Winners 2020 Ornament

 The winners for the ornament are the gals with these comments! Congratulations!! 

Bev 

Fargo has a 32 foot artificial tree.  11 pallets are used to store the parts.  There is a cone shaped metal frame that 'tree parts' are attached to.  To my knowledge, it has never blown over.  I'm not aware of an official Christmas tree being erected in West Fargo, although the Park Department does decorate several real trees with colored lights.

p.s.  Would love to win this year's woodcarved ornament

Henny Penny

Thank you for the second chance to enter. I wanted to look back anyway and see what happened to the tree. It was so pretty. Too bad it got blown over. Betsy mentioned in a post that you asked about others having trees in their town. I meant to drive through town on the way home this evening and forgot all about it. I think there is one in front of the courthouse. We've sure had enough wind lately to blow 

one over.

Bonnie

We live in a very small town but we do have a Christmas tree and a lighting ceremony each year. The wind has never blown it over and hopefully it won't because it is a live tree - still in the ground!

Your town's tree is beautiful and hopefully will be put back up and strongly secured so it won't blow over again! We put a wide, heavy base on our indoor tree each year since we have cats. ; )

Kathy

Our town does not have a Christmas tree. We live on a lake in northern MN and our neighbor decorated their outside pine tree with lights this year. It looks real nice.

Thank you for the chance (once again) to win one of your wood carved ornaments.

Bev and Henny Penny I have your address.  Bonnie and Kathy please send your snail mail address to me  captainconnie2001atyahoodotcom  I will mail ornaments in a few days! 

Thank you everyone for sharing the Christmas trees in your areas. 

Sadly the tree on Main Street could not be saved...however someone donated a smaller tree and The Grinch left a decorated branch one night...when I get to town I will take photos. 

***********

Here is the woodcarving process this year for the 2020 ornament.  I struggled with this ornament and the painting of them...I tried several different techniques...I finally found one I could live with. 

Far Guy cut the basic shapes out of Basswood

Then they were carved

Then I wood burned the names and the year.

And painted and painted note my fancy peanut butter jar holder!

Some different colors...I tried to keep track of what colors so in larger families everyone got a different color...I believe the final count was 95 ornaments.

Here is our ornament! 

We have next years design all worked out and the pieces are cut out and waiting to be woodcarved...IF we get bored this winter...although we like to do this project outside when it is nice and warm! 

Far Side

** Remember Pearl Harbor

A Tree 2020ed

 Last week one night we took a trip down main street to see the tree.  

We both remarked that it was a very tall tree.  Taller than most years.  ( Yes there are parking spots on both sides of the street and in the center of the street)

On Sunday morning it was real windy. 

The tree came down.  Luckily no cars were coming up the street.  As far as I know this has never happened before.  I guess even trees can be 2020ed ...what a year it has been. 

Rumor has it that they will put it upright again.  We will see.

Does your town have a Christmas Tree?  Has it ever blown over?  Share the answers to those questions to be entered in the drawing for this years woodcarved ornament.  You can also send me an email if you prefer.  captainconnie2001atyahoodotcom

Far Side

Christmas in July and tomato report

Yeah!  The Christmas Ornaments for 2020 are done!  91 were completed yesterday.  Paints and the drying holder were put away....the ornaments fill two pretty boxes and await Christmas delivery.  Some have been packaged up to go back to Washington, Oregon and North Dakota.  Many will be mailed to people all over the country.

We like sitting outside carving on the patio...letting the chips fall where they may...Far Guy routinely uses the leaf blower to blow them into the grass...we do track a fair amount of chips into the house! Woodcarving the Christmas Ornaments is one of our summer projects.

We have been making some kind of ornament since 1990 to share with relatives and friends.   Ten of those years they were woodcarved ornaments....other years they were some crafty idea that we liked.

I have begun thinking about the 2021 ornament...nothing definite yet...we have time.

I will have an ornament give away as it get closer to Christmas.

On to other "stuff" now ...like the Christmas Card.  I have all the watercolor paper to cut to shape...and I can stamp and stamp some more... and then watercolor for many days weeks months...we send out about 125 Christmas Cards....it is a tradition.  I will order the envelopes someday soon.  I will order them from Paper and More...I can never recall their name ...so now I have it in the blog!

Far Guy's tomatoes are getting really tall...they have flowers sure hope we get some tomatoes someday.  Knock on wood the deer have not found them yet.

Far Side

Two projects finished

I have been working on a crochet design that I had in my head.  I took it apart a few times...decided I was possibly not a designer of any sort. 

I wanted a cowl with buttons...big buttons as someone I love likes big buttons.  I finally declared it done.

It looks a bit funky on the hanger.

At one time it had button holes...and I took them apart...the half double crochet is lacy enough to make a button hole through the stitches where ever you want....therefore being a multi functional design.  (HA)

Far Guy finished his woodcarving....and very sweetly said "Would you like this one sweetheart?"
Of course!

The base is some California wood that is hard as a rock...petrified perhaps.

The Christmas Ornament count increased yesterday...68 are completed.  We should be totally done with them in the next day or three.   I am ready to put this project behind me. ( We usually carve between 80 and 100 ornaments and they will all find a home!)

Far Side

Shawl and a Visitor

I finally had the time to take the latest shawl off the blocking mats and take some photos.

Another one in the shawl box!
As I was finishing up we got company.

Our youngest daughter Jen drove down to have an early supper with us and to deliver craft supplies to me and to check on the elderly.

