Septemeber 2015

September is here and I haven't had much time to clear off my FB page from last month, so I will do this quickly and may be a little different than usual, but I just need to clear it off.

Patterns:
Autumn Leaves
Fish Dishcloth
Jersey Mitts
Dinosaur Amigurumi
Crochet Birds
20 Crochet Blocks

Recipes:
Reese's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheese Ball
Candy and Cookie Turkey
Bacon Cheese Ball
Pumpkin Fudge
Chocolate Cake with Mayonnaise
Black Magic Chocolate Cake - it has a secret ingredient (Tomato Soup)
Perfect Potato Soup
Garlic Crock Pot Sweet Chicken

Reading:
Read and Review - a way to get free ebooks. All you have to do is read 2 books a month and give a fair review of the books.

More Reading - 16 Books for August

I really do enjoy reading. My list for reading, the books that I own, and the library books that I continually borrow, gets longer every day. I continue to save lists of books that I might read, get my girls to read, or even just actually will read.

16 Books to Read in August this is from the reading room. Best place to look for a synopsis.

 1. "Fishbowl" by Bradly Somer
 2. "Make Your Home Among Strangers" by Jennine Capo Crucet
 3. "Let Me Tell You" by Shirley Jackson
 4. "In a Dark, Dark Wood" by Ruth Ware
 5. "George" by Alex Gino
 6. "Infinite Home" by Kathleen Alcott
 7. "Days of Awe" by Lauren Fox
 8. "The Dust that Falls from Dreams" by Louis de Bernieres
 9. "Never, Always, Sometimes" by Adi Alsaid
10. "Still Life in Las Vegas" by James Sie
11. "The Day the Crayons Came Home" by Drew Daywalt
12. "Everybody Rise" by Stephanie Clifford
13. "Fortune Smiles" by Adam Johnson
14. "Last Bus to Wisdom" by Ivan Doig
15. "Eileen" by Ottessa Moshfegh
16. "A Window Opens" by Elisabeth Egan

Goodbye, Mom

27 August 2015

Mom's graduation from high school

My mom is gone. She has moved on to the eternal place. She is better, happier. At least I hope she is happier. This is how I remember my mom....sad. Unhappy, feeling alone. 

I grieve that my sisters had a relationship with her that I was never allowed to have. She one time commented that I was most like her. She used to say every year, how I ruined her Thanksgiving. Made me feel unwanted. I used to think I was adopted, until a friend of my mom saw a picture of me from my senior photos. She said I looked just like my mom in her senior photo. Then I knew I was not adopted. When I got married, I could come over on weekends to do laundry, until my husband and I purchased our own washer and dryer. After I had my first child, I had to be invited over. I could not just come over. This continued as I had more children. Soon we would only see her once a year. My children lost out because of this, too. She didn't change when she got sick, she wanted me at the hospital, but she didn't want me at her house. My sisters were always allowed there. I had 3 emergency C-sections and my mother didn't come to help me. I was on my own. When I had my first, my husband got called to come back to work early. My first mother's day was made special by my neighbors, not my mother. When I had my 2nd child, my mother didn't come around then, but I remember after my sister had her 2nd, my mother was at her house helping to care for her oldest. When I had my 3rd, my husband took off longer. He helped me with all the children. I just feel that because she was forcing me to live as she had, bullied by classmates (yep, I had that one), felt alone with family (yep, I still have that one, in fact, I feel unwanted by my family), no mother to help with babies when they came (yep, only because that was how she wanted to do it). Goodbye, Mom. Hope that you are a lot happier.

Recipes

I like to cook and bake, mostly bake. My youngest likes to cook and bake, mostly bake, also. So when I see a recipe that my family might like or that I would like to try and make or that would be fun for next year's library bake off (which all three of my girls love to do), I am saving. FB is not optimal for saving on the long term, but good for temporary and then I just move them over to here. It is a little easier, but I also know that I will be able to find them again. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes - love pumpkin in this house and the idea of cupcakes instead of whole pie, is great!
Texas Sheet Cake Bites - I have never had a TX sheet cake, so this might be interesting.
Pumpkin Lasagna - more pumpkin...going into fall, pumpkin will be easily available.
Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies
Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies

Saving more lists

I was looking in my email and I save a lot of emails that have links for things I want to make. Mind you, not all the things in the email, just a few. So I think I need to empty out my email.

