Yarnjeannie's Crochet Cache

I am waiting for Dan and Nicole to drop off Justin. The kids are headed to a Phillies game today, and I am going to spend time with my little angel until his parents get home. I can't wait to see his smiling face. Things have been difficult at work lately. I feel so burned out in my present position, but it could be the blues working on me. I again passed up the opportunity to bid on a job that opened up in another building - a job that would have meant a promotion - but the way I am feeling lately, I don't think I would be able to do it. I have no confidence in myself at all. I'm working on trying to "fix" myself - seeing my physician about changing my medications and talking to someone through the EAP at work. I just hope that, when things are better, this all doesn't come back to bite me in the butt. I'd like a chance to bid on a similar position when I'm feeling better about myself, but don't want my employers to hold anything against m...

I gave my grandson the blanket I made for him. I was going to make it a Christmas gift, but I went to visit him tonight and he is just toooooooo cute! Dan and Nicole are doing such a great job with him. He is so healthy and happy! He sat on the floor and I spread the blanket out in front of him. First he caught the fringe with his toes! I couldn't help but laugh. Then he reached over to touch the figures on the blanket and he seemed fascinated with the monkey. Here's his furbuddy Brody investigating the blanket along with Justin:

I haven't been blogging in the last few days. I'm still trying to get my bearings with a new medication, and I've had some sleepless nights caused by GERD. Some mornings I go to work and would just sooooooo love to put my head on my desk and go to sleep! Anyway, my cyber-friend Sweet Mama Jones has tagged me and challenged me to post 6 things that make me happy, so here goes: My husband, who has stuck by me through thick and thin for almost 29 years now (God bless his patient soul!) My two sons who make me proud every day My sweet little grandson and his lovely mother My brothers and sisters, who are so supportive Our furbabies - 2 dogs and 2 cats. Nothing like coming home from work after a long hard day and having 2 dogs make a big fuss over you. The cats - well, they say "I love you" in their own special way... Crochet I've lost my crochet mojo lately, and hope it comes back soon. I've got lots of projects to do - just haven't found the motivat...

My brother and I went to the grange fair yesterday. One of my sisters and her husband are there this week, selling water ice to the crowds. I wish them some great water-ice weather – hot and sunny – and lots of customers! I stopped in the needlework building and checked out all the needlecraft items that had been submitted for judging. There were beautiful handmade dresses and skirts, afghans, quilts, dolls and toys, table runners and placemats, potholders and purses. I had three crocheted entries in this year. My crochet mojo left me a while back so I wasn’t able to complete all the projects I had hoped to have. I was lucky to have 3 to enter. However, I was pleased with the results. My giraffe-ghan won a blue ribbon. Justin’s “forever pants” with the matching sweater and hat won a second place red ribbon, and the women’s crocheted hat I worked up also won a first place. I’m anxious to pick up my items at the end of the fair. I often find comments written by the judges on t...

Beansieleigh sent me a prize packet chock full of handmade items from her recent Potter-palooza posts. Let me tell you, she does nice work! I have a cat magnet, an owl bookmark, a cell-phone caddy, a tissue-holder, tea, lip gloss, a recipe for Butter Beer and Quidditch Players Pie, socks, the cutest tiny doll I've ever seen, some candles and a crochet pattern. Not pictured is a pencil – like one found in this post: The reason it’s not pictured is because I’ve already taken it to work and it’s sitting in my pen and pencil mug on my desk! Beansie, thank you so much for your kindness. I’ve really enjoyed the surprise package!

I'm a klutz. Always have been. Take the Grange Fair. For years, if there was a hole anywhere to be found in the fields where the fair is set up, I'd find it - and fall in it. Well, I started off early this year. I didn't wait until the fair was up and running and do my falling on the grass. This year, I tripped over the doorsill when I went to turn my crocheted projects in for judging. Never mind that the door had huge signs saying "Watch Your Step!". Never mind that the doorsill and the bottom of the door were painted bright orange! Never mind that the fair isn't even open yet this year! I pulled open the door, misjudged the height of the step, and fell forward on my hands and knees, then collapsed on my face onto the floor! Talk about humiliation. Nothing is as embarrassing as that. No, wait - I had to have 4 people help me off the floor! Yeah, that is more embarrassing. I was afraid to try to get up on my own, having had both of my knees replac...

We used to have a crabapple tree on our front lawn. The crabapple was affected by carpenter ants and was weakening. It broke my heart to see it come down, as each spring we had beautiful pink flowers on it. I was reminded, each time I looked at the tree, of my dear father-in-law, who passed away a few years back. He trimmed the tree back one year for us. I cried when I saw how much of the tree was cut away! He assured me that it would come back even nicer, but I didn’t believe him. But the tree did come back, and it was lovelier than ever! My FIL was right. This spring, I asked my husband to dig up a circular area surrounding the stump so that I could plant some flowers. I decided to plant white marigolds. My brother picked up a flat for me at the Burpee outlet. I planted the marigolds, added a garden gnome and a solar light to the stump, and watched the marigolds come to life. They were beautiful! Until about 2 weeks ago, that is. The plants stopped producing new flowe...

I spent Saturday and Sunday with my dear sister and her husband at their home in S. New Jersey. It was a relaxing weekend, spent in the company of two wonderful people. My sister is kind and caring and spending time with her is special. We didn't have to talk a lot - just being there, away from the workaday world, was enough. I am very grateful to my sister for being there for me. I love her so much! I am fortunate to have such a caring support system around me - brothers, sisters, husband. A lot of people aren't so lucky. Last night, I went shopping on Amazon for Kindle books. Found some bargains. Downloaded 5 e-books - all of them free!

I am visiting my sister this morning in S. New Jersey. I picked some potatoes from my garden before leaving the house. One of my plants was quite yellow-looking, signaling that the potatoes were about ready for picking. So I pulled the plant out, dug around in the dirt with my fingers (got dirt under the nails to prove it!) and voila! That's before cleaning - they look much more appetizing now that they are washed. I left two at home for my husband, in case he wants to try any tonight for dinner. They really are a nice size, and no blemishes! The medium sized potatoes in the photos are about the size of a baseball. Here they are after cleaning them up: I am surprised and pleased at how many I got from one plant - unless some of these came from the plant next to it? Can't wait to try them! Waiting for a call from dear Nicole to see how Justin is this morning. I hope he had a restful night, and that his parents got some sleep too.