Happy Valentine's Day!

 Happy Valentine's to all. 

My husband and I celebrated with a meal at home.  He cooked filet mignon and I made a salad to go with it.  Homemade ice cream for dessert. 

My man can cook a great steak. 

In my Facebook memories for this day a photo of us from one of our first Valentine's Day dinners popped up.  

I know we went to a supper club that is well-known for it's prime rib. 

My mother-in-law took the photo and told us to have a good time. 

We were such wee babes.  

Here we are, 27 years later. 

We first met when I was working at Wendy's. I'd say it was love at first sight.  Though it probably didn't seem like it, at first. We exchanged phone numbers and talked on the phone for hours almost every night before we went out on first date. Our first date was memorable.  The engine on the old Monte Carlo caught on fire and we had to pull over, by Pattison Park, and pop the hood and throw sand on the block to extinguish the fire.  Yes, we did continue with the date and went to a pizza joint in a town I don't remember.  

He said when he drove me back home I jumped out of the car so fast he thought he'd never see me again.  I remember being so excited that I couldn't wait to get on the phone and call one of my girlfriends to tell her how the date went. 

Happy Valentine's to my soulmate, and that we have many, many more. 

I can say soulmate because we've been together *forever.*

In other news ... I've been feeling a bit low the last several days so I haven't been writing or posting the #fiberuarychallenge posts over on Instagram. The recent weather kinda blows and I think the barometric pressure is sapping my energy.  Then last night I didn't get a good nights rest. 

And since I can't sit still unless I'm sick in bed, I've been working on my quilt blocks. 

The next set of my Dancing Stars quilt blocks

 The next block in my Sandpiper quilt

I also started my Emotional Support Chicken.

Project Name: Emotional Support Chicken
Started: Feb. 13, 2024

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Knitting Tree LA

Yarn: Scrap yarns in my stash and Red Heart

Colors: Brown and Saffrom

Needle Size: US #7, 4.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

I also finished my Harvest Cardigan.  I'm saving it for the next podcast I record.  You will just have to wait to see it. 

Spinning fiber also happened.  Not as much as I would have liked. I'm falling behind! 

Oh! I did have some fun mail today.  I ordered a floor lamp for my spot in the living room. I think it's going to work out. It's nice and bright and it is positioned such that it's not blinding anyone else in the room. The price is also very reasonable.  Less than $40. 

Earlier today I went to town, to pick up mail at the office and take care of one thing.  I swung up to Harbor Freight and picked up a generator. 

Guess you could say it's a Valentine's Day gift for the man of the house. 

Holiday homestead share, day 5

Day 5 - Wreaths

Currently I do not have a wreath.  A few years ago I purchased one for my front door.  It was stored in the garage and I'm not sure where it is now. 

So I present to you a round cross stitch ornament. It has a cute bow!

However, I do have a wreath story. ... 

And it involves this girl.  Photo taken of my "sweet" CeeVee girl back in 2010.  

About 20 years ago my husband's boss' wife gave the family a beautiful wreath. Ribbons, baubles and lights. My mother-in-law hung it up on her living room wall. 

This naughty kitty wouldn't leave it alone.  The wreath was new, shiny and full of interesting smells. 

We chased CeeVee away from that wreath so many times.  True to being a tortie (and possible part Siamese) she wouldn’t leave it alone. She skulked around and kept going back to the wreath. 

One evening, the lot of us was sitting around my mother-in-law's kitchen table chatting away.  Suddenly, there was the crackle of electricity, the lights flickered and I heard a meow-screech and saw a flash of fur as CeeVee went running for the bedroom. 

That little brat chewed the Christmas lights cord and shocked herself.  She chewed through one of the wires, not both, thankfully. 

I went after her, to make sure she was okay. I looked under the bed and coaxed CeeVee out and gave her a once over.  No major damage. One blister on her lip. 

There was spittle on the wall where she chewed the cord.  My husband was able to repair the cord and the lights worked once more. 

Needless to say, CeeVee never bothered the wreath again. She ignored it and acted as if it wasn't there. 

Getting back into a routine

It's been so long since I consistently wrote and updated the blog. I need to work it back into my routine. 

So ... what's been going on this week?  It's been a fairly quiet one, except for one thing. 

Monday was publishing day.  It was long. Just how it worked out.  

On Wednesday my son said "Loki has to come in, she's gonna have babies." 

"What?! No way!" I said. 

Either that day or Thursday he brought her in and she lived in my kitchen.  

At some point last night, before 10:30 p.m., Loki had two baby buns. 

One is on the smaller side, aka runty.  It was very cool to the touch this morning.  I held it for a bit before setting the whole tote next to the wood stove.  Now the baby feels warmer and both of them are still moving around.  Fingers crossed for little runty. 

Loki sits next to them, all mysterious and sphynx-like.  She's adorable. If only she was as sweet as she looks.  She's got a bit of brattiness to her. 

Furby doesn't know what to make of her new roommate. 

"Who is Furby?" you might be thinking.  She's my blind house hen.  I'll tell you more about her later.  She been the little princess of the house, but now she's no longer an only child. She's a very spoiled bird. 

I gave Loki a short break away from the babies and out of the tote. I forget how beautiful she is when her winter coat comes in. 

Here's a quick video from last night.  Furby was admiring the Christmas lights.  Then she noticed I was recording her. 

What else happened this week ... nothing, really.  I did a scant bit of crafting. I haven't been doing too much this week.  Mostly just keeping quiet. I think the whole family is sort of settling down a bit before Christmas.  There's been a lot of go-go-go, even though we might not think that's the case. I think everyone I know needs a breather and a break.

This weekend we are supposed to have snow. Currently, there is not much snow on the ground. A few weeks ago I heard the local weather forecaster said we have received two feet of snow this year.  It definitely does not feel like it. We have had really mild temps for this time of year. It feels like spring 

Or maybe not ... I just heard some scratching at my back door. I opened it up and a few of my hens were scratching at something just outside my door. 

Then just a few moments after I took the video, I heard a ruckus outside.  The roos were sounding off an alarm.  I don't believe I've moved that fast in a while. I ran out the door with no shoes on, and asking "What's going on?" I don't think that helped.  The roosters thought I was alarm calling with them. 

I have no idea what happened, but they were riled up for quite a while.

Never forget