The Stockings Will Hang...

...assuming that I can locate the stocking board! This is an interesting affair that screws down to the top of the mantle, fitted with cup hooks so that we can hang stockings on it. One of my husband's creations from years ago. It was taken down for the renovation, and it's SOMEWHERE in the garage.

'Nuff said?

The tourtiere is baked and ready for dinner tonight. Yes, it looks mildly underdone--it will "finish" in the oven at D3's tonight. She's making a baked pasta dish, and D4 found a "Yule Log" cake which will stand in for a Buche de Noel.

Christmas Eve is going to be fun!

Then of course, there are t he breads for Christmas morning. D5 has offered to make chocolate-chip pancakes, and these are just the supplement. Lemon-poppyseed muffins and cranberry bread. Mmm! Pickles will go in t he fridge once the bird is out; the fixings for pumpkin pie are handy, and those will get made tonight.



Ah yes, there will be baking tonight! Might even have to whomp out a few cookies, although #2 sent us a nice box of assorted cookies and goodies.

My big sewing project--for someone who hasn't sewn much this year, these two were big projects, never mind that they are very quick and easy quilts!

Well, except for the snipping. And the washing. And washing. And washing.

Ragg quilts are made from squares of fabric, with or without batting in between. (Denim ones are too heavy to put batting in.)

So, the blue one with the vroom-vroom squares is for Nate; the pink one for Audrey.


They'll get wrapped and put under the tree, though of course the wee ones are a little too small to open the packages without help. I happen to know that there's a couple of mommies who LOVE opening packages!


Here's sending wishes for a happy and peaceful holiday for you, wherever you are, and lots of health and happiness in t he coming year!

That Time of Year

Little Missy was wearing her new sweater, and we thought it would be a good opportunity for a photo session.

Well, we got great pictures of Li'l Miss rolling around on the floor. She was not feeling very cooperative.

However, she was nice and warm when she went to the store with Mommy. So it's all good. After all, the sweater was made to keep her warm. And also look cute.

She's wearing some big-girl shoes in this picture. They seriously affect her walking--she's used to barefoot, or stocking feet. Big ol' heavy clunky shoes? Well, it takes more effort to pick up the feet in those. What does she know of "winter" and things like that?








I've set up part of my holiday village on the back part of the sink--the bar that extends into the back room. Tuesday night, I had the quilt class members over for a potluck. This display is called "camouflage" as it's designed to attract attention away from the room beyond.


Because, of course, that room is full of boxes. Including the 17 boxes of ornaments, lights, and assorted trimmings that came over from storage.

We aren't going to discuss storage right now. I was hoping to be able to empty the unit, but after looking at it the other day, well, I'd need to build on another whole garage to house it. I think I'll just wait a bit and go through it a bit at a time.

Let's just say, 17 bins of stuff filled the Explorer, and we did leave about the same amount there of Christmas trimmings. I think next year, maybe, come November I'll go through and pare down the collection.

Maybe. And maybe I'll once again be able to use it all.

Hey, you never know!

We do have a tree up, and it's decorated. Not as lavishly as when there were a lot more pairs of hands to do it, but it's looking good.

Some of the bubble lights even bubble. Some don't. No idea why!

Anyway, the potluck was a rousing success, at least from what I was told that night. Everyone came, we had 15 people sitting around the dining room table (3 of us on bar stools, but still...) and it didn't even have all its leaves in. It was nice to share the finished (sorta) house with the people who've heard me fussing and whining about it all year!


This is just a gratuious cute-baby picture. The Ds and my sis-in-law took me to The Melting Pot in Brea for a birthday lunch feast.

Li'l Miss came along--baby makes 6? She was really a very good girl, ate the things that were good for her and wasn't given more than a taste or two of chocolate...



D3 and SIL, aka KnittingTerror on Ravelry.



The next picture is D5, Li'l Miss, and D4.


Some birthday loot. Amazing, really. There were even cupcakes from my Sooper Sekrit Rubberswap partner. I feel very spoiled!



Christmas house. Doesn't look as good in the photo as in real life...well, okay, they're kind of Charlie Brown lights, but at least we tried. And they are rather festive.


And, finally, my "new" temporary sewing area. Gotta get those babies' quilts done in time for Christmas! Well, or shortly after...

Hey, why am I here writing? I need to be sewing...