Yarnjeannie's Crochet Cache

It's New Year's Eve, and we're having a snow squall right now. It's snow showers with a lot of heavy winds. We had a wonderful family get-together on Saturday at the home of my nephew and his wife. They were gracious hosts and everything was wonderful! Lots of good food and good company. We missed the company of my sister and her children, who are all in Colorado. Hopefully, one day they will be able to move back to the east coast to be near the rest of us! It was a short week at work - just 2 days and we are off for the remaining three days of this week. I won't know how to get through a full week once I go back. It's a nice quiet day today, so I think I'll sift through some of my crochet patterns and look for a new project! So much yarn and so many projects! I love to crochet!

First - remember the reason for the season! The day started out with an early morning trip to the cemetery to leave markers on the graves of my parents and uncle. After visiting there for a while, DH and I took a trip to Wawa, where we stopped for coffee. I decided to pick up some bacon, as I knew I had some at home but wasn't sure if it was enough for breakfast. When I got home, I decided that the bacon I had on hand was plenty, so I threw it in a pan - and burned it! Good thing I bought more! We opened our gifts. I did surprise my husband this year. He usually finds out one way or another what he is getting for Christmas. This year, he was with me when I purchased a gift certificate for the dive shop. Then he mentioned a Black and Decker level that he wanted to get. So I ordered it online, last minute, and hoped it would arrive on time. It did - in a box clearly marked "Black and Decker Level" - thanks, Ace Hardware! So no surprise there. However - he did no

I ran around early this morning, picking up some last minute bargains. I think I have everything I need! There is still more wrapping to do before the night is over! DH Wayne made his "Santa" appearance at my friend's house, for her granddaughters. He won another one over. Last year, Gabrielle screamed when Santa came in and wouldn't go near him. This year, Santa got a hug, AND she sat on his lap and posed for photos. Wayne has been looking forward to being Santa and was hoping that his knee replacement wouldn't keep him from his Christmas Eve visit. He was fine. As you can see, the youngest isn't past her screaming-meemie stage yet! LOL! Next year will be better! "Santa", me and our son Tom in the photo... Time to get back to work with last-minute wrapping!

We started out this morning with freezing rain and it's cold and raw outside. Brrrr! The min-pins don't stay out long at all! When they come back in, they burrow their way under the afghans to warm up! LOL! I finally have a nice place to show off my Nativity set. It's set up in my new bay window. I love the way the set looks there. Every once in a while, I do have to straighten the camel up, because the cat still finds a way to climb onto the window sill. She doesn't stay long, just long enough to knock over the camel. To think I nearly sold this set to someone about 14 years ago for $100 when I was still on unemployment and money was running out. But the man who was going to buy it for his wife decided he wanted Elton John tickets instead. Thank goodness! In the next week or so I was offered a full time position and I got to keep my set! It's one of the few things I have made that I have kept for myself. I wouldn't part with it now for $500 - it m

DH and I just got back from a Christmas party at the dive shop. The shop owner put out tables full of appetizers like cheese and crackers, and there were sandwiches, pizza, stromboli, and so many desserts! I made a pot of pulled pork barbecue at Wayne's request and took that along with some rolls. I do have to say that the barbecue was the first to run out. Not that I didn't make enough - well, maybe I didn't. LOL! I used a pork loin that must have been a good 15 inches long. We had to cut it into sections in order to make it fit in the crockpot. I then made homemade barbecue sauce - my mother-in-law's recipe with a little honey and mustard added to it. It was great, if I do say so myself. The dive shop was decorated for Christmas, top to bottom. They have a great looking tree, with lots of diving and oceanic ornaments. I took a glittery purple angel fish along and gave it to the shop owner - she added it to the tree. They had a great slide show set up, wit

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come this winter. Again, I have serious head congestion and can't sleep at night. I went to the doctor today, who diagnosed a case of sinusitis. The left side of my face is actually puffy looking, from the congestion. Ugh! Back on medication. I finally got my computer back on Sunday, and I can post a photo of the mittens I made. I added them to the hat and scarf set I sent to my holiday exchange partner. The snow is coming down outside, but I don't think we'll get any accumulation other than a covering on the grass and trees. It sure looks pretty! I hope we have snow for Christmas, which is not that far away! I want to make another trip to the stores to see if I can pick up some other small items to add to the Christmas bags I'm making for my brothers and sisters. Candles or lotions - small odds and ends. Maybe Kohls will be open late. Tonight is Tom's last class before the semester break. I hope he is careful w

This is a grand morning! It's lovely outside, with bright sunshine after several days of teeming rain. There was a huge moon in the sky last night. It was at perigee, with its closest approach to the earth in 20+ years. I drove out early this morning to the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends and there was a huge gray cloudbank in the sky ahead of me. If I hadn't known where I was, I would have sworn there was a mountain range in the distance! I received my Crochetville Holiday exchange package from my swap partner and she truly outdid herself. I received a lovely afghan in red, white and blue, some scarves, a very pretty feminine wrap, lots of yarn and other goodies. I prepared Vicki's package for mailing and took it to the post office this morning, to go via priority mail. I hope she doesn't have to wait too long for it. I hope she likes the things I made for her, and other little goodies I added to the box. Wayne is in so much pain. I'd like to

First, the important news. DH's surgery went well. His recovery so far is a little rough. They are having trouble controlling his blood pressure, and when they try to get him up out of bed, his blood pressure drops drastically. I'm hoping that will resolve itself today, and that tomorrow will be a better day. Our heater quit working. It's quite cold today, and I have to take off from work to wait for a repairman to come out. I hope it's not going to be too expensive, as we just bought a car on Saturday. Who knew? Finally traded in the gas-guzzling Jeep Liberty (as much as I liked it, other than fuel efficiency) and purchased a Nissan Rogue. It's a four-cylinder engine and all the car I need. It's surprisingly peppy for a 4-cylinder, I must say. Glad it has cruise control, as on the test drive I was up to 70 mph in no time at all! I will miss my Jeep - it was fun to drive and the 4-wheel drive was a blessing in bad weather. But 28 mpg will payoff in