Farewell 2012!!!

  On this next to last day of 2012, I am vowing not to work so much and spend more time with my friends and family. And CROCHETING!!!! I have missed so much this year working OT, but the draw was too easy and more $$$ is always good. Well, until I had to work a 19-hour shift.....after that night, I vowed my life is more important than that and I am going to spend more time for ME!

   Christmas was fun this year! After years of it just being ok, we all had a great time. My new quick and easy go to gift are redneck wine glasses:

Everyone laughed and liked them a lot. I even suggested to my newly engaged eldest son that we make these as favors for his wedding, filled with candy and a tag with their names and date of their yet to be determined wedding.
    We had a lovely rib roast dinner on my new-to-me Noritake china:

I found this lovely full set for 10 at Annie Johnson's Thrift store in Dunnellon in early November. It is the Blue Hill Pattern. As a little girl, I always adored my mom's, sister's and sister in law's Noritake. My brother was Marine in Viet Nam and brought home those sets for the ladies when he came home. I always pouted because I was left out (I was about 4-6 when he finished his tours of duty). As I grew up, I "got" it.....Mom was his mom, Mariah was his fiance, and Pix was close to getting married. I was way to little to appreciate it. So it makes sense that Jim's two boys are in line to inherit his and my mom's. When I found this set, I was just browsing in the shop on a Saturday night and couldn't believe when I saw it. It is just really more beautiful than the picture shows. The 87-piece set was $95...a STEAL! I didn't have the cash then. I thought for sure the set would be gone by Black Friday, but I went to check anyway. IT WAS STILL THERE!!!! And better yet, being Black Friday, it was on sale for 30% off...yup, I got the whole kit and kaboodle for $66!!! I snatched it up and took it home. As the store clerks were packaging it up, I told the proprietor my story. She laughed and said that she has a set that her hubby brought  home to her from Viet Nam also. The woman smiled and said she was happy to make my dream come true. I am truly blessed!
   Well, I am doing a 5 hour OT shift this afternoon, I have to work tomorrow and then I'm off for New Year's day. Can't wait to see the Rose Parade!!!! What are everyone's plans for New Year's eve? Since I'm working til 8pm and will be home about 9:15p, I'm hoping to stay awake til midnight..HA!!! On New Year's day, we are having a turkey, greens, black eyed peas and homemade mac and cheese.
   On that note, I will leave you with the two of the best pics I have from Christmas; my new great-nephew Jaxon, born on Christmas Eve and the Housewives of Central Florida pic from Christmas Eve with DiBiasio's:

Happy New Year my friends!!!! May 2013 be healthy, wealthy and wise for us all!!!! (Not to mention CRAFTY!!) <3 p="p">

Hats, hats, hats!

   I've been absent again for some time....sorry folks, but adjusting to dayshift is quite a chore. I worked graveyard for so long, changing to days is wonderful, but a challenge. And since we are short staffed at the lab, I have switched my hours from 7:30am - 4pm to 11:30am- 8pm. This should last until the end of January, when new staff should be ready to go.....YAY!

      I have been busy crocheting...doilies and hats. My youngest son wanted a beanie. He and his brothers shaved their heads in October in support of their aunt Teresa. Teresa was diagnosed with breast cancer and lost her hair due to the chemo. She is doing well half way through her treatment; the tumor has shrunk to about 1/2 its original size. We pray that it continues to shrink! The boys' heads were cold, so I made Tim a hat. Then Jeff wanted one...then Tim wanted another, and so did Jeff....I also made a couple for friends...all in about a week's time:




    I also made a pink shawl for Teresa, to keep her warm during her treatments:

I added pink ribbons to the points.
 So even though I haven't been here, I have been keeping occupied! I do have a few other things going; I will make a definite effort to post again soon and show off! I am going to be busy during the holidays making more things...hats, redneck wine glasses, doilies, snowflakes, and finishing off a blanket I started over the summer. I also have a monkey blanket to make for an new nephew due in December. Til next time, take care, stay warm and may the peace, love and joy of the holidays shower over you and yours!

