Chat Thread

[#1]

Here you go. Private and all.

[hooknsaw]

Forgot to ask... Debra, did you catch the rat?  I dealt with rats when raising the calves.  I was late to the dairy one afternoon... I was happily filling bottles in the quiet and felt a 'presence'. Fricken rats were sitting on the edges of the barn just eyeballing me.  I complained to the owner, who explained they were milk / grain fed, drug resitant super rats and my boys were welcome to come sit with pellet guns and 'pick them off'!  I was NEVER late to the dairy again.

At my house, I had barn cats and noticed they had cornered something.  It was a small rat. My sons Australian shepherd ran in to rescue the cats and grabbed the rat by the tail.  The dog was running across the yard swinging her 'catch' and the rat bit her in the nose.  It went from happy triumphant dog to squealing "help me" dog in under 2 seconds.  A pellet gun quickly dispatched the rat.  I can't imagine dealing with coming home to a rat in the house and to the mess and destruction.  

Haha MaryAlice, unfortunately my stories are true and I always think I should write a book called school of hard knocks.  I have always learned by doing.  I will jump in and try something, even when I should not!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good morning ladies ~

I thought I would drop by before the day got away from me.  Seems by 9:30pm, this past week, I am ready for bed.  

Lisa ~ Sounds like you went into Summer Mind Mode, where it's just about being peaceful and not worrying about the rest of the world.  I plan on going into that mode sometime soon.  Enjoy your new mindset, I'm sure it's a welcomed one.

Any news on Don's eye situation?

You have such great critter stories!  Growing up in the city the only rats I saw were in alleys and they were the size of cats.  I am so not a rodent fan!  They mean germs to me and all I can think of is Bubonic Plaque!  A pellet gun might be a good option for me. 

Lauren ~ I see you are in Hawaii from your instagram story!  Hope you are having a fabulous time!!

Mary Alice ~ How is summer in upstate NYC?   I love your area so much, probably one of my favorite parts of the USA is upstate NYC.   My sister-in-law will probably be inviting me up sometime soon and I will definitely take her up on the offer.

Well, I have learned more about rats and their habitats then I would ever want to know.  Apparently they do not live in your house and only come in at night for shelter. They have a 2 mile range of where they will sleep at night.  Makes sense since I didn't hear them everynight. I had a company called Critter Control come and set traps.  The tech comes back every 2 days to check my traps.  We only found one trapped after the initial rat trap death.  The company told me there wasn't a lot of activity in my attic and they felt it was probably just one or two rats.  Yesterday the company came and sealed any holes or cracks in my attic and roof and screened off some of the pipes on my roof.  Then they treated my attic with some kind of anti bacterial spray.  They will continue to come and check traps until I have two clean visits, meaning no trapped rats for 4 straight days.  So far I have had nothing since last Saturday.  Fingers crossed this episode is over.

My dad is living here and next week he will move into an apt at a really nice senior complex.  The place has a lovely dining room with nice meals and his apt has a screened in porch with a nice modern kitchen and washer/dryer machines.  He so needs to have this time to just be treated well and get away from my mother.  He feels awful about leaving her but she won't stop her constant questioning and threating.  Next step is to get my mom some needed meds but one step at a time.

My shop is still closed, no time at all now to work on anything but some gifts for my step-niece who is due in September.  I think once everything is settled down I can start to work but I'm really not into my shop at the moment.  

My fence for Jimmy should be done today and I am looking forward to being able to sit out there with him and not worry about him running to the water or alligators.  I am also thinking of getting another Standard Poodle and it will be a great little training area for the puppy.  But, still in the thinking stage of a puppy and what type.  Two giant poodles around teeny Violet might be too much for her.  At this point she loves Jimmy and asks to see him in our daily facechats but she only loves him from afar.  Once he gets too close to her she will yell..."no, no, no, go away!"

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week.

[mzbellz]

Hey Everyone.;

Busy Busy Busy.  Debra:  Maybe that Rat was visiting from NYC and the subway system LOL.  Hope they catch it  Where are the alligators when you need them.  The rat would be a tasty treat for them wouldn't it??  

Slowly counting my days till my Florida vacation.  Will be leaving here on the 27th.  My friends husband will be driving.  Karen my friend said it will take about 2 days.  She doesn't like to fly.  She and her husband have been doing this for a number of years now so they know the routine.  We will also be visiting our friend Marietta who lives in Winter Garden?  I haven't seen her in about 7 years I think.  The last time was when she came up to the city because her father in law was selling his house..  I know  her from High School, same with my friend Karen.  

The other shop I belong to called Zibbet hooked up with Etsy. What they did was they made it so if you have an Etsy shop you can import your items from Etsy to Zibbet and have 2 shops under one roof. Your items will show up on Etsy like always and also on Zibbet. If you list an item on Zibbet and want it to show on Etsy you would still have to pay the 20 cents, but it's easier to list s you only have to enter it once.

When you join Zibbet it's either 48$ a year or $60.  The 48 only allows you to enter 60 items and 4 pictures, the $60.00 is unlimited.  They don't charge you the.20 to renew or list your item the way Etsy does.   I haven't sold anything yet on Zibbet, but I haven't really been promoting it either, They have a FB page that I show off my items, but again, I haven't been that active on it.  i like Zibbet, better than Etsy.  Zibbet is an Australian based website.

Lisa: Hope all is well with you and finally for Don he will get his eye's checked.  I have an eye appt. on the 17 of this month.  I know I'm going to need cataract surgery on my left eye as I was told 5 years ago that i was starting to develope one.  Since it's been 5 years since I went last I know it's been getting worse as my eye sight is not as clear as it once was.  Will see what happens Monday.

Well, ladies hope all is well with you both. Will try and keep in touch more, but you know time goes by so fast. 

Oh, Debra:  Have you ever heard back from Sue Ellen?  Hope she's ok.  

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Morning Ladies ~

Happy Father's Day to the men in your life.

Mary Alice ~ Enjoy your trip to Florida.  It's a bit on the hot and rainy side this past week but you'll still have a great time. Winter Park is such a beautiful area.  Make sure you make it to the downtown area along the railroad tracks.  My sons went to college not far from that area so once or twice we made it over that way.   The ride down to Florida from NYC is about 24 hours. Are you stopping along the way to do some sightseeing?  I haven't been to Charleston or Savannah and I would love to do that drive.  

I haven't heard back from Sue Ellen.  I'm a bit concerned and will have to go through my emails to see if I have her personal email address.  

Thanks for the info on Zibbet.  Interesting that they joined forces with Etsy.  I'm not going to be joining them since I had a shop and never got any action.  I think Etsy is the giant in the field for online handmade shopping and to have to pay a fee where I never saw action just wouldn't work for me.  I wish you luck and hopefully that's the right venue for you.

 I'm still on vacation mode.  I have no desire right now to open my shop.  I crocheted a bit the other day but even that had no interest for me. Just not in that state of mind right now but I am hopeful I'll get back in the groove at some point.  I have so much going on personally that I can't concentrate.  It seems that right after Neal passed I was able to work my shop but now I'm in a bit of a funk and can't seem to concentrate or get organized enough to work.  I do some posting on instagram to keep customer interest but beyond that I'm a little burned out.   It happens to me every once in a while and that's the beauty of having an online shop, you can just stop and rest when you want. 

I'll be going to visit my folks in just a bit.  My dad went back home on Friday.  Things seem to have settled down a bit with my mom but we are only cautiously optimistic that things will be ok. My mom got scared the other night after she became ill from eating something and she was alone.  Next morning, bright and early she called my dad to come home.  

Rat situation appears to be taken care of, another cautiously optimistic situation!  Still thinking about getting a cat! I'm in a new puppy or kitten state of mind.  

It was recommened to me to do a saging or smudging of my house which I did on Friday.  It supposedly removes any negative energy from the home and brings in positive energy.  I did it, I felt really relaxed afterwards and positive so I'm calling it a good thing.  The sage smelled like pot and I had my windows opened.  I'm probably the talk of the neighborhood!  

Well, it's pouring rain and gray today but I have to do a food run to bring to my folks.  So not ideal!  

Have a great rest of the weekend.  

[hooknsaw]

Debra, I hope the visit with your parents went well ( or as well as can be hoped for ).  My heart goes out to you.  I'm glad you got the rat taken care of and a terrier or a cat might work well.  The best rodent dog I ever had was a long hair chihuahua ... the down side was she would leave her mouse gifts on the foot of my bed!

Sassy hunts anything that moves in our yard (and the critters never migrate into the house) and we have not seen even a mouse since we adopted her.  Here the Haunta virus is associated with mice / rats and plague with rabbits.  

I hope you can find your crochet mojo once your parents 'settle down'.  When my Dad was first diagnosed I didn't pick up a hook for a month.  

I went back through my messages with Sue Ellen and also my paypal account and I couldn't find her personal address.  I hope she is doing okay.

Mary Alice, I hope your eye appointment goes well.  Fingers crossed that you can postpone cataract surgery.  Don is being seen by the specialist at the beginning of July and we will see what happens.  His poor eye is always bloodshot and I know it bothers him ... but being a man he won't complain until it is really bad.  I have an eye appointment at the end of the month.  I've been using cheater glasses and need to get my eyes checked.  

Have a great week everyone!

[TheYarningCompany]

Hi, Ladies!  

Lisa - do you really only use cheater glasses?  Or do you use cheater glasses on top of contacts?  Good luck with your eye appointment! And God bless you for all the critter adventures you've had.  Yikes. Rodents are NOT my thing. 

Mary Alice -  how did your eye appointment go?  Do you have to have surgery?  I hope you have a WONDERFUL vacation to Florida!

Debra - I'm so sorry about all the issues you're having to deal with with your parents.  Do they both need to be in some sort of assisted living or nursing home?  I do hope a solution is found that makes everyone happy.  And I'm praying that your rat is GONE!

I do hope someone hears from Sue Ellen.  

We did spent last week in Hawaii.  :)  My amazing in-laws decided to celebrate their 50th anniversary by taking us on a family vacation.  And since Michael's an only child, it was just the seven of us - Fred and Pam, Michael and I, and our three kids.  It was really an amazing week! I'll share more as the days go by here.  We're going to put together a photo album to give to my in-laws as a gift (not nearly enough, considering what they just did for us, but we can't repay that!) and that should help me focus on the important parts of the trip.  Have any of you been to Hawaii? We stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu.  

I'm busy making cards with my Cricut today, and am bummed because I started another crochet project using yarn I had at home, ran out of blue, and neither Joann's or Michael's has it in stock.  :( Gah! I did buy some Bernat velvet today, though!  Michael's cousin, who has always wanted to be a mom but was never able to get pregnant, recently found out that she and her husband have been paired with an 11-year-old girl who has been in the system for 4 years.  She'll be coming "home" with them on July 3, and should officially be theirs after 6 months of fostering.  I at least know her favorite color, so I'm going to work on something to send to her as a welcome gift.  

Wishing you all a great rest of the week!

[hooknsaw]

I've had a busy week and looking forward to a quiet (mostly) weekend!  We hosted Father's day , yarn order arrived on Monday (296 skeins had to be sorted and put away). Took granddaughters to Aladdin on Tuesday.  Took Dad to the Dr. for tests on Wednesday.  I've been in pajama's since.  Don had to go to the VA on Thursday, but I was pooped out and stayed home.

Lauren, congrats to your cousin and her pairing!  Sending them prayers and well wishes, there are way too many kids in the system that just need a home, love, and a chance to thrive!  

I'm sure your in-laws enjoyed treating you all to Hawaii and will love the photo album you put together!  I love when we can spoil our kids!  When my daughter and sil travel, I always ask that they bring me back a trinket!

And yes, I just use just cheater glasses.  I have an aversion to contacts ... I'd probably poke my own eye out!

Debra, how are your parents?  How are you?  I have days that I am exhausted just dealing with phone calls between my sister and my Dad.  Don just looks at me like we are all insane and we probably are!  I hope the rat is gone.  Have you gotten the fencing up for Jimmy?  I love that our yard is fenced and Sassy has full run.  We have problems with theft in our area and a fenced yard and dog are the best deterent (spell check is still not working).

