Family Affair!

My entire family (except for my 33-year old daughter, Christina) lives in Germany and I have to express my thankfulness for my parents still being alive. If all goes well, I may get to see them one more time. I have a tentative trip to Germany planned for my 60th (June 2012), but I don't want to go in June. I want to go in December and visit the Nuremberg Christkindlsmarkt.

Here's my dad who turned 83 in December 2010

My parents have been divorced for decades and my dad has been remarried for many years. I have a sister, Daniela, that was born when I already lived in America. She's just 3 years older than my daughter, Christina.

Here's a recent photo of my sister, Dani.

Here's a photo of my mother and a nurse (she lives in a home.) My mother turned 84 in December, 2010, and I call her on a regular basis. She worries about me. I recently sent her a bunch of my crocheted hats so she can wear them because she doesn't want to fool with a perm anymore. (I don't blame her.)

I was born and raised an only child. My cousin, Brigitte, and I were very close growing up and always competing for our Oma's affections. But, we loved each other and have many fond memories of our childhood escapades. She has her own family, but she is very diligent about keeping in touch with me, sending me packages and photos and updating me of family affairs. This is Brigitte:

Brigitte is 3 years younger than I (55) and this is a recent photo of her at the Christkindlsmarkt in 2010.

The last photo was taken on my last visit to Germany back in 2003 and I have gone through a lot of changes since then, both physically and emotionally.

Wishing you and your family a happy Sunday!

And the winner is....

Here is the name of the winner for my January Giveaway .... drum roll, please

are you ready?

The winner is Sandie of CHATTY CRONE.

A big congratulations to Sandie, and I'm off to send her an e-mail now...

 (It's about time, isn't it?)

Monday is "What Is It That You Enjoy" day...

I'm joining Faith over at Simple, Vintage and Crochet where Monday is "What is it that you enjoy" day!  Just list four (4) things you enjoy and link up with Faith to let others know you're playing along.

1. I enjoy my first cup of coffee of the day

2. I enjoy walking outside with Gizzy on a cool, crisp day

3. I love the snow and hear it crunch beneath my foot steps

4. I enjoy crocheting very much!

Tag, you're it!

Speaking of crocheting: I'm in the process of making a bunch of heart ornament hangers for Valentine's Day or any occasion really... in fact, I've made a box full already, but am not tired of making more...here's a preview of the ones I'm working on. They need embellishments with either ribbon or beads and then they're ready for selling or giving away...

I like making these for several reasons 1) it's a great opportunity to use up scrap yarn; 2) I love playing/working with colors and the color combination on these are endless; 3) for some reason looking and working with heart shapes makes me smile and 3) it's almost instant gratification, because they don't take that long to make. When I run out of heart shaped bangle bracelets to use, I have some round shower hooks to make round frames like the purple one in the middle photo on the right (with my picture in it.)

Oh, and I should probably show you the backside of my hearts as well. They are so pretty from both sides, that you really do not need to add a picture...they can be just given away "as is" as Valentines...or you could insert a note (instead of a photo) that reads "I love you" or "Be Mine" or "Happy Mother's Day" ... whatever the occasion may be:

The hearts for the backside (as pictured above) were made according to the tutorial in my previous post here!

Don't forget to enter my January Giveaway - Friday 1/28/11 is your last day to enter!

The Dogs Are Alright...

I just watched this episode on PBS to discover "what happened to Michael Vick's dogs?" You guys need to watch this. Even though it had a brutal beginning, the ending for most of these dogs is fantastic: Please, if you need a reason to restore faith in humanity, then this is for you.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

Here is the link to the movie clip if you'd rather click on it:

PBS/The Dogs Are Alright


Hooray for the loving spirit of these dogs and the people who had faith in them. Dog really is God spelled backwards! (I don't think I'd be that forgiving!)

Remember to enter my Giveaway - last day to enter is Friday, 1/28/11!!!

Pepsi Refresh Program

I'm really excited about this program and I want to share more information with you. If anyone has an idea or project to enhance life on this planet, be it helping people, plants or animals, this is something you should watch:




Here is something everyone can do to help:
Go to the Pepsi Refresh Website (USA) and vote EVERY DAY on the projects of your choice. You get 10 votes per day, every day! Deadlines to vote vary, so please go and take a look. I'm sure there's a cause/project you would like to support if you don't want to submit your own! I vote every day! The project with the most votes will receive a grant from Pepsi to help realize their mission.

I have posted Pepsi's Canada website in my previous post.

Tuesday's Show & Tail

Angela over at West Virginia's Treasures runs Show & Tail every week. It's a place where people and animals meet. You can tell about your pet - animal experiences - or something interesting about animals. It's a fun place, so join us!

Introducing: Smokey

I try to help the strays as much as I can by feeding them two squares (more or less) on a regular basis, especially during the winter when the hunting is bad. We have established a couple cat feeding stations in the nearby woods next to the apartment complex where I live so that we can place food and water for our community strays.


