Dot`sThoughts

I wrote a long post this morning and when I had it almost ready to send my comp suddenly shut down and I lost everything. The report said it was caused by something in Windows. Doesn`t surprise me. Just hasn`t happened in a mighty long time.
So, here I go again.
It all started a few days ago when I received yet another invitation for another baby Shower. The biggest difference is that this one is for a future great grandson. I knew before i got the invitation that I was to have another great grandson, so I crocheted another sweater-- this time in Blue. Had it all finished except for the flowers, leaves and little kitten. I embroidered them on yesterday morning.
A Daughter phoned me yesterday asking if I would like to ride up to Wal*Mart with her. I ended up picking up some more little gifts to put with the sweater and the little blue outfit that I picked up a couple weeks ago. So, I got a box and gift wrapped the baby gift, signed the card and now it is already for the Baby Shower tomorrow night.

This morning I woke up wondering what this day would bring. I got up later than usual, after 6am. Must be all that walking around the store tired me enough to sleep longer. I always feed Sassy at 7am every morning. Then it`s the usual bringing in her water dish so I can loosen the frozen water from it.
I usually take the dish into the bathroom sink where I can run hot water onto the outside of the dish till the ice loosens. Then I usually go onto the back porch and toss that frozen ice over the railing into my backyard. I have been doing this all winter and somehow the ice keeps disappearing out of the yard. I toss out ice every few hours all day. By now there should be loads of ice chunks out there, but this morning there is just the one I just tossed there. I am left wondering where all those ice chunks disappeared to. Is the squirrel taking them, are the birds chipping them away, or what???
Next, I had some phone calls to get done.
I rememberred that I needed to call and order more fuel oil for the furnace. That done, next was to call Hannaford grocery to renew my prescription. Then it was time to start the washing.
Next, it was off to pick up the prescription for the Welchol pills for cholesterol. I used to take just one tiny pill every day till the statins started weakening my legs so bad it was getting hard to walk. I told the Dr, I felt I should stop them. So he prescribed the Welchol-- take 6 of these darn large pills a day instead of the 1 tiny pill before. Oh well, still better than not walking.
WOW, the wind just started blowing real hard. Weather report said the wind warning was over for my area. Thats funny since we never had the strong winds this morning, they just started blowing snow past my window so bad I couldn`t see out it for a minute or so. Glad I already did my car driving for today.
Guess I will add a picture of the new blue sweater when I post this onto my blog. That is, if I get time to post it before my comp has different ideas.
Wish me luck!!

Ever go out to a grocery store and see a plant you just felt you wanted to own? Thats what happened to me this morning.
It is supposed to snow tomorrow, so I felt it wise to do my shopping today. No more than I entered the store and started walking to the first side, there were so many pretty flowering plants sitting around. I looked them all over and first thought of getting more African Violets to sit on my tall plant holder. i do love them. Then I looked around, and on the very top was this larger white wicker basket with some tall "Calla Lillys" sitting in the planter inside the basket. The flower colors are a varigated lighter orchid, or maybe a lavender shade of purple. So pretty, shaped like little bells. Here were all those pretty flowering plants, and must admit, I loved them all, but this Calla Lily was one I hadn`t boughten before. So, It was the first item that was put into my grocery cart-- right up in the top little seat where it wouldn`t get smashed.
I had it sitting on my kitchen table where it could get the full morning sun till the sun went overhead. Then I moved it into the my Horse collection room. I have a large floor toolbox that sits infront of the daybed. It is one of those that has wheels and a handle that can be pulled out when needed. it is just the height of a coffee table. I had made a pretty floor lengthed cloth tablecloth cover for it, even added a ruffle that goes around the top outside edge. So, unless I told you it was a toolbox, you would think it was realy a stand sitting there. Now the Lilly planter is sitting on top of the toolbox cover.
Now, my big problem will be to hope I can keep it alive. The tag said it was grown in Canada at the Homestead growers Vineland, and that it requires a temperature of 60-65 F or 16-18 C. I can provide the full sun, the moderate water, but how can I keep it that cool in the summertime? I learned that the true name of this Lily is Zantedeschia. I can see why they gave it an easier name for us to remember. The picture shows the blossoms in many different colors- yellow, white, variegated reddish and purplish. Right now only the one color is opened. I am looking forward to seeing the other plants blossoming.
I have already check on the net for proper planting and growing advice and this was what I found.
Calla Lily Planting Guide
Help
How to plant callas:
Plant callas lilies outdoors in a location that gets bright, morning light. They like some late afternoon shade, particularly in hot-summer areas. Keep them well-watered and weeded. Callas grow best in a moist soil that includes some organic matter. Plant the bulbs 4 to 6 inches deep and 1 to 2 feet apart. They can be planted 6 to 12 inches apart when grown in pots. Fertilize monthly with a good all-purpose fertilizer.

