BBBB 2011

My adoptive family all have their birthdays during the summer with the exception of one who has his in April like me. So each summer I do the Quadruple B - otherwise known as the BBBB which stand for "The Bolen Beaudoin Birthday Bash". It is one of the most fun things I do every summer!

I LOVE (with a capital L, O, V, and E) setting a beautiful table and making up recipes for a special meal. I spend weeks designing the look I want and then adapting or creating recipes to meet the desires and needs of these loved ones. Each year we rotate who gets to choose the theme. This year's theme chosen by Margaret was Mexican/Pasta.

This year, I wanted a clean, crisp look to the table. So I found a blue and white pinstripe twin sheet at a thrift shop that looked just right with my dishes. Instead of layering colors as I have done in the past, I went with simple white accents, white roses, white napkins. It looked so pretty with my dishes and for a luncheon turned out nicely.

I then developed the menu keeping in mind my dietary needs as well as theirs. While it was not a low-calorie meal, it was definitely MUCH lower calorie than what the "full-leaded" versions of these dishes would be! For example, instead of the standard 586 calories in regular chocolate cheesecake, my version that used non-fat creme cheese had only about 300. Still a bit high but it IS a birthday dessert after all! The texture was more a nice thick, gooey mousse-yness rather than cakey and the flavor was EXCEEDINGLY intense chocolate! So rich. My secret was at the end of mixing it, I decided to throw another bit of DARK chocolate powder in...made all the difference!

Mexican Three Cheese Pasta Bake was our main dish entree accompanied by a Corn Pico de Gallo and a spinach salad with dragon fruit and a blackberry balsalmic dressing.

 

I am a contented homemaker. (SIGH) I sent all the leftovers home with the birthday crowd except for one serving of pasta which I already put in the freezer for another special day for me and one, ONLY one, serving of cheesecake which I may or may not save for later (grin). I saved a lot of the Corn Pico de Gallo as that is something I can have every day...a WONDERFUL summer accompaniment to almost any meal. If you would like any of the recipes, just pop me an email and I will send them to you.

Bike Log 2010, December...a most perfect day!

I awoke this morning feeling pretty yucky. I was cold, it looked dreary and every fiber within me wanted to just crawl back into bed and sleep it off. But I knew that if I did, I would feel even yuckier. So, I thought, "Hmmm...it's the last day of the Piedmont Park Green Market and I haven't ridden in weeks due to the cold and the strep. I wonder how cold it is outside?" So I stuck my head out and, lo and behold, it was in the mild 50's. I knew that a cold front was headed our way that is supposed to make the weather pretty miserable over the next few days but at that moment, it was ridin' weather. So I came in, got a shower, packed my bike and off to Piedmont Park I went! I remembered on the way that I needed to buy some soap at the Trader Joe's across the way from PP and I needed to check on an orchid for a friend for Christmas at the Atlanta Botanical Garden which is right beside the park. So I had a plan. I got my soap at TJ's, mounted up and went on down to the park. It felt so GOOD to ride!

I stopped in at the Green Market for a few more bags of Papperdelle's Pasta (check them out...absolutely AMAZING pasta and lower in calories and carbs than normal store bought stuff... http://www.pappardellesonline.com/servlet/StoreFront) a few bars of organic, good-smellin' soap and then pedaled up to the Botanical Garden gift shop. Sure enough, the had just the right orchid for my friend! I paid for it and asked them to hold it until I brought my car around. Then headed down to the dog park area to check on the status of the new path they will be opening, hopefully soon (not open yet, though), and then back to my car at Trader Joe's. 3.53 wonderful miles. I was absolutely zonkered and by that time, FROZEN. The cold weather really makes a difference to my endurance and half-way through the ride, the sky started clouding up and the temp started to drop. I knew I had gotten my ride in just in time!

After packing my bike into my trunk, I stumbled into the Starbuck's at the other end of the parking lot and managed to gasp, "coffee. now." She said, "What kind?" and I replied, "BIG!" ....ahhhhhhh..... After thawing a bit, I got in my car and drove down to the Botanical Garden and picked up the orchid. I then headed over to my friend's house for a surprise "Merry Christmas" to her.

There is so much JOY in giving! My friend, who is in her late 80's and not able to get out very much, was absolutely delighted! She always loved gardening and still loves to watch blooming things go through their transitions. I was overwhelmed with that warm, glowing feeling you only get from giving to someone, watching their reaction, knowing that you "hit the spot". I was so glad to be alive and to be a human being, caring, loving and living outside of self. Living only to please my Maker. Loving to see Him love through me.



