Christmas season is upon us - thud!

We've been really busy this week. Getting ready to mail presents to family in Nebraska.

Stashbusters has a wonderful reminder program. Every month on the 25th it encourages everyone to make something for Christmas AHEAD of the season. Some year I'm actually going to it!!!

Our garden club - Bloomers - took on the task of decorating the pump house at our entrance for the holidays. I helped letter this sign - very fitting for me this time of year - every year!












My mom likes to decorate her "porch". She lives in an independent living community and her porch is a little shelf outside her door - there's room for a small wall quilt there too. Last year, I lost my mind and made her a Thimbleberries panel quilt - but it was too big for her porch so she enjoyed giving it to someone else in the family. This year I reduced the same panel. The cutest border didn't cut down gracefully - darn it. But it will fit the space this year! Mom likes to display snowman stuff in January. So she can open this on Christmas.


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And because I'm on a roll! :> I also cut down a Santa panel. It won't be wrapped in her package - a bonus that she can use this month. There's the full panel laying on our table. It's a cute panel, but I'm really happy with my reduced version. Fun, don't you think!?!


We had a babysitting gig up in Portland the monday before Thanksgiving. J was getting over strep throat - ICK - so we didn't want to get there early for a change. We ended up at the mall just in time for L's break from work. We enjoyed a 1/2 sandwich and cookie with her, did a little Christmas shopping - and returning! Then we went to Blind Side. What a great movie - I loved it. See it if you get a chance.

Since we were coming back in 3 days for Thanksgiving, we brought Miss P home with us for the interim. She's 3 now and a little whiny. We think it's because mom just got a new job that is more hours than she had before. We asked Miss P where mommy was working now - at "Don't touch ANYTHING!" store! Better known as Anthropologie. And Mom's loving it despite the longer hours. Nana and Papa had fun with Miss P - we ate cake for dessert every night, we read books, we walked and played on the beach - it was even sunny while she was here - we went to the Aquarium where the octopus was awake and swimming around for once!!!

I also tried to repair Miss P's blanky - it's really in bad shape. We were hoping binding it with satin binding might help it last longer ... but what a mess! And of course, I had a 3 year old practically holding on to what she could reach while I was trying to sew on it!!! I also ran out of the pink binding. The store is 30 miles away ... naptime was coming up quickly ... so it has one blue binding corner. I told Miss P that it is to remind her than Nana loves her!!! Then we headed for home on Thanksgiving.


We had a blast up at L&Js house where Mr M kept us jumping with his 'drunken sailor' walk. Yep, like his big sister, he started walking the week of his first birthday. He's getting pretty good at it - still sits down to crawl after his sister when he wants to be fast! But that won't be the case for long. We'd better bring our running shoes at Christmas!!!