It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's snowing!!!!  :)

Every year, the boys forget about snow and are curious about it.  

 Until they realize they are getting wet.  Then they want to come back in...

No Place Like Home for the Holidays...

"Until you feel the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas"  

                                                                                   ---unknown

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend!  I know a lot of people call this time of year a lot of things but I'm sticking with the "Home for the Holidays" weekend because that is where I prefer to put my focus.    We had a wonderful visit and dinner with Peter and Jess.  They used a brine on the turkey, made everything from scratch (including our dinner rolls which were still rising when we got there) and it was all delicious.  I'm so proud of them, they did an amazing job and it is so much fun to relax and laugh with them!  
On Friday, we turned the Christmas lights on, baked cookies, and worked on the Christmas scrapbook.  I had all the decorations up and ready but I prefer to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to put the wreath on the door and switch on the twinkly lights.  On Sunday, Helena came over for a sewing lesson.  We sang Christmas carols, made some Christmas tree ornaments from a blog tutorial at bugs and fishes and also made a cat she found in one of my sewing books.  It was wonderful, relaxing and warm and the perfect way to share gratitude and begin the holiday season!

What's on display in the sewing room...

Wild Turkey, we have a lot of them here in PA

Boy says:  "Bark when you see Turkey!"

"Off and running!"

Have a safe and happy holiday--full of fun and family!

Tea Wreath

I've been doing some crafting this fall and found this great tutorial at Kojo-Designs for a tea wreath.  It's a perfect way to let guests prepare their tea during our holiday open houses.  This is how mine turned out (in keeping with my red and white kitchen):

It was a fun and easy project and I recommend it to anyone who is entertaining for a lot of tea drinkers.  It was much easier than I expected and I'm glad to be able to hang something up instead of another thing on our limited kitchen counters.
Have a great day!

A finish

I'm grateful to say that the snow was kept at bay yesterday because of a dry front over us.  My friends say that Dr. Doom (my husband who has a reputation of disastrous repairs) is responsible.  All the really bad weather happens when he isn't home and I have to deal with the whole thing alone :)  Anyway, we had power last night so I finished this one:

Seamus seems to like this wallhanging that I just finished last night.  It will be hung somewhere else for a Christmas Gathering party for some special little girls.   Here are some other photos:

Unbelievable

We're getting ready for another Nor'Easter!!!  This one is expected to bring 3-6 inches of snow to our valley.  As bad as this is for us, I'm just praying and praying for those folks in NJ and NY who are enduring way too much these days.

So I'm turning up the heat, getting a carafe of coffee ready for tomorrow (should we lose power again), and getting the flashlights out again. 

Stay warm and stay safe!

Cot quilt

I was actually able to sew while the power was off, thanks to my handy Beam and Read light (best 4 or 5 dollars invested and the batteries are easily found--round here, you couldn't get a D battery before the hurricane!).  I had put the binding on this quilt before the storm and just worked on it at night while I was listening to the radio (for whatever reason, I was reminded of Mrs. Miniver at the time).   Anyway, this simple quilt is done:

It's just charm squares that I had won at a quilt show and a few other pieces that I threw in.  It's really hard to see the sashing fabric although I tried to get a photo of it:

The sashing fabric is ribbed and so there is a neat texture to it.  The only challenge is that the ribbed fabric has some poly in it and it had to be fussed a bit to keep the whole thing from getting wonky.  Anyway, I like simple quilt patterns, and this one is perfect for the ottoman/cot upstairs.

We're Tilted...But we're here!

We are super grateful these days.  We weathered Superstorm Sandy and we are safe as are our loved ones.   I'm still stunned by the images of the storm.  Without power, I could only listen to the news by radio which seemed horrible enough, but the photographs and video stun me.  We have endured losses in Pennsylvania, but we are so lucky.
Most of the damage around here is from fallen trees.  During Hurricane Irene and the monster snowstorm (October 2011), many branches fell and cut power off.  This year, we simply see trees uprooted.  HUGE trees uprooted and they are all over the place, sometimes tenuously leaning on wires.

Trees are still falling.  My friend called me to tell me that there one just fell on her street today.  I know this is a possibility for a few days so we could lose power again.  Good things are happening too, the utilities companies with help from the local grocers are footing the bill for water and ice for folks:

And despite everything, some folks know how to put a smile on our face.  The DaVinci Science Center sustained minimal damage compared to some places but one of the things that happened was their sign blew over:

The sign still works though, it just lights up and says, "We're Tilted" and then it flashes, "But we're here!"

Yes, even if we are all a bit tilted right now, we are all super grateful to be here.

My world and welcome to it...

This is my mantra these days.  My girlfriends often joke about how good I have it at home.  My husband travels most of the time with his job and I am left to do what I choose.  When he is home, the world pretty much revolves around what he wants to do (usually just REST, eat homecooked food, watch sports and see the kids).  

I was single for about 16 years between marriages and his schedule gives me the break and alone time I had become accustomed to while raising my son.  The only downside is days like this when we are expecting a "superstorm" and I have to experience it alone.  It's just a bit scary, especially when you listen to the news.  

So I'm keeping myself occupied and thought I would post some photos of the updated sewing room and some other things.  My other new mantra is "use it or lose it" so I'm choosing to put a lot of my treasures on display these days.  So let's go up the steps to the sewing area...

Here's what hits you at the landing at the top of the stairs.  The child's hutch holds my sewing notions and I needed a place to put some of my linens.  I have a lot of doll and baby quilts and some are in the bed.   I can't wait for Helena to come over and play.  I think she and Miles will have a lot of fun here.

Still the landing-- but see this big quilted pillow?  It is resting on my new ottoman.  My best friend (more like adopted sister) and I swap furniture all the time; she was yearning for my trundle bed and I was yearning for more space up here.  So she got the trundle and swapped me for this ottoman  which unfolds into... a bed!   My son slept on it and said it was very comfortable.  Anyway, when Helen and Miles play house up here, they can use it for a couch (with that big quilted pillow) and their story books are stored in that bookshelf (a nice place to read, don't you think?).

********************************TA DA!

Here's my main sewing room and yes, it feels like a dance floor there.  It's my little space under the eaves and I really love it.  And now for something completely different..  

Here is our tiny kitchen:

 One of the things I decided to do was use more of my linens.  So I am using them in my cupboards more.  Martha from "Q is for Quilter" introduced me to museum wax for holding up antique figurines but the wax is useful to hold my blue plates up in the back of the cupboard as well:

My next project will probably be to paint the cabinet on the left.  We bought in Plymouth, Mass.  many years ago and I've put off painting out of deference to my husband who loved the beige when we bought it.  I doubt he remembers that now and I want it to be more in keeping with the rest of the kitchen.  The cabinet on the right he made before we got married and it was a matte brown/rust color at one time.  My vision for the piece on the left is a white cabinet with red gingham curtains (for the top door).  

So that is some of my little world.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I guess I will go sew and try to not listen to the news for a while.  I have lots of "no power" projects ready but think I will sew while we have electricity.

Stay safe everyone and hugs to you all!