7 posts tagged “love”
Every once in a while I post whining on my blog. I did that a couple times last week. Life has evened out a bit since my post last week. So good things have come from some bad times. Nothing is perfect, and I'm still wiping off kitchen counters.
Thank you all for the condolences for my dad's passing. He was an amazing person who led a very long and happy life. He was 92, and my mom passed away a few years before him. He missed mom and was ready to go. He had even planned his memorial service and paid for it in advance. He had me help him cancel all his magazine subscriptions, AAA and car insurance, and credit cards. That's just the type of person he was. He took care of what had to be done because it had to be done, and he didn't want to leave work for someone else to do.
My parents led very blessed lives. And my dad was the most honest, reliable, and respectable man I have ever known. He always stood up for what was right. My dad worked as a mechanic all his life, starting in the early 1930s, helping his dad light a fire under the car to warm the engine in the winter. He was an airplane mechanic in the U.S. Air Force. My dad could fix anything, and he helped anyone who asked and many who didn't. He loved to stick out his dentures at kids and amaze them by sticking his whole finger up his nose (over half of it was cut off by a snowplow blade when he was young).
That was my dad. I wish the world was filled with people like him.
Why do you live where you live?
Submitted by memtony.
I really like this question, because the answer is very meaningful to me.
After getting divorced about 10 years ago, I bought a 3-bedroom ranch about half an hour outside of town. It has 2 acres, apple trees, a big old cherry tree, and a 30'x40' garden plot already established. I planted a garden 3 years in a row, but the insects and animals got most of it every year. I've gotten a few apples, but the birds beat me to the cherries when they are in season. I do bring in sprigs of cherry blossoms and apple blossoms to enjoy though.
We can see two of our neighbors' houses from our house, but they are still far enough away that I have privacy even out in the yard.
We have barely any traffic and hardly ever hear sirens or our neighbors. There are no street lights, so at night the sky is beautiful and we can see all the stars. (That part freaked me out right after I saw the film Blair Witch Project and then drove home through the woods.)
The main reason I love where we live is privacy. My sons both have autism, so while they were growing up, there was a lot of screaming and yelling (not me, them :D). We have a lot of holes in our walls from rages, and some garage windows suffered one of my youngest son's tantrums. But our privacy made things a lot easier to handle. The rages finally subsided and the boys have calmed down. Someday I'll get the holes in the walls fixed, but there's no rush.
This might sound a bit strange, but I'm also glad that we live far enough away from friends and family that they don't stop by all the time. Not to be mean, I love to see them. But our lives are so chaotic that it's difficult to be surprised by a drop-in guest.
What with the divorce when my sons were young and the difficulties they have on a day-to-day basis, I am thankful that we have a home that will be here for them for a very long time to offer some sense of stability and peace.
Well, just a print, but cool to me nonetheless. I just love Kendra Binney's work. To see more, check out her Etsy shop: Kendra Binney
Today's top story in our newspaper:
Buying Valentine's gifts motive in Bangor crime
BANGOR - The masked teenager who allegedly pointed a loaded gun at a clerk in a local convenience store told police he fled empty-handed when the man behind the counter told him to put the gun away and asked if he and his juvenile companion were idiots.
And that is just one more reason why I love Maine.
Here is a pattern for little Hershey kisses for Valentine's Day:
Finished kiss measures
approximately 2” tall (approximately 6 cm).
This is a very simple pattern, must know increasing.
Materials:
Medium worsted-weight yarn
Crochet hook size D3 (U.S.)
White ribbon or felt
Safety eyes or eyes of your choice (I used black yarn to embroider them on mine)
Stuffing
Yarn needle
Kiss Body:
Row 1: Leaving a long tail, Ch. 4. Join with sl st into first st. Work 8 sc into center ring and around tail, do not join. Pull tail to close the hole in the ring. Tie tail to working yarn (keeps the hole in the middle closed forever). Mark beginning of the row. From this point on, you will be working in the round.
Row 2: *1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 12 st.
Rows 3-4: 1 sc in each sc around, 12 st.
Row 5: *1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 16 st.
Rows 6-7: 1 sc in each sc around, 16 st.
Row 8: *1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 21 st.
Rows 9-10: 1 sc in each sc around, 21 st.
Row 11: *1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 28 st.
Fasten off, end.
Kiss Bottom:
Row 1: Leaving a long tail, Ch. 4. Join with sl st into first st. Work 8 sc into center ring and around tail, do not join. Pull tail to close the hole in the ring. Tie tail to working yarn. Mark beginning of the row. From this point on, you will be working in the round.
Row 2: 2 sc in each sc around, 16 st.
Row 3: *1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 24 st.
Row 4: *1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around, 32 st.
Fasten off and end, leaving a 12” tail for sewing to body.
Embroider face or add safety eyes.
Sew bottom to body, leaving a 2” gap. Stuff, sew gap closed.
Cut approx. 4” of white ribbon. Using the blunt end of your yarn needle or
crochet hook, tuck one end of ribbon into the top of your kiss.
Enjoy your handmade kiss!
**This is a totally free pattern... do with it what you will!
This is so exciting. OK, I called my phone company (TDS Telecom) about a weird charge on my bill. Long story short: They took care of the problem. Then this super nice telephone rep. says "I see your DSL right now is 256k. I can upgrade that to 768k for you for the same monthly fee." Huh??? I swear, if this wasn't my local telephone company, I would have said this was a scam.
So by Thursday, I'll be zooooooooooooooooooming :) Squee!
