~Yarn Snobbery~

When I first started knitting, I didn't know the first thing about yarn content. I vaguely knew that there were varying degrees of quality in yarn, but I had no idea how much I could fall in love with cotton and wool and bamboo!

However, as I began visiting yarn shops (and was aghast at the outrageous prices they were charging), I knew that I would never plunk down cash for expensive yarn!

But then I started reading blogs. Knitting blogs. This changed my perspective a lot. If you're going to spend hours and hours making something, shouldn't you make it with quality fibers? After all, if I were going to sew a garment or something for my home, I wouldn't use the dollar table to do so (Well, I have, and the results have been disastrous!). No, I use good quality fabric. Why shouldn't I use good quality yarn?

As I go blog-hopping about, reading about other people’s knitting and crocheting projects, I see all the gorgeous, luxurious yarns they use. They rarely talk about how expensive the yarn is. Sweaters and afghans and projects are all made with silk, cashmere, angora, wool, etc. “Oh, yes, I happened to have 50 skeins of cashmere in my stash, so I thought this would be the perfect project for it...” You know, stuff like that.

I'm here to say that nice yarn is expensive. Wonderful, luxurious yarn is break-the-bank expensive!

My yarn that I'm using for my afghan is not luxurious. It is, however, good quality! It is big enough now that I can throw it over me when it is cool in the house, and I just love how it feels! So warm and nice feeling. I'm glad that I made it out of yarn that feels nice against my skin! However, if I would have known how much yarn it would actually take to complete my afghan, I would have considered a different yarn.

So now I need to reconsider my yarn snobbishness. Is the price of great yarn worth it? Or should I settle for good yarn? I don’t know. I think I will be so much happier with the end product, than if I had made it with Red Heart Super Saver yarn. True, there are plenty of yarns that fall somewhere in the middle of these two examples. But I DO know that if anyone even thinks of throwing my finished afghan in the dryer, I will most likely die!

My afghan is not finished yet...it keeps eating up yarn! I *think* I have enough yarn now in order to finish it. We shall see!

~Happy Tuesday~

Hello! I have much to do today! Is your Tuesday just as busy?

Yesterday I discovered that I hadn't turned the calendar from July to August yet. Talk about being out of touch!

Today I have several errands, including grocery shopping, to do. Am I the only one who does not like to go grocery shopping? Well, I know I'm not the only one, because I have a friend who will commiserate with me about grocery shopping! *Smiles* I have to find that perfect time of day to go. I think that has something to do with my dislike. For the last year plus, I've been going on Saturdays, and let me tell you, that is no picnic in the park! All the sales items have been whisked off the shelves, and the store is jam-packed with everyone doing their weekly shopping. For Saturday shopping, I found the best time to go was actually dinner time! (I'm sure early morning would have bee a good option too, but I was usually sleeping in!)

Besides the grocery shopping, I'll be working around the house today. Just little things, no huge projects.

The sun is shining in my little corner of the world, I hope it is for you too! Have a blessed day!

~How Nice...~

The lovely Mrs. Wilt gave me a "Nice Matters Award." Thank you, Mrs. Wilt!

And now, I believe it is my turn to pass on the award! To be honest, I only read blogs that are encouraging and uplifting. I do believe "Nice Matters", and choose the blogs I read carefully!

I've chosen the following bloggers:
***Dawn at (4:53 am)
***Heather at A Place of Quiet Rest

***Joyce at Joyce's Ramblings
***Heather at Knit or Knot

There are many more which I could have mentioned, but I'll stick with these four. I am always encouraged and refreshed when I come away from these blogs.

~Pay it Forward Meme~

I saw this over at Sew Chic, and thought it sounded like a lot of fun!

Pay It Forward meme

I will send a handmade gift* to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog.

I'm not sure what I will send, but it will be something handmade by me.

*The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade--choose your specs when you post it on your blog.

If you'd like to participate, please leave a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you.


ETA: Since three people have responded, I am closing the comments on this post. I'm really looking forward to this! =)

~Oh my, where has summer gone?~

The cicadas have taken up their day-long "singing" now. (Droning? Humming? What do cicadas do?) Being from California, I wasn't aware of cicadas at all when we first moved to Michigan. The first summer that we were here, I thought the sound was coming from the neighbor's light they had in their yard. That was the only reasonable thing I could come up with for that annoying noise! LOL

The next summer I read about them, so I realized what that sound was. It is a sound that ushers us into fall-time. Can it really be August already? We only have a few more weeks of "summer" weather left? Oh dear!

