Songs we sing

Children will often make up words to songs, because they don't understand the original words, and their words make more sense to them.

Examples~
One sister sang (when she was little, of course!):
"Whole Wheat, Whole Wheat, Whole Wheat" to the tune of "Holy, Holy, Holy." She may not have known what "Holy" meant, but "Whole Wheat" was the flour that my dad was baking bread with!

Another sister had this rendition of "Low in the Grave":
"Low in the gravy lay". Just depends how you break the words apart!

I confess, I had a song that I didn't know the true words to until I was a teenager! We had a college tape with a song that included the words "Oh sinner go free". I thought it was "Oh synagogue free"...I wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but that's what I HEARD when I listened to that tape!

I'm sure that those of you with kids in your life have heard a song or two messed up. Do share please!

Boohoo

Well, before I got my knitting needles from e-bay, I was excited. Now I'm not! They didn't turn out to be the same quality as my other needles...the points were so sharp they poked me (I could have sanded them a little, if that were the only problem), the laser engraving telling what size they were snagged the yarn and slowed my knitting down, and they are not the right size--the size 2 needles that I opened were much smaller than my knitting guage size 2, and bigger than a size 1. I am thankful that the person offers a return policy. (However, I've yet to hear back from them.)

Oh well, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Mary Poppin's scarf

Kevin and I recently watched Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews. At the beginning, I noticed Mary Poppin's lovely scarf:



It is made in varying shades of orange, in such a lovely open-work design. As far as I can tell, it looks crocheted.

Venting...

It feels as though I have been on the phone all morning long! I called a phone company and placed an order for DSL (for one of the businesses managed by the company I work for). The shipping address was wrong, and I was transferred back and forth from one department to another, given a different number to call, transferred back and forth again, and finally as I was about to be transferred yet again, I told the lady that I had been transferred all over the place, so she actually helped me. Whew! Glad that's over with!

Check it out...

My Aunt Jeannie is a missionary in Africa. Today she got to see the lunar eclipse. Read about it here.

I found this blog that just got started. It is a Proverbs 31 Challenge. Click here to see the challenge for week one. It's not for wimps! LOL I have a few things knocked off the list, but I'm still working on it!

I've been enjoying Mrs. Cat's Making it Home blog. It has been a source of inspiration for me.

My friend Susan renamed her FlyLady blog to "With Heart and Hand...ByGrace". I love the new title (and will get it changed in my sidebar soon!), and have really enjoyed all her homemaking posts. She's braver than I--she even posted a picture of her dirty oven! See, that's why everyone thinks I'm so organized, blah, blah, blah...I don't show my true messy self to anyone! LOL Of course, she also posted a picture of her clean oven! (Now that I could do! :-D )

Lastly, Kim posted her Carnival of Kid Comedy #3, which I participated in. I'm a little late in posting the link, but check out the cute kid comedy!

Under penalty of the law...

...this tag not to be removed...

Did you ever remove one of those tags from something when you were a kid? I didn't! I was aghast that my dad would just rip them off without a care! I was sure that the police would be knocking on our door soon after he ripped a tag off something. I've always been the "letter of the law" type of person, following the rules because, of course, rules are meant to be followed!

What I didn't understand was the last word of the sentence:

...except by consumer.

Yippee!!!

I just recently won a bid on e-bay for these knitting needles:



They are bamboo double-pointed needles, ranging in size from 2 to 6. I cannot wait to get them! I got an awesome deal on them too! Brand new they would have cost me around $40 to get all 5 sets, I'm paying only $18 for them. I'll be all set for sock needles!

Jack's Chain Quilt

Here is another of my unfinished quilts. As I said before, my sister and I must have been low on oxygen when we picked this particular quilt out! LOL

Not only does it have a ton of tiny little 1 1/2 inch squares, the hexagon in the middle, along with the triangles surrounding it, make it a very hard quilt to piece!

I thought I had a whole row finished, but when I got it out, I saw that I'm missing a nine-patch and two triangles on the very end.

