LITTLE LAMB LITTLE LAMB

In between dreaming up soap recipes, I started crocheting a little lamb security blanket for my granddaughter.  I had all this extra yarn laying around for a "garage sale" sale flopped because it rained within an hour of setting everything up!
Anyway, I found this pattern online and just happened to have an overload of the colors called for.  This is what the finished product should look like:

I found the pattern online at http://spotconnie.blogspot.com

 

This is a fast forward of the first few sections.  i originally tried stuffing the head and body with clean socks because I was over anxious and didnt have any stuffing material.  I did not like the way it looked and figured it would wash like a mess, so I put it off a day and bought a bag of proper stuffing.

 Here I started on the blanket portion which was the easiest for me.  I think I could have done a better job on the lamb itself, but no matter, it's done now.  Plus, I used a hook that I think was one size bigger then the one called for.

 So, here she is, propper stuffing and all, lol.  I liked her without a face I think.

And here is the finished product.  Not too shabby!  I didnt have embroidery thread either so I doubled up my thread to make the nose and mouth.  As you might be able to tell, I have alot of experience improvising!  Probably comes from growing up with 8 other brothers and sisters in the house!  And here are the very best and rewarding results!!!:

Is it just me, or does the lamb look worried?  I hope her stuffing holds out, lol.  Have a super day!

A Fathers Day Tribute

By the age of 27 you had four children and had already owned and improved two homes on your own without any financial help from your parents.
 On this Father's Day I want to acknowledge and  thank you  for all the years you devoted to being a strong, reliable man and father, protective and proud, sacrificing and selfless for the sake of your family.  You have been brave and caring, determined and dependable.  Thank you for your years of coaching, loving, sheltering, advising, understanding, forgiving and guiding.  I thank you with all my heart.
Thank you for not throwing in the towel of abandonment when appreciation ran low and your shoulders grew heavy with responsibility.

You have been courageous and selfless ,leaving behind all you knew to move to a better place after you researched many areas for good schools and excellent growth and employment opportunities for your family.
You have been patient and knowledgeable when called upon, never failing in consideration ,and forever dependable, intelligent and inspiring, and someone who I am proud to call my husband, friend, and faithful loving father of our four children as well as grandfather to our seven grandchildren.

  Thank you for the camping trips, the boy scout meetings and pine box derby help.  Thank you for little league coaching, for your instruction in the game and for making it all such a fun time together as a family.  Thank you for girls ballet classes and softball, for ice hockey equipment and team dues and for driving and being our kids number ONE fan!

I know I couldn't possibly have touched on everything you have done, but this is a small portion of love and thanks for a BIG man.
You have always been available to support, encourage and uplift your children. You have been there to fix a broken toy, a broken car and a broken heart. You were always there to lend a caring, listening ear and a helpful hand at every age and every stage of your children's lives.
We have albums, drawers, computers and minds filled with snapshots of cherished memories of family celebrations, births and baptisms, graduations, engagements, family trips and family time.
Thank you for the time, joy, laughter,and the generosity and love you have always shared!

You taught your children the value of a dollar and how to save instead of spending impulsively. You taught them the value and pride of home ownership in every home we ever owned by always improving and taking care of what we owned. You taught your children the importance of an education by giving them all the opportunity to excel even though you never went to college yourself. You taught them by example, how to be business people and how to invest by your profitable investments and hard work. You taught them to respect authority and others. You showed them the importance of family by always generously opening your door, heart, and wallet to love and care for them.

Thank you for never abandoning or giving up on your children and family especially when tough times rolled around and it was you who felt abandoned.
You are deeply loved and appreciated beyond measure by the person who started this journey with You! This tribute is to you with all my love!

Happy Fathers Day to the one and only Pasquale J. Scibelli ❤

Social Not-Working

 

Interestingly enough, the following article I wrote was submitted to CatholicMom.com in July of 2012, and turned down because as the owner of the website said,” I find the tone of this article to be quite judgmental and not a great fit for our site. I understand the theme but feel that anyone who does use FB might feel attacked by your tone. Would you prefer to rework it a bit, or would you like to just take this month off?

Thanks for being a part of our site.” 

Rework it a bit or "just take this month off?"  Really?  I felt like I was back in school being suspended.

After responding and stating that I was sorry she felt that way and that my article was my personal observation and not meant to offend anyone, I received this reply; “Theresa, I understand the sentiment behind your thoughts, but again thought that the article was not the type of tone that we normally run on our site. Thank you for understanding -- we appreciate you sharing with us. I'm just trying to set a very positive tone for our community and so many of our moms are very active with social networking and might misconstrue your comments as a judgment of themselves.”

I have not been able to write much since then. I felt stifled.  This evening I came across this quote: “What is needed now are meaningful ties to family, natural leaders, and community. How much better things would be if we could experience the happiness of truly authentic relationships that a million Facebook friends cannot supply. “ 

From the article “No Nobility of Purpose = No Prosperity

Posted on 2013/02/11 by John HorvatII, http://www.returntoorder.org/2013/02/no-nobility-of-purpose-no-prosperity/

Hurray!!! I feel my original thoughts on the subject were validated !! 

www.returntoorder.org is associated with AmericaNeedsFatima, www.ANF.org,  a Catholic website.

I hereby publish my article, my personal experience, frustration and/or opinion on social networking on sites such as Facebook with no intent to offend anyone who enjoys it and finds it fulfilling in their own personal life. 

 Here is my original article which was not accepted by CatholicMom.com because I did not “rework it a bit”. 

When I finally joined the rest of the world and created a FB account, I felt great!  All these people were there welcoming me aboard!  I couldn't believe how many family and friends had already belonged to that site long before I gave in and joined.  The reason I became a member of FB was a little weird to begin with now that I think about it.  It seemed my best friend knew about things that went on in my kids’ lives that I was unaware of.  Did she have a crystal ball? She would call me to inquire about calamities that were happening within my family that I had no knowledge of, simply because, as it turned out, I was not a member of Facebook.  My friend would see the comments and pictures that my kids would post, and then call me to ask what was going on and if everyone was ok.  I could only respond with, “Why don’t you tell me, since you seem to know more than I do.”  So, I originally joined with the statement:  I only joined FB to see how my family is.

 

Rather than being a "social" network, I began realizing it was about social not-working.  On FB one can be honest or dishonest and even feel totally free to   share things with the world that you would never dream of sharing around the dinner table.  You can actually replace a one- on- one relationship by simply requesting someone's friendship and go from "up front and personal" to just another brick on your “wall”, literally.  What started out as fun and actually a way of communicating had disintegrated before my eyes into an electronic chat room where no one actually chatted.  We repost thoughts, opinions, pictures, and trivial dribble mostly written by someone else. and/or that no one really care about; like how long you were stuck in traffic?!!  No one is "online" to chat in person when you are. You might see them as "online" but you will be told that they weren't really there... their smart phone just makes it appear that way.  I'd much rather hear that you were too busy playing angry birds or slingo bingo. Really.  So, there appears to be no real networking going on during one's time staring at the screen of this particular social network.  You can scroll back till the day you signed up, searching for meaning or a reason why you should continue to remain (dis)connected. Yes, it's a great place for the insomniac. It will bore you back to sleep. Since I have closed my account, which by the way is truly an oxymoron, since no one can ever really close their account, I have found out that I can talk to real people in real time about real things that the whole online world doesn't need to know about even if they did care!  I can speak from my heart and not search for just the right status update to post.  I can tell when you are being sincere, because I can actually see your face and hear your voice.  Life, it turns out is fabulous!  Real life encounters of the real kind are simply amazing!  Someone should have come up with this idea sooner!  Bye for now FB. It’s time to find a healthy balance between real life and online life.  I think for now, when I want to play a game with friends, I will invite them over my house and we will share food, a glass of wine and a lot of love and laughs in person.  We might even give a real hug and not one of these ((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) to show our affection and appreciation for each other. 

P.S. - Since writing this article, I have checked to see if my FB account was closed and sure enough I was able to log back on like I never really left.  All my friends and family connections still there, photos, etc.  It’s somewhat creepy!

Time to go... I have plans to make and people to see :)