I do like fall weather, but fall weather ushers in snow and bitter cold. And snow is not something I look forward to (at least not a whole winter's worth!!!).

If you are interested in hearing a cicada, click here, or here or here, and make sure your speakers are turned up good and loud! The last sound clip specifically says it is cicadas from Michigan.

Edited to add: I can't believe it but last year to the date I posted about cicadas as well! Those cicadas must come out with precision!

~Etsy Update~

New items in my shop, just listed:

~Back to Homeschool Week~

Well, I'm not exactly a homeschooler. However, I am a homeschool graduate, so I thought I would participate in Randi's "Back to Homeschool Week", in the hopes that it would be an encouragement to the parents reading these posts. Instead of participating each day, I will address each of the topics in one post.

What led to your parent's decision to homeschool?

In the summer before 5th grade, my family moved. I had always attended Christian schools, and the area that we moved to did not have any Christian schools (that would have been close enough for us to attend). I was actually quite excited about homeschooling, because the previous two years had not been very fun for me. I'm sure I contributed to the problems, but my class was small (6 students in my grade), and there were three girls. What is it about three girls not being able to get along???

How were you homeschooled?

For the first three years, my parents schooled me through a satellite program. This worked out well for my parents because they were new to homeschooling. All the curriculum was sent to my parents, and then they sent my work back on a regular basis, and my grades were issued from them. After 7th grade, my parents decided to keep their own records and buy my curriculum directly. The problem with the satellite program was that my parents didn't have a choice in the curriculum used.

Getting out there...

My parents belonged to a homeschool group, and we went to church, had friends, and visited with family members. I never participated in sports (I wasn't interested anyhow). I took piano lessons for a bit, and when my mom's parents moved into the area, we had "sewing lessons" from my grandma every week.

