The Eagle Has Landed...

Here's my latest hooked rug...measures about 16 x 23 inches. It took less than a month to complete...from the "ah-ha" moment when I remembered I had this pattern until I pulled the last loop last night...YAY!

Just Photos Today...

Header Photo...

Okay, so I think maybe I should explain the header photo.

That beautiful group shot was taken in September, 2004...wow, that's 4 years ago, already! My sister, Julie, who used to live in the apartment next to me, is standing just out of the shot with treats...the dogs all lined up and patiently waited for their yummies!

Who's who??? Left to right: Tag, of course. Next, the sable & white collie, is Cruiser. He died in February, 2007...I miss him still. Tango, course, is the tri-color. The golden retriever is Manley, my sister's dog. I had spent time with him every single day from the day we brought him home from the breeder until she moved to Colorado 20 months ago. I miss that boy...not a huge golden lover, but he was a funny guy and Tag's bud! I sometimes called Manley 'Doodlehead'. I talk in his ear on the phone once in awhile. Then, course, there's Little Miss Princess Honey-do Allegra.

Here are a couple of other shots taken that day...

Must Be BORED!!!

Okay, so I am crazy and maybe too old for this,

but I am having fun and laughing so hard!

Perfect for the end of this day.

I just added a 'cyber-pet' widget...

and was playing with it.

Go ahead...click on the box of treats

and and then click on the pup's mouth.

YUMMY!!!

hahahahahaha...

Now, place your mouse over the 'more' tab

and a ball will pop up...

click on that and drop it from above...

watch the pup catch it!

It doesn't take much to amuse me,

that's for sure.

ALSO, I added a weather widget,

cuz I know y'all are always wonderin'

what the weather is like here for me.

Been a long day and I am ready for bed.

Today's progress...

I feel like I actually accomplished something today.

Besides the usual mundane chores

(dishes, making the bed, dressing),

I read a book!

"Night of Thunder" by Stephen Hunter.

An EXCELLENT read!

I love his character, Bob Lee Swagger!

Remember the movie, "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg?

Well, it was based on a book written

by Stephen Hunter, "Point of Impact".

Here's where I am with this...

I still need to redo the tail.

AND, I'm going to redo the white of the

red/white corners...

put in strips that are more tan.

May change a few other things, too...

but I'm relatively happy with this.

That's all for now.

What I've Been Up To...

I know you all been thinkin'

that I'm sitting around doing nothin',

but that's not so (say it isn't so...).

I painted this basket,

hooked the 9x9 mat,

and attached it to the padded lid form...

just finished it last night...

I'm working on this project

(gotta redo that tail)...

I dyed some wool...

Been reading and have these books yet to read...

And, my next project includes this...

So that's what I've been doin'...how 'bout you???

Did you know...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

How could you not know this?

It is everywhere!!!

Have you had your mammogram?

Mine is next Monday.

Do you perform a monthly self-exam?

Click on the picture below for

'the 5 steps of a breast self-exam'

The leaves are finally beginning to change on this big maple tree...

The PERFECT Fall Day...

I spent some time with my granddaughter, Kaylynn, today.

We shopped at the strip mall in Elkhorn...

the Hallmark store and the Dollar Store,

where everything is actually $1.05.

Why not call it the Dollar Five Store???

We ate at McDonald's...

Kaylynn and I walked a lot...part of the time I pushed her in her stroller

and part of the time, she pushed me in her stroller.

oh. No, that's not right. But, funny, hey??? She talks very softly, so I almost always need to ask her to repeat...

which she does very willingly.

I know she speaks louder, because when I got there,

she came running out the front door shouting, "Hi Grandma!!"

My heart swelled...

I showed her what her shadow was and explained how it worked...

I think she thought that was very cool. She tried stepping on it.

We talked about all the grasshoppers and crickets

that were jumping around on the sidewalk.

(please don't tell me you expected to see a photo of them???? YUCK!!!)

We talked about her coming to my house and staying overnight.

I hope that happens next month.

Bye, Kaylynn! I love you!

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Just for you, JoJo...

the same farm...slightly different view (of the header photo)

Doodling...

The Wool Snippets Fall Geometric Challenge 2008 has a winner!

Out of the 6 mats I showed you in an earlier post,

AUTUMN PUMPKIN, hooked by Jennie Miller,

was voted as the favorite mat!

Congratulations to Jennie!

Here is my mat...

AND, here is a table runner I just completed!

This was done as part of another challenge.

I saw this pattern in a magazine a few years ago

and knew I would hook it someday...

It measures 9 1/2 x 36 inches.

I am very happy with it!

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I caught Tag...

Now I know why he is so smart...he READS!

(No, this was not staged...I had placed these books in a stack on my chair

and when I came back into the living room, this is what I found.)

The Way It Is...

Have you been wondering how the FLYlady is changing my way of doing things? Well, you can just forget that! HA! She is way too organized and on top of things for me! Swish and swipe the toilet every day? There's only me using it...how dirty can it get? Waste all that cleaner?

BUT...don't despair. I did pick up some useful tips from her...the most important one is taking a piece of time...whether it be 15 minutes or 60...doesn't matter. Work, work, work until the time is up and it is amazing how much one can accomplish!!

For instance...this morning, I wanted to get everything straightened up so that when I start on a new project later today (more on that in a bit), I won't be feeling guilty. Okay, so I never feel guilty. BUT, this way, I feel better!!! I took 61 minutes and got so much accomplished!

I picked up all of the dog toys...

I did dishes...

What a helper Tag is...he brought Tango's dish to me...

(As you can see, he already has one toy out of the basket!)

I made my bed, put laundered clothes away - you know, like in the dresser or linen closet, etc. And, nope, they weren't from laundry I did this morning. Probably from a few days ago...or maybe last weekend? I took the garbage out, straightened the living room, cleaned off the kitchen table, hung towels in the bathroom, and I think that's it.

OHYEAH!!! And I drew out a pattern on linen! (just a bit longer before I tell you about that).

So...you see, things don't really take that long to do! (yes, I know you all know this...I am the one who constantly needs reminding!)



Now, I can do whatever I want to for the rest of the day...YAY!!! Course, I do need to vacuum, but I'll do that later. Really need to do something about this, first...



This is the accumulation of some of the woolens from my last 2 projects. And, probably a few pieces for my big a** star rug. What a mess I make!

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So. Last night, I had one of those lightbulb moments!

Part of that moment was remembering a pattern insert from the June/July/August 2005 issue of RHM. If you want to see what it is, go ahead and look, but shhhhhh...it's a secret project! I think I have all the woolens in my stash to do this rug...so I can get right on it...I am very excited! And, I had a nice piece of linen that I had drawn a pattern on BADLY, so used the reverse side. Like I said, this is a secret project, so cannot tell you anything else for now. I'm hoping to get it done before October 31, so you'll see it soon.

Okay...off to the store and then I can hook!!!

Fall Geometric Mat Challenge

This past summer, I issued a challenge to the hookers of Wool Snippets...to hook a fall-themed mat with geometric borders. Six of us completed the challenge...here are the wonderful mats.

The mats measure approximately 16 x 16 inches...and the center motif could be a pumpkin, a saltbox house, or acorns. The motif designs were supplied by me.