Something New

One day I got a notice from the Google while I was doing an entry on this blog. Google said I could advertise here and make some money. Pondered that for awhile. Money to buy yarn? Money to buy yarn....or money to buy yarn? I decided I wouldn't use my blog site for advertising. It would be just my luck I'd sign up - find I had no control over kinds of ads and end up with Viagra and Sexy Women dating sites.

Another suggestion came from friends. Why don't you put recipes and knitting instructions on your blog?

So here goes.

                                                 Hot Dogs

Hot dogs

Pan

Water

Hot dog buns

Mustard, ketchup, relish, onions

Go to Kroger's and buy a package of hot dogs and hot dog buns. Come home. Fill a pan with water, 

set on a burner and turn burner on high. Put hot dogs in water and boil til they are HOT dogs. Remove

hot dogs from water and place in buns. Add ketchup, mustard, onion and relish. Eat.

                                                Knitted Scarf

A ball of yarn

A pair of needles, knitting kind preferred

Cast on 25 sts. K until the yarn runs out, saving enough to bind off. Bind off. Wear scarf.

Memorial to my dear sis, Joan

    One year ago today, June 11, 2011, my dear sister, Joan, passed away at Ebeid Hospice on the grounds of Flower Hospital.
Over this past year I have paid her bills, filed her 2011 taxes and cleared up all the loose ends that come
when someone dies. We had a memorial gathering at a friend's house in July and in April of this year, attended a memorial service for 154 people who donated their bodies to UTMC, Joan being one of those people. The service was very moving because I became aware of how thankful and grateful the college of anatomy and the young students are to have a body to help them learn. As one speaker said, "No textbook, no computer program, no teacher can do what a physical body can do to help the students."
In a gift bag, given to the survivors, was a card that stated, "Beyond the flesh you are woven into the fabric of our future. Beyond words, your spirit is threaded through our lives".
Here in my apartment I see reminders of Joan in every room. I brought many of Joan's things home when we had her estate sale. Make some toast and there's Joan's toaster. Read a book and it was hers. Look at the pictures on the wall and there are two portraits of her houses and some of her favorite artwork. Joan's grey cabinet sits in my bathroom. Joan's lovely linen pillow cases are under my head as I climb into bed. She is all around me.
If Joan's belongings were not here, I would think of her every day anyway because she was so much a part of my life, especially during her last year. I miss her!
Last night I watched a movie about an old man in a hospice facility. The movie dealt with life and death. I got teary a couple of times but also felt good because of the way they handled both living and dying.
Today I finished a book that, in part, talked of the mourning stages after the death of a mother. It, too,
brought tears to my eyes but also helped me in dealing with the death of a close family member.
Joan is physically gone but her spirit will be with me all the rest of my life.

JOAN ACKLAND, MY SISTER, MY FRIEND  1931-2011

My Critters and the Ladies who Made Them

This is Luann, a knitter  I met at Yarn Envy.
Luann likes to knit critters - dogs, cats, alien
creatures - you name it, Luann has probably knit it!
When I saw her "alien with a tutu" I asked Luann to make one for me. I requested blue and wanted red fingernails. As you can see, that's what I got.
I named her Rebby, for my daughter, Rebekah.


Below is Rose, another knitting friend I met @ Yarn Envy. Rose is an accomplished knitter, too. She teaches knitting and crocheting classes at the shop.
Rose was making an elephant for her grandchild and I asked her to make one for me. I wanted it to be pink and I named this animal Sarah, for
                                                                                      my oldest daughter.
                                                                                      These creatures sit on my bed and bring me fond
                                                                                      memories of my two dear daughters.

I need some lessons in placement of pictures! I am having a terrible time getting the pics and words where I want them. Hopefully, what I've done will help you identify the knitter with her critter.

 

Growing Things

 These are my lovely poppies. How I wish I could pick them and have them in the house........but
they quickly die.

To the left of the picture is my peony bush. It is loaded with buds and just about ready to pop. 

 I put my hand by a poppy bud so you can see how big they are! I will have between 50-70 blooms
on these plants. There are 5 plants and two different colors.

Here is the vegetable garden. Fran and I bought the tomatoes, red and green peppers, sage, rosemary and cilantro. This morning Wilbur roto-tilled our plot (shaped like the state of Nevada)
and Fran and I planted. We have cherry tomatoes and regular-sized ones.
I have a friend who loves fried green tomatoes. When there are some green ones big enough to fry, I will take them to her house. She will make her yummy, yummy meatloaf and I will fry the green tomatoes. That will be some meal!

