HAPPY HOLIDAYS~

Yes I said it..... HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I have friends of various beliefs and I want them ALL to enjoy this Season of love, compassion and happy moments spent with family and friends. December 25th is the day Christian's celebrate Christmas but there are a lot of other wonderful Holiday's between our Thanksgiving in November and the New Year and I want to include ALL those as well. I cherish all my friends no matter what their beliefs and I would never want to miss out in wishing them all the love and happiness they can find during the Holidays.

Today I did a bit of re-arranging of furniture in preparation of setting up our Christmas tree and decorations.

I moved our son's desk into the den - yes by myself.

I will be setting up the tree and other decorations tomorrow.

  I've got to get the tree set up so I have a place to put the packages that are starting to appear. I have more to wrap but will wait until I get the tree set up.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Yes I'm up and getting ready for work at 2:19 AM

I will be leaving in a few minutes for work. I'm not sure why I said "yes" to  this 3 AM start time but the good news is I will be off before most people get to work and I can get some things done here at home. Gotta pull out my Elf hat and get into the "workshop". Have a GREAT Friday!

Family Dynamics

These are my true feelings and if you don't want to know what they are ... STOP READING NOW!

At this time of year I find myself thinking about Family. I find myself envious of those that talk with their siblings all the time. Scott's family reaches out to one another and treats me as a sister and not just someone married into their family. We get together several times a year and communicate regularly online or via the telephone. I know they love me as much as I love them and it's wonderful.

My Grandma opening the pot I made for her in High School.

I love my siblings but I always wonder if I died tomorrow would they even miss me. Do I ever even cross their minds throughout the year? Once or twice a year is about all I hear from some of them and some I never hear from at all. It's just really odd being the oldest of 6 and still feeling like an only child. Makes me wonder why on Earth people put such an emphasis on never having an "only". I have a total of 4 nieces and 4 nephews on my side but only really "know" 3 of them well enough to get loving hugs and a cheerful reception. They warm my heart beyond measure and I love them so much. I love the rest of them dearly but don't really know them. I try to do something for them all at Christmas but never know if they like what I come up with or not. Perhaps it's because I was raised in a completely different environment by someone much older than our Mother. My opinions and views on life are so very different from the rest as well. Sometimes I truly believe the stork dropped me down the wrong chimney.

I'm just being reflective tonight... no worries.

Feeling a Bit Off

Yesterday I worked 4 hours in the morning and came home and ate a little and then crashed in the chair with a cat in my lap until our son came home at 12:30 for lunch. I guess I may have over did a little bit the day before. After the nap I cooked dinner and mopped the floor in the den and repositioned some of the furniture in the hopes we would get our son's desk and computer set up along one wall  but it was late by  the time Scott got home from work so that didn't happen. I also did a little laundry.

Today I am determined to get some gifts made as soon as I get home from work! Time's a wastin'.... hopefully the nap lure won't capture me today. But my head seems foggy and all I really want to do is stay home and crawl back in bed on this chilly morning.

Today's Accomplishment

I finished the carpet removal in the dining room and cleaned the floor with Murphy's Oil Soap. We will eventually completely restore the wood floor since there are spots where the finish came up from wear under the carpet. One more room and there will not be any carpet left in the main body of the house. YEAH! I've decided not to switch rooms around and keep the den as the den so I can decorate it for Christmas. So here are a couple photo's of our dining room all clean and ready for company (the rest of the house is not... yet).

You can see the 2 chair seats that I've recovered in the red and gold.... 4 more chairs to go but that won't be happening until next year. The first 2 were done several years ago and they took so long I gave up on completing the task... BAD BECKY! I will get to it. You can see our first Christmas card on the table; it's from my cousin Penny. Christmas cards are on my to-do list for this week.

We will one day be in a position to finish this remodel!

I also got a start on cleaning up our den and am hoping to finish it tomorrow so that I can get our 2 little Christmas trees and the rest of our decorations up before Wednesday. I'm looking forward to the day when the ugly green linoleum is covered in wood look flooring!

Well that is it from me for this weekend. Take care!

Come on in and Get Warm

Scott and I had gone over to his Moms' to help her get some plants planted out in her garden that my sister-in-law, Adele sent home with Greg last weekend. When we came home Greg had built a small fire in the fireplace and it is so nice to sit and watch on this chilly evening. It's supposed to get down into the 20's tonight.

I'll have more to share tomorrow... I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I was sorry to see I've lost a follower but not every blog is for everyone.

COCK-A-DOODLE DOOoooooo....

