Happy Spring!!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day!! Dad, Mom, Angie and I went to visit Mrs. Lee's Gardens, a beautiful park of daffodils. They are almost at peak bloom right now, and absolutely gorgeous!!

We also took a picnic and enjoyed the beautiful weather - upper 70's at least!


(Scamp enjoyed the picnic as well!)


The sunshine felt WONDERFUL!!! :)




For those of you in cooler climates, let this be an encouragement that spring IS on it's way!! :)

For more pictures, click here.

Cherries and socks!

Ok, a while back I asked for input on what my next project should be! Although I am eager to get started on Hedera, which was the favorite, after all the comments I actually read the pattern. (What a concept, huh?) So, here's the deal... math and I don't get along very well, and since I don't have the right size needles or yarn, and since I'm not all that familiar with knitting patterns anyway (so reducing the pattern is not an option), and since this was only my second pair of socks, and since I really don't know a lot about socks yet, and ... well, you get the picture! So instead of option A, B or C, I went with option D pictured below:

As you can see, I had some fun with the colors. This was the yarn that I had picked out for Hedera, before I realized that I needed a LOT smaller yarn and needles. So Hedera is still in the queue for when I get to a (real) yarn shop for some sock yarn and smaller needles. (I like them in sets of five, not four, and Hobby Lobby doesn't sell the smaller sizes in sets of five.) Oh, and the sock? That's it... I haven't made the other one yet! :) They call it "Second Sock Syndrome."

Question for sock knitters: How do I get rid of that little hole at my ankle, and the ladder at the gussett? I tried knitting really tight there, but it's still there. Also, I haven't blocked it, will it go away with blocking? Any input would be appreciated! :)

And just for fun, because this is the "ChariTree" blog: Ashley gave me this absolutely darling apron!! I don't know if you can see them, but it has cherries all over it! and I just love the old fashioned look!

Goodbye, winter. Hello, Spring!

Well, today's small thing over on Company Girls was to create a new centerpiece for our tables. (I've really enjoyed participating in Company Girls! Y'all join in!) :) Spring feels like it is on it's way... the daffodils and the tulip trees are blooming! Here is a glimpse of what we have to look forward to when the flowers come out! My iris is popping his little head up. Here he is last year. I hope I get more blooms this year!


Here is the centerpiece for our dining room table. Very spring-y! East Texas is very indulgent in my desire for a short winter. Easter is a little over a month away! The ivy was one of my Valentine gifts from my wonderful husband! :) The napkin is an old(?) one I picked up at a garage sale a few years ago.

Also, our coffee table was greatly lacking in attractive decor. I didn't really do anything here for winter. So it got a little sprucing up as well. I love my rabbits! :)

Goodbye, snowmen! Here is all my snowman stuff right before I packed it all up for the year. It hasn't been long since I gave my little snowman a makeover, but he will keep for next year! :) I have also put little spring touches around the house, more on that later, maybe. :)

Resident Artist

Meet Ashley!


She let me take some pictures a couple of evenings ago as she was painting her project for class.

Here is the artist at work! :)

The palette and the brush:


The final product:

We have enjoyed getting to know Ashley more. We have had some great visits! :)

To Ashley: Love ya, girl! I know you will enjoy your new apartment! Come visit us sometimes! :)

Show and Tell

I love visiting "homey" blogs. One of the ones I found recently is Kelli's over at "No place like Home." Kelli has posted many cute decorating ideas and crafts. Each Friday, she hosts a Show and Tell. I have been wanting to join in for a few weeks, but am finally getting around to it. :) I want to show the shelf we got for Christmas for our living room. (To see a before picture of the living room, click here.)

We had some issues getting the shelf hung, because the wall curves. (The fireplace was added to the house later, and not everything was done exactly right by previous owners.) Anyway, we finally got it up there after a trip to the hardware store, and I added some decorations, but wasn't real thrilled with how it looked. Kinda blah. I did want to keep most of the decor: the title of the bottom book is "A Bunch of Cherries" :) The Willow Tree figurine was a gift from my parents for our engagement.

So the first step was to add a little softness -some ivy/flowers I have been storing for a while.

Then... I love this red etched glass!! I found this at an after-Christmas sale at Hobby Lobby.

The final product. I like this a lot better!

Hearts...

To all my friends and family!!!
I hope you all have a very special day today!

And a something special for MY Valentine!

I love you, Mark!!
Thank you for choosing me to be your valentine!

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Images courtesy of:
Graphics By Irene
Candy Hearts

Keeper at Home: Part Two

What it the purpose of a Keeper at Home? What is a Keeper? In my mind, I picture a Keeper as one who guards the door to a castle. As the Keeper of your home, you are in charge of keeping peace inside and keeping certain things out. Part of keeping peace inside is keeping an atmosphere of orderliness and cleanliness. But an important part of being a Keeper is guarding the gate and taking care for what is allowed into your castle, she is a protector of her home.

