Happy Birthday Bucky

My baby is 9 today. I remember when I got her, there were 12 stray kittens on my deck belonging to 3 stray moms. I was catching them all to take them to the vet and I decided I wanted her. It took me 30 minutes of chasing her around the back yard in the mud. Finally, I caught her. She is a pistol and her name fits her perfectly.

Book Review

I got some new knitting books, yes I know I did not need them but they called my name. What was I to do? Knit Red is all about heart disease. There is a variety of patterns all done in very rich cherry red tones. There are a lot of patterns in here I will make. Knit to Flatter is about making the right sweaters for your body type. For those of you who knit sweaters you know it takes some time and a large amount of yarn, you really want to make sure you can wear it and it looks good on you. A book I will use a lot. Topsy Turvy is the latest Susan B Anderson book. It is all a two-fer. You make a figure and knit another one and you can turn them inside out. Looks like a fun book, something I have wanted to try, first project out of it will be a penguin for my niece. 60 Quick Baby Blankets are various patterns for small blankets. You could always make them larger. The pattern for the little sheep is also in the book. The patterns all look fun, some lace, some really fun like the monsters, giraffe, owl, alligator. Anyone I plan on working my way through the book and giving them to charity.

More Grocery Bags

I made two grocery bags for a birthday gift next week. She is a "cat lady."

Two Chicks from the Sticks

http://twochicksfromthesticks.com/ We have the best kitchen store in Westport called Pryde's. They have been there forever and their coffee is one of my favs, it is all I drink anymore. Today they had the two chicks from the sticks selling their new cookbook. Nothing but desserts made from scratch, is there any other way? Check out their website as they post recipes on there. I know the rhubarb and pistachio tart are calling to me. Now that I am retired I find myself baking more and more, the grocery store keeps putting butter on sale, what am I to do. I got a copy of their new cookbook and plan on baking my way through it.

One of the Best Days in my Life

I woke up this morning to find Margaret Thatcher has died. I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing her speak at Baker University that I attended. Her father was the preacher at the chapel in this utube video. A benefactor purchased the chapel and had it re-assembled on campus. She came and dedicated it for us. I had the chance to attend, so I took the day off from work and went. How could you not. You know the game where they ask who you if you had the chance of anyone in the world to have dinner with, who would it be. Why do people always say Hollywood? My answer was always Margaret Thatcher. She was a role model and a great leader. Her friendship with Ronald Reagan changed the world. RIP Margaret Thatcher, you were my hero and you will be greatly missed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zML_PMEYly8

We must have been hungry

Now that Little Bit is back the deck is his once again and to prove it he has been peeing on the storm door, yea I know boys will be boys (my neighbor boy pees on the trees, he is 3, hopefully he will outgrow this soon) but... Usually when Smudgey sees LB on the deck she goes around front, not today they were both starving so they ate bowl to bowl. She is his daughter and on the right and he is on the left. Jonquils or daffodils are starting to bloom.

Sometimes you need some fresh air

I dont let the girls out unless they are in their cage and then we are off to the vet. Hermione sometimes likes to go out on the deck and sniff and then she hears a noise and begs to be let back in. Yesterday I decided to see if she wanted to go out front and she started off down the sidewalk but when she got to the garage she kind of freaked and came back. Her little outing.

Little of This, Little of That

My aloe vera plant and the double bloom. Silly Goose landed on the neighbor's roof. Have no idea what he was doing, scouting for water? Rocky Road Cinnamon Rolls, they were ok but I don't like choc and marshmallows in my cinn roll, takes away from the taste of the cinn. I don't know what these are but they are always the first bloomers, so Spring has to be on the way. The asparagus looked so so and the cauliflower was so pretty so it is cooking with butter now.

Dirt, Dogfood, and Paste

The other night on Red Eye there was a story about a mom who created a tee for children with allergies to wear. It is bright red that says Dont' Feed Me and then you check the box of the allergy or write in another one. When did kids start getting all these allergies? When I was a kid no one ever had allergies. And I know why. We ate dirt, not on purpose but if you happened to drop your gum or a piece of candy or sucker or whatever you had in your mouth you picked it up and wiped it off and put it back in your mouth. We all ate a little dirt. Dogfood was tasted to see what it tasted like, it did not kill the dog and it tasted bad but hey it did not kill me. Lastly that white paste that comes in a jar we all used tons of when I was a kid. It was sweet and when you got some on your hands you ate you did not wipe it off. One kid Maxwell ate the brown glue that came in a glass bottle with the rubber lid and he also ate his pencils but then he was weird. I believe if kids were not so coddled and allowed to eat some of these items they would not have the allergies they do today. Also sometimes my mom would tell me to go outside and play and blow the stink off. Childen need to be outside and run off whatever ails them. We rode our bikes, roller skated, played with trucks in the dirt, (see more dirt) and played with our neighbors. We jump roped, played jacks; we were outside as much as we could be unless I was into a book. The nation is raising a bunch of pansies who just needs a little dirt and paste.

Happy Birthday Little Bit

12 years ago today my feral tom was born. He had some siblings but he is the only left. I had not seen his since the end of June and thought the hot dry summer did him in. Nope Sunday morning he showed and he is home again. He looks old but good. He is his usual self. I can not tell you how happy I am he is still alive.

The Afghan

I can finally post the picture of the afghan I made for mom for her birthday. She loves to work on jigsaw puzzles and I thought this was the perfect gift for her. I used Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn and it used 17 colors. It took me 106 hours to make this. It was fun watching it come together. It took me 8 hours to weave in all those ends, there has to be a better way with intarsia to weave in ends.

Happy 80th Birthday Mom

Sometimes milestones need to be celebrated in a big way. My mom turned 80 on Saturday and since that is a miletsone it deserved a party. 10 years ago I gave her a tea party and so it was time for another tea party. A dozen of her best girlfriends showed up and we had a party. It was a beautiful day even though it was foggy and raining.

Blooming Again

I noticed the other day my aloe vera plant is blooming again. this time there are 2 separate blooms coming out of the same stalk.