When to plant callas:
Although calla lilies are known as 'spring bulbs,' in tropical climates or USDA zones 8-10, calla lilies thrive outdoors year-round. They can be planted at any time!

In other areas, they can be planted when temperatures rest higher than 55 degrees F (below 55 degrees, calla lilies stop growing). Just make sure that there is no danger of frost or of temperatures dropping below 55 degrees in the first 12 weeks after planting.

Did you know...calla lilies make excellent houseplants! They maintain lush green foliage year-round!

During the winter:
In tropical climates (zones 8-10), calla lilies can be left in the ground over winter without trouble, although some gardeners prefer to mulch with bark or straw during the colder months.

In other areas, lift the bulbs before the first frost, clean off excess soil, let dry out of the direct sun for a few days, then store in a dry location that remains between 50 and 60 degrees F. Re-plant in spring after the soil has warmed and all danger of frost has passed.

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Only thing it didn`t tell me is when grown as a house plant, should it be set away for a rest period between flowering seasons like the Amerillas need? It says it keeps green folliage year around, but not if it can reblossom without the bulbs being removed and dried.

That reminds me, I better make a trip upstairs to check on my amerillas. When I was up there a couple days ago I noticed that one of the plants had a flower stalk growing. They grow up so fast that if you forget them for a few days, you will miss watching that huge beautiful flower bulb open up-- have had as many as 4 flowers in the past on the one stem. Anxious to see how many blooms this one will have. I have many of these plants . The only bad thing about growing them is how fast they multiply and in a few years you have way too many plants to keep up with. i just hate tossing any new ones away. Many are large enough to start blossoming. Had 4 plants blossom last year.

I just gave away another large planter filled with aloe plants. They also keep multiplying way too fast. In the past year I have given many away to my Family, a sister-in-law and yesterday to a nephews son`s girfriend.

Same goes for the spider plants. Have given some of them away.

I have other plants, some flowering, some now, plus can`t remember the name of the tree like plant that grows on and on like a heavy wooden vine. it was so tall that I had to tie it to a hook at the ceiling. After years of growing, it was getting so jumbled that this past fall I cut it down, rerooted some new sections and starting them all over again. They are already starting to get tall.

My begonia is in bloom now and the spider plants have small white blossoms on them, I have a couple different kinds of them and their flowers are different.

Also last fall my Texan Cactus had 6 flowers on it. I can`t wait till next summer to see if it has even more blossoms next time.

Well, guess you get the ides that I also enjoy plants. These are just the ones I have growing in my house now. I like to grow them all along the front of the house-- on either side of the front porch. I Have a flower box made from cement blocks that are 3 high all around that goes along the side of my driveway. Another large flower bed out back on the next lot near my back porch, plus a wood boxed in one where I grow a flower bed to draw both butterflies and Hummingbirds.

Well, guess thats enough about my growing plants. But I also do love my fresh veggie garden that i have every year. Couldn`t get to the ground to care for the large garden we used to have, so now I have a lot of what is caklled Earth boxes where I grow my garden. I made a standard to hold the planters up off the ground so I could care for them standing up and just walking around the frame.

There is almost always a way to continue doing something we love, we just need to make some adjustments to accomplish it.

Ever wonder why some people make mountains out of molehills.

