Tradition!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is packing up the grandkids for the annual photo with Santa. 

Sometimes they go willingly…. sometimes there are tears (only beforehand this year; Donovan was *very* annoyed I wouldn’t let him fill up on candy before we left)… and sometimes it’s all down to finding the perfect bribe. 

This year? The Mrs. Field’s cookie store in The Oaks made a fortune off us as bribe-of-choice. (Wow, prices have gone wayyyyyy up…)

But look at those smiling faces! Worth it!

More Snippets

Jackie, “I’m the tallest!!” Only on a ladder, kid….

The tree is a bit more decorated, still waiting for Donovan to feel better and come hang his ornaments. Crossing fingers we can do Santa pics Thursday as planned…

Leia discovered my new computer and promptly started playing her favorite game…

which just happens to be Jac’s favorite too. Jac was thrilled to learn a few new moves and shortcuts.

They were hanging out with me while I repaired one of Jac’s stuffies. Why orange thread, you say? Because I can see it! A combination of ladder stitch and fuzzy fabric will hide most of it anyway. Stuffie was fixed in time to help hang ornaments, so all is well. 

Jac wouldn’t believe me that her homework answer was wrong, so we agreed to let the teacher settle it. 😂 

Good thing the teacher has a sense of humor and knows me fairly well since she also taught Leia and Leo (and I volunteered in both classrooms.)

Vickie, Rachel, and Addy

Addy found another example of the strong genes in Pop’s family. I’m loving this so much. 

Snippets

The baby aloe Cheyenne gave me from her mama plant is blooming for the first time. I don’t think I knew they bloomed? And Marie says I need to get fertilizer foam for it. Didn’t know they made that either…

Had a birthday lunch with the CA branch and only took 2 pictures. Bad, grandma. 

But at least they were of the important things? (Hubby and ice cream candles.)

How we kept warm in The Great Power Outage of ‘24. Get under the covers, fully dressed, with Jaclyn ’The Human Heater’ in the middle. (She’s very proud that she runs hot, just like her daddy. Comes in handy when the power is off for 13+ hours…)

Addy is fascinated by genetics and the history albums I’ve been making into print-on-demand books for the family. (I’m THRILLED!)

First it was the nose she shares with hubby’s Welsh great-grandmother. (From the pictures we have, it looks like only Addy got this particular trait.)

And today she spotted the resemblance between hubby’s sister, Vickie; her mom, Rachel; and herself at about the same age. And hubby looks just like Matt and Donovan when they were this age. So cool!

Snow Globe Quilt

This has been in the works since at least 2019, when I started buying (even more) Christmas fabric to make snow globes.

I made 40-ish blocks in 2020, out of the 72 or so I needed for a throw-sized quilt and…

it’s been sitting in a bin ever since.

We’ve been hanging a lot more quilty projects around the house as decorations and - surprise! - this year I have more hangers than Christmas quilts to go on them. 

Fortunately - and kinda shocking for me - I was able to find the snow globe bin and my original notes.

Jac and I picked out our 25 favorites - a wall hanging stands a much greater chance of getting finished - and spent an entire afternoon arranging and rearranging the blocks to her satisfaction. 

Today I added the bases and I’m hoping to cut and sew the sashing tomorrow. That just leaves quilting and binding to do before Santa arrives. 

I think I can, I think I can…

Early Birthday

As an early birthday present, Mary and I took a Christmas wreath class at Deeply Rooted, a newish local plant (and more!) store in town.

Mine started out as a hot mess - so many options! too many pretty things! - but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. 

Love that they had lots of thistle (channeling my inner Tanya) 

and wish I could have incorporated one of the bright red pomegranates, but they were so heavy I didn’t think it would stay attached. 

Today was the last of the shop’s 5 scheduled wreath classes, although they have a few corporate party/classes coming up. 

Hope they come up with more workshop ideas - I’d sign up in a heartbeat!

Tree’s Up!

Not all the ornaments are on, but it’s a start. 

Jac told us she wasn’t going home until she’d decorated the tree. Guess she meant it! 😅😍

Duck, Duck, Goose

Duck (good stuff): Auntie Teena sent a present for the family kids

and it was a big hit,

especially when I let Jac and Donovan have a side of ice cream with their fancy waffles. 

Fun and very tasty, but I don’t have the cook time quite right yet…

Didn’t slow anyone down though!

Duck (more good): Pop let Jac pick out a new coat… and we were all shocked when she chose a cute little black jacket, nothing pink or purple or sparky. I offered up a unicorn patch I’ve had since…. Leia was little?… for a bit of punch and…

I think she likes it!

Stitched it on since a hot iron would melt the coat fabric

Goose (bah humbug…): Found out today that my new eyeball (cataract lens replacement) isn’t working correctly - night vision is much worse than before surgery - and may have to be redone. I’ll find out more Monday but… it’s depressing.