An Easter Story

I found tutorials for these easy-peasy Easter projects at Purl Bee.com.  (Search for 'bunny finger puppets' and 'easter egg hunt bags') And since Easter is sooo late this year I had time to:

#1 let the idea percolate.

#2 find the materials I had on hand.

#3 purchase the materials I needed…in mass quantities (anyone know of any other felt-y projects that are adorable and quick, send them my way.  I am well supplied).

#4 let the materials age.

#5 actually create the projects.

#6 realize I required material of which Dearest Sister has beaucoup.  So much beaucoup that I am embarrassed to go buy any, so I requested she send me some.

#7 actual send/receive materials.

#8 finish/photograph/package/ship projects to out of state grandbebes.

Before the holiday.

For such easy-peasy projects, that’s a lot of work.  Which in my mind, goes to show, there are no easy-peasy projects…

Anyway, while I am working one of the bunny finger puppets up, Wonderful Guy entered into the ‘craftudio’ to inquire about something, and I took the opportunity to show him one of my little creations.  I put one of the little guys on a finger and sang…

“Little bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and boppin' ‘em on the head.  And down came the good fairy, and she said…Little bunny Foo Foo, I don’t want to see you…”

At this point, Wonderful Guy, interrupts and says to me, “Did you just make that up!?”

I didn’t know whether to me more surprised that he had not ever heard of the exploits of the bunny Foo Foo, or that he thinks me capable of such spur-of-the-moment creative prowess.

I assured him I did not make up the song, that it is a tried and true song, of Girl Scout (and other youngish clan-type gatherings) legend.  But he was not convinced, and later in the evening, he declared, ‘are you sure you didn’t make that rabbit song up?’.

I had to call Dearest Sister for confirmation, both for The Guy, and also because I wasn’t sure of the ultimatum the good fairy handed down to the bunny Foo Foo.  While she could assure The Guy that I am not capable of spontaneous musical combustion, she (who can remember all the towns in ‘I’ve Been Everywhere, Man’) couldn’t remember the dire consequences offered to the violent bunny.

She directed me to Google.

Which was no immediate help, because while I couldn’t remember what they were, I knew what they weren’t, and the lyrics I remembered weren’t what the most popular hits said the lyrics were.  I had to click way down the pages, until I figured this out…

‘Little bunny Foo Foo, I don’t want to see you scooping up the field mice and bopping ‘em on the head.  I’ll give you three chances.’ [done – and on to the next verse]

With it ending thusly…

“Little bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping ‘em on the head.  And down came the good fairy, and she said… I don’t want to see you scooping up the field mice and bopping ‘em on the head.  I gave you three chances.  And now…POOF…you’re a FIELD MOUSE!”

At least, I think that’s the way I remember remembering it (…and you are welcome for the earworm).

A Fnuggie?

So.  Eldest Daughter arrived in town a week before the big gift giving day.  Seriously? Too much time for us to behave ourselves.

I had in my possession a discount to a department store.  A sizable discount.  One that would make some things...oh...say...like a Snuggie...affordable.  And with some of the innerwebs chatter of late, sort of what we thought might be a humorous, yet...useful gift.  I mean, who doesn't want to be warm at a soccer game...

So.  Off we went.  And lucky for us, one of the critters was out of box.  Let me tell you, folks.  If these could be made of less attractive synthetically compounded fabric, I do not know what it could be.  I even sort of slipped it on, and being immediately convinced there was no hope here, removed it, at which time my hair stood on end as it has not done since we played with the Van der Graff's accelerator in sophomore physics in college.

We left the display, but undaunted, headed towarded the fleece throw aisle.  There (for less!) we found what we wanted, and left the store, 4 throws, in assorted colors, in hand.

"If Mom were cold, she could not wear a blanket while operating scissors, but she could wear a fnuggie!"

On Christmas Eve, we sized and cut...

stand back, there is sewing going on here!

and measured and sewed...

Notice the stylin' collars...and our totally unplanned color coordination!

and behold!  We present the Fnuggie (pronounced fuh-nuggie), because...while you can't fake alot of things, you sure can fake a Snuggie!

We coerced enlisted the help of others to capture the moment when Middle and Youngest Daughter would discover their very own Fnuggie.

The 'What the he..' moment...

Demonstrating the freedom of the hands!

and the daughters subsequenting losing it!

(Notice our professional labeling job!)

But.  Really?  Down deep, they loved that you can go to the airport in a fnuggie, to a soccer game, you can sit around the fire....but not too close! And cook dinner, and feed a baby...well, sort of...

And..other things too numerous to mention!

(When Only Step-Son's Sweet Friend unwrapped a throw as a gift, I generously offered to cut into it for her.  What else could I do? I know she was coveting one of these puppies for herself!)

In The Middle

Of the Holidays, as it were.

The Out-Of-Towners have headed back to their homesteads, and our front is quiet. And somber. And all wind out of sails.

And soon undecorated. Which is how is how it is feeling already.

It was fun and exciting and busy and going full steam there for a while, though!

Many, many blessings these holidays, notwithstanding the efforts of the sneaky ol’ Grinch.

Eldest and Friend squeaked out of Philly only 90 minutes late the day of the Fateful East Coast Blizzard. (Huzzah!)

Packages to faraway places arrived mostly intact.

There were gifts, loved ones, and food to share.

There was white for Christmas, too.

And it’s been back to work this week, in itself a fortune, of a sort.

And look what DSis gifted to me, on top of it all! ( Her story of them is here.)

Too good to use...too good not to use!  I expect her to wear the socks I knit for her.  And I think she expects me to dry dishes with these, rather than frame them. Which they are just about nice enough for.

Happy Holidays

From my town...

 and my house...

to yours....

The very best, however you celebrate the season!

Another Christmas…

Early one December, The X and the young daughters went somewhere and I was home alone.

The tree had been purchased and up since the weekend with nary a light. I thought the opportunity ripe get some decoratin’ done.

I lined up the boxes of ornamentation in the front room, pulled out the little red step-stool, poured myself a glass of wine, and began with stringing the lights.

Round I went from the outlet up and around, and around and down. Up the stool and down. Moving it around the tree, until I was on top, more or less in the center of the room.

Here is where it gets a bit fuzzy and I am not sure exactly what happened next. I remember wondering about something that cracked me on the side of the head, and looking around…

And I clearly remember seeing the ceiling fan blade backing up to take another swing, this time at my forehead!

Fortunately, it was not moving fast, and I ducked.

Otherwise there might have been blood. And unconsciousness. And bad Christmas memories when the children came home and found Mother on the floor.

No more decorating happened that evening.

No more wine drinking has ever been paired with decorating either.

And ceiling fan safety was added to my mental list.

Christmas Color

In spite of the white outside…

Which has hung around for quite a while…

There are some bright spots inside.

My holiday cactus is still blooming, having started around Thanksgiving.

I have purchased the obligatory poinsettia...which I mostly love dressed in red. (last year’s $5 poinsettia gave up the ghost in July!)

And the tree.

notice the kitty fur?

Which the Old Lady Kittie Phoebe has always believed to be her personal water dish and the tree skirt her holiday bed.

notice how the tree skirt has been moved aside to allow for easy access?

And apparently, Best Dog Ever likes the comfy place, too.

Also, the squooshy Nativity has been knocked askance once again.

Giving Thanks

Planning ahead, and in an effort to be properly prepared, I shopped for Thanksgiving last Thursday. We are having a small gathering, with just the grandbebes and their parents. (Thanks #1 – I have some of my favorite people all day to myself! No sharing!)

Everything on the list was purchased except…there was no unroll-it pie crust, no name or store-brand to be had. How is that possible, a whole week before the big day? (Thanks #2 – time for more to arrive so no from scratch pie crusting!) Another trip was made on Saturday and things are lined up for the feast day. (Thanks #3 – things are good to go, and we have enough in these times to make it go, and family to share it with.)

