One Busy, Busy Week

Time flies when your busy as heck huh??? But what fun stuff I have to tell you about. First some not so pleasant stuff.
I haven't told to many people about this so the news is.. I was in a car accident on June 13th, the last day of school. A lady backed into me while I was driving Allison home from school. My car was pretty smashed up but Allison and I were fine ......... My car is now fixed by a very reputable company and back home. I was given a very nice rental car to drive the entire time. A 2007 Silver Mustang convertible, which I was VERY happy with. I did have some fun driving that thing around. You may have noticed, however that I haven't been showing you very much spinning and knitting lately and that is because..... My left shoulder was hurt during the accident. I thought it was going to get better but it's not, I have contacted the insurance company and they are going to cover all doctor stuff so I have to go get it checked. The problem is my hands are going numb. I can only knit a few rows and then my hands are asleep. BUMMER!! I'm afraid spinning is really hurtful sooooo on to better subjects...............
I still am making progress on my Mystery Stole 3. Slow as steady like a turtle. I'm finished with clue 3 and clue 5 comes out this next Friday. I have another 7 or 8 inches since the last photo. The thing about lace is that it just looks rather blobby until your finished and you block it. thats when it really shows its beauty. This is a pretty stole. I'm enjoying it. If you look really close you can see a brownish /green yarn going horizontally through the piece. This is called a "lifeline" It is just that. I used to think that they were just for wimps until I have had to rip out many rows, with many tears. Now I know that they are for good reason. Ripping out lace is especially difficult with the many stitch combinations etc.

I also found my sock hiding in the mint. See it back there... This is the sock yarn I dyed, and spun using the fractal stripe experiment. I'm excited to see what happens as the colors unfold, so to speak. I finally found some 5' dpn's locally, but I'll post about that later.

Let's see... Oh yes Lily graduated from puppy obedience school. Here she is with one of her fellow class mates, Zorie. Shes the Black Lab/Rott. on the bottom. This is during the break. Which with the puppies is pretty much all the time. We had a really great time at this class. We met some other really nice people who love their dogs as much as we do. And did I mention that Lily made some life long friends. We are going back for the second session. It makes for a great family night.

Ok now for the Saturday BBQ... This is a shot of our "before dinner, get the taste buds ready, cause the nose has been smellin the 'Q' for quite awhile now" appetizers. We had a wonder, relaxed, Saturday afternoon. It's been HOT here this week and decided to start cooling down just in time for Daddy's RDO. And true to form Daddy out-did himself again and made some of the best ribs.

No word needed... Just a YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... will do!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the Broccoli Coleslaw that I make to go along with Ribs. Tookys favorite. The picture seems a little queasy but if you like coleslaw this is definitely worth a try. Unfortunately I'm a "thrower" when I cook so I'll try to give you the amounts as best I can.

Sue's Broccoli Coleslaw

3 or 4 soft ball size heads broccoli (chopped)

3 green onions (chopped)

4 or 5 pieces of bacon (fried crisp, and crumbled)

1/2 cup dried cranberries ( raisins are ok but cranberries are best)

1/2 to 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese (grated)

Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise (NOT salad dressing)

1/8 cup sugar

1 TBS white vinegar

Whisk together all sauce ingredients and set aside. In a larger bowl, Chop and mix all ingredients. Combine and refrigerate at least an hour. Enjoy and God Bless. Any problems let me know.

Left overs of this salad are amazing but good luck with that. You may want to take a little bit out and hide it behind something in the fridge for the next day just to see what I mean.

I want to leave you with some the thoughts on perseverance. Or maybe sticking to your guns. or maybe just sticking up for your self or what you believe in or???????? You see this chicken, peacefully pecking the grass. Well she is the last of our little family of hens. We have had chickens for many, many years, since the girls were little. They have come in as chicks and well, honestly gone out as.. KFC for the coyotes that live around our neighborhood. (When children are little and moms are busy, putting the chickens "away"doesn't always mean the same thing to everyone)

This chicken is by far the most tenacious little thing I have ever seen. She has lived through all her coop mates demise and still comes off with grace and dignity. She came out unscathed in a viscous attack that left our oldest wiener dog (15) almost dead and bite marks on the other three ( we were on vacation). We didn't have Lily then.

She will have none of the 4 pestering wiener dogs that share her yard and does drink from their water bowl FIRST and even eats from their bowl while they stand BACK and watch. She rules the roost. I like her. I like to watch her peck around the yard. She seems not to give a darn what comes up, she just takes care of it at the time and keeps on pecking. She doesn't seem to hold a grudge, just slow and steady, peck... peck... peck. Then when she done she goes and finds a nice sunny spot and lays down. Hmmmmm either I need to socialize more or theres something to be learned here. Whatdaya think.

I have alot more to tell you. I found some cool places in San Diego to share with you but I gotta go now before my rear end adheres to this chair.

