Girlfriends and Holidays

I was just discussing this evening's plans with my bff.
I love her. And we have lots in common. But, we also have lots not-in-common!

Like holidays.
We do not share similar visions for what makes the perfect holiday. I like hustle and bustle and friends and family and fun. She likes cozy and simple and healthy and quiet.

Really!

Take tonight for example.

She is hanging with her guy.

I am hosting a party with my daughter.
We will be having a house full of people.

They are going out to eat at a new (to them) restaurant.
We are planning a huge spread of appetizers.

They will probably eat fish and steamed veggies.
And a starter. She loves starters. But she'll deny it.
If anything healthy appears at our place, it will be by accident.

They are going to watch a sweet movie together.
We are having game night and a bonfire.

They are planning a nice bottle of wine.
We are serving Skip and Go Naked in the punch bowl.

They will probably be in bed by 10 pm.
We will be lucky to have the house cleared out by 1 am.

They will probably start their day with a nice little walk with their doggie to their favorite local coffee shop.
We will probably start with washing the dishes and chances are good that our little doggie will not be getting a walk tomorrow, at all.

As different as night a day.

Happy New Year BFF!!
I heart you.

And if you would like the recipe for Susan Branch's Skip and Go Naked, click here.

Runners and Rolls

Table runner's and pumpkin rolls took top honors on my giving list this year.

I have already posted about the pumpkin rolls.
So now it is time to post about the table runners.

This is an X-Block pattern called Lone Pine. It was so fun and easy to make. And, it looks great in so many different kinds of fabrics. If you are interested in the pattern, click here.

This one started off as a Lone Pine, but morphed into this beauty for my bff.

And last but not least, this 4 star runner for my sister-in-law.

Merry Christmas!

I do hope that you are having a lovely and blessed Christmas Eve!
We are looking forward to serving dinner to family and friends in just a couple of hours. Always a holiday favorite.
I wish you were coming by too!

God Bless!!

Advents

2010 Advents

My girls have always had an advent, of some kind, to help them count down the days until Christmas. It was a beloved part of their growing up.
They have both moved out this past year and are busy busy busy. But, I did not want them to miss out on an old favorite, so I made them each their own Advent this year.

This is Becca's.

This is Courtney's.

They are both made with match boxes, and stuffed with Bible verses and Dove chocolates. (Cheap Christmas candy just doesn't hold the appeal that it used to!!)



I made this one for my little nephew. It is made from jean pockets and stuffed with Bible verses and hot wheels cars. He is loving it!




And I made this one for myself. It came together over the summer as part of a blue jean challenge.

I hope the Christmas season is filled with blessings and joy at your house, and that all of your favorite traditions are alive and well!

Orange and lime are Christmas colors too!

This pillow belongs to my bff. And I LOVE it. Very much!

She brings it out every fall. I have tried and tried to get her to give it to me.
"About that little pillow"...
"You don't love it like I do"...
"It would look better at my house"...
"You don't even like orange"...
"Your sister won't even notice that you re-gifted it"...
"Not even for your bff "...
NO. NO. NO.
She always says NO!

But look at what she gave me for Christmas!

She made it herself! She loves me.
And don't you think that the orange one would look perfect right next to this one!
At my house, of course.

And, in the interest of all things lime, check out this little dandy.

A porcelain tea mug from my friend Loris, a fellow tea lover. Isn't it fabulous!

I hope you have lots of holiday color filling your little corner of the world, too.

Hand Dyes and Dark Days

Look at these lovely hand dyes!

My friend Jan dyed them herself. And then she gave them to me! A little Merry Christmas love.
Thanks Jan!!


On a completely different note, it is dark around here. We are having ourselves a big storm. Originally, the prediction was for 6-10" of rain, but this morning the updated prediction is for 7-14". That is a lot of rain!! As of last night, we had gotten just over 6" here at our house.

This is what my home looks like these days.
Good and dark. and I took this picture at 11:00 in the morning!

Good thing I have those fabulous hand dyes to brighten things up!

Aprons

Last night my little friendship circle, Piecemakers, held our annual Christmas Party.
We had such a lovely time! Friends, food and fellowship. What more could a girl want? Oh yeah, presents!! Don't you just love girlfriend gift exchanges? They are always so much fun!

My dear friend Barb drew my name and made me this beautiful reversible apron:


I have made this particular apron myself, and it is not an easy pattern. So, I appreciate it all the more!! Thanks Barb, I love it.

Oh, and let's not forget about the lovely little pie dish that came along with the apron. I'll be baking something in that tonight!

