December 24th Christmas Eve

These three arrived from Nashville Thursday night!

Tired but pumped for Christmas!

They always want beef stew and biscuits for dinner so Friday night I made that only I made enough for a small army so we called my daughter's and they came to eat as well.

They also brought the PUPPIES!

Luna, the husky!

(She didn't like being an only dog at all!)

So, 

Maya, a border collie.  Joined the family as well.  

Maya really enjoys being held in her mom's arms!

As a border collie Maya requires a job-so her job is to run Luna (and herself ) to exhaustion!

Lola really wanted to play with them but she's quite a bit bigger so that was only semi-successful and Quinn wanted nothing to do with them at all!

It was a wonderful, happy, dinner enjoyed by all.  Must do it again.

Yesterday, I made Povitica (or Tica).

The soft dough is stretched as far as you can make it stretch.  This is a 4 x 6 foot table.

It was thin enough to read the paper through it--which wasn't so great once I started spreading the nut mixture on it and holes got torn, sigh.  It worked out okay. I have 5 really nice loaves.  So the children will be happy.

I still need to make the cheesy potatoes for Christmas Dinner and some bacon cooked in the oven.

In the morning there will be fruit salad and blueberry coffeecake to be made.

Then it's off to the insanity of gift giving!

It's HIGHLY unlikely that a post will go up tomorrow--so--

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 ps-to those of you who have been commenting, I've been reading them but I seem unable to respond!  I've enjoyed each and every one, Thank you!

Not quite every day!

My goal is to blog every day.

Yeah, well I'm trying!

Yesterday, after chores I set up the sewing machines in the studio.  Okay, they aren't plugged in yet but they are sitting in their usual spot-I count that as a win.

For some unknown reason I was really tired yesterday, had a nap and went to bed early!

Today, has been much better.

Before noon I had tidied the bathroom downstairs, gone to the post office to mail cards, and washed two sweaters.  Boring stuff.

This afternoon I began to tackle this ~~ 

I did some ironing (I'm headed back down to do some more soon.)

There is also mending in this mess!

I need to get the fabric pressed and put away.

If I don't have a big plan for a piece of fabric it gets ironed, folded and wrapped around an acid free cardboard.  I write the yardage on the cardboard and file it by the amount.  A fat quarter just gets ironed, wrapped around a small piece of cardboard and filed by color.  It works for me.  I guess once all the strips from the jelly roll are ironed I'll roll it up and put it in another drawer.

Every time I clean up the studio I reorganize things, then I wonder why I can't find anything!

Outside of the studio, I need to clean up my office in case someone needs to use it.

I have out of town guests coming on Friday ~~ My Nashville kids!

I don't want to do much in the way of housework while they are here.

Tomorrow I need to go to the market, early.  

Otherwise, I'm sure I will keep busy!

 

Clean up from Christmas explosion

Having learned that a lot can be accomplished while doing laundry last week, I worked at cleaning up the studio.

I'd really like to stitch again, that is currently impossible.

By lunch time I had the left side looking like this~~

Much better, I can see most of the top of the cutting tables!

The right side of the room~~

Not so good!

Look at that ironing basket!

You will notice that neither of my machines are out, they remain in their cases from Shipshewana! Mostly because the tables are covered.  

I'm going to try to get that side cleaned up and set up tomorrow.

Tonight, Quinn and I are puppy sitting this gorgeous girl!

Meet Luna!  

She's a 15 week-old Husky.  My daughter's new puppy.

(They lost their golden just before Thanksgiving and Libby CANNOT be without a dog!)

Quinn and Luna are negotiating the friendship thing.

At the moment they are resting.  I doubt that will last!

 

Christmas Exploded!

Cause all the wrapping is finished!

The cards are all addressed and waiting for me to take them to the Post Office for stamps.

Winding down towards the big day!

I even took a few stitches in my current cross stitch piece.

Tomorrow I start all over on the housework, isn't that always the way?

No matter how well you do it the next week you get to do it again.  (I am not trying to pull out the frig this week?)

 

Friday --away from home

I try to schedule errands, appointments, and shopping for Friday.  

Sometimes, I go to a museum or a movie.

Today, I traveled 15 minutes down the highway to Cockrell Mercantile.  One of the most amazing places I'ver ever shopped!  Four former homes/cottages that hold every kitchen gadget, baking accessory, and fiesta ware.  Today, they were very busy so I didn't stay long.  Bought a small spatula and a bundt cake pan cleaner for me and the final gift for someone.  Well, I hope it's the final gift!