Curriculum

After the afore-mentioned satellite program, my parents bought most of my curriculum from A Beka, math from Saxon.

~~~~~
School is school, and so I can't say that I loved every minute of it, but then, I'm sure that no one can say that! I feel very privileged to have been home-educated, and I'm thankful for the extra time that my parents invested in my education.

I'll leave you with my mom's quote, which I often heard when I needed to be studying, or complained about my work:

It doesn't have to be fun, it just has to be done!

~Cable Fun~

This was the gift I sent to one of my sisters for her recent birthday:


A small knit purse.

The vine running down the middle of the purse is cable work. It was different than anything that I've done before, and was both challenging and enjoyable.



I bought fabric for the lining, and then cut it too small. So, I looked around at what I had, and decided that fabric from my fat-quarter win from Sew, Mama, Sew, would work perfectly. And the little zipper pouch which I had made previously went into the purse (since the fabrics coordinated).



Pattern: from a library book
Yarn: 100% cotton, worsted weight (I think)

I enjoyed this pattern, but when I got to the end, I realized that of all the knitting I have done, I have never had to worry about seams! I did a pathetic job the first time about, and then when I was showing it to a friend, I noticed that the front panel was sewn on upside down! Of course with a hideous seaming job, and an upside down panel, there was no way I could send it to my sister...at least not that way! I took it apart, went to a trusty reference book, and tried a different method of seaming. It looked so much better the second time around! This was a great learning project for me!

~Home again, home again, jiggedy-jog~

I'm going to be a full time homemaker for a little bit here. I resigned from my job, and Friday was my last day. I did agree to work on Wednesday and Friday of next week, to fill in until the new person arrives. That will be a little funny feeling, but it will also give us a few more dollars in our bank account. *Smiles*

I am going to take a few weeks just to get caught up on everything (housework, gardening, sewing, etc.), and then I am going to look for part time work. My hat is off to the many women who work full time and get everything done. But that is not me. For the past six months or so, I have just been so overwhelmed by everything. Being away from home for 9 1/2+ hours each day makes it hard to keep up with everything!

I love being at home, and I am really looking forward to my little "vacation".

~I can't believe I forgot about this...~

I was cleaning up my online bookmarks, and I came across this link.

Remember the afghan square I submitted for a knit-along book? (Pictured at left)

Well, it landed in the afghan that was photographed for the book. Now, I won't know till I see the book if my square is actually visible in the book, but I think it is pretty neat to have a knitted square going into a book that's being published! I believe the book comes out sometime in 2008. It's a long ways off!



Bottom picture taken by Larissa at Stitch Marker.

~Buttermilk and Eggs~

One of my most favorite memories of my childhood revolves around a simple shopping trip. My family was visiting my mom’s parents, and my grandma needed some ingredients at the grocery store. She asked my grandpa to run to the store and get “butter, milk and eggs.” I got to go along with my grandpa, and as we got into the car, he said, “We’re going to trick grandma and get buttermilk and eggs!” Oh, I could hardly wait! This was going to be SOOOO fun! We, of course, got butter, milk, eggs, and buttermilk, because I’m sure that while Grandpa enjoyed a good joke, he didn’t want to have to go back out to the store!

Somehow my grandma wasn’t tricked, but it was still fun anyhow! And my grandpa and I both enjoyed a glass of buttermilk that afternoon!

Recently, there were two different bloggers who mentioned buttermilk. And of course, I had to put it down on my shopping list! I just love buttermilk, but I rarely buy it. Buttermilk is definitely an acquired taste, and thankfully (LOL) Kevin hasn’t acquired a taste for it. So that meant more for me. *Grin*

Ahhh…memories. I don’t often drink buttermilk, but when I do, I always think of my grandpa and our shopping trip!

~The Reality of Reality Shows~

I do admit to succumbing to one or two reality shows. I watched The Biggest Loser for two seasons in a row. I watched The Apprentice two seasons ago, but didn’t watch this last season. There must have been quite a few people who didn’t watch last season, because the show has been canceled.

So I’ve already admitted to having watched a few reality shows. But how REAL are they? I remember hearing someone say, about their reality show, that “It’s a reality show. We have to take a lot of scenes over again.” In other words, they have an unscripted show, but they take the same scene over and over again until it comes out the way they want it to.

There are just some shows *I* cannot imagine why they are either watched or participated in, which obviously I know a bit about, otherwise I couldn't write about them. But I do not watch them! LOL:

***Fear Factor. People sign up for that??? I bet the document they have to sign just to get on the show is a ream’s worth of paper! Because if they die or develop health problems from the things they have to do, I’m sure the producers are not going to take responsibility!
***Wife Swap. What husband wants his wife living in another man’s house for two weeks? While a stranger lives in his house and takes care of his kids? To get the most for the viewer’s enjoyment, they pick women from extreme opposite homes.
***Nanny 911. My kid is an obnoxious brat and I want to broadcast it on national television? Do parents have no shame?
***What Not to Wear. Can you imagine how embarrassed and hurt you would be if family members or friends nominated you for this show? And then sometimes the outfits that the hosts wear look so ridiculous. They need someone to tell them what not to wear! (I do not regularly watch this show, but I have seen it a few times.) The $5000 Visa card would not be enough to cover the embarrassment and hurt, at least not for me!
***Man vs. Wild Man with an accent leaping through the jungle, climbing mountains in his bare feet, trudging through deserts with nothing but an empty canteen, talking all the while about how dangerous the things are that he’s doing. OK let’s get real here: All the things he’s doing, the camera men have to do, with a camera in their hands! I’m sure the camera men are privileged with real food and do not have to eat grubs and monkey brains, but still. If they couldn’t keep up with him, there wouldn’t be a show!!!

Please, don't be offended if you watch and enjoy any of the above shows. These are MY opinions of the shows! *Smiles*

~This is a post~

It might be dull and boring, but it is indeed a new post. *Smiles*

Tonight we had two window salespeople come over and give their little pitch. We know we need to replace our windows, and we'd like to have a ballpark figure so we can know how much money to save up.

So. Two and a half hours later, we still didn't have a definitive price. Very frustrating. They did their little demo on how heat escapes through windows (yes, with frost on the inside of our windows last winter, we were quite aware we have much heat escaping our house!)

I think they took so long because they want to make sure we don't get a quote from anyone else. You know, if we figure all window salespeople will take so long, we for sure won't want to get any more quotes! LOL

And they also didn't want to give us prices on individual windows. What we'd like to do is replace a few at a time, not all at once.

Anyhow, any sales stories to tell?

I remember one guy who came to our house when I was young. My mom answered the door, and he pushed his way into the house and started spraying his miracle spray on a spot on the floor. My mom, in order to get him out of the house, told him that my dad would have to make the decision. So he came out to the garden and talked to my dad for quite a lo-o-o-ng time. And he didn't make a sale. If I remember right, it took my dad walking him out to his car to get rid of him.

Now, please don't be mistaken; I have nothing against salespeople. I could never work in sales, because that just isn't me. But when shopping, I greatly appreciate a knowledgeable sales rep to help answer questions and help me get the most for my money!

~And the winners are...~

Wow! TWO HUNDRED THREE entries for my give-away! That would be a record number of comments on any post at my blog! *Smiles*

Using this random number generator, I picked the winners.

The first prize, a set of zipper pouches and thank you notes, goes to:
Sarah at Love Well

The second prize, a set of four coasters, goes to:
Sibyl, whose blog profile did not show up. Please e-mail me at mrstammys@hotmail.com! ETA: 8/4/07 I have not heard from Sibyl, so I have selected another contest winner.

If I do not receive word from one or the other within a week, I will select another winner.

And if you *need* some zippered pouches, and I didn't pull your name out of the hat, please visit my Etsy shop. There, you will be able to purchase these two sets:

A black set with lime green trim:




Or a cherry set:

~Simple Pleasures~

Maybe you know someone who grew up "poor", or maybe that someone was you. Well, "poor" people don't have as much to spend on food, right? So they eat..."rice and beans", or whatever the person buying food deems inexpensive.

Well, I'll tell you...growing up, we were not "poor"...my parents may not have had a lot of money (they didn't), but we kids never thought we were poor. To me, "poor" is more of an attitude than a financial status. We didn't live on borrowed credit either. You know, enjoy today, pay later. Nope. We were the ones who ate beans and rice, and lots of other simple, healthy food.

And you know what? to this day I love simple, healthy food. I do not enjoy food that is artificially flavored, loaded with sugar, or packed with calories.

Why do I enjoy these foods? Because it was dinner. Dinner was a happy time, family all around the table (I do suppose I have selective memory, because not every.single.dinner was a joyous celebration of family! LOL BUT the happy times are the ones I remember!) My parents didn't gripe about not being able to afford filet mignon. I do remember my dad joking around when I was little about a certain dish being "po' folk food". And I thought he was joking, I had no clue that he really was serious! *Smiles*

Tonight I cooked a pot of beans. OH they smell so delicious! I love plain pinto beans. I cooked them with an onion and garlic, and that's how I'll eat them...too yummy!

I would like to clarify by saying that if you don't like a certain food because you associate it with being poor, with a bad memory, or whatever, that isn't wrong! For instance, I know a man who doesn't like lamb because he ate a lot of it while he was in WWII, and a lady I know doesn't like split pea soup because it was the last meal she fed her mother on her death bed. Everyone is different in how they handle circumstances through life, and if a specific food triggers bad memories, then why eat it?

~Whew~

Is everyone sitting at their computers, hopping from one contest to the next? I'm at entry #320 right now. There's a lot of neat stuff out there in bloggy land! If you haven't already done so, please enter my give-away...friends, family, bloggy friends alike! A friend from church has already entered!

I'm going to have to go to the store and get some more zippers, and stock my Etsy shop with zippered pouches. That way, they are available to more than just the contest winner! *Smiles*

