Merry Christmas!

 

With an arctic blast forecast for us, we worked all week to prepare. One of those preparations was allowing the chickens to pillage to their hearts' content in our vegetable garden. They have had a glorious time. Seriously, they've been eying it all year long!

 

We sealed up our patio as well as we could with plastic sheeting and started bringing outside plants inside.

 

It was quite a job, but we got most of it inside before the really cold got here. There are more in the little greenhouse. It is sealed up and we'll see how those survived once this is gone! Here in Houston, Texas, we are not accustomed to those temperatures. Nor do we want to be! LOL!

 

Our sweet neighbor gave me this Christmas cactus last year. She's not able to look after her plants any more and wanted me to have it. Isn't it gorgeous!

 

I had a lot of fun making these little frogs for our daughter and the cats for her housemate. They are free patterns from Ann Wood. I love her creations and all the inspiration she provides!

 

Mr. Muddling and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! May the blessings of the Lord pursue and overtake you, and may the peace of God blanket your home!

 

Hugs and kisses and lots of love,

Elaine 

 

 

Christmas Makes and Doings

 

Isn't this a great Santa panel? I had to get it when I saw it online. I was originally going to make it a wall hanging, but it wanted to be a quilt.

 

So it kept growing until it became one! All of the colors and fabrics played together so well that it came together in no time.

 

It has already been gifted to a pretty lady we love.

 

Sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies made their way to upper New York State and have now been devoured. More went across town and met the same fate. We won't talk about the ones that stayed here. 

 

 

I bought an Instant Pot in October 2020. I thought it was not that long ago, but I went and looked, and it's been over two years. The picture above is a bottom round roast cooked in the Instant Pot for 4 hours. And after we enjoyed some of it for our lunch, I sliced the rest, which fell into tasty tender morsels.

 

I vacuum sealed meal size (for the two of us) portions and put them in the freezer. We like to call that "money in the bank"! All it takes is a couple of minutes in the microwave to have meat ready to eat!

 

 

We had a stir fry over rice one day with some of that roast beef. It was delicious!

 

We are supposed to have some freezing weather next week, so these pictures are bittersweet. Whenever we see those yellow angel trumpets dripping off the branches in such profusion, it usually means the end of warm weather is near.

 

I hope your week is going well and that your Christmas preparations are well in hand. With all its challenges, life is still pretty wonderful, and God is always good! I'm thankful.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

Half Rectangle Triangles

 

What a lot of fun I had making this quilt! 

 

First I sewed a light and a dark half rectangle together and then I just kept on going! I really like this one.

 

And the crinkliness and softness straight out of the washer and dryer are SO nice. Of course it helps that I backed it with cozy flannel.

 

I was so happy to see the little camellia bush start flowering (lower right). Aren't those reds gorgeous! And Dinah in the center is just a mess. She has her own ideas of how things should be, and those are the only ideas that interest her! Cats!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It will be here soon. 

We had our family Thanksgiving dinner today. We (Buddy and I) were a little puny on the real day. But thankfulness is good every day of the year!

 

I hope things are interesting and happy in your part of the world and that you are finding lots of things to make you smile!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine