Like this, for instance. It used to be right outside Mr. Gadget's new basement office window, but he convinced the construction guys to move it in honor of our arrival. With the wind we've been having......the wind that blew our dirty, mildewed patio chair cushions down the road for all our new neighbors to see....the door to the job johnny has been mostly in the open position. It's nice to see the boys have a good supply of toilet paper. I can only wonder if the construction company supplies it, or if those poor workers have to dip into their parents' stashes.....
I'm thinking of calling my new craft room the Lighthouse. I considered several options: Treehouse: the Next Generation, Treehouse II, and Treehouse: the Sequel, but none of them seemed quite right. The room is full of light, especially now as I await my new up-from-the-bottom or down-from-the top blinds. No one is exactly sure why they didn't come with the rest of the window treatment order, and we've been told no one at the decorating company is working this week. Meanwhile, I have a great view of the snow, the visitors to the job johnny, and the traffic on Route 7 (a major north-south thoroughfare in this part of the country.....well, at least until next fall when a bypass is completed....a bypass that has been delayed for lack of proper designing to insure that salamanders and turtles have unimpeded access to their egg-laying areas). I also have a good view of the condo development's Mary Kay wing .
So Mr. Gadget and I had plans to go to the home of friends this evening for some Chinese take-out and a little bit of holiday cheer, until the weather turned frightful. So we'll stay put in our new digs, have a toast, and see if we can stay awake late enough to watch the ball drop. And I'll be remembering many childhood New Years Eve celebrations spent with my relatives..... my aunt in the kitchen making homemade doughnuts in the deep fryer and my uncle walking over to the big vacant lot across the street at midnight to shoot his gun. Those were exciting times I tell you..... Happy New Year everyone!
So, we're in the new digs and very pleased. I now have a garbage disposal, kitchen drawers that close by themselves, and comfort toilets. Oh, and I've found something else besides wallpapering that can put a marriage in jeopardy. Moving. When one partner has procrastination issues and the other might have just a tad bit of OCD, there can be fireworks. Thankfully, we chose the floor plan with the 
Here's my new gourmet kitchen. Too bad I'm not a gourmet cook. Do you think it's too late? I've still got a few years before Meals-on-Wheels.
See my lovely dining room? Heh, heh.... Tech Guy decided I needed a new photo-editing program and he told me it would be super easy to use. Big City Girl agreed. It's just that everyone left without considering my needs for in-house tech support.
Here's our guard dog. He's an easy pet who loves wearing a nice, bright handknit scarf.
BCG and TG were happy with their Christmas gifts: a mom-crocheted scarf and store-bought socks.
BCG taught me the joy of making pancakes from an aerosol can.
Sorry about the lack of picture editing. That program is on the other computer....the one that's already packed..... and you know about my limited techno skills. But I am developing some moving expertise. And a few bruises too. Oh, and I think I'm going to need a manicure.....
The contents of Mr. Gadget's file cabinets have been transferred to boxes. See that box just to the side of the file boxes? The one with the red -1 on it? There are two of them. They hold really big stereo speakers that Mr. G purchased way back in his single days. The speakers have much in common with his sports car. None of the three have ever been revved up to full throttle. I have always wondered why men make these purchases, since living in a civilized society doesn't allow for much revving. But those speaker boxes are so big that if we don't survive the move, our kids can just throw us in there and save on the funeral expenses.
Here's a portion of the treehouse contents sitting patiently in the dining room staging area. I have several more boxes to add. I'm thinking of using a bucket brigade to move them out to the truck. A small bucket brigade. I'll carry a box to the top of the garage stairs and hand it off to Mr. G. who will then do the up-and-down-the-stairs part. That's how one of those works, isn't it?
Here's the garage. My car has been banished to the driveway. Mr. G doesn't want his to get snow on it. You might notice a few more of my craft supplies. Such colorful boxes, aren't they? A nice change from cardboard brown. Have you ever opened a 10-lb. box of doll stuffing? It's fun to take the twist tie off the bag and watch the stuffing pop up like smoke coming out of a chimney.
In spite of the madness, I did finish the gift angel and delivered it yesterday to the giver.... who was pleased.
I'm happy with the shoe decorations. The hardest part of making them is choosing the right fabric to coordinate with the outfit. Other than that, it's just a simple yoyo with a few beads sewn on.
