And the tree is up!

Last year I didn't even put the tree up . . . I was a little embarrased that I hadn't but no one seemed to mind the two dishes full of decorations just to TRY and be festive.

This year (and I never decorate until after I celebrate my birthday) I was gung-ho.

Four things - the tree, a few odd trees I've collected over the past three years, a dish with all of the decorations that couldn't fit on the tree, and another LARGE vase full of some more decorations and twinkle lights - I think it's enough (for now)!

And another apron . . .

You know  how much I love Auntie Day . . . Anna and I do spend as much time together as our schedules allow . . . and she wanted to make her Mom an apron for Christmas this year.  We managed to get the fabric shopping done (only $1.00 over her budget) but it took some doing.

Schedule on . . . Anna is picked up . . . and we're off to my favourite fabric store.  She has an idea in mind (warm/earth colours) and we pick up what we think are the three best pieces and get to the cutting table.  We get the BEST sales person E V E R and she says . . . you know the other cottons are only $5.00 a metre right now . . . and we both look at one another and say . . . "ya we should go back and look at them" and giggle . . . and we get three OTHER pieces that we think are WAY better than the first choices and the bill comes to $11.00 - YIPPEE

Now to schedule a day to sew . . . what pattern to pick . . . what piece to make what colour and it's cut and ready for my best friend ( Bertha ) . . . now you might think setting a 12 year old down at a conventional sewing machine that has a LOT of power a dumb idea but she did fantastic! I would start a piece off and she'd finish it . . . then I'd do the difficult "turns" and she'd do all of the ironing (with a steam iron) . . . NOTE:  We set the ironing board to her height and she did a fantastic job . . . I only had to show her once what to do and she DID IT!

Here she is ironing!

All of the pictures I took of her sewing you can't see her . . . but I promise you she did MOST of the sewing - I just did the curvy parts!

Here is the finished product!



That's the third apron this year and one more on the way but that one is a bit of a surprise and a bit outside the box - I'll show you that one when it's done!

Last Blogs of the Year

Well, I promised 52 blogs in 52 weeks and while I haven't always done a blog a week, I've managed to post more than 80! Pretty surprising given the fact I work a full time job and had surgery during the summer (which put me a bit behind).

My promise for the end of this year (the last two weeks anyways) is that I will post everything I'm doing from  now until the end of the year . . . and there's going to be quite a bit because I'm behind again and have lots to do.

I hope you enjoy the last few blogs of the year and hope that you'll read on next year when I change it up a bit.

For now Merry Christmas (yes not Happy Holidays) and thanks for taking me in thus far.

Hugs
Lynne

A Bag of Letters

Well not the kind you think . . . these are letters of hope . . . they are letters I hope to give to my future grandchild. We had a rough year last year; my daughter lost two pregnancies in the early stages. One just a week prior to finishing her first trimester; and the second about six weeks in. It was devestating. I was crushed. I was already buying stuff to "house" the baby at my place for sleep overs. It's all I've dreamed about for as long as I can remember . . . I just want to be a g'ma! Maybe its not in the cards; but the prayer is, and my hopes and dreams are that one day I will welcome a beautiful baby boy or girl into my senior years and I can hug and kiss and love that baby just like I've always dreamed. Here is my little bag of "hope"!

Aprons Galore

Both last year and this year I have made aprons for the hosts of the Gerwing Family Christmas.


What I have learned that it costs a WHOLE lot less to buy them, I love doing something personal for the host and hostess!


Here are pics of both years!

Last Year's Host & Hostess

This Year's Host & Hostess

Pattern is a McCalls Time: approximately 1.5 hours per Apron The baby's apron was custom designed with sleeves to keep messes on Christmas clothing at bay!

Special Request

I had a special request a couple of weeks ago to make an "Oilers" hat for a friend whose nephew was having a baby boy but they wouldn't have the shower until after he was born. His Dad is a HUGE Edmonton Oilers fan and it wouldn't have been right that his future offspring didn't follow suit. I started pursuing making a simple beanie and was going to affix an Oiler crest on it there were none to be found (on the internet which is usually my first resource). And you would think that would be an easy task but it wasn't. After a visit to the Oilers Store in the nearest mall I discovered I was wasting my time due to coyright infringement and you cannot BUY any such thing. So I decided to do something a bit more creative... Plan B ... I knew the colours were navy/royal blue, white and orange. So I purchased just enough jersey material closest to the navy/royal blue colour and made two orange pompoms and ironed on his last name with iron on stickers. Let it be known that you can't find the exact colour of jerseys either likely due to copyright issues . . . I used the same pattern I did for the "Apple Hat" except I cut the "small" down just a bit because I found that one just a tad big for a newborn. Here's the end result. My friend was so excited (well she actually cried) so I just gave it to her . . . payment enough!

Boston Baked Beans

OK so I started cooking at home again. I've found that since my surgery in the summer nothing tastes right and it's all frankly getting a bit boring. I got it in my head I needed more fibre in my diet and the first thing that came to mind was Boston Baked Beans . . . yum yum . . . LOVE them . . . but I don't really have a recipe any more so I search the "net" and find a couple I think I can use. Now I'm not the best at remembering recipies but I had a pretty good idea what I needed (because I'd printed the recipe twice and lost it both times) so while shopping for some other groceries I picked up some navy beans, molasses, brown sugar and some white onion . . . knowing I had dry mustard at home and the rest I would just wing it. Got home and still couldn't find the recipe - but I knew I had to soak the beans overnight covering them with 2 inches of water. What do they know . . . so I put two BAGS (not 2 1/2 cups as the recipe said - remember I still couldn't find it) of beans in a roasting pan at about 6:30 p.m. and by 10:00 p.m. (bed time) the beans were popping all over the countertop out of the roasting pan so the mad panic was on to get them put into a different container - It didn't seem to matter what I did - even moving them slightly - sent them popping all over the floor and the dog was having a hayday! Finally I got them into the LARGE canning container and left them overnight . . . covered with two inches of water . . . Little did I know I was going to have beans until the cows came home NEXT December. I had to triplicate the recipe (because of how many beans I'd soaked) and lifting them in and out of the oven for 5 hours made my right hand completely fall asleep in the middle of the night so bad I thought it had fallen off! Here's the recipe I used: 2 1/2 cups navy beans 1/2 pound pork bacon (cut into about 1" pieces) 1 medium sized white onion (coursely chopped) 1/3 cup molasses 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 tablespoon cloves 1 bablespoon worstershire sauce 3 cups hot water (or water from boiling the beans) Soak the beans overnight; Boil at low boil for one hour; drain liquid (reserving the 3 cups) Put 1/2 of the bacon and 1/2 of the onions at the bottom of the container you are going to use to put everything in the oven); Place 1/2 of the beans in the container; add the balance of the bacon and onion; Combine all other ingredients (including the 3 cups of liquid from the boiled beans) and pour over beans, bacon and onions (do NOT stir); Place in an oven container at 325 for 5-6 hours (until you think they are the colour and consistency to where you think they are totally cooked); If you feel that the liquid is not enough you can add water as required until cooked. And here's the finished product - LOVE LOVE LOVE TOTAL TIME: 6-7 HOURS TOTAL COST: About $14.00 YIELD: 6 - 1 LITRE JARS