Makin' Cat Beds....

I'm making these cat bed thingys for charity. Well, they're for Pet Project Rescue's Kitten Shower fundraiser later this month. All of them are from my scrap yarn bag - but I'm out of chunky yarn so for the next 2 beds I'm going to have to double strand yarn and crochet like that. I can use up my scrap yarn faster and the beds can be just a little bit more stiff and the sides can be raised a little more. 

Since I don't have a cat, I've just been "winging" the pattern. Super simple evenly increasing rounds using a chunky yarn with a double crochet for 8-10 rows to make the base. Then do a row of single crochet in FRONT LOOP ONLY of RS, then go in rounds in the single crochet to make the sides. Simple, but killing my wrists because of the chunky yarn. I'll have to take a break when I'm finished with these. 

This Bee Problem Has Me Worried

Bees are dying at an alarming rate. So much so that humans will die of starvation before global warming.

Did that get your attention?

I hope so.

Our local paper is doing a 4 part series on the bee problems that we're facing. Bees are dying like crazy from pesticides and also from a lack of food supply. Here in Minnesota farming is not what it used to be. One bee farmer even calls Minnesota the "Bee Killing Fields." Farmers used to have fields with all different crops and do crop rotations and now because it's all corn and soy, there's just nothing left for pollinators.

Corporate greed? Money, money, money? Our capitalist society seriously has me worried about our future.

In urban areas we go to the grocery store and see it fully stocked with food (from God knows where at this point...) and we can't actually SEE where our food is coming from.

But again, that's just for the people the buy fresh produce - so many people rely on convenience foods to feed their families (Kraft macaroni & cheese, skillet meals, canned foods, candy, pop, etc...). In just decades corporations saw a niche for convenience foods and filled it - with disgusting preservatives, loaded with sodium and artificial flavorings and artificial preservatives.

What happened to families to rely on processed foods?

Busy schedules? Finances?

I don't know.

But at this point I do know this - something needs to be done. Something needs to happen to save the bees.

And I don't know what to do.

I know that I can help by planting native plants like bee balm, native lilies, butterfly weed, and milkweed. I know that I can help by buying organic food. I know that I can help by growing as much food as I can for my family. And I know that I can help by not using pesticides in my yard.

Are those enough changes to make a difference?

No, it's not. I can't change a whole country's worth of bee population in my 1/8 of an acre yard.

More people need to help. More people need to stop using pesticides on their lawns. More people need to buy more organic produce. More people need to be educated about pollinators. More people need to plant more native plants in their yards.

But how do you change people's minds when they can't actually see what's happening?

Maybe grocery stores can pull pollinated produce from their shelves for awhile to make an impact.

I think there needs to be a "Save the Bees" something-or-another campaign. With a mind blowing explanation of what will happen to our food supply without bees.

Crochet Shawlette

Time. All I need is time. Just for crochet. Time doesn't come easy for me. I wish there were two more hours in my day (in which The Monkey was napping!!) so that I could have enough time to finish items and list them on Etsy. Last week I was able to list quite a few things and get a list of items to make going - more men's items and also, cat beds/baskets/bowls for charity for Pet Project Rescue's Kitten Shower later in July. The cat items will be for sale there, all proceeds will go to PPR.

This shawlette was easy to make, didn't take up too much time and I had two skeins of yarn that were just begging me to make something with them. This is the free pattern from Lionbrand yarns - it's the South Bay Shawlette. It's the perfect size for wrapping up warmly in the summer nights! I can't wait for someone to buy it and enjoy it - I may have to make one for myself!

For sale in my Etsy shop - here's this listing

Where Has June Gone???

OMG. Summer... it's totally slipping away... day by day...

I have no idea where the time has gone.

The Monkey has Tumble Tots class (which is in the big kids gymnasium and she gets to walk on the balance beam, fly off the vaults, jump on the HUGE trampolines, swing on the uneven bars... holy buckets, my child really is a monkey!!). We've done play dates every week, we've seen new babies, we clean, go grocery shopping and garden like mad.

I'm thinking the rest of the summer is about to fly right by and we're going to miss something super exciting! But maybe not. Maybe we just need a few lazy days at home.

Last week we went to Colorado to visit Bimmer Man's family and that was so much fun. The Monkey did well on the flight there but the flight home was a disaster. Delayed flight + nap time = a complete and utter disaster (this time we had the SCREAMING child, ouch, sorry fellow passengers!!!).

