And the Beat Goes On
The last 2 weeks have brought some unexpected changes to my life. Not what I was wanting at this time in my life.
I have found that the older I get, the harder some things are to absorb.
I had 3 friends have surgery in a 1 week period. Fortunately, they are all recovering nicely. But will be slow going for all of them. Kat had a lump removed from her breast and has to undergo radiation therapy for the next 7 weeks. Lyn had her neck fused for the 3rd time. She can only lay flat or stand for the next 2 months. No sitting! And Diane had a double knee replacement. Not sure how long that will take.
In addition to that my son is having a crisis that escalated about a week ago. I think he may be moving to TX soon and I really hate to see him go so far away. I also hate that he will be closer to his father, who has done nothing his entire life but be a pain in the a--! But he does need a change. Maybe this will be just what he needs at this point in his life. I hope so, but how I'll miss him and his wife.
But, the real kicker came from our landlord. He came to move some stuff out of the garage a week ago Saturday and said he would chat with us before he left. Well, we had to go take our entries to the fairgrounds for the Santa Clara County Fair and he was gone by the time we got home. He came by on Sunday to tell us that he has to sell the house and that eventually we would have to move. Felt like I had been kicked by a mule!
When we moved into this house 4 years ago, we said we were going out on stretchers. No more moving for us. Since Dale and Arlene are the perfect landlords, no reason to ever move. They have let us decorate and paint the house, no white walls here. We have landscaped the front and backyards to our tastes, including a very small pond with fountain. And everything we did was with love and the knowledge that we would be here for a very long time, God willing. But, Dale's circumstances have change, and he has been forced into a corner. He made the only decision he could. He is as upset about this turn of events as we are. I won't go into the details, but he is being more than fair in making sure Penny and I get moved into another home.
And the beat goes on--I was physically sick on Monday from the stress, so stayed home from work. Couldn't stray too far from the bathroom! But in the afternoon, Penny had to go pick up some prescriptions so I rode along with her. We decided to take a drive through a neighborhood that we didn't know anything about, except we could see houses. We found three houses w/For Rent signs and called about all 3. The 1st one was on a pretty good sized street and while we were sitting in front of the house I kept noticing cop cars going and coming. Mmm. what's that about? Then we realized the police station was about a block & half away. Another house wouldn't be ready to look at for another week. But the 3rd house was available. So we picked up the key, went in and took a look around. Loved it! Went and got the rental app. To make a long story short, we were accepted in less than 3 days. So on 9/1, we will have a new home.

Good News, Bad News
First, the good news. Yesterday I was checking the site for the Santa Clara County Fair. Needed to find out how to get there (was only there once, and I wasn't driving), what time to make deliveries, etc. Notice for the 1st time, big notice that entries have to be picked up after the fair on a Monday (work day) between 9 am and 4 pm (working hours). S--t! Penny and I both have entries in, and it is about a 70 mile round trip to San Jose. I don't want to take a day off work to pick this stuff up, and it's not fair to Penny to ask her to do it alone. That's a lot of driving for her with her bad knees. Trying to figure out the good news here? Well, here it comes. I emailed the contact people at the fair, and they emailed me right back that they would be there until at least 6:30 and could make other arrangements if necessary. I got my return email in less than 1 hour! I am so pleased. Really didn't want to abandon this fair.
Now, the bad news! I totally screwed up the entry date for the San Mateo County Fair. I have it on 3 different calendars as 7/16 when in reality is was 7/11. Didn't realize this until late yesterday when emailing w/Peter regarding our upcoming Guild meeting. Double S--t! First, I mislead Peter about the date, and now we'll never know if the Stained Glass afghan could have won the Triple Crown (3 blue ribbons). I had gotten such rave reviews on the Barbados Tee that I was thinking about entering it, as I had noticed there weren't many wearables in the other fairs this year.
Lessons Learned. Speak up! The fair was more than willing to help me out when they knew I had a problem with their stated hours.
Check, Check, Check those websites for the dates. This is the first time I was ever able to enter more than 1 fair, so it was a whole new juggling act for me. But you can bet I will be more careful next year.

