Vacation All I Ever Wanted...

I have been house sitting for my parents since last Saturday and while most people hate for vacation to end I can't wait to get back home. I have had to feed and water and play with six dogs, not including my own as well as feed and water a rabbit. My parents live in the middle of nowhere in the country and the house is surrounded by dirt, trees, bugs and who knows what else. I am not a country girl. For the first two days my brother, his girlfriend and my nephew were here and it wasn't so bad. Brittany fed and watered the dogs and I didn't have to mess with them. Well, they left on Monday to join my parents and then I had to take over all the chores. First, my brother's dogs decided they wanted to terrorize my little chihuahua, who is used to being the only pet and he did not take kindly to any attention that was not smothered on him. He has given me the stink eye all week. Then my brother's dog, Snoopy, who is the Houdini of dogs managed to get his metal chain off the stake and go into the woods where the metal chain became snagged on who knows what and I had to go into the woods to free him. Now, obviously, I did not go too deep into the woods. I made Snoopy pull as far as he could to release him from the snagged chain and then put him in the house. My brother's friend, Adam, had to come over and try to find the chain which he never did find but hooked up another one for the meantime. The next day I look out the window and he has overturned his water bowl and peed all over it. Why? Who knows, he's a gross dog. This morning I put him back out and he overturns his water bowl (after I had just filled it with fresh cold water), pees on it, then grabs the chain in his mouth and is out there pulling on it trying to break free. Why me? Then my little dog decides to follow my parents' ancient beagle out to the road and won't come back. I called my cousins and made them come get him, I couldn't handle the thought that he may get run over because he was being a little turd. Now, my parents' beagle, Norman, is the world's oldest dog on earth. He has turned white and has cataracts and every skin condition a dog can have. He wants to go in and out of the house every five minutes. As soon as I let him out he howls to come back in. No sooner have I let him in then he is howling to go outside. My mom and dad tell me that he is old and just let him do what he wants. I can barely sit down for a few minutes and there is Norman, howling and barking to go in or out. Even though Norman is practically a fossil he still goes up the driveway and walks up and down the road every day. He is blind and I'm pretty sure he's deaf, or else he just has selective hearing, but he has his routine and he sticks to it. Now, after all of this, I welcome going back to work and getting up early every day just to be back in my own house and in my own bed with just my little dog to worry about and a fenced in backyard so I know he isn't going anywhere.

Crochet

For some unknown reason I have decided to tackle another crafty thing. I went to the library on Wednesday and checked out some books on how to crochet. I'm not quite sure how this is going to pan out, but I plan to give it my best! I have been looking over the books and it seems like it may be a rather difficult type of crafty thing. I chose books that looked like a dummy could learn by reading it, who knew that there was so much involved in crochet other than a hook and a needle! I am going to attempt a potholder as my first project. I'm a little afraid!

The first book I chose, " Crocheting in Plain English", sounds simple enough. Not only does this book show you the basics of the craft it also goes into quite intricate detail of the history of crochet. I guess it is good to know where and how things came about, but I would really just like to make a potholder.

The next book I chose, "How to Crochet", sounds simple enough. This one also goes into each and every type of hook and yarn or thread that can possibly be used. Just show me how to make a potholder already!!

The library sent me an email telling me they had a crochet video on hold for me. I am hoping that the DVD how-to will get straight to the point. I guess we shall see what happens when I pick it up on Monday!

Crafty Things- Punch Needle

So, I have decided to learn a few different crafty type things so I can expand my horizons. I started with punch needle projects which are really quite simple and end up looking so pretty. I like how, unlike cross stitch, the punch needle has some texture and mistakes are easier to camouflage! This is my first attempt at a punch needle project, not terrible, but not as good as I had hoped. I probably shouldn't have chosen a project with so much detail for the first attempt! This one is a flower in a vase and some little squiggles and decorations.

The next project I tackled was a little simpler and turned out much better! I picked this one because I loved the color combination of the brown and aqua. I am pretty proud of this little piece of needlework.

I have just started my third punch needle project and since I've been on vacation this week it is coming along quicker than the first two. Also, since I have finally gotten the hang of it this one is looking much nicer. Here are some pictures of the progress I've made so far of the cute cupcake project!

This is all I have so far but it is coming along quite well and I am very excited to see the finished product!