I'M A BASKET CASE

Today both my husband and I had a dental appointment. His was at 10:30am for a cleaning and mine was at 12:00pm for my last fitting and to pick up my partial denture.

I dropped him off at the dentist and took a trip to Value Village to look for wool or anything that peeked my interest. I didn't find any wool this time but I found some baskets, a nativity , a Halloween hanging decoration and a Christmas hanging decoration. The snowman and the bunny was last week's find.

Then I went back to the dentist for about 10 minutes and had the fitting and paid $1150.00 for my partial all the while thinking how much of April's wool I could have bought for that amount, yeah... I had a partial put in place in 1998 and when I was in hospital in another city for radiation treatments, the partial was accidently thrown into the garbage by mistake by the cleaning staff while I was in treatment.  In 1998 I had only paid $525.00 for it. Somehow it doesn't feel that it has been 12 years since my first partial.

Today we moved 13 calves into the bigger pens and tomorrow I have to clean pens for a good part of the day. My husband will help with the heavy bedding cleaning and I'll be scrubbing the small cubicles where we keep the small calves.

Today also we got another big heifer calf. I haven't fed it as it was sucking from the mother and wouldn't drink as she was full. JB

I HAD A FEELING THAT TODAY WAS THE DAY

Sometimes my husband thinks that I can read minds and that I'm a bit psychic. The kids thought that I had eyes behind my head as they could never get away with much.  I'm really not a witch though...

It starts with a strong feeling and it happens. I used to be more in tuned when I was a young mother but as time went on I seem to have lost my touch because I'm always in a rush and a bit tense.

Well this morning after work as I picked up the key for the mailbox, I had a strong feeling that April De Conick's wool palette giveaway was in my mailbox. Maybe it's because I was so tired and wasn't in a rush but I would have bet money on it. I had told her that there was no rush as I know that she had a lot to deal with with the flood damage and insurance etc... so I wasn't expecting anything for a while, that is until today.  Sure enough when I turned the key there was another set of keys for the package compartment. And there it was.  I smiled all the way home.

 Thanks April, your wool is so very nice and I'm so pleased with it. I love the color palette you sent me and the green little swatch carrier with my name on it, is so cute. My husband said, Oh look! Your name's on it" I proudly replied, "yes dear, it was made especially for me by April, the lady I was reading to you about".

Here is the lovely color palette #129 Tommy Thumb of 1/4 hand-dyed 100% wool by Red Jack Rugs

Last evening I got a call from my daughter who needed a baby-sitter for the morning because my little granddaughter was ill and had a temperature and my grandson had an appointment in the neighboring town and she couldn't be in two places at once. I was so tired and I worried that I would forget to get up extra early for my barn chores and have enough time to then drive to the city in heavy morning traffic to be there for 8:20 a.m.

I went to bed around 11ish and I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep so I got up at 3:00 a.m. and got dress, made my bed and came down to hook. My husband woke up at 4:00 so I cooked some bacon and eggs, toast and coffee for a change. I went back to hooking and here's the progress.
I did my chores and had plenty of time to be on time. That's what grandmothers are for...

 I added a ribbon free hand and wasn't sure if it would work because the design was close to the edge but so far it frames the little designs OK. I used a large pleated wool skirt that I found at Value village last week.   I knew that I needed enough fabric to finish the whole ribbon.  I was going to add a bow but haven't done so yet, just a continuous twisted ribbon so far.
By the way my granddaughter is feeling much better and her fever is gone. Thanks for visiting my blog.   JB

LOLETA GETS WHAT LOLETA WANTS...

It sounds racy but sorry folks, it's not like it sounds although we had to race against time...

 We have a celebrity cow in our barn, sort of like... a movie star... cow. It all began on a beautiful Saturday morning on January 30th, 2009 after I had done my chores and had returned home and my husband had just gone back to the barn to do some electrical repairs in the ceiling of the bedding barn when he noticed that the rafters were sticking out through the windows. The roof had collapsed under the weight of wet snow shortly after I had left the farm. There were 70 milking cows trapped in there. Luckily they had just been milked shortly before this happened.

My husband called 911, my son and I and then he called a farmer who contacted other farmers and a chain reaction of communication happened.

