Updates....

I just thought since not much is happening, I would just do updates.

School started Thursday for my 1st grader. Monday, the Kindergartner and the Preschooler start. Yeah, School!!! All parents understand. No need to explain.

I am knitting or crocheting as much as possible. Things I need to finish before September:
1. A pink prayer shawl (on needles)
2. A lavender prayer shawl (on needles most finished)
3. A rainbow prayer shawl (on needles)
4. A purple clown (not even started)

Things I need to finish for October:
1. A purple child's hat (on needles 2 inches finished)
2. A purple child's scarf
3. A blue child's hat
4. A blue child's scarf
5. A pink child's scarf

Things I need to finish for December:
1. Afghan for Tim (on needles and is about 10 - 15% finished)
2. Afghan for Alexandra (on needle and is about 10 % finished)
3. Afghan for my sister's boyfriend (started last year, still not finished)
4. Afghan for my dad
5. Afghan for my father-in-law
(They are both started, but I haven't touched them in awhile)
6. Afghan for my brother
7. Afghan for my sister-in-law
8. Socks for Hannah (on needles ready to work heel)
9. Socks for Esther (on needles ready to work heel)
10. Socks for Nicki (On needles still have to finish the cuff)
(I still haven't finished my first sock and girl's are constantly asking for them)

I know that is a lot, but I have hope that I will get it finished, especially since school has started again!!

Next up. Something else I thoroughly enjoy is reading. I saw on another blog that there is the ABC Book Challenge where you try to read books or authors that start with the letter for example:

A - Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

So here is the start of my list. I used my goodreads.com to help me with the names of some of the books I have read.

A - Alaska, A Novel - James Michener
B - Banker - Dick Francis
C - Conger, Beach - Bag Balm and Duct Tape: Tales of a Vermont Doctor
D - Dance Hall of the Dead - Tony Hillerman
E - Emma - Jane Austen
F - Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs
G - Go Ask Alice - Beatrice Sparks
H - Hamlet - William Shakespeare
I - I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to go to Boise - Erma Bombeck
J - Jungle Jack, My Wild Life - Jack Hanna
K - Killer Pancake - Diane Mott Davidson
L - Lake Wobegon Days - Garrison Keillor
M - Malice in Maggody - Joan E Hess
N - Naked Came the Manatee - Carl Hiaasen
O - Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
P - Peach Cobbler Murder - Joanne Fluke
Q - Quicksand - Iris Johansen
R - Return to the Hiding Place - Hans Poley
S - Sacred Visions - Andrew M. Greeley
T - A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
U - Unraveled Sleeve - Monica Ferris
V - Valentine Murder - Leslie Meier
W - Waking the Moon - Elizabeth Hand
X -
Y - Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Z - Zimkus, John J. - Historical Footnotes of Lebanon, Ohio

The only letter I seem to be missing is the X....I think I need to start looking at my library for books that have an author with the letter x or a book that starts with the letter x. But this is not bad. But then over the years I have read a lot of books.

Take the challenge and see how well you do. If you have a suggestion for the letter x leave it in comments.

Quotes from Rush Limbaugh

"They're going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn't read it, and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country going broke. What could possibly go wrong."

I remember hearing this one day on the Rush Limbaugh show and I have to agree with it. We have a bunch of people who refuse to read this and probably wouldn't understand it, if they ever did try to read all 1018 pages of this bill. Instead, they pass out sections to their staff and tell them to read it and get back to them about what it contains. Then, they have the nerve to call people, who have read this bill, a mob and other terrible names. They accuse us of being uninformed (and they don't read the bill) and the minority (yet their townhalls have been taken over by this "mob").

The only person who hasn't had to deal with this has been the President, but what do you expect from the Puppet. He has people hand picked, given their questions by the puppet masters, and all others are blocked from attendence.

Let's get real. Do we really want the government to run every aspect of our lives? Do we really want them to tell us whether we can have medical care (yes, there will be rationing)? Do we really want to pay for others (who refuse to get their own health insurance)?

I remember reading that a professor held an experiment with his classes. He had some of his classes participate on the democratic method. You got the grade that you earned. He had other classes participate on the socialist method. This is where you get the grade of the person who did the best. So first test, in the socialist classes, everyone got the best grades, even those who had failed. As the class went on, the whole class failed because the ones who actually could do the work and excel stopped working so hard. Why bother doing all the work when everyone gets the same good grades whether they worked for them or not. In the democratic class, the students who weren't exceling either dropped out of class or worked harder to get the good grades they wanted.

