Dollar Store Christmas Eve

One of my favorite new traditions at Christmas is the Dollar Store Christmas Eve. We each get to open presents with the family, but only those from the Dollar Store. We save main present opening for Christmas Day and then to extend the fun and remember who gave what to whom, we only open one present at a time taking turns by going around the room in a circle.

This year my favorite Christmas Eve gift was some wall flowers and butterflies. These stick magically to any surface and the package says, can be removed at any time and will not leave a residue.

I have the other four flowers in my sewing room commingling my love of quilting with gardening. But I put all the butterflies on the kitchen window along with two representative flowers.

These remind me that we are past the darkest day of the year and summer will be coming.

Queen Bee

This is who greeted us at the door for Christmas 2.0 morning. She had on her sun glasses because the fuzzy star wand also had glitter and it was a celebrity event.

She is so cute and fun to play with. Jack is very much more excitable, but Caroline just takes it all in.

Add Diet Dr Pepper

What is more fun than a bag full of supplies to make some cute toddler dresses?

Having two sewing machines, three sets of helping hands and the indispensable energy kick of Diet Dr. Pepper.

Austin Christmas 2.0

What Happens When?

Grandpa got to go to Disneyland with Jack when Gramee had to work one year. What happens when he washes and wears for six years the sweatshirt he got there? It becomes Gramee's.

Well, it is 2011. I wasn't going to continue blogging since I won hands down on most consecutive days posted on time. I only entered this contest between my daughter and daughter-in-law to keep them honest, but they had many more skills on the computer than I did.

If I didn't post each day, the date was lost. Somehow, they could collect photos and make them on any labeled date they named, making it appear as if they had posted that day. Their defense: "we took the picture that day."

Only Jane

I washed my rain coat and it was still dripping wet after the spin cycle. And if you think about it, that is a good thing, because it is supposed to shed water.

But I couldn't hang it to dry on the laundry room door, letting it drip on my wooden floors. So I thought I would hang it outside on the birch limbs, which I have used before for rare air-dry occasions.

Got outside and saw the tree trimmer had shaved all the limbs up well over my head. But spotted my Kousa Dogwood with a lower branch.

I hung the coat out to dry and headed back in to wash my hands and continue frosting Christmas cookies. Luckily Neil put a window in over the kitchen sink, because I saw my coat swinging wildly in the wind and in danger of dropping to the flower bed below, aka good Maryland dirt.

So I got the package tape and taped the hanger to the tree. It could still swing to help it dry in the wind, but was no longer in danger of swinging right off the branch.

Could You Bring .....

Since we were having Christmas 2.0 later in Austin, up came the special request, could you bring those coffee cookies? Suzie's Christmas Cookies.

I got the recipe long ago when I was working as a secretary in the Law School at the University of Illinois in Urbana, while Neil was still working on his PhD.

My God-daughter had a free afternoon on Monday and that is all the encouragement I needed. She would make the cookies, help bake and best of all, do all the cookie dishes.

Here is Katrena up to her elbows in suds, the primary motivator for getting those dishes extra clean. Thank you for the help! And the Austin kids thank you for the cookies. : )

Red Maple Discovery

It is a sunny and very windy day here. We didn't get any snow from the storm which dumped 15" on New York City, but we do have up to 55 mile an hour winds until 9pm tonight.

I was coming back from taking Kay's birthday card to the mailbox, and was looking for wind damage on my old Empress Queen maple tree when I spotted this bird's nest.

It is a glob of building material without the apparent bowl of a typical nest on top, but more like a beaver's house. You enter the side door to keep out of all weather. Now I know it is there, I will have to watch for occupants.