So in honor of pie crusts, I share my pumpkin pie recipe. It comes from my great-Aunt Ruth (Thanks #4 – family history, family traditions, family stories.) who probably never used unroll-it pie crusts ever, through my mother, in whose handwriting my original recipe is written. (Thanks #5 – the unconditional love of relatives in spite of some pretty conditional behavior on my part through the years.)

Pumpkin Pie

2 ½ cups pumpkin
1 2/3 cups sugar
(1 cup brown
2/3 cup white)
2 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg (fresh ground)
½ t ginger
½ t NaCl
2 T flour
2 ½ cup evaporated milk/milk
3 eggs

Mix sugars and dry ingredients. Beat eggs and add milk, pumpkin to eggs. Mix with dry ingredients. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake at 450F for 7-10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F for 45 minutes or until firm. (A knife remains clean when inserted ½ the distance between edge and center)

Top with real whipped cream, of course.

(Thanks #6 – for this circle of acquaintances, friends, and relatives that have been connected in this electronic circle. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this little conceit of mine!)

Happy Thanksgiving.

Dearest Sister (and all the rest of the family)...I wish we were together to share pie.

Holiday Traditions

Back in the day, Youngest Daughter was given the assignment by a grade school teacher to chronicle certain family ‘things’ in a notebook. Said notebooks were to be on display with other items for a school night of sorts, where parents come to see what their offspring have accomplished through the preceding weeks.

Being the proud parents and relatives (as I recall, Dearest Sister was there) we covered the three rooms of all three girls in fine fashion, stopping to observe and admire and praise the efforts. Upon reaching the room of Youngest we found her display, and perused the goods, and DSis flipped through her “My Family” book.

Then she called me over to read what Youngest had written regarding ‘Our Holiday Traditions”.
This is what was written there:

“Our holiday tradition is to go to the basement and sit around the Ping-Pong table. When Grandma goes upstairs, we all go to the bedroom and hide.”

Which begs an explanation...

With the X being in the 'relig biz', travels on holidays were limited. Fortunately, my family and our friends felt free to travel the few hours to come to our house to celebrate with gatherings and dinners. And these tended to be large-ish. Too large-ish for our meager dining room table. Oops. We actually didn’t have one.

But we did have a Ping-Pong table in the basement! And everyone fit readily around that. So chairs, table ware, and food were all toted down the stairs from the kitchen, where we could all gather round the Ping-Pong ‘dinner table’ for a meal.

Invariably, something was forgotten. The first time we did this, my mother offered to run upstairs and grab the missing-whatever-it-was. And when she was gone…

Someone said (maybe it was me…), ‘We should hide!’

An old dear friend says, ‘No way! Not from your mother!’ (Dear Old Friend...ever the proper one...)

Wisest Sister says, ‘Well, then, you will be the only one left at the table!’

Whereupon we all rose and ran to the basement bedroom, even Dear Old Friend (who quickly realized being the only remaining at the table was going to be an untenable position, however improper hiding from someone's mother might be), piling through the door, and once there, stood around, smiling at each other like ninnies, trying to be quiet and not laugh, with the little girls looking up at us for direction.

Such good role models we were.

My mother, in the meantime, comes down the stairs with the butter, or salt and pepper, or whatever, and says, ‘My goodness, I am going to enjoy eating all this food myself!’

Whereupon we all tumbled out of the bedroom laughing and it was a good time for all. And every meal from then on, or as long as we lived in that parsonage, at holiday gatherings, whenever someone left the table to get whatever was forgotten, because something always was, the rest scooted off to the bedroom.

It was indeed our holiday tradition.

But Teacher didn’t get the memo. Teacher was eyeing the family from the corner of the classroom…wondering…who were these people and just what were they doing in that basement…

Whew

Eldest wanted to spend some time in the mountains this trip west, so that was a priority.

I need a day off to rest up from my days off.  We hiked about 15 miles this weekend!

We hiked Horsetooth Rock on Saturday. Which can be moderately challenging, but it was a gorgeous day for it.  Best Dog Ever came with us, and we had a day!

I had some fun with my new camera!

My idea was to follow with other moderately challenging hikes of the same nature.  Then Wonderful Guy mentions 'We were going to do Chasm Lake this year...'.  Eldest Daughter says 'Let's do that tomorrow...'

I am thinking 'We are so going to pay...'

Chasm Lake is a kicker.  Beautiful hike, but a 9 mile-ish (round trip) pretty steep trek.

We made it.

And we saw some pretty cool stuff.  A snowshoe hare.  An unfearful marmot.  Columbines blooming in September.

But it was sort of painful.

The next day we walked around Sprague Lake.  Yes, it is a flat, paved half mile walk.  Pretty and easy.

Pretty easy.

In between there, we finished moving and hanging stuff, and rewiring the TV stuff.  We visiting with some old friends at their cabin north of town, then fed a couple of them breakfast on their way home.

I have a ...few... photos of the hikes, but we are out the door for dinner with the kiddos, and photo editing has to wait.

Happy Holidays, Everyone...

Whether it is the Solstice, or the Jewish Festival of Lights, or Christmas...

(I am pretty sure 2008 is drawing to a close for us all.)

Anyway.

Here's a wish of peace for the sake of us all.

P.S. Thanks for reading.

What else...

...is going on?

Well, it's the holiday season, and as we were just getting back into town last weekend, there was no time for decorating. And next weekend there is this other little thing.

So the decorating HAD to happen this weekend. The tree was found and set up readily. Then the holiday decorations came out.

I have a tradition of which decoration is the first one out and the last one put away. It is a hand made, miniature, beaded tree made by Dearest Sister, who was helped by Deeply Missed Sister in the finishing up of said tree the last Christmas she was with us.

It lives here 11 months of the year.

When it comes out, it is a bit bedraggled.

I wipe the branches with baby wipes in an attempt at dusting, and reshape the tree with some gentle wire-bending.

It comes with ittle bittle presents and packages.

One of the ornaments is labeled. 1988 was the year I received it. Deeply Missed Sister was the lone lefty amongst a family of right handers, and had a distinctive script. This is in her hand.

Look closely at these ornaments. Some of the 'balls' are made from crystal necklaces Dearest Sister found at sales. Others are bells, angels, snowmen, and Santas from beads.

The branches are beads on wire, all loaded by hand, then looped into the fronds.

This is my hand for some scale. It is not over 10" tall.

Like I said, first out, last away.

It's my favorite, for many reasons.

It will be interesting to see what Grandbebe Girl thinks of Grandmama's tree...

Ready To Go...

on vacation...almost.

And my favorite holiday of the year is upon us. I love Thanksgiving, and I love giving thanks. I have much to be grateful for, and I have waxed on and on about this subject. I am likely to do so again in the future.

I believe gratitude to be my center of good health, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

Four years ago I was laid off during a company merger. The lay-offs were mostly for appearances to the shareholders, and those of us laid off were chosen somewhat arbitrarily, for some better reasons, and some not so fair. When I left, I was saddened to leave a place where I had learned so much from one of the best mentors I have ever had. I was very sorry to leave a workplace filled with some of the best co-workers I have had the privilege with which to work. It was a place of refuge during one of the hardest times of my life, and a place of healing and redemption. I found new self-confidence and a renewed belief in myself while working there during the Dee-vorce.

While being walked through the lay-off, I thanked those doing the dirty deed (in as kindly a fashion as they could) for the privilege of working and learning. I thanked my supervisors and my mentors. I said good-bye to my co-workers, left toting my stuff, drove out of the parking lot, and headed down the road with tears filling my eyes. It was a sad day for me, but I was grateful for the experience, and knew if not there, then somewhere else...

I have had to start some networking this week. In this networking, I visited with one of my former co-workers. Our conversation turned to co-workers, and how that has been one of my best experiences, previously and presently. She commented that she remembered how remarkably gracefully I handled being laid off that day.

Oh my goodness.

I am glad I didn't throw a fit seeing as how I am having work my network again!

Being grateful for life's crap has almost become a game. I am always wondering what the lesson is here. Taking life on life's terms always surprises me. I cannot predict or control or manage life. I accept, go with the flow, try to learn the lesson, and thank the universe for the opportunity to learn.

