How I spent my Christmas

Remember back in grade school when you returned from Christmas break or Summer vacation you had to write a report on what you did over break? I was never very fond of that.

Earlier this month I took these piles of fabric...

...ran them through this...

...and ended up with a bunch of these and...

...some of these strings to add to my string collection. The red, white, and blue strings will be used to make some QOV blocks.

I took all the squares and put them together into this DNP lap quilt for a friend that recently was married. I was going back and forth on what design to use and what fabric until I came to this one. I wanted something that wasn't girly and would make a nice statement on the back of their couch.  They said they wanted something bright and colorful because their house is whites and creams. I think this should add a bit of color. I have a bunch of squares left over for another project too. Plus plenty more for the QOV string blocks.

Look who I found

We have been so busy lately that I never posted about Mandy making it home.

Suzi was waiting very patiently for Sissy to arrive home. She sat on her bed to make sure she didn't miss her lol.

When we arrived home from the airport we saw this turtle in the neighbor's yard. Not sure where he came from or where he was going but he was cruising right along happily. You can tell it is has been dry here lately. Everyone's lawns pretty much look like this. We have year round water regulations so there isn't alot of watering going on. This neighbor actually runs his sprinklers a few days a week (based on the rules)  and it still isn't enough. At least we don't have to mow 2 or 3 times a week in the winter.

A quick stop at home and then off to Grandma's to surprise her. Mandy told all the local family that she was arriving on Saturday even though her plane landed Friday mid morning.  How do you like my curtain on the front door? When I had an actual curtain up there it would constantly get knocked down either by us or the wind. Put up a drab pillowcase and it never falls lol. I think I will pick up a set of those magnetic curtain rods and put up a pretty curtain again and hope for the best.

These pictures were all taken in Pine Island at Grandma's.  Grandma is my step mother and she now lives at my Grandparents trailer. My Grandparents lived there forever. I think they bought the place in the late 70's and lived there year round since 1981 or 1982 until they both passed away a few years back. After my Father passed away it was rented out for a bit until a few months ago when my step mother decided to move out there. She has done an amazing job fixing the place up. It looks so homey again.

She lives out there with my Dad's dog Jack, her new pup from one of my Sister's dogs litter and two cats. Jack likes to bring you one of his stuffed toys so you can pet the toy and him. When he was in his prime he used to chase cars up and down the road. He went to doggie jail once for chasing a cop car and biting the bumper lol. Now he just likes to lay outside and scratch his tummy on the grass.

I think Mandy likes the pup though. Won't get too much bigger than this.

Remember wherever you are, Mandy will be keeping an eye on you!

The Day After

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all did too. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and all the kids were home. This will be the last year we are all together for a bit so I enjoyed having everyone under one roof....most of the time lol.

After a cup of water was spilled on the tree skirt, the tree was moved to the corner of the living room. Notice my catch all book case? Who needs a junk drawer when you have a whole shelving unit? This year I let Robbie play Santa and stack all the presents under the tree. Of course most of the things the kids asked for were movies and video games. They were stacked way under the tree in the back. Of course those were the first things everyone wanted to unwrap.

Mandy doesn't like unwrapping gifts so she had Suzi help her out again this year. That dog loves to tear paper!


Last month I won a chocolate Holiday house kit from Pam's blog. If you haven't been to visit her blog before I highly recommend stopping in for a visit. She has some amazing things to share, fun crafts and yummy recipes too.

I was going to let Robbie use the house as an Advent calendar but thought maybe Mandy would enjoy decorating it. So I kept it all boxed up until she came home. Of course she had no interest in decorating it. I let Robbie have all the fun and he had a blast.

My chocolate monster :)

Suzi sat there with him the whole time hoping he would drop something for her to steal. Silly dog, she just doesn't seem to understand that chocolate isn't good for doggies. Robbie snacked enough while making the house that he didn't even want to try a bite when he was done.

Thanks for the afternoon of fun Pam!


p.s. All three kids did enjoy decorating a gingerbread house on Christmas day though. They each decorated pieces of the house but never put them together. They are eating them like cookies :)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day with friends and family.