Have a Hap- Hap- Happy New Year!

Because of my surgery, we did not get to see our son and his family this year for Christmas. I'm happy to say that our daughter and her family did make the trip out to visit her brother, and this picture was one of the fun memories that she sent to me from "Kansas, she says, is the name of her star!" I added some details, and we all wish you the happiest of new years for 2026!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

December 7th? Already?

What can I say about December 7th? I could say that we are 1 full week into the month that brings us Christmas and New Year's Eve, with all the yummy treats these winter holidays bring with them!

I could say that today marks the wrapping of my 3rd batch of Christmas caramels (so far) this season!

I could even say that today is the day for a favorite craft show that I went to with Jess!

Or, I could say that today is the day before one of my most favorite-est holiday events of the year...the Annual Knitter's Christmas Party!

We have sooo much fun every year! 

Now, having dropped that info, I'm going to sign off. I am, after all, this year's hostess...and the PARTY IS TOMORROW! So much to do before I go to bed tonight!

If you're coming, I can't wait to see you! If not, I'll be giving a full report next week, so stay tuned! 

Wherever you are in your holiday planning and prep, and whatever holiday you may celebrate this month, I'm wishing you a very happy December!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Keys

Keys. We have keys. Not car keys, or train keys...

Not the keys to this little guys heart (though we have those, too...)

But the keys to our new place! We have the keys!

So the next couple weeks are going to be full of moving all the things! We have a good start, with some very nice gifts from our Realtor (thank you, Chad!)...

...and as you read this, I am either hanging curtains or putting things away in one of my many new cupboards or bathrooms, so I'm not going to write too long today. More pictures will be coming soon! 

Even though my time is limited this weekend, I did want to stop in to say hello and Happy Saturday to all of you! I hope that you have something to celebrate. Springtime. Sunshine. Kittens and puppies, or new yarn, perhaps!  

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Honoring Mom, I hope...

Mother's Day comes every year. It is always on a Sunday, and it should not surprise me, but it usually does. This year is no different, and I am ashamed to say that I have neither card nor gift for my mother or my mother-in-law this weekend. I am not an outstanding daughter or daughter-in-law, and I am sorry to both of you.

However, my failure to plan is not a black mark against either of you, so I thought I might use this blog post as my "card." I know...cheap substitute...but straight from the heart.

Mom, 

Thank you for being my mom. Pregnancy was not easy for you, but you persevered. This speaks of the love you had for me before I even existed. Your commitment to our family is something that astounds me. Before I was a grandmother, I am not sure I ever truly appreciated the mental and emotional strength that is required to love a family, to raise children into and through adulthood. I know there were probably times that you wanted to throw in the towel, because motherhood is hard! I know there have been times that I have wanted to toss my own towel, and I think my struggles were smaller than many of yours, but you kept going. Thank you for that example. Thank you for loving me and my sister, and for often giving to us out of your nearly empty cup. Love spent multiplies itself, and yours has filled my heart more than words can express.

Rita,

Thank you for having and raising your children, including the big one you handed over to me in 1987. I have done my best to keep him in line through the years, failing more than once, and he is just one. In fact, I am in awe of your fortitude in raising 5 children. I often thought about that when I was raising your grandchildren, and losing my mind with just two of them...I might have legitimately lost my mind if I had more than double that number! But you did not lose your mind. You kept putting one foot in front of the other, working full-time, keeping a tidy home and making sure that food was ready when 7 souls sat around your dinner table at the end of the day. Even if your only reason for persevering is "that's just what you did," thank you for staying. I do not know what all your specific struggles were back then, but I know you had struggle. Thank you for not giving up. Your love is at the center of our extended family.

To both of you,

As my kids (your grandchildren) have given me grandchildren of my own, I respect you at a new level. At the heart of our love for these newest generations, we also know well the perils they may face, and we worry. As I love and watch my son and daughter live through the highs and lows of parenthood, there is often little for me to do. Sharing their joyful triumphs and sometimes struggling with them through difficulties is less hands-on than when they were little, but I am no less emotionally involved. I am all in! And I kind of love that I know that YOU know just what I am talking about. Thanks for being good grandmothers!

A verse that I often hear pulled out at Mother's Day mentions the impact a mother and a grandmother had on the young preacher, Timothy. (2 Timothy 1:5) 

I'm not going to pick that verse apart, because this is not a Bible study blog, but I will note that Timothy's mother and grandmother were both honored with a mention. They persevered to raise their son/grandson well, just as you did. As I look back at everything that I have written today about why I am thankful for both of you and your positions as mothers and grandmothers, I hope that I have honored you as well. I love you both. Happy Mother's Day!

If anyone but my mom and mother-in-law is still reading, thanks for stopping by. I hope this honors all of the women who strengthen families, each in her own unique way, this weekend. 

