Out With The Old

As I sit here dipping the last Christmas cookie into my coffee, Im thinking about the past year. I can’t say it was the the best year, but what exactly is a “best” year? Was it the year I got my first car? Was the year I got married? Was it the year my daughter was born? We all have something good that happens to us every year that seems to make it the “best”, but we also have that one thing every year that seems to have made it the “worst”. A loved one or friend passes, we have health issues, etc.. But we made it. I lost a Sister-in-law but I also gained a new Nephew who was born a week before Christmas. It doesn't quiet equal things out but you see how God works. 

Looking back at my own health this past year, It was ok. I have been able to avoid any sickness. However, I went a few months through the summer where I had chest pains but nothing ever came of it except a mention of costocondritis. (Just google it) Its not a big deal. I had every other test imaginable. This left us with a lot hospital bills but we have managed to pay those off.  

I also had lots of inner ear problems followed by vertigo attacks. Those issues seemed to have resoloved the past couple months after I was diaognosed with a vitamin D deficincy. I have followed doctors orders on my Vitamins and my problems have deminished quite a bit. Funny that was the last thing they checked huh. “Just write me a prescription for beach please”

Health wise? They say im perfect. Im just getting achy with age. Yes I’m getting old. Ill be 49 next year. Yikes! 

Today I’m letting go of the year as I prepare my home for my annual New Years Dinner. We will have about 15 people in the house (if they all show up). Thats a lot of collards! 

This past week I have spent it preparing my home for a fresh look. Me and my husband (I plan to give him a blog name) went shopping for new mini blinds and curtains to brighten things up. We had some dark curtains in the den. I wanted some white ones lighter ones but he was not sure about that. We ended up with off white and it looks lovely. It gives the room a brighter and cleaner look. Win!

We have been doing some major cleaning too. He has been cleaning the ceiling fans and walls while I work on the floors and cabinates. Our home is old and consist of lots of paneling which I hate. But we make the best of it. Nothing that a few swipes of paint wont fix but we just never get around to it. 

Tonight we plan to go to the steak house for dinner and bring the new year in from home. We do not like to get out in the mobs of people. It feels safer and cozier right here in the living room with my pjs on.

This will be my last blog entry for the year. I have enjoyed my year in blogging. I have made some new blogging friends and cant wait to continue following their stories as I bring new stories to mine. 

I am excited for a new year. It’s time for a fresh start. 

I wish you all a happy and safe new year.

CHEERS!

Goodbye Christmas

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. 

I had a wonderful Christmas. 

I am just now getting time to sit down and blog a little. Boy has it been busy around here. I did a lot of cooking. I wanted to do a figgy pudding but it just wasn’t going to happen. I managed to make a fig bread instead. 

I made many chocolate sweets and cookies, but what went over with everyone the best was dill pickle eggrolls. They were a hit and have been requested for next year. If you like fried pickles, you would like these. 

Christmas eve, my brother in law and his family stopped by for a little while and enjoyed the spread of sweets and goodies I had lined up. Later that night, we drove over the river and through the woods to mom and dads. We left with full bellies, blessed hearts and a sugar rush. 

Christmas morning we sat down for some sausage balls and coffee while we waited on our girl to wake up and run into the livingroom to see what Santa left her under the tree. (Did I mention shes 26?) She got pretty much everything she wanted. I never want that child like joy to ever go away, but I know one day she will be married with kids of her own. 

Me and Nick agree not to get each other Christmas gifts anymore. We wait and buy something for the house or something we both can use instead. But he always breaks the rules and something shows up for me from Santa. This year, as I walked over to the coffee bar, I see a brand new Yeti coffee mug waiting for me. I had mentioned wanting one of these and there it was. That little stinker!

My daughter got some handy tools and gadgets for Nick and got me some nice little gifts too. One of those gifts was a doughnut pan. She knew I wanted one. Her boyfriend got me a cute bacon plate from Mud Pie. It was all so nice. 

Later on Christmas day, we all headed over to my brother in laws for a nice Christmas dinner. There was a nine month old, a 3 year old and a 7 year old in the house. Boy was that fun. I learned how slime was made and all about Batman and Spiderman. I love to see excitement in children at Christmas. 

Today I had to head back to work. I missed being away from my family after all the fun times. 

Now our house shows no signs of Christmas as the tree and decorations are all put away until next year. I have to get the house ready for my New Years dinner now. 

Do you take your decorations down the day after Christmas or do you wait til January?

Dill pickle Egg Rolls.

1- 8 oz block - cream cheese

chopped dill pickles (a little or a lot)

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon Dill weed

bacon bits (optional)

Mix all together

Fill egg roll wrappers 

Bake 400 for 15 minutes (flipping once if desired but not neccesarry) 

Gifts For Neighbors

My daughter came in yesterday and will hang around until after Christmas. I mentioned baking cookies, so she arrived a little early. However, we did not get to the cookie part. She helped me make some other goodies to deliver out to the neighbors. I usually wait until Christmas Eve to deliver, but because of the nature of their gift, I wanted them to have it early. 

This year for the neighbors, I chose to make “Christmas Potpourri” and then I added a tin of chocolate peanut butter cookies and a slice of my home made fudge. We made our rounds and delivered. I wanted them to have time to enjoy the aroma of Christmas a couple days before Christmas.  I hope they enjoy it.

Today we will bake my favorite Pecan snowball cookies.. We will also make some sausage balls. 

Sausage balls have become a traditional Christmas eve late night snack or Christmas morning breakfast as they are quick to grab with a cup of coffee before the gift unwrapping frenzy begins. Christmas Day is usually a busy one for us. 

