Yarnjeannie's Crochet Cache

Oh, how I wish my Dad were here to see this! He was such a devoted fan - or should I say "Phan". He followed them through high and low and I'm sure he's been whispering in the manager's ear! Game 5 was certain a strange one, with a 46-hour rain delay. I can't express how happy I am that they were able to win this one at home. Kudos to Jamie Moyer for helping to lift the team to a world championship at the age of 46. Very happy for Pat Burrell, who has had his ups and downs and deserves to feel like a champ! A few firecrackers going off here in the neighborhood - the dogs are going crazy! I couldn't help but cheer myself to see the team members rushing onto the field and jumping into a huge pile of jubilant players. I think Lidge and Ruiz were on the bottom of the pile - I hope they're okay! I'm getting a kick out of the kids they are interviewing - they are so ecstatic! Gotta get a championship shirt! I was hoping to be able to make a tr...

DH Wayne is sick today. Same bug that's made the rounds through the household. He was supposed to work today, but woke up feeling so awful that he said he felt like he'd been run over by a truck. I know how he feels - in fact, I think I used the same phrase myself. This is a wicked malady and I can't wait to see the back of it! I'm feeling much better myself, even though the fatigue and the cough are hanging on still. I managed to accomplish a few things today. I've made a trip to the grocery store, done a load of dishes, two loads of laundry and made a huge pot of chicken pot pie. This is the soup-type pot pie, similar to that made by the Amish in Lancaster County. It turned out great! I don't know about you, but when I'm under the weather, nothing is as good as homemade chicken soup of any kind! Chicken noodle, chicken rice, chicken pot pie - Yumm! There is plenty of research to show that chicken soup does have some medicinal qualities . How d...

I've been home from work for the last 3 days - nasty germ bug going around! I'm wondering if it's the flu. It's aggravated my asthma. Medication is helping, so I hope that I can return to work tomorrow. When I'm not sleeping, I'm working on the round ripple I started last week. I love the way it's turning out. I've added several more rounds to it, and want to keep going a bit more until it will fit across the back of a couch. In the photo, it's folded in half and you can see our beagle and a min pin in the photo as well. They love blankets. And yes, I will wash it before gifting the afghan! LOL! It's been chilly out in the mornings, and it won't be long until we have a good frost, I guess. They are calling for rain this Saturday, which may interfere with the third game of the World Series (Yay Phillies!!). I wanted to see the game on Wednesday, but kept falling asleep. I did wake in time to see the last out and the win for Philad...

I got started on a new round ripple afghan. I'm thinking of making it large enough to present to my friend's daughter for a wedding gift. I personally like the color combination. I hope she does. It's made with Bernat Super Value in Natural, Caron One Pounder in Jonquil, and TLC Essentials in Taupe. I may make another just like it for myself once I finish this one. This afternoon my brother Mike stopped by. He wanted me to go with him to a couple of open houses in the area. He's been renting an apartment for ages, and has decided to take the plunge and purchase a home. He's looking at condos, as he works a 12 hour shift for the county and hasn't got a lot of spare time to mow the lawn, etc. It was a nice afternoon out and I got to spend some time with my baby brother! It's been a while since he stopped by, as he's been working a lot of overtime at his job. I was finally able to send the baby sweater home with him. He had wanted it to give to ...

I was just bragging last week about not having a cold for about 5 years now. Unfortunately, I have the same bug my DS Tom was suffering from last week. I tried to be careful, washing my hands as much as possible, but I caught it anyway. I'm still congested and have a headache this morning. Missed two days from work with it. We are definitely having fall weather! It's chilly out this morning. The min pins don't stay out too long! It's only 4 am and I've been up for a little while now. I just saw Wayne off - he's heading upstate to his sister's place to do some hunting. I don't know how he does it. He sits for hours in the cold and dark. I was never a winter-time sports fan. My idea of a cold-weather sport is the 3 yard dash to the closet for another comforter for the bed! You can keep your ice-skating and skiing. Brrrrrr! I finished up the Pink Ribbon afghan I was working on. I washed and dried it and will take it to work on Monday for stor...

