they got rubber stamped inside, but you don't get to see that. lol):

At least I had something to occupy my mind for a while. DH is getting laid off next week (which also means we won't have any insurance. Please, please, nobody get sick!). The whole second shift will be gone. Two weeks to Christmas - could the company have timed it any worse? UGH!

Things were as tight as they could already get around here. I don't know what we're going to do now. How do you pinch pennies that no longer exist? ~sigh~

Christmas sure isn't going to be all that happy. There is no way I will be able to buy gifts as the little I had saved will have to go towards food instead.

This totally sucks . . .

If I keep saying it, it might eventually come true: "Next year has GOT to be better!"

Anybody want to buy some four-leaf clovers? Cause they sure as hell don't work for me.

It's That Time Of Year Again

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The weather dude has spoken: It's January weather in November - and going to last.
Which means I won't be doing much in the sewing room now as it has no heat source. No new undies, shirts, pants, PJs, dresses or skirts for the kids for a while.

I'm still working on the next Cathedral Window quilt. I'm glad I had the foresight to bring all the supplies into the living room in a nice tidy bin. Ahhh, but who knows how long that tidiness will last.

I need to start up a new cross stitch project soon, or maybe something in the knitty/crochety category. My fingers are aching to do some playing in yarn, though all I have left are scraps of skeins. Maybe I have enough to do some mittens again for the Rescue Mission. Maybe not. I'll have to dig and see. If not, I'll have to look through my old patterns and find something small to do.

I definitely need to start on my (now) annual Seed Paper - Pressed Flower - Rubber Stamped - Christmas Cards for this Christmas. Maybe right after Thanksgiving.

100 UFOs, and apparently I need more. lol.

Oh! And that pumpkin from my roaside shopping trip that someone was throwing out? Yup, it made exactly 4 loves of bread.
:)

After-Christmas Sales Rock

Oh, man! Talk about a deal. Almost as good as the sale I got way back when.

4 Poinsettias (pots of 3 - red, white, salmon) = .50 cents each.
My grandmother had one she kept coming back for years and years, so for 2 bucks, what the hay, I'll give it a shot! Besides, the large pots themselves were worth the 50 cents. And the hubs makes cardboard boxes, so shouldn't be hard to get some for their 'dark' phase. lol.

5 Cyclamens = .50 cents each. And with pretty, hot pink and gold, woven pot covers! Yeah, another you have to diddle with to come back, but I'm game for the try. My problem is going to be letting them go dormant, I can see it now.

4 Christmas Cactus = .25 cents each. Can you believe I've never had one? Yes, I am hanging my head in shame. What kind of a gardener am I, anyway? Gave one to the oldest daughter to try.

$5.50 for $215.00 worth of plants! Yeah, us geeks actually figured out what they would have been at normal price. Ha! I'm ecstatic!

So, then we hit Kmart's 50% off sale. And . . . I am almost done with my parents for next Christmas! Unreal! I've never been this far ahead. Ever. I've found things here and there sometimes at after Christmas sales, but this was a wicked hit when they still had good stuff left. And I only spent 40 bucks. 40 bucks! I'll still have to get them a few more things, like some Charlie for my step-mom, but dang!

Ran into AC Moore's quick to see if I could find some Christmas stamps for the seedcards next year, and lo and behold - a whole stamp set, ink and all, for 4 bucks! And the hubs actually found it! Good thing he did because some guy came up behind him about twenty seconds later and took ever single one that was still on the shelf!
Oh, and cute little ornament kits for the kids to make as a gift for step-mom for .40 cents. The youngest and I try to find something cool and 'crafty' to do for her every year, so this was perfect.

What a great weekend.
:)

Kissing Balls - Done

Yes!
Done!
And they look maar-vel-oos, darling. Simply maar-vel-oos.
The youngest suddenly wanted to help (yeah, I felt her forehead to be sure she wasn't sick) so I let her go at-it finishing a couple. She done good! Well, she was much more careful after I showed her the burn hole in my finger. Damn, that hot glue gun is friggin' HOT. (Hmmm, wonder if that's why they call it hot glue gun? Duh!) Of course, it is a big industrial one ( read: about 1000 degrees!) of the hubby's.

