'Later!

Well, I have had this blog for 7 years now, and I think it's time for me to move on. 

I don't plan on writing any more entries, but you know what they say, "Never say never."  So, who knows?  We'll leave that open, just in case.  Because you know if I find out something incredible, I will have to share it!  :)  

Thank you for reading and coming along with me on this journey.  I really do love sharing this and that, and I love the thought of someone finding these posts someday and finding something in them that helps them in some small way.

And thank you for putting up with a blogger with so few words to say.  I'm a visual type of person, so my blog has been rich with photos.  Thank goodness.  I don't have as many words in me as I sometimes wish.

I imagine when you read this, I will still be creating art, playing with my furry babies, and enjoying the good life with my sweet husband.  I really am a lucky dog.  ♥ !!!

I mean, blessed!!!  :)  LOL!

So, take it easy and take care, and don't forget one of my favorite Bible verses:

James 4:8   
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ !!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

 We'll leave that open, just in case.  Because you know if I find out something incredible, I will have to share it!   :)

Thank you for reading and coming along with me on this journey.  I really do love sharing this and that, and I love the thought of someone finding these posts someday and finding something in them that helps them in some small way.

Thank you for putting up with a blogger with so few words to say.  I'm a visual type of person, so my blog has been rich with photos.  Thank goodness.  I don't have as many words in me as I sometimes wish.Blog Entry – December 31, 2016

'Later!

Well, I have had this blog for 7 years now, and I think it's time for me to move on. 

I don't plan on writing any more entries, but you know what they say:  "Never say never."  So, who knows?  We'll leave that open, just in case.  Because you know if I find out something incredible, I will have to share it!   :)

Thank you for reading and coming along with me on this journey.  I really do love sharing this and that, and I love the thought of someone finding these posts someday and finding something in them that helps them in some small way.

Thank you for putting up with a blogger with so few words to say.  I'm a visual type of person, so my blog has been rich with photos.  Thank goodness.  I don't have as many words in me as I sometimes wish.

I imagine when you read this, I will still be knitting lace and playing with my furry babies and enjoying the good life with my sweet husband.  I really am a lucky dog.  ♥ !!!

I mean, blessed!!!  :)  LOL!

So, take it easy and take care, and don't forget one of my favorite Bible verses:

James 4:8   Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ !!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

I imagine when you read this, I will still be knitting lace and playing with my furry babies and enjoying the good life with my sweet husband.  I really am a lucky dog.  ♥ !!!

I mean, blessed!!!  :)  LOL!

So, take it easy and take care, and don't forget one of my favorite Bible verses:

James 4:8   Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ !!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Favorite Product -- Ultra Repair Cream

Yes, this is my newest find!

This is really yummy cream, not only for your face and neck, but for your whole body. 

It is called Ultra Repair Cream, and it's made by First Aid Beauty.  It is a serious cream for eczema and the like, with no parabens, chemicals, perfumes, or harsh ingredients.

I have found it to be a really hydrating cream that I think is better than creams 10X the price!  It definitely works better on my neck than some fancy creams that I've tried in the past.

I bought mine on QVC, but it's on Amazon, too.  You would have to check and see, but the last time I looked, the 14 oz. size was the best value.

(Do you know how huge of a jar that is??  It's the SUPER size!)

Here's a link to it on Amazon:  Ultra Repair Cream.

But don't rule out QVC.  They have some exclusive scents, and I especially love the pink grapefruit one.  It's very light and sweet to me.  And the best part is, they use essential oils, not chemical perfumes.

As of this writing, QVC has a set of 4 (3 flavors plus unscented) for a very good price.  Here's a link to that:  QVC set of 4   And sometimes they will have a special deal going, so keep an eye out for that.

First Aid Beauty makes several different creams, but frankly, this one does it all for me.  Your mileage may vary.

Anyway, I just love it and if you were here, I'd be grabbing my jars and letting you slather some on.  It's so good that you might want to share it with others.

'Tis the season!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Jesus

XOXO

♥

Rice Recipe and Sausage Rolls Recipe

[Here are two of our favorite recipes, 

just in time for the holidays!]

How is it that I have never put this rice recipe on this blog?  That's crazy!

