it's a new day.....

 

a very wet, soggy day

but nevertheless

a good one.

We have a "system" over us. Actually, anybody on the East Coast has it.

all the way down to Cuba

and all the way up North to who knows where

that is drenching us in

wonderful,

wet,

moist,

watery

water!!

The lake is filling up fast,

the ducks and geese are swimming from one end to the other,

smiling,

yes they smile

!!!

the ground is wet and absorbing it all

and the sound of raindrops

on the roof is just

wonderful.

The fact that I had to sleep on the couch last night,

because we have a mystery leak in the sky light,

didn't even bother me!!!

The husband checked to see where it was coming from

but couldn't find a wet spot or see where the drops were coming from

and why my feet were wet,

but it didn't bother me.

After trying to find a way to sleep without my feet "in water"

I just grabbed my pillow and changed sleeping spots.

The cat makes a lot of noise in the quiet of the night!!

She paces and digs in her litter box

she slurps her water and when licking the last morsel out of her feeding dish

she moves the dish across the tile floor.

She sat and stared at me for a while, purring very loudly....

It didn't bother me!!!

My decision to quit trying to fight

Google and Blogger

was the right one.

I did not decide to quit the blogging,

as some of you may have thought,

just the loading of the pages.

It will happen at some point.

I will get the light bulb over the head moment

or the problems THEY are having will be solved

and

one day you will click on the blog and there they will be, in all their glory,

and

 Thank You for the words of encouragement and  the offer of help!!!

That's really nice!!!

So,

today is a day to relish having to stay inside.

We are under a Tornado Watch all day and into the evening

but as long as it stays calm and just plain rain

all will be well.

I went to the store yesterday and got things to make

"Comfort food"

we had the most delicious dinner last night.

(I make a mean meat loaf.....

my kids used to ASK for it

much to the surprise and disgust of their friends)!!!

Apple Pie with ice cream (yuk) for the hubs

and tonight we will have

"goulash"

that I cooked long and slow

 yesterday when I got back.

So, its a day of tidying up and reading and hooking

and watching whatever is on later.

We watched another episode of

Inspector Lewis last night

taped from Sunday

wish I had saved it for today...

but it doesn't bother me

not one bit

no more being bothered by little things.

I'll save it for the

big, important things...

 See Ya,

later

.......

:)

I tried, I cried......

I'm fried!!!

I am ending this now and for (maybe) ever!

If and when the problems with

Google and Blogger

are fixed

I will try again to put Tutorial Pages up

...........................................................

until then

...............

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

waffle weave stitch tutorial

Waffle weave

this makes a really nice wash cloth

(too bumpy for a doily)

two would make a good hot pad

**************************************************************

make a chain as long as you want

make a dc in the 3rd chain from the hook

and dc across the chain

ch3 and turn the work

2dc in first 2 stitches

1 fpdc in next dc

(a fpdc is made by

yo

put the hook into and behind the dc below

yo and finish the dc )

 

 

2 dc in next 2 dc

ch 3 turn

2 fpdc in first 2 dc

1 plain dc in next stitch

 

 

 

you are doing the opposite of the row below

2 fpdc

1 dc

all the way across

 

 

 

the back looks like this

 

 

 

you'll see the squares of the waffle begin on the front

 

 

keep doing this until your work is as big as you want it

 

 

 

and soon you will have a

WAFFLE

 

but no syrup on this one

unless you've spilled it!!!

I want to make a pillow with this stitch

but I'm afraid if I fall asleep on it

I'll

have

Waffle Cheeks

and

no one needs

Waffle Cheeks!!!

speaking and writing...

properly

 is one of my pet peeves

meaning I don't like it when it isn't  done correctly.

I am not the world's most articulate person

but I damn well try my best

especially when writing

Ms Emma Thompson thinks so too

that people should speak properly

not that

I.......

here let me let her tell you!!!!

She said: "We have to reinvest, I think, in the idea of articulacy as a form of personal human freedom and power."

Ms Thompson added that on a visit to her old school she told pupils not to use slang words such as "likes" and "innit".

"I told them, 'Just don't do it. Because it makes you sound stupid and you're not stupid."

If you want to read the rest it is

here

 My biggest peeve is people who don't read what they just wrote

 and don't correct the mistakes.

A whole blog post

f'rinstance!!

filled with mistypes

or words that make no sense

obvious spelling mistakes

just make me cringe and my teeth hurt.

