Happy Halloween!

Booga Bag and Pizza Dog!

I really do knit! Today I finished the boring icord handle of the Booga Bag and will felt it all tomorrow. I really enjoyed the knitting of the bag part - straight knitting in the round, which made for a very easy pick up and knit project for on the go. I used Noro Kureyon yarn and at first didn't enjoy knitting with it because of the uneven weight and width of the yarn. But once I got used to that aspect I really liked it and love the color. I've taken measurements of the handle and bag prior to felting and will do the same tomorrow after felting so that if I decide to do another bag in a different size I'll be able to figure out the shrink percentage. The little piece of yarn at the top is how much was left from two skeins of yarn on the bag.

I think my next project will be to finish up the turquoise belt for Lynne' that only lacks about two inches of knitting and then attaching the buckle.

Hopefully by then my order of sock yarn will arrive and I'll start those later this week. It was hard to get excited about knitting socks all summer long while I go barefoot, but the last few days it's been cool enough outside that I've been wearing my little boots and having to put on - gasp! - store bought socks!!! Now I'll be knitting my little heart out trying to get some finished to enjoy with my boots.

Poor, pitiful Joe! Lynne' worked late and heated up some leftover pizza for dinner. He is just convinced that if he looks cute enough she'll give in and give him a bite. She's pretty strict with him though since he's on a diet and doesn't fall for it.

We'll be working on his Halloween costume tomorrow while watching the Nascar race. He always wears a costume and loves to visit the treat or treaters on Halloween night. This year his costume will cover more of his head and I'm not sure if he'll like that or not. If he doesn't like it I'll just put one of his previous costumes on him for the festivities - if he can still fit in them!

~ Elizabeth

Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans; it's lovely to be silly at the right moment.
- Horace

Lunch With The Ducks

Yesterday at lunch James, Loni, Shannon and I went through the Taco Bueno drive-thru and then headed to a nearby park. We had a big bag of stale popcorn, bread and crackers to feed the ducks and had a wonderful time. In addition to the ducks, there were turtles and catfish that came up to feed at our "buffet". The weather was perfect and it was such a great break away from work. What was really interesting to me is that this park is back in a neighborhood near our work and I never even knew it was there. It had this big pond, a covered picnic area, tables and a really nice playground for kids. Nice to know it's there for the future!

~ Elizabeth

Simul justis et peccatur (We are at one time both saint and sinner.)
- Martin Luther

My Grand Kitties

Emma and Cheeto - aren't they precious???

Brisk Fall Morning!

We woke up to 41 degrees in North Texas this morning! Luckily Keith lit the pilot light last night and the heater did come on. I dearly love brisk mornings like this and hate to get out of bed. I did get up though (!), fed the boys and started the coffee pot, because a cup of coffee on a day like this just completes the morning.

Fall is also one of my favorite times to decorate the house. This little guy is new and sits happily atop our mantel. I love his jaunty smile!

I've decided that Monday mornings are not really all that bad as long as you have a great weekend behind you. Keith and I got up Saturday morning and went out for breakfast for the first time in months (due to his previous job schedule). Seems like we're able to solve all the world's problems on these breakfast outings. Then I cropped all day with friends and met some really nice new people. I actually finished a 2 page layout except for some computer work even! I did a lot of the printing last night and will probably finish that up this evening.

Sunday morning was a fabulous service at church that really spoke to me. I just love going to this church - the music, the sermons, the people - it's all good! We got back home and watched some of the Nascar race and I was able to knit on the i-cord handle of my Booga Bag. I've got maybe 2 feet of it finished now and am looking forward to the felting process as I've never done it before. Oh and Saturday I took pictures of a knitting project that I designed myself and submitted it to an online design contest! I'm just tickled silly that I was able to do it and the contest is totally secondary to my sense of accomplishment.

We did take Joe to the park yesterday afternoon and did quite a bit of running, which wore me out way more than it did the dog! He really loves the cooler weather as well and acted almost like a puppy. Makes me smile every time I see him playing at the park.

This is the other thing I love about fall - candy corn! My absolute favorite candy in the world even though I know full well it's probably all sugar. One of the gals at the crop Saturday said that if you mix candy corn and salted peanuts together in a bowl and eat them that way it will taste just like the Stuckey's pecan rolls, though I haven't tried that yet. And I really like my little candy corn crock that I got from Longaberger a couple of years ago. It's especially nice when filled with candy corn!

