Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve now. The clock tells me it's 1:30 a.m. (Dec. 23rd has just ended) and I am still doing "last minute things"! Every year I try to not do "last minute things" and I never quite succeed. :-) Soon I'll be finished and all will be ready for the day ahead and then Christmas Day. I am sure many of you will be enjoying time with family and friends and I hope for you that travel is easy and all are safe. I have some pictures and a story or two to share from our weekend but there's no time now. But before I turn out the lights and put an end to this day, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has read and commented on my blog these past few months. I am so appreciative. And then I want to say Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year, too! I'll share this little poem with you that I wrote several years ago. Inspiration came from the fact that the company I was working for laid off a number of employees and transferred the rest of us to new locations - often miles further from our homes. And they did it all just before our Holiday party (in 1990). I was on the decorating committee for the event and wrote this poem and placed it at each plate. It was a bittersweet evening as many of us were going many different directions. Life is like that, isn't it? Wherever you are and whatever this holiday means to you, I hope it is one of peace and joy. I'll be taking a break for a few days and then back this weekend with the little tutorial on the "puzzle quilt". It was a Christmas gift from my mom and dad so it's fitting that I should share it with you at this time of the year.

Christmas Wishes

At this happy time of holidays
when candlelight burns bright,
Let us pause amid the hustle
and propose this toast tonight.
May you all be blessed with peace
and love for family and friends,
And even though our paths will part,
may our friendships never end.
So drink to health and happiness,
To friends both tried and true,
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas,

and Happy New Year, too!

©Sandra E. Andersen 1990/2008

Over the river and through the woods..........

Yes, we went to Grandma's house this past weekend.......well, sort of. We went to visit my mother ...... our daughter, her husband and son, Jacob and me and my husband Steve made the trip to Iowa and it was an adventure! We crossed some rivers to get there but had there been more woods, we wouldn't have had so much trouble with the blowing snow. It was quite a weather event this weekend as we traveled in snow and then "white-out" conditions the last twenty miles and when we returned the temps were in the "deep freeze" with 30 below wind chills and 30 mph winds to blow the snow around!
I have more to share on our weekend but also much to do - and I should really get some sleep and my Christmas letter is still not done - the list is still a bit long and only a couple of days to go til Christmas!!! Here's a peek at the "sundog" that we could see on Sunday which is a real good indication of how cold it was!!!

More tomorrow although if you're as busy as I am you won't even be reading blogs til after Christmas!! I have so many I would love to catch up on but no time!!
Sandi

The days are getting shorter and there's not enough days left til Christmas!!!

Can you hear the "I am scurrying to get everything done" in that title? I'm almost there but with only five days left until Christmas Day, I think there might be a couple more things that will go on the "didn't get done this year list so I'll put them on the list for next year". There's always tomorrow as Annie says.
In spite of all the snow and cold that seems to surround us, I had a good day because I was putting together goodie plates for family and friends. I did some baking yesterday and today I frosted cookies, then portioned them out onto the plates. Somethings missing, though, and I realized I need to make a batch of fudge and add some to each plate and then I can deliver them. I wonder who will be getting these treats. Could it be someone who reads my blog? Only Santa knows for sure and he's asleep right now. :-)

While I was frosting cookies, the mail came and my husband brought me a little white box that came from Virginia - no, not the Virginia who wants to know if there's a Santa Claus - the state of Virginia. You see, I won a prize in a little trivia contest on Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home Yahoo group and Sandy who was the trivia queen sent these cute little pickle ornaments to those who answered her question correctly. What was the question? Well, actually there were three parts to it, if I remember correctly - who wrote Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and what company was it associated with, who first recorded it and no, it's not Gene Autry. I was one of seven who answered correctly. Doesn't he look cute sitting in my tree? When my grandson comes for Christmas Eve, I'll have him search the tree for the pickle and then we can open gifts.

In addition to baking, I am working on gifts for my kids and my mom which I can't share with you until after Christmas. Plus I had one last swap package to put together and I finished that today. This one was for Cleary and her Twelve Days of Christmas Swap. The concept was clever. Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas by opening a gift each day beginning Christmas Day through January 6th, Epiphany. One gift the first day, two of something the next day, etc. I had great fun finding little gifts and only needed 11 of something and then I realized all my things were Christmas related and these gifts were for - after Christmas!! So, back to square one I went and I figured out what I hope she thinks are clever little gifts for the Twelve Days of Christmas. Here they all are just before I put them in the box to be mailed. I'm looking forward to receiving my box which should arrive next week.

That's all for tonight, folks! I learned something yesterday when I posted during the day. It took me twice as long for photos to upload and post. It goes really fast when it's after midnight! I knew there was good reason to be a nightowl. And speaking of nightowl's, some critter was making some gobbling sounds at 2:30 in the morning night before last. I am thinking there was a hoot owl in the woods out back or some wild turkey. All I could think was - shouldn't it be in some nest somewhere where it's warm? I mean, it has been cold here and more snow is coming tomorrow and more cold on Sunday. The weather certainly is playing havoc with travel plans for lots of folks. Stay safe and warm.

Sandi

How we came to Henderson....

This is not really a Christmas post but then again it sorta is.........Some folks have asked how we ended up out in the country in the little town of Henderson after living for 33 years in a suburb of the Twin Cities. The number one reason was to get away from the traffic. To do that we had to find someplace close but yet far from the Twin Cities. I was the designated "looker". I didn't have very good luck "looking". Came a time in 2000 when my folks sold their acreage and in a barn on the place was an old car my husband and son always wanted to restore. So we needed a garage and I was the one that was to find garage space for rent. I was not successful. But in the process, I stumbled on an ad for a lot out here in Henderson and the description sounded so good that I had to drive out and see what was here. You can't beat the Minnesota River Valley for beautiful scenery and I was impressed. Went home and told my husband he had to come see what I found. He liked it here, too, so we bought a lot that year. Took us a few years to actually build and move out here but two years ago at about this time we moved into our new house. It was one week before Christmas and for anyone who has moved at Christmastime, you know it is one of the more chaotic things you can do in life. But we managed with help from our son and friends as movers and our daughter and grandson set up a little tree for us. In that first Christmas here, we felt like we had lived here for years. Love the house, the town and all the new friends I have made and my old friends who come to visit. And if you are wondering about that garage.......well, my husband finally found one and one day they'll get that old car and fix it up and maybe they can show it off in Henderson's Sauerkraut Days parade!
More snow coming tomorrow .......... and then more on the weekend. Feeling like we are in a giant snow globe!!
Sandi

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!!

Ha! Finally, I have some more tree photos to share. Yesterday, I decorated the tree in our family room and baked up some cookies, too. I have two more goodie items to bake and then I can make up plates for friends and family. I love to sample the goodies fresh from the oven with a glass of milk. Cookie Monster isn't the only one who can devour lots of cookies!!!
I liked this tree when I got is all decorated. I just wish that the colored lights would show so I think I will have to study my camera manual and figure out how to take a "higher quality" of picture and some night shots, too. I know the camera has those features. I just haven't learned how to use them. This is probably because I enjoy crafting and sewing more than reading instruction manuals. :-)
All of the ornaments on this tree (which is about 6' tall) are ones that I made and taught in classes at community ed or at Murphy's Landing Historic site. I had so much fun when I taught those classes. Kids love glue and glitter and I do, too!!!!
Here are some close-ups of some of my favorite ornaments on the tree.............

.......a felt cookie tree with tiny handmade candy canes. I used Sculpey clay to make the candy canes..........
..............a little snowman that I drew on a Styrofoam paper plate, then I covered him all over with white sparkly snow glitter and added features with puffy paint and a yarn bow...............


..............a couple more trees...........one made with a cookie cutter by cutting out a clay tree then slicing out the middle and filling it with left-over Cooking Crystals (I always knew I'd use those someday!).............and another felt tree decorated with lots of colorful little pom-poms in assorted sizes............

.............I have lots of wool and felt scraps (imagine that!!!) and used some to make these heart and tree ornaments. I cut various pieces of hearts and trees, then glued the shapes in layers and added some yarn edging......

...........the little wreath is just twisted fluffy chenille stems with felt holly........and the glass globe is filled with a bit of glitter which sticks to the inside of the ball because of static, then a little fluffy snow is added and I placed a pretty sticker on construction paper and rolled it to fit it inside the ball. I used a long skewer to get some glue in there to hold the angel sticker in place............and old, worn glass balls or cheap, new colored balls can take on new life when you buy a bunch of glitter and draw with glue or just buy glitter glue and the designs are endless for this project. You will need a place to hang the balls as they dry so this is a good project to do once the tree is set up and you can decorate the ornaments and hang them right on the tree. And the little snowman ornament.......well, how I made him is a secret that I am keeping for a January post. "Keeping" is the key word there. I am going to "keep Christmas all year long" and post an ornament tutorial each month throughout 2009. So is anybody interested in that?

And speaking of posting for 2009, I will be posting a block of the month and will post about that between Christmas and New Year's.


