It's Really Looking like Christmas...at least Inside!

       Today I added a few more touches to the Christmas tree next to my computer.  First, I moved our 'Dominic the Italian Donkey'

& his cart to sit  next to it instead with the crystal trees on the shelf between the TV room and the living room, hoping nothing would knock the tree over and break Dominic.  I don't know where or when Mom got him, but he's been around as long as I can remember.  She may even gotten him back in the mid-50's when the song was first introduced! 

    Later this afternoon we went to Hannaford's and I got the batteries I needed for the mini lights on the tree.  It cost almost $17 for a multi-package of AA batteries and a 3-pack of 3.5v round ones.  It would have been cheaper just to buy 4 new strands of lights!!  When we got home, I started to change the batteries and almost created a disaster!  The tree toppled over sending the small ornaments flying all over!!  Luckily, I collected all the pieces...nothing broke but several came apart...before the dogs thought it was a new game with the winner getting to eat what they'd salvaged.  By then I was in tears and Zoey was hiding next to Jeff.  I asked for help and Jeff tried to stabilize the base of the tree by putting pieces of cardboard under the corners but that wasn't doing it.  There was a square from a 'blocking board' next to the couch and the next thing I knew, Jeff had traced the around the base of the tree and cut the hole to fit.  It worked perfectly.  (It should, it was a square from a 'good' thick blocking board from JoAnn's Fabric, not a 'kiddies' A-B-C version you can find at Walmart.)

   On the way to the check-out in Hannaford's, I saw the display of Christmas cactus and decided to buy one to complete the scene by my computer.  My mom had inherited Aunt Ant's Christmas cactus years ago and it was huge!  It blossomed every year and after we got it, sometimes blossomed twice a year.  It lived for over 20 years, too!  I don't know if this little one will make it that long, but it looks nice next to my tree.  Every thing is on the same scale:  Small.  Cute.  Nice.

  Oh, I found another circular knitting needle when I was search for ornament parts!  I thought that one (a 3.5mm) was long gone!!  

                               

 

Our Tree

    I finally got our tree up and decorated today.  It wasn't a great feat...it's only a 2ft tall (and spindly) table topper that I've used for the last 10-15 years.  (Putting up the big tree got to be too much work, so I switched to this tabletop one.  I actually gave away the big tree and all the ornaments Mom and I had made over the years...a dumb move but....).  I've got 4 strands of mini lights on it and a couple of dozen snowflake and star buttons that are hung on ornament wires.  I also hung the cute little stitch markers

that I got in swaps over the years ('balls of yarn', enameled and silver animal charms), there's a crocheted wreath and a Hallmark ornament or two.  Last year I got 2 paper gift labels that were 'special' so

they were added.  I found that Snowman on a Sled that Mom had made in the back of a cupboard and he's perfect to hide the battery paks for the minilights.  I don't know what else I'll add this year...it looks pretty good to

 me!  I'll add a photo of the tree when the sun goes down.

   I really had to do some cleaning to get this far.  I wanted to move the table my printer was on over so the tree would be more visible from outside...incase a squirrel or deer walking by would be interested.  To do that I had to move the printer to the other end of the cedar chest.  I decided to move the ceramic dogs (Samantha and one of her puppies, Lady Di-can you guess when those puppies were born??)  I thought they'd look cute next to the tree, so they got dusted off and moved closer.  I think I'll find a placemat to put down for them as a rug to make the scene more natural.

   I had to add a layer of styrofoam to the tree's base because Fanny had knocked it over so many times with her tail it wouldn't support the metal rod that's the 'tree' trunk.  I had planned to replace the styrofoam in the base but decided it would be very messy and just added a 2" layer to it.  I taped it all together with packing tape and it seems a lot sturdier now.  I just want it to last this year.  I looked for a new tree at Walmart this week but they were too big and too expensive.  I think I'll order one from Amazon and turn this one into a bird feeder or something!

   While I was cleaning for this move, I found things that I didn't even know were missing!  A pair of 'good' scissors, a single short size 8 knitting needle, and a long circular size 4 or 5 needle, the dvd "Mama Mia", a nice little rollup tape measure from a Swap, the dog's muzzle and the newest pair of dog's nail clippers (who hid those??), and a dime!

