MOD Booklets For My Little Prince

I started this little project in April and have completed a set of A through Z Booklets for my little prince; he likes to be read to and I think he’ll like these ;-)

I just unpacked this old Franklin Mint Porcelain Animals Sets and set it up the other day… some figurines match MOD Booklets; my little prince will enjoy touching them and holding them while listening to his own personal story written just for him by ‘gamma’.

A few of MOD Home Education Booklets A-Z; Farm-Forest theme. MO storyline utilizes free public domain internet Pre - K Coloring Pages and Worksheets. So far these Booklets pictured are the only Booklets I have made that matches a few of the Old Franklin Mint Porcelain Animals Sets: I have more ideas for future Booklets that will spin off these ones to keep the theme going.

I created my own "cuddle-time" storyline around imaginary/characterized ‘toddler aged’ farm and forest animals, and fleshed MOD booklets out with Preschool & Kindergarten internet coloring pages/worksheets to match my impromptu storyline. Each booklet has between 10 to 14 pages total and the storyline is humorously simple to grab/keep his interest, yet educationally informative concerning the animal portrayed – and made to be used like a lite workbook with super easy mazes, various types of easy puzzles, simple dot-to-dot pages, simple counting, easy letter tracing, P - K word comprehension, simple pictures matches, Shapes, ect: everything a 3-5 year old would need to know without overwhelming him with the political nonsense he doesn’t need forced on him at this tender age.

Due to domestic complications with the boy's father, we have not seen our little prince in quite a while, but if we ever get to see him again these little books will be waiting - and if he's too big for them ... I make new ones ;-)

MOD Knit Pink Philippine Flower Slippers

I thought I’d try a new design theme this year – flowers.

I’ve done marine life, chameleons, dinosaurs, pandas and foxes over the years, but this is my first attempt at mimicking flowers.

This design is my first at designing round a flower … basically to see if I could. I chose a Philippine flower because I am thinking a lot of my grandson lately:

Pink Philippine flower with yellow throat.

MOD Pink Philippine Flower Slippers

These slippers are not for sale; I need a new pair of slippers, so I am keeping these ones for myself ;-)

Every time I wear them I will be thinking of my handsome, dearly loved ... and desperately missed ... 3 year old American-Filipino grandson.

Summer Slipper

This is a free domain Drops Pattern and it works up real easy I finished mine in 3 days … I’ve been busy outside too most of the time and could only work on them after Supper, turning in early because I was so darned tired; but if a person stayed on the pattern with minimal breaks, a pair of slippers could be finished in a day. These slippers are really comfortable.

**********

Working 2 slippers at a time – perfect way to make sure they are both the same size and of the same tension upon completion.

Slippers FINISHED.

**********

GARTER ST (back and forth on needle): K all rows.

INCREASING TIP: Inc 1 st from RS by making 1 YO. Work Yo into back of loop on return row to avoid a hole.

--------------------

SLIPPER: Work back and forth on needle from the toe towards the heel.

Cast on 12-13-14 sts on needle size 6 mm/US 10 with Eskimo (leave approx 30 c,/11-3/4 tail and use this to sew slipper tog afterwards). Insert a marker in st 4 and a marker in st 9-10-11. Work stockinette st, AT SAME TIME inc 1 st on each side of both markers - SEE INCREASING TIP, and repeat the inc on every other row a total of 4 times = 28-29-30 sts.

REMEMBER THE KNITTING GAUGE!

When piece measures 9-10-11 cm/3-1/2 inches-4 inches-4-3/8 inches, work as follows: 7 garter sts, 14-15-16 stockinette st, 7 garter sts. Continue like this until piece measures 22-24-27 cm/8-3/4 inches-9-1/2inches-10-5/8 inches; bind off.

ASSEMBLY: Tighten slipper at the top and sew tog mid upper front inside 1/2 st to where the garter st begs. Sew tog mid back, edge to edge to avoid a chunky seam.

**********

We got the roofing estimate this afternoon; it is double the cost we expected to hear, but the previous owner really let a LOT slide the 20 years she lived here: nothing was ever repaired or replaced. The house inspector told us that the roof would need to be reroofed before summer ended, but because he didn’t walk the roof himself he did not know that several places would have to be torn out and replaced, or that the ENTIRE carport would have to be taken down and replace; so the cost to reroof has gone up significantly: but it has to be done, so what are we gonna do? We’ll have to bite the bullet, storm the gates of Heaven, and fork the moolah out :-( we are hoping Elohim will be merciful and soften the cash blow and soothe our sticker price shock. Our nephew-in-law is a contractor and he will be doing the job, but even at a discount, it will be a blow to the wallet.

We spent most of the day today downtown buying groceries and looking for a microwave turntable because the dinosaur microwave that came with the house was missing the turntable – we could not find a turntable to save our souls (a turntable only comes with a microwave now), so we had to but a new microwave; thankfully it was on sale. We also came home with 6 large bags of Miracle Grow soil to fill the dug out stone planters (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2017/07/racing-father-time.html); I’ll fill them with flowers I dug up and potted from our previous house after the roof is torn off because guys that are roofing are not careful about where the roof shingles land while they rip and throw – I do not want any flowers broken or destroyed by falling debris, so transplanting flowers into my flowerbeds will have to wait until around the middle of August. I hope they will be able to rebound and build a healthy root system before Jack Frost comes visiting.

I have also started book #3 of the ‘Earth’s Children’ series …

 … at the rate I am reading these novels, I’ll have all 5 books read before the weekend is over ;-)

Day by Day

A little at a time, and day by day … that is how we are getting our new home prepared for the Fall season.

Hubs built me another planter box to place along the sunny side border of our lot; these will look a lot nicer than a wire fence (fancy ones look nice, but they are still wire) and will do double duty – clearly define our border line, and serve as a bright focal point when filled with cheerful flowers and yummy veggies next Spring :-D

Planter Box #2 – deeper with a 3 board siding instead of 2.

Two finished planter boxes. Looking good! These will be permanently set in place once they are all finished.

Sunday I finished the second in the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel; these books are old friends and I am familiar with the story, so reading them is going quicker than the 1^st time around. But this 2^nd reading of the series is just as much of an adventure as the first time ;-)

In keeping with the theme of the novel series I am reading after my vigorous outdoor activity is finished for the day, I crafted these little slippers for the upcoming Bazaar Season; designing and working them up yesterday:

MOD Squid-headed Nautiloid Slippers; 3 to 4 YO  BOY

The inspiration for MOD Nautiloid slippers - an extinct prehistoric sea creature.

And this morning while Hubs worked on a third planter box for me, I got busy preparing the oval planter out front of our home for potting soil and plants …

Over the weekend Hubs had removed the stump from the oval planter out front …

… and today I got the darned thing totally dug out and ready to be refilled – HARD WORK in the brutal sunshine. But I am glad I pushed on to get it emptied and prepped.

Whooeee – I am beat. But we feel accomplished and are starting to feel that our new home is coming together as our new home ;-)

Tomorrow, Tomorrow; I’ll Do It Tomorrow

‘The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow’ … I’ll be right where I was this morning: working on that stump out front ;-)

We hit the floor running this morning to get as much done as we could before the sunshine got unbearable – we lasted 5 hours outside before calling it a day. It was only about 80-degrees in direct sunshine, but the humidity was miserable.

Hubs decided the planter box he made yesterday was too plain, so he decided to add some detail:

While Hubs worked on the box, I grabbed the pruning clippers and hacked away at the piney shrub out front of the house … 

 

Yesterday's pruning job.

TODAY: I am glad that eye-sore is gone, now I just have to pull that stump out and remove that terrible dirt ...

4 very FULL garbage bags of pine shrub pruning’s; going to the dump after we pull the stump.

After I cut off all the branches and stuffed them into extra-large plastic garbage bags and hefted them into the 4x bed, I walked into the breezeway to drink some lukewarm coffee and watch Hubs work, but I leaned back in my patio chair and fell promptly asleep! No joke – I woke up as Hubs was tackling the bottom piece of another planter box which will look like this one he finished while I counted sheep:

Finished planter box #1: WE LIKE!

I fully intended to dig that stump out front out, but the sticky humidity made me sleepy and the short nap had made me loopy; and all my mind could focus on was a little curly-haired redheaded orphan breaking into my cobwebbed thoughts and shrilly singing … ‘tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll do it tomorrow; tomorrow’s just a day away’.

Obviously, the sun and humidity really got to me. It was apparent to me that I had done enough grueling work today in stifling weather. LOL

Racing Father Time

There is so much to do around here before Fall arrives – hopefully Chris will get back from his vacation this week and start on our roof: we’d like to have that job completed before the PNW rainy season starts.

We haven’t taken but one day off in the past 4 weeks – we’re so stinking tired! Seriously: stinking and tired because there’s so much to do in such a short period of time, we are pushing ourselves to get things done; and end the day smelling like it and so tired we fall asleep on our feet if we stop moving most days. LOL

We repotted the Angel Wing plant the other day ... and in the process broke the top off the tallest one because it was awkward to hang onto while we tipped the old pot out; good thing this plant grows fast.

I stuck the broken top into a jar of water and put it in the spare bathroom under the skylight to root.

This morning, Hubs started building my planter boxes so I can transplant my flowers so they get a good root system build before that malevolent imp, Jack Frost, arrives with Fall (just 16 weeks off) and damages them beyond repair:

Bob building me my planter boxes ... 1 of MANY to be built.

While Hubs worked on the planter box, I tackled the front of the house curbside and started whipping it into shape – the previous owner’s curb-side tastes and my curb-side tastes are vastly different
…

I tore into the circular planter out front - the dirt is set like cement! My digging claw barely made a dent in the hard stuff.

I finally put the claw aside because the tines were worthless on this hard baked stuff, and grabbed my handy-dandy little shovel and managed to loosen & remove several boxes of rocky fill-dirt – I would fill a large box with the crappy dirt and haul it to the large garbage can sitting in the 4x bed: I did this several times. We’ll haul it off to the dump later on:

I can't believe they filled this circular planter with black-top chunks as well as rocky fill - what were they thinking ... WERE they thinking at all?

11-inches was as deep as I could dig in this rocky-hard-as-cement-crap. This will eventually be filled with good loose dirt and planted with Shasta Daisies. I like Shasta Daisies for curb appeal because they just seem to say “Hi, and welcome!” ;-)

I worked up a good sized blister trying to dig through that crap; I didn’t stop until I could dig no more. The blister broke open.

After about 10 trips from the circular planter to the garbage can, I decided to take a short break to catch my breath, let my old muscles relax, and avoid a heat stroke – it’s HOT here today. While I was sipping my lukewarm coffee and wiping my sweaty face on my shirt sleeve, I watched Hubs working on my new planter box …

Bottom boards being laid down.

Hubs is using cedar boards to build the box even though he is allergic to cedar sap – and these boards are wet-cut, so they are pungent: this is a real labor of love, and I appreciate it. I love the smell of cedar, but I also know it will cost Hubs in more ways than one to build these boxes, but he wants to use cedar boards because it will last a long time before rot sets in. I have a good man and I never forget that. Elohim blessed me when He brought us together :-D

Next I tackled this ugly mess - ALL of it is going; I don't like any of it. I’m not a green  plant person, I like C.O.L.O.R in my landscape, so I'll plant cherry colorful flowers in this space …

Bob's new recliner arrived while we were both working at our tasks; Bob is gonna love this lift chair; it will take pressure off his knees.

Last Friday we received a mortgage refund from the house we recently sold and it was exactly the amount needed to purchase a lift recliner for Hubs ... so we bought one for him Monday – and we thanked Elohim for ‘going before us and preparing the way’; we NEVER are able to come up with that amount of $$$ at one time, no matter how hard we try. Something always comes up that depletes the savings; but this time, thank The Lord, everything came together and it was possible ;-)

After the boys unloaded the new recliner, hauled it up the front steps, wrestled it into the house and set it up, I took another short break and finished the 1^st book in The Clan of The Cave Bear series. We’ve read them before when Alyna was about 3 years old (she’s 21 now), but they are good reads that really pull you into the storyline, so I bought them for 25 cents at the Library Sale a couple weeks ago and we’re doing round two with them:

We finally laid off work around 3 p.m.; it was just too darned HOT to continue. But we felt accomplished with what we had done so far. We had time to get to the dump before they closed the gate, so off we went …

I made a good dent in snipping these bushes down to nothing until it got too hot to do anymore: 3 azalea bushes pruned down to nubs for easier removal; and 1/3 of the evergreen bushy shrub pruned out, but even the big handpick failed to break up that crappy ‘dirt’ around the azaleas’ main root balls! Unbelievable. I'll get back “on it” tomorrow.

Sides finished on planter box 1.

Decorative beveled box edges. Planter box 1; top edge will go on tomorrow.

Bob's old recliner went to the dump with a large garbage can of that terrible fill-dirt and 2 large garbage bags of shrub pruning’s.

The garbage can will probably be filled again tomorrow, and hauled off again; but then it will be used strictly for catching rain water for my plants: the can is clean, no garbage has ever been in it – just this ‘dirt’, and that can be cleaned out with a simple swish of the garden hose.

I’ll start the 2^nd book of this series after I post this. And I’m so beat from working so hard today that I may fall asleep in my recliner before I finish Chapter One. LOL

Starting on Book 2 tonight ... and I may start a new design series on this earth timeline because I think the Pleistocene era is interesting.

Downtime Day

Yesterday we decided to take the day off from unpacking-and-setting up-in our new home; my hands ache from 4 weeks of constant activity so we just decided to lay back and take it easy until Monday. This past week I managed to unpack the majority of boxes stacked in every room, leaving 6 in the back room: not bad at all, and those last ones should be unpacked and tore down by the end of Monday (tomorrow).

The guys finally finished laying the flooring and I was able to move furniture into place last weekend while Bob put the fireplace together and set it in place, which was a good thing because Bob’s mother and sisters from calimexarabia and Nevada wanted to come and see “Bobbie’s new home” while they were up here for the annual Family Reunion at Cliff’s in Oregon. Bob and I worked like whirling dervishes this past week to get the window shades and curtains switched out too before they showed up Friday afternoon. Here is a glimpse into what has been accomplished so far:

New flooring and electric fireplace. LIKE IT!

Dining Room area.

Livingroom area; working on furnishing this side of the room - it should be fleshed out the end of summer. The Angel Wings plant will be repotted this week sometime - I have the pot, I just need to find the time ;-) I LOVE all the windows! This place is so white and bright WITHOUT LIGHTS ON, that I am always checking to make sure the lights are turned off. LOL

Curtain detail.

Hubs and I were up bright and early yesterday and started the day with a walk around the Park to familiarize ourselves with the layout – it’s a slow mile walk around the outer perimeter of the park and we have determined to do the walk every day … rain or shine. We started out from our carport and worked our way back home. The walk was relaxing and enjoyable: we met a lot of friendly neighbors and learned more about the community – all good so far ;-)

Heron Pointe Office, 1^st playground, and Clubhouse: just a short step away from any home in any direction …

Heron Pointe: the streets look like any neighborhood streets – sometimes it’s hard to remember that this is a Mobile Home Park; it looks more like a neighborhood with ranch style houses. Very nice, and we feel blessed that Elohim opened up a place for us here :-D

Heron Pointe: the backroad in the background is busy with Logging trucks using their jake brakes all day long, but somehow the Park mutes them to a loud purr; that is nice ;-)

Heron Pointe: 2^nd playground of the Park. This Park has people of all ages living here. And though the Park does not supply Security, this is a safe place to live because the applications are very scrutinized and backgrounds checks are very thorough; no one with a criminal background is accepted. Heron Pointe is a very coveted place to live because it is so safe.

Heron Pointe: Variegated Mini Hosta. I like hostas and have always wondered what a mini one would look like; now I know what to look for. The giant ones – like we had at our last house - would be overpowering in the small planting areas here.

We are thinking about checking this out; t will be a nice drive for me, and Bob likes bluegrass music.

Before we left Washington, we stopped at the corner store to grab some fried bacon and I pointed Bigfoot out to Hubs; how he has managed to miss the beast these past weeks we've stopped here is a mystery to me since it is B.I.G. enough to be seen on BOTH sides of the building, coming or going … but to be fair to Hubs, his mind has been pretty occupied lately with more important things than noticing Sasquatch hovering overhead:

Bigfoot sighting at Baker's Corner; LOL. Its eyes glow red in the dark evenings.

Crossing the Rainer Bridge that spans the Columbia River and touching down in Oregon, we traveled along the river passing through the various small towns this side of Astoria. Coming into Clatskanie I happened to glace to the left and noticed a fancy turret poking up through the foliage high above town, so knowing we had enough time to make a short detour, I asked Hibs to “drive up that hill there and let me take a peek at that fancy house up there”. I love old houses and antiquated building designs. He obliged and it was a treat ;-)

Clatskanie Castle. Cool.

Castle's front entrance.

The Castle is Clatskanie's Senior Citizen abode! Wow - those seniors are treated like royalty over there...

Most Seniors would not be able to use these regal steps, but it's another nice focal point.

The reunion at Cliff’s was great – like it always is; we love Cliff, Hub’s Uncle, and yesterday was his 80^th BD, though you’d never know it because he does not look 80 and he does not act like an old man. We had wondered how he would do after Sharon died of cancer a couple years ago; but new wife, Karen, is a wonderful hostess and good for him. Karen is also personable and her kids/grandkids are a good addition to the family also – very friendly and interested in our family as a whole. It is a good match :-D

On our way home, Hubs took the Megler-Astoria Bridge option because of all the bicyclists on the road back the way we came: they had not yet hit the road enforce when we left earlier in the day, but by 4 p.m., it would have been a nightmare to deal with the hordes of uneducated and dangerously tired bicyclists that make their annual hell trip every year at this time. I HATE the Megler-Astoria Bridge, but even I realized the wisdom of choosing that option. While high in the sky and hardly daring to breathe while suspended in the air as yet still MORE WORK as being done on that treacherous bridge, I glanced off to my right – trying not to glance doooooooooooooooooooown at the water – and noticed that the harbor was chock-full of ships; the ships anchored practically under the bridge and stretched into the faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar distance, making the last one a mere but unmistakable pinprick of ship color:

Ships in Astoria's harbor waters. In the 42 years we've traveled this way, we've never seen this many ships anchored in these waters.

I counted ELEVEN ships waiting to be loaded ... or unloaded.

Before heading home, we turned left at the end of the Megler-Astoria Bridge and made another detour to Longbeach, where I bought several colorful sea shells and 1 dusty blue starfish to add to my bathroom décor …

We got home around 7 p.m. tired from a long day, but relaxed and cheered by the lazy day and warmed by the comfortable warmth we always feel at Cliff’s.