Annnnyway, they really did come out beautiful. The colors seemed to preserve really well using the kitty litter. It took me a few minutes to remember how to make the tassel - I haven't done one in years, but after a couple tries I got it and I did a good job.

Oh! And I've gotten tons of great feedback from the seed cards. People are loving them! The only problem is that they're refusing to plant them because they're too pretty. Sigh. Plant the dang things people...that was the point!

Ok, so I guess I'm stuck making them again next year. I was thinking about it before, but that clinches it. All right, I'm really not 'stuck'. I loved doing them. They were mucho fun! And I'm extremely happy with people enjoying something different for a change. I just have to remember to grab some fern fronds next time. Those Cosmos leaves for filler were a real PITA! Never again.

Next Up On The Garden Crafts List

The kissing ball ornaments.

I can't decide whether to just paint the styro balls or dye the corn husks and cover them that way. Maybe I should just leave the husks as are to cover the styro? Hmmm...

I have lots of flowers dried and ready, including goldenrod for filler.

I still haven't decided on ribbon color yet, for pete sake!

Maybe I'll start with the bottom tassles and go from there on ribbon colors. I don't know. Red is probably out as it would clash with the dried flower colors. I have a nice earthy green. I love a nice navy I have, but not so good for Christmas?

Honestly, I've never been this indecisive on a craft project before! Anyone done these and have any tips?

Seed Paper - Pressed Flower - Rubber Stamped - Christmas Cards

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Pictures removed because they are being stolen and used by Polyvore!!

Yup, that's exactly what they are!

Handmade paper.

Seed paper.

Pressed flowers.

Rubber stamped.

Christmas cards.

And they came out better than I ever expected I would get for my first try.

It felt sooo darn good to be doing a new craft. Ok, 3 new crafts I've never done. I just had to try them all at once! :)

When I finished the paper, I wasn't so sure I'd like the ragged edges, but now that they're actual cards , I think they go with the pressed flowers nicely.

Dried seed paper

I added some globe amaranth petals for just a touch of color. I didn't want too much bling competing with the flowers.

Inside card

I ended up gluing a 4-leaf clover inside each card, too. I had to do something with that mountain! Maybe they'll bring everyone else some Christmas luck. :)

Below are a few examples of the finished cards. I did 20. Maybe I should do a few more...just in case.

Front of cards

And here are the cute little hedgehog envelopes they'll make the mail trip in. I hope the delicate flowers survive! The postal system can be brutal.

I am so darn glad I gave this a try this year. I hope the recipients enjoy getting something other than the normal Christmas card! If I'm lucky, They'll actually plant them and enjoy the flowers, but I'm not holding my breath. lol.

Hmmm, I had so much fun doing these, maybe I'll make this a yearly tradition! Ooooo, must grow new, interesting flowers to press! Wow, could I enable myself a little more?

(EDIT: They looked much neater - flatter, smoother - after I pressed them and cleaned up the edges! I wonder how those patterned edging scissors would make them look. hmmm...)

That's For The Birds

I made a couple birdseed wreaths yesterday. They turned out very nice and make great gifts!

Here's my recipe:

Use a pan large enough to hold at least 7 cups.

Bring 1 1/4 cup of water to boiling.

Remove from heat and add 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin.

Stir until dissolved completely.

Slowly stir in 6 cups birdseed and decorative items (I used some dried flowers. You can use anything that won't hurt the birds and that they'll like - cranberries, nuts, small interesting sticks, etc.) I've found that a 50/50 mix of regular birdseed and black oil sunflower seed is what draws a bigger crowd. After all, what's the point of making these and then the birds won't touch them?

Press into bundt pan well greased with vegetable shortening. Or you can use any interestingly shaped pan. Bread pans also work great - just put a toilet paper tube toward one end (make sure to leave plenty of room between the tp roll and the end of the pan you're using!) and fill around the tube.

