Short and sweet...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If any of you that visit would like to help with a project...

WE NEED RECIPES!!!

If you would like to participate in this project you can find out more and how you can participate on Princess Junior's blog. Just click here.

I could become addicted!!!

Today I got a very special package... It was the copy of "Crochet Me" that I ordered from Linda Permann's Etsy store, HopeForJasenn. I see several projects that will be added to my list!



Then there is the added bonus that came with it. A skein of Nashua Handknits "Julia" yarn in a beautiful blue, Aqua Fog, and a Crystal Palace BAMBOO crochet hook, size H. The yarn is wonderfully soft. I've never worked with Mohair or Alpaca before so I can't wait to try it out. I could easily become addicted to it. I'm thinking I might get a couple more skeins in a couple other colors and make a throw pillow. I LOVE pillows, ask Dak. And I love bamboo... sheets, hooks, stalks... any form of bamboo. I am a VERY happy camper. :)

Linda's store will be closed for a few more days but will re-open after the new year starts. Check out the things she has available to help raise funds for her special brother-in-law. HopeForJasenn

Yesterday evening I made Dak a birthday cake. A wonderful, absolutely beautiful, picture perfect pineapple upside-down cake. Ok, I'm tooting my own horn here but it really was beautiful, the most perfect one I have ever made! Dak and GamerBoy watched me flip it out onto the plate and there wasn't a single problem. Well, there was one small problem... Here is the picture I didn't take.


I forgot to take a picture of it. I didn't use traditional yellow cake mix but I used pineapple cake mix instead and substituted the pineapple juice from the pineapple for the water that it called for. And I filled the little spaces around the rings with crushed pineapple. I had batter left over so I filled cupcake liners and then put a dollop of pineapple and a cherry on each before baking. It was really mist and yummy! And Dak said he liked it so that's what counts.

Something I did take a picture of is some of the coasters I made recently.


The original was the start of a circular afghan but I got side tracked because I liked how it looked and was trying to think of what I could make for Christmas presents. :) So lots of people I know got sets of coasters for Christmas. And now I'm trying to make a set for us.

I'm still working on the new shawl. What? I hadn't mentioned that??? No, I don't think I did. It's the CocoBay Shawl. I made one before (a gray one that I currently have thrown over my shoulders) but I got confused and didn't finish it like the pattern called for. This time I'm going to try and be good and follow the pattern exactly. I'm doing this one is in a teal/pink/white/green variegated with the cluster and ruffle sections in a coordinating pink.


Hopefully I can pull it off this time.

Found: One set of keys - well hidden!

I think it was a conspiracy but the lost keys have been found. I asked Princess Junior's nurse this morning if she had found her keys and she said she had. She said she was embarrassed because they were in a pocket she hadn't checked. Personally I think she did it on purpose just so I could go by the post office to drop some things in the mail that I had forgotten to mail while Dak and I were out. :) But if that's her story...

Today is Dak's birthday. He is now... older than he was last year. I gave him his present to open last night. Two Princess Junior coffee mugs! He loves them!

These and other things are available as fund raisers for Princess Junior's room. CLICK HERE

The idea was for Dak to have his coffee in one this morning but GamerBoy made him (and me and GamerBoy) a most excellent breakfast of french toast with maple flavored sausage patties. Dak didn't want that to get cold while he made the coffee (GamerBoy doesn't do coffee) so he had a soda instead. (I had suggested the french toast because I knew that Dak likes it. He didn't used to but now he likes french toast better than pancakes. He just forgets to look for it on menus because pancakes are usually offered as side items or more advertised.)

Last night we watched "Mama Mia". I now know why a friend of mine said she sat through it swaying her arms and singing along. We even played it with the sing along option but we're not sure that was much, if any, different than the regular version. I enjoyed it but had a really hard time listening to Pierce Brosnon singing. OUCH! Dak liked it too and he isn't a big musical fan. (I am!) I let Princess Junior's night nurse watch it after we went to bed and her day nurse is watching it now. I'd say I got my dollar's worth on that one. :) Today we are going to watch the new Eddie Murphy movie "Meet Dave".

Is it too early in the day for popcorn???????

Anybody find a set of keys???

