Crochet Me Crazy

Well, I guess I lied...I just never had the time to lay out my afghan today to get a picture. I did finish two more panels and I've started on the 2nd to the last one that I need and that should be it! Then, I just have to sew it together! I can't wait to see it on my new couch!

We are very happy living out here. It's been a long time since I've been this comfortable in my living arrangement. With Alison's passion for horses, she's very lucky to be able to live with all of this available to her. She & the owner went riding today and she gave Alison the okay to start riding Ellie Mae by herself. Alison is beside herself with excitement. It's something she has wanted to do for a long time...just get on her horse anytime she wants and go ride! Well, it's not quite perfect because it's not "her" horse but you can't ask for much better! Ellie Mae is a wonderful, gentle and sweet horse who does just what you ask her to. She is a gaited Tennessee Walker beauty.




Alison has big plans tomorrow...she said she's getting up early to feed the horses, then doing her school work while the horses are eating, then she's going to saddle Ellie Mae and take her for a ride, then she's going to go to the stables to see her horse, Princess. This is one busy girl!

I can't believe how much our lives have changed in the past year and a half. It's really incredible. This horse has literally changed my daughters whole life, focus and future.

The special horse, Princess getting her tail groom. See how she stands completely relaxed while Alison works on her....



Another cute picture I captured of Alison & Princess...wonder what is going on over there anyway?



It's been one of the best things that could have ever happened to our family for Jeff to lose his job which caused us to be out here doing what we are doing now. God does work in mysterious ways....

Well, maybe I should rename my blog Crochet & Horses! LOL!

Another big milestone was reached this week in our family...my son got his driver's permit on Monday! He didn't much want to, but we had him drive home from town. He mainly didn't want to because our car is a stick shift...well, after a few false starts, he finally got going and we made it home in one piece!

I really love how my throw/afghan is coming along. I would be through with it, however, since I used a smaller hook and my guage was off, I need to make more panels to make it wide enough. I don't have pictures tonight because I didn't remember to bring my camera down here to the barn with me to use the internet and I am not walking back to get it! I'll try to get it together on my next post.

We had a nice weekend. A lovely day Saturday working at the stables. Jeff's parent's got in late Saturday night. We put them to sleep in the apartment above the barn. They were blown away with how nice the apartment was....like staying in an upscale hotel room! The next morning, we wondered if they were ever gonna get up...Jeff stuck his head in and asked if they were okay in there. His dad said..."I love this bed." They raved about the bed and how much they loved the bed. Nana didn't much want to leave. When they got to see the property and everything in the full light of day, they felt really sorry for us for having to live like this (sarcasm) - LOL!

Today, Jeff got in some work around here still working on clearing a large tree that fell and he did some weed-eating. I messed around with the horses alot today because the horse that was injured, Magic, wasn't feeling good today. The swelling on his leg had spread down. We cleaned it real good but I was worried about him because he just stood under the same tree all day long. I went out there to him checking on him. He is such an amazingly sweet horse....I've added him to one of my favorites out here now. He is amazing and can open all the gates faster than I can! We have to chain them or he'll be out in the jiffy! He's probably going to the be the horse that Alison rides a lot out here.

We also went to the stables for Alison to see her horse, Princess. She went all out grooming her today and she was gleaming like a show horse by the time we left. That horse loves Alison so much and just stands there while she works on her, enjoying her pampering.

Tomorrow will be a busy day...we have to go to town for a long overdue grocery trip, Michael will be getting his driver's permit, Alison is going to get to ride out here where we live, and we're having some visitor's tomorrow after we get home. Alison doesn't have dance tomorrow since it's Halloween. We have a busy day ahead of us.

Afghan pictures are coming on the next post -- Have a great week everyone!

Well, we're probably about a week away from getting our own internet. It's ordered but we'll have to wait for them to come out and hook up whatever it is they do. The owner's got a reverse osmosis water system for under the sink in our kitchen so Jeff got that installed yesterday. That's going to be GREAT!