Smelly Update

It wasn't in the garage. It wasn't under the house. And it wasn't in the yard.

It turns out it only left a special little calling card. Right outside of our living room, next to the vent that services the blower to our fireplace insert. Which, coincidentally is not too far away from where the cat food bowl resides. Humm....

Things are smelling better, so feel free to stop by for that visit you may nave postponed last week!

Skunks are Bad

Last night, shortly after we went to bed, I heard noises. So, I got up to look out the bedroom window. I did not see anything moving around, but I did see that there was light coming out of the living room window. Now, I was the last person to go to bed and I had turned those lights off on my way!!
"Honey, wake up! I think someone's in the house."
"What?"
"I think someone's in the house. The light is on in the living room."
"Wait here."
I did not wait. I followed him down the hall. A good 10 paces behind.
Nothing. We checked every room and closet.
"Honey, I turned this light off myself and I heard noises. That's why I got up."
"I'll check the garage."
This time I waited.
Nothing.
"No one is here."
"Honey, I am telling you I heard noises and I know I turned this light off!"
"So someone broke in and turned on the light?" Now, my guy said this in complete earnest. And he had this look on his face that he gets when he is serious and trying to work something out. And it is always hilarious. ALWAYS.
So, I laughed. Because he is so funny. But I did not want to laugh, because I was a little freaked out.
And with that he said, "I am going to bed."
"Oh great. There is no way I am going to sleep anytime soon. And you are just gonna go to bed?"
"Good night."
That was at 10:00.
I sewed until 1:30.
Tried to go to sleep until 2:30.
Got back up and pulled out fabric for a project that has been on my mind. And then played spider solitaire until 4:22. At which time I was finally tired enough to go to sleep.

Don't worry, I am getting to the skunk.

Three and a half, very short, hours later I woke up to the smell of a skunk. But, I thought I must be hallucinating. Lack of sleep and all.

I had gone directly outside to get a couple of things done, and had promptly forgot about the skunk, because it did not stink outside. About a half an hour later I walked back into the house and was greeted by that awful smell. And it got worse as I made my way down the hall.

And that is when I realized that there must be a skunk in the garage. That's what was making all those noises last night. And it was probably still in there. Just waiting.

I called my guy. No answer.

So, I moved on to Plan B. I called Grandpa George.

"George, there is something wrong and I need your help."
"What?"
"I think there's a skunk locked in the garage!"
"Well. I see." (Now let me just point out that this comment was filled with the unmistakable sound of gleeful mischief! As a matter of fact, if you were to look up the word "mischief" in the dictionary, you would find a full page, color photo of Grandpa George. No words. Just the picture).
"I'm serious George. What are we going to do about this?"
"By 'we', do you mean you and your husband?"
"No, George I mean you and me! And mostly I mean you. I am doing my part by calling for help."
"I see. Now what you need to do is go down and open the garage door."
"No way, George!! Not me! It is probably curled up on the other side of the door just waiting for me...And, it's probably rabid."
"Oh yeah. It could be." More gleeful mischief here. "Just use the clicker to open the door."
"I don't have one."
"You don't have one?"
"Nope. Do you have one?"
"No. I have asked for one many times, but no one has bothered to get me one...yet."
"Do you think that your garage door clicker would work on our door?"
"I don't have a garage."
"Oh yeah."
"So it looks like you are going to have to go down there and open the door."
"Gee, thanks for the help George."
"I'll stay on the line while you open the door." (I am pretty sure he just wanted to know what it sounded like when someone got attacked by a skunk).

So, I crept down the stairs and cracked the door. No scurrying. No smell.
So I opened the door wide enough to get my hand through to flip on the light. No sounds. No smells.
So, I opened the door all the way. Nothing.
So, I dashed down the stairs and pushed the button to open the big door...And nearly killed myself trying to get back up the stairs before anything came to get me.
Nothing.

So, now I think that the skunk must be under the house. And I am waiting until my guy gets home to take care of it!!

In the meantime, I have every door and window open and all of the ceiling fans on high. Thank goodness it is supposed to be in the mid to upper 60's today.

And, if you were thinking of stopping by to visit me today....I wouldn't.

Pumpkin Rolls!

Yesterday was our 2nd annual pumpkin roll making day.

Only half of the group showed up this year. Me and Theresa!

But, we had a lot of fun. And made a lot of rolls.
All for gifts, of course.

Except for maybe one. Just this one. We will give ALL the rest away. To our friends. For sure.

You can trust us :)

Sledding

We three sleds of wintertime are

Decorated, we travel no more...
Just kidding.

How is the holiday decorating going at your house?

Here are three of my favorites: