Resolutions for the new year

Today I joined my Red Hat group for a holiday lunch. The last time I attended a Red Hat get-together was for the infamous Rhode Island "all-about-the-potty" lunch train. Today's event was closer to home at a very nice restaurant that had plenty of restrooms. And it was certainly nice not to have to think about that. There were a dozen of us, and most everyone was pretty well decked out in their red and purple finery. There were red hats all around and many boas and fancy purses and a few pairs of shoes in the appropriate colors.....and lots of pictures of grandchildren (some new since last we met) being passed around the table....and a couple of conversations about operations and medical procedures. It was pretty typical of a gathering of women, many of whom now qualify for senior citizen discounts. Not me, of course.....

So our Queen Mother--the lady who started our group and is an extraordinary organizer--proclaimed that we should all bring a wrapped present that we would re-gift. In other words, none of us should be required to go back to the mall to shop (horrors!) Rather, we would find something among our things that would be appropriate to pass on. I, being a real pack rat, was having a hard time coming up with something as the deadline loomed, so I ended up wrapping one of my craft items--a cute little grapevine wreath with a homespun bow and two yellow fabric chicks. After all, Spring is just around the corner.

When the gifts were sorted out, by way of a clever draw-a-number system, I ended up with the snack plates pictured above. And when I got home and took them out to show Mr. Gadget and Tech Guy, it dawned on me that the messages were perfect for adopting as my New Years resolutions. They are short and to the point, and most importantly--they don't have any words that refer to dieting....

And on another subject, which would be knitting, today I assembled the Noro shawl-collared jacket. I was finally able to fix the sleeve (the one I cut into when trying to rip out the first assembling attempt). I still have lots of yarn ends to weave in before it will be ready for its photo debut. I hope to have it finished in the next day or two. And the gray striped socks too. Then I'll move on to the elderberry sweater. I'm still looking for the lost pattern though, and if it doesn't reveal itself soon I may have to consult my Ouija board.......

Mister and the little woman

Here is a cute little couple that I made a long time ago--back when I was quite heavily into the glue gun. Good thing I didn't bring that weapon onto the Christmas morning battlefield...heh...heh. The Mister's hat is glued on, as is his nose, and the same for the Missus....and her buttons too. I've gradually switched over to sewing on more of the doll accessories. Hats can be sewn on almost invisibly with a long doll needle and matching thread, and the dolls don't seem to mind. Polymer clay noses that have been glued onto the face have a way of popping off at the most awkward times....like just as I'm putting a snowman doll into a bag for a customer. Now I make a small hole in the face, just slightly smaller than the base of the nose, and force it in with just a dab of glue on the end. These guys are from my early crafting days, but they always have a place in our house for Christmas. No one is turned away....

So each year I get Tech Guy and Big City Girl an ornament for Christmas. The idea is that they will have quite a nice starter set for their own family trees one of these days. Here is the one I got for BCG this year. She's quite the coffee fan. Would you believe, it even smells like coffee? Maybe next year Hallmark will make a bagel ornament I can get to go with. Then the New York City breakfast-on-the-run set will be complete.

And here is the one I got for Tech Guy. It's a cell phone, complete with batteries. It plays Christmas tunes and the display screen lights up. What with 4 cell phones in the house, plus the one on the tree, we were never without some sort of holiday music for the duration.

So I mentioned in a previous post that I would be taking a vote on Christmas day to see whether the family thought that one questionable ornament might qualify as a pornament. The final tally was two-t0-two. It remains "up in the air" as to whether the Christmas pickle qualifies. We may have to invite the mailman in to break the tie. There were, however, a few comments about the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, but no official vote was taken.

I hope you readers don't mind this little deviation from the usual G rating of this blog. It was all in good fun, wasn't it? Now I'm going back to work on my clean-up-the-treehouse project. I have lots of body parts scattered around and I need to get them organized. Don't worry. They're all G rated too.......

The gifts

One of my Christmas gifts from Mr. Gadget, which he wrapped using his 3 Laws of Wrapping, came with this tag (no Scotch tape required since it came with its own sticky stuff.) He's not one of my regular blog readers (otherwise he'd know I call him Mr. Gadget), but he does pretend to be interested. "Did you blog today?" he'll usually ask. If I say yes, he'll ask me what I blogged about. I usually tell him, unless I've written something so silly I'm embarrassed to say, in which case I'll make up a story.

So Gadget Guy gave me an MP-3 player for Christmas. I had mentioned not long ago that the local library was starting an audio book program that would allow downloads from home onto one of these gadgets. I thought it might be a way to make walking on the treadmill more endurable, and then I could get my doctor to stop nagging me about the exercise issue. So now I have to read the instructions and figure out how to use it.....and that sounds like mental exercise. Maybe I'll just go outside, gadgetless, for a little jog......

After dinner, the four of us sat around and played this game that Big City Girl gave her father. We're all fans of trivia games and this one looked like fun, what with it being Jeopardy-like and all. The problem was the instructions were too long and complicated. We needed Ken just to explain it to us, and he was nowhere around. I'm thinking after he got unseated at Jeopardy, he went on to design board games and sucked us all in, and added to his millions and had the last laugh. Not nice Ken!

And Big City Girl thoughtfully gave her brother a new toy....one of these. Fortunately, no one got hurt, and later on we burned all the wrapping paper in the nice fire Mr. Gadget built, as is our annual tradition, and roasted marshmellows--thereby using up all of TG's ammunition.

Today I cleaned up the battlefield, I mean the family room, and then I decided to cut out a few doll parts from Christmas fabric I found on sale. It's never too early to plan a head...heh...heh... Besides, it's kinda quiet here in the treehouse. I could use some company.

Merry Christmas!

It won't be a white Christmas here in Connecticut this year. Those happen hardly at all actually. I remember growing up in southern California with all that warm sunshine---perfect weather for trying out a new bicycle or pair of roller skates. Sleds weren't too big out there...heh...heh. I did get BCG and TG a sled one year--one of those wooden ones with the runners. Little did I know that it would work best when the ground was icy and it would go much too fast for a mom's comfort. The sled went very quickly into the garage attic and was replaced with a safer snow tube.

So today I'm finishing up some last-minute wrapping, and baking a pumpkin pie and a blueberry cheesecake. Soon I'll have to clear off the dining room table, which ends up as our collection spot for various things we haven't gotten around to putting away. I've heard other families have this same situation. Moms across the country are probably doing the same thing I'm doing.....looking for places to put this stuff, or just dumping the whole mess into a big shopping bag and stashing it behind the couch. Or setting the kitchen table? Now there's an idea!