Dak and I had to run out this evening and we were gone over shift change. We were surprised to come home and see two cars still in front of the house. When we went inside we found out why they were there. Princess Junior's day nurse couldn't find her car keys! She says that we'd know them if we saw them. She is a Betty Boop fan and there are several Betty Boops attached to the keys. We had 5 people looking but haven't found them so far. So I drove her to the mall and one of her kids, who has a spare key for her car, was going to pick her up and, I guess, bring her back here so she could get her car. Hope it works out. She is on the schedule for day shift tomorrow.

I have a question... Since when did gun control have anything even remotely to do with being racist??? I was behind a vehicle earlier today that had a bumper sticker on it that said "Gun Control = Racisim" Huh???? I just can't get my head around that one. Am I the only one that doesn't get the connection?

We exchanged family presents today. We had all 5 (6 counting in-laws) kids together. They gave Dak a t-shirt that reads "First National Bank of Dad" and underneath that "Sorry, we're closed" LOL... Firstborn and her hubby gave me a pink fleece jacket that they got in San Francisco on their honeymoon. I think that is WAY cool. She knows that SF is my absolute favorite place. She even brought me back 2 packets of sourdough starter. I love my kids! :) Dak had written a poem and I formatted it and put some graphics with it and printed it out. We framed them in cool glass frames that say "Family" on them. Ironically that is how the poem starts. Dak had forgotten that the frames said that when he wrote the poem and was worried that he hadn't out a title on the poem. I think the frames titled the poem perfectly. Anyway, that is what we gave the kids.

TIme to settle down now. We picked up "Mama Mia" and "Meet Dave" from the Redbox at Walgreens when we went to get some Princess Junior med supplies this evening. (Gas is down to $1.40.9 now!) And the pizza should be here anytime! After eating we'll watch one of the movies and I will work on the shawl I started last night. Not sure if I will keep it or not but I'll post a picture when I finish it.

Have a nice evening all...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Every one...

We are having a quiet celebration here. No nurse for day shift (next one comes in at 10 pm) so it is just Dak, me, GamerBoy and Princess Junior. Chatty is at her mother's. We've brought Princess Junior her presents and she didn't seem annoyed. Dak was in the kitchen a bit ago, making a special brunch for us. Eggs with maple flavored sausage patties and toast with the strawberry jam I made a few days ago. We did have cinnamon rolls that I had bought for today but we forgot they were for today and ate them yesterday! :) But we have a loaf of banana bread we were gifted with (NO NUTS! YEA!!!) so that is perfectly fine. Thank you for the great brunch, Honey!

One thing I had been working on for Princess Junior was a teddy bear. I had made one before but I really wasn't happy about how it turned out. This one is WAY better, but there is still a problem. Since Princess Junior has a trach we try and be very careful about things that are in her bed. No sparkly or powdery stuff. Nothing that could get loose and go in the trach. These days that eliminates quite a few of the "cool" shirts and outfits out there but I know she'd rather be healthy than stylin'. I love the size of this bear but it is done in double crochet and you can see the stuffing. In some spots I'm afraid that the stuffing might poke through and come out. I am now on a search for a bear of similar size (he's about 12 inches high in the sitting position) that is made in a tighter stitch pattern Maybe a single crochet?? I may try adapting this pattern but it would have the cool ridging. If anyone has a pattern they can suggest or they run across one PLEASE let me know. I think that amigarumi are adorable but Princess Junior needs something bigger.


So Mr. Bear is a "look at" toy. He can't be left in her bed so he'll just watch over her from a shelf. Because of that I stitched his feet together and his paws to his legs to encourage his sitting without falling over. I think he looks cute.

Are we done yet???

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE Christmas. I just don't like the crowds and the rudeness and the commercialism. I would rather spend a quiet holiday at home with family and maybe a friend on occasion. I never was one for big parties and I don't think they had a lot of them when Christmas was just getting started. ;)

Princess Junior was in a nativity on Sunday night. She ended up being an angel. Awwww... Well, we think she is one anyway so that's perfectly fine. But she didn't look like she was a happy angel. :(



Gas prices just about gave us a heart attack yesterday! Dak and I were on our way to run some errands and the sign at the Murphy station said $1.47, just like it had the day before. As we passed it again on our way to another errand it said $3.81!!! I kid you not! We were both speechless, wondering if there was a catastrophic world event that had happened since we left the house. Both sides of the sign read $3.81. We talked about it while we stopped to get a bite to eat. (Great breakfast for two FOR under $8!!!) Speculation ranged from a new employee putting up what should have been $1.38 or $1.83 to an employee playing a joke (I really wondered if we had been thrown back to April!) to the afore mentioned catastrophic world event. When we left the restaurant we glanced over to the station because we were thinking we should probably go to Kroger and fill up before EVERYONE was $2 higher a gallon but to our great relief the signs were back to $1.47. Can you say TWILIGHT ZONE?????

