Sew Tired....

Good Late Evening Friends...

Today was my turn around day after my weekend of night shift.  Three in a row is getting a little long for this gal ☺

Today I did a whole lot of nothing.  Got kiddo ready for school and the bus stop only to find out that the bus was going to be 45 minutes late.  

Took a quick nap after getting back home.  Rummaged through the fridge for some lunch and eventually showered by 1600 hours.  WOW.  Nothing really accomplished.

Late this afternoon my May subscription of Yarn Crush arrived.  I was super excited.  Then I opened it:

The yarns are pretty, but are mini skeins to use to make a choker necklace.  WHAT!!!!  Seriously.  I am not sure what to think of this......I'm actually speechless...

Most of today has been cloudy and rainy so I made tomato soup and cheese biscuits for dinner:

After dinner I sat down and finished knitting my March Yarn Crush project.  I used the Tink Yarn supplied to make socks using the Cherry Lane Socks pattern:

Pretty!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Best Kind of Day

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today was my day off before starting evening and night shifts this weekend.  I had big plans for the day, but instead ended up having not a very productive day by any means but a really good day.

After getting kiddo on the bus for school I took the puppy (yes I still call him that he is only 9 months old) for a walk in the River Valley:

Then I headed out to Greenland Garden Center where I picked up a few fun things, one of which was a lavender plant for my front yard.  I have one out at the farm but never seem to catch it at the right time to be able to cut and dry it for my soap:

It already smells beautiful!

Met hubby for lunch at The Pint for deep fried pickles and Halibut and chips!

This evening kiddo had a school presentation that we attended.  It was so really well done by all the students and it was amazing to see how many of them actually used critical thinking and did not just go with main stream media concepts, but actually thought about what these ideas meant.

Since it was late by the time we left the school we stopped at Tony`s Pizza Palace.  This is one of the pizza places that for sure makes Edmonton the 8th Best Place in the World to get pizza (the only Canadian city on the list of 14).  

Watered the plants and the new sod I put down today next to the flower beds when we got home and then I assembled another row of my Raise the Roof quilt:

Now to do a bit of knitting before bed as tomorrow will be a long and busy day!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

End of the Week?

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today was my equivalent of Friday because it is that time of my work rotation to work the weekend (sad face).  Although it was only a 2 day work week because of Victoria Day I still packed in a lot of work and am tired!  Tomorrow is my day off as Friday I agreed to an over time shift (what was I thinking?????).

Yesterday evening and a bit of this evening were spent doing some urban gardening.  I do not have pictures right now.

After it got too dark to play in the yard this evening I decided to start/finish a quilt that has been sitting in my craft room for over a year now!

TAH DAH!!!

Two rows completed!

Now I should probably head off to bed as there are lots of errands to do tomorrow!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Cuttin' It Close...

Good Evening Internet Friends.

A while back I decided that I would knit hubby another pair of wool socks for work.  Well, my crafty mojo had all but vanished for most of this winter and as such these socks are probably the longest duration of socks I have ever knitted.  Seriously.

This evening after dinner I finished these socks.  The only saga to them is that 14 (not kidding) stitches from being done (not stitched together either) I ran out of yarn!!!!  Rummaging through my left over yarns I managed to find one that sort of worked, and I think I shall forego telling hubby for now that his socks do not have original dye lot stripes to both socks ☺:

TAH DAH!

Now I should likely putter off to bed, but my knitting needles look lonely without a sock of some form on them...

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Rainy Awful Waffle Sunday

Good Afternoon Internet Friends!

It is still raining here in Alberta and I think most of us are OKAY with that.  ☺

Since it was Sunday I of course made waffles for breakfast.  Today we had Oatmeal Blueberry Waffles:

Yummy!

After breakfast I finished the borders on my F 150 quilt and will hopefully get it over to be long armed later today:

I am pretty happy with it.  This one will be given to my son for his bed. Next up is the F 350 panel which hubby will get.

Now to get ready to go out for dinner.  Hubby decided to treat us to dinner out since we have not done anything "fun" this weekend except celebrate the rain!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Taco Saturday???

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It is Saturday of the May long weekend and I am at home!  Usually we would be in the mountains camping and getting snowed on, or at least trying to put in the garden out at the farm.

This weekend however is cold and rainy and I don't think that there is a single person in Alberta upset about that after the fires we have either lived through, seen, or been mobilized to respond to.

My son and I did make a trip out to Kuhlmann's Greenhouse to pick up a couple of West Coast Seed  packages that I wanted that I cannot get anywhere else.

For dinner we made Taco's using the ground beef that I picked up at Local Meats in Leduc.  This is locally sourced lean ground beef that was on sale for $3.99/lb!  Better yet, it tastes that the farm beef I grew up eating which I had all but given up eating because I did not like the taste of beef since I left home.

