Happy Halloween

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust

There isn't likely to be many Trick or Treaters here. We had 1 last year. But I am ready! and my chocolate supply is set for a while most likely.

I always buy what I like because I am normally the one who gets to eat it.

It's been a crazy week. We have been looking at ways to escape the heat in the summer here. So this weekend we took the plunge and bought us a motorhome. It's a small one, which is all we need. It's just the 2 of us and pip. It will be great for a weekend get away and double as our guest house and emergency housing.  It's a B Classs and in really nice shape. Can hardly wait for the chance to take off in it. But we have to finish stocking it first.

So I have been a bit distracted from my crocheting the past few days. Though yesterday I buckled down and did some serious work on the project I have going. This is one of the ones I have planned for the CGOA design competition for next year. It feels strange to be planning so far ahead. Normally I am not so organized. But I know I need to top what I have done the past couple years. So I have two designs I am working on with that in mind.

I also got caught up on some pattern writing. One I thought I had written down. At least I did it in my head. But could I find the file. NO! so rectified that oversight. It's a motif that I really like, but haven't decided how I am going to use it yet. I have one other swatch also that I haven't decided what it will become when it grows up. Part of me says a vest or sweater but I hate sizing garments. So thinking long and hard about that.

Well I have a few more pictures from our trip up to the Grand canyon and the petrified forest.

When we were up at the Grand Canyon we stayed in Wilson. The had adorned their Route 66 signs with flowers. In the early morning light they were beautiful.

A not quite awake Marv in front of the Route 66 sign. You can see the an Elvis Manniquin in the back ground.

I was thrilled to see a snow covered peak here in Arizona. These are the San Fransico Mountains. How lovely with the forests in front of them. I was in my element up there.

The back side of the Range.

We got to enjoy some Autumn Color also.

And this brought back memories of my youth. I always loved the honeysuckle.

At one of our stops there was this little fellow perched on a tire of a truck in the parking lot.

He seemed quite content to be soaking up warmth.

Wondering minds would like to know

“I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

 

I have been plugging away here to get these deadline pieces done. My eyes were beginning to cross and I was beginning to ramble on more than I should, so I thought I would take a break and get at least one post done this week.

 

I realized just how easy it is to get caught up in working excessively when you are self employed like me and work out of your home. True we don't have travel time to get to work, but it is so easy to put in some extremely long days. I have been working steady since about 7:00 this morning, It's now 5:00 and I will probably put in at least a couple more hours today.  So I will probably put in a 12 hour day today. And the last 5-6 days have been about the same. Getting tired.

So how do you draw the line and not burn one's self out?

Since I really need to get this last pattern written up today or tomorrow it's hard to just walk away and take some me time.

Don't get me wrong I do love what I am doing. But I seriously don't want to become burned out by it either.

I already had one passion in my life become a job and I don't want to go there with my designing.

So how do you meet deadlines and still retain your creative freedom.

Do you set certain work times....? Days off? If so how do you meet some of these deadlines that overlap and demand every moment you can apply yourself to a hook to finish.

I want to know................

I do have a few pictures from the petrified forest for you. I finally took a few minutes and got them ready to post.

 

Standing on the edge of the Ravine. Not as scary as the Grand canyon here. Marv was so sweet when he suggested we finish our weekend up here instead of at the canyon. I had a much better time.

Painted desert. Marv got this shot

Blue Mesa in the Petrified forest. It was wonderful getting to walk down into the canyons.

Marv and Pop taking a break

And of course a photo shoot would not be complete if a flower didn't jump in front of my camera. They are such hams.....

 

Trip

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”
― Walt Disney Company, Mulan (Pictureback

We finally made it up to the Grand Canyon this weekend. We have only been promising ourselves to go since we moved down here. It was beautiful! But I didn't take my fear of heights into consideration. Walking the Rim was the best I could do. Even then I turned a lovely shade of green a few times. It's not nearly as much fun when you have to force yourself to keep going. Maybe it would have been different it we had gone in the spring at the end of our hiking season here. I was doing pretty good on the trails at that time dealing with my height issues. But it's been a long summer with little actual hiking so my bravery index is down.
Of course my camera kept seeking out and finding floral shots. You know I am just amazed at the beautiful flowers that can grow in such adverse conditions. The Desert flowers to me are a symbol of perseverance and strength to me. If they can bloom in such poor conditions there is no excuse for me not to be the best I can be in what life presents me.
Overall though we had a good time. The drive up was lovely and I got to see the San Francisco Mts with snow on them. That is the first snow covered peak I have seen down here. Thrilled me. We also drove through forest of pine trees and that always make me happy.

I love the delicacy of this. The subtle colors are awesome

The Grand Canyon in all it's glory.

Another shot of the Canyon. Layers upon layers

Another flower that said it wanted it's picture taken. I of course obliged.

We saw a mule deer and her three babies on our walk on the rim.

Mom did hold still long enough for me to get a couple decent shots.

Me on the edge. Holding on tightly and a nervous smile. But I did it by golly.

I of course took my current project with me and got quite a bit done while traveling. Always do. I am hoping to have this one done by the end of the week, Sunday at the latest. The yarn I am using is so soft. Feels wonderful worked up.

Yesterdays Storm clouds

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Well today has been interesting. After consulting with my editor I am reworking part of this piece. All to the good, but it's always hard to frog work already done.. But I am happier with the choice we made and think the piece will be better for it in the long run. And that is what counts! Right?  I wasn't comfortable with what was going on so decided I had best ask what she thought.  Glad I did.

I got a bit camera happy yesterday afternoon. The sky was just awesome and I couldn't resist. So I have pictures to share from yesterday.

 

This is the cloud  formation that made me grab my camera. Loved how the light was playing with the clouds.

And then Mr bird decided to add to the shot.

Rainbow over the superstitions. There was a double rainbow shortly after this. But the shot wasn't all that great.

Shortly after the mountain was covered in clouds and you could hardly see it.

Of course when we get weather like this we get beautiful sunsets.

Massive clouds over the Superstitions.

And more clouds, and yes we did get some rain from these clouds.

Another sunset shot. It was constantly changing last night

And a final sunset shot. Love the colors in this one.

 

Cloudy Day

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
― George Bernard Shaw

 

Today has been clouds and sprinkles. No real rain, DRATS!  But a cloudy day is always welcome here as far as I am concerned. I love watching the endless show it puts on. Continually blue skies to me are boring. I like change and variety.

Not just in the sky but in my daily life....

My hook had to wait today while I took the time to clean house. I know crocheting is so much more fun. But every once in a while I must clean the corners or the dust bunnies would take over. I have enough trouble with bunnies in my yard I don't need them taking over my house too.

Now me and my hook can spend the rest of the day together. Have a good movie on as back ground noise and putting some quality time on this project.

Since I have no new pictures ready I thought I would share a few flower pictures I haven't posted yet. I took these when we went up to the ruins in the early part of last month.

 

I have to admit I do get to see flowers a lot more down here than in Washington. Seems like there is always something blooming. Sometimes they are small and you have to really look for them, but I have good flower radar.

These are prevalent around here and brighten the landscape.

Datura blossoms seem to jump out of nowhere.

And of course a little ray of sunshine.......

 

Continuing to behave myself

This last weekend I did my semi annual trip up to see my mother. Great thing is I get to see all my sisters at the same time. In fact my youngest sister and I always plan this trip together. She lives in the Puget sound still and I am in Arizona now. We started doing this though when we both lived up there and it has become tradition. So now it's a little more complicated but we make it work and get our time together in also. The last few times my other two sisters have taken a day off that allows us a sister day too. All four of us together is pretty dangerous and if you embarrass easily don't listen to our conversations.
We lucked out this fall and had beautiful weather both for driving and flying.
So now I am ready to settle in for the winter. No real trips until after the 1st of the year.
My yarn arrived yesterday that I have been impatiently waiting for. Oooh do I feel special. I get to crochet with Alpaca. Lovely yarn. This morning I finished winding what I think I am going to need for this project and dipped my hook into it for the first time. It is pretty nice feeling yarn. Can hardly wait to see how it works up.
I also finished up another project this morning. Just have a bit of pattern writing to do on that one and it will be ready to head out the door.
This is making me feel better about the deadlines I have at the moment. I am such a worry wart about being late for things, that I why find deadlines stressful. Which is why it's so easy to let this blog slide sometimes as it has no deadline as such that demands that I pay attention to it. I need to find someway to keep my self motivated on it. I do like writing it. It helps me keep things in perspective.
Today I have some pictures from my Spokane trip. Mostly family but a flower or two again jumped in front of my lens too. I keep running into the flowers that have no sense of self preservation jumping in front of my camera all the time. Well maybe they do.........  For now they are preserved for all time.  I am only posting one flower though today.

Isn't this a lovely rose. I took this at the grave yard my father rests in. It is a beautiful place.

My older sister Conni.  Enjoying the sunshine and visiting

Laura, My younger sister.  

Mom with a beautiful smile. Really like this shot of her

Both sisters and my mom. Feel bad we didn't get pictures when Nancy was with us.

This is a shot of Mount Rainer I took from the plane as I was flying out of Sea Tac Sunday afternoon.

I've been told

While visiting my family in Spokane this last weekend my sister politely informed me I really was slacking on my blog posts.
Shame on me.....

Guess I am going to have to rectify that and get back to posting.
It is so easy to get out of the habit.

I won't try and cover all the stuff I missed. You really don't want to read a book. Well maybe you do, just not here.

I have been a busy girl since Reno and my hook hasn't had much of a break at anytime.
I have three deadlines looming and then I am allowing myself a break.
My kitchen needs some major work and I decided stripping cabinets and trying to do deadline pieces at the same time was a prescription for insanity. And  I really need to keep my sanity.  That doesn't mean my hook won't be working. I always have things that are crying for me to make. Just I won't have the pressure of trying to do anything in a set time frame.
I love that freedom anyways. I also love the freedom of just letting my hook and ideas flow on their own. I think that is why I like self publishing best. I can change things up until the moment I publish a design.
Though again I need to put my hook down long enough to get some of my designs up on my site. But Oh it is so hard to make myself put the hook down  and do the office work that has to happen to get a design up on my site.
Guess I won't have to look too far to have my New Years resolutions this year.
Well I have a few pictures for you from a trip we took a couple weeks ago up to Show Lo, Az.  We went through the Upper Salt river canyon on our way. I made poor Marv stop at every turn out going through the canyon. It was pretty awesome. The road is hairpin turns almost all the way up and down.  My heart was in my throat on more than one turn. But I behaved myself and didn't cry or scream. I really wanted to see the canyon and I knew I had to endure the drive to be able to see it. I bit the bullet so to speak and made myself enjoy it.

I fell in love with this Juniper tree on the rim of the Canyon.

The View the the canyon were spectacular. My camera couldn't do it justice. Well maybe my photography skills were the problem.

Of course flowers always jump in front of my camera. But I am only going to show you one this time. There were more.

View looking down river

The vistas can make on feel very humble and small.

But isn't this breath taking?

A Rare shot of me and Marv together. A nice lady offered to take the shot and we didn't argue. This was down in the bottom of the canyon.

Looking up river

And the four peaks posed for me on the way home.

Wasn't that nice of them

Love how the the cloud shadows play across the landscape

I also love seeing the water dancing and leaping down the canyon.

 When you live in Az water becomes even more special and you no longer take it for granted.