Vacation 2012, continued!

  Here are a few pics from my phone of us having fun.....ENJOY!!!!

 Vaca started in Daytona for Happy Hour with Lori and Jonna, then a screening of Magic Mike, and a Saturday at the Speedway with Lori getting freebies!

Me and CocoSoco.....LOVE that woman!

 DiBiasio mini cousin reunion...Tom, Rick, Ken, Linda (PIC), John, Bob

 Via Napoli...Beth, waitress, Rick

PIC lovin' her German wine

SHB with the girls

On the ferry to the Magic Kingdom

This is "Hot Buttered Love" aka Adam the bartender at Joe's Crab Shack......he was a fun bartender, even if his GM wouldn't let us girls dance on the bar......

Jonna, me, and Lori B4 Magic Mike.........

Yes, it was a fun-filled 11 days/nights!!!

VACATION!!!!!

   At the beginnin of July, I had a vacation....July 4- 15. It was fun, amazing, relaxing,....did I say FUN?
A lot of great things happened; spent time with my favorite folks...Ken and Linda from Woonsocket, RI, SIL PIC, met new cousins, lots of time with family, and celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary to my bestest friend in the whole wide world. We spent time in Orlando, visiting the attractions, eating, drinking, talking and LAUGHING.....a lot!

   The coup of my vacation, was a goal we had in mind for our 25th anniversary....replacing my cake topper from our wedding. We had bought the original one from the glass blower at Disney Village, now known as Downtown Disney. It was a plain blown glass double heart, two love birds, two bells and intertwined rings. I brought it to NY for our wedding in one piece; it did not survive the trip home. I was heart broken and always wanted to replace it. So, I found a similar piece on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom:
I was ecstatic to find this! When I gave it to Bob, I told him we now have to make it to our golden anniversary!

25th anniversary cake topper

 

I must show off!!!

 This is a doily that I requested to make! It's pink and black for a newborn baby girl....16.5" across, size 6 hook:



the second one is more true to color, but the first one shows the design better. Cell phone pics...aAAAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!
Anyhow, a lady at work requested this for her grand daughter, who is a week old. I hope she likes it!
  As a follow up, I sent my friend and wonderful senior prom date, the pale gardenia for his birthday...he loved it! I LOVE it when that happens!
   Have to go and see what I can create now.....til next time.....Happy Crafting!
Ponykeg :-}

Absentee yet again

 So sorry blog world. I have been a lazy blogger yet again. I have been crocheting, just not posting. I have been working on the Bernat Waverly Mystery CAL. I made this for a girl at work who was diagnosed and began treatment for thyroid cancer. She always admires what I make for others, so I used the colors she liked from various projects. Made my heart smile when I received a message from her that said "thanks Beth; it meant a lot to me." yes, it makes it soo worth it. 

 

I have also been making doilies:

 doily 15 from a Magic crochet...anyone know what issue? I found it online and didn't save the issue number.....

 this one is a variation of pineapples around from the book 50 Fabulous Pineapple motifs. Kind of looks like angels, don't you think?

 This is pale gardenia from Magic Crochet 65. Am making this for my prom date and dear friend, who's b-day was 4/29 and raises gardenias in NC. I started it after dinner on 4/29, watched the superhero movies on FX and only have the last round to finish today. I'm thinking I need one of these!!! It's 11" across.

 This is a doily I'm making for my dear friend, Soco. She asked for a red and a blue one. I found this Italian named lila terito minta. It should look like this when it's done:

 Soco is Italian to the nines, so I hope she likes this one!

That's about it for now, folks. I really must get back to folding laundry so I have more time to stitch! (in between reading/watching Game of Thrones.....LOL.....my new addiction!!!)

