Let Them Eat Soup...

We had a yummy Thanksgiving at Kate's on Thursday, and then came home.  Friday, I had a wedding rehearsal to go to.  Jim and I were not feeling real great.  Saturday, it was evident that we were sick.  I dosed up on a 12 hr. cold med, and went to the wedding to start taking pre-wedding, ceremony, and reception photos.  I felt forgetful, and clumsy.  About 4 1/2 hours into the "twelve hour" med.....I was fading fast. As soon as I got home I made a pot of homemade chicken rotini soup, which we ate for the next two days.  Our schedule became: chicken soup....sleep.....cough....chicken soup...sleep...cough cough...  It seemed the perfect time to knit and watch British movies, but didn't have enough ummph even for that.  Monday, I made a pot of Thai Tom Yum, with a pkt. of chili paste mix. The heat in it is usually pretty good for congestion.  We watched Hallmark Christmas movies, and zoned.  Tonight have yet another pot of chicken soup on the stove. We're going to watch Lucy in "The Long, Long, Trailer." I'm  hoping the high energy in it isn't mania overload, for our weary systems.

Thanksgiving

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich"

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks.

Sick, but sitting at the children's table an hour early, awaiting everyone's arrival,
in typical child-like anticipation.
I remember that feeling.... do you?

Kate had everything fixed very pretty and festive.

When everyone else had finished dinner, Ethan showed off his natural talent for feeding himself with his first taste of rice cereal/sweet potatoes...

Don't think he'll have any problems adjusting to solids!

Chocolate Love

I made up a pattern and knitted a little chocolate kiss hat this weekend, but it was waaaaaaay small on her....  So ripped it out and made it larger.  She's such a sweet little baby girl.

Dandelion Craft Studio

 Come on admit it, you thought it was a figment of my imagine, huh?  There's still a few loose ends to tie up, but since there probably always will be, I'm going to welcome you in anywho! I replaced the hollow core door with the front door from an old farmhouse we used to live in.

 This is the view as you enter the room.  The sloping ceilings dictated furniture placement a great deal.  The cabinet with the glass doors is an oldie i picked up years ago at a local "Junke" shop.
One Saturday a few years ago Jim and I were having a date day downtown and I saw the wire mesh dress form on the sidewalk in front of an antique store.  Jim bought "her" for me. Me-likie! I thought she deserved some twinkle lights to set her off. This is the floor I painted "faux wood plank."

 I painted my sawhorse table white to go in here.  This is going to be the spinning corner of the room.  There are still  more spinning things to unpack from a trunk I've had them stored in.

 When Anna and the girlies were living here, we bought this Expedit cubby wall unit from IKEA for them to use, knowing it would be for craft storage at some point. The yarn storage on top are two closet shoe storage units from Target.

 Initially, I was going to replace the ceiling fan light above the craft table with the warehouse pendant you see over the sewing table.  I changed my mind though, because I usually have a fan going year round, and it's handy for drying art projects.  The warehouse light was a hard-wire pendant fixture, and I needed it to be a hanging lamp instead, so I rewired it. The IKEA craft table is from off of Craigs list a couple of years ago. The chairs were my grandparents. I like having a space to work with family members on projects. The sewing desk was a Teen Challenge Thrift Store 50% off day purchase, with freshly painted doors and new IKEA hardware. The desk chair is Jim's old one with the broken arms removed, and a coat of white paint.

 This is the yet to be finished new ironing board cover.  I think I'm going to love it, when I finally get it finished.

 I like it's cheery flowers and think it echoes the colorful spools of thread on the wall.

 This the canning jar light I made.  Tons of them on the web now.  Should I leave it white, or "pewter" or "bronze" it?

I love this little chair.  It used to be my sewing chair, from Target.  No.  I do not have our Christmas gifts bought and wrapped.  I am not as organized as some people!
Someone else gave these to me a while back, and made me promise not to peek!  But I don't open early, like some people!  You know who you are.....  :-)
Oh, speaking of Mama... let's all give her a Happy Birthday Shout!  Love ya Mom!

