Cards and Ornaments

 It warmed up to -35 F Sunday morning.  That is 2 degrees warmer than Saturday morning!  Improvements are improvements! Think positive not negative. 

Far Guy is about the same, he is not worse so we are thankful for that.  His cough is miserable and makes my chest hurt. 

Cards we got on Friday! Representing Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio and California. 

Two cards were identical but from Iowa and California. The cards on both ends of the bottom are original artwork. 

New Christmas ornaments this year.

The cross stitch Log Cabin Christmas is from Sam, Christmas Blessings is from Sarah a crafty friend of Jen's and the Turtle Dove is a stitched felt ornament from Jen.  ( Last year we got the Partridge and the Pear)

I am still thinking about what my word for 2022 is...my one or two word intention instead of a resolution. 

Far Side

The 2016 Christmas Ornament

Will be revealed soon.   How about a give away?  To be entered into the drawing leave me a comment with the completion of this sentence.  My favorite Christmas was________ .
What is the ornament?  It is a woodcarving, it is carved from basswood and if you ask me it is a beauty.

My favorite Christmas was in 1998.  We spent that winter in Florida at Tyndall AFB.  We were living in the camper at that time. Our girls were married and had their own Christmas Traditions to begin with their families (Trica was pregnant with Paige, and Jennifer was pregnant with Noah.) Christmas Eve we went to the small church on the Base.  The next day  Far Guy and I slept late, walked the dogs…we had two dogs back then Shelties named Captain and G’Day Mate.  We left the dogs while we went to the Officer’s Club on Base for Christmas Dinner…a buffet.  We came home and sat out on the picnic table in the sunshine, late in the day we went for a long walk again with the dogs.  That year we sent Christmas Cards but we didn’t decorate or bake anything…we didn’t have to be anywhere at a certain time…there were no expectations to be met.  We called our daughters and my parents and Far Guy’s Mom sometime during the day.  That Christmas was relaxing…no rushing around with your head cut off like a chicken…flopping all over, going here there and everywhere.

It may sound like a terribly selfish kinda Christmas but it remains my favorite. The warm weather and the sunshine might have had a lot to do with it!   Far Guy on the other hand, hated Florida and the people there and he was very lonely that Christmas Day. If that was my favorite Christmas it was his second least favorite. His first least favorite is the year we spent in the ER when he was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Far Guy says “ My favorite Christmas was in 2012 and 2013 when all the grands were here.”

So there you go…in order to be entered in the drawing…Your Favorite Christmas was ____!

I will draw names…at least two on Monday night at 9PM Central Time.  The winners will be revealed on Tuesday December 6th. 

Shiny Brite Ornaments on last years upstairs tree.

Guess What Ornament?

Time for a bit of fun.  Thanksgiving is over.  I will have a Thanksgiving report soon…maybe tomorrow. 

If you would like to be entered into the 2014 Ornament Giveaway then take a guess at what we carved.

Here are the hints.

The ornament has six pieces.  They are carved from Yellow Popple…my new favorite carving wood and a popsicle stick. The six pieces are glued and pinned together to form the ornament.

One part is green.

Guess away…that is all the hints for now. 

If you want to be included in the giveaway then leave me a comment with your guess or for those of you who are shy shoot me an email. My email address can be found in my profile.

I have two ornaments all set to be mailed out.  I will draw two lucky winners on Wednesday December 3rd  at 9PM so you have till then to comment with your best guess!

Ready set go name a cookie

The Christmas Ornaments are all set to go.  Some have been delivered and some are being packaged to mail.

I have two ready to mail to some lucky blog reader.

I made 67 ornaments this year.  I have a few extra…so maybe more than two will be sent!

 

You can enter a chance to win one of the ornaments by sharing the name of your favorite Christmas Cookie/Candy.

I have been invited to a Cookie Exchange.  I have not exchanged cookies in years…it might be fun.  I wonder what kind of cookie shall I make? 

My favorite cookie is a very old recipe a molasses cookie with raisins topped with a powdered sugar icing.  If I can find 11 cookie tins I will make them.  They are a soft cookie so they are a tad fragile.  Sometimes it is all about the packaging.

Far Guy says his favorite cookie is a gingerbread cookie topped with white icing.  AND he says he hasn’t had one since he was five years old. Uffda.

Years ago I used to let the girls pick their favorite cookies to make at Christmas…the Peanut Butter Stars were a favorite..as was Gingersnaps..and Mexican Wedding Balls and Fudge. As for who liked what..I have no idea…after a while all the holiday hoopla tends to meld together in my non holiday brain.

Lets see… enter your favorite cookie in a comment by Friday night December 6th at 7PM to be entered in the drawing!  Oh and I will reveal the ornaments when I announce the winners!  Phew I am glad they are all done.  I wanted to complete them by Thanksgiving and I did!

 

Ornaments and Carols

What is your favorite Christmas Carol?  Far Guy’s favorite is Silent Night.  My favorite has always been Little Drummer Boy the pa rum pum pum pum song. ( Great little ear worm isn’t it?) Far Guy knows all the words to his song..I do not know all the words to the pa rum pum pum pum song..but it doesn’t matter I like it anyway.

It is time for you to share what your favorite Christmas Carol is.  If you leave a comment for me sharing what your favorite Carol is I will enter you in a drawing for one of my famous extremely collectable hand carved ornaments.

They are done.  Most have been mailed off and the rest will go in the mail today.  I still have a few to hand deliver..but they are packaged and ready to go.

What are they this year?  TREES

Far Guy and I always work together to make the ornaments.  This year we made 63 of them.

Far Guy cut out the blocks of basswood. He then marked them and cut guides into the wood with the band saw.  We both carved them out.  Far Guy added all the branch marks and put in the eye hooks.  I painted them and added the snow.  We made it a real team effort… we are both glad it is done!

I was seeing pans of trees in my sleep:)

** One ornament will be given away to the area voices blog and one to blogspot.  I will draw winners Sunday evening the 11th of December.

A Christmas Pickle

The Christmas Pickle. I have one and enjoy hanging it toward the center of the tree, where it cannot be easily seen. I had not heard of the "Christmas Pickle" until Arvilla a dear neighbor and friend showed me hers. She got hers as a gift because she made the most fantastic pickles. It is a cute little ornament, my daughter Jen gave me one as a gift!

Included with the pickle is a story that apparently is a myth. The myth goes something like this..the first person to find the hidden pickle gets a special gift. This story was supposed to have originated in Germany. It seems few Germans have heard of it. So we are hoodwinked again..by a great marketing story..to sell ornaments.

I am not too upset, I still like my pickle ornament. I love pickles, I have lots of good memories associated with women who made fantastic pickles. My Mother, my Mothers Mother, my Aunt Anna (she brought me a jar of pickles for my birthday!) my Aunt Marie and my dear friend Arvilla. So go ahead and say my pickle has no meaning. I have one ornament that reminds me of five very special women.

So I will stick that pickle in the tree, and smile. It seems I have a better story than the pickle people perpetrators, and mine is true. :)

An Ornamental Confession

I dried the tears that were streaming down my face. It was over. They were all hung. It was so heart wrenching. A little voice says " Mommy why are you crying?" I must get a grip, well if not a grip.. a life. I turned the television off.

Now just so you know I am not one of those weepy broads. Nor am I able to "Fake Cry" like my granddaughter Paige. I did not bawl my eyes out like the entire movie theatre did during "Love Story." she croaked..big deal..and he knew she was going to croak..it was not a huge surprise or anything. Yet I cannot make it through "The Magic of Lassie" (dabbing at eyes) or "Old Yeller" or "Where the Red Fern Grows" ( almost sobbing.) Now I will admit that if I do not feel well, and I have not slept well I can shed a tear or two.

That Christmas Eve scene on "Days of Our Lives" where Alice Horton (Frances Reid) hangs the Horton family ornaments on the tree is a tradition. I no longer watch "Days" but I try to catch that Christmas Eve episode every year. I was an avid "Days" watcher from it's early days, watching in the summer and on days off of school. Then as a young stay at home Mother I watched every day. Later with the arrival of VHS recorders I could tape it and watch it later. I taped it almost everyday for the girls when they were in high school, we watched it together. It was a Mom/Daughter thing. Plus it made great fodder for some good "life" discussions in our household.

I loved Alice's tradition. Each year adding new ornaments for new family members, reflecting on family members that were no longer alive, or their whereabouts were unknown (that happens a lot on the soaps.) She was a spunky kind of Grandma, doling out advice and doughnuts in her kitchen. Some of her doughnut capers were simply hilarious..like the time she caused a diversion with them to help John escape from jail. She was a perfect Mother and Grandmother. Frances Reid is the only actress to have ever played this role, I believe she is irreplaceable. When she dies the role will die also. She has played the role of Alice since 1965.

A number of years ago, daughter Jen gave me an ornament. It was a "Days" type ornament, a beautiful sapphire blue with my name on it. I loved it. It was always displayed in the center of the tree. Whenever it was time to trim the tree I admired it and made sure it was attached to the tree bough securely. Enter: A rambunctious puppy. That year I knew we should have tied the tree to something. Chance was only doing what he does best. Playing ball, the ball went under the tree, and he went after it..tipping over the tree. It was not Chance's fault, it was just an accident. There was glass everywhere. Lots of old glass ornaments bit the dust that day. But there was only one that I shed a tear for.. my "Days" ornament. I have been looking for one just like it for a replacement, with no luck :(