Little Leprechaun

 

Top of the Mornin' to ya!

 



 

I'm a friendly little handknit Leprechaun

ready to share my pot of gold with you

 



 

You can find me in the Etsy shop

 



Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

New Art by my Favorite Artist

 I've been under the weather this past week, so my favorite artist (also known as Lola) brought me some of her new work.

First, and most especially, she drew me an elephant, because she knows i love them....This one is especially colorful!

She is also experimenting with mixed media. This is an Elf with a felt nose and pompom eyes!

and this happy snowman is adorned with felt, pompoms, glitter glue and popsicle sticks! Thank you Lola! Your art work makes me feel better and so happy! I'll keep them forever....

What's Bloomin'~ My Meyers Lemon Tree

 Even tho this is not the best time of year for my indoor potted trees in general, this little powerhouse is a great producer. Ordinarily my indoor trees go into a deep slumber in late Fall and don't show any signs of waking until after Valentine's day. All my indoor deciduous trees drop their leaves, just like the trees do outside, and it is quite messy! But this little tree keeps on going. Hopefully in the next few weeks new leaves and branches will start to emerge and form, and the trees will look lush and full again. But for now they are all a little scraggly looking...It's just how it is this time of year. 

(I'm feeling a little scraggly right now too!)

 If you look closer tho, my little Meyer lemon tree is flowering...

 and these little flowers will eventually form into tiny lemons. It takes a LONG time for the flowers to morph into full grown ripe lemons. For the longest time they actually look a lot like limes! But you just have to be patient and let Nature take it's time...

Here are two lemons that just dropped from this little tree. My first harvest! Hopefully with many more to come.

Me and Zoey

Me and my buddy, rocking in the rocking chair

Just finished reading~ The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

I loved this book! It wasn't deep or informative...just good old fun. I especially enjoyed the parts where the main character created her own herbal medicines. There is nothing like loosing yourself in a good book... For more info on this book, click here

And PS- I LOVE my Kindle Touch...

Beam me up!

Well, today i had a very interesting experience. Laser surgery on my left eyeball! The proceedure is called Laser Iridotomy. I have  small eyeballs and shallow eye sockets, which causes a condition called "Narrow Angles"in my eyes. (Why couldn't i have small hips and a narrow waist?) If my "angles" completely close off it becomes a medical emergency, and i could loose my sight, have another stroke, whatever. My surgeon was called in when i went to my regular eye appointment last week and this condition was discovered.We decided this was the best way to go to keep this condition from getting worse. The whole proceedure took a few minutes. But the drops before the surgery(to prepare the eye for the laser) and the waiting period after the surgery(just to make sure there were no complications) took 3 hours. The doctor was very happy with the way my left eyeball responded to the incision, and if all goes well, in 3 weeks i'll have the right eye done. I have a very good feeling about this tonight. I found this chart, and the video below, to show you what happened today. It's pretty interesting....

What's Cookin'- 16 Bean Soup

UmmmmUmmmmm...This house smells so good right now! This pot is filled with 16 different kinds of beans, cooking in homemade chicken broth. To that i added onions, garlic, shredded carrots, celery and some smokey ham hocks. Just before it's ready to be ladled into soup bowls, i'll pull the meat from the hocks and add some sauteed kielbassa to the mix. Pair that with some buttered slices homemade bread and you've got a super hearty meal for a cold Winter's night.

On my windowsill....

The big snowstorm that is blanketing our area has passed and the sun is shining today. For whatever reason, we got just enough snow to make it really pretty, clean and bright outside, but we did not get burried as some of our neighbors did. We woke up to about six inches of the lovely white stuff...

So after a few heavy cloudy days, we are enjoying the sunshine. Here is Rosie sitting pretty under my pressed glass sun catcher

And the little kalanchoe plant my Mom bought for me last April is blooming again! I know Spring is coming soon....I can feel it!

It's a Leprechaun!

 This little Leprechaun was hand knit with love and care by me while i was sitting in my warm home on a cold Winter's Night.  

 He is a jolly little elf, all tucked into his mossy green suit, with a satin bow tie around his neck. Leprechauns wear the color green so they can blend in with the undergrowth where they live in the woods and gardens. This makes it very hard to find them.

 Of course you know that if you should catch a Leprechaun and befriend him, he will lead you to his hidden pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!

 This little elf is made in the Waldorf style, with no facial features, so that your child can use his or her imagination to decide what mood he is in. He is knit of an easy care acrylic yarn(vegan) and stuffed with polyfil. His cap is sewn on to his head.. If this is a gift for a small child, please tie his bow tie firmly or remove the ribbon around his neck.

 He's ready and waiting for a little Colleen or Laddie, just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

To go and visit this jolly little elf, visit my Etsy shop here!

i can only imagine...

