i realize it's been said a thousand times before, but i really do hope we all have a good and prosperous new year. i know i could use one.

cheers!

merry merrys

 whether you were naughty

or nice

i hope you have a wonderful hoilday season.

cheers!

retro mummy:giveaway

doesn't this fabric just make your synapses sizzle? doesn't it just make you want to start creating something? it does me. head over to retro mummy's blog to check it out.

cheers!

in this house

do you ever have moments when you walk down memory lane? last night i found myself awake at 1:30 in the morn. what to do? i thought i could work on trying to finish up a few gifts, but didn't really want to turn on the lights. so i grabbed my laptop and went for a little jaunt.

in this house i can remember

taffy pulls in the kitchen with my mother and oldest cousin
listening to the radio while i played right below those two front windows on the porch
my father's garden that his boss told him shouldn't be as grand as it was
badminton games played in the street between my mum and her neighbor friend, mary
mary's first husband, shot, being a exceptionally tall man, at least to a wee girl, being very kind to us kids
stubbing my big toes till they bled due to the way i walked (hip dysplasia)
trying to hide my leg braces from my mum in, an oh so clever place of, the closet
eating my lunch of sardines, white bread and ketchup while sitting on the floor at the coffee table in the living room and watching match game after i had come home from kindergarten
playing with my sister and the other neighborhood children in the street
of walking down to the corner house, (a total of two houses away) after waking from my nap to let my mum know i was up and not being afraid or concerned
the hardwood floors in the house
the man next door keeping bees and always having to be quiet when you walked by his fences so as not to disturb them
seeing my first ghost
my mum winning a 10 foot stuffed dog that rode home on the top of our small car and sat in the corner of our bedroom
my mum making the three wise men from old wall paper samples
the back porch catching on fire because of a hot coal from a barbecue and thinking my dad such a brave man because he put out the fire
going for walks in the evening with the whole family

these memories were gathered in a period of about 5 years, from the age of 2 to about 7. amazing what we can remember. what can you remember from one of your childhood homes.

cheers!

popping memories

has everyone gotten all they're holiday shopping done? have you been able to get all the decorating done? i'm actually glad to say that i'm done with both of those things. i, of course, have not, as yet, gotten any presents wrapped and under our wee tree. it's too tempting and too dangerous for the wee folk of the house. they have a hard time keeping their little hands off the ornaments and other holiday decorations. i know if i put presents out now they would be having small fits to open them and see what was inside.

for some reason the other morning i begin to think of past christmases. in particular when we lived in monterey, ca. the area in which we lived and i grew up had a large italian influence. there were many large multi-generational italian families. it was wonderful. around the beginning of december i would start to hear certain school mates talk about cookie night. being 11 years old, i wasn't quite sure what this was, but i was greatly intrigued. i soon learned that many italian mothers and grandmothers would gather together on one night and spend the whole night baking cookies. they literally would bake the entire night. it always sound like such fun, such camaraderie. i imagined these older women dressed in their mourning weaves, yes many of them wore black all the time, with aprons on, mixing and measuring and baking like crazy. all the while exchanging the latest family gossip, nibbling on treats and drinking coffee (or stronger stuff). after preparing all these cookies they would exchange a certain amount with each other and make packages up for the less fortune family members to give as a holiday gift. as i grew up i would still hear of these magical baking nights but never was invited to attend. funny how certain memories just sort of pop in your head.

cheers!

it took me long enough

well i finally finished a project i started some time ago. don't you love when you accomplish something like that? i do.
i started a project in november of 2009. on my old blog, the tink-n-frog i showed this picture:

this pattern was knocking around in my brain and just begged to be drafted out. i got the pattern this far and had even gotten a great deal of the wee creature sewn together before it went into hibernation. i kept running across this project and wanted to finish it. since it was meant for a christmas decoration, i thought this would be the perfect time to complete him. and i'm so glad to show you him today.

our middle son has named this wee fellow Stewart

he's a very clever and dapper fellow. i had originally planned on just having him visit for Christmas, but as long as it took the dear fellow to arrive i think he will probably stay on for some time. of course he will have to be fitted with a change of clothes as the time passes. i mean he would not want to be seen in his christmas vest all year long.

after seeing him, and naming him, the middle wee one has decided that he would like to have his own wee mouse. this of course means that i need to make one for the youngest wee one as well. you know in my free time. (grin)

cheers!