A Few of my favorite things

Howdy. I have spent the day watching the Food Network off and on and I love to see things come together. I had DVR'd (?) Ace of Cakes. What an awesome show! The artistry that goes into just one of those cakes is amazing. What a dream job huh!

Someday my dream job would be to run a Bed, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Not just a B&B. I would love to have enough acreage up in Northern Michigan (Preferably Mackinaw City) to open one. I can cook for a large crowd and I love it. I grew up with 1 sister, and 3 brothers. I am of course the middle child. Plus add both of my parents and that equals a decent size family. I have made enough to feed at least 30 people at one time and still have had left overs. My mother taught me from a early age to cook and so I can handle large amounts of food. Plus I have worked in Restaurant Kitchens before and enjoyed it a lot. I love to make comfort foods and I like to add new and interesting dishes to our lives. I think that would have to be a highlight of life, taking something that you dream about on a daily basis and making it come true. Sounds like a resume right LOL.

I wanted to list a few things I find that I like in life.

1. The color Pink. I like it in many different shades. I like it mixed up with other colors. I even like Pepto Pink! Someday when I have my own craft room I'm painting it pink! I may even paint my kitchen pink LOL. 2. Recipes. I love to cook obviously. I like to make things that are interesting and new to me. I love to read recipe books.

3. Sewing. I am very new at this but I have fun when I create things.

4. Buttons. They come in so many different sizes and shapes.

5. Reading. I read a lot. I like Romance (Cheesy I know). Not a lot of people my age care for it but I read them by the dozen. My favorite writers are Laurell K. Hamilton and Heather Graham.
I also read Horror, Mystery, and Classics.

6. My favorite foods are Mexican of course, Tex-Mex, Italian, Asian. I would love to try new foods from all over. I don't like anything that has parts like feet, tongue, brain, etc.... EWWW.
There is so much out there I haven't had like Indian, Greek (besides Gyros), European, etc...

7. My favorite snack right now is Strawberry and Dark Chocolate S' mores. YUMMY! I like all sorts of snacks though I'm not overly picky.

8. Veggies. I crave vegetables all the time. My favorites are broccoli, tomato's , cauliflower, green beans, spinach (new craving), mushrooms, and a ton of others. I am growing zucchini in my garden and carrots I have never tried growing either of these before and it's going pretty great. I can't wait to pick and eat these.

9. I like the cartoon Chowder. It's a hoot.

10. I love to Knit and Crochet. I am good at both. I think! I'm not very fast at either but I'm getting there. It's fun and soothing and I love the fact that there is such a large community. I am pretty shy at making friends and where I live I don't have any. I know it's kind of sad really. But just signing in on the website Ravelry I feel like there are a lot of people out there I can relate to. I have just started being more active on there by joining groups and posting a lot more.

11. Traveling. I love to take road trips. Right now I would love to travel to the West Coast and just start from Vancouver Canada and go all the way down to the end of California. I also want to head over to Europe, and Asia. My favorite place in the world is Mackinaw Michigan. I feel at peace here and I love to hear the waves from Lake Michigan hit the shore. It's home in my heart.


There is a ton more that I find to be my favorite on a daily,weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, but these are my top ones at the moment.
Smell-Belle's secret hide out.
Have a great evening :)

Summer Vacation

Today marks the first day of two weeks we are hanging out at my in-laws. I spent the day watching cable (we don't have it at home), and swimming. We even made turkey burgers on the B.B.Q. I spent a lot of the time knitting on the Fish Blanket. I'm getting quicker at making this little fish but still I wish I could knit continental style faster. I'm o.k. at it but I have a hard time keeping my fingers closed on the feed yarn. Someday it will be conquered.

I will leave you with a beautiful Flower from my Dad's garden. Enjoy your evening.

Dog eats towel

Well today was kind of boring. I made Blue Berry Pancakes with Turkey bacon on the side for Lunch (Yeah, You heard me Lunch. I'm lazy and on vacation so there!LOL) actually I got up at 9 and just didn't feel like breakfast this morning so I ate it for lunch.
Then we went to my in-laws to see the kids before they all head up to Mackinaw for 2 weeks with out US!!!! It sucks that we get to miss another year up there but we get to chill at the in-laws house with their pool, so there is that plus for us. Still it's not the same.

