wishing you ....

 Wishing you

a season of gladness,

a season of cheer,

and to top it all off  -

a wonderful year!

what if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store;

what if,  perhaps,  it means a little bit more

Christmas is out ...

 I put Christmas out on the weekend - I know, I know, it's early but this is a crazy year!  The décor, the lights, etc. brightened up our home and lifted our spirits.  Our only outings since we closed the cabin are for groceries so it's been rather dull around here. 

These are a few of the ornaments on the tree - the birds are designed by Downeast Thunder Farm and the stockings are by Michelle Palmer...

always remember that your present situation

is not your final destination -  the best is yet to come

still here ...

 I've been doing more of what makes me happy which is why I've been absent -  I've been enjoying it - here's a sample of what I've been up to.    I turned a couple of favourite quilt blocks into cushion covers ...

Another one into a table mat ...

I finished some cross stitch into tags - this is one of them ...

I love these robins  - I think this is a Lesley Teare design.  

This one is a Lesley Teare design ....

There is a bit of a Christmas theme here - I love everything about Christmas - it brings me pleasure and tranquility.  

happiness is not the absence of problems -

it's the ability to deal with them

tempus fugit ...

Tempus Fugit - isn't that the truth - many of us ended the year talking about this.  This was in my stash of stitched pieces and recently added to the pile of pieces to finish - I'm steadily working my way through them.  I stitched this quite some time ago - cannot remember if I had a purpose and/or finish in mind.  ^^  

After Christmas I made a list of things to do, needed doing and/or would like to do - surprisingly, I have already ticked many of the items off the list.  Firstly, I had to sort through all the Christmas decorations/décor and decide what to keep - previously I had downsized to 3 bins and 1 box and am pleased to boast that now there are 2 bins - round of applause happily accepted.  It wasn't easy - when it came down to the nitty gritty I had to decide whether or not to part with the plastic canvas gingerbread house that I made a few decades ago - it still looked like new -  wouldn't fit in the bins so it went into the discard pile - I'm okay with that decision (surprisingly).    One other item that I'd been hanging onto was this Saint Nicholas - he even has wire spectacles that I made and real fur trim ...  

He joined the gingerbread house - hopefully both will find a home where they are appreciated.  

I'd like to thank all of you who follow my blog, read my blog and make the time to comment - you are appreciated.  If you don't have the time to comment I'm okay with that - I'm happy that you visit.

your mind is a garden -

your thoughts are the seeds -

you can grow flowers

or you can grow weeds

hmm ....

I couldn't think of a good title which doesn't show much promise for this being an interesting post.  ^^  I had typed a rant about Christmas nowadays but decided not to use it - quite possibly you have your own rant about how the celebration of Christmas has changed - this year it seemed to be all about the selling/buying of stuff - where were the Christmas tunes and the goodwill.


Our Christmas is usually quiet - we haven't spent it with family for 20 years.  This year a neighbour called in with her wee doggie for a visit on the 24th and on the 25th another neighbour called in for a visit - we enjoyed both visits.  The best visit was on Christmas Day when we 'Skyped' with our son and daughter-in-law who live in Europe.

I stitched this one awhile back and finally did the finish.  It's a design by Lynn B at Happiness is Cross Stitching - I've stitched several of her mini cats...

if you're ever feeling lonely

just look at the moon

someone, somewhere is looking at it too

dear santa ...

  

This one is from Little Stitcher - sadly, the white thread is barely showing but it's a cute design.

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas!!

happiness doesn't come from what we get,

but what we give

new ornaments ...

There are a couple of new ornaments on our tree this year ...

"do you see what i see" is a gift from an old friend

this one is from "Home" - they make them for each province plus Canada - each has  a ribbon in the appropriate tartan 

it doesn't get easier 

you get stronger

Christmas stuff ...

Just some Christmas stuff.     It's amazing what some sunshine can do for a photo - we've had a dearth of sunshine this season and I'm curious why ...

 a tomte made from a styrofoam ball, felt and fake fur with a mini pom pom for a nose

a Gail Pan design

I used to make these wine jackets  

memories keep Christmas in our hearts

cuties ...

This time I took a photo before showing these cuties to my friend - the one who has the red mouse.  When Alice saw the bigger one she called it by name - it was sweet - she is a retired school teacher who lived on a farm and they raised sheep among other things - it went to live with her.    I got the idea for these from Ann - they are made like the wreaths in a previous post with added faces and legs - thanks Ann for sharing the idea.  

if a family has an old person in it -

it possesses a jewel

(Chinese Proverb)

one of those days ...

