I’ve been so quite….

Nothing against any of my wonderful friends, but I have not been on-line much lately. I get on for an hour or two a day to check e-mail or play one or two games; but basically I have been busy doing other things.

With football now a thing in the past until next July, I have been looking for other things to keep me busy. I started knitting scarves the last week or so of football before Halloween as the weather had gotten pretty cool in the evenings.  As a matter of fact, we had record breaking cold temperatures!  I knitted a scarf for me and one for a coach; and then decided I would just keep on knitting scarves….I have 2 patterns inspired by the “Harry Potter” movies that I follow. I thought if I could get some “house” scarves done before the release of the next movie on November 19th that I might be able to make a little extra money.

Then my mother in law asked if I had any patterns for baby afghans, as she had several skeins of baby yarn she wanted to get rid of.  So I found a pattern I want to at least try.  Generally, I can follow simple patterns with no problem….I have no idea how to do complicated cable knits or fancy stitches.  As a matter of fact, the only other thing I ever knitted was mittens…Because that is what I originally learned how to knit….Compared to mittens, scarves are easy!  I found a favorite site “The leaky Cauldron” that has a variety of “Harry Potter” inspired crafts to knit or crochet.  I doubt I will try socks, but I am going to try some hats and arm warmers…And I have a pattern for leg warmers.  My mother in law gave me several books mostly of crochet patterns, and there are some things I may try to do like doilies and even a skirt.

One day I was going to go buy more yarn as I wanted some different colors and I had to buy a new circular knitting needle.  My mother in law stopped me and gave me several pairs of regular (straight) knitting needles as well a a fairly large box of odds and ends yarn she had….

Some were full skeins but most were partial skeins. I have plenty to keep me busy at least for awhile.  My son wanted a scarf with the light and dark blue so I decided I would try that on a smaller circular needle.  The scarf won’t be as wide as the “Harry Potter” scarves and hopefully I will have enough of the two colors to complete it without having to go out and try to match the colors. 

An ex-sister in law saw a photo of the 2 I completed for myself and asked for one in her favorite Team colors; blue, yellow and white.  So I started a third scarf….Now this may seem a little hectic to some, but I now have 3 scarves going at once!  Every day I knit about 40 rows of each scarf…and sometimes even more.  My sister in law’s scarf is almost complete.

Now with all this knitting going on, one may wonder if I have time for anything else.  The answer is yes I do…Yesterday I spent about 2 hours gardening.  I cut back my mother in law’s Hostas that she has beside her side of the duplex…a project she had started but just didn’t have the energy to finish…It took me less than 20 minutes with a good pair of pruners.

Hostas

Then I looked into the backyard and decided to do some fall cleaning and pruning there, too.  We have a variety of flowering plants including Day Lilies,  roses and various bulbs.  I had already dug up the wonderful marigolds that bloomed all summer, and my husband helped with our “volunteer” cherry tomato plants that mixed with the morning glories on the rear fence…I pruned some of the dead branches from the roses, dug up a wild ground cover that had taken over most of the garden, cut the lilies down to encourage new growth in the spring and even planted a few dozen more bulbs. I cut down several Tree sprouts that had invaded from the neighbor’s yard and trimmed back their wild growing Japanese tree that the owners planted practically in our yard along the fence….It’s wild, ugly and uncontrollable!  

Lately, my mother in law and I have been sharing the cooking duties.  One day, she made a huge pot of vegetable soup.  She took out what she could eat and gave the rest to us.  Yesterday, she gave me some polish sausage she had in the freezer and some cabbage to fix for dinner.  I added cubed potatoes  and put it all in the crock pot…When done, I took a bowl over to her.  Today, she brought over a bag of frozen vegetables for me to fix to go along with the steak and gravy she has in the oven.  It worked out great for all of us as we never have to worry about leftovers or making too much.  I take her to the store and she has been known to pay me back with some of the “Buy 1 Get 1” offers she comes across.  Last weekend, I made a meatloaf and took her over a healthy slice….