We had a cold front blow in yesterday. . . brrr. I hate cold weather. It makes me want to stay indoors which is a bad thing because there is lots of stuff for us to do outside! Well, the good news is that the house is nice and warm. I don't even need my heated blankets like I did in the RV. I came home from dance last night and Jeff had a fire going in the woodburning stove in the house.



It was nice and toasty. The owner's dogs wanted in so the pooches made themselves at home.



Anyway, last night Michael got "hooved" in the back by the baby horse. Thank God, he's fine but he said he wasn't paying attention to where the baby was at and was letting the other horses out of their stalls when he felt baby Andrew's hooves on his back. He had reared up behind him and got him on the back with his hooves. Of course, the baby horse was just playing because he doesn't realize he's not supposed to do that to people yet. He's only 6 months old and hasn't been worked with. Michael tried to scare him away and he didn't understand so Michael ran into a stall and locked it when he started walking towards him again to play some more! Well, I guess Michael will pay attention to where Andrew is from now on and I'm glad he didn't get hurt! I always pay attention to where Andrew (the baby horse) is because he's one of those guys that doesn't seem to have any fear and even though he's a baby, he's big! He's as cute as he can be and he loves to run and jump and buck and play! I usually put him and his mama in the stall first and let them out last so I don't have to worry about him as he can be a little pushy.

We just got a call from Jeff's parents this morning. They are going to be in San Antonio on Saturday and they wanted to know if they could come from there to our house. So we just called the owner's to make sure its okay with them. They are out of town for the weekend. So that's a nice surprise that Jeff's parent's will be coming to spend the night this weekend and get to see where we are now.

On the crochet front...I have gotten to work on my throw. I only have another diamond panel to finish. I am going to make some more of the cable stitch panels to put in between each one to make it wider. Here's what I have so far....

Well, it seems another week is flying by! Here it is already Wednesday. It's been visitor's week at Alison's ballet class this week so I've been sitting inside classes and watching. Alison has really blossomed in her dancing here. I'm so proud of her and how hard she works at everything she does.

I actually had some time to crochet this week! I'm trying to get myself into a routine around here now which will include some crochet time! I even had time to get back to a little bit of work on my throw again but no pictures of that so far.
Well, my "surprise" project is almost finished but I think it's really dorky looking so I don't know that it is worthy to be a gift. I still have to do some detail cross stitching work on it. It might make it look better but I'm not too happy with it.



Well, last night a little after 9:00 pm, I was about to get ready to go to bed when I went down to see if Jeff had let the horses out. They got fed a little later than usual because they didn't come down to eat. Michael had let them in their stalls. As we were about to let one horse, Magic, out, I notice he had quite a big cut on his leg. As soon as I saw him take a step and then i noticed how swollen his leg was, I knew we couldn't let him out. I ran up to the owner's house to tell her. She came down and looked at him. It's was pretty bad and he was in quite a bit of pain. So she gave him some bute and said she's going to clean it tomorrow and re-evaluate. She was very thankful and happy that we had noticed it and payed that much attention. Of course, I'm used to noticing things like this with our other horse friends at the stables. Horses seem to always be getting into trouble and hurting themselves!

Alison also got to go see her horse, Princess, today. She wanted to come see her anyway but there was a small trail ride so we came over here to the stables and just got done unsaddling the horses from that. I even went on the trail ride today! I rode the mule, Snuffy. I'm hopping on the internet while Alison is grooming and working with Princess. Alison has heartstrings with that horse. What an amazing thing that is! I don't know if there will ever be another horse quite like Princess to Alison...sorta like her first love...only it's a horse -- thank God!

Well, things are a lot more comfortable around our house now. We spent the whole day running around and around the town of Kerrville looking for furniture. We were coming home with furniture one way or another. Thanks to a loan from our daughter, Alison, we now have a couch, table and a mattress. Unfortunately, I think we are going to be taking the mattress back because its too soft for my back but other than that, things are good.

