Bulky Blanket

My uncle in Canada passed away recently in December and I was trying to think of something to give to my aunt.  I was thinking about a weighted blanket - supposedly that helps in providing "hug-like" comfort.  I started looking around online but just couldn't agree on one with my sister.  I did finally come across these bulky blankets and found a really nice one but it was about $250!  And then of course I can across lots of videos on how to make one. Well, you guess it.  The yarn finally arrived earlier this month:

They weren't joking when they said "bulky"!  I figured the best place to start this was on the couch.  You can actually use your arms like knitting needles but I didn't want to be stuck with yarn around my arm for hours.  Can you imagine if I had to use the loo in between? Yikes! Ha ha!

It's a rather simple process.  Even the boys were able to help out:

The only trick though I'd come to realize after a while is the tension - this first attempt was obviously too loose.  The gaps were too wide between the yarn/stitching:

And I also have to figure out how to hide the knot and ends where I ended up joining the next skein:

Okay,... so attempt #2 was slightly better in getting the stitches a bit tighter/closer to each other:

Not too bad...

But oh snap!  I missed a stitch!  And I kept telling the boys to count and I obviously didn't do what I was telling them:

So we are back to almost square one:

Perhaps 3rd time is the charm! At this point, the boys decided they had enough and was happier playing computer games.  And I wasn't doing my back any favors either.  Note to self - need a higher spot to work on for next bulky blanket project (whenever that might be!):

We are finally getting somewhere.  Yay!

Two thirds way done but it's looking perhaps just a bit narrow?  I'm going to have to try and fix that later:

And oh, I tried to fix those loose ends and accidentally pulled on the yarn too hard and it started unraveling. Noooo...!!!  Especially for the amount I paid for each skein.  I hope this blanket holds up!

Well, here it is... ta da!!!  I had some extra yarn and went around it a couple more times to make it wider.  It's a good size for me and my aunt is smaller in size so hopefully it will be just perfect for her.  It was definitely nice and cozy.  I want one!

I suppose there's only one way to see if this blanket can hold up. Just leave it to the boys! Graham and Charlie said the blanket has a lot of holes.  Ha!

Both of them took turns to snuggle with it.  Can you see Graham's head?

And here is Charlie snuggling with it on the floor/rug:

It's a good thing I can dump this blanket in the dryer to be cleaned/sanitized.  Yes, there's actually a setting for that on my dryer machine!  

I hope my aunt can find some comfort with this blanket.  I can't imagine losing someone so close.  They had just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last year.  Bobby and I actually just celebrated our 14th today!  Photos to follow later.  In the meantime, wish me luck at the post office.  I can't even remember the last time I drove out.  The Covid situation unfortunately hasn't changed much in the new year :-\

Post-Christmas photos

Here are some photos from the day after Christmas.  Gosh, these kids have even more stuff now! 

The boys love Legos although Charlie was not as excited as Graham to build this crane.  I wonder if it had anything to do with the suggested age that was printed on the box.  I think it said 9 or 10 years old and perhaps Charlie didn't think he was capable enough as he wasn't old enough? It's funny how his interest dwindled a bit when he saw the suggested age:

On the other hand, he loves the Connect 4 game and is quite the master at it. I lost the first 2 games to him within minutes!

And even Daddy has lost plenty of times! It's funny when Bobby thinks that he has Charlie and the on the very next move, he gets beat by Charlie. Ha ha!

It's crazy what sort of Nintendo games these kids play these days.  Looks so complicated.  What happened to good old Galaga and Donkey Kong?

Graham is almost done with the crane!

Graham has moved all the Lego parts into the front room because we were all watching a movie in there.  Glad there were no emergencies during this time as this is the only way out the front door!

Here's my Groot planter.  I think he looks happy with his new set of "hair":

We are still trying to figure out more exercises with this bendy board :-)

Oh, so excited about this foot care kit and it actually does seem to work!  The gel socks feel a bit weird and squishy... and a tad tight because of my big feet.  But whatever is in that lotion seems to be doing the trick for my super dry cracked heels. I even put some on for Charlie's feet. His are just as bad as mine!

Yummy chocolate.... which unfortunately didn't last long.  I wish there was a magic chocolate bag that would just keep popping out chocolate truffles.  Wouldn't that be nice!

Graham and Charlie are still trying to figure out this computer turned board-game Minecraft.  They gave up pretty quickly as I don't think either one of them read any directions. Typical boys (and men!) :-P

For whatever reason I had been craving for Boston Market.  I think it was mostly because the turkey that we had for Christmas (part of the takeout) was not very good at all.  And come to find out, the one Boston Market nearest to us is only about 20-25 minutes away!  And Bobby was super impressed with all their Covid/sanitizing protocols.  That's a plus!

Trying to get the boys to be outside more and so "Santa" got this Spike Ball kit.  I guess I will need to try it out too. Maybe that will encourage the boys to play more outside: 

I have to say, I've been pretty lazy too. It's been difficult to get back into the whole exercise mode.  I do miss my walks with my friends along the beach and along the bay/cliff.  I suppose staying up late doesn't help.  But look at how cold it is outside... 49F!  Thankfully the temperature inside has been holding steady between the mid to high 60s.  We're definitely getting our monies worth from that new attic insulation!

Graham started on his wood-working build/project but has yet to finish it.  So far he has only been interested in the music box that plays "Little Bunny Foo-Foo".  Too cute!

Here's another project he has been working on for school - it's a paper mache of Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit.  Still needs some work.  Hmmm....

And here are the keychains we made from our Christmas stocking stuffer.  Love them! The fox face and the bear (to the left) are the boys' and since we had some leftover beads, I made the ones to the right.  I'm not sure what they are - a dog and a cat perhaps?!?

That's it for now!  Gosh, these kids are so spoiled with toys!  Okay, perhaps I am too with my stuff :-P

"Mama making Christmas"

Bobby sent this photo to me on Christmas eve.  And his text was "Mama making Christmas".  He had snapped the photo while I was wrapping up presents and writing down who the presents were for and from:

The photo gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.  I'm glad someone appreciates me.  Ha ha!  I wonder how long before Charlie finally figures out that Santa is not real so I don't have to be sneaky with all of the present.  LOL!!!

Happy New Year!

Ready or not 2021... here we come!  Well, looks like things are still the same this morning.  Boys are still on the couch watching TV.  I guess nothing surprising there, so perhaps that's a good thing?!

First meal of the day... homemade buttermilk biscuits!  I've been making a lot of these lately since my good friend Linda gave me a cast iron pan and also a Danish whisk. The biscuits are especially yummy with a good dollop of strawberry jam. Yummm....!!!

Hopefully this won't be too much of the norm - Charlie  bouncing from one couch to another and playing on the Nintendo Switch:

I'm not sure if Bobby actually bought the Nintendo Switch for the kids or for himself.  He also bought the Golf game which supposedly is for me.  Uh huh, ya right:

We've been missing our favorite restaurant all year so we decided to drive out to Season's 52 to pickup some take-out.  Even without traffic, it still took us about 40 minutes to get there!  But it was worth every bit of it.  We found a park near by where the tables were spread out pretty far from each other.  Perfect!

And the food did not disappoint.  Graham pretty much inhaled his mac-n-cheese.  Here's my shrimp and grits.  Trust me, it taste better than it looks!

Here was Bob's flatbread.  It was a bit on the crunchy but still super delish:

And as usual, the mini desserts are always a super hit! They only had a limited selected but thankfully the S'mores and Oreo ones were still on the menu.  

Once the boys were done, it was time to do what boys do - running around like crazy kids!

We decided to take the long way home, via Long Beach - just to catch some holiday lights.  There were actually some super pretty lights at the Musical Theatre West along the way.  Maybe next year we'll have o take some holiday photos there.  And Bobby and I keep saying that we should come down along this one particular street to check out some of the restaurants, but we never have yet.  It's so easy to just keep to the restaurants we like and obviously not have to drive so far for a meal either.  And then of course, with only take-outs available right now, who knows when we will actually drive out here for a sit-down meal:

Another reason to go home the long way is driving over the new bridge.  I know,... it's always about driving over the new bridge lately :-)

Seems so deserted on the old bridge:

I think we drove about 75 miles for the round-trip.  Woah!  Well, I guess it makes up for all the times we have been at home.  I don't think we've been out as a family since the school holidays started! Bobby and I talked about taking the boys out to play golf but that never happened.  And now the 2-week break is over and school restarts tomorrow/Monday.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet!  It's been nice staying up late at night reading and then of course sleeping-in in the mornings. And unfortunately, I haven't been up doing any of the projects I thought I would be.  Although, I've been working on an wedding anniversary surprise, which is coming up in 3 days!

It's so easy to get into a lazy routine.  Hopefully when school starts back again, I will get off my butt too!  Oh, the boys mentioned that their new resolution for 2021 is to "Pay more attention to school" and I said I would exercise more.  And supposedly I'm suppose to take the boys out for a walk before school starts at 830am every Mon, Wed, and Fri.  Let's see what happens tomorrow morning!

Happy New Year eve (Dec 31)

Wow, can you believe it? It's almost 2021!  What a crazy year 2020 has been.  Hopefully this new year will be better. Fingers crossed! If anything, we had a nice New Year eve's dinner.  We had ordered take-out from one of our go-to restaurants.  Yeah,... been pretty lazy about cooking big meals!

I finally had the boys fill up their Groot planter with their succulents.  Too cute!

My one goal for the day is to just clear up this dining table.  I came to realize that our Christmas dinner didn't even feel like an important event because the same daily mess was on the table:

So this time, I even lit candles! Graham "Thinker" of Groot is also so cute!

Family we-fie!!!

Charlie is so excited to have sparkling grape juice again.  This drink is so sweet, which is probably why the boys love it so much:

And Graham is showing Charlie how to properly hold the wine glass.  Graham is so sophisticated and wise beyond his years.  Ha ha!

The salmon was a big hit but we still have so much braised beef left.  Probably lots of taco nights coming up!

Salad and bread was good too.  I especially liked the salad dressing although have no idea what it was.  Hmm... some sort of creamy vinaigrette?

Time for dessert!  The dessert that came with the take-out was tiramisu.  Mommy's favorite! But Graham opted for the leftover holiday shortbread and some chocolate.  This kid LOVES these cookies and these Lindor chocolate:

The tiramisu was super yummy! We only let Charlie have a little as it has coffee in it:

End of the night and time to blow the candles out.  What is it with kids and blowing out candles.  It's like a competition!

Cheers to a better 2021! Hopefully these vaccines start working soon as it might be our only answer to this pandemic.  So many people are still not complying to the simple act of wearing a masks let alone social distancing! I hope our boys will continue to do well with distance learning at home too.  Obviously there are still some challenges but compared to some of the horror stories that I've heard/read, we have been quite lucky with these two monkeys.

Happy New Year everyone!!!