Today we were pleasantly surprised to see the price drop from $1.47 to $1.45 to $1.43. Go Murphy... Go Murphy... Go Murphy...

I'd better get back to working on my current project. It's a test of a pattern for a teddy bear I ran across in my patterns the other day. If it turns out well I'm going to give it to one of Princess Junior's nurses. She is pregnant and due right around Princess Junior's birthday! Then I will make another one for Princess Junior.

If I don't get back here tomorrow or Thursday I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful and blessed holiday, however and whatever you celebrate!

Breathe... Breathe... Breathe...

It's been a long and interesting week. Chatty is doing ok now. We brought her home yesterday. There are still some things that were brought up that need to be dealt with but we're working on it.

Princess Junior has been assigned her part in the Christmas Nativity. She is going to be a Shepherd. I hope to get a picture or two during the performance.

Gas is back up a bit. Today when we headed out to some appointments the lowest we saw was $1.49.9 and the highest was $1.59.9. This evening we had to stop by Wal-mart and it was still $1.49.9 when we got there but $1.47.9 when we left about 30-40 minutes later. Still around $1.50 a gallon so I'm happy.

Dak and I did the Wal-mart thing to deal with some Christmas gifts since we had to deal with what we needed to get and had to shop for Dak's mom too. We also needed to pick up some Danimals for Princess Junior. We put those in her feeds as a probiotic and since she is on an antibiotic they are even more important right now. We tried to get them at Kroger a few nights ago but there wasn't a single package in the store. No 4-packs, no 8-packs. Same thing last night. Our Kroger is doing some remodeling so there are quite a few refrigerated and freezer cabinets that are empty or nearly so. Makes it interesting to shop, especially when there is something specific you are looking for.

GamerBoy is going to do some holiday baking for me. Nothing fancy, just some sugar cookies. And I made strawberry freezer jam a few nights ago. Tomorrow he will be delivering gifts to the neighbors on either side of us.

Hopefully Dak will be able to help me get the throws and Hannah's Wish t-shirts online tomorrow too!

Rough day...

It's been a long day. And one I wish we hadn't had to live through. It started at a little after 5 am when Chatty's mother called. Chatty was having hallucinations and hearing voices. So Dak and I went and got her and took her to the hospital. We learned that she had not taken of her medicines as she was supposed to (hadn't taken ANY all weekend) and had been given some pretty potent pain killers she shouldn't have been taking. She ended up in an In-Patient program where, we hope, she will get the help she needs. We didn't even get home to decompress until about 7:30 pm. GamerBoy was concerned that the plans he had made with friends would have to be changed because of today's developements but we made sure he got to go. He doesn't get to do a lot of things like that so he's entiteled to it once in a while.

Last night Dak and I watched the movie "Wanted". It wasn't at all what we expected and it was even funny at times! Not sure I would buy it but I did enjoy watching it. Of course I like Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. I'm looking forward to seeing "The Changeling" when it comes out. Tonight, if I can stay awake, I'm going to watch the newest X-files movie.

203 chains is LONG...

I made a scarf last night. I made part of another (ran out of the color I was using so have to get more) and am currently on a third scarf, same pattern. One thing I have noticed it that 203 chains seems awfully long when you are going back and forth. I'm just glad that I'm not working on an afghan!

That reminds me of an afghan I made once. It's in a big plastic storage box in my closet. It's beautiful and I loved how it came out. It's rainbow colors done with 4 strands at a time, dropping from solids to blends of yarns. The biggest (cough, cough) problem is that it is absolutely gigantanormously HUGE! I swear I followed the directions. At first I thought that I would put it away for when we had a king sized bed. We have one now but I'm pretty sure that we need to add at least a full sized bed next to it to make this not cover half the floor! Now can you see why I like small throws?

And guess what!?!?! We went by the Murphy station on the way home tonight. Gas is now $1.36.9!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

I'm a frustrated but happy camper!

I just had the opportunity to buy a copy of "Crochet me",by Kim Werker, a crochet book that I really wanted. Not only that but the book will be signed by Kim. And not only signed, but inscribed. And, wait, there's even more!!! This wonderful (I'm sure!) book is going to come with yarn and a hook! WHHOOOO HOOOOO!