Alison had her friend over to spend the night on Saturday night. They rode around on the 4-wheeler and then they got to the ride the horses out here for the first time today. Alison and Serenity rode in the arena. Alison had the honor of riding the owner's horse, Belle. That may be the only time that happens...she's a prized possession. After Serenity left, Alison got to go on a little ride to the neighbor's house on Ellie, the big black Tennessee Walker. She's a complete sweetheart.





It was a fun day for all!

Well, I'm enjoying having a real oven to cook it. I've started making some recipes I used to make but haven't made since we moved into the RV. Today, I even made chicken and dumplings...Alison's favorite! Earlier this week I made Chicken Pot Pie and I'll share that recipe here:

Chicken Pot Pie

Cover bottom of 9x13 casserole dish with cut up cooke chicken.
Layer 1 package of frozen mixed vegetables on top.

Mix in bowl and pour over vegetables:
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 can of chicken broth

In another bowl mix and gently spoon oversoup mixture:
2 cups of self-rising flour
2 cups of milk
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

I know I had a request for the Ritz Chicken. I haven't forgotten, I just seem to have temporarily misplaced that recipe! When I come across it, I'll post it.

I love it when the horses wander up to my front yard. This is the horse that I really take a liking to...her name is Ellie Mae. She is such a good natured girl.

Well, I've never been a nap taker but for the past three days, I have been enjoying an hour long nap in the afternoon. Since I'm getting up so much earlier than I used to, I have so much more time in my days! Of course, not having TV or internet or any furniture to crochet on....I don't really know what to do with myself and I can't believe its so early! Jeff and Michael hauled brush out of a pasture today and cut up part of a big tree that had fallen.

The kids are having fun riding around on the 4-wheeler every day. Alison can't seem to get enough of it. I guess it's the next best thing to a horse for now. I can't wait to get some furniture! We are going to try to get to Kerrville on Friday and see what we can find at the thrift stores. We did get our phone today though which means hopefully we can get internet soon. We still seem to have a lot of stuff sitting around everywhere that I don't know what to do with and some stuff waiting for Jeff to do that he hasn't had a chance to do yet.

The other day Jeff came and got me and told me he wanted to show me something. He took me up a steep road on the 4-wheeler to the top of this mountain. It was a beautiful view from up there.

I just got off the phone with Jeff. He's at the airport in Houston getting ready to head home...

As long as he passes the drug screening and the background check...which he will....they said THE JOB IS HIS! Other good news is that the boss said he expects Jeff to be able to be home every night. He might not always get home early, but he said there's no reason why he can't be home which is great news because we were expecting him to have to be gone most of the weekdays. The bad news is that he won't start for 3 weeks because that's how long it takes them to do the background and drug screening. We may have to borrow some money from Alison's savings to get us through until then. Thank goodness, she's a saver.

Well, things are really looking up! I thank God that he gave me the fortitude to stick it out here and not give up. I'm so thankful that God provided Jeff a job without us having to go back to the city.

Well, to all my crochet readers...I'm sorry for the distractions. I can't see me getting back into crocheting until I have a place to sit in my house. I did work on my little surprise project while Alison was in dance yesterday though.

We're setting in slowly but it's getting there. Yesterday, we went to town for groceries so we bought a shower curtain and some other stuff we needed to settle in. I took my first shower in the house last night. Sure was nice to take a shower in a real shower with water pressure! Now, the only thing that will really make it seem like home is something to sit on (a couch) and a bed! The mattress works but right now I'm having a hard time finding a place to fold clothes, etc.

Alison has decided she's going to get up early to feed the horses and bring her school work down to the the barn. She can do her school work while the horses are eating and then let them out. I'm down here using the internet. It's nice at the barn....I remembered to bring my camera today! Here's my view from the barn...


Here's Alison working on her school work....


Now, I'm going to go lug my Kirby vaccume cleaner from the RV into the house and start trying to work on getting the place cleaned up real good. I figured the house would be pretty clean because the lady that lived there before was a cleaning lady. Well, apparently she cleans so much for other people that she's too tired of cleaning to keep her own house clean! I had to scrub the shower last night before I took a shower. The shower grime came out relatively easily though. The kitchen was the same way...stuff I thought might be stains came right out around the sink when I cleaned the kitchen. I had to clean the refrigerator inside and out...lots of dirty on the outside and food particles on the inside. That's fine though...I would have needed to clean it anyway!

