Winter Crafts

On winter evenings, my mother twined rugs to use in the porch and in the house. I remember that she frequently wore dresses and aprons until my father died in 1965. During his battle with cancer, Mom began wearing shirts and pants because she took over his farming and milking chores. I don't remember her working on rugs after he died.

The cat was probably entertained by the fluttering fabric strips. Mom loved cats and always had several in and near the milking barn. The cats loved to clean the buckets after the calves were fed. Everywhere mom went on the farm, she was escorted by cats. Oddly, I only remember having two house cats.

I think this photo was taken in the early 1960s because the floor tiles are not in the kitchen (shown at left), and I remember when the flooring was installed.

Tracking George

Occasionally, I find a "Where's George?" bill in the change I am given. Recently, I discovered two of them in my wallet.

When the serial number is entered on the "Where's George?" website, the path the bill has traveled is detailed. The bill, pictured above, started its journey in Jackson, TN on April 1, 2008. Its made its 1,160 mile journey at a rate of 2.2 miles per day.

The bright red stamp on the side and top of this bill is what caught my eye when I pulled it out of my wallet to leave a tip. According to "Where's George?" it began its travels in Dodge City, KS on May 26, 2009. This bill had journey 573 miles at a rate of 4.8 miles per day when I registered its serial number.

Have you discovered any of these marked bills and checked on its journey to your wallet?

It's a Secret

I'm working on a secret project for the hospital auxiliary. Can you guess what I am making?

Hint: So far, I have used a camera, a computer, an overhead projector (yes, they still exist), pencils, crayons, and a vacuum.

Star Light, Star Bright

Isn't this original watercolor of a cupcake wishing on a shooting star wonderful. It was created by jessie at CAKESPY.COM and was in a surprise package that arrived in Friday's mail.

The painting and three balls of the softest yarn was the prize I won from KathyB the author of Irisheyes Knitting Blog. Her husband drew my name from all of those who sent blankets for the Cookie Sheet Blanket Contest.

Kathy received all of these lovely blankets in response to her contest.

I was happy to send some blankets and thrilled to receive these gifts.

Magical Day

Thursday was memorable: three knitting buddies and I went on a road trip to Meeteetse, WY (about 100 miles up the road) to get some chocolate, but we came home with something more magical.

Meeteetse, a little town in northwest Wyoming, is the home of the famous Meeteetse Chocolatier, Tim Kellogg. You can read a bit of background on this unlikely cowboy and chocolatier here.

We made the trip to savour the flavored chocolate truffles. (Oh my, his chocolate truffles are delicious and so sinful.) We didn't get to see Tim because he was working on the ranch. I would have loved to see his crooked smile.

After eating lunch at the Cowboy Bar & Cafe across the street, we began another adventure, taking side roads and doing some exploring. We found a true gem at Legend Rock and spent a great deal of time at the site.

The rock bluff has over 300 petroglyphs that are easily accessible. We were able to walk right up the to the rock face to see the drawings.

I was amazed that the images were not craved into the rocks but actually punched. It is possible to see each strike of the artist's tools. Truly amazing.

These are pre-historic glyphs, estimated to be 11,200 years old.

The images are pecked into the rock and not painted. Some of the glyphs are considered to be done in the Dinwoody style and others are much older.

This was the only section that had been marred by vandals.

The area is being developed more by the State. I only hope that it does not result in the rock face being fenced off so it is not approachable. Right now, these petroglyphs are also accessible to the handicapped (a road runs the length of the bluff) and the drawings can easily be seen from a vehicle or wheel chair although binoculars would be helpful to see some of the smaller images.

My knitting buddies and I were blessed with a beautiful day, one filled with treats for the body and the soul. It was a memorable and magical.

It's a Mystery

I am not sure if the holes on this tree's bark are where branches have been trimmed or due to some disease.

The holes appeared to be "eyes" and followed me as I drove by. They compelled me to back up and examine the tree more closely.

Pattycake

Pattycake is a West Coast Oddball blanket. (It is more square than it looks in the photo.)

This little blanket was started in June but was pushed aside so I could concentrate on Christmas knitting.

More Scrap Knits

I've been working to bring the bulging bag of scrap sock yarn under control.

Two balls of turquoise-dominant yarn were turned into this pair of fingerless mitts. Not enough yarn remains to make anything of substance, so it was pitched.

The leftovers from the Old Man River socks were adequate to make this pair of short-cuffed socks.  Note the tiny bit of yarn remaining.

I finished these short-cuffed socks out of the scraps of Rosebuds and Tidal Wave yesterday.