The Week Between

Christmas and New Year, normally is a bit drawn out and emotional.

This year went OK. Shekinah had one day that had 2 great melt-downs over math.

We didn't even get the Christmas cookies baked that we had planned.

We did get to visit our TN friends who have been staying in Philly close to Shriners for about 2 months. Could not believe it took us that long to actually get together!

The kids acted like it was only a month since we'd seen them, when it actually was about 18 months.

Selfies for the moms. I didn't use the one with her sticking out her tongue.

Then some things I've been working on...who would want that guy on a quilt? In orange and burgundy of course!

The beginnings of  the crazy turkey.

And the quilt from scraps from someone's mom's attic.

Antique Shopping

Earlier this month Zeke had asked me about this one antique shop close to our house. It has big wrought iron gates out front and just looks...interesting.

So the day after Christmas we decided to take a look.

Can you read that price tag? We soon knew that it wasn't a place we were going to find bargains.

More like we were just going to be awed and a bit claustrophobic.

Yes, $9000 a pair for big curved-topped doors. Hmm maybe we need a bigger front door.

Did they carve that or was that bent wood?

Was amazing the care they took in cutting the hole for the lights on this expensive back bar.

Then we wondered how on earth they would get that piece from the back wall out if we were to say...ask to see it better and you know, maybe buy it.

We didn't.

And I was terribly glad I only brought adults with me, cause "do not touch" signs were in abundance.

Come cool room dividers with Chinese- style carvings

Let's see, what size mantle do you need for a ship that size?

Then I started wondering how and EMS crew would get someone out of those narrow aisles if say someone would collapse?

Curved/bowed doors, and plenty of stained glass windows.

AND Al Capone's bar....or at least one of them.

Christmas Eve

Never thought I'd buy a blanket, after all you make blankets, but we were gifted 

a super-soft blanket. It became the center of a few battles so I decided to find them

for the rest of the family.

The picking choice wasn't the greatest when I got there so we wrapped them and let the "chips fall"

Which would be why someone was saying "why do I have a white one?"

He decided it would be OK afterall.

Then this young man turned 19. The cake was a sponge cake with strawberry jam and lemon curd. It got a funny "waist" because I tried to cut it with dental floss but apparently floss does not cut sponge cake like it does a regular cake?

This was the cake that earned the comment, "It is a very good cake even though it looks like a landslide."  (lemon curd sorta wasn't thick enough)




I will leave you with a public service announcement courtesy of Shekinah " Gummy vitamins are not good dipped in ketchup"

Christmas Eve's Eve

This year we made some gifts, like doll clothes for the girls.

Found some bargains at outgrown shops...like boots for each of the girls and a loom that doesn't look like it was used.

Then there were some "boring" gifts like a set of tools for Zeke, but Shekinah thought they looked very interesting and thought she would like that kind of gift next year.

I remember her skill with the screw driver last summer and think maybe we could hold off.

The doctor's kit with real stethoscope and BP cuff, real digital thermometer, and actual pen light are not quite as dangerous at this point.

Then there were the fun gifts...new touch screen kindle

and the tablet ...supposedly in order to read more books and to organize the crazy printed-out recipe file that lives in my kitchen.

  Gotta work on those poses...and the smile...

Then Christmas day with family and our traditional layette bundles for CAM.

Standing Desks

I have this re-occurring shoulder/neck pain. It is eased by a visit to the chiropractor, but the next time I spend hours finishing a sewing or computer task I end up needing another adjustment. Insurance covers a bit of the chiropractor visit but I was wondering if I could find a less expensive way to cure the pain. I decided to try a standing desk.

Hubby added some extensions to the legs on my desk and my sewing machine got moved to my cutting table.

I've been using them this way for about 3 months and now my feet hurt! 😏

Actually, I do like the new set up and if I add walking to my lifestyle improvements maybe I'll only need new shoes.

Those cords under my desk are annoying when viewed on a photo.  Should I paint them white?

Thankfully someone with a good camera snapped a picture of Shekinah with her friends at their Christmas program.