Mary Alice, enjoy your vacation!!!  

I hope everyone has a great weekend!   I am playing with some of the new Ferris wheel yarns.  I caught Don rummaging in the yarn room and he came out of the room with a bale of new Ferris wheel colors.  

[mzbellz]

Good Morning Everyone.

Lisa; I think you will like all your new yarn.  There is a woman on the Web named Crystal. Her you tube channel is called Bag O Day Crochet.  She does yarn reviews on all the latest yarns from everywhere.  She's quiet good.  She also does crochet videos and makes her own patterns.  I've done quite a few of them.  She's very easy to follow. Have you finished up all the ends to your crochet patterns for the book.  Can't wait to see it.

My eye appointment went well.  I do have a cataract but it's not all that urgent that I get it removed.  The Dr. said it shouldn't be done until there is a real problem, basically until I really can't see. When they do surgery I didn't realize they put a new lens in your eye. Duh.  I had my right eye done when I was 17, but back then they really didn't do that.  So my right eye is basically lazy and all the way to the right. I do have to put drops and creme on my lower eye lashes as she said I have this thing called Map-Dot fingerprint Corneal dystrophy.  I recently developed this.  My eyes are very dry so when you look at them thru the light that they use they can see prints on my eye, hence the word map-dot fingerprint.  Quiet interesting.  So, I have to use the drops and creme for a month then go to the optomotrist, and get new glasses.  Then I'll go back in Feb to see her.  

Getting ready for my vacation which starts on Wednesday.  Hope the weather in Fla. is good.  Here it's been raining every other day.  Yesterday and today are the nicest days so far. Sunny but breezy.  

My Grandson's graduation was beautiful.  My daughter and I cried.  They left boxes of tissues on the end seats of each row.  Very smart of them.  My grandosn will be going to SUNY Polytech in Utica New York.  He will be going for Game Programming.  He's super smart.  Olivia will be going into 2nd grade.  How time flies.

Debra: Hope all is well with you.  Hope your parents are doing well.  That is a hard thing to go thru.  I'm so sorry. 

Lauren: Congratulations to your sister.  That's a wonderful thing she is doing. It's such a shame when children wind up in foster care. My heart breaks for them.  Especially when they are older.  Please keep us posted about her progress.

Been busy crocheting.  Making a lot of hats.  I think I will have a yard sale and see if I can sell them.  Plus lot's of other things.  If not I'll just donate them to Warmth for Warriors.  They are always in need of hats for the veterans.

Well ladies, have to run, have some stuff do do.  Take care have a great week.  Will probably catch up when I get back from Florida.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Morning Ladies ~

Lauren ~ Lots going on in your family.  I followed your trip to Hawaii on Instagram, looks like you had a fantastic time.  Nice inlaws!  

Congrats to your cousin on fostering a child to become their own.  They must be over the moon excited about having a child in their home.  

Do you have any more travel plans for summer?  There are so many fun places in your area to visit when the weather is beautiful.

Lisa ~ Any news on Don?  Your week sounded so hectic.  Are you still in pajamas?!  Neal always thought my family was nutty.  He moved away from his when he was 23, couldn't take the drama and unfortunately found himself in the middle of my family drama.

Mary Alice ~ Have a wonderful time in Florida.  Not too rainy these past few days but it's super hot, 90's but feels like the low 100's.  Very intense for so early in summer.  I know you will have a great time here.  Pina Coladas are always a great heat buster.

I also have the beginnings of a cataract but was told it's about 10 years out from surgery.  The minute they tell me to do surgery I will.  The thought of not seeing clearly or losing colors frightens me.  

Congrats to your grandson!! Can't believe Olivia is going into 2nd grade.  Time doesn't just fly it seems to have jet propulsion!  (there is no spell check on the chat so I hope I'm spelling things correctly)

Last week was super busy for me.  Things with my folks seem ok.  It was my mom's 96th birthday on Friday and family came into town.  Little Violet was here so that was the best!  When my mom is the center of attention she seems to behave a bit.  If she is able to keep this craziness she has underwraps then we will know it's just that and not some form of dementia.  She said she won't mention anything again since she knows she can't live alone and will just have to put up with my dad.  She's exhausting!!  I'm dealing with so many emotional issues right now and this added to it is not easy.  

I got a puppy last week!  I went to the puppy store and was looking to purchase a little shih tzu but a little lhasapoo caught my eye and that was that. It was a huge decision and I was there for at least an hour or two deciding  I named her Scarlett, after my favorite character, she's a super adorable teenie red head.  Jimmy isn't too thrilled but they are getting along better as the week goes by.  They play nice outside but inside he's super territorial.   My lawn service guy has to come and remove all the bushes in the fenced area.  Scarlett likes to run in them and I noticed there are toads that are poisonous.  Jimmy never went in the bushes, he's too big so it was never a problem.  She's a handful but I think she will be a good dog.  

Violet liked Scarlett but also from afar like she does with Jimmy.  I wanted to get the puppy while Violet was here so I could socialize them both together.  Hoping they become buddies.

I hosted a party on Thursday night for my whole family.  I had Tijuana Flats bring in the food.  It was great, they set up a whole taco bar and everyone loved it.  My sister hosted my mom's b/day party on Friday.  Saturday we all met for breakfast and I took my kids to Benihana for dinner, by Sunday all I wanted to do was straighten up my house and veg out on the couch.  

The rat problem I hope is under control. (knock wood).  We found a dying one on the outside of my house, it had eaten the rat poison the exterminator set out in boxes.  My brother has a kind heart and couldn't watch it suffer so he had to finish it off.  The whole thing has me so grossed out!  I was pulling blankets out of my linen closet and found where the rat in my house had been living.  The whole closet was full of little poops.  I'm freaking out because I gave my kids towels from the closet before I saw the poop.  I wasn't planning on moving but not so sure anymore!

