Let's Spread the Love!!!

OK - Let's spread some love!

I hope I don't regret this!

It was fun opening that bag of pink valentine-y stuff.

So here is what we'll do.

Let me know if you want to be in the exchange by replying to this post.

That's all you have to do for that part. You can let others know about this if you want to. I always say the more the merrier. But I'm just doing this for fun. So you don't have to "follow me", "tweet", "facebook", etc.

This coming Friday, February 3, I'll put all the names in a hat, a spiffy vintage brown hat with a feather. I'll draw the names out to pair everyone off, and I'll post it on Friday.

You will then contact each other for addresses.

Here's the rules.

Make this simple and fun. It isn't Christmas, it's Valentines Day!

A few small goodies in an envelope.

Hand made or store bought or both.

Think pink or red or heart shaped.

Think small, simple, fun.

And mail it off so the recipient will get it by February 14th!

Cindy Bee

PS - I've never done anything like this before, so let me know if I left anything out.

edited to add - Non-bloggers that read my blog can play along. (Theresa - you can play :)

What's in the bag!

So I opened the bag and started pulling out all of this stuff. Pink safety pins, an alleluia rubber stamp, pink knit-cro-cheen,

Some hem clips, some Love ribbon, some pink ribbon....pink valentine-y stuff.

I remembered last year going to Damask Designs with a friend

during one of their sales. Then we went to the fabric store in search of more pink stuff.

I was all excited about decorating for Valentines day

and I made all of these little hearts

and never finished them

and never decorated. I don't even remember where I found the pattern for them.

Then I got to thinking...a little valentine exchange might be kinda fun. OR it might be just one more thing to HAVE to do. I can't decide...what do you think? (the post office would probably appreciate it!)

Cindy Bee

Granny Square Hearts...finished!

I got this pattern from the Royal Sisters blog spot.

I have to admit, they were a little harder than the tree and star pattern they have on their blog. But I fumbled my way through a few of them. I have not been crocheting long, and I find myself doing what I do when I knitted. I do easy patterns that I can sit and watch t.v. and not have to pay much attention. I've got to stop that. But that would require sitting down and paying attention, and I seem to have a problem doing that!

I like the way it turned out.

I just threw this picture in because it seems like the thing to do :-)
When I was going through some stuff, packing up my craft (clutter) room, I found this sack. Most of the stuff inside came from Damask Designs, when I went to their sale last February.

Hmmm, wonder what's inside?

Cindy Bee

Edited to add - I went around each heart with a single crochet. That was not a part of the Royal Sisters pattern.

Winter Woolen Workshop & Granny Squares

This Fiona, not this one, asked me how my granny squares were going, so I thought I best show you...but first I must ask....would "lounge" be an English word for the American "couch"? Should I put it in my English/American language lessons (on my side bar)? Just wondering. And I've heard on hgtv when people are off buying houses somewhere in England that they call the yard, garden. Is that another one? In America, a garden is a place where we grow flowers, or herbs, or vegetables. But it appears in England it is the entire yard. So I wonder...what do they call the place where they grow the vegetables? Fess up Fionas! We gotta know this stuff.

OK - Granny Squares and WINTER WOOLEN WORKSHOP!

Every year, The Granny Bees host a Winter Woolen Workshop.

I have been asked to teach a class on Granny Squares. A simple Granny Square. One that most anyone can do. Beginner crocheters. So I picked this one. It is SO versatile.

And quick.

But if you are not into crocheting, or knitting, no problem. Because at the Winter Woolen Workshop you can learn other things, such as painting, punch needle, embroidery, rug hooking, spinning, weaving, hand quilting, tatting, rug punch or needle felting. There will be classes and workshops and little make it-take its on all of that stuff.

And if you don't want to learn anything, that's no big deal either. Just come and visit. There will be guilds and groups and clubs and organizations sitting, or standing, and working on their craft. Sit a spell and visit. Or shop. There will be all kinds of hand-made items for sale.

You could buy all of your Christmas presents for next year, and have it done!

And if you have a project you are working on at home, bring it. Sit and work on it with a group of lovely, like-minded women.

The Winter Woolen Workshop takes place at the Seiberling Mansion and The Elliot House (two mansions) in Kokomo, Indiana. (address is 1200 W. Sycamore St) People come from all over the United States to partake. There is a one time entry fee of $10.00, which goes to the Howard County Historical Society. This fee gets you in the doors both days.

It takes place on

Saturday, February 25, from 9am to 6pm

and

Sunday, February 26, from 11am - 5pm

I hope to see you there,

Cindy Bee

PS - I have a plan for all of these grannies...I'm not just making them to be making them. I hope to finish one of the projects today. I'll show ya later!

Taking care of me....and my dog

Thank you sweet blogger friends for your kind thoughts and words. I was told one time by a Doctor that there is depression, and situational depression. I have a situation that is depressing, but I've decided I'm not going to let it get to me I've done what I can do. Now she has to do what she can do. And I have too many blessings to be grateful for. I'm also not going to talk about it today :) My Shug and I have to talk about it. It's part of our lives. But it doesn't have to be a part of everything in my life.

And I did answer all of your comments on my last blog post in the comment section, so if you really want to hear more about it, you can go there and read my replies. One thing my cousin Gloria sent me that really made me feel good. She said

People cry, not because they're weak.

It's because they've been strong for too long.

Now for one of my blessings this last week. My Shug came home from work on Tuesday, instead of going out to our house that we are building, because he knew I didn't feel well. And he made me home made chicken and noodle soup! YUM YUM YUM. When My Shug was laid off for several months a couple of years ago, he made it his mission to learn how to make chicken and noodles. Comfort food. Tis yummy.


So, after last week, I decided I was going to have a great weekend. I declared Friday night from 6:30 pm on, sit on the couch, watch a movie and crochet night. I told My Shug to plan on it. He was home by 6:30, we were on the couch, turned on the movie Contagious and we both fell asleep at 8:00!

Saturday morning I got up and was cleaning house a bit. I went to put away a stack of plastic cups that were opened at the wrong end, and they all fell on my dog-haired floor.

I picked them up, rinsed them off and stuck them in the drainer. I'm going to have a good day, dammittohell! I stayed home and cleaned house until 1:00ish...then I took Dixie for his free training lesson at the pet supply store. Remember a few posts back.......

I asked if they cared if I snapped some pictures. See these dogs....

They had them heeling, turning about, leaving it, sitting, and staying, all in a matter of minutes.

Not my little guy.

The first thing she did was put this 'training collar' on him. She let me feel it first and it didn't hurt. It had these prong looking things that "imitate the Mother's teeth."

There he is....doing better......but

he would NOT look at her when she talked to him. I laugh every time I think of it. Look at this picture. LOL! He is just like a very strong-willed child. She would talk to him and tug his collar and he would turn his face away from her!

Last week, before she met him, she said she could probably get him trained in a session or two. This week she suggested I sign up for obedience training classes. Six weeks, $100, guaranteed results. She even said she'd give me two for one! Both dogs. I just don't have the time right now. I refuse to add one more thing to my schedule. Some weeks I have lots of time, but weeks like last one....So on weeks that I have time, I am going to work with them. I see how it's done now. And when the weather gets nice I'm going to start walking them more. I used to take Dixie bye-bye with me, before we got Winston. Winston is more of mans dog. He likes my Shug better than me. He insists on going with him. I'm going to start taking Dixie more often. I think they have been ignored lately. Go figure.

Anyway, I did tell my Shug about the lessons and he said, "I don't care if they heel, sit, speak or whatever...I want them to stop peeing on stuff." Oh yeah....that. Well, she said Dixie should get neutered. But I had a miniature dachshund that was neutered. He peed on stuff his whole life. 15 years. Winston is neutered, he pees on stuff. I think it's a male thing. I do. I've never had a female dog pee on stuff. And I explained to her, they are potty trained. They go outside to potty, this is different. They are marking their territory.

Here is what she suggested...

• Do not yell at them. It does no good. Use a calm, stern voice and say, "NO. BAD DOG."


• Be persistent.


• If you don't catch them at it, and don't know which one did it, take them both over to the spot and say, "NO. BAD DOG." They know which one did it.


• Be persistent.


• Praise them when they listen to you and do what you say.


• Be persistent.


• They just want praise. They want to please us and make us happy.

She didn't say Be Persistent that many times. I just need to hear it that many times!

So there you go. We're keeping the dogs for now. We'll see how it goes.

Cindy Bee

Reader Discretion Advised

I thought she was old when I first met her, and she was only 69. That was 20 years ago. Time goes fast. This week I have been overwhelmed. Busy. Fighting off a cold. Exhausted. Happy. Sad. Lonely in a crowd. Feeling like I'm the only one....and I know I'm not.

The Winter Woolen Workshop post will have to wait.

This whole week has been a week of changing plans, being flexible, and putting out fires. And I thought today would be different. Friday. I couldn't wait for Friday because it would be a free day and I knew I would need it.

But today...I have a heavy heart. And I need to get it out. I don't even care if you don't read this....it'll probably be long....and it won't be my usual happy go lucky kind of post.

You see, we moved my 89 year old Mother-in-Law into an Assisted Living facility yesterday. I spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks attending meetings, making phone calls, running errands, filling out paperwork, shopping for necessities...trying to get things ready so it would be a smooth transition. And on Monday, everything kind of fell apart. I spent most of Monday and Tuesday putting out fires, all the while fighting off a cold. I went to bed at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday. I slept through the entire night, not waking up once.

Let me say, without going into a lot of details....

The nursing home had the wrong move dates.

Home Health Care didn't get discharge papers from the nursing home. Without them they can't order the hospital bed.

My MIL gave all of the papers that were for assisted living, to the nursing home. They wouldn't give them back. They said they would but they never did. Some of those papers had to be signed by a Dr. Now they all need filled out again, and probably re-signed.

The nursing home facility was quarantined last weekend because all but ten residents, and some staff, ended up with the stomach flu. Including her.

She cannot hear unless you sit in front of her and yell. You know how when you are at a crowded noisy bar. There's live music. You are trying to have a conversation with the person next to you, so you yell. That's how you have to talk to her. It's draining.

When Wednesday came, we loaded up the truck....four times....and got everything moved. I was excited. The room looked like "home." As much as it could anyway for going from a two bedroom condo to a one room studio apartment.

And here's the sad part. I expected her to be happy. To be excited. I even called my Mom and told her the apartment really looks nice, the assisted living facility is such a nice place you feel like you are on vacation. You do....if you are healthy and young and can hear and can walk. They have a fitness room, and a movie theatre, and an activities area, and a library, etc. Mom told me not to be too disappointed if she wasn't excited.

What was I thinking?

The thing is, she is a negative type person in the best case scenario. I expected too much. She is overwhelmed. She feels like she is in the middle of a storm. She is justified to feel that way. Physically her health is failing. I'm concerned that this stress is making her fail mentally. It's been a rough week on her. On us.

We didn't even get an exit meeting at the nursing home.

Her medicines were dumped at the assisted living facility, and I spent over an hour, with several phone calls trying to sort them. I'm not in the medical field. I don't know that when someone writes norco on a list, it is hydrocodone on the bottle. I don't know what a lasix drug name is. I know what it does, I don't know the names of those drugs. I do know cumedin can be written as warfarin. (I hear it's rat poison) She takes a dozen pills, at least. Over an hour sorting pills....

I had to be home by 1:00. I had been there, yelling, since 9:30. Overwhelmed. When I walked out the door to her room, I took two steps, leaned against the wall and started to cry. Not sob, just tears with a few deep cleansing breaths. My throat hurt. Not from the cold. From sadness. I had a lump in it.

But I sucked it up and moved on.

I came home, let the dogs out, and got dressed up. My Sister, Dad, Mom, and I were going out. We already had purchased tickets to a symphony, in Indianapolis. Too bad the weather added to the stress. Lordy was it snowing. The roads were a mess, the snow was pouring down, the wind was blowing. We saw a car in the ditch on the way to Indy. People were driving 30-35 mph all the way there. But when we got in Indy, no snow! The weather, an hour away, was great.

This event was the same one we went to last year. You spend an hour and a half walking around to different tables, trying different foods and drinks.

The first thing I tried, I promptly put my napkin to my lips and spit it out, in the napkin! ewww. Get me something to drink. If it weren't so dark in the room I might have seen that it was loaded with onions. But the lights were low, for ambiance. I can also say for certain now that I do not like spicy meatballs with bacon in them, I do not like olive tapenade(sp-something like that), and I do like the chicken rings at White Castle!!!

My parents are 76. They are not old! It was a much needed change for me that day. Being around older people, but enjoying their company. Actually, Mom called me earlier that day and asked me if I wanted to go to lunch. I said, "No I've had enough of old people for one day." She just started laughing and asked me if I was still going to go that evening. That's the way our family is. We tell it like it is. We joke. We help each other. We get mad. We get over it. We care.

Dad likes to be philosophical. He told us you have to have a sense of humor in life. I agree. My MIL does not have a sense of humor.

I just thought I'd throw this picture in. It's the view from the Hilbert theatre in downtown Indianapolis. This is the "circle." Right smack in the middle of town.

These are all the people at the Hilbert theatre, getting samples of food and drinks.

Popular event. By the way, Bud Light is coming out with a new beer today and it's called Bud Light Platinum (I think) Anyway, it's yummy. I think it is anyway. I think I will enjoy it this summer after a hot sweaty time in the beehives. It's about the only time I really like beer.

And the group that performed with the Indianapolis Symphony is called "Time for Three." Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond sang a couple of songs as a guest. She is not the usual type of singer that I listen to. I'm a Van Morrison, James Taylor, Carly Simon, John Mellencamp, etc. type of girl. But she sang this song

and it was fitting. It's about wearing a mask, being brave, even when you are overwhelmed.

When I started getting ready to go to Indianapolis, I was good. I was having fun. I was with family, with a sense of humor.

On the way home the roads were better. Until we hit our town. I slid through an intersection, but we were safe. Dad even said I slid through it just like a professional and it was kind a fun! The wind had died down, the snow stopped, and we made it home safely. We had a good time. A good ending to a stressful day (week).

