I Found A Bargain

On Wednesday afternoon after I had been to see my physio at the hospital Mark & I went into town to look for a network cable. One of our cables, the one we had attached to our VOIP (internet phone) had a fault in it and we wanted to replace it. We didn't find one (a specific one Mark wanted - they're all the same to me) Since we were already in town Mark & I decided to buy lunch. 

Anyway long story sort, while Mark waited for our order at the takeaway place I went across the road to the yarn/fabric shop and I found a really good bargain!

Super soft yarn!

There were bags of yarn for $5 each. Each bag had 10 balls of mixed yarns.

Surprise I'm knitting not crocheting!!

Yesterday I decided to pick up my knitting needles and make a scarf. It looks pretty good so far. I do know one thing though (but I have probably jinxed myself now) my wrists haven't been aching while knitting. 

I'm A Follower

Yep I've gone and done it. I've joined Pinterest! Oooo there are so many lovely things to see. So many beautiful crocheted items. So many cute kitties. All these yummy recipes. What a marvellous time waster way to find new ideas.

If you want to follow my boards you can find me HERE my user name is bloss90

Feeling Frustrated

I just got a phone call from Centrelink asking if I had submitted some forms that they needed me to fill out in regards to the Carers Allowance I receive for Brodie. Apparently they never got them. I went into the Centrelink office in Warragul on June 14th and GAVE them to one of the workers there. She stamped it and said that they would send it to the Disability Services section.

I asked the person who phoned me to chase it up. He said that he will send me of another copy of the forms today. If I don't hear back from him I am to fill out the new form.

I am kicking myself that I didn't make a copy of the forms. I swear Centrelink will do my head in one day.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• sunny weather - even though it is cold outside we have had some gloriously sunny days this past week. It helps chase the blues away.
• Mark - he's very thoughtful when it comes to the boys. He's a very good Dad to them.
• I managed to find the bottom of my laundry basket this week & I was surprised that it stayed empty for a while too. 
• painkillers - not that they have been terribly helpful for my shoulder and wrist but I am still glad I have them to help take the edge off of the pain.
• being able to see my physio with Mark. He was shown how to strap up my shoulder with tape so that I will have some stability with my shoulder.

What are you thankful for this week?

WIP - Spider & Cobweb

My latest project - a nice quick piece

Mark, Brodie & Angus have this thing about sending pictures of spiders to Mark's sister-in-law, Sheryl. So when I came across a crocheted spider and cobweb I just had to send the photo to Sheryl saying at least this redback spider will not bite.

Mark's sister, Sally, asked me to make the spider and cobweb up to send to her. She's having a scary party for her boyfriend and said she would love to have this as part of the decorations.

You can find the pattern HERE at Clare's BobWilson123 website.

Our Prime Minister Knits

Image from Australian Women's Weekly

Our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has put knitting in the spotlight. She's currently knitting a gift for the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge's baby. You can check it out HERE if you wish to learn more about it.
I just think it's great that she has a hobby that helps her unwind.

Music Makes The World Go Round

I've been watching The Range, it's a country music TV show. Troy Cassar-Daly was one of the hosts this week along with Adam Harvey. I just love Troy's voice.

Here's a couple of songs of his that was aired.

I Bought A New Game For My Computer

I bought myself a new game for the computer yesterday. It's called Cradle of Rome. It's a puzzle game kind of like Bejeweled but you get to create the Roman Empire depending on how much stuff you collect during the game. You can play it online of Facebook or at BigFish games. I'm kind of hooked on it at the moment. At least I am giving my arm a rest from crocheting when I am l\playing this. Not that I have picked up a hook for a week or so (o_0) my arm has been a bit sore and I don't want to aggravate it.

I'm off to play some more before I need to start dinner ...

Op Shopping

Angus's chair that he uses at the desk broke the other night. That kid is really hard on furniture. In fact I've lost count of how many pieces of furniture that he or Brodie have broken over the years. So Mark & I went to one of the Op Shops in town yesterday and I found this. It looks sturdy and solid enough. I'm crossing my fingers that this chair lasts a lot longer than the last one.

Thankful Thursday

Wow this week has flown by quickly. Where does that time go? I swear each week seems to pass by even faster than the week before.

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• that my visit to the dentist for tooth extraction went much better than I thought it would. My tooth came out easily and I've been very lucky with no real pain or discomfort afterwards. Thanks Tatijana for doing such an awesome job!
• that Angus's exams are over and done for this semester. I have no idea how he went but I hope he did well. We'll find out in a week or so.
• my heater has some in very handy this week. Winter is definitely here!
• I'm glad that I don't live in the Alpine region. They've had some pretty cold weather up there. They can keep all that below zero stuff! (that's 32F and lower for my US friends)
• my kindle - I've found some great freebie books on Amazon. All I need to do is find the time to read them all. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Thanks MasterChef

I tried a new recipe the other night and silly me I forgot to take photos of what the finished dish looks like. Although I did take a photo of Brodie eating it. So that must count for something, right?