~ Elizabeth

Life can't be chicken livers every day.
- Max

Lynne's Birthday

Ahh....Friday...what a blessing it is each week! Today it is finally cooler and feels like fall outside. I am especially fond of Friday mornings because I am able to work from home today. I feel so blessed to have a company willing to work with me on my illness and making it to where I'm able to continue working. God is good for sending this company to me! Fridays I'm able to stay in bed an extra hour because there is no drive time - and that means no stress as well. Today I gave Joe a well deserved bath and after work today I'll use the Furminator on him. What an awesome invention that is - I highly recommend it for anybody with hairy dogs. And I've already had my bagel and coffee and sat in my room reading and enjoying the calm of the morning. After my morning surfing I'm heading back to my chair and will knit for the remainder of the time before work. Thank you God for Fridays! :)

And last night was so nice. Lynne's 20th birthday was Wednesday (she's an adult now!), but she worked late that night and James and Loni had class Wednesday, so she decided to wait and celebrate Thursday. We went to Buca di Beppo, an italian restaurant for dinner. Lynne' had been there twice before, but none of the rest of us had ever been. Really good and they serve their food family style, so we ordered 3 small entrees and everybody dished up some of each. We still had leftovers, so lunch today is something to look forward to!

She looked so cute last night! Wednesday night she'd gone shopping with some friends and bought a new outfit - a short, plaid skirt, a little black top and the white top to wear over it. I really wish I'd gotten a picture of her whole outfit, but will have to wait and do that another time. We did cut into her birthday cake before bed, too, so healthy eating did not happen! I had stopped at Carvel on the way home from work Wednesday to pick up an ice cream cake since she is an ice cream fiend. MMMmmmm......

~ Elizabeth


Then You Grew

When I held you in my arms for the very first time,
I thought I could never love you more...
but then you grew.

In those precious baby times --
through your first smile,
your first tooth, your first steps,
I thought I could never love you more...
but then you grew.

And in those sweet toddler times --
the endless days of curiosity
and adventures and discoveries,
I thought I could never love you more...
but then you grew.

And in those wonderful little girl times --
those days of hurt knees and hurt feelings,
of making friends and taking in the world around you,
I thought I could never love you more...
but then you grew.

And in those lovely young woman times --
those times of moods and mysteries,
and joys and heartaches, I
thought I could never love you more...
but again, you grew.

And still, always, day by day,
you keep growing...
more and more beautiful. . .
nearer and dearer to my heart.
- Unknown

"A" Page

UGH - another reason to not like doing yard work. Keith and I both woke up this morning with draining noses and scratchy throats. Not really sick, just yucko. We're convinced it's from breathing in all the dust from the chain saw and chipper/shredder. Note to self - use the face mask in the future!

Last night passed rather in a blur. We took Joe to the park, cooked dinner, did some clean up around the house and I actually did some scrapbooking! The last couple of weeks during my internet travels I've seen more than once an ABC Bible Verse album that people have done and I decided this was a good project for me. The last few days I've been looking up "A" verses and came up with a favorite. My album will be 6x6, no pictures and no journalling. Since I've been wanting the Bible to be a bigger part of my life, this project is perfect. I will have prayer time while doing the pages and when I'm done I will have a nice devotional album to look through and pray with. And on a personal note - I've been really down lately and perhaps the Lord sent this project to me to help me see the way out.

~ Elizabeth

Happy Tuesday!

Oh...very tired and sore again today! Keith and I finished doing the chipper/shredder thing on the rest of the branches in the back yard last night. One nice thing though is that I fell asleep FAST when I went to bed and I even slept through the night! Guess exhaustion can do that to you. :)

In my crafting world I did finish charting a knitting pattern last night and got the first ten rows done of the test knit. Would've loved to keep going on it because I was really enjoying the knit time, but was having trouble keeping the eyelids up, so finally gave up and went to bed. I did bring it to work with me today though to work on during my lunch hour.

~ Elizabeth

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 11:1

Fall Centerpiece

This is the new fall centerpiece we got at Michael's for our dining room table. I'm very pleased with it!

~ Elizabeth

Texas State Fair

What a great day today! Keith and I spent the whole day at the fair, so came home tired, dirty, full and happy. The weather was absolutely perfect! I've taken a shower and am now sitting on the sofa watching the Nascar race with my feet up.

This year I decided to not mess with the camera or purse, so just stuck the essentials in my pocket - lip ivo, cell phone, etc. Of course I couldn't let the day go by without taking any pictures at all though, so used the cell phone, which explains why the quality isn't as good as the camera. But I was very happy to have it and saw sooo many people using cell phone cameras today. What did we ever do without our phones and camera "to go"???

The highlight of the fair is of course the food. Here, in no particular order, is what we ate: corn dogs, funnel cake, turkey leg and the food that all the news people are talking about AND that won the trophy for Best Taste at the fair 2005 - a fried peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich!!! Here's what it looked like:

I can't say that it's my new favorite fair food or anything like that, but it was pretty darned good! Here's me enjoying it:

Besides the eating we also watched a chinese acrobat group perform (and I'll bet they haven't been eating a lot of fried peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches!!!) and the pig races (and they might have eaten a lot of them!)! That was a lot of fun to watch. We also toured a garden area that had a lot of trains set up and it was cute to watch all the little kids - and men - get excited over them. And I talked to a volunteer in the gardens about some flowers that seemed to have literally hundreds of monarch butterflies on them. I now have information on their organization, web site and meeting dates. Not sure if I need to get into butterfly gardening that much, but I would love to do something like that in the back yard. I long for the days of my youth with all the butterflies and if I could recreate something like that it would be great.

~ Elizabeth
"I never get tired of the blue sky."
- Vincent van Gogh

Lovely Fall

Another visit to the park last night! This time I remembered to bring the camera, but we got there at dusk and my camera wasn't pleased. Most of the pictures I took were way too blurry, but this one was ok. Lynne' and Joe played with his tennis ball until he was too winded to do much of anything and we came back home.

I have been in such a funk the last few weeks and really need something to happen. I don't know if it's menopause (hysterectomies aren't bad, but the aftermath isn't fun) or what, but I weep at the drop of a hat all the time. I'm missing daddy terribly lately and just really need to talk to him. And a person that I thought was a good friend sent me a "Dear John" letter that basically (my words, not hers) said that I'm too much trouble and my friendship is not worth the effort. So yeah, this isn't a pleasant time overall. And each time I think of the upcoming holidays without my father I weep again. I really, really just want 2005 to be over so that I can start fresh next year.

And then whenever I let myself have a pity party like this I feel so terribly guilty about it on top of everything else. I am so abundantly blessed and really do know that. I think that's why I started this blog was so that I can eventually work through some of these feelings and be ME again. And when I concentrate on the JOY in my life and not think about the pain then I do ok.

Well aren't I a little ray of sunshine so early this morning???

Back on a positive note, we got a new fall centerpiece for the dining room table and I'm quite pleased with it. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. The cooler weather is like a gift after the oppressive heat of a Texas summer. I love the colors of fall and the promise of Christmas being on the way. Even raking leaves can be joyful because it brings back memories of leaf piles and my younger kids laughing, running and jumping into them. We had a blast doing that!

~ Elizabeth

Can we follow the savior far, who have no wound or scar?
- Amy Carmichael

Virtuous Woman???

I'm feeling very virtuous this morning. I actually got up on time today (my new self-imposed getting up early) and was able to sit in the chair in my bedroom - next to my new bedside table lamp - and drink coffee and have a bagel while reading. Very relaxing way to start the day. Then I looked at the clock and realized how much time I still had left before I had to leave for work, so Joe and I took a walk in the beautiful, cool fall morning. Not really a lot of exercise because he was very pokey this morning, but I was still able to enjoy the time. When I got back I still had time to actually make my lunch and bring it - finally! I have got to get control of my eating out again before it gets control of me.

Just love our Wednesday nights together and really it's not much of anything! Keith and I love to watch the show Lost (love, love, love that show!) and since the season began this year I've had to record it since he's been at work and we watch it over the weekend. Last night though we were able to sit and watch it "real time" together! It's funny to watch him reach for the remote to fast forward through commercials though. ;)

I sat and did some knitting on another washcloth during the show and have only one more row to go before binding off. This one goes off to Canada for an exchange I'm in on a yahoo list and it looks like I'll actually be on time! Today at lunch I'm going to work on charting a new pattern and hopefully will get it cast on this evening. Then back to the Booga Bag and get going on the i-cord handle. Can you say boring knitting???

~ Elizabeth

"None so empty of grace as he that thinks he is full."
- Thomas Watson

RIP Sassy

Mom called yesterday and told me that she had to take her cat, Sassy, to the vet. The vet called her later in the afternoon and told her that the tests showed Sassy had kidney failure, so mom had to make the difficult decision to let Sassy go. Mom was able to go by the vet's office after work and hold and love on Sassy one last time, which must be so hard. Sassy was Meeko’s sister and Peaches passed away earlier this summer, so he is the last remaining sibling.

So this seemed like a good time to show a picture of my dog, Joe. I don't think people without pets can fully understand the bond that petlovers have with their animal. Joe loves me whether or not my hair looks good or if I'm in a good mood or bad. He will not X me as a friend because I'm too much trouble and not worth the effort. He jumps and runs with me when I'm happy and he sits solemnly when I've cried into his coat. Quite simply, I love him. So rest in peace Sassy - we'll miss you.

On another note, I had my rheumatologist appointment this morning and received some awesome news! I have to have a bone scan every year due to some meds I take and last year was diagnosed with osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. I started meds for that and this morning was my annual bone scan - which showed that my bones were BETTER than last year! WooHoo!!!!! The doctor was quite pleased and will have me stay on the meds. We also talked about the changes I've made in my diet and lifestyle and that they are good. One thing is that I've really been drinking much more water than soda since caffeine is not good for the bones. So what did I do when I left his office and was on my way to work? Umm....stopped by Starbucks for a celebratory Pumpkin Spice Latte! LOL! But at least I did get the Grande instead of the Venti...... ;)

~ Elizabeth

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I'm A Winner!

Early retirement is so close I can almost taste it! Just a few more lucky days and that will be it for me in the working world. First of all, Saturday's lottery number was a winner - I am now three dollars richer than before the drawing - woohoo!!! Of course, the ticket cost a dollar, so really I'm only ahead two dollars, but still! Then this morning on the way to work I stopped at McD's for breakfast (I know, bad Elizabeth!) and was a winner on the new Monopoly game! I will be sashaying my own sweet self back and picking up a free small soft drink! I'm feeling lucky baby!!!

~ Elizabeth

"Lucky!"
- Napoleon Dynamite

Day 1 and Page 1

Today was Day 1 of Keith's new job and it went well. Interesting to hear about the benefits that this company offers as there are some I've never heard of before - and I really like them! He'll be on days for a couple of weeks before starting his shift, so we'll be like a real couple for a while. :)

Here's Page 1 of the Heritage Album I'm working on. The pages are 8x8 and I love working in this size.

We took Joe to the park again tonight - which makes his 4th time. We've decided that we shouldn't push him too hard since he's so overweight, so he just gets to go every other day. Today was fun because there was nobody at all there, so Joe and Lynne' played on the playground equipment. Of course this was the time that not only did I not have a camera, but I didn't even have my camera phone with me!

And I am SORE! We did yard work all day long yesterday! We did stop for lunch and went to a new sandwich shop that opened by the house the day before. All three of us thoroughly approved of the shop (and in fact I got a sandwich there for lunch again today!), then went to Home Depot to buy a "girlie" chain saw. Lynne' and I had been sawing branches all morning with a hand saw because our chain saw is too heavy. We found a small electric one that works quite well. When we got back from the eating/shopping trip the new chain saw and the old chipper got quite a workout - and so did we! But all while I was working all I could think was "Thank You Jesus" because earlier this year I wasn't even able to sit up straight, let alone do yard work.

~ Elizabeth

""Life is an adventure in forgiveness."
- Norman Cousins

Contentment

I'm still having trouble sleeping, so didn't drift off until after 12:30 last night. Woke up at 3:00 in the morning, went to the bathroom (yay!) and was wide awake. ~ sigh ~ I came into the living room and surfed for a bit, but it didn't really hold my interest. So I stretched out on the sofa with the laptop on my belly thinking maybe I could bore myself to sleep. Meeko came into the room, hopped on my chest, curled up and went to sleep, purring so loudly it was a little unreal. I guess the sound was like white noise though because I drifted off shortly afterwards.