It is so easy and so delicious! 

Well, of course it is -- it starts with a whole stick of butter!

Here are the ingredients:

And here it is, finished. 

Sometimes I make this for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!

And here is the recipe:

RICE CASSEROLE

2 cans of Campbell's chicken broth

2 cans of Campbell's beef broth

2 cups uncooked white rice, not instant

1 stick butter, melted

4 green onions, chopped

4 oz. canned mushrooms, drained 

(I don't ever put the onions or the mushrooms in.)

Melt butter in lasagna or similar dish in MW.

Put rest of ingredients into the dish.

Bake at 400° for 1 hour.

And even though I don't have any photos for you, here is another recipe that I can't believe I've never shared here.  Mr. Man always asks me to make this for breakfast functions at his workplace, and he tells me that it is always the first to go.  (!)

SAUSAGE ROLLS

[This makes two separate logs.]

1 lb. sausage  (Owens, Jimmy Dean…)

(1) 8 oz. box of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

2 crescent roll packages

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Brown sausage; drain on paper towels.

Mix sausage and softened cream cheese in a bowl.

Unroll one crescent roll pkg. & form into a rectangle, smooshing seams together.  (I did it on waxed paper.)

Put half the sausage mixture down the middle of the rectangle lengthwise.

Fold up sides and place in a 9X13 pan or on a cookie sheet. 

(This is easier to do holding the waxed paper, instead of the crescent roll itself)

Do the same with the second pkg./half.  

(Place them side by side)

Brush the egg white over the tops.

Bake 350° for 20 minutes.

I have these two recipes (and so many others) in my collection only because of kindhearted and generous cooks who shared their recipes with me.  I am so grateful that they did, and now I'm passing them along to you and yours.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Christmas Prayer List

And your wish list becomes your prayer list.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Bonus!

I went to get some eggs to bake 

my pecan pie for Thanksgiving,

and found a Scripture verse inside.

What a nice surprise!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

Ahhh…  deep, restorative sleep. 

This little guy makes it look easy, but it seems to evade us more and more as we get older.

Here are a few things that I have uncovered in my quest to sleep better:

Melatonin, of course.

Valerian Root.     (My mama used to call this The Poor Man's Muscle Relaxer.)

Skullcap.

Various essential oils.

No caffeine.

A small snack before bedtime.

White noise.

A chilly room.

A dark room.

Binaural beats.

Various natural sleep supplements.

We don't ever want to go the Rx route, if at all possible.  And we would just use OTC sleep aids with diphenhydramine in them (Benadryl), which work great, but that drug has been recently linked to developing dementia.  (Well, all anticholinergic drugs have been, unfortunately.)  So, until the science is clear about that, we avoid taking it as much as possible.  (Sometimes, though, ya just have to make an exception!)

Two things have really made a difference, and I wanted to share them with you.

I read a blog written by an orthopedic surgeon that suggested adding 2-inch memory foam to our beds.  She said we lose our body's natural cushioning as we age, and get bonier and pointier, which gets less and less comfortable in bed while we sleep.  Adding this foam to your current mattress can help with all that.

We bought this one:  Memory Foam Topper   (There are others, of course.)  We really love it, and even added a pillow top cushion on top of that!  (You may not want to.)  But that way we don't overheat from the memory foam, and it makes the bed even more luxurious and cushier.  We got this one:  Mattress pillow topper 

(BTW, I did have to buy a new fitted sheet, a deeper one, to accommodate all this new stuff.)

The other thing is:

Magnesium.  

But not just any magnesium.  It turns out that magnesium citrate is great for going to the bathroom, but it's magnesium glycinate that you want to help you relax. 

We take two pills 30 minutes or so before bedtime, and it has really and truly helped me, especially, so much!  I have had trouble falling asleep my whole life, and have dreamed over the years of finding an "Off Switch", as it were.  I may have finally found it.  (Here's a link to the one we buy:  Magnesium on Amazon )

Yes, the magnesium pills are not on the small side, and you all know how I feel about taking pills, much less horse tablets!  LOL!!  But these are truly worth it.  (Don't forget to use the Pill Glide spray to help with the huge pills!)

I am always looking for more things to try, because there's no substitute for a good night's sleep.