Nope.

I walked in the door, let the dogs out to potty, and My Shug tells me (he was in bed but he got up) that Winston had pooped in his cage. I said, "I don't blame him he's been in it most of the day. I would too if I had to poop." Then my Shug said, "when he went to see his Mom, she had wet herself. " She knew she did, but she was waiting for her 'help' to come in and get her ready for bed. She told him she can't make it to the bathroom. We talked for about an hour. We don't know what has happened this last week for her to change so quickly. Or maybe she's been hiding it all along. We don't know. We just don't know.

I went to bed with a heavy heart. I woke up with a heavy heart. I cannot run three households. I can't. Right now I'm not doing well with one. Building another. And helping my MIL. Our house is becoming a negative place to be and I don't like it. It scares me. I feel unsettled.

I don't want my house to be that way,.

I don't want to be that way.

If I'm not on here for awhile, I'll be back. I need to take time off of the computer to get things settled. I gotta live. I need to feel good when I put my head on the pillow at night. I'll be back. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. But I will be back.

Cindy Bee

Granny Squares and Other Ramblings

Well it appears we are all still here.

I started doing morning devotionals again after yesterday's thunderstorm, in the middle of January, in Indiana! We had horrible thunderstorms, with tornado warnings in Southern Indiana, then by the afternoon the temperature dropped about 30 degrees and it started raining down little ice pellets.

And I was out in it.

And I have a cold that I'm trying to keep from turning into pneumonia and pleurisy. I'm paranoid about that after last year. But I had to go out, because...
I have been very busy trying to get my 89 year old, hard-of-hearing, Mother in Law moved from a therapy/nursing home type facility into an assisted living facility. Every time I talk to her on the phone I have to YELL. SO IT'S HARD TO TALK TO HER WHEN I AM ANYWHERE IN PUBLIC BECAUSE EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE PLACE HEARS ME. AND YELLING WHEN YOU HAVE A COLD IS VERY DRAINING. But she can't help it.
And if I hear one more person say, "that's good that she is moving there, then you won't have to do anything" I might slap 'em! Well....I might......you have no idea. I might just tell you sometime...in another post....when I'm not in the midst of it all.

But right now I want to chat about granny square fun!

See these.....I've been making them.

Granny Squares...

Lots of them...

Different sizes....

Different colors...

Different shapes....

All because the Granny Bee called me the other day and asked me to teach a class on granny squares at the Winter Woolen Workshop.

My next post is going to be about the Winter Woolen Workshop.

Here is what I want you to do.

1) Click on Winter Woolen Workshop (in red, two lines above this one), read that post, then come back to this post by clicking your back arrow.

2) Mark your calendar for February 25 and 26.

3) Then tell me what I can do with this cotton yarn.

As you can see I made a big granny square out of it, for a pillow covering. But I don't like it. I'm not into variegated yarn so much. Any ideas?

Cindy Bee

Anyone out there?

We are having a thunderstorm. Not just a thunderstorm, but a THUNDERSTORM. Some areas are getting damaging hail. We are having 50-60 degree weather today. I do not remember having a THUNDERSTORM in the middle of January...ever.

I woke my Shug up this morning asking if he thought it was Jesus, coming on a cloud.

Luke 21:27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Cindy Bee

Happy Birthday Pa!

OK so enough about my dogs for a few days. I'll update you after Saturday. But I must say...Koala....snif snif...read her comment on my last post...or at least her ten commandments for dogs. Made me give my dogs a snuggle right then and there. And her blog is on my sidebar, at the bottom. I don't understand why it won't update. I've re-entered it and re-entered it several times but it will not update on my sidebar when she updates her blog. Any ideas would be helpful.

So...another family gathering.



Cheers!

Happy Birthday Pa! Yesterday was my Pa's birthday.

and Mom had us all over for potato soup, bell pepper soup, bread and pie. YUM.

And I have a question.

Back in the day...did you, or your parents, call a bell pepper a mango?

I can't believe my Sister's family brought their dog. My Shug asked when we were leaving if we should bring the dogs. I said, "are you kidding me?!?!!" You don't know my Mom. You do not bring your dog in their house. Enough said!

My poor Shug was tired.

This is my Brother and his son.

and his daughter.

My Sister and her new camera. She took two pictures. I took 54.

My Dad opening his cards/gifts....with a little help.

Long day for Mollie.

So, I bought these marshmallows shaped like hearts. I've been on a marshmallow kick lately.

And I bought this pull apart licorice, because on the back of the marshmallow package it was suggested to put licorice into the hearts and make a necklace.

It did not work.

But we all had a good time.

Thanks Ma for having us over.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PA!

Cindy Bee