It's That Time of the Month Again ~ Already

I'm not sure what happened to the month of May, but here it is June 1st already.  I'd like to say I didn't get much done on my goal list because all my yard work is done, but that is not the case.  I think we had record breaking rainfall for the month of May, so it was hard to get much done. 

My major accomplishment for the month was finishing my proddy sheep rug ~ well actually I re-did the eye and stained the ears today :)  I guess it really does not count for the month of May.  I coffee stained the ears.  I thought I liked the way it came out ~ that is until I saw it under the Ott light and now in the photo.  It looks too "brown", doesn't it?  Should I pull one of the wools from the proddy part or go with black?  I'm thinking black would get a little lost.  Ear suggestions would be appreciated!  I tried hooking a blue eye . . . didn't look good to me so I went with the gold.  Okay?



Much more subtle in person :)



I am going to suspend making any additional goals for the month of June.  There is just too much yard work to do, a mini vacation to take and at the moment I am feeling overwhelmed. 

My leftover goals include:

• binding my horse mat
• making the wool hookin' tools case
• making the birthday present that should have been done by today . . . lol!

If I get these done in June, that will be accomplishment enough.  Am I settling?  Maybe.  Does it bother me?  NO!

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I am still having problems leaving comments on certain blogs.  I haven't found the time to try any additional fixes, so if you haven't heard from me in a while, sorry :(

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The good news is the A/C is fixed.  I don't remember them telling me I had to do anything special since it was installed in the winter, but maybe they did.  I have a very bad case of CRS.

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The bad news is I never did hear back from the vet today about Mo's fecal or heartworm test. Can you say incompetence?

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Thank you so much for stopping by!  Please come again soon.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

It's That Time of the Month Again ~

It's that time of the month again, time for my April report card - May goals.  I'd love to say I didn't get too much done on my April list because I was vacationing somewhere warm and sunny or exploring the old cathedrals in Europe, or even that I was able to catch up on my yard work.  Sadly, none of those excuses would be true.  I stayed close to home and the weather has been less than ideal to accomplish any yard work :(

These were my April goals.

• finish the Maggie B rug ~ DONE
• bind my horse, tulip and Maggie B rugs (UGH! I hate the finishing part!) ~ Only the little tulip mat is bound.  The Maggie B rug is steamed and the horse rug is STILL rolled up in the same place it was two months ago.
• make that "wool hookin' tools case" that I didn't make in March ~ Not even started
• make my "pay it forward" goodies and get them mailed ~ Done
• purge 2000 more emails ~ Done
• have a give-away ~ Done

Hey.  It looks like I got more done than I thought I did :)

Even haven taken this picture outside, the colors are still too bright.

I am not going to add a whole lot to my May goals because I'm hoping this weather will soon let me get out in the yard.  There is so much work to be done.  I'm sure all of you can relate!  I know come August we'll be praying to the rain gods for some of this precipitation. 

May goals ~

• finish what I did not finish in March and April
• purge 1000 more emails (I am down to less than 5000 - woo hoo)
• complete my proddy sheep rug
• make a birthday present
• YARD WORK!!!

Here are a few more pictures from around my yard.  I just love spring flowers!

I have had my trillium for many years.  Last year was the first year I ever had two flowers and this year I have three!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren



March Report Card ~ April Goals

Hi All ~
Thanks so much for stopping by.

It's hard to believe that we are now in to the month of April.  It seems like just yesterday I was sitting down writing my goals for the month of March!

Let's see how I fared in March ~

• make that birthday gift I didn't make last month ~ DONE
• finish my taxes and get them mailed ~ finished my son's and my mom's.  Mine have been done for a week but just want to double check them again.  They will be in Monday's mail ~ WOO HOO!
• bind my horse rug ~ NOPE
• make a "wool hookin' tools case" (a pattern by Jenifer Gaston of the Woolen Willow) ~ NOPE
• finish hooking this little tulip mat ~ DONE

Hook this Maggie B rug from her book "With These Hands". The finished size is 24 1/2" x 17" and for me to hook that in a month would be a MAJOR accomplishment MIRACLE!  ~ CLOSE ~ I started it on March 9 and I am pleased with what I got done.  As I've said before, I am a very S-L-O-W hooker, and I've never gotten this much hooked in a 3 1/2 week period.

• purge 4000 (yes, four thousand) emails from my in box. Why don't I just delete them as they come in??? ~ DONE

Now I guess I need to go out on a limb and state my April goals for blogland to see.

• finish the Maggie B rug
• bind my horse, tulip and Maggie B rugs (UGH!  I hate the finishing part!)
• make that "wool hookin' tools case" that I didn't make in March
• make my "pay it forward" goodies and get them mailed
• purge 2000 more emails
• have a give-away

Since I'm anticipating the weather getting nicer (am I dreaming?), that's it for the list.  There will be lots of yard work to do, so there won't be a whole lot of time for strictly fun stuff :(  Just not enough hours in the day.  Too bad I have to sleep!
I've been a list maker for years and it really helps me to stay on task.  If I didn't have a list, I'd probably get nothing done, so thank you so much for letting me share it with you!
Thank you so much for stopping by and I do hope you are having a wonderful weekend, whatever you choose to do.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

February Report Card ~ March Goals

Can you believe it is March already?  It did not come in like a lion, but I still hope it goes out like a lamb! 

I guess it's time for my February report card!

• go through my mound of paperwork that needs to be filed ~ DONE
• start on my taxes (I always put this off until the last minute) ~ JUST BARELY
• clean the basement (now my idea of a clean basement and your idea may be totally different!) ~ AS GOOD AS IT GETS
• clean the bottom of my closet (how does it end up looking like that?) ~ LOOK!  THERE'S HARDWOOD on the FLOOR!

•  bind and label the little mats that are hooked ~ DONE
• construct the Valentine pin keep (hopefully before Valentine's day . . . lol!) ~ I got lazy and just finished it in to a little mat but it was sent to my friend BEFORE Valentine's Day 

•  hook a little mat for a friend ~ DONE and DELIVERED

• make a birthday gift for a friend~SORRY:( This gift is going to be really late. I have an idea what to make and that's all the further I've gotten.
• have another give-away ~ this is in progress
•  FINISH MY HORSE RUG!!! (at least the hooking part) ~  I DID IT ~ WOO HOO!!!  I finished hooking it last Thursday at That'll Do Farm.   I feel as if a weight has been lifted.  It only took me eleven and a half months!!!  (Peanut wanted to help show it off!)

Now it's time for my March goals.

• make that birthday gift I didn't make last month
• finish my taxes and get them mailed
• bind my horse rug
• make a "wool hookin' tools case" (a pattern by Jenifer Gaston of the Woolen Willow)
• finish hooking this little tulip mat (once again, Peanut insisted in being in the picture!)

• OK.  Now I'm really going out on a limb here.  Hook this Maggie B rug from her book "With These Hands".  The finished size is 24 1/2" x 17" and for me to hook that in a month would be a MAJOR accomplishment MIRACLE!

• purge 4000 (yes, four thousand) emails from my in box.  Why don't I just delete them as they come in???

Last Thursday at the Farm, Andrea also finished her rug - again!  She finished it a number of months ago but was not happy with her needle-felted sheep, so she re-hooked using cria tips, which I believe is the first shearing from a baby alpaca.  The picture does not do justice to the stone chimney!

Last evening I met two local hookers for the first time.  Char is working on only her second rug and Stacy has finished quite a few.  Another local hooker was supposed to come, also, but unfortunately with all the flooding in the county yesterday, she had to attend to a flooded basement.  I didn't even think to get out my camera :(

Thanks to everyone who is spreading the word about my latest give-away. 

Happy Hooking!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Report Card ~

 ~ Welcome Friends ~

Our weather did not end up nearly as bad as predicted and I believe the bulk of the snow has fallen.  The temperatures are now falling and I believe we are in for a couple of frigid days, but we fared so much better than many other parts of the country.

I guess it is time for my January report card.

• finish taking down the Christmas decorations and get it all hauled to the attic. I started at the beginning of the week and I am tired of living amidst chaos.   DONE
• cross stitch a little Valentine pin keep   The stitching is done but it is not assembled.
• learn how to make a toothbrush rug  I learned the technique but stopped working on my project because the beginning tension was all wrong and it would never be square or flat!
• bind the little cat mat I hooked  The only thing left to do is add the label.
• finish the hit and miss mat I am working on  The hooking is done and the binding is half done.
• hook a little mat I was asked to hook 1+ years ago  It is hooked but needs to be bound.
• hook a small Valentine mat as a gift  It is hooked but still needs to be bound.  Do you detect a pattern here?
• hook a minimum of one hour on my horse rug ~ for some unknown reason I can't make myself finish it, so maybe if I spend an hour hooking on it, I will be inspired and can continue on.  I failed miserably at this one :(  I didn't even get it out of the basket to even think about hooking on it.
• HAVE A GIVE~AWAY  DONE!  I just need to mail off the third item.

I also hooked two other little mats and made a number of the woven wool hearts.  I am VERY happy with all that I accomplished!

Now on to my February goals ~

• go through my mound of paperwork that needs to be filed
• start on my taxes (I always put this off until the last minute)
• clean the basement (now my idea of a clean basement and your idea may be totally different!)
• clean the bottom of my closet (how does it end up looking like that?)
• bind and label the little mats that are hooked
• construct the Valentine pin keep (hopefully before Valentine's day...lol!)
• hook a little mat for a friend
• make a birthday gift for a friend (what to make???)
• have another give~away
• FINISH MY HORSE RUG!!!  (at least the hooking part)

Well friends.  There you have it.  I hope I am as productive in February as I was in January.  For me, it really helps to write things down and all of you can hold me accountable :)

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Stay safe and warm!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Monday Mumblings ~

Welcome everyone. Thank you for stopping by on this cold winter Monday.