Do we really want to become a socialist country? I don't think so. I think everyone should work just as hard for what they want as the next person. Yes, we are considered the most giving country, but we are also the country that people come to from other countries for medical care! We are also the country that other countries came to for humanitarian aid. Let's get back on track and let our elected officials remember that they work for us!! We don't work for them!!!

Also, on a side note. My husband and I are wondering how long it will take for the Puppet to have single digit approval numbers. Remember, his numbers are the lowest a President has had in their first year. I really believe he has forgotten that he is our employee, not our employer!

Come on people, get out and let our employees know how you feel about this!

Nicki's Afghan

I finished my youngest girl's afghan. It is bigger than I wanted it to be, but it covers her well and she loves it. If you want something like it for a full bed, then go with these directions. So I intend to share what I did and you can modify it to your needs.

Nicki's Afghan

Using Thick and Quick yarn, approximately 15 skeins.
Size N crochet hook (sorry it is crochet)

Chain 125
In 2nd chain from hook begin dc, continue to the end.
At end of the row, chain 2, skip on dc and begin dc to the end. Continue in this fashion until all the skeins are used up.

This is big enough to cover one full size bed or three small children. Have fun with it. I used some other skeins to give it some purple (my daughter chose the colors).

Now for some fun photos. I am working on an afghan for my brother-in-law and teaching my 7,6,4 1/2 year old daughters how to knit. I have been working with the older two girls for awhile off and on. So tonight, I had them each work a little on the afghan for my brother-in-law and I took their photo. When it is finished, I will include these photos with the afghan so that he knows how many hands have touched his special gift.

The Wreckers have Returned....

Today, we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone. My girls have been wanting to watch these movies and I have been reluctant due to their age and wanting to be able to sit and watch it with them so that we could discuss what they are seeing and have them realize that these are fiction and that it didn't really happen. After that, I still wanted to work on Nicki's afghan. Every time I have touched it, it has been dark and difficult to work on or there were children trying to get under it and pulling it out of my hands. I only have one more skein to attach. Hopefully, tonight it will be finished.
So while I cleaned up messes, the wreckers came out and created more. In the family room, they threw their stuffed toy around and then when they were finished, they moved onto the living room and threw around marbles. They then walked away leaving that mess and created another. The children have informed me that I am mean. What is new.

In memorium:
I took an orange and white male neutered cat to the Warren County Shelter Wednesday. They put him down. I was told that this was a no-kill shelter. I was lied to. They put him down saying they have no room for adult cats and then they said because he was terrified of the dog in the kennel that he was agressive. Please note, my children held this cat next to the dog, all he did was hiss. He did not scratch any of us. I will never take any other animals to them. I don't know what I'll do with the animals, but I won't take the animal to them.

I have contacted them on several occasions. One time because a wild animal had gotten into my garage and had trapped my children in the van and me away from the van. I had to have the police come (what wonderful men - they helped me get the children inside and got the animal out) and remove the animal. Another time, someone's dog was chased into my yard. I brought him into my house and cared for him while waiting for the dog catcher to come and get him. The dog catcher went to Maineville, Ohio (a whole wrong direction). They are to all intents and purposes useless. I wish they would change their attitudes. The people who greet you when you come to look at animals are way nicer than the people who take the animals you are bringing or contacting for help with animals.

Look....

Look back and thank God
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!"
God closes doors no man can open
and God opens doors no man can close.

I loved this quote. It came at a good time. I thank God for many things. I thank him for my wonderful family. All of them!! Those I don't see hardly at all anymore and those I see every day. I thank God for my husband. He is a wonderful man (he took the children swimming). He works hard and loves us with his whole heart. I couldn't have found a better man than him without God's guidance. I trust that God will help my husband find a new job. That this job will lead to wonderful things where ever the job is at. I try to serve God by doing good things for others. I know that selling the clothes that are lying in bags around my house would not help anyone, but by giving them away I can help people who need something for their children and couldn't afford to go shopping for new clothes. Some of these clothes are in like new condition. Others have been worn, but will make nice play clothes that don't need to be worried about. What can I say, my middle girl is best known for her messing skills. I also try to care for others. I catch and care for other people's cats. I try to make sure that the cats get some good care, but in the case of the cat I took to the pound today. He was terrified and he was labeled a "bad cat" and so they are going to put him down, unless the owners come and claim him. My neighbors left their house unlocked and open. We tried to make sure they weren't inside first or hanging around outside and then we called the police. We locked her car (which was open) and the police officer searched their house and then we locked up the house and locked the car. Now they are going to have to get in when they get home and they are going to have to contact the police. The officer told me to watch the house and call if we see something suspicious. When we happen to notice that they have come home we will contact them (aka walk over) and let them know that the house had been left open and that we contacted the police. I just don't know what their reaction is going to be. They aren't the most sociable people. They are way younger than we are and don't have children, so we don't really do much with them.
Looking within seems to be the hardest thing for me to do. I do pray to God daily. I know that he is listening because there have been answers to my prayers. Maybe not in the way I would have wanted but in a way that was meaningful to me. So much to think on. I wonder what everyone's list would look like if they made one for thanking God.

Cats (Again) and some finished projects

Let's start with the cats. I previously mentioned that we had adopted two cats. Both are males, we call them Buster and Houdini. They are really wonderful cats, very loving and they take a lot from the girls. They have been watching the cats that we have been caring for outdoors. First, we had Doofus. We think he is dead. I was never able to catch him and he hasn't been around for awhile. Now, there is Lucky. She is a beautiful black cat. But she is very freaked out by movement. She is getting used to the sound of my voice and doesn't run as long as I stay on the inside of the screen door. She also doesn't run away when the girls come to the door. This is progress. Tonight, I finally caught Patches. Patches is an orange and white cat. Fixed male with his claws. He is very scared. The girls were running and talking very loud and he was freaking out. My husband and I set him up in the garage. He has a litter box, food and water and a blanket. He started exploring right away and he is very calm in the garage at the moment. I can also lock the door to the garage in a way that won't allow the girls to open it. Tomorrow, Patches will be looking for a home at the Cook Road, Lebanon, Ohio Shelter. He is really sweet and I think with a lot of love he will make an awesome pet for someone.
Isn't he a sweet looking boy.

Now on to other projects. School is starting and I needed to go through my daughter's clothing and sort it so that it was in correct sizes. To do this I started to pull clothing out of one closet and then I decided that I needed to take photos for everyone to see what I have on my hands.

These are my daughters closets. Two girls who are the same size share a closet and the youngest has a small closet all to herself. When I started sorting, I discovered that most of the clothes were for the youngest girl....6 (six) whole boxes of clothes are for her. Now seriously, I could let this child where one set of clothes every day (except panties, socks, undershirts and pjs) for 4 months before I had to do wash for her. I made her get rid of some of the clothes. We compromised. We kept the dresses, the shorts (she wears those under her dresses), but she would thin out the t-shrts and blouses. There were just too many of them. I have 3 bags of clothes in size 4-6 t-shirts and blouses to give away. Then after summer is over I will have many summer dresses and some shorts (not all, remember she wears them under her dresses) that will be going to the Good Will or to anyone who says, "I'll take the clothes!" That was one of my big projects finished. It took two days. One for the older girls closet and one for the younger girls closet.

Then onto the knitting front. I would like to give a big thank you to Wendy Knits. I borrowed her book from the library and found this awesomely simple pattern for a hat. So simple, I could remember it to make my darling daughter a simple pink, worsted weight wool hat. She loves it (altough you need to consider it is summer and it was early morning and she was not in the best of moods).

She will wear this hat every day of the winter. I will be making her a simple knit 3, purl 3 scarf, so that it ribs like her hat. Now, if I could only find an easy mitten pattern.

Now, I am going to check on Patches and then I will work on DD 3's afghan. I am almost finished and I am excited about that.

Cats

My husband and I adopted two cats over our years together and we are presently caring for four. Two of these cats are the cats that we adopted and brought into our home and our lives. They are wonderful cats. They had hard lives before we brought them in, but they now have an easy life. The other two cats are living outside. They wander into our yard and we feed them. One of them is very skittish. She (I am guessing, that the cat is a she), is a very beautiful black cat. We put out the food for her and she watches for us to put out the food, comes down and eats. Then she runs off if we even try to get close to her. She is getting used to my opening the door while she is out there, but if I step out onto the porch, she runs. The other cat, is an orange tabby. He has been fixed, still has his claws and is very nervous about living outside. He comes down and eats at the bowl of food we have put out and if I could just catch him when the pound is open, he would be at the pound looking for a family who would care for him and give him a good life. He is a very nice cat. He will let me pet him, he will come to me when I call for him, but if he is alone outside, he is very nervous. He just twitches.

Now for the soapbox.

I really dislike it when people get an animal and then when it becomes an inconvenience they just dump it outside of someone else's house. We have taken on all the responsibility we can handle. We cannot have any more cats in our house. We have three children and two cats. That is more than enough for us. It is a terrible thing to do to a cat. They have a harder time living in the outdoors than if they are brought into a house and cared for. When we were visiting our cousins, they were also caring for two cats that someone had dumped on their property. These cats that are being cared for by us and our cousins, are lucky. But when winter comes they need to be in someone's home. Winter is very hard on cats. It is very hard on dogs. You need to care for animals when you make that commitment.

Now, I understand that sometimes people go through hard financial times, but when that happens take the animal to the pound. They will find the animal a new home. Just don't dump them on the side of the road. I worry daily about the cats I am caring for, because there are lots of cars driving around us. I worry that one of them is going to get hit and my children will find it and be devastated.

Now to go see if I can catch the orange tabby. The pound will open in about 4 hours.

Just a note: We heard after dropping the cat off at the pound, he was someone's pet. They were going through a messy divorce and the ex threw the cat out. He was fortunate. He came to my house and we were able to get him back to his mom. Granted we did this by taking him to the pound, but they scanned him and found his tag and called her.

The Beach, Knitting and Mittens

I know the topics are a little weird, but here it is in a nutshell. I spent yesterday looking for patterns to make mittens for my girls. I want something that would be worked in the round. I found several that you put together after you have knit them. I will start my search again later. Today, is Sunday and therefore, church day. We always go to church on Sunday and today I have to work the nursery.

Now, back to Saturday. After a fruitless search, my husband and I took the girls to the beach. I took my knitting, my camera, a blanket and a cooler. My husband took towels for him and wore his swim trunks. The girls each carried a towel. The beach was very crowded. There were lots of boats and sea-doos in the water and lots of people everywhere. It was very sunny and hot and humid. No nice breezes to make it comfortable. The girls had a blast playing in the water and my husband kept being drug (by the girls) back into the water. There were guys using a metal detector, finding coins. Lots of children running in and out of the water. Lots of parents watching their children. Lots of men in swim trunks and in some cases t-shirts in the water, playing life guard for their children.

We had a wonderful day and were glad that we hadn't gone to Kings Island. It would have been even more crowded. We are also glad that we hadn't gone to YMCA. The one in Lebanon has some poorly trained life guards and some poorly made rules. After the near drowning of twins at another Ohio Y, and the drowning of some other children in private pools one year, the Lebanon Y, changed their rules for children to swim and their guards do not watch the children, they just harass the parents. They spend a lot of time telling us what the children can and cannot do. Rule #1: All children must wear a bracelet, even if mom or dad is in the water swimming with them. Even if mom or dad is watching the children. Rule #2: Mom or dad has to be in the water with their children at all times. Imagine if you will sitting on a beach chair in the water with your feet in the water. Then read your book. Now what makes this hilarious, a lot of parents do that. They ignore their children and the guards also ignore the children. They are too busy flirting with each other and shooting the breeze. Our children are safer at Kings Island's water park than they are at a YMCA. Rule #3: If the children cannot pass a yearly swim test, they are not allowed on the slide, the diving board, the deep end (anything over 4 feet), etc., they cannot be in the water unless their parents are in the water (I forget isn't the point of a life guard sitting on a chair up high so they can see more of the water at one time, while parents in the water can lose sight of their children). Now, here is another fun point about the swim test: the children (starting age 6) have to swim 25 yards like Mark Spitz in the Olympics. If they don't, they don't pass. Now they could swim a dirty 25 yards and they will not pass, but they made it without stopping. But they were not worthy of the Olympics. This is when I wish I still had my USA Swimming certification and could official at their meets and disqualify them for any small infraction. (Who knows maybe I did without knowing it). These kids who life guard at the YMCA are real quick to say that is not my job, but they will chase the kids out of the pool for not following the bracelet rule, but they didn't want to pass the bracelets out to the children when they arrived at the pool. Instead, you have to wander around the pool looking for someone who feels like giving the children their bracelets.

