Christmas 2015 in pictures

Clearly, I'm blessed with a great family. 

Merry Christmas. 

The Newlywed Quilt

Remember The Newlywed Quilt with feet?

It has finally found its way to its newlyweds. 

I was right, there's room for myNugget under there, too. 

A Quickie

Frannie & I hit the road yesterday for a quickie to Vermont. 

So glad I went. 

Hadn't seen Patty for her 70th. 

And, HRH Claire Ella is in town for all things Christmasy. 

(Bruce, Jeannine, Josh & Petunia were also there, & I saw Scott & Heidi, too)

Here we all are...

There is nothing as good as a 4 year old at Christmastime. 

Especially this particular 4 year old. 

And, I think Patty liked her birthday quilt. 

A good trip indeed!

Good thing, too.

I went to Wegmans this morning. 

It did not go well. 

Kelly arrives tonight.

Things are gonna get crazy. 

Keep kindness. 

Finally...

LThe sun!

It was windy, but I managed to get shots these 3 quilts. 

2 are bound already. 

This one is for a belated birthday gift.

I pieced in Ft Myers on October.

It's one of my last bento boxes. 

Hope she likes it. 

This one is for some cute newlyweds on thier first Christmas together. 

I had fun quilting this one. 

Again, I hope they like it. 

I still have to bind this puppy.

And this one is for Me!

I love it!

It's purple goodness makes me happy!

Sorry for yelling, but Kaffe and shot cotton...just stop.

I can't even. 

And, this baby is so soft and snuggle before washing.

Imagine after?

Uh Huh.

That's right. 

It will live in Ft Myers.

Unless I can't bear to be without it.

In that case, it will travel with me. 

I am not giving this one away. 

Not even if I get the pouty lip from Kelly. 

Well, if my Nuggs wants it someday, she can probably have it. 

Kindness friends!

XO

Most Fascinating

Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner is Barbara's pick as most fascinating of 2015. 

Ugh!

I predicted this, hoping I would be wrong. 

Sadly, I wasn't wrong. 

I'd hoped that we saw the error when she received that ESPN courage award. 

The public outcry was huge. 

But, no.

She gets most fascinating. 

And more publicity.  

I'd blame old Babs aging for this lapse in judgement, but I can't. 

It's what's wrong with us today. 

And I'm not talking about GLBT.

I'm fine with whatever anyone wants to do with thier life. 

Jenner is totally in it for the publicity, adulation & money. 

For Pete's sake, she lived with the Kardashians for 24 years. 

How much more commercial can one be?

I'm all for dressing however she wants. 

I'm not for her acting like she's doing it in the name of equality. 

Hers is a life of privilege.

Those struggling in GLBT community are not privileged. 

They are isolated and many are destitute.

Her face is not the face of this cause. 

Nor should it be. 

Please.

This sheds light on Donald lead in the polls.

It's just where we are as a society. 

Completely focused on everything that means nothing. 

We're evolving into idiots. 

That is all...I feel better now. 

I have some quilts to share, but I'm patiently awaiting sun to photograph them. 

Thanks for listening. 

Be kind. 

Amusement

Today I was at Hens & Chicks, which is a baby boutique here in Syracuse. 

It's adorable, and the carry the same line of cribs that we bought for the Nugg.

So, I went to check out the quality. 

Thankfully, I was very pleased. 

I was really enjoying the shop.

Everything was beautiful in there. 

And expensive. 

I scored these swaddles.

They screamed Princess to me. 

And swaddles are all the rage now. 

And Jenn doesn't have any yet. 

Well, anyway, on to the humor. 

Or what I found humorous, anyway. 

There was a nice salesgirl in the shop. 

You could tell she really enjoyed working there. 

She followed me around and answered all my questions. 

And not in a bothersome way. 

I was talking to her about the new craze in cloth diapers. 

She was a wealth of information.

Telling me it's not only cheaper, but better for the baby as well as the environment. 

How not only is there less waste, but you can reuse them from child to child. 

Or resell them, would I like to see the ones they have for resale?

And they're so much cuter than the plastic diapers.

Did I know how many chemicals they put in disposable diapers?

You should never let your children come in contact with altered or artificial substances of any kind!

She never lets her 2 kids near anything altered, artificial or not marked organic. 

And she stood in front me, saying this while sporting hot pink & neon green hair!

I'm pretty sure that is altered. 

And not organic. 

It was so hard not to laugh out loud!

But she really was a nice kid, so I held it in, bought the swaddles & left. 

My next stop was Petco, right next door. 

I laughed my ass off the whole time I was in there. 

Pretty sure I'm on the weirdo list at Petco now. 

Who am I kidding?  

Im on the regional weirdo list.

Tonight is out to dinner for Johns birthday. 

John, Jenn, Sue, me and Nugget, of course!

Murray is 'working' in San Antonio.

Where it is warm. 

I hate Murray right now. 

Theyre coming here first to pick me up.

I'm making him bacon wrapped scallops, his favorite.

And I got him a bottle of his favorite whiskey.

I can't believe he's 29.

And about to become a dad. 

Yikes!

Remember the Kindness!

XO

The cat's away...

 Murray has gone to San Antonio on 'business'.

Since when do you need golf stuff for business?

Initially, I was invited. 

Then, suddenly, I was not. 

Golf.

It's warm in San Antonio.

It is not warm here. 

I'm pouting.

I might even be a little pissed. 

I do, however, realize that I will be in warmth all winter.

And he will not. 

So, I'm moving on.

I got up at the crack and finished the tree...

It looks better at night. 

And the nativity

And a few other minor Yuletide embellishments. 

I changed the sheets & the quilt, vacuumed & straightened up. 