To make a long story  short, one of the cats, whom we named Smokey, decided to be "my" cat and he practically lives outside on my porch. Now mind you, I can get in trouble for that because we are not supposed to a) allow our own pets to roam outside and off the leash and b) are not allowed to feed the strays on our porches....so, him thinking he's mine, makes me feel sort of responsible for him since I don't have the heart to shoo him away like most people do with the strays.


NOTE: Smokey was not abandoned. He was born in the wild by strays. He had a sister that looked just like him, but she got killed by some neighboring hunting dogs that roam around free and periodically kill a bunch of our cats. That's how I lost my Middi, but that's another story!


Smokey has taken a liking to me and is tame with me (only) but very skittish and shy towards anything else that moves. I allow him to come inside to eat and on extremely cold nights, I let him sleep on the big pile of comforters in my bedroom (aka my hobby room) since I sleep on the recliner in the living room...he does not always want to come in, but on the nights he does, I let him sleep in here.


He's very afraid of Gizzy because Gizzy, being a silly dog, does not like cats and he barks at them and would chase them if I let him. Smokey is skittish and has jumped right through my open window before, knocking the screen window out in the process... (sorry, but I thought that was kind of funny!)


Here are a few snapshots I took of him as he proceeded to cautiously come indoors, always looking for the boy (whom I "put up" somewhere when Smokey is around.)

I fixed him some inconspicuous shelter by my front door for the cold months

I prop the door open so he can come in at his leisure to eat or sleep

Come and get it, Smokey!

Carefully approaching, always being on the look-out for the enemy (that would be Gizzy)

When Gizzy sleeps, he dares to venture deeper inside for a little loving 

He's got the softest fur. He must be part Persian. He is so loveable...I wish I knew someone who could take him, because he'd make a good indoor/outdoor pet. I don't believe that he would be happy not being able to go outside after being born in the wild and having his freedom for so long.

He loves belly rubs - look at his face!

Snoozing on a big pile of blankets in my bedroom - all for himself - nice and quiet - until I flashed the camera!

Isn't he a handsome boy? He's one of the cats that got neutered during our TNR (Trap, Neuter & Release) fundraiser programs and has the clipped ear to prove it!

I don't think they are aware of each other

That concludes my story for today. Hope you can help some strays and give them a little food and shelter to help them out during these cold winter months. God gave us the animals for our enjoyment, not to torment and torture them or abandon them, but since apparently it has already happened, it would be nice to help them out when they need it most. To me there is no bigger cruelty than to domesticate an animal, just to abandon them later on and throw them back to the wolves, so to speak! That is just mean and inhumane!

If anyone has a good fundraiser idea for whatever purpose: children, education, seniors, homeless, the animals, whatever, check this out: Pepsi is offering Grants for your cause!

Pepsi Refresh Project  

Home on the Range and Hearts

I have been spending on the average about three to four hours outside each day, walking, enjoying my Gizzy, the ducks and just communing with Mother Nature, thankful for being alive. Soon it will be hot again and I'll be confined to the indoors with artificial air...something I do not look forward to.

Wednesday I'm going to the Valdosta Allergy and Asthma clinic for an Asthma test and see what can be done about my coughing so much. I've had this cough for four years now and it's time to get to the bottom of this. Obviously it's not going away and now I lost my singing voice - I'm fed up!

Meanwhile, I enjoy being outside. It's been so nice and warm the past few days that the honey bees have been very active. They were buzzing around, you'd almost have to duck out of their way. Here's one that landed on my walker and I managed to get a decent photograph of her:

One of our resident strays, Smoky, who was altered during our spay/neuter fundraiser, follows Gizzy and me half-way down to the lake. Here he is hiding in the shrubs as we walk by:

(you have to look twice to see him)

(a bit closer up)

He is my next dilemma when/if I move. He's too tame to be wild and too wild to be tame...he latched on to me and now I allow him to spend the night in the bedroom on top of the big pile of comforters (sigh!) Maybe this allergist can help figure out a way for me to stay here, because honestly, I am not looking forward to moving again, but my health has to come first! I can't go on like this!

On Friday night I had my own, private crochet-along with Teresa on her You Tube channel. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. She shows how to make the cutest little hearts, the super easy way! You should really try it. She has so many other patterns that she crochets on her videos, awesome!

This is the tutorial I used for the smaller hearts (very easy!):




I used this tutorial for the larger hearts that would also make excellent coasters, especially if you used cotton yarn.

Easy crocheted hearts
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2YzJOuSnJ4&feature=relmfu

I made this lot just sitting here watching Teresa of Art of Crochet show me how and it was so much fun. A nice change from looking at patterns PLUS, she also shows the left-handed crochet version:

I love the way she explains things, so nice and calm and best part is, you can just hit "pause" and "play" at your pace. I will try some of her other patterns she offers in her tutorials. I signed up for her channel. Between her and Maggie Weldon, one could learn how to crochet without ever leaving the house.