So what else is left to share today......ah, swaps.......about a week and a half ago, I received a package in the mail from Australia. I loved getting all the packages in the mail this past couple of months. This one was especially fun because it was bright green and inside was this package wrapped in the cutest paper. Nothing said I couldn't open this one so riiiiiippppppp - it was opened..........and here is what was inside!

Sheila was my partner in the Secret Santa Honeypot Ornament Swap and she made this lovely tree wall hanging and sent a beautiful 2009 calendar of Australian Wildflowers! I loved the button details on the tree and she also made a lovely card that she enclosed and I forgot to include in the picture. I can't show you what I sent yet as I only sent off my package to my partner a few days ago.
Underneath the tree are two of my favorite ceramic bell ornaments. I don't really have a "collection" of them but I do have about a dozen that I really treasure. My mother gave me the lady in red and I love Teddy Bears and had to buy the one with the little bear on it.

And the last thought for today is the weather........like anybody wants to hear about the weather because it seems all across the U.S. there is snow - even in Las Vegas!! I think that is just amazing to think of 3" of snow covering the sidewalks of Las Vegas! I thought I'd share a shot of our backyard and the snow. I shared so many photos of the leaves on these trees and this is what they look like now. More snow is on the way so they will be covered by tomorrow morning. This shot was taken mid-afternoon yesterday and I liked the way the sun was shining along the wall at the back of the house. Lots of snow assures a white Christmas. It also means good business for hardware and supply stores that sell shovels and snow blowers, gloves, hats, and scarves. Must be good for sales of hot chocolate, warm cider and all that stuff that puts us in the mood for winter. I love the snow if there is someone to shovel the heavy stuff, like my husband. I am only good at the fluffy stuff. I like the snow if it doesn't blow and keep us from getting out to do Christmas gatherings this weekend. Whether I like the snow or not, though, it will come, so I will pray for safe travel for us, for you, and for everyone who is out and about in these few days left before Christmas ....... and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, too.
Now I must get back to the holiday projects I need to get finished so I'll have something to post about in the coming days. Have a good afternoon and evening!
Sandi

Indigo Blue's Ornament Swap!

When I last posted it was cold and snowing. It's two days later and that hasn't changed. It's lovely snow, that soft glittery stuff of Christmas cards and Snowglobes. However, no one shovels in the cards or Snowglobes and no one has to drive in it!! Just a wee bit slippery out there and the nose gets cold really fast when I'm shoveling!! Here in Minnesota and many parts of the Midwest there will definitely be a white Christmas. Perhaps I should take some pictures as proof of this but I don't remember to take the camera when I go out to shovel or run errands. I'll change that tomorrow.
Right now, I have swap stuff to show you............

About a week and a half ago, I received my items from Janice at PugYoga. We were swap partners in the Christmas Ornament Swap over at IndigoBlue. I had a sneak peak of what she was making when I would visit Janice's blog. She did some needlefelting on the trees and then made some to go in the glass ornament. I love the little square glass ornaments and one has a tiny picture of her family in it!! The ribbons will go into the fabrics and trims I am collecting for a crazy quilted Christmas stocking and the Christmas fat quarters are going to go into a scrappy paper-pieced crazy quilt project that I want to make for next Christmas. The glass ball with the snowman face painted on it makes me smile. Thanks, Janice!!!

I didn't want to post what I received from Janice until she had received my package and I was late getting it off to her. However, last Friday she received the package and here's what she found inside. When I saw the title of her blog and photos of her pug, I was determined to find fabric that was "dog themed" to make her an ornament. As I told Janice, the first fabric I found was too white and just line drawings of dogs. Not good. The next one was little colorful dog bones that at first glance was cute but then I'd look at it and see little bows. Not good. Then I was at JoAnn's again and could not believe it when I saw this fabric. It was all sorts of dogs in Christmas hats and there was a Pug!! Interestingly, there was no beagle so I can't make one for our Kaiser. It's just a little square with triangles stitched to the corner and then I added some of my vintage white rickrack, stitched it up, left an opening for stuffing and some bells, closed it off and it was ready to hang. I love making my JOY stars so included one of those plus all the other stuff you see in the picture below. Janice has two great kids, Ms. M and Mr. L and I included some goodies for them, too. And then, I made her a Minnesota Snowman ornament that will not melt. Double-click on the picture for a close-up view. I designed the little snowman for a community ed class and kids and adults alike had fun making them. I'll be doing a tutorial on the snowman in January during the "Whirl into Winter Giveaway". Here's a tip......save the batting scraps that you snip from the edges of your quilts.

Speaking of tutorials, I promised one for the little bell ornaments that I made for our library program. Go here and you will find the tutorial. It's on the blog that my grandson, Jacob and I have set up. We like to make things together and had fun recently making ornaments with the glitzy chenille stems.

Only one last thing to share........Tonight, I sang at the local VFW Christmas program and I enjoyed it so much. I shared a little history behind some of the carols and how "White Christmas" and "I'll be Home for Christmas" (both sung by Bing Crosby) were so popular with GI's in WWII. I sang a chorus of each and then did "I Heard the Bells on

Christmas Day" which is one of my favorites. Then I led the group in a few familiar carols and that was going to be it but the food wasn't quite ready so they asked me to sing some more. :-) I loved it. This may sound strange, but to me, it was like giving a gift to my dad for Christmas. He was a Veteran and would have been so proud to know that I was singing for the local Veterans here in Henderson. The dinner was excellent (this dinner was held at "The Wild's Edge" on Main in Henderson) and the turkey and dressing was the best I have ever had. No kidding !!! Kinda nice to "sing for your supper". ;-)

Time to turn out the lights. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.

Sandi

It's a Windy night in Minnesota!!!

The wind doth blow - and blow - and then there's snow - and the wind blows some more! This is not a night to be out on the roads in Minnesota! Kaiser (our beagle) needed to go out but when he saw the swirly snow and felt the cold wind, he ran right back in the house! Had to pull him to make him come outside to do his duties!!
Earlier today, we had our Library Christmas Program and a testament to the hardiness of Minnesotans and to the wonderful Christmas programs held in the past, the weather did not keep folks away!!! About 50 tickets were sold and 42 were seated for the tea and goodies and all enjoyed the music, the goodies, the reading of "The Greatest Gift", more goodies and then more music! Here are a few peeks into the afternoon event at the Henderson Library................
The theme of the event was based on the book "The Greatest Gift" by Phillip Van Doren Stern. It's the little story that was the inspiration for the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. I love that movie and when I came across the little blue book at a library book sale several years, I bought it right away - and for only about a dime!

The book and the movie then became inspiration for our Library Christmas program and we called it "It's a Wonderful Life in Henderson". And it is!!
To set the mood for our guests, those of us on the Friends of the Library committee brought some of our village houses and we created little scenes that were the centerpieces on the tables.

Guests dined on croissant sandwiches, lots of Christmas cookies, fudge, tea and cider. In the picture on the right, I want you to notice that guy waving to all of you. I thought it was my friend Joanie's husband but I think it might be one of Santa's brothers.
:-)
While guests enjoyed their tea and crumpets there was entertainment. First on the program, was the bell choir from Zion United Church of Christ (LeSueur, MN) and they played the most beautiful set of Christmas carols. I could have listenen to them play for a lot longer!!

I was asked to be the MC. I didn't mind doing it, although usually it's done by Karen Swenson. A bit of a cold had her feeling that someone else should do it and so she was taking pictures with my camera for me. I am not really fond of seeing me in photos because I don't think I take very good pictures but I am so obviously delighted in this picture that I had to share it. I think I had just told our guests about the angel/bell thing from the movie and that they all had a bell ornament at their place that they could take home to hang on their tree.

Next came the reading of the little book "The Greatest Gift" and it was read by our mayor, Keith Swenson. He did a splendid job of reading the book and holding the audience's interest. When it comes right down to it the whole premise of the book and the movie, too, begins at a rather "dark" point in poor George's life when he is contemplating ending it all by jumping off the bridge and into the murky water below. Most of you know the rest.......that Clarence the angel allows him to see what life would have been like had he never lived and how he would have missed Mary and the kids and all the other folk who inhabited his small town. The point of it all is that George's life mattered more than he thought. And that is a message that we all need to hear sometime's ......... that we matter to others more than we know. I think most folks enjoyed the story and many recognised the similarity of the story in the book to incidents in the movie. The movie and the book are not exactly alike at all. If you like the movie but have never read the book, it's worth the "read".

Our final entertainment of the afternoon was by Savannah and Nolan, a brother and sister pair that played some lovely carols to close the afternoon. It was interesting, that even with the icy, windy weather outside, no one was rushing out the door to get home. There was such a feeling of warmth and comfort in the room that I think people wanted to linger.

It was really a lovely afternoon.

Then it was time for clean-up and that is never a lot of fun and I certainly won't bore you with a detailed description of that!!

I will, however, be posting a little tutorial in a bit on making the little bell ornaments. Before I took them off to the library this afternoon, I had a bit of fun with them and laid them out on a big piece of posterboard in the shape of a Christmas Tree. :-)

The bells are ringing out a big Merry Christmas to you!! Back soon.

Sandi