Monday, November 27, 2017

Blanket and Hat Finish and New Book

There is nothing more satisfying than putting the final touches on a long running project.  My son's work and fishing friend Ernie and his wife are expecting their second son in a few weeks so I wanted to make the new little guy something special to keep him warm when he arrives.  Thus I made him a blanket using my "Sea Shell on the Half Shell" pattern and my roll brim hat pattern.


For the edging I did one row of double crochet and one row of picots.  The blanket looks odd shaped in this photo but I was not able to get my arms high enough to get a centered photo.  :-)


I used my favorite yarn right now.. the Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable in "Candied" color using my G hook.


Kristi put it in a gift bag with a cute little onesie she bought for the baby and Travis took it to work today to deliver it.  :-)


The weekend was busy with stowing away turkey decorations and getting the tree put up and some lights across the front of the house.  Kristi steam cleaned the carpet in the living room and our master bedroom, too.  I finished up the hat with Buddy on my lap.


This magazine arrived so I finished up reading the Coastal Living mag that was all about Hawaii and have not cracked open this one as yet.  I'm going to savor this one.


Tree up.. the box of decorations is out.  I need to put away my nautical decor on the mantel and bring out the wreath and little trees and stockings.  


This is how the mantel looks most of the year, two large pieces of coral, my two brass ship's lanterns and two prized Japanese glass floats from Kristi's grandfather's collection.  On the hearth is a vintage cast iron cauldron filled with large pine cones and a basket of white bark logs from our Birch trees and a brass fireplace set I got from a 100 year old friend of mine, Weltha Wilson, at her estate sale.  And the print is by Captain Lars, a noted nautical painter.  I got this print as a trade from him for making a website for him.. and I met with him at his house in California to discuss what he wanted on the site.  That was quite a memory!  He and his wife were very charming.


I'm reading a new book on my iPad, below.  I'm not far into it but I'm enjoying learning about first Key West and now we've just landed in Cuba and I'm learning a lot about that place!  Are you reading anything you would like to recommend?


Kristi is having a procedure done today so we'll be taking care of her for a while.  Our son Shawn is starting a new job today at Nabisco where our son Travis is happily employed.  

I am struggling staying on the low carb regimen.. to be honest it's so hard to think of things for my meals.  Yesterday I had a half of a KNOW cookie for breakfast and didn't have anything until 4 pm when I was starving but not one thing in the fridge looked good at all so I had a melt down.  It's very disruptive to a household when one person can't eat what everyone else is eating.  I'm honestly not sure what to do.  But I will be off to swim soon.  Wishing you a wonderful week.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

17 comments:

  1. Don't give up! You are making so many good creative choices in your life, and all your good choices are encouraging me to make good choices in my life as well. Have you looked up the WOOP podcast? That might be a useful tool to help. I have my tree up too...and am ready to put on some ornaments. :)

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  2. Yes there is much help on low carb on you tube. Just keep listening until you find the one you like. There are physicians from Duke University that are knowledgeable. Also ask your sister for advice, too. Don't give up. :)

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  3. Hi Teresa. Beautiful blanket and hat. I've been reading the same magazine featuring Hawaii. I only ready 2 pages a day, just before I fall asleep, because I'm trying to make it last. I miss Hawaii.
    Don't give up on healthy choices. I've tried the low carb thing and did well for a week or two like you and then it's just too hard to cut entire food groups out. Especially when you socialize a lot like you do. I've been going to Weight Watchers for awhile now. I really like them and have had great success in the past with it since they teach you to make healthier choices and portion control. That last thing is so hard. The meetings are wonderful too because of the support system. In America we have such HUGE portions. I always lost weight when I traveled to other countries because they seem to have much more realistic portions. We upsize everything! Ha! I'll be praying for you my friend, whatever you do decide to do.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  4. Beautiful blanket and hat, what a sweet present. I went to Cuba for my honeymoon, it is an amazing place. Might just add this book to my reading list. Give Kristi my best wishes, I hope she recovers quickly. Have a lovely week x

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  5. A lovely blanket and hat Teresa and that mantel is awesome. Hope Kristi goes ok and hugs to her. As for the low carb don't be too hard on yourself. We still mostly follow it and eat left overs meat/chicken a lot lol Salad is our friend and that site I recommended dietdoctor.com has great easy recipes and advice xoxo

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    1. this is a very good resource:) many ideas and recipes!

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  6. Don't give up! Low carb really does work. You just have to stick it out!

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  7. I think your baby gift is amazing. The onesie is a nice touch. Im glad Kristi will have you to help her recover . We dont have any indoor decorations up yet but we helped our daughter get hers unpacked on saturday in okc!

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  8. What a beautiful gift you have made Teresa, that will be so treasured. Lovely to see your tree up...we hope to get ours at the weekend. Wish Kristi well. Hugs xxx

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  9. Take a look at the Danielle Walker's recipes Against All Grain cookbook series. There are lots of delicious recipes that the whole family would enjoy as well.

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  10. Beautiful blanket and hat Teresa! Wishing Kristi well - hope all goes smoothly for her. I always love seeing pictures of your tree up - it all looks so pretty. I haven't even thought about decorating yet!

    Good luck with the diet. Cutting out something has never worked for me, instead just watching carefully what I eat (portion control) and cutting back some (but not all) on high carbs, etc. This is a tough time of year to try to do that!

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  11. Love that blanket, Teresa! It's so beautiful. No decorating here yet, but I'm coveting your mantel!

    xo
    Claudia

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  12. You certainly have had some very meaningful encounters and made wonderful connections with so many interesting people. The artwork above your mantel and the entire collection there is lovely.

    No doubt the baby blanket and hat will be much appreciated. Such beautiful work and the colorway is gorgeous.

    Carbs get a bad rap. Nothing wrong with them. It's everything else we are eating that's the problem (portion sizes and how food is cooked). Not eating at all isn't good for sugar levels. I truly believe in small healthy snacks and meals throughout the day. Food is fuel for our bodies so we need to feed it right to keep running efficiently. :)

    Happy holidays!

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  13. Good news about your son's new job. I don't eat meat, corn or gluten and I am a bit of a mess in this house where pasta is a favorite and red meat is consumed frequently. I love the new hat and blanket, so wonderful. That is a gift that will be cherished. Good luck to Kristi.

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  14. Golly - my auto-immune is better if I stay clear away from carbs - and everything else. One trick is to have cut-up veggies available in the fridge at all times. Lara bars have minimal ingedients using dates as a binder. They are good when I'm out and about. Gluten free/no msg lunchmeats. Coconut wraps, rice cakes with peanut butter ( microwave for a few seconds), my thriftway in canby stocks a lot of options for me. You can do this, my friend.

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  15. What a Beautiful blanket and hat love the colours too.I Love that room I can feel the atmosphere in it soooo cosy and warm and loving,you have some Beautiful Treasures,Great Mantle.Hope Kristi ( lovely name ) is ok.Good Luck to your son.Great Tree.xxx

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  16. Ah, Teresa, why must so many of us suffer with our diets and the consequences of those diets? I will say...Pinterest has so many low-carb recipes, and they look pretty amazing! You can buy "riced" cauliflower at the grocery store (fresh and frozen), and it can be used to replace rice or potatoes in any recipe, rendering that recipe LOW CARB! I wish you great success...I've given up and will be having bariatric surgery in January. Now, that's a daunting prospect...a "liquid protein" diet for a total of 5 weeks (2 weeks pre-surgery and 3 weeks post-surgery).

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