Thank you.

Back to the knitting next week!

Celebratory Squirrel!

When you start a new job with two weeks of training, and you know you have to pass that assessment with at least 80%, a celebratory squirrel in your inbox is a very good thing. Celebratory squirrels bring good tidings of great joy and passing test scores...at least, that's what this squirrel brought me! 

The training seemed long, but it was not particularly taxing. In fact there were some really fun times, and I made new friends. I also knit 8 preemie hats and a pair of socks,

as well as a couple of dishcloths, although I have no photo evidence of those. Silly knitter! At the end of my day yesterday, I went to my new workstation (where I will do my actual job) and set things up for Monday. I am excited to be finding my new normal, at least as far as work goes. I am also glad to still be knitting more baby hats! So much joy in such tiny, tiny knits!

Oh! I know what I forgot to tell you in the last week...I had a birthday! And my dear daughter Dollface is the best gift-giver, can I just brag on her a bit? Check out the cool tee that came for me in the mail this week (a little late, but the totally cool factor cancels out the slightly late factor in a very big way):

The tee says, "Knitting is cool. Funny Kat Sez So." Even the tags are funny. One says, "Cold wash only. Don't tumble dry. Don't iron print. Don't slap pandas.," and the other talks about how the shirt was made by "happy people in matching socks!" I gotta wonder if those socks are hand-knit...I'll bet they are! Giant shout-out to Dollface: Thank you! I love it!!!

So, this has been a good week, and today it has snowed. In April. Pretty normal for this neck of the woods, I suppose, but slightly disheartening..Every. Single. Year. Ugh. I wonder what I could do with all this time stuck indoors? 

Oh, right...I knit! Great idea! Knit, I will!

Thanks for stopping by, and keep warm, wherever you are! Oh, and Knit in Good Health!

Hey, Look! A Distraction!!!

Didja ever feel...distracted?

We're all trying to get her to look at the bubbles,
but she's distracted...I think by the bubble blower!

Yeah, me too.  This week has been especially bad with the distractions. Lovely weather that begs a body to go outside...or at least sit in the window, looking for squirrels and birdies...

Spring fever has hit, full force, and it has me really looking around my house, and thinking that it may be time for some spring cleaning! Distracted by dust and clutter this week, I have been a little bit brutal with the stash.  Don't let that thought get you too upset...mostly I am getting rid of old yarn, gifted to me by the families of knitters who have recently started shopping Heavenly Fibers at The Great Yarn Store in the Sky.  I'm not getting rid of all of it, because some of it is really great stuff, and even most of the acrylic is great for toys...but the smelly yarns, the sticky yarns, the partial skeins sans labels...anything gritty, greasy or grimy, or tangled...these yarns are landing squarely (but softly) in the trash:

Every time I turned around these past few days, I found something that needs to be cleaned out.  From the small corner projects (like the baskets I use to organize mail in the kitchen), to the BIG DEAL projects (destashing is a task that always seems to "loom"), I feel like I've gotten a lot done around my house. :^)  There has been some knitting on the baseball sweater, and also on the hitchhiker, but not much. =/  Still, it's been a good week!  So good, in fact, that I decided to celebrate with Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins...I really wish you could smell these...Yummm!

Now that the weather is warmer, the bananas "turn" really fast.  This is the perfect recipe to use up those browning bananas...as a matter of fact, did you know that you can freeze mashed banana?  And you can bake in bulk to freeze the muffins, too!  Pretty cool, huh?  Anyway, the recipe follows this post, and I hope that you get a chance to try these easy-peasy muffins!

How has spring fever hit YOU this year?  Are you cleaning, or cooking, or both?  However it it hits you, I hope that you are enjoying yourself!  Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

_______________________________________

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12 average sized muffins, or 24 "mini" muffins.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  

Dry Ingredients:

1 c. flour

1 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and make a well in the center.  Set aside while you mix together the wet stuff.

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 - 1/2 c. mashed banana (1 small to medium banana, this doesn't have to be terribly accurate)

In a separate bowl, beat together the wet ingredients with a fork.  The egg yolk should be broken, but the peanut butter will still be a little "chunky" looking.  That's what you want.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the center of the dry ingredients, and mix together gently.  My 7th grade home ec teacher said to never mix more than 20 strokes.  Everything should be moist, but don't overmix.

Drop into lined or greased muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes.

(For mini muffins, bake 14-16 minutes.)

We go together. . .

Heard at my house, one evening this week:

"I guess knitting is just like riding a bike. . .a stupid, yarny bike!!!"

Since Dollface got married, I have missed our time together.  I know that's the natural order of things, but when she showed me this picture that she took with her phone the other day:

It really got me thinking that I'd like to spend more time with her when I can.  So, when she asked if I wanted to go to lunch this week, I was super glad to say yes!  Because we had so much fun at lunch that day, and since both Snake and Sweetie had previous engagements that evening, we decided to extend the fun with an old-fashioned craft night at my house - Yay!

We started with paints.  Remember the painted bowls from a couple years back?  Well, I still had some of the paints, and a few leftover serving platters from those sets of dishes, so we set out to decorate!  Here's what we came up with:

Not too shabby for a couple of semi-sometimes-crafty chicks, eh!?!  We were quite proud of ourselves, but neither of us was ready for the fun to end. I remembered when Dollface and I learned together how to knit, at a baseball tournament out of town, in the sun with all the other sisters and moms, while dads and brothers were busy on the field. . .and I asked if she'd like to try that again.  She said yes, so we got some yarn and needles.  She started slow at first, shy around the purl stitches, and a bit awkward:

. . .but eventually, she was knitting like the wind!

Even though she resisted a pattern in her knitting at first, she eventually insisted on casting on some of the stitches and knitting the simple pattern of the 1-row scarf, and then berated herself a little at fearing the purl stitch  Eventually, she declared (through clenched teeth), "I guess knitting is just like riding a bike. . .a stupid, yarny bike!!!," as her fingers started to automatically remember what they were supposed to do.

We both laughed, as we had been prone to doing throughout our crafty evening, and she claimed her knitting victory.  When it was time to go home, she took her yarn and needles, and let me know that this scarf would likely be my Christmas present this year.  I can't wait for December!

Now that I have yarn in her hands, my next challenge is getting her on Ravelry. . .I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!  What's your next project?

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

"You know, deck them halls and all that stuff?"

Lucy Van Pelt said it well, as she made her musical request of Schroeder for a simple rendition of Jingle Bells, and that's what we did at the Pretty Knitty House over the past few days. . .we decked them halls and all that stuff! Here's a look at how the process worked out for us:

1. Go into attic, and bring down tree and a few favorite decorations.
2. Assemble tree, and start stringing new LED lights, 200 total.
3. Sit Peanut in front of lighted tree, and seek approval. . .
4. Bask in aforementioned approval (!) for about two days.
5. Take down the rest of the boxes from the attic, and ask Dollface to help.
6. Do some decorating of your own, after taking ribbons from Dollface and cat.
7. Step back and admire completed tree.

It was so much fun to do this with Dollface last night! I think I even celebrated a little. . .I'm glad that no one had a camera to catch THAT on film! lol

Hmmmm. . .

Well, what can I say? I was really happy to finally have the tree done. I hope that you are achieving similar success with your holiday decorations.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Bright, Bright, Bright Sunshine-y Day

Yep! I've got sunshine, alright! It may have been a bit chilly over the weekend, but that sun has really been making a good showing lately. . .yay! That means Peanut can ride her new toy!: Of course, it makes for less time to knit. . .but I did still manage to finish the pink stocking this weekend, too. . .It may have been sunny during the daylight hours, but with the recent time change, it's getting DARK very, very early. . .and dark-time = knitting-time! (Sometimes anyway!) Heck, even when it's dark, we still have a lot of sunshine in our lives. :) Who could argue, especially seeing this face?: And you know what nearly-8-month-old Peanut is reminding me of A LOT lately?She's reminding me of another little girl I knew and loved, and one of my favorite photos of her, when she was (quite coincidentally) about the same age! That seems so long ago and far away. . .especially now that she is all grown up and married-like. And this week we celebrate her birth, yay! When she was a baby, I loved her so much that I could not imagine ever loving her more. Even so, with every passing year, my love for her has grown by leaps and bounds. Now that she's "all grown up," she's even given us a Snake-In-Law to love as well, and we are so glad to have them in our lives.

I hope that you are blessed in your families, and that you find your sunshine every day, no matter what the weather may bring! Thanks for stopping by, and

Knit in Good Health!

Just Married. . .

On Friday night, with one more wake up until the wedding, we went and set up the tables at the hall. We took the groom and several strong young men with us, and we got the tables in place and the linens and centerpieces looked lovely!

The bride and her family returned to the hall on Saturday afternoon to put out the cupcakes "just so" for display. . .

. . .and a bridesmaid helped Dollface with her dance moves!

Then off to the church, where she had her hair done, and flowers carefully placed. . .

. . .and the Flower Girl did the same! (That's the sweater I knitted for her!)

After one final check, she was ready. . .

. . .for her walk down the aisle! I think her dad was ready too, but the moment is always a little bittersweet for the father of the bride. . . Snake, however, was totally ready to see his dollfaced Bride walk down to join her groom!

And then they were man and wife! (Cue rose petals in the air!)

After the ceremony, we all danced the night away to celebrate love!

Thanks to all of the family and friends who had a hand in making this wedding happen. Thanks also to everyone who came to show their love and support for Mr. & Mrs. Snake. You mean so much to all of us!

A special thanks to all of the behind-the-scenes folks who went above and beyond for this wedding, in the name of friendship. Whether you were emotional support for the bride or her mom, or a key player in the planning, we could not have pulled off such a perfect day without you!

So, there are the pictures I have. More will come in the next week or so from the wonderful photographer we hired to capture the moments of the day (Harbor Light Photography), and I will share as I can.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

7 DAYS and counting. . .

I will not post daily from here until the wedding. I will post today that there are 7 days more, and I will post on Wednesday, as usual. And next week, you know, on THE DAY OF THE WEDDING? Well, there will be a post, but it may be short! lol

Today has been good so far. :) I've only been moving for two hours or so, but the laundry is in, and I am going to the farm in a bit for my CSA. . .so far, so good! Other items on the list are picking up Sweetie's tux; helping Dollface and Snake get their new apartment "just so," so they have someplace to go after the honeymoon; maybe catching a movie later; cleaning up our house in the aftermath of the daughter's move. . .wow! If it weren't so close to the wedding, I'd consider climbing back in bed for a NAP!

But if I did that, I might forget to blog all the knitting that happened this week! Oh, and there was knitting!

Knitting for the wedding:

Even the wedding garter is eager!

It loved perching on my knee. . .

Knitting for the baby:

She is a cutie, and she keeps growing.

She must have a new hat!

Knitting for stress relief:

A little Christmas in July knitting therapy for me.

Started in July, finished Aug. 4th, in plenty of time

to wear them for Christmas!

Yes, there has been knitting, yay! And there will be more knitting this week(although it may not get blogged). After all, there are wedding rehearsals and dinners, and cupcakes to be made and iced, and gifts to be finalized and put together. . .it's gonna be a wild week! But truly, I cannot wait for the Big Day. . .I may be more excited than she is. . .seriously. . .not!

After all, she has her bestest friends around her. . .

. . .and there is just so much "bride stuff" for her to do in preparation for becoming Mrs. Snake! I think she is having fun, and I think she is looking forward to the celebration, but I also think she is looking forward to the days (and weeks) after the wedding, when all the crazy party planning can be put behind her! In all honesty, I'm looking forward to that, too!

Thanks for stopping by Wedding Central today, and Knit in Good Health!

TWO weeks, and counting. . .

Two weeks?!? Yep, two weeks. I am sure. Not three weeks, not one week. . .two weeks until the wedding. Yay? Absolutely! Until yesterday, this was the scene at our house for the last couple of weeks:
Peanut with Grampa, and Peanut with Dollface! Look how high she is! But today she goes home.

sniff! sniff!

We should see her again in TWO WEEKS, for the wedding. . .yay!

Yep, there has been wedding talk, and there has been wedding prep, but mostly it's been cuddle-the-Peanut time at our house. This makes me smile!

The wedding plans are now all but final. The hall is all set, and we have a plan of attack for setting up and decorating, AAAAND we have all of the supplies we need for that on hand. The gifts for the attendants have been purchased, and are almost all put together. Everybody has a new dress (well, not the boys. . .THAT would be odd for this family. . .but they get to wear fancy suits!), and new shoes to boot! There are still a few checks to write and things to buy, oh and cupcakes to make, but we are almost there!

And just in case you really don't care too much about wedding plans, and in case the pictures of Dollface and Grampa don't make you smile, check out this video! If it doesn't make you laugh, you are made of stone, my friend. . .

Now, on this quiet Saturday, I am off to mold some chocolate, do some laundry, work on wedding crafts, and knit on some socks. I hope that your day will be what you want it to be.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Four weeks, and counting. . .

When you go to a fancy dress shop with your daughter, and you buy a fancy gown for her in this color. . .
Well, it is at this point that you can be fairly sure that a wedding is underfoot! Today we are at four weeks before the wedding, and there are many deadlines to check, and checks to write, and final plans to make. . .but I am putting all of that off because tomorrow is the day we will shower the bride-to-be with gifts for her new home. . .see the pretty favors?

It's gonna be a fun party, and I wish I could have all of you there to join in the food, fun and festivities. Unfortunately, time and travel and too little space have prevented me from inviting everysinglepersonIknow to come to the shower and grab a little favor to bring home, buu-uuut. . .

In honor of my 250th blog post (I know! Can you believe it?!?), I do have a special favor for one lucky blog reader! If you comment on the blog, or send me a message at PrettyKnittyJewelry(at)yahoo(dot)com, I will enter you into a drawing for your choice of 1 FREE item from the Etsy shop OR a nifty surprise gift from Pretty! The deadline for this contest is next Saturday (aka "3 weeks, and counting. . ."), and please remember to leave me an email so I can contact you if you win!

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck, and Knit in Good Health!