The ornaments (definitely not pornaments) are ones I've made in previous years. One is embroidered and the other is cross-stitched. I haven't yet mentioned my cross-stitch phase, but just know there was one. I think I got that one out of my system, but I guess a true crafter should never say never.

Right now I'm going to find a knitting project. I still have those gray-striped socks to finish. It might be just the ticket for handling the holiday stress. Besides, there might be an after- Christmas road trip to Knitter's Heaven in the planning stages, where there might possibly be a yarn sale going on. As they say......"I'm just sayin."

Merry Christmas all!

Angels going and coming

Last week I sent the two Christmas angels on their way, and yesterday this one arrived in the mail. It's an ornament handmade by my friend Sandi. She's a little like me in that she never knows when, or by what, she will be inspired to create something. She happened to be walking through a store in Houston looking for some decorator fabric, when she spotted this wonderful fringe.

And speaking of inspiration, today I was in the grocery store with all the other crazy shoppers when who should I see but the priest from our local church. He is a most interesting man. First, I should say that Mr. Gadget is Catholic as are our children, but I am not. When TG and BCG were little we used to go to church fairly regularly. I'll be honest, I found most of the sermons very dry. Well, I did until Mr. Inspiring Priest came to town. This is a man who was married with a family, and lost his wife several years ago. After he was widowed, he decided to become a priest, and apparently that's ok with the church higher-ups, although I don't really understand all this, but the congregation was the winner in this situation because all of a sudden people were leaving church on Sunday all fired up to do good things.

Mr. IP doesn't fit my image of a priest--someone rather stern and unapproachable and thank goodness I'm not Catholic so I don't have to go to one for confession. For one thing, Mr. Gadget and I used to run into him occasionally in the sushi restaurant. And Tech Guy tells us he sold him a cell phone not long ago--one with all the bells and whistles. Today I noticed he took his groceries over to the self-checkout register. He probably bagged them himself too. Recently there was an article in the local paper that said he was taking a leave from his priestly duties to go back to college for an advanced degree in psychology because he thinks it will make him better able to counsel people. He's in his 70's mind you.

So, I'm thinking maybe I should be a little braver about this technical stuff. Maybe I could learn how to program my phone and figure out a few more functions on my digital camera. Maybe I could learn how to make Peking duck or creme brulee. And to think all these years I've been feeling so proud of my ability to pump my own gas......

Laws of Wrapping

Mr. Gadget doesn't get involved in very many of the Christmas preparations around our house. He does put the outside lights up sometime after Thanksgiving. Everything else is pretty much my job.....except for the wrapping of his presents to me. Today he asked me where the wrapping paper was, and the tags and the ribbon and the scissors and he disappeared into the basement and reappeared shortly afterwards with the two wrapped gifts above. Then he began a short discussion of his "3 Laws of Wrapping." These, he says, are not unlike Newton's 3 Laws of Physics, or Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics. They are as follows:

• There is no gift-wrapping problem that cannot be solved with more Scotch tape.
• Wrapping doesn't make the gift. The gift makes the gift.
• If you really botch the job, just remember it's the thought that counts.

These Laws have worked very well for Mr. Gadget over the years. Somehow I've had trouble living with them because I always figure why should I keep things simple when it's so much more exciting to complicate them.

And moving on, today as I was making the trek downtown to fetch more kerosene for our trusty heater, I was listening to Dr. Joy Brown, the radio psychologist. She was referring to something I had never heard of, but I made a mental note to remember it because I do like to expand my vocabulary. Pornaments. Yeah, I guess it's pretty much self-explanatory. Then I got to wondering if there might be anything hanging on our tree that could be construed as a pornament, so I did a thorough check when I got home. There was nothing obvious. I think we are pretty much G-rated. Well, maybe there is that one ornament hanging back among the branches that the neighbors gave us one year. I suppose it could be considered borderline. I think I'll take a vote on Christmas morning and see what the family thinks. I wonder if it will be unanimous?

Not very Christmasy

Just popping in for a quick post to let everyone know I'm still afloat. Last week I was busy moving Tech Guy out of his apartment, and helping him clean it up a bit with hopes of getting some of his security deposit back. It gave me a chance to get in touch with my "inner scrubwoman." After I thought we were done, I woke up in the middle of the night and realized his fridge was not frost-free, and since there was quite a build-up of frost (defrosting is so not Tech Guy's thing) it might cause some damage when the electricity was shut off. So off we went first thing in the morning, with the hair dryer and a supply of towels, and took care of that.....only to find out later that the landlady planned to get a new fridge since the old one was not.....you guessed it.....frost-free. My inner scrubwoman is still angry.....

Pictured above is a piece of my embroidery which I framed on one of those stretcher bar thingies, and Tech Guy had it hanging in his apartment. I stitched it a long time ago (during one of my embroidery phases) and I think it's mostly done in Pearl cotton. I think I'll keep it handy, since it's suddenly gotten colder here and at least it helps me remember the warm.

I am feeling a little more Christmasy now that the temperature has dipped, and I've started (and almost finished) my shopping, and have half of the Christmas cards in the mail. I even made a batch of fudge. I'll take some with me tonight when we visit some friends for dinner. I'll also be taking the knitted surprise. And if I don't feel enough of the holiday spirit now, I'm sure to feel it later. This friend decorates every square inch of her house for the holidays. She even has a couple of my Santas on display. You know, it never crossed my mind that maybe she scurries to get them out of the back closet when she hears our car in the driveway. Naw, she wouldn't do that. Have you ever been tempted to do that with gifts you've been given? Maybe thought of devoting one part of a shelf for rotating those uncomfortable gifts? I've never given it a thought. Well, maybe just once or twice when my mother-in-law was coming to visit.......heh...heh....

Christmas angels

I finished the two angels and quickly photographed them before delivery to my friend for Christmas gift mailing. She seemed delighted. I hope the recipients are also. I worked on them mostly in the evenings after helping Tech Guy during the days with his move. Wow, does that boy have lots of stuff! He has inherited his father's gadget-collecting trait.

Here is a close-up of one of the dolls. I had fun doing the wings with feather stitch embroidery and gold beads. The collar is hand-crocheted. Some time ago I got on a roll and made many of these collars (my crochet phase) and now I have quite a few on hand. Little did I know that they would come in so handy later when I was pressed for time. The collar is decorated with an old button sewn on a yo-yo (a fabric circle gathered around the edge and drawn in.)

So now I'm taking a break from dollmaking to do Christmas shopping and card-addressing, and of course, cartoon-making. I thought maybe I could slip by this year without the cartoon, but quite a few of the cards we've received include notes that say something like, "Marcia, we always look forward to your cartoon.....you're still doing it, aren't you?" One of my biggest cartoon fans was a lady I worked with over 25 years ago. She used to make a bunch of copies and send them to some of her family and friends...and even a few of our old co-workers. Several years ago she passed away, and the next Christmas I received a very nice card from her daughter who asked if I might continue to send the cartoon to her since it had become somewhat of a Christmas tradition for her family. So I guess I'll get my drawing tools out tomorrow and see what I can come up with. After all, I hate to disappoint.....

I've been sketching up a few ideas for Christmas ornaments in preparation for next years' craft-selling season. I sold quite a few this year, and I know there are many people who look for handmade ornaments as opposed to those that are mass-produced. I love when I can use something I have on hand too, like the driftwood Santas I made a few years ago.

So I guess I'd better go start the card-addressing project. Tech Guy's two cats, who made the move home with him, are exploring the treehouse at the moment, and walking over my keyboard. Maybe they aspire to be guest blogcats. I can only imagine what tales they would tell......

Otherwise Involved

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. Mr. Gadget and I have been busy as bees (and not Christmas bees) getting Big City Girl's old room repainted for the return of Tech Guy. Yes, the empty nest was quite comfy while it lasted, but now we're fluffing it up a bit for what should prove to be an interesting adventure. Today is the painting and tomorrow is the moving--with storage locker already secured, since our storage area here at the homefront is already bursting at the seams.

After tomorrow, I'm hopeful of starting some of my Christmas shopping. Maybe I'll just go spend a day at Target. They've probably got something for everyone on my list. Oh.....did I mention I have no list, because I have no idea what anyone wants? Maybe it's just as well. I'll do a little impulse shopping. Maybe it'll be new underwear for everyone. Do I sound a little testy and lacking in holiday spirit? Maybe it's the paint fumes. Maybe a little spiked eggnog would help.

I should mention that the craft fair last Friday was fun, but not particularly profitable. That was partly because I bought myself a beautiful handpainted scarf from one of the other crafters. It's always ok to do some Christmas shopping for yourself, isn't it? My table area was wonderful though, with lots of space around it to get in and out, and they had placed it right in front of a lovely sofa, so I was able to sit and knit in cushy comfort.

So now I'm working on a couple of angel dolls for a friend. I promised her I'd have them ready by Thursday so she can mail them in time for Christmas. I'm very happy with them, and will take a picture for sharing. And my red hat snowlady sold on eBay yesterday and is in the mail on her way to Missouri. She'll be a mother-in-law gift. Life continues to be interesting. For now, I'm moving dolls out and offspring in. I always do try to have a positive outlook. At least now I'll have in-house tech support.......

Blog Medley

Here is one of the ornaments from Big City Girl's collection. I'm featuring it here today because, strange as it must sound, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile can be credited with prodding me along toward blogdom. Once, when I was in California, I was coming out of a store (why yes, it was a fabric store!) and I spotted the real Weinermobile parked at the curb. I doubt that the driver was in the fabric store. I would imagine he was in the Elephant Bar next door...heh...heh. But I remember thinking how great it would have been to have had a digital camera so I could have snapped a picture. I mean, how often do you see the real thing?! So it wasn't too long afterwards that I sent Mr. Gadget out to shop for one. And then once you've got a camera, you've gotta have a blog.

Now you're probably wondering why I didn't go out shopping for the camera myself. That's because Mr. Gadget is also known as Mr. Negotiator. He wears many hats. I inform him of the features I want in a gadget (it should have an on-off switch and one of those zoom thingies) and he goes out and gets the absolute minimum price with extra things thrown in.....like things I'll never use. That's how I ended up with my first new car with seat warmers.

Mr. Gadget has other skills too. He's very good with knives. Last night while we were watching Jeopardy, he peeled himself an orange with such mastery that I asked if I could take a picture for the blog. He consented. I'm not sure how he learned this, but I'm wondering if it was in Catholic school. That's an experience, and a lesson, I missed......

So today I've been getting my things ready for the craft fair tomorrow at the health care facility. Since I didn't remove the dolls in a timely fashion from the crates I transported them in last weekend, I now find that some ironing is in order. I do plan to have it all done by early evening, so I can watch a women's basketball game and work on the elderberry sweater knitting. Yesterday I found the pattern under a pile of fabric in a stack of papers. The only problem is I'll only be able to knit up to the sleeves. The pattern for those is on the back of the pattern sheet and for some reason I didn't copy that. Wouldn't it be great if you could do a Google search for missing things in your house? Maybe those big high-paid tech guys can start working on that. And while they're at it, maybe they can figure out where those missing socks go......

Holiday catalogs

Well I must say this catalog certainly caught my eye when it arrived in the mailbox yesterday. I'm sure Big City Girl got on a few mailing lists when she signed up for boxing lessons down there in the big city. I emailed her and asked if she was interested in a hot pink boxing t-shirt to go with her hot pink boxing gloves, but I haven't heard back from her yet. I'm sure she's still pondering.....

There are a few snow flurries flying around outside as I sit here in the treehouse. The weather has suddenly gotten colder and it feels like an assault. I guess we got spoiled with that 70 degree day on December 1. These little baby flurries would have caused me to stay home back in the early days of our living here. I was sure bigger flakes would be coming soon and then the roads would be treacherous and I wouldn't make it up our hill. But now I'm wiser and I have a 4-wheel-drive car.

So I ventured out to Joann's this morning, before the nasty flurries, and used my 40% coupon to stock up on muslin. That's a dollmarker's necessity and I was getting frighteningly low. I was pretty good today. I didn't do much impulse shopping, which is easy to do at Joann's.....what with all the holiday garbage, I mean goodies, they offer this time of year. I bought a nice little gift bag for wrapping the knitted gift (still a secret...you never know who reads, ya know!) I'm thinking I'll separate the 10 yards of muslin into two 5-yard pieces and dye one with tan Rit . It does have kind of a tea-dyed effect and it works well for some of my projects.