Refrigerate for a few hours until firmed. (I leave them in overnight).

Remove onto a wired rack to dry for a day or two. (may take a bit of tapping on the pan to get them out).

String decorative ribbons through hole to hang in tree or place on a door. (you can hang them anywhere you'd like). You can add more decorations to the outside if you wish - nothing that will hurt the birds!

Since I had some extra globe amaranth hanging around, I added half of it to the pan before pressing the seed in so it would show more, then just stirred the rest into the birdseed mix. Turned out beautiful!

Since Thanksgiving is so close, why not set some cranberries aside to share with your feathered winter entertainers? :) They look beautiful in these wreaths, as do small pieces of apple (I stick these to the outside afterwords) and oranges or their peels. I suppose if you used one of those curly rind gizmos for the oranges or even lemons it would look very festive!

The second one I added some nuts and that came out pretty cool too.

Have fun with them. The birds sure will. Just don't expect them to last too long once they find them!

Kitty Litter Is A Wonderful Thing

Well, for cats and drying flowers it is. lol. Ok, and for planting pond plants (but only a certain kind!), and soaking up oil, and for slippery sidewalks, and, and...

I never tried flower drying that way before so thought I'd give it a wing. It worked great! I got much better results than I figured I would. Two weeks and voila! They came out perfect.

Well, maybe I'll just have to give some kissing balls a try.

:)

The Weird & Wonderful

The weird:
I love LiveScience.com, but this Gothic Graveyard Garden is just bizarre! But I think I'd actually like the Carnivorous Creations Terrarium. Ahem...and not for the kids!

The wonderful:
Although I'm in agreement with Colleen on disliking the seed mat/tape idea, I really like the whole concept of Blooming paper. Isn't that fab? I might even try making some for Christmas presents. Yup, I just might!

Coffee Grounds For My B-day!

Now who - who I ask - would be happy to get coffee grounds for a gift but a gardener?

I'd happened to mention to DH that I wished we had a Starbucks around so I could have the grounds for the garden.

He actually listened to the words that came out of my mouth? Since when?

I've got a bag of coffee grounds, (though not from Starbucks) and I'm a happy camper! :) Such ingenuity outta my hubby.

Sissy has gotten to wondering what we all look like, (all I have is an older pic, best I can do for now) so here ya go!

As I'm into the adding pics mood, here are some of a few quilts. I've made hundreds, but I think these are the only ones still in my house. The pics aren't all that great because I was grabbing anyone I knew that had a cam to take the pics, so they aren't in their best light.

This one won a ribbon at the state fair, I can't remember what. 2nd place maybe?

My son Steven's wedding quilt.

It's the Royal Star Of NY State.

My son Bob's wedding quilt.

Fussy cut Dresden Plate. Won a ribbon.

My daughter Tara's wedding quilt.

Cathedral Window. Won a ribbon. (Isn't it awful I don't remember what?)

Uh, notice the flower theme I've got going? Sheesh, even when I'm quilting I'm gardening!

Poor Desiree, I haven't finished her's yet, (hey, it's at the quilting stage!) but she's 15, so I think I have time. lol.

These are all hand quilted (and queen size?). I have this 'thing' about quilts - they must be hand quilted. I don't know what it is about this particular obsession, but if it's done by a machine, it just doesn't seem like a quilt to me, like a cheat or something. That's the one thing that bugs me about people being ripped of by thinking they're buying a true Amish quilt. These women don't do 3 things:

1. Use bright colors. (They use grays, browns, blacks etc. for their own quilts)

2. Machine quilt.

3. And never, ever make a perfect quilt. (A true Amish quilt will always have an intended defect, such as a block turned upside down, because they believe only God makes anything perfect, and to try and make something perfect would amount to trying to be like God)

I'm slowly working on another Cathedral Window like Tara's for me. It's really slow going. I hate ironing! And these suckers are the true meaning of all hand made - every stitch. There's no batting. The fabric is folded so each square is thick, and let me tell ya - these babies are heavy when they're done.