Do you have a favorite treat you always make at Christmas? 

Fudge Recipe

Christmas Potpourri Recipe 

Pecan SnowBall Cookies

Grinches

Boy am I glad this week is coming to an end. It’s been slow in the office so that makes my days longer. 

This morning at work I set out some cookies and had coffee brewing for the employees to start their morning. 

Last night I finally got busy making my Christmas goodies. I made fudge and peanut butter balls so far. Tonight I will be making a couple different kinds of cookies. My daughter likes to help so I have put the cookie baking off until she gets home tonight. Then we will pack Christmas tins for the neighbors and make deliveries. 

Luckily we got our Christmas shopping done before December but every day it seems like there is that one little thing I forgot to get or some kind of ingredient I needed for a recipe. So we head back out to the stores. It’s not so bad when your not rushed to find gifts. 

But sadly I can not do it alone. It’s just too dangerous to even go to a fast food restaurant anymore. We have pan handlers that will approach your windows while your in line at the drive through. Sorry, But I can’t stand a pan handler.

And then we have Grinches!!

I hate to write about bad news, but im tellin ya, it’s been crazy around my town this week. The bad guys want to put a damper on everyones Christmas shopping. I mean, everytime we settled in for the night we would hear on the news the things that are going on. We would look at each other and say “we just missed that” or “we got out of the store just in time”. For example, Our local Walmart was evauated an hour after we had been shopping there. The police came in with guns drawn and asked everyone to leave their merchandise and get out of the store . There was a possible shooter in the store. It ended up being two men quirling. 

That was just the beginning of the week.

The rest of the week there was something every day. Here is some to name a few. 

Armed Robbery at the Family Dollar Store- I mean “its a dollar store for heaven sake” how much you think you gonna get?

Armed Robbery at Wendys- Really?

Armed Robbery at Bojangles- Ok, so their BoBerry biscuits ARE that good.

Lowes caught fire.

And just today, up the road at Big Lots, two employees were attacked. 

I think it’s best I stay in for the weekend and keep on baking. I will be spending quality time with my daughter and we have church and some family get togethers to attend. It’s gonna be alright.

I refuse to let the grinches steal my joy. 

Tis the Season.

Easy Cranberry Jam

Ok readers, hold on to your aprons. Your gonna love this one. Its easy peasy and will make a great little quick gift for your neighbor, teacher, family, secret pal, mail carrier, ....well, you get the idea.

I have been looking for a recipe to use up the bags of cranberries I have stashed away in my refrigerator. I have never made anything good from cranberries unless they were from a can. I have been in search of a recipe to make with my fresh cranberries, I thought about muffins until I found a recipe for Cramberry jam that only called for three ingredients. 

Oh yea, I can do that!

So I made a trial run.

 WIN!

Cranberry Jam

1 cup of Cranberries

1 cup of Sugar

1/8 cup water

Tiny drop of vanilla (optional)

(I was worried this was not enough liquid but just wait.. It will be enough)

~Boil and stir all together until the cranberries start popping and soften. 

~Use an emerssion blender and blend until smooth and replace back on the stove. 

~cook on medium heat and stir until the jam makes a sticky coating on back of the spoon. 

~Pour into small mason jar. 

THATS IT! REALLY!

If you plan to store your jam or give as a gift, place the lids on them and leave on counter until sealed. 

The jam will thicken more as it cools. 

*Incase your wondering: No extra pectin is needed for the recipe as cranberries produce their own. 

We had to try out a small bit on a slice of buttered toast. My husband gave it a thumbs up and litterally scraped the jar clean. 

We liked it! It was really sweet with just the right amount of tart to make this a new breakfast favorite. 

The hardest part of making this is finding small Mason or Ball jars. Walmart has them in sets of 12. I only need about 6 so I didnt buy any. I’m in search of a smaller bulk of jars, but for now, we will enjoy ours from our own reused jars. I do not need to worry about sealing the jars because this yum yum will not last that long in my kitchen. 

The original recipe and many more can be found at Kleinworthco.com.

Gingham

My little Etsy shop has been busy here at Christmas time. During the summer I was beginning to think people were not finding my products as my sales were slow. The past few months I have been loaded with custom orders to complete. I had to turn the “Custom order” option off for a while so I could get caught up. I finally finished and shipped all the orders requested. I have decided not to take anymore custom orders until after Christmas. I need a break so I can get my Christmas goodies cooking.

This season I have been in love with Gingham Check. If I knew it would have been so popular this year, I would have done more decorating with it. 

I just love it.

While taking a break from crocheting for others, I decided to crochet myself something. 

I made myself a Gingham check cup cozy. I can carry it in my car or purse and when I’m not drinking coffee from my Yeti, I can slip this sleeve over a starbucks cup to keep my hands from buring off. 

Besides I thought it was just so darn cute and it matches a shirt and ear warmers I have. 

Gingham was originated in Europe in the 17th century. 

It was actually considered a striped fabric and was made mostly in blue and white. Later in the years it became distinguished as checks.

Gingham check became popular in the 60s.

Brigitte Bardot wore a pink gingham dress when she got married. At the time, she started a trend that caused a shortage in this fabric.

You will find Gingham check in the Wizard of Oz movie. Dorothy wore a blue and white Gingham dress.

Gilligans Island’s MaryAnn, wore a gingham crop top.

You can see this design in a lot of the old classic shows.  

I always associated Gingham check with Fall and Winter. I think of cozy cabins and bear skin rugs. 

I think of a flannel shirt worn by a wooly lumberjack. 