Last night was the first night we slept in the house. The owner's had an extra mattress in the loft in their guest house so I had Jeff and Michael go get it yesterday. The owner was out of town for the night so their dogs slept at our house last night. I threw a blanket on the floor and the two big dogs slept by our bed and the two little ones plus our two dogs slept with the kids. I'm still really tired...it always take me a little while to adjust to change so the new house and the new schedule, etc. My eyes are red and I can't seem to clear them up even with eye drops. It'll all get better in a couple of weeks. Still a little chaos around the house but it's coming along. Jeff and Alison worked late at the stable today. I went to the park to check on the new lady in the visitor's center. They asked me to check on her since she had never done it by herself before.

No crocheting for me...you'll know when I'm starting to relax because that's when I'll start crocheting again.

I'm sitting at the barn....it's a very nice "barn"...I figured I'd get in a little internet time while I'm waiting for the horses to finish eating and I can let them out of their stalls.

We've been non-stop busy since Wednesday. We got the RV moved on Wednesday but we are still moving into the house. We didn't have anything to move into the house but we moved all my kitchen stuff in the kitchen. We just kept ferrying baskets back and forth. Jeff and Michael went to the storage unit yesterday and got a load of furniture. We got our TV, some book shelves, my mother's piano and the dressers for our bedroom. We haven't spent the night in the house yet because we don't have a bed. We plan on trying to find some inexpensive stuff at a thrift store or something after Jeff gets his job...we need a small table, a couch and a mattress. Otherwise, it the great out here so far! For me, just cooking in the kitchen is great! I just can't wait to we are finally settled and organized. It's beautiful here. We've been feeding the animals since we got here and it's no big deal so far. We only feed and clean after 4 horses and let the chickens out in the morning. Then in the evenings, we feed the horses again, fee cows, 3 llamas and put the chickens up. None of it really takes very long. Yesterday was my first morning and I wasn't sure what time to get up. I got up around 7 am to make coffee...the rooster was letting me know it was time to come out and the horses were all standing up there looking down at our house! Then, they start nickering and the other horses started coming...they stopped by my house on their way. I had to run back in the RV because I forgot the coffee inside and I left the gate open. I came right back out and there were 3 llamas in the my yard! LOL!



Anyway, I am really tired. I've been too tired and busy to even think about bringing my computer down to the barn to get on the internet. Today, I decided to come down here and connect to the world a little bit. We don't have any cell phone out here either. We will be getting a phone in the house in a few days though.

Here's the little house we're living in:


Another funny thing...the owners have 4 dogs. The dogs love us and follow us around. It's like we have 6 dogs now! They really are fun though. The kids are loving all the dogs following them around everywhere!




I took this picture of Jeff with "Ellie" from our front porch....that horse is as sweet as she is beautiful. She's a Tennessee Walker.


Wow, it's an absolutely gorgeous day today. I should have brought my camera and taken a picture of the view from where I am sitting. I feel like taking a nap though. I'll write more later when I have more time!

Well, it seems like I can only get the internet to work here in the park in the mornings. I'll hurry and get this post in while I'm drinking my coffee before it knocks me off and disappears. Today we are supposed to be moving the RV to our new home! I don't know if I'll be able to get internet anywhere there at first. We plan on getting our own installed but that might take a little while. I might be able to get online at their barn but I won't know until I get there. Otherwise, in the meantime I'll probably start bringing my computer to Alison's dance with me and go to the library to get online.

Well, Jeff drove to Laredo yesterday for his job interview and the hiring manager ended up not "making it" to Laredo so Jeff didn't have his interview!! He sent Jeff to the job site and he talked to some of the other service techs. Sound like he's going to be traveling a bit during the week but the pays decent and he'll have a service vehicle. So...now he still is going to have to fly to Houston for an interview! Sounds like the job is pretty much a sure thing but it sure would be nice to get this all settled!