More sooner then later I hope, as I did figure out how to add links.... And as usual my prayers for you are Many blessings, Sue

Just Saturday Dreaming

I love hummingbirds. If you have known me very long you know they have a very special meaning for me. I also love fuchsias, well mainly because I know hummingbirds love them. I have always wanted to try growing some but we live inland and it gets a bit too hot in the summers usually. I found these yesterday and couldn't resist. They are miniature and the exact same colors as the ones I painted in in my watercolor " Jennifer's Hummingbird". Too cool. When I was little my mom had fuchsias. We lived in a coastal town in California called Morro Bay. My ornery sister and I used to pop the un-blossomed flowers. Funny the things you remember.............. hee hee hee snickle!! snickle!! I didn't plant any tomato's this year. Can't really say why. I do every year. Just didn't get around to it I guess. But.... Allison was out in the yard and unbeknown'st to me found a seedling that had popped up form a tomato that got a way from us last year.

She planted it in a pot and Daddy has been watering it.. We have a harvest. Reminds me of the parable about the mustard seed, in Matt. 13. A tiny seed can become so much given the care it needs. And tonight these little yellow orbs will nestle into a soft bed of green and red lettuce, sprinkled with just a bit of crumbled blue cheese and gently splashed with Italian dressing. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Oh and speaking of culinary delights..... Check this out! Wine? you ask Nooooooooo.... I have found a tea so delightful it can be a stand in for dessert itself. Its called Blueberry Breeze Green Tea by Celestial Seasonings. OH MY GOSH !!! I have a Mr Coffee Ice Tea Brewer. I make a pitcher using 4 teabags and 1/8 cup sugar. I add a sprig of mint for esthetics's and smell more than taste. Its is really good. Refreshing and addicting. Well if you like yummy teas. I'm very picky about what I drink and eat and well just about everything ( I HEARD THAT, GIRLS)

and this gets my oh yeah.

I leave you with more of God's wonderful abundance. These I'd like to say were fresh picked but no, just freshly washed and gobbled up. We still have some left for tonight and I may just have enough. to put into some homemade ice-cream. But that's another story........ Enjoy your day and week end with many Blessings, Sue

Hazy, Lazy, Crazy Daze of Summer........

So far it's been a great summer. This is what Iam blessed to begin my day with if I choose. I bring my cup of coffee out to the patio and begin with my devotions and Bible study. As long as the feeders are full... I have lots of company. These little house finches are fun to watch. This is a male, they bicker and argue and flitter around. We have plenty of feeders for everyone. I also have alot of goldfinches. They come later when things have settled down a bit.

This little dove comes every morning to clean up the mess from above. Theres actually a pair and they coo to each other. Quite endearing.

Oh yesssssss!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad you can't smell this one.. Hickory I believe...OH YEAH!!! This is the new BBQ we "all" got Daddy for Fathers day. He LOVES it. I LOVE it too. heeheh. Does it make you girls want to come home ?????????? Don't worry we'll fire it up when ya get here. I miss you so much.

Ok so what else is there to do when its soooooo HOT????HAHAHAHA This little poop isn't even supposed to be on the couch, neither is the one on the other end. But how can you resist such cuteness. Seriously we've been taking here to obedience classes. This is her 5th week. She really is a great dog. I'm not sure how obedient she is. Sometimes with her, Allison and Daddy here I feel like I have 3, 14 year olds to pester the living crud outta me.

The other evening it was very humid. One of the only really humid days so far. We really have had a mild summer. But this sky was so beautiful. This is out the front window. There was an enormous rainbow but by the time I grabbed the camera I just got the tail end of it. I thought you'd like it anyway.

Isn't is beautiful???.. NO words... Just pause.....

And for the grande finale....... I'm working on The Mystery Stole 3. A designer online has done this each year now for three years. I did it last year but wasn't blogging then. The design and pattern are a mystery. She releases a section of the pattern each week for 7 weeks and you knit along with other people. At the end she reveals the name of the stole and her thoughts about how it came to be. It's very fun. There is an online group that you can talk to or not. Very friendly helpful people. This year there are over 6500 people from all over the world participating. I'm just finished with clue 1 and shes releasing clue 4 this Friday. I waited a couple of weeks to see if I wanted to make it and decided definitely yes. Its beautiful and very fun to knit.

She has other patterns for sale on her blog if your interested. Her name is Melanie and her blog is Pinklemontwist. I don't know how to add links yet.

Half the fun is trying to guess the theme of the stole. Any thoughts?

It's not really crooked . I didn't by any means try to block it. I'm also working on a baby sweater for a good friend of my daughters but can't show it in case she peeks on here. Lots of other stuff to tell you but I'll wait for another day. I wanted to take some pictures of some special stuff but my batteries died. soooooooo next time..

Until then Many, many Blessings Sue

I Guess it HAS been awhile

OK, I'm Back...... Sometimes life goes by fast.
Alot has happened.
New points of view.
Good stuff.......... I'll share I promise.
Blessings, Sue