Busy Day but Good!

"Snowman Soup!"

Today was another ‘running’ day but very productive; had several quick trips to get done and knocked them off in record time. One of my stops was ACO hardware where I pleasantly discovered my local ACO is now selling Bernat worsted yarns in 14 oz. balls! (for $7.99!). Who would have thought to go looking at yarn in a HARDWARE STORE? (Stranger things have happened, I suppose.)

Got home and finished baking 4 dozen sugar cookies, then frosted & added sprinkles…another ‘to do’ thing done on my list! Youngest son had asked me if I would teach him how to make earrings, so we set out to do that and managed to make a very nice looking set for his young lady friend. I had a nice box and got the ‘presentation’ part done…looked very nice, if I do say so myself! (should have taken a photo, but didn’t think of it at the time). I guess her mother was quite surprised when she learned he ‘made’ them himself; her comments were in the area of “You should SELL them!” (that made him proud).

Tonight was my Knit Night and I was anxiously wondering just how many people would show up for our meeting this close to Christmas. I was very pleasantly surprised…we had 17 people; 2 of them were new tonight! Great evening; some great and thoughtful gifts were passed out (one lady made little bath salts in cute little cloth bags, another made “Snowman Soup”: basically a package of cocoa mix, some miniature marshmallows and a candy cane, with directions on how to make the ’soup’!) Another of my friends gave each of us a ball of dishcloth cotton and a pattern for a dishcloth (mine said: “Love to Knit” on the pattern) plus this adorable little rubber duck! Each duck was different; mine is a “Princess Duck” complete with little pink crown & sparkly wand. I’m putting her on my computer and naming her: “The Queen of All I Survey”! (Yep, that’s me!)…soooooooo cute! Great night, great company…lots of fun. We even have people stop by to chat with us; a group of about 4 ladies who eat at Panera and then go clogging always stop by to see what we’re all working on. They’ve invited us to come clog; I said: “I can just see us all now clogging and knitting at the same time!”

Oh! Have another recipe for you; I haven’t tried this one but it comes from a friend who rates it highly. I’ve ‘heard’ of it, but now with her recommendation I’ll have to give it a try.

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SODA CRACKER CRUNCH

Saltine crackers

1 cup butter (do not substitute margarine)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 12-ounce package chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate

2 cups chopped walnuts

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Cover foil with 1 layer of saltines.

Mix butter and brown sugar in saucepan.  Boil hard for 2 minutes.  Pour mixture over crackers and bake in oven for 5 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle entire package of chocolate chips over mixture. Return to oven only until chips melt (about 3-4 minutes).

Remove from oven and spread chips evenly with butter knife.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.  Let cool, then cut or break into squares or pieces.

Makes about 60 pieces

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She also had a Note: I always double the topping that goes on the crackers.  This makes it much more thick and yummy.

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Our weather is still ‘cooperating’: it’s chilly (in the mid-20’s) but clear and sunny which makes for great ‘running around buying last minute presents/necessities/groceries’ weather.

Hope all is well with you and that you’re able to take a small break each day to relax a little and enjoy the wonders of this Christmas season!

Hugs;

Pammie

Last Minute Gift Idea…

What do you do when you’re already ‘right on time’ with all your gifts and baking? Why, you come up with ANOTHER gift idea for your whole Knit group, of course! Two weeks ago the knit group ladies started bringing in gifts for each other, hinting that this would continue. Feeling like I should reciprocate, somewhat, I’ve been racking my brain as to what to give a large group of people and also not spend a ton of money.  One of the ladies gave each of us a handsewn ornament and a beaded pin plus several pieces of candy.  Last night I remembered that I had started a project many months ago and never finished it. After a bit of searching, I located ‘them’ and began today adding to the count. The photo above is not my pin, but pretty close. I had already knit 11 of these and added another 6 today. My ‘knitting pins’ are about 2 inches square and yellow, each having a clasp back and a small red heart button in the bottom right corner. I knit them on a very small (size O) knitting needle, then transfer them to toothpicks which I’ve cut the end off of and glued a small round wooden bead to, so that they look like knitting needles). Along with these I plan on including several pieces of chocolates (got a great sale on Hershey’s Peanut butter kisses and Hershey’s ‘nuggets’…where else? Our local drug store!). On a ‘usual’ Tuesday knit night we average about 14 ladies, so I’m trying to play it safe and made 17 (still have to sew on the little buttons and the backs). Along with this idea, I remembered another ‘idea’ from Christmas’s past and bought red & white candy canes. Attached to each one and included in the ‘gift’ will be this story:

The Candy Cane Legend

The candy cane is in the shape of a “J” to remind us that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. Turn it around and it also is the shape of a Shepherd’s staff to remind us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who takes care of us. The red stripes remind us of the blood Jesus shed on the cross to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The white core reminds us that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection was fulfillment of prophecy, to purify our hearts and make us holy before God, so that we, too can live in Heaven with Him.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but  have everlasting life.” John 3:16

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Merry Christmas!