I am not talking about those whose language isn't English

I mean English/American/Australian

speakers.

It really detracts from what they are saying

when you sit there and all you see are the mistakes

Sorry,

but it's true

there are spell checkers

and

 just reading over what they wrote might help too.

The excuse usually given is

I type too fast....

or my brain is ahead of my fingers.

so, slow down

it isn't a race to the end

and you don't win if what you took so long to write is a mess!!

(We aren't talking about MY bad habit of not using proper punctuation here on the blog. 

I am fully aware of it and I do it anyway

that's how this blog rolls.)

On a brighter note
(edited......the note is not bright at all.............nothing is working properly and I don't know why so
I have to try again to get the new pages to work so let's just pretend this was never ever mentioned
OK?    OK!!))))))

******

the page is hopefully working now

for the tuts

I got an email from across the pond saying they weren't working

so I went back and fixed the problem

I HOPE

there are still hiccups and glitches and burps with

 logger

.......

apparently

is overloaded

and

it keeps kicking people off

and

the comments don't work all the time

and lots of other

boring, annoying

computer things

that just drive me crazeeeeeeeeee

so hopefully it will all be fixed soon and I won't have to mention it again!!!

OH and remember........

:)

( If all these graphics gave you a big headache.... I apologise

you're not the only one!!!) 

Yeah!!

My brain works.....

blogger isn't working

all sorts of glitches and hiccups and burps

 today

can't find what the problem is

but that isn't unusual

hope they fix it soon

'coz it's

annoying!!!

so it took nearly all day to do

but

it's

done

I have a

 tutorial

page at the top

with a few

"tuts"

now there will be no crochet on the home page

some of my readers

aren't crocheters

and have no interest what so ever

so I strive to please

when I have a tut

there will be mention of it

maybe a photo or six

but

the pattern will be posted in the tut page

tut tut tut

love it!!!

off to work on my waves...

tut to follow soon!!!

toot toot

:)

la langue des oiseaux.....

the language of the birds.....

In Norse mythology, the power to understand the language of the birds was a sign of great wisdom.

The concept is also known from many folk tales (including Welsh, Russian, German, Estonian, Greek, Romany), where usually the protagonist is granted the gift of understanding the language of the birds either by some magical transformation, or as a boon by the king of birds. The birds then inform or warn the hero about some danger or hidden treasure.

(from Wikipedia)

For the past few weeks I have noticed the lack of birds and their calls.

Our garden has been devoid of my little creatures

from whom I get so much pleasure.

the robins, the cardinals, the blue jays

the cat bird that sits on the plant holder

or lamp post

and just stares at me

I mentioned it to the man and he said he had noticed their absense too.

We have had not one visit from the ducks this year.

There is a flock of ducks who live here all the time

and they come up into the yard and walk around like they own the place

leaving signs on the patio that they have been!!!

But not this year.

this is from last Spring  2009

The doves that made their nests in the bushes right outside the house

haven't been around for months.

It has been sad not to have them singing and flying around

and it took weeks of their absense for me to notice.

The bird bath has been kept full

I don't put seed out in the Summer

the Squirrels eat it all and if it gets wet it molds

but they always seem to find something to munch on or worms to pull up out of the ground

but not this year.

But this story has a happy ending

no pictures

because they move too fast

but when I went out a little while ago

they were there

flying around the trees

eating the berries on the Dogwood

sitting in the Blue Spruce

picking at whatever

and

singing

their

little

hearts out

You know why?

You don't have to have the magic

or the power

or be a king

or wizard

the answer is

it's raining!!!!

When I next go to the store

I will bring back a big bag of seed

I will fill the feeders

and put fresh water in the bowls

to let them know they were missed

and I'm happy they are back

here

where they belong!!!!

tweet ---tweet

y'all!!!!

:}

Sunday 'phone talks...

aren't they the best?!

You call a friend

or she calls you

and the question

are you busy

is asked

and the answer is always

no

(not for you)

and you start the catch-up phase of the talk

who did what

when and to who(m)!!

the little things in a day or a week

cup cakes that were to "die for"!!

and then the real stuff begins

the stuff that sits on your brain

and drives you nuts

and you need to hear it from another point of view

from someone who knows you... knows how you work

you tell each other the truth

the way old friends can and do and should

you listen, you close your eyes and try to "see" what they are telling you

you try to see them as the story unfolds

she listens and says the thing you needed to hear

the thing that makes perfect sense

and you wonder why you didn't see it

and she says

that's why I'm here.....

you laugh you cry

you guffaw like two high school girls and you even get silly

that's what old friends are for

for being

YOU

and

you 

are just enough for

HER

you don't have to impress

or stun her with who you are

you can just

" be"

no pretense

no secrets

just a voice on the other end of the phone

who says things that make you

SEE

and

make you

KNOW

and

you have

AH HA

moments together

that bring you closer

and solve the problems of the ages

and you wonder why you both don't go to a cabin

in the woods and solve all the problems

because let's face it

you are both brilliant.....

should write a book

one day

one year

you listen, you tell, to how hard things are

sometimes

how the family drives you nuts

sometimes literally

to the brink

and you have to fight and fuss

and they don't see what you are trying to do

because they don't get it

and you do

and until they do

you're screwed

you share the past

a past that spans the life times of your children

you  remember things about them that you had forgotten

her "girls"

and

my "boys"

the day my first went to her house and ate black eyed peas

once and never again

the giant cookie she made one day
the size of a pizza pan
and we let them eat it!!!

the way her girls would eat anything

if she told them I had made it

her first gave me the title of

"the best cooker in the world"

which I should get out and dust off one of these days!!!!

the kids....... all "old people" now!!

what does that make us

it makes us

two friends who have shared a life together

some of it close

most of it far

and when the distance gets too much

you pick up the phone

and bring her close

but it is there

and will be forever

the stories will continue

and the laughter

like the trip she and her husband took

across the width of South Dakota

in two days

straight across

there and back

they got to see

" nothing "

twice

and all they were left with was

 the question

why did god create

SD???

(if any of you reading this live there

hey

it's just one woman's opinion!!!)

.....

time well spent

friendship shared

long distance

but she is there

always

at the end of the phone

never too busy

not for you....

You know who you are

:)

and those balloons you let go of

I'll watch out for them

and if I look real hard

I'll see them

I think I already did!!

you keep the ticket in a safe place

and one day the owner will come claim it

I just know it

I just

KNOW

If you have a friend you haven't spoken to in a while

give them a call

they could use a break

 a good cry

or better yet

a girlish guffaw....or two!!!

:} :} :}

Experimenting......

This is the tale of a woman on the edge of computer melt down!!!

:}

I spent a lot of yesterday trying to use my brain.....

for those of you who know me

you know that can be a very frustrating and scary thing to be around
I certainly am not the most patient person on the planet

I am not stupid

I am not dumb

but

BOY

do I act it until I figure out what it is I am trying to do

the man woke up to find me

on the verge of tears

 he knows to step lightly!!

he offers help

is told

NO

I'll figure it out myself

that's how one learns

he leaves

knowing soon

I will be there

ranting and raving about how dumb one human being can be

and does he know

how stupid the woman he married is?

DOES HE???

He offers to help once again

quietly and calmly

asks what the problem is

...

I do not speak computer speak

so he has to try and figure out

what the hell it is I am trying to say!!

He sits

listens

does a few things

doesn't know how to work the blog

I get overprotective

try to be just plain and simple nice

but it's getting more complicated
because

he speaks

computer speak

and

I don't

It isn't very hard to do what I was trying to do

but I make it worse by

well

just

being

me!!

As I watch and tell him where all the pages and buttons to work the blog are

(and for those of you who have a blog

you know how EASY THAT is!!!)

it starts to dawn on me

I start to understand and figure it out

I see the light at the end of

this deep dark tunnel

I dug MYself!!!

 I visit other blogs who have what I want

I look

I study

I DON'T UNDERSTAND

but I go back and try again

and I throw my hands up and walk

......

and the day goes on and I think about it

I also have, on my little feeble  mind a pattern I saw

with no instructions

and I want to know how to do that too

so I think about both at the same time

and "thank gaia"

dinner was simple and a no brainer

or he'd still be waiting to eat!!!

I figured the pattern out

almost

and this morning I sat down and I did what I wanted to do without

having a hissy fit

and it is on the top of the page

and

children, learn from this

terrible example of mine

be patient

with yourself

your spouse

and

BLOGGER!!!

So, if you would like to make a

WAFFLE WEAVE

cloth

click on the TUTORIAL button on the top of the page

HEY!!! even if you DON'T

CLICK ON THE DAMN button anyway

it took blood sweat and tears to get it up there

and I did it

not very gracefully or patiently
I know...

 now all I have to figure out is

HOW TO DO IT AGAIN

!!!!!!!

lol

THE RAVING LUNATIC
in the
roomontheleft
it's safe to come in now

xxx



Silent Saturday....

