Knitting -- January 2016

I guess I spent most of my time scrapbooking in January . . . but I did have a couple of knitting finishes . . .

The front

The back . . . cool, eh?

A Quiet Friday Night

Good evening dear friends.

Hal made it home safe and sound and we've been snacking on cheese and grapes and relaxing in front of the television. I'm sleepy now.

It has been a fairly good day although the night before was horrible. My right hand felt like it was on fire and made it almost impossible to sleep. As a result I've tried to keep things low key today and not overdo so my hand will heal. At least the house is tidy.

I enjoyed a delicious meal at Rail City Bistro with Mom and Tim. The Italian wedding soup and Caprese salad were fabulous.

Went grocery shopping with Mom in the afternoon. I was able to pick up quite a few specials, price matches and use some bigger coupons . . . only to have the cashier (at RCSS) tell me, not once but twice, that I have too much time on my hands. Rude, or what? Oh well, I'll cry all the way to the bank with the money I save. 

Tomorrow and Sunday should be fun. Supper out with Hal. Guess where we will be going? I have to try the gnocchi and tiramisu yet. I have heard high praise for both. Even Cameron posted a review on his FB page today. Of course, if you had ever tried one of Jared's death-by-chocolate-brownies, you would understand why . . . LOL.

Sunday we'll be going to the matinee of Ned Durango at the Princess Ave. Theatre with Krissy and her parents.

I guess I better get my beauty sleep. It is going to be a busy weekend. Good night dear friends.

Sketch Club and Key Lime Pie

Good evening dear friends.

I have had a busy day today. I had to pack up all my projects, clean the apartment and help pack up Hal and send him off to work. Ran a couple of quick errands. Finished up some last minute housework and cooked a delicious supper.

And then the fun began. Sketch Club!!! I only got 1 two-page layout done tonight but I sure had fun trying. Lots of visiting and story telling going on. Key lime pie and coconut cream pie for dessert. Just an excellent evening. Thanks so much to everyone who came to play tonight.


Received an awesome gift from Deb that she found while she was in Disney. Maybe someone will take a photo of me in it tomorrow so I can share. It is sooooooooo me!

I'm going to watch a little TV, relax a bit and then hit the hay. Sorry I didn't get the recipes from yesterday posted. Hopefully I'll have a little more time tomorrow.

Good night dear friends.

Raisin Bran vs Bran Flakes

Good evening dear friends.

I spent the morning grocery shopping with Nanna. I guess she has her stamina back because we went through 3 stores this week. While we were at Freshco we enjoyed watching the kids at the new skate park.

I have given Nanna a new addiction . . . veggie chips. That was the first thing she grabbed when we walked into Freshco. And I got her to believe that Bran Flakes taste identical to Raisin Bran except it is $3 cheaper and she no longer has to pick out the raisins.



A quiet afternoon and evening at home with Hal. I actually did some cooking today . . . lunch and supper. Both recipes are excellent and I'll be posting them tomorrow if I get the chance. Tomorrow is going to be a little busy since I have to pack away some projects to make way for Sketch Club!!! Yep, we are back after our summer hiatus and I think the sketches are pretty cool.

I better get my beauty sleep. Good night dear friends.

All about dogs, Rail City Bistro, and Ned Durango

Good evening dear friends.

Well I certainly didn't break any land speed records today and yet things still got done. Took Becky Thatcher (the cat) and my niece, Jana, to Beavercreek Vets. Got to meet some beautiful big dogs while I waited in the waiting room. Now I'm not much of an animal person and for some reason that seems to be known by all dogs who proceed to attempt to earn my friendship.

This afternoon was spent working my list and continuing to binge-watch Chicago Fire. Hal finally made it home very late this afternoon. I talked him into taking a shower and putting on civilian clothes (as opposed to trucker clothes) so he could take me out for supper.

We went to Rail City Bistro AGAIN. You must be getting tired of hearing me go on and on about this little gem but it is a great place for a great meal. We have been totally spoiled and cannot accept the mediocre food served at other local restaurants. You know Hal. Hal doesn't like anything . . . especially if it is "different". Since Rail City opened he has tried and enjoyed so many different cuisines.

Tonight I was sure he was going to order from the menu and ignore the Friday-Saturday specials. He surprised me and ordered the perogies and tomato bisque. Hal does not like perogies . . . until today that is. He cleaned his plate so he got dessert . . . the special warm vanilla pudding (I can't remember the name but it is delicious). I had the cabbage rolls and a death-by-chocolate brownie for dessert.

Timothy called in a take out order of perogies, tomato bisque and pudding which we dropped off to him at work on our way home. Oooooops, I don't think I was supposed to say anything . . . bwahahahahahahaha!

You didn't make it out for their Friday-Saturday special? Sorry for your luck. Thank goodness they have so many lovely options on their regular menu. Try the tomato bisque for sure.

Tonight has been spent relaxing and binge-watching NCIS. Tomorrow is going to be busy for both of us. I'm grocery shopping with Nanna and Hal is going out for breakfast, running errands, and doing the body work on Snow. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Do you have tickets for Ned Durango at the Princess Ave. Playhouse yet?

Good night dear friends.

I'm ready for the weekend . . .

