change change change

(you hear the music right?)

it’s hard to remember sometimes when changes occur. i’m not sure when my siblings and i took over hosting the christmas day celebration. i’m not sure when mom’s generation took it over from my grandparents. i’m guessing it just worked out that way one year and continued. someday i will have to give it up too.

but not today. i love the party (you’re all surprised about that right?!). i love the ring of the antique door bell as family stands at the door (they don’t have to ring it, they LIKE to ring it!) i love dispensing hugs and squeezes to each one as they arrive. i love the pile of coats on a bed because neither the closet nor the hooks will hold them all. i love the entry floor covered in shoes and boots. i love having to set up tv trays and card tables because my harvest table that easily seats 10 isn’t enough. i love getting hugs and squeezes as they leave with bellies full of hot soup and tasty treats.

i hope when it’s time to turn over the hosting honor, i do it with the quiet grace that previous generations had.

in the meantime, the party’s at MY house. (it’s mine all mine i tell you!)

dec12

oh christmas tree

yep. i’m a sucker for christmas trees. i LOVE them. i love driving through town and looking at big beautiful trees lit with white, blue, red or multi-colored lights.

my tree is artificial and i’ve had it for years. it was purchased at 75% off the day after christmas. it was completely stripped of all the ornaments and was looking all forlorn (like the maiden in the house that jack built). and i fell for it immediately. my sister kelly, who was shopping with me, tried to talk me out of it. she pointed out that it was kinda of scraggly looking. said it looked like it was missing branches because there was so much space between them. she called it the ultimate charlie brown tree. i was not changing my mind. we hauled my tree home and i took all the decorations off our “real” tree and put them on my new artificial one. and i lit that tree for weeks after christmas. smack in front of the window that faced the highway.

in february, scott asked me if i would P U L E A S E at least put the tree in the corner of the room rather than in front of the window.

i just don’t understand men.

dec11

it’s a wrap

or not! i love spectacularly wrapped gifts. i just don’t love doing it. at one time i tried to love it. for several years i was all about the wrapping. my girls remember getting gifts that were zoo animals-front and back. 3d even with paper fringe for the lions mane and googly eyes for a giraffe. those days are long gone. now unless it is christmas you are more likely to receive your gift in the bag that came from the store where i purchased it than a beribboned wrapped parcel. but this time of year, i put forth a little effort. not much mind you but…. i buy cute paper and scotch tape and even some bows. and then i try to manipulate scott into wrapping the gifts. he’s good at it. meticulous even (surprise!). i tend to slash off some paper, wad it around the item, slap enough tape on it to hold up in a hurricane and call it good.

so the paper is bought. as are 4 rolls of tape. i haven’t yet hit on the trigger for manipulation. i may have to do it myself this year. rats.

dec10

l-o-l-a lola!

i have a customer named lola.  most of the time when i greet her, i sing l-0-l-a lola.  she likes it.  at least she’s never told me to SS (stop singing) like other people have.  anyway……

here’s l-0-l-a lola’s christmas quilt for her sister-in-law:

the pattern is a block of the month from the lqs (heirloom creations) by cleo.  not sure which year it was or what the name is.

you know how i usually have to rip out threads when i’ve chosen the wrong color.  yea me!  at the last minute i changed my mind (before stitching!) and this gold thread was perfect!

pretty quilting pattern right?  it’s called a rose is a rose by karen thompson.  i purchased it through intelligentquilting.com.  it was delightful to quilt.

doesn’t it create wonderful texture on the backing?  yes it does.

yep.  uh huh.

thanks l-0-l-a lola!

please join me

for a moment in my life:  the clock relects 10:47 am.  i just finished lecturing the D O G advising him i would let him out of the kennel if he would agree to behave like a decent human being.  ????  dog is loosed.  ian needs to sit on the potty.  read potty book.  dog wants out.  let the dog out.  ian comes running out of the bathroom kicking the roll of toilet paper.  do i wrap it back on the tube?  or is it now dirty?  wrapping.  dog wants in.  ian escapes (with a nekked butt) while i’m letting the dog in.  run after child.  corral kid, dog gets out again.  dog comes in.  wipe wet paws off.  replace wet socks (on ian not dog).  flush.  and wash hands.  dog needs a drink.  ian wants hot cocoa.  nana wants booze-just a nip.  a scoetch more.  just top that off a smidge. 

the clock relects 10:50.   my socks are wet.

look who followed me home

last night!

and yes, that’s the last christmas ornament to be placed on the tree.  and it’s not even 8 am.

 

i’m gonna need some diet coke today!

do you set your clock back

at night or in the morning.  i’m a morning setter back.  really makes me feel like i get a deal.

 

unlike mary, i’m more of a sunrise girl.  and yet here are a couple sunset pix i took last night.  life’s kinda funny.

ignore the leaves!

my clubhouse tree

 

i’m going to spend my extra hour working.  what are you doing with yours?

hunting widows retreat!

so every year in the fall and in the spring, karen and i take turns having a slumber party while our men go hunting together. last weekend was “the” weekend and as chris’ man was also leaving town, she horned in on our slumber party. just kidding, we loved including her so much we made her host it! and whoa baby did we get loads done!

we started at 8am on friday and sewed until 3 am saturday morning. caught a few hours of zzz’s and went back at it all day and night saturday and until mid afternoon on sunday. our “theme” was buggy barn pattern. we all had 3 patterns all cut out and ready to sew. chris and i hit the ground running with “convoy”. and although we both had “ripping sessions” we managed to get all the blocks for 1 quilt pieced on friday. chris went on to work on the “roads” and the blocks for another convoy quilt and i switched off to another pattern. this is chris’ blocks all layed out:

and more “trucks and tractors”

and trucks and tractors need wheels:

and here’s chris’ fat cat on her blocks. don’t the blocks look swell with the wheels added?!

and i’m not kidding when i say “fat cat”. every morning it gets 2 tablespoons of yogurt on the counter. and cries if it doesn’t get it fast enough.

karen was a wizzbang as usual. she got snowflakes made:

and trees…..technically NOT a buggy barn pattern but we let her slide…..

and purses! sooooo cute but fiddly she says. i may or may not have to make one of these!

after i made 18 of the truck and tractor blocks (no pix….they look almost exactly like chris’) i switched over to flowers and made 60+ of these. they will have a cream or pink wool circle applique’d in the middle.

chris went with a halloween theme-she made table cloth, place mats and napkins out of a fun holiday line of fabrics:

as well as jammie pants and 2 pillowcases (no pix) for each of us!

we exchanged ATC’s:

and had a wonderful set up in her dining room.

and the TRINKETS! oh my. i was a slug this time and slid by with a lovely jelly roll and charm pack of the “authentic” line of fabrics by moda. i came home with a candle, pin cushion bling, a sewing trash bag/pin cushion, a little magnetic case for binding supplies, a honey bun of “swanky” fabrics by moda, chocolates, car gel fresheners, hand sanitizers, and i’m probably missing stuff but i haven’t unpacked my “trinket” bag yet!!

chris spoiled us and it was great fun! here’s hoping that her man goes hunting again when ours go but we know it probably won’t happen again until there is a blue moon and the stars all align with the planet pluto (which is no longer a planet so we’re screwed) next time it’s karen’s turn to host. i think our “theme” is closet projects. i just hope i can find something around here that’s not finished up……

oh what a beautiful

morning!  oh what a beautiful day. 

 

i just feel like singing!  could it be because i dropped off the D O G   for obedience/pre-field training for TWO (2)  whole weeks?!??!?!? 

 

it could be.

 

and it is!!!!

sigh

Tigger:  Say, who are you?

Narrator:  I’m the narrator.

Tigger:  Oh, well, please, for goodness sakes, narrate me down from here.