Merry Christmas...

Hoping your Christmas was filled with favorite things and happy times.  

I think you can tell from the photo what the favorite Christmas movie is around our house; in case you aren't familiar with it, it's A Christmas Story from 1983.

My favorite Christmas candy...

 These are my absolute favorite holiday sweet...at least of the store-bought variety.  I happened on them several years ago.

Man do I love these things! I actually wish I could get just the peppermint without the Tootsie Roll center.

The peppermint is mild with maybe a hint of vanilla?  

I keep a cup full of them on my desk at work.  I won't tell you how many times I've refilled it.  :)

They are only sold during the holidays, so I should see if I can find a few more bags before they're gone.

Making it Monday...

Today is my last day of vacation in 2020.  I was going to go with Carey to see his mother.  However, Jared is not feeling well, and is awaiting Covid test results.  Carey hasn't seen him in a couple of weeks, so he went on to keep the visit appointment.  I have seen Jared, and though it was at a distance, I still thought I should be responsible and stay home.

 I was up until 8:00 a.m. this morning finishing her Christmas gift.  She had mentioned that she wasn't liking to write letters anymore.  I talked to her about it some, and I think she doesn't like having to gather all the items needed to write a letter.  So I made her a letter box to keep everything together...just grab and go.

I used one of the boxes I like to store my quilt projects in.  They are plastic and about 12" x 12" square and 3 1/2" deep, with a handle, latches, and a hinged lid.  I'm not sure, but I'm hoping that it will sit comfortably on her lap, so she can write in her easy chair.  

I made a grid divider to fit inside to hold items needed for correspondence that I had tucked inside: a return-address stamp, address book, postage stamps, pens, and divisions for cards.  And wouldn't you know that I forgot to take a photo when I was done!  Oh, well.  

I did snap photos of the cards that I included, but that doesn't seem as impressive as the whole package.

These are really simple cards that just layer pretty papers.  I was in a rush, so kept things very basic.  There were duplicates of a couple of these, so I think there were 16 cards added to the box.  I'll make her some more as time goes on.

I had two of this one already completed so tucked them in as well.

I grabbed a few hours of sleep, and have had a quiet day working on some gifts for the rest of the family.  More on that later.

Thankful, grateful, blessed...

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope that everyone is having a lovely day filled with things they are thankful for.  Though Carey is working this holiday, and I am spending the day alone (so far), I am thankful and enjoying myself.  

I have spent the day at the sewing machine working on a donation quilt...and it is done and ready to deliver.  It's not like any I've done before.  When I was looking around for batting and backing in my sewing room, I stumbled on a large cut of blue fleece.  I thought about using it instead of batting...but then I thought, why not use it as backing without batting?  So I just sewed the pieced top to the fleece (right sides together), turned it right side out, and started quilting.  Since it is a lap quilt for a memory-care facility, I think the light weight will be good, and the fleece will not only be soft and cuddly, but will hopefully keep it from sliding off of the lap of its owner too easily.  

Hot off the sewing machine!  Looks rather summery in those colors against the arrangement of autumn leaves behind it, huh?

Wait, what's that down at the other end of the sofa?

Ahhh...that blends a little better.  This is the throw I made for the sofa a few years ago.

Actually, though, it's time to put even this quilt back on the shelf and get out the Christmas decor.  Tomorrow.  

Now I am off to put a turkey breast in the oven, and make some Stove Top dressing and a couple of easy sides.  Kasey, Beau, and the girls are on their inaugural trip in their new travel trailer, and I hope they are having a fun time; the boys all had plans of their own.  So Jared will come, and we will share our minimalist feast.  :)  

Blessings to all!

On vacation...

I love stay-at-home vacation days.  Today I'm doing some sewing; making a few more masks.  

I've watched a ton of Utube videos and used a few different patterns since the pandemic started.  This one is my favorite, though I had to adapt it to suit me better.  In the original pattern the bottom was just unfitted and left a big gap at the bottom.  On my first half dozen or so I added a strip of elastic to the inside bottom edge so that it tucked comfortably under my chin and was more protective without the big gap. 