As for being a seamstress, why do people think the definition of the word is 'miracle worker'? lol. I swear, people think you can just flick a wrist and pull matching fabric and zippers right out of thin air! And NO, big holes in nylon can not just be magically mended, so stop bringing me your cigarette melted snow suits. :)

Anyway, Sissy, more than you wanted to know. And probably anyone else, too! :)

Flying Fingers

I got the stockings finished and they came out perfect!
I found out I can cross-stitch as fast as the best of 'em. Whip out that needle - ready - set - go!

Of course, I couldn't just make plain ol' stockings with a cross-stitched cuff - oh no. I decided they needed to be puffy, and quilted, and have a liner, and have toe and heel contrast colors at 45s. Ugh!
I'm hopeless, but glad I did all the extra work. These are times I wish I had a camera, because even if the parents don't appreciate it, I'm proud of the detailed work I did, even on such a time crunch. It's amazing what I can find in my scrap basket that really works together!

Sissy is baking her little fingers off today, which is exactly what I should be doing, but I'm not.
It's going to be simple cookies only in the stockings. I'll make the typical melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies that I do every year (I mean really, what's Christmas without a good sugar cookie?) and Colleen suggested shortbreads, which I'm going to give a try.

All that's left is knitting slippers for two more children, the cookie baking, and getting everything wrapped.

I am such a procrastinator! I know I should start all this Christmas crafting in January, but I always think that maybe this year I'll be able to afford to buy more and make less of the gifts. It never happens, so why, oh why don't I just give in and start stuff when I should? Of course, to win the lottery, you actually have to play it. There's always a catch!

Someone give me a poke in Jan (Ha! try it - I'll be outside playing in seeds and dirt and milk jugs. lol). If I'm lucky, I'll get to some of the 'after' sales and find some good christmas crafting items. That only happened one year, but hey, a girl can hope! Just what the hell do you make (or buy, for that matter) for people who have everything and need nothing? I've done every craft I can think of, including tatting, for Pete sake. Ok, so the corn therapy bags were a fab idea.

I swear, I'm so going to start early next year! Well, if I can find something worth making, that is.

Cookie Help

With the corn therapy bags done, (and all those corn husks for the compost bin) I'm on to a cross-stitched stocking for my Dad. I certainly don't have time to do a complete stocking in cross-stitch, but I found some really cute patterns in some old magazine to do just a cuff with, and I'll make the rest from fabric.

I plan on filling it with cookies, and I have a really, really good sugar cookie recipe, but just one kind is sort of boring. Does anyone happen to have a good cookie recipe, or can point me to a good one? It has to be simple ingredients though, nothing extravagant that I'll have to buy. (ok, sorry, like you know what's in my cupboards!) Just no nuts, cream cheese, fruits or fancy extracts and stuff.

I know, I know...hard to make anything but sugar cookies with basic flour, sugar and eggs, but I'm hoping someone has something simple they've always made that's awesome.

Tall order. Why do men have to be so difficult when it comes to gifts?

Sew Far Sew Good!

The corn therapy bags turned out awesome! They really, really work. And work great!
I can't believe I didn't try making some before. I'll make some for the kids since you can use them as ice packs also. Maybe I'll have a chat with the school nurse and see if they could put some to use. It certainly would give me something to do this winter and use up some scrap.

I guess I'll give in and try some of those 'cool ties' for gardening come spring. Well, if I'm not too busy with the actual garden itself to sew, and if I can find polymer crystals cheap enough.

So far so good on the rose cuttings, too. They've put out lots of leaves, which is a good thing, but not so good. I'd rather they put their energy into making roots instead of leaves, but at least I know they're still alive.

It just got light enough to see outside - snow. Figures.

Syracuse has been voted, by Dave Gilmartin, as one of the worst places in America to live in his new book.
Well, color me shocked...

Yay!

I found some great deals at the coalition this month!

8 whole roasting chickens for $20 - they're the garlic butter flavor though, which makes them-not-so-great for chicken pot pies with the leftovers. Oh, well.

