Snow-Smacked, the Sick-quel

Panoramic view of our neighborhood street
(as seen from our front door)
Or how Silly Hat Central was laid low by stomach flu.

Gastroenteritis is going around my little corner of Tat Land. When my neighbors complained about it raging through their homes almost two weeks ago I thought, "Knock on wood, it passed us by." But I was wrong.

Big Daddy shoveling the driveway
This past Friday and Saturday my little corner of Tat Land also got walloped with record snowfall. No worries! Silly Hat Central was well-provisioned and ready. Friday night The Sprout started vomiting at 1:00 a.m. and had the accompanying diarrhea. It wasn't pretty but Doctor's Mom and Dad handled it.

Last night at 2:00 a.m. Dr. Dad repeated the Sprout's command performance and has been down for the past two days. The Sprout is feeling better but still has a touchy tummy.

I am relieved to report that I feel fit as a fiddle today. Hurray!  Thank you for all your get-well wishes!

Big Daddy shoveling the driveway
(as seen from our front door)
The weatherman is calling for anywhere from 8 to 14 inches of snow to fall today through Wednesday.

What started out as the perfect snow-in, is turning out to be a gastro-ordeal for the men.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
On a brighter note, I saw this lovely blog post today on the topic of Tea on Tuesday. Christine does include tatting in one of her photos. I wonder if we could get her started tatting, so she could join in the TTT fun?

And be sure to scroll all the way down so you don't miss the GORGEOUS Bougainvillea photo. If the sight of that doesn't dispel the Snowed-In Blues, nothing will.

As for me, no tatting to show you today.

This stunning heart doily made by Carla over at Chiacchierino della nonna stopped me dead in my tracks. I immediately noticed (thanks to Sharon's superb tutelage in the Design_Tat online course) that the split rings leading down to the bottom trefoil would make a dramatic "X" if tatted in a different color.

And I did see this very comfy-looking yoga ensemble embellished with Mehndi embroidery. The design just screams to be tatted, don't you think?

Well, I'm off to squeeze in a bit of tatting me time before the sick men-folk awake from slumber.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Pamper Yourself Giveaway WINNERS

Thank you to everyone who entered! It makes me so happy to share the Valentine love with you all, since you have been so generous with your advice, praise and support of my tatting endeavors.

I entered all participants of my Pamper Yourself Giveaway into an Excel spreadsheet. Everyone was assigned a different number and those who were eligible for two entries were assigned two numbers. I then used a random number generator to pick the two winning numbers.

Prize pack number one goes to Tatting-Marie.
Prize pack number two goes to Jeanette.

Congratulations ladies, please send your mailing addresses to IsDihara@verizon.net so I can sent out your prize packages.

And remember, if you weren't a winner and still want to try any of these spa soaps, lotions, linen sprays or lip treatments, head on over to New Hands Soaps and Lotions on Etsy and don't forget to type in the FREEBIE code for a free dark chocolate lip balm.

There, my sales pitch is done. ツ

Pamper Yourself Giveaway Correction and a FREEBIE

Quite a lot of attention is on The Big Game in the US, but for anyone who cares, I must make a correction to the Pamper Yourself Giveaway.

In the prize package I incorrectly listed the linen spray as a 4 oz. (118.3 ml) instead of 2.5 oz (74 ml). Sorry for the confusion! The smaller spray is the correct one.

Also, if your name is not picked by random number generator tomorrow and you still would like to try any of these lovely products, Igoya will sweeten the deal by adding a FREE dark chocolate flavored lip balm to your purchase. Just type the word TATTING into the comment field on the order form to receive your FREE lip balm.

Please come back tomorrow, when I announce the two lucky winners!

100th Post "Quirky Fact" Tell All

In homage to Sports Widows Everywhere
First, a philosophical question:  Can you call yourself a sports widow if your spouse doesn't watch sports?

Here at Silly Hat Central, I'm the big sports fan of the house. That said, I only watch Steeler football, Penguins hockey and DCI World Championships^* when I can find them on TV.

(I'm a total pushover for the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet too.)

With my 100th post falling on Super Bowl Sunday, I thought a quirky fact tell all might be fun to share!

^*Some would argue that marching band competitions don't count. They never marched in a competitive music corps.

So without further adieu, I present . . . [drumroll]

This article was originally posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 on A Parently Speaking.

The Super Bowl and Snapple Cap Comments
Congratulations to Eli Manning and the New York Giants for winning Super Bowl XLII.

Today's Big Game was a good one. Neither the Giants or the Patriots are my favorite team, but I appreciate a hard-played sporting event. And who doesn't love rooting for the underdog?

Every year at this time I think about the Super Bowl counting system. When those roman numerals flash across the TV screen it's as if the NFL is screaming out how old I am.

That's right. That big, splashy logo is a neon sign of my age.

Does that make me as old as the Super Bowl? Well, yes and no.

A quick check of Super Bowl history casts doubt on a seemingly simple comparison:

Fact #1: I was born in July, 1965.
Fact #2: The first Super Bowl was played in January, 1967.

So, I'm not really as old as the Super Bowl. I was born 18 months before the first Super Bowl was played. But because of the way birthdays are counted and the month of the year during which The Big Game is held, I get to lay claim to being the same age as the Super Bowl.

It's an amusing little enigma. Just like me.

I used to pull out this bit o' trivia at cocktail parties. But let's face it, I haven't been to a social function in over a year and half. New moms don't often see the light of day, let alone sip drinks and make witty conversation. That's why we're called Stay-At-Home moms, isn't it?

Actually I think it's kind of cool being able to stay at home. (This from the career woman who swore she'd go back to work. Talk about life being stranger than fiction.)

And saying I'm as old as the Super Bowl is remarkable, if not entirely accurate. So, if I end up with Alzheimers, my family, friends and caregivers will have an easy way to remember how old I am.

Or maybe dropping my enigmatic factoid at a cocktail party of their own.

Got a quirky little fact that's your claim to fame?
Leave me a comment and tell me about it.

I'll post a "Most Likely to Make It Onto a Snapple Cap" list, complete with roman numerals if you really want me to.

Come on. You know you're Snapple-cap-worthy!

♫ 99 Tatting Posts on the Wall ♫

Crazy Mom Tats announcement of her 100th post giveaway sent me looking to see how far away I was from 100 posts. Surprise! A lot closer than I thought.

Since I have a giveaway started, I will have to find something else to amuse you all with for my 100th post. But what?

Here is your chance to heckle. Go ahead, yell something out from the inky black. Oh wait, (much like in space) I won't hear you scream. Better leave a comment. ツ

Tatting Tea Tuesday
Even though today was a perfect day for hot tea, I opted for quick and easy. A tall pour of iced green apple tea from the pitcher in the fridge. This stuff is fabulous hot or cold.

Green Apple Tea
1 gallon water
6 green tea bags
1/2 gallon apple cider or apple juice
(I use (6) Alpine Lace Spiced Cider packets, plus 6 cups water, if I don't have either on hand.)

Optional:
Honey, to taste
1-2 shots Green Apple Pucker (to give it a hint of "green apple" tartness)

This makes a lovely hot toddy with a shot of liquor added to your mug -- either more Green Apple Pucker or something that is more appealing to you, if you are not a fan of the neon green stuff. It is perfectly lovely as is. I drink this tea year round. YUM!

Sweet or Sinful Indulgence?
Now for the tatting. Last week Liyarra posted her gorgeous doily made from a Lene Bjorn pattern in the Danish Tatting Guild (Dansk Orkisforening) newsletter Orkis Bladet. I have had no luck contacting the guild (probably because I wrote in English). Would someone who speaks Danish kindly translate my request for me?

Here's where the tatting gets dubious. Instead of waiting for a reply or a pattern, I enlarged the image from Liyarra's blog and tatted the central motif from her photo. Bad, bad manners! My tatting grandmother would ground me. Here is the evidence of my deceit.

You can see that my chain tension is off (the hearts aren't even) but even so I can't take my eyes off  this pretty. It is so lovely in Tatskool's ChocoRaspberry size 40.

Tatting this motif actually tested my chocolate resolve. Couldn't stop thinking about Godiva Raspberry Cordials. I had to put it down several times to go hunting for chocolate to nibble.

This week I finished the edging in Bracken Crunch and am stitching it onto a quilted ball ornament. The pattern is available on the InTatters group under the Knots - Tatting Links tab. The file is called Beeton Edge. If the link doesn't take you directly to the page you may need to register to access the Knots folder.

And I finished two more itty-bitty shamrocks. The pattern is from "The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito."

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Crazy Mom Tats 100th Post Giveaway

Is giveaway fever spreading? I hope so!

Tatland's own Crazy Mom Tats knows how to beat the winter blues AND celebrate her 100th post. Hurray! A giveaway!

She is offering up a set of Workbasket magazines from the 1950's. Don't miss out on your chance to win!

Go sign up (if you haven't already) and wish her many, many more fine posts to come.

Pamper Yourself GIVEAWAY

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. That Hallmark holiday so many love to hate.

Not me. I scoff at Anti-Valentine's. I commend cupid. I'm in love with the heart holiday. And that means it's GIVEAWAY time!

So let the great Love/Hate debate rage on.

Love the skin you're in and enter for a chance to win this pampering set from New Hands Soaps and Lotions.

NHSL is my twin sister's Etsy shop. Not long ago Igoya and I were talking when she asked what could she do to get more exposure for her shop?

Being ever mindful of giveaway opportunities, I said she should prepare a custom set for me to use as a prize!

The gift pack she put together is simply superb for Valentine's Day. Who doesn't love to feel pampered?

Posh Petals Gift Set
This prize is simply superb. A "rip open the package and fall in love" kind of superb!

Take a moment to reflect on the thrill you feel when a HDT order arrives. Yes, it is on par with that!

The prize package comes with a 7.5 ounce bar of Posh Petals soap, a 4 ounce Champagne and Strawberries linen spray and a tin of Dark Chocolate lip balm.

For the fragrance minded, Posh Petals is delicately fresh, feminine and red-carpet glamorous. It blends essences of rose water, tangerine, lemon, pomegranate and aloe into a classy and elegant bouquet.

I love this gift set so much TWO lucky winners will be chosen!

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Cut-off date for entries is Monday, February 8th.

3. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 9th.

Want another chance to win?
If you post about this giveaway on your blog you qualify for a second entry.

Be sure to add a (2) to your comment, just like in LadyShuttleMaker's Mondo Monday Giveaways. Kindly include a clickable link or the name of your blog so I may verify your entry. Once verified, you will be added to my giveaway spreadsheet a second time.

Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

If chocolate, lingerie and a romantic movie make up the typical Valentine trifecta, this gift pack is a sweet indulgence light years beyond the Whitmans Sampler.

Even if you are feeling cynical about love this year, there's no better revenge than being good to yourself. Good Luck!