Last Day Of The Year

We decided to spend the last day of the year in town doing a little shopping, eating out, and then going bowling.We celebrated early so we could ring in the new year sleeping.....just the way I like it!

King Quilt pt. 8

Now that Christmas is over I have begun working on the King Quilt once again. The quilt was too big to hang fully on the clothesline without dragging the ground so 4-rows are draped over the line.My next step is to find a place large enough for me to spread the quilt top out so I can add the batting and backing. Maybe the library will let me borrow one of their rooms?...I'll have to ask them.

A Doll House

For the past 2-months Pat has been working on a doll house for Elizabeth for Christmas. He has been making it up as he goes along and wasn't able to complete it in time for Christmas so the plan was to bring it home on Christmas Eve, unfinished, so Elizabeth would finally know about it; but the unexpected snow prevented this from happening (the house was being built at the warehouse).

Yesterday we braved the snowy roads and Elizabeth received her final and biggest gift. Pat still needs to add walls to the 3rd floor and windows and chimney to the roof. Once he finishes this last section then Elizabeth and I will begin the journey of learning how to decorate a miniature house. Our plan is to work on shingles first and then decide if we should paint the outside or put bricks on the outside.

The house measure 40-inches long, 39-inches tall and 26-inches deep. Pat put a drawer under the house to hold the electrical equipment when it is time to run the various wires.

When finished there will be between 16 and 18 rooms; in this photo you can see another room through the door. The stairs leading up to the next floor will have a railing when Elizabeth and I learn how to attach it.

Elizabeth was anxious to play with the house so she dug out some of her plastic doll house pieces and put them in the house for now, then she and Pat began making a rustic wood bed frame.

When the bed is finished Elizabeth and I will make a miniature mattress, quilt and pillows. This is a gift that will be used for many, many years.

The Orchard on Christmas Day

This morning when we went to check on the chickens I noticed for the first time how the snow drifted along the north fence in the orchard.

The chickens are not happy with all our snow but the trees will benefit greatly come spring.

Merry Christmas Eve

Today has been a wonderful relaxing day of watching Christmas shows and movies. Once the wind died down we noticed our 3-foot drift had grown to almost 5-feet.With no wind blowing the kids were able to play for a second time outside and had a fun snowball fight; poor Elizabeth didn't have a chance against brother.

After supper Elizabeth opened her traditional Christmas Eve package and really loved her nightgown. This is the first year I didn't make Jonathan a traditional Christmas Eve gift; he's just too big/old for fun stuff.

I am looking forward to tomorrow morning, Elizabeth is so excited about opening up gifts and I am looking forward to a second day of doing nothing but watching more shows/movies and reading.

A Possible White Christmas

Last night while we slept Old Man Winter paid us a wonderful visit.
Along with the snow we have had a lot of wind which made many, many snow drifts. Here Elizabeth is playing in one of the smaller drifts.

The largest drift is about 3-feet tall.

Jonathan decided to try walking/playing in the big drift.

The sky is now clearing up and the sun has come out but unless it gets pretty warm it looks like we will have a White Christmas!

One Of Those Days

Today was "one of those days" where little goes the way it was planned. I couldn't find part of the pajama pattern I needed for Elizabeth's Christmas pajamas and then I discovered I hadn't purchased enough fabric either!I did manage to find a pattern for a summer nightgown so Elizabeth will at least get to open her traditional Christmas Eve pajama package.

Raggedy Ann

Now that the majority of my Christmas Goodies are cooked and packaged up and on their way to various homes I have time for some Christmas sewing. First on the list was Elizabeth's Raggedy Ann doll. Working on the hair was a chore.

The pattern directions suggest sewing the hair on by hand but I was afraid the hair would eventually come out so I stitched the hair on with my machine.

Once all the hair was attached to the back of the head it reminded me of a dust mop.

Next came the legs, they turned out so cute! I used a soft corduroy for the foot/shoe and really like how it came out; the corduroy fabric is so soft.

After attaching the legs and arms and adding the stuffing the doll began looking pretty good. Here she is waiting for her clothing.