Pics as Promised

First we have the sling bag that I made a couple of months ago. I have never been crazy about this style of bag, but loved the pattern so had to try it. I even lined it and put pockets in the lining for my cell phone and wallet.

I just finished this last night. It is made corner to corner, or diaganol stitch. It's lined and this time I used iron on interfacing to give it a little more omph! Used it today, and this style is much more me.

And last but not least--the Barbados tee with me in it. We were almost out of daylight when I got Penny to take the pics, so we were limited where we could pose. So you see me squinting into the sun with the garage as a backdrop. All the beautiful flowers we have in our yard, and you get to see the garage! I got this pattern from Annie's Attic. It is by Oat Couture, and was very easy to do. A beginner could crochet this sweater. It is made from Tofutsies sock yarn and it's hard to see in the pics, but there are little dots of purple, lime and aqua that make a really interesting pattern. Wore it to work today and got oohs and aahs, so I'm happy. It's very comfortable. If I do it again, I will make it a little shorter and will shorten up the shoulder area a little too. I'm a munchkin, so most things are a little too long on me.

Productive Weekend
Wow! I got lots done over the weekend. First, I delivered to Alice 9 fleece blankies w/crocheted edging for Project Linus. Had been holding out for an even dozen, but then wondered why. Particulary, since I don't know when I might do those others. I have lots of the fleece in my stash thanks to a couple of good sales, so when I'm in between, I can whip up some more.
Next, I finally finished the Barbados Tee that I have been making for myself. The pattern is from Oat Couture and I made it using Tofutsies yarn that I bought for another project that didn't work out as planned. I am wearing it to work today, have gotten compliments on it, and one of the guys wanted to know how long it took to crochet. Pic coming!
Then, I finished a purse that I started for myself. A few weeks ago I made a sling bag for summer. I must be nuts. I've never liked this style and why I thought it would be better crocheted, I don't have a clue! So, I used the corner to corner technique that I just learned at my guild meeting and made a new messenger style bag using the remaining SugarNCream from the 1st bag, and then added to it w/some variegated that I had, & when that ran out, I used some leftover white from potholders I did for a Xmas gift last year. My friend, Kitty, took the lining home and sewed it up for me, so I was able to finish that bag last nite, also. Carrying it today and so far like it much more than the other one. Will take pics tonite and post.

Breast Cancer Strikes Again!
If you read my blog at all, you've seen me mention my best friend, Margaret. Well, her sister, Kat, also a friend, has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn't ask for all the details, just know she is seeing a surgeon today, and they will be making a plan of attack on this vicious disease. This is my 4th friend attacked by this potentially lethal abnormality.
First was my friend, Lyn. We have been friends for almost 50 years now. She has had so many kinds of cancer that I have lost track. But, she is a survivor.
Then, my friend, Pat. Another survivor.
Just a year & half ago, my roommate, Penny, fought her battle. Survivor number 3.
Now, Kat. Because of early detection and new treatments, I have every belief that another survivor is among us. But your prayers will help.

But there is something else you can do. In my list of Favorite Places, is a link to the Breast Cancer Site. If you go there and click every day you can help fund mammograms for those who can't afford them. Early detection is what helped all the above friends win their battle with cancer, and I hope we can pass that along to others. Thanks for all your support.

Peek-A-Boo Afghan

A lady that I work with is having her 2nd baby in August and after waiting and waiting for her to tell me what her colors for the nursery will be, I just made this. It has every baby color in it, so something should work.

I got the pattern from the Coats and Clark site. The pattern says it is for a beginner and should work up in 12 hours. I did add the shell border, because it looked like it just stopped and wasn't complete. Well, the beginner part I can believe, it is pretty easy, but there are a jillion ends to weave in. My fingers actually got sore before I got them all done. I crochet pretty fast and it took me about 30 hours to complete this afghan. The size is approx 36 by 42. I'm not sure even Lily Chin could do it in 12 hours. Notice the back-makes it totally reversible.

The yarn I ordered several months ago for a different baby afghan, but I didn't like the yarn and the pattern together, so it has been sitting in my stash, just waiting for a project. I think I'll hang on to this pattern cuz it would be a great way to use up little amounts of leftover yarn.