Christmas is coming!

Nice to have a few days before Christmas to get together with family and friends and enjoy some of the decorations and traditions.
First up is decorating the sugar cookies. It was a little rushed but AMac did a great job. He is getting much more detailed every year...

I love having the beautiful arrangements outside and inside. I was lucky to get a Christmas Cactus from my special girls, I think they are so interesting and this one was so unique; a very pale pink, almost transluscent and it bloomed just in time for Christmas vacation.

I bought a couple of these arrangements at Costco for an Auction and they were so nice, I went back and got another one for myself.

I love putting out my stained glass Nativity. One of these years, I will finish it off and make a Creche to really complete the set. Too many crafts, too little time.

I love putting out my special pieces. This year, I decorated my tree with vintage ornaments from my childhood. I really like the look and now I'm sorry I got rid of some of the old decorations.

Christmas gifts

I like to give the secretaries at work a little something for all their hard work and help and because there are six of them, it can add up. I like to do something a little homemade, a little crafty and I try and avoid giving food products because we tend to get and give so much at this time of year.

 I recently got hooked on knitting dishcloths again so I had a few made up and I thought they would pair nicely with a Bath and Bodyworks soap which is one of my guilty pleasures. I also added a nice Christmas tag that could be used on a gift. I thought this ended up being a decent (and useful)gift.

December Rush

Well, my intentions were good but there wasn't very much free time in the last month, even though I have plenty to show... a card swap, new recipes, fundraising. I was the lead for an on-line Auction and that took a lot of my free time plus everyone wants to get together as the holidays approach and there is baking to do and cards to make....

I was busy making chocolate covered Oreos to sell for Autism Dog Services when we were handing out the Auction prizes at the Cambridge Centre. They had to not only be made but packaged as well. I had some help with that so it saved me a lot of time.

I also made a dozen to put into the Auction itself. I took some baking to the Mall for the volunteers to enjoy...

Doesn't that look yummy?  Then I did about 20 dozen more for my baking sale at work...

I cut back this year, didn't have the time to do quite as much but I made the old favourites.. snickerdoodles, Classic shortbread, soft ginger cookies, Cadbury cookies, Funfetti cookies to name a few. I tried a couple new recipes, one a whipped shortbread that was a disaster (more on that later) and a new snack mix that is yummy. Will post a recipe once things slow down.

November Stamp of the Month

Tis the Season! So much going on. I'm the Chair for an On-line Auction for Autism Dog Services. That involved a lot of computer time so I didn't feel too much like blogging lately. Then I realized that it was the end of the month again. How does that happen? I'm so close to completing my yearly challenge, I just had to do a card this aft. It helped that it was my favourite Birdbrain and he was pretty quick to colour.
Here's the image from this month at From the Heart Stamps...

And here's my card using the Sweet Sunday Sketch 297...

And here's the Sketch that I used..

It's not a great photo but it was already dark by the time I finished and I was a bit pressed for time as you know. I did stamp a nice Christmas sentiment inside the card but the gloss on my Birdbrain was still wet so I didn't want to risk it. Note to self. Do not leave challenge until the last day of the month.

Fall in Bloom

Well, my words from the last post are coming back to haunt me. As much as I love trees, I kind of forgot about the fall raking. Oh well, it was a beautiful day to spend a couple hours outside and I'm lucky that my area still has curbside pickup so even though hauling tarpfuls of wet leaves is a bit of work, it's way easier then bagging them.
I find it hard to throw out my fuschias as they are still looking decent and blooming. I can hardly believe they have escaped the frost and negligence of non-watering. They like the cool temperatures and so do I.

My friends enjoyed an afternoon in the fresh air as well and a little ball retrieving.

Fall Colours

It took me over 4 years to get a tree replaced on my boulevard. First the dead tree was cut down, the stump remained for ages, it was pulled out, a weak dying specimen of a tree was planted which promptly died the following spring as anticipated. Finally after several years of calling and hounding; a good specimen of a Red Oak was planted. Not the Red Maple that I requested but after all that time, I was just happy to have a tree.

I think this photo was taken in the Fall a couple seasons ago. This year I was happy to see for the first time, the beautiful colours of my Oak tree and how much it has grown.

Several of the trees in my neighbourhood have died recently. Trees don't live forever either! So I'm on a mission again to get them replaced to enhance the beauty of the street and provide oxygen, cooling and habitat for all the squirrels that keep my dogs entertained. Wish me luck!

From the Heart October Stamp of the Month

Yikes. I was cutting this one close. Only a few hours to get it completed and posted but I made it and I'm happy to say, this makes 10 in a row. I absolutely love this Cornucopia image from From the Heart Stamps but I was a little late getting going this month and missed the Canadian Thanksgiving so I wasn't quite as inspired to finish the card. But I love a challenge and this was a super cute image. Here it is....

And here's my card....

I wanted to use those little leaf diecuts in the worst way and must have cut out about 50 in various shapes and sizes before I just went with it.

And in other breaking news, Lindor is featured as Pet of the Week in the Kitchener Record today. I sent in her photo a year ago and was pretty sure she would get picked A. because she's adorable and B. because its Trick or Treat tonight and she makes a pretty cute cowgirl.

Happy HOWLowe'en!