And, in the spirit of the season, Alvin left me a gift. 

I dealt with that, too. 

Why does he think he can lay next to me, purring, after he has caused me to deal with such vile excretions?

I still have menu planning & wrapping, but not this weekend. 

Here's how this mouse will play...

(Did I just refer to myself as a mouse?)

I've set up some rendezvousing with girlfriends.

And, Herman turns 29.

And I'll have lotsa time to sew. 

Or excercise.

Or read.

Or watch movies.

Or nap.

Maybe I'll even remember to take a pic or 2. 

Who knows?

Kindness, folks!

December 9

Always a bittersweet day.

The day mom died.

It still warms my heart that she waited for me. 

And I still miss that crazy nut just as much as the day she left us.

Here she is with Tootsie on her last, best day. 

'I'll be seeing you' was her favorite tune.

They sang it on the Frank Sinatra Special last Sunday. 

I guess I'll always miss her, and Daddy, too.

I don't think want to stop missing them. 

I never want to stop thinking of them and remembering them. 

Wouldn't it be fun to hear her voice again?

See her sitting with her prized gams folded to the side?

Or try to figure out what on earth she was talking about?

Or watch her obsessively rotate her place setting?

Or see her scratching a child's back?

So many great memories...I still feel her around me. 

On the quilt front...

Insanity, as defined by Albert Einstein...

'Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.'

I finally broke out my Quick Curve Ruler. 

I'm embarrassed to say I've had it for a couple of years and have only ever made practice blocks. 

More than twice.

So what did I make?

More practice blocks!

Insanity, I tell you.

Oh, and speaking of insanity....

Yesterday, I cleaned the coffee machine with vinegar. 

This morning, Phil told me something was wrong with the coffee...tasted just like vinegar. 

Note to self...remember to empty to vinegar water from well next time. 🙃

Then, I saw a text pic of sweet Claire in her Christmas Jammie's.

I responded in Chinese letters. 

Note to self...look at the message before you hit send. 🙄 

It's getting hot in here and I've taken another of my famous detours. 

Quilt insanity refocus, I'm thinking of making the CQR Country Chic pattern for my Nugget.

And that has to be well pieced, cause Nugget quilts will be laundered frequently. 

I figure if I make a shit ton of Nugget quilts, there's a good chance one will become her favorite. 

I'm all over the place today, aren't I?

Cuckoo..Cuckoo

I've also finished up a few more....

Here are 2...

And 2 more....

This monster....

That Pat Sloan & her machine binding...love it!

I did a couple others, but have no pictures. 

I really should be better about keeping track of my work. 

I've said that before....more than twice.

(Have I mentioned that once I admired a quilt at a friends house....

And then she told me I'd made it for her.  

How embarrassing is that?  A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

I'm decorating the house for Christmas today.

We experienced some electrical problems while assembling the tree.

(Murray insisted this Bethlehem Lights tree was the finest in the land. 

Murray got hosed once again)

Up til now, my entire Yuletide effort has been switching out the quilts. 

Today, I shall tackle the tree & nativity. 

I'm streamlining the decor this year as we head south shortly after Christmas. 

So much work ... so little time to enjoy it. 

I've been Bah Humbug for a few years now. 

I wonder if my Nugget will reignite my Christmas spirit. 

I had been complaining about the lack of sun.

Sun was out today...that's something, right?

And it wasn't frigid.

It wasn't warm either. 

Why do I reread my posts?

Makes me want to hit delete. 

Please don't forget the Kindness. 

XO

What the devil?

I checked Facebook this morning & every single post in my newsfeed was about Trump.

Then, I switched on the morning news...more Trump. 

Then, the news at noon...more still. 

What is wrong with people?

Why are we even talking about that?

People are freaking out. 

The election is next year. 

Surely, he will self destruct by then. 

This is crazy.

The more attention we give to these insane rants, the longer we will have to endure them. 

Publicity, good or bad, is still publicity. 

Thank you for listening. 

Now I shall enjoy some soothing squash soup. 

That kind of a week

It was 'that' kind of a week. 

We buried my FIL on Wednesday. 

But not before we were moved by the kindness of family & friends. 

I had 2 sisters and a QBFF make the effort to support me, which I needed.

Murray had numerous old & new friends, some of whom traveled a great distance, and family to comfort him. 

And, let's not forget our kids, Kelly, John, Jenn & Jimmy. 

I was so proud of them. 

And Nugget as there...in utero.  

We have so much.  

Another great surprise is how AWESOME my MIL is handling this whole thing. 

She was gracious, calm and composed. 

She surprised us!

But, it's still sad to say goodbye.

Especially for my Murray. 

In his words...it's not tragic, but it's still sad. 

Eloquence. 

We got home LATE Wednesday. 

And listened to the horrible news out of California as we drove. 

Terrorism.

Really?

What is happening?

At least Tony doesn't have to think about that. 

Thursday, I took to the studio, but was clearly out of sorts. 

This happened....

I fixed it today. 

It's trimmed and I'm still deciding if I should border it or not. 

While I was thinking, I decided to visit the dreaded binding pile. 

I got halfway through my favorite Christmas quilt and this happened. 

Of course it did.

It's been 'that' kind of a week.

Murray & I hit the DHT for the Friday fish fry...

Then to get more thread at JoAnns. 

It was buy one get one...

Who can't use a dark blue?

No one. 

Especially if it's free. 

While shopping for thank you notes, we got the Chooch a Christmas baby at Target. 

How she loves her babies!

It was 'that' kind of a week.

A lot to be grateful for.

A lot to be sad about. 

A lot of life. 

Keep Kindness....

We need it.