A Very Necessary Gift

Etsy is such a great place to do some shopping. It seems that you can find just about anything there. I find it very interesting just cruising through the different shops, and seeing the vast array of items that are available. Quite a few of the shops I have now marked as favorites, wanting to come back at a later time to just see the cuteness, or possibly buy something at a later date. One of my recent favorite shops carries something that unfortunately I don't have anyone to buy them for; but if any of you have a little girl, or know of a little girl, this would absolutely make the perfect gift for her. I can just imagine the possibilities of all the fun that could come along with one of the tutus from the Little Miss Muffets shop on Etsy.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Our Thanksgiving Day was very nice. We were blessed (as we always are) with the presence of my father and mother-in-law. They have joined us for so many Thanksgivings now, that it wouldn't quite seem the same without them. Even though I had spent so many days prior to and the day of cooking, it really was all worthwhile. Now I have been enjoying leftovers; and have granted myself a reprieve from the kitchen for a couple of days. Here is a picture of a few of our highlights:

Thanksgiving

I have been cooking pretty much non-stop for two days now. The final dish went into the refrigerator a short time ago. Ahhhh, now I can sit back, and consider my many blessings. I am truly thankful for so much; but I think most of all I am thankful for God's abundant love and mercy that He bestows upon me constantly.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Beautiful Sight

This morning I woke up to this beautiful sight. I just love the snow.

My daughter has been working on making snowballs this morning. She said she was getting ready "just in case".

Hope for my Recipe Box

For those of you that might need an updated recipe box, you simply must hop on over to The Farm Chicks blog (in case you haven't already seen it). Serena shares how she is revamping hers. Mine is in such a dreadful state; but this gives me hope that this amazing feat really is quite possible. Perhaps after Christmas ......

Photo from The Farm Chicks Blog

The Amazing Pumpkin Muffin

This time of year it is hard to beat a warm pumpkin muffin for breakfast. The other day I came upon this recipe; and I have to admit - it is absolutely amazing! I made them this morning, and it was all I could do to resist reaching for a second one.

Little Pilgrims

This week I set out my few Thanksgiving decorations. I don't have many, but the one that always brings a smile to my face are my little Pilgrims. I don't even remember exactly what year I made them. I do remember though that my mother-in-law and I both made them at the same time. So each year when I take them out to grace my livingroom for a couple of short weeks, I can remember making them with her, and am very thankful for such a wonderful mother-in-law.

Creative Inspiration

As a seamstress and crafter, I enjoy sitting down with a good book filled with ideas. Quite often I will check them out at the library; and if I find a particular one that I enjoy, I will splurge and buy a copy of my own. A couple of years ago I came across a new book at the library entitled, Sew Pretty Homestyle, by Tone Finnanger.

I enjoyed flipping through the pages so much that I renewed it for a second round. After that period of time was over, I came to the realization that it was time to return it to the library so that someone else could enjoy it; however, I just wasn't quite finished with it. So I turned to Amazon and purchased my very own copy. Since then, I have purchased two more of her books: Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle

and Sew Sunny Homestyle.

Now at this point I must confess that I haven't ever actually made anything out of them quite yet; but whenever I find a free moment on my hands, and want to be inspired, I reach for one of them. And besides, who could even possibly resist not wanting to make this little guy:

(you can find him in Sew Sunny Homestyle)

Toasty Toes

Once the weather turns chilly, so do my toes. We don't wear shoes in our house, so it is a necessity for me to either don some heavy wool socks, or wear a pair of slippers - especially on my kitchen tile floor - it can get downright freezing cold! The slipper part gets tricky though because if they have hard soles on them, they tend to scuff up my hardwood floor. So I will only wear soft soled slippers. Any more, those are almost an impossibility to find. I have instructed my oldest daughters that if they ever find soft soled slippers to just buy them for me no matter what they look like. Recently one of my daughters brought these home to me, and I think they are pretty cute.

New Traditions

This past Saturday was of course Halloween -- and it marked the first time in 21 years that I haven't had a little one to take trick-or-treating. Last year I knew that it would be our final year; however, I wasn't sure what this year would bring. It was kind of bitter sweet. I didn't miss the racking of our brain trying to figure out what costume we would put together this year. After putting 21 years worth of costumes together, ideas were beginning to run thin. I did miss though the lack of excitement in the house. The morning wasn't filled with comments such as, "I can't wait", "I hope it doesn't rain", and "do I really have to wear my coat under my costume?" And I also missed the rustling of new candy as it would always spill out onto the living room floor after the trick-or-treating was over, just waiting to be sorted into various piles. Instead, my youngest daughter and I spent a quiet afternoon carving pumpkins, and a warm evening at home without having to go out into the cold, windy, dark night. That part was very pleasant.