A New Man at Our House

A few weeks ago, while going through the many catalogs of “stuff” one can buy for Christmas I came across this mannequin.  I set the picture aside and decided that when the holidays were over and my bank account was somewhat replenished, I would get him for our front porch.  Then later I was telling my mother about him and she offered to buy him for me for my birthday.  And I jumped on that offer and here he is.  I have already been shopping for clothes for him (he is 6’ and slim: doesn’t fit in our family at all).  Anyway, I was going to get him a Santa suit but this isn’t the time of year to find one in the second hand shops so all he got was a hat.


Then last evening DD and SIL came over with an older suit he no longer is using when he plays Santa for the groups and kids around town.  Of course they forgot the pants so I am calling him a Redneck Santa, at least for now.  He really looks great welcoming us home.



DH even contributed some reading glasses in case Santa gets bored sitting out there watching the birds.  This new man in my life is called Fred: I’m not sure why but it just seemed to fit.








In addition to getting Fred set up on the outside, I have been wrapping gifts on the inside.  Almost every surface was covered with wrapping paper, boxes, and gifts: what a mess.



And help was always there when I needed it.  But I did get the job done and gifts were even put in the mail.  I wrote on Facebook that I love making gifts and even enjoy shopping for them but I really don’t like wrapping them.  I am always glad when that part of the season is over.



Last night we had a visit from our great grandson, Sky.  He is 4 and just the right size for our miniature daschund, 
Sadie.






And, finally, I was able this morning to get back into the studio.  This is the beginning of two placemats from the same designer as my Funky Chickens.  I really am a little further done than this but I didn’t get a picture so will show more on Monday.

Have a great week and weekend.  Gari

September is over

There has been NO sewing/quilting here since Monday. So I walked around my yard (5 acres) to see what was going on in the Fall. As I stepped out I saw the sky.


It didn’t even look real.

I came upon wild Morning Glorys growing at the side of the driveway.

I wanted to get pics of them closed at the end of the day but keep forgetting to go out at that time.

I also got some pictures of one of the older trees here.

Look at the character. We are so lucky. We have these older oak trees all around the perimeter of our property, kind of like a very large fence.

I have been involved in routine household tasks and getting ready for my first WW class. Tuesday I was on the road : I drove DH to one of the campus’ where he is teaching and then I went to the local WW office to get all of my materials and learn, kind of, what all I need to do each week. After that I went to the Babylock dealer to get my machine back from being repaired. However, today I didn’t have any time to even check it out. This morning was taken up with finishing the laundry and reading all the WW material in preparation for my first class this afternoon. And, how did that go?, you ask. Well, it went great! The ladies in the class were responsive and after only one week, everyone had lost weight. I got a little nervous while weighing everyone: afraid I might write the wrong weight or weight loss, but we all got through it and the time went really fast. I have to say I drove home smiling all the way. But tomorrow, after I finish the WW paperwork, I will be in the studio and may not come out for a couple of days. One cannot go too long without a little sewing therapy.