Sweet dreams!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

My Grandmother's Recipe for Green Beans and New Potatoes

Here is my grandmother's recipe for Kentucky Wonders and New Potatoes:

(I can't seem to find Kentucky Wonder beans in the store these days, but any green beans in the produce department will work.)

2 lbs. of raw green beans

6 or so new potatoes

2-3 strips of bacon

1 small onion, chopped

First, put on a full teapot of water to boil.  (Or however you can get a lot of water up to the boil.)

Meanwhile, string and snap green beans.  (Or trim ends with a knife and cut into pieces.)

Cut up the bacon and place in a 6 qt. pan.

After the bacon is mostly browned, put in the chopped onion and sauté until clear.

Add the green beans to the pot and enough boiling water to cover them.

Simmer for 45 minutes.

While the beans are simmering, peel and chop up the new potatoes into quarters or eighths.

After the 45 minutes is over, add the potatoes to the pot.

Cook 25 more minutes or until done.    (until the potatoes are fork-tender)

These are great for making the day before and re-heating them the next day to serve. 

You know, for a dinner party or for the holidays!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Knitter's Truth

"You could go out and socialize,

but you'll just be waiting until

you can go home and knit again."

LOL!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Seen on Knit Picks FaceBook page:

19 Things You'll Get If You're Slightly Obsessed with Knitting

More Maxims

The more storage you have,

the more junk you will end up keeping.

The heavier the person,

the more lightweight the fabric should be.

The busier the yarn,

the simpler the stitch should be.

The more crap you put up with,

the more crap you are going to get.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

A Formula for the Long Tail Cast On's Tail

The Long Tail Cast On was the first way I learned how to cast on in knitting, and it is a great method for a lot of applications.

But it had one major problem to me:

estimating how *long* a tail to begin with.

Oh, I'd heard of wrapping the yarn around the needle and other ways to try to figure it out, but when I needed to cast on 240 stitches the other day for a cowl, I assumed I could just use my knitted cast on instead.  It doesn't begin with a long tail, so no worries about it being too short.

But the knitted cast on didn't give me that nice edge that the long tail cast on does, so I decided it was time to search the internet for an answer.

Lo and behold, I found it on this blog:  Taking Time to Smell the Roses, at Jackie-es.com.  Her entry, The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On, was exactly what I needed.

So, if you ever need to know, and Mr. Google hasn't directed you to Jackie's post, here is the formula in a nutshell:

[ (Number of stitches) X (mm needle size) / 8 ] + some extra for weaving in later.

This gives you the number of inches of yarn you need for your tail.

I do suggest you pop over to the original blog post and enjoy the entire entry:

The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On

Thank heavens, once again, for the power of the internet and sharing, generous people like Jackie.  ♥

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Favorite Cartoon

XOXO

Favorite Product -- Tick Twister

Now that it's October and a bit cooler, we've been working in the yard getting stuff done that we put off over the long, hot summer.

And sure enough, Mr. Man was working hard out there, kneeling in the dirt, and later that evening found a baby tick on his knee.   <aarrgghh!!>

Personally, I never got a tick bite until we moved to Oklahoma.  And I got it in my very own back yard!  (It's not like I was out hiking somewhere remote and hadn't taken precautions!)

<eewwww!!!>   I cannot tell you how much I hate parasites!!!

We knew enough to ensure that you remove all of the tick, especially the embedded head.  And over the years and subsequent bites, we tried all the various methods that you hear about.

None of them worked well until we purchased this little gadget:

the Tick Twister.  It makes it so simple and easy!

We found it at our vet, but it's on Amazon and lots of other places.

Here's a link to it on Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/z9s28yp 

It's only $5.49.  Nice and cheap.

If you ever get ticks, you will want this.

If you don't ever get ticks, you are most blessed.

So, why does all this talk of ticks make me itch all over??  LOL!

Okay.  Just passing it along.  It's what I do.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Quote o' the Day

"It takes one eye closed to make a friend,

and

two eyes closed to keep them."

♥♥♥

♥

My Grandmother's Recipe for Pancakes

Today I am sharing my grandmother's recipe 

for pancakes written in her own handwriting.  

