It has been a very non-productive weekend. I had great plans of getting all my sewing done so that all I would have left would be my cross-stitch projects and I didn't get any of it done. I've been fighting a cold and I thought I had it beat until I woke up on Saturday. I had a stuffy but runny nose and my eyes were burning and would not stop tearing. I took some cold medicine and headed back to be for awhile. When I got up, I started getting some things done and ronded up for finishing Christmas gifts and opened my mail. I got my gingerbread ornament set from my swap partner. I made a pb and j and came upstairs to watch a Christmas movie on Lifetime and work on some cross-stitch. But, it wasn't too long after eating that I felt incredible sick to my stomach and it started cramping real bad. I took some GasX thinking it was gas but soon I was hanging my head over the toilet. I came down with the flu.

This flu was horrible. I slept in the guest bedroom to try and keep Jarom from getting sick and the dogs slept with me on the bed. This flu was so bad that I vomited in my sleep and it pretty much came out my nose. It woke me up and cupped my nose and mouth with my hands not really realizing what had happened. I thought I had vomited and gotten a bloody nose. I turned on the light and no bloody nose. Most of the vomit came through my nose. I have never had that happen before and I hope it never does again. When I got up, I went into the bathroom to clean up, change my shirt, brush my teeth, blowmy nose several times and get a new pillow and pillowcase. I slept restlessly the majority of the night and I was up around 6 to go to the bathroom and I had Minnie curled in a ball next to my pillow, on dog at my feet and the other in between. i headed back to bed after that and fell asleep for a bit until Jarom came in and I moved to our bed. At one point, I had both dogs on the bed and both cats. There was a dog on each side of me and one cat laying on my lower back while the other up by my pillow. It was quite cute.

Jarom took very good care of me. He went and picked up some 7up and crackers and medicine at the store. He kept checking on me all through the day and did so much laundry-including th sheets and pillows I got sick on. He even said he would help me every day this week after he gets home from work to try to get caught back up on Christmas gifts finished. I need most of the help with the sewing so during the day I will work on cross-stitch items and some more Gingerbread ornament sets and when he get home and after dinner he will help me with all the sewing that has to be done. He is such a wonderful husband. How did I end up with such a fanta-bulous guy?

As for the weather, we have been keeping the pellet stove running all day to keep warm. With this weather we are having, it make us feel like we are almost home and the winds blow and whistle. The rainy and very cold temperatures outside and the threat of snow all rings true to a Troutdale, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon winter. I guess it's getting us ready to be home for Christmas. We leave after Jarom gets home from work on the 23rd. I will have the car packed a ready to go so we can leave just after he gets home from work. I will drive us through the night until we reach Prineville early on Christmas Eve. We will be in Prineville from about 2am on the 24th through mid-day on the 29th when we leave to head to Troutdale until the 4th. I'm so excited!

There has been a nice bright spot in my weekend though. We have a Secret Santa for the 12 days of Christmas. On Saturday, for the first day we got some swaddling like those that baby Jesus was wrapped in-it was a very nice, cozy micro fleece blanket. On the second day of Christmas we got to very nice angel ornaments to signify the angels that testified of Jesus' birth twice. I can't wait to see what come the next 10 days, well 9 since I will be gone and in Oregon on the 24th. So....toMY SECRET SANTA FRIEND: if you are reading my blog, I will be out of town starting about 5pm on the 23rd driving home for the holidays with both our families. Maybe you could take the 11th and 12th day gifts and drop them off at our neighbors-LeAnn and Wallace's home at 4612, so that they don't get stolen while we are gone. . Thank you Secret Santa Friend for our 12 Days of Christmas for our first two gifts and all those to come.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I've been working hard, but I still have much to do before we leave for Oregon on Christmas Eve. I still have two quilts, two fleece blankets, three pillows, 4 more coaster sets(only three sets are done), two tote bags, two keepsake box covers, two journal covers, 4 neck warmers and something else tha skips my memory right now. It's a good thing I have a list upstairs.

Today, I will be working on finishing up sewing all the coaster sets and the keepsake box covers, and a couple beaded jewelry items. I actually still have not gone to bed since I woke yesterday, but I was busy and I took a nap with Jarom when he got home from work. I'm sure I'll take a nap today, but for now I'm good and I'll hit up the post office at 9am to mail a few things. It's probably more than I can actually accomplish today, but I will be working hard.

Any way, last night I made some doggie and kitty treats. I made some Kitty Kracker Cat Treats, Festive Dog Treats (Fruity Pebbles make them festive) and Tail Gate BBQ Dog Treats.



