The Month of Roses

Yesterday was my 52nd birthday.

I was born in the month of
Roses,

my absolute favorite flower.

As I stepped out of my bathroom first thing in the morning,

I was greeted by my sister waiting in the hallway for me.

Bridget loves to be the first one to surprise me on my special day.

Knowing how I love roses they are usually included in my gift from her.

She is a baker and always makes something scrumptious for me as well.

This years lovely treat from her kitchen was this giant

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll

all alight with pink and yellow sparklers

to show off its magnificent glory.

Like I said before, I love cinnamon rolls and baby sister knows this.

I have another gift coming from her as well but it will be moved into the house

later this afternoon and when it's set up
I will be anxious to show it in another post.

As for the rest of my birthday...

When I stepped out on my front porch yesterday morning,

I found a darling little wrapped gift from my sweet friend Erin

who lives across the street.

You may have heard mention of her a few times as she is one of my

Monday night Knit Night Girls.

Don't you just love that brown paper with the white polka dots?

Then all tied up in that perfect turquoise twine!

She always makes everything look so delightful.

So what was inside...?

The gift of Natural Health and Healing.

An Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser.

Erin uses a lot of oils in her home and for her family's health.

She is concerned about my health at present.

I have been sick since June 21st.

I've been to the doctor twice in this amount of time.

I spent the first week in bed.

Due to the fact that I have a compromised immune system,

my body does not fight infections like a normal persons.

I have been battling bronchitis, a sinus infection and,

as it turns out, I have a new diagnosis...

Severe Asthma.

I am on two mega dose antibiotics,

along with a probiotic from the health store,

and strong steroids.

Thankfully, the bronchitis seems to be nearly gone
and the sinus infection is much better.

The Asthma, however, is not letting up.

I still have almost no voice and can hardly breathe when I walk across the floor.

I have decided that Asthma is not my friend.

Now, with all that being said, I still had a beautiful birthday.

Scott took me to a nice dinner.

All I had to do was walk in and sit down.

Some struggle involved, especially when I try to eat and breathe at the same time,

but still, we enjoyed our time together immensely as always,

just the two of us.

Every single year he does a special thing for me.

He takes the week of my birthday as a vacation week.

We don't travel. We just spend time together.

Sitting on the porch swing, grocery shopping, walking, talking....

Who could ask for more?

And it's been extremely helpful to have him home taking care of me this week.

I'll leave you with one last picture of me in the restaurant last night.

Sadly we didn't get one of the two of us together.

Keep in mind I'm not up to snuff here....

But I did have a good time.
And I am so thankful for all of the people in my life
who love me and do so many things to show it,
not just on my birthday but every day.
The celebration will be continued with my children
and extended family next weekend when I am feeling better.
My mother's birthday is next week so we will combine party's.
By then I hope to be a bit more bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend,
Danette

Beautiful Baskets

Is there anyone out there who shares my

Obsession

for

Baskets?

Aren't these the most

Beautiful Baskets?!!

And the really cool thing is...

they were

Handmade

by

My Very Dear Friend

Carey.

I am so amazed by her talent!

Each one is lovelier than the last.

It is hard to choose a favorite.

Carey has long been a

 gifted knitter

&

absolute

Queen of Crochet

but this too.....

Come on now!

So much talent in one sweet person :)))

And by day

she's a

Nurse Practitioner.

This little beauty is

mine all mine :)))

She made me a

Tea Basket

for my birthday!

And filled it with teabags

&

a handmade teabag dish.

She even signed the bottom for me.

As much as I love baskets...

there's nothing that compares to

Good Friends!

Thanks Carey ~

I love you!

Cotton Candy Coat

My sweet granddaughter

Gabriella

is turning 6 years old the first week of April.

She told her mommy all she wants is an

American Girl Doll.

She chose

Caroline

because not only does she have a friend with that name,

but this particular doll has

blonde hair & blue eyes...

just like Grammy.

Gabby is brunette with chocolate brown eyes.

I am tickled *pink*

that she wants a doll that looks like me :)

And of course I just have to make her some special clothes for her new doll,

which is tucked safely into hiding

in her mommy's closet

awaiting the Big Day.

I searched

Craftsy

and found this adorable pattern by

Knit N Play for only $2.99.

The pattern is very well written and has great pictures.

The sweater set was quick and easy to knit

&

Oh So Cute

when finished!

I took these buttons off a favorite dress

I used to wear in my banking days.

Aren't they perfect on this pink sweater?

The pattern comes with directions for two style of hats.

This is the beret.

I have enough yarn left to make the second hat as well

and will probably do so.

After all ~ a girl must have accessory options!

And so you know ~

I had a bit of help along the way.

Phoebe could not resist an upclose look

when Mommy went to the kitchen to brew another cup of tea.

If you look closely you will notice

a couple of stitches slipped off the needle

but as you can see the project survived :)

The weekend was perfect for staying tucked up into the house

with a lovely array of yarn and supplies

{and ~ yes ~ my pet menagerie!}.

