Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

Here is a pattern for an afghan that is promoted as a Christmas afghan but would be suitable anytime of the year by using  non-Christmas colors.  Afghans seem to promote the coziness of a home and this one looks relatively easy to make.  Enjoy...








Search Amazon.com for christmas crafts

The Chis Looking Out...

DH and one of our sons cut little windows in the privacy fence when they built it.  Here are a few pictures.  Do any of you remember the show Bewitched?  I have nicknamed the chis and my husband the "Kravitz family" after the busybody neighbor on the show.

Inside the fence look at chis' window

Outside look at their window

Nellie Belle and Opi looking out at me

Search Amazon.com for dog door

A Bit of Humor--Duck Style!

I received this in an email and I thought that I would share it with you. It took awhile to locate an embeddable version but I did and here it is. We all need a laugh now and then and I hope this does it for you. Hugs...

Spam Comments on Blog!!!

One of my posts was repeatedly getting spam comments.  It was for the 27th of December and was about the anniversary of Howdy Doody.  I changed the video and still got spam.  So, I deleted the post.  So, if anyone is looking for that post (probably not anyway), it is gone.

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

Bonus Monday!  Two patterns today:

The first is the Mei-Mei Crochet Jacket.  It is a short jacket, some may call it a shrug, and the pattern has 6 sizes.  


The next pattern is for Gem's Bootie Socks.  Cute socks that you might be able to use as lightweight slippers in the summer.


Happy hooking!

Crab Apple Tree for Barney

I love flowers and I'm getting more and more away from annuals and into flowering bushes, trees and perennials. This is what we planted in memory of Barney.  Here are a couple pics.

Search Amazon.com for flowering bush

A Cute Round Ripple Baby/Toddler Blanket is Finished!

On the 9th, my entry showed a partial view of one of my wips (work in progress) and I said that I'd let you guess what it is.  No one guessed but I'll show you the completed item anyway.  It is a round ripple blanket almost 48" point to point.  It is a good size to wrap a baby in or cover a toddler up with.  I made this for a baby, gender unknown.  I fussed over the choice of a color to coordinate with the off-white.  I think this should do nicely--not too girlie or too boyish.  Here it is:

And here is a closer look at the edging:

Search Amazon.com for baby names and meaning

So What Have I Been Crocheting Lately?

For a while, I haven't posted much on my crochet projects.  There is a reason for that.  The first reason is that I finished a dishcloth and I promised you no more dishcloths for a while.  Honestly, I forgot I had this one almost completed in the bottom of my purse!  You know, it's what I call one of my "purse projects!"  So, here it is:

I've also been making a bunch of granny squares out of burgundy and assorted gray yarns to assemble into a throw for a chair in my living room.  The chair's upholstery is rather blah and I think a nice throw will give it a little pizazz.  Since the yarn is all coming from my stash I haven't had to spend money on this project.  Last fall, the gray yarn was a great buy at only 50 cents a skein at Goodwill!  The burgundy was a mill ends I had gotten sometime ago.  Guess I'm just jabbering away a lot here so I'll just hush-up and post a picture of the squares:

Finally, a sneak peek at another wip (work in progress). Of course, I'll post a completed project sometime soon.  Any guesses on what this might be?  I'm using a 2nd color but I'm not showing that until I'm finished with this project.

Y'all have a great day!  Hugs...Sharon

Happy Easter!

Hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of yummy chocolate!  Wishing you a blessed day with your family and friends.  Hugs....Sharon
p.s.--to hear this without the blog's music playing over it, scroll down the column on your right and mute the music player.

The Bread Revolt

Virginia governor John L. Letcher

On 02 April 1863, the Bread Revolt took place in Richmond, VA when the governor refused to meet with women who were desperate because of spiraling inflation and the inability of working families to afford food and other necessities.  The new tax laws didn't help this situation.  The women attacked and looted local businesses. This took place during the Civil War.

Gone But In Our Hearts Forever

Barney

Faithful Friend

Child of Our Hearts

October 1994 - March 31, 2010

Last Photo of Barney

WWII History In Art

I received this in an email and thought I'd share it with you.  You can go to the column on your right and scroll down to the music player and turn off the blogs music so you can hear this video.

This video shows the winner of 2009's " Ukraine 's Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $75,000.

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears.

She quickly becomes  an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

An art critic said:"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or

paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."

We'll Miss You Barney

Barney is 15 1/2 years old.  She has been a wonderful friend.  Tomorrow she goes to the vet and won't be coming home again. I don't know how to explain what a wonderful family member she has been.  She moved around with us before dh retired from the navy.  She lived with us in Oklahoma, California, Illinois and Kentucky.  She has really been tolerant of the 2 little chis we adopted.  When she was in good health, if one would play too rough with the other she'd just use her paw and push the rough one out of the way. She was always full of love for everyone and always was like our child and not a pet.  Barney, I'm so sorry that your time is so short, go with love...

Monday's Link for Free Crochet Pattern

With weather getting warmer, it's time to start crocheting smaller projects.  Afghan crocheting in the heat can be uncomfortable to say the least.  Here is a project that fits the bill for warm weather crocheting.  It is a clothespin angel that you can crochet oodles of in the spring and  summer and then use to decorate your tree or embellish Christmas presents with.  So here's the link.  Enjoy!

Old Time Music

Gosh this is an oldie I remember my dad playing when I was a kid.  Just had to share this bit of nostalgia with you.   For some reason I always remember this song.  Maybe because my dad was a trumpet player??   Anyway, to better listen to this go to the column on your right and scroll down to the music player and click on the 2 parallel lines to turn off the blog's music so that you can listen to this music video.

Confusion Over Census

Many people are confused this year about the census.  Some people are confused and think that the census is invading their privacy.  Not true.  There are penalties for census workers even if they get nosy and want to check out celebrities information.  Violators will be prosecuted and receive jail time as a penalty.  The Census Bureau does NOT share information with other organizations including law enforcement.  The information that is on the forms is classified for 72 years and after that it is released to the public.  The only information released prior to that is statistical.

The forms--there is only 1 official form this year.  Of course, if you didn't get a form you  may pick up another but it will not have your address preprinted on it.  There are versions in 6 different languages and there are aids to help with other languages and they all have the same questions.  There is NO long form.  There are only 10 questions for everyone on the official census.  I'm working with the Census Bureau and we went through training on this so I'm not just talking about something I heard about on streets.

Just fill out the forms with out worry as Americans have every 10 years since 1790.  It will help to ensure proper representation in Congress and allocation of federal funds.
Link to Census Bureau

Winding Down With the Dishcloths

I'm winding down with my temporary obsession with crocheting dishcloths.  This one I goofed on.  I was supposed to be crocheting in the back loops only but for some unknown reason, I crocheted in both loops in one row.  Where was my brain?  Am I going to frog it and correct that mistake?  Heck no!  I put it in the cupboard with my other dishcloths and not in the gift drawer.  Anyway, many of my readers are very talented crocheters but some aren't so this just goes to show that no matter how long you have been crocheting (off and on since the 1970s in my case),  mistakes happen and for something like a dishcloth for my own use, who cares lol!  Take care everyone and see you later...

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!

Thoughts About Substitute Teaching...

When I went into substitute teaching a few years ago I really had the naive belief that I could "make a difference" and help maintain a sense of "normalcy" while the regular teacher was absent. How very naive I was! Here are some situations that often come up and prevent this.

* I have a degree in history with a minor in library science. I would find it helpful if the teacher would leave their teacher's text available for me to consult. I'm sorry, even though I've had advanced science courses I have no confidence in my abilities to be able to explain to students the chemical difference of lactase and lactose. Sorry, it's not happening for me or the students.

* On the same note, if the students are to do work sheets, an answer key would be helpful. In math classes, time permitting, I will try to work out the problems ahead of time so that I can help students if the need arises.

* To take accurate attendance, I need an up-to-date class roster--not one that is several months old and has kids listed that have transferred out of the school or new students that aren't listed.

*  If there is a class seating chart, I need a current one.  Seating charts are handy because I can know who to leave nice comments about or in some cases not so nice.  I will always try to give you positive notes even when I've had a few rough patches.

* It would be handy to have the class schedule listed and the time the class starts and ends especially if the class has lunch in the middle of it and the students return to finish up after lunch.  Along with this, it would be nice to know if the sub is supposed to escort the class to other classes or lunch.  At some middle schools the kids go on their own but there is also a high school in the district where the teacher escorts the students to and from lunch.

* If the school says no MP3s, IPods, cell phones or other electronic devices allowed then why do some teachers allow them and put the sub in the position of having to decide whether or not to go by the teacher's policy or the schools???

* Dress code--if the school says no sagging pants with underwear showing then why are some students still losing their drawers when they stand up??? I had a student, when I was a PE sub, trip over his pants when they fell down during a basketball game!

* I don't make that much money as a sub so why do I end up providing pens, pencils and paper to students? My theory is if they can afford more expensive sneakers than I can then they can bring their own school supplies. One of these years, I'm going to keep track of how many pens and pencils I pick off the floor at the end of the day.  Hmmmm, might want to do that with how much blank paper is down there too.

*  Lesson plans--they're great to have.  Keep them brief and to the point.  I don't have time to study them and memorize a bunch of procedures.

Guess you can tell I had a rough day today. The kids weren't bad just had hyperdeveloped socialization skills they were practicing. Lots of confusion because of sub shortage. I mean it could have been worse, I could have been hit in the head by flying objects (again), called the b word (again) or had smart-alecky attitudes (again) from the students. None of those things happened and I really enjoyed the kids.  I just wished they'd have been quieter and the 2 other teachers wouldn't have had to come into the room and "hush" them. 

I know it is tough for the teachers too--they don't get to have much input with the sub and the sub has no follow-through with situations that occurred during their assignments.  I promise to honestly report what has happened during your absence and not focus on the negative.  All we can do is try our best.

Here's Another Dishcloth and Potholder

Here's another potholder and dishcloth.  I'm packing these and the ones I made the other day and mailing them to my uncle.  I think he'll like them.  The potholders aren't "pretty" but they are practical and a bit over-sized and will be a good fit for a man with big hands.

Do any of you have problems deciding what to use for backgrounds when taking photos of your crochet projects?  I'm running out of ideas.  I use the grass when weather is good and grass is green, my black coat is another choice, the dishcloth on this post is set on a table runner on my coffee table, and today's potholder is on a chair in the living room.  I'm out of ideas so please everyone, leave me a comment on any new ideas you may have.

Take care all...