Summer Picnic napkins and table covers are usually in this pattern.

Today you can find it on everything from jewelry to baby blankets.  

I bet if you look around your house or in your closet you will see something with this pattern fabric. 

I bet your looking now, arent you? Ha.

I have had some request for this pattern.

Im not a pattern writer but I will share with you the basics instructions. If you crochet you might be able to figure it out.

Gingham Check Cup Cozy.

(I used a G hook.)

Chain 13

Single crochet across changing color at every 4th stitch. (You will have 3 color squares.) chain 1, turn.

Repeat for 4 rows carrying your color.

Change color combination for the next 4 rows. (You will drop one color and pick up another)

Continue this until you have 36 rows (9 block rows).

Single crochet around (This will hid the carried yarn) 

Stitch ends together. Tie off and weave ends. 

Now excuse me. My new cup cozy and I are going shopping. 

You can find more of my handmade crochet cozys in my Etsy shop. 

Christmas Wasn’t Feeling It

I was feeling pretty blahh the past couple days. I feel like all I ever do is work. 

I go into work every morning at 8:30 and work til 5:00. When I get home, the sun has already set. I can’t get in a good walk and I’m tired.

We have dinner. I straighten the house up some and do a little laundry. I take a shower and set down in my recliner to relax and do some crochet. I have been loaded with bun beanies to create for customers to receive before Christmas. I have finally finished the last stash! All packages are on their way across the state to fill Christmas presents. Kind of like Santa huh? 

My daughter and her boyfriend had asked us to go to Christmas Town with them. My husband didn't want to, so we didn't. I was a little down by that and pouted somewhat like a two year old but I’ll get over it. 

Well, yesterday I went into work. As I was sitting at my desk, I looked around. I realized there was no Christmas anywhere. This just added to my feelings. We do not have customers that come into our office and it’s me in one office and two dispatchers in the back. They could care less if we decorate for Christmas. 

There is no Christmas tree, no bows or manger scenes. There is no holiday cheer. Just a lot of complaining. I’m doing my best to get out of this funk. 

Well today, I decided to not let it bother me. I put on a red shirt and drove to work to my radio blarring with Christmas music. I look around, It seems more people are decorating their homes this year. That’s good. Then the boss handed me a small bonus, so that was good too. I turned on my Christmas radio, lit a holiday scented candle and added a Christmas themed screen saver. I just have to get through my eight hour days. 

I have started a Christmas study plan on my Bible app that will put me back into the swing of things. You will be surprised how reading a little scripture each morning will make you feel good.

This weekend I will be going shopping with my daughter at the outlet malls. Those are always fun. I am actually finished with my shopping besides a few stocking stuffers, so it’s gonna be more of a stress free trip. We will look for some bargins and sip hot chocolate. 

Starting next week, my afternoons will be filled with baking. I can’t wait. I plan to make cookies, breads, rolled cake, candies and other good stuff. 

I may even invite some friends over. 

I’m going to be ok. 

Santa Mug

I am happy to say, it’s looked a lot like Christmas in my house since the day before Thanksgiving. Yes, I said I’d never decorate until Thanksgiving night but when the mood strikes, ya gotta go with it. So we did. Really, I had to take advanatge of it while my daughter was home visiting. 

Ooooops did any one else just get a preview of my post? Yikes. I dropped my ipad and hit the publish button on the way to the floor. Sorry about that. If you follow by email....sorry. 

Ok back to Christmas. While reading BJ’s blog over at “SweetNothings”, She mentioned how fun it was to drink from a Christmas cup at Christmas. She is correct. I looked at my breakfast muffin and then at my Santa mug. Yes. There is something about drinking from a Christmas mug.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my Husband that I am in search of one of those vintage Santa mugs. You know, the ones that had a face and are usually worn and faded due to years of use? He said, “Oh I know where one is, maybe two”. When I came in from work. There it was. The mug I had asked for. It was his when he was little. Where does he come up with this stuff? He is my very own “St. Nick”. 

It snowed all day yesterday though it did not stick around. It was a beautiful and every where we went, I felt like I was inside a snow globe. 

It’s Sunday morning and the grass is covered in frost and the sun is shining bright. There is no more snow is in the forecast. I will head off to church as soon as I finish my muffin and coffee. 

We have our church Christmas dinner today. I made a sugar free banana pudding to take. This is specially made for those that can’t have any sweets off the dessert table. My dad is and some others are diabetic and will get to enjoy the full flavor of sweetness without the sugar. 

Happy Sunday.

Snow Sort Of

All last week everyone was in a frenzy, saying the weatherman says it’s gonna snow a little around here. 

“What? No”.

It’s too warm here to snow. The low is the high 40’s. 

So I look at the weather app on my smart phone. 

No snow in the forcast.  

Then later on Thursday night. The weather app shows a little snow flake sign for Friday. 

“Oh great”. 

So Friday, sure enough, its snowed. “Sort of”. 

Jobs were cancellling and the crews were heading in. 

For the record. I work for a carpet cleaning service. We service several counties between North and South Carolina. Our mountain area customers were all cancelled. For the foot hills, they were iffy. They got a lot of work done, but half of what a they would expect on a clear day. 

When snow falls around here. People panic. Schools close and the grocery store shelves are empty. A single snow flake will cause this furry. It’s crazy but we do not get to see snow often. 

Some of the guys came into my office and said I may want to go ahead and go home for the day. The roads are getting slick.

It was 4:00 and I left.

The roads appeared to be getting a little slushy. 

Two miles down the road..... Nothing. No snow, clear roads and green grass.