Now you'd think that this would make me happy, right??? Well, it does. But there's MORE! The sale of this book is going to benefit a worthy cause. Linda from lindamade.com is raising money to help defray medical expenses of her brother-in-law, Jasenn, who is fighting Stage IV Kidney Cancer. Please check out her site if you have a minute.

Now, why am I frustrated??? Because I'm working on things I can't talk about here because it so close to Christmas. Don't want to spoil any surprises! :( Suffice it to say it involves YARN!

And gas prices continue to drop...

This continues to be a great source of entertainment and amazement for me. :) Yesterday when I took GamerBoy to work with the horses we saw that gas had dropped to $1.45.9. Then last night when Dak and I went to the special needs support group it was - are you ready for this??? $1.41.9!!!!!

There is a convenience store in the area that closed several years ago and has not weathered time well due to vandalism. I think it was closed back when places were required to change out the underground gas tanks. Many places had to either go out of business or stop selling gas because the cost of replacing the tanks was too high. This station/convenience store still has the price of gas on their sign that it was when they closed. Regular unleaded was selling for $1.31.9 there. In some odd way I find that ironic today.

How much are you paying for gas now???

I was amazed when gasoline went to over $4 a gallon. But I'm even more amazed that it has dropped like it has. I was thrilled when it dropped back to $3 and more so when it dropped to $2! But now I laugh like a mad woman when I drive by the gas station and see the sign. There have been times when the price has dropped three times in ONE day! I figured that it would plateau around $2 gallon. Then it got to $1.75.9. Maybe that was where it would stop. It got down to $1.70.9, $1.65.9, $1.60.9... We watched in amazement when it got down to $1.50.9.

We had to take Princess Junior to the pediatrician this morning. Driving by the stations on the road we live off of we saw that gas is now $1.45.9. Whooo hooo!! :)

What kind of discount programs do you have in your area. We have Kroger and Food City grocery stores here and both offer discounts of $.10 a gallon on a fill-up every time you spend $100 in groceries or (in the case of Kroger) fill 2 prescriptions. The Kroger station is usually a few cents higher than the lowest price in the area but with the $.10 discount we still get it cheaper than the lowest station.

GamerBoy's Godfamily lives in Pennsylvania and they have a program up there where your discounts are all combined. I'm not sure of the exact "rules" but it's something like this - you spend $50 and get a $.10 discount. You spend another $50 you get another $.10 discount. So if you spend the required amount twice you will save $.20 a gallon, if you spend the required amount 6 times before getting gas you will save $.60 a gallon on your purchase. If I understoood correctly you can add up the discounts so that you can actually get your gas for free! I sure wish Kroger would start this. With all the prescriptions we get there we could really save on gas!

Disappearing blog links...

I'm not really a happy blogger at the moment. I had gone all over the place getting the addresses for the blogs that I frequent (Yes, yes, I was reading a bunch but didn't have my own. I know.) It was time and labor intensive. But I did it. And through that list you might have learned what a diverse and quirky person I really am. But do you see the list on the side??? Noooooooo... There is nothing there. Nada. Not even one listing.

Why? Well, that's the $64,000 question. I don't know what happened. They WERE there. I have never removed the list and have been very careful to save after I've added more. And I've used the list to navigate to them myself. But somehow the blog gremlins found me and they came and spirited the entire list away. I guess they are just as quirky as I am! Now that is a scary thought.

So now I'm going to have to go and do it all again! One at a time, searching fervently. And I know what will happen... I'll find more... Places I just HAVE to go to now. That's what happened last time.

So who is going to invent a way to squeeze more hours in the day???

Dinner at Chez Suzette...

Last night Dak and I went to the home of another family in the special needs parent's support group we go to. It was actually the Christmas get together for the group. We had planned to take Princess Junior too but she had some oxygen issues the night before and it had been windy and snowing earlier in the day so we decided to not take her out in the weather.

