The 6¢ American Wool Industry stamp (US #1423) was issued on January 19, 1971, in Las Vegas, NV. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with 11 perforations.   Wool has been used in Europe since 10,000 BC and Cortez brought it to America in 1521. This stamp commemorates the 450th anniversary of that event.  There are over 1000 sheep breeds in the world. Merino or Rambouillet make fine wool used in clothing because it is so soft. Romney or Blackface breeds make thicker wool and are used for interior decor, carpets, bedding, upholstery insulation, and protective ..read more

I love spring! I love seeing the flowers bloom. It is a sign of rebirth and new growth. Spring makes me feel happy and excited about life.  Unfortunately, it is also a time for pollen which means itchy eyes, sniffling, sneezing, and sounding hoarse.  I thought I’d share with you some pictures of flowers from my yard.  Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog (http://successfulteaching.net) by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com ..read more

I just finished my socks for Round 2 and submitted them. Now I’m just waiting to see if it was approved. I love a good challenge and my friend, Patte, says I’m product-oriented. So, I like getting something finished even if I dislike the process of getting there. I’ve learned a lot of new skills and techniques so I’m happy I gave it a try. It is a free challenge so I had nothing to lose. I made 3 pairs of socks over 24 days which really surprised me. Of course, I didn’t do anything else that needed to be done. After I finished each pair of socks, I had some free days before the next round so ..read more

Yesterday we went to the Postcard Show hosted by the Tropical Postcard Club. We got there around 10 am when it started and stayed until 1 pm. It ended at 4 pm but we had to get on the road before then. It was so nice to see our postcard friends. I thought there was a good turn out and I was glad to see a couple of our stamp club friends come to the show.  Don found lots of treasures that he couldn’t live without. I surprised him and bought 4 boxes of postcards from another friend for his birthday. Of course, our car is packed to the gills as we make our way back to our summer home and I f ..read more

I’ve decided to try a new adventure and I signed up for Sock Madness this year. It is a Ravelry challenge that involves knitting socks. You have to pass the qualifying round to get assigned to a team and then compete. I think each round gets more difficult and the deadline gets shorter. Qualifying Round: You are sent an email with a specific pattern. You have to knit it exactly as written with specific minimum requirements. After you finish, you have to take specific photos and upload it to your project page. Then you email the judges with a link to your project page. If it is before the dea ..read more

It was a lovely day today. I always (or at least try to) balance my checkbook every Friday and pay bills. Then I worked on our taxes. I usually start this on the first of February but I kept putting it off this year. Yesterday I gathered all the needed info and filled in a spreadsheet. That makes it easier to fill out all the tax forms. Today was the first draft of my taxes. I usually review it once a week and find a mistake every week. Next week I will plug the numbers in on the form that is on my computer. I spent most of the day I sat outside on the front porch. I knit, played games on m ..read more

Yesterday, my hubby and I repotted a bunch of snake plants. First, he drilled holes in the bottom of my new flower pots and then I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each one. He helped me put potting soil in each one. Then we had to separate the snake plants in these cheap plastic containers. We had so many leftovers that we planted some in the garden around the back patio. I ended up throwing away some because there was nowhere else to plant. Then we transplanted the firecracker bush from the side of the house to the garden around the shed. Hopefully, tomorrow when it is cooler, I will tak ..read more

For a couple of years now, I’ve talked about restoring the terrazzo floors in our Florida home and I finally got my husband to agree to do it. I put in 4 calls to different companies and I only got one to call back. They sent out a guy who offered to do it and we agreed. Of course, I couldn’t remember which company it was that showed up. So, we wrote up a simple contract and when he came out, we had him sign it before he started the job. We paid him half at the end of the first day and the remainder of the money on the last day. He did ask for a $100 advance on the third day which we gave him ..read more

We had a wonderful month of December. Most of the month we relaxed and enjoyed our hobbies. We had a quiet Christmas but it was nice. I achieved 82% of my goals.  I was one book short of achieving my last goal so I am happy with my results.  1. Learn something new. - I learned Tunisian crochet to make a couple of dishcloths. I’m still practicing my watercolor painting and my ukulele. COMPLETE! 2. Knit at least 1 sweater - I finished with my sweater. (Collins Tee) COMPLETE! 3. Yarn - more out than in (use more yardage than I buy) – COMPLETE! ●            ..read more

Being stuck inside because it is cold has helped unleash some more creativity. I finished 2 projects yesterday. I also continue to work on my crocheted mosaic blanket. I found out that if I only move the progress keeper every Monday, I see that I’m making progress. When I move it every day, it doesn’t seem like I’m doing much and I get discouraged. I think since I’ve been working on it these past 2 weeks, it has doubled in size. I finished my watercolor painting of the American Goldfinch. It wasn’t as good as the Vermillion Flycatcher but I noticed I had trouble with the feathers on both of ..read more