Spellbinders Die of the Month, October 2018

I tried very hard to talk myself out of joining Spellbinders Die of the Month club but it didn't work. I simply could not resist this die set!

This is the Large Die club selection for October 2018. The dies include taillights, mirrors, a bumber and tires for the pickup truck; greenery and a stem or trunk for Christmas trees or other seasons' greenery, a pumpkin, a package and ribbon with a bow, a surfboard and words for the tailgate: 'For You', 'Hooray' and 'Thanks'.

I stamped the name Sassy using Smitty's ABC from Lawn Fawn. This card has birthday wishes inside, made for a friend of mine. The clouds and sun are cut with Lawn Fawn's Spring Showers die set.

I'm not really a pickup driving gal but I love this die set and know I will use it often.

Alivia Shawl

I like knitting shawls. They are nice accents to an outfit, especially for people like me who are cold before anyone else around them. I am pretty sure I was supposed to be born on a tropical island but was birthed on a peninsula instead. Michigan is a pretty big peninsula and I'm not complaining. If my parents had lived in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula), I'd either have thicker skin or would complain a lot more!

The pattern name is Alivia, designed by Vanessa Smith. It is available here on Ravelry . I used two balls of Berroco Folio yarn, knitting until I ran out of yarn. By that I mean, I knit beyond the suggested number of pattern repeats. The yarn is 65% superfine alpaca, 35% rayon. It feels heavenly. I blocked this without pinning it except for the point that I didn't want to curl. The next time I block it, I may stretch and pin it to see what the dimensions could be. As is, they are a bit more than 5 feet wide and just short of 3 feet in depth at the point. 

 I could use more blocking tiles. Hmmm, guess that should go on my Christmas suggestion list.

Extreme close up of the border pattern. The entire center of the shawl is garter stitch. The border is a 12 row repeat. Even rows of the 29 stitch borders are purled except for the two edge stitches.

I haven't mastered selfies on timers. Obviously. 

This was really a nice shawl to make and I know I will wear it often.  

For those of you who have met Bonita, she likes it too. She looks remarkably like me. Except for the lack of gray hair. And she doesn't wear glasses to read. Or to see anything. And she is a bit thinner.

Meet Bonita

Meet Bonita. Need a bone? Bone-need-a has plenty.

I bought the skeleton to be part of my Halloween decor and have been having fun with her for two weeks. Originally, I was going to change her location and pose for my grandkids, much like Elf on the Shelf. I don't see them on a scheduled basis, but they live nearby and am fortunate to see them often.

After sharing the photo from the previous post on Facebook, the positive feedback led to another day and another. I am now posting Bonita stories (a sentence or two) and a new picture daily. It was suggested she should have her own FB page but I don't want to log in and out all the time, remembering her password as well as my own. 😉 Also, I've seen too much ugliness on all social media platforms to make Bonita's page public. If I'm going to limit her exposure on FB, she can share my page although it is rather sad that Bonita's life is more interesting than my own!

 

The captions in the collage are summaries of the stories on Facebook. This past weekend was the local high school's homecoming game on Friday and dance on Saturday. My neighbors had a party on Friday to watch the game and were disappointed that Bonita didn't come. Seriously? Yes, seriously! See what I mean about her social life?!!

The following day I told them she was grounded because she took my car without permission and I caught her not wearing a seat belt!

She forgot to take her keys when she went to the dance and had to wait for me to come downstairs to let her in. She did make curfew but I wasn't happy about the whiff of Formeldahyde on her breath. Her date was a guy named Frank N. Stein. I wasn't too happy about that but she told me he has a good heart and I should look past his appearance.

When I wasn't worrying about her, I did get some crafting done but I can't show items until they've been delivered. 

I hope others have as much fun in their lives as I do mine. You can't always wait for someone to bring fun to you, you have to make it yourself and then you find it is catchy. Kindness is the same way.  Spread some love and laughter today, even if you never step outside your door. 

Manic Monday or What Flavor is Crazy?

It's just another manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday

'Cause that's my fun day

My I don't have to run day

It's just another manic Monday

You wouldn't think retirement would still have Manic Mondays, but you'd be wrong. Mine have been crazy for months now, but each week they have been a different flavor. Some are sweet, a few have been bitter. I'm not sure what to label today's yet, only that it is crazy. What flavor is crazy?

It has been raining hard for hours with more to come. Where was all of this during the summer months when my lawn was dying? My house is built on a slab and I'm not having trouble with water. Both of my sons have had water in their basements in the past. Both have had repairs that should prevent this repeating, but this much rain makes them twitchy. Son #1 is going to Son #2's house to get a pump from the garage to have on hand in case he has a problem. Son #2 got to work okay but his car quit after parking. 

As for me, I'm not having problems but an unexpected phone call this morning led to a painter coming today to paint the bedroom, bathroom and closet doors. This didn't happen when the rooms were painted due to unusual circumstances. The weather prevented the painter from being elsewhere today so the rain cloud over me has a silver lining. 

The items on the To-Do List that I thought I would tackle can wait until tomorrow, but this has happened so frequently, I need to just pencil in Mondays with "expect the unexpected".  I may be picking up a grandchild after school if a basement takes on water. I may be picking up a son from work if the car problem isn't remedied. I may just have to sit and knit or read a book while waiting to see what happens next. That isn't very manic, is it? 

It is always good to look for the silver lining. Remember when we had to wait on dial-up before we could post anything? Bonita remembers!