My New Thought to Live By for 2024

 

It's Beginning to Look A Little Like Christmas

   Had to change the lyric to the Christmas song because the snow we've been getting hasn't stayed for more than a few hours so, it's beginning to look a little like Christmas!  We picked up the tray of cookies I ordered from the Java Shop in Herkimer yesterday and oh, were they worth it!  They look so nice and taste out of this world!  (I enjoy baking but it's so hard to do 4 or more kinds of Christmas cookies alone!  Besides, Robbie is a better baker than I am!!)  Anyway, I put most of the cookies in a Tupperware-type container and put them in the cupboard to try and save them for Christmas but I did fill a plate and put it in a ziplock bag and put it on the table so we would have something to have with our coffee. I picked a Cucidati for my 1st cookie when we got home and after supper, I tried another and what to my wonderful surprise, found I had an almond paste cookie!  Right there, those 2 made it worth the cost of the tray!  Today I tried a biscutti (it had yellow frosting and was lemon flavored) and a sesame seed cookie.  Both were better than I could have ever done. Jeff likes the Reese's treats (a PeanutButter cookie w/a Reese's cup on top) and the Cucidati's. I know we'll have enough cookies to make it to Christmas if I keep the big container hid in the cupboard!!  

   We went to Ilion today to the Library and made a quick stop at Aldi's.  I saw last Friday that they had panettone...an Italian dessert bread...so I got one.  It lasted until today (I was the only one eating it!) and I decided to get another.  It was great for breakfast, lightly toasted.  They were only $5.99 and the ones I got were filled with chocolate chips.  Traditionally, panettone is filled with dry fruit but since I'm not a big fan of dried fruit I went with the chocolate.  One of 

my mother's older sisters made it for Christmas and Easter but this one beat her's hands down. My mother never made panettone but until this year, I didn't know how good it could be.  My aunt's version was good but this one from Aldi's is better.  The score between homemade and storebought is Homemade 0, Storebought 2.  Now if I could just find some Honey clusters....

  The 3rd thing that is different this year is I'm not involved in any swaps.  I've been so busy trying to keep my stock up in the shop and do some special gifts that I just didn't have time to do anything else.  Besides, since I wasn't working in the shop, I wasn't tempted to buy any of the fantastic and different stocking stuffers that the shop members produce and that left me at a loss as to what to include in a swap package.  Just as I was feeling really disappointed because there wouldn't be any great packages in the mail, the group administrators decided to skip swaps this year.  I'm not sure why...I haven't been following the FB pages that closely, but hopefully, next year things will be back to normal for all of us.  I know I'm not the only one who is missing those great packages!!

  We haven't got our Christmas tree up yet but that should be done tomorrow.  My little table top tree has taken a beating over the years as Fanny, our Australian cattledog mix, usually knocks it off the table with her tail at least 2 or 3 times a year.  I've pushed the tree 'trunk' (a metal pole) back in the styrofoam base so often there's not much styrofoam left to hold it steady!  I bought a piece at Walmart today and tomorrow I'll try to fix things.  Last year I ended up having to tie the tree to the window frame to keep it upright! I looked at artifical Christmas trees today but they were all too big and too expensive! I'll post a photo of our tree here:

Cucidat

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Yesterday we went with my cousin, Ed, his cousin, Carolyn, and her sister-in-law, Delores, to the H.C. Smith Benefit Club, in St. Johnsville, NY for their annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Besides the fact I didn't have to clean house or cook a big meal, that was the best turkey dinner I had in a very long time! Served buffet style, you had your choice of white or dark meat (or both), mashed potatoes, squash, green beans, stuffing (out of this world!!) , and gravy. And you could have seconds! (Yes, Jeff and Ed did!)

The dessert table was overloaded with pie! We all picked a different variety, so I can say all the pies were delicious!

Delores's grandson told us he and his father (there were others) delivered over 400 meals as far as Canajoharie! There was a steady stream of take-out dinners, too. Over 40 turkeys were cooked for this feast and I'd be surprised if there were any leftovers! (They did run out of squash but that wasn't a shame to me!)