My first impression when we walked in the house was WHOA! They had obviously cleared out their living room and had three tables set up with table settings that looked like we were some place with valet parking and a hat check girl. Well, there WAS one of her friends at the door who took our coats when we arrived. Does that count? The room was absolutely gorgeous. We drew from a bowl of little pieces of paper to find out where we would sit. We did have to draw twice because the first draw was a table down stairs. (I forgot to mention that there were two more similar tables downstairs!) My knees wouldn't have made it (Donn confirmed that after his trip down to look around) so we drew again for an upstairs table. I can't remember exactly want the table was called but it had the word red in it and it was RED! It was a table for 4, with a red tablecloth, a red glass hurricane like lamp in the center with a glowing candle inside. There were chargers under the dinner plates. Cloth napkins in silver Christmas tree napkin rings. Beautiful red glass goblets. The silverware was tucked into little red velvet Christmas stockings along with a Christmas prayer and a piece of chocolate (which we were told we could take with us, sans silverware.) We were even seated right next to the burning fireplace. I can't remember how long it's been since I had a meal at a table set like that but it's been a looonngggg time, I'm sure of that. (And I think this table blew that one out of the water! I know that one didn't have CHOCOLATE!)

Everyone brought food to share (I made a cherry cheesecake. Then I made two more this morning.) so there was plenty! And it was great. There was also a white elephant gift exchange. I drew #1 so I didn't have the opportunity at first to trade gifts, that came later. The present I opened was in a very cute snowman bag. It was a Candle set, a small jar candle with a ceramic shade and a matching plate to set it on. And a small Christmas figurine of snowmen, I believe. Then I just watched as everyone else opened and traded or threatened to trade. I had my eye on a couple things. One of the gifts we brought was a wooden framed egg timer. To our surprise it was the first thing stolen! And Lisa cheekily threatened anyone even looking at it enviously, clearly sending the message to not even think about trying to take it from her. At the end of the exchange it came back to me, giving me the opportunity to trade my gift for any of the others. As I mentioned, I had my eye on a few things. A nativity set had been unwrapped towards the end but sitting next to me, another Lisa had her gift "stolen" so she had to open another. Her second gift was an Eggstractor. A nifty little gadget that unpeels hard boiled eggs. That was tempting! In the end I told Lisa that I really love hard boiled eggs and egg salad so I was going to take her Eggstractor! I was very happy with what I ended up with. What did Dak end up with? Bubble bath and bath salts. grin

So many, many thanks to Suzette and the elves that helped her make this a special night for all in attendance. Your giving of yourself and willingness to share your lovely home was a wonderful and humbling gift and will be long remembered.

Yesterday was also Chatty's 17th birthday. The two oldest (Firstborn and Skellyson) picked her up Friday evening and took her out to dinner and then took her to her mom's. She'll come home tonight.

On a sad note... We were going to go to see friends this afternoon. I was looking forward to giving her her Christmas present. It's just killing me that I have it here. But she isn't feeling well and I totally understand her not feeling up to company.

Anyone want a piece of cheesecake?????

Princess Junior's Own Blog

I've decided to make Princess Junior her own blog to chronicle the progress of her room building fund and room. I will probably write about it here too but the main focus of her blog will be her room. You can visit it at

http://theroyalrealmofprincessjunior.blogspot.com/

Thank you to all those who have taken an interest in Princess Junior. She is one of the best things that has happened in our lives.

Changing a WIP...

Ok... I can't leave well enough alone. I'm going to frog the throw I just started and use the yarn for another throw. I can't help it! I found a really neat pattern I wasn't to use that is made for a solid and a variegated so I have to do it! I really, really HAVE to! wink,wink

I got a call earlier today telling me that we have a new nurse coming tomorrow to orient on Princess Junior's case. From what I have been told she is probably going to be doing the night shift so between the night nurse we now have that should cover most of the night shit hours! YEA!!! We do still have a 3 hour gap on some nights (We do 12 hour shifts and our current night nurse can only do 9 hour shifts at the moment per docs orders) but they are working on getting those filled too. Two of our day nurses are pulling the extra hours to help cover those gaps. Right now I'm thrilled (and somewhat amazed) that we have Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day covered! They are still working on staffing Christmas Day.

Speaking of Christmas... last night Dak told me that Princess Junior has been asked to be in a children's nativity! We don't know in what capacity yet. She's quiet enough but too big to pull off the baby role (and that would be a reprisal for her anyway, she's already done that part) but she is definitely an angel so that is a possibility. grin I think it's for a special Christmas service the Sunday evening before Christmas. The church has a special needs children ministry so they are well equiped to handle things.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll get things organized and put up a Christmas tree this year. Believe it or not we have a small tree that we keep up all year long. I even added an ornament to it a couple months ago. So we haven't put the "big tree" up for the past few years. Last year Princess Junior was in the hospital until two days before Christmas so we were just grateful to be home! But I will be going through the decorations and culling out the things that are just sitting there because I think I'm going to use them some year, no, some decade. We haven't put outside lights up in ages so why hold on to them. And I have some other lighted decorations that have never even been out of the boxes! Someone else can use them. Watch out Craigslist!

I mentioned yesterday that GamerBoy was going to play with the ponies. Well, he did. And, with his permission (I have to get that now that he's legal!), I took some pictures.

I think he worked well with Charley. I know Charley had to have more patience than GamerBoy did. But he's catching on.

Hopefully tonight will be a movie night for Dak and I. We were suppoosed to watch Wall-E last night but that didn't work out so I hope we get to tonight. We rented this one from RedBox but tomorrow I also need to drop some DVDs in the mail back to Netflix. We won't get new ones if we don't!

Ever not want to do anything???

I would have absolutely loved to pull the covers back up and snuggle in for a few more hours sleep this morning. I'm not really tired but it would have been so cozy and quiet. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I know that for several reasons I just couldn't do that. #1 reason is that there are too many other things to do. #2 reason is that I would feel worse afterward. It never fails... If I sleep too long or take an extra long nap I wake up feeling worse than I did. So I try and avoid that. :)

It wasn't a half bad morning. I have actually gotten some things done and GamerBoy (aka ChefKidlet) poked around in the kitchen and ended up making delicious cinnamon rolls! Yummy!!!

Princess Junior has a secondary insurance due to her medical conditions and the company that held the contract this year does not have the contract for next year so we had to choose another company. I managed to get it changed rather easily and fairly quickly. I called the number her case manager at the old insurance gave us. The woman I spoke to there was rather businesslike, asking tons of questions. All the usual stuff, name, SS#, address, phone, birth date... only to then tell me that I needed to call another number. Excuse me... wouldn't it have made more sense to ask me what I was calling for first??? It would have saved her and I about five minutes. I called the new number and after giving them her Name, SS# and a phone number "where I can be reached during the day" I was done. That was it. I should be getting a new insurance card and handbook in the mail and she is ready to go as of January first. I'm still a bit skeptical that it is actually done but hey, I made the call. As for which company to go with, it wasn't a hard choice. All the doctors and the local Children's Hospital seem to have some inside knowledge so we went with the company they are accepting. A no brainer there... What good is insurance if the docs and hospital won't take it? Now I'm waiting to hear back from the nursing agency so I can update them on the situation.

Last night Dak and I drove to the mall. It was a bittersweet trip and not due to the fact that I don't usually do malls. I've never really liked them and these days my back and knees really don't like them either. But we were just going to the parking lot so my knees weren't rebeling. :) It was the reason that we were going that was getting to me. We tend to use the mall parking lot as a meeting spot for our Craigslist dealings. Neutral ground, everyone can find it, etc. Well I had listed a Little Bear game that we had for Princess Junior that she can't play with. It was still in the shrink wrap. We were meeting a woman whose 4 year old is obsessed with the Little Bear character. Her daughter will now be getting the game for Christmas. It does make me feel good that she will enjoy it but at the same time I am confronted with the fact that my daughter is different and there are things like this that she can't do. We should be buying Barbies and bicycles and playing tea party (I made GamerBoy promise when she was just born to do that with her.) and instead I order medical supplies once a month and make sure medications are stocked and we make it to doctor's appointments. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my daughter tremendously, just like she is. But I do wish things weren't so difficult for her. It's so hard to look in those eyes and know that there is something that she wants to say, she just doesn't know how. She is the absolutely ONLY reason I would want to be able to read someones mind.

Since today is Wednesday I'll be taking GamerBoy to play with the ponies this afternoon. It's actually equine therapy so it's good for him. If he'll let it be good for him. But he tends to want instant results and that ain't how it happens in the real world. The ponies (mini horses actually) are adorable and he really does good with them. He is even paying for the sessions himself. I'm proud of that kid. Today he may work with one of the regular horses, Charley. He's gonna have a Charley horse! LOL!!! I've been kidding him all week that he's "graduating" since he might move on to a bigger horse. I'd better watch out... He may chose my nursing home some day. :)

I started a new Crochet project last night. Like I really needed a new WIP. Several years ago I bought some roll around book cubbies from Office Depot. I have my yarn and books stored in/on them. They each have ab out 12 cubbie holes and are on really heavyduty wheels so easy to move around. I would love to have 2-3 more for yarn and another dozen of them to use around the house! So I went to the cubbies and picked some yarn colors I thought went well together and it ended up being colors that I wouldn't have normally picked and I really can't remember why I even bought them. I chose HL's "I Love This Yarn" in turquoise and seaspray ombre.

