You Are So Beautiful

To me… 

She danced around the room, singing her songs. She sang, “You are so beautiful, to me-e-e-e”, ala Joe Cocker! I laughed, because it took me by surprise that she would know the words to a song that was introduced almost four decades before she was born. She struck a pose to hit the high note at the end and gave me a dazzling smile.

You are so beautiful...

Then she climbed in my lap. She put her little hand on my cheek and began to sing the song again. As I gazed into her ebony eyes, I believed every word she said. And for that little spot of time, I did feel beautiful. I knew she thought so. And I knew I held a special place in her heart, just as she holds in mine.

You're everything I need. 

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long between posts since I started blogging. I don’t know exactly what I’ve been doing that’s kept me so busy lately but it sure tires me out. There have been a couple of deadline projects at work. That’s a little stress. By the time I get home I don’t want to do much of anything. I’ll get something ready for us to eat and maybe do a load of laundry and I’m finished. If I get in my chair and get comfortable I’m all but done for the night. Sometimes I don’t even pick up my knitting. This too shall pass.

I love these stitch markers my friend Alice made!

As far as knitting goes though, I have just been working on the Clapotis for the KAL and am (finally) on the decrease rows. There’s a road trip coming up so I might be able to finish it. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the pattern. I also forgot that it seems to take forever! I don’t know what’s next but I’ll think of something I’m sure.

On the down side!

I’ve managed to do a little bathtub reading and finished a couple of books as well. Bathtub reading is one of my private little pleasures! If it weren’t for that I might not ever finish a story. Usually, if I pick up a book it’s a signal for people to start talking to me. It doesn’t matter where; at the airport, in the car, at home. That’s why I knit. I can listen and comment and don’t lose my place unless it’s something complicated.

My reading choices are simple books, mysteries mostly, easy no-brainer reading. The last three I read of course, had a murder. Would it be an oxymoron to say a homicide makes light reading? They are entertaining and the villain is caught in the end. And I like them.

Intellectual reading!

With heroines and sleuths like Cece Caruso, Sarah Boothe Delaney and Tinkie, and Gwen Katz, how could I not be interested? There’s a suspicious death on Kosher Karaoke Night, a missing 4 million dollar ruby necklace and a wrongly convicted criminal still awaiting parole after 40 years. If that’s not better, (and a lot more fun) than the daily news, what is? You can see, my literary choices run deep! Maybe I’ll go take a bath.

You are so beautiful, 

To me…

The Rain, The Park, And Other Things

Flowers in her hair, 

Flowers everywhere… 

It’s amazing what a little rain can do out here in the dessert! It doesn’t mean we are out of the drought by any means. But it’s so nice to see green everywhere, and some colorful flowers, wild or not.

An oasis or a mirage? A secret spot at the ranch!

The duck found it!

Blooming cactus...or cactus blooming!

With temperatures already breaking into three digits, it won’t last unless it really rains. Not just a little either. We need a substantial rain.

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_south.htm

Until then, enjoy some pictures of spring. After a little moisture, that is!

The Mesquite tree budding is the sign spring is really here.

Somewhere along the highway on the way to Austin.

Are they Poppies? I don't know.

This is what the flower looks like up close.

Yellow flowers on the highway.

Can you see the 'bug' on the flower? Don't know how I captured that!

Sunflower? Yellow Daisy? Black Eye Susan?

Another 'wild flower' or weed...depending on your perspective.

Trumpet vine on my deck. Blooming!

Bluebonnets on the highway by the house

We really think we 'planted' these Bluebonnets by the highway by the house. One year we spent a LOT of money on wildflower seeds. Those suckers are expensive! The front acres were plowed and the seeds were planted. It doesn't rain much out here but when it does? It's what they call a gully washer! That means it rains really fast filling up ditches and flooding the road and land. All of the sowed seeds washed down the road and into the bar ditch. Did anything come up at the house? Nope. But all down the road there were assorted new flowers. The Bluebonnets come out in a little patch about a half mile down the way. They are over a little bump so you have to know where to look. The patch has steadily expanded. Most of the others didn't last but the Bluebonnets return every year.

They bloom even in the dessert. With a little water!

State flower of Texas!

They are a lot prettier in the Hill Country at my friend Beverly's house!

Not my picture. Picture taken on Mach Rd, on the Bluebonnet Trail near Ennis, TX by David and Eileen Ng

Even the ordinary weeds are viewed as wild flowers out here

And all I had left was one little flower in my hand...

On the knitting front, I finished the Small Shawl. I think I keep calling it a Simple Shawl, but the pattern is really called Small Shawl. It is simple though! Just no-brainer garter stitch in a rayon boucle yarn, although any yarn will work. I think maybe I’ll start a crochet project next, just for something different.

I like this as a scarf.