This is another project that I would love to have finished! Even though the pattern is difficult and time-consuming, it makes a beautiful quilt. When I have so much time that I don't know what to do with it...I'll finish this quilt!

My Charm Quilt

In my UFO post a few days back, I told about my Charm Quilt. Susan asked to see a picture of it, so here it is!

In my late teen age years I subscribed to a girl's magazine called Kindred Spirits that was published by a home school graduate. I wrote an article for the Jan/Feb 1998 issue, and will share some of it here:

I'd like to share with you a quilt that I am sewing. It is called a "charm quilt" because each fabric is used only once in the entire quilt. According to the library book from which I got this pattern (called a Tumbler Quilt), charm quilts were popular in the 1930's. When I saw this quilt pattern, I knew that I wanted to make it. After reading the instructions, I realized I would need 1,053 different pieces of fabric! Since we sew many of our own clothes, I thought "No problem, we probably have at least half that amount in our scrap box." However, as I went through the box, I found around 100 different scraps that could be used for the quilt. So began my search for fabric scraps!

I got fabric from anyone who would give me fabric! A joke around our house was that you better watch your shirt sleeves if I was around, because I just might cut a quilt piece out of it! *Grin* I made double sure that there are no fabric repeats in the entire quilt. After seeing so many different pieces of fabric, I forgot sometimes that I'd already used a particular scrap in my quilt. When I found the offending double, out came the seam ripper!

In the same article I also applied the quilt to our lives:

Each piece is different. The same is true of our lives. Each day we have a new "piece" to start. Some of my pieces are very plain and ordinary. Yes, some of our days are just simply mundane--there is no other way to look at them. Yet in my quilt, I need the simple, plain pieces to balance the lighter pieces, just as in our lives we need the simple days to let our hearts talk with God. The design of my quilt calls for many light-colored, cheerful scraps. Oh it is so nice when our lives are going the way we would like them to go--every step of the way happy and bright. However, I need an equal amount of dark colored scraps, but they need not be dreary! Many of the dark pieces are my favorites. Everything that happens in our lives is for our benefit, even when we don't think so. Just because we are going through trouble, let us not forget to give thanks to the Lord. David said in Psalm 119:67, "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word."...

I would love to have this quilt finished! It is such a cheerful, unique quilt!

My frogged project

This was my sock:



Now, it's just a ball of yarn. *Sniff, sniff* The flash of my camera lightened the colors a bit. I just adore this yarn though, so I will persevere and this ball of yarn shall yet become a pair of socks!!!

Sunday school lessons

About 10 years ago, I had a wonderful Sunday school class of 4-6 year old children. They listened well, and made it a joy to teach. One Sunday, as I was teaching a Bible story, the subject of sin came up. I asked if anyone could tell me what "sin" was.

Five-year old Natalie knew exactly what sin was:
"It's when a man and a woman live together who aren't married, or when two women live together."

"Umm, yes, that's an example of sin."

Hopefully, the other children did not go home and tell all that they learned in Sunday school, or have any interesting questions for their parents! Natalie was taught that day that sin was something she did too (and every single person on earth) and it included things such as lying, being mean to siblings, and disobeying parents!

Knitting with toothpicks

Ok, so I'm not really knitting with toothpicks. But it sure feels like it! Size 1 knitting needles are tiny!

I am *attempting* to make the ever-popular Jaywalker sock. I have "only" started it five different times, trying to get the guage and/or pattern right. It is NOT a hard pattern for me, so I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with it!

I was going to post a picture, however, Blogger won't let me post pictures right now. (Let's just add to my frustration!)

So anyhow, it's far enough along now that I can try it on. It's terrible to get on and off, it's so tight. So I'm going to frog it.

Do what?

In the knitting world, however, frogs say "rip it, rip it." And that's the reason knitters use the term "frogging" as they merrily unravel their hours worth of knitting.

(This quote from knitty.com.)

A frogging I go...I don't know that I'll be so "merrily" unravelling my knitting though. I have a feeling in my bones that I shall not have a March submission for the sock knit along that I'm a part of. Oh well...

The sock yarn I got is just beautiful, and the striping pattern is so subtle. I love the yarn! I know that I will love these socks. My plan is to frog them, and start over with bigger needles. I'm still so inexperienced with knitting needles/guages. My little sister does not get all my socks! I'm going to MAKE these socks fit me!

Baby Porcupines

Aren't these the cutest ugliest creatures you've ever seen?



Thank you, to my sister Holly, for the picture!

My Tea Drawer

I love to drink herb tea! I am always looking for a new tea to try. I have a drawer in my kitchen just for my stash of tea:

Happy Spring!

Today is the official first day of spring! While it may not feel like spring here, I know it's right around the corner!

When I was growing up, my mom made the first day of spring into an occasion. She would bake a cake, and we would sing a song (why is it that this song is escaping me right now???) and have a nice little celebration.

No cake this year! I'm just happy that warmer weather is headed our way (eventually anyhow!)

Today's Project

Today I decided it was high time to tackle our basement. We've never had so much storage space, and we've greatly neglected (and abused) the basement. "Oh this should go down to the basement" and down we go and throw it anywhere convenient.

We have a little storage room off the main part of the basement, and it has been used to store...nothing. So I attacked that first.

Here's an "after" shot:



See my geraniums? They have survived the winter! I'm so happy about that!

Kevin helped me a bit with some of the other parts of the basement, and it's looking much better. I didn't have time to do anything else other than the storage room today. I'm planning on working on it in the evenings. Kevin put in these wonderful fluorescent lights so that we can actually see in the basement, and it's amazing how much dirtier the floor looks with those new lights!

To show you how distracted I can get...

I bought yarn a week ago to try to make socks out of, but I really don't know what I was thinking! It wouldn't have made nice socks at all. So it turned into this instead:



A flower-shaped washcloth!

It gave me a little trouble, but I think that if the pattern had been written a little better (or perhaps if I were a better knitter) it would have been easier.

I made it in the evenings, and mostly didn't pay too close attention to what I was doing, so one of the petals is too short and one is too long. But who cares, it's a washcloth! *Grin*

Speaking of flowers, I spotted some of my bulbs coming up! Hooray!!! Last fall, I used some of my birthday money from my grandparents to buy the bulbs. I think the ones coming up are hiacinths. I need to go out to the garage and find the wrappers they came in, to tell for sure what they are. It's just exciting to see GREEN coming up!!!

UFO's

(UnFinished Objects)

Susan's post on Wednesday about her unfinished craft projects led me to think of mine.

Currently, I am working on a knitted sweater. I am at a standstill on it until I get some help with it. So, last night, I started a pair of jaywalker socks.

Those are my projects that are sitting on the coffee table, the ones that haven't been moved to the sewing room to "work on later".

The only other knitting project I have that is on the back burner is my knitted lace.

I don't have any tatting or crocheting projects that are unfinished, nor do I have any sewing projects that I have started. However, I do have a few sewing projects that I should start soon.

I have a set of counted cross stitch pictures that I have been "working on" since I was 16! The first one has been completed for over 6 years. The second one I started after I was married. It is about 1/3 of the way finished.

And then...my quilts! I have a quilt that I have been "quilting" for nine years. A lady in my church gave me a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that was pieced sometime in the 40's or 50's (my guess). It's a beautiful quilt top. I'm about 60% finished with the quilting. It's going to disinigrate before I get it finished! LOL

I also have a quilt top that I pieced. The quilt top is finished, and I truly wish that I had the money to get it quilted for me. It just costs so much to have someone else do it, whether machine quilted or hand quilted. This quilt tells quite a story. It is a Charm Quilt--a quilt in which every single piece of fabric is different from the others--and there are 1,053 patches in this quilt! It took me quite a few years just to gather the fabric. I got friends and relatives to send me squares from all over the world--Mexico, Africa, Hawaii, Alaska, and anyone who I could talk into giving me a 4 x 5 square of fabric! The quilt top was started when I was approximately 19, and I finished it up after I was married.

Around the same time period that I started my Charm Quilt, Holly and I each started a ridiculously impossible quilt called a Jack's Chain Quilt. We must have been low on oxygen or something when we decided that THIS was the quilt we had to make! LOL I have one row finished on this.

I have several quilt tops from Kevin's grandma that I do not consider to be part of my UFO stash. After all, *I* am not the one who started the project! If I *ever* get bored and run out of projects to do (*gasp* Is that possible?) I will commence to quilt them.

I find it funny that it truly bugs Kevin that I have unfinshed projects tucked away. He was very disconcerted when I came home last Saturday with sock yarn. However, I like having different projects to pick up and work on, and not be constantly working on the same project.

Product Review

About a month ago, I got a free sample from Garnier Fructis. Click the link to get your own sample. I tried it out and was very impressed! I do not normally buy something because of a name brand, or because I've gotten a free sample, but this is one product that I did. I bought both the shampoo and conditioner. The conditioner came with a free bottle of gel. The gel is "weightless" and really helps control my frizzy hair in this weather. Furthermore, it is the best gel that I've ever used. It doesn't make my hair look sticky or stiff.

My hair's theme song used to be "I'll Fly Away." Last winter, and the beginning of this winter, my hair was totally unmanageable. Not so anymore!

I saw a ROBIN today!

Yippee! Spring is on it's way!!!

To answer the burning question

How did I get my voice clip on my blog?

Very, very simple!

Go to audioblogger and follow the prompts. That sets you up for audio blogging. They you call the number listed on the screen, and follow the prompts to record your message. Make sure to press # when you are finished with your message, and push the correct numbers. You do have the option to erase and start over.

How much easier could it be?

Just for fun:

Where did Spring go???

Early last week I posted that we were to have temps in the 60's by the end of the week. I said "I'll believe it when I see it." Well guess what? Our high for Saturday was a glorious 63*. Mmmmmm spring air! Everyone seemed to be out and about (in their summer clothes, of course) enjoying the beautiful day.

It snowed this morning! We got to enjoy some warmth for a few days, but the snow reminded us that spring is not officially here yet!

Progress Report

Here's how my sweater is coming along:



I have the second striping sequence finished. I am just loving working with this yarn!

Signature required...

I just looked over at our answering machine, and it was blinking, indicating that there was a new message that we had overlooked. It was a message from my dentist's office. I forgot to sign my check when I was there!

I think it's funny, because all week long, I write checks for the various companies that my boss owns. Of course, I can't sign any of those checks, so I leave the signature blank, thus forming a habit. Next time I write a personal check, I need to remember to actually sign it!

My reading "nook"

I had to laugh when I downloaded the pictures from my camera. This picture is one that I did not take. What is it? It's my reading spot. Yep, right in the kitchen. No, not very comfortable. What makes it so desirable? The heater vent, of course! After dinner, I will sometimes sit over the vent and read. I have another stool, which is a tiny apple stool that my sister gave me, and sometimes I pull that over and set my cup of tea on it. If need be, the heater can always be turned up a degree or two. After all, if the heater goes off, why sit over the heater vent???

Lately, I have been getting stacks of books from the library, and paging through them in the evenings. Hence, all the books around my stool. Many of them have been knitting books, but there are others too. I've been getting lots of ideas for knitting projects!

My new knitting project

I took the plunge and bought a pattern, yarn, and needles to make myself a sweater. Here is the pattern, with the yarn colors I've chosen:



And here is how it looks worked up:



This sweater had better fit me! I've never paid so much for a sweater before, and it's not even made yet!!!

I'm blessed to have a friend at church that is helping me along where I need help. She even lent me her whole set of knitting needles!

Very Bad Food

Do you ever make Very Bad, Very Gross Food? I try hard not to! In fact, I think of myself as a pretty good cook! But last night's dinner was Very Bad. It was salmon loaf, which normally turns out Very Good, but last night I just didn't have the ingredients I needed, and I improvised. Very Bad. That's all I'll say about that! I ate a few bites of mine, and Kevin (poor man) ate his portion. But the rest ended up in the trash! Too sad.

That wasn't too bad!

I went to the dentist this afternoon. I had been dreading it, but it really wasn't so bad after all! I only had one tiny cavity, and that got filled at my visit. It didn't even need any pain killer. I guess it was quite shallow. But that's all fixed! I wasn't able to schedule a cleaning before I went in, because they are booked all the way to October! But while I was there, someone cancelled, and I can get in this Thursday.

This experience was so much better than the past two experiences at the dentist. For instance, it doesn't bother me if two people want to speak in their native tongue when they are around me, but please, refrain from speaking in Vietnamese you have your hands in my mouth! Obviously, that was not a trip to the dentist that I enjoyed!

My second experience I'm referring to wasn't so fun either. I arrived on time for my appointment, waited in the waiting room for an hour, then waited in the examination room for another hour! Oh, and when I got escorted to the examination room, I got a magazine thrust in my lap. It was a Latino magazine--HELLO! I don't speak Spanish. Do I look like a Mexican? Well, ok, most of the magazine was in English, but it was all about being Mexican/Spanish and living in the United States. I did what any extremely bored person would do, and read the magazine from cover to cover (excepting, of course, the articles that were in Spanish!).

But this dentist was nice (hey, he could speak fluent English! LOL) and so was everyone in the office. Everyone was just polite and friendly and hey! Going to the dentist wasn't so bad as I thought it would be!

March Weather

March weather here in west Michigan is quite unpredictable. Actually, I should say that weather in Michigan is unpredictable! But anyhow, it was snowing yesterday, and the news says to expect 60* weather by the end of the week! I'll believe it when I see it!

Kill your television!

The bumper sticker I saw (previous post) reminded me of a pastor's and worker's conference I attended in 1999. A well-known pastor preached for the opening service, and during that service he used a very attention-grabbing object lesson. He took an ax and literally destroyed a television that was on the platform. Glass and televions parts flew everywhere! The message was to "Go forward" and stop sitting around watching junk on televion, to stop bad habits, etc.

The next day my sister Holly was in one of the ladies' split sessions, and the speaker shared how her young son didn't quite "get" the point of the previous night's message. At home he asked if they could destroy their old television, since they had a newer, bigger one in the living room! LOL

Actions speak louder than words...

...or in this case, "Actions speak louder than bumper stickers."

Last night as I was in the video-store parking lot, I noticed a car pulling out of one of the parking spots. It had a bumper sticker on it that said:

Kill your television!

Apparently, they haven't killed theirs yet!

Pride and Prejudice

I read Jane Austen's book Pride and Prejudice when I was a teenager, and thouroughly enjoyed it.

Since then, I have watched these adaptations of it:




This last one was just a cheap-production modern-day chick flick...my sisters all thought it terribly funny and enjoyable, but I didn't get quite as much amusement out of it as they did.

A few days ago, my sister Holly told me that the 2005 version was out on dvd. So last night I set out to rent it. I went to two video rental stores, with no luck. It seems as though everyone else wanted to rent it too! I called another store, rather than wasting a trip out there, and they didn't have it in stock either. So Kevin and I went to Meijer and we bought it, with the plan to sell it on e-bay.

So last night I watched this version:



I have to say that of all the versions I have seen, the 1995 version (second picture down) is my favorite! That's not to say that I didn't enjoy last night's viewing. This movie was not quite as long as the others, so they didn't have as much time to develop the characters. I do believe they stayed true to the book though. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie!

Trade Marks

Everything these days has trademarks on them. Or they are copyrighted. Everyone has to protect their invention, their catch phrase, their company name.

But I was a little surprised to see that ZIP code is trademarked! I got a post card from the post office, and noticed that "ZIP" has "TM" by it. This struck me as funny, because what business, person, etc. would would want to use "ZIP code"? LOL

Do you know what ZIP stands for, anyhow? It is an acronym for "Zone Improvement Plan."

Upon further investigation, I found the following information at Wikipedia:

ZIP Code was originally registered as a trademark by the U.S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired.

So if it's not really trademarked, then why would they use "TM" by it??? Questions, questions! *Grin*