I thought I was doing so well completing my January goals, when I suddenly realized that February is next week! If I have a productive week, I just may make it. If not, oh well, oh hell!

It shouldn't take me much longer to finish this little mat. I was asked to hook this for a fellow Ohio Pug Rescue member a year and a half ago. She said she was in no hurry to get it. Obviously that was the wrong thing to say to me. She's probably given up on ever getting it :)
I purchased a $4 single flat sheet at Walmart to try my hand at a toothbrush rug. By the third row I was finally getting the hang of it, but I'm having a problem with curling. I'm guessing it's because the tension was not even on the beginning row. The start is very awkward. I'm sure this is one of those crafts that once you know what you are doing, it would be very easy and mindless to do. I purchased a couple of patterns ~ one for a rectangular and one for an oval rug. I don't think the instructions are very well written. Luckily I found a couple free instruction videos on the Internet. I found them much more helpful than the written instructions, so if you ever decide to give it a try, don't waste your money buying a pattern.

I got an email from Hopscotch's new mom after her first night there. All was going well and I hope it still is! It is very quiet around here. I must say I do not miss walking a puppy at 6am in single digit temperatures!

Stay warm.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Already Monday ~

Welcome dear blog friends. It's Monday already. The weekends sure do fly by, especially the busy ones!

Yesterday I took grandson Jake to see Disney on Ice, Toy Story 3. He had no idea he was going until I picked him up. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence, but he was wearing his Toy Story shirt. I don't know how a family could afford an event such as this, but I think it was a full house. Toys were outrageously expense, but that's what grandmas are for, no? I just wish I could get a decent picture of that silly young man!

Not having seen Toy Story 3, I was surprised to see Barbie (that's her in the blue) and Ken in the production.

Jake totally enjoyed it and wanted to know if we could go again today.

A bit more about my goals....

I am a list maker. I make one every day. I put on there things I need to do daily - read the newspaper, deal with the mail, etc. I also add places I need to go and things I hope to accomplish that day - pay bills, hook, read a magazine, etc. Even things as mundane as water the plants. If I don't write them down, I am less likely to accomplish them (or remember to do them!). I will admit I rarely get them all done, and almost never beat myself up for not having done so. It's just the way I do things and it works for me. I've not set monthly goals before, so I am hoping that by looking at the list on a regular basis, I can stay on task and get more accomplished than I normally would. Don't worry, I won't beat myself up (well, maybe just a little) if I don't finish my list :)

Hopscotch may have met her new forever mom yesterday. She went and visited with the prospective mom and her two pugs yesterday to see if they were compatible. They had an absolute ball playing. Elwood and Rhoda are both around two years of age so still very much puppies. The three of them ran around like wild hooligans. Rhoda did get a little grumpy when Hopscotch got too close to the bone she was munching on. I should know in a few days whether the adoption will take place, but nothing can happen for another 10 days. Not only is Hopscotch on an antibiotic for her incision infection, she is also on meds for a parasite and worms. Yuck is all I can say :( She is just as ornery as ever ~ all puppy!

I hope your week is off to a great start. I'm hoping the snow they are predicting for us tomorrow will once again pass us by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Goals ~

Just a couple of pictures to share with you today. Cher is on the left (she came in to Ohio Pug Rescue the month pugs were being named after singers) and her ear is always cocked like that. That's my sweet Eema on the right with a bit of her snaggle tooth showing. How lucky that they are in sunny Florida! (I think I am jealous!) Oh, they are living the good life!

I did not make any New Year's resolutions this year, but if I had, they would be the same ones I make every year ~ lose weight, get fit, hook more, blah, blah, blah. Instead, each month I am going to make some goals that I hope will be attainable. If I write them down and share them with you, perhaps I will be even more motivated to complete them.

Here's my list of goals for January. Though it may not sound like much (remember I am the world's slowest hooker), if I get these things done, I will be pleased.

• finish taking down the Christmas decorations and get it all hauled to the attic. I started at the beginning of the week and I am tired of living amidst chaos.
• cross stitch a little Valentine pin keep
• learn how to make a toothbrush rug
• bind the little cat mat I hooked
• finish the hit and miss mat I am working on
• hook a little mat I was asked to hook 1+ years ago
• hook a small Valentine mat as a gift
• hook a minimum of one hour on my horse rug ~ for some unknown reason I can't make myself finish it, so maybe if I spend an hour hooking on it, I will be inspired and can continue on
• HAVE A GIVE~AWAY

We'll see how successful I am! Hopefully I won't have too much egg on my face on January 31! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you all have a great weekend. Mine is a little too busy, but c'est la vie!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren