Here Be Dragons Square Pattern

Here Be Dragons square by Tuppence

Design inspired by Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

I fashioned this square using the red and yellow color blocks found in the coat of arms of Llewelyn the Great of Wales, one of the main characters in the book. Instead of a lion in each square, I put an 'L' for Llewelyn and a 'J' for Joanna spanning across the different-colored blocks to represent the divided loyalties each of them had to deal with.

The royal standard of the modern-day Prince of Wales uses the same lion-covered red-and-yellow flag of Llewelyn, but with a green shield in the middle, upon which is a crown, so I used a border of green for my square to represent how English domination was closing in on Wales during the time of Llewelyn.

Size: Approximately 8 x 8 inches

Materials used:

Red Heart Super Saver yarn (or any worsted-weight yarn) in Paddy Green, Bright Yellow, Cherry Red and Black.

Size 8 knitting needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Yarn needle

Gauge: 17 stitches and 23 rows = 4" x 4" in stockinette stitch

Cast on 34 stitches with Green. (Even-numbered rows are the right side.)

Rows 1-3: With Green knit.

Row 4: With Green knit 2, drop Green, attach Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow, attach Red and knit 15, drop Red, attach another strand of Green and knit 2.

Rows 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, pick up Red and purl 15, drop Red over Yellow, pick up Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Yellow, pick up Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow over Red, pick up Red and knit 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Row 23: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, fasten off Red, attach new strand of Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over previous strand of Yellow and fasten off previous strand of Yellow, attach new strand of Red and purl 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, pick up Red and knit 15, drop Red over Yellow, pick up Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39 and 41: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Yellow, pick up Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over Red, pick up Red and purl 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Row 42: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, fasten off Red, continuing with Green knit 15, drop Green over Yellow, fasten off Yellow, continuing with Green knit 15, drop Green over other Green and fasten off the other Green, continuing with Green knit 2.

Rows 43-45: With Green knit.

With right side facing, bind off as if to knit.

The letters are embroidered in duplicate stitch using Black. I used the alphabet chart here.

Weave in all yarn ends when the square is complete.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...Yom Sheni, the 26th day of the 3rd month

Outside My Window... The flag is waving softly, the sun is bright, and the sky is a cloudless blue.

I am thinking... about the heavy work day I have ahead of me.

I am thankful for... the love of my family.

From the kitchen... This week's dinners:

Slow-Cooker Barbecued Chicken*

Beef Burgundy*

Stew in a Snap*

Barbecued Chicken Breasts*

Steak with Mashed Potatoes*

CC (Company's Coming) Roast*

Cheeseburger Macaroni

(*these recipes are from 'Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly' by Phyllis Pelman Good.)

I am wearing... a dark blue dress.

I am creating... the Shining Star baby blanket and an afghan square to represent the book, 'Knit One, Kill Two' by Maggie Sefton, for My Reading Afghan.

I am going... to town to go shopping, but not until Preparation Day.

I am reading...

Daily for this week: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 38-51; Mikah 1-7; Dibre HaYamim Bet (2 Chronicles) 32

Rosh Chodesh: Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:1-15; Shemuel Alef (1 Samuel) 20:18, 42; Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66; Kefa Alef (1 Peter) 2:4-10

Chukat (Statute): Torah--Bemidbar (Numbers) 19:1-22:1; Haftarah--Mishpatim (Judges) 11:1-33; Ketuvim Netzarim--Yochanan (John) 3:10-21; Ibrim (Hebrews)9:11-28

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

I am hoping... to meet my work quotas.

I am hearing... the evaporative coolers on 'high'.

Around the house... I realize that I need to get all the mending done before I tackle dejunking.

One of my favorite things... is being able to come back into the cooler house after being outside where it is very hot right now.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

I'm so overwhelmed with my job right now that I won't be able to focus on anything else until tomorrow.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

If you would like to participate in The Simple Woman's Daybook, visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman, and read the guidelines here.

Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

Here Be Dragons is mostly about Llewelyn the Great of Wales and is set in the late 12th century to early 13th century in Wales, England and France. I wasn't familiar with Llewelyn and the history of Wales, and I enjoyed learning through this well-written book. All of the characters had depth, and the story moved along with a lot of excitement, action and romance.

Also prominent in the book was King John, the brother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, and his daughter, Joanna. There were also a few appearances by Eleanor of Aquitaine. I had previously had some knowledge of Eleanor and Henry II and their sons as a result of seeing the movie, The Lion in Winter, so it was nice to learn more about them as well.

In reading the book, I got a good feel for how life was in that time and place. Probably the most remarkable thing for me was realizing how the people had to always be ready to defend their land and holdings, and it seemed like there was not a whole lot of time to relax between the battles that were repeatedly enjoined for one reason or another.

This is the first of a trilogy, and I liked it so much that I'm hoping to be able to read the two sequels someday.

GAA-Priscilla Gibson-Roberts Square, Part 3

The skinny little double-pointed needles that I ordered have arrived, so when I finally get to the point of knitting the little socks for this square, I will have the needles I need to do it. In the meantime I've been doing the embroidery.

First, there was the outlining of the sections of the inner square. By the way, the square was knitted with Red Heart Super Saver in White. The first part of the embroidery is with the same yarn in Windsor Blue.

After the first pair of 'socks' were embroidered in duplicate stitch, then the second pair were done with Light Blue on the other two sides. All of this was not done in a day. It took several days for me to do all of the embroidery, but now it is finally done, and all that is left to do is to knit and then attach the little socks onto the panel on the left side of the inner square.

I'll need to set this project aside for now, though, as I need to finish up Tulip Time (which is a baby dress and booties) and make a blanket to match for a rapidly approaching baby shower.

Hopefully by the time I get those done, I'll be ready to tackle knitting the itty-bitty socks for this square on the size 000 needles.

Randomness...Random Nosy Questions

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Week of June 29: Random Nosy Questions

1. What are your plans for today? Work, work, work to meet my production quotas before the end of the month.
2. Who was the last person you talked on the phone with? My mother and my sister on speakerphone.
3. What was the last tv program you watched? 20/20.
4. What was the last thing you ate? Sunflower seeds.

5. What time did you get out of bed today?

10:30 a.m.

till next time....

Perfect Creature

What I didn't like about this movie:

• The blood and gore, but there wasn't an overwhelming about of that.
• A less than full explanation of exactly how the society worked.

What I did like about this movie:

• The combination of modern science with the old-fashioned historical look of the film. It seemed to me there was even a combination of historical dated fashions and machinery, and that added interest for me.
• The conflicted loyalties of Silus and how they were resolved.

Overall I liked it more than I didn't like it.

Guard And Do

(I originally wrote and posted this to my previous blog on 03/12/2007.)

Reading: MattithYahu (Matthew) 21-24

Mat 23:1 Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones,
Mat 23:2 saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.
Mat 23:3 "Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.

What is the "seat of Mosheh"? And why did Yeshua Messiah instruct his followers to "guard and do" whatever the scribes and Pharisees say when they are sitting on the seat of Mosheh?

Mosheh is representative of Torah, which is the Word of YHWH, so when the scribes and Pharisees are teaching from the "seat of Mosheh" (as Mosheh taught), then Yeshua Messiah wants His followers to guard and do what they say, i.e. follow Torah, which is following Him since He is the Living Torah.

Yeshua Messiah goes on to reveal the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees and why we are not to do as they do, but rather only guard and do what Mosheh and Messiah teach and not all the man-made laws that the scribes and Pharisees added to the Torah, which He calls heavy burdens:

Mat 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but with their finger they do not wish to move them.

In contrast, His Torah is a gentle yoke and light burden:

Mat 11:30 "For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light."

Yeshua Messiah goes on to describe the hypocrisies of the scribes and Pharisees:

Mat 23:5 "And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they make their t'fillen wide and lengthen the tzitziyot of their garments,

He criticizes them for unnecessarily enlarging their tefillin and tzitziyot (to be better seen by men), but He doesn't criticize them for wearing tefillin and tzitziyot because the wearing of these is Scriptural:

Deu 6:6 "And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart,
Deu 6:7 and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up,
Deu 6:8 and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Num 15:38 "Speak to the children of Yisra'el, and you shall say to them to make tzitziyot on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners.
Num 15:39 "And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of YHWH and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring,
Num 15:40 so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.

Tefillin are small scrolls of selected Scriptures bound to the hand and forehead. Tzitziyot (plural of tzitzit) are tassels worn on the corners of garments. It was the tzitzit of Yeshua's garment that the woman with the issue of blood was reaching for:

Luk 8:43 And a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who, having spent all her livelihood on physicians, was unable to be healed by any,
Luk 8:44 came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

Yeshua describes yet another hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees:

Mat 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.

He affirms that the Torah of tithing is to be done, but He condemns their failure to guard and do the rest of Torah.

The scribes and Pharisees had become blind guides and hypocrites, a brood of vipers, because they failed to guard Torah. They added to it the commands of men, forsaking the command of YHWH.

