An Awesome Week!

Yes, that is right amidst driving through snow and some ice I made it safely to Robinson on Monday afternoon!  There was a time or two that I thought of turning around and going back home... and the drive was fine until Bloomington!  Then the roads were snow covered and once I got out of the snow I drove into sleet!  Oh what fun but being persistent I made it safely!  (while back home in Iowa we were getting a huge amount of snow dumped on us!!  Our county was declared a disaster!)   I enjoyed being iced in with Amber and her family!  I also did a lot of knitting!  I have always wanted Amber to take some "good pictures" of the kids with hats that I have knitted and since I had just finished their 2011 Valentine's hat and she had new equipment for her studio she did a photo session with the kiddos....  You can check her professional pictures out here at Ramfamromp.blogspot.com or you can muddle through a Nana's version right here!  I had finished Abigail's hat before I went down to Robinson but while there I made Capri's purple hat (the girl LOVES purple) and Otto's monkey hat!  I LOVE the monkey hats!  I also knitted Jagger's and Jaxton's monkey hats while there and started Christian's this morning so yessirree that is SEVEN hats in SEVEN days and my fingers are a little tired about now! 

While there Abigail told me " I wish you could be my Nana all of the time"  of course what she meant was I wish you could be here all of the time!  (Rip my heart out)......  These little guys were used to me living close to them and seeing me everyday until a year ago when I married Mark!  I am now about 6 hours away and it has been a huge adjustment not being able to be with them all the time, but we are surviving and try to make the most of the times we are together!   I am hoping we will be able to SKYPE soon, we tried it a year ago and it was just too hard on all of  us! 

I have had several people ask if I would knit them or their kids a hat too!  I have a few adults that I am knitting one for and for a couple of baby presents!  A dear friend had a set of twins born in November so I am going to knit them one and I think their big sister needs one also!  AND then my redheaded stepdaughter (a joke .... that is what I have always called my daughters room mate from college Love ya Val) she wants one for her little guy.... and the list goes on, my brother even wants one!  TOO FUNNY

I would sell the hats on ETSY and no I have not created a shop yet but I keep saying I am going to do that!  How about ETSY is on my to-do-list!  I have fun making them for my family and friends but don't know if I want to do it because then it becomes a job!  Once upon a time I wove baskets and began selling them it then become drudgery and wasn't enjoyable and I don't want that to ever happen with knitting!  BESIDES I still have work to do on "This Old House"!!!  I also finished up a scarf I knitted for my daughter, I told her if she didn't lose the hat I had knitted her a year ago I would knit a scarf to match so that is what I did!

I am so excited our furniture is being delivered today!!!  Mark is out shoveling now so they can get into the house!  I will post pictures later once it is all in place!  Hope you all are staying warm!

So now my version of our picture taking this week!

Please go to Amber's blog and check out her amazing pictures!!!  These all all taken by me and I am not a pro, just a Nana trying to catch some pictures!

Amber's Scarf

Scenery below Charleston, Illinois!

In front of Eastern Illinois University!

Go Check it Out!

This week I have been at my daughters house (I escaped the snow but came to an ice storm) knitting, knitting, knitting trying to get all of my Valentine Hats done for my grandkids!  Since I am not at home you can go check out my daughters blog and see her awesome pictures she took of 3 of the hats I have made!  I started a week ago and am almost finished with my 6th one and have one more to go!!  Heading home this morning if I could only knit and drive WOW!!!    I will catch up with you all when I get home!

http://www.ramfamromp.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Day

It is soon going to be Valentine's Day and if having a Birthday 2 days after Valentine's Day and always having a Birthday cake in the shape of a heart didn't make you think it was your special holiday well getting married on Valentine's Day only added to it!   Mark and I got married 2/14///2010!  So I decided it was only fitting to do a little Valentine Day decorating around the house!  If you are easily bored you may want to not look at the picture fest!  I also started a tradition a few years back of knittinng hats for the grandbabies for Valentine's Day!  It was easy when there were only 2 or 3 but now there are seven!  The little girls are getting pink and purple hats with big flowers on them and the little guys they are all getting Monkey Hats!!  So here you go you can check out what I have been busy doing!!

The banner I printed off of http://justdevinestyle.blogspot.com/  Thanks Tara!

Hat # 1 went to Jilane!

Jilane is definately a Hat Girl!! She wears the hat till they look frazzled!  I do believe she loves it!

and Hat #2 went to Abigail!  She loves the hats also!

AND hat #3 I just couldn't wait till the little guy woke up to take a picture but will post a picture of him and the rest of the crew wearing their hats when they all get done, not bad for starting last Thursday on the first one!  This hat Rocks!!!!

I escaped the heavy snows and came a visiting so hopefully I can make it home Friday, they only have ice here in Robinson and not sure yet how much we have back home, but I think it must be a lot because Mark says there is hardly any traffic and the dogs are not wanting to go outside!!!


Stay Warm, you all know what I will be busy doing so all my liitle guys and gals will have their hats by Valentine's Day!!

Nancy

Awsome prints!

Sorry I have been lazy at posting this past week!  I found this awesome blog, Tara over at Divine Style  is quite talented and has an Etsy shop... I ordered this Name Art and framed it.  (HINT HINT you get it quite quickly as she sends it via email so you can either print it yourself or take it to have printed and she is really reasonable with her prices and she would love to do one for you too!  The picture below is hanging in our bedroom!  In trying to print it out I had a mistake or two and I used one of them in my dining room!

AND while you are there checking out her blog she has some freebies you can download and print for FREE!! 

The HOPE one is by me, but the Love and Faith ones are FREE on Divine Style  So go ahead hop on over to Tara's blog and tell her Nancy sent you!!

 I used fabric I had for the backgrounds on all of these in the Dining Room!! The Faith one above is Free and the Barr one is a bonus one I printed while deciding what I wanted (she sent me 5 different styles!)!

 How do you like them on my wall in the dining room?  I really like them!!  Thanks Tara!

Ok and just so you know I am a proud Nana of Seven!  This is Jilane, she had been sick for 5 days a week ago and this was taken after she had felt good for a couple of days!  She is trying out her brother's hard hat!  I love her smiles! 

Have a Blessed Weekend

Pictures to Bore you with.....

Just in case you are not already bored here are some pictures that will do the trick....  Sorry some are pictures I have retaken but there are things that have changed in the picture that you may or may not notice....  The Fireplaces were grouted last week, a piece of trim put up, a few decorating items added......  I tried to take some better pictures today and used a tripod so I wouldn't have any movement....  A few subtle changes and looking more finished all the time!  Knowing where we came from with these rooms in this post and how it looks now amazes me! 

Yessiree I got the fireplaces grouted this past week!!!!



Gizzy and Bella



Dude!  Yes they are allowed on "their" blankets and pillow not my good ones!! :)

Yes, I still have to work on the stairway!  And We are replacing the door behind the fireplace and we still have to do our woodwork!

See all the levels this fireplace has to decorate?!

This look will soon be changed when our Dining Room Table and chairs come in about 3-4 weeks See the picture below!



Alright... mind changed again.... THIS IS IT!  Yessiree Three is charm... If you are a salesperson out there.. be honest with your customer, the last one I couldn't get soon afterall (even thought they told me it was available for pickup it wasn't) and I really didn't give a hoot about the so called free television and realized after the fact that it really was NOT a good deal!  I know it makes me look really fickle and  I thought I had done my homework....... lesson to me... make sure you know!  In the end I am waiting 3-4 weeks so the sofa and dining room tables and chairs can all be delivered at the same time!  Patience........

Sorry if you are bored with the pictures I took today!

Hope you all have an awesome week!






Oh the dilemmas!

When I went to Slumberland on Monday and PAID for the loveseat it was with the intentions that "YES, we do have it in stock and we will deliver it on Thursday"! I was all up for that one! I like the old fashioned furniture store that you get what you see! No waiting except if you want it delivered and shoot if you have a truck you can take it right now! Well those furniture stores are far and few between now a days! So the day after I paid for the loveseat I get a phone call ......
THEM "UMMMMMMmmmm we have made a mistake and we don't really have the sofa in stock it will be late February before we will have it!"
ME: Well just cancel the order I don't want to wait till late February!
THEM: Well we will reimburse you so since you wrote a check it will be 10 days to 2 weeks before we will send you a check.... (in other words they will hold my money hostage for 2 weeks!)  NOTE to self, use your debit card you ding dong!
ME: Well that kind of sucks but yes that is what I want! ( I almost felt like they had told me I could get it quickly just because that was the only way I would buy it)......

So off I went yesterday looking again for the perfect loveseat to put into our "Front Room... aka Reading Room" you know the one with the lovely old fireplace that we haven't enjoyed yet!

So off I went to American and found a close substitute and they have it and if I want to pick it up I can do it anytime but I am opting for delivery which may take a week because Mark would have to find someone to help him lug it into the house and what if it got ripped trying to shove it into his van (the only doors that open in the rear is on the side the back ones are non-functioning!) SO now I am waiting for a phone call from American as when they can deliver it! OH and guess what they had a deal going on and I get a free flat panel television!

I really don't need a television I have one everywhere that I want one BUT I can buy a little gadget and make it my Computer monitor! I am rather sentimental about the one I have, it was Gary's he bought it with the money his fellow employees at the prison gave him when he retired 4 months before he passed away! He thought it was the coolest thing! And I still do too! So I think the television will remain in a box until my monitor goes out! So I guess I have a backup monitor! (unless I decide differently)

So today so far I have been a bum, ( awe I feel retired) :)  although I have cut a couple of pieces of trim to go above the mantel on the fireplace and have stuck a couple of pieces of tile back onto the family room hearth :) (A Christmas Story of how they came off anyway)  I am headed for the shower and then I will grout! Hope to head into the Y to do some walking this afternoon!

Happy Thursday and Happy Birthday to Jagger today my first grandson turns 2 and what a little ball of energy he is! He is such a cutey!

I will do a picture fest later!  :)