At Home in English Valley

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Final Project!

I played around with these mittens I made. Added some pine, cedar and holly. There's some lace around the cuff and everything is safety pinned in place, so I can change things up next year.
Here they are on my bulletin board, a mess of quotes, photos, trinkets and ideas.

Here on my cutting mat, a better look.

I am tired this morning after a late night watching the 121212 Concert for Sandy Relief. We started watching just as the Rolling Stones came on. They did 2 songs and I think they were just tired...
The Who on the other hand did a whole set. Roger Daultry is still a powerful and good lookin' ;-) singer and they played all the Who songs you would want to hear. Paul McCartney on the other hand played a bunch of Wings songs...Who wants to hear anything from Wings? My favorite of Paul's was when he played Blackbird. He told a story of how he wrote the song in the 60's during the Civil Rights Movement in the US. I've heard this song a hundred times and never knew the significance. I'll never hear it again and not think of his story. I love Chris Martin from Coldplay, and his duet with Michael Stipe was great. REM played a big part in daughter Kris' life, and once I was the oldest person at a REM concert, back in the day...and the only one in a denim jumper. How uncool was I ;-) Billy Joel, and Alicia Keys both sang their signature New York songs. I guess we missed most of the show after reading some reviews, but it sure was fun. Mike came home and said, I didn't know you liked The Who... I'm still full of surprises!

On to ironing and wrapping pillowcases, making tags and wrapping assorted gifts for family and friends. This is it, only one full week of prep time... Have a great day my friends, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Have you seen this monkey?

I am not an animal person...I am frightened by dogs, cats, cougars...I do not particularly like monkeys, except the one that washes a cat on a video David Letterman used to play all the time...Then there is the Ikea monkey...His real name is Darwin. He was found running around a Ikea parking lot in Toronto. He let himself out of his cage and out of the car he was in. The funny part of the story to me is the stylish coat he is wearing. The fact that he is obviously comfortable in a coat makes me laugh.

Now Kris is sending me all these funny photos...

The Royal Tenenbaums is one of our favorite movies, and yes he does look like Margot!

Sorry Paul Simon...Kris knows I love Art Garfunkel. Just pure fun during this sometimes hectic time of the year.

Around the house...

We caught a mouse the day after seeing it and then four of his close friends the next night. We went nuts with the foam and steel wool and the traps and have hopefully locked up the house to further invasions.

A whole quarter of my Christmas tree is dark as another string of lights died. Oh bother!

I am still sewing and have made so many things I can't show you...till after Christmas. Strangely enough this has been such a peaceful time around the house, except for the mice. The sewing machine is humming, along with the Christmas carols. I haven't done a lick of shopping yet...that's still to come, and not too many things will be bought this year. I decorated my entire house with sweet treasures I already had...the only addition is the sheet music fabric I tea dyed and tacked to a canvas. All my supplies are ready for baking... I have ironing to do and gifts to wrap, but I am not stressed this year. I am surprised by my resourcefulness, for all the things I've made, without having to buy more than a few pillow forms and a couple of yards of fabric. I've been using what I have, and what I have is a lot!

I can't wait for the family to arrive...to have sweet p. in my arms. To have not enough arms for all the babies I love. I am so glad that it's cold out, but I do miss the snow. We made a new record for days without snow in the Chicagoland area. We need the cold for it to feel like Christmas...at least I do! ;-) Seventy degree days in December just scare me.

So there's my Advent report...hoping that you are enjoying the preparations...that your home is warm and your heart is full.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy this beautiful day!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Pinterest Inspiration/Race Recap

I wanted a garland for my buffet, and when I saw this photo on pinterest I knew I wanted to make my own.

Made by Margie Romney-Aslett, the link on pinterest shows a post with many photos, including this one.
It's all I needed to see.

I used a pack of vintage doilies I've been saving for just such a project as the background.

Starting on my sewing machine, I connected die cut vintage sheet music, tags, birdcages, snowflakes, circles with scallops and small diecut birds.

The papers are all very fragile, so I worked on the table and then hung the garland and finished embellishing.

I was busy with a few other touches to my decorating...

I think they called this stitch and stuff, back in the day. Trapunto is the quilting term. One of those special items that makes an appearance every year,

My bench out front was empty, so I put together this vignette. I've used this sled and the iceskates for years...This is just a little different take on it. The sign is not vintage but from Target, more than a few years back.

As I blogged last night, The Amazing Race ended last night with Josh and Brent the winners! They sent out an email this morning, thanking everyone for their support and sharing their strategies, the same ones they use in their everyday life...

1. Do the best you can at every task in front of you.
2. Help your neighbor whenever you can.
3. Don't give up no matter how bad things look.

Great advice for everyone. Josh and Brent have plans for the million dollar prize, to pay off their mortgage, buy a new home on main street in Sharon Springs for their Beekman 1802 store and start a line of food products named after a 1929 heirloom tomato "The Mortgage Lifter." 25% of the profits will help small American farmers pay off their debts. This is no surprise to anyone who knows these wonderful guys.

We were laughing and shouting watching the end of the race. We are so happy for their success.

Can it be just 2 weeks to pull this all together for Christmas? No problem! ;-) Enjoy this beautiful day my friends. Thanks for stopping by.