Well my Title of today is about a Dog that eats a towel. Daisy dog (black lab mix) has decided after 11 years of life she wants to develop separation anxiety. I mean this dog goes nuts and whines and barks as soon as we put her in her cage. She started this about a month ago and now she is pulling things into her cage and is chewing holes in them! I have blanket that we got in Cozumel Mexico when we went on a cruise and I put it over her cage, what does she do? She eats holes all over in it. The we put a towel over the front of her cage only at night so that she doesn't catch a chill from the air conditioner and what does she do? She eats holes in it even though I put it up on top when she gets up in the morning. We left and she found a corner or something and pulled it through the bars and eats big holes all over it. UGH! She also pulled a cord from a old humidifier through the bars and chewed through that. It was unplugged by the way. I tried putting a nice big chewy bone in with her before we leave but she didn't touch it, she just ate the blanket. She's driving me bonkies I tell ya. Goofy dog. Who me I didn't eat that Towel, maybe the blanket but not the towel Honestly!



Well I think I going sign off for now Have a great evening :)

Scarf Day

Do you ever get a perfect hand lotion and you sparingly use it just in cast you can never get it again? Mine would have to be Bath & Body Works Sea Island Cotton. I love this stuff and it's a thicker lotion so when it goes on it doesn't leave your hands or feet all oily. I use it on my feet at night also. It also has a nice subtle smell to it. Mmmmm smelly stuff.

Today I deem Scarf day. I made a few scarfs for myself over the last couple of months and I have actual photos of said scarfs.
I put them on Diane (my dress form). She likes wearing my scarfs at least they don't make her neck itch like they do mine. The first is the Debbie Mumm Traditions 2x2 Rib Scarf I wrote about yesterday I did these on a size 11 needles. I love the colors in this scarf a lot. The next one is Jo-Anns Sensations in the color Lime doubled with Dolcetto with size 15 needles garter stitch. So soft but itchy, itchy, itchy. I can wear these over the top of a coat but not close to my neck. I am extremely sensitive on my neck otherwise I'm o.k with wool. The last one is Truffles in Purple, Pink, and Blue (can't find a link for a store) knitted on a size 10 1/2 in garter stitch.
I love making scarfs there simple, and fast.

Well I am going to make dinner Have a great day. :)

Rainy Day's

It's raining, it's pouring, My Dog is snoring. I love the sound of a good Thunderstorm don't you? As long as our power stays on though. It must be really touchy since every single time we have a storm it blinks off and on and then most of the time stays off. But so far it's only blinked a few times.

Today is lazy day. I plan on cuddling up with a book and my knitting. I need to finish all those Fish and I am also working on a 2x2 Ribbed Scarf in Debbie Mumm Robins Egg Blue color. I like the feel of this scarf but it's kinda goofy to work with. You kinda have to be gentle with it and pull the strand out so it doesn't bunch. I know a lot of work for a scarf huh! But I promise the results are turning out excellent. I think they used Kool-Aid to dye these skeins. It smells just like when I dyed the wool for some purses I made. I can smell the Blue Raspberry in the Debbie Mumm yarn. I like that smell.

Onward. I was asked by my new friend who is the 11 1/2 year old from the swap I joined before, if I wanted to join her swap. How could I say no honestly. She and her friend are presenting this swap all on their own. If you happen to get a chance please stop by and check it out Hammy's Cookie Swap this is only on Ravelry. She would love to have new members.

Well I think I am going to go and have my Rainy Day, Lazy Day. Have Fun.

Gone Fishing

I came back the very next day to blog can you believe it? I told you I was going to be a good girl from now on.

I am on vacation since last week, last week I had a horrible ear infection and my husband sat with Granny H. (who is 98 years old by the way) for a couple of days until her daughter came. This week is kind of mandatory vacation due to the her falling and hurting herself and her daughter is in town to take care of her. Poor Granny H. I am making her favorite thing, Chocolate Chip cookies to help cheer her up. I spend my days helping her out around the house and making her lunch. She still lives on her own in an apartment and she's feisty as all get out. She is also my husband Great-Grandmother. :)

Well since I am on vacation I decided to make my husband's Grandma D. a blanket. She just found out she has cancer again but this time it's in her bones. I wanted to make something warm for her while she is going through chemotherapy so I found a really neat blanket pattern. It's this one A Recipe For Fish and I have already caught a few on my needles.

