Ready for Christmas

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I'm finally ready for Christmas--all gifts purchased and wrapped, all cards sent out, everything arranged for the family get-together. This year we are doing it on Christmas Eve--opening gifts around noon, then out to eat at Golden Corral, then all going our separate ways. Not much of a holiday but it will do. Now that the kids are grown and have their own families, getting together with us is not the first priority.

Hubby and I know that moving to the farm will be the last step in distancing from the close-knit family life we once knew. We wish it weren't so. We have loved being near the kids and raising our sons to adulthood, but it is time to step back and let the next generation live their own lives without our input. It will be sad, especially around the holidays, but it is that time in our lives. We hope they will come to visit, but it will be a long trip and we are under no illusions about seeing them more than once a year or so. We are still able to travel, thank goodness. We can visit them probably more easily than they can come to see us.

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I have been sewing more, now that the holiday prep is over. I made the tote below to use when traveling. It is larger than I would normally use as a purse, and much sturdier than most purses, because I used Peltex interfacing in most of the construction, with upholstery grade fabrics. The Peltex was a double-edged sword, I had to re-do the handles because I just could not get them to turn properly with so heavy an interfacing. So I removed the Peltex and used a crinoline that I happened to have on hand for the handles. I also had to improvise on some of the construction techniques, but overall I am pleased with it. It has pockets on each side, two pockets inside, and a magnetic snap closure inside. I used Butterick 5658 View C with contrasting side pieces.



My next project is to make one or two inserts for changing purses, using the Portapockets and Encore purse insert patterns from Studio Kat Designs. I have enough of the fabric left over from the tote that I should be able to make one insert of each size.

These are the Christmas cards I made to send out this year, enclosing the tree ornaments that I showed in past posts. I have gotten several comments on them, so I must have done well. They weren't difficult and went quickly in an assembly line fashion.


I wish everyone who reads this a wonderful holiday season, and a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

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Gruene is pronounced "green."

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I went on a bus tour to Gruene, Tx yesterday with a few of my Red Hat friends. The town is small and is very proud of its Historic District. The main claim to fame is the oldest dance hall in Texas. The Christmas Market was in full swing, and the town was swarming with tourists. There are several specialty shops and a general store, antique stores and restaurants. It was a wonderful trip. Despite the rain.
I had been saving up for a couple of months, but actually spent only a fraction of what I had saved. I had a delicious lunch at the Gristmill Restaurant--the onion rings are to die for! I traipsed all over town, stopping at every store that interested me, which was most of them. There were vendors set up in tents as well, but I didn't find anything of interest.


I did buy a couple of Christmas gifts for my hubby; some divine Lemon Verbena potpourri shown above, which smells just like lemon drops! and a lovely parure of Peruvian Turquoise (Chrysocolla) consisting of a necklace, bracelet, and earrings, all set in silver wire (below.) I also bought a jar of Pecan Praline Honey Butter spread. Yum!!


In all the bus tour lasted 11 hours- 3 hours getting there, 5 hours in Gruene, then 3 hours back. The trip only cost 30 dollars and was well worth it. (Rockport Tours)

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I have all my Christmas cards mailed, all my gifts purchased and wrapped, and have done all the decorating I am going to do. Now to get back to work on those VHS tapes. Those are going slower than I had hoped, but I must get them done as quickly as possible, because in January I need to start packing for the move in June.

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Fall is finally here!

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The weather has finally changed from the oppressive heat we have suffered all summer, to the cooler fall weather we all love. The temperature hovers around 85 during the day, but dips into the 60's at night. It feels so good to need a sweater!

I have a Red Hat Thanksgiving dinner this week, and since I don't cook much, I volunteered to bring rolls and butter. I thought about baking homemade rolls, but it is usually disastrous when I try something like that for the first time and serve it to other people. So I will be taking my favorite Hawaiian rolls from the store. I wanted to dress them up a little though, so I made three bread baskets with matching bread cloths. These are just the perfect size for the packages of rolls, and have stiff sides and bottoms with cardboard built in. Since they can't be washed, the bread cloths will go under and around the rolls to absorb any oils or moisture, and can be tossed in the washer and dryer.

I picked up a cute pattern on eBay for this scarecrow doll, which I wanted to make for fall decorating purposes. I decided for time's sake to use a purchased doll form. What complicated matters was that the doll form was 18" tall and the pattern was for a 20" doll. I had to do some resizing of the clothing pieces on the fly, but other than that and embroidering the face, the most difficult thing was getting the "straw" on the doll. I used eyelash yarn, and at first was trying to sew it on, but that darn eyelash kept going every which way! I finally wrapped it around the wrist, ankles, and throat of the doll three times, and tied it in the back. Then I hot-glued three rounds of it to the inside of the hat. It turned out pretty well, I think. The doll has a smile embroidered on, but the camera didn't show it except for the "bow" in the middle.


If I ever make another one, I will stick to the pattern, and will use raffia for the straw. But I am pleased with it.

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I am still dubbing tapes to DVDs, and hope to have them all done by Christmas. Today it is "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance" along with a couple of historical programs on Ireland.

I am finding several tapes that have degraded so much that I couldn't use them. I especially am mourning the loss of 6 "Thin Man" movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy. I may break down and buy them on DVD one of these days. I really enjoy them, especially Asta, their dog.

I also couldn't use my VCR tape of "Bill and Coo," a 1948 film starring trained birds. I was happy to find that it is in the public domain, and was able to download it to my computer. I will burn it to a DVD sometime this week. It was still a little dark in places, but much better than my old degraded copy.

I had previously mentioned that I didn't have "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" or "Life of Brian" on video. I will be taping them off the IFC channel this weekend. The "Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl" special is also playing there this month. I don't mind the commercials. Sometimes in watching these old VHS tapes, the commercials from years ago are interesting to revisit--such as the old "Where's the Beef?" Wendy's commercials.

I'm just too cheap to buy all new DVDs, I guess. So many of these programs would be very difficult to find anyway. So dubbing is the way to go.

Have a great fall weekend, everyone!

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Finished projects

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I have finished the tree skirt I mentioned in an earlier post. The pattern is "Trees All Around", by Quilted Garden Designs. I purchased it from Keepsake Quilting. It was a little fiddley getting everything lined up properly, but after that it went very quickly and I am very pleased with the results. It is reversible as you can see.

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This is how the tree ornaments turned out. I made several for myself as well as enough for the Christmas cards.

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I am still dubbing VCR tapes to DVD. This week has been 5 DVDs of "Are You Being Served?" the British comedy from the 70's and 80's. Very funny, if you understand British humor.
Then I will start on the Thin Man movies, and "Cadfael" episodes.

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Laughter, The Best Medicine.

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Wow--I didn't realize it had been almost a month since my last post. I have been transferring VHS tapes to DVD for the last two weeks, and let time get away from me. It has been tedious but since most of them have been humor it could have been worse.

I did several DVDs of the Three Stooges, from the early Curly days, through Shemp, Curly Joe, and Joe Besser. There are a couple of the movies as well as a two day marathon of the shorts.

Then I did the Marx Bros movies--all except Duck Soup, which I somehow missed taping. I want to get that eventually. One DVD of other comedians such as W.C. Fields in "The Bank Dick," The Ritz Bros. in "Hotel Anchovy", etc. and now I have just finished Monty Python, although I am missing "The Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian." Oh, and I can't forget Victor Borge, and Bill Cosby "Himself." Today I plan on doing "Airplane!" and "Airplane 2!"

Obviously I love humor. If I get down on myself the quickest way to climb out of it is to watch something funny. I am a real believer in the healing power of laughter. I would love to have more Laurel and Hardy, (I do have a bio film of them) and Abbott and Costello. The older the films, the funnier they seem to be. I also have two of my favorite movies--"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," and "What's Up, Doc?" with Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. I love slapstick and silliness. My sons saw so much Monty Python as kids that they can recite whole skits.

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I wasn't the kind of mom who monitored my kids' viewing on TV or movies very well. I didn't care if they watched mild sexual innuendo, language, or scatological humor. One of their favorite shows was "Ren and Stimpy." What bothered me the most was violence, gore, and gratuitous language or nudity. They got enough of that from video games already. I just didn't censor things from them. I knew they would be confronted with them eventually, and felt they would be better off taking them in stride rather than being shocked or offended by them.

Now I will say that I did not like horror, torture, or the infliction of pain in movies. No Jason or Michael Myers in our house! They had to wait until they were over 17 before seeing that kind of stuff (as far as I knew.) I also didn't allow anything that involved mistreatment of animals. I am too soft-hearted for that--I turn the channel when an ASPCA commercial comes on. (Do they really have to be so pervasive? Enough is enough.)

They weren't damaged by this lack of censorship, in my opinion. They were both Eagle Scouts and DeMolays. They participated in sports and other extracurricular activities. And they have both turned out extremely well. I am very proud of both of them.

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Today is my last visit with the orthopedic surgeon. I have no pain in my knee now, and am using the treadmill or walking the dog almost daily. I still wear my Z-Coil shoes, and probably will for the forseeable future, as my heel spurs still bother me, and there doesn't seem to be much that can be done about them. The shoes allow me to walk with minimal pain. I have these exact shoes!

