It’s been awhile.

I have no idea how it got to be so long since I posted. Time just seems to be flying by at lightening speed these days. We have spent more time than usual with Mom as she has had some challenges for a few weeks, but she does seem much better, just a bit weak. We're hoping to get her back to the dining room tomorrow instead of trays in her room which have been sporadic because she's not really sick and is supposed to go to the dining room. It's hard to convince her that she won't get stronger if she doesn't get out of her chair and walk more.

We're planning to go camping this Sunday after church with Curt & Barb. We'll come back on Wednesday if all goes well. We'll only be about 20 miles away from home, so we can get back if we're needed for Mom. This is also our "shake-down" trip. Usually the first one every year is, but we didn't go out last year hardly at all because of Dennis's hand, so I'm REALLY out of practice. It's supposed to rain off and on, but that's okay. There's nothing better than the sound of rain on the campers rooftop. :-)

I finished this blanket and another just like it. I didn't bother to take a photo of the other one since they're identical. I was asked if I could donate all of these baby blankets to the Ukraine. A group from Lincoln, NE is going there to take supplies to a shelter where there are a lot of women and babies who's husbands are soldiers and their homes have been destroyed in the war. I can always make more for the pregnancy center, but this is a one time opportunity to help these families. I have about 20 baby blankets to donate.

I took 5 lapghans and 4 wheelchair blankets to the place that Mom lives for the memory care unit. They were thrilled and asked if I could make more. Of course I can! It's nice to know that they're appreciated.

Below is a sleeping mat for the Open Door Mission. I forgot to take a photo after I finished before I turned it in for donation. The finished size is 40 inches by 6 foot. Then you chain a long, long chain and loop it around twice to fashion a handle for easy carrying. 

I just had to show you all this photo. I found it on my phone recently. It's Piper when she was 2 or 3 and living in Maryland. This was in D.C. under a Cherry Blossom tree on the Mall. Isn't she the cutest thing? And she's grown into such a sweet and pretty young lady. I know, I know. She's my granddaughter, but it's the truth isn't it?

We had company over for dinner last Friday night and Piper didn't have school that day so she spent some time with us. She volunteered to vacuum for me and asked if she could set the table! She looked up proper table settings online and set it exactly like the directions said. She found the cloth napkins and rolled them just so, then put them in the napkin rings. Since I had made homemade noodles and chicken, (one of her favorites), she stayed and ate with all of us and then asked permission to do the dishes. Needless to say, our company was quite impressed. Mandy came to pick her up and said it's more fun to do that stuff at Grandma's then at home. I remember being like that too. :-) We sure love this girl.

Can you see someone hiding? This is Zoey's favorite place to hide. She thought she was being sneaky. She's loved the weather lately. I've been able to leave the balcony door open a bit and put her bed out there. She lays there for hours at a time. Napping and surveying her domain.

Another goodie I found on facebook. Our middle child, Jamie is a computer programmer for a Silicon Valley company, but he and his family live in Montana. I put this on our family WhatsApp page and he wrote back that it is inaccurate. A real programmer wouldn't have the lights on otherwise, it's pretty true. Ha! I love the Ave Maria part. :-)

Boy, isn't our world is going crazy right now? I feel for the Jewish students on the college campus's that are just trying to get an education and are being harrassed, threatened and have had to go home. I honestly don't think some of these kids know what they're protesting. I thought we had put this behind us with WW II. There is just too much hate in the world. I fear where we'll all end up if people don't start thinking of others instead of themselves. I know I can't fix anything myself, but I CAN PRAY and you can believe I've been doing a lot of that during these days. Would you like to join me?

Take care my friends and I'll be back soon.

Blessings,
Betsy

A few finishes!

Hello! It's another Friday and we've survived another week. There is so much happening around the world and even here in the United States. I know that I can't do much about the bigger picture of the world. War, rumors of wars, hate, lies and more lies. But, and it's a BIG but, I can show love where I am. In a world where it seems people are getting ruder and, to use a grade school word, meaner, I want to be a light, shining God's love to everyone. He loves and cares for everyone on this earth. That's why He came to earth, to die an ugly death for us. So I want to do the small bit I can do while I'm here on this earth.

I finished another wheelchair blanket for the Memory Care unit in the building Mom lives in. This was just using scraps I had in my stash. I started with the blue/brown/cream variegated that I had and went from there. I ended up with the blanket you see below. I hope it will keep someone who may be confused as to where/who/how old they are, warm in their chair. This is the third one I've made in the last few weeks. I'll take them to the memory care next week.

The past two days I've worked on this beautiful pattern below.  Ir will be given to the local Crisis Pregnancy Center. It's also a free pattern on Ravelry called "Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket" 12-pointed star. I do still need to wash it and it will smooth out a lot.

It was sure a lot of fun to crochet over the past two days. Do you see my toes peeking out at the top?