I'm just making a simple granny square throw, alternating colors each row, but I'm really liking how it's looking. And I really love how soft the yarn feels. Another throw for the building fund fundraising stash!

I also may have a commission piece to work on. A colleague of Dak's liked one of the throws on the PDF I sent out but the colors wouldn't work in her house. So we are in "negotiations" I guess you'd say. She wants it bigger (blanket sized) and in different colors. No problem. It will be fun to do.

The list of things to do isn't getting any shorter... horses, pharmacy, grocery store, bank, bills, and on and on... I'm outa here...

I'm a blog virgin no more...

Ok... This is all Terri's fault. And she calls herself a friend...

I guess I have blogged before but it was a rare post on a blog my husband set up regarding our youngest daughter. I don't count that. This one is MINE...

What will I write about... Hmmm... That's a good question. Most definitely my yarn addiction and my daughter, Princess Junior, will be subjects. And I expect that the rest of the kidlets (GamerBoy, Chatty, Skellyson, Firstborn and her husband) and my wonderful hubby, Dak, as well as other family and friends will pop up from time to time. And I'll probably pass on cool things that I find floating around around in cyberspace. After all, word of mouth advertising is what I tend to trust the most.

I can tell you a couple things that I will stay away from. Politics and religion. Both are things that I think are personal. I take the stance that you are entitled to your own beliefs and opinions, and I mine. So I won't blather on about things here. Besides, I find that yarn is a much, much warmer subject.

So here we go......................................

Dak and I have been married since 2000. Makes it easy to remember how many years, doesn't it? Now if I can just remember what the date was.

We have a blended family. GamerBoy is mine, Chatty, Skellyson and Firstborn are his and Princess Junior is ours. GamerBoy, Chatty and Princess Junior live with us. Skellyson and Firstborn have been on their own for a while. Firstborn just got married a few weeks ago. Aren't they cute?

We have a nice house on just over half an acre. Dak would like more trees and, to be honest, I would too. We've got a couple in the front yard that are trying to grow but it will be quite a while before they offer shade for anything more than a bird. We have been trying to grow another in the backyard but it just doesn't want to grow.

I've been crocheting for ages... my grandmother taught me when I was about 8 I guess. I am addicted to yarn and especially love variegated colors. I tend to gravitate toward pinks and purples, pastels and brights, and also like the black, white and red combo. Odd selection, no? I don't do (unless I have to) greens or browns, and I never (unless it is absolutely, under no circumstances can I get out of it, necessary) do orange. I didn't like orange before I moved to Tennessee in '85 and I hate it even more now.

I love making blankets and throws. Since you can only use so many of those I have a small stock of them. I also have built up a small stash of scarves. Both the blankets and the scarves are being sold to raise money towards a much needed building project for our daughter. Our youngest, Princess Junior, was born with a rare chromosome disorder and requires around the clock nursing due to multiple medical conditions. She does have her own room but it has gotten smaller and smaller as her equipment needs have expanded and as she grows. We are working on funding a room addition to the house so that we can give her the master bedroom and small retreat space that we are currently in. This would make it much, much easier for her nurses to care for her and give Princess Junior more space where we could work with her for therapies and education. I'll put up a separate post of what I have available. Anything earned from these will go in the Princess Junior building fund.

Current WIPs are a couple blankets that I am just finishing up. Weaving tails, adding borders, etc. They will probably end up on the building fund page. I also am finishing up a sweater that I originally started for Princess Junior but she can't wear it now due to her tracheotomy. I'll post that to so some little girl can enjoy it.

We've been clearing out things around here. Last weekend we cleaned out the utility room. Who needs 4 picnic baskets?!? I've recently listed things on Craigslist and we have also have made several substantial donations to Goodwill. And there is more to come. Yarn, however, gets passed on to a friend who shares it with a group that she crochets with. I know they have, in the past, made hats (and scarves?) for a Christmas shop for underprivileged children to "shop" at. I'd say the yarn finds it's needed home!

Later...