For example, One day my hubby decided he would do the dishes while I was cleaning the front room rug. I kept hearing a lot of dish clatter coming from the kitchen, but I decided he would figure things out eventually. Then I suddenly remembered the day he started putting the dishes away from the dish drainer. (Wonder why they ever named the dish drying rack - "A strainer -- The only thing straining from the dishes is water. Does the fresh water need to be strained?. :) ) or is that the dish drainer?
Well, to get back to what I remembered. I saw him putting dishes into the cupboards just anywere he decided to put them. I tried to tell him that if he didn`t put them in the order where I had them, he would never get them all in. We truly would have needed more cupboards to put them away his way.
To get back to all the clatter I was hearing from the kitchen-- Hubby suddenly said " How the devil do you get all these dishes to fit in the cupboard? I knew I better stop cleaning the rug and go help him. I spent about ten minutes just removing the dishes he had put in and replacing them where they belonged. Of course - where they belonged-- meant where I had kept them neatly piled or spaced so they could all fit. After that time, Hubby finally agreed that it did matter where he placed the dishes if he intended on making them all fit.
Of course, I did tell him that I would love to put the dishes away his way. All he had to do was buy me more cupboards. HaaHaa. I am sure you already guessed the answer to that! He decided to do things my way- much cheaper of course.

Then there was the time when one of the twins decided I didn`t trust him. I had this rule that I was to know where my kids were at all times. If they asked to go to one friends home, they better be there if I needed to reach them. If they wished to leave that home for another friends home, then they were to call and tell me where they were going. I told all the kids that it was important that I be able to reach them in case of an emergency. All the other kids understood, but this one just felt I never trusted him if I needed to always know where he was.
One day an Aunt called me to say that my mother wanted me to come down home. A couple nights before that I was there and my Dad was having a terrible headache. He told me he had had loads of migraines, but none as bad as this one. I begged him to let me call the Dr, but he said no. The best I could get was his promise to call the Dr in the morning if he wasn`t feeling better. I called him the next morning and he said he felt great. He even had gone into his garage and finished repairing a friends car. This was Sunday morning. Then I received the call on Monday night. I am one of those who get feelings when something is wrong. In the pit of my stomach, I just knew that my Father had just died.
Walt ( hubby) was in the middle of a scout meeting held at a local church. I knew that one twin was an eagle Scout and registered as a substitute scout leader. So, I called around to locate him. All the other older kids were working that night . Well, he wasn`t at the house where he was supposed to be. Luckily, the parent there knew where they had gone. So, I did reach him at another friends home and told him something had happened and I needed him to come home and go to the church to replace his father so he could come home and take me to his grandparents home. When he stopped at home, I took him outside and told him what I feared was true. He was the only kid who knew. Later that evening when we got back home he told me what else had happened. His younger sister was watching our 3 yr old who was playing on the floor with her toys when she suddenly jumped up and ran to the window. He said she stood at the window looking upward and said "Roger, I just saw grampa soul going to heaven". He said it threw him as still noone but him knew what I felt had happened. This little one wasn`t even old enough to go to Sunday School, so we never did find out how she heard about souls going to heaven. Guess she also has that feeling. Sometimes it is great, but other times you wish you never had those feeling, and this was one of those times.
Well this is getting off the subject. needless to say, after that night that son never again questioned why it was so important that I know where to reach them at all times. He finally knew it had nothing to do with my not trusting him.
Then there was this one scout that I almost quit being a leader over. He was constantly ruining other kids work and for their sake I decided to call the head Leader to see if there was another Den he might be put in to see if another Den Mother might reach him. I called , was told the head one was at the Funeral home making arrangements for his Mother who had just died. I knew I couldn`t lay any problems on him then. I ended up keeping that boy the rest of the year. The following year his age moved him into the Scout troop, but he never joined it. We never saw that lad again till about 9 ot 10 yrs later . The same son who thought I didn`t trust him came into the house and told me that Timmy was sitting crying on our side porch. I told my son to go back into the back yard with the other kids and I would take care of Tim. I sat on the steps with Tim for quite a while ,with him crying on my shoulder , before he finally told me what was wrong. His invalid Mother had just died. I finally got him into the house , calmed him down and then called his Dad so they would know where he was. They had been searching everywhere for him. I asked if he could stay longer, promising to phone when he left for home. Today I am so glad I didn`t remove him from my Den. This was the only boy that I thought I had never reached in my whole 15 years of Scouting. Apparently I had reached him more than I ever knew. I am so glad I never let that molehill of inconvience turn into a mountain where I removed him. This Lad just passed away a few months ago. His family might wonder why I ended up sending money to a charity in his memory, but he is one I will never forget. A kid that many thought would end up in law trouble before he grew up, who ended up being a respected grownup.
there are many more molehills that might have becaom mountains if i had let the,m. But thats for another time.