♥

Here's the typed-up version:

Hot Cakes for One

3 heaping tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon of butter

Enough milk to make the batter pour

Grease skillet [with the butter]

Pour batter from pitcher.

(These sound very humble and simple, 

but they are really very delicious,

as most things made from scratch are!)

She was a widow, so she did a lot of cooking for one,

but she could also put on the best Sunday noon spread

 you could imagine with roast, carrot salad, rolls, 

and Kentucky Wonders and New Potatoes.  

(I still cook those fresh green beans!  Yum!)

She was also that grandmother that always had 

fresh Banana Bread cooling when we arrived 

late on a Friday night from out-of-town.


In her senior years, she taught me how to add sautéed

 chopped onions to a can of Franco-American spaghetti 

to transform its flavor.

And this is the same grandmother who 

salted watermelon (what?!), and then taught us 
how to cut the rind into watermelon "teeth" for fun!

Doesn't every family make watermelon teeth??

Good times!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

My Favorite Raccoon Photo

XOXO

♥

The Way I See It...

Some people don't want to follow God

because of all the things they think they'll have to give up.

To me,

that's like clinging to greasy, cheap fast food

when God wants to feed you from

the finest restaurants you can imagine.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Plum Fantasy Mallow Hibiscus

Well, September is upon us, and autumn is fast-approaching.

Soon all the leaves will drop 

and the perennials will need to be trimmed as they die back, 

preparing to sleep over the winter.

But I didn't want the summer to be over yet without sharing 

a few photos of our favorite perennial, the Mallow Hibiscus. 

I just love their plate-sized flowers and brilliant colors!

No matter where we live, I try to have these.  

Along with the Crepe Myrtle trees, 

their blooming in the heat of summer is so uplifting. 

(How anything makes it in that heat is beyond me!)  :)

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Either way,
have a good one!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

In the Mood for Violet

Ahhhh.... that's better!

XOXO

♥

Cool Shadows

XOXO

♥

August Anomaly

We have been blessed with such wonderful weather lately!

Usually it's 95 this time of year, 

but it's been 10 degrees cooler than that for the past few days.

It sure makes for some nice times out on the new deck!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

My Stargazer

This is a 20-second exposure photo of my husband 

when he was out stargazing the other night.

Doesn't the Milky Way make a spectacular background?

Photographer:  Andrew Fryhover

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

The Cat and the Moon

I love this image!

(I ordered the coffee mug

so it will never get worn out.)

XOXO

♥

Rainbow Cowl

For a while this summer, I put my lace on hold

 while I knitted up this Rainbow Cowl.

I saw a version of this on FaceBook, and just had to make it.

The colors weren't listed,

so I had to just do my best picking out the yarn online.

In case you didn't know it, picking yarn out online

is usually not a good experience for me.

I can't really depend on the screen to

accurately show me the color, and I sure can't feel it!

(In an ideal world, every yarn you would ever need

would be at your local yarn store to see and touch.  Oh well.)

Since I have never made this pattern before,

 I had to learn a new stitch:  the Diagonal Scallop Stitch.

It turned out to be no big deal.

It's kind of like picking up a stitch (a ladder)

and then binding it off 2 stitches later.

Over and over and over again.

And I am so not used to working with this weight of yarn.

For this project, you hold 2 different colors of

 fingering weight yarn together at the same time.

And for every new section,
you drop one color and pick up another.

Yeah, there were more than a couple of ends to weave in,

 but that's the nature of the beast.  You just know that going in.

But I am so thrilled that my arms and shoulders

 stayed healthy during this project!

What a blessing!!!

I usually knit with "clouds", so this

-- combined with the fact that I was knitting like the wind

for hours and hours (and hours!)  –

was a lot more work for my muscles and body than usual.

And the stitch was a lot of repetitive motion,

so I was happily surprised (and so very grateful)

 that I was able to get away with it!

<whew!>

I doubt that I will repeat this project,

and I am very happy to be knitting with

lace weight mohair and silk again… 

But it's always nice to work on something different

 from time to time, especially if it expands your horizons.

(Your KSA's:  knowledge, skills, and abilities!)

And the best part?

I've already found it a new home.  ♥

I just love knitting.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