Since it is all wet and raining outside nobody including puppy wanted to go for a walk, so hubby rough housed with him on the floor for a while to wear him out (I think they will both sleep well tonight):

Lastly before I head out to bring in my plants for the night I will post a pic of the plant that a patient of mine who will be re-locating gave me this week:

It is so bright and cheery that it just makes me happy, but I will miss my patient.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sympathy Card

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today is garbage day!  No seriously, it is.  After dinner my son and I ran out to Costco to get groceries for the rest of the week and the long weekend before the lines get too long.  Coming home it was time to get the garbage and the recycling to the curb and then take puppy for a walk.

That did not leave much time for crafting time, but I really need to make a card for a colleague of mine whose father passed away recently.

I really hate saying good bye in any context so after staring at the "with sympathy" stamp for a really long time I decided to go with this:

It just does not seem so sad and "final" to me.  The card would have looked exactly the same, but I think the wording is a little more compassionate to the occasion.

Hope this brings a little happiness to her day knowing that someone is thinking about her at this time.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Snack Time!!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Well today was back to work and back to school for kiddo and I.  Thankfully it is only a 4 day week for both of us as the weekend just did not seem long enough ☺

Late last night (seriously) I whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Oatmeal Multigrain muffins for our snack today:

YUMMY.  This is the last of the frozen pumpkin packages from last fall that I found in the freezer!

After dinner we took puppy out for a walk.  I recently invested in getting him a walking halter which has seemed to help all of us including puppy go for a walk....

My son is THRILLED at being able to take his dog for a walk finally!

After we got back I worked on a few random projects, not enough on anything to show any progress though.  Might be getting my crafting MOJO back....will see.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

A "Green" Kind of Day

Good Evening Internet Friends!

No I did not forget about my blog, just been extra busy!

Today was filled with all kinds of gardening type activities.

After breakfast my son and I headed over to the Home Depot Kid's Workshop where he got to build a bird house.  After braiding some left over yarn we placed it in one of the front yard trees and filled it with seeds:

Then we ran a few errands that were close by just so that tomorrow we can stay home.  For the past month I have been working on one day of the week not driving the automobile.  If we need something can walk, but no driving unless an emergency and so far that has not come up!

After lunch we planted the tomato plants that my friend Julie gave me last weekend.  They were getting a little too big for their little container and I was afraid that they might fall over before I could get them out to the garden.  So, I planted them:

Then my son and I spent 3.5 hours cleaning the front yard.  We used the blower (lithium re-chargeable battery powered) to get all the dead leaves off of the rocks, planted the rest of the flowers in the pots, pruned all of the shrubs, tossed grass seed on all the areas that look a little thin (it really is very dry out there), and raked the entire lawn.  The front yard looked prettier that it has in years:

One of the items that I purchased just because today was this cute little chive kit that is now sitting beside my sink (east facing):

It's just so cute I had to get it.  I think I will go back and get the basil one too!  When I read the instructions the seeds are from Denmark, it was packaged in Canada, and then sent to the USA for labeling.

Lastly, I made Pumpkin Peanut Butter dog biscuits.  Tomorrow I will have to make some muffins with the rest:

Now off to watch a movie with my son and maybe knit while I do that!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sew Exhausted....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today I began the wind down of working with the Fort Mac Fire Evacuees.  Tomorrow a reduced staffing crew will begin operation. 

I am "sew" exhausted, but it has been "sew" worth it to help in this time of need.

I have not done much of any quilting or sewing these last few days but this evening I did put the last row on one of my in progress rag quilts:

TAH DAH!!

I just have to snip all the loose edges and this quilt will be ready for the camping season.  It will likely come in very handy next weekend as we are under a fire ban here in Alberta.  

Now, off to bed as I have one more day of work this week before I get to start my three day weekend!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Happy Mother's Day!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Yesterday was my day at home alone with no interruptions! I had BIG plans for the day.  Hmmm, nothing was accomplished.

First off I woke up at the ridiculous hour of 0630.  Seriously.  Could not go back to sleep.  Eventually I got up and had some cereal with milk from a box (yup) and watched the news channel.  Realizing it was now 1030 I decided to head out into the world.

I had plans to go to the mall and do some shopping for just me.  Arriving at the mall it was packed, not just Saturday packed but a lot of out of town vehicles...go figure.  The mall was crowded, the stuff I wanted picked over and the general mood of the mall was tense.

I left and came home for some lunch.  Watched some more of the news channel before deciding I would head out to the Sherwood Park Mall.  That mall was also busier than usual and no one seemed in particularly good moods there either.  On the way home two pick ups collided in front of me, both were at fault as they both tried to merge into the center lane at the same time.  Lots of yelling swearing and even a few fists raised.  I decided to stay at home after that!

