MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas a day late! I'm always just a little behind. Here at the Nerm and Kitty house, the entire family group joined in for Christmas day dinner. Boyfriends and family friends joined in throughout the evening and filled all the rooms with laughter and conversation. We had unusually warm weather and even opened a window in the kitchen because it got hot with all the cooking. I had a fire in the fireplace anyway just because ya have to on Christmas Day!!!

Here is Tanner arriving in his new "sports" duds including the coveted Nike Shox. His dad spiked his hair and he was one cool dude!
Here's our sweet Madison with her Bitty Baby changing table. She'll make one great mommy someday.

Sisters Kitty and Amy sharing some sisterly secrets and laughs. Aren't they darling? I know I'm a little prejudiced.

Kitty, with Mekenzie and Morgan. Morgan received a dress-up kit complete with dress, heels, jewelry and tiara. She also has a wand complete with JEWELS. It was hilarious the way she acted and walked. They learn so early how to be girly-girls.

I love all my family and have loads of photos, but don't want your eyes to glaze over. Just had to get a quick greeting out to everyone. I thank the Lord for all my blessings and for having such a close and loving family. Nerm

ONE WEEK AWAY!

Hope your week is going well and you're getting all those last minute things finished up. I'm working my heart out or at least my fingers! I have had so much fun this year doing all these handmade gifts. Good thing my sweetiepie hubby likes to cook, since I'm usually tangled up in thread or yarn when he comes home. We make a great team.



Here's our tree. This year we did it differently. Forever it has been in our den which has a cathedral ceiling and we'd get a 9ft tree. Very pretty. But...we really live in our bonus room, that's what honey's big screen tv is and the computer, etc. So we decided to do a smaller tree in there where we could enjoy it more. It is nice to look over and see it, but something is really missing in the den. The family doesn't like it in here particularly, esp. Kitty. I expect next Christmas, it will be back in it's rightful place, but, hey, you never know til ya try. Actually I'm expecting they are all going to want me to do two full size trees-one for each room. To that I say a resounding no way. Remember, folks, I'm trying to simplify!

Here are a few interesting ornaments. This is a rose with thorns, etc. hard to see. That's a full moon on the right of rose.

My favorite ornament-glassblown church. Quite large -at least 5" high. It is heavy so I have to be careful where I put it.

One afternoon after school while I was decorating the tree, Tanner's bus got here and he was more than happy to help. He comes here everyday after school for about an hour until Wendy gets off work to pick him up. Gives us good quality time in a low key, quiet way. Please note the chipmunk cheeks with Tootsie Roll Pop!

Last picture: This is the mantel in the den. The painting is of my great-grandfather. My grand- father painted it (he was an artist). I have several of his paintings. This one is quite large--it takes up the whole space above the mantel. I decorate around it with woodland things in keeping with the scenery of the painting.

Guess that's it for tonight, folks. Back to the knitting for me. Nerm

3RD WEEK OF ADVENT

Greetings everyone. Hope your weekend was enjoyable. Ours went well,--enjoyed an afternoon out with Amy (middle daughter) and on Sunday a beautiful service at church. The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudette Sunday and has a special liturgy and music. Adds a deeper dimension to the Christmas season.

Here are some pics of part of the decor-Please pardon the dark photos. These were taken mid-afternoon, but as you can see thru the windows, it was gloomy and overcast outside. The temperature has been dropping all day and is now below freezing. We are waiting for the ice and freezing rain to start. Goodie!
My dining room table has what we call the Winter Wonderland display. Tanner saw it and said, "Wow, Grammie, where did you get all this great stuff? Is that real snow?" He play and poked and oohed and aahed. Is this what Christmas is about or what!!!

Below is the little town of Bethelem. We bought this several years ago at Sam's and I love it. The detail is incredible. Tanner loves this one too. LOL


Another shot of the dining room-sorry I got my pictures out of order.

These letters spelling "NOEL" were purchased at Joann's for $1.00 each. Quite the bargain, eh?

They're made of felt with eyelets so I strung them up with yarn and hung it in kitchen window.

