And It's In the Books

 Wow, what a whirlwind week I had...and, I can't believe it is already over! I spent Christmas Eve at daughter #3's house. We actually watched a church service on television and then had a wonderful dinner. By the time we were done with dinner, it was raining pretty hard but we managed to get some reindeer food outside so Santa knew where to land. I got home pretty late and realized that we hadn't taken any pictures.

Christmas day saw us all starting at Jen's house. We were missing a bit of the family so things weren't as they usually are but we were just happy to have as many of us together as we did. We had dinner and lots of catching up at Jen's and then headed to my house for dessert and gifts. There is always so much going on that picture taking is random, at best, but we always try to get in a full group shot and one of me and my grandchildren.

Everyone stayed until the next morning which was wonderful because we got a bit more of a chance to catch-up now that the excitement of the holiday had died down a bit but, all too soon, they were all on their way home.

On Saturday afternoon, Jen, Presley, her friend and I headed out to our beautiful new World Equestrian Center. To say this place is massive is an under statement. It is a huge complex (the largest equestrian complex in the U.S.) that will be used for horse shows, trade shows, canine events, horse vendor events, etc. It has a huge hotel, many show arenas - indoor and out - restaurants, shops, beautiful housing for the horses and miles and miles of "stuff". It is seriously hard to believe that this is in Ocala! We went for an Appaloosa horse "ballet and then had dinner at one of the restaurants. We also got a chance to go see the horses up close in their cozy, warm holding areas.

And, I thought I would leave you with the latest rendition of the gingerbread man ornament. I added a roll of TP and now I love it.

So that is probably it for 2020! I'm kind of catching up on small things I let slide this week and trying to watch the rest of the Christmas movies and take in all of the lights and decorations while they're still up. By next week, it will be down and I will be on to Valentine's Day. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Anticlimactic

It seems like it was many days ago when I first told you I had one last little project that I was working on and that I would share soon. Well, somehow, that "little" project grew into the project that was never going to end.

Every year since each of our grand children were born, we have given them an ornament that represented a highlight of their year. The goal was that when they graduated and moved into their own homes, they would take their 20 plus years of ornaments as a start on their own decorations. And, the four oldest are now in apartments of their own and the ornaments are gracing their trees and serving as mini memory books of their lives so far.

There were certainly enough highlights for me to do that again this year (new dog, college graduations, H.S. graduation, sports achievements, etc. ) but....the most memorable thing in any of our lives in 2020 has to be the virus and all of the changes it has brought to our ways of life. And so, I decided that that had to be the ornament for all of them this year. And, since I had the time, I thought I should make them.

Easy enough when it was in my head. I headed over to Pinterest and found a cute gingerbread man with a mask and knew he was the one. Then, I headed out to get the supplies I didn't have on hand.

I drew a pattern and cut them out...and that was where it all started to fall apart. Lol

I don't know if it was that the felt I bought didn't seem as tightly woven as felts of the past but, when I sewed the edges together with a running stitch and tried to stuff the bodies, some of the stitches pulled through the felt. I didn't have enough felt to start over - nor did I want to - so, I went back and did a blanket stitch around the edges and was able to catch some of the holes even though I'm not 100% happy with how it looks.

Then came the embellishing. I won't bore you with all of the details, but finding a glue that worked on the "fluffy" felt was almost impossible. I wanted to use FabriTac but it quickly soaked into the fabric and wasn't totally successful. Tacky glue was of no use! I had to resort to hot glue for some of it and, let's just say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get small amounts of hot glue out of the glue gun that I have. I resorted to squeezing out globs of glue on my silicon mat and then using a toothpick to place the glue. That kind of worked but dried way too quickly and produced so many "webs" of glue that everything near me was stuck together.

And then, let's not even talk about the eyes - well, maybe for just a second. I had some black glass beads that I thought would work and I figured I would sew them on to avoid one more glue debacle. But, the beads were all different thicknesses and sizes and needed about four tacks per eye to hold them down anywhere near flat.

And, the list of "challenges" really does go on. I truly wasn't sure I would ever get them done but, finally, they are! If you look closely, you can see all sorts of disasters but I figure for 2020, it's just par for the course.

Any way, I thought I would show you how they came out if you have been on the edge of your seats for a week anticipating what wonderful idea I had come up with! Lol

The kids will love them and that is all that matters.

I'm off to clean up what looks like every craft supply I own spread all over the table. And then, I have only one more batch of cookies and then the popcorn mix I always make and I will be finished with all of that. I haven't wrapped the first gift but I love doing that sitting by the fire watching a Christmas movie so maybe that will be on the agenda this evening. Stay safe and stay tuned.

P.S. As I was just looking at these I thought they might look cute with something in their hands. At first my mind went to a small candy cane or wreath but then the idea of a roll of toilet paper hit me. How apropos, right? I'm going to think about that and I will let you know what I come up with. Stay tuned. 

Seven Days and Counting

While the next batch of cookies (cranberry-pistachio shortbread ) is chilling in the frig, I think I will wrap up our tour...just in case the joy of the holiday sweeps me up for a special ride this week. We'll start in the dining room.

On to the sunroom.

I still love all of my Santa, Nutcracker, horse and carriage ride and family Christmas photos from over our so many years. I have them all over the house and as the collection grows every year, I have to become a bit more imaginative as to where I can display them...I am truly running out of house!

My bedroom is decorated but I haven't gotten the guest rooms done yet. Guess I will add that to the list.

Just a small nod to the holiday in my bathroom.

A bit more decorating in the guest bath.

And, I did get a few shots of the house lit up at night although none of them really capture how pretty it looks in "real" life.

I like this shot because, if you look really closely, you can see a bit of the tree in the family room through the window. I was hoping you could see the "dripping" icicles but, I guess unless I did a video - which, I think is far beyond my limited photographic abilities - that won't happen.

So that is it for the 2020 Christmas house tour. I'm off to get those cookies into the oven and then get back to what I have been working on. Have you ever noticed how the things that you think are going to be a snap end up being the most difficult? I will share when if I ever get them done. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Where Does the Time Go?

Wow. I truly can't believe how quickly time is going these days. I spent a day with an old friend, started making cookies and am trying to finish up a few other things I have started and, when I looked up, Christmas was but nine days away. I guess it is time to get this house tour finished up. Let's do the family room today as that is the room I have been spending most of my time in lately.

This year's tree is the kind I always look for. I love a tree that hits the ceiling and is so big around that it is super hard to decorate the top because you can't even get the ladder close enough at the bottom to even get to the top! Lol This one gave me a few close moments but now that it is done, I love it. It is so pretty in this room at night when it is lit with only the Christmas lights and the candles.

A few years ago, I stopped putting out all of my Santas but there are always favorites that have to be here every year.

It has been a long day and I am ready for bed but still have a few things to do, so I will sign off but I will be back soon with the rest of the house and a peek at what I have been working on. Stay safe and stay tuned.