I then ran the other errands I needed. Scored BIG time at the thrift shop...for a pittance, a whole box of used candles with which to make ice candles next week! Also, some old, unused Christmas cards for a project I'm planning for TOPS. After then going to Walmart for my items I needed from there, I was once again totally overwhelmed by God's goodness to us.



This time of year, it is so easy to lose sight of how much He loves us and wants the best for us. I have felt His love and blessing "pressed down and running over" the past few days. How it must hurt His heart when the children He created don't understand just how much He does love us. Right now Narnia is playing on tv and Aslan has just accepted the punishment that rightfully should have gone to Edmund. In real life, Jesus did that for us. Do I really, REALLY live worthy of that sacrifice each and every breath I take? I hope so. How He cried over Jerusalem. We are Jerusalem. He loves us so much and I know it breaks His heart when we don't let His love flow through us to those about us. He LOVES. Therefore, we can love. And the joy, the joy, the JOY that ensues! Let's DO it! Let's let His light shine to the whole world through us!

Biking, Carrots, and Waxing...

Waxing as in "waxing nostalgic". There are leaves falling. Now, I know they are not falling because it is becoming Fall. The poor little brown things just can't take the 'lanta heat anymore! BUT, as I rode today it was overcast (they say we'll have thunder storms this pm) and so humid that I was breathing in large particles (baby droplets) of water from the air. Then I noticed leaves were falling and so I decided to go to the place in my mind of F-A-L-L and just enjoy!

I wanted to ride down to Return to Eden Health Food store today to get RealSalt sea salt. It is about 2 miles there and then 2 miles back, passing Whole Foods at the halfway mark. So I did. What a LOVELY ride! Cool, wind in my face, sweating like a....hmm...what's the worst kind of sweatin' thing you can think of? That was me. BUT I've said it before and I'll repeat, why do I not mind sweating when I ride my bike? I HATE sweating at any other time. But biking? Man, I just don't CARE!

There are only two things I hate about starting back to teaching school:

1. I can't ride in the mornings and it is just too hot in the afternoons or even early evenings. But that will change as Fall comes and I will be able to ride after school...Lord willing.

2. I'm so tired when I get home that I find myself going to that emotional place of just wanting to eat everything in sight in order to comfort myself and "feel better" which it NEVER does. While I know it won't make me feel better with my logical brain, my emotional brain is screaming, "FEED ME!!!" I'm hoping that this will get better as I get more used to saying NO to my bratty, emotional self. If you would pray for me about that, I would really appreciate and benefit from it. :>D

Now, carrots. I have decided that "baby" carrots, be them organic or not, are evil. In order to keep my innards processing, I have to eat about a cup of raw carrots every day. No other vegetable I have found does the trick. But that handful, works pretty good. So...I decided for the sake of convenience to buy the "baby" ones. In BOTH bags (one organic and one not) that I bought at different times, there were rotten carrots. Spoils the taste of the whole bag, let me tell you. I know my carrots and they just don't taste as good once they have been snuggled up to a rotten one. And no it is NOT all in my mind. Like I said, I know my carrots! So today, I went back to organic WHOLE ones (no tops) that I will just have to "wash up" as I need. We pay such a high price for convenience, don't we? We pay our very health.

Back to waxing...I haven't said it much lately but I love my sister. She is the catalyst for so many good things in my life. The Lord uses her to "grow" me over and over again. Most of the time she's not even aware of how the Lord is using her...:

Just cut some fresh basil from my garden...the smell is still on my hands as I type. One of the most wonderful smells in the entire world!

Have a great weekend!

Complicated supper...

But OH so worth it! I made a recipe for chicken based on a recipe by Rachel Ray (Quick Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes). I just did the chicken part of the recipe and then served it with her Burst Tomato Sauce and soya noodles sauteed with mushrooms and bell peppers. The rosemary, basil, tomatoes, and bell peppers were all from my little garden! Yep, I eat like this and have lost 153 lbs doing so!

For Burst Tomato Sauce, go here:

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=616

Here's the chicken recipe I adapted:

Rosemary Chicken

Recipe By : Adapted from Rachel Ray's Quick Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes"
Serving Ideas : Serve with Burst Tomato Sauce and soy noodles or pasta.
Categories : Poultry

Serving Size : 4

Amount---Measure----Ingredient

2 whole chicken breast halves -- WITH skin and bone!
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper -- to taste

Cut the chicken into 4 as equal as possible pieces;Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil and rosemary in cast iron or heavy dutch oven on top of the stove.When hot, brown chicken on skin side, then bone side.When browned, put lid on and put into a 400 oven for 30 minutes.

To serve, remove skin and discard.

Description: "adapted from Rachel Ray's Quick Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 145 Calories (see note); 9g Fat (57.1%calories from fat); 15g Protein; 0g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 46mgCholesterol; 46mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat (see note)

NOTES : Because the skin will be discarded upon serving, the nutritional count is adjusted to having NO fat exchange and 125 calories.

This is my journey...

My neice, Kate and my niece-in-love, Alyssa inspire me. Through the thick and thin of their lives, the blogs they write are incredible, insightful, totally inspiring and always make me grow in some way. So, I'm taking a lesson from them and journalling what has been happening in my life this past year. Why? Because it's getting tough now and I need the reminder and the accountability in hard, cold black and white of who, what, when, where and most of all why I am. So I'm warning you, the following may not agree with your beliefs, ideas, or sensabilities and will quite probably ramble and quite possibly rant at times...but it's the path God has put me on. It may or may not have things in common with the journey God has for you. But this is MY journey with Him in my own words...

Many of you have heard me say over and again, "I love my Dr. Brown." He is my endocrinologist and God has used him over the past 10 years to give me hope while dealing with this horrible disease that took my mama at age 40 - diabetes. I've been diabetic for at least 16 years now diagnosed AT the age of 40. Mama didn't have those years. While that makes me sad for me and my siblings, I know that when God knit her in her mother's womb that she was only allotted that many years before she got to go be with Him. I can't be jealous of God. He has much more of a "right"' to her than I do. I do look forward to seeing her again some day and saying, "I'm SO sorry. I understand so much more now and I can't express how much I respect you." You know, those things you really don't have the wisdom to know, feel or think about saying when you're 16 years old and Y-O-U-N-G. :>)

For the first 6 years after the diabetic bomb shell, I had a dr. that wasn't right for me. (Wasn't that tactful?!) His attitude was, "take these pills and don't worry about it." NOT the right approach for someone with a STEEP genetic history going back at least 3 generations where every single female on the maternal side has died of diabetes or pancreatic cancer. So the day came when we parted ways. He had prescribed a medicine that in 4 months made me gain 40 lbs. When questioned about the efficacy of this medicine for me, his response was, "Well, the diabetes will kill you but the weight won't." Stunning, huh? Especially since with those 40 lbs I was now topping the scale at 440 lbs! I can't rememeber whether I said it or just thought it, but my response was, "Well, if I can't get through the door to go to work, then I have a BIG problem!" I probably only thought it...that's where I was then. (by the way, those of you who know me, you know I am NOT there now! I WILL speak up...sometimes not so tactfully as it is contrary to my bent. :>) Anyway, when I left his office, I knew I would not be back. I stopped that nasty medicine (by the way, it was Actos) and started praying about who the Lord wanted me to go to that would HELP me. He led me to Dr. Brown.

In the first year, my wonderful Dr. Brown (who treats his patients VERY aggressively and does NOT monkey around) put me on insulin and adjusted all meds. It was amazing! With the insulin, I had energy! I had not realized how lethargic I was and how fuzzy my thinking and just plain living had become due to the high blood sugars. Within the first 2 years I dropped about 60 lbs just naturally.

I have seen Dr. Brown every three months for the past 10 years and have ALWAYS come away from my appointment feeling hopeful and "I can do this for another 3 months." Until May 2009. [please insert the Law & Order theme song, "Chuh CHUNK" here]... My A1C was up, my blood pressure was startlingly high (about 160/100 in his office) and as I am allergic to almost ALL bp meds except the two I currently take, he said with the most dispirited demeanor I had ever seen him have, "You know, Ms. Ferguson, I just don't have anything else for you." Can you imagine my fear, pain, frustration, agony, ...? I came away totally...beat. I got before the Lord and cried...really cried... from my spirit, "Lord, I don't know what to do! Please, please show me." And then I cried some more. After drying my tears and constant prayer, I felt very strongly God was saying, “Get on it” and I said, “Yes, Sir.”

I spent a weekend researching online as to how I was to go about losing weight. I came across the following article that really spoke to my heart and challenged my unhealthy attitudes and behaviors that were keeping me from achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

http://healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com/introductiontoexpd.htm

Having been an insulin dependant diabetic for many years, I was doing quite a few things correctly and knew how to use the Exchange Program. however, there were some key components that I had been missing. The first was journaling. I really wasn’t aware until I started journaling that I was eating whole meals between meals! I would eat things that wouldn’t raise my blood sugar like a handful of nuts. After all, the news media says they are good for us, right? I discovered that handful of nuts was about 400 calories! You do that a few times a day and you have eaten a whole days worth of calories in snacks alone not even counting the calories expended on meals! By the way, an appropriate serving of nuts is ¼ of an ounce…about a tablespoonful.

The second component I was missing was a support system. The article specifically mentioned TOPS along with a few others. Having “done” most of the others, I researched TOPS online and was greatly surprised to find that not only was TOPS non-profit but that every spare cent goes to obesity research. I LOVED that! I believe there is a whole lot more to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight than what we currently know and the non-profit mindedness of TOPS was a perfect fit for me.

So, I clicked on the “find a meeting near you” button and discovered there was a meeting right down the road from me – TOPS Georgia 30. I said, “Well, Lord, I get the message!” I called a friend and told her about it and without even a pause she said, “I’ll go with you.” What a beautiful confirmation that I was on the path God wanted me. Since then, even though she must walk with the help of a walker and has many health challenges, to date, she has lost 75 lbs.!

Since that beginning, by God’s mercy, I have lost 153 lbs. I have about another 65 lbs to lose. The going is much slower now. There were 3 whole weeks where I ate and exercised totally correctly and gained weight each week; BUT, I lost a whole dress size during those 3 weeks! God is teaching me so many lessons. One of which is that sometimes a desire for a goodly "goal" can replace our desire for Him and His will.

Here and now, I want to make it really clear...HE has allowed the decrease in my size and body. It has been my experience that there are those who really do not want to hear that. They want a magic formula to insure the results they desire. But life is NOT about glorifying ourselves and/or our puny efforts to conquer, succeed, or attain goals. Life is about being companions, brides if you will, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Giving HIM the glory in ALL things. After all, HE is the one who created ALL things! Even our own "creativity" is there only at His behest as we are made in His image. He is the ultimate creator and made us in His image so we can be creative as well...but NOT on HIS level fer sure!


There are those who would say, "Well, yes, He has helped you lose weight, but YOU have to do the work!" Then they normally repeat the, "So what are you doing?" question with a hopeful look on their face. I understand that yearning for the hope that it will just be EASY with the right "formula". But it's the wrong focus. That's like saying, "Well, true, Jesus died to save you from your sins but YOU have to accept Him." ???? So the focus should be on my courageous ACCEPTING instead of His sacrifice??!! I don't think so. That is totally crazy, skewed thinking...aggrandisement of self! Self is not and never will be the source of Life. True life and the source of it is only found in HIM! Yes, He allows us to enjoy the wonderful life He has created, this miraculous creation of His; but only so we can enjoy HIM to the fullest extent of our abilities! Worship the CREATOR not the creation. Our society is so screwed up about true, real values.


So what exactly am I saying? If you want to lose weight - for whatever reason - take it to HIM and then do what He says! All other efforts will be wasted as they will not be anchored in Him. Being obese is SOOOOOO much more than just "eat less, move more". Catchy phrase and may very well work for a person who has never been obese...but I wouldn't know about that as I have fought obesity my entire life. Only the Lord's wisdom can sift through all the screwed up attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, etc. that have caused us to go "wrong". What I DO know is:


1. We are marvelously knit individuals with as many different needs amongst us as the different varieties of trees, animals, flowers, etc. Yes, there are a few generalizations you can make about the same genera BUT...for example, look at the following: elephants, aphids and koalas. What do they have in common? They're all vegetarians, for pity's sake! They all pretty much eat a similar diet but look at the disparity of their body shapes and sizes due in large part to their individual metabolisms! Or look at how different people react to different medicines! One person will greatly benefit from a medicine and another person will die from it! So let's knock off this "one size fits all" mentality! Only GOD knows what you need as He knit you in your mother's womb and therefore, HE is the only one with "the manual" for YOU! He knows your metabolism intimately since he created it.


2. Don't be stupid and ignore those few generalizations that we KNOW are true...i.e. anyone eating mainly processed, non-whole-grain stuff IS gonna reap the consequences of that kind of diet sooner or later.


3. God wants a relationship with you just as surely as you want a relationship with those you love...but MORE so! So much more so...


4. If you don't know what to do, ASK Him!


5. And, “I am sure of this very thing, that the One who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6


If you've made it this far...thank you for listening to my heart. "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31

Amen.

A Wonderful Start....

Today was one of the best new year starts of all time!

First, lunch with friends with three major victories...1. sat in the back seat 2. fastened the seat belt with room to spare 3. sat in a booth with about 6 inches in front. All things I haven't been able to do in quite some time.

Second, a LONG 20 minutes walk with Lolly in the beautiful, sunny coldness! Victory #4...haven't been able to walk that far in ages. Lolly got tired before me!

Third, dropped off Lolly and went back out for 30 more minutes taking pictures! Victory #5...was able to stay out walking about for another 30 minutes! Victory #6...found out what was wrong with my Fuji FinePix camera that I have loved for these many years (it had been taking very blurry pics)....ready? Wait for it....THE CAMERA LENSE WAS FILTHY DIRTY!!! After noticing that through some sunshine pics, I cleaned it and VOILA! My camera is fixed. (much hanging and shaking of the head in disbelief.) I had never since I bought the camera cleaned the lense. Ah, we learn by experience, right?

Now, an evening of knitting, reading, talking with friends on the phone and reveling in 2 1/2 more days of "nothingness" until going back to school on Monday.

(Side note...the pic above was inspired by my art teacher neice, Kate. She always takes amazing photos and I thought of all I had heard her talk about artistic composition...note the different type of line shadows!)

Life and the Lord are good...very, VERY good!

Lolly and the Dryer Ball

Lolly loves toys. She has a HUGE basket full of them and she checks every now and then to make sure they are all there. Sometimes, just for fun, I dump the whole basket out onto the floor and let her pick and choose which to play with. Her little face gets so excited when she rediscovers a toy that has been at the bottom of the basket for a while.

While she loves her old toys, there is nothing that makes her happier than a brand new toy. This year, I decided to make her and all her doggie pals "dryer balls". These are made by wrapping a skein of wool yarn into a ball about twice the size of the ball you want. Then you put it into a net lingerie bag and tie the end close enough near the ball so it is snug. Wash it in very hot water and soap with some other things like jeans. The banging against the other clothes, soap, and hot water makes it shrink up and join together into a solid ball that bounces after being dried in the dryer. She can bite it as hard as she wants and it won't hurt it or her teeth! Also, doggies love the smell of them as they retain a trace scent of lanolin from the sheep from which the wool was trimmed. Result? One very happy puppy!

What makes a totally BLESSED Sunday:

1. Going to Sunday School.

2. Taking Ms. Lolly on a LONG walk in the beautiful, sunny, nippy air after days of days of rain.

3. Getting a good afternoon nap.

4. Having the ability and cleaning my own house including vacuuming.(Those with Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue totally understand this one!)

5. The smell of something yummy in the oven for supper. Tonight it is baked stuffed peppers. YUM!

6. Feeling the Lord's presence in all of the above, every breath I take!

THANK YOU, LORD for this perfectly blessed day!

Summer, Ete, Verano...

Summer by any other name is still...

WONDERFUL!

Brrrr!!!!!

Ok, ok, I know that the northerners around here think we southern flowers are just WIMPS but you know...we just don't have enough of the cold stuff to develop the rhino skin we need to not FEEL the cold! So here I sit in my long-sleeved nightie with my new capelet around my shoulders, my flannel lap quilt over my feet and my very fuzzy Lolly Belle snuggled up close on them. The electric oven is on low to help warm the lower third of my apartment. My heating/air vents are at the top of the walls near the ceiling. Great for summer air conditioning but not too efficient in the winter. As you will all recall from elementary school science classes, heat rises. So the heat pouring forth from the vents just stays up near the ceiling. I have the 2 humidifiers going plus a pot of water on the stove to combat the dry-ness. I am a true southern gal. When the humidity gets below 50%, my lips and skin just dry up like Lake Lanier in a summer drought when the Corps of Engineers have let out too much water to the Chattahoochee River. How's THAT for a southern simile?! Just pray I don't run out of lip balm!

Another "happening" around here is that Lolly Belle Rose has broken her back canine molar. The doggie child does love to chew and has the jaws and big ol' honking teeth of a mastiff! She doesn't seem to be in pain. Perky and sassy as ever (when she's not snuggling, that is!) The vet we saw last Wednesday (Dr. Stotelmyer was off last week) said to just put water on her food to soften it up and then see Dr. S on Monday. So the plan is to go see our wonderful Dr. S on Monday to find out what to do about it.

Well that's all the news from the frozen south for now. Stay warm! p.s. Here's some pics of my A Capella Capelet that I knit over Christmas. I used vintage-like buttons I salvaged off of thrift shop garments. On Monday at the Last Chance Thrift Shop, everything is half off!
Shhh...don't the pattern author, but I like mine better :)

Merry Christmas!

Lolly’s favorite Christmas ornament is her musical moose. She looks forward every year to when I unpack it and put it on the tree. As well as being soft and fuzzy (her favorite qualities in a toy), when his tummy is pressed he sings “Oh, Christmas tree, Oh, Christmas tree!” in a very gruff, grunty moose voice ending on a raised pitch “huh?” as if asking approval. She can’t get enough of it. No matter where she is in our home, she comes running when she hears him sing!

This year, I allowed her to get a little closer for her cover picture. She was very sad when I moved him back to the Christmas tree. However, like all good girls and boys, she faced the disappointment stoically…until next year!

My Versatility +!

What a beautiful shawl by LeTonBeau! Here is a link to LeTonBeau's Versatility. Be sure to check out her pictures so you can see what the finished product looks like! As I am a larger woman, I added a repeat of the cable/bobble section so it would be wider. Here’s the first 24 rows of the main section…

My very first bobbles and cables! Can you see them? Can’t WAIT to get it finished!

P.S. If you are new to chart reading, don’t forget that you must read the chart from bottom to top AND you must read the odd rows left to right and the even rows RIGHT to LEFT. Otherwise, you will come out with wrong stitch counts and things (bobbles and cables) won’t match up!

Reality Check

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." - Helen Keller

Maybe that is why I love knitting so much...one small stitch at a time...focused...perservering...never monotonous...each stitch important to the integrity of the whole.

My Fibertrends AC-12 Brushed Felt Beret is finally finished!

Modeling a Christmas present for a friend...

Another Christmas present...the "No Knot Cravat"...

A slit is knitted in so the other side slips through.

No more losing your scarf!

Cinderella is Alive and Well!

I have been working mega hours on the 5th grade play. We are doing a funny version of Cinderella. It took me 2 weeks to get all the costume sheets finished...68 of them!!! PLUS running 30 Cd's for certain of the characters to practice with. But everything got out to the kids on Thursday. Whew! We start after school rehearsals week after next for 2 weeks. MEANWHILE, we've been working on the 2/3 grade musical to be performed in November..."Dinomotion". I'm telling you, there is nothing funnier than seeing kids in dinosaur costumes try to square dance! It ought to be a riot! My kindergartners and 1st graders will be doing scenes from The Nutcracker. They are really excited...as am I! So this weekend I finished working on Cinderella's ball dress. I found this really neat white dress at the thrift that would be a PERFECT Cinderella dress. It was really filthy and yellowed. So I brought it home and washed it up on the delicate cycle (you know you can wash ANYTHING in the washer...dry cleaners are really unnecessary!) It came out beautiful!!! Isn't it gorgeous? Can you believe it was only $10?!!!

I decided that it needed to look a little more period...so on with the drippy lace sleeves...

Add some velcro up the back for quick changes...

And lastly, a poofy overskirt...Voila! A Cinderella dress that any young girl would love to wear!

Before:

and After!

My Sweetie Pea...

Lolly always looks forward to Miss Peggy’s visits. Each time she arrives, Lolly checks quickly in her bag to see if IT is there… the “special chew bone” …otherwise known as her recorder!

However, when Miss Peggy starts to sing instead of playing IT, Lolly rolls on her back, rubs her ears with her paws, barks her “bossy” bark repeatedly to tell her to stop and on occasion, joins in singing with her sotto voce!

I must add this is through no fault of Miss Peggy who has a very beautiful soprano singing voice! I have not decided whether Lolly’s antics are an aversion to Miss Peggy’s lovely singing or just her displeasure that IT is not being played. I strongly suspect the latter!

When on occasion Miss Peggy does play IT, Lolly sits transfixed for as long as Miss Peggy plays, her little face mesmerized as if trying to figure out how those beautiful sounds are made. She does not respond this way to any other instrument or form of music. Somewhere within her little soul, the sounds of the recorder seem to resonate with her concept of all that is beautiful and right in the world.
(Isn’t it cute the way Lolly sits like Winnie the Pooh?!)

DONE!

I just have 3 words to say about this beautiful pair (first ones I've knitted) of luscious socks...SOCKS AIN'T FAST!

My Sock...my sock...my very first REAL sock!!!

Here is the first one finished! Ain't it a beaut? Now...only 4 more weeks until it has a mate...Lord willing!

Lolly gives it the old sniff and feel test......

and APPROVES!!!

New Year...New Projects!

Would you like to see what I have been doing in January?

Here are my Seussical Socks:

Now if those don't cheer ya up on a cold, rainy day, NUTHIN' will! They are knitted and then felted...isn't it amazing how a sock that would fit the Jolly Green Giant can totally shrink down to a normal human size and all shrump together into felt?! Remember that sweater you "ruined" when you washed it in hot water? That is exactly what you deliberately do with felting! You DARE not take a telephone call when felting something...unless you want it to fit a Barbie doll!

I used up lots of yarn remnants to make them. The are knitted according to a free pattern called, "Family of Knitted Slippers". They only took 4 days! That is REALLY fast! Of course, I was a bit driven...my feet were cold! AND Melody had finished her and Doug pair.

I find it a great deal of fun to knit what my sister knits! It gives us a lot to chat about...as if we needed more to chat about! I am SO thankful for Vonage! It allows us to talk at will without worrying about $$$$$ (she lives in Mexico!).

After I finished these lovelies, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and do a REAL pair of socks. My dear friend, Rance, gave me a gift certificate to a knitting shop for Christmas. So, I went down and picked out the yummiest, most expensive sock yarn I could find. I really have to like the yarn and especially the color of the yarn that I knit. I really get into colors. Colors make my brain spit out endorphins like crazy. Endorphins are goooood for us! We LIKE endorphins! Today, I just finished "turning my heel" (no, it did NOT involve a trip to the emergency room!) and I have picked up my gussets (tee hee, that sounds really funny, doesn't it?!) and am decreasing and shaping them. This pattern was devised by a free pattern generator called, "Elizabeth Bennet's Perl Sock Pattern Generator". You type in all of your measurements and it generates a custom pattern for your foot that makes it fit perfectly. A WONDERFUL tool! You can use any type of yarn and guage, with any type of needles and it will do the math for you. Here is a picture:

Ain't it purty?

And isn't that the most beautiful, peaceful yarn EVER?!

The Quest...has ended!

In my quest for the "perfect" hat, I have made many types, sizes, and designs of hats in the past few months. Well, I am very happy to tell you, the quest has ended successfully! I discovered during my trek that for me personally, I needed a rather large, wide-brimmed hat. (the results of having a large (NOT fat and NOT big!!) head and face. I give you (in both coloring and personage!) the "Robin" Hat ...

Can you believe it started out this big?!?

It is knitted using Fiber Trends pattern WP01, "The Wool Pak Felt Hat". Until I can get a better pic of it on me later when someone else can take one for me, here is how it fits on my large head...

Here is the hat I made for my friend Susan's birthday....the Lava Hat...(as she has red hair and blue eyes, it really suits her complexion!) This is a free pattern, "Deb's Derby". Most of my earlier hats used variations of this pattern.

And last but not least, the Bo-Peep Hat (my own design...a tam with a brim):

I'm done with hats now...(for a while at least!)...on to socks and clogs! Check ya later!

Christmas 2007 - part 2!

Melody, Doug and I had Christmas together this year! We had so much fun opening our presents the way we traditionally do in a very non-traditional manner...on the webcam! What fun!

I can now show you the knitting I have been working on for the past couple of months...I decided that this year I would only do three knitted presents. Being new to knitting, I was afraid that I would get all stressed out if they didn't turn out just right. So I only did the three. I was very pleased with all of them.

The first one I did was a hat for my niece-y-in-law, Alyssa. Isn't she pretty? The hat is cute too.

The second one I did was a pair of felted clogs for my friend Susan. They fit! YAY!!!

Then I knitted slipper socks for my friend, Martha. They fit too! Double YAY! I stitched suede bottoms on them for durability...

And lastly, here's my latest hat...MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!