My brother and his wife told me that they have rats and mice in their area but because of their cats they don't come in the house.  Cats are a deterrent but not all cats are hunters.  I really don't want a hunting cat just one that will keep the rats away.   The problem in my area is that all the ferel cats are being eaten by the growing coyote population and the rat population is growing.  So disgusting!!

Off to take Scarlett to the vet for puppy shots.  Still have no desire to open my shop, now I'm getting scared because this has never happened to me before.  I had a request for a custom order and I agreed but then the customer never got back to me.  It would have been a good starting point for me to get back into crocheting but that's ok, I have no energy right now to do anything.  

I hope everyone has a good rest of the week and enjoys summer.  I haven't heard from Sue Ellen as of yet.

[hooknsaw]

This week has been much quieter.  I managed to stay in Pajama's from Thursday through Saturday!  Lunch at my son and dils on Sunday and right back into p j's.

Don's Dr. appointment is July 9th for the eye consult.  I will be relieved to atleast know what is going on with his eye and have a treatment plan.  Whether it is surgery or medications.  I saw the eye Dr. this week and need glasses for my near sighted / far sighted / stigmatism.  Omg, I couldn't believe the difference when the Dr. showed me my regular vision vs my wearing prescription glasses vision!  Anyhow, my glasses should be in next week and I am excited to use them.

Mary Alice, I'm happy you can postpone cataract surgery and I hope the creme and drops help!  Congrats to Shane and best wishes for his academic future!  I have known a lot of kids that dreamed of game programming, congrats to Shane for pursuing the schooling!  I hope you have a fabulous vacation!

Thank you for the info about the yarn comparisons.  I usually buy a couple of skeins and try it out to see if it is something I want to work with.  I would love to find a decent cotton yarn.  The yarns I have tried are all coarse.

Debra, I had to chuckle at your Mom behaving with an audience ... my Dad is on his worst behavior when he has an audience!  My sister catches most of his foul moods now, and by the time I talk to Dad he is calmed down and content.  His latest rant is the tv bill.  He keeps paying it late and getting a late charge and no amount of reasoning can make him understand that if he pays the bill on time he won't have this problem.  

Scarlett sounds so cute!  She and Jimmy will become best buddies given time.  If Jimmy is territorial over certain areas you can try moving things around to 'shake it up'.  My granddaughters are the opposite of Violet ... they chase down and want to pet and hug any animal they see!  We have furniture arranged so that ComoTu has escape routes from Addy.  My son sent me photos of Izzy riding her first horse solo last weekend.  Izzy's birthday is next week and I can't believe she will be 6.  It seems we were just congratulating Mary Alice for Olivia's birth!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Any plans for the fourth?  We have Izzy's birthday party and then the crazies will start up here around midnight!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Afternoon Ladies ~

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July.

Lisa ~ Glad you're having a quiter week.  Good luck to Don with his eye appt.  Aren't you glad you got the right glasses?  It makes the world of difference when you can see clearly.

Your dad sounds like Neal, he was so sweet when were alone and then we would be in a crowd and suddenly this whole macho thing would happen.  I think it's an Italian guy thing, not sure.  My mom is trying to behave but we knew it couldn't last long.  She went on a rant this past weekend and again we begged our dad to move but he won't.  Now my mom wants to revisit separating from my dad but she wants to wait till after my nieces wedding in October.  She doesn't want people talking about them.  Who cares at this point!!

Happy Birthday to Izzy!!  I can't believe she is going to be 6, darn time flies!!  I bet she's adorable, cute and a funky little monkey.  Does she ride horses for competition or just for fun?  How lucky for her that she's raised around horses.  She would have no problem with Jimmy who is like King Kong to Violet.  

So this week I had another house disaster.  I keep the puppy's crate in my bathroom in front of Neal's closet door.  When I went to put her in her crate for the night on Monday I noticed all kinds of dirt and dust around the cage coming from under the closet door.  I thought it was another rat situation and opened the door very cautiously.  Well, it wasn't a rat but rather the whole ceiling in Neal's closet had collasped and all of the insulation along with it.  I looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling about 4x4 feet and could see up to my roof.   It was such a mess!  I had been storing my yarns and things in his closet along with some other boxes and everything was crushed and soaking wet.  Apparently when the rat trappers came to seal up my attic they stepped on and crushed all of the air conditioning condensations lines so they had been slow leaking for about 2 weeks.  It was enough water to collapse the ceiling.  I must have been outside walking the dogs when it fell because I didn't hear it, thank goodnes.  

My brother who helps me with everything is out of town but when I called him he immediately made a call to his contractor friend who came yesterday morning and helped clean up the mess and put a tarp on the ceiling until we get it fixed.  I'm pretty sure my insurance company is not going to be happy with me!!  My sister came over yesterday and we had to go through everything in the closet.  So much stuff had to be tossed or stored in the garage to dry out.  I hadn't wanted to clean out Neal's closet, I wasn't ready, but this forced my hand.  I was able to clean out his drawers and things on shelves but his hanging clothes I left until I can get the strength up to do more sorting.  They were mostly covered in dust but things that were on the floor and shelves were ruined.  

The cleanup took about 8 hours.  It took a lot of effort to vacumn and wash the floors to get them clean.  I made lemonade out of lemons and am ok with starting the process of cleaning Neal's things up.  The closet will get fixed and possibly new shelving and definitely a ceiling.  I will use the space for all things not clothes that are stored in my closet. We had separate closets which was one of the reasons I bought this house 32 years ago.  You can't imagine all the things I hid in my closet over the years.  

I went to bed after taking several arthritis pain relievers and slept pretty good after that day!!  

I haven't been crocheting at all.  I reopened my shop but just for patterns and if anyone contacts me with custom orders.  I just have no desire to crochet or work.  It's really odd but after Neal passed away and I was so busy with everything I wanted to work and kept pretty busy and now when I actually have more down time I just can't get into it.  My sister asked me to make some of my bow headbands for her friend's granddaughter and I just can't get myself going.  Oh well, hopefully this will pass.

I have no plans for the 4th.  We have a huge fireworks display that goes off in the park behind my house so I never had to go anywhere which is great.  I'm sure my dogs will be freaking out because it gets very loud and smokey.

