A Glitch in Finishing Blanket Tonight

I'm crocheting along, only a few minutes to go and my latest project is finished. When to to my wondering eyes should appear but a "lump" on my project.

Seems that Nellie Belle wanted some attention and since she's now an only child, the yarn and hook were put aside and it was time for some cuddling.

I'll finish the blanket tomorrow and then we'll probably have some more "quality time". 

Take care,

Sharon

Have You Seen One of These?

My Nellie Belle loves this stuffed animal. She takes it to bed with us every night and it is the only toy she brings in from outside. She has just about loved it to death. I've mended it several times and the fabric is starting to rot. I've been looking for a replacement in stores and online but no luck. I've tried substituting similar stuffed animals but once again, no luck. The manufacturer's tag is no longer legible so that's a dead-end. I got it several years ago at Big Lots.  Have you seen one of these anywhere? Please let me know if you have so I can get her a new one.

Kids in Their Christmas Sweaters

Opi and Nellie Belle wish you a merry Christmas.

I'm Doing a CAL--Making Something for My Babies :)

The other day, I told you about an upcoming CAL to crochet summer hats for your K9 children. Sara of Posh Pooch Designs has put the day 1 instructions out. Today is pretty simple and all you'll need is your measuring tape. My Opi cooperated for this and his little head is 10". I tried to chase Nellie Belle down but she's not cooperating so I'll have to wait until later when she's less suspicious of me. I think I'm going to enjoy this CAL. I'm trying to figure out what embellishments to use on these hats though. I'll figure something out. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's creations.

Here's a couple pictures of my "kids."

Nellie Belle

Opi

My "kids" aren't going to be happy with me after today. Starting tomorrow, they're going on a diet of allergen-free dog food. They both get allergies, Opi pretty bad sometimes, so we're taking them off all goodies and the special Sunday dinners (canned food) and after 6 weeks, we'll reintroduce things one at a time to see if we can figure out what triggers the allergies. They're not going to like it...

Summer's in the Air

I'm loving the weather we're having right now. It's warm but not hot. The air conditioner doesn't need to be turned on yet and clothes are drying on the line so this month is one of the few that the utility company doesn't get to empty our wallet.

The pool is filling getting ready for us to start cooling off in this summer.

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The cucumber plant has buds already. This cucumber plant is a pickle cucumber and it is a bush instead of a vine. Sounded unusual and a bit of a space saver so I decided to try it.

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The clematis has grown like crazy and has beautiful purple flowers.

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And romance is in the air for Nellie Belle and her stuffed Julio!

Nellie is really cute when she plays with her Julio but she ALWAYS stops as soon as I grab the camera!

That's it for now. Have a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday for 25 April 2012

I've started working on one of my ufos and I should be finishing it up soon. It's going to be a nice, warm shawl that I plan to wear with jeans or denim skirts this fall and winter. The yarn I'm using is Caron Dazzleaire that I found at the Dollar Tree.

Here's a look at my progress:

A closeup look at the yarn:

The pattern I'm using is very basic. I found it somewhere on the Internet years ago and neglected to include the url or other reference. If someone knows who to give credit to let me know, but it is such a basic thing that it might not belong to anyone. Anyway, here it is:

Basic Half Granny Square Shawl:
Ch 4
Row 1: 2dc ch2 3dc in fourth Ch from hook. Ch 3 turn. (ch3 = first dc now and throughout)
Row 2: 2dc in first dc, (3dc ch2 3dc) in next sp (in between 3dc groups), 3 dc in top of turning chain. Ch 3 turn.
Row 3: 2dc in first dc, 3 dc in next sp, (3dc ch2 3dc, Point made) in next
sp, 3dc in next sp, 3dc in last dc.
Repeat row 3 until the shawl is the desired size. Then add a border, fringe or finish however else you may want.


And here's my never-ending piece of work--Nellie Belle!

Don't Forget Mother's Day.

Did You Ever Crochet Something Goofy?

I am currently working on a project that is a bit off the beaten track for me. I just wanted to make something fun so I am. I'm not going to spoil it and tell you what it is but I'll let you know that I had to crochet 30 round motifs as part of it. I think I have about a 1/2 hour or so of actual crocheting left then there is the loathed assembly and weaving in of the fearsome ends. I hope to have this project finished in a day or 2 and then I'll do the grand reveal;-).

Had a nice Valentine Day. It was son #1's usual day to do laundry but he made brownies while he was here too. Son #2 came over on his dinner break at work and had his meal here. DH gave me a stash of chocolate--a heart full of peanut butter cups and an assortment of other chocolate. We had pizza from one of our favorite places--Papa Murphy's. For those of you who don't know about Papa Murphy's, you buy a pizza from them but then you have to bake it at home. They assemble the pizza as you watch. Our favorite is loaded with all the meats, pineapple and extra cheese. It is so Yummy!

Much to my little girl's distress, I dressed her up in honor of the holiday but she ran right to her dad to be undressed.

Later on, both "kids" cuddled up with their dad in the recliner amid a pile of throws--

Take care everyone...

New Year and New Beginnings...

In my last post, I alluded to some things that I probably shouldn't have. My extended family has some "issues" that at times are overwhelming to me and I just about blurted some of them out in my last post and I'm sorry about that.

I had to put this picture here of Nellie Belle and dh. Nellie B. hates to have clothes on but I kind of made her wear her Santa suit on Christmas Eve.

I would like to post the project that I'm working on but since it is a gift to one of my blog readers I can't. That's you LJS lol! After I give it to her, then I'll post a picture. Anyway it's a sweater for her sweet little furbaby, Oodie and I hope to get a picture of Oodie wearing it.