After that I headed off to Walmart.  I don't believe  I've never been there when it was so busy!  I needed the refill bottle of the cleaning spray I use, some shampoo and I couple of other things.  I got out of there FAST!  

   Then if was off to the UPS Store to send Bookflood to my family in California!  It will arrive next Thursday or Friday.

Final stop was the grocery store, not much I needed there but I'm trying to only go once a week instead of whenever I think of something.  I used to go food shopping every 2nd Friday but that's a habit I can't seem to regenerate!

It's been raining off and on most of the afternoon and evening-Makes me sleepy!  There's a chill in the house.  Combine those two things and I really want to hit the couch for a nap!  

Tomorrow,  will absolutely be the end of the wrapping, some ironing and a tidy up in the studio.  Actually all of that may take two days!

Later!

The end is near!

 Today, I had my last crown put in place!  Also the scans and impressions for the partials which will complete the dental work I needed!  

I'm really looking forward to it!

Hopefully, I will only need the Zanax one more time for a long while!  

After I got home I stayed here:

Trying to sleep off the horrible headache Zanax gives me.  Which still lingers 11 hours later.  

Lucy Bear kept me company and helped keep me warm.  I sleep with Lucy every night.  She provides a nice place to rest my arms so I don't pull on my shoulders and keeps me from traveling all over the bed. Allowing for deeper sleep.  I have no idea why that happens but it does.  I'm keeping her!  

Quinn, also kept me company, of course.  Mostly, by requiring me to get up and open the door, getting her daily bone or feeding her.  I couldn't manage playing today though and that made her a bit unhappy!

Tomorrow, I have a few errands to do then I think I'll wrap packages.

I have been defeated!

By the refrigerator!

I think I had an inch and a half left when one of the wheels got caught in the vinyl flooring--

big bump there.  

No matter how hard I tried it wouldn't budge.

Also, not insignificantly, I had very sore arms!  

No more go in them.

Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment and when I return I will sleep off the medication.  So, no housework.

I needed the frig back in it's hole.

So,

I gave up, cleaned under it as best I could and moved it back.

(Lin--I had no trouble with getting it back in!)

I need to replace the flooring in there with something nicer so the frig will have to come out then but we will cut the vinyl off so it won't be a problem.

On the plus side--I have the cleanest kitchen, just one or two more smallish things to do.

I'm quite tired though!

Tuesday is the day I scrub the Kitchen

I am not the best at keeping my house clean.  (Don't judge)  

I do specific things each day of the week because it helps me actually CLEAN house!

That said I'm hanging my head in shame over this-- 

When I moved into this house in December of 2016 I purchased a new refrigerator.

Being the daughter of a home builder/contractor/handy man I carefully measured the opening before I bought the frig and then measured the frig at the store.  When it was delivered it DID NOT fit!

I have formica counter (bench) tops which are very prone to chipping especially when being cut.  

 I carefully cut off the end of the counter top and slid it in.  

BUT. . .

I should have cut a tad off the upper cabinet as well - the floor is not level apparently.  I managed to get it in but I've never been able to get it out! (mind you it's on wheels) 

So, for seven (yes 7) years  it hasn't been cleaned either behind or beneath!

It has recently been making an odd noise and freezing in the fresh food section.

So, 

I decided to try once again to clean it.

Getting it out hasn't been easy.

I've been working at it for a couple of days.  Pulling on one side and then the other.

It's been coming out by millimeters, but it is coming.  I only have about 3 inches left out of 12.

When I get tired I go do something else and then come back to it.

I am nothing it not stubborn!

I will finish the kitchen tomorrow.

I hope.

I also hope the frig doesn't need a repair man!

For now I'm going to go wiggle the frig some more.

Monday is Wash Day

That would be the only day I follow that old rhyme but I always do laundry on Monday. 

I will go to bed with clean sheets and lots of options for tomorrows clothing!

While the washer was chugging along and the dryer was tumbling along with it I wrapped packages.  I'd like to say I finished but that would be a lie!  I sometimes wonder if I will ever finish!  It's worth it for Christmas Day fun!

I must say staying in the studio right next to the laundry room got the wash done quite speedily!