My husband could not understand why I came home early. 

“Well, it was snowing and laying on the roads at my work!” I said.

I work only 10 minutes from my house.

It’s Saturday morning and 45 degrees. I’m sipping coffee and watching the snow fall outside. Yes, It’s snowing here now. 

Sort Of.

I’m Faster Now

I used to blog from my desk top computer. Now it just sits in the home office being used as what we call the brain computer. It’s where we have our router and modem attached. We have learned that with WiFi and a wireless printer, we really do not need it anymore, but since it has a lot of documents and pictures loaded on it, we keep it going. 

Later, I purchased a little cheap Netbook. I’ts all I could afford at the time but it was my favorite blogging tool.....Until I tripped and fell resulting in the screen breaking. It would cost more to have it fixed than I purchased it for. I was so upest. I could not find another one like it in the stores so I opt for a small computer. It had Windows 8 and I never liked that but learned to work around it (Windows 10 is great though). I enjoyed using it for blogging too but....

Then the iPad happend. 

My husband seen a great deal on an ipad pro from our Verizon account and purchase me one. I really wanted one but never thought I could afford it. But here I am. I have been blogging from my iPad over a year now. I did pretty good using the “on screen key board”. But it was so easy to make mistakes and its very sensitive. It would post sometimes when I wasn't ready. 

Well, guess what? My dear husband did it again. This time, he purchased me a bluetooth keyboard to use for typing on my iPad. So here I am, typing from a key board and using my ipad. I’m loving it. It all came natural to type ( I type all day at work on a desk top). Now I can blog and comment faster from my ever so loved iPad. Yes, I love love love my ipad even thought blogger does not support it. But I have found away around that too. 

My husband is over there right now giggling at me beacuse he can now hear me typing. The keys are really snappy. I sound like a telephone operator over here. He said It sounds like im talking my fingers off and saying “new toy, new toy, new toy”. Haha. It may be cute right now, but give it a day or two and he will be over there hushing me. 

Ok thats enought for now. Thanks for reading my jibber jabber but I needed to try this thing out. 

I give it five stars. 

Gift Tagging

Guess what? I think I'm done with my Christmas shopping. This is a first for me. I usually have it done a week before Christmas, but not three weeks before Christmas. I actually had most of it finished before December 1st.

I knew what I was going to buy and went for it. Some things I purchased from the comfort of my home by shopping on line. This is always scary to me. I get anxious for my items to show up at the door. In fact there are three items currently on a shipping truck right now and are late getting to me. The sellers have assured me not to worry. 

Sunday I had some time on my hands so I decided to wrap some of the presents. I grabbed my dollar store wrapping paper, scissors....

Wait..I do not have any gift tags. 

I was getting frustrated because I was ready to begin the dreaded wrapping. Yes I hate wrapping presents. At this point I was ready to cut little strips of paper for name tags. Then the idea hit me.

I have some card stock paper, a desktop computer and a printer. I’ll just find some templates and print my own. 

It took me all of 10 minutes to search, print and cut. Now I have some cute tags for my gifts. I opt for the larger kind that will hang instead of laying flat on the paper hidden under the bow. 

Bows.... crap, I need bows. 

I found a few smashed to peices in the craft closet. Those will have to do.

I’m pretty sure my little three year old nephew and a six year old neice could care less how a bow looks. 

I like how my homemade tags turned out. The natural look goes well with my choice of wrapping paper. 

Speaking of wrapping paper. I chose some with a cabin like feel to them. The gingham check print is my favorite.

 

Now I can sit back and enjoy the Christmas season without worrying about the rush. We can watch Christmas movies while sipping hot chocolate, take a trip through Christmas lights, attend Christmas gatherings and do some baking. 

Heck, We may go to the mall just to get in other peoples way. Ha. 

Thrifty Finds

Ok guys I’m trying something different here after reading a post on Jimmys blog Here. 

I’m typing from my iPad notepad and then I’m gonna copy and paste to my blogger once it’s edited. However, I still will not guarantee there will not be lots of mistakes. I failed that class in school. Every year!  Yep, I’m no English major, journalist, writer, teacher or genius. Just a random low educated blogger writing about stuff as it comes along.

Today I’m going to share with you some my latest thrifty finds. I’m so excited about them all. I love finding a bargain. I’m not ashamed to shop at thrift stores, yard sales and clearance racks.  

Ok here goes..Me and my husband were looking around a local church thrift store just for fun when I came across this cute little Hausenware creamer for fifty cent.

 

I do not know its value or if it even has any but I loved the white farmhouse look. I could not find the matching sugar bowl, but hey that gives me something else to search for. I also grabbed an adorable, new with tags, Christmas print tea towel for a nickel. I’m a tea towel junkie. 

My husband went out for an early morning walk while I stayed in drinking my hot coffee in fuzzy slippers. I get a text with a photo of a set of adorable night stands he seen at a yard sale.

We needed a pair. 

I probably would have never chose these from the Target store for 80.00 each but he asked if i’d like to buy them as these were only 5.00 each? I could not jump in my car fast enough. I was there before he got his phone back into his pocket. They are light powder blue, never used and less than a year old. I washed them down and they now sit on each side of our bed. We will paint them later. And I'm still in my slippers. 

The other night we were were bored so we went to look around the Goodwill store since I had a couple dollars in my pocket. My husband pointed out a pair of camo pants to me. I snarled my nose as I never wished for a pair of camo pants. Then He showed me the original price tag still on them. 

What? 

“Let me try those on!” I said. They were too big, but for 3.99, I bought them anyways and will have my mom take them up. Thats not a sale, thats an investment! Now the most expensive pants I’ve ever owned came from the Goodwill. And who knows? I might want to hide in the woods sometime. 

 

Do you shop thrifty or do you choose upscale stores with premium prices? 

What are odd things you look for in bargin shops? I like searching for Pyrex and Fire king pieces but my husband has to tie my hands to keep me from grabbing them. Just kidding, but he does give me that look of “no more”.

Little Hats Big Hearts

Every year I try to do a crochet project for a charity. It just makes me feel happy inside. God has given me the talent of crochet. This is my way of giving back. 

One year I crocheted 50 tiny hats that were taken to a hospital in Haiti. Last year I donated crochet hats to my local hospital NICU. 

I was thinking and wondering what I could do this year. 

It was an ordinary day. I was searching around on the internet when this ad popped up. 

“Little Hats, Big hearts” Charity drive. “Thats it!” I can crochet some tiny red hats. This had my name written all over it. I immediately emailed the American Heart Association and asked if they were still needing hats. Within minutes I received an email back saying they indeed were still in need of hats and gave me all the instructions.

What is Little Hats, Big Hearts?

To celebrate American Heart Month, volunteers around the country will knit or crochet little red hats to give to each baby born in February. Thousands of babies from several participating hospitals will get a hat to honor babies and moms. This also empowers Moms to live heart healthy lives in themselves and their families. 

The “Little Hats, Big Hearts” charity also provides resourses and raises awareness about Congential Heart Defects.

So I got busy. 

A couple skens of yarn, several hours and a couple days later, I had a stash of hats ready to go.

They had example styles of hats to make but I chose to use my own pattern.

 

These little hats are crocheted with a ribbed texture for extra stretch. I left the tops open and added a drawstring making them, not only cute and adorable, but also venilator friendly just in case. 

Sometimes babies will need special care that cause them to have tubes or wires coming up from their heads so, this will insure none are left out. 

They were fun to make and I’d gladly make more if needed. I think they have several other volunteers to help make enough hats to reach their goal. 

When I crochet for charity, it is more rewarding than any sale I can make. It makes me feel like I've made a little difference in someones life. 

If you crochet or knit, here is the link to where you can help. 

The deadline for this one is January 15, 2018. 

They will wash them and pack them up to be delivered to a hospital neareast to the donator. 

Autumn Christmas

We went out walking the other day and I noticed the trees are still holding on to their leaves. Though it’s now Christmas season, nature still looks like the beginning of Fall. The temperatures in the mornings have dipped into the low 30’s creating frosted lawns but the temperatures during the day are warm as they are still reaching into the 60s most afternoons. I think the trees are confused.

This time last year, we were bundled up in our thermals and reaching for mistletoe on the naked trees. 

Those trees have remained covered with leaves, keeping the mistletoe hidden. It’s ok. I will gladly trade the mistletoe for this warm weather. 

I’ll still get my kisses

We spent the end of the day decorating the outside of our house for Christmas. Nick hung the bells and bows on the windows as I was hung some lights around the big bay window. The lights frame the Christmas tree that sits in front of the window. To finish it off, Nick wanted to use a green bulb in the front porch light. I wasn’t sure about it at first but it actually looks pretty neat. It’s growing on me.

I am one of those that like the look of just all white lights. I have mostley white, red and silver decorations through the house. Though Nick likes how everything looks, he is more into the colored themes. If it were up to him, I think he would prefer multi colored lights. 

But its not up to him. Ha.

So, I compromised and let him do the green porch light. 

Up the road we waved to the other neighbors as they all were putting their decorations up as well. Now it looks like Christmas in the neighborhood. All but two houses are decorated. 

We joke with the other neighbors as we pass by. “Hello Griswolds!”

As for Nature? Looks like shes gonna keep those leaves for a while as she too has her own lighted tree.

Oh Christmas Tree

The past couple years, we have been using an old vintage aluminum tree for Christmas. It was actually my husbands when he was a small boy. It’s small and fragile. You can see it here.

I came in from work and was just about ready to settle down and start decorating for Christmas. My husband asks, “What do you think about a white Christmas tree this year?”. I replied “Yes, that would be nice”. He could have said “what about a blue tree or purple tree” and I would have said the same thing. Anything but the vintage tree. Don't get me wrong, I liked it and it was pretty with the color wheel and all, but I could not add any of my ornaments to it. “Well come on, lets go to Walmart and look at them” he said. I dropped the broom right there and grabbed my pocketbook. 

We discussed that we would not spend a lot, but maybe we can find one cheep. “Don't get too excited now” he said. “Just a tree. Not a bunch of balls and stuff”. I agreed and began flipping through my Walmart app to get ahead on what to expect. I found a 6.5 ft white tree for 25.99.” We found the tree on the shelf and tossed it in the buggy. It was not a pre-lit tree, but lights were cheep. So we walked over and grabbed some stringing lights. I convinced him that red balls would look nice. So we threw some of those in the buggy too. Three boxes of lights and a bundle of ball and other “stuff” later, we were at the check out. 

Cha Ching! The tree tree rang up as 40.00. I stepped in and showed the cashier the exact same tree on line for 25.99 and free pick up. She said we would have to buy it online to get it for that price. I put on my sassy pants and said “So you mean to tell me that I can go online and buy it, then come back and pick it up? “Yes, but if we have it in stock (which aparantly they do), then you still might have to pay 40.00”. That didn't go over well with me so we left the buggy there and headed to the other Walmart across town. 

The next walmart had the same tree. We asked this time before we lugged it off the shelf. “Sure we match online prices” said the manager. Bingo! We got a new tree. I have never had a white Christmas tree before. I secretly always wanted one growing up but we always had the same ol tree stained with silver tensil for years of decorating. 

Our daughter was in for Thanksgiving and we did some decorating. I am now all set for Christmas. I have all my decorations up, tree decorated and stockings hung with care. 

“In the eyes of a child, all Christmas trees are 6ft tall”

Black Friday

Hope everyone had a great big happy Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you, but I am stuffed! I had to eat two Thanksgiving dinners. I always say “Ill just eat a tiny bit”. Nope it never works that way. The food is so good and the mountains of desserts are too tempting. I have to do it again next weekend when we have Moms side of the family meet for a Christmas dinner. 

I’m at the point of craving veggies. Seriously. 

Today is Black Friday. I never do the whole black Friday shopping frenzy thing. Not this girl. I do not need or want anything so bad that I have to go out in the cold at wee hours of the morning just find myself fighting my way through the doors. If people want to put on their sponge bob pajamas and fight the mob at Walmart just to save ten dollars, then let them at it. I’ll wait and shop on Cyber Monday from the comfort of my office chair. 

I’m happy to say that I have most of my Christmas shopping finished. I usually start the first of Novemeber and try to knock it out so I can enjoy the season in other ways. However, I will keep grabbing little things here and there just for extra fun. 

Today I have to work while everyone is out shopping or taking a Thanksgiving break. I somehow think this will be the safest place for me to be. 

Do you shop on Black Friday?

Thankful

It’s that time of year where everyone talks about how thankful they are though we are thankful everyday of the year.

I can’t hardly believe It’s Thanksgiving already!  But I also can’t believe I have actually gottten 80% of my Christmas shopping finished and I haven't even had any turkey yet! This means I can spend less time shopping during the holidays and more time reflecting on the things that matter, such as family time, dinners, trips to see Christmas lights, and gatherings with friends.

I am thankful for so much.

I am thankful to have Jesus in my heart and soul. I am a believer, I am saved. 

I am thankful for for my daughter. While the doctors told me I would most likely never have children, I had a perfect one (well almost perfect to me). Shes has never given us a problem other than a little back talk. I am blessed. I am thankful.

Though I complain about work and the type of people I have to work with, I am thankful that I have a job. I get a paycheck thats big enough to get me to the next paycheck. 

I’m thankful I have a husband that loves me unconditionally. I never want for anything. I am also thankful that he fixes my coffee each morning for work and makes sure my car is warmed up before I face the cold roads.

I am thankful for my loving Christian family. We all get along, go to church and pray for each other. I have a mom, dad, two brothers and a sisters. 

I am thankful I have a nice home. Its not much but its not little. We do not have fancy things and most of our furniture was given to us. But It’s warm, it’s cozy and the refrigerator is full. 

I am thankful that I can say I’m thankful. 

I know there are so many out there without any of these things. The things we take for granted would be like gold to them. Some are struggling beyond what we can imagine. I pray that they can find something to be thankful for and know there is hope. 

What are some things you are thankful for? 

Hand Raiser

I was looking around on Facebook. You know, that place where everyone airs their dirty laundry.

Anyway, I came across a friends post that struck a nerve. First let me say, this person and her family are wonderful, loving, Christian people that I adore but something she posted did not sit well with me. 

She said something in the nature of praising God in church with praise songs. She shouted out that she could not see how a person can just sit in church without raising their hands in the air and rejoicing in praise. Basically stating that you just ain't got Jesus in your heart if you can not enjoy the music and show praise.

This made the little Southern Baptist in me fume a little. 

I love praise music. I love church. I love to see people praising God weather they have their hands in the air or folded in prayer. I would never question someones relationship with Christ by how high their hands are raised. 

Even though I seen where she was coming from, and glad she is feeling it, I think she was wrong in throwing her words out like that. She could have done more harm than good.

This is why....

• There could have been someone planning to attend church for the first time and now think they would be out of place or have to participate and fake an act just so they are not judged by other church goers. 
•  Everyone has their own style of worshiping. "There is no wrong or right way to worship. It's who you worship that matters".
•  It's people like this that some call “Holy Rollers”. or “Bible Thumpers”. They come across to others as “pushy” in making you believe its their way or the wrong way. 
•  People are weak. Someone that read her post may sit in the next church service and wonder the whole time if there is a member of the church watching and judging their actions not really knowing whats in their hearts then eventually refuse to attend. 
• I would never go to the same church as the person that stated the obvious. I wouldn't want the stinking looks from across the pews.

I’m not against other people shouting and praising. In fact I love it! It gives me Jesus bumps. My daddy is one of them, but I haven’t ever been a "hand raiser" (or hell raiser for that matter). I'm not saying I never will, but until now, I didn't know people thought less of my faith by the way I worship.

 "I'm pretty sure God will not judge how fast I ran down the isles or how far I jumped with my hands raised but rather how many times I fell to my knees in prayer". 
.

fortune Cookie

We decided to have Chinese food the other night. We didn’t have any idea what to make for dinner. The weather was gloomy and cold so we didnt feel like dressing up and going out, so Chinese pick up was the perfect solution.

I’m sharing this story because an odd thing happened.

During dinner we talked about our day, and our future. The same ol things we chat about over dinner often. During our table talk, my husband started complaining about the weather and how it just makes him feel lazy and all he wants to do on days like this is eat and lay around. 

He likes to be active. He works hard keeping up a couple yards a week and when its raining hes stuck inside and after a day or two, he just looses his mojo.

He said he doesn't feel like he can get anything done.