I hope this whole situation works out at the ranch, I had two people yesterday tell me in town how hard these people are to work for....but they have been overly nice to us and soooo happy we're coming and haven't seemed that way at all so I'm keeping an open mind and giving them the benefit of the doubt. I'm hoping that they just have run across the right people for the job so far. So far, I haven't heard anything unreasonable that they are expecting for us to do. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what people are talking about but I guess we won't know until we get there. The perk of living in the house means more to us than it does to a lot of people and after what we did this summer, working 10-12 hour days at the stables, 7 days a week and then coming home every night and putting in several more hours in the park wasn't easy. Seems like there was no rest. As much as we love the park, it's why we would have rather not had to park host during the summer while we were working at the stables. Working at the stables is a joy but by the end of the summer, everyone was pretty worn out trying to keep up with both jobs. Most people that park host are retired and don't have a full time job in addition. This seems like a piece of cake compared to that...so we'll just have to try it. We can always come back to the park if it doesn't work out. I'll miss everyone around here in a way! The park employees, rangers, and police and fellow park hosts are all such great people we've enjoyed our time with. Exciting and a little sad at the same time. One thing I've learned through all this is that there is good in everything no matter how hard it seems at the time. I heard the country song yesterday that had the lyrics..."You're gonna miss this...you're gonna want this back...You're gonna miss this...wish it hadn't gone by so fast." Through the past years of hardship, we have been amazingly blessed with experiences we would have never had otherwise so I'm thankful for all of it.

Well, I have the internet at the moment so I'll take advantage of it and get in a quick post here. I heard Jeff drive away bright and early this morning for his interview. I'm praying for a safe trip for him to Laredo!

I found this Site online that makes afghans for kids with cancer from donated squares.
Share A Square FAQ
I think I'll work on making some squares for this project ~ I love making squares. If you have never sat down with a pattern book of squares and a basket of multi-colored yarn scraps, then you are missing out! Grab a book like "101 Crochet Squares" by Jean Leinhauser and start crocheting using whatever color combinations suit your fancy!



There are lots of links for free patterns online too. I have links to sites on my sidebar. Don't be afraid to try the more difficult looking squares, they end up not being as hard as they look and you learn a lot too. I made a King Sized Crochet afghan this way back in 2006. It took me 1 year to make it but it was one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever done and one that I am most proud of...


I already own the book 101 Crochet Squares but what's more interesting is that when I went to search for the cover image online to show you, I found that apparently the book is out of print now. If you do a Google search for "101 Squares" you will come up with a myriad of links to download this book for free. I'm not sure why that is...I didn't try to download it since I already have it but maybe it is in the public domain now that it is out of print. It's a great book and one I would consider a must have. My copy is so worn out.

I couldn't get the internet to work all day yesterday. I tried this morning and still no internet....I just came outside to check it again and I seem to have it for the time being. (I have to come outside to pick up the wireless signal) Once we move, I might be without internet for a little while so if you don't hear from me, you'll know why. We plan on getting internet but it might take us little while to get it installed.

We are so excited! Tomorrow is my husband's job interview! Plans have changed though...instead of him flying to Houston, he's meeting him in Laredo, Texas. He talked to the hiring manager today and the guy has to be in Laredo on that day. They are excited about my husband and said they basically plan on starting the application hiring process as soon as he meets him.

We had a really great day at the stables on Saturday. It was cloudy but we didn't get rained out and the riders came steady all day. I wasn't working in the visitor's center so I went up and helped them. Saturday night we got a great rain storm that came through. It rained all night long. We got about 2 1/2 inches. Everyone, including the plants and animals are thanking God around here right now! There was a large ride scheduled for Sunday, so Jeff and Alison went up to the stable in the morning to see what the status was but we were rained out...it was just too muddy to ride so they came home.

There were lots of tents in the dumpsters in the park on Sunday. It's always that way after a rain...people don't want to pack up their wet tents so they just throw them away. We got a very large walk in tent that we assembled and cleaned it all up. Man, wish we would have had that earlier! We're letting it dry out and then put it away since we're moving this week.



