Crocheting and knitting plans and a little bit of everything else...

Oh, I only have a short minute to spare today. Today's been one of those busy, busy days. The kind of day when a refrigerator-posted to-do list was essential in order for me to keep all of my day's tasks in order and to ensure I get them done.

Today is my honey's birthday (my honey as in my husband.) The kids blessed him with some small gifts and handmade cards this morning, and I gave him a box of homemade fudge I picked up in a local shop yesterday. Tonight his parents are joining us for dinner so this afternoon has been spent in the kitchen preparing for the meal. He requested burgers on the grill and then I made a fresh, lemony quinoa salad to go along with them as well as southern baked beans, fresh veggies with hummus, and a fruit salad. My gluten-free brownies are finishing up their last five minutes in the oven, and then I'll be done with the food stuff, at least until the burgers need grilled.

Our blueberry plants arrived today, so my next order of business is to get out and get the 30 plants sorted and organized and ready for planting. I also need to finish the cages Ian cut out to put around the bushes to keep the deer from treating themselves to some fresh nibbles. We'll plant tomorrow.

I picked up two skeins of the most amazing alpaca yarn at our local yarn shop yesterday. This was most certainly a treat for myself. I typically don't buy the really, really nice stuff, but I splurged. One of the skeins is for a gift though, so it doesn't count! ;) The picture above of the pile of wool yarn is the yarn I purchased a few weeks back for the Sunshine Day afghan I will be starting soon (I hope.) I got this 100% Peruvian wool for an outstanding price which is why I was able to buy enough for an afghan! Since it is a granny square afghan, I will also use some of the yarn I already have in my stash to fill in as necessary if what I've purchased turns out to be not quite enough.

I've been diligently working on my knitting. I received some advice from the yarn shop owner yesterday regarding some knitting questions I've been pondering on. I picked up a set of interchangeable needles in a size 8, 24" cord to try out. They are the Knitter's Pride Dreamz brand. If I like this one I bought yesterday, I'm going to eventually purchase the whole set (well, after I've accumulated enough Amazon points on our Amazon Visa.) That's the one thing about knitting that you don't have with crocheting. There are a gazillion different needles to have to purchase to have a good variety, especially when it comes to circulars. Which can translated into hundreds of dollars if purchased separately. That's why I like the idea of the interchangeable sets. 

Lily's been begging me to show her what I know so far with the knitting, so we sat down the other morning and I showed her the knit stitch. She struggled through it and got tired of it after about fifteen minutes, but it's a start. Diligence and perseverance is the key!  That same day we went for a visit to The Farm and I took along my yarn ball winder. My friend had to fly to Minnesota for a funeral this weekend and wanted to make a couple of yarn cakes to take along on her flight. Her oldest daughter (who truly shares my excitement of crocheting and all other things crafty) brought out a skein of her yarn and wound it up herself. She was so excited! I just had to share the pic of her looking through her yarn cake when she finished it!

My fridge is stocked to the gills with fresh fruits and veggies. I just love a full fridge! I'm feeling SO much better since completely cutting dairy (even butter and chocolate and such that I did used to eat in small quantities) out of my diet as well as soy (which lurks in EVERYTHING, I would like to say.) My knee pain that I've had since last November has gone away. I realized it this morning as I was running up the basement steps. Normally, I grab my knee for support as I make my way up the stairs, and grimace thinking of how I must look like an old woman hobbling up the stairs. So I made it to the top this morning and stopped at the top realizing in shock that it didn't hurt to climb the stairs. Yay!

And I leave you with a picture of our pretty little Molly. She had an appointment with the groomer yesterday which is why she's decked out in bows and a bandanna. The groomer always dresses her up in someway. I don't. But I do think it looks cute and leave them in for however long Molly will keep them in place. Poor thing. Oh, the abuse. :0)

Well, I've got the swing music station playing on Pandora, and now I shall head out to the back deck to sort the blueberry plants and finish up the cages. Have a most blessed weekend!