Shawl draped. Looks light and lacy. Look here for other creative ideas!

I finished a book called ‘Thai Die’, by Monica Ferris. It’s part of a series with a a needlework shop owner, Betsy Devonshire, being the amateur sleuth who solves the crimes. In this story, one of the ‘Monday Bunch’ regulars has just returned from a trip to Thailand. She brings back souveniers and gifts for her friends. She’s also agreed to deliver a small statue of a Buddha to an antique store back home and shows the gang. This kind gesture leads to adventure, robbery, theft, a blizzard and a giant angora rabbit! It was entertaining with enough action to keep it interesting.

Thai Die. See what others are reading here.

I’m off to look through the yarn stash to find something bright and pretty. Maybe something that looks like flowers.

Wow! Where did all this come from? DFW Fiberfest!

This is cheerful!

From two if by hand at the DFW Fiber Festival.

I love the flower girl.

Was she reality or just a dream to me?

Ben

Ben, you're always running here and there. 

You feel you're not wanted anywhere. 

If you ever look behind and don't like what you find, 

There's something you should know, you've got a place to go… 

I didn’t know being terrified of rodents had a name. I just thought it was one of those weird things that make me who I am. But I found out I have a specific phobia. I wonder if it’s different then a general phobia because I’m only afraid of rodents? I don’t know. But it’s called musophobia and it’s very common. It just means fear of mice and rats. But now I know I’m one of millions with the same affliction. Does it make me feel better? Not really.

“Eek! A mouse!” Yes, I actually said that. Years ago we lived in a yucky house. It was early in the morning and I was fixing Alan’s lunch while he got ready for work. I was slicing a tomato and had a big knife in my hand. Suddenly there was a streak across the counter right in front of me. I screamed and almost cut my fingers off! As Mr. Jinks, the cartoon cat would say, "I hate those meeces to pieces!"

Mr. Jinks, cat fiend to Pixie and Dixie.

Did you know Ben, in this song, is a rat? And he wasn’t a nice rat at that. I’m not sure there is such a thing as a nice rat. Rats, hamsters, mice…none of them are cute to me. I do not like them. Not at all! They are vermin, nasty creatures in my mind. Now if you do like rodents, that’s perfectly fine. But I don’t. They creep me out completely. We live in the country and have for about 20+ years, so occasionally we get a mouse in the house. Once I see signs of one, that’s it. I can no longer go in that particular room by myself. I’m not necessarily frozen in fear because I can still run pretty quickly! But I’m plenty scared.

Yuck.

At the same yucky house there was another mouse. My husband set the trap and went off to work. I was there with a three year old and a newborn. I was thinking about what we could have for lunch when suddenly there was a click and a mouse in the trap ran out from under the table. It circled around two or three times and stopped, right there in the middle of the floor. OMG!! What was I going to do!? I could not even look at it much less get close enough to try to sweep it up into a dust pan or something like that. I couldn’t do a thing. As I was wondering if having a three year old pick it up and throw it outside would constitute child abuse a friend dropped by. I asked her if she could take it away. She went over, picked up the trap with her bare hand, looked at me and threw it out the door. I was horrified and relieved, all at the same time.

I could tell you many more mouse stories. Some involve screaming, some running and some, even climbing! Just a couple of weeks ago I saw signs of an unwanted visitor. I Cloroxed the counter and my husband set out traps. I hoped I didn’t have to go in the kitchen at night. But I had a plan. If I needed something, I would turn the light on and off and make some noise. Then I’d tiptoe in and scan the traps. If all was clear I’d hurry to get what I needed and then rush out. Whew…safe!

A few days pass and there’s no sign of a mouse. I’m suspicious and just know it’s crouching in a drawer or cabinet waiting to jump on me when I open it up. I ask my husband and he said maybe it ran off. Sure, I think. It just ran out the door. I open the bottom drawer to get something and reach in. It’s sitting halfway in a plastic grocery bag. I pause because I see a dark spot in the bag. I look closer and it has ears. OMG again! It’s in the sack! But it’s not moving. I run out just as Alan is coming in and tell him I think I found the mouse. He looks, and sure enough I had. The poor thing must have suffocated. He took care of it as I cursed it for scaring me yet again.

I read somewhere once that a mouse is an animal which strews its path with fainting women. In my case that’s true. If I had touched that mouse in the drawer I most likely would have had a heart attack or at the least, passed out! Creepy, yucky, nasty creatures they are. For now I’m safe. But as long as there are mice I don’t think I can ever live alone. For sure not in the country! And I’ll never have a friend like Ben.

Ben, most people would turn you away, 

I don't listen to a word they say. 

They don't see you as I do I wish they would try to… 

I finished the fuzzy orange shawl. It’s not bad, and just the right size. I’ll have to watch because what I wear it with because it sheds. The label said the color was strawberry. Still looks orange to me!

I also decided to complete a UFO! I have a bad case of finishing the knitting but not weaving in the ends, sewing the seams, etc. So I picked one (of many unfortunately) and wove the ends in. It’s the Montego Bay scarf and I love it! I don’t think I was able to get the Sea Silk at the time but I got something yummy and soft. I just forgot what it was!

See other creative projects at http://ourcreativespaces.blogspot.com.

I finished another book. This one was one of Maggie Sefton’s knitting mysteries. It’s number 7 in the series and called Dropped Dead Stitch. I like her books but they are pretty predictable. I’d like to do a readability test on one sometime because I’m curious. Supposedly the average newspaper is written at a 9th grade level so maybe it’s right on target. Anyway Kelly and company are helping with the fiber part of a women’s retreat when they find the owner of the ranch is a man who attacked one of the gang. Of course he meets an untimely end and guess who they think did it. I do enjoy the stories, I guess because they are no brainers and quick to read.

Next up...something pink!

A work friend and I trade books so there’s no telling what I end up with except for the fact we like the same kind; simple, easy to read mysteries. It’s fun though, and I have read some I never would have looked at if I was buying.

New reads. See what else to read here!

Maybe that’s what I can do when I retire. I could author a series about a stinking mouse that gets in and torments knitters by messing up their yarn. He’ll always get away because he has to go on to scare the next unsuspecting woman. Yeah, that’s what I could do. Well, maybe not.

Ben, you're always running here and there. 

You feel you're not wanted anywhere…

Evolution Orange...

Shining light,  

Now in sight.  

Evolution Orange. 

Wondrous flight,   

Now in sight.   

Evolution Orange. 

Oh boy! A present! With great anticipation she ripped the paper off and removed the lid. What was inside? Oh. Well. Um…thank you! That was so thoughtful! It’s an orange necklace! Bright orange! (Thinking…Kind of an ugly orange necklace at that.) A Joan Collins? Wow!

A Joan Collins! Thank you HSN!

Yes, that was me. And before you go thinking I’m an ogre, I did appreciate the thought. My mother kept things even if she didn’t like whatever it was, and even if she already had three. Why? Because it was a gift and someone put some thought (maybe) into getting it for you. So, because of my upbringing, I felt like I had to keep it. I just didn’t know what I was going to do with it!

I took it to show my fashion conscious work friend. We giggled. She liked it as much as I did. So I put it up where it stayed for about a year.

Maybe it will grow on me.

I like color. Actually I like all colors. But orange isn’t my favorite color. I don’t have a thing against orange. It makes me think of Halloween. I even have the right coloring to wear it if I want. But given a choice, I probably won’t choose orange. Bright orange is, well, cheerful. Like a clown.

Fast forward a year. Spring is in the air. Time for short sleeve shirts and bright colors! So shopping it is. I enter the store. What is the color of the season? Tangerine! Tangerine is just another word for orange in my book. It’s everywhere. I’m enveloped in a sea of orange! There are shoes, shirts, pants, jewelry…even underwear!

Tangerine? Orange? It's all the same to me!

Really, I’m just a little fashion conscious. And because I found something I liked, orangeish in color, I was feeling pretty stylish. I put together an outfit and accessorized! Well, actually, I got dressed, put on the orange shirt with something to tone it down and went looking for some kind of jewelry to wear. Lo and behold, there sat the ugly orange necklace! And it just matched!

This is the second shirt.

I wore gray, pants and a leopard print sweater and the orange shirt and necklace. I went to my fashion conscious work friend to ask a question and she got excited! “I love what you’re wearing! It’s perfect! And that necklace just matches! A great pop of color! Where did you find it?” she gushed. I gave her my Really??? look and told her it was the same one we’d made fun of last year. She said “Oh. Well it’s a lot better this year!!”

Feeling pretty good about it, I wore it again, this time with jeans. I happened to be with the person who gave it to me. She said, “Wow, I like your necklace. It just matches!” I said, “You gave it to me.” She looked at me and said, “I did?” She didn't have a clue. I gave her my Really??? look too. And I was worried?

So a couple of weeks pass and I have acquired another orangeish shirt. I wear it, and the necklace, in a completely different outfit, to work. I see my fashion conscious work friend. “Gee,” she said. “You wear that all the time now, don’t you?!”

Second shirt outfit.

Well, that might be the last time to wear it at work! Maybe, if the opportunity arises, I can put it on outside work, sometime. And maybe it will just go back where it was, resting; waiting for the next time Tangerine is the color of the season!

Just trust yourself.

Reach inside.

Have no hesitation,

Give no explanation.

You know who you are...

Evolution Orange. 

“Oranges poranges, who says, there ain't no rhyme for oranges!” I feel silly. I realize I’ve been saying I don’t really love orange. But I do love autumn and fall colors. And guess what? Orange is right there in the middle of it all! Maybe it’s the mix. And guess what else? I dug out some orange yarn I had! It was a gift from my secret pal and it was just there when I was looking for something else so I took it as a sign!

I started a simple shawl. I think that’s actually the name of it. How about Small Shawl. But I think I’ll take it out. I seem to have that problem lately. I’ll re-do, but I want it lacier. So I’ll use a bigger needle.

Small shawl in a fuzzy orange yarn. See other great projects here!

I finished another book. By the way, I’m not reading a book a week like it seems. I read a few during spring break. I do have a book going all the time, but I don’t have that much time to just sit and read. And I do have knitting going all the time so I think it still counts. Anyway, it was a simple read and entertaining. Called “Bone Appétit” , it’s a who-dun-it, set at a beauty pageant. It’s by Carolyn Haines and is part of a series, Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries. I don’t think I’ve read any of her others. Anyway, it was enjoyable with a lot of action. Sarah even has a ‘ghost’ who advises her, but not in the normal way, to keep things interesting. I’d read another if I get a chance.

Knitting and reading...if I could only do both at once!

Orange you glad it’s Friday!? I am!

Just trust yourself.

Look ahead.

Feel the motion growing,

Love is where it's going.

This is where our real journey starts...

Evolution Orange.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

As I was walking down the street one day,   

A man came up to me and asked me  

What the time was that was on my watch, yeah,

And I said, 

Does anybody really know what time it is? 

Does anybody really care? 

It’s a strange feeling to not know what time it is. Especially now, with clocks and information everywhere! But that’s what happened. Darn daylight savings time!

It started when the clock in the truck was wrong. Then there was the crossing to another time zone. Add ‘springing forward’ to the list, one time on the microwave, another on the clock on the wall, still another on the cell phone and one more on the clock in town. The satellite TV had another time that didn’t match the cell phone time, which was supposed to be correct but did match the microwave which wasn’t supposed to be correct. Finally, because it was ‘vacation’, I decided it just didn’t matter!

I went to bed when I was tired. I woke up when I woke up. I ate when I was hungry and had enough time to do what I wanted to do. There wasn’t a bedtime or a wake up time. There was no need to be anywhere at a certain time. There were no deadlines. It was nice. Timeless.

Now the clock in the truck is right. The microwave is reset. The clock on the wall caught up. The cell phones are spot on. The satellite is off, but that’s because it originates from another time zone. And the clock is ticking.

Only a few more days and it all begins again. The busy will hit. Go to sleep. Wake up. Hit snooze. Go to sleep again. Wake up. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. Be here. Be there. Be early. No time to say “Hello, Goodbye”. Don’t be late.

http://tattly.com/products/youre-very-very-late

Springing forward doesn’t seem to get me any extra time. It is a little less dark when I leave for work in the morning and it’s definitely still daylight when I come home. But I won’t have the time to do the things I want to do and I won’t take the time to do the things I have to do. I know it’s my fault. I seem to waste time instead of saving time. But it doesn’t really matter. Time goes on, regardless.

And I was walking down the street one day, 

A pretty lady looked at me and said 

Her diamond watch had stopped cold dead … 

And I said, yes I said,

Does anybody really know what time it is? 

I had some extra time this week…well, not really. I should say I took some time this week and read a book or two. Now I can knit in most situations. I can knit under the table. I can knit in the dark. But I can’t knit and read an actual paper book. What I can do is take a bubble bath and read a book. So I did. I took long, glorious bubble baths!

Good book and easy knitting. Lacy cowl in progress. Go to Ginny's blog for more yarn along stories.

Others were either sleeping or busy. It was a nice quiet time. I like ‘easy’ reading when I get to read for fun. I really like mysteries and I don’t know what they’d be called, but ‘chick flick’ books. You know, the kind with happy endings. Most of the time you can make mine fiction.

One book I read was called “The Nosy Neighbor”, by Fern Michaels. It’s about a lawyer who gets tired of defending criminals she knows are guilty. She moves to the suburbs to get away from it all. She has a shady fiancé, but meets her nosy neighbor who saves the day. Easy read and I enjoyed it.

Purple Mobius. To frog or not to frog? See more creative projects!

I did weave another one of those bracelets, neither of which I finished by putting on a clasp or closing to be able to wear. I made a mobius, just a quick easy one, to use some yarn I liked. But I think it’s too long so I may take it apart. Also, I started another cowl, in a lacy pattern, that I’m just winging. Maybe it could be worn besides in the winter. But it’s looking a little long as well. Seems lately I spend a lot of time making something then taking it apart. It’s just another way to use my time.

Does anybody really know what time it is? 

Does anybody really care? 

No I can't imagine why.

We've all got time enough to cry...