At Last, Crochet a Striped Blanket or Afghan Without Loose Yarn Ends!

Do you sometimes resist crocheting items made out of more than one color because of all the loose ends that need to be woven in? I do. I found this video on youtube that shows an excellent way to crochet a striped blanket without all the pesky loose ends. What's even better, I think it looks like it has an edge on it without the extra work of working one! Check this out. It is by mikeyssmail. Hugs...

A Look Back at New Years Eve 1957

I was trying to think about what to post for my New Years Eve blog entry. Hmmm, I thought maybe I can check out youtube or google and see what I can find. Lo and behold, I found a video of the Times Square celebration in 1957 with Guy Lombardo. I was (choke, gasp, sputter) born in '57 so it is quite possible that my mom and dad were sitting on the couch watching this and feeding me my bottle at the same time! I want to wish everyone a happy 2010 and pray that our country, nay the world becomes a better place for us all. Anyway, here for your enjoyment is the video. Hugs...

Crochet Accomplishments in 2009

Gee whiz, I really thought I had crocheted more this year than I actually did.  I keep track of my accomplishments in my signature block at crochetville.org .  I know I won't finish any projects before the new year starts so I decided to post my list today.  Anyway, here they are:

Finished 2009: dishcloth (asst) 19, hotpad/potholder 3, hexagon afghan 1, granny sq. 56, scarf 3, kk hat, slippers (19 pr), rr afghan 3, baby blnkt 1, lapghan 1, shawl, mat for dogs.


My latest WIP (work in progress) is a doily.  I've never made one before and am only undertaking it at the request of my uncle who recently moved into his own geo-bachelor (geographical bachelor) place for the winters.  I chose a relatively simple pattern that doesn't have a lacy flowery look to it.  You can see it here .  I'm not sure if I'm using the correct size thread since I've never used thread before; just had the thread in my stash from a thrift store find.  In case I don't get back here in the next day or 2, I'd like to wish all of you a happy New Year!  Hugs...Sharon

Barney Finally Gets a New Bed

Our little chis--Opi and Nellie Belle have 3 beds between the 2 of them not to mention all sorts of little blankies/mats/rugs that I have crocheted for them to snooze on. For Christmas, Santa brought Barney her own big girl bed. Opi staked a claim to it right off the bat. Today, for the 1st time, Barney was able to take a nap in her own big girl bed.  Hey, you can check out my chis blog if you want to.  Hope you enjoy. Hugs....

Barney Napping in New "Big Girl" Bed

 

Opi, the Bed Thief!

 

Hmmm, Maybe Opi Was Giving Paybacks!

A Look at Our Christmas 2009

My brother,his fiancee and one of my nephews were able to visit us at our home in Kentucky from their home in Arkansas. They brought their little fur babies too. Our fur babies had a great time with them. Here are some high-lights of their visit with us. I hope you enjoy. Of course, you won't see me because as usual, I am the photographer lol. You may turn off the blog's music player by scrolling down the column on your right side and clicking on the parallel lines on the player. Hugs to all...

Christmas Slippers

Hello Everyone! Here are the slippers that I made for Christmas presents this year. Of course, they're from the same pattern I almost always use. On a few pair, I was afraid I might not have enough yarn so I did away with the cuff.  The only picture at the top of the post is one I somehow missed when I made the slide show. There is some music with the slide show so you may want to go to the column on your right hand side and scroll down to the music player and click on the parallel lines before starting the slide show. Anyway, here's a slide show of the slippers:

Mouse Christmas Cartoon for Your Enjoyment

Here's a cute Christmas cartoon for you and your young'uns to enjoy this holiday season. To turn the blogs music off and hear this without music clashing with it go to the column on your right and scroll down to the music player and click on the parallel lines. Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy the cartoon. Hugs....

A Christmas Story for You: "Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe"

The following is a special Christmas story for your enjoyment. It can be found at this page.
This story is part of the collection of free e-books available at Project Gutenberg and is free of United States copyright restrictions. I hope you enjoy. Hugs to all....

