Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

Winter's Coming!!!!!!  Ok, so there are a few months to go but for the crocheter, summer is a good time to work on small projects like mittens.  Here's an interesting pair of mittens to make for this winter.  Good to make for gifts or for yourself.  Go ahead and check them out.  Hugs...

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Silly me, I posted this early.  Guess it's better early than a few days late like I've done before.  :)

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

Here's a cute pattern to crochet a cabled sweater for a special fur baby.  I always like dressing my wee ones up for the winter and if I ever get my current projects under control I might try to size this one down for one of my chihuahuas. That's a big if though lol! Enjoy...

Creeps Leaving Comments

Some creep has been leaving not-so-nice comments here.  It's a good thing that I moderate my comments.  I don't think many of you would like to see comments about "adult" sites or that sort of thing.  If the creep is reading this then you need to cease and desist NOW.  I will not allow any comments of this sort to be posted here.  Get a life...!

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern--Late This Week...Sorry

Because of a technical difficulty (a brain dysfunction) this weeks free pattern is a few days late.  :(  Without further ado or excuses here it is.  This is a cute pattern for an angel themed baby blanket.  Enjoy...!

Is Being Patriotic Just a Fad for Some?

On Memorial Day and Independence Day we see a fervor of patriotism.  Red, white and blue banners and flags festoon buildings, homes and cemeteries.   Sometimes I substitute teach in high schools.  Many times the kids will sit in their seats and eat breakfast, talk with friends and generally ignore the Pledge of Allegiance!  I was told that the kids have a choice about saying the Pledge.  I guess they must have a choice about showing respect for their peers who are reciting the Pledge too! When things like the census comes around every 10 years many folks slam their doors in the enumerators' faces and don't want the government into their business.  The feeling is that the government is too big and has too much power.  Let's change the scenario a bit.  Disaster strikes be it a hurricane or huge oil spill offshore.  Then, we want Washington, D.C. to make it all better IMMEDIATELY!   The thing is folks, we all need to vote and participate when called upon.  Representation in the House of Representatives is based on population folks so we need to be sure to be counted.  So, be proactive, not reactive,  fill out your census forms and vote.

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Go here to learn how one man RECORDED his call from the scammer "Credit Card Services." I do NOT recommend doing this but it is interesting to know how shameless these scammers are! I recently wrote about my experience with this hoax. Be careful folks!

Almost Forgot to Show This Project

Here is a lapghan that I have made to donate.  I have problems with joining squares and having the edges turn out "funny."  I had read somewhere on the Internet to omit the chains in the corners on the final round when making squares.  Didn't work for me this time! I think I did put an extra single crochet between squares and that may be what caused the ruffle effect.  I'll have to try something else the next time.  I still have the gray and claret colored squares to join.  I did not omit the chains in the square corners so I'll have to see how that turns out! In one direction, I whip stitched the squares together and the other I crocheted them.  This would have been my third lapghan for donation but I used one to wrap my poor Barney in when she went to the vet to be put to sleep.  I'd like to make about 1/2 dozen and then donate them. I'm not too fast though--these squares have been made since last year except I decided to make it a little larger and had to make another rows worth. Thanks for stopping in! Hugs...Sharon

Why I Have a Copyright Mark on Some Photos

Every now and then, you will see a photo on my blog that I have posted a copyright statement on.  Why do I do this you ask?  I do this because there is one individual who haunts my blog to see photos of my sons and then badmouths me.  So, if he wants to save copies of my photos then he has to deal with the copyright mark on them.  If any of my real, true friends want copies without the copyright mark then send me a message and I will happily send you a "clean" copy of the photo.  Sorry for the inconvenience...  Hugs Sharon


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Backyard Fun Memorial Day Weekend!

We got the pool filled with water and the hot tub too in time for Saturday's cookout on Memorial Day Weekend.  DH and Son #1 (aka Matthew or Matt) opened the pool and the hot tub.  Opi enjoyed the time just relaxing on the outdoor furniture.  Here's a hint that may help you save money.  In our community, we can checkout  a meter that measures the amount of water we use outdoors.  This is water that doesn't go in the sewer and that way we don't have to pay for sewer costs on the water that goes through the meter!  With a pool, pond, hot tub and garden we use more than a few bucketfuls outside.  At the end of summer, we will return the meter to the water company and they will do a reading on it and we'll get a credit on our water/sewer bill.  Pretty nifty huh?

Memorial Day--Honoring Our Military Heroes

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  It was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May [passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays], though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.  Go to the Memorial Day History page to see the source of this information and read more about this holiday.  Below is a Universal Newsreel that contains one segment about the celebration of Memorial Day in 1945.

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

It's that time of the year for cookouts and lots of fun outdoors.  Here's a pattern for your own crochet cookout.  It's a cute little hotdog that you can use for decoration or a child's toy.  Have fun!

It's The Big 5 Oh!

Happy birthday baby brother!!!

Unwanted Phone Calls Trying to Scam!!!

I keep getting phone calls from a company called Credit Card Services.  At least that's what they call themselves.  My caller ID says "unknown caller" and no telephone number is displayed.  The offer of reducing interest rates on credit cards to less than 7% sounded good but I wasn't born yesterday and know better than to give financial information out over the phone when I did not initiate the call!  I am on the Do Not Call List but I don't have a number for the jerks to report them!  Anyone have any ideas of what to do about these jerks?  Once again, I told the person to take my name off his list.  He said I was on his call list because I agreed to take phone calls about offers from 3rd parties....NOT!  Anyway, the little bit of sleuthing I've done on the Internet shows that other folks are fed up with getting phone calls from them too.  Check out what some people have to say here.  Just venting here.  My home time is private time and not time for idiots like these.  I promise to be nicer next time I blog.  Sharon
PS  I get calls from these people every week or 2 for more than a year.  I'm fed up with them!


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On This Day 27 May in 1883, Oscar Wilde Imprisioned

On May 27th, 1883 Oscar Wilde was sent to prison and ordered to perform hard labor after being found guilty of sodomy (homosexuality) two days before.  This was such an embarrassment to his wife Constance that she moved with their two children to Switzerland and changed their last name to Holland.

Here is one poem written by Wilde:

Poem: Easter Day

The silver trumpets rang across the Dome:

The people knelt upon the ground with awe:
And borne upon the necks of men I saw,
Like some great God, the Holy Lord of Rome.
Priest-like, he wore a robe more white than foam,
And, king-like, swathed himself in royal red,
Three crowns of gold rose high upon his head:
In splendour and in light the Pope passed home.
My heart stole back across wide wastes of years
To One who wandered by a lonely sea,
And sought in vain for any place of rest:
‘Foxes have holes, and every bird its nest.
I, only I, must wander wearily,
And bruise my feet, and drink wine salt with tears.’


To learn more about Wilde you may visit these sites

• The Long Conversion of Oscar Wilde
• The Official Web Site of Oscar Wilde

To read more poetry by Wilde you may visit this page on Project Gutenberg and scroll down to Wilde's name.

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

Here's a link for a free pattern to crochet a cute dog toilet paper cover.  I know many folks don't care for these but for those who do this is a cute one and it may look nice in a kids' bathroom.  So, here it is!  Enjoy...

Snipes Lament

What is a snipe in the navy?  WikiAnswers defines it as--"Snipe" in the Navy is an enlisted person in an engineering rating, specifically those rates that work below the waterline in Engineering Main Propulsion spaces. They include Machinist's Mates, Boiler Techs and Electrician's Mate. Here is a poem composed by an Anonymous author about snipes:


"Snipes Lament"

Now each of us from time to time, has gazed upon the sea,
and watched the warships pulling out, to keep this country free.
And most of us have read a book, or heard a rusty tale,
about the men who sail these ships, through lightning wind and hail.

But there's a place within each ship, that legend fails to tell.
It's down below the waterline, it takes a living toll---
a hot metal living hell, that sailors call the “Hole.”

It houses engines run by steam, that makes the shafts go round,
a place of fire and noise and heat, that beats your spirits down.
Where boilers are a hellish heart, with blood of angry steam;
these molded gods without remorse, like nightmares in a dream.

Whose threat that from the fires roar, is like a living doubt,
that any minute without scorn, could escape and crush you out.
Where turbines scream like tortured souls, alone and lost in hell,
as ordered from above somewhere, they answer every bell.

The men who keep the fires lit, and make the engines run,
are strangers to the world of light, and rarely see the sun.
They have no time for man or god, no tolerance for fear.
Their aspect pays no living thing, the tribute of a tear.

There's not much that men can do, that these men have not done.
Beneath the decks, deep in the hole, to make the engines run.
And every hour of every day, they keep their watch in hell,
for if the fires ever fail, their ships a useless shell.

When ships converge to have a war, upon an angry sea,
the men below just grimly smile at what their fate might be.
They're locked below like men 'fore doomed, who hear no battle cry,
it's well assumed that if they're hit, the men below will die.

For ever day's a war down there, when the gages all read red,
six hundred pounds of heated steam, can kill you mighty dead.
So if you ever write their sons, or try to tell their tale,
the very words should make you hear a fired furnace wail.

And people as a general rule, don't hear of these men of steel,
So little is heard about this place, that sailors call “the hole”.
But I can sing about this place and try to make you see,
the hardened life of men down there, 'cause one of them is me.

I've seen these sweat soaked heros fight, in superheated air
to keep their ship alive and right, though no one knows they're there
And thus they'll fight for ages on, 'til steamships sail no more,
amid the boiler's mighty heat, and turbine's hellish roar.

So when you see a ship pull out, to meet a warlike foe,
Remember faintly, if you can, “The men who sail below”
-Author Unknown


The Boiler Technician rating has been dissolved and the Boiler Techs have been absorbed into the Machinist Mate rating.  Times they are a changing (sigh).

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

With Memorial Day coming up, I thought you might like to do something patriotic in memory of our service members.  Anyway, here is a pattern for a patriotic wreath.

A Couple More Links for Round Afghans.

I have posted a couple new links for round afghans.  You may find a list of all the links here.  And here are the new links!

• 7-Point Star
• Woodland Circle Afghan

Have fun!

I Have a Mutated Rose Bush!

I have this climbing rose bush that has gorgeous orange roses. Well, it's supposed to have orange roses.  Last year, the early blooms were RED and subsequent blooms were orange.  This year, the first blooms were a  mixture of big orange and little red.  Hmmmm, the bush is crazy like the rest of us here lol!.  Anyway, here's a picture to check it out.

My garden with the exception of some garlic is planted.  The blue jays think I put out a buffet dinner for them.  I have to send the "babies"--Nellie Belle and Opi out to guard the veggies.  Right now, it's a challenge to see who will get the benefit of the vegetables--the birds or us.


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SNL: Their Take on the 2010 Census

Recently Betty White appeared on Saturday Night Live.  She was in this hilarious skit on the census.  This struck home for me.  I recently finished classes to work in another phase of the 2010 Census.  I'll be going door-to-door starting Monday and I'm looking forward to seeing if any of the households I visit are like this one!  Enjoy!
You may go to the column on your right hand side and mute the blog's music player to better here the videos audio.