On Monday I took the train to THE CITY to meet Big City Girl for some nail-polish shopping. No, not really. It's just that I couldn't resist this photo op with the hot pink gloves and the colorful bottles of nail polish. We had tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
This is my favorite part....where the soldiers fall down backwards after the make-believe cannon goes BOOM! 
I received my calendar order a few days ago and was happy with the result, even though one or two characters ended up with painful head issues. I chose the cat for the cover for no particular reason other than I had to choose someone. Don't those whiskers look perky? For years I've agonized over cat and bunny whiskers. I finally found just the thing at the dollar store. Sisal twine. I've got enough to last me a century.
Looks like my birthday will be on a Tuesday next year. Maybe I can look forward to a nice dinner out, since Mr. Gadget won't be watching Monday Night Football.....
It's an Ercoupe. Dear ol' dad had an Ercoupe for several years when I was in high school, and I used to go flying with him almost every weekend. It was just a two-seater, and only one person could get in at a time. We had to walk up on the wing (see that little dark walking strip?) and slide the window up and over to the other side. After one person was in, the window had to be moved back up and over so the second one could enter. It was noisy and it bounced up and down a lot--especially going through the Banning Pass. Sometimes I could look out and see birds flying along beside us. It was great fun, but not something I'd do today. I'm much more sensible now....
I'm from the school of housework that subscribes to the notion that if you can't see the dirt, it's of no consequence. But Mr. G knows it's there and it bugs him. He even suggested long ago that we buy a dust mop with a long handle--especially designed for cleaning these. But it's conveniently hidden out of sight and so it's also of no consequence. There are so many other, more interesting things to do in life.
I never like my doll projects at this stage. I'm always sure they're destined for the scrap heap. But they usually clean up nicely, with hair and accessories and little doodads of one sort or another. My friend was hesitant to ask me about making a doll, what with our moving project well underway. But I assured her I had body parts readily available for the particular character she wanted. Well, except for the feet. I'd packed the pattern in a box somewhere, so I had to sketch one up.
But as per my usual, I didn't plan ahead, so very few of my pictures are the right size. Nonetheless, I've decided to see what I can scrape together from my files.
By stepping outside the box and allowing a few crafty items, I think I can gather an interesting assortment.
Some will just be head shots, since I do seem to have a supply of those in appropriate sizes.
The sun embroidery should add plenty of color and will be a good choice for July.
Remember Mitzi? She'll be Miss October. Gotta love a gal with a diamond necklace and a spider on her cheek....
And Pierre insisted I include him. He'll be just right for November--the pigging-out month. He remains steadfast in his determination to keep those chocolate chips away from me.
December was an easy choice. Who else but Mr. Claus!
This is the view from our upstairs guest bedroom. I wonder who will move in to that nicely-poured foundation. They will be our next door neighbors, so I hope they're friendly. Maybe I'll bake some chocolate chip cookies as a welcoming gesture. Looks like I'll have plenty of time to shop for the ingredients.
Here is Mr. G's office. There are still a few lingering orbs. See that metal tube hanging down? There was lots of warm air coming out of it, and maybe a fresh supply of orbs. We like to check on the construction progress every couple of weeks or so. It's really just an excuse for Mr. G to grab a few chocolate candies from the sales office. They're really good....or so he tells me....
They insisted their father play along.
Yes, they did make one for me too, but too bad it's on BCG's camera. 
We carried on the usual family holiday traditions. We passed around the telephone when the relatives called.
Some of us took a nap in the chair.
And Mr. Gadget made his annual proclamation by declaring it officially Fruitcake Season.......
She's also quite talented at carving Halloween jack-o-lanterns. When I got up this morning, Mr. Gadget, who had already fetched the newspaper and made me a nice cup of coffee, broke the news. We're pretty sure it was racoons because just a couple of nights ago we heard what sounded like someone rattling our front door.
Exposed table surfaces are an indication that I've done some cleaning, and that has always been pretty much the case all over our house. I like to have my stuff handy at all times. Right now there is one knitted sock on the table next to my chair in the family room just waiting for me to do that picky little kitchener stitch to finish it off. Those of you who don't knit are probably wondering why a stitch used to close up a sock's toe would be named something that related more to the cooking world. I have no idea.
While there's no end of noise on the sidewalks of New York,
from this vantage point, the city whispers. This is a view of Central Park.
St Patrick's Cathedral is in the lower center of the picture. If only I were taller.
Here's the Empire State Building. It was a mostly overcast day, but you can see a few rays of sun shining down on it.