Birds At The Feeder

 I ordered this bird feeder from a catalogue of Susi's when I visited her last October. The catalogue said, "Squirrel proof" and they were right. As you can see in the second picture the openings are only big enough for small birds. The squirrel cannot get into the feeder, no matter how hard she tries. I have seen her, sitting on the newel post, swishing her tail in anger! I will say she once knocked it off the hook onto the ground. Still, the only feed she got was what fell out as the cage dropped and hit the dirt. The next time Bill was here, he pinched together the S-hook and now the squirrel  can't knock it off. I can't knock it off!!

The second picture is empty of birds. I took it to show you the construction.

You can just see the top of the bird inside the cage in the picture below. It is VERY hard to get a picture of the birds because they fly away if they see any movement inside the house. I stood back a ways and put the zoom lens on in picture 2 but, just as I was ready to take a pic of 3 birds in the feeder, they all flew away! Darn!

I want to get a hummingbird feeder. I can imagine how hard it will be to get a picture of one of those!

"Mundane Things" is a BIG OOPS!!

I was going to write in here about odds and ends ~ things that don't need a whole blog to themselves and can be clustered together in one blog.
So, naturally, I had to got back and read the last blog. Guess what I found!!!
"Tracy has the ability to find great humor in mundane things". Just before that I commented on Tracy using her husband, children and dog for this humor.
TRACY ~ I did NOT mean your husband, children and dog are mundane!! I guess I need to read through my blogs many times before I hit that button "Publish".

Where I Go On Saturday

Every Saturday, for the last 3 plus years, I have spent the day at Yarn Envy and Vintage Bistro.
Some words about these two places ~ Yarn Envy is jointly owned by Tracy and Candy. Vintage Bistro is owned by Bill. Candy and Bill are married and the parents of my dear tutor, Heather.
The yarn shop and bistro are located in one corner of a large garden center. Unfortunately, the garden center has gone out of business and thus is empty. Yarn Envy is creeping, creeping into more and more space. We kid and say they will eventually take over the whole building. The yarn business is growing and we knitters are all happy
about that.

The lady above is Tracy. Knitters, note the beautiful sweater she is wearing. She is one fine knitter! Tracy is the mother of two daughters, one in pharmacy school and the other  in medical school at UTMC, where Joan was. If you walk in the building and hear a lot of loud laughing, it's because Tracy is telling us about an experience she had with her husband, children or dog. She has the ability to find great humor in mundane things.

This gentleman is Bill, working on the books. Since he is the owner of the bistro, maybe I should say, "cooking the books".  :-)
Bill is a Lutheran minister, now retired from having a church of his own. He is guest minister at a few Lutheran churches in the area.
Bill is also a chaplain at a Michigan Hospice.
Bill is a baker and makes pies for the bistro ~ very good pies, too. He also makes biscotti.

 This is my tutor, Heather, in her "Wendy's" look. Heather is in school, a lot of it done on the computer, which fascinates me ~ going to college on a computer!  Heather works part time @ the bistro and is an accomplished knitter herself. You can find her behind the counter, making an espresso, out in the kitchen putting together a salad or sandwich or helping a knitter with a purchase or a stitching problem.
And........of course, is a whiz on the computer and has helped me tremendously with this blog.

Last, but surely not least, is Candy. She, too, is an accomplished knitter. Candy and Tracy have known each other for many years, having worked together in a bead store and another yarn shop.
These two ladies have established a thriving business and one of the reasons for it's growth is the willingness to help almost anyone who comes in the door. Women come in with yarn they've bought somewhere else and ask the gals for help. Candy and Tracy are right there to help out the customer and always with a smile and pleasant demeanor. They work with the customers on any
questions, etc. we have.
There are two long white tables that run along one wall of the shop. (Tracy is sitting at one of those tables). Every day that the shop is open, many women sit there and knit, eat breakfast and/or lunch, knit, drink coffee, soda, tea, knit, and BUY, BUY, BUY!
I go on Saturdays (although I've shown up on a Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday), arriving around
10:00 AM. and staying until they close at 4:00 PM. This day is the highlight of my week! In an earlier blog I've talked of the knitters/friends that congregate at Yarn Envy. I wanted to share with you the people who are the best reason I am there!
OK. I've read through twice to be sure I've said all I wanted to and I haven't because I could go on and on about this wonderful place and the great people who own.......
                                          YARN ENVY AND VINTAGE BISTRO!!