Zoey and her Bunny Blanket

 I made this little Bunny Blanket Buddy for our Zoey for Christmas and she seems to really love it!

Nothing makes me happier then to see a child happy with one of my little creations....Zoey sleeps with her bunny blanket every day. I make these little guys super soft and safe for children of all ages. 

I have another of these little Bunny Blanket Buddies in my Etsy shop, just waiting for a new home. It is hand crocheted with Love out of Lion Brand's super soft Homespun yarn, in the color "Pearl"

These sweet little blanket buddies make great baby shower gifts, and are a sweet way to welcome a little newborn into the world....

For more information, click here.

Many Sisters~ Maria Gloria from Guatemala

From Maria's page on Kiva : María Gloria is a native of Aldea Xesuj. For several years she has made a living raising and selling animals. This year, she thanks God that she managed to open a store where she sells staple foods, which has motivated her to continue striving. She also thanks God because her husband helps her get ahead with the family, because they have nine children.

She's requesting this loan to buy staple foods. She hopes you can help her continue with her business.
To learn more about Kiva, click here

Happiness is a warm cat,,,or dog.

Sometimes it's hard to get pictures like this. If i get up and move around in the house, all the dogs and some of the cats usually get up and move with me. So to be able to tiptoe out to another room and grab my camera (it's always in another room!) and have these two stay in place, shows how blissed out they are just laying here together, napping by the fire. Our little cast iron gas stove is always cranking during the Winter, and let me tell you, the heat it throws out is pretty intense. Yet i see the dogs and cats laying quite close, absorbing all that heat.

These two, Little Honey and Hannah Pearl, have become such good friends.

i love to see them snuggle like this...

From the Piles of Projects...a Winter Gnome

 This little guy emerged from the pile of project possibilities i posted about last week.

 He's a jolly little elf, made in the Waldorf style, all wrapped up in his scarf and his little red suit, ready to brave the cold.

 He's a portly little fellow

 and he wears a jingle bell on the tip of his cap and another at the end of his scarf. He'll be waiting for his new home in my Etsy shop this week. This toy is baby safe if you remove the little bells, and maybe the scarf too, depending on your little one.Oh and one thing i have noticed...I've had to hide these little gnomes from the cats here. They are always trying to run off with one of them! Maybe they are trying to tell me that knitted gnomes make good cat toys too!

Many Sisters~Satymkan thru Kiva

Whenever i see a smiling face like this, i cannot resist. Here is the information on Satymkan:


Satymkan is 49 years old, married, and the mother of five children. Her sons are adults now, and her children help her run the farming business.

During the loan processing period, Satymkan appeared as a responsible, honest, conscientious and enterprising person with a sense of duty. She also appeared as a good money manager and wise investor.

Satymkan has been involved in animal husbandry since 1983, and this activity is the family's main source of income. She started in this business with an initial capital of 500 rubles. Thanks to her hard work, she now makes close to 17,000 som (KGS) per month, which is essentially used to cover the family's food expenses and daily living costs.

Satymkan's farming business is doing well: she currently owns four cows, one heifer, 20 sheep and five lambs.

In order to further increase her business, Satymkan has turned to Bai Tushum & Partners for a loan of 45,000 som (KGS). She will use this loan to buy some sheep. She plans to use the revenues from her loan to further invest in the expansion of her farming business. For more information on Kiva and Satymkan, click here

Funky fabric bowl

 I've been wanting to make one of these funky fabric bowls for a while now. I found some ready cut strips of fabric, and thought i would give it a try!

 I love the way it came out! I will definitely be making more of these...

 They are pretty sturdy and can hold quite a bit of your treasures!

And just before i put the bears and bun in the bowl, little Hannah was trying to climb in there. I'll have to make a much bigger one for her!

More Laughter!

This is a little video of two little brothers...so cute....

Baby Face Bear

This little 8 1/2 inch handmade bear is named Baby Face, and i think his name describes him perfectly! He is hand knit with a super soft easy care acrylic yarn, which is also vegan. He is stuffed with allergen free polyfil. He has his own special made hat and scarf set and the end of the scarf is decorated with a sparkly jingle bell and a little heart shaped button. I recommend removing the bell and button for children who still like to put their toys in their mouths, just to be safe.

Baby Face is a flat faced teddy. His features are hand embroidered on so there are no little pieces to worry about coming off during play.

He's just the right size for little hands and big hearts.

He'd make a perfect gift for a baby shower, a baby gift, a birthday present, or my favorite, a present for no special reason at all...Just because....And don't forget, Valentine's Day is coming up! Baby Face can be found in my Etsy shop, waiting for a new home.

In the meantime, he's having fun with friends right here!