Hugs;

Pammie

Recipes ‘n Wrappings

Just thought I’d add a few interesting ‘bits’ to your reading enjoyment. First up is an interesting site which features wraps: as in wrapping presents, wrapping scarves around your head or waist, all kinds of wrapping going on here – check it out:

http://furoshiki.com/techniques

Next on the agenda, another recipe! This time it’s a refreshing change from most; I found this one in the produce aisle by the apples and thought it sounded really yummy.

Apple Salsa

2 medium red apples

2 T. lime juice

1/2 C. chopped orange segments

1/2 C. finely chopped onions

1/2 C. finely chopped green pepper

1 finely chopped jalapeno

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. vegetable oil

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Core and dice apples into 1/4 inch pieces. Toss immediately with lime juice. Stir in remaining ingredients; chill 2 hours. Use as dip for tortilla chips or can be served over fish, chicken or turkey. Makes 3 cups.

(featured by the Michigan Honeycrisp Apple  group)

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Right now our weather has done another ‘Michigan change’ – it’s in the low 30’s and finely snowing. It has been doing this on and off all day, but (fortunately) it’s not sticking too much. I’ve been watching the traffic in front of our house (we live on a major thoroughfare) and it seems to be going a bit slow. Tonight is my Knit Night, but it’s the ‘informal’ group, so I don’t feel really bad not going. (to explain: I have 2 groups, same people. The ‘regular’ Knit Night is scheduled on MeetUp.com and is every-other Tuesday at Panera Bread. My ladies liked getting together so much that the ‘hard core knitters & crocheters’ voted to meet on the ‘off’ Tuesdays at another location, Tim Hortons.  The regular crowd numbers between 14-16, where the Tim Horton’s crowd is around 9. Not a lot of difference in count, you say? Yes, but the bigger (Panera) group is the one that keeps growning bi-weekly, whereby the Tim Horton’s group is the same group. Since I started the Panera group, I kind of feel obligated to attend both meetings, but it’s really not necessary (although it’s just as much fun!). My husband is attending a retirement dinner for a very good friend he’s worked with for many years so I’m glad I opted to just ’stay home’. Dinner was simple: baked fish, macaroni & cheese & peas (or green beans, whichever you wanted). A lovely lady contacted me today with more squares; she’s the one I believe I mentioned around 4 months ago. The factor that gets notice: the first time she stopped by she dropped off 268 squares! Today she brought me somewhere in the 100 range (haven’t counted them yet, but she said she had 3 separate bags of 30 squares each which she felt would ‘go together color-wise’, then another bag of ‘odds & ends’ squares).  She said she really enjoys knitting for me and was thrilled to keep doing it. Me too! Just finished off afghan #219 today; that’s the first of the next ‘batch’. Since both ministries have had afghans delivered last week, I don’t feel so pressed to get more made right this minute. Sat down and just ‘knit for fun’ this afternoon, doing two “Granny’s Favorite” squares*see below* (those are the ‘knit on the diagonal’ ones, where you start with 3 stitches and keep adding on til you get to the middle, then begin decreasing until you’re back to the original 3 stitches, then bind off. Fun pattern – one of those ‘no brainers’ that look good when done.)

Well, friends that’s what’s going on around here at the moment. Still haven’t decorated the main tree (youngest son wanted to help and wasn’t ‘in the mood’ today…sigh). I feel like this year’s Christmas preparations are going at ‘ultra-slow’ speed…do you feel that way? Our Christmas contata was a week earlier this year than in years past, my special needs groups big Friends & Family  Christmas Gathering is a week earlier, too. I’m guessing by next week I’ll start feeling the ‘press’ to get it all done on time, but for right now I’m just ’sittin’ & relaxin’ a bit!

Enjoy your evening, stay warm and remember to smile a little.