Mar 7:6 And He answering, said to them, "Well did Yeshayahu prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written, 'This people respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
Mar 7:7 And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.'
Mar 7:8 "Forsaking the command of Elohim, you hold fast the tradition of men."

Yeshua Messiah wants us to guard His commands:

Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.

Yochanan (John) tells us that this is how we know that we are in Him:

1Jo 2:3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands.
1Jo 2:4 The one who says, "I know Him," and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 2:5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1Jo 2:6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.
1Jo 2:7 Beloved, I write no fresh command to you, but an old command which you have had from the beginning. The old command is the Word which you heard from the beginning.

The key to understanding the Ketuvim Netzarim (Nazarene Writings, also known as the New Testament) is to study Torah (the commandments of YHWH) in order to discern the commandments of YHWH from the commandments of men.

Heb 13:8 Yeshua Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

GAA-Priscilla Gibson-Roberts Square, Part 2

I'm now on the second stage of this square for The Great American Afghan. After finishing the inner square with the stack of three hearts on the right-hand side and plain stockinette stitch on the left-hand side, stitches were picked up all the way around, and now the outer perimeter of the square is being knitted in the round with increases at the four corners every other round. I think I have 3 or 4 more rounds to go before changing to the larger needles (which for me is size 4) and then doing the garter stitch border rounds and binding off.
Here's a look at the wrong side which better shows the bowl shape it is in while it's on the circular needle (using size 3 so far) as well as the markers where the corner increases are being done.

After the knitting of the square is completed, there is still embroidery to do on it, and the little pair of socks has to be knitted and then sewn onto the stockinette panel on the left side of the inner square. I did find and order a set of double-pointed needles in sizes 000, 00, 0 and 1, so hopefully my order will get here before I'm finished with everything else on this square and ready to knit the little socks. Since I had to go down two needle sizes to get gauge for the square, it seems I will need to knit the little socks on size 000 needles, which is two sizes down from the size suggested in the pattern.

I found the set of double-pointed needles at Frugal Knitting Haus.

Friday's Feast 195

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Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live?

There is barely any hint of wind--yay!!! It's beautiful and sunny and 103 degrees Fahrenheit.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

Probably a 2. I'm more hearth and home oriented, and I'd rather go back to being 'just' a housewife. I work at a job because I have to, not because I want to.

Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

Mostly curtains. A couple of windows have pull-down blinds with lace curtains, and two rooms have vertical blinds. The rest have curtains or are bare.

Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up.

Watching and hearing my children laugh.

Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

Once.

The Robos

We have new pets, and I have had a very difficult time photographing them--first, because they are rarely still enough unless they're asleep, and second, because my PDA camera is not so great. But these are my best efforts at capturing them on film (digital file?) so far.

Reba and Dolly are our new Roborovski hamsters (Robo for short). We still cannot tell them apart unless they're interacting with each other--one is more dominant towards the other. In the picture above, one of them is sitting in their feeding dish, which is less than 3 inches in diameter, so that gives you some idea of the size of our new little babies.

In this picture, both of them are accessing the food dish, and below both are IN the food dish. They seem to like eating while inside the dish.
Robos are small. Full size is 1-1/2 to 2 inches. They are the smallest and fastest and live the longest (3-1/2 years) of all domestic hamsters. They are so adorable and so much fun to watch!
Here, one is coming out of one of their tubes that we made from toilet paper tubes. Their exercise wheel is in the background. They get going so fast on their wheel that you can't even see their legs moving so that it looks like they're flying. We've been enjoying Reba and Dolly so much that we'd also like to get a pair of males someday.

After trying to photograph these babies, I've gained a whole new respect for the skills of those who have successfully photographed their Robos. There is a Robo group on Flickr, and here are some sites with more pictures and information about Robos:

Wikipedia-Roborovski Hamster
R&R Hamsters
Roborovski Hamsters
Roborovski Dwarf Hamster

I want to get Reba and Dolly one of these horizontal 'flying saucer' wheels like the robos in this video have--

Butterflies Ready To Send

All the butterflies are starched, and they look really nice and flat now. When I was pinning the first batch, one of my children was asking me if I was doing that because that's what collectors do with real butterflies. I found that amusing, but explained that I was only pinning them temporarily into shape while they dried after being immersed in the liquid starch.

The kids loved feeling how stiff they were after they were dry. The shapes of all of them were improved after the starching and pinning process.
With these pictures of them together, it's easier to see their sizes relative to one another. I'm happy with the variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
So now my butterfly project is finished with a dozen butterflies all ready to be sent to the Holocaust Museum Houston to be used in The Butterfly Project there.

3X Thursday

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1. Got any big projects in the works? If so, what's on your plate? If not, are there any projects you want to start/take up?

I currently have knitting/crocheting projects in progress for my husband, all of my children, all of my grandchildren, my mother, all of my siblings and even myself. Also in the works is a gift for an upcoming baby shower. Most of these projects are afghans, so they definitely qualify as big in my book. And just because I have 25 WIPs doesn't mean there aren't more projects I want to start! Having all these projects going at the same time and rotating them keeps me from getting bored with any single one, and it helps me to feel like I'm not leaving any of my loved ones out.

2. Do you have pets? Do you think pets could/are beneficial to helping to have a less stressful life? Why/why not? What are your general views on pets?

Yes, we have pets--1 dog, 10 cats, 2 Roborovski hamsters, 2 bettas (fish) and an aquarium full of tropical fish with a couple of African frogs. I've had pets my whole life, so I can't imagine being without. One of my favorite things in life has always been petting my cats--their soft fur and purring is so calming and relaxing. Pets provide companionship, and working pets provide even more than that. For instance, our cats help keep deadly snakes away, and our dog in his role as watchdog alerts us to anything unusual, and that definitely reduces stress. Caring for pets helps people to feel useful and needed, and we all need that. Our children learn responsibility by caring for the needs of our pets under our supervision. For me, pets are worth having and add to our enjoyment of life.

3. Do you wear any jewelry? If so, what do you wear? If you don't wear any, why not?

Yes, I always wear my wedding ring. I used to always wear a necklace that Husband gave me, but the chain broke. Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to get it fixed or get a new chain and be able to wear it again. I prefer jewelry that can be worn all the time and doesn't need to be taken off, so just my wedding ring and a necklace is plenty for me, so I don't have to be concerned with possibly losing a piece of jewelry.

Hairspray

I think I enjoyed the Ricki Lake version more, but this one was still fun and entertaining. I thought Michelle Pfeiffer was a stand-out, maybe because I'm not used to seeing her in villain roles.

New 10th Butterfly Plus 11th & 12th

The Butterfly Project

After frogging the first 10th butterfly that when horribly bad, I crocheted this butterfly instead using this pattern. It seems like those two bottom wing components could have been left off, and it still would have looked like a butterfly. This one was crocheted with green and yellow DMC thread and pink Aunt Lydia's.

I chose to use pink and white (Aunt Lydia's) thread for this butterfly since I ended up frogging the other one in this color scheme. I like this one so much more than that other one. It looks nice and frilly while actually being flat. This one is from a doily pattern.

This was the easiest pattern of all! No sewing, yay!!! I probably should have used the size 4 steel hook the pattern called for since it turned out so tiny, but by that time I was so used to using the size 6 hook that I didn't even look at that part of the pattern to see what size hook was recommended until I had finished crocheting it. I crocheted this one with the DMC variegated pastels thread.

All the butterflies are now crocheted and sewn and ready for starching, so more pictures to come once that's all done.

Whiskers On Wednesday

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It took some doing, but I finally got a picture of Tigger facing the camera, even though he's squinting his eyes.

Since it was early in the morning, my eyes probably weren't all that open yet either, so I probably looked squinty-eyed to him, too.

The Astronaut Farmer

This started off looking pretty strange to me since I knew nothing about the movie (including the title) when I started watching it. As the story unfolded, I started understanding better what was going on and mostly enjoyed it. I was bothered by the title character's self-serving single-mindedness to the detriment of his family, not to mention anyone else who may have been hurt by what he did.

After I gave it more thought, though, I realized that history is filled with families who were secondary to men who set out to accomplish monumental things, and perhaps a lot of what we enjoy now we wouldn't have to enjoy if it weren't for the sacrifice of such families. It's a difficult dilemma, and I'm not sure the particular dream portrayed in this movie would be worth it in real life, but the family in the movie seemed happy about it in the end.

Tenth Butterfly Frogged

I really should have known from the time I finished the first wing component and saw how ruffly it was that this butterfly simply was not going to work for me. The pattern I was using is for size 30 thread, and I was using size 10 thread, so when I was crocheting the body (the long white piece on the right below) and the pattern called for crocheting it to a certain length, I knew that probably wouldn't be correct considering I was using a thicker thread. So, I decided to try sewing the wings together first, figuring I'd then be able to gauge the length of the body against that.

As you can see, this turned out to look horrendous. The pattern does call for shirring the straight edges of the four wing components and then sewing them to the stuffed and sew-together body component, so I can see why the different way I did it turned out so badly. However, by this time I was so tired of messing with it, and since the shirring and stuffing would probably make it too dimensional for The Butterfly Project anyway, I decided it was time to abandon it and try a different butterfly instead.

That's My Answer

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My answers for 06/18/2008:

Where are you going Wednesday?

Just staying home and working today.

I’ve returned from vacation in Door County, which is on the Wisconsin penninsula that sticks out into Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Anyhow, normally That’s My Answer runs smoothly while I’m gone, however this time, I had so much to do prior to leaving that I figured I’d take care of the site once I got there, and then I discovered that if I wanted to take advantage of the wifi I’d have to plug in next to the soda machine on the sidewalk – by the parking lot. And I’m not exactly opposed to sharing an outlet with a soda machine, but in all honesty, I did not want to look that desperate to get on the internet. So tell me, would you have plugged in next to the soda machine? Or would you have been able to go offline for five days?

I would have been able to go offline. I generally don't do the internet when I'm away from home.

What three things do you have to do today?

Get Husband's laundry done. Get crock pot going for dinner. Get some mending done.

Do you use Technorati? What about Stumble?

I've come across the name Technorati before, but not Stumble. I'm not sure what they are, but assume it's something on the internet.

What kind of education did you get? Did you go to public schools? Private schools? Were you home schooled? What is your opinion the education that is available to kids today?

I graduated from high school and business college. I went to public schools, but the business college was private. I don't think public education today is as good as it was when I was a kid, which wasn't as good as when my parents were kids, which wasn't as good as when my grandparents were kids, etc. I'm not sure what to do about it, but I think basics (three R's) need to be stressed primarily, and teachers need to be held more accountable, such as taking and passing examinations themselves to ensure competence and perhaps only earning raises and bonuses based upon their students' abilities to demonstrate mastery of skills more like in my grandparents' or great-grandparents' day.

My answers for 06/19/2008:

Will you or won't you...

• Dance today? Will. Husband and I 'dance' every time dance-able music comes on the TV--he while lying on the floor and me while sitting on the couch. We try to outdo each other with our dance moves.
• Leave the breakfast dishes to drain? Generally the children do the dishes, and I would LOVE it if they actually got the breakfast dishes washed and into the drainer before lunch!
• Finish the newspaper crossword this evening? Won't--don't get a newspaper.
• Wish upon the next star you see? Won't.

If you were on Top Chef and were competing in a Quick Fire Challenge where you had to quickly whip up something from your kitchen, what would you quickly whip up?

I can't remember how long they have in a Quick Fire Challenge, but I'm thinking it's 30 minutes or at most 1 hour. I'd probably do Tuna a la King (aka Creamed Tuna) on toast points (as my sister would call them).

If you had a happy box to pass around, what “trinket” to remind you of a better time/place/memory would you put into it?

Something I made for my babies to remind me of those precious days.

What is your favorite expression?

"Okay, fine."

My answers for 06/20/2008:

Today is my birthday! Today I’m off of work and will be spending the day with my daughter. When is your birthday and what do you like to do on your birthday?

Mine is in March, and I don't take the day off unless it happens to fall on one of my normal days off. Husband and kids gift me and do cake and ice cream, and extended family members call or send cards/gifts or email. I enjoy all of that and can't think of anything else in particular I would like to do.

Ghostbusters is hiring, will you be applying for the job?

Nope.

Who was your favourite character on Sesame Street when you were growing up? Or … if you didn’t watch it when you were growing up - is there a character who you adore who’s on Sesame Street now?

I liked those Martian creatures and the sounds they made to each other.

Do you play an instrument? On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) how good are you?

Piano-6. Flute-4.

My answers for 06/21/2008:

You’ve been given 3 parachutes, but there are 4 characters who need them. Who will you not give one to: Big Bird? Ernie? Oscar the Grouch? Count von Count? (Of course, all 4 of them are up really super duper high in the air, and the parachute is truely the only way to save them.)

Definitely Count von Count. Never liked him, very boring.

What chocolate do you always leave in the box?

Any piece with coconut in it.

If I sent you to the store to buy me a bottle of wine, what kind would you buy?

Some kind of red wine.

Have you ever considered changing careers?

I've dreamed about it, but never seriously considered it.

How about everyone’s favorite fun fact? You could narrow it down to favorite animal fact or favorite history fact, etc.

