February Already

Wow did January pass quickly. Here we are in to February and I haven't even posted a thing this month. I have not been idle however. OH NO, Never that. It is getting late and I hear that warm bath calling to me, just barely hear it over the snores of hubby and my best buddy Dillon (our 14 year old miniature pincher) but hear it I do.

I am going to keep this really short and to the point. I know, unheard of for me. You are wondering if I am sick or something. I am, still sick, not as severe thankfully, but the energy just still seems to be zapped. Part of that is just plain old depression. We were set to get a nice refund again this year from our income taxes, but then hubby added my employment info. Now we owe a big chunk. Because I had to get bug nutty and join the work force. As I lament about that decision and the wisdom of it, I see another little problem with this working thing. My household has gone to heck in a handbasket, only I can find the handbasket for all the clutter and dirty laundry to carry my household back in. This morning, my youngest DD, the one that is still grounded, decided to wash her hair before school. Okay, no big deal right? I usually have to threaten her with in an inch of her hide to practice a little more personal hygene, and the fact that anything the least bit damp around here is full of ice did send up some of the warning blips on the old mom radar. She was supposed to be blow drying her hair, I didn't hear any drying happening so went to the bathroom to check on her, you know hurry things up a little bit. She was in the middle of layering on a coat of mascara. She knows full well the rule is no make up at this age, except for a little light colored lip gloss of course. After all, she is only 11. Speaking of which, DD is getting ready for her school science fair.

There's my little mad scientist. Not sure what the exact experiment is, but she lights a little candle that is in a pan of water, colored red for visual purposes, pops a jar over it and times how long it takes for the flame to extinguish from lack of oxygen. Also measures how high the water rises in the jar. A sort of vacuum forms. It really is pretty neat to watch. At any rate, I am feeling a little like a failure in the homemaking department with all the home things don't seem to be happening right.

On the craft front though, am making some pretty good progress. I joined some crochet exchanges and they have you send in JIC (Just In Case) items to begin with so if there comes a time you can't fulfill your swap committment they have one to send in your name. I already posted about the hot pad experience, which was mailed off today. I also mailed off two dish cloths. Both of these patterns can be found online and are free. Later this week I will post the links, just not up to finding them at the moment. The one on the left is done in a very simple basic single crochet row with a double crochet row and is called a "meshie" and is very simple. The one on the right with the blue has a diamond design worked in to it. I like the way it turned out but suspect I did something a little wrong some where as it just doesn't seem to line up quite right. Both were made with Peaches N Cream 100% cotton yarn. At first, when I used it to make the first pot holder, it reminded me a bit of working with a string mop. Yeah laugh, you all know exactly what I mean, you made ond of those silly bed dolls or kitchen witches out of a mop head as well. Well, the yarn still reminds me of a mop, but I am loving working with it. In fact, next to plain old worsted type, it is becoming a new favorite. I have amassed a small stash and will be working on making a bunch of these water babies this Sunday when the whole family goes on a ski day (I hate the cold) to get out of the house for a change (would of course fall on my birthday) and I will be sitting in the little lodge area just hooking the time away.

I have started on my grandson's afghan as well. It is slow going, at least to my way of thinking, as after a couple of rows my neck and shoulders start to hurt.

I am loving the John Deere colors though so that is a plus. It is barely started, but like so many other things in life, there is a story behind this. The pattern, can't remember the proper name, but know it is Native American named. Apache or Navajo tears maybe? I just know that my husband's grandmother, a crocheting dynamo, made this pattern the most. She tried and tried to teach it to me, and I always wanted to do one, started several of them, but would always ending up with what looked more like a drunken path with me increasing and decreasing stitches as I needed to try and even up the edges. This time however, it is working out pretty well. My number of stitches on the end of row edge, seems to be a bit off but not enough to really notice. My little grandson is all about the John Deere, we can't figure out just why, but this Memaw is making sure he has plenty of it. Bought a fleece kit that has John Deere tractors on it as well.

I have just about finished my part of the Green Garden block for a round robin I am in. I got the one book I have been waiting patiently for in today. I already spotted the next seam treatment. Well, that is about all for tonight, I am just barely staying awake and still need to go get a nice warm bath and then bed.