New Bags

Cold days with lots of snow has kept me busy indoors. With the lack of sunshine we have had has made it hard to take pictures of my latest projects....so they look a little dark. I have had fun stitching some new bags, but somehow the size has gotten away with me. Trying some ideas without patterns shows that in the end they become big enough to fit a house in.... well, you know what I mean. Anyway....they will come in handy for the long days on the beach where you need to take a lot with you and I also have a new crochet afghan project started, so I will be able to take it with me when it starts to get big.
I have made a few trips to local shops over the last couple of weeks and found some good sales on some nice fabrics. Once I get home there is a thousand ideas on my mind for something new to start....just wish there was more time to stitch. My painting projects are slowly coming along, still in the Christmas stage while there is snow outside so they will be ready for next year and pictures will be here as soon as they are finished.
Thank you for all the very nice emails about my projects. I appreciate all of them. You ladies are so nice!!!

Magic Sprinkle

Some magic sprinkle dust was spread across our snowy backyard on Christmas eve. It contained some bird seed, some bread crumbs and a bit of glitter. It helps Santa find his way to our home every year and it works. Seems like he spent a lot of time here this year, his cookies were eaten from the plate in the kitchen and I see he helped himself to a couple of tangerines and a quart of eggnog from the fridge. The reindeer left a bit of a mess in the yard with bits of carrots everywhere and we even found a couple of bells that must of fallen off of one of them.
Seems hard to believe that only a few days ago our home was filled with family and friends, the sounds of laughter, the smell of roasting turkey, mincemeat tarts and cranberries simmering , soft Christmas music playing, and of course the excitement of what was under the tree from Santa kept us all very busy for the day. There were a lot of stories and memories shared about my Dad from past Christmases.......this year we could all laugh and smile instead of watching each other's eyes fill up with tears. Time does have a way of healing and bringing in happy thoughts because we all agreed that he was the biggest kid under the Christmas tree.

Santa was very good to me this year, as he always is. Lots of new things to wear and some crafty things to make, new books to read, but best of all.....time spent together. Everyone stayed for a few days and that made the holiday seem even more special. My son and I had a couple of late night baking sessions and cookie decorating, lots of homemade tree ornaments were made along with homemade gifts before everyone came. I believe the best gift you can give your child is the anticipation of Christmas and the traditions that go along with it.

The house seems strangely quiet today, my son has gone back to school and my husband back to work. The decorations are packed away and the tree is down for another year. There is always that sense of Christmas blues that comes with the end of the holiday.....time flies so fast when you are having fun.