My princess practicing her posture.

What did Zeke call that thing!? I think it was a dodecahedron ...maybe not.

Annual preparations for the Christmas Eve party at our house. The local Asian food market was out of round dumpling wrappers so I was forced to learn to make my own...I was too stubborn to use won-ton wrappers...they're square.

When the hot chocolate is too hot, you sit on the cold porch.

I finished her lifebook yesterday. I used a $5 photobook offer from Photobook America. I'm anxious to see what it looks like.

Ben was here for supper the other night, he met Cocoa. Yes Hope is training a new bunny.

It was good to have Ben here again. The crazy quotes that fly between he and Zeke keep me on my toes.  Last night it was "Odessey", "The Pond", and "Freddy the Pig".

Me to Shekinah: "Don't be running alot out there in the cold" (she has a nasty cough)

Shekinah: "No we're not running, we're selling ice."

She could probably sell ice to a snowman.

Of Christmas Programs and Nativity Scenes

When you spot a size 8 dress at the Re_uzit Shoppe (added "e" makes it classy, not?)

Add some lace from another garment, a zipper to bring in the neck

find a sweater at yet another shoppe.

Thankful for left-over scraps from my niece's Liberian fabric and some other fuzzy fabric someone off-loaded on me and Shekinah had a jumper with sweater.

Once more we were treated with a great Christmas program from our elementary school.

We have some wise men for the nativity scene (gotta take pics of the rest of the crew)

double-sided permanent tape is your friend in a project like this.

We almost can't stand our exciting household here we are watching candles burn. 

A few minutes before they were all watching.

There was something said about watching a candle rapping...or was it wrapping?

I Like My Sewing Room Better

I think I like my sewing room better than my kitchen. I spent most of last week and Monday and Tuesday of this week cooking batches of food. I like to eat and therefore need to cook, but somehow sewing and working with fabric seems more relaxing.
Last week it was prep work for hubby's family get-together. We were in charge this year so that meant supply the venue, meat, table settings/decorations, and bread for about 65 people. We rented a place, bought ham and went mostly plastic  for the tables. But you can't just send people home with full bellies you need to do something extra.  Some years the hosts gave flowers to the ladies and ring bologna or candy (something like that) to the men. Another year, it was holiday mugs gathered from thrift shops and filled with chocolates.

We decided to make some chocolates and Hope found some little custard cups at Dollar Tree and we made chocolate. Peppermint patties from here , crockpot candies from here, and a Brownie Truffle sorta from here.
I found out that Peppermint patties are much easier to dip if they are made into round balls.

Crock Pot candy is delicious when you add caramel candy at the end and pretzel pieces with the peanuts.
And, Brownie truffles are great with some cream cheese mixed in the crumbs to help hold the mixture together.

All three candies were a hit. The crock pot candy was so easy, the most difficult thing was to make sure that any hot spots in my cooker didn't burn the chocolate. I think I will probably just use the warm setting the next time.

This week I decided to start on the egg rolls  and pot stickers for Christmas Eve. I made a trip to our favorite Chinese food store and they were out of round wrappers for my dumplings/pot stickers. I used wonton wrappers for some, but I don't like the way they look--picky- picky.

I guess I will resort to making wrappers and finish up Christmas prep next week. I will need to make more egg rolls too, because someone ordered 2 dozen from me....again- next week.

This week I want to make the three wisemen for the Nativity Scene that I started...I figured if I make two or three figures every few days, I can keep up with the date--right? I need to take a picture with some of the figures on it. I got the patterns from here

AND the Christmas program...had no idea of the date and really!? you need new dresses for that? Who knew? Guess what I'm doing the rest of the week.

Then the other day I had this startling thought! In a few short months I will hit 50! I've been wondering if I accomplished what God had planned up to this point?  I had some ideas of things I will do ....sometime. Maybe that is a blog post for another day...any thoughts of what is on my bucket list--I don't have a 5 or 10 year plan, my plans are truly the "bucket" type, just thrown in there and some things swim to the top occasionally. Wonder if that is how you are supposed to do things?