Have you ever watched something small growing into something huge and was either able to stop it, or ended up wishing you had been able to find a way to cure the problem before it got out of hand?

Lifecruiser, here goes. I`ll do my best.

First, I am Dot, live in upstate New York, USA., Widowed in 2002 after 50 + yrs with a great man whom I loved dearly. Live alone with my one pet- Sassy, a Border Collie- good watchdog. Mother to ours ( 3 D`s and 3 Sons -2 of which are are twins) and 2 step children from his first marriage ( a Girl and a Boy), grandmother to 22 and great grandmother to 19. This includes ours, the steps and the adopted-- which all became just ours. Big family. especiually at Christmas. I enjot wood working in my Shop, crocheting, knitting and sometimes painting. Enough about me.

As for Movies-- haven`t been to one in years. Mostly watch Tv Soaps, Upstairs/Downstairs, Sometimes Discovery channel, sometimes lifetime channel as I like true stories.

Jobs:
1. First was baby sitting all thru school from age 10 till I graduated.
2. Worked doing Nursing at our local G.F. Hospital- where I met my husband while he was an orderly. Since there was just the head nurse and I working that floor from 3-11pm, I was put in charge when she was off the floor for supper. Was just 18 at this time and even got stuck helping a special nurse when her patient died. My first time handling a death where I needed to help attending to one. I will never forget that evening. But, I truly loved working as a nurse. Met many wonderful people (patients) and lost some I got way too attached to. I quit and got married with a ready made family- a 4 yr old step daughter to raise. We had our first daughter the following year.
3. Walt and I ran a bike Shop for about 4 years . He worked evenings after he came home from his Mill job and I ran it all day. I learned how to build a bike from scratch, right down to spokes, rims, guts etc.and could line up a wheel to a T, much straighter than those that came on boughten bikes. People often brought in their new bikes for better wheel adjustments or better brake and gear adjustments.
4. Walt decided he wanted to own a grocery store, so we closed the Bike Shop, added on another front section to enlarge the store and ran it for many yrs. Again him running it evenings while people started knocking on my house door as early as 6am, even though the store hours statrted at 9am to give me time to get the kids off to school. After the youngest son was born ( my 3rd cessarrian) It became to hard for me
to do everything- Dr told me to quit for my own good. So we closed the store and Walt reopened the Bike shop doing repairs still but also selling new bikes. I still helped till Walt decided to close the shop..
4. Couple years later we were in need of more money so I took a job with a Dept. store , became head of my own dept after about three months. Worked there till was expecting the youngest daughter, had problems and Dr had me quit working again.
Had a great laugh one day, watching a man and a high school kid putting a bike together. Was in the storeroom making up new price tags at the time. They couldn`t see what I was laughing about till I told the lad to sit on the bike and try to peddle. I stood behind the bike to protect him as they had put the crankshaft on the wrong side so the bike would have peddle backwards.

Places visited-- never been out of the US. Been all over N.Y., to Penn., Vermont, Maine, Ill., N.C., N.J., Conn., N.H., Washington DC, thru other states we never stayed overnight in, plus into Canada thru niagara Falls. Would love to see many of the other countries.

Sites visit every day- Arca Max for health & RFitness part and the joke part,
Steve- for learning more Computer tips,
Puzzle Master for the Daily jigsaw puzzles,
Woodworkers journel for tips on doing things easier and easy jigs to make and use.
N.Y. Times- to keep up with current affairs.
Plus checking different blogs that I enjoy immensely and checking to see who sent me an e-mail .

Places lived- Only in New york State. Born in a Town called "Fort Edward" , after marriage- rented in Glens Falls, moved to "Hudson Falls", then on a farm in Fort Edward next to the home I grew up in, and finally in Queensbury every since we built our own home back in 1955.

