Tis the Season

This morning during my time of reading God's word, I turned the television on with a local station's "Yule Log". I don't care for all the music selections they put forth so turned the volume off, but the image of logs burning in a fireplace is a very nice background. I'm recording it, as I have in the past at times, in order to have in future days until summer hits and it's unbearable. We have our own fireplace but tend not to use it very often, in fact, it hasn't been cleaned of the ashes since the last time we used it, last Christmas perhaps.

With our kitchen remodel coming up likely early February, we have gone really low on the Christmas decorations and gift giving. I'd like to go even lower on the Christmas dinner - I'd be perfectly happy to do Christmas at Denny's (here's a link to a Randy Stonehill song of that title), but I know Marty and Nick really love having our little, but special Christmas dinner of rib roast, baked potatoes, and whatever sides I add. Rather than a pie this year, I picked up a pre-prepared layered strawberry shortcake cake. If it tastes as good as it looks, I'll be pleased. Clearly, I am cutting back some on my efforts. 

Gifts for the guys are mostly the necessities of life which they are in need of anyway. In fact, Nick's is only a bag of candy with a card for a Christmas I.O.U. shopping trip...he needs new jeans and new tees and it'll work better if he can go and try on and choose colors. 

I do miss so many past years of great festivities and socializing with friends and family, some of whom decorated to the hilt. Most of those folks are gone - in one way or another. Maybe next year will be more festive; when the kitchen is done, and hopefully we have decluttered and cleaned.

I'll 'wrap' this up now, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and whether you celebrate or not, I pray you have peace, and joy, and love and all good things during this holiday season.

Merry Christmas

Wishing my readers a wonderful, blessed and safe Christmas.

We're pretty low-key here.

This is all the further any of us got on decorating that tree.  A shame too as it really is a nicely shaped tree.  Those red bows & streamers usually hang from the upstairs railing.  Marty finally went out on Wednesday, to find the lights and he and Nick put them on.  

Marty was up first.  That's normal.  He made the coffee and then puttered around on his computer.

Having stayed up until past midnight watching a Lifetime channel movie, I was up later.  I dawdled around and eventually fixed breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hashbrown patties.

Nick woke up in time for breakfast, still in just his bathrobe as I started to type but is now in the shower.  After breakfast we finally got around to unwrapping presents.  The kitties got theirs first.  They were really into the whole Christmas present thing, and curious as to what was going on.

That mouse is the same color as you Flame!

I'm sure I can fit into this box-lid....um, sure Raven, aka "Chubs"

After opening the presents, I mentioned it would be nice to re-watch some of our church's Christmas concert [www.gracechurch.org/concert if you're interested - it's a very good concert.] so Nick found a piece of equipment that we've had for probably a year or more and never opened, I think it's called Chrome Cast but I could be wrong.  It's attached to the TV but uses WiFi to operate, so he downloaded the app to his phone, then pulled up the concert and we watched on our larger TV.  About mid-way through, I needed to get up and get started in the kitchen.  There was some cleanup from breakfast, and ahem, pots & pans from who knows when ;p that needed to be dealt with.  I also had to put the frozen pie in the oven.  That was actually baking while we watched the concert.  

I decided I'd make a broccoli salad this year, so looked up every internet recipe and then did my own thing using my gleanings as a reference.  To the broccoli, I added crisply fried bacon pieces, sliced almonds, a little sliced green onion, some finely diced red bell pepper - green and red are Christmas colors you know - and then the mayo, a little garlic white wine vinegar, sugar and the usual salt & pepper.  Oh and raisins, can't forget about them.  When I worked for a large aerospace company, our cafeteria had the best broccoli salad and I sure have missed it.  

In addition to the broccoli salad, we will have our traditional prime rib roast - I wrote about it here for Toaster Oven Tuesday back in January.  We will also have crescent rolls from the pop open tube, boiled red potatoes with butter and fresh parsley, buttered corn, cranberry sauce, and for dessert, peach pie - Claim Jumper frozen - and ice cream.  I think that's far more than plenty for the three of us.  I'd have probably skipped the corn even, but Nick wasn't keen on the idea of broccoli salad, so requested corn.  

I also had to get the table cleaned off enough to be able to at least put a Christmas table cloth on half of it and we'll have some nice ambiance for dinner.  I pulled out a couple pillar candles too, and our cable provider has been broadcasting a Yule log with Christmas music, so maybe we'll turn that on in the background and it'll feel like we're in front of the fireplace.  

Marty has taken off to do a short hike while the roast cooks.  We're in the mid-50s here with clear skies, but gusty winds.  Had hoped we'd have the rain today that was predicted a week ago, but as is often the case, the forecast changes daily, and the very little bit of rain came in a day or two early and it's dry out today.  I sure miss the Christmas weather of my childhood, and the excitement of knowing we could get a white Christmas.  It almost always snowed on Christmas or within a day or two either side of it.