I planted my flower beds around the house as the plants had been waiting for a week:

Once that was done I starred in my refrigerator as to what to have for dinner....it was no cooperative but my dear friend and neighbor invited me over for pizza at their place!  YAY.

I visited with them for the evening....they were such lovely hosts, I think they knew I was lonely at home all by myself.

Eventually I decided to go home and see what I could accomplish late at night.

Shortly after arriving home I got a call from one of the camp leaders that my son was complaining of  a headache and vomiting.  So at 2300 hours I packed up the GO GO GO Toyota with Powerade, Ginger Ale and headed out on a rescue mission.

Took over an hour to get there as lots of wildlife on the back roads.  Packed up kid who drank his Ginger Ale and fell asleep in 10 minutes!!!!  He slept the entire way home and I had to carry him in to the house he was so tired.  It was almost 0200 by the time I went to bed.  At 0730 he woke me up ready to get the day started.

After a pancake breakfast I made a couple of Mother's Day cards for two friends I would be seeing today:

After lunch we headed out to my friend's ranch.  My son got to see the calves, pet the steers, pet the dog, shovel grain for the cattle, get hay for the horses, pet the horses, ride the horse and ride along in the backhoe loader to get hay, play with the dog and the cat!

My son's friend is almost exactly 9 years younger than my son but they have the exact same Costco jackets from last spring:

They both adore each other so this was so cool to see!

Then it was time to head home for Trunk Chicken - a story I will share later as I do not have pictures of it, but it was delicious!

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

I have the BEST job in the world!

Good Evening Internet Friends.  

I think I may have mentioned this in the past but I love being a Registered Nurse; I truly have the best job in the world.  

Upon arrival at work on Wednesday morning I was told I had 20 minutes to pack bags with everything I thought I might need to run a nursing station at the Northlands Evacuation Center.  At 0902 hours I was on site with all the Diabetes stuff including insulin and needles I could stuff in bags, gauze, bandages, hand sanitizer, gloves and a thermometer and blood pressure cuff.  The rest would arrive as I called in what I needed.

I have spent the the last 3 days there providing Registered Nursing Care.  I have been there so long that people I treated on Wednesday returned with their friends to register today and recognized me!  Although I feel physically exhausted from the long hours of standing I realize I cannot complain, my patient's have it way harder than I do and no matter how long a 16 hour day may seem to me I am not working anywhere as hard as the forest fire fighters.  I will be back there next week. 

My Yarn Crush order finally arrived today!!!  Two weeks in transit from Ontario to Alberta.  Seriously....I could have driven there and back in less time.  I think it went on a tour again....had been arriving on time for a few months now so I guess it was time for one to go on vacation again.

Not exactly sure what I will do with this box.....yellow yarn????

As a side joke I have been able to tell my family that I am drinking Labatt's while at the Evacuation Center.  This is funny because I do not drink and secondly doing that at work????  This is why:

The evacuees and those of us on the front lines have been given this as a water source!  It's actually quite funny to open a can of water!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Nothing to See....

Good Late Evening Internet Friends!

Well the weekend is over and I survived my first weekend back and being in charge!  Had been on a "leave" for the past six months from this part of my rotation as I am very fortunate to have managers that understand that sometimes life throws curve balls at you that are unexpected.  I survived as did all of the patients ☺  Today of course I was very tired.

I also had my Diabetes Eye Exam scheduled for today.  This year I was smart enough not to plan it first thing in the morning and have my eyes blurry all day and accomplish nothing.

I got kiddo ready for school.  Took the dog out for a quick walk and then went to Costco to pick up flowers for my baskets and flower beds:

TAH DAH!!!

Then since hubby was home he took me to my appointment.  That was awesome.  Usually I arrange for a friend to meet me for lunch at the hospital cafeteria to waste time after the appointment isnce I cannot see clearly, take a nap in one of the patient/family visiting rooms, walk over to the mall and then late in the afternoon when the vision returns proceed home before rush hour traffic.

After my appointment we went for lunch at the Cheesecake Cafe.  YUMMY.

Arriving home I thought maybe I could do some knitting.....NOPE.  Will be fixing a mess tomorrow.  

For dinner I made honey mustard blueberry chicken, steamed carrots and roasted garlic parsnip mashed potatoes:

I thought it was delicious as did the family.

I marinated the chicken breasts in honey mustard.  Baked until the internal temp was 74 Celsius and then covered with a blue berry sauce.  The blueberry sauce is 1/2 cup Dried Blueberries and about 2 T of water mixed together and brought to a boil before spooning over the chicken and put back in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Later this evening the vision cleared enough for me to do a bit of quilting.  I worked on sewing the rows together for my latest rag quilt:

TAH DAH!

Now I should probably go to sleep as tomorrow is errand day as I am back to day shifts for the rest of the week.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy