Cafe'...Art

One down...one to go....Advent Hats and Mitts

The pile of 'work in progress'. I decided to make each grandkid family unit an advent something. I found this idea in a catalog. Decided to make it myself. I had to  design as I went...

Cute, but I realized the project was going to be a big one,given the fact that you need 12 hats and 12 mitts times 2!!!

Lots of pretty colors!!

I put them on an evergreen garland held with clothes pins. That seemed to be the only way they could be taken on and off for filling, and giving without alot of to do!!

Lots of my stash was used. I only had to buy a few skeins to have enough!

Actually, I am almost done with second set, I have 5 more mitts to knit, and then I will have to still knit all 12 thumbs in.  But all yarn ends are in place, so we are in the home stretch...good thing, December first is really around the corner!!!

Thanksgiving Day bounty....

Family, lots of kids, grandparents....FOOD......and Food, did I say FOOD!!  Kids laughing, running, and having fun....football....betting.....winners!!!! FUN!!!   And the weather was cool turning rather cold later when it was time to go home. But, mostly the sun was shining. Making the snow we received the night before sparkle, even has most was melting away.

Of course the game over and the tummies full, sunlight coming in making it even warmer still....brings on ....                                                                                                       

EXTREME SLEEPINESS!!!

Later on there was pie, and coffee...lots of pies I might add!! This was pretty much what was left!!

All in all a goodly day was had by all. We are truly thankful, for such bounty, blessings, love that surrounds us that comes out to touch each one has we come together!!!

November...going fast!

Well I am finally catching up to November, it has really gone fast, I see Christmas stuff out, and hear Christmas songs already....all right, I am playing that in my house...but the knitting is fiercely in progress!! IT HAS STARTED, may I just say.  Yes I have finished Carlee's sweater and have been hunting for that perfect pair of blue pants to go with. Her birthday. Her first birthday is at the end of this month....I have even looked in the boys stuff for this blue pant, corduroy to be exact. Nothing, Nada, zip!!! So...that means I sew a pair and quick. Found the fabric and the color, and finally the pattern!  I will show pictures when finished......Here is a "pile" of knitting, love those hand warmers!!

I also spent a day with my daughter in-law, she wanted to learn to sew.  We made bibs for her sister who is expecting.

Aren't they cute, the first one we made fit an adult and we got a good laugh out of that, she is a dental hygienist, I told her that she could just use it at work with her patients !! ha ha

No daughter in-laws feeling were hurt in the making of this blog!  Real fingers were used here, but faces were concealed to protect the identity......

LOVE YOU JESSIE......

MOMMY G!!

October Unleased.....

Another luxury of fall is...concord grapes! I just love them and eat them by the handful. This year must of been a good year for them despite the heat, or because of it.  I have always wanted to grow my own, remembering a friend of long ago who did, and beautifully so.  She even made a concord grape pie that was to die for literally......sigh, autumn.....

We can't forget the beauty of fall, I love all that is fall.  The colors, the way the leaves  drift off each branch and bring an airiness to the tree itself and an openness to the landscape.

You look out your window and I find it amazing, I usually decorate my home with colorful fall colors all around!

One must enjoy what one can!!

I must not neglect what else autumn is....getting ready for winter...we burn wood for out main heat source and have for years.  We also have since last year, bought a pellet stove, burning corn and wood pellets for heat. Burning just corn last year, was I thought costly. It just kept going up and up in price, and was very dirty to burn.  Our house is an old house, new windows and insulated, but you almost need an open floor plan to make it work for  you.  We were not totally happy with it.

This year we are burning more wood pellets with it and the corn we have gotten so far is definitely cleaner and I think dryer. Makes a big difference. We also  put a small fan in our doorway to pull the heat out of the room it is in and circulate it more. This one goes in the upper part of the doorway, we had used fans in the past, the ceiling fans of course, and a floor fan...This one positioning seems to make a huge difference.

While we were getting wood from a tree that my mother in-law had to have taken down.  Our nieces hubby was doing chain saw art on one of the stumps!  We had lots of help that day, his son, Eric junior, my sister in-law, Sheila, and hubby Larry.  They cut, and I stacked and we all hauled, and loaded wood till we all dropped at the end of the day!

This will be a black capped chickadee when finished!!  The work involved in this was astounding, just getting the foundation of the piece positioned and the proportioned was a huge time eater! This took him all day and he still has more detail work to do and of course his final touches where he burns in areas for depth and color!  WAY TO GO ERIC!!!

He is also very talented and creative in other ways.  He makes his own sausages, brats, spice blends, deserts, does wood carving in general....need I say more...

Hey you CAN see some of our wood pile in the back....see we didn't just all watch him carve, we were working!!!

September Remembered!!!

I know, it's November, barely two day before Thanksgiving....what HAVE I been doing!!?   a lot, I can assure you!  Let's see......2 of my grandchildren had there birthdays.... Here they are waiting patiently to blow out there candles....

They had a good day I think!

Finally, we can blow out the candles and EAT some CAKE!!!    YUM!!

The onto the knitting...I made this, in betwix the other projects, for my nieces, baby....it looked so cute on her!!! 

Then I was just on this "knitted" cupcake kick!! Of course I saw them on another  blog, Little Cotton Rabbits, she makes hers, and I have coveted them for awhile.  Well I finally, after doing numerous searches on line. FOUND, a pattern. I did many takes on this.  And made, I don't know....20 or so.....people that know me thought, yep, she has finally lost her marbles.....but....

they actually came in handy.

Because also in September was my birthday....my 50th BIRTHDAY!! ....drum roll....cymbals...OK some bells too...why not....I made it through it and lived....My kids, all three of them and their families, my Mom, sister and hubby, my sister in laws, hubby's, kids.....put on a party for me. My kids actually made all the food, and handled all that....they made me a wonderful scrapbook memory album, with pictures, and sayings, even getting some of my friends to input there thoughts. It was a very, very good day to say the least.....sadly I had been fretting about this....birthday for a good 2 years. then it came and was over, and it was, shall we say, well with my soul!!

Sooo....all these cupcakes, became my thank yous for all involved!!

My birthday cake was beautiful, and very tasty!  It was a bit of a shock to see the "50" on that cake...

gulp, gulp,

The weather that day, couldn't have been any better. Just enough cool, to say yes, fall is in the air .

I know, finally a picture of myself...hmmm. well I'm 50 now, which means I can say and do some things that I couldn't before...Na Na...

Thank-you, again to all I will treasure it in my heart, forever!!

My husband and I stayed over and enjoyed a lovely camp fire, wine, and a hand or two of cards !

Another part of my birthday present, was my brick for my sidewalk, that I have been wanting to get  for a long time! This was made possible by my sister, Wendy, her husband Roger, and my Mom! They arranged to have the old taken out!

Boy did that jack hammer, shake everything!!!

They also made sure I had all that was needed to put it in properly,  the pea gravel, leveling sand, edging, etc.

I did do a lot of work too, I dug it out to the depth needed, and hauled and hauled, sod, dirt, and it was very hot then. There was also a mass of tree roots, that my husband had to use the chain saw to get it all out, they were huge!!

Some of the crew!!

Getting it started, everything had to be right, my sister and I worked on each side of the sidewalk laying the bricks, Roger, was our leveler, and kept is straight and level. Loran was the brick hauler, teamwork all the way!

This is the pattern and how it looked. Next year I will show it all put together, I haven't decided if I will plant on either side or not. I also did the small walkway to our front door, which turned out very well. This walkway now is wider then the other was, and there is no tripping, the roots that were taken out had heaved up the old sidewalk.

My friend Helene gave me some lovely  mums for my birthday, which came into bloom and were so enjoyed!

Well that it September, it was busy, good, and now past.  But it was and is good to remember, and feel that special warmth in my heart, from the gifts received from family, friends, and autumn. Which is my favorite time of the year.