Favorite food- BBQ spare ribs, mashed potatoes, stuffed peppers, most veggies .

Motto-treat others as you would like to be treated.

Favorite saying - That would be telling ( Easy answer to stay from taking sides and making enemies).

Places I would rather be right now- Can`t think of anyplace except close to where my kids, grandkids and great grandkids live, with the exception of visiting relatives in N. Carolina and Buffalo,Ny. plus would realy love to actually meet many of the wonderful friends I have made on the net in the past 5 or 6 yrs. Of course would like warmer weather till our winter is over.

lifecruiser, I hope I have answered everything you listed. Now Who can i Tag?????
Think I will try tagging ;
Walker
Deni
itisi
che sara

With all I have done in the shop I never ended up with even one sliver. Yesterday I was just straightening up my side porch and somehow ended up with a sliver in my hand. Then today I was just hanging on to the railing to go down cellar and check on the furnace fuel and lo and behold I got a sliver in the side of my thumb. When I checked the rail I found no spot that wasn`t smooth. I must have collected the only sliver place there.
I am having one heck of a time backing my car out of the garage. I think the driveway has raised due to the awful cold and moisture. One of my sons trimmed off the bottom of one door just a speck so I could open the door a bit further. Hate to remove too much or when spring comes I might have a hole below the door to let the skunks, possum and other animal sneak under. I only had about 1 to 2 inches on each side of the car mirrors to back out in when I could open the doors wide. Now I have to back out on a slant till the mirrors are out of the garage, then I have to start turning the wheel sharply to straighten the car out so I don`t back into the cement block flower bed along the side of the driveway. It is almost a relief driving in traffic compared to getting the car out of the garage. Can`t widen the doorway any further or it would weaken the frame on the garage. We already removed one 2x4 to get it this wide. I used to have to back out perfectly so the mirrors barely missed hitting the door frame. Removing the 2x4 gave me an extra inch on each side. Thats why I got the garage , Hubby could never back his car out easy, so he prefered leaving his in the driveway. Somedays I am almost ready to leave my car out in the driveway. But then I think of all the money I just paid to have all the tiny rust spots touched up so they wouldn`t get worse. It looks like a new car and I want to keep it that way if I can. It is only a `90 Mazda 323, but runs like a top , as my Dad would say. I bought it in April,`95 with low mileage on it . Even the millage isn`t that high yet. I thought of buying a new car, but wondered if it would be worth it. I am already 74 and who knows how many more years I will be driving. All is fine now, but as we get older we never know what tomorrow will bring. I would hate to spend all that money and not get years of use from the car. So, for now, I am just trying to keep this car in as good condition as possible for as long as I can. Down the road I might wish I had bought the new car. My air conditioner doesn`t work, but everything else does. I like the way the back opens up high and the back seats drop down allowing me to carry wood for making items in my shop. Walt hated my car because it is a standard and he preferred automatic. But I learned on a standard when back in high School and have driven them every since. I`m just used to it. My hubby did buy me a new car back in `83 and he insisted on an automatic. So, we bought an automatic on the floor. I told him I would be reaching for the floor from habit and he could have his auto- as long as he got it on the floor. I had that car 11 yrs and it was still looking like a new car when a speed demon hit me and totaled it in `94. It also had the drop down seats so I could carry all the scout items to and from places. I was involved in Scouting for 15 years. A friends husband once told me he wished he could afford a new car like mine. I told him I would like one like his-- it was just 2 yrs old and at the time mine was already 10 yrs old. He was surprised. I baby my cars and keep them waxed up so they stay looking like a new car.
Oh there goes the dryer. Seems like once you get older the things that still whistle and buzz at you are the tea kettle, the microwave, the dryer, the timer, the alarm clock if it is set and the phone. Glad I don`t have a doorbell to yell at me, there is already too many things that are yelling at me without it. What happened to those good old days when the whistling was real?? Well, this isn`t getting the clothes from the dryer. One load finished and put away, now for taking care of the last load for today. Have to figure out the back door tomorrow. Went after what i needed, now just need to get ambitious and do the repairs to stop the draft.
Well, I`m off for tonight.