I am fascinated with trains in general, freight trains in particular. My son rides the local passenger line back and forth to school every day. I know that freight trains are the bane of drivers everywhere, especially when you are stuck sitting at a railroad crossing when you wish you were home already. But I savored the time it took this afternoon for a HUGE freight train to cross in front of us, as I was headed home with my son. It's been a long time since I've seen such a long train - easily 160 railroad cars. I was wondering how much more economical, if at all, it is to transport goods via the railways instead of the highways. I'm sure there are varying opinions, but it seems to me that there must be benefits such as less congestion on the highways and savings in fuel and emissions. According to this article trains carrying double-stacked containers would result in impressive savings in fuel and reduction in carbon emissions. At this point, I am worried about w...

The house was permeated with the aroma of bacon this morning. Yum! I took out the last of the Amish farm market bacon and threw it in the pan for breakfast. It was delicious. At the first hint of bacon, my DS Tom rolled out of bed and wandered in to the kitchen. Better than an alarm clock! Wayne called me last night - his class is going well. The siding guy was here yesterday and he's back today. I'm happy to say that the front of the house is sided (still need the front door framed out) and he's working on the carport area, and putting in a window. I am so pleased with his work so far. Although it's taken quite a while to finish up, I can't fault him for that. We were aware when we hired him that he would be working in his spare time. It's okay. It was a very slow start, but it is so worth it. I told him yesterday that I would recommend him to others. The house looks great! My DS Dan stopped by today. He seems so much happier now! He put in a ma...

It's an early post today - I just got back from dropping Wayne off at the dive shop this morning. The crew is on their way to Dutch Springs again this morning, where Wayne should be finishing up his assistant instructor course. The dive shop is anxious for him to become certified as an AI so that he can help teach diving to a "seal" class - a group of 8-10 year olds kids who want to scuba dive. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again - I am so proud of my husband! At 53, he has found a hobby that brings him as much joy in his life as crochet does to mine! He is fascinated by the underwater world and truly enjoys working with students to show them what the scuba experience is like. If you check out the MASC website , that is my DH looking at you in the section labeled Scuba Classes! Isn't he handsome? LOL! But at last, DH can relate to my everlasting fascination with yarns of different textures and colors, and the desire to take that yarn and ...

I finally have photos of the ornaments I sent to my swap partner Cyndi. I love making these little bears. They are lightweight and perfect for hanging on the tree. They are from a pattern leaflet called "The Faces of Christmas". In addition to the teddy bear ornaments, you can make an angel, Santa, Mrs. Claus, an elf, Rudolph, and more. I hope to be able to make enough of these ornaments to give to family members for Christmas. I'd especially like to have some for Dan and Nicole, since this will be their first Christmas together. I've been thinking about how it will be with a new baby in the family. I can't believe how excited I am that we will have a grandchild. I can't picture my oldest as a dad. I don't think he's even held a baby since his younger brother was born. And to think he'll be changing diapers, too! Will wonders never cease? LOL! Speaking of the expected baby - it's time to think about baby-proofing the house. I have...

It's Sunday and I can't believe that it's already time to go back to work. I have physical therapy 3 times this week again. I'm trying to get around without my cane as much as possible this weekend, in order to try to strengthen my right leg. This was a very busy day for us. Wayne and I took a trip to Lowe's early this morning and bought some mums. They had a cartful of them for 69 cents a piece, so I got 10 of them and Wayne planted them for me on the side of the house where the siding is finished. The siding guy was here again today and started on the front. Yay! He really is doing a great job on the siding - it's just taking so long as he's working on the house in his off hours. I can't wait until it's finished. Wayne also got some lawn work done at my dad's house, and put up a new ceiling fan. He planted my mums while I met DS Dan and Nicole at Babies R Us so that they can register there. I had hoped Nicole's mother would be a...

Poor Wayne. He is taking a course to become an assistant instructor for the dive shop. He is working on a presentation this evening, and is stumped on one of the segments of his lesson plan form. I wish I could help him, but I'm totally lost by this stuff. He's put a call out for help to his instructor, but hasn't heard anything back yet. It's not helping matters that the three mutts are vying for his attention and won't leave him alone. On a lighter note, the Phillies have won game one of the best of five series against the Brewers. They are playing game two this evening, and the Phils are ahead 5-2 at the seventh inning. I hope they win. It's Thursday and I've got most of my first week back at work under my belt. It hasn't been too bad. I've gotten back into the normal "rut" and I've taken back some of my tasks that were reassigned during my absence. The HR person who took over from Brandi said she is happy to see me back. ...