My best buy this week was a 20 pound turkey…for $2.80!  Whenever possible, I use coupons or special buys.  The turkey was a special buy with an additional $10 purchase…(Who goes to the store and doesn’t spend $10??  I even have coupons for the craft and fabric stores….40% of any one item, 10% off entire purchase….

So I haven’t forgotten my friends.  And I am not trying to ignore anyone….I am just trying to keep my mind and my hands busy to keep from missing my grandchildren.  Tomorrow is the Football banquet.  I have to make a dish, finish a project for the assistant coaches (A photo collage), and give the book I created on-line to my grandson…(a birthday present I have made for him for the past 4 years)….even though he has not talked to me in over 1 month.  I was shocked when I finished the book one day, paid for it the next and received an e-mail confirming it was completed and shipped the same day!!  I hope he likes it.

Love and Hugs to all my wonderful friends!

If Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop…

Then I must be in Heaven…..
In 2 weeks time, I have:

Created and Painted 3 Football Banners
Attended 8 Football games
Knitted 3 scarves
Created 3 hard back photo books on-line
Printed over 50 pictures
Played umpteen  Facebook games
Given 1 haircut
Played 1 night of Bingo (Note; I did not win!)
Written 6 letters to my grandson

I also have ran my own errands as well as taken my mother in law to do her errands, ran my husband to the Flea market and my son to the mall, as well as shopping, picking up pictures from the photographer and many other things too numerous to name.
Needless to say, I have kept myself busy.  Not only does the knitting keep my hands and my mind busy, but I hope to be able to sell the scarves for  little extra income.  My son had found a pattern on-line several (about 6 or 8) years ago for knitting “Harry Potter” scarves.  The first Pattern he found me was the “Chamber of secrets'’ pattern; basically two tones worked in alternate rows of 20 each color knitted in the round  until there are 11 of one color and 9 of the other….With fringe, these scarves measure over 72” in length (1.28 meters) .  Lots of length and width to wrap around your head and neck with plenty of tail to tuck in to coats or jackets….and warm!
Then when the“Prisoner of Azkaban” came out, the patter changed to what is know as the ‘trapped bar’ pattern….27 rows of the darker color, 3 rows light, 5 rows dark, 3 rows light continued on until you end with 27 rows of dark….fringe on both ends….
I made these for football using 3 colors for the first.
The main problem I had with knitting is I had to find the right size circular needle.  I have one I have used many, many times.  I never knew what size it was as it was given to me and there was no packaging or marking….The problem is, I have used my needle to knit so many of the scarves over time that mine poor needle was beginning to show it’s age.  One I used was totally plastic and began to fray.  The most recent one had aluminum needles with plastic cording….and one end kept coming off dropping stitches.  No problem , right? You just go to the local fabric or crafts store and find one the same size….Three stores later, after purchasing one and having to return to the store to replace one the wrong size, I now have a new Bamboo circular needle….size 8- 24” long…..This time, I slipped the older needle into the package and put the whole thing in my kitting bag.
I made one scarf for the coach of one of the youth football league teams in his team colors….yellow and red.  The team who won the championship was one we had been with 7 or 8 years ago and the Head coach of that team actually has 2 scarves I made for him…one in team colors and one in all white…I have picked up more yarn to create at least 3 more scarves in team and “Harry Potter” colors (with the new movie coming out) .  Payday, I will get more yarn, extra needles and I have a patter for matching mittens and hats….which I will need needles in 2 smaller sizes…..if I can find them.  I may have to order them on-line.
Today I got a nice surprise.  I had not heard from my grandson in over a month and I knew he was busy.  I was hoping that was the reason I had not heard from him.  I didn’t think his mother would be able to turn him against me but you never know.  Spite and Hatred are evil things and they make people do stupid things.
When I went to the mailbox today, I had a letter from my grandson.  He told me how busy he had been in the field with different artillery, PT and classes.  He went on to tell me the next 2 weeks were going to seam boring compared to the past month.  He graduates from Basic training on November 19th…
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I couldn’t stop smiling….especially when I found his picture in the bottom of the envelope…He told me he has order other prints and a book to show me when he gets home.  I can’t wait for his Christmas leave….I really miss him.
Hugs and Love to all!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Football is over…..That is the games have concluded for the season…And now I am sad.  No more seeing my grandsons play football until next July.  Maybe by then they will be talking to me again.  They still won’t even look at me.  The Football Banquet is  November 12th and I will go to that no matter what.