I managed to pull off a major goof with a previous post. Put my sister Gail's gift on there and failed to tell her not to read my blog for a while! She called today to say she had seen her gift and I felt so, so bad. But I don't have time to make her anything else. Guess I'll just have to kiss up for a while. ha ha Nerm

TIME MARCHES ON

I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post. Shame on me! To say I've been distracted is an understatement. Poor husband has been very sick with bronchitis and coughing his head off. That means little sleep for moi. But now after a round of antibiotics, he's on the mend and I'm rested (sort of).
I've been a one woman Christmas machine... sewing, knitting, painting, decorating, etc. It's been such fun and very rewarding. I'm hoping everyone likes what I have produced for them. I just really want to have a more meaningful Christmas this year, not so commercial. I've heard several people say the same thing. Maybe it's a sign of the times.

Here's a pic of a set of little bags (Amy Butler design) which I have made for my sister, Gail.
I think they turned out cute. Very quick and easy to make.

Now here's the real fun--an outfit for Bitty Baby (American Girl baby) for Madison. Is this precious or what? I could make doll clothes all day long.

Still got alot to finish with just two weeks left, but hopefully I'll 'git er done'. I'll show some more pictures as I progress. We're putting up the tree tomorrow night and that will cheer me on I'm sure. We got some snow here last night. Of course, it melted today, but it was beautiful while it lasted. Big, fluffy, wet flakes which coated the trees and shrubbery. Should have gone out and taken a picture.

Going shopping with Amy tomorrow. Always fun to spend time with one of my daughters.

I'll report back soon--scout's honor. Nerm

SANTA'S ELVES

I've been a busy bee the past two days. Too bad I can't show you what else I've been doing, but like I said the recepients read this blog. But here is one cute thing I know you'll enjoy and I'm safe sharing.
I made an crayon apron for Morgan. The fabric is Kitty Cucumber who is a favorite of mine. I even have a Christmas ornament of Kitty! Isn't this the cutest thing? I love it and had a blast making it. Can't wait to give it to her at Christmas.
When my sister Gail and I were young tots, a family friend gave us each a crayon apron which I treasured and still have. I should go up in the attic and find it. It would be very vintage given my advanced age--lol. Here's a close-up of the crayon pockets. Isn't this fun?

A very sweet blogger friend Tatting Chic chose me for a Marie Antoinette award. I have to tell you seven (7) things about myself that are weird or unusual and then select 7 more to share their secrets. Here goes:

#1--I've always fantasised about being a rock band back-up singer

#2--I was an English major and love words. I would actually enjoy reading the dictionary.

#3--I love beautiful gardens & landscaping, but just not enough to go out and work at it.

Fortunately sweetie pie does the outside work.

#4--If I lived alone (Heaven forbid)I would paint my rooms in bright colors and be a hippie.

#5--Speaking of hippies, when I was in college I painted flowers on my knees.

#6--I want a small farm to raise sheep, goats & alpacas. My dream is to spin my

own yarn and knit a sweater from it.

#7--Etiquette is important to me-I think it makes us all more civilized. The world sure needs more of that!

I sound pretty boring, no? Actually I'm a lot of fun, just eccentric. I love that word.

Think I'll look it up in the dictionary. Nerm

WELCOME ADVENT

Happy December folks. Can you believe it's December? No matter how well I think I have prepared myself each year, it sneaks up on me. That's why Advent is so wonderful. Each day brings us closer to that special day when our Savior is born. The daily readings and devotions help me focus on the reason for the season. And yes, it's Christmas! Not the "holidays"! I miss the days when our girls were young and still at home. We'd light the advent wreath each night at dinner and say a prayer or verse. These are good memories for them today. I'll confess I still buy a Advent calender for myself. ha, ha

This is not a good picture (I need a new camera, Santa), but I'm posting it anyway. I've made stockings for each family member and I needed to replace a few which have worn out or sprung a leak. I have a special request from daughter Amy to knit her one, but that's just gonna have to wait til next year. My handmade list for this year is full up.
This one is velvet with yo-yos I made out of Christmas fabric. I placed buttons in the centers and sewed on a couple of snowflake buttons. I wish it showed up better, but you get the idea.
It's back to the sewing machine for me. See ya soon. Nerm