Does this mean I get the worm? EWWWWWwww... It's 4:36 AM! I've been home from work for about an hour and should really be in the bed but I'm just too wired up to relax. I hope that is the last overnight I have to work for a VERY long time. Now I'm off until EARLY Monday Morning. I want to get the house cleaned  up real nice and our Christmas decorations up this weekend.I'll take some photos if I manage to accomplish all that.

Last night before I had to leave for work I snapped this picture of the moon...

I think it turned out AMAZING! And this morning while I was waiting for my Boss to finish up with things he had to do I looked out the store window and wished I'd had my camera again as the moon was a golden yellow and awesome. I love trying to capture the moon; It's not an easy task but I think I succeeded quite well with the above photograph.

Well there is a fluffy cat purring behind me trying to lure me to dreamland... I think I'll take his bate. G~night... I mean Morning!

Something to be Thankful for....

Our garden...

Spinach

Collards

Mustard Greens

Garlic

Okra - going to collect seeds from these pods

Carrots

Late Tomatoes

We are expecting a HARD freeze tonight so Scott harvested the remaining green tomatoes and cut the plants down. He also stored the cages for the winter. Here is our harvest...

We are thinking about making either Chow Chow or Green Tomato Pickles. OR laying them out on newspaper to ripen.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

I'm about to leave for my 9 PM to 3 AM shift at the store. I will be doing it again tomorrow night so I may be quiet for a few days on here. Take care and be safe everyone.

Today's Finish

Another pin cushion; this one is made out of an ice cream sundae dish.

Allergies and a project update

Well Scott went back to the ENT for the allergy testing and out of 36 things they tested for Scott is allergic to 30. Only a mild allergy to strawberries and that was his only food allergy. The pets are safe as he is only "mildly" allergic to them. But grasses, trees and molds are his MAJOR problems. They are talking an allergy shot once a week for the next 5 years. And you all know how much we both LOVE being out in nature. He will start the shots either next week or the week after and he will need to have an epi-pen near by in case he is allergic to the shots. So we have our answer and a possible solution... I hope it works. Oh and they told him to be careful about canned pasta sauces as they can sometimes have mold in them. And no more hard aged cheese, beer or wine.

Now for my little project completion...

I made this little pin cushion using the little ceramic vase I bought at the Goodwill Clearance center a couple weeks ago. I think it turned out beautiful and I'll be mailing it to a gal that wanted to do a stick-pin swap with me. I made the 4 stick-pins as well. Now to find a box the perfect size for shipping this to her. Luckily tomorrow is truck day and I'll be able to get a small box then.

I have some more pin cushions in the works and will share pictures of them later.

Home from the party...

We had a very nice time at my folk's home for our nephew, Dougie's 8th birthday. Here are a few pictures from the party...

The birthday day boy - Dougie

We gave him the wooden shark 3D puzzle. And his cake was Darth Vadar.

His younger brother and sister and cousins thoroughly enjoyed the party as well . A very full and loud party...LOL

Phoenix - My little Romeo boy who loves lots of hugs and kisses

Our Abby girl who loves a bit of jewelry!

My mom wanted a photo of me to show my cousin as she wants her hair cut like mine and my cousin will be over there tomorrow to cut her hair so I got Scott to take a couple photos...

 I look pretty tired because I AM! I then took a picture of the two of us at arms length and I think it is a GREAT picture of Scott.

Sunday All Ready

Sorry I didn't get back on here the other night but I injured my right wrist and it was hurting too bad to type for any period of time. I went to CVS and bought a brace for it as well as some OTC pain meds and it is feeling so much better now.

And Friday on my way out I told my Boss... "Have a good weekend I'll see you Tuesday". And he said "WHAT? I thought you were going to be here Monday" I got a text later in the day saying for me to come on in and work Monday at 5... ah well it was a nice thought while it lasted. I was a bit confused about the extra day off any way so now there is no need to wonder anymore.

Later this morning Scott and I will be attending our nephew, Dougie's 8th birthday party. I tell you what I thought  my son grew up entirely too fast but these younger nieces and nephews are having away of making this Auntie feel ancient.It will be nice to see my family again - at least part of it.

Last night's sunset was so beautiful...

Taken just outside our screened porch.

You can see in the bottom right corner that we still have a few tomatoes in our garden but the tops of the plants have some frost damage. We really need to pick the rest of the tomatoes and lay them out on newspaper somewhere to finish ripening. Or I need to make some green tomato relish.

Scott has his garlic growing out there as well as all sorts of "winter greens" (collards, mustard, and spinach). We should have enough greens to process some for the freezer. I'll try to remember to share some pictures of the rest of our "Winter Garden" next week.

As always I have a list of crafting things going on as well that I will post more about a little later. My current project is the little jars I picked up a few weeks back at the Goodwill Clearance Center that I am turning into small pin cushions for stick pins that I have created for some people.  Yesterday Scott and I went back and we found some things to bring home. I got a dress, a jacket and a denim top. I found a pair of dress pants for Scott as well. And I got some crafting goodness as well... baby yarn in a mint green, some paper lunch bags that I can turn into a mini-album, some calendar dividers for a planner, some white satin, some beaded trim that was attached to a piece of unusual green silk and several antique doilies. Scott got some power supplies for a geeky project he is working on here at home. And we only spent about $14.

Well I have a birthday gift to wrap and breakfast to make so I better get off here. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Scott and I have had the house to ourselves this weekend with Greg visiting his Aunt and Uncle in Georgia.

I'm so glad...

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! YEAH! And I get a 3 day weekend which includes a birthday party on Sunday for my nephew; Dougie is turning 8. They are growing up so fast.

Next week is going to be interesting to say the least as I am working overnight  Thanksgiving night and Friday night. It means we will have to stick close to home so that I can get some sleep. Ah the life of Retail... could be worse I could be Law Enforcement and working all day both days trying to keep people from killing each other for a TV. I'll be making the store pretty and filling it up with goodies for people to buy the following days and I won't have to work "IN" the crowds. So it's all good.... Remind me I said that on Saturday morning when I get off from the roller coaster.

I'll post again later today... right now it's time to get ready for work.

Handmade/Homemade

Fresh from my oven... 2 round loaves of plain white bread.

"MEOWY" Christmas!

 I started making some Christmas cards. I don't send out many but want to make some special ones for the special people that make time in their lives for us.

This one needs a greeting added to the front?????

These two are waiting to be put on cards. I'll be fussy cutting the mouse out as well.

I found the images online and printed them out and colored them in with Crayola Colored pencils. I wish I had Prismacolors but the Crayola works OK. I used some iridescent glitter glue and some Glossy Accents on the eyes. I'm addicted to Glossy Accents... can never have too many bottles in the house. It really adds a lot to a project and is a fantastic glue as well.

Completed a Never Ending Birthday Card

So far this Sunday has started with a BIG breakfast, sorting and starting laundry and the completion of this birthday card.

Our Pets

It's Scavenger Hunting time again with Ramblings of a Square Peg in a Round Hole and this weeks photos are to be of our pets.

Bernadette

Amelia

Tesla

Nicholas

Life's Little Twists

I've started on some knitted dish clothes; I'm going to knit up a bunch for Christmas gifts. And I'm planning to make some pot holders as well. I think a set of potholders and a couple dish clothes would make some fine gifts.

We decided to drive down to the boat ramp as we do most nights to see if we can spot some deer or other wild life. We saw 1 deer as she crossed the road way in front of us and was long gone before I could get the camera out. We did however spot a hot air balloon in the distance. And I got one photo before the traffic light turned green and I had to go before I got honked at.

We lost sight of it after we turned at the light.

Scott's Uncle is in the hospital and he is not doing well at all and refusing treatment as he wants to be with his wife that past several years ago. He has been so devastated without her. He is a wonderful man and my only wish is for him to find the Peace he seeks. He has lived a long and full-filling life and that is the most any of us could ask for. Only warm loving thoughts for this wonderful man.

Today's Letter "W"

I have completed the altered letter for my friend Wendy.
It looks a LOT different than it did a few posts back; doesn't it?

Project Completions

Yesterday I finally got a few projects completed. First was an altered tag. The theme was Victorian Winter Ball and I thoroughly enjoyed making this project. I think it turned out pretty nice.

The second project was a selection of stick pins for a swap that I am in with an online friend. I need more bead caps and spacers. I have loads of beads but am always running out of those two findings. I finally found the really long pins at Jo-Anns in there wedding section.

I also made progress on the altered "W" for my friend on You Tube. I will post some photos of the "W" when it is completed. It looks a LOT different from the previous photo that I posted. Wendy is also the one that offered up the challenge for the tag above and I will be sending that to her as well. I am also making her one of my never ending cards as well. I need to get that all completed as her birthday is near the end of this month and I want to get them mailed to her before then.

Well it is time for me to get on the road. It's nice getting more time at home in the mornings - I've been up since 2:30.

Congrats to our President!