 

Once again we have been hit by more snow.

This is what my

Spring Flowers

look like at the moment.

They are trying hard to be

jonquils...

eventually....

In the meantime I have more yarn for a new project.

One of my all time favorite yarns ~

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino...

absoulutely divine!

I have just cast on this morning

&

will give you a peek eventually.

Hint ~

there are more

Bunnies

involved.

 

Have a lovely week,

I will see you all again soon,

With Love

&

Bunny Kisses,

Danette

<3

February Fun

February has been a fun filled month!

And a very busy one.

I cannot believe I have not blogged since

February 1st!!!

I thought I would hit the highlights of my month

with all of you.

I finished this pair of fingerless mitts for my oldest daughter

Hilary

She loves them!

And, of course, there was all kinds of fun for

Valentine's Day

Goodies were made

{tea was sipped}

&

Valentine gifts were recieved.

This darling heart was crocheted for me by my friend Mary Anne.

The hand stamped tag on it says

"gentle thoughts of you"

I LOVE IT!

I  had  the great pleasure of helping my granddaughter

Gabby

make her first

Valentine Box

It was a lot of FUN!

She was so excited to take it to school.

A few days later we celebrated my youngest daughter

Chelsea's

25th Birthday

Gabby & Chelsea

Eric, Chelsea & Jose'

Brandon & Hilary

{a little blurry ~ sorry!}

And today there was enough snow for a

Snow Angel

Grammy's Snow Angel

 

I hope you are all

Happy

Healthy

&

Warm!

 

P.S. I have finally finished my surprise gift for

Sarah

of

Sarahsweethearts

 

I will mail it off to her

ASAP

and then show you what I came up with :)

Knitting Through the Storm

I woke up this morning to a great, glorious storm. Loud peals of thunder  rumbling through the sky, rain pelting the house and lightening crackling in the heavens. I don't know about you, but I like a good storm. And we have need of some rain. Of course I don't live in the path of a hurricane so I don't have that fear. We do get some serious tornados in our area from time to time however. That being said though, this has not been one of those years, thankfully.

On a personal note though.....it's been a stormy year. August 25th marked one year ago that we were told my husband had a "large mass" on his pancreas. On September 12th it will be one year since they surgically removed that mass, 60% of his pancreas and his spleen. Then they followed up with radiation treatments. In the midst of all that my RA took a serious turn for the worse {uh... Go Figure} and both of our daughters got married and left home within 6 months of each other.

WHEW! It's been a rough year at sea!

One of the reasons I mention all of this today is because actually,

 we have cause to celebrate on this day. Today is my husbands 52nd birthday!

 A year ago, I must admit, I wasn't sure he'd be here for this one. 

Pancreatic Cancer is one of the Big Boys.

.

We are PRAISING GOD today, and every day, that he IS here and CANCER FREE.

One of the things that remains constant for me

 {except when the RA flares to the point I have to take a break ~

 but that is even doing better lately :) }

 is that no matter what life throws at me, I just keep knitting through the storm.  

And as I knit, I pray....and pray....and pray.

I give thanks that we have made it through this year and pray we won't have to go through another one like it. I also give thanks for the family and friends who have been through the thick of it with us.

And I want to extend a special THANK YOU to all of you who take the time to chat with me here in Blogland. It has been my HAPPY PLACE. And I have needed that so much more than any of you know. You have lifted my spirits and given me something positive to focus on. You have given me a purpose to my day, kept me inspired and made me smile. And trust me ~ that is no small thing.

May you all be RICHLY BLESSED. 

I hold you all in a special place in my heart and enjoy the glimpse into your world each day.

So really ~ seriously ~ Thank each and every one of you. :)

I will see you all sometime next week.

We're going to spend the weekend CELEBRATING!

Okay ~ Let's Dish!

So ~ here it is ~ my first of 10 dishcloths in 7 days. Whew! {And I have one on the needles and one more I want to make so Hilary has an even dozen}.

This one I was hard pressed to part with because it really matches my kitchen quite nicely! But it was very fast to knit and I have tons of the yarn left so I will eventually make one for myself. It's the only one in the bunch that I used the good old standard LILY BRAND SUGAR N' CREAM cotton yarn for. I've had this monstrous cone of cream forever and I just happened to have a ball of the red lying about as well and I started this project the day before I discovered the I LOVE THIS COTTON was on sale at Hobby Lobby. So this first one is the odd ball. But I love it!

This one is done in a waffle stitch and I really like the texture. In fact, you'll see later in the week I did another one in the same stitch with a border and different color combination. I think the pattern will make for nice scrubbing.

Although today is actually Hilary's birthday {my firstborn is now 27!}, I gave them all to her yesterday when we gathered as a family to celebrate. She loved all of them! Being a new bride, she is still excited over kitchen things and the like! Ah ~ the good old days! Ha!

Happy Day to You All!