Swimming Record Set 29 July 1940

On this day, 29 July 1940: John Sigmund of St. Louis, MO, completed a 292-mile swim down the Mississippi River. The swim from St. Louis to Caruthersville, MO, took him 89 hours and 48 minutes. In 1955, Antonio Abertondo, tried and failed to break this record. Here is a newspaper article that tells the story of Mr. Abertondo's attempt. The only information I was able to find on Mr. Sigmund was listed on sites that contain "this day in history" information. I usually prefer to give my readers something more substantial to read. Hugs to all...

The Draft in Vietnam July 1965

28 July 1965: US orders 50,000 troops to Vietnam

President Johnson committed a further 50,000 US troops to the conflict in Vietnam.

Monthly draft calls were scheduled to increase from 17,000 to 35,000 - the highest level since the Korean War, when between 50,000 and 80,000 men were called up each month.

"I do not find it easy to send the flower of our youth...into battle." President Johnson

Go here to read more about the draft in the Vietnam War. To read more about the history of the Vietnam War go to this website.

Books on Vietnam War

Movies on Vietnam War

Oldest Ship in US Navy

On July 23, 1954 - A law is passed that states that "The Secretary of the Navy is authorized to repair, equip, and restore the United States Ship Constitution, as far as may be practicable, to her original appearance, but not for active service, and thereafter to maintain the United States Ship Constitution at Boston, Massachusetts." Nicknamed Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy. To read a brief history of this ship you can visit this Naval Historical Center page.

Our Town Has a LYS

I keep meaning to post this information about the lys here that is also a used bookstore. They're very friendly people there. The owner is more than willing to order what you need if they don't have it in stock. If you're wondering what a lys is it is a "local yarn store" and normally is not a chain store. If you're in the area check this one out.

Round Ripple Afghan of Sport Weight Yarn

Here's my last finished projected. It's another round ripple afghan made from the crochet pattern by AggieMay of crochetville. It is made out of 2 shades of blue and one of a light green. It's about 54" from point to point. The yarn is by Red Heart and it is called Designer Sport. I did have a 4th color I was going to use but I couldn't find the yarn until I started the last row. Oh well, I'll probably use it to made some baby things. If you like to made round afghans, I have compiled a list of free patterns you may want to check out. I'm off to weave in the last few ends, wash this and put it in my extra bedroom not-so-affectionately known as the yarn warehouse. I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and come again for a visit. Drop me a note and tell me what you think. Hugs to my readers...
Red Heart Designer Sport Yarn

Golden Birthday!

Today it is my cute little gd's golden birthday! She's ll on the llth of July! Happy birthday Sweetie.

I Started Canning

Yesterday, I started canning my green beans. I had enough beans to can 9 pints. I got a pressure canner this year. The USDA recommends that you can with a pressure canner because it is the only way to get temperatures high enough to kill bacteria spores. I have some packs of veggies left from last year and I plan to divide them up among my 2 sons so they don't go to waste. Last year, I froze vegetables. After having a 5+ day power outage last winter I started thinking how lucky I was that the freezer was in the garage and that the outage was in the winter and not the summer. Concerns over a summer-time power outage was the deciding factor in purchasing a pressure canner. Here's a picture of my jars of beans.

Watch Out for Karma!

A comedy show I've been enjoying lately is My Name is Earl. When I first heard about this show I thought, hmmm, that's one cheesy, low-class show. However, after I watched it I fell in love with the show and the wisdom that karma will get you if you do wrong to someone. Yes, I believe in karma. Here's a story to illustrate that.
In the 1960s, a couple worked very hard to buy and payoff a new home to raise their 3 children in. The husband worked many over-time hours at a factory and the wife worked as a secretary at a car dealership. The kids were put into public schools instead of attending Catholic elementary school as they had previously attended in the old neighborhood. After living in the new house for maybe 14 months, the woman died. She had a CVA, in other words a stroke. She hung on for a few days until the husband was forced to make the hard decision to disconnect her from life-support. At the age of 33 she passed away 11 days before Christmas and the entire family was devastated. Three children were left motherless--a 12 yo, a 9 yo and a 6 yo. A friend of the deceased woman's cousin started setting her snare for the man by taking the kids to museums, buying them clothes flirting with the man at the funeral home and sleeping with him about 5 months later. She was sporting a 1/2 carat solitaire diamond engagement ring before the modest marker was put on the 1st wife's grave. Less than 10 months after the children's mother died, the man and the woman married. Before they were married, she insisted that her name be put on the deed for the house. Did I mention before that said house was paid for? He complied with her wishes. After the marriage, he worked the 3-to-11 shift and rarely saw his children and turned over all their care to the woman. He never spent time with them without the woman. She liberally used corporal punishment and verbal abuse ("your mother wasn't as perfect as you think", "you're never going to amount to anything", and "you're getting out of here when you're 18" and similar comments). She even used wood cutting boards to beat the kids with even when they were 18 years old! Why? This punishment was given for putting the toilet paper up wrong and it unwound from the back instead of the front or maybe for putting the towels in the linen closet and the wrong edges were facing out. The youngest child was easy for her to mold and now doesn't even remember the REAL mother. Still to this day, the woman has alienated and slandered the 2 older children and they are most likely disinherited. She has created fantastical stories about the older children to turn the father against them. Guess I'm going into too many details and straying from karma so let me get back on task. Fast forward to the present. The man and woman have been trying to sell this property for over a year. The property has been used as collateral to support their fancy life-style--boats including a ski boat and 32 footer, RVs, and 2nd homes in Florida. Unfortunately for them, the housing market has soured. The house isn't selling! She had to ensure that she got the house and the children from his first wife lost their home and now she CAN'T GET RID OF IT! I guess you can take a lesson from Earl and say, karma got her!
I believe that if you live your life with a little Christian charity you will experience good karma. I have tried to learn from this example and others. So, that's my story for today. Hope you are not too bored. Hugs to all...

Ta Da! 2 More Pairs of Cozy Slippers!

Here are MORE slippers! The 1st pair is for my uncle in Illinois. He had requested that I make a pair for him a bit larger than the last pair. Should have figured that one out--everyone in the family (esp. me) has kind of big feet lol! The yarn I used is acrylic and the colors are tan and brown. The tan is a Caron brand yarn and the brown is some vintage stuff I had in my stash. The 2nd pair is made out of acrylic yarn of unknown brand. The colors are pretty clear in here--one strand bright red and the other off-white. I am trying to find different settings to use for my photos as you may have noticed in the pic of these slippers. The floor and the grass backgrounds were getting old even to me so I thought I'd look around and try to find something a bit more original. I'm looking around for "different" sorts of places around the house to use. This location is on the rocks surrounding the little backyard pond.

For my readers, I try to include a link to a pattern if I have it so here it is once again for your perusal and use :)!

Easy Hat Pattern I Want to Try

I found reference to this hat pattern while reading posts on crochetville. I checked it out and am really impressed at how easy it seems. I think I'm going to try it as soon as I finish the pair of slippers I'm making. I looked up the yarn she used and it is a medium worsted weight yarn made by Lion Brand Yarns. You could probably make one of these hats using some inexpensive acrylic ww yarn you have in your stash.

Catching Up

I know I haven't posted lately but I do have a ummm reason, er excuse uhhh laziness. Anyway, here are some pictures to show a little bit of what I have been doing.

This is a pair of men's slippers I made. These are tucked away into my gift drawer for a future gift.

Here's another completed "purse project"-- a dishcloth in Christmas colors.

Here is Ray with a Fathers' Day gift from me. It is a German beer stein. To go with the stein, I gave him a really good bottle of beer--Dad's Root Beer!



I made these slippers to give to a friend and her grown children when I visit with them in Illinois. I gave my friend a pair once and the kids always wore them and she never had a chance so now they'll each have their own pair.



We've been enjoying the pool too. Here are our son Justin and ggd Leslie cooling off.

We spent several hours a few days ago cleaning out the pond. It is really nice to be able to see the fish. These fish were originally meant to be feeder fish for other critters but they have survived for several years in the pond at a fraction of the cost of koi. We actually put a real water lily in the pond. The fish like the shade it generates.

FYI the pattern I used for the slippers is found here. The first picture shows a modified version of the pattern.

I hope you have enjoyed today's post. Happy Fathers' Day and hugs to all!

DH was telling me about this video the other day. I looked and looked all over the Internet and couldn't find it. Lo and behold, it came to me in a stumble upon email. Here for your enjoyment is "Whack a Kitty!"

Pretty Scarf for Winter and a Dishcloth

I recently finished a pretty scarf for winter. It is made out of Lion Brand Yarns, suede and a mohair blend. It is washable but should be dried flat. It is a ribbed pattern and is made to drape around the wearers neck and tucked under coat--peeking out a little for show. This is going in my "gift" drawer to be later bestowed on a special recipient. I also made another dishcloth and I've posted the picture here. The dishcloth is a bit large but it is great for washing kitchen counters. Both items are what I call "purse projects;" meaning that they are small enough to carry in a purse and work on while waiting for an appointment or during other unplanned "free time." I hope you enjoy these. Hugs...

Ideas for Using Potholder Looms

On one of the websites that I haunt, I read a post from one gal about some videos on YouTube about using potholder looms to make yarn squares to use in other projects. I thought, hmmm, maybe I can get some use out of that potholder loom that I just had to have. I don't care for the loops that I have because they are made of old nylon stockings/pantyhose and as we all know, that type of material MELTS when exposed to high temperatures. Anyway, here are part 1 and part 2 of the video--
PART 1:

PART 2:


The lady in this video has a site that she sells patterns for using these squares. I think that you could probably make a nice blanket out of them and it would be nice and toasty warm too. These projects can quickly shrink your yarn stash. I hope you have enjoyed this post. Hugs...

Homemade Treatment for Fungus on Rose Bushes

My roses are under attack from black spot fungus. I don’t like to spend a ton of money on chemicals that could be bad for my little Chihuahuas so I've been looking for a less toxic treatment. I have found a few non-toxic homemade remedies that you can try. I’m going to start my treatment today. Here’s a few of the possibilities that you may decide to try. I can’t guarantee these because I found them on the Internet and haven’t tried on my roses yet. A few things to remember are:

· No matter what you do, start with trimming off the damage leaves and limbs. Burn them or toss in trash. They are carriers of the disease and must not be left laying around! Do not compost any diseased parts!!!
· Get a good hand-held sprayer. The empty spray cleaner bottles don’t have enough oomp to them.
· The secret to successful treatment is to spray UNDER THE LEAVES EVERY DAY when your Roses are under attack.
· Do treatment as a preventive measure--don't wait for damage; spray weekly with your treatment of choice.
· It is important to keep roses well watered at the root level during hot days and prevent water from getting onto the leaves, especially before nightfall. Providing good air circulation between roses is vital. This helps dry up the roses more quickly. Good pruning methods and generous spacing between rose bushes when planting (generally 3 feet between hybrid teas and 4 feet between larger rose bushes is recommended). Treat dormant plants with lime sulphur in spring and spray with fungicidal soap.

1. Mix 3 tsp Baking Soda in a bucket of water dissolved with 1 Tbsp dish detergent in a bucket of water. Hose down all leaves before you spray and let them dry. Wait until evening then spray under the dry leaves.
2. Spray with a mixture of equal parts fat free milk and water
3. spray weekly with 1 tsp. baking soda mixed with a quart of water
4. Take a gallon of the basic baking soda recipe above (#3) and add 1 tbsp. fish emulsion, seaweed, Vitamin B1 and molasses
5. Cornmeal fights fungus so a good preventive measure is too sprinkle it at base of your rosebushes
6. A remedy recipe I found at a gardening magazine is to mix the following ingredients with 1 cup water. Add the vinegar last so that the mix won’t bubble over. Pour the mixture into the sprayer and add 1 gallon water. Shake to combine. Spray plants thoroughly. This formulation may need to be reapplied after rain since it tends to wash off. One side benefit to the baking soda spray is that insects don’t love it either! Baking Soda Spray:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 gallon unchlorinated water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp regular flavor Listerine
1 tbsp liquid soap
1 ½ tbsp baking soda
Pump sprayer (large)
7. Some gardeners use stinging nettle spray. It is meant to help plants resist mildew and other diseases such as blackspot and rust. To make: gather 1 pound of stinging nettle plants (use long rubber gloves and protective clothing to prevent from being stung!); crush stinging nettle leaves and put into an old burlap sack or pillow case. Submerge the bag in a one-gallon bucket containing unchlorinated water, cover and let sit in a warm place for a week. Strain mixture through cheesecloth or mesh. Dilute liquid stinging nettle concentrate with 5 parts water to 1 part concentrate. Spray this over rose bushes every two weeks.

Remember, these are suggestions that I have gleaned from the Internet. I’m not entirely sure of the effectiveness of these remedies but I will be trying one or more of them so that my roses will be healthier and more beautiful.

Happy Birthday to My Little Brother

Today is my baby brother's birthday. He was born on the day that Memorial Day was traditionally observed. Here is a picture of him and his little grandson Anthony. Aren't they cute? Happy Birthday Little Brother! Hugs to all...

A New Link for a Round Afghan

Lion Brand has a new pattern for a round afghan available for free. It is called Caitlin's Circle Afghan . I will be updating my post for links to free patterns for round afghans found here. It will take me a minute or two so be patient please lol . Hugs....

Yes Folks It's ANOTHER Round Ripple Afghan!

Last night, I finished a round ripple afghan for my uncle. He's a great guy and is the substitute dad and big brother in my life. He recently started talking about retiring to Florida and I decided to give him the afghan I had already started on for a house warming gift. Turns out that he may not be going there for a while but I'll be giving it to him this summer to use when and where he wants. It's more than 6' from point to point! I wanted to use up a bunch of gold yarn and white that I had in my stash. I ended up buying a couple more skeins of the gold and one of the white. The yarn I used is from Red Heart except for the black that is a Caron yarn in the 1 lb. size (a staple in my stash). I used Aggie May's pattern. She is a member at www.crochetville.org and has generously given the pattern away upon request. If you like round afghans, I have compiled a list of FREE "roundish" afghan patterns and you can go here to see it. Do you think he'll like it? I've been a little concerned with the colors but I think they look kind of "sporty" and the design is masculine. Tell me what you think. Hugs to all...

Pool Is Opened on Memorial Day

During Memorial Day weekend, we put up a pool in our backyard. We had one of these before and really missed not having one last year hence our decision to put one up again. Ray couldn't wait for the pool to fill completely so he "opened" it on the traditional day for pool openings. See how cold he looks? Just gotta love that guy. Hope you enjoy and find your own way to beat the heat this summer.

Round Afghan Links--New Added

Round afghans have become very popular lately. A while back, I compiled a list of free patterns for them found on the Internet. I put them in a post and have updated it as I found new ones. I started thinking that not many people would be digging back to the old pages in my blog so I'm putting a link here for anyone who is interested.