Winter weather makes him feel depressed and lazy.

Yea me too.

As we were finishing our dinner and complaining about the lack of energy we have been having, we tore into our dessert fortune cookies. 

Now, let me just add, I do not believe in that fortune telling mumbo jumbo, but we have fun reading aloud our fortune. 

Mine just said I was smart and good looking or something like that [grin]. 

But when Nick cracked open his fortune, we laughed at what it said....

Now isn’t that just a coincidence? 

Vintage Mugs

Happy Sunday yall! Guess what I did today after church.....

Absolutly nothing! It’s cold and damp with a pesky drizzling rain. It's just iky. 

I told my husband it was a great day to snuggle on the couch and watch Hallmark movies and he screamed, “no please! Dont put me in Hallmark hell!” So, now im alone in my recliner, he's flipping the channels and im trying to blog. Hes hyper and will not be still over there on his couch.  Im fixing to take my ipad to the other room if he doesn’t settle for a nap soon. 

Ok, let me back up a bit. 

Last night I mentioned to my husband that I’m looking for a couple of the old metal vintage mugs. No reason really. I just wanted a couple. They remind me of my grandmaw. She was always seen drinking coffee from her metal mug. I always called them camping mugs.

When I came in from church, I noticed my sweet dear husband (which is over there popping his legs and stretching) had me two lovely little mugs sitting on the counter. “Perfect! I said with excitement. I was so thrilled.

 

He found them in some of his dads estate. 

After we ate some lunch, I put the dishes, along with the mugs in the dishwasher. I sat by the diswasher like a kid waiting on a teddy bear to get out of the dryer. They cleaned up well. They are so darn cute I wanted to share them with you. 

Oh for heaven sake....im going in the other room to blog...hes making faces at me now and I can’t concentrate! Gosh I love him though. After all, he did find me these adorable mugs.

I have now put in a request for two little hooks to hang these little stinkers over my coffee bar. He could be doing that right now but he just said its supper time....So I have chineese food to call in. 

I’ll blog more later. Right now, I can’t even..

New Brew In Town

There is an old Mill in town that's over 100 years old known as the Loray Mill. They have transformed the building into apartments while keeping the bottom floor open for retail and restaurant space.

They have recently opened a brewery in the basement area called Growlers. It was a neat looking place. With the the original structure and memorabilia, It has that artsy/vintage feel. They have over 100 different beers on tap. At night they have live music and entertainment. I'm sure its a fun place for the younger folks to hang out.

While we normally just make a sandwich on Saturday afternoons, we opt to go to the brewery for lunch. Me and my husband do not drink beer, but we heard they had a great lunch special so we thought we’d give it a try. Note: Lunch special does not include Saturdays

Nothing was happening and there were only a couple other people in there eating and drinking. The first thing the waitress ask is “what kind of beer are you going to have?” We both replied “just water”. Then we placed our order.  

Nick ordered a ten dollar BLT and I had the nine dollar beer brat slider appetizer as my meal. I don't know about you, but this is a little pricey. It was good but that’s just an outrageous price for a sandwich you can make at home then add some frozen tater tots.

I’ve always said “If the food is served on a square plate, its probably too expensove for me”. 

Next week, we plan to try a new Mexican restaurant opening up down town. Can’t go wrong there! 

HandMade Greeting Cards

I’m trying my hands at something new. I have recently been creating greeting cards using my crochet art as the main focus. I know cards are becoming a thing of the past, but it is always nice to get a little happy card in the mailbox.

I currently have a few listed in my shop. I want to see how it goes before I create too many. It was not as easy as I had expected. I thought I could simply stamp a few words on a card and run with it. Instead, I struggled with every letter to get them straight. I might have even said a bad word.

I learned that stamping was not meant for lefties. You have to work left to right as you line up each letter with the one before. Well, unless I go backwards, I have to stamp right handed. The struggle is real. It was fun for me though. I think with practice, Ill get better.

I admire anyone that can stamp in a straight line. Just how do you do it? 

Anyway, I left my cards as they turned out. They each have their own character. No two are alike. Some of them took several tries just to get them half way readable. The imperfections add a unique style along with the carefully crocheted tiny motifs that adorn them. I even have my little shop signature on the back of them. Just Hallmark! 

I actually sold one on the same day I posted it. This made me happy. I rely on my buyers, readers and friends to help spread the word. No pun intended.  

Below are examples of some of my greeting cards. You can find more by clicking HERE.
Be sure to look at my other things while your there. 

Arn’t they just so darn cute? 

I plan to make a few more with different sayings. You can help me out with ideas if you wish.

Do you have a reason to send a card?  If so, please purchase one from my shop. I could use the Christmas money. I'm not begging am I?

Now, I am currently crocheting a baby hat and diaper set by request for my baby nephew due in December. 

I also have an order for ten of my mug cozies to create.  This will keep me busy for a day or two as I'll be stamping in between.

Time Change

Well, the time has changed again. Just when I was getting adjusted to it. I have never understood the purpose of daylight savings time. I think it all started with farmers but I could be wrong. 

We can’t change the time the sun comes up and goes down but we can change the clock time of everyone on earth and call it a day. 

I do not like the shorter days, but then again who wants a long day of Winter, right? So I will not argue there.

Once I get home from work, it’s already getting dark. We have dinner and me and Nick try to get a walk in by 6:00. 

My walks look like this......

It’s spooky around my neighborhood at night. A lot kids are often out and up to no good. I was a nervous wreck during this evening walk. There was a high school ball game going on up the road and noises echoed over the trees. I was jumpy at every headlight and person I saw coming from the distance. 