LITTLE GRETCHEN AND THE WOODEN SHOE

By Elizabeth Harrison

Once upon a time, a long time ago, far away across the great ocean, in a country called Germany, there could be seen a small log hut on the edge of a great forest, whose fir trees extended for miles and miles to the north. This little house, made of heavy hewn logs, had but one room in it. A rough pine door gave entrance to this room, and a small square window admitted the light. At the back of the house was built an old-fashioned stone chimney, out of which in winter curled a thin, blue smoke, showing that there was not very much fire within.
Small as the house was, it was large enough for two people who lived in it. I want to tell you a story today about these two people. One was an old gray-haired woman, so old that the little children of the village, nearly half a mile away, often wondered whether she had come into the world with the huge mountains and the giant fir trees, which stood like giants back of her small hut. Her face was wrinkled all over with deep lines, which, if the children could only have read aright, would have told them of many years of cheerful, happy, self-sacrifice; of loving, anxious, watching beside sick-beds; of quiet endurance of pain, of many a day of hunger and cold, and of a thousand deeds of unselfish love for other people; but, of course, they could not read this strange handwriting. They only knew that she was old and wrinkled, and that she stooped as she walked. None of them seemed to fear her, for her smile was always cheerful, and she had a kindly word for each of them if they chanced to meet her on her way to and from the village. With this old, old woman lived a very little girl. So bright and happy was she that the travellers who passed by the lonesome little house on the edge of the forest often thought of a sunbeam as they saw her. These two people were known in the village as Granny Goodyear and Little Gretchen.
The winter had come and the frost had snapped off many of the smaller branches of the pine trees in the forest. Gretchen and her granny were up by daybreak each morning. After their simple breakfast of oatmeal, Gretchen would run to the little closet and fetch Granny's old woolen shawl, which seemed almost as old as Granny herself. Gretchen always claimed the right to put the shawl over Granny's head, even though she had to climb onto the wooden bench to do it. After carefully pinning it under Granny's chin, she gave her a good-bye kiss, and Granny started out for her morning's work in the forest. This work was nothing more nor less than the gathering up of the twigs and branches which the autumn winds and winter frosts had thrown upon the ground. These were carefully gathered into a large bundle which Granny tied together with a strong linen band. She then managed to lift the bundle to her shoulder and trudged off to the village with it. Here she sold the fagots for kindling wood to the people of the village. Sometimes she would get only a few pence each day, and sometimes a dozen or more, but on this money little Gretchen and she managed to live; they had their home, and the forest kindly furnished the wood for the fire which kept them warm in winter.
In the summer time Granny had a little garden at the back of the house, where she raised, with little Gretchen's help, a few potatoes and turnips and onions. These she carefully stored away for winter use. To this meagre supply, the pennies, gained by selling the twigs from the forest, added the oatmeal for Gretchen and a little black coffee for Granny. Meat was a thing they never thought of having. It cost too much money. Still, Granny and Gretchen were very happy, because they loved each other dearly. Sometimes Gretchen would be left alone all day long in the hut, because Granny would have some work to do in the village after selling her bundle of sticks and twigs. It was during these long days that little Gretchen had taught herself to sing the song which the wind sang to the pine branches. In the summer time she learned the chirp and twitter of the birds, until her voice might almost be mistaken for a bird's voice, she learned to dance as the swaying shadows did, and even to talk to the stars which shone through the little square window when Granny came home late or too tired to talk.
Sometimes, when the weather was fine, or her Granny had an extra bundle of knitted stockings to take to the village, she would let little Gretchen go along with her. It chanced that one of these trips to the town came just the week before Christmas, and Gretchen's eyes were delighted by the sight of the lovely Christmas trees which stood in the window of the village store. It seemed to her that she would never tire of looking at the knit dolls, the woolly lambs, the little wooden shops with their queer, painted men and women in them, and all the other fine things. She had never owned a plaything in her whole life; therefore, toys which you and I would not think much of seemed to her very beautiful.
That night, after their supper of baked potatoes was over, and little Gretchen had cleared away the dishes and swept up the hearth, because Granny dear was so tired, she brought her own little wooden stool and placed it very near Granny's feet and sat down upon it, folding her hands on her lap. Granny knew that this meant that she wanted to be told about something, so she smilingly laid away the large Bible which she had been reading, and took up her knitting, which was as much as to say: "Well, Gretchen, dear, Granny is ready to listen."