 Within minutes help arrived from  the farming community, they brought chain saws, ropes and halters, many with cattle trucks to transport animals to another farm and they worked feverishly all day long with the fire department rescue team.

 Holes had to be cut out from the side of the barn to rescue one animal at a time. The ones who were  trapped in a bad position couldn't move and had to be treated and dragged out.  Finally they were all rescued and after all the commotion they had to be milked late at night and then bedded in an area where they usually eat feed.  Everyone was exhausted but thankful no one was hurt.

My son in the red jacket with two other farmers assessing the situation

 The back of the old  barn, notice one of the tractor bucket holding the side of the barn to prevent further collapse.

The next day my husband hired an excavator to demolish the old barn so construction could start as soon as possible.


What has all this to do with Loteta you asked!  OK, I'm getting to it... There were reporters all over the place for days, newspapers, TVs and radio reporters all wanting pictures and a story. Needless to say non of us were in a mood to satisfy their curiosity as we were dealing with a very serious situation and we were all trying to evade them as we were trying to come to term with the catastrophe. We were in shock, and tired. But they kept coming.

About a week later a  reporter wanted to check on how we were doing and wanted to take a picture of my son with one of his cows and that's when cow #273 named Angel cuddled up to my son and the photographer snapped photos as Angel draped her long tongue around his chin. This photo was on the front page of the local newspaper and also won the photographer an award this past May. You can see Angel's picture licking my son's face at    http://www.atwphoto.com/CowLick.htm

The community had a fund raiser to help us and a friend quickly made herself a cow costume with a bib utter and called herself Loleta and she also nicknamed the famous licking cow Loleta.  So this September when Angel gave birth to a heifer calf,  my son named her Loleta.

Now Loleta is not like the other calves. She was born September 1st but has unequivocally refused to drink from a pail at the appropriate time. She would not suck on my fingers, only on a nipple attached to a bottle.  She was a bit small so I did not rushed her. I gave in to her whims. But finally at 3 weeks I put my foot down. I tried to have her to suck on my fingers and lower her head into the pail like the other calves  and nothing worked, I tried tough love. She would rather starve than lower her standards.She drank fine from the bottle.  She knows that  Loleta gets what Loleta wants. But f-i-n-al-y at three and a half weeks I won. It was a battle all the way but now she drinks from the pail but she know that's she comes from a celebrity.

AND HERE'S LOLETA WHO THINKS SHE'S SO SPECIAL (sorry about the quality of the photo)

Shortly after the collapse, the two young hired hands shoveled the roof of where the cows had to be bedded down, in the feeding barn

                         This is Julia the milk maid caught on camera by her hubby, notice the sexy boots.
                         Thanks for your visit, please come again  JB

TODAY I JUST DID IT...

 It was election day today in New Brunswick, Canada. I did my civic duties and voted. Voting is never my favorite thing to do but I feel lucky that I live in a democratic country and that I have that right still. Not so long ago, women had no rights. We've come a long way Baby...

I also did a job that I've been putting off all summer, and it's to start cleaning the storage shed. My son's stored some of his stuff in there and you know how it's difficult to keep everything tidy when it's too full and everyone just dig in to find their stuff and never put things back where it belongs and in no time you got  a jungle in there and it's down right dangerous to even venture inside. I'm far from finished but at least I started.

Yet another thing that I got done today. I made a pit stop at Wine Kitz and I knew exactly what I wanted  to buy. I paid for an Australian  Gewurztraminer full-bodied wine and it will be ready to bottle in late November. It's one of my favorite white wine, not that I'm a wine connoisseur by a long shot. I love red wines too but will try one later. Having them make it for me is so much cheaper than buying it from the liquor store. They get everything ready for me and all I have to do is sprinkle the yeast in the pail and when it's ready, I make an appointment to bottle it.  I'll have good wine for Christmas and will try to age some of it too. I still have some labels from the last batch I bottled.