I learned a lesson with a screaming child - to those that don't have children and you're on an airplane with a screaming child - instead of groaning and moaning and complaining - turn around and ask the parents if there's anything that you can do. While we're frantically trying to calm our child, you might be able to fill up a sippy cup of water from the flight attendant or grab books out of the carry on above us or even make funny faces at the child to distract them and calm them down. For some reason, kids are so distracted by strangers making funny faces. Actually, don't ask, just do. Parents want a peaceful flight just as much as you do - not only does that make traveling with a toddler so much easier for us, but it makes traveling next to a toddler so much easier for you too. Quite frankly, we borrowed a carseat which I think was pretty uncomfortable for The Monkey and that was really the problem (our carseats are incredibly heavy but SO COMFORTABLE). She couldn't get comfy to sleep and would only sleep 40 minutes on a 1 1/2 hour flight.

Lesson learned, lesson learned. It takes a village to raise a child, right???

Anyway, here's some photos from our trip!

Get Rid Of It All

I would like to become a Minimalist.

But unfortunately I don't think that's going to happen. But maybe it will.

Two weekends ago I had a garage sale and it felt so great to get rid of so much stuff. We made enough money for some groceries, a dinner out, etc... even though I priced EVERYTHING to go (think 25 cents on everything but the kitchen sink...).

And then I came back in the house and thought, "Omg, I could have gotten rid of more stuff!!" It's really just finding time to go through closets and storage boxes and determine if I'm going to use things again. Every Christmas I get rid of more and more ornaments and decorations because I HATE taking them all down. So we have the tree with few ornaments, a candle holder, stockings, and a small tree for the dining room table. I don't do anything else.

And I got rid of three clothes racks full of clothes that don't fit, I don't wear, or aren't in style. That felt great.

But I still feel like I can get rid of more.

I will purge again later this year. It feels too great not to do it!

Late Wordless Wednesday

Story of the Shutters

Last year we had hornet nests behind our shutters.

This year we want to paint them.

So Bimmer Man ripped, er, unscrewed them and took them down.

And surprises we found.

The window installation guys decided to caulk the new windows TO THE SHUTTERS. NOT TO THE HOUSE. So. I'm pretty pissed about that - the caulk needs to be scraped off with a razor blade. I HAVE A TODDLER. I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THAT. And I majorly screwed up. I tried using Citristrip to remove paint - I started with a 6 inch square test strip and the stripper dried. Like instantly. I even read and followed the directions. So to make everything match by the time I paint, I just put it on all 4 and let it dry. Then I wiped it all off with Citristrip stripper wash (how dirty does that sound???).

Now I'm currently in the process of sanding. I only have a circular palm sander so I need a square edge sander or a pointed finishing sander to get in the cracks of the shutters which will be here on Saturday. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime.

After sanding then I can finally prime them and paint them. Phew, I just hope that goes well and I don't have to re-do anything. I really wanted this to be a weekend project and not a month long project.

Saturday = getting out the ladder and re-caulking the windows. All by myself (which I'm ok with because the lady at the hardware store showed me how to do it). YAY!!!

And hopefully The Monkey will be out of her crabby, whiny stage by then so I might let her help me paint. I mean I will get out the water color paints and she can paint on ginormous paper outside while I do the shutters.

We shall see how this goes.

I will update with pictures once I'm finally finished.

Spring Cleaning 2014

To do:

Vacuum under the couch

Baseboards

Bring Rusty to the groomer

Dry clean winter clothes

Declutter for garage sale in May

Pick up dog poop

Clean both fridges & freezers

Vacuum stairs

Store outgrown kid clothes

Vacuum under the bed

Swap seasonal clothes

Windows

Rake yards

Blech. Spring cleaning.

Dining Room Update

It happened. We bought the Capiz Chandelier from West Elm. It's so much fun. At first I thought it might be hung a little bit low but now after living with it for a few weeks, it's perfect. 

Each shell had to be unwrapped individually and I was up late doing that. Bimmer Man was working on his bike. I wouldn't let him touch them for fear that he would break a shell. And I really do mean up late (at least 11:15, which is definitely too late for me!).

We also bought a coat rack for the corner. The Monkey's desk was moved into the office and I swapped the bookcase to other wall. It seems so much more open and larger now. It's amazing what a new chandelier can do! LOVE IT!!!

Next on my list of things to do:

Get ready for a garage sale on May 17. EEP. I can't wait to get rid of STUFF!!!

Crochet Pattern - Women's Slouchy Hat

My favorite hat pattern can be found on Moogly's blog right here.

I love making hats. They whip up really fast and it's that instant satisfaction that you can put it on even before you've weaved in ends.

Moogly's pattern is super easy with back post stitches to create texture.

I've been crocheting for so long now though that I'm stuck in my ways. I don't like carrying yarn so I always clip the ends and weave them in. I also like to use an invisible stitch in the seam. So I made my own small adjustments to match my crochet style but this pattern is Moogly's.

Enjoy!