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Now that the proverbial smoke has cleared, I'd like to share a few photos with you all showing some of our Thanksgiving gathering. Hope your day was blessed and fun! Did everyone get enough to eat? We are so fortunate to live in a country where food is plentiful and readily available. God bless us everyone!
Here's the star of the show: Hubby smoked the turkey this year and it was so juicy and tender. This will be a new tradition. The beautiful cranberry-orange cheesecake was not only eye candy, but truly delicious. This recipe came from my recipes.com. I get their emails daily and have found several yummy recipes there. Check it out.

Before dinner driving practice down Grammie's driveway for Morgan and Tanner.

Oldest daughter Wendy with Morgan.

Kitty giving Mekenzie a hug at the dinner table:

Poor Morgan! I think this picture says it all. Too much food, family and celebration!

Sorry I have no Black Friday stories to tell, because I consistently stay home on Friday after Thanksgiving. I'll face the shopping a little later. Plus I'm trying to make several gifts for many of the family this year. I can't share what or how because several of them read this blog. But I'll tell you this much, I will be tied to my sewing machine and knitting needles thru the pre-holiday.

Hope you all get all the rest and Zantac you need this weekend. Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent and I've got to get myself refocused. Luv, Nerm

DOGS AND COOKIES

Hot off the press--or sewing machine--my sweet puppies in their new winter coats. I just finished Boomer's today (he's the black one) and had to have a fashion show. I can't say the pups were too excited. Smoocher stood stock still like he was frozen-it was hilarious. I thought the red plaid looked exceptional on Boomer with his black hair. Smoocher's gray, black & white coat matched his gray and white hair. I made them from fleece which is so soft and warm. Not that the little darlings stay out in the weather very long. And, after all, this is Tennessee, not Michigan! LOL Now, on to the good part of this post... Kitty was over yesterday and had a yen for chocolate chip cookies. She whipped up the dough and decided to make one BIG cookie like those you see in the mall bakeries. This one practically ran off the cookie sheet, but let me tell you, this is one good cookie. Very rich and full of chips. If you are a chocolate fan, this one's for you!

Couldn't even have get the whole thing in the picture. Wanna bite? Nerm

CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

Hope your weekend has been great and relaxing. Let me show you what I did yesterday with my sister Gail. For twenty years (yep, you heard that right!), with very few interruptions, we have made it a point to attend an event called "Christmas Village" here in Nashville. It's a seasonal craft and decor show held for charity and which has over 260 vendors. It's always in November right before Thanksgiving. Sometimes it's been warm and unholidayish feeling. But this year was good because it was in low 40's and very blustery. Notice this banner which was blowing around. The event is held at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in six big buildings. They are crammed full of vendors and shoppers. It is hard to even walk thru part of them. You can see what I mean in this picture:

Lots of fun Christmas stuff like this booth:

Although I couldn't get close enough to it to talk a full frontal shot, this was the Pink Fairy Tent. It was wrapped in pink netting and was so colorful and full of little girl things. So cute!

Another crowd shot-this sure tested my newly found strength and endurance from my illness. My husband wasn't keen on my going, but sweet Sis said if I got tired, we could leave any time. We ate a bite of lunch (premade sandwiches-yuck) which gave us a chance to rest midway and then it was Charge!!!! I mean...when it's shopping and Christmas, I found supernatural energy.

In the end I spent very little money. I think I've seen most of this stuff so many times, I have become jaded. Besides if I'm going to get something else to dust, it has to be spectacular!

But it was fun to get out, get in the holiday spirit, and spend time alone with my sister which is very rare. Usually my mother is there as well, but this is just too much for her. When we got home, my sweetie had made a great dinner of chili and cornbread. How good is that? Nerm

BUSY BEE

Howdy, folks, as we say in the south. Hope your day was good. I've been a busy bee trying to catch up with some of my projects before I tackle Christmas. Here is the quilt I started before the "Enbrel drama" interrupted my crafting for a while. Originally I started out going for a sweet and soft, kinda shabby chic look. But then I found some bright colors and patterns which looked good together and I just couldn't resist. I wish this picture were better. Click on the photo to make it larger. Actually when it was said and done, it turned out prettier than I expected. I think the pink border helped. Now on to finishing it which I haven't decided quite what I'm doing yet. Here's something unusual I found and whipped up. The Happy Zombie has a website with quilting, sewing, family, etc. She also has several free patterns. I saw this one of St. Joseph and knew I had to make it. I love St Joseph and I also love redwork. It worked up very quickly and now he's sitting on a shelf, hopefully bringing blessings to our home.

This weekend is a busy time. I'm going to a Christmas open house with my sister, Gail, on Saturday. We'll see how I do. She promised not to get mad if I was tired and we had to leave. ha
I'm also making daughter Amy a Christmas stocking which I should finish up in a day or two that I'll show you. It's so much fun to be getting so much done.

Have a great weekend and we'll talk soon. Nerm

THANKSGIVING IS WHEN?

I heard a dirty rumor today...that Thanksgiving Day is three short weeks away! Please say it isn't so. Please. Oh, my!

Here is what my dining room table looked like this afternoon. Can't see it? Believe me, it's really under all that fabric. I had shared about a lap quilt I was working on before the Enbrel medicine fiasco cut me down in my prime! I have been back at it and finished all the blocks today. Now on to the sashing. I think it's going to be pretty.

More later on this project. Also I'll show you the table when it's cleared and decorated for Thanksgiving.

I can't show you a photo of poor ole Fluffarina. Her mats were worse than we thought and her entire torso is shaved. She is so embarassed that she adamantly refused to be photographed. Who could blame the girl? Have a great weekend. Nerm

LIFE GOES ON

The elections are over and whether your candidate won or lost, our country government will go on in an orderly fashion. I will pray daily for wisdom and guidance for the new leaders of our country. They have a very big job ahead of them and need God's help to accomplish everything set before them.

Here are some fall foliage photos taken in my back yard. We live in a subdivision with lots of common area which is nice when nature is at her best. Below is our dogwood tree which really looks a lot redder in person.

This is looking out the back across at my neighbor's. The sun was going down a little (I can't get used to the early darkness), but you can still see that wonderful blue sky. Fall does something to the sky and the blue-ness of it is breathtaking. Our weather has been divine, but I understand it's about to change.
Now here's some exciting news from the Nerm household. Below is Fluffarina who I've introduced before. She is 15 years old. Tomorrow we have told her she is going to have a "spa" day. She doesn't believe a word of it, being so old and wise. Problem is that since my mother has moved in with us, Fluffarina has adopted her. We turned the whole upstairs into my mom's apartment. Our master bedroom is downstairs. So Fluffarina stays up there most of the time.
My mother has spoiled her rotten, which is okay except she forgets to brush her. Now she has really bad mats and must go to vet and get them cut out. They will sedate her, but it won't be pretty.

Here is a side view-kinda lookin' like a porcupine, huh? We'll take a picture tomorrow after the makeover. She'll probably yell, "elder abuse!". ha, ha.

Have a good evening, folks. Nerm

ELECTION DAY!

Well, after all the debates, accusations, millions of dollars spent, it's up to the people. I was worried about having long lines like they kept showing on TV. Mother and I went to vote around 10:30 this morning and walked right in! I'm sure it's due to early voting. Whatever, it was a pleasant experience. I'm still wearing my "I voted" sticker.

Now we'll sit and watch the networks and all their projections. I suppose I'd be better off to just turn it off and wake up tomorrow and be surprised. LOL Whether or not our candidate wins, it is wonderful to live in a country where the government will continue in an orderly fashion. Not riots or civil wars like in many others right now. In four years if we haven't liked the President, we can elect another one. Our system is the best around and I'm proud to be an American!

An upbeat note: I am doing so much better healthwise. Went to dr. Friday and she said I was coming along nicely. So...good for me. Thanks for your continued good wishes.

HAPPY ALL HALLOW'S EVE

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post & I promised to do better. Problem is right now my life is kinda boring. Hope this Halloween evening went well for everyone. Can't wait to see the photos of all my little people in their costumes. I didn't get to see them in person this year. We don't have many trick or treaters at our house. We live in a subdivision kind of out in the country and on top of that, we are at the end of a cul de sac. But my daughter Amy says that they have huge crowds.

I have been sewing this week. The realization that Christmas is only two short months away has driven me into action. Some things I won't be able to show you til after Christmas because my family reads this blog and a lot of my handiwork is for them.
As I was looking through my fabric, I found these pieces I had painted years ago when I took a fabric painting class. I guess I must have finished them and just put them away. I think the scarecrow is really cute, so I whipped up a pillow with him. I even had some matching trim in the bottomless supply closet full of sewing goodies!

I also found this little pumpkin so I turned it into a door hanger. Found this remnant of ball fringe which just matches and finished it off with a twine hanger cord. I'm going to use them
thru the fall since I finished them so late. That way I'll get some enjoyment from them.

I'm going to bed, folks, with just one word of caution: brush your teeth so all that Halloween candy you've eaten won't give you cavities! ha, ha. Nerm

I JUST FELT LIKE IT!

Happy Friday everybody! Hope your week has as good as our fall weather here in middle Tennessee. But I will admit yesterday I was feeling a little sorry for myself and my continuing slo-o-ow progress with this blasted pneumonia. I feel pretty good, but everytime I try to do anything energetic, I get breathless. And not with excitement. har-de-har-har
So, I told myself to get up and do something productive. Here's what I chose : to make a felted purse for myself.
Several months ago, I bought several sweathers at Goodwill and felted them. They were just sitting there waiting for some inspiration. This one I chose was a dark brown. I cut it straight
across the chest from underarm to underarm. It was already seamed on each side and the perfect size.
Next I found a cheerful, coordinating fabric for the lining. See, all that fabric in my quilt stash comes in handy! Also picked out green sweater for leaves and rust for the flower.

Here's the finished product. Pretty cute, if I do say so. I love the way the rose looks. I got

this pattern from Nicky Epstein's book of Crochet Flowers. The leaves I just cute out freestyle.

I added a few light green beads to the leaves for a little extra pizazz. Voila, a new and practically free purse.

This picture isn't very good, but I wanted to show the inside pocket.

Anyway, after I finished this, (it took only a couple of hours) I felt so much better. Of course, now my daughters all want one for Christmas, but that's an easy fix.

Have a great and restful weekend. Nerm

SEAT WORK

Remember in school, when the teacher gave you seat work? You were supposed to sit quietly and do worksheets or questions or usually something boring? Well, as I am recuperating, I've been doing my fair share of seat work. Some is not finished, so I can't show you yet, but here are two of my endeavors so far.
I saw this Swiffer cover on a web site and thought how neat it was. It's made of Lily Brand's Sugar n Cream cotton yarn. Just put it on the Swiffer and dust or mop and toss it in the wash when you're done. No more buying refills and throwing them away. How Green can you get!

If you're interested in making your own go to sheep of a different color and click on patterns. They have instructions for knit and crochet. This one is knitted. I plan to make several more because they are so fast and easy.

Here's another baby blanket for the Weecare program at church for the indigent mothers. The colors aren't showing up very pretty, but its, pink, lavendar and white. Very soft.

This cutie is youngest grandchild, Morgan, who came to visit yesterday. She's very intent on watching Dora the Explorer. Isn't she sweet? She's all cuddled up in a quilt and cozy as can be.

And finally ... for those who say dogs and cats don't get along, take a gander at this! Boomer, my shih tzu and Lily, the cat all curled up in one bed for a long winter's nap. How cute is that?

I am going to try to start posting more regularly now that I'm feeling so much better. Hope your week is great and full of blessings. Nerm