NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE THE POWER OF...

Old Man Winter is back! Temperatures have plummeted, the snow is back!

This is what I woke up to this morning!

I was a bit early putting my chair cushions out! I was even silly enough to add the umbrella.

I think these little birdies are wondering where the spring weather went!

One of my doggies is lovin' though!

My little CocoBeanie just got her haircut for summer! A bit premature I think?

We were teased with a touch of spring over the past couple of weeks...never under estimate the power of Old Man Winter!

DONE!

The wedding flowers are done! YIPEE! These flowers have been hanging over my head for awhile now. I can now turn my attention to other projects.

Here are the final bouquets. Five bridesmaids, one bridel bouquet, and seven Boutonnières. The bride wanted light pink, light purple and blue in her bouquets. These bouquets are shipping out today, I sure hope that the bride likes them. It was really hard to make these, the wedding party is in Iowa, I'm in Utah. Most of it was guessing?? Well...here goes...

These are the colors!

These are the bridesmaids bouquet's.

The bride's bouquet!

The Boutonnières!

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I really need to learn to say NO! I'm always getting myself in deeper! I'm glad that this project is done!

CATCH UP!

Trying to catch up! If that's ever possible! I've had lots of projects hanging over my head and I decided I just needed to sit down and get them done. The main project being wedding bouquets for my daughter-in-laws friend. I promised that I would make the bouquets for her. So far the flowers have just been sitting in my office...as are many projects.

Her colors are light pink, light purple and blue. I threw in a touch of white. Here's my progress thus far...I'll post the finished bouquets once they are completed.

Flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere!

Light pink....

The beginnings of the bridesmaid bouquets...

The brides bouquet....now that I see it perhaps I'll change the middle flower to purple?? Right now it's a very pale pink! We'll see! I tend to do and re-do as I go along. Come back soon to see the finished bouquets!

WORKS IN PROGRESS!

I thought I'd share a peek into some of my works in progress. ...Remember when I blogged not too long ago about my abundance of sock yarn. Here is a picture of the beautiful Lorna Sock Yarn that I had picked out to start working on.

They are coming along quite nicely. I always love to have a pair of socks hanging around to pick up and knit. These are pretty basic, except there's a row of Knit1, Purl1 thrown in giving the socks small horizontal ridges. I think I'm liking them, and I know I love the colors. It's a bit different for me. I tend to stick with basic colors, but this yarn spoke to me. It's called 'Circus'. See the blue knit piece underneath the socks? ...that's the makings of a Christmas present! Yes, you are correct...I said the 'C' word. I have yarn for the makings of five, count them '5' Christmas presents.

This beautiful yarn is for a Christmas present. I loved the colors and it's so soft. It's Alpaca hand dyed wool. I won't tell you what it will be or who it's for! Just wanted to show off the beautiful colors.

These three lovelies are also for Christmas presents. The top darker brown is for a pair of socks! The lighter brown and creamy yellow are for two more of the blue knit that you see beneath. Again, I can't say what they are going to be or for whom they are going to go too. I have to keep it a secret!

Now, this for me! I've been wanting to pick up crocheting again. Don't ask me why, not like I have too many things going on right now. But, this I just had to try this. The square's aren't sewn together yet. I only have six! I need 88 squares according to my calculations. Only 82 more to go...we'll see. This is going to be a copy of the CathKidston granny square blanket. On her website it's listed for an unbelievable $245 dollars. You can check out her version here - http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=151-119-48-1&vid=160407&language=en-GB Once mying is complete...maybe $80 or so. I know I could have used a cheaper brand of yarn, but I wanted this to be really nice. I'm using a wool blend 4-ply yarn. Isn't it delicious?

Thanks for sharing with me! I'll keep you posted on how all of these projects are progressing.

THE SECRET!

First and foremost…HAPPY ST. PADDY’S DAY! I hope you are wearing a bit of the green today.

Now for the secret! ….It’s funny even strange, but true! I have been really struggling here. I feel like there’s a multitude of voices shouting out to me, all agreeing I must do more. I have been feeling depressed, depleted of all energy….then something unexpected fell into my lap. Suddenly, I feel more energized, ready to fight the day’s battles. It makes me feel infused with doses of hope that leaves me eager to be the person I am meant to be. Talk about a new lease on life. A lovely gift was placed upon my lap…an unexpected gift. A Job!

Yes, I said a job! Be it small…it’s perfect. I was visiting one of my local yarn shops a few weeks ago and one conversation led to another. Before I realized it, the owner was saying ‘well, I’m looking for someone to work part-time, would you be interested?’

The rest is history. Here are some photos of the beautiful shop where I’m now employed. It’s a perfect little job to inspire and motivate me. A truly unexpected gift!

Here's a peak from the front door!

Just a few of the beautiful works of art!

Sock yarn...can it get any better than this?

Look at the fibers...the colors!

Aren't these the most adorable little 'bunny' beanies?

Look at these spring and summer colors. These are organic cottons!

Last, but not least more little beanies!

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I believe that things happen for a reason! ...A true gift was placed upon my heart!

CHECKIN' IN

Thought I'd better check in. It's been awhile since my last post. I've been very busy and have a secret that I'll be sharing in my next post. It will explain why I've been away for awhile. In the meantime, my daughter sent me this link. Please click on it and take a look at the next, best, new bit of technology! It's a screen cleaner!

https://emp.ucsd.edu/swf/screenclean.swf

HAPPY THURSDAY TO YOU ALL...CHECK BACK IN A FEW DAYS TO FIND OUT MY SECRET!

BYE, BYE BIRTHDAY!

Another birthday whizzes by.....oh, did I forget to tell you? My birthday was Tuesday, March 4th! Yep, another birthday, I kept it secret. Well, secret in 'blogland'....but, not to family. Family treated me with lots of wonderful surprises! Not only did we celebrate with a deliciously wonderful birthday dinner at the Olive Garden, but sweet mother and sister treated me to a deliciously wonderful lunch as well! I'm truely spoiled. Dear sweet mother gave me a gift certificate to my favorite place...Home Depot! She knows me well. With spring fast approaching, she knows I want new plants and flowers. She also treated me to not one, but two beautiful new sweaters. Dear sweet sister gave me a gorgeous orchid and an ever so scrumptious gift certificate for a swedish massage at the local day spa! But, the big surprise was by sweet hubby and sweet daughter. They conspired together and surprised me with this...

Yep, that's right. An 80GB IPOD! I'm thrilled, I'm delighted....I'm in heaven. I have spent the last three days copying CD's. In addition to hubby and daughter conspiring...they included my dear, sweet sister-in-law. She bestowed upon me an ITune music certificate! I'm now proud to say that I have over 6.6 days of music on my wonderfully delightful new toy and I have only used about 5 GB! I will never, never be without music again. I was also able to download Oprah's first podcast for the book 'The New Earth'. It's wonderful! Now I can download each and every Monday night podcast for each of the ten courses she is sharing.

I promptly ran to my local Targe' boutique and purchased a handsome leather cover for it! PINK, of course!

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Happy Birthday to me! By the way...should I mention it's #56! Gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, that just sounds old!

COME FOR A VISIT WON'T YOU PLEASE?

I'm inviting you for a little visit, I do hope you will come! This is one of my guest rooms downstairs. It's such a warm and cozy room for visitor's...I do hope you'll stop by and stay for awhile.

A vintage bed awaits you!

Plumped full of comfy soft pillows!

There's a vintage wooden rocker to sit and read for a spell!

(There is an added bonus of a basket full of magazines that include Victoria Magazine, Romantic Homes, Mary Engelbriet to name a few!)

An antique dresser with a display of my wooden cross collection! (The dresser is on my list of redo's...it needs a new paint job!)

A few delights to tantalize you...a fairy, a birds nest inside...a little cat picture in a button frame and a basket of robin eggs!

Best of all....there is a tray of sweets awaiting all who visit!

There's a little cubby in the hall which holds clean fresh towels for you!

Oh, and did I mention....you have your own bath!

The bath cabinet is adorned with more delights, and wonderful imported soaps and lotions to indulge yourself with!

And, sitting atop the cabinet are jars full of necessities with bubble bath confetti and a dusting brush full of wonderful iridescent bath powder!

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I'm so glad that you were able to come for a visit and I do hope that you will come back soon!