Jeff and Michael hiked up the moutain on Sunday. They called me when they got to the top for me to come and take a picture. They were so tiny I could barely see them. You can't really see them in this picture unless you know where you are looking...



So I zoomed in to try to get them...



One Sunday, we also went out to see the house we're going to be living in . Jeff also needed to look at the breaker box because he is going to need to add a 30 amp breaker to the breaker box for our RV. I meant to bring my camera and take some pictures but I forgot it! The house is very cute...it definately works. It's small but big to us compared to the RV. Can't wait to cook in a real oven! This ranch is truly amazing...I came away a little amazed. We got a tour of the barn...if you can call it that! Wow...that is quite a barn. That's all I can say. It's more than a barn and looks like something you would see in a magazine. Everything is neat as a pen and organized. I love organized...organized and I get along very well. It will make doing our daily chores very easy. Everything we could possibly need is there. The feed is neatly organized and labeled in custom built-in bins. The tack room is cleaner than most houses I've been in. There's a meat room with walk-in cooler for cleaning game. We met 4 of the horses but I don't think we met them all. The llamas seem to be quite friendly and they have some really great dogs. Oh, and the chickens...I went to see the chickens and these are no ordinary chickens. One of them had a flat face! Some were really, really fluffy...some had big poofs on their heads. I've never seen chickens like these before. Well, I guess we're going to learn something about chickens! We also drove out to their neighbor's house while we were out there. Jeff has been working for her which is how we ended up getting this job. He finished out the inside of her tack room and he wanted to show it to me. It's an older lady who lives out there with her mother. We ended talking to them for a long time. They are both real nice ladies. Everyone is so nice and keeps telling us how happy they are that we are coming out there. It's hard not to be excited but I am tempering my excitement. It seems to good to be true. Well, another adventure for our family is about to begin....I hope it works out as well as it seems!

Okay, so I did have to go somewhere today. I have to admit I am such a home-body...I just love to "not go anywhere" at least one day a week. You know, walk around looking all sloppy and comfortable. My peaceful day of productivity...cleaning, washing clothes, cooking, and a little crocheting in between was interrupted when Alison announced late this afternoon that she "needed to go see her horse". Okay, so we went to see Princess and had to drive way out to go get her because the horses were not down by the house. The owner's grandson drove us in his truck and we dallied Princess to the bumper and she trotted back with us. Alison did her usual routine...working with her walking and trotting for the show and grooming. Now, we are back home and Michael is working at the front gate in the park and Jeff & Alison are watering the trees. I have Ritz Chicken in the oven.

Between yesterday at dance and today, I did finish another cable panel on my afghan and have started on the next diamond panel. Wow...I'm actually going to finish this afghan BEFORE winter I think!



Getting a picture was next to impossible....the wind has been blowing like COMPLETE MADNESS TODAY! Everything, I mean everything is blowing away outside...stuff I didn't even know WOULD blow away is blowing away. Logs from our woodpile, dishes, chairs, shoes...nothing seems to be safe!

We have been fighting off the skunks like crazy every night...the little critters really just want to sniff around your campsite for food (even if you're in it)...so last night, we finally just decided to stop jumping up and running away and trying to scare them away. I mean all they want is some food.



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Crochet Quote:

The simple meditative act of knitting (crocheting) may not bring about world peace, but it certainly has made my world more peaceful.”

- - - - Ann budd, book Editor, Interweave Press, Author of numerous knitting books.

Well, today I don't have to go anywhere today! I spent some time this morning adding some new blogs to my blog list and I took off one blog that hadn't been updated in a year. It takes me awhile to get my blog list updated with new blogs because when I see a blog I like, I click my handy "blog this" button and save it as a draft. Later, when I think about it, I go through the drafts and save them to my blog list. If any of my readers have a blog, please send me your link and I'll add you to my blog list!

I found this picture saved in my drafts... apparently I intended to share this awhile back and never did. This was something Michael carved with a utility knife...


Another interested link I found saved in my drafts...
Make Your Own Yarn Winder for Center Pull Balls
Personally, I don't know why you wouldn't just buy a yarn winder but it's still cool if you could make one! I have a yarn winder and it is well worth the money! I love it!