Dogs are getting along a bit better.  Scarlett is starting to settle down and learning to ring the bells to go out.  She actually did a good job yesterday and today.  

Have a great week ladies!  

[hooknsaw]

Debra, omg to the closet mess!  Can the exterminators be held responsible instead of your insurance?  You have had a lot to deal with and I hope everything gets fixed quickly and no more messes, rats, or leaks in your future!

Give your self time and the crochet will happen when you are ready.  I have little ambition for custom orders and have only been working with repeat customers.  New custom customers have been a total waste of my time for months now.  I will make items that I can sell in our shop, but I am staying away from personalized items.

The week started well and got hectic mid week.  Dad had an appointment on Wednesday and it was in the top 3 of the worst Dad days I have had.  My Dad can't hear and refuses to get hearing aids.  He is happy talking to the Dr.s until I yell at him what the Dr. said (not just what my Dad wanted to hear) and what the procedure will be.  At this point my Dad understands and starts a swearing temper tantrum.  Some days it is truly ridiculous.

Izzy had her birthday party on Thursday and had a blast.  Don wasn't up to going and it was so cute that both Izzy and Addy wanted me to drive home and get their Papa Don.  The girls ride casualy.  My dils Mom used to use the horses out at the ranch for cattle round up and as working horses.  But the horses now live on their local farm and are used for pleasure riding and as spoiled as any of the dogs in the family.

Don had his pancreas biopsy today.  Everything went well, until the nurse came to get me to go to the recovery room.  I get into Don's room and he looks terrible and looks like he has a big bruise on his face.  I came unglued and my voice must have hit the "angry Mama bear" level because next thing I know there are 3 nurses and the Dr. back in his room trying to calm me down.  Don had a bad coughing fit before I got there which turned his color red and the bruise has now faded to a small mark, but it looked like someone had worked him over.

Don is doing well this evening and I am "bossy" as to what he can and can't do. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend and will probably turn my phone off!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Hi Ladies~

I hope everyone had a good 4th.  It was a bit difficult for me.  Holidays and weekends are the worst so a long holiday weekend nearly put me over the edge.  

lisa ~ The closet disaster will be covered by the insurance company.  I believe they will go after the pest control company to cover their cost outlay.  

I am going to crochet a little poncho for Violet but not really into crocheting for my shop.  I added some items that are already made to my shop.  I figure I might as well make some money from the things that I have ready to ship.  I have a bunch ready to go just not that interested in packaging them up so I only listed a few.  Just the mood I am in lately.  

I had two custom orders this past month but both were for items I normally make just not listed in my shop.  I understand for you it's probably a huge pain in the butt, especially if you have design something.  For me it's usually just a matter of colors.

Your dad and my mom might be twins separated at birth!  My mom got so angry at the doctor's office when the physician assistant came in the room and not the dr.  She was expecting to see the doctor and she jumped off the table and was leaving.  I told her to just calm down and let's hear what the assistant has to say.  Plus, like your dad, she doesn't hear and thinks they are saying something different than what they said, or what she thinks they should have said.  She literally asked the same question several times but because she's not hearing she is also not processing the info. I tell you, if I start losing my hearing I will definitely wear hearing aids.  I know how frustrating it is for the people around you.  

I was visiting my folks last week and my mom keeps the tv so loud.  My dad turned it off, she got pissed and turned it right back on so the whole time I was there it was a big "what did you say" fest.  

Your grandkids sound like the perfect little country girls.  They must be so adorable.  

Any results from Don's biopsy?  I hear you about the Mama Bear attitude.  My parents no longer let me talk to their doctors because I get loud very quick especially when I don't think they are being treated or respected properly.  Don is lucky to have you as his advocate.  Everyone needs one when they are in the hospital.  

Hope everyone has a good week.  Super hot here and muggy.  

[mzbellz]

Good Morning Everyone.

Back from vacation.  Arrived yesterday.  It was nice.  I will never do a drive down again though.  We left Thursday morning and arrived Sat. night.  Of course we stopped to eat and did a little side tour in South Carolina.  But driving like that is not for me.  Not that I drove my girlfriends husband did it all.  Of course when you get older you need to stop more for bathroom breaks.  All in all in was nice.  Our rental was nice, The beach was a block away.  You just walk out the door turn left and cross the street. I didn't go in the water as it was filled with sea weed. The day I went it started to Thunder and I didn't want to be on the beach in case of lightning. It was nice the 4th as we sat out on the balcony and watched the fireworks which were shot off from the water. It was rather hot and muggy.  It rained a bit but not too much. Went to visit my friend in Winter Garden.  That is a nice area.  Stayed over as it was a 3 hr trip. 

My girlfriend Karen and her husband stopped off in Boca Raton to see her former boss who lives there.  I didn't go.  I was thinking about you Debra. As I know that's where you live.  I would of love to have met you, but I see from your post that you were busy with a messy closet.  So sorry to hear that.  Sometimes I think things happen for a reason. (i.e.) your closet with Neal's things in it. You knew you had to clean it out but was delaying it. This forced you too. 

I'll be home for 3 weeks by myself.  Yeah. Daughter, kids, and husband are in England till the 26th.  Have been making  a blanket for Shane to take with him when he leaves for college.  Cant believe he's going.  I'll miss him.  It's not that far away 2 hrs.  but he still needs to stay there as he could never drive back and forth every day.

I've been mostly crocheting for myself.  Have no real interest in my shop.

Lisa: Hope Don's doing ok and also with his eye appt.  I think we're all kinda of etysied out or we're just getting older and don't have the strength to keep up with it.  Looking for the simple way out and not having to be pressured.

Well ladies glad to be home.  It's nice to go a way but always nice to be home in your own house and sleep in your own bed. :)

Have a great weekend.

[TheYarningCompany]

Hi, ladies!

