Warm Up America - The Pile is Still Growing!

Yep, my little stack of crocheted and knitted squares is still growing! I now have 31 in the pile; only 18 more to go and I will begin the process of sewing them all together into an afghan. The afghan will then be sent to the Warm Up America Foundation to be donated to a homeless shelter or hospital.

I've been using yarn given to me by Rose Rich a couple years ago when I was visiting her in Utah. I love being able to put that yarn to good use! Of course, I also have lots of stray skeins, partial skeins, and various sized balls of yarn hanging around from past projects, or projects that I never did get to. I'm digging into it all.

I got tired of the crocheting the same patterns (the ones provided at the Warm Up America Foundation's website), fun though they are, so I started looking around for more stitches to try. I dug up an old (unfinished, natch) afghan project I started a long time back. The pattern I was using is in a booklet called "63 Easy to Crochet Pattern Stitches - Combine to Make an Heirloom Afghan." The 63 patterns all make squares so I've just been modifying them to make a 7" x 9 " rectangle instead. It's been really fun trying out the different stitches.

I've found I can easily crochet at least one piece per evening, if I'm watching television; sometimes I will do more - just depends on how much time I spend in front of the t.v., which usually isn't a whole lot.

I've never actually joined a bunch of squares into an afghan before, so that may prove to be a bit of a challenge in spite of all the tips given at the Warm Up America Foundation's website. It'll certainly be something new to learn.

Any suggestions??

Me and the Warm Up America Foundation

I discovered Warm Up America a few years back. This awesome foundation provides knitted and/or crocheted afghan blankets, clothing, and accessories to people in hospices, shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes. The cool thing is that, to help out, all you or I have to do is knit or crochet one 7" x 9" rectangle and send it to them. That's it, to make a difference in someone's lfe. How cool is that?

Of course, if you want, you can knit or crochet an entire afghan. Or you could make 49 of the 7" x 9" rectangles and sew them all together into a complete blanket. Or, if you aren't that ambitious, or don't have a lot of time, you could just make one the next time you have to spend some time sitting in the car, doctor's office, or DMV, or when you are watching t.v. Slip it into an envelope and mail it to the good people at Warm Up America. The volunteers there collect them, organize them together in groups of 49, sew them together, and then donate them to wherever they are needed most.

The photos show my growing pile of rectangles. I've been going through a lot of leftover yarn that's just been sitting around in my closet. So nice to be putting it to good use! I can make about one-and-a-half rectangles while watching a couple of hours of t.v. in the evening. My goal is to make and/or gather together 49 rectangles AND sew them together so that I can send out a complete blanket this fall.

If you'd like to help me reach my goal, go to the Warm Up America website, download the simple knitting and crochet guidelines, break out your needles, hooks, and yarn, and get stitching! Be sure to read & follow the guidelines carefully. Check your gauge early on, to make sure your piece will end up the correct size. They must be as close to 7" x 9" as possible or they can't be used, and you wouldn't want all your hard work to go for naught.

Send me your pieces and when I have enough, I'll assemble them and, of course, take photos for the blog.

You can also send your pieces directly to Warm Up America, to the address on their website.

Questions? E-me!

Goats R Us

An Orinda, California, company called Goats R Us is wintering its herd here in Benicia. The goats roam and feed in the open spaces and Benicia gets free weed abatement. This is the second winter that we have "hosted" the goats.

I took the above photo a couple of weeks ago. I was driving down 2nd street toward Rose Drive when I spotted the goats; of course, I had to pull over and take pictures! I sat and watched them for a long time. Finally, a dog came running over the hill and began rounding them up! I was surprised that just one dog could get them all herded together so fast, and no human in sight either, the dog was working alone. It was really amazing. You can see the dog in the second photo, on the left; he's black with a white ruff.

Update on my dad-in-law: Good news; Art is doing great! I talked to Mike a couple hours ago. He and Betty brought Art home from the hospital yesterday. Today he's gleefully and soundly beating Mike and Betty in cards!

I'm tellin' ya, the guy's a rascal.

Staying Calm While Uncertainty Reigns

I'm not referring to the economy, which is increasingly uncertain for so many people (including us), but to family issues. Mike's dad, Art, is doing well at the moment, but he had a heart attack Tuesday evening, went to the hospital, and had surgery today to have stints inserted into the arteries of his heart.

I took Mike to the airport early this morning where he caught a 7 a.m. flight to Tampa, Florida. He'll spend at least the next week in Zephyrhills to give Betty whatever support and help he can, and to keep track of what's going on with Art. Each time Art has a major health issue we get a little more worried. He's already had two quadruple bypass surgeries. He's a stubborn old bird (and Mike is just like him!) so our expectation is that he will pull through yet again.

Mike is good at staying calm and rational. I operate more on emotions (which is probably why we make a good pair). But although I felt strongly that Mike needed to go to Florida, I don't feel a strong inner indication that we are about to lose Art. Mike and I decided I would stay here so that I can finish up two client projects that need to be completed by Christmas. If circumstances warrant it, I'll hop the first plane I can get.

Mike called earlier this evening. He arrived in Florida and had been to the hospital. He said Art was doing well; he was even up and walking a bit! So things are definitely looking up. I wish I were there; I hate to miss out on any family get-togethers no matter the reason, but we have been planning to make a "real" visit to Florida in January or February, so I'll continue to plan on that trip. I'm just keeping in mind that it's GOOD that I'm not there now because if I were it would indicate a downturn in Art's health.

So I'm remaining calm (I refer to the photo above if I start to worry), and I'm optimistic that Art will be around to pummel me in dominoes or cards in 2009 because I'm really looking forward to it!