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: In case you might be interested in learning how to knit a “Granny’s Favorite” square (for hot pads or dishclothes?) here’s a link:

http://tankhouse.knitability.com/freepatterns/DishClothDuo.pdf

http://dishandwashclothmania.com/grandmas-favorite-dishcloth-knit/

Cookin’, Crochet & Chicken!

Last year at this time I remember featuring several recipes and thought I’d do that again this year.  For the most part, these will be recipes which caught my eye but I haven’t tried yet (note the disclaimer…hehehehe). First on the list is one I just saw in the Sunday coupons; I like hot & spicy things and this sounded ‘just right’…

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(like Buffalo Chicken Wings in a dip!)

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1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 (9.75 ea.) cans Swanson chunk chicken breast, drained (or)

2 C. cooked chicken, cut up in chunks

1/2 C. redhot sauce*

(*Franks is the company who is featuring this recipe)

1/2 C. blue cheese salad dressing

1/2 C. crumbled blue cheese

assorted fresh vegetables and/or crackers for dipping

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix ingredients in deep baking dish until smooth. Bake 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

(http://www.franksredhot.com)

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Tonight I’m in an ‘eating’ mood…but not a ‘cooking’ mood! I should be starting dinner soon and already know that we’re having an old favorite:  “Potatoes O’Brien” (at least that’s what I call it.) It’s a very simple recipe; let’s see if I can write it up in recipe format:

Potatoes O’Brien

1  1/2 lb. ground beef

1-2 (28 oz. ea) pkgs. frozen “Potatoes O’Brien” (or…

check the frozen potatoes section for pkgs.  of diced potatoes with chopped onions & green peppers included-sometimes it comes as shredded potatoes, like hash browns. I have also used hash browns and added my own chopped onions & green peppers)

about 1 stick margarine

2-4 T. garlic powder (we really love garlic)

1-2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

dash or 2 Worcestershire sauce

(could also add a dash or 2 Tabasco sauce)

(small can sliced mushrooms, if desired)

1 1/2 – 2 C. shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese

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In LARGE fry pan, brown hamburger & drain grease; leave in pan. Add frozen potatoes along with margarine, cut into cubes. (this is the hard part…I usually keep checking the pan to see if the potatoes are browning and have enough margarine to keep them from burning; you could add more or less, as you determine.)  Cover pan and check about every 5-10 minutes to lift & stir potatoes & hamburger to ensure they don’t burn. (they do tend to stick some).  When the potatoes are almost fully cooked, add the seasonings and canned mushrooms.  Continue stirring/lifting to make sure all potatoes are fully cooked.  When the potatoes are fully cooked, add shredded cheese to top and cover until cheese melts.  You could also put the pan under the broiler until cheese is browned a bit & bubbly.

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For this recipe, remember that I’m feeding 4 adults with large appetites, so you might want to halve the recipe…feel free! We usually eat this in big bowls with lots of catsup (I know…most of you are saying YUCK! but remember I have all GUYS here!) It’s definitely NOT a cholesterol-free recipe, but it’s filling and sticks to the ribs!

Did my Christmas shopping with youngest son today which entailed the two of us going to American Eagle Outfitters and letting him pick out 2 pr. jeans and 2 t-shirts. That might not sound like much, but he got what he liked (and they had a good SALE!); he’s happy and now I don’t have to agonize over what to get him! I do have one more t-shirt squirreled away for him to open on Christmas (not Amer. Eagle, but a nice long sleeved tee with a sort of barbed wire design). I must say: after about 45 minutes in that store my OVERLOAD of all things PREPPY got the best of me. Lots of young people (teens & 20’s) all dressed in the latest fashions, all ‘perfect’ bodies/perfect hair, etc…a little too much for my 61 yr old mind to handle (plus the modern music on the speakers). The ONE thing that really surprised me? They were selling winter hats & scarves for girls…one nice white scarf in a basic crocheted shell pattern: $34.50!!! I could MAKE one for around $8!!! Oh, and the other item: a little hat with (AMAZING TO ME) the very same design that I just learned to knit! Remember me featuring that square with the Hexagon design? Yep, that’s the one! It was done in all-solid colored yarn: $19.00. Gee, if I really wanted a ‘cottage industry’, that would be my forte…knitting scarves & hats for American Eagle!

Anyway, that was my experiences for today; got the Christmas tree all together (finally)…now I just have to decorate it and we’ll be done with that project!  A few more little trips to go, buying a few ’stocking stuffers’ (side note: did you know that one of the best places to grab nice, reasonable stocking stuffer ‘food-stuffs’ is your local drug store? WalGreens/RiteAid/CVS all are having some great sales on candy-type stuff. I was all excited because CVS has Maxwell House instant coffee for $4.99 until I read WalGreen’s add and it’s $3.99 there! Since where I live all the drug stores seem to be competing for putting their stores closest to all the other drug stores, it’s not a big drive for me to visit all three within 2 blocks of my house! Walgreens also has canned salmon for $1.49 a can/limit 4…I love making salmon patties using that (we use 2 cans here…big eaters, remember?).

Guess that’s all I wanted to tell you for now; have more good sounding recipes coming up. Ten more days until Christmas! Still have all my baking to do…but that’s next week (I hope!).

Enjoy yourselves!

Hugs;

Pammie

Making Deliveries

11 afghans for Durban, S. Africa

22 afghans for Ghana

Another busy week ‘attempting’ to get lots of things done. Today found me delivering 22 afghans to Crittenton Hospital for eventual delivery to Ghana; tomorrow is delivery of 11 afghans for Durban, S. Africa – then I can take a (small) break before starting all over again. Total afghans completed since this ministry started: 218.

Last night was youngest son’s Christmas concert at his school. He joined the concert choir and the program was a compilation of all choirs and orchestral groups. It was jam-packed with almost 2 hours of music and nicely done.

I’m sitting here enjoying a lovely warm mug of cocoa to ‘warm my innards’ after the long afghan drive. The weather’s been pretty steady for the last few days: in the low 30’s but clear (no s-n-0-w), however I hear that’s about to change. Just got a weather report for this evening that we’re due for: “ snow and sleet, which is in effect from 7 pm this evening to 4 am est Wednesday.”  Oh Joy…(not). Well, it’s bound to happen, this being Michigan and December…just not looking forward to the whole winter routine…sigh. Dug out my heavy winter jacket yesterday and found my heavy winter gloves and hat tucked in the pockets. I promptly put them aside, saying: “I don’t need THESE yet!” (little did I know, eh?). I don’t think I’d mind much if it weren’t for the fact that I’ll be doing my usual Tuesday  (knit night) and Wednesday  (special needs group) driving. Oh well…gotta take it with a (slightly frozen) grain of salt, so the expression goes.

Hope you are all staying healthy, warm and getting those needed jobs/gifts/etc. taken care of. Managed to pick up oldest son’s present yesterday and have ordered 2 very small gifts on line, but other than that…I’m completely stumped this year for gift ideas! Ran into our mail lady today and promised her some cookies ’soon’ (just not sure WHEN I’ll get them baked); thank heavens she’s very patient. She warned me of those days when she’ll be off for the next 2 weeks, also informing me that if I put a package in our mailbox for her and she’s off, her ’sub’ driver WILL eat them! (glad she warned me!).

Enjoy your day, stay warm & cosy and remember “Jesus is the REASON for the season!” Merry Christmas!

Hugs;

Pammie

Praises and Plugging Along

It’s been almost a week since last I wrote so I thought I’d drop a few lines here (Ha! When has it been only a FEW lines!? Oh well…I’m a woman of many words; what can I say?).  First the Praises: if you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time you know the monetary drain we’ve been experiencing with multiple car troubles and a sick cat. Add to that my husband’s car, which began shaking while being driven. He took it in to our local transmission place and they diagnosed a lose rod? Let’s put it simply here: they’ve had the car now 9 days and finally called today to tell me that they located the problem. They fixed the initial lose bar/rod and it was still shaking. Turns out after they totally checked out the transmission, it was a faulty axle! They had replaced said axle awhile ago, so they returned it to the manufacturer and got a new one. The car is good to go! While this was going on I had prayed that the cost wouldn’t be something we could not handle; the total bill today? $50.00! Thank you, Lord!

On another note, I received notice that my friend the missionary to Durban, S. Africa will be coming here next Wednesday! I was expecting to hear from him some time in January, so to find out he’s going to be a  month early really put a ‘push on’ for me to get more afghans completed in time! My friend in Ghana has requested 22 afghans for her patients, so I’m doing my best to get as many completed as I can by next Wednesday. I currently have 29 done (finished one entire afghan yesterday; took me from around 9 a.m. – 4 something p.m. with about an hour break), just to give you an idea of the time involved. It’s nice to know that after next week, I’ll have approximately  6 months before I have another delivery.

Today is a nice Fall temperature: degrees with no wind. Since we live kind of close to the car repair place, I walked there to pick up my husband’s car (about a 15-20 minute brisk walk); a warm coat with sweatshirt underneath did the trick at keeping me warm.

Have a warm, wonderful day and remember to count your blessings!

Hugs;

Pammie

Psalm 34:1

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Technology – It’s Amazing!

Just a few minutes ago I placed a phone call to the lady who is in charge of collecting my completed afghans for The Ghana Project and holding them until THE person who thought up the project (Bettye Wright) gets back from Ghana. I then sent an email to Bettye in Ghana; she replied within minutes that she would love more afghans, is a bit short on them at the moment and will be coming here sometime soon. After responding to her email, I sent one to my other friend and missionary in Durban, S. Africa asking if he will be needing more afghans soon, as he will be returning for a short visit in January (haven’t heard from him yet).  That got me to thinking: isn’t it AMAZING that I can sit here in the comfort of my home and correspond with people around the world from me? AND receive a response quickly? Yes, I’m aware I could have placed a long distance phone call and done the same thing, but actually, if you think of it…15-20 years ago that kind of immediate response via computers was not possible to the average person. That’s amazing to me!  For that matter, I certainly wouldn’t have thought that I, in my little township in Michigan, would be communicating, much less even KNOWING anyone across the globe from me!  My how life has changed; I’m 61 1/2 (gotta get that half in there…grin), imagine what technologies will be available to my children and grandchildren in the future. A wonder, for sure!

Hugs;

Pammie

ps: Just finished afghan #212; Bettye said she is in charge of 22 children (patients) at this time and could use the ones I’ve completed. (I currently have 27 completed afghans here at my house)  I’m going to deliver 22 in the next week or so to the ‘holding lady’ at the hospital, then hold onto the remaining 5 for my friend’s visit in January. Wonder how many more I can get done between now and January?

A Little Knitting…

Since I wrote about knitting the ‘cowl’ and Momma requested a photo, I’ll agree to furnish the ’self portrait’ of the cowl. I’m not happy with the way it lays on the neck, hence have decided that it’s not going to be a Christmas present, but here’s the photo anyway…

It is one of those ‘instead of using a scarf’ things that are (according to my knit group ladies) “Oh, so popular this year!”

Along with the knitting line, I’ve been trying to adjust a ‘new to me’ pattern.  Below is a photo of the directions from Barbara Walker’s book: “Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book”, Hexagon pattern. In the below photo is her pattern; to the right is my adjusted pattern (I liked the ‘filling’ to be more bumped out). It’s another of the patterns that only require Knit, Purl, and slipped stitches; takes a bit to get the hang of it, but once you’ve done a few of the patterns it becomes easy.

Left: Barbara Walker’s (click to enlarge) Right: My adjustment

That’s what’s happening around here; hope you’re having a great day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Happy Saturday!

Having made it through Friday the 13th just fine, we’re now into Saturday – here at my house (at least today) it was a day of rest (for the most part). I decided that I wanted to make/knit/crochet a gift for my oldest son’s girlfriend (who is like a Mom to my grandson). Found some really nice soft cream colored yarn that someone had given me and started on a (what I thought would be) scarf. After working the pattern for a good 1 1/2 feet I realized that this was just not going to be enough yarn (had 1 3/4 skeins), so I set out on my trusty computer to try to find this particular color and make. It’s by Red Heart, a very trusted name in yarns…however, it’s something I’ve never seen before: called “Caress”. I searched to my little heart’s content, through several sites which carry Red Heart, sites that carry discontinued yarns, through EBay, and finally ended up writing to Coats & Clark company (makers of Red Heart) to ask just where I could possibly obtain another 1-2 skeins.  Proceeded to continue with the knitting and got to almost the end of the first skein when a ‘vision’ hit me! The ladies in my knit group are VERY up on the latest fashions and I’ve heard them talking about knitting these neckwarmers (now called cowls), so I thought: “Let’s see…would this be long/wide enough for that?” Sure enough! I will be posting the finished product soon; am planning on making a crocheted edge and also two crocheted button loops and sewing 2 lovely brown wooden buttons on at the front. Now, mind you…this is not MY style, but it will definitely fit into the ‘in-style’ things being made these days. I’m not even sure if she will like a cowl; last year I knit her a hat and couldn’t really tell from her reaction just what she thought of it (never saw her wear it, either), but I’m of the opinion that I feel like I’d like to give her a gift, and one that’s from my heart, so we’ll see how it goes.

 

Dinner tonight was pork chops, big huge baked potatoes (with butter &  sour cream, of course!) and tossed salad. All the time I was making dinner this song from my childhood kept going through my head so after dinner I did a ’search’ on YouTube and found it! The song is called:
“Pork Chops and Gravy” by The Ink Spots! Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2HNchkebwk

I grew up with a very diverse musical background (my mom having been a classical pianist), but Saturday evenings used to be ‘record night’ at our house and how I loved that! We’d drag out all the 78’s (all glass? not your vinyl records of the later years); we’re talking the 40’s & 50’s. Songs like: “Davey Crockett” (my favorite), songs by Jimmy Durante, The Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Spike Jones…lots of variety and I loved them all!  Anyway, I’ve said all that to eventually get to the fact that I can’t seem to hear about, or cook pork chops without thinking of that song!

Last night I did something I haven’t done in a very long time: watched a ‘chick flick’ all by myself! Youngest wasn’t feeling well and went to bed early, middle son was out with his friends, husband was happily playing World of Warcraft on his computer so I decided to check out “On Demand” on our cable (under Free Movies, of course!). That brought me to an ‘oldie but goodie’: Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan: “Sleepless in Seattle”. I had seen the ending before, but never the whole movie; great Kleenex movie, for sure, but just what I needed…a good chick flick! Took me awhile to figure out how to manipulate the cable controller, though…I wanted to go back and replay a small bit I’d missed…that was interesting…it kept going forward! Finally figured it out and the rest was history.  Sometimes a girl just has to have her ‘girlie’ fix, ya know?

That’s what’s going on around here today; it was a nice Fall day, sunny & good temperatures (in the 50’s). Hope you enjoyed your day;

Hugs;

Pammie

Unexpected Fun!

Almost 3 1/2 years old!

Today worked out to be one of those ‘not planned, but totally fun’ days. I got most of the housework/chores out of the way yesterday which left me ‘free’. Around 10 a.m. I got a frantic call from our oldest who wanted to know what I was doing right then; “Not much” I replied. “Can you watch the little guy?” “Yes, of course!” Due to some sort of  mix-up in scheduling, his Mother had to work, the great-grandmother wasn’t home which left my son frantically trying to find someone to watch my grandson (apparently he’d already driven to the Mom’s house AND the great grandmas…no one home either place!). We had a good time putting puzzles together, playing cars & trucks, rocking (and a nap), then time to go to great grandma’s house.  The whole mix-up got straightened out, and I got to spend some ‘fun’ time with my sweet grandson who’s growing so quickly. Due to lots of unplanned events (car troubles/sick cat/his Mom’s changed work schedule) I haven’t babysat him in almost 2 months, other than seeing him for a few hours when his Dad stops by, so this was truly a treat for me. What a nice way to spend a Fall day!

Working on afghan #210; managed to ‘put together for sewing’ six more afghans (I usually only get 4 done before getting too tired), so now I’m getting my ’second wind’ in the afghan department.

Last night was my Knit/Crochet group night and we had another new lady join us: total of 17 people gathered to knit/crochet/chat/eat & drink great stuff from Panera Bread/chat lots more/share ideas & patterns…all-in-all, a totally fun evening!  (Usually we average around 11-12 on an evening, so it felt like we were bursting at the seams! So glad that the management there like having us…of course we spend money, but they’re very tollerant of us re-arranging all their tables, too…we put them back when we’re done!).

It seems we’re still getting a bit of Indian Summer: nice breezes, beautiful colors, sun shining and the temperatures are really nice for this time of year (50-60’s!). I know it will very quickly change, but for now I’m just enjoying the blessings!

Have to get off here and go make dinner; my husband’s all-time favorite: “Souper Meat & Potato Pie” (I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in my postings…it was an old Campbell’s Soup label recipe from the 70’s). It’s basically a big meatloaf which is baked half-way, then frosted with mashed potatoes and topped with shredded cheddar cheese…Yum!

Hope you’re enjoying your day!

Hugs;

Pammie