Finally finished the knitted hooded baby sweater for a nephews daughter who`s baby shower is tomorrow. Still not sure if I will make the shower, but at least I do have the gift wrapped and ready. Bought the card a few days ago, plus the cutest rattle/teething ring . It is shaped like a teddybear and the ears light up each time it is moved, plus it also has the rattle noise. Also picked up a teddybear night light that is about 4 inches tall and real cute. From the colors of the sweater, I am sure you can tell this time the sweater was made for a girl.
Boy, what crazy weather we are having. Yesterday the wind was so strong that it took down trees- some on houses, one tree hit a car and killed the driver and some places even telephone poles were toppled from the great force of the wind -leaving everyone in many cities and towns without power and no working traffic streetlights. Where I live we were only without power for a couple hours, but many places are still withoutpower. Where my son lives- about 40 miles further north he is still without power and they told him it might be Monday before the power is back on.
Got just a dusting of snow this morning, and then it started getting lots colder. It was about 16 degrees F at 7am this morning, by noon it was down to 14, and now it reads 4 degrees above 0 F. They say it might get to 5 below, but wouldn`t surprise me if it goes even lower where I live. They list the wind temp as 25 below for tonight. I just heated the ice out from my dogs water dish for about the 7th time today and I know it will be frozen again in just a few minutes. Crazy weather we are having this winter. I am anxious for Spring to arrive. Hope you are getting much better weather. Way too cold here, but way too hot (I am told) in Australia.

Tues. Feb. 14th- Valentines Day
Gee, it did it to me again. I had a post almost ready to send when suddenly my screen went pure black and the comp had to restart. Don`t you hate it when it tells you it was caused by some new item you added to your comp that was uncompatable with xp ? Especially when it has been ages since you added anything new onto your comp.
Well, there was a Full Moon last night. When I was growing up they used to say that a full moon was a Lovers moon. Very fitting for Valentines day.
But, since I had no lover to spend the day with, I decided to accomplish another task that was still waiting to be done. I needed a copy of my Income Tax return to take to the Town building inorder to apply for the Town reduction on my school taxes. Why they need it done before March 1`st is beyond me. Why not make it easier for seniors and wait till April or May for the deadline when weather and driving are better? That would still give them 4 or 5 months to figure the Tax credit since it isn`t sent to us till Sept.. Well, I did my Income Tax papers and took them up. That is one less thing on my mind. Does that mean there is a tiny empty space in my brain to fill with something else waiting to get done? :):):)

Met a Lady at the town building who mentioned she missed not having her husband there to handle things like this. I asked her when she lost him and she said 3 yrs ago. I told her it was 2 yrs 7 months for me and would be 3 yrs in July. Then she mentioned she was married 51 yrs. I told her mine was 50 yrs 7 months. The fellow behind the counter looked shocked at how close our times were. How often would you run into someone standing next to you in the town building so simular .
After leaving the County building, it was off to Hallmark for cards-- 11 of them to be exact. There was 4 sons Birthday s, 1 granddaughter B , one sister B, one sister-in-law B, one brother-in-law B, an Aunt`s B, a Baby shower card and an Anniversary one for an Aunt and Uncle. These 11 cover Feb. March and April. So, I won`t need more for a while. Used to print out all my own cards and write all my own verses for them, but lately I have gotten lazy as far as making cards.
From Hallmark I went to the Hannaford grocery store for more groceries. Then back home to put everything a way.
One of my Daughters and her intended just came over. D gave me a small box of Chocolates and he gave me a long stem rose that has an edible choc rose on top of the stem. So thoughtful of them. They are talking marriage, but no date has been decided on yet.
Got a little more done on the baby sweater, but still not sure if I can get it finished in time. Shower is the 19th, so not much time left. Wish I had known a couple weeks earlier.
Oh, have to tell you what I did last evening. My D-in-law phoned me from N.C. While talking, she asked me why I always sound so breathless when she called. I told her I seldom sit while talking on the phone. I usually get up and walk. It is 44 steps from my back door thru the kitchen and dining room and back to the door. I did this walking for about 2 hours while we talked. I don`t normally stay on the phone that long. I asked her to walk with me. So, there we were- her walking in her home in N.C. and me walking in my home in N.Y.. Think walking together might have kept us on the phone longer than usual, but then walking exercise is supposed to be good for you. Much warmer and safer inside in the winter.
Guess that`s all the news for today. So, Ibetter go get more knitting done.
Happy Valentines Day everyone.

