Something new

In June when I heard my 18yo niece would be going away to school, I got an idea to make an afghan with 'smilies'. She's on the computer alot, and a major part is messaging with her friends, so I thought the smilieghan would make a nice gift. Maybe a little fun while everyone figured out what smilie meant what!
She has since changed her mind and is no longer going to school--shame, she was going to study psychology, and I tell you, my family could use a shrink! But the smilieghan idea didn't go away. I started with three, and plan on adding 3 more every 2-3 weeks for a total of 15 12" smilie blocks and 1 plain block pattern to alternate with them. Rather than go and spend money on yarn, this one will use what I have. Plus some, I NEED some colours!
The crochetalong is available for sale on my site, click on the smilie block to check it out!

Vacation's Over

And time to relax! We usually go camping for a week as part of our vacation. The last two years we've also taken the dogs with us, and they seem to really enjoy it.
This year was a little tricky.
We arrived Sunday around noon and Mike and I put up the tent trailer so I could set stuff up in there while he returned home to bring our highly-carsick dog by himself. If he's gonna throw up, we didn't want anyone/thing in the way.
The weather called for possible rain...
Later in the afternoon, we listened to the distant thunder and watched the storm clouds creeping up on us. Now, they didn't take US by surprise, but apparently, they sneaked past the local radio station (CHYR--96.7 in southwestern Ontario) without being noticed. As we sat in the tent trailer, listening to the rain on the roof sounding like a stampede of buffalo and the thunder booming simultaneously with the lightning strikes...we could hear the woman on CHYR saying "a chance of showers tonight with a possibility of a severe thunderstorm".
Yup, just a possibility.
Anyway, the rain soon ended, as heavy rains oft do. Luckily, when my dh set up the tent that he and the dogs slept in, it was on a higher part of the site. The 'main' part, that around the firepit and the picnic table was flooded.
By Thursday, most of our site had dried, although around the picnic table it was still marshy. Dried just in time...to be flooded again! I took pictures the second time around. I'm just glad that we had decided to take the dogs back a day early. It's awful enough the kids not being able to wander around the site, but how do you tell dogs to stay out of the water?

The first picture shows our small pond...the centre one shows our tent trailer with the tent. The third picture shows just how close the people on the site behind us were. No, we had no idea who they were, but at least they were quiet!
The rain and the 'floods' didn't stop us. The extreme heat that week didn't even stop us. Slowed us down, but didn't stop us! The way I look at it, we weren't home to run the air conditioner, and we surely would have had we been home!

Summer Boredom Strikes

My girls are bored already! I wouldn't think they'd be bored, they've been visiting friends, having friends over, the oldest just about every day so far!
Me, I'm bored, too! Can't figure out what I want to do: I've started a Beach Fun for 11 1/2" dolls, a Banana Split, a cape that I am really not happy with and will frog...
The highlight of my week: we had new vinyl flooring installed in our bathroom. Now, this room is less than 6 feet x 5 1/2 feet floor space. Factor in a toilet and an average size shower stall, and picture the actual amount of flooring. $263 Canadian later. BUT, there is a new subfloor, so there is an extra bit of insulation between the cold basement and our barefeet coming out of the shower in the cold winter months! And it looks sooooo much better than the paper thin peel n stick tiles that had begun to migrate. The continental drift in my bathroom.

Today, I check my email, and it never fails to surprise me how many intelligent people get taken in by email scams. As in "please forward, so AOL will donate" or "Red Cross will donate", or even "Bill Gates will donate". With a sob story that has no truth to it. The creator has accomplished what he set out to do: let innocent people do the spamming.
Please, before you forward such messages (along with Canada/US post is going to start charging for emails), check with an urban legends site. My favourite is Snopes.

I had applied at Bella Online to become crochet editor (me and how many others???), but was not chosen. Only a little disappointed, partly because I'm not sure if I even have the time each week, and partly because, if I really wanted to, I could do the same thing here. I'm still trying to figure out how to find the patterns/pictures that the current editor is posting. I don't know if a link or picture was left out, or if my computer just isn't getting it.

Laundry calls, dishes are screaming...and I could really use a coffee!