I always use two different fabrics for the interior and exterior so that if the mask is removed and then put back on, I can easily tell which side should be worn toward the face.  So it's just a short jump to making them fully reversible.  However, the side that the elastic was on looked a bit too messy to be worn on the outside to me.

Now, instead of the elastic, I add a small dart on each side of the front center seam before sewing the interior and exterior layers together.  It now fits comfortably under my chin and looks equally neat on both fabric sides.  Completely reversible!  Don't worry, I always launder after each wearing.  One should never wear the outside of a worn mask against their face...that's the side that has encountered other people's germs!  (Just turning inside out and wearing doesn't work for masks like it does for underwear.  I'm kidding!  I'm kidding!!! )

These changes have enabled me to really expand my mask wardrobe with a lot less sewing.  (Does this photo look like it's from a Christmas episode of The Handmaid's Tale to anyone else, or is it just me.  LOL)

I know, I know...the plaid pattern is not perfectly matched.  My mother has been harping on me from her grave about it all afternoon.  :)

I've started using longer pieces of elastic for ear pieces and adding silicone cord locks so the length can be adjusted for comfort.  Now I don't have to worry about an exact fit, because I was always getting them just a little too loose or a little too tight (okay, truthfully one of my first  masks makes my ears stick out like Howdy Doody...LOL).

I also like the aluminum nose-bridge strips with adhesive on one side that I purchased from Amazon recently.  Added to the top edge they really cut down on glasses fogging up.

Now I need to get back to the sewing machine.  I'm hoping to have at least seven new masks done before I return to work.  Also in the works is a lap quilt to donate, and I want a pretty mug rug for my work desk.  Hopefully I will be able to show those before vacation is over.

ps:  Yes, I do know that a vaccine is looking very, very promising, but I figure it will be months at the very least before the general public is able to get it.  And I like for my masks to match my work outfits.  :) 

Trick or treats...treats, please...

 

This makes me LOL!  I call him Tri-RUDY-tops.  He held so still that we were done with our photo shoot in about half a minute.  I think this might fall under my friend the retired colonel's old 7-P rule...prior proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.  :)

I chose a small space to take the photo where Rudy could be easily, yet comfortably, contained undistracted; the entry area of my home office worked perfectly.  I hung a piece of black fabric on the back of the door for a backdrop.  I pulled up my rolling office chair set to its lowest setting for the 'photographer' to sit on (because 'she'...cough cough...has trouble getting up off the floor...poor old crone).  I put on Rudy's 'costume.'  And presto, change-o!  We were done.  Oh, and that sharp-eyed expression is him staring at my front pocket which he knows is full of treats!  What a good boy!

Kasey had given me his 'costume' last year for my birthday, but I didn't get around to taking a photo, so this year I made it a priority (Hey, another 'P' word!  LOL)

Wishing All Hallows Eve brings only treats to you all, dear readers.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 I was on vacation last week, and I got a lot of reading done.

Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning

I love Sally Cabot Gunning's work, and this one was really quite good about President Thomas Jefferson and his family, told from the viewpoint of his daughter Martha.

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

I loved this one, and rate it about 9.75 points out of 10.  Virtually the entire story takes place inside the Grand Central Terminal in New York City right before and during World War II.  Highly recommend.

Saturday snail mail...

Yesterday was World Cardmaking Day.  Who knew, right?  Just to be honest, I didn't make any cards yesterday, but I thought I should at least do a catch-up post on what I have made and mailed since my last post.

This one and the next one were made and mailed early last week.  The cooler temperatures we have been enjoying made me pull out last year's autumn paper pumpkin.

A baby-boy card.  I just told someone that I never have occasion to send baby cards these days, and then all of a sudden I did.

A hang-in-there card for someone having a rough patch.

I went through a coloring phase for awhile, and did some real detail time with blending pens.

I never remember what these long cards are called.  The coloring was kind of the star of the show on this one.

But I had green sequins that matched the trees, so I added a few, and then the fountain begged for some Wink of Stella.