Of course, I only ever have three loads of laundry to do!

Otherwise, I have been wiggling my refrigerator out for cleaning but that's a story for tomorrow!

See you then.

The Sunday Report!

My tea is almost gone!

Years ago my friend Ann sent me tea grown and processed in Australia.  

I loved it! 

When I was in Australia I bought LOTS of it to bring home.

 Some for me and some for my tea loving sons. 

 This is the last of the Nerada tea I brought home, sigh.

 Fortunately, I can (and have) order it from Amazon!  (Also, Violet Crumbles by the way.)  

When I drink it I think of all the lovely ladies I met "Down Under."

If you are a tea drinker and have never tried it, do so.  It's almost sweet enough to drink without sugar and does not have the bitter edge to it that Lipton has.

 I have always drunk Lipton.

 It was packaged in my home town-we could often smell the tea on the breeze!

After I wrote yesterday's epistle of a blog post I went down and did this

This one isn't under the tree!  It's so big and so heavy and wrapping paper is rather fragile so I left it against the wall where I wrapped it!  Someone strong will have to deal with the toting of it!

For the third year we are celebrating the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokflod.  (The Christmas Book Flood.) The gifting of books on Christmas Eve.  Some of us without other places to be will sit and read that night.  Anyway, I wrapped all the books last night as well!  Don't worry I still have many, many gifts to wrap!

Next up on my list for today is to write the Christmas letter. and prepare my computer "To Do" lists.  After dinner, which I think will be roasted Acorn squash--Not sure what I will have with it--I will once again retreat to the Studio to wrap gifts.  Maybe it will be the rest of the Grandchildren's gifts?  Anything that gets wrapped takes some of the mess out of the studio.  A few more wrapping sessions and I will be finished and can stitch until it's time to bake.

So, I'll see you tomorrow!

PS.  If anyone remembers that one of my sons lives in Nashville and heard about the tornados in Tennessee last night--They are just fine.  All the nasty storms went North of them so all they had was rain!

 

Another Catch up-Fall

I spent a LOT of time out of doors in October!

Everything got weeded.  Hostas got cut back, everything else got dead-headed/or cut back.

 All the flower pots were washed, the house as well (okay, it got hosed off!) Spider webs everywhere were defeated-although it seems that a few have returned.

I spent 5 days cleaning and organizing the garage,  that has managed to stay clean - I stand amazed!

All the outdoor furniture except the table and the frame for the swing got moved into that clean garage for the winter, the hoses where drained and put away and all of this years fallen branches burned.  

Then I went away to retreat and return to find this!

Leaves, leaves and more heaves!  4 maple trees-many, many leaves!

My method for dealing with them is to mow them into the middle and haul out wagonloads  to various garden beds for the winter.  Next summer they will get turned into the veggie garden.

That took two days - one for the front, one for the back- and then the wagon and mower were cleaned up, the mower gas run out etc and those where stored.

During all of this I have been receiving quite a lot of dental work.  Since I am very nervous about dental work I have to take Zanax before an appointment to keep my blood pressure down.  So on appointment days I come home and sleep.

After leaves, there was Thanksgiving.  I am always responsible for dessert:  Pumpkin pie and Apple Crisp especially.  Then we all drove to Scott's for dinner.  He loves this holiday and loves making all the food for it.  I sometimes miss it myself-then I stop and think about how tired one gets with all of that and decide it's fine that he likes it!  Normally, both our family (at least part of it) and Bri's family are both in attendance but this year part of Bri's family had Covid and the rest stayed home as they had been exposed!  So it was a nice quiet dinner, very enjoyable.

I try to have my outdoor lights up before Thanksgiving and plug them in for the first time on Thanksgiving, following the Kansas City tradition of lighting the Plaza lights that day.  This year I had quite the struggle with the lights, it took me three attempts over three days to get it done, then I couldn't find the timer so they were on 24 hours a day for a couple of days.

The Tree is up and the house is decorated, whew! 

I've ordered and received holiday cards-although I haven't addressed them yet.

All along I've been shopping for Christmas gifts but that is finished!  Now, I have to wrap! (Which is next up for today!)

Then there is a small amount of baking to be done.  

Truthfully, I LOVE all this stuff!

You will notice that there is no mention of stitching.  That's because there hasn't been any!

I've resolved to blog each day so I'll see you tomorrow!