!!!!!

:)

Friday finds.....

Today I am going to show you some really

"neat" things from other peoples sites.

I roam the Net

hither and yon

and see so many wonderful things

yes from crochet

to paper

to imaginations

gone wild....
to simple stunning sumptuousness's

so I thought I would gather a few together and show you what I see

......henry!!!!

(I say that because if you look under my header photo, at the moment,

you will see how the quote has  ended up)

paper

this is stunning

paper carving.....

go and see!!

I found this link on

the quilling page I visit

here

"all things paper"..

it's where I get my paper fix!!!

Ann finds and shows us

 all things paper

as her title suggests!!!

Lisa, who lives in the

Woods up North

and blows me away with her

felt work

and

knowledge about all things woodsy

woodsy

this is hand made

out of re purposed wool items

she made this!!!!!

As I told her the other day

she is giving

Mother Nature a run for her money

love it

want one, want to know how to make one!!!!

this is the work of Ingrid

who recently became a follower

this is the first vignette I saw of hers

blue and white

my favorite!!!

her site is called

of spring and summer

I adore her compositions

and strive to do what she does

with her things around the house!!

i have a looooong way to go!!!!

this wonderful little morsel of stitchery

gone organic

is from

 la belle helene

her patience and talent

is incredible to me

something else I want

have tried

but failed

sometimes things just "belong" to others

and you must acknowledge that!!!!

and be satisfied.

I am!!!

otchpotchi

she works with white clay and uses things around her

to do things like this

simple serene

sumptuous

have one of my own

that I made a long time ago

and when I saw these

WOW!!!!

So one more....

(and I'll save the rest of the treasures for another time)

my favourite chair

from Jo

who has a muse called

Mo

Mo is a little so and so

go and see

so you will know

Until the next time

have a wonderfilled

treasure of a day

sit in a favourite chair

with your muse

and

enjoy what you enjoy!!!!

;}

Cleaning the desk off.....

again!!!

How many times does one clean the desk off?

In this room
at least twice a week

everyday

not often enough!!!

Having a tiny house tends to make it very easy to

junk spaces up

rapidly

very quickly

fast
...
tidy to
zoom
untidy

I try to keep the chaos down to a small roar

but sometimes you just have to

clear the decks and go at it.

Being one

who tends towards

fickleness

and

short attention span

I do

tend to mess the place up rather quickly.

The man in the
roomontheright

has been sorting his mess out this week

he is a keeper of boxes

any shape

colour

purpose

he
s
t
a
c
k
s
 them

up against his wall

 says he may need them

if the contents need to be returned

I can't tell you how many he

folded stapled and mutilated

and then finally

got rid of!!!

then the cupboard needed

sorting

he is tidy,

but limited space makes it difficult to keep things

 from teetering on the edges of the shelves

his book case is bowing in the middle

like big smiley lips

heavy with tomes of all knowing!!

(he reads alot)

I have books

but they don't weigh the shelves down

I prefer lighter reading

!!!!!

:p

Anyway

in the course of his sorting

things found their way into

theroomontheleft...
so now I can keep  books tidily in a holder

the little turbaned guys have a box to live in

see how happy they look!!!!

the pens and pencils and tweezers and awls and pointy things that hurt

are now all back in their place

those gawd awful earrings I made months ago

are on Mr m&m....

he looks happy too!!!

and his tummy is full again

the lazy-susan is cleared and  rotates again!!

I found this sparkly little number

lost and forgotten

but found and remembered

so was the pen I just had to have....
didn't realise he matches the scissors
always an important thing to remember!!!

now when I need some sort of glue

it's in here....

when the man says

do you have glue

any kind of glue

and you show him the box

but he says

no not that kind....

remember that!!

and I found my birds

and put them up with the teeny tiny little pegs I had to have too

used some glue dots,

 you know from the box....I just showed you

to stick them on the wall.

and finally

( I can hear you cheering!!!!!)

this is how my room would look

if I had a room like this

see that clever storage unit under the bed?

Maybe I can convince the man in the

roomontheright

to build me one and then I could make

...

 that gorgeeeeeous blanket on the bed???

we come from

Wild Olive

free download

here we are

Life can always use a little

turbaned

thread bobbin

can't it???