one day it is 60+ degrees out and the next it is FFFFRRREEEZZZZING!!!!  south dakota.  it’s not for sissys. 

just for fun (and for those that have so diplomatically reminded me that it’s been A REALLY LONG TIME SINCE I’VE MADE A BLOG POST…..here’s some of what’s been going on around here!

one of the few decorations we managed to set up this year.  Favorite nativity set.  Majority of it was a gift from Kris years ago.  Thanks Kris!  again!

i made the picture of the tree BIG because i like it!  sadly, this was the last year for this tree.  I bet we lost more needles and branches than if we’d had a live tree and forgot to water it did.  it was time.  maybe even past time.  i bought this tree after Christmas one year for $20!  I KNOW!  a steal.  a steal that was not to be had this year.  I have replaced the tree.  Overpaid even at half price.  and it is prelit with white lights not the multi colored.  I love a color lit tree.  really i do.  i tried to wind my own lights on the tree but it just didn’t work.  dang.  oh well, i might be over it by next year!

and  we made lefse.  LOTS and LOTS of lefse.  like about 40 dozen lefses.  Do you know how many that is?!?!  you can figure it out i’m sure.  it’s ALOT.  really.

mom is so good she can make lefse hearts.  do you heart lefse?

and we had programs.  Sunday school and preschool.  aren’t they just adorable all tied up for the occasion?

and lastly, look who stopped by on his way back to the north pole!  ian and kaiden were all over him immediately.  jabbering away.  liam took his time but eventually wanted to get in the mix of things.

and that’s a wrap folks.  i’ve got more stuff but am out of time. 

on the 12th day of ebay membership, my UPS girl delivered to me….

3 dozen salad plates

beaded, ruffled, ribboned

19 shining goblets

1 pedestal tart bowl

2 politically incorrect ashtrays (to be used as pillar candle bases)

I KNOW there is 3 pieces there.  i CAN count.  it’s just that one isn’t an ashtray.  still makes a great candle base. 

1 beautiful bride’s basket

2 (not 7) vases

a pitcher and 6 tumblers

5 ruffled candy dishes

4 candlestick holders

3 ice tea glasses

2 salts and peppers

and a shoe with a cat face on the front

one more time…..just kidding. 

judge me if you will….Whoa!  did everyone else just feel Kris’s CER (condescending eye roll)?!?!  ok, as i was saying…..judge me if you will, but just know that i know that there is surely some type of skeleton in your own closet.  it probably isn’t hobnail milk glass, but i bet if i dug around a bit, i could dig something up on you.  granted, i probably won’t (dig around) because well, that takes time, and i could spend that time hunting up a hobnail punch bowl and 12 cups so you’re probably safe from being exposed.  i’m just saying, i know i COULD get something on you.  i just CHOSE not to.  and that’s my story.  still.

now in the interest of full disclosure.  ebay is not the only place to find these pretties nor is UPS the only delivery service.  etsy is wonderful.  Fed X and the post man are top notch!  junk shops across the world are my close and personal friends.  and speaking of friends and relatives….you guys are SOOOO generous!  many thanks for the gifts!!

So i had a little minor surgery yesterday.  all is good.  I wanted to share the beautiful flowers that i received with all of you!  All 3 bouquets came from the Flandreau Flower Shop.  I should link up to them for you but i still have a bit of anesthesia stupid head going on.

this is actually 3 bouquets in one.  they are connected with greenery and silver sparklies.  stunning.

look, even has little red Christmas balls.  way too pretty.

I don’t even know what this huge snowball like flower is except GORGEOUS.  just gorgeous.

This sweet one came from someone else but the flower shop used the same white flowers (lily’s?) so they look like it was a master plan even!  lovely details like jewels on the petals and sequined flowers just make it sing.

and how fun are these “mystery flowers”?  They came without a card so they must be from you!  Again, little details like spirals of silver wire wrapped around the vase and in the center of flowers.  so creative.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!  I love me some fresh flowers!