I know it's not the most glamorous photo of Brodie. Yes that is a serving ladle he is eating from. He was finishing what was in the pot that I cooked our tea in. Brodie had seen one of the TV celebrities from Masterchef do it and he wanted to try it too. Silly kid! And YAY for the great role model on TV who did it in the first place *rolls eyes*

Anyway the recipe I cooked was called Pumpkin and pasta bake. It was really nice but I would tweak the recipe a little next time I make it. It said to use two cups of bread crumbs for the topping. I didn't use that much but I would use even less next time. I'd also add more liquid too because there was not enough sauce. I think the breadcrumbs absorbed all the liquid.

photo from taste.com.au

It couldn't have been that bad a meal though. Both boys went back for seconds. I'm just glad that I have found another way for them to eat pumpkin. All I need to do now is out a way for Angus to eat peas and corn ...

Great Weather For Ducks

It's great weather for ducks! We've had lots of rain over the past 4 - 5 days. In some parts of Gippsland there have even been flood watches. Although we are a bit wet and a bit soggy here we haven't been flooded. I guess that's something to be very thankful for. I'm just hoping that the rain lands in the catchment areas. The best thing about this weather is it's perfect for staying indoors and crocheting or knitting.

Playing Photographer

I was playing around with the camera on my phone the other night. Taking snaps of the boys.

I think the photos turned out pretty good. Although I do know that Angus, who is like me, hates having his picture taken. Just as well the flash never went off for most of these pics or he would've been Mr. Grumpy!

Silent Sunday

Finished Item - Crocheted Farm Blanket

Ta Da! I managed to finish my Farm Blanket* on Wednesday night.
Sorry the picture isn't the best. I took the photo with my phone & part of the blanket was in shadow and the flash makes it look a tad washed out.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet. I think it's the perfect size for a cot or bassinet.

*Pattern is by Knot Your Nana's Crochet. You can find her blog HERE. 

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• for the sun shining long enough for me to get my quilt off the line before it started raining
• my family, just because
• my heater - winter has shown that she has definitely arrived
• being able to visit my physio (always a good thing in my book even if I do feel sore afterwards) - I got new exercises to help strengthen my shoulder and various muscles that she mentioned which I cannot remember.
• finally completing that cute Farm Blanket. I promise to post a photo tomorrow (~_~) 

What are you thankful for?

Gorgeous Crochet Finds

How gorgeous is this baby blanket? It makes me wish that I had a little girl to make things for.

The pattern can be found HERE at Maggie's Crochet.

How cute are these little amigurumi dolls? I just love the last one on the right. It's so adorable with it's little flower hoodie. What's even better is the pattern for these cuties is free. You can find it HERE at amigurumibb.

Dirty Old Cat

Trip (on the left) and C.K. (on the right) snoozing on the bed the other day.

Our three-legged cat, Trip, has been through the wars over the years. The other day he had been chased by two young dogs into our backyard. When I opened the door to let him in he bolted into our bedroom. I went to check him out to see if he had possibly lost another one of his nine lives. Thankfully, he let me pick him up and lay him on the be so that I could feel him all over, rub him down and check for any damage. Everything was all good. I let him stay on the bed. He stayed there apart from leaving the room for food that's pretty much the only place he was for the rest of the day.

Once Trip went out later that evening he disappeared until the next morning when he wanted indoors for another feed. As soon has he had eaten he jumped back on the bed and stayed there all day, apart from getting off the bed to go and eat, until I went to bed around midnight. He, either in his old age or his laziness because it's winter and cold outside, had moved to another part of the bed to piddled and then moved back to his 'warm' spot that he had been laying in all day. Of course I didn't know this had happened until I sat on the bed. Gosh I could've smacked the little rascal.

There Mark & I were at just after midnight stripping the bed, changing the sheets and trying to work out what we could possibly use to keep us warm because the quilt had been soiled too. Thankfully the quilt and the electric blanket, which is now just used as a mattress protector, kept the mattress from being soiled too. I am so glad that we had sleeping bags that could be unzipped and used on the bed along with an old single bed quilt plus a pretty crocheted blanket I had made.

I had wanted to give all the bedding a good wash but not like this and not during these cold winter days. Thank goodness the weather has been sunny and I've been able to hang out the washing on the line. I just hope that everything will dry before bedtime otherwise it's another night with the sleeping bag, which was surprisingly quite warm. Cross your fingers for me that the weather doesn't turn cold and rainy.

Crochet Pansy Video Link

I found a great, but a fairly long, video on how to make a multi-coloured crochet pansy. It's from Teresa, aka Crochet Geek. She has some amazing videos on her youtube channel and you can also find her over on google+

When I manage to find some time I'm going to give this a try. They look so pretty.

WIP - Farm Blanket - Final Square

The ninth and final square for the Farm Blanket. 

When I had the squares all lined up the other day Angus noticed that one of the squares wasn't the same size as all the others *oops*. I'll need to make that fix that before I can sew/crochet the squares together. Just as well I still have plenty of the yarn I used for the background colour.

Finished Items - Crochet Baby Sweaters

Here's some of the finished crochet items I have made over the past few months. All of these are premmie sweaters made from a pattern by Heather from Just Crochet. I know I've mentioned it before but I love her patterns.

I have put all of these aside for the Knit4Charities group. 

I have no idea when or where I'll be sending them but I just love making these teeny little items.

WIP - Farm Blanket

Here's my latest square from the Farm Blanket I am making.

Here's what the squares look like so far. I'm working on a baby chick at the moment for the final square. Then I'll be making the final borders around each square and then sew or crochet them together.

Thankful Thursday

It's been a long time since I've done one of these posts but I do have a lot to be thankful for.

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• that my arm/shoulder has been okay enough for me to be able to crochet
• pain meds (yay for panadol), for those times when my arm aches too much to crochet
• getting good results for my HbA1c blood test (it was 5.9 which is really good)
• being able to keep my Diabetes on track - even though I do get annoyed sometimes and want all that sugary sweetness that I feel I am missing out on & those yummy hot chips now that the weather is cooler
• rain - we need it
• Mark & the boys - just because 

What are you thankful for this week?

Playing The Public Dentist Waiting Game

A while back I mentioned that I had been on a waiting list to see the public dentist. After two years of waiting I finally made it to the top of the list a couple of months ago. I've only had two appointments over the past 9 weeks. I suppose I can't complain really since I was on the waiting list for so long.

I had my initial appointment which was basically an assessment to see what was required. I've also had an xray and a teeth clean (I didn't really like that being done I can tell you). The good news is that I don't need any fillings. The bad news is I need two teeth extracted. One will be done next week and the second one will be done next month. I'm not looking forward to that one. It's one of my wisdom teeth. It's what you call impacted (or something like that) it's teeny and most of it is below the gum. Did I mention I am not looking forward to that one? Gosh I am so dreading it. Going to the dentist is a necessary evil right? I just wish I could be knocked out and have it all done at once. Get it over and done with. 

I blame my sister for making me all squeamish about the dentist. All those stories she told me as a kid. Shame on you sis. Why am I not like my other sister who gets so relaxed in the chair that she wants to go to sleep. I wish I was like her instead.

Before I forget, the dentist also mentioned that I could have a plate if I wanted to considering I've had a few teeth extracted over the years. Mark thinks I should go for it since it will be relatively cheap. The dentist said that I could probably go without one for now but if I had any more teeth removed I'll definitely need one. I'm tending to agree with Mark. Otherwise it will have to wait until I go back on the list to get more general dental work done. What would you do? Get the plate now or wait until you lose more molars and go back on the waiting list to get it done then?

WIP - Crochet Farm Blanket

I bought a pattern about a month or so ago (when it was on special for half price) from Knot Your Nana's Crochet. The pattern is called Farm Blanket which I purchased on Ravelry. The pattern has 12 squares but I've only made 9 so far. I'm not sure if I will do all 12.

The boys seem to think I should add a paw to show the cats back leg. The pattern didn't call for one but I might make one though. Kitty does look a bit sad without the leg. Personally I think it's just the way I've sewn it together (o_0)

How cute is this puppy?

For some reason my truck doesn't look exactly like the one in the pattern. Oh well I'll just call it artistic license (~_o)

I'm currently working on a duck appliqué. Then there's a choice of a horse, sheep or a chicken for the 9th square. I'm leaning towards the chicken as it looks a little bit easier to make.

It's been slow going on this blanket but that's okay. Now that I can see all the pieces coming together I'm thinking it will look fantastic once it's all done.

I'm a Terrible Blogger

I've decided that I am a terrible blogger. I haven't even been reading any of the blogs I follow *hangs head in shame* Well that's not entirely accurate I have checked out one or two but I just haven't replied to any of the posts. I've no excuse really. I just haven't felt like it. Call it a vacation from all things bloggy.

Although I haven't been around much I have been busy with lots of different things. I'm still crocheting but not as much as I was. I've done something to my supraspinitis tendon and I've been seeing a physio for the past 3 months. The physio recommended that I take it easy on the crochet front and I have for most of the time. I even went for almost a week without picking up my hook. It was a struggle to say the least. I did however manage to do some extra reading and some crossword puzzles that week so it wasn't all that bad (~_~). The original complaint that I saw the physio about has improved dramatically BUT (and that is a BIG but) I heard another tearing/ripping sound in the same shoulder and I now had more aches and pains that I'm working on and strengthening. I am totally over this annoying shoulder thing. I just want my arm back to how it was so I can crochet for hours and hours of pleasure.

Anyway I'll be sharing some of the photos I've taken of what I have been working on and what I have completed over the past few months. Hopefully I wont bore you to tears with all my crocheted goodies.