Yarnjeannie's Crochet Cache

Thank you for your prayers. Justin is home from the hospital and resting. We were just visiting with him. Due to the effects of the anesthesia, he is sleepy. But he did wake up long enough to wave to us and take a bottle from his mom. He must have been hungry, because when he saw her coming with it, he held his arms out for it. I'm so happy that the surgery went well, and that he will bounce back, and especially glad that he's too young to remember it.

I would like to ask my cyber friends a big favor: Please say prayers for my grandson Justin. He will be in the hospital tomorrow morning for some outpatient surgery. I ask that you pray that God and his angels will see Justin safely through the surgery and deliver him back into the loving arms of his mother and father, so that they may continue their blessed vocation as parents to this wonderful little boy.

I have been reminding myself of all the good things I have in my life. It’s been hard to focus on the good lately. So here goes – probably have listed these things before, but I need to list them again. A dear sweet husband – we’ll be celebrating 29 years together in September. Two wonderful sons who really have been the light of my life A darling little grandson who I love more than I would have thought possible, and his sweet lovely mother- I would be proud to call her my daughter I have loving brothers and sisters who care about me I have a job (ugh) to go to – some folks can’t say that these days I have a roof over my head and food on the table I have all of these things to make me happy - why am I feeling like I'm stuck in the mud? Reminds me of the little old lady I saw at an Atlantic City casino last year. She was walking in the wrong direction on the moving sidewalk. For every forward step she took, the sidewalk moved her backward an equal distance. Fortunately, someo...

This is the end of a four-day weekend for me. I didn't intend to take a four-day weekend, but I've been having something of a rough time changing over from one medication to another. I hope to be able to make it back to work tomorrow. DH Wayne was on a scuba-diving weekend, and it was just DS Tom and I at home. DS Dan stopped by yesterday to have dinner with us. I threw some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and we had a nice little visit. I only wish he could have brought baby Justin with him. Justin was spending Friday and Saturday with his other Grammy. It was nice of her to take the baby and give the kids some time off. Of course, she also had the pleasure of Justin's company! He is such a sweet baby, with a smile that melts your heart. The kids just had his photos taken again and he is a charmer. Take a look at this face! Wayne had a good weekend at Dutch Springs, working with an open water diving class. He is really enjoying the sport. I'm happy f...

A big thank you to my sister Karen for allowing me to share her video with you! This is a box turtle spotted in Karen's back yard, digging a hole for her nest. She eventually laid eggs in this nest as well (not sure how many) and covered them back up. My sister will attempt to make sure the nest is kept safe from predators and will be watching for the young'uns to make their appearance in the fall. She occasionally finds turtles swimming in her pool as well! If you want to share this video or photo with friends, please link to this page - thanks! I am using it with my sister's permission - she holds the rights to the video and photo.

When I was younger, I loved reading. I always had my nose buried in a book. Before I got married, my soon-to-be mother-in-law taught me to crochet. I set the books aside, and soon crochet patterns filled the bookshelves where hardcover novels and paperbacks once resided. Late last year, I purchased an Amazon Kindle, and I’ve read more in the last 8 months than I have in the last 8 years! It’s left me in sort of a dilemma. Now my crochet WIPs are sitting idle while I take some time off to read a novel. Yikes! I just finished 3 (yes, 3!) books in the last week and a half. I started with “Blood Brothers” by Nora Roberts. I hadn’t read any of her works before. “Blood Brothers” is the first of a trilogy of horror fiction novels. The second and third of the series are, respectively, “The Hollow” and “The Pagan Stone”. I enjoyed the story line for the most part – fast forwarded through the love scenes, which were a little too descriptive for my liking. But hey, that’s why I like t...

I am visiting with family members in southern New Jersey this weekend. We are attending a graduation party at the home of my sister and her husband. They live in a beautiful wooded area, with a great pool and barbecue area. My sister is a wonderful hostess and they always have such a great selection of food and drink for their guests. Along with hot dogs and hamburgers, we had potato salad, macaroni salad, "sloppy joe" barbecue, pasta, baked beans and more. Another of my sisters brought along a fruit salad, and my brother made a unique salad, using watermelon, mozzarella cheese, basil and balsamic vinegar. Sounds weird - must admit I made a face when he told me what it was. But it was delicious! Recipe here . When we arrived, my sister showed us a video she shot on her camera of a box turtle digging a nest to lay her eggs! That's something you don't come across every day! I am hoping that she will be able to share the video with us via e-mail. I'd love ...

The shark dive at the aquarium was great! Wayne had a real blast! He didn't think he'd have so much fun and he wants to do it again. So I guess we know what to get him for Christmas this year. Putting some videos on: Dan, Nicole and Justin were able to come to the aquarium to see the dive too. The baby is sooooo cute! He won't remember his grandpap in the tank with the sharks, but at least we have it on video for him when he gets older. It was so cute to see Wayne waving to the baby from inside the tank!

We are going to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden today. For Christmas, I gave my scuba-diving fanatic husband a gift certificate for one of the "adventures" at the aquarium. Diving in the big shark tank! We'll be there to cheer him on at 3:00 and I'll be taking videos! My husband has logged over 150 dives since taking his first introductory lesson a couple of years ago. He is always disappointed that he hasn't seen any sharks on his dives. (Me? I'd be thrilled not to see any sharks!) So if he wants to see sharks, this is his chance. Best to do it in a controlled environment, I think. One where they've already fed the sharks, so they won't be inclined to take a nip or two! I'm anxious to meet up with my son and his little family too. They have been on vacation in Atlantic City and had a wonderful time. I missed them so much! Nicole posted the sweetest little video of baby Justin at the Atlantic City Aquarium. I could watch it over and ...

  I've been working on the Sweetheart Ripple afghan before work and at lunch time. I really need to spend a good bit of time on it this weekend. Maybe Sunday? I've got a bit of a headache right now - disagreeable ride home from work today. Don't you think there is too much noise pollution these days? Ever sit in a line of traffic next to someone with their radio at maximum volume? Ever feel your steering wheel vibrate from the bass emanating from two cars over? (((shudder))) I'm glad I only live 20 minutes away from my job. We had to listen to a racket at work too. They have been updating our sound system and PA system all week. Someone decided to put an obnoxious radio station on, with lots of electric guitars and pounding drums and they cranked up the volume to levels that made you cringe! OMG! It took two days of complaints from employees in various departments, but someone finally changed the radio station to something a little more mellow. When you’re co...

On my computer’s desktop at work, I have a photo of my grandson Justin and his lovely mom, Nicole. It makes those difficult days bearable to be able to look at their sweet smiling faces! Nicole is such a good mom – I am really glad my son found her! As always, Justin is just too cute for words! I brought my afghan to work with me today. Since DS Tom has no work today, I won’t have to leave at lunch time to pick him up and drive him home. I had hoped to complete the Sweetheart Ripple afghan in time for entry into the Grange Fair in August. It is slow-going, however. I’m finishing a little less than 4 rows an hour, so working on it solely at lunch time won’t work. It’s single crochet, with some treble crochet front post stitches thrown into the mix. I also made it slightly wider than the pattern called for. I really do love the look of the afghan, though! It was designed by Kim Guzman – kudos to Kim! I’m awaiting delivery of two doll patterns. I love making dolls. I have no...

I am so disillusioned with the human race today. Yesterday the news covered a story that took place in Darby PA. Some sick little SOB set fire to a cat! A young boy was reported to have been seen in the area where the cat was discovered by an animal control officer. The officer found the cat was alive – just barely. A vet tried to save it, but it died. They say that by the look of it, the young cat – a year old at most – had been mistreated all of its young life. Multiple older injuries were present before the cat was ignited. In fact, the last few hours it lived were probably the only hours it was given love and caring attention. That is too too sad! There is a $1600 reward for the identification of the person responsible for the cat’s death. I hope they find him. That person needs help, before their cruelty escalates to unspeakable proportions. This is how serial killers get their start. Our pets give us so much love that they deserve to be treated with the utmost care a...

Hubby is home safe and sound. The dive gang did a wreck dive off the Jersey shore today. The Stolt Dagali was the wreck they dove. I worry about these wreck dives, but Wayne assures me that he follows all the safety rules. He dove to 105 feet, but he wasn't inclined to investigate the interior of the wreck. The captain of the boat advised them not to. He expected heavy traffic on the way home, and I was surprised to see him arrive about an hour earlier than I expected him. Glad he's home! He reports seeing a pod of dolphins and possibly an ocean sunfish breaching while he was on the boat! I wish I weren't so afraid of the water - I'd like to see some of these things! I've been watching the Deadliest Catch marathon on TV, ran a couple of errands and did a little crocheting today. Here's a photo of my latest acquisition. A giraffe tea kettle! I had one of these years ago and it was broken. I thought I'd never be able to replace it, but found this...

What a beautiful day it is! Happy Fourth of July to all! I took a walk through the garden today. My friend called me the other day and said she had something that looked like little tomatoes growing on her potato plants. I had never heard of such a thing, so I took a look at my potato plants. They are growing like weeds, and I also have "pomatoes"! I googled them and they are actually the fruits of the potato plant. They show up on the plants when the weather is cooler than usual. We have indeed had a cool and rainy June. They aren't edible fruits - toxic, in fact. But they say that you can remove the seeds and plant them as a novelty in your garden. Seeds must be sown indoors in the winter as they take a long time to grow. If you actually want potatoes, though, your best bet is to grow them from seed potatoes, as we did. My cherry tomatoes should produce a nice crop. I already have a lot of little green cherries now. There are a few larger green tomatoes o...

He went to bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning... Doesn't that take you back? I was at Dutch Springs today with my husband, who was helping to teach a student diver. I was waiting for a pizza at the restaurant on the grounds, and the sky was a little overcast and it was "spitting" - just a few drops of rain. A little boy was singing the above rhyme as he played beside his parents. It made me think of myself at his age. I sang the very same ditty on many a rainy day when I was a kid! Some things never change. I decided on the spur of the moment this morning to accompany my husband on his dive outing. I'm not a diver, so I took a bag of soy yarn and a crochet hook and pattern with me. I figured on whipping up a scarf while I was waiting for the divers to finish up their three dives. I took my Amazon Kindle with me in case I wanted to take a break from hook and yarn and read a bit. I actually started out with the Kindle and never did...

My friend’s daughter-in-law asked me yesterday to tell her how to weave in ends – over the phone. I was at a distinct disadvantage, having come home from work with a miserable headache. I had taken a couple of Tylenol PMs, extra strength, and was semi-conscious in the recliner when she called. I tried to describe to her what I do when I change colors or add a new skein of yarn to a project. Even as the words came out of my mouth, my brain was saying “What on earth are you trying to say?” I can only imagine the poor girl wondered the same thing, and wondered what I had been smoking… She gave up trying to decipher my utterances and said she’d call back again another time (politely omitted the phrase “when you’re not stoned out of your gourd”). Honestly, it was just Tylenol! The PM stuff in it got to me, I guess. I even slept through dinner time! This morning, I came to work extra early and whipped up a small swatch using two different colors. I wove in two of the loose ends wi...