Using a Butterfly Loom

I found a good deal on a butterfly loom a couple years ago. I haven't used it yet. This video has me ready to break it out and start making some pretty scarves or perhaps throws with it. Dh has fits when I buy something like the butterfly loom and then don't use it so perhaps I need to get busy with it. Has anyone made anything with a butterfly loom? What was your experience with it? Was it easy? Did you like what you made? Let me know. Ok, that's it for now. Hope you enjoy the video.

On 21 April 1689 William III and Mary II Become King & Queen

On April 21,1689 William III & Mary Stuart were proclaimed king & queen of England. Their marriage was largely a political alliance. William III and Mary were first cousins and Mary was 12 years younger than William. Willliam was not faithful--he maintained a long affair with one of Mary's ladies in waiting Elizabeth Villiers. William arrive in England with troops and took over the rule after the abdication of Mary's father James II. James abdicated under pressure because he had tried to make alliances with Catholic countries and this was not popular with Parliament and landowners in England. To read a fairly detailed although short article about William III aka William of Orange go to this page. You may a read a short article about Mary II here.
More about William of Orange

Crochet WIP

OK, I know I said I wasn't going to post a picture of this rr afghan I'm making until it was finished. Well, my ds posted this picture on his myspace and I snagged it and here it is lol! This is Aggie May's pattern from crochetville.org. My addiction for these afghans continues... Anyway, this afghan will be for my uncle. It is the 2nd afghan for him. The first afghan I made him was granny squares and boy did it take a looooong time to make. I hope he likes this one. I have to get back to work on it. Hugs to all...

A Look at Dating in Mid-20th Century

According to Planned Parenthood, about 10 percent of teenage girls in the U.S. become pregnant before age 20 (see article here). That's a pretty scary statistic. Do you wonder what it was like when our parents or perhaps grandparents were teens? The video here is an educational video about dating from 1949. WOW! Things have changed tremendously since then. Remember, you can turn my blog's music off so it will be easier to listen to this video. Hugs to all...
Teenage Dating

Not so Sedentary Lately

I've been working this temp. job for the Census Bureau. I go door-to-door and put dots on a map for where the addresses for residences are. Not too difficult but rather exhausting for an old sedentary lady like me. I'd rather spend my day doing one of three things: reading, crocheting or surfing the Internet. Honestly, I actually enjoy the walking especially when the houses are close together otherwise I have to hop in and out of my car and that's not so much fun. Anyway, things on the home front are starting to fall apart--ok, not starting but have already! I saw this picture and thought it very appropriate lol! Hugs to all...

Susan Boyle--"Cry Me a River"

This lady is fantastic! Her style is reminiscent of the 1940s. What a wonderful talent. To listen to this song, you may want to go to the other column on this page and turn off the sound to my music player. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did. Hugs to all...

My Take-Out from Taco Bell--Mighty Skimpy

I suppose most of you have seen sizes of many products shrink. Cereal and ice cream are two that immediately come to mind. Fast food places have jumped on the bandwagon. Today, I brought home a bag of tacos from Taco Bell. Well, if I didn't have my glasses on I would have been hard-pressed to see the meat. Here's a picture of the delightful taco that one could almost say was "meat-flavored" instead of having meat. Does anyone else have a similar story to relate?

My GGranddaughter--American Idol

My ggranddaughter is a great songstress. She's a regular diva! Before you play this go to the other column and turn off the old-fogey music.

Thomas Jefferson's Thoughts on National Debt

Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Plumer on July 21, 1816;

"I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared."

To see a copy of this letter in Jefferson's handwriting visit this page at the Library of Congress online. William Plumer was a politician in the new country of the United States. You may read a short article on him at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Thomas Jefferson Store

OCD kicks in

Guess my OCD kicked 'cause I'm making another round ripple afghan. This time I'm making one in gold, black and white. I started it not knowing who was going to receive it. After talking to my uncle, he told me that he was seriously considering getting a place in Florida. So, I decided that this would be a housewarming present for him. You're probably wondering why I said my OCD kicked in. Well, I don't really have OCD, I just get hooked on certain things and do them over and over again like make the rr afghan and this one pair of slippers. For a while there I was hooked (no pun intended) on making dishcloths. I have gotten a bit slower on cranking out the round ripples so I'm not going to post a picture quite yet and leave you hanging waiting to see the final result. Take care everyone and hugs to all...

On 06 April 774, Charles the Great Affirms Promise of Quiercy

On this day in 774 Charles the Great affirms Pepin the Short's promise of Quiercy. OK, that's nice but who the heck is Charles the Great and what is Pepin's promise of Quiercy??? You may have heard of Charles the Great by his other moniker--Charlemagne. The Medieval Sourcebook gives a little more information about him that you may be interested in. Pepin (also spelled Pippin) was Charles the Great's father. Anyway, Pepin's promise of Quiercy was to restore to the Catholic church some lands in Central Italy. Pepin did not have these lands, they had to be taken from their conquerors before this could be done. The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia has a good article about this. Scroll down the page to "Intervention of the Franks Formation of the States of the Church" to read about this event.

Granny Square Baby Blankie--Finished!

I had a ufo (unfinished object) for sometime that I was kind of frustrated with. Was it hard to do???? Nope, not at all. I was frustrated because I didn't notice the yarn was to be hand washed only. Dang, that's not practical for a baby blanket. I finished it this morning (see the above pics) and after I wash some "necessaries" I'm going to try machine washing it and see how it turns out. I'll let you know how my "laundry experiment" ends up. I didn't have a plan to give this to a baby, I was just making it because the yarn is so "pettable" and I thought it would be great for a special baby sometime in the future. As for the pattern, I started making a big granny square and just kept at it. I edged it with ww yarn in complementary colors. If you are interested in making something like this (you'll probably make a smarter yarn choice than I did lol)-- there are numerous granny square patterns available for free on the Internet and by googling you should be able to find one. Hugs...

Dishcloth Made from Afghan Square

Here is a dishcloth I finished making today. It was one of those carry-in-my-purse projects. I used a pattern for an afghan square to do this. The colors are kinda blah, but they'll do to wash dishes with. The following video will show you how to make this square; the difference in what I did is that I made my final round sc instead of dc. Why don't you try this and let me know how yours turned out? Best wishes and hugs....

"Chocolate Mint" RR Afghan Finished at Last!

At last I finally finished this afghan. It is wider than my 6'1" husband is tall! I wanted to use up some yarn I had been hoarding and I did use almost all but a little ball of the green, but I do have enough brown and tan to make several pairs of slippers. It is really hard for me to judge how much yarn I need so I often over-buy. I bought the tan specifically for this project but I think it looks better with 3 colors instead of 2 anyway. I have a cute picture of one of my chis posing on it but he wanted that picture posted on his blog so you'll have to go there to see it lol! Hugs to all...