Quirky and Fun

Five  year old Aoife visits Santa.  She asked him for a baby racoon. 

 My daughter in Portland shows off, for Christmas, part of her pet family....yes!! This is the kitchen table... Rosie, the Australian shepherd mix by the tree, our dear cat, Stitch and of course Bak-Bak...Aoife's favorite hen.

Above my grandmother's antique candelabra from about 80 years ago...

Those tiny lights that get so hot. It has been rewired.  Great memories. 

Now my family here....My dear grands... and my DIL. I love them so.

Above cool solar outside Christmas lights.

Below the birthday present my daughter made for me.

Guess what kind of basket this is??

My girl has gone poultry crazy!!

Swedish stickers from Linda

My lovely stain glass necklace made by Betty, with love

I do not own a hat...Sherry made one for my birthday...so lovely...

The energy for blogging is diminishing...Actually all my energy is lessening...darn....

This is the first year since moving that I have decorated my apartment for Christmas..

My quilting is down to making things for others...Very gratifying.

Still waiting for my sleep study appointment.

I certainly  hope there may be more kindness in our world this season.

Christmas means hope to me.🙏🙏🙏.

Happy December

Our Stitch, the sewing cat...comfortably enjoys the  view of Mt.St. Helens from my girl's fabric studio in Portland.  He knows that he is "all that"!

A lovely visit from Diane Numero dos...brought not only friendship but these delightful potholders .  Childhood  fun now comes in many colors to weave....How fun!!!

Here is our Diane sporting her home made outfit....From the Goodwill came the flannel shirt.  It was adorned with letters made from her aunts vintage aprons and other nostalgia from her family growing up.

Dylan, two months before he turns 16, showing out on his dirt bike...He has asked his grandma for a muffler for Christmas...Dear me....Sorry it is dark...my baby grandboy should have been home in bed...Oh....no longer a baby.....Stay safe my love...

One more adoring picture of my new fireplace...

Guess my photography is not too good...below is my holiday "tree" on a design board...Gifted ornaments placed  here..

This is my  last post at age 77....Tomorrow I will be 78...OMG!!!

I found this interesting note on the web:

During World War II, paperclips in the lapel were a symbol of Norwegian unity against the German occupation forces and the NS authorities . All such forms of expression of discontent were banned as soon as they were discovered. If you were caught with a paperclip in your lapel, it normally resulted in arrest and fines.

The paperclip's ability to "hold together" was the reason it was found suitable to mark resistance. In the fall of 1940, a group of students at the University of Oslo agreed to use it. "The news spread like wildfire across the city, and the next day half of Oslo walked around with a paperclip in its buttonhole. [...] An innocent office accessory had suddenly become a political emblem, which would prove to be of the 'most dangerous kind' and lead to riots and mass arrests," wrote Finn Bø in the book Forbidden frukt , Oslo 1945.

This Holiday Animal Fair

We are leaving the chickens out this time....well..maybe just a note:

A mad scramble in the chicken yard...lots of white feathers on the ground....missing is Clover....Awful...The next day, as  they were ready to bury feathers and say a  prayer....who came crawling out from underneath the deck...Tough and brave Clover.....safe and sound.. 

 Aoife loves Llamas...every year she goes to the llama Christmas show and last summer, the family took a llama trip to the mountains.. 

Family cat, "Stitch" meets up with Australian shepherd, Rosie...Love at first  sight....well, almost!!

I love this!!

Here is my new fireplace...Sherry spent 5 hours putting this together...I love it so. Unfortunately, it has a  chipped corner....trying to get a replacement....3 rd party seller and I cannot get thru to Amazon..sigh.

Terrible picture, but I could not wait to share.

Lost in my mess...and found again...My grandmother's favorite holiday pins...Miss my grandma so much, but really....I am almost 78.  Most of us no longer have our grandmas.

She was  born in 1896 and died in 1996

A full day with physical therapy...an awesome Quilters' Christmas Party and friends hanging out in  the diner for hours.. The gloomy outside was outdone by the cozy inside...Now to sewing...Have had great expectations of sewing so much for my friends...but no energy here...Oh, well...Why do I  only want to nod off in front of the fire when I have tons to do???

Christmas came with no warning...just an overnight surprise.

Loving the Glimmers

Today was a great day....on Amazon there are small pillows made for comfort...especially when you are sick...perfect for putting on your lap for a tray, perfect to hug when life looks grey, perfect for repositioning self for comfort....A friend of mine is struggling with cancer...she loves sunflowers...I covered the small pillow with fabric quaranteed to spread joy.   I gave it to her today ...  A glimmer of happy.

Next, small thing with great joy. A birthday potholder for a friend who has been a missionary in Africa for  years.  Below a potholder made with snips from different African fabric.

Dr. Suess fabric given away in an impulsive destashing...ugh...given back for a requested potholder to be gifted for Christmas..

A hostess gift...all ready to be gifted....

In Oregon, family chops down their own lovely Christmas tree.

In our art studio my " Christmas Charm " quilt...A divided 9 patch arranged with every center of a different fabric....thus "charm"

My girl in Oregon has started to excite her chickens with the holiday season....

Such a great day.  I actually slept last night...a rare thing... Had a lovely two hour lunch with like minded folks;  a card game with friendly favorites; My cleaning lady and her daughter saved my day, as they always do; a chat with online friends; putting my tree decorations on a design wall; and...working on some WIPs...needed to finish for the holidays.

The few negatives:  cannot for the life of me figure out a birthday present for a dear friend...I need a hernia operation and must lose more weight for that .   Instead, I am drinking red wine and feasting on junk....Sigh.  A friend just delivered the hard to find local peppermint ice cream...sigh and sigh again...No willpower here!!

With all my work on my sewing machine by the mechanic and my friends...what do I find tonight....but a needle threader all broken and hanging by a thread on the edge of the machine... and it is a month out from an expensive servicing!!!!

Winter is finally here in Charlotte.  Below freezing in the morning and glorious trees albeit cloudy days.  I love living here... So many great friends and meal served...no cooking for me.. I have been putting my tree decorations on a cleared design wall...

We have started a new quilting group beginning in January with lots of interest. and my favorite quilting friends continue to come visit on Wednesday s....Did I mention that life is good??!!