Category: Uncategorized

Erick is home from Vegas! Our home is complete again! I got a treat size of Haribo gummy bears, and a slogan bracelet in support of testicular cancer. One of the children in Vegas gave that to Erick, and since it barely fits him I am wearing it for the both of us.

Lol Erick sang the wiggle song! I missed hearing that song!

Things are just the way I like them again!

I had fun while Erick was gone too, just not the same quality of fun as I have every day at home.

Home truly is where the heart is!

Today is a busy day. I have multiple projects going for my ministry group, and am working on patterns to publish (or republish) for the autumn and winter. There are also my responsibilities to Erick’s and my household that I am working on. And so far so good!

I have been having a magnificent time this week! The weather is bright and cool in the morning and pleasantly warm in the afternoon. The wild birds are returning from their migration journey. There are starting to be foliage, and grasses again. I’m always happiest when we have mild Springs like this; the only thing that would make it perfect would be a gentle spring shower or few. But God may have that in store for us later.

I’m Irish ☘️ on my father’s side. He and I were peas in a pod growing up. And when Katie was found under a cabbage, she, dad, and I were three of a kind. That’s how it always felt to me. My mother was most peaceful on this day historically, if you could say a women who could out bluster the North Wind was ever peaceful ☺️ but I think that’s what attracted my father to her; she was a force to be reckoned with.

I grew up admiring all the adults in my family and wanting desperately to grew up! Today I miss so many of them! The Irish family and the Filipino family! But it is today that I try to count blessings more than sorrows. One traditional family dish that we made often on this day, was “stone soup” only we eventually started leaving out the stone and adding potatoes in its place. We made it our tradition that each child added a potato to the soup first and foremost. Then mom added cut carrots; and dad added seasoned beef, and beef broth. Sometimes we added onions, but those stopped making the ingredients list after we adopted our first dog, and we learned onions make dogs very ill, and too many can kill them. Luckily none of our dogs died to onion poisoning! Saints preserve them!

As the years passed, I developed into an uncommon person in my neighborhood. I celebrated “strange ways” and I had “odd hours.”

Despite all this I tried my best to keep Christ and his saints in my heart ❤️ and today I feast with one of my favorite saints, St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland 🇮🇪. Because as someone once said, “ We’re all a little bit Irish ☘️ on St. Paddy’s day, some of us just more than others.”

I had a great birthday weekend! Thank God for another year and another chance to celebrate with my friends and family!

The weekend before last, Kate took me out to Mon Chou Chou. I brought baked goods to my ministry Friday. Erick surprised me with Chinese from my favorite restaurant over the weekend. This was one of my best birthdays ever!

I didn’t buy that much expressly for my birthday, but I did buy several things for me for Easter. I also paid my share of the bills.

The good news is I am not overdrawn.

I have been working on a crochet pattern for spring in the interim. It’s a work-in-progress at the moment and has gone through a couple iterations on my blog Which Stitch Crafts, but it’s not garnered the attention of many people there, so I’m hoping to reinvent it and bring it new life here.

That is what a lot of Spring’s energy is doing in my opinion this year. Renewing. Rebirths and rebuilding.

Erick and I had a tough 2025. This year I am focusing on rebuilding my relationship with him and the rest of the people in my life.

That said, posting on Facebook and Instagram and even this site is going to become more infrequent.

My family is the most important blessing in my life. I will not let that be taken from me at any cost. I wasn’t ready to go back to work. And I still don’t know that I actually am working. But, nobody in my family tolerates my blogs well. They do their best to support me, and have meaningful conversations with me. I am just very much out of sorts here. So, if this blog and my others survive this time of testing then I may have more to offer you, my readers. In the meantime, go easy on me.

Today the weather is starting to warm up here in San Antonio. Things are starting to look much more spring like, and I am wanting to work with cotton or linen again.

Did you know it is possible to knit with cotton or linen? Whoever would have thought? However it’s best to knit with blends of these two fibers if you’re knitting by hand, as the fiber tends to be rigid unless wet, and they both have a decent tensile strength so unless you soften the fiber some it can snap needles, even the more durable aluminum ones.

That is why cotton and linen is traditionally crocheted, but as I said if you’re more in the mood to knit; give it a go, and solider bravely on!

Today’s a busy day at Allied Crafts! I am working on several different projects, and gathering inspiration for my next free pattern.

Erick, June Bug, Sasha, R2, Freckle, and Ned have been doing alright the past few days. Erick has been having sore muscles lately and he is still recovering from an injury to his foot that happened years ago; we treat it as we are able, but the process of healing is ongoing. Thank you for any prayers you can offer for his continued healing.

I’m a little behind the season in my projects, however I’m working on something that might save me some digging through store shelves and sales bins. I’m not sure what it is yet, but it uses Peaches and Cream cotton in worsted weight, because that’s what I had in my stash. Right now, I’m just playing with the yarn, looking at patterns and trying different shapes and styles for the object-to-be.

This may also be the end of an era. I am considering switching from glasses to contacts. We’ll see what my optometrist says.

R2 is feeling grumpy, and Sasha can’t relax with him in that mood, so I kenneled the dogs, and made sure the other pets were provided for, and now I am crocheting in the club room so R2 can have some alone time.

Erick likes to scream whenever he’s mad at me, “just because you’re not living the life you imagined at six doesn’t mean you’re worthless!” Funny thing is, I mostly am; except the Croft is a yard, the home is an apartment in the city—but still a home—and Erick has marry me. That’s not so bad, he’s right. We could do a lot worse than that for ourselves, and God willing we won’t.

So, as a young woman in college—which is the time of my life Erick and I met, I changed the “o” in Croft to the “a” in Craft and have been knitting and crocheting ever since. That’s all it took to turn my life around. It’s been an incredible journey! I made new friends and some not-so-much friends and even met a few people who down right despised me for “what I was doing to _______________ (insert name/object/being/place here)!!”

However, my art is my crafts, my crafts are my art, and my relationship with God is personal; which in my opinion is how it should be. And that’s the way it has been for years now, decades even.

When I was younger, I used to dream of leaving something lasting behind—a legacy built on love and understanding; to which people used to scream at me from moving cars and throw drinks or other detritus at me, “add faith!!”

But I don’t feel I need to run through the streets like some kind of crazy person screaming “Jesus saves! Jesus is All! Jesus Heals!” Others are welcome to if they want. But, Jesus and I have a much quieter, simpler relationship and we like it that way.

In my opinion that is the essence and purpose of any spirituality, and that is the Path I walk.

I don’t like Masses. They’re too crowded. Churches are okay, but I would rather be out in God’s Creation. I’m a very personal, private person when it comes to my relationship with Jesus. And so, now that I have proclaimed myself. I will be silent until Sasha or June Bug misbehaves again.