The other day I took a few pictures of Santa ornaments on our tree, and here's one I made out of some driftwood I found along the ocean in northern California. I got the idea from the oyster shell Santa. Mr. Gadget used his mighty drill press to make a hole in the top for stringing the hanger, and then I did the painting. The wired leaves worked well for the hat decoration and also covered up the line between the two colors. I always love when I have license to be a little sloppy...heh...heh....

So yesterday, in place of blogging, I put my Red Hat snowlady up on eBay. She didn't sell at the last craft fair, even though I happen to know there are lots of Red Hat ladies in that neck of the woods. Maybe they were all out at a big holiday bash. I didn't think of that. You can check her out by going to eBay and looking for "handmade red hat snowlady."

A couple of weeks ago I put the elderberry sweater knitting project on hold while working on the gift knitting, and now I'm ready to go back to it....but I can't find the pattern. I know it's here somewhere. I keep thinking one of these days I'll get organized, but the creative bug bites me and the lure of a new project is always greater than the guilt over the mess. Maybe I'll just close the door on the treehouse and walk away for a few days....and address a few Christmas cards. Now......where did I put that Christmas card list?

Craft Fair

Here I am at the craft fair yesterday, photo thanks to Mr. Gadget. He dropped by, as he usually does, around lunch time and offered to buy me the standard craft fair fare. It wasn't gourmet quality by any means, but it always tastes good when someone else buys and brings it to you. Poor Mr. G. had to hand me the tray and then crawl under the table to join me. It seems that the lady who was in charge didn't understand that we might need to get out from behind our tables once in a while during the day. Although my table was along the wall, which is always preferable to being out in the middle of the room, it was jammed up against the next table. There were at least a dozen tables along the wall with nary a space to escape.

My predictions about the fair were pretty predictable, although the table cloths weren't as shiny this year, and the music was just the radio playing over the P.A. system complete with commercials. The priest came around to say hello, and Santa showed up on schedule. I did just so-so with my sales, but I did manage to sell a couple of my larger dolls that had been hanging around the treehouse for a long time. I also sold quite a few ornaments, including 3 of the new Santas. You might remember my comment about printing the date on the back. One buyer said she was getting it for a newly-married couple and it would be nice for them to have the year of their wedding on it.

So Mr. G. got the lights on the tree and today I finished the decorating. We have accumulated way too many ornaments, but of course all of them are meaningful, or just too wonderful not to put on. Here is a picture of the handmade oyster shell Santa that I mentioned earlier:

His nose has been made out of some kind of modeling compound and attached to the shell. He was made by a lady in South Carolina, and I'm sure she collected the shells along the beach. I realized while decorating the tree that we have quite a collection of Santa ornaments--some purchased and some handmade. Maybe I'll include a few pictures in a future post.

I'm just as bad about my craft fair paraphernalia as I am about my suitcase. It takes me a long time to get stuff unpacked. But this week I have a good excuse. I'm doing another fair on Friday at a local health care facility. I've done it for the last 3 or 4 years. There will only be about a dozen tables (all nicely spaced). While I used the time yesterday to do some gift knitting, I'll use the time on Friday to work on my Christmas cartoon--the macaroni version of the Christmas letter. I keep threatening to make each issue my last, but then friends and relatives tell me it makes them laugh and they excitedly wait by their mailboxes each year. I guess I'm just a glutton for the compliments. But I'm really going to stop soon......maybe next year.....unless they send chocolate......

December 1st?

It's kinda hard to believe it's the first of December here in the northeast, what with the thermometer on our back deck saying it's a balmy almost-70. It's been raining all day. Sometimes when it rains this time of year, people will say something like, "Do you know how many inches we'd have if this was snow?" I'm not sure exactly how it all translates, but I think it's probably something like dog years. There would be a lot by now, and most likely the craft fair tomorrow would be canceled. I have heard rumors that things will be chilling up soon.

So I'm almost all packed for the fair tomorrow, but still finding a few long lost items. Here are some candle holders I made a while back.

Mr. Gadget offered me some "saw time" and cut out lots o' blocks for my brilliant creative project idea. I made some Merry Christmas blocks, which I kept and put on the window sill each holiday. I also made some candle holders in red that say "Noel." Today I found two sets of the Joy ones hidden away--one in green and one in red--that I will offer for sale.

While I'm sitting around at the fair waiting for customers, I'll be working on a quick knitting project that will be a gift for a friend. It's always nice to have something to work on, but not something that takes all of my attention. It's nice to be able to put it down quickly to chat with fair-goers. I know some folks do crossword puzzles or read books, but that sort of says they aren't really interested in engaging you in conversation.....or in a sales transaction either. At least that's my take. I enjoy talking to people who take the time to stop and pay me a compliment. But I must admit I skirt around those questions about how I make things. After all, my characters are to me like family recipes are to others. Ya gotta have a few secrets, right?

So I'm gearing up for the tree assembly and fluffing activity that will most likely take place after dinner. Mr. G. tells me there's no football on Friday nights, and I find that hard to believe. I'm sure he'll find something to watch. Maybe reruns of This Old House or Motor Week, or something with James Bond. Anything to avoid the fluffing......

Kitchen angel

It's amazing how much blog fodder I've discovered while rooting around in the closets for craft fair offerings. Here is a kitchen angel I made some time ago. Her hair is cloves, and her arms and legs are cinnamon sticks. She used to have bay leaf wings, but they got dry and brittle and broke in a few places. I just replaced them with fabric. As soon as I got them sewn and pressed, I realized they were going to flop around rather than stand out straight. So after considering several fixes, I decided to try brushing on Stiffy. I haven't used it much, so I wasn't sure how effective it would be. It worked great. Now I'm thinking Stiffy is probably just an expensive version of Elmer's Glue watered down a bit. I will have to run an experiment to see how it compares......but not today.

And here is the Santa hat picture I wasn't able to post yesterday. I will mention that I wasn't able to find the fishing line that has been sitting on a shelf in the basement for years. Mr. G. borrows it to fix the toilets now and then, but he always puts it back. So I'll have to come up with an alternate plan for the ornament hangers, or make a trip to the sporting goods store. Not.

So I've had a few nice blog comments, and I really appreciate them! The craft fair I'm doing on Saturday is in Bethel, CT at St. Mary's Church. It's from 9 til 4, and it's on Rt. 302 just east of Rt. 58 for anyone who is interested in driving over.....or flying in for that matter...heh..heh.. I'm going to have an eclectic mix. I think that's also known as a mish-mash. I'd like to unload, I mean clear out a few of my older things so I can make room for the new.

I haven't done a church fair in a while. They are fun and fairly predictable, except for the take-home pay of course! They're usually held in the church school gym or cafeteria, and the fair committee prepares by covering all of the tables with shiny red foil paper. I immediately cover this up with my own tablecloth for kind of a homespun look. At some point during the day, the priests come by to say hello, and this is followed by a visit from Santa. There is always lots of food available......usually hot dogs, hamburgers and chili. Sometimes the church ladies make something special like apple pie or strawberry shortcake. And there is non-stop Christmas music.

So I told Mr. Gadget I'd put our artificial tree up tomorrow so it will be ready for him to put the lights on while I'm gone on Saturday. He doesn't like the assembling and the never-ending "fluffing" job that is required. I find the light installation incredibly boring. While I'm fluffing, he'll be watching football, if things go according to tradition. And while he's putting the lights on, he'll no doubt be watching football. He might even be having a beer. On Sunday, I'll decorate the tree while he watches a little more football. It all sounds pretty festive to me.....

Santa ornies

Here's the first of my Santa ornaments. Usually......I mean always, the first of something ends up as part of our family decorations. That's because most of the time there's something wrong with it. When I finished this guy, I decided maybe he needed a little trim of his bangs. And it was late and I was tired, and I kind of cut through his hat. It's impossible to see in this picture, since I positioned him just right. But it's definitely not up to craft fair standards. He has 2 green felt holly leaves on his hat, with a few small red beads sewn on for berries. I will get a better picture when he's hanging from our tree in brighter light. I do think he looks more handsome with a little hair around his hat. I haven't decided what to use for a hanger, but maybe fishing line. I have some on hand and it's pretty much invisible.

So here is a look at how I made Santa. I started with muslin, which I ended up lightly tea-dying. I traced around a cardboard pattern for his head, and then stitched on the line. As I mentioned earlier, I left the top open for stuffing. This worked well, as the hand stitches I used to close it with are hidden under the hat. What a great idea! Sometimes I surprise myself....

Then I moved on to making the hats. It seems Blogger doesn't want me to post this nice, red colorful picture. I used the same process with a cardboard template that I traced around and then stitched on the line. I wasn't able to get the hat to hang down on its own, so I helped it a little with a few hand stitches. I could have used glue, but I've been doing more and more handstitching when possible. If I'm selling something, I like to feel confident that things won't come apart. I've heard stories......

Maddie asked me a while back how I attach the beards. I use small hand stitches with white sewing thread. The wool locks tend to hang together, so just a few stitches holds it in place pretty well. I don't have to be too careful sewing the hair on his head because, again, the hat covers all the sins of the seamstress.....

The back of Santa's head remains hairless, so I've printed with red pen "Christmas 2006." I always enjoy knowing when I bought a new ornament for my tree, and I like to think others do too. And I also have no shame. Doesn't it make sense to lead the buyer of a nice handmade ornament to consider the possibility that there might be another equally nice one for Christmas 2007? I'm just saying is all......

Sheep redux

Here is Mr. Sheep modeling his new duds. I was thinking of naming him Sherman. I used to work with a man named Sherman, and the receptionist in our office used to affectionately (?) call him Shermy. So I think I'll write Sherman on his tag, but while he's here in the treehouse awaiting the big craft fair on Saturday, I'll call him Shermy. He has been very patient with me while I've tinkered with his clothes and his body parts (hands and feet only!) I've grown quite fond of him.

Here is a close-up of his face. The hair is real sheep's wool and I sewed it on by hand. His nose and mouth are embroidered and his eyes are painted. I knit the scarf out of left-over sock yarn. I cast on 12 stitches with #4 needles and knit garter stitch for about 18". It was fun knitting with the self-striping yarn again, but not as fun as knitting socks where the colors seem to change more often. The boas go faster, but I'm not sure about a sheep in a boa. Hmmmm......

So this morning I went out and hung two Christmas wreaths by the front door. I used to buy the real ones, but a few years ago I bought some artificial ones on sale at Michael's. They look real enough and they don't turn brown and drop their needles. When I take them down at the end of the season, I throw them in a garbage bag and store them on top of Mr. G's pile o' tires in the garage.

Soon after I was done, Mr. G. mentioned that maybe he'd go out and put lights on the little tree in the front yard. I offered to help. We used to put lights on all of the bushes along the front of the house, but that was back when we were younger and much more energetic. Now we just put lots of lights on one little tree. It's festive enough to be neighborly, but doesn't cut into precious knitting and football-watching time. We've decided that as we grow older we should slow down the pace.....and read more cruise brochures......

Primitive Santa

Now that the Thanksgiving guests and their respective menageries have departed, and I've vacuumed up the pumpkin pie crumbs, cat hair, bunny hay and pellets...and the occasional bunny poop, I've moved on to craft fair preparations. Well, there was that one short interruption when I assisted Mr. Gadget in getting the boxes of Christmas decorations down from the garage storage area. It seems that our neighborhood (mostly the newbies on the block) have already begun decorating in earnest. Mr. G. assures me that he isn't going to start putting the outside lights up today. He's only getting them down so they'll be easy to get to when he feels like it. I'm guessing in an hour or so......

So in my effort to get organized for the big fair next weekend, I retrieved this prim Santa from the top shelf where he's been sitting since last year. I made him from my own pattern, but was never completely satisfied with him. His outfit is just slightly too long and since I put the hem in with my sewing machine, I haven't been in a big hurry to rip it out and re-do. Now I'm thinking maybe someone would be happy with him just as he is, long robe and all. The little tree is made from muslin that has been stuffed and painted. I did a running stitch with gold thread for the garland and put colored beads here and there.

I'm planning to do a few more Santas next year. This one was a good learning experience. I really enjoy needle sculpting the faces and I'd like to get better at it. It's really impossible to plan on a particular expression, so the character that emerges is always a surprise. Some of you may remember these.....faces I did for practice on potato rejects from my veggie-making phase.

As I remember, I named them (l - r) Ray with the bad toupee, Marian the librarian, and Lou who sells shoes. And speaking of Marian, doesn't she look like one of those old-fashioned librarian ladies who used to work in the library back in the day when libraries were actually quiet? Isn't that just another one of my pet peeves! Noisy libraries. And the librarians in my local library are the worst offenders. I didn't used to like those Marian types, but now I wish there were a few more of her kind around.

But I digress. I probably should stop writing and start sprucing up the other characters I want to take to the fair. First up is Mr. Sheep. He needs some new feet (not so pointy) and a new outfit (not so wrinkly) and a new scarf (not sewn....knitted, of course!) I know, I know. I should probably just start all over with Mr. Sheep! But he's got such a cute face and such a nice head of hair. He'd make a great companion for someone who loves to knit, and best of all, he'll need no vacuuming-up-after.

Sick leave

Sorry for the blog break. I've been spending lots of time with these guys....who I've affectionately named Ny, Ty, Zi and Rob. As friends go, I must say they've been very supportive. And now that I'm almost over the awful cold that came upon me, very fortunately on the day after the cruise, I've put them all back in the closet where I hope they'll be happy for a very long time.

So Mr. Gadget and I returned from the west coast last Monday and have just spent a very nice Thanksgiving here at the Connecticut homestead with Tech Guy and his two cats, and Big City Girl and her bunny. The cats shared a cage on the way over in TG's car, but had to return home in two cages since they got into some sort of disagreement and one started hissing non-stop at the other. TG seemed to think they'd be fine once back on their home turf.

Bam Bam the bunny and Big City Girl made the trip up on the subway and the train and arrived in fine shape. Bam Bam, unlike the cats who hissed and hid under the couch, was quite social. He won the award for "most cute." Here he is with his front paws on my bird socks, while BCG offers him some food. Aaahhhhh!

So now that I'm feeling better, the crafting will be starting in earnest. Next Saturday I'm planning to do a craft fair, and I must get organized. Not only that, I have a few dolls to finish up, and a few to dust off and spruce up. And I hope I can get a few of my Santa ornaments done in time. But before I can do any of that, I need to unpack my suitcase. Yes, it still sits. I'm so ashamed. Mr. G. got his unpacked the night we got home. But at least I have a good excuse this time. Those four rascals tricked me......

Reality sucks, I mean returns

Mr. Gadget and I are back from our cruise, and the laundry basket overfloweth. Mr. G. already has his suitcase unpacked and has separated out his dirty clothes. Mine still sits on the floor, but it is opened and I'll get to it eventually. He's a prompt, efficient person. I'm much less efficient and I procrastinate. We've been married 25 years because of the old saying that "opposites attract." Well, that and the fact that neither one of us would look forward to going through the horrid dating scene again......Just kidding Mr. G!

Here are a few highlights of our cruise. The sunsets are always wonderful and this cruise was no exception. This picture was taken early in the cruise as we sailed south out of Los Angeles harbor.

Another favorite cruising activity is the eating. There are endless ops to put on pounds. This guy poses near the pizza counter. Just a few steps away is another guy with a hamburger. And if this wasn't enough, there were the regular 3 meals available in the dining room, the almost-always-open buffet, afternoon tea, specialty buffets on the pool deck throughout the week (Mexican, sushi, and desserts to name a few) and the ice cream place. And don't forget room service, just in case there might have been 5 minutes with no food available elsewhere. Mr. G. and I were disappointed (but not surprised) to find that our sailaway clothes didn't fit so well on the last day. He's off to the gym this morning, and he very thoughtfully invited me to go. I politely declined however. I'm having coffee and chocolates for breakfast. After all, tomorrow is Monday....

Why yes, there were even a few knitting ops. Here I am working on the gray striped socks. Notice the cruise bruise on my left arm? I have no idea how that happened. I assure you it was not Mr. Gadget's doing. It must have been one of those pushy people in the buffet line. Someone who might have thought I was about to beat them to the chocolate eclairs or the strawberry tarts. I thought I had learned to recognize and steer clear of well-seasoned cruisers who have mastered the art of buffet-line interruptus, especially when it comes to sweets, but I must have let my guard down for a moment.

So now I guess I should go unpack and think about starting the washing machine, and maybe I should make a short grocery list. I suppose I'll have to make the bed too. Where the heck is Jeffrey the room steward? I guess it's time to get back to reality......but maybe I'll just have one more chocolate first.......

Happy hour approaches

Mr. Gadget and I will be sailing off into the sunset Saturday on a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera. This is a trip we've taken before, but this time our good friends from Connecticut, who are winging their way west as I type, will join us. They've never cruised before, but I'm sure they'll catch on quickly. One of the first orders of business on a ship is the lifeboat drill. This happens after boarding but before the ship sets sail, which means that most folks have had a little bon voyage cocktail, so it's always an interesting photo op. Everyone must put on their life vest and show up at their muster station to listen to instructions on what to do in an emergency. The ship's staff has no mercy for those who plead, "But I've done this before!"

We will spend two days at sea before making stops at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. I love the sea days. There's no place to go, no errands, no housework, and no dishes to do. We aren't usually ones for lots of excursions, since most of them have a shopping stop that's much too long and much too touristy, and we aren't big shoppers. But Mr. Gadget thought it might be fun to tour a tequila factory, so that's what we have on our agenda in Puerto Vallarta. I've heard there's tasting involved, and I'm sure there's a nice gift shop on the premises. Let's just hope we can find the bus back to the ship.....

Mr. G. was quite amused when I told him I'd blogged about his playgroup at the gym. And since he went again this morning, he informed me there were a couple of new characters I might want to add. There was Mr. Exercise Lite--the guy who wears expensive workout clothes, stomps out a cigarette on his way in, spends a couple of minutes on a few machines, then lights up as he goes out the door. And there's the head roller. This is the man who walks a long time on the treadmill all the while rolling his neck around. So far, the German yoga lady has been a no-show. He says even though she's quite elderly, she is able to contort herself into all sorts of weird poses--the strangest one being an apostrophe.

I'll be taking a blog break for a week or so. Cruise lines give their frequent cruisers free internet, but we aren't there yet. I may have some pictures when I get back, but I'll be sure to delete all of the life vest/tequila ones. So in the words of Arnold, who I understand is coming back for an encore performance here in California, "Hasta la vista, baby!"

Downtown

Here's a view of downtown L.A. from up on the hill where my dad's nursing home is located. Last time I was in town, the whole area was covered with clouds, so I decided to take advantage of the photo op. Dear ol' dad isn't doing quite as well as last time I saw him. A couple of months ago, hospice came onboard to help with his care. I was surprised when one of the nurses suggested it to me; I always thought hospice was just for the end of the journey. But I learned this isn't always the case. If a person meets certain criteria, hospice can intervene earlier to provide comfort to the patient and support for the family members. They've been able to manage pain he somehow couldn't tell me he had. Apparently, it's not unusual for someone to find it difficult to admit to pain--especially an elderly man who has always been extremely independent and self-sufficient. Yesterday he seemed agitated and uncomfortable during my visit, and when I asked him if I could do anything he told me he didn't know what he wanted. So I'm thinking some med-tweaking may be in order.