I can't believe how many people have entered my contest, and I hope many more still do! I almost wish I had more to give away!

I almost limited my contest to US and Canadian residents, but then I went to USPS and checked on postage costs. It wasn't that much extra at all, so I'm happy to be able to offer the contest to international participants.

NOW...off to enter some more give-aways!

~Dog Days of Summer Give-Away~

Happy Monday! *Waving "hi"* to everyone who has stopped by! I am excited about this bloggy give-away that Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting. Please stop by Shannon's blog for a list of other give-aways!

This contest is open to people from all countries.


The first person whose name is drawn will receive two small zippered pouches which I made, along with a packet of six note cards:



The smallest zipper pouch has a vinyl pocket on the outside, for ID, bus pass, etc. I have one of these pouches in my purse, and it is just right for my lip gloss and lip stick. The other zipper pouch has a contrasting fabric pocket on the outside. Both are lined with the same fabric:



The second person's name I draw will receive a set of four coasters, also made by myself:



To enter, please just leave a comment! Thank you for stopping by! I will be drawing names on Friday evening (around 8 p.m. EDT). Please note: If you do not have a Blogger account, and you leave a comment through the anonymous feature, you must leave your name as well. I will delete all anonymous comments which do not have a name associated with them.

ETA, Friday 9 p.m.: Comments are now closed.

~I am so not on a 100 Mile Diet~

Have you heard of the movement which calls for eating only food grown in a 100-mile radius of your town? I suppose I understand the whys of this movement, but I don’t know how well it would work for me.

I do enjoy getting food from my local farmer’s market. It’s fresh and tasty, and hasn’t sat in cold storage for weeks before it ends upon my table.

The real purpose of this post is to say I’m a little rebellious when it comes to this mentality. The 100-mile diet would work for someone who lives in a milder climate, and could obtain a nutritionally-balanced diet year round. Here in Michigan, I can guarantee there’s nothing fresh within a 100-mile radius in the dead of winter, unless someone is growing mushrooms in their basement. ;-)

I’m elated when I go to the grocery store and see fruit for sale that was packed near my hometown in California. Because my dad worked for the USDA for many years as a fruit inspector, I’m familiar with many of the packing shed names and locations. Last week I was at the grocery store and glanced at the fruit. It all looked so yummy, but I wasn't there for fruit. But then I saw the label on the side of the plum box. It was from a packing shed that I used to drive by every single day on my way to work. I couldn't resist then! I had to have some. Besides, the grocery store was calling them plums, but they were really pluots. And pluots are way sweeter than regular plums! And then the amazing thing happened...three of them jumped into my cart!!! OK, I admit, I put them there! And I enjoyed them later! MMMMM.

~My Mom's the best!~

Thursday I got a package in the mail from my mom. She sent me some fabric (3/8 yard cuts):


and zippers!


Woohoo! I have zippers! *Grin* No more zipper woes.

~Potato Salad~

This recipe is one I got when I had been married just shy of a year. We had been invited to a church family's home for the 4th of July, and the hostess made this delicious potato salad. Kevin loved it so much, he asked me to get the recipe. Whenever I make potato salad, this is the recipe I use.

Potato Salad

Russet Potatoes, peeled, cubed, and cooked until tender
Hard boiled eggs (1 to 1 1/2 per pound of potatoes)
Pickles (1/2 to 1 large pickle per pound of potatoes)
Olives
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Mayonnaise

Drain and cool the potatoes. Sprinkle a light layer of onion salt and garlic salt onto the potatoes. Slice the olives into the potatoes, then grate the eggs and pickles into the potatoes also. Add some mayonnaise and mix. Keep adding mayonnaise until the mixture is coated and not dry. Taste the salad and make sure there is enough onion salt and garlic salt in it. Add more and mix if necessary.

***
I usually use about 8-10 potatoes, and 4-6 eggs. Instead of grating the eggs, I slice them both ways using an egg slicer. Kevin doesn't care for a lot of pickles, so I usually use just one small pickle. The onion salt and garlic salt are both important to this recipe, make sure you use both! Remember that you can always add more, but you can't take out what you've already put in! So season sparingly at first.

***
I made this while Kevin was in college, for a picnic with all the bus workers on our bus route. One of the guys told me it was the best potato salad ever, and that he liked it so much because it didn't have olives in it. His mom, apparently, always made potato salad with olives in it. I smiled and said thank you, looked at the salad he still had on his plate, noting that his salad did indeed have olives in it. I didn't want to disappoint him and tell him that mine had olives in it too. LOL

~Last post for tonight!~

Well, I've been in a chatty mood tonight! After being vacant from my bloggy home, I had a lot to post, I guess!

Thank you for all the kind comments on the Thanksgiving in July posts, and for the comments regarding my new picture. You all are the best blog readers ever. =)

I'm really excited, because I'm going to be participating in this:

The way it works is simple: those who have give-aways will all post their link at Rocks in My Dryer next Monday, and people can go from blog to blog and enter contests! Sounds like fun to me! I have a fun made-by-me give-away planned. Stay tuned!

Now, don't forget, I've posted four entries today. So keep scrolling and scrolling down. *Grin*

~Projects I want to do~

I am an avid book-checker outer, pattern seeker-outer when it comes to knitting patterns. I never have to wonder what my next knitting project will be, because I have a long list of projects and ideas!

My one sweater project remains in my knitting bag, while socks, gifts, and my afghan fly off the needles! I will finish this sweater! And I'm going to do it before I start any other big project!

However, I have a few projects that I've come across recently that I just love.

From the July 2007 issue of Creative Knitting:



I adore sailor collars!

In Knit 2 Together, the "Rowena Cardigan":



and from the book Cables Untangled, the "His/Hers Reversible Scarf":



I've wanted to make a cabled scarf for ages, but I don't like the way the back looks on most cabled scarves. This one is the same on both sides! So it doesn't matter which side you see, it looks nice either way!

~Thanksgiving in July, Part 5~

This will be the last post on "Thanksgiving in July", but I am still seeking to thank the Lord for the little things, and big things, that He does for me on a daily basis. I wrote this post a few days ago, and haven't posted it because I do not want it to sound as if I'm bragging. I'm not...I'm thankful and in awe of all the Lord has done for me.

Psalm 121
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Last night I opened my Bible to read a short passage before going to bed. My eye caught Psalm 121, because I had written beside it that it was my great-grandpa's favorite passage.

I read the chapter, and found great comfort in the promises from the Lord. Later, and today, I was thinking back on this chapter, and the fact that it was my great-grandpa's favorite. But that's not all...I remember him telling me that it was his mother's favorite. A few days ago, when I was cleaning in my sewing room, I came across a birthday card in which my grandpa (my great-grandpa's son) had written Psalm 121:1 in. I find such comfort in knowing that for many generations, my family members have gone to the Word of God for their comfort and help.

Today, my heart is full of thankfulness for the godly heritage I have! I know that it is not something to take for granted.

Whether you have parents and grandparents who served the Lord, or not, just remember that a long line of godly Christians can start with you. Or, should you be blessed with a godly heritage, a long line of godly Christians can end with you, if you do not take care to share the gospel.

~Garbage Bags~

A month or so ago, I was standing in the household goods aisle at the grocery store, and suddenly I had a great thought.

"If I spend a cent or more per bag, maybe my trash will stay in my garbage bags!"

And so, I broke down and spent a little more for trash bags. For the seven years I've been married, I have been buying the cheapest garbage bags possible. Guess what? You get what you pay for! For seven years I've been cleaning up garbage left from split seams and gaping holes in my trash bags.

I'm taking my trash bags to the next level! *Giggles* Seriously though, the bags I bought were not that much more than the cheap-o bags I used to buy. They are nice and sturdy, and I haven't had one leakage problem since!

Sometimes, it pays to spend a little more! This is one such case!

~Pictures~

One of the things I bought at IKEA was this framed artwork:


It cost $9.99, and was nicer than the picture frames without artwork in them. Instead of mats, the glass is etched, and the photos "float" behind the glass. It looked so pretty.

I cropped several pictures that I've taken, printed them on photo quality paper (at home), and Kevin mounted them right over the pictures that it came with.

The effect is very nice, I think:


I originally bought it for the living room, but it looked so much nicer against the green paint in the dining room, so that's where I hung it.

~Hey! it's a "plantiversary!"

What, you mean you've never heard of a plantiversary? LOL I was going through pictures on my computer last night and saw the picture I took of my tiny little houseplant that I purchased a year ago. Wow, I have kept it alive for a whole year!

The day I bought it:



Today:



I re-potted quite a while ago, and it is growing well. The only thing about it is that I haven't had any luck getting it to bloom again. I recently bought some fertilizer sticks and put them in the soil. We'll see if that helps!

~Back from IKEA!~

We had a nice time today at IKEA! I took my camera and was going to take pictures...but I forgot. LOL

IKEA is so fun to shop at. The first time we went, we lived in California. I don't remember having heard of IKEA previous to our first time there, but I looked up "furniture" in the phone book, and IKEA was listed, and we went. I had birthday money that I spent, if I remember correctly.

Today I got glasses (a dozen for $5.99):


They are nice and sturdy, and hold up well. This is the third time I've bought them.

This nifty tea light holder:





And then also a pillow, tea infuser, wooden spoons, measuring cups, six little bowls, which are the perfect size for servings of things like applesauce, yogurt, and ice cream, kitchen shears, a picture frame, spice jars with nice little lids which you can sprinkle or pour from, and a clock.

IKEA is the type of store where impulse is fun. You just never know what you need till you see it. LOL The bowls and glasses were the only items I was planning to get before we went, but I did had a budget for my spending, and took a few things out of my cart in order not to overspend.

I really wanted this magazine holder, but the only one they had was the model. It just seems like the perfect thing to keep knitting projects in. I could keep it in the living room, don't you think? I thought that I'd order it online, but I see that it isn't available online. Oh, why, oh why? LOL