Today as I coming out of The Bulk Barn and getting to my car, my daughter parked her van next to my car. My grand daughter announced that it was her birthday today and that she was 7 years old. My jaw dropped down to my knees. I had forgotten about her birthday with everything that has been happening lately. I handed her a bag of lollipops from my bag that I intended to fill the candy jar with for when they visit and said, this is for you. I reached out in my purse and took out a $20.00 dollar bill so her mom could buy her a pair of jean or something as she was on her way to shop for cloths for her. I apologized for being late and not having a present for her. My daughter announced that there was still one hour and thirty minutes before it was officially her birthday. My little grand daughter invited me over to her birthday party with her family and I rushed home to feed my calves earlier so I would not miss her birthday party and cake. I got back to town in plenty of time to have a great pesto pasta dinner and a yummy salad with tomatoes and capers and black Forest cake.  My daughter is a fantastic cook by the way .

Today I got things done but I still have not hooked a hoop yet. I'll get my 10 minutes a day in there later tonight. I had a great day.

Thanks for your visit and comments.  JB

GOT IT STARTED AT LONG LAST...

Today I did a bit of hooking on my Childhood Memories rug and I'm using #3 cuts with wool that I have on hand right now but I will need to do some dyeing for the snow and skies. The designs are a bit small and might be a bit challenging for me. But for all it's worth, here's is a peek at what I managed to hook this afternoon. I work at the farm so now I don't get much daylight time to hook. At night I have difficulty seeing the true colors. I have to pick them in the daylight.  I've outlined the red coat with dark chocolate brown but it looks  jet black in the photo, I think that I'll have to dye some red with a bit of black to darken the red for outline. I'll see.

I had a pretty good day,  we went to brunch with friends and after we went to church and I puttered around the house not doing much at all except hook a bit.

My daughter Christine is feeling much better and more joyful now, thanks to your prayers and  comforting words and testimonials.  She is still having waves of sorrow but she can manage better.

My blog is rather short this evening but it's all I can think at the moment. Thanks for visiting and have a good night.

JB

GETTING IN THE MOOD

Today I actually had planned to blog about something else but because my camera batteries were too low to flash I 'll have to do it another day.

As I was coming home from the farm this evening I noticed that the big maple tree at the old farm house where we used to live, was starting to change color. The little fairies have been busy painting the leaves in beautiful fall colors. So it's really starting to feel like fall and I thought that I would share this photo with you.  Just think, three months from today will be Christmas day.

The progress on my Childhood Memories rug is rather slow. Today I've actually added some trees and snow lines drawn free hand on the backing to tie things together and did a bit of touch up but left parts of it as is and I'll add the fillers as the mood hits me or when it becomes necessary.

At the dinner table I had an idea of adding a twisted ribbon and tying it in a bow at a corner but it was just an idea and I haven't checked if I had room to do it. I'm working closer to the edge than I like but I can always baste an additional piece of backing to make it easier to work on while on the frame. If I was to make another one I would  cut my piece larger.

My plants have been neglected lately and I did some tidying up before starting hooking. I shook the dead leaves off and trimmed my plants and culled a few as they have overtaken my sun-room. I emptied my big wool basket in my stash drawers and I'm ready to start hooking after I choose some colors.
My swing pillow has been put in storage as well as my patio chairs. When the swing canopy is dried, I'll put it in storage too.  Now I feel like I can start hooking at least 10 minutes a day.

FEELING LIGHTER TODAY

John Davis  hardy rose bush planted in memory of my father 

I woke up to the sound of the rain on the roof this morning. A really damp day to start the weekend. I tried to be upbeat but I had difficulty dragging myself out of bed. I had breakfast with my husband and was half an hour late for my barn chores. It's not like I'll get fired or anything but I like to be on time for everything. It's just a matter of principle.

I threw on my old raincoat on and my big rubber boots and I made a stop to check on my sick calf before going to the milk house to prepare their milk. My sick calf was standing waiting for me looking anxious to eat. Her grain was all gone and she had eaten her hay. Her temperature was gone and her tail was swishing back and forth.

My husband carried the heavy load of warm milk bottles for me down to the calf area.  She drank from the pail and the milk vanished before I could turn around. Yesterday she only drank a bottle and a half and I had to pull the bottle away so she could breath. She was panting and short of breath. We think that she had pneumonia. She's still on antibiotic.

When I got close to the house I noticed that there were some new roses on my two little rose bushes that were planted late this summer. I planted them in memory of my mom and dad who passed away 9 months apart. My dad in Oct. 2008 and my mom in July 2009.   I  couldn't find any John Davis rose bush around here and had to go to Cornhill Nursery  in Peticodiac near Sussex, New Brunswick to buy them. They grow them from cuttings and these rosebushes bloom all summer and until the frost and are very hardy.  I went in to get my camera and took these photos in the rain.

John davis planted in memory of my mother

I thought that it was worth another shot for good measure.

The house was cold and damp this morning and my husband successfully lit the stove before I got back home and a nice heat greeted me when I walked in with wet and cold knees. It sure felt good. To supplement the heat I baked a double batch of Brownies for him and froze one batch for later when he brings me some unannounced visiting friends.

The photo was taken before the parchment paper was removed. The other one is in the freezer for later. 

I checked my emails, etc and got caught up on my correspondence. I was overwhelmed by the pouring of kindness and prayers from a lot of my followers and friends and got lots of the same from personal comments and emails, all offering their prayers, words of encouragement and testimonials of children growing into adulthood living a productive and happy life with only one hand. Thanks you so very much. It made this sad new so much more bearable for all of us.

I must add that my husband met with his healing ministry group of the Order Of St Luke today and Linda, a member of the group broke out the silence in a beautiful intercessory healing prayer from the heart for Christine and the baby. She herself has received healing from a crooked spine with this ministry and her faith is strong.

My daughter is feeling more her normal self today and will be fine. There may be waves of sadness but it is normal and her love for their unborn baby is so strong and with so many people praying for all of them, she will be given special graces to bear this in a positive way.  That baby will be so loved by all.

Thanks again everyone.  JB

AS I PROMISED... THIS IS WHY ALL THE TEARS

This morning while I was still at the barn cleaning up before coming back to the house, I got a call from my husband and even though it was noisy in the milk-house I could hear my husband's voice on my new cell phone. Normally I can't hear a call coming in when it's noisy and I have to go outside if I want to talk on the phone, but I could hear my husband's voice very well. It even has a speaker phone on it so others can hear if I choose. He wanted to tell me that the dentist 's office had called and new my partial was in and that I could go for a fitting for 10:30 am.

When I sat in the dentist chair he noticed that something was wrong and asked how I was feeling. I told him the bad news about my daughter's last ultrasound.  My daughter's unborn little boy is missing his left hand, and how hard it was to see my daughter Christine  and her husband going through this terrible news and trying to come to grip with this reality that they will have to deal with.

The dentist was very sympathetic and told me that he remembers my daughter Christine very well and asked me if I wanted him to pray over her and her  baby, her husband and us grandparents as well. I was very touched  by his prayer and a shiver went through me as he prayed. Then he ask if I wanted him to include them in his daily prayer of intercession and I said " Yes please do". He rushed to get a piece of paper to write her name down so he would remember them in his prayers.

MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER CHRISTINE ON VACATION WITH HER HANDSOME HUSBAND
AT A HAPPIER TIME.     THEY WILL SMILE AGAIN...

 Christine is very bright and intelligent and had a PHD in chemistry and is happily married to her handsome  man whom we all dearly love.  Together they have a very bright future. It's plain to see that they both will make excellent parents just by the way the grandchildren adores them both whenever they come for visits. They always make time for their nieces and nephews.  I just wish that they didn't had to go through such an ordeal at this time. So if you please could you pray for this beautiful couple and their unborn baby?
Sadness comes in waves and tears weld up in my eyes whenever I think of them and their little guy.

It was a beautiful day to work outside today but somehow I didn't feel like it so I stayed inside and puttered around the office that I share with my husband and did some filing, paid some bills and tidied up my little corner of the office.

 I've been taking care of a sick older calf for the last four days and she had a high fever and was not eating her grain as she was being weaned off her milk. She's been on penicillin for 4 days and shows some improvement but gets extremely short of breath still. I've been very concerned about her too as I never had an older calf getting sick in my care like that before. She has started to eat her grain a little bit this morning.

 Thanks for allowing me some space to sort things out before posting my sad news.
Surely God's hand is somewhere in there but we can't see it right now. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.  JB

SOMETIMES IT HARD TO SEE THE HAND OF GOD IN SOMETHING

Today I did a lot of crying, my heart is so heavy, it's aching. There's a big lump in my throat and my eyes are still puffy.

This morning I received a devastating news which I'm not at liberty to discuss just yet. So my blog will be rather short. For those who are waiting for a picture of my rug progress, I did some drawing on the burlap although it still  needs some touch up but today was just not a good day to work on it.