I hope your Christmas has been as bright and shiny as Flame's laser-cat eyes.  Stay safe, and give all your loved ones extra hugs.

Toaster Oven Tuesday ... Not

Yes, well it usually is Toaster Oven Tuesday, but I haven't been doing a lot in the kitchen lately so I've nothing to write about on that subject.

December and I seem to not have a very close friendship, and it's a struggle to "do" December every year.  Putting up with a cold that threatened both a bronchial and sinus infections didn't help either. My friend Vertigo reappeared mid-month as well and it seems to be more off-putting than the last bout.   As I told my daughter, I should make it a point to have all things Christmas ready and done before Thanksgiving and that way I can hibernate through most of December. Hah!

Nick & Marty went out...on their own...and picked out a Christmas tree on Saturday, or was it Sunday?, but it has yet to be decorated.  It does sport two decorations, one a bow that was in a tin that Nick handed me yesterday as he was (finally) cleaning his room, and the other is one that's been hanging from a door jamb for at least two years and of which I've forgotten its origin.

beautifully shaped little tree

You have seen on Webs of Thread though, that I have put in some quilt time.  Most of that because I was able to sit in one place, with the box of tissue within arms reach, and a television just feet away.  There have been a lot of naps these past two weeks.  I am much better of course, but finding it hard to get in gear for anything more than the basics of day to day.

But, today I got out and took Nick to get his hair cut, got a late lunch, killed some time at Target without making a purchase, got him to his dentist appointment, stopped at the grocer but they didn't have the main thing I was looking for so picked up only a couple necessities and will head to Costco in the morning, to be there when they open.  My son's dentist is right across the street from Costco, but at 4:30 in the afternoon, there was no way I was going to battle for a parking spot and then battle the crowds and checkout lines when it's three days before Christmas.   After I get Costco out of the way, I'll probably go to Walmart or Target and see if I can't get some things I have in mind.  It might be a year for finding images online, printing, and putting that in a wrapped box.  

Where, oh where has my Christmas excitement gone?  I used to love putting up lots of decorations and getting the tree, and planning and cooking a feast, spending time with friends.  I'd put on Christmas music as soon as Thanksgiving was over, ask Marty to pull the decorations from the rafter storage area (and wait, and wait until he did).  I'd write the Christmas letter, and prepare all the cards.  Something's gotten lost over the last few years.  I'm thinking I just got tired of "doing it all myself".

If I can get through this winter's malaise, perhaps next year, it can look more like this again:

and this:

Perhaps by Thursday I'll be able to get to those oatmeal cookies I want to make.  I haven't made cookies in my toaster oven yet, but I'm guessing they'll come out pretty well. 

Merry Christmas

A Christmas Memory

I've spent more time again over the last few days trying to box up this over-stuffed kitchen.  This morning, I was clearing an upper cupboard where I've housed thermos bottles and such - rarely used, but when needed are very nice to have.  In the far back corner of the very top shelf, I found something I'd long forgotten about and it brought back so many memories.  Memories that are good and yet add to the melancholy I always experience at this time of year. This is what I found:

Christmas Cup

 When I first came to this dry land, I met Jane.  Jane was the step-mother of my then fiance'.  His dad had died by just a couple years before, and she was a widow and still single.  The fiance' and I remained together for about three years after I moved here, never getting married, and going our separate ways - shortly before Christmas 1975.  Jane and I had become, and remained, quite close over the years.  We spent a lot of time together and holidays were very special. Especially for me since I had no family here of my own. The ex-fiance and I remained friends too...eventually. 

One of our Christmas traditions was to decorate the tree, which included all those OLD, now VERY OLD and dangerous, type of string bulbs - the real ones that could get hot and burn your tree down and your house along with it!  We had such fun decorating the always heavily flocked, and very tall tree listening to Christmas music in the background and sipping wine or a hot toddy.  (That was my BC days.)  One year she bought this coffee mug for me, and I guess somewhere along the line the handle broke, but all the pieces are there; I suppose I planned to fix it.  The mug so depicted what we went through with those lights.

I miss those times, they were fun but more than just missing the time, I miss the relationship with her and the family.  Over the years, we've followed our own separate paths and don't speak with each other often and see each other far less.  I think the last time we saw each other has been about 12 years ago.  She's moved out of the immediate area, so getting together would require a drive of several hours.

She has a birthday coming up next week; I'll have to find her number and give her a call.  

Merry Christmas

Praying everyone has a Merry Christmas.
Praying everyone remains safe.
Praying everyone has love and someone to love and be loved by...even if it's only a furry four-footed creature :)
Praying you know, or will know the Saviour's love for you.
Praying His joy will fill your life.
Blessings to all...
Lee

Fina-Lee Friday

• I've heard, but haven't yet researched, that our president(?) is trying to put in a bill (or has?) to add a 15 cent tax on Christmas trees to "improve the image of Christmas trees". Does the Christmas tree have a bad image? I wasn't aware.
• A couple weeks ago I saw a car carrier with nice new police cars on it. They were "Lexington Police" cars. Hmmm, were they headed to Kentucky but took a detour to the southwest? Maybe they were painted here? There is a Lexington in California, so maybe they were headed there. Or maybe they were taking a tour like the DC Christmas tree that took a month to get to DC.
• I wonder if some of the driver's I see have ever read the driver's handbook. Have I wondered that out loud before? Specifically wondering about the guy that stopped in the middle of the three lanes of traffic because of the emergency vehicle that was going the opposite direction on the other side of a curbed and tree-filled median.
• And the other driver that couldn't decide if he wanted to turn into a driveway or not and held up traffic while he contemplated the notion.
• Or the dudette walking in the parking lot that didn't have the sense to move aside to let the cars drive where cars drive, I wondered about her. Of course, she's a pedestrian, and I'm not aware of a walker's manual, but think there should be one...also one for bike riders - they should be licensed!!
  
• Why did the city put in a fully functioning traffic light on a street at an intersection where the cross street hasn't been constructed? Is that an example of the cart before the horse? Or an attempt to slow traffic in a posted 55 mph zone?
• Marty let me know last night because of some areas he needs to learn at with his job that he'll no longer be telecommuting on Friday. Bad for him, good for me. He has to endure Friday traffic, I have a 5th day to do what I do with my days in 'my' domain without interference-even if it's only in my mind. What will we do when he retires? I suppose I'm a bit 'selfish' in my territory.
• My sweet baby girl called yesterday inquiring as to our Christmas list. The whole gift area of Christmas is a struggle for me. It used to be because of lack of funds. But now it's more that there's nothing I really need and my big want is the kitchen remodel and a couple quilting-related very pricey items (like cabinet/table for my machine); same with Marty-doesn't need anything but maybe would like a 4WD vehicle for his photog outings (his car has >150K miles on it); Nick has a list...mostly things with a high price tag, too! The grandbaby's easy - toys, outfit at this age, but my daughter and son-in-law...that's the hard part. And I'm running out of time!
  

A Magazine, Needlepoint , and the Magi

This magazine was in my mailbox today :)

It has some lovely stuff in it: a 3-part mystery quilt (my subscription expires with the next issue so if I were to do it, I'd have to remember to go buy the last issue), a lesson on tying a quilt...by machine!, a pretty batiks pattern (not my thing, but it is pretty and could be done in other colors/fabrics), a very nice log cabin, an article on color balancing, a valentine's wall art quilt, a blue and cream 'leaf' tessellation quilt (oooh, aaahhh I want to do it), and a whole bunch of other projects :) This magazine is probably in my top three, maybe top two. My favorite-est quilting magazine is The Quilter Magazine.

Many, many years ago, when Victoria was just a little girl in the early 1980s, I thought I'd try working part time as an in-home craft demonstrator/salesperson for Artcraft Concepts. I think I lasted about a year. I found, as maybe others did, that as a 'consultant' I turned most of my profits back to the company by purchasing more and more kits. And it didn't help, that about the time you'd finish making a kit up for demo purposes, the company would discontinue that kit and come out with a new one. Sure, I got them at a deeply-discounted rate from retail, but I still had to make the kit before I could display the product! As far as the kits themselves, I loved them. They were great quality and the company was great at sending out additional yarn or thread or whatever if you didn't have sufficient for whatever reason. I made one of their latch-hook rug kits - a snowy scene that I still use as a cover on an ottoman...even when it isn't winter or Christmas. I was in the midst of a divorce toward the end, and gave up on trying to do this as a business and went to work for a big aerospace firm with a steady income.














This project (below) is called "Magi Christmas Classic". It was first published as a kit in 1978. I bought mine (as a special discontinued offering) in 1983. I didn't begin working on it until Jan. 2006. Until recently I'd been keeping it in the door pocket of my car to work on while I waited for Nick to get out of school and while sitting in the car pick-up line. I don't have to wait in that line anymore, and I get to the school only a few minutes before he's out so thus have no time to work on this there. I decided I'd take it out and work on it while I watch television.

This is the floss that came with the project. I cut slits in a piece of cardboard and numbered them accordingly.














Obviously, this is the color key for the floss, and the color placement chart for the printed fabric. I highlight as I go, it makes it easier.
