Another complaint I have about this YMCA, is that the only thing available for all my children at the same time: The pool. After that, they have something for the oldest, but the youngest 2 cannot be there. They have something for the youngest two, but the oldest is not welcome. What is the point of bringing your children to a "family" place, but they cannot participate. Yes, I have complained, but yesterday, my husband and I discussed the Y and felt that the children were safer at Kings Island or the beach (No lifeguards) than they were at the Y. Sad commentary on the state of the YMCA.

WaterColor Sunset with one of the RLC Crazy Ladies

Last night, I had planned with the Crazy Ladies to have them come and work with the kids of the church. Sharen had the wonderful idea that they should make water color sunsets. This was the sunset we were privileged to see and paint. The children showed up slowly. First, my girls. They were so excited and they couldn't wait to work with Sharen. They kept picking up the paints and looking at them. Sharen is a very talented artist from our church and area and she teaches many how to paint. So this was an opportunity for the children to really learn something special. As she prepared the paper (attaching it to pieces of cardboard for painting) and explained that there are many types of painting (wet on wet and dry on dry and wet on dry) and that they get many different looks. How to make clouds in your painting, more children arrived!!! We had 13 children show up for her work. She was in heaven. She said she tried to do this and no one ever showed up. I told her that maybe we just need to have it on Friday nights in the future. She agreed.

She was so excited she chose one painting from each "child" (we chose one of hers and one of some of the other adults) and we will have an art show on Rally Day (the day Light School starts). What a great evening for all. I just wish more had shown up, but at the same time having as many as we did was great.

Today, the beach!!!

Emergency Room, Urgent Care and Doctor Offices

First, on Friday, we had to take our oldest to the ER at Children's for her toe. Then, Monday, my youngest decided to put a penny in her mouth. Here is the fun part she swallowed the penny. Here we go to the Children's Urgent Care to get an x-ray to find out where it was in her system. Today, Tuesday, we went to the Doctor. Hannah had her physical and she needs to she an orthopedist for her feet and legs. She has flat feet and collapsing ankles and this is affecting her hips and knees and this could get worse without care. So now more doctors. But it is necessary for her to be healthy and to go as far as she has the will to go.

Now for some other photos. At church on Sunday, some wonderful women Carol Mohr and Clara Fueston were dancing to the wonderful music played by our wonderful musicians. They are an awesome group and the give us so much joy in their playing. These ladies give us so much joy, just being part of our church and our "family."




Also, some other fun photos. One of my favorite times, is when the children are sleeping. So here are two of my girls. One is held down by a big cat (yes, cat is big, but girl is small) and my other is just so exhausted she goes right to sleep.



Right now, my dear, sweet, wonderful husband has taken the children to someplace with water. So they are playing in water and having a blast. I get some silence so I can find the phone number for the ortho doctor and make an appointment without lots of "MOM" calls in the background.

My Friend Elaine

My friend Elaine, is someone I have known since high school. She takes some awesome photos and she has let me copy them to my computer and print them for the children when they want copies. She takes photos of animals, nature, and family and friends. She has fun and loves what she is doing. So I am using one of her photos on the top of my Blog, because I have never seen a panda (one day when we finally get to the National Zoo in Washington, DC that will happen) and I love pandas. I think they are very cute animals.

Here are some more of her photos. Her name is Elaine Kallmeyer-Oestricher (? on spelling of her married name).

The Wreckers came to visit

My children are, on the whole, very good children. But every now and then something gets into them and they are "the wreckers." Yesterday, I decided I would give the kitchen a good scrubbing (that is not to say, I don't clean it, I do. I just like to scrub behind, under, in). During one of my, "I have to get away from the children's fighting moments," (I went upstairs) the younger two decided to take the mop, the broom and the swifter and "mop" the floor. When I came down, because one of "the wreckers" had fallen on the water mess they had made, I found a floor that was sopping wet. I made them use towels to dry the water from their mess.

To give you an idea, they knew they were in the wrong, because they hid from me. No, I don't beat them. When they make me mad enough, I fold my hands and say in an ominous voice, "Wait until your father gets home!" They know that this is the moment that they have gone way to far and they know that soon Daddy will be the enforcer, because he is far enough from what happened that he won't kill them. Where I on the other hand have been pushed too far and would do damage if I touched them. Since, I know this, I leave it to him to punish. I clean up the mess.

Usually, by the time he gets home, the mess is cleaned up and I have calmed down. The children are safe and sound. Then he says, they lose something that they wanted to do. It is too funny. But, they have learned not to push to that point. I have also started making them clean up the mess that they made. I also make them do it until it is at my standards. So for over an hour they were on their hands and knees cleaning the floor. So until supper last night, the floor was very clean! I guess I should let them do that more often, the floor would sparkle and they would know how to clean.

Emergency Room Visits and Fish

My oldest girl and my youngest girl were running in the house, barefoot, as usual. Only this time they decided to make it more interesting and according to the girls, she kicked the wall. That is their story and they are sticking to it. In the process, she removed the top part of one toe (partially) causing extreme pain and lots of blood (little droplets through the living room, the kitchen, the hallway,
and the family room). I contacted her doctor and was advised to head to the ER for x-rays and probably a few stitches. At the hospital, they gave her a wrist bracelet and her father (who was called home from work to carry the child) had to wear a name tags.


The doctor and nurse said that I did a good job. (All those years of First Aid finally paid off). It seems adding medicine (Neosporin) and propping her foot and covering with gauze with pressure, stopped the bleeding and the toe was not broken. Now we get to keep covered with medicine for the next few days and she needs to see her doctor at some point (we already had that appointment) and we need to watch for infection and nail falling off.

Last night, when I was feeding the algae eater (in our 10 gallon fish tank) along with the other fish, I noticed how large this thing is. I am thinking we are going to have to do something about him. He is getting too big for the small tank and he seems to terrorize one of the other fish.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Today, I made Zucchini Pancakes for breakfast. Now you have to understand, I don't measure when I make pancakes, I just dump. I use Bisquick for the batter. I dump in some olive oil, applesauce, 2 eggs, vanilla (about 1 tsp), soy milk (about 1/2 cup) and then I chopped up some zucchini and added it. I didn't tell the children it was in their pancakes and I served them as usual. They shoveled the pancakes into their mouths, loving every bite. Then after they were finished and Sissy only had 2 bites left, she found some zucchini. My oldest says, "The pancakes were good until I found out you added zucchini."

Oh, well. Just goes to prove if you don't try something you'll never find out if you like it. I wouldn't do this with someone with an allergy because it could cause some major problems.

Please Pray for....

This is a photo of my husband, his cousins Bill and Marti, Bill's wife Lisa, Bill's son and step-daughter and my daughters. I am asking that everyone please pray for my cousin Marti. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer over a year ago. In July, she had more tests run to find out if she had more cancer (her numbers were going up not down). They found a cancer in a lymph node next to her aorta. This is not good.

This is a wonderful woman and she needs many prayers.

Thanks.

Updates (Rainstorm allows for knitting)

Yesterday (Tuesday)we had quite a few storms come through our area and we got about 6 inches of rain (the bucket in the back yard had 6 inches of rain in it). Our backyard is flooded. The weathermen are saying more rain today. So today we are going to take the children to Kings Island before the rain starts to wear them out. Yesterday, my children had a fight over clothing (the older two girls are the same size). So one wore the top half of an outfit and the other wore the bottom.

Monday, I took the children to the beach. I did get some knitting accomplished, but I wasn't able to finish any projects because I had to watch the children in the water. So, I would stitch a few stitches and then watch the girls, stitch a few more stitches, watch the girls. I am quite sunburned (despite sunscreen) and the girls are quite tan.

So, while it stormed, I knit. I worked on my youngest daughter's afghan (this will be her Christmas or Birthday present).

I also completed 2 wash clothes. I used a softer cotton and crochted 2 granny squares. These are a soft blue color and they look pretty nice. I have a friend who is in the process of getting her own place, so I think they will be nice for her.

I also worked on the Hummingbird in flight dish cloth. I finally, finally finished it. It looks really nice. I don't know if the picture could ever do this item justice.

I also did some more work on my bathroom rug. Basically, I don't like the rugs you can find at the store - they aren't the right size for the area I need. So I have been using up the skeins that I used for dishcloths and have been working on this rug.

I also worked on Nicki's hat. I am not too fond of it yet. It seems too small. I did follow the pattern and my gauge is correct. Maybe when I get it finished it will seems right. It does seem to have some stretch to it.


So today after we get home, I am going to work on the hat some more. Work on one of the two prayer shawls I have on needles. Start the butterfly in flight dishcloth (same source as the hummingbird). Work some more on the afghan. It is longer than my daughter and just a little wider than she is (what can I say, she is tiny). So I want to make it as wide as her bed or a little wider. Then I will work on the clown for my neice, her hat and scarf set and her afghan. I will be finishing several afghans.