My design needs something to tie things together but it will come later. It will probably will be drawn free hand.

Today I met my son's girlfriend and she's real nice and I like her already. She actually a good friend of my daughter also. I also made some pesto pre-mix for the freezer and I only have another batch to do.

Thanks for for stopping by.  JB

SOMETHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT

By now you all know what my mornings are like, I work between two to three hours every morning at the barn and when I return home I usually check my emails, and I check my blog reader to see at a glance if someone posted a new blog entry, who's birthday it is on Rug Hooking Daily and I check the Daily Discussions, the comments and new pictures people posted etc. 

This morning was special, I was just about to close Rug Hooking Daily's main page when I saw a familiar title. I was shocked to say the least when I saw that my blog Of Petals and Wool was chosen as this week's featured blog. You probably can imagine my facial expression with the mouth wide open and my jaw hanging. I was speechless, then I started to giggle. I was all by myself and thank goodness there was no one around to hear me...

I had said yesterday that I needed to slow down and start to hook again real soon, so today I zigzag around the backing and I set all my little sketches on the  big piece of graft paper and arranged it the best I could and taped them in place because they kept shifting. 

THERE HAS BEEEN SOME MINOR CHANGES ADDED AFTER THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN.  THE SWIMMERS WERE DRAWN LARGER  AND THE RASPBERRY ON THE LEFT SIDE WAS MOVED ON THE OTHER UPPER SIDE

I was working on the floor but my knees were complaining so I put the extra leaves on the dining room table and moved everything there so that I could draw on my burlap after supper. 

And as  Murphy's law would have it, I got some company and my plan went out the window. I had to remove my rolled backing off the table to make room for my husband and his visiting friend to have coffee and lemon pie. I was planning on having my design all done or mostly finished for this evening's blog, but instead I'm eating humble pie.

I drew my little one room school house and that's as far as I got. Tomorrow is another day and I may make some changes, one never knows. I'm really excited that I am a step closer to start hooking again.

IS IT BLOG TIME AGAIN?

Has anyone noticed how fast the time is passing by these days or is it just me?

Coming home from the farm this morning you would think that I would have been tired but I was full of pep. I harvested a huge garbage bag of basil and this was my second cut,  I even mowed my back lawn while the grass was still wet and started to pull the dead stalks from yet another day lilly flower bed. I really don't know where all that energy was coming from but I sure made good use of it. It probably won't last for long. I made a fresh batch of pesto and made Chicken Pesto Pizza for lunch. Very yummy. Then after lunch I mowed the front lawn and the other side of the road on the water front.

Here I was checking other people's blog a few minutes ago and realized that I hadn't even given a second thought about what I was going to blog about. That's when it hit me how fast the time is going at breakneck speed. We are already three weeks into September and it seems that I haven't event noticed it was here.  I seriously have to buckle down and start hooking to slow down the clock.

As I read the Open Discussions on Rug Hooking Daily posted by Wren this evening, I was sorry to hear that a 78 years old rug hooking lady by the name of  Pat O'Hagan who was abducted from her home in the  small community of Sheffield in Vermont. This is most disturbing.  All I can do is ask for prayers for  her safe return to her family and friends. If you Google her name you can see her photo and also see a video news clip from ABC News.   But the time is at a stand still for those who love and miss her and are searching for her. My prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends who miss her and also with Pat.

JB

MARGARET AND I CUT AND CUT AND CUT

I just got home at 8:30 pm. from working at the fall church supper after cleaning my pie tables and I'm pretty tired to say the least. We got 138 pies and  Margaret and I worked out a sweat cutting non stop until 6:00 pm.  and put pieces in plates of course. We had several pies left.The church supper is over until the spring and it was a great success even though so many of our regular workers were no longer able to work or were sick or away etc., but we pulled it off. We had a continuous flow of people coming to eat and also had 109 take out dinners, lots of positive comments.
The menu included turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, peas, dressing, gravy, cranberries, rolls, assorted pickles, pies and layer cakes, tea and coffee, milk for the kids.  We normally feed about 800 people and use beautiful round tables so people can see each other when they eat. I don't know the tally for this one.