The project measures 14"x14" finished. What you see in the hoop (an 8" hoop) is all that was done at the time of this photo. Since then, I have done the upper portion of the robe on the one to the left of this one. It's done in the purple, and is a stem stitch, which is the main stitch used on the characters. I don't think it'll be finished for this Christmas, and then what I'll do with it when it's done has yet to be decided. It was intended to be a framed wall art, but as with a couple other Artcraft projects I did, I may intend to put it as a medallion in a wall quilt and/or table topper.

Did you know that "three" wise men (Magi) is not in Scripture? It's true. There is only the mention of "wise men from the east bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh", and from those three gifts came the errant notion of 3 wise men. There may have only been two, but then again, there may have been six or eight and yes, the possibility of only 3 is still there too. Truth is, we aren't told. And Scripture certainly didn't tell us their names. I'm not sure where the names came from. Regardless of how many or few, it's most likely also that they traveled in a large caravan and maybe not even on camels but swift horses. The route they likely would have taken would have been dangerous with robbers, and carrying an amount of gold - tempting to say the least. Unless one has read and studied Scripture and really paid attention to it, one would blindly go on believing many of the songs composed (with a LOT of error) right along with greeting card depictions of those same errors. Another error is the nativity where we often see the wise men on bended knee with their gifts at the manger. Nope. They weren't there. They likely hadn't even embarked on their journey until after He was born and the saw the star to guide them. Herod met with the magi to determine when Christ would have been born...the magi went to "a house" (not a stable) so the family was already 'home' ...Herod wanted to destroy the Child and thus his order to kill all the male children in and around Bethlehem from two years and younger (Jesus may have been as old as 2 by the time this all happened - remember, Herod inquired of the Magi as to when the Christ was born - Herod issued this order after discovering the wise men learned from God Herod's scheme to kill the Child, which had been removed to Egypt with Mary and Joseph for protection. In Scripture at this point He is referred to as "Child" not "Infant" thus also attributing that He was older than a newborn baby. Isn't Scripture interesting if you dig deep into it? It's fascinating how God's plan unfolds from the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in Revelation.

Quilt #008 Flannel Floor Pillow Covers

For years I had these two really big dark blue floor pillows. Over the years they had acquired some stains that I wasn't able to get off by surface washing and they didn't have removable covers. What better than a quilted pillow cover for them? I found one just the right size...well, almost. It was a little big but that just meant all I had to do was make the borders a little narrower. I left the top open without any closures, yet. I count it as finished because I'll probably never work the patterned closures which were big buttons and buttonholes. One never knows though. I even considered using some Velcro.

The pattern is by DuAnn Wright and was once available through Keepsake Quilting though that isn't where I purchased it from. I started it circa 2001 and finished it in June of 2008 (wow, I don't remember it sitting around THAT long!). Do you see a procrastination thread running through my quilting? If you can't tell by the photos, these are flannel. It was my first experience with flannel since I made a nightgown in high school Home-Ec. I like the one on the left the best, I made it last. I think the border on the one on the right is too light and it makes it look blah. Both have a dark maroon outer border. The back is also solid maroon. To me, these are a little 'Christmasy' but are also 'cabin-ish' and I like that, so they sit out all year fitting perfectly side-by-side atop an old coffee table in front of the fireplace. When winter, and the Christmas tree arrives, the table and pillows gets pushed over in front of the piano (I don't have a piano bench.) and add to the festive look.

Now that it's cooler, flannel sure is sounding cozy. I have a lot of it now, too. Maybe I can make another nightgown or pajamas to match a flannel quilt. I still have that Home-Ec nightgown; it's rather thread bare now, and would never fit on this current body, but it's a reminder of something I made when I was young and first learning to sew and I loved it.

Quilt #007

From the "Morning Star Wall Quilt" pattern in Magic Stack-n-Whack by Bethany Reynolds; I chose a gold-painted fabric to make the stars and border. It measures 42.5" x 46 5/8" and is a wall-hanging I display at Christmas. Started in early December 2000, it was finished in late October 2003. I discovered the fabric paint to be a little hard to work with as to the center points but managed and ended up with flat centers :) . This was a much better fabric choice for this technique than was the fabric in "(Nick's) Planets". It was machine quilted and I used tissue paper to design my own 6-pointed stars for the border quilting. Tissue paper doesn't hold up really well though so I did about half of each border at a time, pinning the paper to the border. It was also entered in the local guild's quilt show, but only received a couple viewer choice votes. One fellow guild-member made the comment to me: "It's interesting that a Christian would quilt it with the Star of David." Well, my Saviour was born a Jew, so it shouldn't be seen as odd at all.