Good evening dear friends.

Katie and I were scrapbook shopping today. A couple of hours disappeared very quickly. So quickly that by the time we dropped Greg's lunch off to him it was at least 1:30.

I haven't been on the Hwy 3 bypass for quite a while . . . until today. Yeah, I'm really sorry I did. On a happier note, it does look like they are putting the final coat of asphalt on.


Before I took Katie home, we stopped off at Briwood for a couple of things. I finally had lunch after that. Needless to say that meant a late supper . . .

But, oh boy, was it good. I bought an adorable little spaghetti squash the other day and decided that's what I wanted for supper. I went online to find something exciting and new to do with it and came up with Spaghetti Squash Fried Rice. Of course, I couldn't totally follow the recipe. I added celery, onion, and edamame to the mix. Instead of 2 servings, I now have 4 servings. But it was good. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

It could be an interesting weekend. Austin is coming home for a visit. Hal will probably not make it home until Saturday.

And all I want is for someone to go out for lunch with me. Rail City Bistro is in Poland this weekend and I really really really want some fresh, homemade perogies. The dessert looks pretty amazing too.




That's all I have on my mind tonight. Good night dear friends.

From calm to chaos . . .

A friend mentioned that I hadn't been posting much to my blog of a personal nature lately and she is right.  I have a crazy family and when we are in chaos, as we have been recently, I post mostly book reviews and recipes and such.  During my calm periods I manage to get a little chattier.

At the Crossroads in Elmira

I have learned to really enjoy the calm periods because I know chaos is right around the corner.  Here is my Facebook status from last night . . . 

Good evening dear friends.

I actually made it to Ladies' Day Out today. Not for long unfortunately . . . just long enough to get in trouble with Connie, enjoy a tea and muffin and smile cookie, and catch up with everyone.

I took Nanna to her eye doctor appt. this afternoon and she couldn't understand why she didn't need new glasses and how did they know so much about her . . . LOL. You would think she would be happy not to have to fork out for new glasses and isn't it nice that the Dr. took the time to read her file . . . LOL. The ladies at the office put the subject of Nanna's 100th birthday party into her brain so all the way home, and for a while in the driveway, she started telling me what she wanted done for her party and that she needs to get together with Mom and Uncle Tom . . . although, you know, her kids are getting along in years and it might be too much for them . . . bwahahahahahahahahaha!!! That's right, the almost 100-year-old lady called my Mom and Uncle OLD!!!!

Next stop was to pick up some basketball paper and embellishments a friend had found for me. Thanks Stephanie.

I actually had just enough time to go home, check my mailbox, check in with Kate . . . and I was off again . . .

Picked up Cameron at school and Kate & Taylor at home. Dropped Kate & Cameron off at the dentist, Taylor dropped off at work, picked up my prescriptions AND made it back to the dentist to take Kate and Cameron Home. I stopped at Wendy's and picked up a salad, went home and crashed in front of the TV for a while. I finished the 8th (and apparently last) season of Weeds. That show just cracks me up.

Got a few tasks accomplished tonight. It is now time to hit the hay so I can get back to the salt mines in the morning. I love a bad cliche or two or three.

Tomorrow is a pyjama day. Good night dear friends.

Well . . . that pyjama day didn't happen today . . . but I'll post more on that later.

Just wanted to let everyone know I had not forgotten to post. Some days there is just too much to say or not much at all . . . chaos vs calm.

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

Note to my local friends:  After I read a book, I very rarely keep it.  I prefer to release it out into the world to be loved, liked or even hated by others.  



The Light between Oceans is an absolute heart-breaking, lovely, difficult, wonderful novel.  It is the story of a WWI soldier, returned from the Western Front, who accepts a job on a remote island as a lighthouse keeper.  During his breaks from the island he meets and marries, and takes his new bride to live on the island.  An epic love story, except that they are unable to have children.  One day they spot an abandoned boat and find a baby on board.  You would think that their life would be wonderfully complete.  But it is not . . . 

I just found out that a movie was recently made of this book and I wish I had seen it.  I'm looking forward to watching it when it comes out on dvd.  I hope it is even half as good as the book and it will be worth seeing.  Here's a trailer of the movie . . . 

A calm day . . .

Good evening dear friends.

It has been a pyjama day here. I have so many things I wish to accomplish and it is hard some days to find the time. Today I found the time to accomplish quite a bit. I've even started packing kits for our retreat at Windswept.

I'm looking forward to a visit at Ladies' Day Out tomorrow. I won't be able to stay long because I'm playing chauffeur all afternoon.

Sadly, I have nothing very exciting to say. A quiet day. I'm sure there will be adventures tomorrow though.

Good night dear friends.

Doll-baby by Laura Lane McNeal

Grab a copy of this book for an excellent and rather eccentric read.  Eccentric because that is the perfect description for the wildly unusual characters.  Doll-baby is the novel of some very flawed people living their lives during the civil rights era, the 1960s, in New Orleans.

I loved each of the characters on their own merit . . . okay maybe not Ibby's mother so much.  The characters are carefully crafted to full effect for a novel which will tickle your funny bone and warm the cockles of your heart.  Mostly it is about finding family even when they aren't related.

An excellent read!