Well, here I am with little to talk about.
Woke up yesterday morning with my C-PAP machine beeping and not working.
Then this morning that darn machine woke me up at 4am- not working, just that constant beeping. So, I finally called the home Theraphy place and they were going to give me a loner and take mine to be repaired. It was going to cost me $102.93 for a months rental. They needed my Drs aproval to send to my ins. Co. They called The Lung Dr who said he couldn`t ok it because he hadn`t seen me lately. Funny thing was that it was his office that called me to cancel my appointment saying the Dr was going out of town. I told the lady who brought up the rental that they should be calling my own Dr as he has to give me a refurral inorder to see the lung Dr. So, she phoned the office for them to call my reg. Dr for the ok.
While the lady was here, she checked out the machine and found it was leaking air when it stopped working and started beeping. So, she did some adjustments and thinks she got it fixed. So, I didn`t need the rental machine. Well, I will know when I go to bed tonight. Hope she is right and the machine doesn`t start beeping again and stop working.
Going to have to wait a while before working in the shop. Just got invited to another baby Shower. So, I am busy trying to get a Baby sweater made before the 19th. Hope I can get it made. I managed to knit the hood today and should have the neck done soon. It is a hooded baby sweater that zips down the back. Three more rows to go and then I will need markers to divide off the stitches for making the front, the two sleaves, and the two back sections. Guess I should make this a short post and get back to knitting a little more before quitting for the night. You would probably laugh if you could see what I have to do to hold the two needles. The right needle I put between my knees so the top end of the needle hits the chair and my legs hold it tight so it stays put, while the left hand holds the other needle. This leaves my right hand free to do the winding around with the yarn. I have had to do it this way every since my fingers got too crocket to hold the needles still. But, over the years, I have learned to knit fast this way. Who ever said you had to hold a needle in each hand when knitting? I used to keep dropping stitches when trying to knit with both hands like you are supposed to do. This way works for me.
Hope everyone is having a good evening, ( or day) depending on where you live.

These pictures show the different sides and the difference in the liner cover flower designs on each side.

My 3 piece wood kitchen paper basket. Think I might add small handles on each end for easier moving without takind apart.

Tues. Feb. 7th, What a long sad week.
This has been one of the longest weeks in a long time. Last Thursday my neighbors son Died after finishing a sparing session at the Club where he was training for an upcoming Boxing match. They say that the Club owner called the Ambulance which took the lad to the hospital. I also heard that no one from the Club went with him- so he died alone. I would have thought the Club owner would have escorted him in the Ambulance since it happened in his place. The lad had just finished his sparing session when he felt dizzy and headed to the locker room where he laid down on a bench. We are still not certain whether he died at the club or on the way to the Hospital.
It took till yesterday to learn anything from the autopsy. The preliminary autopsy results say he died as the result of a Brain injury, but we are still waiting for further testing results to come back. They said it could be 3 weeks to get the final results back. The lad just turned 28 on Jan. 23rd. He was to graduate from College with a Law Degree in May, had just moved into a home he was buying, was painting a restaurant with plans on opening it soon and was planning his wedding for shortly after he finished College. He had his life all planned, and then this happened.
I am close with the Family as they have lived across the street from me for 20 years. He was just 8 yrs old when they moved in. He was their only son. He had one sister that he grew up with , plus 2 half sisters that live with their own mothers.
Due to the autopsy and then a Sunday, they couldn`t hold the Wake till yesterday and the Funeral was this morning. So, it Happened last Thurs. and it took 6 days of waiting.
I haven`t done much on the comp, mostly checked e-mails, but wasn`t feeling much like posting. He was such a kind caring person. He sure will be missed.