KAL = Knit Along
CAL = Crochet Along

Mystery KAL/CAL:
Ultra Alpaca Mystery KAL

Scarves/Cowls:
Lacy Daisy Vintage Scarf
Pocket Scarf - Made one for cousin
I Love Lucy Headband could be an ear warmer


Kitchen:
Darling Daisy Dishcloth
Tea Cozies
Crochet Stash Baskets
Flower Dishcloths


Toys/Amigurumi: 
Poirot Amigurumi
Froggy Egg Storage
Super Kid Toys - Free on Ravelry. There is a story behind these toys you can find it here: Copyright issues.
Mini Friends - Free on Ravelry.
Vintage Toy Patterns
Country Cow
Crochet Fox

Hats:
Pipeline Hat #9
30 Days of Hats - Crochet Crowd
Scarf Hat Duo
Crystal Ice Hat
Crochet Simple Sun Hat


Bags/Purses:
Crochet Bags
Free Market Tote
Everyday Market Bag


Afghans:
Tumbling Blocks Afghan
Reversible Ripple Afghan
Hogwarts Bunch Blanket - this is such a cool afghan. Something I would like to try and make one day. It shows the main characters from Harry Potter books and movies.
African Flower 8 petals - free on Ravelry
Optical Illusion Square


Links/Many kinds:
20 Crochet Minion Patterns
20 Crochet Frog Patterns
Puzzle Toys - you have to go towards the bottom to find the free patterns.
Crochet Amigurumi Patterns
More Crochet Toys
Crochet Farm Animals

Baby: 
Frog Mary Jane Baby Shoes
Toddler Crown
Wickedly Cute Baby Hat - Little Maleficent Baby Hat
Beginner Baby Cardigan

Mittens/Gloves/Fingerless Mitts:
Traveling Cable Hand Warmers
Fingerless Gloves - These are very long and my daughter liked them.

Shawls/Ponchos:
Cozy Cowl Poncho
Extended Ripple Crochet Shawl

Favorite Author Favorite Books

Do you have a favorite author? A favorite genre? I do have a favorite genre, but I don't have a favorite author. I have many favorite authors. I have been enjoying mysteries written by Donna Andrews and Jessica Beck. Donna Andrews is great for improving your vocabulary and her stories are fun. From the names (like "Some Like it Hawk"), to fun things that seem to happen in the stories. Jessica Beck writes mysteries revolving around a donut shop. Another favorite author is James Patterson, I really enjoy the Women's Murder Club mysteries. Recently, on FB, I saw a list of 15 books that he recommends for reading. I thought I might like to look and read some of them, best place to save the list....here!

15 Books Recommended by James Patterson

 1. Night Dogs by Kent Anderson
 2. Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips
 3. Marathon Man by William Goldman
 4. Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg
 5. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
 6. The Wanderers by Richard Price
 7. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides
 8. Even this I Get To Experience by Norman Lear
 9. Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
10. The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
11. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
12. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein - I have read this one and loved it. So did my girls. It is a book version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl. It has some similarities, but a great many differences.
13. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
14. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak - this one is on my Kindle waiting for me to read. I really do want to read this and then see the movie.
15. The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

Unicorns

I was looking over FB, just cruising and reading. I stumbled upon a friend's request for help to find a certain pattern for crochet unicorns. I started searching and found many patterns. So in order to save them for later finding (more for me to make my girls) I am going to save them here. If this helps another all the better. Enjoy!