"Granny," said Gretchen slowly, "It's almost Christmas time, isn't it?"
"Yes, dearie," said Granny, "only five days more now," and then she sighed, but little Gretchen was so happy that she did not notice Granny's sigh.
"What do you think, Granny, I'll get this Christmas?" said she, looking up eagerly into Granny's face.
"Ah, child, child," said Granny, shaking her head, "you'll have no Christmas this year. We are too poor for that."
"Oh, but Granny," interrupted little Gretchen, "think of all the beautiful toys we saw in the village today. Surely Santa Claus has sent enough for every little child."
"Ah, dearie, those toys are for people who can pay for them, and we have no money to spend for Christmas toys."
"Well, Granny," said Gretchen, "perhaps some of the little children who live in the great house on the hill at the other end of the village, will be willing to share some of their toys with me. They will be glad to give some to a little girl who has none."
"Dear child, dear child," said Granny, leaning forward and stroking the soft, shiny hair of the little girl, "your heart is full of love. You would be glad to bring a Christmas to every child; but their heads are so full of what they are going to get that they forget all about anybody else but themselves." Then she sighed and shook her head.
"Well, Granny," said Gretchen, her bright, happy tone of voice growing a little less joyous, "perhaps the dear Santa Claus will show some of the village children how to make presents that do not cost money, and some of them may surprise me Christmas morning with a present. And, Granny, dear," added she, springing up from her low stool, "can't I gather some of the pine branches and take them to the old sick man who lives in the house by the mill, so that he can have the sweet smell of our forest in his room all Christmas day?"
"Yes, dearie," said Granny, "you may do what you can to make the Christmas bright and happy, but you must not expect any present yourself."
"Oh, but, Granny," said little Gretchen, her face brightening, "you forgot all about the shining Christmas angels, who came down to earth and sang their wonderful song the night the beautiful Christ-Child was born! They are so loving and good that they will not forget any little child. I shall ask my dear stars tonight to tell them of us. You know," she added, with a look of relief, "the stars are so very high that they must know the angels quite well as they come and go with their messages from the loving God."
Granny sighed as she half whispered. "Poor child, poor child!" but Gretchen threw her arm around Granny's neck and gave her a hearty kiss, saying as she did so: "Oh, Granny, Granny, you don't talk to the stars often enough, else you would not be sad at Christmas time." Then she danced all around the room, whirling her little skirts about her to show Granny how the wind had made the snow dance that day. She looked so droll and funny that Granny forgot her cares and worries and laughed with little Gretchen over her new snow dance. The days passed on and the morning before Christmas Eve came. Gretchen having tidied up the little room—for Granny had taught her to be a careful little housewife—was off to the forest, singing a birdlike song, almost as happy and free as the birds themselves. She was very busy that day preparing a surprise for Granny. First, however, she gathered the most beautiful of the fir branches within her reach to take the next morning to the old sick man who lived by the mill.
The day was all too short for the happy little girl. When Granny came trudging wearily home that night, she found the frame of the doorway covered with green pine branches.
"It is to welcome you, Granny! It is to welcome you!" cried Gretchen; "our dear old home wanted to give you a Christmas welcome. Don't you see, the branches of the evergreen make it look as if it were smiling all over, and it is trying to say, 'A happy Christmas to you Granny'."
Granny laughed and kissed the little girl, as they opened the door and went in together. Here was a new surprise for Granny. The four posts of the wooden bed, which stood in one corner of the room, had been trimmed by the busy little fingers, with smaller and more flexible branches of the pine trees. A small bouquet of red mountain ash berries stood at each side of the fireplace, and these, together with the trimmed posts of the bed, gave the plain old room quite a festive look. Gretchen laughed and clapped her hands and danced about until the house seemed full of music to poor, tired Granny, whose heart had been sad as she turned toward their home that night, thinking of the disappointment that must come to loving little Gretchen the next morning.
After supper was over little Gretchen drew her stool up to Granny's side, and laying her soft, little hands on Granny's knee asked to be told once again the story of the coming of the Christ-Child; how the night that he was born the beautiful angels had sung their wonderful song, and how the whole sky had become bright with a strange and glorious light, never seen by the people of earth before. Gretchen had heard the story many, many times before, but she never grew tired of it, and now that Christmas Eve had come again, the happy little child wanted to hear it once more.
When Granny had finished telling it the two sat quiet and silent for a little while thinking it over; then Granny rose and said that it was time for her to go to bed. She slowly took off her heavy wooden shoes, such as are worn in that country, and placed them beside the hearth. Gretchen looked thoughtfully at them for a minute or two, and then she said, "Granny, don't you think that somebody in all this wide world will think of us tonight?"
