Thursday, December 31, 2009
Random conversation
Charlotte (3+ feet, 40+ pounds): Grandpa, can I tell you something?
Grandpa (6'2", 240 lbs): Sure, Charlotte. What is it?
C: Grandpa, you're huge.
G: Charlotte, why do you think I'm huge?
C: Well, just LOOK at yourself!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Picture Perfect

In our house, most of the artwork on our walls is photography. So please, random number generator, pick me!
Monday, December 28, 2009
What are these people doing?
Christmas Day. Waiting for Charlotte and Levi to wake up from their naps so we can open presents.
Some Wii game called "Raving Rabbids." But at this point we probably look like Raving Lunatics.
Wai fun....
Monday, December 21, 2009
Can I please speak to your union rep?
The "sewing elves" finally arrived at my house last week. I'm SURE I made the request for them to start their work much earlier than December 15! In fact, I'm SURE that I always request they start as early as January, March at the latest. I'm SURE I make that request every single year! Somehow they never arrive until some time in December.
And they came with demands, such as setting up a sewing station in the family room because it was cozier, had a big screen TV and was closer to the Christmas cookies. When they finally started on their first project, turns out the supply list hadn't been filled completely (this was after supply shopping):
Geez. Doesn't the North Pole Santa's Workshop Trade Union take care of things like that??
In the last week, this is how much they have accomplished. One Nativity pillowcase:
Three (really CUTE) ornaments (pattern here--just in case you have sewing elves at your house with nothing to do:
and one other really small item (which I can't really post yet). That's IT! Turns out, they have work habits eerily similar to my own work habits this time of year: hard to focus on task, easily distracted, taking way too many cookie breaks (I think I need to check their union contract...). Well, all I can say is that they I better crank it up to high gear starting today. I'm clearly going to have to crack the whip. The licorice whip, that is...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
We have a winner....
Amy, over at Park City Girl, is hosting a giveaway. And I want to win.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Rules for holiday cooking with Grandpa and Grandma
Monday, December 14, 2009
Take a tour

At last count, 729 people had posted pcitures of their homes on the Christmas Tour of Homes. *sigh*. I can't possibly check out each and every one, but I will definitely be randomly picking a few each day.
As for us, our big addition this year was something Mark picked up at an auction after Christmas last year. Santa climbs up and down (and up and down....and up and down) the ladder carrying his little strand of lights, while music-box Christmas carols play along. Charlotte and Levi love it. Fortunately, Santa is willing to go up and down even when the music isn't playing.
Oh, I do still have one item I plan on making. I saw this last year and have been wanting to make it ever since. Can you believe we don't have a single wire coathanger in our house? Not a single one. I traded them all out for plastic. I'm hoping one of my friends can help me out. Super easy to make. Old ornaments, a glue gun and, oh yeah, the wire coathanger.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Dear Santa,

Santa, I have taken the whole economic stimulus program quite seriously, and have worked hard on the behalf of several very deserving online fabric stores, sending much of my money to them in order to make sure they stay in business. As such, I find myself in need of a, ahem....personal bailout.
"Pastry Line" has arrived just in the St. Nick of time, this close to Christmas, but I know they won't last long. So I'm hoping perhaps you will find it in your heart to send your elves scurrying along to grab these up for me.
Promising to be good in 2010,
C.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Fa-La-La-La-La



The college is located in Cambridge and how could you expect anything but beautiful music with buildings that look like these? I imagine high ceilings in a historic cathedral with flickering candlelight.













Monday, December 7, 2009
Some Christmas musical snapshots


This part of the concert took place right in front of us, with two violinists, as their stage kept going higher and higher, like a spaceship taking off.

But our musical highlight of the week was definitely the one that included this little singer. She was absolutely adorable and made our hearts sing... with love and pride. (Her mother got much better pictures than I did, along with a little video, so I'll just borrow one of them here.)
Look at this super-cute hair clippie that Charlotte wore in her hair.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Parade of the Pincushions
I don't know if I have ever mentioned my delight at all things organized. (Just don't ask anyone who has seen my office, because for some reason it seems to exist in a state of perpetual disorganization, so they won't believe it when I claim to enjoy organization.) I am obsessed with selvage edges and have been for quite some time. The names of the fabric lines are fascinating, the color dots along the edge, one for each color used in printing that particular fabric. Ahh....well, I could spend hours looking through all the selvages I have collected.
When I started making my pincushions, it soon became obvious that I was going with a "theme" for each pincushion. I have seen quite a few things made with selvages. In fact, there is a blog devoted to nothing else. But everything I have seen just seems to use whatever is handy. And I'm totally okay with that. But then I started having fun with my little theme game. And this is some of what I came up with:
Lightning Bugs (all Heather Ross selvages). And if you are at all familiar with Heather Ross, you know that at least two of these fabric lines are no longer available, which makes these selvages an endangered species!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Salute!
(I got a Moda "layer cake," which is a 10x10 inch piece of each fabric in the entire line)
..and to my mom and dad who gave me a birthday gift certificate to our local quilt shop, which allowed me to purchase these fun new items.