That's about it. Think I'll make some more cookies.

Hugs to all and prayers that this year will be a better one for all of us.

Babies Went to the Vet

The kids went to the vet today. They had to have a checkup and get some of their shots. It is amazing to see our diva--Nellie Belle--become a timid and scared little girl when she is usually a rambunctious alpha dog. Opi was his usual calm self. Here's my kids:

Opi with his dad

Opi's shirt had "attitude"

Nellie Belle

My husband gets a kick out of me dressing the "kids" up to see the vet. I told him that it was like when I was a kid and my mom would make sure we were all cleaned up to see the doctor and that our underwear didn't have holes in them lol!

Hope y'all are having a great week...

My FurBaby Model Went into Hiding

I made Nellie Belle a shrug based on this pattern. After having her try it on 3 times for "fittings" she ran off to bed with dh. That is totally out of personality for Nellie B--usually she has to be the last one up. Anyway, I'll "capture" her tomorrow and have her model it for you.

Nellie is Kickin' Back with Dad...

Just thought I'd share this cute picture of Nellie Belle. This is the position you'll see her in most nights as she cuddles in the recliner by her "daddy" and gets her belly tickled... :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Search Amazon.com for chihuahua calendar 2011 (several versions/prices are available)

Nellie Braved the Cold to Greet Her Daddy

I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Nellie Belle and Ray with you. There are a couple more pictures of the chi kids, ready to greet Ray after work, on their blog.

Look--Ray brought in the mail too--An Annie's Attic Catalog!

Search Amazon.com for annies attic mysteries

Happy Birthday Ray!!!

Today is dh's birthday.  He's 4 1/2 years younger than me--sshhh don't tell anyone!  Here he is coming home from work today and Opi and Nellie Belle are greeting him with balloons. I made him a cake and brought home some KFC--one of his favorites. I told him that we'd go this weekend and he should pick out something for himself. I never know what to get him. I said he should get whatever he wanted as long as it didn't have wheels because he's been talking about Camaros, Harleys and Ford 4x4s.  Men and male menopause geez... ;)

Hope y'all are having a great day too.  Hugs...

Search Amazon.com for male menopause

Missing "Daddy"

My fur babies have been driving me up a tree!  Nellie Belle and Opi are missing their daddy.  DH went on a trip for work last Wednesday and the "kids" have been barking all night at every little creaking noise that the house makes!  Needless to say, I haven't been getting much sleep.  Nellie B's usual habit is to go to the front door  about 5 minutes before dh gets home from work.  Nellie gets a sad look on her face like she's depressed or something when he doesn't come home.  The "kids" have their evening routine interrupted too--there's no daddy to cuddle in the recliner with! Mom isn't much of a recliner person but I've been making an effort to give them some cuddle time there.  I've been missing him too but I know that he'll be back on Friday but they don't understand that.  I let Nellie B. listen to the phone when I talk to him everyday and that perks her up for a bit.  I'm going to put some pics in here and then I'll go spend some quality time with the "babies".  

Here's Opi, moping in his "tent"

Nellie Belle says--"Can't find Daddy anywhere!"

I've had plenty of crochet time but I'm not finishing anything because I've been flitting between 3 different projects.  In a few more days things will get back to normal.  I've been wondering what I used to do when dh was in the Navy and deploying all the time then I remember that I had human kids at home that kept me really busy.  The 3 of us at home now need to get lives or something. ;)  Y'all have a great week!

Nellie Belle With a Big Girl Bone!

Here's my Nellie Belle with a big girl bone.  Usually I post the chi's photos on their blog but no one ever goes there so I thought I'd put this one here for you to see.  Nellie is a prima donna, a real diva.  She is the youngest of our 3 canine kids but she is the alpha dog of the house!

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

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...

Valentine Day 2009

Happy Valentine Day to all my family and friends! A special greeting to Miss Elaine my cousin. She is new to e-mail and deserves a big welcome! Here she is with her "faux" pet named Elizabeth.

Speaking of "faux pets," here is my Nellie Belle with her "faux boyfriend" lol! She loves this toy and at times is even amorous with him--he received a special loving from Nellie Belle for Valentine Day!
This is dggd. She spent the night with me last night. I promised her that we would bake cookies today and she could take some home. Little cutie couldn't even wait to get out of her pajamas! We had a great time. I remember making cookies with an aunt when I was her age and I cherish those memories to this day.

Some of My "Kids"

My son Justin, being the good guy, came over this weekend to help clear fallen tree branches from his Omi's (Oma--German for grandmother) yard. My sweet ggranddaughter came with him. When they were holding the little chis, I just had to group them together for a photo-op! I love how this picture turned out. I really have a handsome son don't I? He doesn't think he's even a little cute but I think he's gorgeous! I may be a little prejudiced but I don't really think so in this case. Hope all my friends and family enjoy it.
I'm finishing up a scarf to color-coordinate with my new hat. Stay tuned for a picture of it. :)
Take care and lots of hugs to you all...

Halloween 2008 at Our House

On Halloween evening, I put Nellie Belle in the family room with a kiddy gate in the doorway to keep her contained. She's a bit ADHD if you know what I mean. But she made the "Great Escape" anyway!

I'm sorry Mommy; I didn't mean to break the gate!

Opi got all dressed up for the event and was loved and petted by many as we sat on the front porch handing out candy to all the ghosts, goblins and princesses!

Opi was really worn out after the evening's excitement so he "crashed" on one of my crochet projects afterwards!

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures today. Hugs to all...