Crochet Needle Case

 Yesterday was a rainy, windy day, with no kiddos, and Jim sick, so I decided to do some sewing.  I've stored my crochet needles in a pint mason jar for quite a while now. On the to-do-list for ages has been a crochet hook case.  I needed something that could be plopped into a project bag for on the go, or easily carted from the studio, to the snug, for crocheting in front of the TV.   This cheery, plum blossom fabric remnant was leftover from another project, and it's one of my faves, so had envisioned it for the needle case exterior.

 Then, last week I found this little fat quarter fabric and loved it!  I thought it would be the perfect interior coordinate.  There are lots of crochet hook case tutorials on-line, but I just winged it on dimensions and style.  The top folds over the hooks to hold them in place, and then the whole thing is folded in 3 1/3 sections.  The last one being a flap with a button closure.  Initially I sewed the button on for decoration and was going to put a snap underneath, but changed my mind, so have to re-position the button, and make a loop for it.
 I'm thinking a couple of my crocheting friends, (who don't read blogs,)  could do with one of these for Christmas.

Bathroom Re-vamp

Snowball Effect

One morning, when the girlies were sleeping over, they were in brushing their teeth, and there was a crash in the bathroom.  The Dollar Store glass that I keep my toothbrush and the toothpaste in, had accidently gotten knocked out of the medicine cabinet into the sink.  I was totally ready to go in an clean up the broken glass;  I wasn't prepared to find the cheap glass still intact and a hole the size of my fist in the bathroom sink.  After shopping around, and not finding what we were looking for,we had to order a new sink.  The bathroom needed repainting, so what better time to do it?  We had also discussed replacing the chair-rail above the beadboard wainscot, to match what we had done in the mudroom and the "snug", so added that to the list.  When I was getting ready to paint, Jim mentioned......again .... how badly we really needed storage in there.  So we took the wainscot off under the stairs and knocked some holes in the drywall, checking to see if there was free space there or if it was taken up with duct work from the furnace.  It was free and clear.  We took out the middle stud, and made room  to put this little 2 drawer base in to bring the storage dresser up to proper height.  I had prayed for favor, and the Lord blessed us with both this little base and a perfect storage piece.  It fit exactly between the two studs, and the total height and depth were perfect for the slant of the stairs! 

We're really happy with how it turned out, and felt like we'd reached our objective in making it seem  like it's always been a part of the house. ( I've always liked  old houses with cool built-ins.)  A reality in a lot of old houses, and particularly this one, is a lack of proper storage for today's lifestyle..What I was amazed at, is where I'd had all of the stuff stashed that I managed to fill these drawers with!  The hair clippers and cold medicines were able to be re-located from the hall closet, the toilet paper from the utility room, etc.  A bathroom product reunion.  Yay!!

Precious People

It's always amazing to me, how in the tapestry of life, the threads of peoples lives are woven in parallel rows, having acquaintances in common, being involved in the same type of activities, and yet not being aware each other.  And then one day, the threads intersect, and a wonderful design emerges.
I met with these two today, to go over plans for their wedding.  They are such a cute couple, and I'm so glad the Lord has brought them together.  It's an honor to be taking their wedding pictures, and I'm praying the Lord will help me be able to bless them.

Good Eats

 We celebrated Jim's birthday with football, chili, cornbread, and Texas Sheet Cake.

 A Fall morning breakfast.  Love love love steel cut oats, and Costco has started carrying them now! YAY!

In the Fall and Winter, I sort of lose my desire for salads.  Today I made this Spinach with Roasted Veggie Salad, and we both reeeeeeally liked it.  I tossed quartered baby portobella mushrooms, sliced red bell peppers, and sliced wedges of sweet white onion, together with salt and pepper, and a couple of Tbs. Olive oil.  I roasted them in a 400 degree oven about 16 minutes.  Then I tossed them with Wishbone light balsalmic w/basil vinegarette.  Then I tossed in the spinach, dished up and garnished with olives and cheese.

Liliana ~ Two Months Old

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

This morning the girlies were here after a sleep-over and no school, due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.  I'd been wanting to try making this Pumpkin Pie French Toast for breakfast.  It was a big hit.  Everyone loved it.

South Santiam

The Fall color was so pretty in the morning going East, over the Pass last weekend, but we were sort of rushing, so I didn't get pictures until on the way back.  The color didn't seem as vivid on the way West, in the afternoon light.  I love Fall, and I love the South Santiam, curves and all.