"Nay, Gretchen, I do not think any one will."
"Well, then, Granny," said Gretchen, "the Christmas angels will, I know; so I am going to take one of your wooden shoes and put it on the windowsill outside, so that they may see it as they pass by. I am sure the stars will tell the Christmas angels where the shoe is."
"Ah, you foolish, foolish child," said Granny, "you are only getting ready for a disappointment. Tomorrow morning there will be nothing whatever in the shoe. I can tell you that now."
But little Gretchen would not listen. She only shook her head and cried out: "Ah, Granny, you do not talk enough to the stars." With this she seized the shoe, and opening the door, hurried out to place it on the window sill. It was very dark without and something soft and cold seemed to gently kiss her hair and face. Gretchen knew by this that it was snowing, and she looked up to the sky, anxious to see if the stars were in sight, but a strong wind was tumbling the dark, heavy snow-clouds about and had shut away all else.
"Never mind," said Gretchen softly to herself, "the stars are up there, even if I can't see them, and the Christmas angels do not mind snow storms."
Just then a rough wind went sweeping by the little girl, whispering something to her which she could not understand, and then it made a sudden rush up to the snow clouds and parted them, so that the deep mysterious sky appeared beyond, and shining down out of the midst of it was Gretchen's favorite star.
"Ah, little star, little star!" said the child, laughing aloud, "I knew you were there, though I could not see you. Will you whisper to the Christmas angels as they come by that little Gretchen wants so very much to have a Christmas gift tomorrow morning, if they have one to spare, and that she has put one of Granny's shoes upon the windowsill for it?"
A moment more and the little girl, standing on tiptoe had reached the windowsill and placed the shoe upon it, and was back again in the house beside Granny and the warm fire.
The two went quietly to bed, and that night as little Gretchen knelt to pray to the Heavenly Father, she thanked him for having sent the Christ-Child into the world to teach all mankind to be loving and unselfish, and in a few minutes she was sleeping, dreaming of the Christmas angels.
The next morning, very early, even before the sun was up, little Gretchen was awakened by the sound of sweet music coming from the village. She listened for a moment and then she knew that the choir boys were singing the Christmas carols in the open air of the village street. She sprang up out of bed and began to dress herself as quickly as possible, singing as she dressed. While Granny was slowly putting on her clothes, little Gretchen having finished dressing herself, unfastened the door and hurried out to see what the Christmas angels had left in the old wooden shoe.
The white snow covered everything—trees, stumps, roads, and pastures—until the whole world looked like fairy land. Gretchen climbed up on a large stone which was beneath the window and carefully lifted down the wooden shoe. The snow tumbled off of it in a shower over the little girl's hands, but she did not heed that; she ran hurriedly back into the house, putting her hand into the toe of the shoe as she ran.
"Oh, Granny, Granny!" she exclaimed; "you did not believe the Christmas angels would think about us, but see, they have, they have! Here is a dear little bird nestled down in the toe of your shoe! Oh, isn't he beautiful?"
Granny came forward and looked at what the child was holding lovingly in her hand. There she saw a tiny chick-a-dee, whose wing was evidently broken by the rough and boisterous winds of the night before, and who had taken shelter in the safe, dry toe of the old wooden shoe. She gently took the little bird out of Gretchen's hands, and skilfully bound his broken wing to his side, so that he need not hurt himself trying to fly with it. Then she showed Gretchen how to make a nice warm nest for the little stranger, close beside the fire and when their breakfast was ready, she let Gretchen feed the little bird with a few moist crumbs.
Later in the day Gretchen carried the fresh, green boughs to the old sick man by the mill, and on her way home stopped to enjoy the Christmas toys of some other children that she knew, never once wishing they were hers. When she reached home she found that the little bird had gone to sleep. Soon, however, he opened his eyes and stretched his head up, saying just as plain as a bird can say:
"Now, my new friends, I want you to give me something more to eat." Gretchen gladly fed him again, and then, holding him in her lap, she softly and gently stroked  his gray feathers until the little creature seemed to lose all fear of her. That evening Granny taught her a Christmas hymn and told her another beautiful Christmas story. Then Gretchen made up a funny little story to tell the birdie. He winked his eyes and turned his head from side to side in such a droll fashion that Gretchen laughed until the tears came.
As Granny and she got ready for bed that night, Gretchen put her arms softly around Granny's neck, and whispered: "What a beautiful Christmas we have had today, Granny. Is there anything more lovely in all the world than Christmas?"
"Nay, child, nay," said Granny, "not to such loving hearts as yours."

 

Project Gutenberg Selections for Kindle

Update to Round Afghan Pattern List

I have been maintaining a list of round afghan patterns available for free on the Internet.  I love the shape--for a big person cuddling up on the couch with an afghan, it covers the behind rather well--lol!  Here is the list of round afghan patterns. I add to it as I find new ones. I have to admit, the only round afghan pattern I've used (over and over) is not on the list; it is graciously provided by a member of crochetville.org by the name of Aggie May. I do have tentative plans to make a few of the ghans on my list but there is so little time! I admit, that I am in my comfort zone when I find a pattern I like and it is hard to get in the mode of trying new things :).  I almost forgot, here is the new link I've included on my list.

Christmas Presents for 2 of My Doctors

I see several doctors and I thought it would be nice to give them a small present for the holidays.  Here are some slippers that I made for them.  They don't check my blog so I can post the pics here.  I love this pattern and have been using it for many years now. The pattern is very easy and pretty quick to make too.  Hope you enjoy.  Hugs...



Slippers

Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Marry on this Date (December 17th) in 1969

Herbert Buchingham Khaury more commonly known as Tiny Tim married Miss Vicki (Victoria Budinger) on this date in 1969 on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.  Tiny Tim was known for his 1920ish  falsetto version of Tiptoe Through the Tulips.  You  may want to visit The Official Tiny Tim Web Site for more information on this flamboyant musician.
Below are the videos of this show including commercials.  I was surprised to see cigarette commercials--really shows you how times have changed.  If you're only interested in seeing the wedding, skip down to the 7th video.  I posted all the segments because I found it fascinating to see the commercials and the changes in television shows.  Oh yes, you can turn the blog's music off by scrolling down the column on your right to the music player and then clicking on the parallel lines.  Enjoy!






















Tiny Tim's Music

A Christmas Cartoon for Your Enjoyment

Christmas time comes around with sentimental movies and cute cartoons. I thought that I would post for you a Casper the Friendly Ghost Christmas cartoon for your enjoyment. I love the older cartoon characters in this cartoon and I hope you do too. Now, for your enjoyment, Casper's First Christmas. Hugs to all...
ps You can turn the blog's music player off by going to the right hand column and clicking on the parallel lines on the player.

A Free Slipper Pattern

The copyright has expired for this pattern and it is now in the public domain. I thought I would post it here for your perusal and use. It is always great to find new patterns to use. I have a box loaded with patterns that I sometimes break into just to think about making up one of them. On occasion, I actually do make something from one of these stockpiled patterns. Usually, I have a compulsion to make the same few items over and over again such as slippers and round-ripple afghans/baby blankets. I hope you like this pattern. Hugs to all...
Pantuflas Slippers

Christmas Greetings...

I am really bad about getting Christmas cards in the mail. I mean to every year but then I well, just don't. My family and friends are very important to me even though many of use are separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles. You are all special to me. Here is a Christmas greeting to all of you from my family and me. Love to all...
p.s. If you go to the right hand column you can turn off the blog music and listen to the video.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" A Musical Look at the Cold War.

A friend sent me another version of this in an email. I went to Youtube and found a gazillion versions of this video. It is We Didn't Start the
fire by Billy Joel. I thought it was a good look at the Cold War Era.  I hope you enjoy.  Oh yeah, the link for the video I was sent is here. You can turn the blog music off to listen to this video by going to the music player in the right hand column and clicking on the double lines.

"2008 Lengthwise Striped Scarf"

2008 Scarf Pattern Crochet 2   

Honoring Veterans

I received this video in an email some time ago.  It has been sitting in my email because I did not want to delete it.  I decided to share it with all of you.  I hope you take the time to appreciate the veterans who have served our country (or yours) selflessly.  You can turn the blog's music player off by finding it in the right hand column and clicking on the double lines.

A Crocheted Mat for My Fur-Babies

Hi everyone!  Here is my latest crochet project.  It is a crocheted mat for my fur-babies for resting on the cold floor.  I made it out of 3 strands of ww yarn.  Two strands were from an assortment of scrap colors and one strand was black ww yarn.  I used a Q-hook to crochet it.  The 1st and last rows were single crochet and the remainder of the rows were half-double crochet.  The edging I made by doing a round of single crochet.  The 2nd row of the edging I did by crocheting triple crochet-chain 1-single crochet in one single crochet then skip one then do repetitions of  triple crochet-chain one-single crochet up to the corners.  For the corners, I did double crochet-chain 1-double crochet.  As you can see in the following pictures my chis--Nellie Belle and especially Opi like it.

Hugs to all...Sharon

Vintage WWII Crochet Pattern for Scarves for Servicemembers

I was asked a question about a WWII vintage scarf pattern to crochet scarves for service members.  I knew I had seen that pattern but it took me quite a while to locate it again.  Anyway the pattern is here.

What I've Been Up To...

Sometimes I can be quite spacey.  The week before Thanksgiving, dh and I went to visit a friend of mine from long ago when I was in the navy.  We hadn't seen each other since March 1986!  The visit went great!  There are some people that were just meant to be friends.  After not seeing her for 23 years, it was just like I had seen her the week before, I mean there wasn't a sense of unease or anything.  I brought my camera with me but as I mentioned earlier, I'm spacey at times and the camera stayed packed away.  I brought her and her husband slippers I crocheted and usually I take pictures of all my crochet projects but these slipped by; did I mention that I can be spacey? lol....
Thanksgiving was great.  Unfortunately my dil had to work and wasn't able to have the meal with us.  I had son take a plate to her so at least she was able to have some of the food.  Both of my sons, the ggd and dh's mom shared a pretty good meal (if I may say so myself :) ) with dh and me.  I didn't stress about fixing the food this year.  I started baking pies and making side dishes earlier in the week and popped them into the freezer until Thanksgiving morning.  We had  our meal a bit later in the day, 5 p.m., and that helped out a lot too.  Also, I trimmed a few extra dishes off the menu.  For years, I had tried to replicate the Thanksgiving meals of my childhood even though those meals were put together by numerous ladies in the family and not just one person (me).
I'm still crocheting.  My focus is on the traditional slippers I make for most family  members and friends every Christmas.  Instead of taking a picture of each pair, I'm going to wait until they're all finished and then take a picture of the entire batch of 'em. I'm also making a mat out of scrap yarn for the dogs to lay on the floor with to keep warm.
I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving.  Best wishes to all.  Hugs....