So while some would turn to elderberry wine to soothe their souls, I've been knitting on this....the Green Mountain Spinnery's basic pullover sweater in Mountain Mohair - color: elderberry.

It's so easy to knit and it's on circular needles, so no seaming required! My kind of project. By the time I get home to Connecticut, I should be all calmed down and ready to tackle the Noro shawl-collared sweater finishing project.

So while I'm not in much of a humorous mood this week, I should let Mr. Gadget write a blog post. Every other day he goes to the condo gym to work out, then he reports back to me about the interesting cast of characters he encounters. While he's on the treadmill, I'm sure he's thinking up good names for them all, so he can tell a good story. There's Billy two-shoes who must get up before dawn because his shoes rarely match. Then there's the spitter....no explanation needed, the puffer--a lady who exhales loudly and often, and the slapper who slaps her legs while she works out. Maybe it's just a circulation-enhancing maneuver. I wonder what they say about Mr. Gadget? Maybe I should embroider his name on his t-shirt so they'll know who they're dealing with.......

Fall follows me

No, I didn't pack this in my suitcase.....or carry it along on the bottom of my shoe. Fall happens here too.....I had just forgotten. There just isn't enough of it to warrant the purchase of a leaf blower....at least not in this neck of the woods where there is hardly an inch of land that someone hasn't built something on.

We did arrive safely yesterday, although I wasn't able to sit in 17A. I had to settle for 17F instead. I wasn't too annoyed. It was still a window seat with plenty of leg room and a nice view. And what did I see out the window? Lots of jets passing us going east. I can't remember ever seeing one so close that I could tell what airline it was, but yesterday there were several. I had a good book and my knitting, so I tried not to think about it. The pilot had one of those calm, confident, I'm-in-charge kind of voices, so I had to trust that he was fully qualified and duly certified.

Mr. Gadget and I always rent a car for the trip from the airport to the condo, and yesterday we got one of these:

It's one of those Chevy HHR's with the retro look. One time they gave us a PT Cruiser. We usually keep it overnight to get our full days' value and drive it out to dinner. I always get a pass on cooking the first night because of jet lag. So late yesterday afternoon we took a little spin in the HHR down to the beach to show Mr. Gadget's brother and our nephew Mr. G's old neighborhood--from his single days. We parked on the cliff above the ocean and I decided to stay in the car while they took a short walk. It wasn't long before an old lady who looked a little like a bag lady---possibly someone still in her Halloween outfit----and an old man stopped next to the car and looked at it like it was an alien spaceship.

"What is it?" she asked. "Hmmm, I don't know," he replied as he put his nose up close to the window and peered in. "Looks like something I used to see a long time ago," she said. They walked all around it for several minutes, all the while playing their guessing game which I could hear very clearly. I was very surprised they weren't trying to get my attention to ask questions about it.....until I realized the windows were darkly tinted and they couldn't see me. Now I know why Tech Guy had his VW windows tinted, even though we strongly suggested he reconsider. All the better for chick-watching.

Now that the stealth fun car has been returned and the jet lag is subsiding, I guess I'll have to do some grocery shopping and a little laundry. No curmudgeon sightings to report yet, but it's just a matter of time.....

Santa ornament

Here's my Santa ornament-in-progress. Actually, this is just the prototype (aka the ornament that will hang on our tree.) There are many of these decoration experiments on our family tree. They are one-of-a-kinds and always whimsical....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there are some things about him that need tweaking. I want the hat to hang down on its own. And maybe there should be just a little white hair showing from under the hat. The eyes might be a little smaller.....well, maybe the same size as the one on the left. Talk about whimsical. I'm always looking for ways to hide the opening for the stuffing so that the finished item looks....well.....more finished. It occurred to me that I could stuff this guy through the top of his head, since the stitches I use to close it with will be hidden under his hat.

One year I made some similar Santas that I sold as ornaments and pins. A year or two later, I happened to be browsing in a cute little shop a ways from my home, and the clerk who waited on me was wearing one! It's just so funny when I see one of my crafty things out in the world. I know that's where a lot of them end up, but to actually have an encounter is always a pleasant surprise.

So, since Mr. Gadget and I will be out of town on election day, we filled out absentee ballots. I made the comment to him that one of these days I'm going to refuse to vote for any candidate who trash talks his opponent. Then we both laughed when we realized there would be no need to vote. It continues to amaze me how the behavior of many people in business and government has failed to progress further than the kindergarten playground.

I guess I'll stop now and attend to the business of packing and the politics of sock-knitting. I've finished the left sock and now I'm working on the right.....

Angels

Today I finished the two angels and sent their pictures to the lady who ordered them. She was very pleased, and plans to pick them up on Friday. I guess she was happy with the carrot-top hair. When I picked out the fabric for the outfits, I had the auburn hair color in mind. But I think they look fine with the brighter shade. I've actually gotten pretty good at justifying all of my color combinations. I just call them "whimsical."

I was about to clean up the treehouse after I did the last bit of stitching on the angels, and then I decided to do a little more fiddling with the Santa ornament. He's coming along, but still needs tweaking. His hat doesn't flop over on its own, which is what I had in mind. I'll try a little different design. And the wired holly isn't going to work for the hat trim....it's too big. I may be able to find it in a smaller version, or I might just cut a couple of tiny holly leaves out of green felt and sew on a few red beads. I'll post a picture next time; Blogger must be sleepy tonight.

So Mr. Gadget and I will soon be closing up our respective shops here in the Connecticut homestead and getting ready for another trip west. We'll be leaving on Saturday morning for two weeks, the last of which will be a 7-day Mexican cruise. My sewing machine will get a much-deserved rest, and I'll take back up with my sock knitting. Blogging should continue, uninterrupted, for the next week or so from the west coast. I can only imagine how you all must be looking forward to a curmudgeon update.......

Halloween happenings

I noticed these big guys yesterday on my walk around the neighborhood. I don't think they were destined to be jack o'lanterns, since I'm sure the carving job would take several days. When the kids were living at home, we always carved two. One for each kid. Fair and square. Seems I usually ended up getting the innards out, since that was an icky job they didn't like. But then us moms usually find most of the icky jobs falling into our laps. It's in the job description.....somewhere.

I'm feeling sorry for a couple of my neighbors. They're new to the neighborhood and went all out with their decorations. Lots of jack o'lanterns on the porch and lighted luminaries along the sidewalk. We've had a grand total of 5 kids at the door....up from last years' 2. Maybe next year they'll be more sensible and buy a $1.77 (on sale) package of Snickers and just turn on the porch light. Maybe I've become a party pooper. I used to think it would be fun to dress up like a witch and sit out on the porch in my rocking chair doling out the goodies. I'm glad I didn't get into my witch garb tonight and drag out the chair. It would have been lonely and boring. Maybe just me and the bats, and a little knitting....

So Tech Guy did dress up in the scary-man-with-the-box costume for work, and I made a special trip over to take his picture.

Here he is holding the box with the real arm on his left and the fake on the right. You can see him poking his fingers out of the box. He wisely decided not to gore it up too badly, since there would be little kids coming around and he didn't want to give them nightmares. He actually hand-sewed the gloves to the box and I was impressed with the nice job he did.

He sewed the fingers in such a way that they look like they're gripping the box. It will be fun to hear how his evening went, and whether the paramedics were called for someone who may have been overcome with fright.....

So I asked Big City Girl if she and her boyfriend were dressing up for Halloween, and she said they were and that they would be taking part in a parade in the village. Oh, that BCG! She's talking like a native now. That would be village as in Greenwich. They were planning to dress up as Scully and Mulder from "The X Files." Never having been a watcher of that show, I have no clue, but she said a red wig was involved. Thankfully, she didn't ask me for help with the costume. I'm always happy to consult, as I did for Tech Guy. I just no longer want to have myself or my sewing machine involved. Or my glue gun or my fabric stash. And definitely not my yarn.....

Angel wings

Here are the wings for one of the angel dolls. It's butterflies for Katherine; the other one, for Brynn, will have bees. I've learned a few helpful hints for dollmaking along the way....mostly from my own mistakes and not being happy with the finished doll. I used to cut a slit on the back side for turning the wings (they are sewn right sides together with a layer of batting thrown in.) But then I realized that the back side will show, and the middle of the front will be up against the doll and won't show at all. It always seems crazy to be cutting into the side I've just finished all that hand-stitching on, but it works well in the end.

I've been fiddling around with ideas for the Santa ornament. Here's what I have so far. I think I'll use black beads for the eyes instead of drawing them on with pen. I'll make a hat that will hang down a ways and decorate it with a small gold bell. I'm not sure about the hat trim. I do have some small holly leaves on wire that might work nicely and it would be easy to attach. I've used this in the past for Santa ornaments I made with driftwood. I kinda stole, I mean borrowed the idea from some Santas I'd seen done on oyster shells. I think I mentioned once that I'm not one to buy things at craft fairs, but I had to have one of those! So cute. I'll try to remember to take a picture.

Mr. Gadget did indeed go out and blow leaves today, in spite of the windy conditions. It won't be long before he'll be looking out the window and noticing that lots of his work has been undone. And I did see that the man across the street--the one who blew his leaves into a huge pile around his tree--is out raking those leaves onto a tarp for dragging to the wooded area behind his house. I guess he wasn't saving them for his grandkids after all.

So I bought some Halloween candy last week so we'd be ready for the crowds of trick-or-treaters on Tuesday night. If we're lucky we'll get two or three. That was the count last year. But you never know, and it's good to be prepared. I asked Tech Guy if he was going to dress up in a costume for work and he wasn't so sure. Then he perked up when I reminded him of a great costume he wore one year. It was jeans, a sweatshirt and a pair of work gloves. He stuffed one of the sleeves of the sweatshirt and attached a glove. He carried a box....with one real gloved hand and the phony gloved hand taped or glued on somehow. He had cut a hole in the side of the box so he could put his free arm and hand inside and he gored it up with fake blood and a nasty injury. I only hope his boss has a sense of humor......

Mr. Gadget informs me that we're well prepared for Halloween this year. He made a trip up to the attic a couple of days ago to stash a window fan and noticed 5 bats hanging out up there. Here's hoping they don't find their way inside for another close encounter. Things are batty enough around here.......

Carrot top or auburn?

So I'm making a couple of angel dolls for a lady who requested that they have red hair and blue eyes. They are to resemble the two little girls for whom they will be Christmas gifts. While at the fiber festival last weekend I was on the lookout for red locks (not to be confused with roving) and found the bright red on the left. Then, just before leaving, I found the more muted shade on the right. I was so happy to find it because I was thinking the other one might be too much. Then I asked the lady who ordered the dolls whether she wanted a carrot-top look or more of a reddish-brown, and she said, "definitely carrot top." So I guess I'll stick with my first find.

The lavendar yarn has nothing to do with the angel dolls. It was a gift from a friend of mine who also loves to knit. She's a dear lady who has had some health problems in recent months and just doesn't get out and about very much. But she knits lovely sweater sets for babies (for which she doesn't charge nearly enough) and she can hardly keep up with the orders. Yesterday I was going to be in her neighborhood and I offered to pick up some yarn for her....seems there's been lots of boy babies born lately and she was running short of blue. So I took her the two skeins of blue she requested and included several more skeins in pink, yellow, and a pretty varigated blue as a gift. She was so thrilled that she sent me home with the lavendar, and a copy of a pattern for a cute little rolled-brim baby hat. Not only that, she gave me a lesson on seaming. Not that I needed it......

We've had lots of rain today and finally the sun came out this afternoon. Here's a fall view from the treehouse....dirty windows and all. Looks like Mr. Gadget has his work cut out for him and his leaf blower what with all those leaves on the ground. A little while ago I spotted about 300 grackles out there on the lawn, but of course they were gone by the time I found my camera.

So I've decided to do a craft fair the first weekend in December. I usually do a few during the fall, but this year I just couldn't get energized to go through the process of applying, making stuff, packing the car, and then schlepping it all in the wee hours. I think I'm getting too old for it. But then I thought maybe I could do just one, and I could take all of the various crafty things I've got stashed. Maybe I could just call it a "stash reduction project." I've promised myself I won't make anything new. Well, maybe I'll make some Santa ornaments out of those snow-white locks I bought last weekend. And maybe a snowman or two. But that's definitely all.......