Reuben the Pink Fluffy Unicorn
'Lil Baby Unicorn
Crochet Unicorn Pattern
Unicorn
Abnormal Unicorn
Unicorn - Amigurumi
Enchanting Unicorn
Charley the Unicorn - free Ravelry upload
Little Fluffy Unicorn - like one seen in Despicable Me
Tiny Unicorn
Rainbow Love Unicorn
Rainbow Crochet Unicorn - my favorite one so far
Annabelle the Unicorn - free Ravelry upload
Hermione the Unicorn
Another Amigurumi Unicorn - tip, if you want to make the toy bigger, just use a bigger hook.
Rainbow Donkey Unicorn - yep, it looks like a unicorn but the owner of this pattern calls it a donkey.
My Little Pony Friendship is Magic (1)
Another My Little Pony  - Rarity, has a horn
Another Little Pony - Friendship is Magic (2)
Emmie Einhorn - ravelry upload, in English and Dutch
Horse Purse Pattern

August Already! 2015

Wow! It is already August! Time flew this summer. We have had a lot of rain. A lot of rain. The summer was cooler most of the time. We have had some hot days. I made the girls start school again over the summer and I am still waiting for the paperwork from the school district. We will be traditionally homeschooling this year. I have borrowed books from the library, I have bought some books from bookstores and other places, I have internet sites chosen. I have also bought some books for Kindles for school. The girls are excited about traditional, but at the same time they are thinking they can have an easier school year. Guess they don't know their old mother. But today, is going to be an easy day and I need to remove all the links from my FB page again.

Patterns:
Toothfairy Doll
Friendly Snake
Christmas Penguins
Christmas Socks
Back to School Crochet
Crochet Christmas Village
Gryffindor Hat
Helix Mitts
Cupcake Celebration Square
Crochet Toys for Baby - from Moogly Blog

Recipes:
Reese's Nutter Butter Cookie Truffles
Glazed Rum Cookies - Okay, I don't drink that much alcohol, so I have a large bottle of rum (a gift) and would like to try something like this.
Soft Glazed Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Deep Fried Lasagna Rolls - one of my daughters would love this for a meal.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
Easy No Yeast Dinner Rolls
Panera Copycat Broccoli Cheddar Soup
I Want to Marry You Cookies
French Toast Bake
Harry Potter Inspired Recipes

Homeschooling:
Inspiring Resources
Print Your Own Grammar Book
Freshman Reading Skills
US Maps for printing
Free Gradebook and Record Keeping
Charlotte's Web Reading Questions
Freshman Algebra
High School: Math, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry - Actually, this is way more than what I listed. Some are free and can be read online, others cost. This is a definite check out.
Free Basic Advanced Math
Vatican Library
Time Machine Questions
The Hound of the Baskervilles Questions

Science (yeah, I know it falls under Homeschooling, but at same time, I want to find it):
Free High School Biology Book
Rock Candy Edible Geode
35 Science Experiments
Speed of Light Experiment
Middle School Chemistry

Other things:
I took my daughter to a class where she could learn some tips to help her take more and better pictures. This is the website for the man who taught the class. He did a great job.
Ed's Pictures
This site is called Godly Woman and they put up verses to read every day for a month, the calendar changes monthly. It is a great resource.

Coloring Pages:
Adult Coloring Pages

1 Corinthians 13: 4-6

A friend had posted this idea. You give your child this verse and have them substitute the person they are interested's name in place of Love....for instance Bill is Patient, Bill Is Kind. Yes, my Bill is patient and kind. He is many things and I am very lucky to have him in my life. I do believe that I will suggest this to my girls are they are getting to an age where boys are not yucky. But then a lot of boys have been their friends over the years, so they have not viewed them as yucky.

Blessing Bags

I don't see many homeless people when I am out, but when I do, I really want to do something for them. I had been carrying $5 gift cards to McDonald's or Burger King, so that they could go in and get a burger and a drink and be warm or cool for a little while. But recently a friend posted this and I love this idea. The idea comes from Chris McKie. Thank you, Chris for this great idea. 

BLESSING BAGS
INGREDIENTS:
Gallon size Ziplock bags
chap stick
packages of tissues
toothbrush and toothpaste
comb
soap
hotel size shampoos
trail mix
granola bars
crackers
pack of gum
band aids
mouthwash
coins or predetermined dollar amount, say 5.00 (could be used to make a phone call, or purchase a food item)
hand wipes
you could also put in a warm pair of socks
a packet rain poncho
tampons (for women)
The ideas could be endless!
Assemble all the items in the bags, and maybe throw in a note of encouragement. Seal the bags and stow in your car for a moment of providence.

I think this year, the girls and I will put some together and carry them in the car so that we can do the same thing.