Freezing Rain Weekend!

So how was your weekend?  Here in the upper right hand corner of the Nation it was very cold but very nice on Saturday because at least the sun was out.  It was too cold to enjoy the outside but it was nice to see the sun streaming in the windows.

Sunday it was freezing rain.  The Patriot's played in the freezing rain and that is the kind of game where those of us at home watching the game are very glad that we are not AT the game in the freezing rain but rather we are home with hot cocoa and a fire going.  WAY TO GO PATS!!

Since I'm not a football fan (can I say that and still live in the North East?) I decided to craft.

I've been really admiring the place settings I've seen on Pinterest lately and really wanting napkins.  Not the paper ones that we buy for the holidays or birthdays but real cotton, cloth napkins.  But Oh My! the prices I saw on Amazon made my Scottish  blood boil over.  So into the fabric bins I went.

I think that a really good size napkin is at least 16 x 16 inches so all I needed was material that was at least that size.  I started cutting  my material and matching it up.  I cut the material 17 x 17 inches.  I figure as long as I'm making one why not back it with a matching fabric and then have have 2.

If you're using new material, make sure to wash, dry and iron it before you cut it up but I was using what I had on hand.  So it was already washed, dried and ironed.

With right sides together, sew all the way around the material, leaving  an opening in order to turn the material right side out.  

Clip corners, cut close to the edges and turn.  

 Then you can top stitch to give it a nice finished look.  Use either a matching or contrasting thread.  Once it's all sewed, fold into thirds and fold in half and you have a great napkin.

August decided to hold down the ones that were done.  He's good like that!

In all I got 8 two sided napkins which really means I have 16 napkins.  Make them to match your kitchen, match the season or holiday.  Use the material you love.  I made some Frozen ones for the grand girls.  They are never too young to learn about napkins. If you don't have material large enough for napkins, how about using Fat Quarters?  Since they come already matched up, according to color schemes, it would be easy to get several napkins out of them.  Think I have a reason to go to the fabric store now.

Did you craft this weekend, what did you do?

How to store grooming supplies

There are lots of things a person can use to store your grooming supplies.  Some use a drawer in the bathroom, others use a basket to hold the supplies, while still others have an entire room dedicated to grooming their dogs.

Me, I have one of these to hold my supplies.

Each draw holds supplies for both dogs.  The top carries what is needed every day while the bottom holds what I use every other week.

The top has the combs and rakes and mat splitter and scissors that are needed for either dog.  The red Zoom Groom and the Blue Rake are for Beckke.  Most of the other stuff is for August.

The dryer is perfect for both dogs.  I can either place it  in its holder and aim it at August who is on the table which allows me to  blow dry him and brush him at the same time or I can hold it over Becke and blow her dry while she stands on the floor. 

This attaches to the table in the kitchen and helps hold August in place while I work on him.  It stores behind the cabinet, out of sight until I need it.  

What do you hold your grooming supplies in?

FINALLY FEELING BETTER HODGEPODGE!

Joyce likes to keep us all thinking with some hard questions,  This week is no exception.  Come think with us. 

1. What's your best piece of advice for a newly married couple? I'm asking for a friend.

Don't have any conversations with the opposite sex, that your spouse shouldn't hear.  There is nothing Innocent about flirting with a co worker, friend, or anyone.  The only person you flirt with is your spouse.

2. Before we're too far into the new year I wanted to post a question Teresa submitted during the December giveaway. Teresa blogs over at Being Refined As Silver, so everyone go say hi.

Teresa asks, "What were you doing on December 31st, 1999?"and "Did you or your family make preparations for Y2K?"

We didn't do anything different at all.  We knew that life would go on, the sun would shine, the powers that be would figure it all out.  We were not online a lot and didn't have any fear. We believe in God and we knew we were fine.
  

3. According to Global Language Monitor, the most used word of 2014 isn't a word. It's the heart emoji. Huh? How can something that's not a word be the most used word, but I digress. What do you think was your most used word in 2014?

See, a hard question!  I use lots of words so just picking one is hard, but I guess it would be "Sick."  I was sick a lot in 2014.

4. Speaking of words, it's that time again. Time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, and general uselessness) in 2015. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

bae (before anyone else), polar vortex, hack, skill set, swag, foodie, curate/curated, friend-raising, enhanced interrogation, cra-cra (as in crazy), takeaway, and -nation (a suffering sports suffix).

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

All of them sounds pretty terrible and would like to see them all go.  cra-cra is my choice for really, really needs to go.  Come on people, how hard is it to say CRAZY.  It doesn't need to be shortened.
I can't think of anything to add.  I guess I talk to people who don't use a lot a words that drive me nuts.

5.  January is National Hot Tea month? Are you a fan? Do you like flavored teas? How do you take your tea? Have a favorite cup or teapot? How many cups of tea do you consume in a given day? 

I do like tea.  I have a few favorites. Earl Gray, Scottish Breakfast tea, PG tips are among my favorites.  I drink hot tea black but like sugar and lemon in ice tea.  I don't drink tea every day so I don't have a number of cups per day that I drink.

6. Whatever happened to________________________________?

Respect, Caring for others, Please and Thank you.

7. What is one book on your must-read list this winter? 

I don't have a must read list for winter.  Sorry.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I love my grand girls!  They are so much fun to be around.  To watch them play or do a craft with me makes me feel so happy.  There is something about a small child telling me a story and not understanding hardly any of the words and yet the story is fascinating!  Being a Grannie is the best job EVER!

So now it's your turn.  Your answers are?????

Jammies/Rompers - Whatever you want to call them.

When it only 13 degrees and your little dog goes outside to "go" it's nice to have an extra layer on.  For August, who is very styling, that means he wears one of his rompers.  Sunday he wore his "Frozen - Olaf" romper.  Who says boys can't be up on all the newest fashion.  He sure liked to be warm.  

The pellet stove is going to keep the house warm, but sometimes a little extra is always good.

Are all of you staying warm this winter.  What tips do you for you and your pets to stay warm.

Baby It's Cold Outside!!

Like most of us in the Northeast, it's cold, down right bloody cold!  Temps are in the single numbers with wind chills well below zero. This morning (Sunday) it's 5 degrees.  5!  Luckily there is no wind chill at the moment.  Yippee!!

That makes it too cold for snow to land and pile up so there is not much on the ground and nothing to shovel but boy is it cold!

Still, the dogs need to be cared for.  August needs a bath at least every other week so this weekend, he got one from me.  I didn't go to into the office on Friday so his regular groomer didn't get a chance to get to him. But she is so generous with her time, she showed me how to shave him and since I have the shampoo here at home, he got a full bath.  He was not happy!

In good weather, he can run around outside to zoom dry, but not when it's -7 with a wind chill of -24. So he runs around the house trying to zoom dry.  Then he hides.  Funny thing is, he hides on top of me between 2 blankets.  Silly boy.

But once he's all dried and brushed out, he looks so handsome.  Don't you agree?

My tools for every day are these.  A slicker brush, letter opener (that woks perfectly as a mat splitter), Greyhound comb and Detangle spray.  Since August has a soft coat, and it's hair not fur, I never comb him with dry hair.  A light spray is all I need to keep his hair in place.

For those of you with pets who need grooming, what are your "go to tools?"