Tuesday, January 30, 2007

K2, P2...The Red Scarf is Through!

Hooray! The red scarf is finished and mailed...with just one day to spare! I hope that it will bring a smile to its new owner, who will hopefully know that love went into each row of stitches. I'm also putting "Red Scarf" on my calendar for next year in early January, so I'll be able to get it to the Orphan Foundation of America (www.orphan.org) way before the January 31st deadline.

Yesterday was a good day to work on my "other project," Hannah's Big Girl Blanket. Mom had a stress-test scheduled for late morning at Barnes Jewish St. Peters Hospital, and fortunately I went prepared to stay awhile. When she finally reappeared in the lobby of the Cardiology Center, she looked exhausted and said she felt as if she'd run a marathon. [As she can't do the treadmill test, they pump her full of a medication via IV that simulates heavy exercise.]

We got the good news in the late afternoon that all was negative on the test, which means "OK" in med-speak. Hooray! That meant she was "on" for bridge today at O'Fallon Senior Center. Play on!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Red Scarf Project: Knit 2, Purl 2

When creating my blog, I added some RSS feeds for subjects that I find interesting: Motley Fool's Financial Headlines, NPR's Morning Edition (I wanted to do "Car Talk," but they didn't have one), the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, and knitting. I'm sure these will change over the next few months and days.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to knit (many thanks to my cousin Betty Jean for teaching me how all those years ago) and crochet, and always have several projects going at any given time...when I get tired of one, I'll pick up another. Recently, I've been working on a "replacement" baby blanket for Hannah by special request from her Mom, who says that the blankie I made when Hannah was born a few years ago is in need of being retired. It's a joy to work on, as it is a shell pattern with three pretty colors (white, baby pink, and bubble gum pink)...and it makes my heart sing to think a little girl needs another blankie from me!

Anyway, I followed a link on the Knitting feed the other day and discovered The Red Scarf Project ( http://www.orphan.org/red_scarf_project.xhtml ). I read about this wonderful mission of The Orphan Foundation of America ( http://www.orphan.org/ ), and dashed to my yarn stash to locate some soft, red yarn...enough to knit a scarf to donate. I had a whole skein of Rubine Red, left over from a sweater I made for Mom for Christmas, so grabbed some size 13 needles, cast on 36 stitches, and began: Knit 2, Purl 2. So far, it's about 35 inches long by 6 inches wide (although it's soft and stretchy).

This makes a nice scarf, especially if you make it a little longer than you think it ought to be...it's all the style, especially in London, where they double'em up before they loop'em through. I don't know whether I'll add fringe or not...I'll decide that when I've finished knitting it up. The only catch is I have to knit fast: they only accept donations of knitted scarves through the end of January...6 days to go! So I'd better quit blogging and start knitting!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Third Day, Third "New" Look!

I'm glad the snow is melting 'cause I need to take a break from re-designing this blog! This is the third template I've tried...I was into a beach mood when I selected this one, wasn't I? All right, already!! (but it's so much fun...:)

We're off to the doctor's office for a follow-up visit for Mom. She's doing pretty well, but managing her blood pressure is always a bear. She played bridge yesterday, coming in second ("in the money" as they say).

I've sent out an invitation to family and friends to visit my blog, so I hope to hear from a few of them. I finally figured out how to get a notification in my emailbox when someone posts a comment, so we'll see...

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A New Day...A New Look!

OK, I'm still fiddling with the layout and the look of my blog. I guess being right-handed influences where I think things like postings should be located on the page...? And the colors are more like me now...purples and teals, rather than garish greens. As I implied earlier..."there'll be some changes made." Comments welcomed (see the little pencil...?).

Snow's still around today, but the snowman's listing toward the ground...he's melting, melting. Still, Mom says that this one's "hanging around until the next snow comes." We'll see...

Hey...all of you who made resolutions to lose weight in 2007...howya doing? I'm down 4 for the month and am really enjoying using my new tool: FitDay for the PC. Check out the online version to see if you like it...it's free there: http://www.fitday.com/

Monday, January 22, 2007

It's Melting...at the moment

Yes, even though our temps today are hovering around the freezing mark, the snow is melting in places. The roads are clear...thank goodness...and the sidewalks and driveways are dry. Still, it's awfully c-o-l-d out there, and flurries are expected later on today...brrrrrr. See the photo of the front of our house below, taken on Sunday, January 21, 2007, after the 5" of snow had fallen. The dogs are the smartest of us all: they are snoozing away in various warm and soft spots, i.e., sofa, chair, bed, and one is even on the fluffy dog bed! Time for some hot tea!

Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.

Welcome to my blog! I've posted a Christmas newsletter and photos to the web for several years now, but I thought it was time to take the next step: a web log. Stay tuned for updates and changes as I learn how to best utilize this space.

  A Bright, Sunny New Chapter Here’s to spending 49 years with the same Valentine! Even though our story’s Prologue began in Jackson, MS, wh...