http://www.picturetrail.com/woolyredrug
Is a great resource for anyone who is interested in rughooking techniques. This particular one is from Wooly Red Rug. Laurie belongs to several of the online groups, and her picture trail site has some tutorial style pictures. Rug binding is always something that people discuss, with regard to what is their favorite method. When I started hooking, I did a single crochet all the way around the perimeter of the rugs. I whipped the first very small mat, and found it not my cup of tea, but others love that finishing technique. So it really is up to the artist creating the rug!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Grateful for Online Friends
This is a picture of a wreath that I won in a giveaway from our CPLG blog. We're just about to undecorate for the holidays, and so the picture needed to be taken today. Trish is a painter, and a friend for a number of years. We've never met in person, but I love seeing her post in our group. She is a busy mom and grandma, paints some incredible products, and stays way busier than me. This wreath was her giveaway prize on our group blog, and I was the lucky ducky to have my name drawn. Great decorative ribbon and picks on it. She painted the Santa on the sled just to the side of my smile. She paints on gourds, wooden shapes, mouse traps(memo pad), and even toilet seats!
Our group has known each other for years, and it is amazing how connected we've become. Fine women, who love their families, encourage each other, laugh and cry together. We often ask for prayers when a family member is ill, or having some type of trouble. We occasionally disagree, but by and large we are of a like mind.
I was lucky enough to actually meet with Marissa and her wonderful family a little over a year ago. Had seen a picture of her daughter, Katie, in a photo album in the group. When Katie and her brother came racing to the door, it was kind of cool and weird at the same time, to know so much about kiddos I'd never really met. Then Marissa and her dh came into view, and yep, it was Katie. :) They have a new son, who was born a few days before Christmas this year. Their family is dear to me, almost as if I had another daughter. But they live far away in Indiana, :( Marissa has been knitting rabbits and other wonderful items, resulting in quite a good deal of business, been highlighted on a couple of blogs. Hope their new year will be the most wonderful year they've spent as a family.
Friday, January 8, 2010
I woke up wearing a cat for a hat
It's been really cold here, so our two kats have had to spend more time than they like inside. In fact, they go out thinking it will be great to pussyfoot about, and within minutes they are staring at us through the window, next to my dh's chair.
We do have the furnace set at 72, but they still like to sleep on the bed. So this morning, the first thing I realized was that the cat had cozied up to the top of my head, stretched out his neck to rest his head on mine. But he was purring, which I'm a total sucker for! So instead of rolling over, I laid as still as possible, until the radio came on a minute or two later...
We do have the furnace set at 72, but they still like to sleep on the bed. So this morning, the first thing I realized was that the cat had cozied up to the top of my head, stretched out his neck to rest his head on mine. But he was purring, which I'm a total sucker for! So instead of rolling over, I laid as still as possible, until the radio came on a minute or two later...
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My favorite easy dinner on a cold night
I may come up with better posts eventually, it isn't all that interesting to know my favorite suppers, but although there are lots of things to be thankful for each day. Finding a parking place, while it may be worth of a prayer of thanksgiving to me, is even less exciting to read about than:
A hot mug of cream of tomato soup, with a toasted cheese sandwich. We're working on slimming down right now, so no Cheetos jammed into the soup soaking it up. If you like Cheetos and tomato soup, try it some time. It is just like being a kid! We use cheese slices just the store generic, whole wheat bread, and coat the bread with a light bit of olive oil. Browns them nicely, and better for us than butter or margarine.
I'm most grateful for having a warm home to return to this evening. I can't imagine how folks survive out in this weather. I'll be going to work on my sister's rug later, this is the best time of the year to be a rug hooker! :)
A hot mug of cream of tomato soup, with a toasted cheese sandwich. We're working on slimming down right now, so no Cheetos jammed into the soup soaking it up. If you like Cheetos and tomato soup, try it some time. It is just like being a kid! We use cheese slices just the store generic, whole wheat bread, and coat the bread with a light bit of olive oil. Browns them nicely, and better for us than butter or margarine.
I'm most grateful for having a warm home to return to this evening. I can't imagine how folks survive out in this weather. I'll be going to work on my sister's rug later, this is the best time of the year to be a rug hooker! :)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Always complaining about the weather! :)
We have a Blue Norther on the way.:( So although I'm trying to be grateful about the events in my life, this is mostly whining about how cold temperatures in the 20s can be if you live in the South. My sis is in Wisconsin, mostly loves the cold, "It's a dry cold" and couldn't imagine living here in the summer. Summer is when I really complain about the weather, and remembering last summer of long hot days, and days on end without a drop of rain, but plenty of humidity, just makes me droop...