the older grandson in 3 point stance

The youngest grandson carrying the ball

Last night was the play-off games.  As usual, I made the banner for the team to run through.  My mind must be off because for some reason, I thought the game was at 6….I left my house at 20 minutes till 5 and got their just in time.  The game started at 5!  I was rushing around doing things and didn’t get to take a photo of the finished banner.  The good thing is, there is a man from a local company who takes photos of some of the games.  He got a shot of most of the banner….The only thing is he has a web  business and charges $2.99 for a 4 x 6 photo reprint!  (I am in the wrong business because I have some of the same shots he does and I have been giving them to the parents!) We won third place with a score of 20 to 6…All the players and cheerleaders received medals for the win.  The Cheer coach came up to me after the game and thanked me for all my help with the 6 or 7 banners I have made for the team….and she gave me a medal! Some one appreciates me!

I talked with several parents and I will probably sit with them during the banquet.  The girl player, (“George”) had an interview with a news paper reporter on Thursday and was front page news today.  She had told us that she talked to a coach of the Junior High team about playing next year.  He told her she could join the team but she would sit the bench.  This is how the coaches wanted to advertise that she is one fantastic player and maybe, the junior High coach will acknowledge her talent by seeing it in the paper. The photographer even had a web album dedicated to just her.  She worked hard for the past 2 years and even played this year with a bruised sternum that she received during one game.

So my next step will be to keep checking both the Biddy Basketball and Youth Wrestling sites for their schedules and rosters.  I have been told that both grandsons will play Basketball for the South Elementary Stallions, and I have also heard that the youngest will also wrestle again this year.  My daughter may be able to stop me from talking to them, but she can’t prevent me from going to public games and matches.

For now, that will have to be enough for me.  Watching them grow both as young men and in talent from the sideline….and taking my best friend, my Camera to keep my memories….

Hugs and Love to all my friends reading this!

The party is almost over…..

So sad....
only 2 more football games. Wednesday our team plays the second play-off game.  Then on Saturday, will be the finals.  I will miss football as it is the only place I get to see my grandsons, even if they aren't talking to me. The weather today cancelled our last practice. Then it will be Basketball and Wrestling. I have friends who will keep me in contact with the various teams so I can at least go to games and matches. And I will take my best friend..."Raven"....my camera....
Thursday is officially "Beggars Night"....Halloween to most people is celebrated on the 31st, but in Ohio it's "Beggars Night" during the week...between 6 and 7:30 so it isn't even dark when the children go out in their costumes...I won't get to see my grandchildren dressed up.
Still haven't heard from my oldest grandson. The Army is keeping him busy I guess.  I still hope to go to his graduation, but the closer it gets to that date, the more I worry I won't be able to go after all....
But I am staying busy here in my hermit shell.....knitting, computer and catching up on sleep.....

Life goes on….and I must go on too.  Hopefully one day soon I can look back at this time in my life as a bad memory.  And create new happier memories..

Hugs and Love to all my true friends…

Football Play-offs; Oh What a day!

So….the regular season is finally over and play-off for the championship has begun.  It is what our coaches call the “Second Season”.  Now it doesn’t matter how many games you won or how many games you lost.  If your head is in the game, and your heart wants it badly enough, you can bring home the trophy. 
The day began with our team’s game.  In the regular season we placed 4th. There were 3 teams with the same win/loss record so the place was decided on who won against who…The other two teams both beat us once, but we beat the third place team once.  Their win against us was by more  31 points so in order to finish above them our win would have had to be more than 32 points over them….But, alas was not. So the way the play-offs start; the 1st place team plays the last place team, the second place team plays the next to last, the third place team plays the team in 6th place and the 4th place team plays the 5th place team.
We always make a big thing of the  first play-off game. A couple of years ago when I still worked and had money, I bought a flag from the Minnesota Vikings website and a Viking costume at Halloween from a local party store. The first year, one of the father’s volunteered to wear it. Last year, I wore it.  During a practice last week, I was asked if I still have the costume and flag.  I do, but because this year anything I take to the field I have to carry on my own, I haven’t been bringing everything.  One of the father’s said if the costume fit him, He would wear it this year. So I brought it to the next practice.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Some of the players on some of the teams have shown their support by wearing pink duct tape.  We have a girl on our team….She decided to go all out for the game.  She is a 6th grader and this is her last year to play youth sports so she is ready to win the Championship Trophy.

I don’t know what they fed her the night before, but her mom tells me her and her brother were up at 7:30 a.m., outside warming up and wanted to be at the field at 8! (The game wasn’t until 10!)  She had 12 tackles in the game and recovered a fumble by the other team….I think we should have her wear the pink for the last 2 games…
It was an exiting game all the way around.  The players were pumped up, the parents were pumped up and the coaches were pumped up.  We won the game 28 to 0….The other team had to take “the walk of shame”….that’s when the losing teams have to turn in their equipment.  All players are told to make sure they bring extra clothes the first day of play-offs, as any team that does lose goes home….minus their helmets, shoulder pads and pants pads…
The next 2 games were no surprise. Both the second place team and the first place team won their games…The surprise came when the third place team played the 6th place team….Now the third place team has had a year filled with drama. One of their players had a weight issue before the season started, made weight for the first game, but refused to weigh in after the 5th game….Their team was “beating up” on every team they played up until then accumulating over 30 points against every team they beat…We were the first team to even score against them.  This player also has an anger management problem.  In the past he has been suspended for games and usually had at least 1 ”Un-sportsmanlike Conduct” call per game. He has made a habit of punching, hitting, pinching and making obscene gestures to members of the opposing team all season.  After the game where we beat them and he received a penalty for “Late hit out of bounds” where he ran one of our players into a bench (the other boy used to be his best friend), he was suspended for the remainder of the season.  His coach/father and head Coach were both fired for encouraging bad sportsmanship. He was at the game protesting…

This was just enough to fire up the 6th place team.  They came ready to play. The score didn’t get very high, but it got high enough….In the end, the 6th place team sent the 3rd place team home by a score of 8 to 6…..just 2 points….but the field almost broke into a riot as members from all the other teams who stayed to watch broke into a cheer….
Karma will get you in the end….
Next step….On Wednesday, our team will play the 1st place team at 6 and the other 2 teams play at 7:30.  The 2 winner will play for the championship game on Saturday at the High School; and the two losers will play for 3rd and 4th place.  This is the first time this has ever been done.  All the boys and our girl are pumped up and excited about playing on the “Big” field.  And as was proven this past week….anything can happen!
Good luck to all of them but most of all to my favorite team…..The Vikings!
Hugs and Love to all my friends reading! 

Blog, Blog, Blog…..