Tomb of the Unknowns Dedicated This Day in 1921

On this day, November 11, 1921, U.S. President Warren Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. On March 4, 1921, Congress approved a resolution providing for the burial of an unidentified American soldier, following the custom adopted by other allied countries after World War I. The site was to be the plaza of Arlington National Cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater, which had been dedicated the previous year.

     On Memorial Day, 1921, an unknown was exhumed from each of four cemeteries in France. The remains were placed in identical caskets and assembled at Chalon sur Marne.  Ultimately they were interred at Arlington.  Then on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984, President Ronald Reagan presided over the interment ceremony for the Vietnam Unknown service member.
     To read about the history of this monument, go to this army page.

I'm Slow so Sue Me lol...Here's Halloween Pics

Here's a few pictures of Halloween at our house.  My daughter-in-law is the little devil and my son is the handsome fellow with her.  You can see ggranddaughter and granddaughter. Ray and ggranddaughter posed with the giant tomato.  The dogs also dressed up so that they wouldn't be caught nekkid by other trick-or-treaters! Hope you received more treats than tricks...

Slippers for Me

Here is a picture of a pair of slippers I recently made for myself.  I was going to put these aside for a Christmas gift but the yarn (I bought it on clearance) was cut in several places so I had to join it 4 times in 1 slipper grrrrr...The yarn I used is I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby.  Normally, this is a great yarn to work with--soft and doesn't split.  This is the same pattern I usually use for slippers and you can find it here.

Ma & Pa Kettle Do Math

Do you need a laugh?  Watch the following video clip of Ma and Pa Kettle working math problems; it had me laughing.  Sometimes it is good to find some silliness to laugh about, and this should do it.  I hope you enjoy this too.  Hugs....

Dishcloth Crocheted from Left-Overs

Hi everyone.  This is a dishcloth I made a while back but didn't post a picture of.  It's really made out of some left-over cotton yarn from another project and some white (cotton) I had.  Not too bad of an idea for a dishcloth.  It is one that I am keeping to use in my own kitchen.  I made a chain the length I wanted the width of the cloth to be.  The 1st and last rows were sc and the rows in the middle were dc.  One row of sc with white was made around  the circumference. In this example, I made an equal number of rows for each color.  I hope you enjoy.  Hugs...

Finally Home

I was recently pretty sick and went to the emergency room dark and early Monday morning.  Today (Thursday), around 5PM I was finally discharged from the hospital.  I just wanted to say "Thank You" to my wonderful family and friends.  You kept the phone wires burning to cheer me; or you who were close came to visit.  You all kept my spirits up and really shortened my stay in the hospital with  the prayers you made on my behalf.  I love you all.... Sharon

Gift Cards and Christmas

My thought for the day is about gift cards. For birthdays and Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day I think cards are a great idea. Christmas is a whole different ball game.  I picture all of us trading gift cards like they were baseball cards-- "I'll trade you a Wal-mart card for a Kohl's card." Do you see what I'm talking about? Kids who don't necessarily buy Christmas gifts are an exception to my theory. It would be fun to give a child a gift card for a present with a promise to take them out to eat and on a shopping excursion so they can get what they want. I've been considering doing that for my ggranddaughter this year. That will be one day that her mom gets a break and the young'un has a special day. Oh, I did think of another exception and that is what my ds and his wife did for Christmas last year. They bought me a Barnes and Nobles gift card that I could either use for merchandise or to get their discount card. I opted for the discount card because I am a voracious reader and also continuously on the lookout for crochet books. What do y'all think? Write me and let me know.

Amazon Gift Cards

My Closet Remodel Is Complete

On the 11th of October I posted some before pictures of my sad closet. The wire shelves were falling down and it was awful! My very talented younger son Justin designed and built the new cabinetry. He is a talented guy as you can see. Here is a video I put together showing how it progressed. I am so proud of my talented son. Ray and our good friend Phillip "supervised" and lent an extra hand when required; Justin did the bulk of the work. The little girl on one of the slides is my ggranddaughter. She is helping me make homemade beef-vegetable-barley soup and corn muffins for supper that night. Oh yeah, I should probably let you know that if my music player starts, you can scroll down the right column and mute it. Hugs...