4 of the big bags of Dole salad - .25 each

4 12" cheese pizzas - $1 each

2 cabbages for .25 a pound

4lbs of cheese tortellini for $3.99

12lb roast for $23

5lbs of ground beef - $7.69

Of course, I had to stop at the 'bad store' for odds and ends (mostly stuff to do things with the leftovers, like barbequed beef sandwiches), but I can manage 3 weeks of meals out of what we got for $102. It'll be so good to have beef again! Boiled beef and cabbage sounds so great right now, but it'll have to wait until after I cook the roast. What kills me every time I walk in there is that you can get some things cheaper at the 'bad store'. For instance; mac & cheese - 3 for $1 there, .33 at the 'bad store'. Granted, it's only a penny, but still. Small bag of egg noodles - $1, big bag at 'bad store' is .89.

I dug through my older stash of scrap fabric and yarns and found enough to make my Dad and SM some more things for Christmas, so that makes me feel much better. They'll get mostly homemade things, but it's the best we can do this year. It's a catch-22 with them. I think one of those rice and herb filled heating pads would be cool for Dad, and I can make a matching eye one for SM. EDIT: Oooo! I just read that corn as filler is better: http://www.diamondthreadworks.com/microwave_heating_bags.htm . (hmmm, my link button is missing, along with all my other buttons! Ut-oh!) I can sneak across the road and get some from the field they never bothered to cut and I won't have to use what rice I have in the cupboard. Shhhhh! ;)

D hasn't said a word about putting up any Christmas lights this year, which for him is a very, very strange thing. He has this 'beat the neighbors' compulsion. Our house simply must be seen from the moon. Is it no wonder one of his favorite movies has always been National Lampoons Christmas Vacation?? Maybe it's as simple as that when he was a kid they were lucky to have a tree some years, much less any lights hung.

I'm debating on how soon to put up the tree. I'm not really in the mood this year. Actually, no one I know is. My SIL is usually so cheery and full of Christmas spirit, oh, about Halloween time, but this year she's as down in the dumps as I am. Her husband lost his job in September and there isn't another to be found anywhere, so I can't blame her, and I know how he feels. She was hinting last week that they might skip Christmas all together, except for their grand-daughter.

My children have already been threatened that I'll never speak to them again if they buy us anything for Christmas. I'm not sure that the instructions of "Make me a card" got through their little heads. I'd rather they had money for things they need than spend it on me. Besides, what's better than a card from your child made with their own hands? I don't think they know that really WOULD be the first thing on my Christmas list. At 22, 20, 16 and 14, they think it's just dumb, but they'll always be my 'babies'. I might have to jot a note to Santa about it...

Itching for dirty fingers

I'm feeling like a real slacker this fall.
My friends give me the leftover yarn from their projects every year and I make mittens for the Rescue Mission. There is usually enough scrap to make many pair. Last year I made and gave 22 pair, but this year = 0.

Ugh! No one seems to have done any knitting or crocheting this year. Maybe I'm not the only slacker! I'm not sure whether to be angry with me or them. Now, how rude is that to be mad at your friends for not buying yarn and having leftovers? Of course, if I'd had gotten the Fleur-Dis-Monster finished I'd have some leftover to use.

I keep staring and sifting through the few packs of Dollar Store seed I have for Winter Sowing this year.
A few months ago I was depressed because fall was rushing on, now I can't wait for January to get here so I can start playing in dirt and cutting up containers. No, Father Time, I am never satisfied! Either slow down or hurry up, would ya?

I had all the packs organized so I'd know what I was planting when, but I just can't leave well enough alone, so now I'm disorganized again from rifling through them and daydreaming. What is it that's so appealing about handling seed packets? It's almost as good as sex! Ok, I take that back, lost my mind for a second there.

I finally had a minute to thumb through the copy of Forest Farm catalog I got a while ago. Their pricing is odd. Some things are outrageously expensive, yet some things seem (to me) to be dirt cheap. I don't have the money to buy any of this stuff, but it's nice to read descriptions and dream all winter. I still haven't figured out where I signed up for the free copy, so I might have to go on a free catalog hunt again. Like I need more to drool over.