Okay…it has been several days since I have written anything.  I have made lots of changes and so far I have been doing very good. I did return to football practices and talking with my many friends there.  It sure brightened my spirit.  It’s nice to know that a few people can’t spoil it for others.  No word from any of my grandchildren; my cell phone has been almost deadly silent but I am managing to make the most of everything. I hope I will get a letter from the oldest grandson soon, but I know the Army is keeping him busy.
I made the banner for Saturdays game, and I started knitting a spirit scarf in team colors.  It’s hard to be upset and knit at the same time, so it really helps to occupy my hands and my mind at the same time. I will go watch all 4 games on Saturday and take pictures of at least 3 of the games for friends.  I am working on a photo album for the coach of our team, gathering photos for the team video for the banquet and I will also work on a book for my middle grandson’s last youth football league year….although since I can’t talk to him and he can’t talk to me, I will save it for the apology I get when he does start talking to me again….I’ve decided since I did nothing wrong, I at least deserve that much.
Thanks to my mother-in-law, my laundry is done.  She washed, dried and folded 2 loads of my clothes and now is working on my husband’s clothes. She has nothing to do this week and volunteered to do them for us….which saves us from going to the laundry mat…and since she just lives in the duplex next door, we only have to walk out the door to get them. I want my own washer and dryer, but we only have room for maybe a stackable set. I’ll add that to my “When I win the Lottery” list. (LOL!)
Yesterday at practice they had what they refer to as “Senior Hit Day”.  It is when the 6th grade boys who are currently playing their last year of youth football get to choose 1 coach on the team to “Tackle”….Don’t worry, they use a tackling dummy….otherwise I think some of the coaches may have ended up on their behinds!.  My Grandson chose the coach who originally chose him in the draft over 4 years ago.  In a way, I felt it was some kind of a show of respect. The poor coach is suffering from a torn meniscus in one knee, so he used that knee to block the pad. The head coach received 3 hits! Which is unusual as he very rarely gets any! And the girl on our team chose the newest of our coaches.  One of the 6th graders was not at practice, so I am sure he will get his chance next week.
So as for now, I am once again in good spirits.  I have decided I am not going to worry myself sick over something I have no control over.  I have my memories to keep me warm….and the hope that someday, things will start to look brighter for me and will go back to the way they were….Some things will never be the same as some of the damage done can never be repaired…Some Relationships will never be re-kindled, and others will be strained…
But to all my friends out there, and you know who you are; Thanks for always being there with your kind and uplifting words.  I love you all!
Hugs and Love to everyone reading!       

Another step towards change.

The other night, I did some “house cleaning”.

I went through all of my e-mail accounts and deleted people who I don’t know, or who I have not heard from in ages and never get e-mails from.  I also deleted family members who no longer talk to me, or I don’t talk to them or want nothing to do with me.  Then I made all my e-mail accounts private.

I also had 2 “My Space” pages with photo albums and blogs, and more contacts I really don’t know. I deleted both of them completely. Then, I created a new personal e-mail account that I will only give to those deserving of my friendship/relationship…and created a new “My Space”.  I sent e-mails to several of the contacts I had there that I do want to keep in contact with…(oops! Just remember someone I forgot to add!)

My thought process goes like this: Everyone knows where I live.  Most of my friends and family have my telephone number, e-mail accounts and facebook page. If it is someone who really cares about me, they will contact me.  If they don’t, it’s their loss not mine and I should not be bothered by people who only use me. I am tired of being a taxi, delivery service, “loan” company, supply company and messenger service.  Family only calls me when they need a ride, need me to pick something up, need to borrow money, need me to make something or need something they know I always have around or want me to “get a message” to someone. Don’t get me wrong! I like to be needed and to be helpful! But there has way to much giving and not enough getting in return.

I am tired of being the one taking the pictures, and not being in the pictures.

So my vow is to change.  I am going to learn how to say no, even if I feel guilty at first. I know after a few times of saying no, some people will not ask again. And that’s okay, too! I am not saying I will quit helping all together, but there will be a new me in town. I need to be happy if I am going to survive this hermit life I am living. 

From Now on, it’s all about me!

Thanks to all my friends on the internet who have stuck with me through my ups and downs. A big HUG to each of you! Thanks for your kind encouraging words, your uplifting thoughts and your prayers. I truly love you all.  My one wish is someday we could all meet and actually exchange those hugs!

Hugs and Love to all!