Christmas Is Just Around the Corner

It's only three days away.  It is hard to believe how fast it came upon us.  I wanted to share some pictures of a few of my favorite things.  

These are some of my favorite ornaments.  I would decorate the whole tree with these but the kids add a new ornament of their choosing each year.  Someday these will be for them to take with them when they leave the nest.

Snowman from my friend Heidi

I found this one at Target and immediately fell in love with it.  He looked like he needed a home.

I love this wonderful stocking ornament from my friend Missy.

This is the centerpiece on my table.  

Our Christmas tree and some just out of the oven yummy cookies.  These have a little surprise in each of them.   They're Santa Surprises.  It's a peanut butter cookie with a miniature Snickers wrapped inside.  YUMMY!

I have been working on some ribbon scarves.  I have finished a black and white and another autumn leaves.  I am working on a thin autumn leaves scarf.  This one won't have a trim.  I think the ends will be knotted to finish it off.  

My daughter made the Noel sign above and dear son made this snowman.  We will bring them to the nursing home to hang them in my mother in laws room.  Unfortunately, most of the things we bring her either get broken or disappear.  It is very frustrating and a violation to these people who cannot help themselves.  I am hoping that these will bring her some cheer and not entice anyone else to make them their own.

These are our gingerbread creations.  There has already been some demolition on them and pieces are missing.  

Had to try a train for something different.

This is the wonderful apron I received from Lolly in the Sassy Apron Swap.  I had a fun time with this swap.

I used the left over fabric from the apron swap to make a half apron for a dear friend.  She calls herself our daughter's surrogate grandmother.  They met when dd was in first grade and have been close ever since.  She is a wonderful lady and our daughter is blessed to have her in her life.  She lives in one of the most amazing homes we have ever seen.  It was built in 1675, I believe.  It belonged to Priscilla Alden, daughter of John Alden, a pilgrim that came to Plymouth, MA in 1620.  It is amazing to walk into her home and be taken right into the past.  There is a modern addition to the home but the original structure is there unchanged and kept in pristine condition.  So amazing.

These are some ornaments I worked on.  I crocheted the mini-snowflakes inside the ornament.  They are each glittered and added with some faux snow to the ornament.  I enjoyed making these and dh took them to work as gifts.

As most of the country is, we are covered in snow.  It began on Friday afternoon.  We accumulated about a foot of snow.  It continued to flurry through out the day on Saturday.  Sunday brought us another 4-5 inches.  It rained later and turned everything to ice. 

These are pictures of our backyard.  I do love the look of the snow on the branches.  The fresh blanket is so beautiful.  Until you have to get out there and shovel.  

This greenhouse is built with plans from MaryJanes Farm magazine.  I can't wait to start seeds in there anticipating spring planting.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  Come back soon.

Miss Me?!

It has been a while since I lasted posted. I am not lost in cyber space just busy with all the holiday happenings. I am finally done shopping. So glad that it's all done and only one more gift to wrap and then it's time to clean up the sewing room. Right now it is covered in wrapping and gift bags and not in a pretty package sort of way. More like a wrapping paper company blew up sort of a way. I'm sure you get the picture.

We are winding down with school before the break. On Monday and Tuesday we will work on some fun Christmas projects and definitely some baking. The kids are looking forward to it.

I have been working on an apron that I need to send out in the mail on Monday. I will post some pictures when it is all finished. I received my fun apron from the Sassy Apron Swap and it's wonderful. I really need to get the camera out and snap some pictures. Along with the apron came some very yummy cookies. Chocolate covered mint Oreos and Chocolate covered peanut butter and Ritz crackers. YUMMY!! I won't be able to post pictures of those because they were gone in the blink of an eye. I had to wrestle the last Oreo out of my daughter's hand. Thank you, Lolly!

We are expecting a big snowstorm today. The snow will start any minute now, according to the weather man. I won't be able to go to work tonight but I look forward to the snow and being cozy and warm inside. I love our woodstove and this is the perfect day for it.

Enjoy your weekend!

~Christmas Fun and Aprons~

This past weekend we went to the Wickford Festival of Lights. We had a wonderful time as we went on a hayride with Santa and caroled through the village.

This display was in one of the shop windows. We went into the shop but it was tiny and crowded. They had the most adorable doggie gifts.

This is dh and kiddos at the gazebo near town square. The whole town was lit up beautifully. There were luminaries lighting our path and the shops were just heavenly. I love visiting with the people. I also found a wonderful little yarn shop which I plan to return to someday very soon. It was very crowded and tiny so I just couldn't spend enough time with the gorgeous yarns they had.

The antique shops in this little town are just to die for. I could spend a whole day just strolling through town and enjoying all the gorgeous little shops. I think that will definitely be on the list of things to do this spring.

This is the first apron I have sewn. I recieved this cute fabric and pattern in a swap on Mary Janes Farm. I just love it. Nothing could say farmgirl better than this little apron. I was thrilled when I finally completed it.

Isn't it just wonderful. I love the flounce at the bottom. It gives it an added farmgirl touch.

I received an adorable little apron from my secret pal at MaryJanes Farm. I am wearing it right now. I love the fabric and the large pockets.

Thank you Secret Pal!!!

I made this apron for the apron swap for the Sassy Apron Swap. I had so much fun working on this. This was my first swap and I really enjoyed it. I cannot wait until I receive my apron.

I added some little snowflakes I crocheted and a little snowflake notepad.

I wrapped up the little package with some snowflake ribbon. I sent this to Lisa and she really enjoyed it.

Busy, Busy!!

We had a fun but very busy week last week. I was thrilled at how much we were able to accomplish before the Thanksgiving holiday. I had so much on our list that I didn't think we would come close to getting it all done. I was so excited when Thanksgiving came and everything on the list was crossed off.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was fun and completely stress free. My in laws usually come over and then we visit my brother's house later in the day. I decided this year that we would have my in laws over but would stay home afterwards. It gets to crazy running from place to place.

The kid's busy at work. My work spot is near the window and I always have stacks of work and projects.

My side of the table where I work is always pretty messy.

This is a baby blanket I finished for a lady who works with my husband. He calls her his work "mom" and this is for her first grandchild. I was glad to finish it and send it to it's new home. I hope they enjoy it.

The kids worked on Thanksgiving activity books. We read many of the different presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations and some less known facts about Thanksgiving history.

This is my dd's cover.

This is ds's back cover. I don't know why it's turned. It isn't on my computer only here.

This is the inside cover of my son's book. We burned the paper's edges to antique it.

The front cover of ds's book. He likes to keep things simple. Not too much detail.

This is dd's inside pages.

The back cover of dd's book. That looks yummy. I did make an apple pie that looked that good. It is one of my favorite things to bake but I don't eat it. I don't like it. I just love the smell of it baking. Weird, I know.

I started this table runner last year but never finished it. I wanted to finish it for this Thanksgiving. I had completed it but was nervous about doing the backing. It was my first time.

I finally attempted it on Wednesday night and I think it worked out well.

Here is the finished product. I used it on our table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Working on some clothes pins for a swap.  They will make great Christmas card clips.

On Friday we put up our Christmas tree and I did all the indoor decorating. Just a few things left to finish. I still have to put up the outdoor decorations.

I participated in my first apron swap and spent most of Saturday and Sunday putting the finishing touches on it. I sent the package out just in time on Monday. I will post pictures once I know she has recieved it. I was so excited to participate. It was fun adding all the little extras. I do hope she enjoys it.