Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I have a few cones of black cotton yarn, and of course I am limited to ideas on using the 100% cotton yarn in that color.  Our little town started a "boo" basket giveaway (basket of random holiday themed items for Halloween), and I thought I could add a few of my own homemade items to the baskets. The baskets are randomly placed at doorways in town, and was started by a local woman. So....here is my "do something good" for someone (even though I am in the midst of a project for someone else, ha ha!).   I came up with a few ways to use the black cotton yarn to add to these baskets.   How many ways did I find a way to use the color black?   First up, I found a free pattern online for these cute spider cup coasters.  I used white for the eyes. The pattern is online with The Caffeinated Snail.  It was a perfect pattern to use the black yarn. A second pattern I found useful, was from  Pretty Darn Adorable (also online), and called Easy...

We started December with some chilly weather - low -4 (windchill) 6°F/High 27°F.  The coldest weather for early December since 1976.  According to weather authorities.  We've been as low as -8°F this month.  Now we are melting away into the 50's by tomorrow with a lot of rain.  Crazy, crazy winter weather for sure. Surgery went well.  Thank you all for your prayers, good vibes, positive mojo and good thoughts.  I am in recovery mode, which oddly feels very strange for someone who is on the go most days.   One kiddo visited to help out, and stayed the night, and I really appreciated the help. She did some driving for us, cooked and even cleaned.  Very thankful for her help. Not to worry.  I am listening to my doctor/nurses.  I'm not able to exercise like I typically do daily, but my brain is getting a super dose of "brain" activities. On top of a new puzzle, and a 132 new word search book (my first), crochet also continues....

  Today the weather is 0°F, with a wind chill of -15°F.  The forecast was for cold weather for the weekend and maybe Monday.  Now the sub-zero weather is predicted the entire week. We have cold water, but the hot water pipes froze.  Many people in our area are dealing with all frozen pipes.  We installed heat tape over a year ago too.  The horrible high winds, combined with the bitter wind chill are just too much this winter. Here is the crocheted scarf I finished.  It literally used an entire skein of yarn.  I'm happy with the coloration too.  Just in time for this freezing weather we are having. Stay warm! Still Cold © Jan 2024 by  Kristina  at   Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Here is an update on the new blanket for us.  It's been a long time since I have made anything for ourselves.  The weather is miserable today.  Very windy and a cold front on the way.  It's a full blown work weekend for us.  We plan to make some progress in the living room. I looked into selling my handiwork at a location one hour away.  They have a waiting list, but want $90 to 225.00/month and a 3 month commitment.  I will now look into another location.

  Not wanting to pay anyone else, nor add more pay to the current handy man, we did a trial on the removal of the popcorn ceiling.  We did the 50/50 fabric softener/water spray first, then realized we didn't even need the spray.  The popcorn ceiling was coming off lickity split with just the scraper.  About 1/4th of the ceiling is down and cleaned up.  We are waiting on the rest of the subfloor to be installed to remove the rest.   Now my husband understands why I wanted the ceiling done.  The spider webs were dangling at the edges of where he was removing the texture.  He understands my frustration with having to "sweep" the ceiling every year.  It was ugly as well.   Still needing done? -remove remaining popcorn ceiling, remove current ceiling fan -paint ceiling and install new ceiling fan/light -wash down all trim/walls -paint trim -paint walls, re-install floor trim -install new flooring and move furniture back Meanwhile, w...