Back at the crochet helm

This is my first foray back into the world of crochet. It's a Denise Augostine Owens design, February's Valentine. It's a replacement for a January doily that is somewhere in my car, which is being repaired and won't be available til Friday, March 2. This took about 3 hours, two trips to Orlando over the weekend. Fun and easy to make. Here is the link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040625034609/www.denisecrochets.com/february.html

I need to make another doily for a February exchange. This is what I'm going to do today:

http://web.archive.org/web/20031021153511/http://www.denisecrochets.com/grannysdoily.html

It's a Lisa Goins design, written down by Denise Augostine, Granny's doily. I have always wanted to make Denise's doilies, but never found the time. I figure these are just lovely and quick enough to get me back into my crochet mojo!
I plan on working on this doily during the Gatorade Duels at Daytona. Yes, it's that time of year again...and I'm so excited! I am once again going to the Daytona 500. Hubby doesn't want to go, so my sil Teresa and I are going to make a day of it. Actually, a weekend. I'm staying with her in Orlando on Sat, heading to the track on Sunday. Hoping to meet up with my good friend Lori early Sunday morning. We have to make the rounds of the vendors and get FREE STUFF!!!
Okie dokie...breakefast is ready. Time for me to go. Will be back tomorrow or Saturday to let you know how the doily is progressing!!!
Let's go racin'!!!!

January 31, 2012

A day that shall forever live in infamy in my life. Ever since that night, on my nightly drive to work, I have been transformed. For the time being, I cannot even retreat to my favorite pastime of crochet. I was driving to work on a dark, unlit "country" road; this is a misnomer, as it is a well traveled road between Ocala/Dunnellon and Gainesville. Many people travel this road daily; the pay is better in G'ville than Ocala, not to mention Gator Fever resides up there.
I left for work at my typical 9:45-9:50 pm time frame. I am supposed to be at work at 10:30, and typically arrive 10 minutes late; so does everyone else. I got in my car, and decided to take the route of Hwy 40 to Hwy 41 North. Sometimes cut through Lake Tropicana, a subdivision that is 1 mile shorter and 5 minutes faster, but a lot of turns and curves. At Christmastime, it's fun to see the lights (BTW, some of them are still up....and on! Mine are up, but hubby doesn't want them plugged in......sigh....)
Anyhow, I set my cruise control at the Levy-Marion County line for the set speed limit of 60 mph. I was following a nondescript SUV that was either black, green or dark blue. About a mile north of the county lines, the lead vehicle swerved to the left; I followed suit, thinking I was going to avoid some silly possum curled into a ball or deer or fox. The next thing I know, I see a figure put up his right arm and take a step toward my car. THUMP.....I hit the figure, continue to travel to the left, come to a hysterical stop on the southbound side of the road. To make a horrifically long story short, I had hit and killed a pedestrian who happened to be standing in the middle of my travel lane. It took me 20 minutes from impact to the time the sheriff's dept. arrived and found the gentleman laying in the ditch.
The dispatcher had called my husband, who thankfully was still awake to come to my side. I have nothing but praise for all of the rescue personnel who not only stood by me to console me, but stayed with the victim of the crash. It has been a horrible 10 days for me, but I'm sure it is worse for this man's family. I have no words to describe the loss I feel. I cannot concentrate on many tasks; I can work for two days and need a day off. Luckily, everyone I know and love has been very supportive to make sure I'm ok. I was reassured that evening by the police, FHP, and EMT's that I did all I could to avoid and unseen person in the road. From the damage to my car, I can see that if I swerved another two feet to the left, I would not have had this happen. I wish I had had the foresight to swerve farther to the left. Thank goodness there was no other traffic in either direction....
So please forgive me if I am absent from the crafting world for awhile. I find it difficult to concentrate and focus on many tasks. The one thing that gave me solace, crocheting, I cannot even bring myself to pick up a hook. I know this road will be a tough one; luckily, I have a great support system of family and friends who are willing to listen at the drop of a hat. I hope and pray every day that this man's family can find solace. I mourn their loss deeply, knowing that if I had been 5 minutes sooner or later, this horrible tragedy may have been avoided.
God bless you all and thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers, not only for me, but for the gentleman and his family.