I am using Caron Simply Soft in colors, Woodland Heather and Deep Teal Heather. I love how they look together and they are really soft. I will definitely be making more fish blankets from this yarn.
I use Caron a lot for my projects. I love how soft it is and how you can cuddle up with it. I put it with Novelty soft yarn or Eyelash with complimentary colors when I make scarves and they come out so soft and fuzzy. I'm not in the least a picky Knitter. I can't afford to be. I do love some of the yarns that I have gotten that aren't acrylic but when you are on a budget soft acrylics it is.
When Hobby Lobby use to be in Marion I would buy a ton of the sale $.99 yarn in as many colors that I could afford. I also had gotten a lot of the Dream by Moda Dea for like $.70 . Man that's some lovable yarn especially in a scarf or a hat.

Speaking of yarn spots.
I went to Sarah Jane's Yarn Shoppe in Fort Wayne a couple of weeks ago I had been wanting to see it ever since it opened. It's a cute and lovely yarn store. I found the layout really nice and not crowded even when there were a few people in there. I bought a retractable tape measure for my swap pal. I loved that they had such a good variety of brands. I will definitely be going back in there soon.

Well I guess I had better get my needle out and make some more Fish only about 80 more to go LOL. Have a great day :)

Long Time, No Blog

Ok, ok I know it's been months but I have decided to start blogging again. Not that I really had a whole lot to say before but I VOW to try to be a good blogger this time. Well I guess what really inspired me to start again was the fact that I am apart of http://www.ravelry.com
I love it there, the kindness and caring of such a large group of people is extraordinaril . I decided to be more of a joiner and did my first swap, and I received some really wonderful gifts from a 11 1/2 year old girl!!! Omg I was floored, she was so thoughtful and did an awesome job making the little felted purse in a very pretty blue. She even included a bone for my doggies. Heres a picture isn't it great to receive something in the mail. So this is the package I sent out to my secret swap pal.
Plus I added some coffee, chocolate and some Nerds (gotta love Nerds) also I love making things and it was my first time sewing and I think I did a pretty good job with the needle and crochet cases.

Well then my goal was to speak up in more postings and I have! I am pretty proud of myself. I don't have any friends where I live due to living out in the country and there isn't much to do here. I am a pretty shy person at first so I find it hard to make friends. Next I decided to join a group called RAK. Now I feel kind of weird joining this group because you make a wish list and then very nice people come by and check it out and send you lovely gifts in the mail. I work with mostly acrylics/acrylic blends which I love and I know for a lot of people that's forbidden but I really do love them. I have gotten some really beautiful and soft scarves, handbags, slippers, blankies from acrylic/acrylic blends.
I figured it was an opportunity so see what other people knitted with and if they wanted to throw some other stuff in there then so be it :). I love used stuff. I take stuff that is used and make it even more loved. I got RAK'ed ( not sure how to say that) last week and received some wonderful things today. First off is some items I got from Soknitpicky

my jaw about dropped when I opened this package and there was a ton of the most wonderful leftovers (and full skeins) ever. There was Habu Kid Mohair N-52 1/20 (peachy), Noro Silk Garden (red, and brown), Cotton Chenille from Crystal Palace Yarns (baby blue), Filatura Di Crosa BabyKid Extra (Aqua)(SOOO Soft),Classic Yarns Natural Silk Aran( pretty peachy orange and sage green), Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran( Black/grey with Turquoise speckles), Malabrigo Uruguay(Geranio Red)(OMG YUM!), Classic Yarns Cashsoft Dk (Aqua with fleck of blue and brown)( I made a bracelet from this with a glass bead), On live?(Yellow sock yarn going to make a elefante by Susan B. Anderson for my nephew T. or some Monkey socks.)Paton's Up Country ( Blue and Brown), Rowan Cotton Tape (Black), Rowanspun Chunky (Sage with flecks), Habu Textiles 2/48 Merino Thread/Lace (Sage), Lion Brand Wool (Sage), Vogue Knitting knit.1 magazine Spring 2007, Vogue Knitting International Spring/Summer 2005, and a Knitting Calendar 2008 box thingy wow is all I can say I love it it has a ton of interesting projects.
The next package I got was from a Knitter named juulia on Ravelry She included a full skein of RH Rose, a cake of Cherry Red and Pink, a smallish ball of Red Stripe, and a little ball of Purple, Blue, and Pink. I plan on making some baby blocks and the Red and Pink will go towards making this bag Colorful Carryall Bag from Crochet Today, but I need some more colors to add. I will probably use the Rose for a blanket and a stitch holder which I needed Thank You sooo much.

Thank You both for so much Generosity.

I want to send someone else some lovely gifts but it will have to wait until next week unfortunately, but I will be making sure that I will RAK someone's wish list and pass on some items I don't need. The feeling of giving is a wonderful one.