I can’t hardly believe it.  but it’s true.  he’s 5.  he chose a robot theme for his birthday party and carin ran with it! 

the invite:

Moveable arms and legs attached with a “screw” brad.  Lots of cut out pieces and glueing.  after several late nights and calling in Amanda for an all nighter, Carin admitted her creation might have been a bit more work than she anticipated.  no matter, the invites got in the mail and in at least one case, the small one loved it so much that he spent the rest of the day playing with his new robot toy,  talking like a robot and walking like a robot.

and the cake!: 

emulating the invite, this robot boast 5 cake mixes, 7 pounds of powdered sugar, 2 pounds of butter, and 15 eggs.  and untold minutes of construction!  We have slinky arms and legs and a cake plate that looks like robot legs!

and there was CAKE POPS!

silver, green and orange pops in a galvanized bucket on a spring (i neglected to get that part of it in a pic) and in a silver paint can as well as in little orange and green buckets for the guests table.  The little stick tags had the number 5 and some gear images or said Thank You in a robot font.

and of course, there was PRESENTS!

arranged on top of the quilt carin made.  We again were behind on schedule and didn’t get the binding attached or sewed down but……that’s life right?!?!  I’ll do a separate post on the details of the quilt- you know because of my self imposed 10 picture maximum per posting!

Ian was quite the little host.  He called everyone to come and eat pizza, was enthusiastic about each gift (even the batteries!), and had hugs and smiles for everyone!

ian in robot mode

“humanoids!  Come eat cake!”

Ian on his way to preschool with his birthday treats!

I’ve decided to start my own blog instead of bustin’ in to Kay’s blog periodically.  You can find me coloring outside the lines at:

Quilting is my thing

I’ll primarily be focused on quilting (da’h!) and my process of making an art quilt or two.

I’d love to see you over there!

pretty simple deal really.  gramcracker spent some time in the hospital and a rehab facility during the last 6 weeks of her life.   As a family, we spent the majority of those round the clock 60,480 minutes with her.

We sang songs.  At one time kelly and i were singing.  I don’t remember the song, maybe kelly does.  We finished and gram said. “that was nice girls.  you’ll do better tomorrow”. 

We read stories and magazines and the Bible.

We shared memories and confidences and pictures.

We held hands and cried tears.

and sometimes we even argued with each other a bit.    A family of lily livered unopinionated people we are NOT!

When I would stay with Gramcracker overnight, i toted my portable sewing table and sewing machine with me.  and gram and I would talk fabric and stitches and quilts.  when she would sleep for a few minutes, i would sew using just the light on my machine and the light that drifted into her room from the hallway.  My pattern was very random and my corners do not all match up.  and i’m good with that.

I named the quilt “gramcracker squares”.  I quilted it very simply with just crosshatching.  I made a label (i KNOW! ) using a writing that I read at Gramcracker’s funeral which I had written many years ago:

My Gramcracker has magic hands.   Some people are very important. They have impressive titles or lots of money in the bank. Maybe they run a company or dress really fancy like. They live in big houses and drive Cadillacs. My Gramcracker has magic hands.  If you glance at her hands, they just look regular-like. Four fingers and a thumb on each one. Some of her fingers have rings on them. Sometimes her nails are painted in real pretty colors like pink and rose. In the past years, her fingers changed some. There are noticeable “knots” and “bumps and curves” in them. Sometimes she tells me that they hurt. That makes me sad.

I have a quilt made from Gramcracker’s magic hands. It’s the very best place in the world to take a nap. If you really need to rest, just cover up with this quilt and soon your mind and body will get the rest you need. It’s a magic quilt because Gramcracker’s magic hands cut the fabric and pieced it together and then tied the 3 layers together into a quilt. Gramcracker put some of her magic into the quilt to share with anyone who needs a little magic. I learned to share real good in kindergarten so if you need to rest, let me know.

Gramcracker’s magic hands know exactly what you need. When I was little, sometimes I wouldn’t listen so good and when her scolding was punctuated with finger waving, I got the message loud and clear. The magic hands must have opened up my ears real good!

Lots and lots of babies have been cradled in Gramcracker’s magic hands. From her children to grandchildren to great-grandchildren! Every single one of them found love and safety in those magic hands.

Sometimes no matter how smart you are, you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do or say. I found myself there once. My mind just couldn’t wrap itself around the problem. I couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t change it. I couldn’t control it. Gramcracker may have felt the same way. It’s a scary thing to be powerless. But Gramcracker’s magic hands knew what to do. They held onto my scared and powerless hands. That’s all. They just held me. Nothing in the world that day changed. I still couldn’t fix or control the situation, but Gramcracker’s magic hands held mine and they comforted me in a way that nothing else could.

Some people travel all over the world for fun. They eat imported chocolates in places like Paris and ride the Orient Express. They collect diamonds to wear to the opera or symphony.