See....there I went again, getting all philosophical about thanksgiving. Well, it works for me.

So anyway. I am going to be gone for the week, and don't know if I am going to get the chance to post. I will if I can, because mostly I can't shut it for long. Ask Dearest Sister.

Also, have a great holiday.

Happy Halloween!

I am excitedly getting ready for my day out tomorrow. Andre's! Chocolate covered almonds! Sisters of Mine, Daughters and Precious Niece...you will be with me in spirit. Tomtom is charging and I have reviewed myself on the inner working on the token of majick directional divining. I shall find my way tomorrow without fail or fear, and I shan't lose my way. Right? Right??? right?????

Speaking of spirits...no trick or treaters yet. I am waiting for Grandbebe Girl. We are going to visit a few in our neighborhood. Ours is a good neighborhood for trick or treating. We are always busy, and expect to be very much so tonight, being Friday, and having excellent weather for the holiday.

And speaking of Grandbebe Girl, I get to enjoy her company on Sunday whilst Bebe Parents are watch the Broncos kick the pigskin. I bet I enjoy my time the mostest! It promises to be another beautiful day, so I am thinking we will walk to the nearby park for some fun and swinging times. Maybe some sliding times, too.

And speaking of fun times, lunch with College Friend (at Andres, with chocolate almonds. Did I mention that? No joke, they are to die for...), a new meeting with a blog friend (gosh, I hope she likes me in real life!) at a new-to-me yarn shop, then a 50th birthday party of some relative-ish folk. All tomorrow.

One packed weekend ahead. But! BUT!!! Blogtoberfest is behind! Done. Finito. Fini.

Whew! I did it.

Public Service Announcement! Don't forget to turn your clocks back Sunday, November 2nd!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hoo-boy!

Lots done.

Not going to tell you all about it tonight, though. Having a goal of blogging every day this causes one to pace out the potential blog fodder.

The frozen and dead were cleaned from the yard. Good-bye for this year.

I am spreading the hollyhock seeds tomorrow.

I brought up the Halloween decor. Last year, Wonderful Guy were doing some painting and laying some new flooring during October, so there was no fall decorating.

My scary birds are back. At night, they are back lit, from the inside of the house, with green lights. Very spooky from the outside! (More so with Stuffed Laser Cat...)

Among my other and friendlier decor, a flower pot witch, on a square of tiny yo-yos. Each finished yo-yo is just shy of an inch and made of a Halloween print. I constructed it a couple years ago.

It is a lot of fun to see, and yo-yos are really neat to see as a whole bed spread, but....I think yo-yos are very tedious to cut, whip up, and stitch together. That is partly why this is only about 15 inches square!

Let's look at the scary birds again! I just love my scary birds! (Idea is from Martha Stewart. I know...I know...the risk was great!)

Star Trek Ornaments

I put up all the holiday décor yesterday, and today the regular routine of winter living starts once again. The kids have gone home, the house is quiet and empty (equally pleasant and saddening), and with the tree down, the front room seems absolutely spacious. It was a very rewarding holiday season, though, and I have started off the New Year in fine style. I exercised, started the blog, and put the house in order, and went to a meeting. v.g.

Part of my holiday décor includes Star Trek ornaments. They plug into the string of lights, lighting up themselves, and some of them talk when the lights are initially plugged in. I have 9 or 10, all ships, from all the series. They have been gifts from a special friend who shares a similar like, from the X, and even from my mother (who is now gone, and I seriously laugh to think of my mom in Hallmark picking out a Klingon Bird of Prey!). The year of the dee-vorce, when celebrating the holidays was something I was going to skip, the oldest daughter literally forced me to purchase a fake tree from a local craft store, already lighted. When getting out the Christmas cards, I saw the Star Trek ornaments. They were in an easily identifiable box, and easily reached. Having gone as far as to get a tree, I decided a few ornaments were not out of line, seeing as how those were the ones I found. We are still enjoying that memory of a particularly bleak time. I love those ornaments on so many different levels.