No - I Didn't Fall Off the Face of the Earth!

I know it has again been quite some time since I posted.  It just seems like there are just never enough hours in the day to accomplish all I want.  

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We ended up with a Thanksgiving Eve upset (Keith was physically attacked by another consumer at his vocational workshop).  Keith ended up with only minor abrasions and scratches about his head and neck but was terribly scared and upset (who wouldn't be when somebody bigger than you puts you in a neck lock).  I spent an afternoon there to among other things state my concern that I did not receive a call on my cell phone when it happened early in the morning but rather found out several hours later upon arriving home and checking messages on my answering machine.

Thanksgiving went beautifully.  I would share pictures but can't seem to get them to move from camera to computer.  Grrrrr!  Dishes turned out perfectly and enjoyed a nice long visit with family.

Christmas decorating started the day after Thanksgiving.  As it was so late in the month, just couldn't procrastinate putting them up this year or there would be no time to enjoy them.

This is the display I've set up this year on top of my buffet.  I always do a small pink tree as a tribute to Mom who passed from breast cancer in 2010.  Christmas was her favorite holiday and I get my love of decorating for the holiday from her.  The white ceramic tree on the left was the one she made for herself and was her favorite which she passed on to me in 2009.

This is a new display for me this year on a shelf of my bookcase.  It has a few of the ceramic pieces Mom made for me as well as my own stitched pieces.

My coffee table sports the Santa's workshop that was Mom's.  Again another one of her cherished favorites that she gifted to me before she passed away.  As the saying goes, they are priceless to me.

My tree for this year.  Went back to the all white lights as the multi-colored lights we tried last year just did not show off my ornaments very well.  Yes, that is the string tinsel you see all over the tree.  Yes, it is an artificial tree and I have to pick every single piece of that off before I can take down the tree for the year.  So worth the extra effort.  The quilted tree skirt is one that I made several years ago.  I took a fabulous class while we lived at Mtn. Home AFB, ID back in the 80's.  Since then I've made several for family and my good friends.   

I am terribly behind on the making of Christmas gifts for my friends.  I finally got a start on my first gift the other night.  I'm further along than the picture shows but have a long ways yet to go.  I also spent my afternoon this afternoon cutting out fabric for some gifts that I'm going to sew.  Hoping for some time on Sunday to get started on those.

I also signed up for Carol's Stitch A Long (IStitch) and we are up to Day 6 and I've yet to put my first stitch in this project.  We get a bit of the design each day for 24 days so in theory we will have a finished project on December 24.  I'm trying to decide which night I'm going to skip sleeping to get started and catch up - LOL!  It really is a lovely project and really would like to finish on Day 24.  Wish me luck!

Don't ask me where I found the time but managed to finish two books.  The Bride's House by Sandra Dallas and A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini.  At first I didn't really care for the Sandra Dallas book but that changed by the time I got to the 2nd generation story of the book.  Ended up liking it.  The Quilter's Holiday was a very quick read and really enjoyed it.  Perfect read for this time of year.

Looking forward to date night tomorrow night as well as the predicted first measurable snow storm of the year.  It is usually a good time to get some stitching/sewing done and I'm planning a Sunday of crafting for myself while the guys enjoy their sports on tv.