As usual, we'll be tucked in at the farmhouse wearing our favorite sweats, watching a movie or other program, sharing a quiet meal, and we'll stay awake to kiss in 2025. If you're going out, please be safe so we can all share our next year (and more) together.
See you "next year". lol
Handsome wanted to take one more day to be sure he's over whatever he had going on, so part of my Sunday was spent in Portage celebrating the holidays.
I woke up to dense fog, but the weather weenies promised it would clear off by noon. I left home around 11:30 and drove in it for an hour until I was nearly to Portage. Thankfully, the roads were lightly traveled, and everyone had their lights on for the best visibility. My trip there was uneventful.
Adrienne hosts the family Christmas party at her home every year, and most everyone shows up. I had to giggle when A's daughter, Belle said to me, "I always thought we were related!" I told her we are by choice and that I'm her honorary auntie.
Every year, four generations of these women (plus yours truly) have our photograph taken for the memory books. This year was no exception, and we don't part company until the deed is done. I love this one!
Handsome called to see when I'd be coming home because, although the fog had cleared in Portage, it was still thick as pea soup at home. He was concerned that I'd be driving back in the dark, so he urged me to leave soon and be careful.
I left Portage around 3:15, and admit I had a lead foot as I neared a section of highway where I should have known better. As I rounded a gentle curve in the road, I saw a squad clocking traffic. I knew he had me, so although I slowed down, I was still over the limit. I checked my rearview mirror and watched him come off the shoulder, turn around and follow me. Soon after, he lit up his colored lights. I immediately pulled over and waited with my license and proof of insurance in hand.
He walked up to my open window with the "afternoon, ma'am" and I replied with a "Hi. I know I was speeding." He asked if I was in a hurry for any particular reason, and I explained that I was trying to get home before dark - considering I knew it was thick fog at home, an hour from where he stopped me. He asked me to hold on as he walked back to his cruiser.
I wasn't really concerned. I'd earned a ticket if he was in the mood to hand them out, but I also knew that I haven't had any interaction with law enforcement in at over a decade, and even then, there hadn't been a ticket.
He walked back to the Explorer and handed me my documents. He said he was just going to give me a verbal warning, and I promised him I wouldn't speed the rest of my trip. (I didn't either.) He walked back to his vehicle, I properly signaled before entering the highway, and was on my way again. So, that was my only excitement on this trip. I got to chat with a really nice police officer.
The balance of my trip was fog-free until I got to our side of Fond du Lac, and I drove home in thick fog again for the last twelve miles. I pulled into the garage and was greeted by a relieved husband. We spent the rest of our anniversary together at home, with plans to have a special dinner once he's completely healthy. Neither of us really cared about going out. We were content to be together.
I don't work again this week until Friday, so I have plans for things I'd like to accomplish. There will be baking, some canning, and definitely laundry. As for needlework, I will have needle and thread to fabric this week, but I'll share more on that later. Happy Monday!
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| Luke 2:14 kjv |
Happy 40th, Handsome.
You had me at "hello", and you're still the one.
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| "Cozy Christmas" Art by Jenn Weissenbacher |
The perfect place to be on a cold winter night...tucked in your warm home with a pantry filled with tasty treats. All your neighbors are safe and warm, too. "A gentle fire, a little food, and an immense quiet". (These are the words I chose for my "Hearth and Home" sampler design - BW-7 HERE. Perhaps I'll make my sampler designs available again in 2025. You can see all my designs by clicking the link in my sidebar.)
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| ...and to all, a good night! (l-r: Bella, Claudette, Carly, and behind Handsome on the ottoman, Crystal) |
Handsome is feeling much better now, and he wants to say "Thank you" for all the get well wishes. There's really nothing that a little TLC can't make better.
We moved furniture around yesterday so that I could troubleshoot a frustrating Directv setup in our living room. It seems every time someone sat down on the sectional, the television signal went out. The wiring and signal box was behind one end of the sofa, and it must have been bumped every time. So, I got a wild hair and said, "Time to get this sorted out."
After all the furniture was rearranged, the television was working again...until I went to hide all the wiring. It went out again. Handsome suggested changing the longest coax cable that goes into the receiver, so he went into his stash of cables and returned with a shorter one. I did the connections, and voila! Not only is the connection stable again, but we've got the best picture we've had in ages. Problem solved, room rearranged, and no more dog hair in a single corner or crevice of the room!
By the time this was all accomplished, we were both bushed. We had a light meal and then sat down to watch a little television. My chair is across the room from Handsome's (you can see my footstool in the bottom left corner of this photo), and this was my late night view from there. That's a whole lot of sleepin' going on!
Seeing that Handsome is feeling so much better takes a lot of worry off my heart. We'll continue with the liquid and light food diet until we're positive he's out of the woods, but I'm very happy with his progress at this point. We'll just watch him improve one day at a time and count our blessings.
Christmas Eve was to be spent together with #1 Son and his family. Handsome woke up with the same issue we've been dealing with - sometimes surgically - for the past ten years. Thankfully, he's completely healed from the brain issues, so that wasn't a concern. However, he won't be eating any solid food for at least the next week, so he insisted I go alone to our planned gathering.
I left home around 1:30 in the afternoon and was back in our driveway around 6:30 or 7 that evening. We had a lovely time, got in lots of visiting, and I managed to take a photograph of their family before leaving. #1 Son was trying to make sure their older Golden behaved himself for the picture, and I got this shot right before that boy (the dog) bolted toward me for kisses.
Grandson immediately went and put on his Grammie's Jammies as soon as he unwrapped them, and they were a soft, warm hit. He said they were perfect. (Grandma sighed in relief that they fit and he loved them.)
Of course, I was concerned about Handsome, so that evening he and I discussed how he was feeling, hoping that he'd be better on Christmas Day. As it turned out, he wasn't, so I called #2 Son's household and had a conversation with Daughter-in-love #2. I'd offered to drive to their home to drop off the gifts and we'd postpone our dinner. She said it wasn't necessary that they get their gifts right away - they're all grownups, after all - and we could wait until Grandpa was feeling well enough for us to have the dinner we planned. I expressed our regrets, and the new plan was agreed to.
So, Christmas was very quiet for us. Instead of a farmhouse filled with people and the hustle and bustle of the holidays, there were naps, tea and the quiet, thankful togetherness. Thankful that he didn't feel he needed to go to the hospital (yet anyway), and that we have another Christmas with each other. We're grateful for every, single day.
We hope you had a lovely Christmas. 2024 is nearly over, and I feel like there's still stuff to do, but I'm not going to stress over it. Instead, I'm going to go with the flow. We'll see what's next as it comes, and hope for the best. I've said before, "I never challenge worse. Just when you say it can't get worse, it always does." So, I'll be pampering my dear husband, and helping him over yet another speed bump. It's what we do.
Happy Boxing Day!
This is a Christmas photograph of me with my younger brother. Here we are - the eldest and the youngest of the "kids" in my family. This is the best pose we could get of the silly guy. The other photographs are mostly of us giggling and cutting up. He really is a hoot. For the record, he's seventeen years younger than I am. I'll let you do the math. The picture was taken at our mum and stepdad's home yesterday evening when he was in town.
In other news...and in full disclosure...I bailed on sewing this years' Grammie's Jammies. I started cutting them out on Saturday and found myself trying to find anything else to do than work on them. I just didn't have the mojo to sew them.
I went downstairs and sat in the chair where Handsome was watching a football game. He asked me if I'd finished any pjs yet. I looked at him and told him that I really wasn't enthusiastic about sewing them this year. He looked at me and said, "Then don't. Let's go shopping." He gave me the permission I needed to release me from the task this year. Plus, he gave me a reason to go shopping. I went back upstairs, turned off the iron and the studio lights, grabbed my jacket and off we went. An hour later, I'd found the perfect jammies for our three grands and we were on our way back home.
Rather than spend the entire weekend and probably Monday in the studio, we were able to get everything done together, and then do some fun things. I told him that I'd finish cutting out the pjs, and I'll sew them up later in January. I'll be waaaay ahead of the program for 2025. I'll sew, wrap, and then set them aside for next Christmas. I'll just put a note on my computer to remind myself where I've put them away until then.
When I had my needlework shop, I'd occasionally have a customer come in and tell me they really didn't want to keep working on their current project. They just weren't thrilled with it, or they we sick of looking at it. It no longer went with their decor, and they'd lost the enthusiasm for working on it. I always counseled them to set it aside. If they looked at it three months from now and still didn't like it, they could donate, trade with a needleworker friend, or just toss it. Our pursuits are meant to bring joy and calm. If they don't, it's okay to set them aside. Apparently, I'd forgotten my own advice. I needed to hear that affirmation from Handsome - and he gave it without hesitation. He's one of the really good guys.
We both have hair appointments this afternoon, so I'll be wrapping gifts, and getting ready to spend tomorrow and Wednesday with family. I'll put up my holiday verses and greetings up for the next two days, but I'll be back on Thursday to catch up with you.
Merry Christmas, dear friends.
May this week - and the coming year - bring you happiness and good health. From our home to yours.
As I was pulling fabric for the Grammie's Jammies this year, I got the niggly feeling that I'd already used the plaid flannel for Grandson before. Sooooo, I went back through last year's photographs and blog posts to find that I had, in fact, made last year what I'd planned for this year. Great. Now what?
I went through my soft cottons and found this fabric for our "sporto" guy. Although they have two Golden retrievers now, their last dog was a gorgeous big, black Labrador retriever named Duncan. He was our grandson's "goodest boy", and we all miss him - even though the Goldens have also stolen our hearts. I think he'll like this fabric for his pjs this year, and I'll find a red or black long sleeved t-shirt to go with the bottoms. Crisis (and a duplicate gift) averted.
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| Back Row (l-r): Ken, Donna, Jeff, Deb, Kathy, Dan, John and Jay. Front Row (l-r): Julie, Bruce, Janet, Deb, Brad |
Last night, I went to bed happy tired. I got up early in the morning and made three dozen cinnamon rolls. I got them frosted just in time to drop off some rolls at work, and get to the restaurant for our classmate get together with the rest of them. Thankfully, I came home empty-handed. As usual, we had a great group, and we spent lots of time gabbing, laughing, and eating great food. I look forward to seeing them every month.
I'll be busy with the elves today, so I'm going to keep this short. I have lots to do and plan to keep my blinders on for the next few days. You can count on me to share what I get done, and what's left to do. Nothing like waiting until (nearly) the last minute, right? I seem to work best under a wee bit of pressure. See you tomorrow.
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| "Christmas In The Wood" by Philip Vinton Clayton (1865-1946) |
I'm sure you can understand why I love this image so much. I'd like to think that this sort of shenanigans take place in our "habitat" when I take treats down to feed our resident critters. We still don't have lasting snow on the ground this season (but we're supposed to get 3-5" on Thursday), so I have only taken down apple, carrot, corn, and a couple other fruit/vegetable snacks so far. I won't be putting down anything that will attract the resident coyotes any closer to the farmhouse than they already come.
I'm hitting the ground running today. I have three double batches of cinnamon rolls to make and frost by 2 pm today. I have our monthly classmate dinner at 3 pm, and a couple four packs to drop off to two of the gals at work on my way to the restaurant. Of course, there have to be some for here, and a four pack for our neighbors.
I'd love to chat, but I have a lot to do. Enjoy this image and I hope it makes you smile as much as I did. I'll be back tomorrow with our monthly group photograph.
This flannel print is for one of the granddaughters (likely the younger one - who is now 17). Too childish, or do you think she'll like them?
It's been a weekend of tying up a few loose ends. I mailed out the artist trading cards for this month, spent some time tidying up the studio, and putting up our Christmas decorations. Outside, we hung our garland on the porch rail, and added a sweet wooden snowman that was a gift from Shelly. The snowman is holding a ball of lights that show up at night, but it was too foggy last night to get a good photograph. I'll try again when it's clear.
This week, I'll be prewashing fabric for jammies; preparing a few other things to mail out; baking cinnamon rolls on Wednesday for our classmate dinner that evening (I have orders this time); and of course, sewing.
I'm going to hit the ground running this morning. I'm packaging up my mailings first to get them in the mailbox before our carrier arrives. I'm back to making lists, so I'll be able to see my progress as I get my work done. I'm also going to commit to daily lists going into and through 2025. I missed a lunch date with a dear friend last week because I hadn't written it down. That won't happen again. So you're seeing one of my 2025 resolutions here first.
I'll close for now, but I'll share jammie fabrics tomorrow. I'll be heading to the washer to get the fabrics going. Remember, I always prewash them in hot water/warm dryer. If anything is going to shrink, it will happen before I turn them into garments. The sooner they wash and dry, the sooner I'll be sewing.
See you mañana!
They're not finished yet, but I'm going to share my idea and how it's going so far. This is taking a little longer than I thought it might and it's a little fiddly, so I wanted to share a bit of the process.
My interpretation of "Pen and Ink" isn't a real reach - even if the execution might be. I'm literally creating a pen and inkwell on fabric. I have a pile of turkey feathers (the smaller, fluffy ones), some vinyl, cork fabric, blue swirl fabric (remember how I do adore swirl fabric? I have in in multiple colors), and the gold thread.
I spent waaaaay too much time cutting out vinyl in tiny bottle shapes. Dang! See-thru is really hard to see to cut. sigh But I persevered and got them all cut out. Then, I drew cork stopper shapes on natural cork fabric, and cut out those shapes. I have small squares of silk fabric that I'll sew to the background fabric that has writing printed onto it, and those feathers will become quill pens. The gold thread is to just stitch a small "v" on the end of the quills to mimic a pen nib (even though - technically - quill pens didn't have them).
The components of the bottle are all secured to each other, but I'm going to do an outline stitch around the whole thing to secure them to the bases. I'm also doing things in steps to layer them correctly. It all takes a bit more time.
I'll work on them again today to see if I can get them done. Yesterday's work was squeezed in between bread rises, as it was also a baking day. I wanted to make better progress on the cards, but this was as far as I got after a false start with something that didn't work out. We'll see if I can do better today.
I'll share my progress tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll be "envelope ready" by the time I need to leave for my three-hour shift at work. I'm heading upstairs right now to get back to it. (I'll take my cuppa with me.)
Today is bread baking day, but I'll also be working on the December ATCs I need to send out this month. I pulled the elements I'll be using to create my "Pen and Ink"-themed artist trading cards. I was just tickled to come up with this idea.
So - the first person to figure out what I plan to do with these elements to meet the theme Jan prompted will receive one of the cards. I'll make an extra one if someone figures it out. Leave your guess in the comments.
Oh. One thing. I may switch out the blue fabric for black. Does that help? hee hee Good luck! (Remember, the theme is "pen and ink".)
First on my agenda today is to ship out orders. I'll get that finished, and then I have to re-clean my studio. It's a wreck since preparing for the Touchmark show. Before I can do any holiday sewing, I need to reclaim my work space.
Now that I've reorganized the attic, I'll be able to move a few things upstairs until after Christmas and New Years. After I've done my mailings, I'll be working on my December ATCs for the swap. I'd like to finish those by tomorrow to mail.
Once the ATCs are on their way, I'll be turning my attention to Grammie's Jammies and a special project I'm working on for Handsome. I'll be busy with those things for the next week or so. I really don't want to be right up against Christmas, so this schedule should help avoid that (and leave a little buffer if I need it). Here we go again!
Well, as enthusiastic as the residents were over my offerings, I did come home with napkins, handbags, necklaces and wallets. To tell the truth, everything is still packed in my Explorer and I have to go to work today. No. I wasn't slacking on Sunday and Monday. I was actually cleaning and reorganizing the attic - and it really needed it! After climbing the stairs multiple times, it's hard to believe I once contemplated finishing off the space to turn into my studio!
Anyway, I'm going to go through my inventory tomorrow and then I'll be rephotographing items for my Etsy shop - and listing the napkins here first. I'll generate links for direct purchase through my Square account, which is safe and secure, but doesn't go through Etsy.
Once I've done all that, I'll be starting on Christmas gifts for our family. I hope the elves are ready. It's going to be a whirlwind of activity around my own Santa's Workshop.
For now, it's off to work for me. I'll be back tomorrow with more updates.
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| Paneras Knitting Girlfriends - 2012 |
In 2012, I wrote about my "Circle of Influence". You know...you become the five people with whom you spend the most time. Here's a link to that post. I wrote about the quilty ladies at Sandy's Quilt Shop where I spent many a Saturday morning. I also wrote about the wonderful group I spent every Tuesday night with in Port Charlotte.
At first we met at Books A Million, but after showing up one night to find out that they'd closed their coffee shop and were looking to "cater to a younger clientele", we pulled up stakes that very night and moved across to Paneras. It was the best move ever, as they were much more hospitable. We never looked back.
Over the years, our group changed, grew, and we suffered losses. Our 100 year old friend, Beulah had to stop coming because the slightest wrong move would break one of her bones. She moved to a beautiful facility in Sarasota, and we were sad to see her go. The two ladies in front wearing red - Adele and Helen - passed away during that time. Then, my dear friend, Ellen (in the green) moved back to Delaware to be closer to her daughter. Tammy (back row, far right) was the founder of our group, and she and her husband (a military man) moved to Virginia with their family.
New members came and went, but our group still met every Tuesday, taught
willing newcomers, and shared our projects. One of those regulars was
my friend and fellow Wisconsinite, Anne (standing in front of Tammy in
this picture). I forgot her hometown, but we always had something to
chat about, and her work was impeccable.
When Handsome and I decided to move back to Wisconsin, these were the beautiful friends (and those from Sandy's) that I missed the most. Even though we came back to dear friends we'd left behind when we moved to Florida, my heart still belongs to these women.
Fast forward to last Saturday. Jan met me at Touchmark and she unloaded my Explorer as I began setup. Did I mention Jan is a Life Enrichment Coordinator there? She shared her artistic skills with them, and they create beautiful things. Anyway, she chatted with residents as they passed through the room my booth was in, and frequently introduced them to "her sister, Donna".
My back was to the room as I set up my wares on the table and displays I'd brought along. Jan said something to another lady, so I turned around to say, "Hello", when I froze in place. Likewise, the beautiful face staring back at me shared my shocked expression.
Who was looking back at me but my friend, Anne. I immediately teared up. Words can't really express just how emotional I became seeing her. I couldn't stop hugging her and telling her how happy I was to see her. She told me, "You have no idea how much I've wondered where you are and what you're doing!" I kept telling her how much I missed her and our Panera ladies, and that seeing her was the most fabulous surprise ever!
She told me that she had tried to muster a group to knit and stitch at Touchmark, but only a couple of ladies had shown any interest. They continue to meet on Thursday afternoons in one of the parlors, so she didn't have to be completely alone.
We talked about old times, old friends, and I got her up to date about the ones I could. Then, I told her that after Christmas she could count on me driving up to Appleton a couple times a month to sit and stitch/knit with her and her friends. I meant every word, too.
Look at it as an extended Birthday gift, or an early Christmas gift, but seeing Anne was indeed a gift. I can't wait to see her again - but I have a few things to accomplish before Santa comes, so my next trip to Appleton will have to wait until after the holidays. It will be like old times when I can once again sit and create with my friend, Anne. I'm still smiling.