But for a few minutes while I was petting him and enjoying his company it made me think. Why don't we ever let ourselves truly relax and just relish the happiness? Cats are able to live in the moment and fully enjoy what they have. Based on his happy purrs I don't think he was worried at all about the laundry not being done, the craft projects left untouched, etc. He was living in the moment and was truly content. Perhaps we should all learn to be a little more like a cat.

~ Elizabeth

God enjoys watching you!
- seen on a sign outside a local church

Creativity and Friendship

These two things truly feed the soul. By the end of the workday yesterday I was so tired (having a stomach bug earlier this week did NOT help energize me!), so made the decision not to crop last night. I did stop by and have dinner with my friends though and then went into the Warehouse with them to see some of the creations they are working on. Always a good time.

This morning after a stop at Starbuck's (yay, the pumpkin spice frappuccino is back!) we headed to Whitesboro for the heritage album class at Sherri's store. Tracy is so creative and talented and I always love taking this class. Today was no exception! The papers she chose were gorgeous and I learned a new trick for cutting tags. I am like the slowest scrapbooker ever, so instead of finishing the 20 pages I only completed 9. But I do have pictures of the other pages and will work on them this week in the evenings. LOVE this album!!!! Mom had found some old photos of my grandparents that Daddy had in an album at the shop and let me borrow the album the last time I was in OKC. I plan on scanning those photos and printing them out for this book. Very happy am I! <---said in Yoda voice (I'm such a nerd sometimes!) After class we spent some quality shopping time in Sherri's store, then headed home. Called another friend and she met us at a great Mexican restaurant for a late lunch. As usual, there was a lot of laughter and talking. Spending the day scrapbooking with friends is one of life's true pleasures.

~ Elizabeth

"To recognize God's grace in every situation, whether good or bad...that is thankful."
- unknown

Answer to Prayer

We got news that a door has been closed to us. This was very disappointing news to me for a variety of reasons, but as always Keith took it ok. However, I have always firmly believed that things happen for a reason, even if we may never know what that reason is. And this is also an example of getting an answer to prayer that you did not want. God always says He answers prayers, though not necessarily the answer that we want to hear.

The timing is interesting to me on the quote I chose last night about trusting the engineer. Right now my tunnel is darker than I want it to be, but I will trust my enginner. The Lord has abundantly blessed me in many ways and I'm sure there is a blessing in here somewhere!

~ Elizabeth

Beautiful Fall!

Praise the Lord - cooler weather is here! It only got to the mid 60's today and I loved every minute of it. When I got home from work today Lynne' and I took Joe to the park and since nobody else was there we let him run around without his leash and he had a blast! He had his nose up in the wind smelling all the wonderful fall smells and had a bounce in his step. Of course afterwards the poor thing was exhausted, but his happy smile made it all worthwhile.

Hard to believe that tomorrow is Keith's last day at this job. I pray that the next job is "the one" that will please him and last him until his retirement - kind of like we assumed Deluxe would be. I can't really complain too much about the roads we've travelled with Deluxe though because it did lead us to Texas and the many blessings we've found here. And his current job was an incredible blessing while I went through all the testing and surgery. Now we just have to wait and see what blessings the next job will bring us!

In further job news, Lynne' got a nice raise yesterday and was very excited. I'm quite pleased for her. :)

I just finished casting on another dishcloth and am knitting while waiting for a load of laundry to finish up in the dryer and then I'm heading to bed early tonight. I need to get a head start on my beauty sleep because I'll be going to a crop tomorrow night and then headed out of town Saturday with friends for some scrapbook classes! :)

~ Elizabeth

"When a train is going through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off; you stay on the train and trust the engineer."
- Corrie ten Boom

First Post!

This is it - first post on my new blog! A few years back I blogged for a little over a year and really did kind of enjoy it. And lately I've been thinking about all the things that have happened in my life in the last year and realized that if I'd been blogging during that time I'd have a really awesome journal of it. But rather than dwell on that I've decided to look to the future.

And I'll be ending each post with a favorite quote or Bible verse - just like I saw on another blog somewhere. I can't remember whose blog it was or I would give her credit here. :)

~ Elizabeth

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
- Corrie ten Boom