We are in an El Nino pattern, which means based on other years, more cold and more rainy days. Those are good to have as we were in a drought last winter, that pretty much continued until October or November. Of course, being Houston we had one or two downpours where we(somewhere in Houston) got several inches of rain in a short time bringing on limited flooding.
But the blue moon was gorgeous the other night. It hung in the sky glowing like an LED moon. There were wisps of clouds blowing by it quickly, and that really made it spectacular. This is my favorite time of year to look at the stars. I used to be able to spot several constellations, loved reading mythology as a girl, knew the stories for many of them. I can still find the dippers, the North Star, and Orion the Hunter most nights. It is amazing to realize that the light we see, travels so fast, and yet it has traveled light years for us to see it tonight. Our Universe is so lovely, and the Earth we live on so precious. I am grateful for that. :)
We are in an El Nino pattern, which means based on other years, more cold and more rainy days. Those are good to have as we were in a drought last winter, that pretty much continued until October or November. Of course, being Houston we had one or two downpours where we(somewhere in Houston) got several inches of rain in a short time bringing on limited flooding.
But the blue moon was gorgeous the other night. It hung in the sky glowing like an LED moon. There were wisps of clouds blowing by it quickly, and that really made it spectacular. This is my favorite time of year to look at the stars. I used to be able to spot several constellations, loved reading mythology as a girl, knew the stories for many of them. I can still find the dippers, the North Star, and Orion the Hunter most nights. It is amazing to realize that the light we see, travels so fast, and yet it has traveled light years for us to see it tonight. Our Universe is so lovely, and the Earth we live on so precious. I am grateful for that. :)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
My favorite Psalm: 139
My husband I just completed prearrangements for our deaths. Neither of us knows of an immediate likelihood, this has been in the works for awhile, and we just completed the arrangements before the end of last year. Neither of us plans to have a funeral or memorial service. Our thoughts on that may differ from yours, but I feel it is a strain on family members who are already suffering a loss.
I'm sharing my favorite psalm this morning, because I think it continues to be relevant to me at whatever age I've read it. Throughout my life, I've tried to do my best, but often seem to be a disappointment to others around me, especially authority figures. This is because at my core, is a streak of independence and divergent thinking. In other words, not an easy person to lead. Yet it has always comforted me to consider that I am as the good Lord made me, and as my savior, Jesus, knows me to be. Not a thought or action that I may consider is unknown. Sharing it fits within the framework of gratitude that guides my writing this year.
Psalm 139 (New International Version)
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. my own emphasis
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.again my emphasis
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Only the good Lord knows whether my name is written in his book or not. Does our name pop on and off the list? Believing in free will, I've never felt constrained by this psalm. Is the list like the Egyptian concept of weighing our heart, with only pure souls admitted to heaven? I hope not, for my heart has polka dots! ;)
I'm sharing my favorite psalm this morning, because I think it continues to be relevant to me at whatever age I've read it. Throughout my life, I've tried to do my best, but often seem to be a disappointment to others around me, especially authority figures. This is because at my core, is a streak of independence and divergent thinking. In other words, not an easy person to lead. Yet it has always comforted me to consider that I am as the good Lord made me, and as my savior, Jesus, knows me to be. Not a thought or action that I may consider is unknown. Sharing it fits within the framework of gratitude that guides my writing this year.
Psalm 139 (New International Version)
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. my own emphasis
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.again my emphasis
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Only the good Lord knows whether my name is written in his book or not. Does our name pop on and off the list? Believing in free will, I've never felt constrained by this psalm. Is the list like the Egyptian concept of weighing our heart, with only pure souls admitted to heaven? I hope not, for my heart has polka dots! ;)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
How about that Rose Bowl?
Happy New Year! The first day of the New Year was filled with Football!!! The best bowl of the day was the Rose Bowl! My dh loves The Ohio State University, and is a native Buckeye although he did not get to grow up in the state and wishes he had. Personally, I'm glad his family moved to Kansas or our paths might not have joined. :)
He is wearing his spirit necklace, Rosebowl cap, and special commemorative Rose Bowl tshirt in the photo, which we really took to share with my good friend Mo! Maureen sent him the necklace which includes Olivia's name in beads. Grandpa will eventually pass it along to her, filled with his love and enthusiasm for The Ohio State University.♥
I added the final score to the photo this morning, so that we will remember it, and the wonderful game we watched. It was a great matchup with the Ducks going ahead in the 2nd half. That added to the thrill of victory at the end. My dh loves a good game, and doesn't usually pick a side. So of course, when he does have a favorite, we both want them to win! Go Bucks! Way to start the New Year off right!
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