Vintage Crochet Patterns for You!

Vintage Crochet

View more documents from Cervanda Arce.

Here are some vintage crochet patterns that you may want to use or just peruse for enjoyment. I love looking at them; I just don't know if I'd care to make them. I enjoy them for the historical look at women and their crafts. I hope you enjoy...

Highlander, Full Episodes

I've been watching Highlander on www.hulu.com. I never got into this show when it first aired, but now I'm addicted to it. I put this widget here so that if any of you are interested you can watch it too.





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Compound Possessive Nouns

There have been times that I have been confused about how to use the possessive forms of nouns when I have a compound possessive-noun situation. Do I make both nouns have the apostrophe "s" ('s) on the end or just the 2nd noun? I decided that I would check it out. Read below for more information.

Compound Possessives

When you are showing possession with compounded nouns, the apostrophe's placement depends on whether the nouns are acting separately or together.

* Miguel's and Cecilia's new cars are in the parking lot.
This means that each of them has at least one new car and that their ownership is a separate matter.
* Miguel and Cecilia's new cars are in the parking lot.
This construction tells us that Miguel and Cecilia share ownership of these cars. The possessive (indicated by 's) belongs to the entire phrase, not just to Cecilia.

Another example:

* Lewis and Clark's expectations were very much the same.
This construction tells us that the two gentlemen held one set of expectations in common.
* Lewis's and Clark's expectations were altogether different.
This means that the expectations of the two men were different (rather obvious from what the sentence says, too). We signify separate ownership by writing both of the compounded proper nouns in the possessive form.

When one of the possessors in a compound possessive is a personal pronoun, we have to put both possessors in the possessive form or we end up with something silly: "Bill and my car had to be towed last night."

* Bill's and my car had to be towed last night.
* Giorgio's and her father was not around much during their childhood.

If this second sentence seems unsatisfactory, you might have to do some rewriting so you end up talking about their father, instead, or revert to using both names: "Giorgio and Isabel's father wasn't around much . . . ." (and then "Giorgio" will lose the apostrophe +s).

For more information please see this site. This is the site I used as a reference for this posting

More Grammar Help

Been Busy Lately

Life has been a bit hectic lately. This past week school has been on fall break so I haven't subbed any. I had to clear out my big walk-in closet (6' x 18') because my very talented younger son has been constructing build-in storage for me. YIPPEE, no more wire shelves that fall down! I will post pictures for you when it is finished. The construction is done except for the installation of 2 hanging bars. Justin designed it and did most of the construction himself with a little assistance from dh and a good friend of ours who has done finish carpentry in the Hamptons prior to relocating to KY. The pictures are before images. You can see in the one picture where the one wire shelf had fallen down. I had so much junk in the closet but was only able to "give up" one large boxful of "treasures." Sigh....I am such a hoarder.



More Closet Organizers

A Bit of Humor....

For your enjoyment, here is a bit of humor. This is one of those "kids say the darndest things" when kids were talking about the Bible.

1. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off.
2. Adam and eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark and the animals came on in pears.
3. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.
4. Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.
5. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
6. Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
7. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
8. The First Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
9. The seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
10. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
11. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
12. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
13. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager.
14. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
15. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.
16. Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. he also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.
17. It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
18. The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
19. The Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.
20. One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.
21. When St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marriage.
22. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

More Kids Say the Darndest Things from Cosby, Linkletter et al

Found Another Crochet Pattern for Round Afghan

OK, 3 times is the charm and this is the number of posts for today. Anyway, I found another round afghan pattern so I thought I would post the link for it. Here it is. I have a listing of round afghan crochet patterns that I've been updating as I find new patterns. You can see it here. The picture is a round ripple baby blanket I made last year.

Guess Where I Was 31 Years Ago???

Thirty-one years ago today I was in the hospital on Barksdale Air Force Base having my son Matthew. Happy Birthday Matt!

Comfort Shawl--C'est Fini!

Maybe I shouldn't have put "C'est Fini" in the title since I made this comfort shawl for a relative of dh in Germany. She is going through a tough time because her grandson passed away. I didn't think about doing this right away, but I heard about how down she has been so I made it a few months after the fact. I need to find someone who is fluent in German to help me write a note to her. I would ask dh but he is pretty fluent in spoken German but the written isn't quite his forte. Anyway, I looked at some patterns on Lion Brand Yarn Site and I adapted this one. Instead of putting the fringe on I used the edging pattern I found here. I used Homespun yarn and I really don't like fringe made from it because I think it looks raggedy after a garment made from it is worn only a couple times. Anyway, I need to weave in a few loose ends and put this in the washer and mail it off to Deutschland. Auf weidersehen....

ps--It really looks much nicer in real life than in the photo :).