Now I need to go do a few things about the house so that Sunday and next week go well!

~Thanksgiving in July, Part 4~

Since I didn't blog yesterday, this is "Part 4" instead of "Day 4", of my posts of thankfulness to the Lord.

We as Christians have so many things to be thankful for. Not only do we have a promised home in heaven, we have the Lord Jesus with us always. What wonderful comfort we have in those promises!

I do not know if this week has been one of testing because I publicly said I was going to be thankful, but I do know that I have grown closer to the Lord by seeking to thank Him and be in a thankful attitude!

Today, I am thankful for:

***the rain! As Kevin said, "Free water!" As many people do, we pay for our water based on usage. This summer has been dry, and we've needed to water our lawn quite frequently. The recent rain has eliminated the need to turn the sprinklers on...at least for a day or two!


***The anticipation of shopping at IKEA! We are going there this afternoon! I love IKEA...great prices, huge store, great items, and great cinnamon rolls. *Grin*

***A nice, long conversation with my Mom this morning.

Have a very nice Saturday!

~Thanksgiving in July, Day 3~

Thank you for the comments under yesterday's post! It is not easy to have a thankful attitude while going through trying circumstances, and I don't want to give the impression that I was in a thankful attitude all day long! Nobody's perfect, you know. *Smiles*

Today I'm thankful for:
***My wonderful husband! Tonight he made dinner and did all the laundry (sorry ladies, he's taken!!!).

***KFC Famous Bowls. A very satisfying "comfort food" type lunch, if you do not happen to have a packed lunch available, that is!

~Thanksgiving in July, Day 2~

I'll be honest. Today has been one of those days where you either laugh or cry, and I ended up crying, not laughing. But there are still things to be thankful about!

The Bible says:

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

So even though the circumstances of my day have not gone well, I can still rejoice!

Today I'm thankful for:
***The gorgeous, gorgeous weather. Oh, it is so beautiful today! It has been hot and muggy, but we have a respite from the mugginess!

***And that leads me to: I had a good hair day! That may seem trivial, but hey, have you ever had a terrible day, and had a bad hair day on top of it? Every time you pass a mirror, you feel worse and worse! The humid summers do not treat my hair kindly, so I was quite happy for a good hair day!


***The box of Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chai tea I found at my desk today. I totally forgot I had it at work, and enjoyed my cup immensely!

***The lovely blueberries, cherries and peaches I got today at a fruit stand. All of them were grown here in Michigan! Mmmm...some are going in the freezer, and some are going to be enjoyed in the next few days!

~Thanksgiving in July~

Many stores will have Christmas sales in July. This week, I plan on having Thanksgiving in July!


No, I’m not going to roast a turkey and prepare all the trimmings! I’m going to “think to thank”. It is so easy to get into an unthankful attitude, and I don’t wish to do that! Our Lord is so wonderful and He’s given us so many blessings!


Psalm 68:19 says:

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”

Today, I thank the Lord for:
***The sun that's shining and the privilege of having air conditioning!
***My flowers that are growing. See what I mean? I have four plants that have died and I'm focusing on them instead of the other plants that are doing just fine!
***The yummy stir-fry that my husband made last night (and we enjoyed again for lunch today). I didn't have to cook last night!

What are some things that you are thankful for?

~Oh rats, I'm out of zippers!~

I've made two little zippered pouches, the one I showed you yesterday, and one previous to that. I was pleased with both, but the zipper end bugged me, where it curved way in, instead of being straight all the way across the top.

Through a Google search and a walk during lunch I figured out how to make it straight:



I love these little pouches! The only thing stopping me from making more is lack of zippers!

~Little Zippered Pouch~

To go in my new purse, and keep my lip balm and lipstick handy, a little zippered pouch, with vinyl pocket:




I followed the tutorial found here. The only thing I did differently was to install the zipper close to the zipper teeth, and I left off the ring, since I won't be attaching it to anything. It's a quick, fun little project. I used scraps left from my fabric win from Sew, Mama, Sew!

~My Holiday~

I hope everyone had a great 4th! We had a very nice day, spent at home in the morning, and then over to a friend's for the afternoon and dinner. I took along my afghan and worked on it while we talked. It's growing:



Stripey goodness:



On the way home, we saw fireworks, and stopped to watch them. It was a nice little show! We pulled off a side street and didn't have to hassle with any traffic once they were over. I tried the fireworks setting on my camera, which was the first time I've used it. I think I need a tripod if I'm going to try it again. One shot was ok:


But then the rest look like this:


We got home late and I slept in this morning a bit. I decided to have breakfast at Panera Bread. I had a cinnamon crunch bagel and a cup of tea. I would have had a chai tea latte, but their espresso machine was undergoing regular maintenance. That saved me some money and calories. LOL

While I ate breakfast, I read a library book, French Women Don't Get Fat. It is quite an interesting read. I suppose I shouldn't have been reading a diet book while eating though. *Grin*

