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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Christmas Decorating 2012 #1


     Time to start decorating for the holidays.  I usually start the day after Thanksgiving and spend the whole weekend getting it done.  This year I am a little behind schedule as we were meeting with our banker on Friday.

    To keep things from looking overdone I always remove the everyday items and pack them away.  Here is my living room mantel.  My living room has yellow walls with blue and yellow window treatments and a couch with a pink, yellow and blue floral print.  Red and green would be quite distracting in this sunny room so I have chosen to decorate with pink poinsettias and angels.

     The mantel scarf is actually four embroidered napkins I found on sale after Christmas one year.  The back edge is folded under and they are just laid on the mantel, slightly overlapping.  A small wreath with pink flowers and a bird hangs from a small nail.  I only have five angels on the mantel but with a couple of large poinsettias and a couple of small wreaths the whole mantel is filled in.



     On the hearth below I have arranged a lush garland around the base.  Another angel, this one much larger and a couple of silk poinsettia plants, one placed on a large book, and I have another focal area.



     Behind the couch I have a refinished cedar chest that belonged to my grandmother.  Here I display a paper mache  nativity set.  Every room in the house has a creche.  The coffee table, which is an old sled, has a small pink poinsettia floral arrangement on it.  Next to the cedar chest, on the floor I placed three Santas.  They aren't angels but they fit the color scheme and feel of the room.

 

   Right now there is no tree as we are waiting until a little closer to Christmas to get a real tree for the room.  The other rooms in the house have artificial trees.  The living room tree gets decorated with the ornaments we have collected over the years including ones we but when we go on vacations and ones the kids have made.

    In the next weeks I will post about some of the other rooms.  I hope these photos help show you how holiday decorating doesn't have to be all Santa Claus and red and green.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012




     Here we are after finishing the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot this past Sunday.  My husband and Kate and I did the 10K while our son, PJ did the 5K.  The goal this year was to finish in under an hour.  Last year was Kate's first 10K and she did it in just over an hour.  This year I was to pace both my hubby and Kate to a faster finish.
   
     Unfortunately Kate came down with a bad cold a couple of days earlier and was feeling it in her chest.  She opted to start with us but drop back if it got too much.  She hung with us for the first two miles and then had to slow down.  She still did it in 1:01:58 which I thought was great considering she wasn't feeling well.

     I kept pushing my hubby John to keep up the pace.  When I suggested doing negative splits he was not happy with me at all.  Even so I picked up our pace ever so slightly for the last two miles.  He was right with me until the end when it was time to sprint for the finish.  He had nothing left he said so I sprinted ahead.  I finished in 58:11 and he finished in 58:13.  It turns out to be a PR for me and certainly for him as it was his first finish in under an hour.

     We have done this race for several years and I like the flat course.  This year I was upset because there was no water at the end.  How could you have a race and not give water out at the finish?  Fortunately I carried a water bottle with me and we all shared it at the finish.  They had pizza for us at the end but water is much more important.

     Then it was off to IHop for breakfast.  This has become somewhat of a tradition with us also.  It is one of the few times we go out for breakfast.  Then back to the house to shower and get ready for our 'Thanksgiving' dinner.

     Our daughter who also usually runs is on bedrest with her first baby expected in January.  She and her hubby, Bob came to the house around noon as well as my mom.  We turned on the Packers game and started the final preparations for dinner.  I had spent most of Saturday getting the big parts done and cleaning the house.

     The company arrived a little after 3.  Bob's parents came and John's sister, her two children and her son's girlfriend.  His other sister didn't come cuz her hubby was sick.  Dinner went well except for the roasts not being done (quick trip under the broiler after slicing solved that problem) and the wine on the ceiling.  You will have to ask PJ how he did that one.

     We started dinner with a colby corn chowder.  The meal included icebox rolls with thankful messages tucked inside, ginger glazed carrots, green bean bundles, two tone potatoes, double cranberry applesauce and beef roasts.  Desserts were pumpkin cheesecake cobbler and buttermilk chocolate cake. Everyone enjoyed the meal.

     Now this weekend coming up we really start our final push of training for the T-rex duathlon in San Antonio on the 9th of December.  We have brick workouts on both Saturday and Sunday.  Should be a crazy busy weekend with also trying to decorate for Christmas.

     Now off to work to finish up a panel and board mounted valance that is needed by Monday.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

November 2012

     Last weekend we had a couple of warm days so we were able to put our last garden plot to sleep.  I finished up turning one last bucket of coffee grounds into the soil.  The soil in this plot is so full of stones and not very healthy.  I am hoping that the coffee grounds this fall and some compost in the spring will help.
      My husband and I also laid wood chip paths between our garden plot and the ones to the north and south.  Previously it was just grass and weeds.  No one kept it mowed so it was hard to navigate the aisles and the roots and seeds threatened to overtake the garden.  I spent weeks digging out the grass and weeds.  Then we treated it with some Round-up.  Next we laid a weed barrier and covered it with a thick layer of wood chips.  I am hoping this will help to keep a cleaner garden plus also prevent the people to our south from planting in the aisle and thus making it even that much harder to navigate between the plots.
     Sunday I had a brick workout that involved a 50 minute bike ride.  It was very windy and when I was out on the road with the crosswinds I was so scared I was going to be blown over and into the path of a car.  I was so glad to get back home.
     This upcoming Sunday we are doing the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot as a family and then going to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house.
     I have full classes on Monday and Wednesday afternoons teaching sewing.  The girls are delightful. Julia is working on a layered skirt, Bella is making pajama pants, Meghan is working on a tank top and Katie is working on a tote.
     On Wednesday, Cara has just earned her sewing machine driver's license and is starting her first project.  Izzy just finished helping to sew her mom's Halloween costume and is now making shorts for her youngest brother.  Ellen and Greta are starting new projects.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Purse Accessories



     Here are the latest accessories I made to go with my Florida Tote.  Because it is a large tote I was losing my smaller items.  I bought these two patterns at Sew N Save in Racine WI.  I used the leftover fabric from the tote.  I did buy three zippers and a bag of buttons at JoAnn Fabrics.











    The main turquoise linen from my skirt and tote was so very wrinkled and limp.


     Using some of Mary Ellen's Best Press I was able to have new crisp fabric to work with.
  

     Making the twin zip was a little tricky but following the instructions it went together well.  I really like the zipper application that Atkinson Designs uses in their patterns.  






     I then made the medium size zippered bag from the Zippy Strippy pattern.  By applying the buttons before sewing it all together I was able to use the sewing machine to sew them on.  A little piece of Wonder Tape held the buttons in place while I sewed them on.  So very easy.


     Aren't the buttons cute?  Did you see the tiny one on the zipper pull?  I am definitely going to make more of these.  I am thinking of some with a waterproof lining for traveling.