The Grand River is High Again

The first photo shows the railroad bridge across the river (just south of the traffic bridge that has been out of commission all summer because it was being repaired due to erosion from all the flood waters since it was re-built in 1994) and the other photo is taken at the boat access to the river, just south of our main street in town. The depth marker shows that the river is just below 21 feet. Our crest level is 19 feet.

Harvest Time Is Upon Us

Harvest Time is upon us. Most farmers are already bringing in their corn and beans, but there are a few late planters. The harvest that pertains to me each year is the pecan harvest (first photo). I work at a farm in the Fall where I am one of three women that crack and bag the pecans for sale (both local and internet). The pecans won't be ready for harvest until we have a few hard frosts and the pecans fall off the trees. As seen in the photo shown, the pecan hulls are already drying out and starting to crack open. That's a good sign. The other crops featured in the photos are corn and soybeans

Current Project

My current crochet project is yet another Never Ending Granny Square Blanket. I have enough yarn in my stash for another one. Plus, my family is asking for me to make more blankets for here at the house. They love snuggling up with them on the couch. Two of the kids have confiscated blankets out of the living room and have them in their bedrooms now. This blanket will be make in varying colors of blue, maroon and one skein of a green type color. These will be held together with a strand of white yarn. I make these blankets using two strands of yarn held together and crocheted with a size "P" hook. Here is the link to the free pattern for this blanket http://debscrafts55.blogspot.com/2007/12/never-ending-blanket-square.html .

Another Sweater Coat

I have finished crocheting another Sweater Coat. This time I used Bernat Baby Boucle in white. I love the texture of this yarn, but I'm not thrilled with using it. It's hard to find the previous stitches at times. But, the finished product is quite nice. A bit like a sheepskin jacket. Here is the link to the free pattern https://docs.google.com/View?id-dp8xs77_13dtqck4gt

Another Question

Another question I was asked recently was "What can you never have enough of?" I didn't have to think twice about this answer. It's..........................

Purses and Yarn

I love purses. It's the #1 answer given to everyone at Christmas time when they ask me what I would like to have. My grandma finally said (one year) that I couldn't ask for a purse anymore from her. I had a horrible time coming up with something else to tell her. Because I really want a purse or two. LOL

I also love to crochet. I would buy myself a skein of yarn instead of something to eat if I had to choose. LOL But I wouldn't do it every single time. A girl has to eat once in a while, you know.

Beauty Essentials

I was asked a question the other day. It was "What are your most used beauty products/essentials?" and I had to stop and think a minute before giving my answer. Here it is:

1. Eyeliner - Never leave home without it.

2. Chapstick - I always have one on me.

3. Nail clippers - You'd be surprised what these little things can come in handy for.

4. Gold Bond Medicated Lotion - In my opinion this is the best hand/body cream.

5. Hair Ties - Not only do they hold your hair back in a pony, but they can be used for anything that would call for a rubber band.

What would your answers be if you were asked this question?

Make The Most Of Your Figure

If you are Apple Shaped:

• Draw attention from your middle by playing up your legs and bust.
• Try an allover pattern to glide over problem areas.
• Create an outfit using different shades of the same hue.

If you are Boyish Shaped:

• Seek out garments that create curves.
• Select fitted tops and jackets.
• Collect a variety of belts and use them to emphasize your waist.

If you are Curvy:

• Direct the eye to your waist.
• Slip on a slim-cut skirt that tapers to the knee.
• Stick with styles that follow the lines of your body, so you don't look boxy.

If you are Pear Shaped:

• Wear lighter colors on top to downplay your lower half.
• Avoid pants and skirts that add volume with patch pockets, pleats or belts.
• Choose interesting necklines that keep the attention on your face.

Kitchen Savings Tip

Here's a tip to save some money in the kitchen. If you have a recipe that calls for white wine, just substitute chicken broth. It gives basically the same results.