I haven`t quite finished the kitchen paper basket. I am not satisfied with the varnish stain color on it and should have waited till my nerves calmed down to work on it and I would have done a much better job. Would be too hard to darken the stain now as I already added the protective poly coating. Atually the color matches the bottom kitchen cupboards and that was why I chose it. But since I was using leftover plywood instead of buying the better grade, it has the plywood markings showing thru the lighter stain. Would have looked much better with a higher grade of plywood, but I already had the left over board from making the new roof over the kitchen addition area. Who knows, maybe I will make a better one when warmer weather gets here.
I ended up cutting out a wood knob for the handle on the cover and I think it turned out ok. I used the band saw to cut it out and also to slant the lower half of the sides the way I wanted it -to make it easy to hold on to. I also ended up painting some flowers and vine effect around the top lid part used to hold the basket liner in place. So, it is almost finished.
The weather was lots better all last week, but yesterday it went back into the 20`s and expecting it to be only 13 degrees at 7am in the morning and about 13 7AM Thursday morning, so the colder weather is back. It feels even colder with the chilly wind blowing. I had to turn the heater on in the kitchen inorder to sit here at the comp.
Well, guess I will end this off for tonight as I am feeling extra tired. I had hoped to check out some other blogs tonight, but I just feel too tired.It has been a very long day.

Accomplished very little today. A Bro stopped to visit and when he left I went over next door to my Daughters.
This Daughter runs a day care . One little 6 year old wishes to learn to knit so she can surprise her Gram who also knits. So my daughter bought a knitting kit for her to use to make a thin scarf. The yarn in the kit has other material along with the regular yarn which makes it very hard for a little one to work with. My Daughter had forgotten how to knit so she asked me to come over and teach the little one how. I had my Daughter give her some regular yarn to make the scarf with. The little one is real smart and a very good listener and learner. Didn`t take long for me to show her and she had a few rows finished by the time her Mother showed up to pick her up. When she comes back tomorrow after school she will do more work on her scarf.
After they left, I showed my daughter how to knit so she would be able to help the little one if she got stuck. Of course my daughter remembered how once I showed her again. I just hope she doesn`t drop any of the stitches or my D will need me to come over and show them how to pick them back up.
I wish the little girls Gam was a crocheter as it would be easier for her to crochet with less worry about dropping stitches. Much easier to pick up a dropped stitch in crochet than in knitting.
Then as I was getting ready to leave to come back home, a Niece showed up to use my Daughters new Laptop and she asked me to stay and help her look up some things. It was my first time using a Laptop, but we managed to find what she was looking for. Only problem I had was I couldn`t find how to go back to a previous page. No "Back" to click on. Must be a simple way to do it if I just had more Laptop knowledge .
So, today would have been a beautiful day to work in the shop-- warmest it has been in months- 40 degreesF and not a lot of moisture in the air so would be better drying weather.
But was too late by the time I got back home. Expecting rain or snow for the next few days. Hope next week brings back some dryer weather. I am anxious to finish the kitchen paper basket.
But, I did enjoy helping the little 6 yr old. Her eyes got so big and she looked so happy and was so excited while she was learning. I love seeing young ones enjoying learning. She made my day worthwhile. The shop will be still there another day.
Oh No, I just got a phone call on Callwave. It left a message from the step daughter that I haven`t heard from in over 15 or more years. She never even showed up for her own fathers funeral. I have mixed feeling about this call as over the years she never bothered with me unless she wanted a favor, or me to do something for her. Last time she simply wanted me to locate another half sister that her birth mother had many years ago. I had raised this girl since she was only 4 years of age. Her birth mother had visiting rights, but not once did she ever bother to have any contact with her daughter. In fact she kicked her son out when he was 14 and we took him in and finished raising him too. I was stupid to ever have found her birth mother for her as about three years later she dumped her father , me and all the brothers and sisters she was raised with. She even dumped her own two kids and has never seen her grandson. So, I keep asking myself " Why is she bothering to call me now after her father has been gone almost 3 years? What does she want?" I`m almost afraid to find out . She hurt her father and I so bad that I just don`t wish to go thru any more pain from her. I am going to have to take time and think about whether I could handle any more from her . Why didn`t she call while her father was alive? It would have meant a lot to him. Wish I could trust her, but I know I never could in the past and I doubt she has changed. I have heard from others who have seen her that she is still a big drinker.
Well, Guess I better stop thinking about it or it will wear me out and i won`t get any sleep tonight..
So today started out ok, but who knows how it will end.