Category: HOLIDAYS

~*~*~*~HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!~*~*~*~

I’m going to do my traditional list, but I think this year I will be more realistic.


1) Lose weight ~ I know every year EVERYONE says this one. This year I got a head start after the bout of pnuemonia and flu throughout December. I already lost the first 10 pounds.

2) Get organized ~ another one that EVERYONE always says. Once again I got a head start though. Last year was devastating for us with the move, the military red tape, the fraud from the previous owners of this house and probably a few other things. But, I started this past week at putting together the office/studio/workshop and it’s already going well.

A place for everything and everything in its place…


3) Start in January to hand make next years Christmas presents ~ Once again, I started already so the hitch will be to maintain a schedule and actually follow through. Wish me luck. And look for peek-a-boo pictures to come (after all we can’t give away what’s what or who it’s for before next Christmas).

4) Be happy ~ Worry less ~ Smile more ~ Be more productive ~ Spread joy ~ Make a difference

I wish you ALL health, happiness, tranquility, spiritual well being and prosperity in 2008 and may we ALL be able to face our challenges with much strength and grace, and may we receive ALL our blessings with thanksgiving and appreciation.

Christmas Wish

For a very long time I’ve dreamt and wished I could make everyone’s Christmas gifts each year, but time usually wins out and I end up going shopping and shopping some more looking for the right gift. This year I received a very special gift, a hand made quilt from my cousin, Jennifer, a very talented artist. Ironically, she says I picked out the fabric a couple of years ago when I was visiting. It’s so me.

Every hand made piece has a story and this one is no different. My very first hand quilted piece is a tree skirt that I made for Jenn back in 1991. It has had an interesting history itself (survived a fire while stored in her mother-in-law’s basement when they were moving), but was a cornerstone piece for myself and Jenn falling in love with quilting. From there she earned her degree in the arts and became a teacher and taught just about everything from clay to textiles at some point in time I think. She hand dyes her own fabrics as she did with this quilt. That too adds some weave to our family history. One Christmas not too long ago she dyed fabrics and used them as wrapping paper. I saved them and you can now find them in the quilt I made my mom which is the pink & green one in my quilt entry.

She hung this quilt at her show this past November in Kansas City. I think they really do look like cathedral windows. If you’d ike to see her other fabulous hand made, one of a kind quilts, log into her blog, What I did at School Today. I’ve hung the quilt between 2 pictures to draw out the colors. Ironically the picture on the left was given to me by my grandmother, but was painted by Jenn’s mom as was the one to its left. The picture at the bottom is of us at her wedding and she made the candle to its right for me.


She’s inspired me to actually get busy. That is my New Year’s resolution ~ to hand make everyone’s Christmas gifts for next year.

Major Catch up Time

We went to California for a surprise (and boy what a surprise it was) birthday party for my sister-in-law Bobbie (White sweater with sister Marilyn) and ended up staying for Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed our time with Bobbie and the family! With all the travel time and both events, the month just got away from me.

As soon as I got back I had tons of laundry, cleaning, Christmas prep like wrapping gifts & shipping packages, and like a fool I signed up for a 4 day stained glass class in the midst of it all. But the worst was that I came home sick and proceeded to get even sicker before it was over. Today’s the first day I feel like a human being again. I do like the stained glass piece though and am happy to have found a new hobby that hubby and I can do together.
During this time was the end of a 3 month long swap that I was participating in. I had a great Sweet Goodness Holiday sister Jenn. She sent me the pictures on the left (Thanksgiving box and the Christmas box with place mats, tea towels, hot cocoa, potpourri, cookie cutters, icings, cider mixes, chocolates, corn, knitting needles, chocolate coffee, peppermint bark, ornaments and more) and I sent her the pictures on the right for Thanksgiving and Christmas (snowman candle holder and tree like taper candles, knit cap, snowman ceramic buttons, snowman dip spreader, snowman cookie press, 2 quilt patterns, tea towels, leaf coasters, mobile, cat tails, dip mix, cookie cutters, tealights, First magazine and for her birthday a combined copy of the 2 cookbooks I’ve written for the family).

I was also participating in a Christmas garland swap for GAGA for Garlands and had a great partner Fanny. She sent me this wonderful peppermint themed garland that fits just perfect around my mantle. I went with the jingle bell theme and did a looped quilted garland with bells for her.
So, I’m fairly up to date for now and will start fresh with the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all…

Sweet Goodness Holiday Sister Swap & Crafting by Candlelight Halloween Swap

I’m one of the swappers in the Sweet Goodness Holiday Sister Swap. For this swap we have the same ‘sister’ for the 3 holiday months of October, November and December. I got this great package today from Jenn.
The shaker box is decorated with an ‘adorable’ witch and sparkle spiders. Those are cupcake candles decorated in the most precious pink designs and they were in the shaker box. And I love the Kahlua truffles. I’m using the Halloween pencil as I write and there was this great skeleton key. The irony isn’t lost on me.

I sent her this package:

Jenn said she’d love to learn how to quilt. So I found a small McKenna Ryan applique wall quilt pattern (Beneath the Boughs) that I thought was peaceful and fall like. I selected a choice of fall colored batik fat quarters and fat 8’s for the applique and a 1/2 yard for the border, backing and binding so all she’ll need is the batting and iron on sheet for the applique (Wal-mart has it for 99 cents a yard). My thrifted item is the crocheted ghost from my grandmother’s rummage sale and the handmade item is a bright orange and yellow polka dot round ruffled candy table cloth. Jenn likes sugar free candy so we added some and a fall Yankee candle wax tart for those calorie free days when she wants to inhale her sweets. She got it today too and loved it.

I’ll be away for some family events so I have made Jenn’s Thanksgiving box up already and will send it early. I found these great fall colored dish towels (who doesn’t need more towels when prepping Thanks giving dinner?). I also found a kitchen aid silicone scraper in fall colors to match. I made some fall leaf linen coasters for her handcrafted item. There are some turkey and pumpkin cookie cutters, fall colored tic tacs, and some peach cranberry dip mix. The thrifted item is the stalk of fall colored willows. I also found a turkey mobile DIY craft. I hope she likes it.

I started her Christmas one too, but I’m sure this time of year will get away from me as always and soon I won’t be as ahead as I am now. But we’ll keep Christmas as a big surprise.

Bren is my partner for the Crafting by Candlelight swap and here is what I sent her:
Bren Loves to decorate for Halloween. I thought I’d keep with that thought. So, her handmade item is an orange and yellow polka dot candy table cloth and her thrifted item is a collapsible witch basket. I found this really cool bat night light with a bubbler on top. You know the kind of bubbler light that our grandparents had on their Christmas tree lights. Bren is also not a fan of chocolate, but loves Hot Tamales and Neccos. I found a new (at least new to me) Neccos of smoothie flavors. I also included a pumpkin pie wax tart for those times she wants to inhale without calories. And Halloween (nor Easter) are not complete without some peeps – these are ghosts. I found a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin scraper, some cute little drawing pencils and a book about all the great things that begin with the letter “B”. There’s also some of my favorite glycerin based salve from Camille Beckman. She just emailed me that she likes it!

Wild Turkey

Just a few months ago you’d see all the “mom” turkeys with a stream of baby turkeys trotting along behind her. Now I think it’s time for them to run for the woods. They’re starting to look like Thanksgiving dinner. There are hundreds and hundreds of wild turkeys in this north woods area. There is also an abundance of deer according to the DNR due to the recent mild winters.