My favorite part of the Raggedy Ann is this heart; it's too cute!

And here she is fully dressed and ready to be wrapped up.

I originally wanted to make a green calico dress but didn't have any green fabric on hand so I used this blue and beige calico instead. I don't think Elizabeth will mind.

Organizing Coupons

Lately I have been spending time searching the Internet for a better way to store my coupons so I can find them faster when shopping. There were a lot of good ideas but the one that interested me the most was the binder method. I found this binder with zipper at the local thrift store. It has several inside pockets perfect for holding little extras.

Next I purchased a package of pocket dividers to hold sale flyers for the different stores I shop. Having these pockets has made it easier to trash old flyers when replacing them with new ones.

I next purchased plastic sleeves used for holding baseball cards; these were costly but worth it since I am now able to scan through my coupons very quickly.

My plastic sleeves are divided into sections and each section is labeled with categories such as meat/freezer, cereal/asst. breakfast, paper products, shampoo/conditioner, laundry.....

I am slowly sorting and organizing my coupons; so far this new system is working great.

Waffles

We were recently given a Disney waffle maker by a friend.I tried it out for breakfast but my waffles all came out pretty dark.

But Elizabeth didn't mind, she was very excited to eat a fancy waffle for breakfast.

My Oh My

Look what came in today's mail.Thank you mom, you are too generous!

Photo Opportunity

A couple of weeks ago I ordered myself a new camera. I wanted one that would be easy to use and small enough to fit in my purse or pocket. Today Elizabeth and I saw an amazing sight;

A massive amount of geese resting at a playa lake.

Thankfully I had my new camera tucked away in my purse;

And I was able to take several photos of this most unusual sight!

A Trip To The Bakery

This time of year there isn't much green or bugs for the chickens so their diet consists mainly of maize; and with the orchard being bare we have been letting the chickens run free each afternoon....but yesterday one of our hens was hit and killed by a pickup truck. I have been expecting this to happen since the chickens seem determined to cross the road but now that one has been killed I feel they no longer should be let out. So, I now needed to come up with a plan...and my plan was a trip to the bakery for a rack of bread (the rack consisted of 24 trays). This is the first time I have ever purchased so much bread for the chickens at one time. My trunk was stuffed;

The back seat was stuffed; Elizabeth was literally buried in between the bread;

And the last of it was put on the floor in the front seat.

The rack of bread cost 10-dollars and will add a little variety to their diet.

Party Food

Earlier today, after getting some party food ideas from my mom, I made miniature buns using a white bread recipe and a biscuit cutter.The buns turned out nice and soft and so cute!; just perfect for miniature ham sandwiches.

These are for a "moms only" Christmas party I am going to this evening.

A Big Hit

All the sugar cookies I made over the last 2-evenings were enjoyed by many kids and adults at a home school group Christmas Party.They were a big hit, only 14 cookies were leftover.

Tis The Season

This time of year my oven produces many sweet treats;

For the last 2 evenings 102 sugar cookies have emerged!

A Very Fun Filled Day

Elizabeth is doing much better so we decided to participate in some activities. The first on our list was a field trip to the International Cultural Center to view Christmas Around The World.

The second and most important activity was attending a Christmas party given by one of her friends. It was a "mock" slumber party.

The girls had such a great time painting ornaments and decorating cookies;

And then they snuggled in their sleeping bags to listen to Christmas stories.

Brrrr It's Cold

Yesterday while Elizabeth stayed warm under a quilt I stayed warm baking some potato bread/rolls to go with dinner; it was so good!

It got pretty cold by evening and this morning we work up to a winter wonderland.

By the time I braved the cold to take some photos the ice was already falling from the trees.

The sun is trying to break through the clouds so if Elizabeth gets to feeling better we may try to take a walk in the cold.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Today Elizabeth turned 8 years old.

She is getting over being sick and had a really hard time with coughing all day long.

So she and Alf, one of here birthday gifts we found on ebay over the summer, watched movies all day;

And snuggled under a quilt when it got cold.