Those Old Adjectives--Using Comparative or Superlative Form

Today is a busy posting day for me. Sometimes, I find myself questioning the way I use English grammar. An example of this is that I have 2 sons. I would refer to Son #1 as the oldest and #2 as the youngest. That isn't quite right. #1 is the older and #2 is the younger. Comparing two things requires the use of the comparative form of an adjective (such as older and younger). If I had 3 sons then I would us the -est suffix on the adjective to compare the #1 son to the #3-- this is the superlative form of the adjective. Clear as mud right??? Here is a video that may explain it to you a little better than I have. You may want to turn the music player off(it's in the other column) before you listen to this video. Hope you enjoy!

Comparative and Superlative adjectives

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Man from My State of KY Wins on America's Got Talent

A Kentucky man, Kevin Skinner, won on the show America's Got Talent. Here is one of the performances done by him. Congratulations Kevin and best wishes to you and your family...

To play this, you may first want to go to the right-hand column and turn off the other music player. Hope you enjoy

Roof on Patio Finished!

We had a roof built over our patio this summer. It is great! We should be able to use the hot tub a little longer during the year, we won't have to sit directly in the sun, and the ceiling fans will help to keep us cool! This is something we've wanted for a long time. When we first started talking about it dh wanted to put one of those 1970ish metal roofs on. I vetoed that and guess who won? LOL!

Diaper Cake Tutorial and Links

I've seen these diaper "cakes" several times as I've scanned the Internet. I was thrilled to find this video on how to make them. The gal who submitted this video has written instructions on her web page. I have to let you know that she has some sort of protection so that you can not copy and paste the pattern to a blank document and save. Just think of all the cute crochet items you can make to decorate the cake!

Welfare Recipients and Drug Screens

I've been running a poll recently about welfare recipients being required to take drug tests. I didn't get a very large response (16) but most everyone (15) thought it was a good idea with the exception of 1 vote not being sure. No one was against it. There are several states considering requiring welfare recipients to take such tests. The following article is from Fox News.
States Consider Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients

Thursday, March 26, 2009

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.

Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.

The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.

"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Viginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Blair is proposing the most comprehensive measure in the country, as it would apply to anyone applying for food stamps, unemployment compensation or the federal programs usually known as "welfare": Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Women, Infants and Children.

Lawmakers in other states are offering similar, but more modest proposals.

On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate. In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving TANF benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii. A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.

A January attempt in the Arizona Senate to establish such a law failed.

In the past, such efforts have been stymied by legal and cost concerns, said Christine Nelson, a program manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures. But states' bigger fiscal crises, and the surging demand for public assistance, could change that.

"It's an example of where you could cut costs at the expense of a segment of society that's least able to defend themselves," said Frank Crabtree, executive director of the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Drug testing is not the only restriction envisioned for people receiving public assistance: a bill in the Tennessee Legislature would cap lottery winnings for recipients at $600.

There seems to be no coordinated move around the country to push these bills, and similar proposals have arisen periodically since federal welfare reform in the 1990s. But the appearance of a cluster of such proposals in the midst of the recession shows lawmakers are newly engaged about who is getting public assistance.

Particularly troubling to some policy analysts is the drive to drug test people collecting unemployment insurance, whose numbers nationwide now exceed 5.4 million, the highest total on records dating back to 1967.

"It doesn't seem like the kind of thing to bring up during a recession," said Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "People who are unemployed, who have lost their job, that's a sympathetic group. Americans are tuned into that, because they're worried they'll be next."

Indeed, these proposals are coming at a time when more Americans find themselves in need of public assistance.

Although the number of TANF recipients has stayed relatively stable at 3.8 million in the last year, claims for unemployment benefits and food stamps have soared.

In December, more than 31.7 million Americans were receiving food stamp benefits, compared with 27.5 million the year before.

The link between public assistance and drug testing stems from the Congressional overhaul of welfare in the 1990s, which allowed states to implement drug testing as a condition of receiving help.

But a federal court struck down a Michigan law that would have allowed for "random, suspicionless" testing, saying it violated the 4th Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure, said Liz Schott, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

At least six states — Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia — tie eligibility for some public assistance to drug testing for convicted felons or parolees, according to the NCSL.

Nelson said programs that screen welfare applicants by assigning them to case workers for interviews have shown some success without the need for drug tests. These alternative measures offer treatment, but can also threaten future benefits if drug problems persist, she said.

They also cost less than the $400 or so needed for tests that can catch a sufficient range of illegal drugs, and rule out false positive results with a follow-up test, she said.