I just can't get the shock of this out of my mind. I was over reading EAL's blog the other day and she'd posted something I found very, very disturbing, to say the least. It was something I found so outrageous in this day and age I even had to ask her if it was a joke. Here's the complete story: Houston Chronicle . I honestly don't even know what to say about people like this.

What Have I Done?

Ohhh! I got the old scanner to work!

This was an interesting weekend. I picked up my knitting again and did absolutely nothing else! No dishes, no laundry, no "yes" to "Mom could ya...". It was rather liberating, I must say. A bit like a mini-vacation.

But now it's Monday morning, and I'm being punished for being a slacker. ~sigh~ It was such a wonderful 'non-maid' weekend off, too! Now there's a pile of dishes, mountain of laundry and vaccuming to catch up on. And Des is home sick :( I so hate it when the kids are not feeling well. Like I said; I'm most definitely being punished. I'll just have to go a little faster with the chores today to catch up. (Yeah, I'm the idiot on here wasting time!)

I started a sweater for my SM two years ago. The pattern is, I believe, from an eighties MacCalls knitting pattern mag. It's called Spellbound, and I just couldn't resist the challenge. Ugh! What have I done? This thing is like a monster that won't die! It's a sort of vining Fleur-De-Lis pattern.

Here's the description: "Spellbound. Intricate color patterns are made subtly fascinating by using a variegated fuzzy yarn with a smooth solid."

Needless to say, I didn't invest in the yarns they expected you to use, it would have cost upwards of $80. I did end up spending 20 something though on light blue and white. Since with this type of yarn carry pattern it's like making 2 sweaters at once, I had to buy double amounts. (D and I both cringed. I know it's a lot to spend on yarn, but I really wanted to do this one for her, and I'm determined it will be finished and not a wasted 20 bucks.)

This thing was suppose to be finished for her for Christmas 2004. Ha! Yeah, right, I should have known I wouldn't find the time. So, here I am, still plugging along on the thing. (Now nicknamed Fleur-De-Monster). But, it WILL be done for this Christmas if they all have to eat sandwiches every night in December!

Oh, and I STILL can't get on Garden Voices! Damn! Thanks for the comments telling me that many of you can't get on either. I'm relieved it's not just me!

I give in...

Actually, I give up. Why can't people just take a comment as a comment? There always has to be some deep seeded snipe or insinuation meant? Ugh! I just give up. I'll stay in my hole, make my quilts, grow my plants, and shut my mouth. None of these things ever seem to think you meant something other than you actually said when you said it to them! (Maybe the fact their inanimate has something to do with it?) lol.

It's continually cold out now, so it's almost puzzle season. :-) Yay! Though I really, really, really hate winter, there are some redeeming qualities.The report on pumpkin crop loss for NY is in: 25%. Bummer. But the apple harvest was more than doubled. What a weird growing season we've had. The fruit and veg farms around here are almost all closed due to the flood damage. I feel really sad for the loss of all that produce. Thank God they all had insurance! (And will be getting extra money from FEMA).

This weekend seemed to fly by. I got quite a bit done on the new Cathedral Window quilt. The last one took 2 years, but this one is sort of a 'do it as I feel like' so will probably take much, much longer. Besides, I hate ironing all those muslin squares. Des and I started a quilt for her teacher. I decided on a Bears Paw since it has a simple enough pattern for her to grasp. I'm secretly pleased that she wants to do this. Shhhh! Don't tell her I said, or she'll decide to quit just to spite me. Ahhh, the joys of being 14.

All the leaves have been off our trees for about a week now, yet the rest of the state is at peak color or just past. Kinda ticks me off that the valley has such wacko growing weather: first for some things, behind in others. A few of my plants have decided it is definitely winter while others are soldiering on as though it's going to warm back up soon enough. Maybe they just didn't get the memo. One stand of purple phlox faded almost a month ago, and yet another stand about 20 feet away decided to put out new blossoms this weekend. D just pointed at it confusedly and said, "Ummm?" Yeah, weird.