Last night, I crocheted this little hanging picture frame for my mother. I purchased some plastic child's heart shaped bracelets from the Dollar Store and just crocheted around it and then crocheted a separate heart that I sewed onto the back to the frame so that a picture can be inserted. I think my mom will love this:

Since using the digital camera, I don't have many recent photos of myself on hand, so I just used an old one of Gizzy and me in younger days (about 10 years ago) and put it in there. There is no pattern for this. I just made it up, but I've seen similar frames before, so it's not a big revelation on my part.

Here's the back:

You get 12 bracelets in a pack for $1.50, so I'll be making more in different colors and offer them for sale in my Etsy Shop and give some away to a couple of friends/neighbors so they can put their own photo in there.

I'm also in a Heart Swap, so that might be a good one to give away, either that or my crocheted potpourri heart (I'm torn) - what do you think?

My Swap recipient lives in England, so would she like this potpourri pouch in cotton better (that's about 7") or would she like the picture frame hanger (about 4.5") for her own photo. I'd like to hear your opinion, please!

My January Giveaway!

My plans fell through with the prize I had originally wanted to offer, so I'm going to make this easy on myself - and you, I hope!

The winner of my January Giveaway can pick any one item from my Kitchen Crochet Section of my Etsy Shop here:

Kitchen Crochet (there are also some dish cloths in my "Just Hearts" section.)



Right now I have a combined total of 26 items in both sections so there should be something for everyone! Just for a sneak peak, these are some of the things you will find:

Rose scrubbie or pin cushion and wash/dish cloth

Filet Heart and Granny square dish/wash cloths

Hot Sauce Sombrero and Serape

Cotton bird scrubbies

Here kitty, kitty dish towel and topper

Crockpot bonnet and hot pad

Cock-a-doodle potholder

Most likely, I'll have added more stuff by the time the drawing comes around.

Again, the winner can chose one item from my Kitchen Crochet Section. I will include an additional "Surprise" gift to make it more interesting!

RULES are simple! Any and all comments on this post get entered in the drawing, so if you don't want to be included, please state that in your comment. Followers get an extra entry and so do the folks that post about it on their blogs and/or link back to me on their side bar. Just tell me you did this, so you can get your additional entry. As always, anyone can play, including previous winners and overseas buddies. Good luck!

Last day to enter will be Friday, January 28th and I'll announce the winner on Saturday, January 29th, 2011.


Ok, ok, Gizzy! Guess what I have to do now (poor me!) right?

(gimme that!)

P.S. Take a look at The Pet Blog and see who is on the cover!!!!

Gizzy's Health Status Update!

Just a quick note about Gizzy's Vet visit this morning:

For the first time - ever - he was trembling in the examining room. He's never done that before, but I think he remembers the traumatic dental when they yanked five of his teeth out and cauterized a mole .... it took him nearly  three weeks to get back to normal.

But, today, I didn't have to leave him. The Vet took his chest x-ray (again without sedation) and it showed that his heart has not enlarged any more since he was put on medication (about four months ago) meaning the medicine is working! Congestive heart failure is irreversible, but with proper treatment Gizzy can live a good, long life. That was the good news.

Bad news is that he needs surgery next month to remove two lumps (small ones) and cauterize another black mole...so, he'll have to be anesthetized again. I will ask the Vet for a little sedative (like a Valium) to give him when I drop him off. He doesn't need to be shaking and scared out of his mind sitting in that holding cell at the Vet's - that can't be good for his ticker, but that's next month...this month we are fine!

Thanks everyone for thinking of us. We appreciate your good thoughts and prayers, right Gizzy?

Right, mommy! We are blessed!

We'll be right back after these...

GAMES

It's impossible to refuse an invitation like this!

Let the games begin!

clamp down

lift off

smokin' 

and the proud winner is: Gizzy!

(Please say a little prayer or send good vibes to my Gizzy, because tomorrow morning, I'm taking him to the Vet for another chest x-ray to see how his heart is doing on the medication and a possible mole removal - Thank you!)

And now to explain the messy carpet - yes, I have been crocheting and have not vacuumed up the bits and pieces. I've been into Valentine's hearts.

I used 100% cotton on all of these, so they can be used either on the face/body or the dishes and I'm almost done listing them in my Etsy shop.

I really like the Filet crochet hearts. I found a pattern for one and now I can't stop making them!

I finished a couple of kitchen towel toppers:

I also crocheted a couple more doggy/cat sweaters:

The maroon colored one below sold already!

 I seriously have to go and walk the boy now. Yesterday it was raining, so we didn't go far and I think he's having withdrawals...afterwards, it's bathtime so we are both nice and clean for the Vet tomorrow. Arlene is taking us. Wish us luck!