I recently read that the reason optical illusions are optical illusions is because we actually see into the future for some miniscule space of time.

My answers for 06/22/2008:

What is your favorite quote? and why is it your favorite?

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself." It's my favorite because it is so true. We need to listen to those who've gone before us.

If you had to fly an airplane, could you?

I'm assuming that the reason I'd have to fly an airplane would be because everyone else on the plane was dead or incapacitated. In that case, I'd do my best to try to figure it out, but it's doubtful I could figure it out in time to avert disaster.

It’s the Sunday Mixer, so please tell us something about yourself that you haven’t revealed already, just a tease, then direct us to your blog where we can read the rest of the story! This is a way for everyone to get to know each other a little bit better, as well as a chance to visit a blog that you might not have before. Happy Sunday! (And of course, this will continue into Monday too.)

I write with my left hand.

My answers for 06/23/2008:

How far ahead to plan your meals? One week at a time? Five minutes prior to making?

I usually plan a week's worth of meals at a time before doing the weekly shopping.

When was the last time you climbed a fence? Why were you climbing it?

I'd have to guess it was when I was a kid, but I don't know why I would have been doing it--maybe to get a ball that had gone into someone's yard?

What is the worst natural disaster you have lived through and how close were you to the center? (Can you tell we were hit by the floods?)

The San Fernando earthquake, 02/09/1971, also known as the Sylmar earthquake. I think we lived about 7 miles from the epicenter. I was the only one awake in the house when it happened at about 6 a.m., and I remember thinking that if I could just get back into bed and back to sleep like everyone else, then it wouldn't really be happening (I was 12). I'll never forget the sound of the early morning quiet being broken by all the screams from all the neighbors and everything on every surface and in every cabinet in the house crashing to the ground. It felt like a giant had picked up the house and was twisting it one way in one hand while twisting the other way with the other, alternating back and forth. We were one block away from being evacuated because of the damage to the Van Norman dam. My school was in the evacuation zone, so no school for at least a couple of weeks, and it may have even been a month--hard to remember now. Our house wasn't as damaged as so many others were. One of my parents' friends was driving to work and saw the freeway overpass go crashing down in his rearview mirror right after he had driven under it. Another friend was in the shower and got all cut up from being thrown through the breaking/broken shower door. We went driving around the next day to see all the damage, and one of the things I remember most is the sight of streetlights that were bent all the way down to the ground.

If you could add one more cohost to The View, who would you add and why?

About all I know about The View is that it has women hosts (hostesses?). I can't really think of anyone in particular, but an American with an American accent would be a refreshing choice since there seems to be a glut of Brits being hosts or judges on other American shows, as if there are no Americans available or capable.

How much to you spend on average at the grocery store?

Usually between $200 and $300, occasionally under $200, weekly at Wal-Mart, where most weeks we get more than just food. This is for a family of five with lots of pets.

My answers for 06/24/2008:

If you could only eat one fruit for an entire year, which fruit would you choose?

Oranges, since they have vitamin C and I could hopefully avoid scurvy that way.

Where is the farthest you have been from home?

When home was California, I went to Europe.

If you had to change the oil on your car, could you?

I'm thinking I could if I had an illustrated instruction manual to follow.

Do you ever check out a book from the library and then return it without reading it?

I have done this, and it's usually from the book version of the 'eyes being too big for the stomach'. I'm not sure what that would be called in book language, but it's when I get a bunch of books that I want to read, but then end up not being able to read them all before the due date.

Evan Almighty

This was really enjoyable. I had a good time watching it. All of the cast did a great job, and the animals were wonderful as well. Even though obviously a lot of liberties are taken in characterization of the Almighty, the underlying message that when we pray for something, His answer frequently is not what we expect, but is always what is needed according to His wisdom and His plan, is true.

Tenth Butterfly In Progress

These are the four wing components for this butterfly. The larger ones especially are very ruffly, so lots of pinning is going to need to be done once this is all sewn together.

I'm planning to crochet the body and antennae in white. I like this pink and white combination.

This butterfly pattern is from a vintage hat and gloves set.

I wonder why women wearing gloves went out of style. Lacy gloves like the ones in this pattern are so pretty.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY... Yom Sheni, the 19th day of the 3rd month
Outside My Window... the wind is blowing mildly, and it is nice and sunny.
I am thinking...that I wish I had gotten a little more sleep.
I am thankful for... Husband's provision for us.
From the kitchen... This week's dinners:Ground Turkey Soup*Steak with Garlicky Potatoes*"Baked" Chicken*Succulent Steak*Steak with Mustard Potatoes*Burgundy Beef RoastCheeseburger Macaroni(*these recipes are from 'Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly' by Phyllis Pellman Good.)
I am wearing... a hastily thrown-on housedress, pink and black (had to hurry and get Husband's statements printed off before he left for work).
I am creating... an account card template for Husband and The Great American Afghan for my youngest son.
I am going... to the library tomorrow to hopefully pick up the book I requested last week--'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides--which is the current selection for the Ravelry Book Club.
I am reading... Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14-37.Korach--Torah: Bemidbar (Numbers) 16:1-18:32.Haftarah: Shemuel Alef (1 Samuel) 11:14-12:22.Ketuvim Netzarim: Acts 1:1-11; Romans 13:1-7.'Knit One, Kill Two' by Maggie Sefton
I am hoping... that Husband will have a better day at work than he did last week.
I am hearing... our new dog, Buddy, barking. I think he's being taught to 'speak' by the kids.
Around the house... I want to dejunk and organize, so I think I'll start from the front door and work my way around the house counterclockwise, spending at least 15 minutes a day on it.
One of my favorite things... is my children's smiles.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Call Mom and see how she's doing.Call my oldest daughter to wish her a happy birthday.Call my friend who's been concerned about me.Deal with all the medical bills and receipts.Organize my project bags.Finish the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts square for The Great American Afghan, or at least get one of the little socks finished.Write up and post the pattern for the afghan square I designed to represent the book, Here Be Dragons.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Template Creation

If you would like to participate in The Simple Woman's Daybook, visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman, and then read the guidelines here.

Nearing Grace

Slow-moving and boring at times. The basics of the story have potential, but the movie just didn't reach that potential. It meandered, and some things really made no sense, and the things that did make sense weren't developed. Pretty pointless overall.

Tenth Butterfly Started

Since it is getting down to the wire for sending these butterflies in for The Butterfly Project, as soon as I finished Butterfly 9, I immediately started on Butterfly 10. So far I only have this one upper wing crocheted, and it turned out really ruffly around the edges. I sure hope it will flatten out during the starching and pinning process. Speaking of that, I need to go ahead and get started on that with the previously made butterflies so they'll all be ready to mail ASAP.

Randomness...All About Books

This week's questions are book related....

1. Who are your favorite authors?Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain.
2. What are your favorite books? Breathing Lessons, Turtle Moon, Pride and Prejudice, Hard Times, Innocents Abroad.
3. What kind of books do you tend to read? Sci-fi, Romance, Mystery...etc...? I tend to read lots of different genres--True Crime, Mystery, Biography, Popular Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Literature, Religious, Suspense, Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, Alternate History and even some Horror. I'll try most any genre in case I may end up liking it or discover a good writer.
4. Do you prefer to borrow books from the library or buy them? I prefer to borrow from the library, but when they don't have what I'm looking for or if they have a long waiting list, then I'll look online, usually at Amazon or eBay for a used copy I can purchase. Every once in a while I'll come across a good sale and buy new.
5. Do you prefer hardcover or paperback? Paperback--easier to hold. I have the greatest bookholder in 2 sizes--BookMate--so it's much easier to read and take along paperbacks using those.
6. What was the last book you read? What are you reading now? Last read: Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman. Currently Reading: Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton.
7. Do you read everyday? Yes. At the very least, 3-4 chapters of the Scriptures every morning and as much as I can of the book on my nightstand before I fall asleep every night.
8. On average how many books do you read per year? I have no idea, but I'm going to guess around 25.
9. Do you belong to any book clubs? Yes, all of them on Ravelry--Ravelry Book Club, Ravelry Book Group, Knitting 19th Century Novels, Read~Knit~Cook--and I also listen to CraftLit.
10. Recommend a good book. I really liked Expanded Universe by Robert Heinlein, which is a collection of his short stories and essays along with commentary in between each selection. I thought his commentary throughout the book made him really accessible as a person, and I really liked the way he looked back at what was going on in the world when each selection was written as well as his projections about the future from his 1980 viewpoint.

Scoop

With Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson in primary roles, one would expect this to be a pretty good movie, but I guess I'm in the group of people who just doesn't get the whole Woody Allen thing. He just ruined this movie for me. The storyline had great potential if only Woody Allen hadn't been in the middle of it. He is way too annoying for words, a bad actor, and his character was completely unnecessary and detracted from any benefit the rest of the cast might have added to the whole thing otherwise. If he had stuck to directing this movie and foregone self-servingly starring in it, I think it would have been much more watchable and enjoyable. I did love seeing Ian McShane from Deadwood, though.

Ninth Butterfly Completed

Finally finished crocheting this butterfly for The Butterfly Project. I tried to flatten it under a book overnight, but it's still pretty twisty and turny. Hopefully when I get around to the starching and pinning process for all of these butterflies, this one will straighten out and look better. This one may end up benefitting the most from that process. The yellow loops on the bottom wings especially won't behave.

This one is bigger than most of the others. Eventually I'll take a picture of all of them together to show their relative sizes. I kind of wish I had used different colors for this one as I'm not too thrilled with the blue and yellow together. I probably should have used the green in place of the blue. Too late now, though. This one was a beast to finally get finished. I think I spent as much time sewing and running in ends as I did crocheting it.

This butterfly was crocheted with Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread, size 10, in Delft and size 10 DMC crochet thread in Green and Yellow using a size 6 steel hook and this pattern.

Ninth Butterfly Still In Progress

All of the components of this butterfly have been crocheted, and now I have the task of sewing them together. By the way, that curled-up little thing in between the two large upper wings is the body and head with antennae.

Even after studying the picture on the pattern page and getting the opinions of my children, asking them to compare these components to the picture of the finished butterflies on the pattern page, none of us were certain which way the lower wings were supposed to go.

In the end, we just decided that one way looked a little better than the other way when shuffling around my components, so I'll go ahead and sew them together the way we all thought it looked best. This butterfly is so curly, though, that it probably won't look its best until it is starched, pinned and dried.

The Butterfly Project

"Come Out Of Her, My People!"

(I originally wrote and posted this to my previous blog on 03/09/2007.)

Reading: YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 49-51

Three times in the book of YirmeYahu, YHWH warns His people to flee Babel (Babylon), and it is this same warning that is repeated in Revelation:

Jer 50:8 "Flee from the midst of Babel, come out of the land of the Chaldeans. And be as rams before a flock.

Jer 51:6 Flee from the midst of Babel, and let each one save his life! Do not be cut off in her crookedness, for this is the time of the vengeance of יהוה, the recompense He is repaying her.

Jer 51:45 "Come out of her midst, My people! And let everyone deliver his being from the burning displeasure of יהוה.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

What we know from the Scriptures is that YHWH/Yeshua did a lot more than has been written in the Scriptures--

Joh 21:25 Now there is much else that Yeshua did. If every one of them were written down, I think that the world itself would not contain the written books. Amen.

But we can be assured that what has been written is everything we need to know--

2Pe 1:3 as His Mighty-like power has given to us all we need for life and reverence, through the knowledge of Him who called us to esteem and uprightness.

So, then, why is this warning to flee Babel repeated multiple times? No doubt it is because our Savior wants us to heed and obey this warning!

What is Babel's crookedness? What are her sins? Why is YHWH so displeased with her and taking vengeance on her?

Rev 17:5 and upon her forehead a name written, a secret: BABEL THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE WHORES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The whole story of the Scriptures is about a Bridegroom and His bride--

Eph 5:31 "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This secret is great, but I speak concerning Messiah and the assembly.
Eph 5:33 However, you too, everyone, let each one love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she fears her husband.

The Bridegroom is extremely jealous and, in fact, says His Name is jealous--

Exo 34:14 for you do not bow yourselves to another mighty one, for יהוה, whose Name is jealous, is a jealous El –

He wants His bride to have eyes only for Him, to reserve her heart only for Him, to serve only Him:

Exo 20:2 "I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery.
Exo 20:3 "You have no other mighty ones against My face.
Exo 20:4 "You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth,
Exo 20:5 you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה your Elohim am a jealous El, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Exo 20:6 but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands.

Idolatory is whoring and abomination to the King of Kings, and that is why He is taking vengeance on the mother of whores and abominations for leading His bride astray.

One day He is coming to take His bride to the place He has prepared for her. The bride needs to prepare herself. She needs to take down all the altars she has built to false gods. She needs to smash all the idols she has allowed to creep into her heart. She needs to subject herself to Messiah and ask Him to set her apart and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:24-27).
Rev 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself."
Rev 19:8 And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones.

(Babel, or Babylon, is the abomination of adultery, spiritual adultery, which is idolatry. Idolatry is when we esteem anyone or anything greater than YHWH, when we put anyone or anything ahead of Him. Also, when we pursue other 'gods' along with Him, like a wife having lovers in addition to her husband. )