Fun Gifts

Sorry I am taking so long to get my posts up to date. Poor Jess, she is so impatient  with me. Seriously, she tries hard to help me stay on top of things.

When the kids were small, like my parents before me, we let them open a gift on Christmas Eve. Even though everyone know what the gift was, it was still fun. Since returning to the states, I've revisited that tradition, and which ever kids are here,  they get Christmas Eve pjs.

Micah trying to figure out what all the boxes are about.

I used flannel I found at Joann's. It's surprisingly soft and cosy.
I found some with cute bird on a wire type print for Jess.
You may or may not have noticed that Uber's and Micah's match. There are all sorts of animals on the fabric.

It's cute, and scary, but mostly cute, I think......

Just hangin out.

We bumped our Christmas up a bit so we could enjoy a leisurely day. I made cinnamon rolls the night before and let them do their last rising over night, in the fridge so we could bake them up fresh. I'd not tried that with this recipe and I'm happy that it turned out.

 My mom made this lovely bit of glass for me. She fused and then slumped it. I love it.

It was a fun day watching the boy learn how to open gifts and receiving lovely presents.
 Brinkley tried hard to open everything.

This is my handmade gift from Jess. It is an amazing storage solution, mostly meant for travel but looks great on a shelf too. See the post prior to this for more details. (I got another very cool gift from her and Uber and I will show you later)

My Sister Made Me Do It

A few weeks ago while talking to my sis on the phone she mentioned some bracelets she liked on sundance. They are funky leather bracelets at a precious price and she wanted one. Bad. My sis is has style. There are things she can do/wear that I can only wish I could pull off. The fun part about this conversation was, I had leather......

I have some butter soft leather left over from a project I have yet to show you. It's one for the all but defunct house blog. You know, the one I haven't posted on in two months. I'm busy, don't judge. Jess and I got together and made a few to try things out and maybe send a couple off to "someone"...

I'll be making more unless someone tells me to stop.

I Actually Sewed Something

 My sister asked for this bag back when I was at the shop and made it for display. She decided it was the perfect knitting bag. I decided that she also needed a pattern holder and made one the night before she left. It's not great but I think it will do until she is tired of it. 

Jessica wanted more shopping bags. She uses one that I sent her for a beach bag. We collect shells and other beach treasures in it. These will be for shopping. Or beach treasures or whatever she wants.

Who says you can't have fall color in FL? I have two beautiful trees in my front yard that are trying their hardest.  I looked up and saw this while I was painting my front door. My blue front door. My indigo blue front door.  Oh yeah, I'll post that over here when it is dry......

My Sister, My Friend

It's been over two years since I've seen my sister. It's so good to know that time and distance are not relevant in our relationship. 

 She's gorgeous and kind.

 She makes me laugh like no one else. 

 We can be all kinds of special and we don't care.

 We are so much alike and so much different.

We have fun hanging out and doing nothing.

 She taught us to knit.

She can hold a baby and knit.

 She loves her Great Nephew very much.

And I think he feels the same.

Lovely Pillowcases

Another step in getting Jess ready for the hospital was to make her pillowcases. She was told to bring a couple of her own comfy pillows, but to be sure that the cases were distinctly hers.  Do you think these will work??

She had just a yard of her most favorite Mendocino fabric and a white cotton pillowcase. It was destiny.  It was magic. It was fun.  I did the planning and cutting, she did the sewing. 

First Things First

When we arrived this is one of the first things we did.

We need another tandem to have enough seats for the whole family that is present here at this time.

We were contemplating a peddle version but Jess and I decided, not so much…. 

This shop is fun because you get to try out the different models. Ask for Cody, he was awesome.

We think we know which one we're getting now. Are you going to come kayak with us??

Random

 Sunday evening the universe forced me to start moving a bit slower. I am trying to turn this into a good thing because right now, I have a lot to do. I have twenty days left to wrap up a life. That's about as far as I can take that thought right now. Instead I'll show you our weekend.

We started a bit earlier in the week by having dinner out a couple of times with some friends from out of town…(out of the country) Did I get a photo of us with said friends?… no…. One of the evenings was at a restaurant in the Flugfeld area of Boeblingen. If you haven't been, it's a nice casual place to hang out for a bit. There are tables outside that have sun, if there's sun, throughout the day. Next door, there is an old timer car showroom. 

Friday evening found us wandering Boeblingen in search of food. This was one of the scenes from that night. Oh and if you want a nice place to eat, try the Magellan. 

Saturday was spent driving through the country side to the WMF Fischalle in Geislingen. Even you know who doesn't mind going. He found barbecue cages for fish. They've built up the area since we were there last. A small shopping area with the outlet mindset went in next to them.

The evening found us downtown where we sat for several hours in a couple of different places just watching the world go by. I love this spot.

Sunday we had to say goodbye to our adopted pet Tinkerbell. She is a cat that looks like a kitten, is a bit crazy and totally made me love her. She launched herself onto you know who's back and when he didn't behave as she would have liked, preceded to swat him in the face. What's not to love about a cat that stands her ground? She's back with her family now and I miss her. 

To console ourselves, we went to this new place found by the visiting friends from earlier in the previous week. Beautiful drive, yummy spaetzle and time to sew up a few hexies. 

Then I fell.

Now I sit here today, resting my injured foot (which is feeling much better), waiting for someone to come pick up my sweet Mini and ship her to our new home. Then I must hobble on, finishing what I can and leaving the rest.


If you'd like to see what I am about to start working on soon, head over here. Our kids have started this project with us and I hope they don't tire of helping too soon. I'll try to make it fun….



Just found out the mini will not be picked up until tomorrow..... moving is enough to drive you batty.