I Know I Said I Wouldn't, But....

What can I say?  I've got pictures and I like to share them!

We had Christmas early at our son and daughter in law's house.  What a beautiful tree!

And isn't that fireplace pretty?  It was a good day to have a fire - rainy and cold (well, cold for us anyway).

I finished their quilt very early this morning (though I did manage to sew through my finger in the process - no major damage, thank God!).  They liked the fleece on the back.  This one gave me a bit more trouble.  My friend Wanda says that's because fleece is a knit.  Makes sense.

Yes, he is a silly one, but we love him!  (There was a bit of fighting over whose the quilt was.)

We all had lots of fun and lots of good food, too.  Sorry, no pictures of that.

 I was pleased to see Larry and Ruthie acting like a normal brother and sister,

but that didn't last long!

Nikki was very pleased with her Fat Kitty, especially knowing that G'ma had made it just for her.

Going back in the den now to open our "at home" presents and have a little late supper.

Hope your Christmas is everything you want it to be.  We have church in the morning and will be there celebrating the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Hugs and kisses,

Merry, Happy, Busy

I saw this cute fat kitty somewhere last month.  Sorry I really don't remember where.  Anyway I bought the pattern and thought I would make some for our girls.  This one is the only one I got made.  And if you look, you'll see why I don't do a lot of embroidery.  I'm not good at it.  At all. 

But, it's still cute, and on Saturday, it will go to live with our granddaughter.  We're celebrating Christmas early at our son's house (Yay! I don't have to cook!)  Nikki just had her twenty-first birthday this week.  Totally unbelievable.  She was like another daughter when she was younger.  Her mom (the best daughter in law in the world) works and Nikki stayed with us until she went to school, and then after school for many years.   There are not that many years between her and Ru and Mary, so they were more like sisters than aunts and niece.

Beneath Mr. Kitty are some blocks I'm working on for a new quilt.

Hopefully I (and you) will get all our doings done in time for Christmas.

You can see that Bruno really feels the pressure.  LOL!

I don't think I'll post again till after Christmas, so for now I wish you the very best Christmas EVER!  You are precious to me and to the Lord.

Hugs and kisses and love,

What A Glorious Day!

Today is a gloriously beautiful day, like one of the best of Autumn, even though it is past the middle of December.  I'm just enjoying it, no matter the date!

See that lonely black fig up there?  There are a number of them still holding on the fig tree by the chicken yard.  The birds are happy and when the figs fall and a chicken finds it, the chickens are happy, too.  Because one chicken never gets to keep it.  There is always at least one run, tackle, fumble, run before the gobble.

I moved one of the plastic garden chairs over to Claude's side of the yard and sat out there with him for a little while.

It's such a pretty and peaceful bit of solitude, and I like to be in it when I can.  We have some much colder weather due in next week, so I don't know how long it will look like this out there.  Have to enjoy it while it's still here.

We had a lovely surprise earlier today when Mr. Muddling answered the doorbell.  My sister and her husband sent us this beautiful Christmas arrangement.  As you can see, Joseph (Chloe, of course, but we call her Joseph because like him - anything that is done, she has the doing of it.) had to inspect it.  I couldn't get a very good picture of it inside.

So I took it out in the back yard where the light is so much better.  Isn't it a gorgeous thing!

And just look at that gerbera.  I don't know why it's so hard to get a true picture of things that are red, but these are a brilliant red.  There is no pink or orange to them, even though it looks like there is in the photos.

There are a couple of pretty little dogwood flowers in the flower bed behind them.  I don't think they are supposed to bloom until Spring.  Everything is a bit confused in the weather right now.

I had a complaint from Bruno.  He's pretty tired of me going on and on about cats.  What about me?  So here he is, my almost constant companion and friend.
(He's actually looking out the back door here, itching to get out there and chase Claude!!)

We're getting close, people!  I mailed off all the Christmas cookies last night.  Glory to God!  So glad that is done.  Hope your doings are getting done.

Hugs and kisses,

How Tacky Can You Be?

Apparently, if you are me - pretty tacky.  Here is my feral friend Claude.  I really like Claude.  We've had to take our time getting to know each other because Claude has been hurt in previous relationships.  I know this because the end of his tail is gone and what is left has been broken in several spots.

Anyway, as I said, I really like Claude, and even though there is no way he would consent to come into the house (even if Chloe and Jack would let him), I don't want him to suffer in the cold.

So behind those shutters in front of my sewing room window I have contrived a snug little spot for him.  The front has to be open.  Confinement issues.  But it is dry and sheltered and he seems to be content with it.

I know this because I can see him down there.

See that nice indentation?  That is Claude's spot.  I see him there often when it is cold and wet out there.  It makes me happy.  And if I am tacky (which we all know I am) it is my back yard and no one else needs to see it.  Mr. Muddling is fine with it and he's the only one who could tell me no.  I love that about him!

On the other side of the back yard, the fig tree has lost a lot of its leaves.  Miss Ru told me today that it looks and feels more like fall here today than winter.  Technically, it is not winter yet.  Not until December 22.  But this is Houston.  Houston weather plays by its own rules.

The Angel's Trumpet was hit pretty hard by the last cold snap.  I thought the top of it had died, but some of the flowers surprised me and came back to life in another bout of glorious bloom.  Now that's a happy surprise!

I have the little snowman on the counter in the kitchen encouraging us to drink more water.

So many things to do and so little time left in which to get them done.  Guess I'd better get cracking!  Hope your preparations are all going well.

Hugs and kisses,

Edited to add:  Is anyone else having trouble with blogger?  Half the time I'm having to reload pages to see the pictures and commenting is really a challenge.  I've tried.  Honestly.

It's a Gray and Gloomy Day Out There

 So, naturally I figured that the best remedy for that is to turn the inside Christmas lights on again.

These little bits of light and cheer just make me happy.  And I have Christmas cookies to make.  So happy is a good thing.

These are also "Happy-Makers".  Mary and Cass bought these for me while they were here over the weekend and they are still beautiful.  This lily has opened fully and smells divine!

I got the apple core pieces for my Texas sister's Christmas quilt up on the wall last night and the first two rows sewn together. (Excuse the quality of the photo, please - gray and gloomy day.) This time I hung the fleece up first and I'm working from there so I know exactly the size I want the front to be without having to stop and measure.  I don't like to measure.  (Could be the reason I have surprises in my work.  LOL!)  The pink-y/red paisley you can see in spots is the backing.

I thought I'd mention, too, that I made up a big batch of the rosella cordial and served it in this cute snowman beverage jar I found this year.  It was a hit!  The rosella bush is a goner from the last freeze, but I have seeds.  I will definitely be planting this again in the Spring.  It's just exciting to me to grow something in my own back yard that I can use to replace something that is purchased and full of preservatives.

Off to start baking now!  Hope your preparations are moving along well!

Hugs and kisses,

Home Christmas

I've had this Mary Engelbreit music box for a while now and it sums up how I feel about it.  My heart is where my family is, and that's home.

Don't you just love that we still have potted plants out front along with our Christmas decorations.  We've had some freezing weather already, but nothing severe enough to damage these plants.  I like to leave them outside as long as I possibly can.  I feel sorry for them when they're exiled to the garage. 

We had such a good time on Saturday.  Way too much food, and not everyone was able to come.  Some had to work, and some were getting over winter virus-y things, but there was still a pretty good crowd and lots of fun and food and stories.  Mr. Muddling and his two brothers tell the best stories.  We love to get them started and then just sit back and enjoy.

This is the Strip Twist quilt I made for our younger daughter for Christmas.  I backed it with fleece, even after all the trouble I had with the fleece backing the first time I used it.  This time I loaded the quilt with the fleece side up and quilted from the back of the quilt instead of the front.  I had absolutely no problems this time!  Thank God!

And this is the one I made for her roommate.  It, too, was backed with fleece, and again I had no problems quilting from the back of the quilt instead of the front.  The fleece is so nice and cuddly in cold weather, which they have plenty of up in New York State.  Since there is no batting it is a lightweight quilt, but still warm.

 

Yesterday we opened up the futon in the den and both girls settled in on it as we indulged in a Lord of the Rings marathon.  Cass had never seen any of those.  Unbelievable, I know!  I tried so many times to get a decent picture of those two, but they were just too silly to be still.  They do like their quilts though!

Miss Ru and I took Mary and Cass to the airport very early this morning to catch a flight back home.  (I did threaten to keep them both here, but you know how it is - you have to let them go.)  We had such a good time.  It was a joy to get to know Cass a little, and of course to see our baby girl again.

I've had a little nap now and it's almost time to prepare lunch.  I hope all is moving according to schedule at your place and that you have lots of exciting things on tap for your Christmas celebrations!

Hugs and kisses,

Hi There

That's what I see a lot of the time when I look out the bathroom window.  The picture is not too clear because I have the zoom on and it's through the screen, but you get the idea.  Claude is well and truly at home out there.

Are you ready for the weekend?  I am.  I've almost caught up on the rest I lost during the Thanksgiving period, and now I'm ready to start in on the Christmas one.  LOL  Our baby girl will be home in ONE WEEK!!!  She and her roommate will be here next Friday night and I can hardly wait.  But they're only here for the weekend, so we'll have to cram a lot of catching up into a short space of time.

And no, that picture of cherry pie has absolutely nothing to do with it.  LOL  As you can see half of it is gone.  That's because it's really good.  It was in the nature of an experiment.  I had some dried cherries that I bought a while back.  I just like eating them out of the bag, but today I thought I'd try using some of them to make a pie.  It was a success!  I'd give you the recipe, but I just sort of made it up as I went along and didn't keep accurate measurements.  I soaked the cherries for about thirty minutes (while I was preparing the pie crust and cooking lunch) in boiling water I poured over them.  I added about a half cup of sugar, then ladled the cherries into the pie crust.  I zapped the juice, sugar and a couple tablespoons I think of cornstarch in the microwave until it thickened, a couple of minutes.  Poured that over the cherries, added the top crust, cut vent holes, sprinkled a little sugar on top and baked at 400F degrees until bubbly.  Pretty simple. 

Doesn't that just make you want to get a nice big slice for yourself?  If you were here, you could sure have one!  I had mine with ice cream.

Hope your weekend is simply grand!  I'm going to be busy sewing.

Hugs and kisses,