Friday, February 27, 2009

A great man....

Sorry I haven't posted in so long... I've been feeling a bit blah this week.

Last Sunday we lost a great man in our family. My 95 year old Grandfather passed away. He was born in July, 1913. It's amazing to think of all the things that he saw in his lifetime. He lived a good & long life, & will be missed greatly by family & friends.

I have so many memories running around my head right now that I wouldn't know where to start to actually write any of them down. I'll just say that there are tons of good memories of him to last the rest of my lifetime. I lived 18 years of my life right next door, with only an acre of vegetable garden separating us, to him & my Grandmother. It's one thing that I'll remember from my childhood that brings many good memories.

I worry about my Grandmother, they were married for 68 years, and now she has an empty home. I wish I were closer so I could spend more time with her.... please keep her in your prayers.

On a happier note, I think I do have some new stuff to post about & as soon as I get my head on straight I'll get them on here. I'm just a bit tired & scattered at the moment... :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sweets from Sweeties

Chan sent me a wonderful package this past week! I ended up with "her" socks cause they ended up just a bit tight for her feet, but fit mine perfectly. She was really knitting them for me & just didn't know it! LOL Aren't they purdy?! (pardon the winter white legs)
And she sent the Plum Purple Zuma bag to live with me. I can't tell you how much I love this bag! It's a little larger than my latest handbag, but not too large. So, I've put all my stuff in there & have been carrying it every day. I love the magnetic closure, and the awesome purple color!!!

She also included this sweet handmade card. Thanks so much Chan!!! You're the bestest!
And did you see my pretty daffodils in the pictures? :)

I'll leave you with a photo of the beautiful hot pink roses that my hubby gave me for Valentine's Day. They smell as wonderful as they look! He also gave me chocolates & 2 cards. We had a good, restful day yesterday.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Whiskers On Wednesday

These aren't great photos, I took them quickly before she could change her mind. I need to set the default on my web cam at a higher resolution so when these opportunities arise I'll be ready!
It just drives Miss Jasmine nuts when I'm on the laptop. She thinks I should be looking at her in my lap instead! Quite often she situates herself in between me & the computer for a snuggle. And last night I happen to think, hey! I have a web cam on this thing!!!

I'll try to make sure my hair is in better condition from now on when I'm on the laptop! SNOL

Don't forget to check out the WoW site!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Monica has challenged us again... The Declutter Challenge - Spring Cleaning. I'm still working on my Throw Out 50 Things, hopefully that will be finished up by the end of February. Then in March & April I'll work on the Spring Cleaning Challenge. I need this really bad! I'm tired of the house being a mess & I want it cleaned up!! And I want it decluttered!! I've held on to waaaaaay too much stuff for sentimental reasons for too long. I'm getting rid of it! Our house is just too small to have so much "stuff".

Head on over & sign up if you want to join in & declutter your life!
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Just a little tidbit on something I did in the past to help with the clutter. I love to read, and I read a lot of books. But if I read a good book I just hate to get rid of it. So I'm not a good library or trade-in book store candidate. When we moved here to the coast, we bought a much smaller house than what we had... the books were overflowing everywhere here. So I HAD to get rid of a lot of them. Finally I found Fictionwise, and ebooks! I use a Dell Pocket PC to read them on. You can also read them on your computer/laptop if you want. So now I buy all of my new books in ebook form. The only hardback/paperback books that I let myself buy are my Nora Roberts books (I'm only about 20 books short of having everything that she has published!!). Me & my books are happy now. I can have as many as I want & they take up no space in the house!! :)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

I'm Fabulous!

LOL, yes my blog is fabulous, Grace says so!! Grace gave me this award the other day, seems to be my month for awards! I'm feeling the love y'all! :)

I'll send this one out to 5 people (really hard to choose, I think all the blogs I read are fabulous! Otherwise I wouldn't read them), I'll pick some that I haven't given an award too lately:

Uberstrickenfrau
Lap Dog Creations
KSee Creations
Waterborne
(Not So) Cynical Knitter

Fiber Goodness & Gracie's Award

Lookie what I found in my mailbox! This is 4oz of BFL roving in the Mermaid colorway, purchased from Kathy in her etsy shop. I pestered her about dying some fiber to add to her store & she was sweet enough to accommodate me. She even sent a little mini sample of another color. Sneaky she is, sending little samples so I'll want more, as if I didn't already! If only I had the money available, I would have bought every bit of her lovely fiber! I am knitting, but on another secret project. Hopefully I'll have that finished up in the next couple of weeks & I can get back to my spinning. My little wheel is taunting me from across the room!

I also received another award from (Not So) Cynical Knitter. The 2009 Gracie's Golden Blogger Award. I am truly honored! I've met so many wonderful people the past couple of years in blogland. And she is definitely one of the best! And Gracie is just a cutie pie!

And her very first downloadable pattern is now available on Ravelry!The Go Steelers Lace Scarf, that Gracie is modeling in the photo here.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was good, just went by way too fast! Can you believe it, it was 76 here today!!!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Stuffed Peppers

Here is another recipe for you guys. Don't know if I'd say this one is super quick, but it's not hard to do & they are really yummy! The leftovers freeze well too, just pop them in the microwave & they make a great dinner later or freeze them individually & take them to the office for lunch. I'm not sure where this recipe originated, but I got it from my Mom. Next time I make these I'll have to take a photo of them...

Stuffed Bell Peppers

8 large bell peppers
1lb ground beef
1 small chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 cups cooked rice (I use Minute Rice)
1 can tomato sauce (15oz)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1 small can baby green peas
1 large can diced tomatoes

Slice your peppers in half lengthwise, put in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes.

Brown your ground beef & onions, drain any grease. Add your salt, pepper, rice, egg & tomato sauce, mix it all up.

Stuff your halved peppers with the rice mix & place in a glass baking dish. Pour the diced tomatoes over the stuffed peppers, top them with the little baby green peas.

Cover with tinfoil & bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

More Snow, More Markers & Another Award

Can you believe it, we got more snow this morning!! It started snowing about 7:30am and we had about an inch by 10am. It was very pretty while it lasted. However, the sun came out & it was all gone by noon. :(

I also managed to get another new set of stitch markers ready.... Chocolate Hearts with Frosting, I swear they look yummy enough to eat! LOL
I will also be participating in the Phat Fiber box this month. I sent some of these little Chocolate Hearts and some of the Chocolate Kisses to be included in some of the boxes. The Phat Fiber website said it best...
The Phat Fiber Sampler box is a way for independent fiber, yarn and related needlecraft companies and artisans to promote their products through a tactile goodie box that goes on sale once monthly.
If you are interested in participating or purchasing a Phat Fiber Box check out the link above.

I also got another Kreativ Blogger award from Barbara today. Awww, that was so sweet! Thanks so much!! And since I've already tagged 7 people with this I'll just let those nominations stand for this one too. :) Hope everyone is having a good week!