Lisa - good for you for working so hard at advocating for Don and your dad.  That can't be an easy thing to do! I realize it's not funny to you in the moment, but your descriptions of your dad make me laugh.  It makes my think of my grandpa, and I can see my dad turning more and more into my grandpa as the years go by.  I'm sure I won't find it funny when I'm in the doctor's office with him, yelling at him to make sure he understands what the doctor is saying, but for now it brings back fond memories of my stubborn, German grandpa.  :)

Debra - I'm glad to hear that insurance is covering the closet fiasco.  I do hope you get your crochet mojo back soon! Your booties are so cute and such a great way for expecting parents to announce.  Are you spending more time redecorating? Your pictures of your house and backyard on IG always make me smile.  

Mary Alice - enjoy your few weeks to yourself!!  It must be nice to have a little peace and quiet. 

I took the kids "Up North" on Sunday and we got back yesterday.  My parents rent a cabin on a lake every year the week after July 4th at Hilltop Cottages in Hazelhurst, WI.  My aunt and uncle also rent a cabin.  They've been doing for over 30 years.  It's just under a four-hour drive from our house, and northern WI is so beautiful in the summer! Michael HATES it - there's no air conditioning (and no TVs!!!!!!) and he's not an outdoors-type of guy, so I'm happy if I can sneak away for a few days with the kids. We spent the entire time fishing, swimming, kayaking, paddle boating, etc.  The weather was perfect!  The kids' favorite part was fishing with Grandpa.  My dad loves fishing, and he's at his most patient when he's doing something he loves with others who listen to what he's telling them.  Elizabeth got really good at setting the hook, Carl caught two "keeper" large mouth bass, but Abigail's the one who really took to it.  She even learned to cast an open-face rod, which I still can't do!  We caught almost 40 keeper fish in those three days (thankfully my dad cleans them all!), saw a deer, loons, a big snapper turtle, a little painted turtle, a great blue heron and a few eagles.  One of the eagles flew right over us and was holding a big fish in its talons.  It was a great few days, but it's also good to be back home in our own beds!  The first night the kids were SO tired, and all four of us slept in the same bedroom that has two double beds in it.  The girls were in one and Carl and I were in the other.  Both Abigail and Carl wet the beds early in the morning (around 5 or so), so I ended up spending a couple hours getting gouged at the local laundromat with my cousin Robin, who also did a load for her sister who was up with her 1-year-old son.  Just one of those vacation experiences to laugh about later on!

Now it's back home and back to our normal routine.  The kids finished swimming lessons last week and are looking forward to Vacation Bible School in a couple weeks.  My little vegetable garden is doing well and we'll soon have a couple of red tomatoes! I'm hoping to finish the blanket for Michael's cousin's foster daughter soon (I brought it up north but it was too hot to work on that blanket) and hope to start on stuff for my sister's coming baby after that. 

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of the week! It's going to get hot and humid here starting tomorrow, so we spent as much time outside today as we could stand. 

[hooknsaw]

Debra, when I drive up to my Dad's house I can hear his TV from my car!  I always walk in and take the remote from him and mute the tv.  Often I can hear him swearing before I walk in ... on those days Don waits outside for me to gather my Dad.  He is Irish and his siblings are just as loud.  When family visits, I avoid everyone and make excuses to stay home.  There is only so much "Irish" I can take.

Mary Alice, I'm happy you enjoyed your vacation (other than the road trip).  I can't handle sitting in a vehicle for more than 2 hours before I need to stop and move around.  Enjoy your vacation with everyone away!  Do you have any plans while the family is on vacation?

Lauren, the cabins sound perfect to me!  I love remote areas and camping and no cell phones  / tvs!  Don taught me to fish, kind of, I still can't cast worth a darn but I have a lot of fun reeling fish in!  Don has shown me how to clean fish, but I always threaten to puke if I have to do it by myself!  Fresh caught fish is the best!  I'll bet your kids had a great time!

Don is finally feeling better.  He had been doing okay and then we had to go to Albuquerque for his eye Dr. visit and he was exhausted by the time we got home.  The eye specialist is refering him to a cornea specialist for surgery, so we have to wait for the whole referral from VA again.  The process is frustrating.  The growth on his eye is a pre cancer on the cornea and needs to be removed.  It is like a skin cancer of the eye.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!  No plans here other than taking it easy. 

[mzbellz]

Good Evening Everyone.

Enjoying my time alone.  It was kind of hard to unwind at first, am still a bit off.  Having trouble sleeping.  Getting old sucks.  My daughter and family are having a great time in England.  The pictures are beautiful.  I love the history of England.  Hopefully I'll get to go again sometime.

Lisa:  You crack me up.  I love your stories.  I know it's hard when you have to deal with older family members. I love your statement about the Irish it made me laugh cause it's true.  I'm Irish so I can relate.  I have never fished. I've been on a fishing boat when I was like 12, but never fished. I know my son in law likes it and my daughters x husband did.  They say it's very relaxing.  I guess.  So sorry to hear about Don.  I hope you don't have to wait too long for the next appointment.  That is very frustrating.  I have no patience for waiting for things.  

Lauren:  Your mini vacation sounds like something out of a movie.  All those great animals you saw and it sounded so peaceful. I think I'd like to go there too sometime.  I doubt I ever will, but I love the picture you painted.with words.  Glad everyone had a great time.

Since I've been home found some ambition to clean my bedroom.  Took everything accept the bed out and washed the floor and cleaned.  I would of taken the bed out but it's way to big.  Just rearranged the room and am happy with the results.  I still have to get rid of a lot of stuff i have and am thinking of having a yard sale.  Was going to do it while the family is a way but decided not to until it cools down some.  It's been in the high 80's and a few 90 degree days.  Thank God I have a pool that I can cool off in.

Have you heard about the new Etsy announcement about offering free shipping on orders of $35.00 or more.  Someone made a video and decided that their going else where.  I think a lot of people will be leaving Etsy.  I'm not renewing any of my products.  I'll let them expire.  Even though I haven't sold anything on Zibbet, I'm liking them more and more.  They will be teaming up with A.C. Moore. and you will be able to list your products with them.  It will cost $6.00 a month I think or if you join for a while year it's $50.00 something like that.  No other fees.

I've been doing a lot of advertising on their FB page.  .  

Well let me say goodnight and will talk again soon.  Have a great week everyone.

[hooknsaw]

Mary Alice, enjoy your time off!  I have never found fishing relaxing, it is fun when I am catching, but very boring if the fish aren't biting! I'm sure many find the sport relaxing, but I prefer to be doing something and if the fish are sleeping I can't wait to be done! But the catch stories are FUN!  

I caved and set our listings to free shipping after adjusting prices to compensate.  Now our prices look really expensive and I am going to wait until scarf season to re-evaluate.  Lately, I hate etsy most days!

I am working on another pattern for Annie's and our shop may become dormat as I pursue having more patterns published.  The book is in the final stages of edits and photography and I am very happy with the results and excited for the release in September!

I am playing "mama" to a baby hummingbird.  The neighbor was banging on our door at sunrise this morning with the baby he found in his driveway. I agreed to try and the darn thing wants to eat every 20 - 30 minutes, so this is a full time commitment until it can fly (hopefully in a few days). All I can say, is thank goodness they sleep when the sun goes down!

Debra, I hope you had a good weekend and your Mom is behaving.  

Have a great start to the week everyone!  

[HowCuteAreYou]

Hi Ladies ~

Mary Alice ~ Glad you had a good vacation.  Can't blame you on not wanting to drive again.  I drive to my son's house and it's 2.5 hours away.   I could do Orlando which is another hour but that's about it for me.   Yes, we are having a super hot and muggy summer, even Floridians can't take it.  It hasn't been a rainy summer just super hot with little air movement.  I know the beaches are full of seaweed.  My sister lives on the beach and they can barely swim.  It has something to do with the warm ocean temps which is scary because warm ocean temps means hurricanes.  

I knew you would like Winter Garden, it's so nice there with little rolling hills and such a cute downtown area.  I wish you would have called, I would have met you somewhere for coffee or lunch.  The closet only kept me occupied for the cleanup day and then the day the insurance company came.  Waiting on the insurance settlement amount and then we will go in and negotiate if necessary.  Thank goodness for my brother who helps with everything.  It did jump start the clean out process of Neal's closet but I just couldn't do it all.  I left all the hanging things that weren't destroyed by water and insulation.  Next time you come down let's make arrangements to meet.

Enjoy your alone time.  Any plans while your family is away?  Sounds like you enjoyed making over your room.  Sometimes just a different placement of furniture can make such a difference in a room.  I turned my kitchen table so the chairs are angled, what a different, and I know longer hate the table and how it looks in the room.  Hard to believe your grandson is off to college!  Good luck to him!

Lauren ~ Your vacation sounded like a little slice of summer heaven.  Wisconsin is so beautiful, kind of a hidden gem. As a kid my family would go fishing for catfish on the Fox River in St. Charles, Illinois about an hour from where we lived.  Such fond memories, looks like your making some wonderful memories as well.  

I've been making a few changes around my house to make it more personalized to me.  It's been something else to distract me so I enjoy the process.  Tomorrow I am going shopping for fabric to cover my very tired looking dining room chairs.  But that's bacially it.  My lawnman was supposed to clean up my yard and remove all the bushes in my new fenced in area but hasn't shown up to do it, only a month late!  There are these giant poison toads that live in the bushes and my dogs like to chase them.  The poison can kill a dog in minutes so in the morning I have to go out first and chase the frogs away before I can let the dogs out.  

I haven't gotten my crochet groove back but my shop is open.  I'm just offering things that are already made.  I think I made one pair last week but I am so not into it.  I have a new pattern and the yarn for a little baby poncho for Violet that I want to start so slowly I think it will come back.

Lisa ~ I hope Don is doing well.  Pre-cancerous growth on the eye sounds scary but thank goodness it's pre-cancerous.  Is this a form of skin damage to the eye?  

Your Irish comment had me laughing.  We're not Irish but super loud.  I feel for my neighbors when my family comes over.  Everyone talking at once and finishing each other's stories.  Makes for a fun time, though headache worthy at the same time.  

I am so excited for your book to come out.  You must be really excited!!  

I hear you on the price increase for free shipping. 

I was at dinner tonight with my brother and sister and we were discussing Etsy.  My sister is not happy with Etsy since she just bought a purse from a Bali shop and she couldn't get it to close, it was all wonky and the leather was cute poorly.  The shop gave her a hard time and she opened a case with Etsy.  Etsy basically said they have no skin in the game and to work it out with the shop, they don't handle disputes between shops and customers.   The shop was being nasty and Etsy was less than helpful so my sister opened a case on Paypal.  Once the shop got wind of that they refunded her in total.  

My brother isn't happy with Etsy because of the fees and he doesn't want to raise his prices for free shipping.  It will make his items look ridiculously high priced and people will know he's adding in the cost of shipping to the price.  As for me, I've been offering free shipping and have raised my prices very slightly  over the past year.  I have to be somewhat competitive.  Etsy lost some of it's sparkle for me when they wouldn't back me up with my trademark as they had in the past.  As my brother was saying tonight,  Etsy is not who they were and not true to their original model of a site for handmade items and artists and might now be sinking their own ship.    Etsy is basically saying that if you don't offer free shipping you will not receive the same exposure as shops that do.  How unfair is that?  They are squeezing the sellers. And if everyone offers free shipping then where's the edge?   Etsy now needs to compete with artists who have gone onto open their own sites such as Instagram shops and Amazon.  

I am grateful to Etsy, I would never have been able to sell the amount of items I have or to people all over the world without the site but sometimes corporate greed can take the charm out of things.

I have recently read on Instagram that a very large shop on Etsy is moving to their own site.  They do not want to be forced to offer free shipping and raise their prices.

Ok, I just wrote a novel and I was just going to do a drive by hello.  I spent Saturday and part of Sunday with my daughter at my son and dil's house.  I needed my Violet fix.  She's at that age where she's saying and doing everything and is completely delicious.  

Hope everyone has a great week.  No real plans here so I hope it's a quiet week.   

[hooknsaw]

I hope everyone is well and the weather cools off!  We went from a mild summer to 100's.  It is supposed to cool off next week with some much needed rain.  I finally got the hummingbird out of the house and she is doing well.  I see her at the feeders outside several times a day and can walk right up to her.  I tried to find a rehaber for the bird and there was no one in our area.

Debra, Yuch to the toads.  I had tons of them when I lived in the valley and I am not a fan.  Enjoy your Violet time!  They are so much fun during the toddler stage ... my favorite!  My dil's Mom and I are taking the granddaughters to the Lion King tomorrow, so it will be a fun Grandma's and granddaughters outing.   

My daughter is closing her soap shop this year due to the etsy changes and fees.  It's a shame because she has had a lot of success with the shop but she doesn't feel it is worth her time anymore.  

Don's eye issues were explained as a type of skin cancer ... kind of?.  He has more appointments in the next 3 months so we will see what the Dr's decide.

Have a great Friday everyone!  

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good evening ladies ~ Hope everyone is well.  I'm finally having a semi quiet day after a super busy week, not shop wise just lots of things to get done.  

Lisa ~ DId you enjoy the Lion King?  I would love to see Violet's face while watching it but she's still a bit young. My son and dil only allow her very short moments in front of the tv or ipad and that's just to watch some show called Word Party.  I don't think I could have survived if my kids weren't allowed to watch tv.  Sesame Street and Barney were great babysitters.

I love when my son tells me I didn't know what I was doing by letting him watch tv.  I know exactly what I was doing, I was giving myself 30 minutes to breath and have a cup of coffee.  

I believe I have heard of skin cancer of the eye but not sure.  My cousin is a pediatric eye surgeon and she tries to tell me about some of her patients but I can't hear about eye things without flinching.  I know you said Don's was precancerous so thank goodness for that.  Eye stuff is scary so I hope you get all the answers you need with these next appts. 

I am sorry to hear about your daughter's shop.  I mentioned in my last post that my brother thinks Etsy has moved too far away from their original business model and it's really ashame.  Bascially making us offer free shipping for views is a little over the top.  Everyone is paying the same fees but if you don't raise your prices to be able to offer free shipping then you're out of luck as far as placement of listings and your profit margin goes down.  And now Etsy gets a bigger piece of the pie because your raised prices are now more money in Etsy's pocket after fees.  I can't raise my prices much more, it will not allow me to be competitive.

I think a lot of sucessful shops like your daughter's will be closing or making their own websites.  Please share your daughter's shop link, I would like to support her efforts while she still has her shop.  And who doesn't like handmade soap? 

Any plans for the weekend?  Nothing here, hot as heck so probably just hanging in the house.

Take care ladies.

[hooknsaw]

Debra,

The Lion King was great!  I've seen the original movie and the live 'off Broadway' theater version and this was my favorite.  The animals are realistic and the movie is fun once the wart hog and meerkat get going. 

Addy is still a little young (3 1/2) and at one point she was sitting on her other Grandma and dancing to Acuma Betada.  Too funny!  The theater was packed since it was opening day but it was a lot of grandparents with or without kids.  The Grandma seated next to me had her adult (college student) grandson with her.  Very enjoyable outing.

It was 106F when we left the theater and I thought I might melt before I got home!  

My daughters soap shop is:  hoookedsoap.etsy.com

Have a great weekend everyone!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Morning Ladies~

Hope everyone is dealing with this heat wave.  It's definitely hotter than normal here and less of a breeze.  

Lisa ~ Sounds like you had a wonderful time with the girls at the movies.  Your granddaughters are at such a precious age. I really need to get myself in action to see Violet more often.  So much crap going on with my house has made it difficult.

My brother and his contractor buddy were here yesterday to work up numbers to send to the insurance company.  Insurance company sent their estimate but it's way below what it will take to fix the problem.  It's going to be a two week job and I have to clean out Neal's closet, my closet and the linen closet and move out of my bedroom into the guest bedroom during that time.  I can't even think about the mess without making myself nutty.  Just have to take it as it comes and deal with it.  At least it's going to get fixed.

By next year I will probably think about downsizing.  I don't want a pool or lawn to take care of any longer.  My house isn't too big for me but the maintenance without Neal is getting to me.  He was on top of everything and I only know there is a problem when things break.  

I'm going on Thursday with several girlfriends to see Jennifer Lopez in Miami.  My friends thought it would be a nice getaway for early dinner and then the concert.  I am not a concert goer but my friends wanted me to have a fun night so they arranged this.  I'll let you all know how it goes.  

Have a great week ladies!  Stay cool.

[hooknsaw]

Debra, you have had the "lions share' of home issues!  Ugh, I can't imagine dealing with so many repairs in such a short time.  If you relocate, are you going to stay in the same area?  We have no lawn or landscape and I prefer it.  The dogs have a huge area and we have minimal weed control in the spring and summer.  I hired my nephew to come do weed chopping and yard clean up a couple of weeks ago.  I love a pretty lawn, yard, but I know how much work goes into it.  I would love to put up a small shop for the "yarn" and that my be in the future.  I'm tired of having such a huge stash in the house, but I work with so many colors, the yarns are needed.

Enjoy the concert and the time spent with your girlfriends!  I love Jennifer Lopez!

Thankfully, the temps are cooler. Low 90's and cloudy at times.

Have a great rest of the week, everyone!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Hi Ladies ~

I was just thinking that I still haven't heard from Sue Ellen.  I'll drop her another line.

Lisa ~ If I move, it will be either to central Boca Raton or Delray Beach area.  My family is here in town along with my daughter so I don't want to move away.  I do want to be more centrally located though.  I am at the end of the western boundry of Boca Raton and I am always in the central or eastern part of town.  Not that it's far, it would just be more convenient to be near the places that I frequent.  

Glad you're cooling down out west.  I was just out walking the puppy and it's so freaking hot.  It's 92 but the heat index says it feels like 102.  I can't remember a hotter summer in Florida and very little rain which is also odd.  I'm nervous that hurricanes are very possible with this heat.  

Should be a fun day tomorrow.  My friends are all really fun so should be a good time.

I'll let you know how Jennifer Lopez was.  My hairdresser friend says she knows a few insiders in Jennifer Lopez's beauty world and that she has bad hair so everything she wears is either a wig or extensions.  If they could make me look that good with wigs and extensions I am in!