This is the simplest birthday card I've ever made; just a watercolor paper base with a pretty paper layer, and a tiny "happy birthday."  I always send poppies on this friend's cards.  

This is another past Paper Pumpkin.  Trying to use them instead of just 'collect' them!

This may look familiar, because I've CASEd its inspiration card before.  I love the monochromatic simplicity.

For the inside I stamped one of the images off a couple of times so it was a lighter shade with the sentiment in full-strength ink over it.

Now I'm wondering what I'm going to do about Christmas cards this year.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Hideaway by Nora Roberts

I finished this fairly new one by Nora Roberts over the long weekend.  The library seemed to think that I needed to read this one, so I gave it a go.  It was okay.

If I start a new one, it will have to be a short read, because Ken Follet's newest comes out in just one week, and I will want to start reading immediately. 

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

I was looking for something to read in my Kindle book titles that I haven't read yet, and was reminded that I had  pre-ordered this one back in December and completely forgotten about it.  It's the prequel to The Pillars of the Earth (which is my favorite book ever), so I was really excited to be reminded of its purchase so near to the release date.  Now I get to look forward to it for the next seven days.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Martian by Andy Weir

I decided to browse the library's ebooks the other day, and saw that The Martian was available.  I always meant to read it, so now seemed like a good time.  I'm only a few chapters in so far.

A Dangerous Mourning by Anne Perry

I just previously finished A Dangerous Mourning by Anne Perry.  

My comments on comments...

Into every life a little rain must fall, I guess.  That's my rather lame attempt at working this photo I took yesterday of the distant rain shower on the horizon, into today's post topic.  :)

I have had a lot of really gross spam comments left lately, so I am turning word verification back on.  To my nice blog friends, my apologies if this makes it more difficult for you to comment.  To the mean naughty-talk spammers, just go away!

I will return soon with something more, or possibly less, interesting for your reading pleasure.  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Outcast by Sadie Jones

Set in England after WWII ends.  Lewis is ten years old when his mother drowns.  His father is distant.  His friends turn away.  Villains bully him as others stand by, until in an act of frustration he lashes out.  

Saturday snail mail...

This is just a little 'busy'.  Ah, well.  I needed to make something really quick while Caitlyn was here for her to write a note to her great-grandmother.  I think I would be happier with it if I had just used a solid-color ribbon for the bow, but this gingham bow was lying on my work desk already tied, so I popped it on.

I stamped this background floral stamp (from Simon Says Stamp) in black Memento ink.  I used Stampin' Up! Blends to color in the one flower at the bottom.  I used an Exacto knife to cut around the petals so that I could slide the pink center layer behind it.  

Same basic stamping and coloring on this one, but I used an embossing folder with a similar all-over floral pattern to emboss a rectangle, then trimmed out the center to make a frame.  Popped up the pink embossed frame on the card front, added a few of the palest pink sequins, et voilá!  I love this one.

A 21st birthday card for Bobby.  He loves black & white clean graphics.  I also used some gray design papers, punched different-sized circles, and glued them on randomly.  I 'splattered' it w/ Wink of Stella before layering on a gray card base, then added a red heart with 'happy birthday' stamped on it.

I stuck with circles for making a stamped background design.  To start I punched different-sized circles from cardstock squares leaving as much border as possible.  I used these as stencils, and with a blending brush added random circles all over a 8.5" x 11" piece of cream card stock in gray, green, and brown.  Then I stamped on smaller brown circles with a little rougher 'texture' and stamped the swirly circles in dark brown.  When I was happy with the all-over design, I cut strips, wrapped with cord secured with a knot, added some copper metallic edges, and used adhesive foam to pop it up onto a layer of cream-colored watercolor paper on a cream card base.

On this one I stamped over a few of the small light brown circles with Delicata Celestial Copper (a metallic ink) and used a hemp cord to wrap and knot.  These will be all-purpose cards for work that I can add a stamped greeting to inside as needed or leave blank for a handwritten note.  I love the way they turned out.

Sorry if seeing my card posts gets old for readers, but they help me to remember card ideas I've used and who I may have sent them to.