Carol asked me to share the table mat from my last post - it's one that I posted some years ago - what's old is new again - I cannot locate the original blog post and therefore cannot tell you whose design it is.  :{

Do you ever those days when you wonder if you're losing it - I seem to be having more of them than I used to - yesterday was one of them!!!!!  It began with looking for the above table mat so I could take a photo of it - hmm, not here, not there and doesn't seem to be under anything - ohh,  there it is under the basket of mini lights!  I remember where I put things when we moved in here but can't remember where I put them a month ago when I sorted through and combined  'bins'.  I was looking for the Christmas towels - they could only be in one of two places - nope, not in either - I knew I hadn't given them away -  eventually the light went on -  aha, we brought the blanket box home from the cabin for extra linens, etc.  - yessirree, that's where the Christmas towels were - and the blanket box is in a closet so it's not in plain view.  ^^  Last week I made some Christmas Crack - we ate some - the rest was stored away .... so, where is the Crack that I stored - I did eventually find it - told my fella to remember where it was.  lol   The day seemed to go from bad to worse - I haven't shared the half of it.  ^^ 

The other day I sorted through all the x-stitch pieces that I have and decided I should start doing a finish on them - some will be left for making cards - some left me wondering why I had stitched them.  Yesterday I was having a lazy day and did a finish on two of them - burnt (or is it burned?)  my thumb with the hot glue - the ornies are hanging on the tree now ...

 the fairy is from Lucie Heaton and
Snowflake Deer is from Daffycat

Today is starting out ok - first thing this morning I put on a pot of soup and made a batch of our favourite shorbread - here's the recipe:

(Food Processor) Shortbread

2 cups flour

1/2 cup fruit sugar*

1/2 pound cold butter, cut into 8 cubes

[* if you don't have fruit sugar, process granulated (white) sugar for a few seconds to make it finer]

- Put sugar and flour in food processor and pulse for a few seconds.

- Add butter and pulse for 30 seconds or till fine crumbs form (stir through to make sure no large lumps of butter remain).

- Process till mixture clumps together into a ball.

- Put into a 9x9 pan, press out evenly over bottom, prick all over with a fork.

- Bake @ 350F till firm and lightly brown (anywhere from 35-60 mins - in a pyrex pan in my current oven 35 mins. is sufficient).

- While warm cut into squares; cool in pan; keeps well in covered tin.

DELICIOUS!

(This is an old recipe from Canadian Living Magazine)

This is the book I'm currently reading - and enjoying - every time I pick it up it's like putting on my favourite, comfy slippers - I really like the Rebus character - and he is a character ...

And last but not least 'book art' - I made a book tree - thanks to Maggie - how clever is this - there's a link to the instructions on her blog ...

i haven't forgot ...
i just can't remember!

two more ...

I seem to have been doing a lot of stitching this season - good news is that the pieces actually have a finish finish ^^ 

Lizzie Kate

   

Whispered by the Wind

a balanced diet 

is a cookie in each hand

new ones ...

Just the other day I was sorting through my Christmas x-stitch pieces deciding which ones would be displayed which way - there seemed to be fewer than I thought - how could that be - then I realized that the new ones I'd stitched in the fall hadn't made it to the storage bin - here are a few of the new ones ....

F. lli Graziano

Bent Creek

from a kit

when you follow the masses

remember that sometimes the m is silent

there's a ...

I saw these cuties on the blog tykva.toys.ru  - there are instructions.  Basically the body is a circle folded in half , the ears are smaller circles, and the tail is a chain - quite simple to crochet - sooo cute!  I made another one in red - shared these with a friend before taking the photo - the friend, who loves red, kept the red one.  ^^

And mail from away ....

 from Claire.  



it's not how much we give,
but how much love we put into giving

the last of them ...

This is the last of the cards that I needed to stitch - hmm, there's a bit of a bird theme - quite unintentional ....

And a lavender sachet for my aunt ....

Everything that has to be mailed is ready to go - whew!

Our Indian Summer ended with some rain that changed to snow as the temperature dropped - left us with treacherous driving and walking conditions but the landscape is white and bright!  ^^

may the bridges I burn,

light the way

retro Christmas ...

This one is as cute as a bug's ear (from a cross stitch magazine) ....

We've been having Indian Summer - all the snow has disappeared - yes, all of it - with no wind, no sun and lots of humidity it feels like we're on the West Coast - downright balmy!  

This made me laugh ...

i don't like to call it revenge - 

returning the favour sounds nicer

working on ....

I've been working on Christmas - the card for overseas was the first finish and I showed it in this post .  This one was stitched a while ago but only just received the final finish - finished like a pin keep - stitched with variegated red (DMC 115, a favourite of mine) .....

  I crocheted these wreaths because I could - I was curious how they'd look - they're kinda cute.  I used some round shower curtain hooks for the base - yes, I was desperate -  the pattern is simple with either HDC (half double crochet) or DC (double crochet) to cover the ring - make sure the number of stitches is divisible by three - the next round is some combination of SC (single crochet), HDC (half double crochet) and DC (double crochet)  in a stitch and skip a stitch - just make up your own design.  I worked DC on the wreath with the red baubles and HDC on the other one - only difference is the size of the wreath.

I was going to write about some of the strange things I experienced during the full moon last week but you likely have your own stories so I'll just say this ...

some people are like clouds -

when they disappear, 

it's a beautiful day