Gina got me thinking this morning with her post over on Clutter Pundit. She is speaking specifically of a comment forum on Ravelry. (Read her post here.) Unfortunately, some of the comments made over there reflect the attitudes of many other people, knitters or not. The attitude is this: "It's all about ME." This is not an attitude unique to today's society, it first started in the Garden of Eden. Many people feel that their "rights" should come first and they should be able to do what they want to do. This attitude is called being selfish and it is in conflict with God's Word.

My purpose in keeping our home is to have a home that is orderly, where people feel welcome, a place to relax, a castle for my husband, and above all to reflect Christ in our home. Often, in order to accomplish this, I have to put some of my desires aside. Maybe I want to sit and knit or read or whatever, but the laundry needs to be done, or the dishes or anything else. But isn't the putting aside of self what living the Christian life is all about? Jesus, Others, You spells JOY, right? :)

Is it always easy? No. And I know I have it easier than most - no kids yet. I work outside the home a couple of days a week, but my main job is keeping our home. For a while, after I finished college, I felt that I needed a reason (kids) to be able to stay at home and not work full time. I admit, today's society had me a little warped, but God has been straightening me out, teaching me about patience, and helping me to learn about keeping a home.

A perfectly clean home isn't always my highest priority. (You're thinking, "She's contradicting herself!" Just hang with me a minute!) Sometimes people have to come first before the clean house. Face it, the house just doesn't STAY clean! It has an annoying habit of getting dirty all over again! So what about the times when you need to have someone over, or someone needs a place to go, or the kids just need some mommy time? Be there. Be open. Be willing. Be giving.

There are also times when the Keeper just needs some TIME. After giving and giving of herself, she needs time to refuel and to relax. Every now and then, it's ok to take some time off. It's ok if the sink is full of dishes or the floor needs a good vacuuming. Go take a break - before you break. It is important to the serenity of your home that you, as the Keeper, are not overly stressed or stretched. So take that break! I give you permission. :) Then you can be ready for a fresh start.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts today. If you got this far, thanks for reading! :) I don't consider myself a big authority on this topic, but I hope something I have said is a help to someone. Many blessings!!

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Images Courtesy of:
Allposters.com
Publicdomainpictures.net

Makeover

This little guy was on sale at Hobby Lobby after Christmas. I think I got him for 90% off! He was so cute and hard to resist, but he needed a little help. His pompom earmuffs were coming off on one side and they didn't really match. Here he is after I pulled them off:


So I made him a new pair with my nifty little machine! (I love this thing!) He looks like a new snowman! :) He is sitting on my dining room table along with my "Let it snow" place mats.

It doesn't really feel like winter much here now, but we did get some snow around Valentine's Day about three years ago, and last year we got some the day before Easter! But I think spring is on it's way! :) (I know you people up north hate me for that comment! Sorry! Spring is on it's way up there too... it just takes a little longer, right?) :)

In other news, it has been a very eventful week!!! We have a "boarder" for the next two weeks! Mark's (kindof distant) cousin, Ashley, attends the local junior college. Her housing situation wasn't working out and she needs a place to stay until her apartment opens up. She is a very sweet girl and we have enjoyed getting to know one another. She paints and draws beautiful pictures!! More pictures later maybe, but for now, here are the friends she brought with her!

Meet Spaz and Cheeto! (Cheeto is the orange one.)

These little guys are fun to be around! :) It's great because I can enjoy them without worrying if I'm going to kill them because Ashley takes great care of them! Here they are looking at me, looking at them. I think they got a little tired of the photo op, though! :)

Oh, and thanks for all the comments for the next knitting project! I'm going to start B soon (I need to dig through my stash and find the yarn!) and it's been a busy week for a new project.

Have a great Friday, everyone!!!

Your input wanted

Ok, I'm sort of in between projects right now...(except for this purse, which is basically knitted except for the strap.) I'm wanting to start a new project, and I'm not sure which one to start! What's a gal to do? That's where all of you come in! :) Here are pictures of the projects I am considering. You can click the picture if you want to look at the pattern.

Option A:
Option B:
Option C:

Hmmm.... socks. Socks are addictive, I think! :) But I've also wanted one of those "coifs" since I saw them on some of the ladies at Homestead. Well, there it is! :) Let me know what you think! :)
(Note: I am not endorsing any content on above sites, except the patterns for the items in question.)

Socks

Yeah, they are done!!! I actually finished these on Wednesday, and am just getting around to posting them.

They turned out ok. There are a few things that bug me about them, but they are my first pair after all! :) -very much a learning experience, which was the objective anyway. My main problem is I made them too short. Oh, well... live and learn.