We had a good visit.  They are in the middle of their kitchen renovation at their new to them house.  So far she reports it is quiet (no trains) and she misses travel time in her car...so why not get some car time in, listen to an audio book and visit her parents!

Far Guy and I did some wood carving and we now have 54 Christmas Ornaments completely finished.
Far Side

Fun stuff

Friday night I asked my husband " What kind of fun stuff are we going to do tomorrow?"  I was getting ready to shave his head...the sink acted funny and gurgled...and then an alarm started going off. 

Earlier in the evening we had heavy rain and a power interruption....thinking nothing of it we continued on.

The lift pump failed...and the water alarms worked...Far Guy stopped draining the bathtub...I grabbed some towels and a bucket and sponge.  Far Guy tried to bypass the float and get the pump to work...no dice.

I emptied the bathtub bucket by bucket because sometimes the stopper leaks and I really didn't want to sop up a whole bathtub of water off the furnace room floor. If it hadn't been raining cats and dogs outside I would have gotten a five gallon pail from the garage...plus it was dark and there might have been a bear out there. Mission accomplished by 1 AM and I sure slept good after that!

Luckily we have another bathroom upstairs that drains directly out without using the lift pump. 
 Far Guy did breakfast dishes upstairs in the bathroom sink on Saturday morning...a Plumber was called.  Risk vs Reward...we like using our kitchen sink and the bathroom downstairs!

Late Saturday afternoon we were back in business...with a new lift pump installed and working.  Thank goodness for a nice young local plumber who works on Saturday afternoons...who was quick and efficient.  He said "If you have any problems with this new pump call right away!" 

Far Guy says "Don't ask me again what kind of fun exciting things are we going to do tomorrow."

We didn't cook...we went to town and got a burger from a drive through burger place.

We got 2 and 6/10 inches of rain from the overnight storms.

 The road to town

While waiting on the plumber we managed to get a few more Christmas ornaments completed...45 are done now!

In the evening my brothers and their brides visited and nephew Logan is here from Seattle with his new puppy Zelda...we had a nice visit out on the patio!  (Logan was about 20 feet away from us and we did not pet his puppy but admired her from afar)

Far Guy heard from his sister, her surgery went well and she was feeling pretty good after having such a big surgery.

 Far Side

Town and Home

Grocery pickup is always an adventure.  This week there was no bread, pretzel buns, ham, Dawn dish soap, cherries, lemonade mix or crackers.  I masked up and went inside a different grocery store that had all the things I was missing except the pretzel buns. Town was fairly busy, I dropped off mail and went through the drive through at the bank.   I waited only a few minutes for Far Guy to be done....we were in town about 45 minutes total.  Lots of people in town without masks.  In that County there are 12 cases of Covid-19, in the County we live in there have been 69 cases.

When we got home I mowed our yard...found out where the bear pooped back at the edge of the woods.  Far Guy trimmed grass around the trees. 

Our small raspberry patch that we pay no attention to yielded a nice bowl of raspberries for supper....very flavorful!  The wild raspberries are beginning to ripen...they are very small.

This is one of the sculptures at Goose Poop Park.  It is a circle with a dangling swirly part that has rocks inside. This one is not named.  Rocks in a Vortex might be a good name.

Christmas Ornaments ...  28 are completely finished.  Waiting on hooks to properly finish more.  We have just a few more to carve ...we should finish with them in the next few days.

Far Guy's sister had surgery yesterday for Breast Cancer, she had a double mastectomy and lymph node removal...a same day surgery....she still has radiation ahead of her and a hysterectomy.  She had the surgery late in the afternoon and by early evening was on her way home.   Seems like lots of surgery to have and then get sent home....Far Guy is quite worried about her.

Far Side

Yellow Flowers

I like yellow flowers...betcha never would have guessed.

They are so cheerful ...how can you resist a smile.

Rudbeckia 'Sonora' is in bloom in the wild gardens.   They reseed themselves.   My planting of Rudbeckia has diminished over the years but there are still some left.

I was busy all day...some laundry, painting Christmas Ornaments (21 are completely done) it may be awhile for more to be finished completely...hooks were ordered and will be here in a week or two. It was a cooler day so I made a pan of Chicken Enchiladas and six servings are headed for the freezer.

No time for a nap or movie time.  I sat outside after supper...the skeeters are getting more aggressive and larger.  All the ponds in the Corporate Farmers irrigation fields are breeding spots....especially since they irrigate in the rain.
Ohhhh crabbiness is setting in.
I need another yellow flower now.

More sunny yellow flowers this one a Rudbeckia with double petals...a seedling variation...nothing that I planted. 
There I feel better now!  Stay safe out there!

Far Side

Okay Ornaments

It is okay.  The ornaments did not go to option d...I am living with option c.  My CDO has to take a backseat this time.  (Compulsive Disorder Obsessive) Not everything has to be "just so."

Jen said they were OK and so did Far Guy (of course he would have reworked all of them IF I had asked him.)
A least they have a very pretty decorative hanger.

And a very pretty Christmas Box for storage of the ones completed.

I am a bit obsessive about the list...one little check mark for name and date in process...and then the color they were painted and the day they were completed.  I keep track of colors because too many of the same color in a family is not good...they should all feel special.

I carved my daily two ornaments and Far Guy did his also.  I painted some.  It is all a work in progress. 14 are completely done!  It is  a start.

The wind was horrid yesterday...but it kept the skeeters away.  The wind dried out my flower bed...so I watered and then it rained...go figure.

Perfection is over rated anyway.
 Far Side