And finally, here is the latest mat that  I made that will be donated to the Open Door Mission. I go to our old apartment building every Tuesday afternoon and a group of about 10-12 of us work on these mats. They are sleeping mats for the homeless shelter. We make "plarn" or plastic yarn to crochet with. Since I'm the youngest, I'm chosen to stand and cut the strips from plastic bags. Then several of the women tie the strips together and roll into balls. This is the majority of the ladies, because only four of us can crochet. So far we have made 48 mats and this one will be 49. We're going to treat ourselves to a taco lunch after the 50th mat. They are supposed to be 4 foot x 6 foot with a carrying handle. 

Dennis spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the Open Door Mission volunteering in both the donation drop off center and the grocery distribution store. I'm amazed at the stories he comes home with of the generous donations of food from various restaurants and grocery stores. One day, Little Caesars Pizza donated over 100 pizzas to be given out. Fruit, veggies and fresh bread are donated by grocery stores. Most people are GOOD and generous at heart, but we don't hear much about it. Most of what we hear is bad. I wish I could start a news network of the loving acts and good things. I would watch that news with joy in my heart!

I need to go get myself ready because we're meeting my brother and sister-in-law for lunch at a little local cafe just across the Missouri River in Iowa. It's only about 20 minutes from home and we're looking forward to it. It's been quite some time since we've been able to have a relaxed visit together.

Here is the coffee cake recipe that some of you wanted. I hope you like it as much as we do. :-)

Overnight Coffee Cake

3/4 c. butter or margarine            2 c. flour                    1 c. white sugar        1 tsp baking soda

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed          1/2 tsp. cinnamon     2 beaten eggs            1 tsp nutmeg

1 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and dry ingredients. Mix well. Fold in sour cream. Spread into a 9 x13 baking dish.

Topping

1 c.  chopped nuts (I use walnuts)            3/4 c. brown sugar        2 tsp. cinnamon

(I upped the cinnamon from 1 tsp and the brown sugar from 1/2 c. because we like it with more topping. This measurement is entirely up to you.)

 

Sprinkle topping over the batter. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes until toothpick inserted in center is clean. Enjoy!             

I hope you have a wonderful Friday, full of God's blessings that show His love for you. I'll be back again soon. Love to you all

Blessings and hugs,
Betsy

A Finish

Hello and a very happy Thursday to you all. Are any of you in the path of the eclipse? We're supposed to be at 80% darkness, but since I don't have the special glasses I won't be looking at it. I do remember the last one though. I was at the lake by myself and it got very dark. The crickets started chirping like they do at night and the birds were silent. It was very, very eerie. I've heard that storms are predicted across a big swathe of the viewing area on Monday, but I really hope they hold off so all of the people traveling to see it are able to view it first. Then the rain can come. :-)

I finished another blanket that I started Sunday afternoon. It's called "Baby Shower Blanket," seriously. Such a plain name for a beautiful pattern. It's a free pattern on Ravelry and I really enjoyed it. The blanket is 36" x 36" and will be donated to the Crisis Pregnancy Center. The yarn is Hobby Lobby's Yarn Bee "Pomp." It has stellina in it and sparkles so prettily, but it doesn't show up in the photo at all. It hasn't been washed and blocked yet, so it ripples a bit. It's a sampler blanket that has a 9 row repeat. Each of the nine rows is different and I did four repeats. It was lots of fun and I finished it Tuesday. A very fast crochet. Even though it looks complex, they are all easy stitches.  Popcorn, V-stitch, Front Loop SC, DC. No hard stitches at all.

Last night I started this wheelchair blanket with yarn from my stash. I started with the variegated yarn in the center of the grannies and chose yarns that matched the colors in it. I think it should work well for a man and I'm going to make it a bit longer than the previous ones.

Piper had her photo taken at church on Sunday. Their church does fun things like this for most holidays. She has her new Portage sweater on that I made for her. Doesn't she look grown up? She has the thickest, most beautiful hair and a beautiful smile. I love this girl with all my heart.

My view right now. It's late Wednesday night. Dennis is in bed asleep. Zoey's asleep on my lap and I'm content and happy in my chair with my crochet. God is so good to me.

I found this photo somewhere, I think it was facebook, but it could have been a blog. If it was yours, I'm sorry, I don't mean to steal. I would love to give credit to where it came from. It's so beautiful I had to share with all of you. Doesn't it just say "SPRING" to you? I love the colors, the china, the sweet daffy-dils as my Mom called them. She would be 102 this year. Oh my. She died at 67 and I still miss her every single day. This picture reminded me of her because some of her favorite colors are here.

I hope you all have had a wonderful week and Easter Sunday. We went to Sunrise Service, had breakfast with everyone between services and then I was in the nursery during the main service. I had such a good time singing, dancing and playing with the little ones. For the breakfast I made an overnight coffee cake. You mix it up the night before and refrigerate it. I baked it while we were getting ready for church and wrapped the dish in a towel so it was still nice and warm when they served it. Yum! If you're interested in the recipe let me know and I'll post it next time.

I'll be back again soon.

Blessings and love,
Betsy