Well, I finished the Puff Stitch Panel of the afghan.



I think this is really going to qualify as more of a throw instead of an afghan. It's not that big but I am using a smaller hook than the pattern said...mainly because I don't have that big of a hook. It'll be just fine though.

I don't know if the diamond panel of the afghan is really a cable stitch at all.

You actually make the cable stitches with chain stitches on top of the blanket. Maybe that's what makes it a "Quick & Easy" blanket.

Those are the basic three panels for the afghan, or throw.

Now, I just have to do some more panels. Alison was asked to go be a demonstrator for the 3rd grade ballet class today so I'll have time to work on more while I'm waiting for her today.

This afghan is coming along very quickly. I finished the first diamond panel today. The diamond panel was slightly more difficult to understand than the cable pattern, but only a little bit. I was able to get it done with relatively little un-doing. This afghan really is Quick and Easy like the book says. I guess you can get the look of a more difficult fisherman crochet afghan without it actually being difficult. Also, the other pattern was done in single crochets....this one is done in double crochets which makes it come along much faster.

Well, my try on the new afghan is working out beautifully! I'm very happy with the results and the pattern is so well written, I haven't had an ounce of trouble.
As many years as I have been crocheting, I have never done cable stitches. What a clever stitch...I'm still learning as I crochet. The genius of some pattern designers amazes me. Well, it was such a neat stitch to try that I whipped out the first panel already! I'm starting on the diamond panel next...hopefully it will go just as smoothly...if it does, then I think this is the one! lol If plans work out, I'll be cozy and warm with my new afghan this winter.

Here's the book my pattern comes out of...it's the cream afghan on the cover and it is called Bulky Fisherman Crochet afghan.

Praise God, my husband heard from the recruiter on the job we've been waiting on...they are flying him to Houston next week for an interview!! This is really good news because they must be very interested in him if they are spending the money to fly him out! The recruiter said she sent high recommendations for him and the job is basically his to take or not take...this couldn't be more perfect. This company is based out of Houston but they are wanting to hire someone out here (in the sticks, mind you) to service the banks in the small towns in the territory. They would have to get someone to move out here so finding my husband already out here with as much experience he has in this field is just too perfect. Thank God! It's not over yet so please pray for favor in the job interview! Between this and the job at the ranch, I'm praying this is the corner we've been waiting to turn!

Yay!!

We accepted the job to be caretakers yesterday! I'm not sure why, but the owners are very excited and happy that we have decided to take the position. Maybe they've just had a hard time finding someone that is a good "fit" for the job. I'm so happy with the idea of getting to live in a house after being in the RV for 20 months. Also, in reality, I think we will be doing less hours on a weekly basis than we are required here at the park. Daily feeding of the animals won't take all that long...then there is an addition 4 hours of other various ranch work we will be doing during the week. It's closer to Alison's dance. We will be able to bring our RV out there so the kids will be able to have their own rooms. (The house is only a 1 bedroom.) There is a washer and dryer in the house...the only bad thing is that the house isn't furnished and we don't have any furniture except some dressers! They are going to try to scrounge up with they can so we might have to try to come up with some furniture to sit on. The other good thing is that they have a guest house and a bunk house on the property that they we were welcome to let friends or relatives stay in. Now, if Jeff can just get the job we are waiting to hear about, then life will really be looking up! Please pray that he gets that job!

Well, Alison has dance and 4-H meeting tonight. I don't have to wait around for her to get finished with dance tonight because Jeff is going to pick her up and take her to her 4-H meeting. He signed up to help with the Marksmanship program this year because Alison signed up to learn marksmanship!

Well, here I have finished a crochet project. Here is the beaded watermelon hat/scarf set.



I did start on a different afghan...I'm just testing it out right now to see if it's something I'm going to want to make. In the meantime, I've got some kitchen potholders lined up to work on for quick projects to take with me places.

Well, I finished Alison's water bottle holder....no pattern, I just made it up as I went.