My Gramcracker has magic hands.

that’s most of them anyway.  One wasn’t done at this picture time and 1 was already on it’s way to Australia.  and never mind the blurry area on the left side of some of the pix.  someone smudged up the lens and I didn’t notice it…..

Carin made several versions of this card.  These are Gramcracker’s hands.

love it.  seriously.

ok, here’s some closer ups of the quilt tops:

I made 2 of these from fabrics Kris hand dyed and didn’t like so she gave them to me.  yeah, i’m a lucky dog.  One went to Kris and one went to Carin.  And even though Kris didn’t like her fabrics, she liked her quilt top.

and this one went to my little brother Kevin (who just turned 50!)  These are left over fabrics from scott’s “ocean wave” quilt.

Kelly saw this one at the September retreat and just loved it so i put her name on it.  Lisa loved it too…..but i wasn’t making one for Lisa.  sorry Lisa!

And Karyl received this one.  I think these are leftovers from a quilt that is cut out but not started.  Originally these fabrics were a gift to me about a year ago from a couple good friends.

This one went to Crystal.  These were leftover fabrics from my nieces twin boys’ birth quilts.  yeah the quilt tops are done but not quilted.  and the twins are 2 years old.  good thing i made big baby quilts!

I made 2 of this grouping.  These fabrics were left overs from my Christmas gift last year from Carin and her family.  yeah, that quilt isn’t done yet either…..  I gave my good buddies Karen and Chris each one of these quilt tops to go with their red couches.

and this one went to mom.  She has a love for wild fabrics just like me.

i put the quilts in a graham cracker box (keebler because the elf is too cute to be!).  It was amusing to me that several of the recipients thought i gave them a box of crackers.  Kelly even thought how clever I was to give graham crackers.  pretty sure she liked the quilt top even better once she realized it wasn’t crackers!

so there you go…..  smoochies and hugs to you all!

Hope you have a great birthday, Kay!

Linda Sunshine:

If you don’t understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.

Pam Brown:  Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize.  Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks.  Borrow.  Break.  Monopolize the bathroom.  Are always underfoot.  But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there.  Defending you against all comers.

Pam Brown:  If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she’s wearing your best sweater.

(Quotes from About dot com)

I once again chose Butter Pecan cake and cream cheese frosting for the basic ball.  Seems to be a favorite of mine even tho I have no intention (well, you know which road is paved with good intentions) of eating any of the balls.   Anaway, then i dipped them in either milk chocolate, peanut butter or vanilla flavored melts.  And then the fun began….roll them in butter brickle bits, re-dip the tips and sprinkle with sugar crystals, cookie bits or coconut or drizzle with different melts.  I made 3 boxes of 8 balls each for the benefit that is tonight for my friend Sonja.

I also tried out my sister Karyl’s original recipe for Triple Chocolate Treat Cupcakes.  Now, you need a good bit of time in order to complete these babies.  Let’s start at the beginning….

There is a crust:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs

1/2 cup coconut

Mix together and put a small amount in the bottom of the cup cake liner.  Gently pat into a “crust”

and now for the BATTER:

German Chocolate cake mix

White Chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

5/8 cup water

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

1 cup mini semi sweet choc chips

Mix together and back at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.  Once cooled, core the cupcakes and save the “tops”

And there is FILLING:

1 stick of butter-softened

8 oz cream cheese-softened

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Beat well.  Put into a pastry bag and fill cored cupcakes.  Trim off 1/2 of the cored cupcake tops and then replace the top over the filled cupcake.  Gently press tops in place.

CHOCOLATE… yummmm chocolate!

ganache:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

Boil 1 minute.  Reduce heat to low and then add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup marshmallows.  Stir until melted.  Keep over very low heat and then dip each cupcake quickly into melted mixture and twist to coat.  Place on wire rack and ganche will quickly harden.

Finally!  The frosting!

1 cup evaporated milk mixed with 1 1/2 TSP cornstarch

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp water

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cup coconut

Combine all but nuts and coconut.  Cook over low heat until thick.  Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut.

8 of these delicious babies are going to the benefit auction too!

and now it’s 4:42 in the morning…..been awake since 2 am…….i guess it’s time for some mindless tv watching……i wonder what those kardashian girls have been up to?

“OK, his back is turned…nobody is watching me, right?”

“ummmm.  LUNCH!”