Last night, I also finished a quilt. It beautiful and vibrants. I had to have Jarom help me with it. When I put the binding on I need his helping holding it tight while I pin it. Then, when I started sewing, I need his help keeping the quilt straight and help pull it as I sew. He is such a wonderful husband and helper in him. I love him so much for all he does to help me. I also, made some No Sew Fleece Pom-Pom Dog Toys and a couple yarn Pom-Pom on a String Kitty Toys.

No Sew Fleece Pom-Pom Dog Toy


This quilt I finished is fashioned after a simple tie quilt. Instead of ties, though, I used six little buttons in the center where four corners meet from the squares. I used yellow and purple-ish 3/4 diameter buttons. I wanted to pull in the yellow from the center of the flower. I really wanted to use green buttons too, to bring out the outer rim of the flower centers, but they didn't have the right color in the right size. The buttons were really picked over, so I settled with a purle one and rotated them.

Daisy Quilt-Ready for Binding


Completed Daisy Quilt


Today, he is going shooting with his friend and co-worker, Mike, then they are going back to Mike's house and Mike is going to teach and show Jarom how to do some stained glass. Jarom wants to take up stained glass art as a hobby as well as wood working. Now, he get to try his hand as stained glass and see if it is really something he would like to persue as a hobby. He has some simple wood working patterns he wants to try too and if it is something he wants to persue also, we can look at getting better tools for him to work and some good quality wood. It would be nice to see him pick up some good crafty hobbies. Then, we can work on our seperate projects side by side. i told him not to rush home because I have so much to work. I just wanted him to be safe. It has been foggy in the mornings and the further north you head the more dense the fog gets; plus I know they are safe when they go shooting, it's just the other people I worry about. It is a free range and just out in the winlderness. Another thing he has to be watchful of is all the crazy Christmas drivers. I was almost hit yesterday in the Safeway parking lot. The guy totally wasn't watching both directions and just kep moving forward. He kept looking to his left but not his right, where I was. I had to honk my horn and sped up, but he still didn't see me until I moved passed him. What is it about the holiday season that makes people stupid? Sheesh.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share some projects that I could share that wouldn't give away the recipient. Have a great weekend!

Usually we decorate the house the day after thanksgiving and Jarom gets the lights up over the weekend, but since he had to work on Friday I spared him this year and we did it all on Saturday. Well, with one exception. The garland is not hung on the stairs yet, but it will be. I need to pick up a little more. These aren't all our decorations in the house but some of them.


Hope was checking out the jingle bells hanging at he bottom of my snowman door hanger.




The year before last, before we got the pellet stove and Miss and Minnie joined our family, Gus and Hopes stocking were hung on the firplace with our old bear and snowman stockings-as you can tell they are quite sooty. Last year, Miss & Minnie's stockings were added and Jarom and I got new ones.


Our crooked little tree. Jarom thinks this is the last year for the poor thing and then we need to think about getting a new one.


Our house all decorated iwth lights. That lit up blurry little thing by the red light covered bush is a blow-up reindeer. He is quite cute. Little trees line the drive.


Our Christmas Postcard-I found the poem while looking for additional Christmas invitation ideas to help out Natalie with the RS invitations. I loved the poem and thought it would be nice in our Christmas card and then I decided to make a Christmas postcard and save a little money on postage this year and put it on the front of the postcard. The snowflakes all had to be punched out of green swirled paper with a snowlfake paper punch. I even punched some out for the back that had some irridescent sparkles in it.

This year we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving, but we exchanged gifts the day before. Wednesday morning, Jarom sent a shout-out to me wishing me a happy 10th anniversary on KNCI. I spent the day and evening baking, a cherry pie, chocolate lush, harvest cake and iced pumpkin cookies for Thanksgiving. After dinner, I gave Jarom his gift, a new wallet. Last Christmas, I bought him a trifold wallet but he didn't like it-if I remember correctly he said it made it too fat, so this year I found a nice bi-fold one. He came to thank me but asked, "You couldn't find a tri-fold." I can never win. Later in the evening, Jarom needed to get some ammunition and brought back a nice fall bouquet of flowers that I had told him I would like.



I'm not good with pie crust unless it's a graham cracker one, so this was a nice surprise to have this one turn out so well. I didn't have a cookie cutter so I had to cut out the hearts myself.


The icing didn't turn out very pretty because my hands were cramping from all the stirring, chopping, etc.


In the morning, Jarom went with the Day boys to go shooting. We had Thanksgiving with friends. They made a great dinner with some german flavors infused into some of the dishes. In between dinner and dessert, I helped Ameilia and Trinity decorate gingerbread cookies. After we got home, I went over to the neighbors to have a glass of wine and chit chat while Jarom stayed home.

Ameilia's Decorated Cookies


Trinity's Decorated Cookies


All the girls enjoying the gingerbread cookies (L to R): Ameilia, Destiny's friend, Destiny and Trinity