Then I went shopping. It seems everything of mine is dilapidated and in need of replacing: shoes, purse, etc. etc.. So I got some of those things. I am always in a hurry when I'm shopping, and it's hard to pick out those items when you're in a hurry!

I bought three pairs of shoes. If you've read my 101 List, you may have seen that one of my goals was to buy three pairs of shoes during one shopping trip. That may seem like an odd goal, but I greatly dislike shopping for shoes, and I have a hard time finding shoes that fit me! My shoes practically fall apart before I get around to replacing them, that's how much I dislike shopping for shoes! So a three-shoe shopping trip would be a marvelous feat.

And it was:


Yes, two of them are the same. But that bow! I couldn't resist!


I went to a near-by town and had lunch at a little cafe-style restaurant...again reading my book. I was glad to have the book, because the service was a little slow. But that was fine by me, I had plenty of time to read! I took a little walk along a river after lunch. I spotted these pretty flowers (or weeds?):


That pretty much sums up my little holiday! While I did do a lot of shopping, I spent my time browsing, so I don't feel tired from rushing about! I feel refreshed and ready to go back to work tomorrow! *Smiles*

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have commented on the gift card post. It has been fun to read the comments!

~Gift Cards~

After reading an online article that both shamed gift card buyers, and proclaimed their thoughtfullness (Hmm? how can both be true? Apparently if you give a gift card to a store it is tacky, but if you give a gift card for a spa it is perfectly fine), I thought I'd write my thoughts on gift cards!

I, for one, love to receive a gift card. I am not going to look down my nose on a gift! No siree! The fact that someone was thinking of me, and wanted to give me something is enough to be thankful for. I have yet to receive a gift card that I haven't had use for. Why would I think that a $30 gift card is rude? Someone spent money on me, and they took the time to get the gift card at the store they thought I would most enjoy.

I have given gift cards as well. Sometimes I send gift cards as birthday gifts to family members. We have given gift cards for stores and restaurants. Last year as part of our Christmas present to my family, we gave them a check for a certain place they like to eat at. They took some fun and crazy pictures of the meal, and it was enjoyable to get those by e-mail later on!

Personally, I do not feel it is rude to give a gift card. I think it is rude to feel any gift is rude!

Now, of course, it is always a pleasure to open a gift that someone thoughtfully picked out for you. I love to be on the receving end as well as the giver of such gifts, and an actual gift is my preference to give.

When Kevin and I got married, we received quite a bit of cash, checks, and gift cards. Do you know how helpful those were in starting our new life together? While I had to return quite a few gifts because they were duplicated (I can't remember how many towels I returned, stainless steel bowls, etc), we had plenty of immediate uses for the monetary gifts! We got our curio cabinet for our china, I stocked our pantry, and I made many trips to Wal-mart and Target to fill in all those household items that you don't think of when you're registering, um, china and sheets!

Emily Post may not agree with me, but that's quite all right by me! A gift is a gift. It is not a payment, or something that is owed. The receiver should be thankful no matter what the gift. In our entitlement society, the giftee feels entitled to demand thoughtful and meaningful gifts. I'm glad that the people I give gifts to do not feel this way!

Do you give gift cards as gifts? If you receive a gift card do you feel as though the person giving the card has not put any thought into it?

~No Bake Cookies~

On Sunday afternoon, I tried my hand at no-bake cookies. They were really good! I used the recipe here, if you feel inclined to whip up a batch for yourself. At this time of year, it is really nice to have a little treat without heating up the whole house! I've never made them before, but I sure have enjoyed them before! If I had know how very easy they were, I probably would have made them a long time ago.

~Ladies Finishing School~

Elizabeth at A Merry Rose is hosting a 12-week Ladies Finishing School. The first week has already been completed. However, this coming week is somewhat of a break for the holidays, so you have time to catch up if you are interested.


Emma at Charming the Birds from the Trees hosted the first week. Her topic was personal presentation, and she left me with much food for thought. Her posts for the Finishing School were:


The Feminine Attitude
Health
Posture
Grooming
Wardrobe


I greatly appreciated Emma's presentation of these topics. She admitted that several of these topics were ones that she herself was still working on. In the blogging world, one can type anything and no one will no the difference, so it is nice to come across a blogger who is candid. It makes the teaching easier to digest than if the blogger comes across as a know-it-all!

This week, check back with Elisabeth's blog to read short biographies of American women.

~How is it...~

...That the beginning of the month comes so shortly after the end of the last month? *Silly Grin*

I remember reading that years ago in the Reader's Digest. It was a real excuse someone gave for not paying their rent on time.

A dear sister of mine may not get her birthday present on time, not because I forgot about her. Oh, no. I've been working on her present for the last month + during my lunch break at work. By the sounds of things, it should be a gigantic present. But it really isn't all that large...so as you minght guess, I haven't been actively working on it for the whole month!

But it did surprise me that it's already July 2. Where did June go?!?!