To - Do List

Don't I always have a to-do list?

I feel like I do.

Yesterday I made a list of my WIPs (works in progress) for crochet - 4 blankets. Ok, 5 if you count the one for me. And lots of ends to weave. Boo.

I swear, I just need one day (a full 10 hours) to get everything done. But then I'd just come up with other stuff to make and ignore what I already have. SO.

I need just one day. 

Maybe in the next few weeks Bimmer Man can take the Monkey to drop-in daycare and I can get everything accomplished. Maybe.

In the meantime I've been googling "Fisher Price Little People A-Z Zoo replacement animals" to find replacements for 5 missing animals. Oops. Who knows where they went...

By the way - I did replace dinosaur balls last summer from Fisher Price. And then the missing balls turned up. Go figure.

Simple Crochet Dish Cloth Pattern

Simple. Easy.

And they work.

When I first made dish cloths I didn't want to use them in fear that they would be food particle magnets. 

Yep, I was that person that was afraid to use my own handmade goods. 

Now these are the only ones I use. They don't scratch non-stick pans. They're soft. And no holes which means my fingers don't touch nasty food when I'm washing dishes. Yuck. I cringe and shake to think of gross food beneath my nails. Ew. 

So make one. Or ten. And be glad you have these! So much better than store bought!

Pattern:

Chain 29.

Half double crochet in 3rd chain from hook. One half double in each chain across. Chain 2. Turn.

Half double crochet in second stitch and each across. Chain 2. Turn. Repeat until you have 18 rows. Fasten off and weave in ends.

If you want, make an edging, I don't because I hate edging half double stitches. 

15 Homeowner Necessities in Minnesota

1. Ice chipper
2. Steel core aluminum shovel
3. A very large pickle fork (the actual tool, not the pickle fork from the kitchen drawer)
4. Really good water proof boots
5. A sense of humor
6. Another ice chipper
7. At least one more shovel
8. Sled
9. No, make that a toboggan
10. Fantastic water proof mittens (I recommend my Kombi mittens, which you can find at Hoigaard's or a great pair of fleece lined choppers).
11. A dog that eats his own poop so you don't have to poop scoop
12. Boot scraper in the shape of a Dachshund
13. Neighborhood cat to keep away mice
14. Boot tray (with river rocks)
15. A Menard's knit hat to advertise that you "shop local"

Throwback Thursday

OMG. These pictures. They put me on the floor laughing because I do not remember these being taken at all. I found a super old memory card and I had no idea there were even photos on it that I didn't upload to my computer at the time (and at this point, who even knows where that computer is... maybe a dumpster in Indiana???). In any case, they're both from 2006. 

Seed Starting

Spring is here.

In my mind!

With 40+ inches of snow on the ground and a morning low of -15 degrees on this second day of March, I'm getting really tired of this horrible Minnesota winter.

Alaska is warmer than Minnesota.

So this morning I got out my seed starting tray (made with coconut fibers and recyclable plastic), along with my organic seed starting mix (insert every crunchy granola term you want) and my tomato seeds.

This year I decided to do two heirloom tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes. I've got yellow bell small tomatoes for one of the heirlooms and huge beefsteak (their name is Mortgage Lifter!) heirloom tomatoes. Small ones for Bimmer Man and The Monkey - the big ones are for me (ooohhh... BLT sandwiches!! YUM!!). The San Marzanos' I plan on dicing, freezing and also roasting and freezing for next winter.

I also started Thyme. This year I'm going to do a shitload of herbs so I can dry them.

This past Fall I dried about 20 plants worth of basil and I've used half of it - I got around 2 large Ikea magnetic storage containers worth. But the thing is, I had to learn a lesson with basil. Rusty pees on everything in the backyard so he's killed two anemones, three hostas, at least two lilies and a few other flowers too. I had to pull out pee-basil plants and compost them. Not cool, Rusty, not cool. This year all the herbs will be going back into pots instead of the flower beds so he doesn't pee on our food.

I need to find some sort of pee-resistant flowers or bushes in the back by the garage. Or I need to stand out there every time he pees and shoo him away.

I love him. I really do. I just don't love his pee.

I've got one more seed starting tray which I'll fill with more herbs on April 1. I don't have enough room on my dining room table for more seeds. Hopefully there won't be snow on the ground then so I can move the trays to our back porch and put them on the table out there during the day and bring them in at night.

Mer. I just want to be outside again!

Loves Her Boots

I love boots too. Especially when they're Frye.

Too bad for The Monkey I won't be lending them out to her any time soon...

OMG. I Put My Crochet on Facebook

What have I done? Possibly brought my crochet business up to date? Meh, at this point, I just have a lot of stock that I need to sell. I'm determined to clean our office which means that I need to sell stuff.

SO...

Here's the link

Like me on Facebook.

At some point I may do some sort of giveaway - but I can't really be certain because sometimes I forget.

Ok, so happy Wednesday.

Happy New Window Day to me!

Wordless Wednesday - Belize

Crochet Boot Cuffs

Bah. Photographing crochet and getting it listed on Etsy can be tough. Take photos? Sure! I've got time for that, but actually list items and make a description... bane of my existence. I'm horrible at describing things. I just am. What can I say? They're made of yarn. They're soft. They fit 15 inch calves. And um, well, that's about it. HA. 

In any case, most of these are now listed on Etsy. After coming up with a description I actually like, I just copy and paste, unless I've used thinner yarn or something. Why can being creative be so difficult?

Take a look. If you like what you see, then buy!

I'm thinking at some point I may post patterns, some I've been inspired by others but mostly I crochet as I go and keep the pattern in memory. 

I saw a super cute crochet wrap bracelet that I've been working on the past two days. I somehow need to make it adjustable with just one button but I don't think I can, I may have to add another button and make some measurements. Meh, we'll see how ambitious I am after The Monkey wanted to play at 1:30 am. 

Toddlers, go figure, right?

Rule of 3?

When it rains, it pours.

Especially with house stuff.

1. The dryer broke. A fuse blew, easy fix (but an $18.00 fix!). Thank goodness we didn't need a new one!

2. Windows. With this AWFUL winter the two original windows did not hold up. At all. The wood started splintering with the extreme cold/melt cycle and water damage happened with the side window in the living room. They leak air like crazy. The window upstairs was taken from a construction site and doesn't meet code, so that's being updated to a slider.

Three estimates later, we decided to go with an extremely local (Wellington Home Improvements) manufacturer. Our windows were made about a mile away. Woot!

They come on Wednesday. It will be 7 degrees. 

Expect before and after photos.

3. The furnace. It went out. And smelled horrendous. It was just the blower fan or so we thought...

Turns out it was leaking carbon monoxide at a dangerous level (headaches, I had a lot of headaches!).

So a new high efficiency furnace had to be installed. They came at 8am. New furnace was in by 4pm.

Gah. Homeownership. We've learned a ridiculous amount of info over the past three weeks.