Book Review

I just finished reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. At the time, I also bought the second book in the series "The Girl Who Played With Fire". My review of the first book is that it gets a 5 1/2 out of 10 stars. I think the book started out very slowly. I didn't find it interesting at all until I was well into the second chapter. Even then, I had my doubts about the book. However, the book did end up capturing my interest and I couldn't wait to see what happened in the end. Some of it I expected, the rest I didn't. So...if you decide to read this book, make sure to stick with it through the first chapter. It's setting some necessary background information for what's to come. Would I buy this book again? After some serious thought, yes.

"Z"

Guess who we saw today at Carrollton Band Day??? "Z"....my niece. Z and T (my daughter) are the same age. So is A, the nephew she borrowed the jeans from today. The two girls are the best of friends and they don't get to see each other very often. They were thrilled to bits, as you can tell from the photo!

"Borrowed" Jeans

My daughter and I stopped by my sister Marie's house for a brief visit this afternoon. While we were there, my daughter couldn't help herself and she looked through my nephew's clothes closet and found a few pair of jeans she wanted to try on. My nephew is the same age she is. Anyway, she came in the living room to show us this pair of jeans that she really liked and how good she looked in them. When it was time to go home, she just casually "left" with them. Now, my sister knew that she still had them on and she said she was going to wait and see what her son said or did about it. He just rolled his eyes and said "bye". So...we'll see how he reacts when she wears them to school. LOL

Finished Baby Garments - Part 3

Finished Baby Garments - Part 2

Finished Baby Garments - Part 1

I promised that I would share some photos of the finished baby garments now that I have all the buttons sewn on and the ribbons added, where needed. So, here are some photos of the first five.

Carrollton Band Day

Today was Carrollton Band Day. If I understood correctly, 63 area bands participated in the various events. Our school competed in the 2A Parade Division and won 4th place! Go Wildcats! I'm sharing three photos from the day, the first one being my daughter, the second one is the band lined up and getting ready to march around the square, and the last one is the band posing for their official portrait. Good looking bunch of kids, don't you think? I'm so proud of them!

Aunt Jen's Sweater Set

I have completed the "Aunt Jen's Sweater" set. Here is a photo. It's done in the smallest size using a G hook. The pattern is listed in a previous post, but you can find it here http://www.sandiangels.com/pattern-page.html .

New Look

As you can see, my blog has a "new look". My daughter said it was time to update and be more trendy, so the old style is gone and a new, fresher look has arrived. Hope you like it!

A Father/Daughter Moment

My husband was sharing a cute story with me today. He and our daughter had four hours of togetherness in the truck on the way to the state park last Friday. Tianna looked over at him and said "Dad, do you know how you have road rage?" And he said "yes". And she said "Well, I have radio rage. You know how the radio goes all fuzzy in the middle of a good song....well it makes me so freaking mad". LOL He has had a good smile from this every day since then. LOL Although he did say that she almost drove him nuts with the constant channel changing of the radio. Four whole hours of it. I guess I lucked out. I had Chance in the truck with me and we listened to his I-pod all the way there. He didn't have much to say either, unless he was pointing out all the different types of plants we passed along the side of the roadways.

A Treat Today

I bought myself a treat today for being a big girl at the dentist. It's a great big skein of Bernat Baby Boucle yarn. I've never used this type of yarn before but I'm itching to try it out. I just have to figure out what I want to make with it....a baby afghan, or more sweaters and caps. What do you think?

What I'm Working On Now...

I'm working on the pattern "Aunt Jen's Sweater" which can be found here http://www.sandiangels.com/pattern-page.html . I'm using Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn that I bought on clearance. I had bought two skeins of this color and one of the blue/green color. I think it's very pretty and very chic for today's time. I'm following the pattern to the T and using a "G" hook.

Another Sweater Coat

I made another sweater coat. The pattern can be found here https://docs.google.com/View?id-dp8xs77_13dtqck4gt . I used Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn in the color "I'm a Big Boy" and an "I" hook. I bought the yarn on clearance at Wal-Mart. It's blue and green, and the yarn is self striping. I love it! Now I need to add the buttons.

Going to the dentist....

Don't I look happy?

Sweater Coat

I bought some yarn on clearance at Wal-Mart last week. I couldn't help myself. Look at how pretty it makes up. This yarn is called Bernat Baby Jacquards and the color is Berries and Cream. I used an "I" hook instead of a "G". And I have bright yellow buttons to sew on the front. The pattern is a free one and can be found here https://docs.google.com/View?id-dp8xs77_13dtqck4gt .

Sweater Dress

I tried out a pattern that I really don't care for. It's a very easy pattern but it's just not my "taste". Anyway, it's a free pattern found here https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_15c6vxk3fc . I used Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn in pink and white. And a G hook. The photo on the site is lovely, I just don't think my version of the sweater dress is.

I made another Never Ending Granny Square blanket. The pattern can be found here http://debscrafts55.blogspot.com/2007/12/never-ending-blanket-square.html . This blanket came about because my "guys" wanted a "guy" blanket in the house instead of all the "girly" type blankets. So...all I did was use different color yarn in this one. I used Red Heart yarn in Camo and Coffee. I held one strand of each together for the main body of the blanket and the edging was done using two strands of the Coffee yarn together. I used a "P" hook. This blanket is very easy to make. It goes quick too. I made this in two days.

Campfire Photos

Here's a little photo editorial of our great time camping. These are the ones that actually sat around the campfire at night. By the way, these photos are "pre-shower" photos. We had bigger smiles after the showers. LOL Missing from this photo editorial are my youngest son and my oldest son's girlfriend. They are not "outdoor" people and spent most of the time camping inside of the camper in the A/C where there weren't any bugs. LOL

Happy 50th

Happy 50th Birthday to my husband, Kenny! His birthday was this past Friday. When asked what he would like to do for his birthday, he said "go camping". So that's what we did. The Whitney's invaded Pomme de Terre State Park along with a bunch of other guests on Saturday for a great time tubing and fishing. We BBQ'd, sat around and talked, and had a whole lot of fun! Thanks to everyone that came and made my husband's day wonderful!

Skipping Stones

Skipping Stones is something that all kids should learn, right? Well, Chance can skip stones just fine, but Tianna can't. He spent some time at the lake trying to teach her the "fine art of skipping stones". She never did pick up the right technique, but at least they had fun doing it. It seems like there are so few things anymore that they will do together or do without bickering. Therefore, I had to capture the moment on film. I might need it for bribery sometime in the future. LOL

Tubing

Saturday, we spent the day "tubing" on the lake. I took this photo with my zoom lens and still couldn't get a good shot. They were just too far away.

Relaxing in the water...

This is my son, Chance, relaxing at the lake on Saturday. In the first photo, he's playing "turtle" and the second photo shows him floating on his back. Chance didn't go camping with us last summer, so this was his first time going to Pomme de Terre State Park. We went for 3 days this past weekend since it was my husband's 50th birthday. Luckily, the kids didn't have school on Friday.

Climbing Shells Preemie Ghan

I made this baby blanket tonight. It's called the Climbing Shells Preemie Ghan. It's a free pattern and can be found here http://danettesangels.tripod.com/patterns/climbingshells.html . It also offers a full size pattern as well as the preemie pattern. I made it using some more of the Red Heart yarn in the color Cornmeal. This pattern is easy to follow and works up easy. It's also a very pretty finished product.

Marching Band Today

The band marched in a parade today. At Sterling Price Days. The kids got 1st place! I included a photo of my daughter as well. She's trying to "rock" her band uniform and make it look sexy. LOL She's not old enough for "sexy" yet.

Tianna and I

Here's a photo of my daughter and I. She snapped it this morning while I was working on my blog. She's trying to look fierce and I'm just looking "blah". LOL Cute girl, isn't she?