I guess until the days start getting longer, I will be doing my walks on the treadmill. 

Flannel Recycled

The temperature is up in the 70's again this week but we had some cool days in October where the temperatures here in the Carolinas dropped down into the 40's. The leaves have begun falling and the smell of burning chimneys fill the air. This is a reminder to me that Summer is over, so I'm putting away my tank tops and flip flops and replacing them with long sleeves and boots.

I asked my husband to pick me up a couple large flannel shirts from the thrift store when he got a notion to visit one. So of course he did and I came home from work to see a couple flannel shirts in the pile of laundry ready to wash.

I do not wear flannel shirts. I do not like any shirt with a collar. But I wanted these shirts to wear another way. I wanted a scarf.

I cut the shirt in half from under the sleeves to make a warm, light weight circled scarf to wear. I left the buttons on and sewed a hem around the edges which was optional. 

Speaking of "sew", that's a story in itself. I can not sew and seeing me try to do it, is rather comical. I just can't do it. It took me all night to figure out how to lace the cotton picken sewing machine! I had to call mom. Shes a professional seamstress. Being that I am a vision learner, I had to eventually google it. Then I ended up jamming the bobbin. That did me in. I was getting ill and grumpy. My husband told me to move and he would fix it. Let me tell you, this man can do anything. He is the best! 

He was all into getting this machine in working order for me. I warned him that it was not a Ford. Long story short, he got the bobbin loose and all the other guts fixed that I had tore apart and I finally got it sewing. I even think I did a perfect seam. I finished the scarf in no time after that.

I like my little recycled scarf.

It’s like wearing a little hug around my neck.

The scarf goes well paired with the matching cup cozy.

You see what I did there?

Now I am ready to tackle the cold, but don't ask me to tackle sewing a dress any time soon.

Down Town Dinner

Today I’m gonna take you to a little place in down town Belmont. Belmont is a little town outside of Charlotte that has a southern charm.

I grew up in Belmont but rarely visited down town. If I can remember right, back in the 80’s, it was rather a ghost town. Nothing happening. The mall, skating rinks, arcades and mini golf were all in the next town over, so that's where I spent most of my time back then.

The town has since florished with restraunts, bars and shops.

Me and my husband had just left a visit to the chiropractor, which is in Belmont. It was getting past our supper time and we were thinking of a place to eat. We normally go back and forth on where to eat leaving the other to answer. Before that argument broke out, I mentioned a little place down town called Sammy’s Pub. It’s a nice little neighbor pub with a variety of foods and drinks.

(source)

We were quickly seated and the wait staff was friendly, chirpy and welcoming. They acted as if they had known us forever. Even the people and families inside eating were all smiles. The bar off to the side was full of people having fun with friends, laughing, meeting and having a good time. You can tell they had just gotten off work and wanted to wind down.  

Nick ordered the special- Grilled Salmon BLT.

I went lite and ordered the Southwestern egg rolls.

In no time at all, our plates were in front of us. The food was delicious. We were happy customers. 

During the drive home we talked about how good Sammy’s was and agreed to go back again soon. We also talked about how nice it would be if our current home town was as nice as Belmont had become. It felt good to be able to walk down the street, to and from our car, without being approached by pan handlers and drug dealers. Yes, the town I live in now is bad for that. Our city wants to improve things but there is hardly any way for the town to thrive as long as there is a homeless shelter in the center of it. 

We plan to revisit Sammy's and take our daughter next time. We also seen other eating places to try. Belmont is a great place to be with an inviting atmosphere whether its taking the kids to the park, a stroll down the street or going for a jog with friends. 

Now I want to live there again.

Cow Baby Blanket

I'm excited to announce that I get to be a great aunt in December to a little boy.

My Nephew and his wife have been married for two years now and decided to add a baby in the mix. Baby Colton is suppose to arrive on Christmas Eve according to the due date given by the doctor. 

They held a baby shower at her parents home. It was a fun drop in to shower. The theme she chose for her nursery was farm animals. This fits them perfect. They are about as country as you can get. the mom works for an equine vetenary. It's not odd to see her tending to a cow or horse weather it be a calm petting or helping one give birth. 

Putting all of this in perspective, I found it fitting to make baby Colton something farm related. I recently learned to crochet a corner to corner stitch and wanted to create a blanket for the new baby. 

I made one with a “cow” print. 

I like how it turned out but wish I had made it a little larger. This one measures about 30x30. It will make a great lap or stroller blanket. With the nursery theme, it will look good draped over the crib as well. Ok, really, I'm just in love with the "black and white" of it all. 

This was the only crochet blanket I saw in all of her gifts. It was a party hit. 

It was crazy in the making. I had yarn everywhere as I had to keep starting a new color. I got tangled several times. I had no clue what I was doing or what I had gotten myself into. 

It finally worked itself out. It was an absolute challenge. 

This is another one of those things I probably would never make again.

I added some extra things to go with the blanket.

I found a cute onesie and loved how well it paired with the cow blanket.

I also added one of my crocheted wooded baby teethers. You can find more of these in my Etsy shop if you want a natural handmade teether. 

The shower was nice. There were lots of goodies and cake to snack on along with lots of fun and laughter with family and friends.
I look forward to meeting my new Nephew. I hope he comes before Christmas so we will have a new baby around at Christmas gatherings.
The wait is on.

The pattern I used for the blanket was actually a pattern for a dishcloth. You can find it HERE. 

Using the same graph, the corner to corner stitch multiplied it by 4 then I added a few extra rows in the center to make it at least 30x30.