Sunday, February 28, 2010

OOOOHHHHH.....



  
Canada!!!!
(picture from the BBC)

I have never,
in my life,
watched an ice hockey game.
I did this afternoon
and it was great!!!
But I probably won't again.
I couldn't stand all the spitting and nose picking...
Yucky boy stuff!!!

One more for Haiti




On this last day of February
I have one more heart for Haiti...
don't forget them
(I made these out of aluminium foil
an embosser
a pencil
and a crochet hook!!)


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Lovely day

It is very quiet today.
Almost as if everything is resting.
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
and if you stand in a sheltered place
you can feel it
warm you.
The snow is melting fast now,
so the birds both on and off the water are busy
rummaging around in the grass
looking for a little something.
Or they are on the feeder
grabbing what's left
of the feast
I will replenish it the next time we go to the store...


and the ducks and geese are
floating peacefully in the sun dappled water
which is now flowing free and no longer frozen




I sense a change in the air
and the light.

I feel less antsy and gloomy today,
even with the news from Chile.
This earth is mightier than we
and there is nothing we can do to stop it from
being what it is.
A planet being a planet.
With or without us, it will do what it has done
forever,
and all we can do is get out of it's way
and hope that those who are caught,
live through it,
or find solace in eachother.


(photo from the BBC)
Have a peaceful sunny day





Have you seen this ad?

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

If the snow...




doesn't go away soon
I am going to run away
in my new caravan.
I will pack my bags and load them in
and take off for sunny climes.
(?)
When I get there I will grow flowers
of many colours
(3)
 that will grow over and around
my little home
and I will sit in the sun and write poems
and make dandelion wine
I will park my wheels in soft dirt
so I can balance my little home
or find a rock to
lift it up onto
(!)
So, if you do not hear from me again
I will be somewhere green and warm
in a crooked felt caravan
with massive sunburn
drunk on dandelion wine
 rhyming
to the flowers.
Please bring me home!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Still learning




this blogging thing.
I have just found some comments
I didn't know were there.
As I said, in a post a while back,
getting comments really is nice
and I enjoy going to the persons 
blog and seeing who they are.
I don't have that many comments
so when I get one
it feels good!
 I'd like to thank all of you who have commented.
It's nice of you to take the time to say something!
I used to be very shy about commenting
until I realized
nobody knows who you are,
so why not!!!
I think the first comment I made was on
"I am I said"'s page,
but that is because I know him,
from WAY BACK WHEN...
right N ??!!!

Having the visitor counter has shown me that there are people coming for a visit,
so I am not talking to myself after all,
but so few say anything.
It's so interesting to see a flag from Australia or Coventry, England or Kuwait flying over the globe....
mind blowing to think we can see eachother with a press of a button.
OH WELL.....
"I LIKE all the ones I have gotten
and I'm going to keep them!!!"
(one of my sons said that an age ago, when he didn't get ALL that he wanted.....)

(There is one very mysterious one though,
I happened to see the flag on the globe the other day
but it had no ID attached.
From the middle of the US.....
who are you?)


Monday, February 22, 2010

New week...




Where does time go?
It seems to be going faster
every day.
Guess age is showing...

Well, theroomontheleft
is back in place.
Sorted, dusted and feeling much better.
We took all the junk
up to Goodwill on Saturday
and you will be surprised to hear
I
came
back
with...
NOTHING!
Oh, there were things I could have picked up
and brought home,
but this time I let my head lead
and left it all behind.
I of course regret a couple of things,but I will survive!
I had decided to buy a bunch of flowers
when we were at the grocery store,
but I think $20 is a bit much for a half dead
smelly bunch of lime green somethings,
so I got a small neon pink begonia.
I need some colour
and it fit the bill!
Not my favourite colour
but you know what they say about beggars...
The prayer plant was happy to see it!!

The weather was absolutely lovely over the week end.
The sun shone and the air was warmish and the dripping continued.
I even sat outside and had my coffee when we got back from the store. What a treat!
The icicles have vanished and the snow is receding.
Rather like a old man's hair line.
Slowly but surely.

A friend called and asked if I had any necklaces,
she needed one to give to somebody...
so I sat down in the mess and made one
and mailed it to her! Haven't played with my beads for quite a while and it felt good......maybe I'll get them out this week...


I am including a photo or three of what I did over the week end. The book I mentioned was a bit of a disappointment
and I got very frustrated trying something new, so I did something easy.....

Two knitted cloths,
the yellow one needs it's back

A paper bird made with magazine pages...
(I don't know...)

Something that just happened while
I was talking on the phone..
it would make a good card.



And some paper balls,
made with more magazine pages.

So, along with cooking and wiggle-ing and cheering for all the wonderful Olympians...that week is gone....
a new week has begun.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Got a new book

so I am scouring it for new things.....already found one and if my hands hold out, will have something to show soon. Don't get too excited.....
They just told us there is a storm coming on Monday.....the weather people are almost afraid to talk these days!!! 50% chance of snow, he said and then ducked!!!!!
The geese on the lake are having a terrible time finding something to eat. Why they don't fly somewhere else I don't know. It's hard to see them float on the cold water and sit on the ice, looking miserable and somehow lonely. The small birds have the food I put out for them and they are fine. The snow is still piled up all around us and I am so sick of it I can't tell you. But I have a new book to look at and the Olympics to cheer at, and a very happy hubby, who is building another computer.....well he's changing cases. He's giving the one he has to our son who has an old one that came in on the ark!!!!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

on a hope and a


prayer............................
..........................plant



When you lose your water supply, what do you do?  We go to HD and get the hardware we need to fix it and hope that it is what we think it is.
while the resident plumber,
jack-of-all-trades is off buying
pressure switches
and such
I go to see the plants
hoping to find something
a little colourful
and cheery
but all I found was a prayer plant
that whispered to me
and I listened
and brought it home.
Strange what you do when you have no water
well,
flowing
water,
we have water,
but it is
all trapped inside the snow,
which we gathered
in buckets,
and brought inside .....

it's all fixed now


so little prayer plant
won't go thirsty...

Monday, February 15, 2010

Wiggle wiggle

I'm working on it
wiggle wiggle wiggle
feed the cat
wiggle wiggle wiggle
cook dinner
wiggle wiggle wiggle
cheer for who ever is winningwhatever
wiggle wiggle wiggle
write a post
about
wiggle wiggle wiggle
-ing

Not mine.......

Little explanation about the new header photo.  IT IS NOT MINE.
I was so fed up with the weather I decided to bring some bluebird happiness to my world and found this lovely image on "NAT GEO", as they call it nowadays.....why can't people just speak properly!!!!  Anyway, I do not want anyone to think I took this....I will when the bluebirds come back, and I think I saw one the other day. But for now, this little fellow will make us feel better until the real thing comes along.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

B-day and V-day

It's my husband's birthday on this day,
so we've always shared it
we've been together a very long time
some years have been better than others,
but that's life
as they say
this year it went like this
a month ago
what do you want for your birthday...
nothing
sure...
yup
three weeks ago
what do you want...
silence
what...
well my keyboard is acting up
and it's driving me crazy
ok, get yourself one...
naaah,
I'll make do with  this one
two weeks ago
what do you want
how about a new robe
i saw the hole in the sleeve...
well, I ordered the keyboard and a mouse
and a "who knows what"
ok...
grocery shopping
what kind of cake do you want...
don't
sure...
yup
we came home with a strawberry creamy thing
a very small cake
which we ate on Friday and Saturday

today
did you get me a robe
no, you said you didn't want one...
oh
well i saw this one
he ordered it from AMAZON

few minutes later
are we going out to get a cake and some flowers
no i'd rather go to michael's and get some yarn...
ok

we got a cake
no flowers
they were rubbish
and he wants hamburgers for dinner!!!
.......
Happy Birthday
Husband
and Happy Valentines...


  

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Wagon Wheels Hooooo

The Wagon Wheel Square,
that I copied from
Attic24's post about the
old book she was looking at,
is my version of what I saw on her blog.
I have not bothered to look up the pattern, and I am sure there is one somewhere,
but I thought I would just write what I did.

(I write ch 2/3 because it depends on your yarn and needle size as to whether 2 or 3 chains are needed to reach the height of your stitch. I also have started using hdcs because I find them less "floppy" than dcs. Use whichever stitch you like, remember, I made this up from looking at a picture, so it's open to interpretation!! I also use US terms, because, quite frankly, I don't know the UK ones.)

Chain 8
join with sl st

chain 2/3 and make 16 hdc into ring.

 change colour.
Join into any space between hdc with slip stitch

chain 2/3 and hdc ch1 into each space around.
(16 hdc 16 ch1 spaces)

change colour
Join with slip stitch and ch 3 (makes first dc)
make 2 dc in same space.
make 3 dc in next space and each space around
(45 dc)

change colour
join with sl st and chain 3.
make sc, ch 3 into space between dc groups 3x
in next loop (corner) ch 6 and 3sc again into 3 loops, all the way around.

change colour
join with slip stitch into any ch 3 space and make 3sc into each ch3 loop 3x
in corner make 3 sc chain 2 3 sc

change colour
join in any sc and make sc in all sc around block.Fasten off
and you should have your own
Wagon Wheel....
If you click on the photo you can see the stitches clearly and count them too!
(I didn't block it)

good luck and show me what you make.
If there is a mistake or it doesn't make sense
let me know and we'll sort it out.


FLtr followed by sc back flip...

In the spirit of
the Olympics,
that's what I did last night,
while watching
the Opening Ceremonies
from
Vancouver!!!
(and I didn't hurt myself!!!!)

For those of you who are not
hook wielding
fanatics
the title of this post
refers to crochet stitches.
I have been crocheting ever since I was a young girl.
(Yes a long time)
I can pretty much follow a pattern to it's end and have something to show for it.
Lately, with all the crochet and knitting resurgence
going on, there are books by the dozen being printed
and old and new patterns are being presented.
I look for things I have never tried before
or
never seen or heard of.
Example...
the "wiggle" stitch.
When first viewed it looks
quite old fashioned
and kitchy
but upon making it,
with new yarns and different colours,
it isn't so icky after all!!

I have never FLtr before.
So I tried it.
It is just simply putting the hook through the Front Loop of a stitch and making a triple stitch in it.
The sc "back flip" is my way of describing what happens next.
You turn the tr to the back and use the unused loop of the stich you made the tr in.
Confused and bored.....OK.
I'll show you.....


It was amazingly easy and fast to do.
I have no idea what one would do with it
but there...... my first
"Olympic Ring"
so to speak.
If you want to know how to do it....leave a comment and if there are enough I will post a tute!!! on the stitch
I found the "round" in
"Edie Eckman Crochet Motifs"

Friday, February 12, 2010

no middle

If you must know something about me,
the most important thing is..
I"M FICKLE.
And, I don't care who knows it.
I am a Libra.
I go from side to side.
I like, and must have,
balance.
Therefore,
I can now tell you
I like it!!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Heart Time

Today I packed up a box to send to Rebecca.  It is full of beads and bits, for her to take to Haiti when she goes. It made me feel better and she makes me feel better. The story on Haiti is getting smaller and more out of focus.... but they are still there, waiting. For all the things they need to live life. All I can do is once in a while remind you of this. And then hope you do something too. However small. It all helps.
I made a collage to add to Rebeccas Heart Sessions....her button is on the right.


I know that the pictures are out of focus......I did it on purpose.


"nothing is impossible to a willing heart"
john heywood

Signs of cabin fever…

When do you know you have cabin fever?  When, while brushing your teeth, you notice the sun and you go and get the camera, tooth brush in mouth, and snap a shot of what caught your eye.

I rest my case.

008

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Practice a new stitch

Making a little cloth
which is all the rage nowadays
is a good way to practice
a new stitch
I did the entrelac stitch and the v-stitch
and now have two little cloths
which are great to wash my face with!!



I have used these, so excuse the "used" look!

one colour wiggle

While watching LOST
last night
and
watching the blizzard move in this morning
I made a new wiggle
I have seen a few popping up here and there
but
they are made with two or three colours
so,
I wondered what a one colour one
would look like
so I made one
I like it, very much,
if I do say so myself!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bad words...

are coming out of my mouth so let me


let Whiskers tell you....
she made me blurry because
the air is blue....
this is what she wants you to see....
It's doing it again.
Those are his tracks in the snow...
they changed my box.
Thank you for listening!!

Monday, February 8, 2010

cat catch-up....

The cat does not belong to the said neighbour......don't know who he belongs to. We fed him and he spent a little time with the snow shoveller and then sat in the sun for a while and I have not seen him today.

The resident princess
is
most
pleased!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

brief encounters

I am not going to bore you with the snow.
It did just that.
A lot.

This morning, while I was catching up with what else had happened in the world while we were cut off,
I heard a very plaintive voice, outside the roomontheleft.
It belonged to the cat next door,
who had found his way over here and was now obviously
lost, cold and a little perplexed by this strange new world he found himself in.
I watch him now and again
as he wanders through the garden,
on his way to the lake.
There, he challenges the Canada Geese, stalks the ducks or chases the squirrels back up the trees.
 In the summer, he unearths a vole, or mole
and spends a little time torturing it
until, very catlike, he leaves it for one of us to step on!!
He is a hunter, and unfortunately he has been successful,
every now and again, with the birds. But that is nature and I just have to forgive him!!
Anyway, once he saw me inside, his cries became louder and more pitiful.



Husband opened the front door and there he was, on the other side, looking for all he was worth like a refugee from Siberia !!? His house is a hop, skip and a jump away, but he can't or doesn't want to walk through the deep snow.
Our little furry one was most put out by the attention we were giving him,
and after a brief encounter,
 through the glass,
she got up
out of bed
and
went
 to
 her
 box.
She is not amused!


Nor does she feel sorry for him.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Friday, February 5, 2010

More hearts for Haiti

I just visited Rebeccas' blog...


to see how things are going with Haiti and read a post she has  written that made me quite miffed, to be polite. She also has a little "heart sessions" going on, for people to take pictures of hearts they have made, or have in various forms and she is linking us together.  I'll let you read what she says on her page, and once again ask, if you can, help please.



Here is my contribution of hearts.....
I crocheted some, I drew one, I cut one out of paper, my grand daughter drew the little picture with the colourful hearts, bottom left,I quilled one
I found a silver one
and some gemstone ones...




and I will keep mine open for Haiti...

more wiggle wiggles


Here is the wiggle rug
I haven't really been working on it, but when I do it's surprisingly easy and fast.
 I made the base the size I thought it should be and started going around the outer edge.
I made the base out of cotton
and am using acrylic yarn.
I am also doing hdc because I think the dc proper would be too tall and get too matted.


Anyway, showing it will encourage me to finish it
and with the threat of the "storm of all time" upon us, AGAIN, I may get more done than I planned!!
I am also completely hooked on making photo mosaics and am looking through the books I have and little ideas keep creeping in causing me to make various and sundry squares.
Maybe by the time this winter is over I will have a rug comprised of squares, wiggles and who knows what.
This is why the top of my page says
"where inspriation turns to chaos"
I must learn to focus.!!