This was a 'free will donation' meal and was better that some you could have gotten in a fancy restaurant. Bread and butter and cranberry sauce was also on each table. They served soft drinks, milk (white & chocolate), eggnog, fruit juices and punch but no coffee. On the way out, Ed said we'd have to remember this for next year! Oh, yes!!!

p.s. When we got home, I made a pot of coffee and Jeff, Ed and I drank our fill!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Isn't This How It All Started?

   I've recently gotten interested in Knit Teddy Bears and have purchased several patterns in the past few months.  Sarah Gasson's "Knit A Teddy" has really captured my interest and at the same time allowed me to make changes to her designs.  I finally have a Teddy about ready to be put in the shop (hopefully for our Open House, Nov. 24-26th) and here she is...step by step.

This was after the first day's work.  I got her stuffed and her arms and legs attached.  I am so glad I remembered how to use buttons with shanks to attach arms and legs to make the doll sit more naturally.  I had a lot of fun getting her this far...and a lot of trouble!  Stuffing was not my thing!!  When Mom and I started out in the craft business, she sewed and stuffed the bodies and I handled the hair, faces and clothes.  Mom had a real knack for stuffing animals!  I think I got the arms and legs ok but the body is a little lacking!  It had a bigger belly at one point and suddenly, when it was all sewed up and the arms and legs were attached, she lost her belly!  I missed my Mom so much that night!  I kept calling her, asking for her help stuffing the bear.  I finally decided to name the bear Josie.

   I was so confused by the time I gave up and went to bed that night I wasn't sure what I was doing.  The next day I went thru the clothing bag looking for the bear's bloomers that I thought I had finished the night before.  No, what I had finished were the boy bear's baseball pants.  I finished the bloomers in the morning, dressed the bear and took the first picture.

   Today I dressed Josie in her pink dress (it still needs some butttons on the back) and made her one sock and shoe.  Tomorrow I'll do the

other shoe and sew a black bow on each.  It was suggested I knit a strap and make the shoes into MaryJane's but I'm not sure where to put it.  (There is a pattern available with MaryJane's that I might buy to settle that.)  Tomorrow I'll sew the buttons on the back of the dress and make a headband out of white grosgrain ribbon and the knit flower that was suggested to go on the bear's dress. I even got some elastic to put under the flower to make it easier to put the headband on.

   That leaves my problem of the rolled hem.  I guess I'll just put some water in the iron and try to steam the bottom of the dress. I'll add that picture tomorrow!
  

September Already?

   I haven't been the most faithful posting here lately.  Life has slowed down (like me) and not much has changed.  

   We finally got our car to pass State Inspection.  Took about a month.  We kept taking it to the mechanic who'd adjust something/change something/do something and tell us to drive it for a couple of days to see if the dashboard lights would stay off.  They wouldn't.  We'd drive it watching the milage, trying to get to "50-lights -off -miles" and as soon as we got near 45 miles--on would come the 'check oil' light and all the rest.  It got to be a real joke/pain.  Jeff kept trying to do what he could, too.  We ended up with several new filters, new spark plugs, clean oil and I don't know what else.  Finally, it came home with the new red sticker on the windshield that said it had passed inspection!  And 3 days later, all the lights came back on!  At least we've got until next July to worry about what to do with this car.

   I had just about decided to retire from the shop this winter.  I can't work in the store anymore and the drive to Cooperstown is too much for me to do alone.  Now, with the idea of replacing the car it looks like I'm going to have to stick with it for another year...or at least until I can save up a decent down payment.  I'm lucky enough to be able to send my stuff down and not have to spend several days every month down there thanks to a good friend in the shop.  Without Bonnie 'truckin' my stuff to Cooperstown I would really be out of luck!.  I started the season with just putting hats in the shop but managed to get a couple of small sweaters knitted for Labor Day.

This is one of them...a variation on my ol' sheep sweater.  I think it's cute...sure hope it sells!
I'm trying to knit a teddy bear for the new grandchild of a college friend and if it comes out OK, I may put some in the shop.  In the meantime, I knit when my hands allow/suffer when they don't...I never thought my fingers would hurt so much during the night!  The pain in my hands actually wakes me up!  Our summer weather this year hasn't helped much either.  It's rained a lot and there haven't been many 'hot, hazy days of summer' like in the past.  Or if there has, I sure haven't felt them!  I guess I'm just getting old.  Hey, it's better than the alternative!!