Friend and I were at a quilt shop today -- a woman came in with stacks of Grandmother's Flower Garden "flowers" -- all hand made by her Grandmother but with no papers -- all hand sewn. The family found tons of them and divided them up between the different families. She was wondering what could be done with the ones she received. I'm not sure this woman is a quilter, or if she even sews.

There was also a quilt top done in a star pattern. She didn't have any idea what to do with it, either.

I thought that was sad.
What would your suggestion be to her?

It's Official!

Yep -- it is official -- Gracie can't count.

I've told people that Gracie can count because in the evenings when she is on the sofa beside us, as soon as the clock strikes 10 pm, she gets up and goes to bed. Doesn't do that at 8 or 9 -- just at 10 pm.

However, in addition to the chiming clock, we also have a bird clock. The 10:00 bird is the Tufted Titmouse. That is what Gracie is responding to -- the call of the tufted titmouse.

How do I know?

I know because she got up from a nap and went to bed one morning when the bird clock "tweeted" at 10 am. I had the chiming clock "off" because I was working on it so only the bird clock sounded the hour.

After a couple of minutes she came back out of her kennel and looked confused.

I don't know where the tufted titmouse lives (habitat) but if it was around here Gracie wouldn't know what to do!

Santa

I seem to have started, quite by accident, a collection of Santa images.
On the far left, barely seen, is a small Santa that my son gave me one year. Next to him is the Kneeling Santa. This actually belongs to my husband and was a gift from our oldest daughter. My husband loves the message it presents.
The tall red Santa holding a tree is new this year. It has a tiny light in the base and appears to be made of crackle glass. Next to it is another Santa that belongs to my husband -- the "Biker Santa." Friends gave it to him one Christmas. The jacket that Santa wears is leather.
Last one on the right is Patriotic Santa. I love the depiction of the Santa holding the flag. I have a patriotic bathroom and this Santa usually goes in there along with a metal Uncle Sam.
The small Santa on the bottom is a Harley Davidson Santa ornament -- another one belonging to hubby --- hummmm, I see a pattern developing here -- perhaps it is my husband that has a Santa collection! lol. Last, but not least, or maybe it is, my Santa snow globe. It helps hold up the Harley Santa.

Snow Globes

These are my snow globes -- I guess I have a collection -- what is it -- when you have 3 or more items it is a collection? Well, then I have one.

The center globe, which is also the largest, was given to me by my husband a number of years ago. It is a traditional nativity scene and it plays music.

The taller globe, top left, was also a gift from my husband.

The white based globe, lower left, was my "ornament" at a Women's Ornament Exchange. It depicts a "Dickens" scene of carolers.

The right side shows a gold colored globe with a gold nativity scene inside.

The small globe, bottom left, is an angel and the small globe, bottom right, shows a teddy bear.

There is one more but it will be shown with the Santas.

Nativities

It is that time -- Christmas decorations are coming down. This year I tried something new when putting up decorations -- I grouped items together.

I have a large nativity set -- one that I made years ago when I was doing ceramics. I usually put it on top of the TV/stereo cabinet. This year I didn't get it out -- instead, I used some smaller items.

The one pictured below is one of my favorite nativities. It was a gift from a Secret Sister 2 or 3 years ago. I love the way it is all incorporated into one item -- the heart, which, when you think about it, is the perfect setting to depict the wondrous love that God had for mankind -- that He sent His only Son to earth.


The next set is from Peru. I went to a Mennonite fair in California a while back -- was that 08?
Anyway, there was a place where items like this could be purchased. I think it is very different and I like it a lot!


This very traditional nativity was added to the collection when my husband retired. This was the set that he put on his desk at work.

And last, two items I added this year -- very small but still, the depiction is there.

I may not do this same think next year but I liked the way it looked this year.

Looking Around Giddings Courthouse Square

We welcomed the new year with a group of friends at Camp Tejas, a Christian Retreat Center just south of Giddings, Texas. Before leaving the area I took some pictures in Giddings.
This is the Lee County Courthouse -- it was build in the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture in 1899. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.




Across from the courthouse is this beautiful building which houses the Lee County Heritage Center. I think it is a really pretty building.

side view...

On another corner is First Presbyterian Church.

Off to a great start!

When we got home from our Christmas/New Years trip we picked up our mail at the post office.
We had a package from our oldest son, S, and it contained new pictures of our Fresno Grandchildren. The new pictures are below -- C (on the left) is 9 and E (on the right) is 12.



Along with the pictures we got these cards -- the ones pictured below are original art work from E that has been made into note cards -- they came complete with envelopes. What a great idea and what a special gift!

This set of cards came from C. I think the snowmen look just like a little boy would draw, don't you?

I wanted to share these with all of you!

A NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year to all of you! I wish for each of you blessings, peace, love, joy, and family and friends to share them with.

An International Dinner

Tonight my Sweetie and I enjoyed a truly international dinner. We had tamales (Mexico) and a noodle dish (Korean.)

I had planned to have tamales for dinner -- these became a Christmas tradition with us after my children and I moved to El Paso.
These are the tamales -- the one on top has been taken out of the wrapping.


Tamales are made from "masa" a ground corn product, and are usually gluten free. They are filled with (in this case) pork. Other fillings can be chicken, beef, or some kind of sweet. I have never had a sweet one. I have seen spinach tamales and black bean tamales but have not tried these. The masa is formed around the meat and then the tamale is wrapped in a corn shuck and steamed until done. In the picture below the tamale has been unwrapped and is on top of the shuck so you can see them together.

Then in the afternoon a Korean friend called and asked if she could bring some food. (You will see her pictured in the pictures of our quilting group Christmas party.)

This is the dish my Korean friend brought. I don't know what to call it (except delicious) but is contains noodles, mushrooms, carrots, onions, carrots, and beef. All the ingredients are shredded before being added to the noodles. She said it was made by her Mother-in-Law who is also Korean but who lives in Canada.

It was delicious and surprisingly quite tasty with the tamales.

With our main items accounted for, we added rice and a tossed salad and it was a great international dinner!

Merry Christmas!