What a Difference a Day Makes

These were my munchikins last year - what a difference.
This weekend we have holiday time with the Hubby's family and with my Dad's side of the family. The girls will get to wear their Holiday outfits again - they are very excited. We still have 2 more holiday get togethers in two weeks and by then it will almost be birthday time around here. I'm looking foward to the slow days of February.

By the way, if you are looking for good deals on yarn: Webs annual Year End Sale is ON! If you are in the Northampton MA area - GO there! If not, hit the web and hit it soon! I'm there people and I'm watching this stuff FLY out the door. I honestly didn't think people could buy that much yarn! The Hubby is still baffled by a yarn only business thriving :)

Two for the Road

There is a decided lack of crafting proof on this here blog lately. I do promise, as one of my new years resolutions, that I will get back to makin things in 2007. Look for the photographic proof in the next week.

This was the munchikins favorite pic from our Xmas photo session. Needless to say it is NOT the one we have sent to relatives. They are both back over at my Mom and Sis' place for the next few days - Hubby and I aren'y quite sure what to do with ourselves on a weeknight with no kids. !?!






Sorry - I just can't get over this guy. WOmen find him attractive? Maybe its like the Tom Hanks thing and its not really "him" but the character he's playing that is attractive. I mean - look - at those heavy lidded, "I'm going to get you, and not in a good way." eyes. *shiver*

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ah, Christmas
We spent yesterday at my Mom and Sis' place and the munchikins had a blast.They got their own bakings sets, lots of soft and fluffy stuffed animals, new clothes for their Bitty Babies, new jammies, slippers, books, and more that I already can't remember. They had a wonderful time and were fast asleep 15 minutes into the drive home. Ah.


Somewhere in the middle of all that the Hubby and I went for a little walk. Mom and Sis live on a little spit of what used to be Route 9 through Western Mass. A couple decades ago they redirected parts of the road for a straighter, smoother ride. It was a crisp day but not too cold and it was nice to get away from the crowded bustle of holiday activity for awile. - This is a view of the inaccessible end of the road.

This is new Rte 9 - not nearly as interesting.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Send Lawyers, Guns and Money

If I were to experience a colorful soft and fuzzy nightmare about pengiuns it would look like this:
These were made by the lovely Jenn who was part of my group (#28) in the holiday ornaments swap. The penguin that I recieved is the little mint colored fellow just to the right of center. The kids made sure he was front and center on the tree so I'd see him every day. Don't get me wrong I can appreciate all the work that she put into the little guys and I can see why everyone is fawning over them, she did a lovely job - I just have penguin-phobia.

If you'd like to, go check out the flicker group to see all the 400+ amazing ornaments that were swapped this year :)

Mary Did You Know

I must confess. I'm sure I have said before to family members and friends that I detest ironing.
It is a lie.
I hate the time it takes.
Most days I much prefer dropping my clothes in the dryer with a damp cloth and coming back AFTER my shower to find everything wrinkle free and warm:)

Tonight the munchikins are in bed, the Hubby has dozed off early and I find myself doing a final pressing on a few holiday gifts and the skirts to the Munchies Holiday Ensembles. Ironing always, always reminds me of my Nanny, Dad's Mom. She would pick me up on Sunday mornings, early enough for Sunday School. Sometimes we would stay for the fellowship lunch but more often we would head back to her and Grampy's house for grilled cheese or Spaghetti O's. Our afternoons would be filled with books(poetry and Aesop's Fables), music(Danny Kaye singing Hans Christian Anderson tales) and household chores. There were dishes to be washed and dried, floors to be vacuumed, dinner to be prepped - I was always on salad or potato peeling duty - and sheets to be ironed.
Ironing tonight brings it all back to mind. The shush shush of the iron moving across the fabric, the smell of the steam and the almost burnt cotton and the spray starch - that woman liked crisp sheets - and the congested sigh of the iron as she placed back upright at the end of the board.
I don't usually go onlike this - it must be the cold medicine. I am sick; Woof.

My Mom and my nephew, Buddy, came out to visit today just as we were putting up our tree. The munchikins did most of the ornament hanging, I just don't have the energy, and the Hubby did all the schleping of boxes and tins back and forth to the attic in the garage. I'm not doing anything other than the tree this year, I don't feel well enough and by the time I do it will be too late. I'm okay with it though becausee I know it just means that when everything goes up next year it will seem magical to the little girls who hardly remember the holidays of '05.

I'm settling in on the couch tonight to let the Hubby get a decent nights sleep. I'll curl up and try to finish this:
A very interesting and thought provoking fictional account of The Zombie War. The author writes about a virus that infects and causes an incurable living death and the human struggle for survival. It is all told through interviews
in which participants recount their own experiences. This builds one hell of a story.
If you have a guy in your life that likes historical or military type novels, grab this one for him and throw in a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide

Ok. I'm off to snuggle and read now. The Grumble has an ear infection and an appt with the Dr tomorrow and I expect a long night.

Separated at Birth

Drumroll please...
Names were double checked from e-mail and comments both here and over at the Stitchalong. They were carefully written on a yellow legal pad( and by careful I mean scrawled - hey, my helper for this endeavor can't read yet so we're all set folks), cut, folded and "shaked" in the Cinderella basket.


The Grumble very excitedly and vigorously shook the basket between each drawing.











And we have our winners. Check your e-mail boxes girls, I've already sent you messages. The Give-Away Girls: Gladys, Gertrude and Ginny will be off to their new homes on Monday.




Thanks to everyone who entered and for all your enthusiasm in this foul endeavor!
Toots.

The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

What do you do when you are home sick from work and can't really talk because you'll hack up a lung? You embroider of course!

We'll be taking the munchikins' holiday pictures this weekend so I need to get their outfits finished. I picked up some fabulous plaid fabric back in Sept. at the flea market and I've been looking for the perfect tops ever since. I found these, el cheapo, at Old Navy the other day and they are perfect. I just added some detail at the waist and we are done.

The skirts are all cut out and I just have to sew them together. I probably won't get to that until Sunday since there is NO WAY I'm going to survive sitting up in front of my sewing machine in the cold garage for an hour. Sunday it is. I'll post the munchikins pics on Monday.

Don't forget!! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER TO WIN A CHICKEN!! You have until midnight EST to e-mail me. And yes, I will look at your time stamp. Chickens!

Oh Tannenbaum

Yesterday was the munchikins annual cookie day with Grandma. We all had a great little breakfast, complete with maple syrup in the Grumble's hair and the Hubby and I watched gleefully as his parents drove off with our kids at 11am. A whole day to ourselves! What to do!?! How about stopping by to see our friends new baby, some final holiday shopping and a perfect hike.
We hiked up and around the reservoir in Northampton and Wow! That is one steep start! It settles out after a bit - I much prefer the switchbacks folks. A beautiful view to be had at the top, crisp , sweet air, little modern-life noise and some quiet time with my husband. We only saw one other person while we were out there, a guy walking his dogs. One of the dogs was a pitbull mix and the other was a corgi that I could not stop laughing at, those little legs! Too funny!
I saw these great yellow leaves shining out against all the other drab colors - I could not find any others like them, so beautiful.
We stopped at my Mom's on the way over to get the munchikins and picked up a large portion of their x-mas morning goodies, they've been hiding in Mom's garage. And drove down the mountain to the Hubby's childhood home for dinner.

The munchikins made these fantastic glitter ornaments, chocolate spoons and chocolate covered peppermint sticks for yummy flavored hot cocoa. They also made trail mix, one of Grandma's specialties, yummy no-bake peanutbutter balls and special doggie cookies for the special canines in the family to have treats at Christmas.

All in all it was a great day. I'm looking forward to getting some bits and pieces done in the evenings this week and hopefully I can blow through the decorating and final gift prep this weekend. Once the holidays settle out and life calms down a bit I hope to get back to blogging more often - thanks to all of you that stick around for me :)

Our House - Madness

Have you seen these!?!
The lovely lady over at Bella Dia has inspired me. I NEED to make these little houses! I think I'll challenge Cupcake to a house a month challenge for 2007. It will be SO neat to have a whole little village to put out next holiday season :)






I also need to get you all some pics of the other stuff I'm working on. I finished a new cabled hat for the Bean tonight - mittens and scarf next. The Hubby is stopping by the store tomorrow to check on a horrible yarn that I found in Pixie Corner(and the warehouse) - Orange Blaze Camo Fleece yarn!! No, I'm not kidding and it is only $2/ball. I need to sew up the munchikins holiday dresses so we can take pitures of them in the dresses, and a few other bits and bobs before I hit the holiday wall. I'm not feeling stressed or rushed . . . yet. Check back on me sometime next week.

Oh! And get your e-mails in if you want a chicken. One week left to enter!

Water Baby

Why does my life get in the way of my life! Does this happen to you!?!

My good friend had her third baby yesterday. Meet Miss Ayda. The munchikins are jumping with excitement to meet her but alas, both have the sniffles right now and will have to wait a bit. Miss Ayda's big brother and sister are also very excited to share their new baby sister with the world and made me promise to tell the Bean, the Grumble and the Hubby all about her. I did! She's adorable, soft, PINK and did I say adorable.
Congratulations my friend, another fine child baked to perfection :)

High Feather

Oh, my little feathered friends. You make such a cute pile of chickens. All my little holiday chickens have been boxed up and sent off the their intended recipients. Nine little boxes going in many different directions: Brooklyn, Oakland CA, Providence RI, Minneapolis, Alexandria VA, Vancouver, Washington DC, Louisville KY and the Netherlands. WooHoo!




Hanging out here, in their natural habitat, we have the Holiday Chickens:Henrietta, Hilda, Helga, Heidi, Hortence, Harriet, Hannah, Harper, and Hester. Snuggled in with their sister chickens are the Give-away Girls: Gertrude, Ginny and Gladys.



I had fun making these mini versions of Chicken Betty but I'm glad to be finished with the fowl for awhile :) I'm sure I'll be making a few more for the holidays but this week I'm working on some felted potholders, some robot dolls - NOT from Wee Wonderfuls! my robots are based on drawing that the Bean did last year. I'll hopefully have some pics soon. I'm also working on a sample vest for the store, and hat/scarf/mitten sets for the munchikins and the Hubby.


OK!! If you are interested in having one of these lovely ladies living at your home...drop me an e-mail!! I will accept entries until next Friday, 12/15/06. I'll have each of the kids and the Hubby pull a name out of a bucket and we'll ship you a chicken! International entries are welcome.
togbean*at*charter*dot*net