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I have been working on a tree skirt, and will post a photo next week when I have finished it. It still needs the binding, but is otherwise done. I still have two baby quilts to be machine quilted (I dread doing that!) and I want to make myself a new purse next. I finished the Christmas ornaments to be put in my Christmas cards, and although they are primitive, I really like the way they turned out.

I still play Minecraft almost every evening, and have read 8 paperback mysteries in the last month. So I do keep busy! I'll try to blog again within the next week or so.

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A Busy Day

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Yesterday was a lot of fun. It started off with a wonderful Red Hat luncheon. I love going out with my Red Hat friends! We always have a great time.

Afterwards, one of my friends and I went browsing through some second-hand and antique stores, which is something I really love to do. One store saw us coming, I think--they had lots of red-and-purple items to drool over. I bought a lovely red chenille hat for only $10, and a cute red purse for $6. They are cardinal red, not orange as the camera shows them.

Afterwards I went to a local thrift store, where I scored a set of Double Wedding Ring quilt templates for $4, and four bamboo trivets for $2 each. A good day!



On the crafting scene, I have been making some ornaments to include in my Christmas cards this year. I used lots of small pieces of fabric from my stash in a string quilt sort of technique to make a large piece of fabric, sandwiched it with Peltex interfacing and a backing, then used the decorative stitches on my sewing machine with pretty threads to embellish the seamlines. Then I edged them with a rough satin stitch. Now I am going to add some glitz and add a loop for hanging. They are kind of primitive looking, and that is part of the charm. The best ones will go in the cards, and the others will make nice gift tags or go on my tree. The leftover pieces on the left will be sewn together in a crazy quilt sort of way, and more ornaments cut from that piece, maybe circles or stars or something.


This summer has been so hot and dry that we didn't want to do much gardening. So-- the flower beds look like the photo below. It used to be full of Mexican heather with an edging of liriope. Now the heather is almost all dead, weeds have proliferated, and the liriope has invaded the whole bed. It was here when we moved in 23 years ago, but may not be here much longer. It is not really attractive, and is very invasive. We have given away all we can, and the rest will have to be dug out.


I worked all day to clear the other bed shown below. Only a few tiny hosta plants have survived. (The dirt is brown, not gray--my camera again!)


I have asked my hubby for a new digital camera for Christmas. I want to do some online research to pick the one I want, something easy to use at a reasonable price that gives good results. The one I have is about 4 years old, and was an inexpensive model at the time. I know the technology has improved in the interim.

I have finished the physical therapy for my knee, and am no longer taking much pain medication. Once in awhile I take enteric aspirin for my heel spurs, but the knee seldom bothers me anymore. I have started using my treadmill again, so I hope the limp is gone for good. I still don't get down on my knees. I used a shower chair for the weeding work.

My hubby tore down the backyard shed that the possums were living beneath. The metal and rotting wood was put on the curb for the heavy trash truck which is due to pickup this week. The day after he set the stuff out, all the metal disappeared. There are lots of "junkmen" around that scour the curbs before the trash truck comes. Anything they can repair or sell for scrap disappears overnight.

Last week Copper caught and killed a possum half his size. It appears that he pulled it out from under the shed by the tail, and it probably "sulled' or played dead. He crushed its chest. No more possums now, I hope. (yes, I know it should be spelled with an "o" but no one says "opossums," do they?) Copper didn't have a scratch on him. We call him the Great White Hunter now.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

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A Day of Infamy

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Today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11/2001. As I watch the replay of the newscasts of that day, I cannot help but remember the horror we all felt.

That morning I awoke around 10 am and stumbled groggily into the living room. My husband was sitting on the couch. He looked at me and simply said "We are at war."

He told me that the World Trade Center Towers were no longer there. I watched the replay of the events that morning, feeling that I was watching a disaster movie. As I watched, all I could say, over and over, was "Dear God." The Pentagon disaster, and the crash in Pennsylvania
only deepened the sense of anxiety we all felt.

My biggest concern was for my son, Chris. He was a Navy sailor aboard the USS Enterprise, and it was on patrol near the coast of Afghanistan. The terror in my heart was that my son was in immediate danger, and would be for the foreseeable future. If the terrorists could do this in the US, what could they do to our ships at sea?

My husband and I have flown a US Flag outside our front door for the past 10 years removing it only during severe storms. A light shines on it every night. As far as I am concerned, it can stay there forever.

The days and weeks after 9/11 were filled with such a sense of togetherness, determination, and patriotism. I wish that had lasted to this day. I hope today will spark some of that same feeling again.

We will never forget.

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