I didn't bring my camera because I was in a rush again, beside I had too many details to take care of. So my blog post is short this evening. Thanks for your visit.  JB

VOLUNTEERING HAS IT'S REWARDS

Today I had difficulty keeping my eyes fully opened. I was tired from too many late nights and early rising. I ran several errands in town after work like picking up a package of 25 ear tags for my little bull calves for ($120.06 tax included) , gassed up the car and picked up some grocery. I rush home for lunch and picked up my Friday mail. Such sweet surprise to find an envelope from Deb Reardon with her CD in it. I rushed home and put it in the CD player and listen to her calming music while I ate.  Such a treat. Thanks so much Deb, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Then I grabbed my peeler and made my way to church to peel potatoes for the church supper, no photos of that because it never dawned on me to bring it along. I peeled along with others for about three hours and was thrilled when they asked me if I wanted the peelings for the squash and potatoes. One of my compost bin was totally empty and the other had about a foot of material left in it. Now it's full to the brim and the other has good foot of peeling.

I baked three carrots cakes which I will ice with cream cheese frosting tomorrow. Two for the church and the other is for my husband' s sweet tooth...

Two Carrot cakes for the church supper.

Tomorrow I work in the morning and after brunch I 'm back to church for mass and then to cut about 130 pies with my helper, Margaret until 6:00pm. We do this every year, twice a year. So I need to catch up on my zzzzzz...
Thanks for following my blog and for leaving your comments.   JB

IT'S NOT WHAT I INTENDED TO DO TODAY...

When I got back from the barn this morning around 10ish, it was pouring rain. Since I had my rain coat and my rubber boots on ( with steel toes , mind you because calves that weigh more than me sometimes, step on my toes,)  I decided that I better pick up some tomatoes from the garden.

I remembered that I had just purchased a  metal mesh basket  (at Value Village  for $3.99) for the garden because I can hose it down. So I went to fetch it and started to pick tomatoes and since I know that it's getting cold I kept picking and picking and then my husband showed up and took pity on me I guess.  He brought out the crates and we filled  one with green tomatoes and the other one with red ones.  As I speak, the green tomatoes are going to the church for chow chow pickles for their spring supper.  AMEN. Half of the red tomatoes went to my daughter and my son said that he would want some too. The rest will be frozen for soup.

We cleaned the garden of zucchinis and cucumbers too. I didn't took any photos of the cucumbers though.

I took a very bad photo of my husband helping me in the rain and my glasses were all wet, but I'm keeping it in here.
                                                                      ♥♥♥
Today we cleaned out the garden of zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and all that is left is Jalapenos and sweet green  basil an parsley.  Everything is cleaned out. Since a good deed deserves another I went back to the farm to help him pick squash for our church supper. He picked the giant Hubbard squash and I picked the buttercup squash. What was he THINKING??? We picked a truck load and there are still another three truck loads in the field. We could feed an army. I'm thinking of other church's supper, the soup kitchen, food bank, even the friggin army. The seeds were all the same size... but God was so generous in his abundance.  I'm going to have nightmares about this, I know...
                                                    

                 ♥♥♥
Then to celebrate he mixed me a drink and I swear I don't know how much scotch he put in there but I was all finished my blog and I hit the close button instead of posting it........ Not amused... I lost the whole post,  my head was spinning... lol... so I had to retype  everything, nothing was saved... Oh well worst has happened, get a grip girl... Sorry my post is so late.



I'm cool...
                                                                       ♥♥♥
Now going back to last evening, I was getting the designer's block and YOU WERE ALL SO SWEET WITH YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT, well I went on Goggle and uploaded some images of things I couldn't visualize and voila.. I drew some pictures for my childhood memories rug and although I couldn't get them all I got  fair amount and they will need tweaking, I know.

very rough sketching

Fun things I remember

Remember Dick and Jane?

primitive living

My favorite things to pick and eat

Apologies for the lateness of this blog.  That's the equivalent of two blogs in one night.  JB

DESIGNER'S BLOCK

I've been trying to design my childhood memories rug  and every time I start at it it seems that I'm spinning in one place and not getting ahead, I have all my ideas but it's to draw them that I'm having a bit of difficulties. What am I saying,? I'm having a LOT of difficulties.  If only I could draw from memory instead of having a model in front of me. I break into a sweat just thinking about it. My problem is I like things to look real and I should loosen up.

 I used to have a friend neighbor who was a sculptor and could draw beautiful drawings, If he was still alive I would pay him to draw my rugs. He would have been able to draw whatever I wanted. He was a really gifted self taught artist.

I have my burlap cut to a fairly large size for my rug and can't wait to get hooking. I don't have hookers blocks but I sure have designer's blocks.  I have a lots of items to add on there and once I zig zag the edges I'm hooking something, anything.  Sorry folks, no pictures tonight. I'm pulling the little bit  hair I have left.  JB

LEAVING A COMMENT ON MY BLOG

This post is dedicated to those who have encountered difficulty leaving comments on my blog. Those who have mastered this technicality please bear with me. Several time I have received some comments on RHD that someone was unable to leave a comment. I hope that these steps may help you. I took some computer screen photos but they were not high quality enough to post them.  So here are the steps and if you still have difficulty, don't give up.  Try until you get it. It's really not difficult.

LET'S BEGIN:, and don't forget that you have to scroll down whenever you want to read lower down the page and post your comment and copy the squiggly word in the word verification box.

You have found my blog Of Petals and Wool and have read my post of the day and want to leave your comment:

Step 1. At the bottom of my post you will see Posted by Julia and there may be some comments or 0 comments. CLICK on Comment and a comment box will appear.

Step 2. CLICK on the comment box.

Step 3.  Start typing your comment.

Step 4.  CLICK on the little narrow box under the comment box. If you have a Google email account, click on Google account but if you can't fine an account to identify you Click on Anonymous instead. My blog is set up to receive anonymous comments although I ask that you please identify yourself at the end of your comment so I know who you are. Fair enough? Don't sign out.

Step 5.  CLICK on Post a Comment.

Step 6.  See that squiggly funny word, type that word in the small Word Verification box that has a tiny wheel chair beside it.  Note, this is a safety feature to keep spam out. It trick the spam computer from recognizing the word and since it can't read it spam can't get in.

Step 7.  CLICK on Post Comment


I hope that you will be successful in leaving your comment.  JB

TUESDAY IS SENIORS DAY & I FIT THE DESCRIPTION...

A pair of new  swede shoes for $7.99

A pair of framed pictures for the bare wall over my hand towels

I don't know if you're like me, if you're not, that's OK, believe me...      I never was one to gather much nick-knacks or seasonal decorations until the kids couldn't decide what to get me and I always said the only thing I really wanted was a tree ornament from each of my four kids at Christmas, because I really didn't need anything and I didn't want them to scour the planet for gifts for me...  Now I have so many tree ornaments from all over the world as some of my kids are travelers. My Christmas ornaments all neatly stored in see through plastic bins. I have enough for two trees and last year I bought another Christmas tree on sale, that was already lit up and I gave it to my daughter because I would not have enjoyed it as much as she did. I knew that she was very busy and the thought of seeing her having to drag a tree all the way from the market in all that snow made me think that it was the right thing to do. It sets up in minutes and she was happy.

Some of you know me as a thrifty person. Now since I've started hooking, my favorite second hand store is Value Village.  I go as often as I can, to look for wool skirts and pants and I take a stroll in the cookbook department, the Christmas department, the knic-knack department, the basket department,  etc. Last year I started a small collection of snowmen  and santas and I only pick those which I really like and I have an extensive of the best cookbooks too.

Some more baskets 

An exercise mat

A dispenser for the shower

A mirror for my entrance

Nativities to add to my Christmas nativities

                                         A cute bunny box for Easter. It needs a little dusting.

A new tortoise shell frame, still in the packing Note, the three wool skirts are not shown here, they were  all disassembled and cut into swatches and was shown in a previous photo.

This week I picked up three wool skirts, several baskets, a mirror, a frame still in its packing, two framed pictures of roses for the bare spot in my bathroom, a pair of brand new swede shoes that fits me to a T, an exercise mat, a mirror, a bunny box that needs dusting, three books with a free cloth bag, a shampoo and conditioner dispenser for the bathroom. So I think that I did very well. Today of course was Senior's Day and I got 20% off. I think it's the thrill of the hunt that's so much fun. Being a senior, well , it's fun too I guess some times.... Have a great week and thanks for your visit.  JB