Good Friends and fun times

and gorgeous men!!
Yes, it was once again time for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It was the 50th anniversary of the race, so a lot of people and events were going on. Yes, I once again waited in line to see Patrick Dempsey.....after 3 years, I think this is the best pic yet!! I also saw a few others, too:

The first is a picture of me and David Hobbs.
David is an announcer for the F1 races. It was fun to meet him and see the surprised look on his face when I asked for a picture. He even waited patiently while Bob tried to get the camera on my i-phone to work.
The next is a picture of Jackie Stewart. He was in the garages, too. His pants matched his hat. The third cutie is Max Papis, who drove the #9 car, I think it was a Daytona prototype, or DP class. I saw him in the gift shop. He is very sweet and offered to sign his shirt if I bought one.
As for good friends, my friend Lori, who lives a few miles from the speedway, got up at 5:30am on her Saturday to join me and Bob on the Fun Walk around the track. Bob and I have been doing this for 5 or 6 years. We usually get up at 3:00 am to make the 2 hour drive to the speedway and walk at 7am. This year, we camped in campground, took the seats out of the van and slept on the floor of the van. I was proud of my hubby, who I never would have thought was a camper. Anyhow, here's a few pics of Lori at the top of turn 1, and me and Bob in between turns 3 and 4, and Lori wearing her Krispy Kreme hat at our campsite:
and yes, she is sitting on one of the van seats we took out in order to sleep!
Here is Timma after a night of racin' under the lights and partying...
and his friend Rich.


The boys drove out to see the race...

Ok, back to the grindstone...I have to work tonight. I will get back to my crafting pics; just beware: racing season is coming, so I can't promise there won't be any more posts about cars and the roar of the engines! I leave you with the 2001 overall winning Corvette; Dale Earnhardt drove the #3 and was a teammate to this team

I'm baaaaccckkkkk...

Yes, one of my New Year's resolutions was to blog more frequently. Well, I've been busy working over the holidays and stitching away. Crocheting dishcloths, doilies, hats and afghans. I have also been knitting....a hat and a dragonfly dishcloth!!! For Christmas, I made my SIL, Kim, a sweater: This is Annie's Attic's Offset Shell cardigan. Love the color and the drape....the yarn was tough to work with using an H hook. I want one, but will use a bigger hook, next time!
Kim loved it!!
Here's a ruffle scarf I made for a Christmas exchange, for someone who lives in Colorado:
The pattern is from the Red Heart site.
Here's the dragonfly dishcloth:
It's kind of hard to see the dragonfly because of the varigated thread, but it's my new washcloth in my shower!!! And yes!!! It's knitted!!!
Nest up, a few crocheted things: a hat for a friend of the boys, a dishcloth for an exchange, and a doily for me!!!
pattern for Brent's beanie is here:
http://www.piece-by-piece.net/Crochet/easy_beanies.htm
this dishcloth is Mina's delight and can be found here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070126133436/http://hometown.aol.com/dcm1955/mddish.html
Love this doily. Found it in a Magic Crochet. It's called Rustic table center.

These are just a few of the things I've been doing. I also spent the holidays reading Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, watching the Swedish (subtitled) versions of the books, and seeing the newly released American version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." I absolutely LOVED the stories and read all three books within a month. I think I have my reading mojo back!!
and with close to 200 (free) books downloaded on my kindle, I guess I'd better get reading!!
This coming weekend, we are headed to Daytona for the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24....we are finally taking the plunge and camping there. Nathan, for whom I made the gray hat, his brothers and my friend Lori (who lives in Daytona) are all going, too. Son Tim and his friend Rich are coming out Saturday. Bob and I are going to do the Fun Walk at 7am Saturday. At least we will be there and not have to leave Ocala at 3am in order to start walking at 7am. SO EXCITED!!! I am supposed to be getting things ready, but am waiting to see Patrick Dempsey interviewed about his participation in the event. Will I wait in line to see him again this year.....HELL YEAH!!!!!
Ok, I really do have to run and get things crackin' around here. Until we meet again, have a crafty day!!!