We survived Christmas

It seems like we wait all year for Christmas to come and then in the blink of an eye it's over with. I actually had thoughts of taking the tree down yesterday but decided instead to move it from in front of my window to the corner where it's more out of the way.

Maggie Mae celebrated in style. Christmas Eve we spent with my good friend Debbie and her parents. She was such a good girl and we had a blast. I brought home one very sleepy puppy. Christmas day the two of us slept in a little and then it was time to get up and let the celebrations begin. In the afternoon Jen and Holly came over and then later on Mike joined them. We had such a lovely day. Absolutely no drama of any kind, just a peaceful day. Holly is getting along better with Maggie and I think we'll see some playing going on in the near future. Of course Holly brought over some huge raw hides to chew on and the little one who has her own mini raw hides decided to take on the big ones and she did. I've found nothing so far that she's afraid of or won't tackle. OK there is one exception, I vacuumed yesterday and she his under my bed and fell asleep.

Now it's time to start thinking about next year and start sewing. My daughter gave me the coolest gift ever. She made me a coupon book full of different things from piecing backings together for me to quilting quilts and cutting out kits. I just love it and think it was a terrific idea. By this time in life we all pretty much have what we need or want so something homemade from the heart is really the best. I'll just leave you with a few pictures of Maggie on Christmas.

IT'S A GIRL

As most of you who follow my blog know I'm a dog lover. I had to put my Murphy down last January 4th. Since then I've been going back and forth between do I want another dog or don't I. If I get one what kind do I want. The only thing I knew for sure was I wanted a female and her name was going to be Maggie Mae. I've searched the Humane Society web sits around here on a daily basis and I knew that once the right little face came up I'd know it. Well, this morning I was again checking the site and taaaa daaaaa. Up came a little face that just yelled to me. Within half an hour I was walking in the front door of our Humane Society. I was there to see if the little girl they were calling Lizzie was still there. She was and right now she's asleep in the livingroom in her new crate. She is part Terrier and part Labrador Retreiver. She's fawn colored and was born on October 15th and she weighs in at 9 pounds. She's just adorable. So far she's played with toys, thinks running around the bottom of my Christmas tree is really fun and can find her food and water bowls. OK so she doesn't like to walk on a leash but that will come with time. Right now she's just getting used to my house and me. She thinks it's really cool when you lay on the floor with her and she can crawl all over you. I'll leave you with a few pictures of my newest family member. We go for our first vet visit this afternoon and then of course to the pet store for a pretty new collar and leash and a couple of toys......Merry Christmas to me.

We saw Santa

Last night I decided that I needed to take my Grand-dog Holly to see Santa and have her picture taken with him. I emailed Holly through her Mom Jen's email address. I waited and the response was yes she'd love to go. Jen made her a new Christmas bandana with what else on it but Holly Berries. Off we went to Pet Smart. It was a really good deal you got a digital picture that is about a 5X7 in a really cute frame all for $9.95 and $5.00 of that goes to local animal shelters. We were the next ones in line so she was busy looking around while we waited. OK, it was her turn. So far not too bad. The "Elf" took her up to Santa. The "Elf" gave her a treat, I'm thinking so far so good. Until Santa put his hand on her head. Her eyes just about bugged out of her head, she was so scared. Then Santa asked if she wanted to sit on his lap? Was this Santa on crack?????? No way was she going to sit on his lap. She didn't even want to sit next to him. We got her in position, Jen quickly moved away and snap went the picture. I think it turned out really cute. It even looks like she's sticking her tongue out at us. Next up we took her shopping in the store but nothing really caught her eye. She did meet up with several other dogs and they talked over this whole Santa thing. Then the fun really began. Holly was trying on winter coats. She is now the proud owner of a great pink winter coat. It's made out of waterproof material and was cozy flannel on the inside. She just loves it and just walked all over the store with it on. I asked Jen when we got to the check out if we could just run her across the scanner but she took the coat off of her. All in all it was a pretty fun day and I even got some time in sewing with Jen and Holly.

Is it really December already???????

Wow, I can't believe that it is already December. Where did the time go? I remember not that long ago, back in July I said to myself that it was time to start my holiday sewing. Well, here I am and now I'm sewing like a crazy woman trying to get a few things done. I am still in need of ideas of what to make for my Mom and of course my daughter. Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Right now I'm almost finished with a quilt top that I started last Wednesday. It's completely out of my comfort zone but I'm working away on it. I'm using the pattern Peaches N Dreams and I'm doing it in all 30s fabrics. The person I'm making it for just loved the last one I made and told me it reminded her of the quilts that her Grandmother used to make. I made her a quilt 10 years ago and she's used it every day since and it's been washed so many times that it's starting to really show it's age. I guess it really is time for a new one. Once I get the top made it's off to Jen's frame so I can quilt it and get the binding on it. By the end of this week I'd like to do that quilt and one other that I have waiting to finish, backings just need to be made. Pictures to follow I promise.

I am going to leave you with another picture from my trip to Arizona. This is one of my favorite pictures of Ethan with a silly little felt reindeer headband I had picked up at JoAnn's.