Post-Thanksgiving

I’m still enjoying all the memories and things said over our Thanksgiving holiday.  Really I think that Thanksgiving is one of my favorites as it’s a time to pause and give thanks and enjoy one another. 

 

I’ll admit that our holiday had a lot of this little lady and every one of us enjoyed that.  Even spending three days at our house we never once saw her pout or do any sort of meltdown.  Truly she’s just fun to be with.  I will admit though that one night when it was the two of us sharing a bed, well, I ended up sleeping at a diagonal because she’d moved quite a bit during the night. Wouldn’t have changed a thing about it though. 

 

And we had a LOT of food!  This picture is a little out of focus, I think because we were shaking with anticipation.

 

There was even time for some serious play in the leaves.  I *love* the sound of a little one tromping and running through leaves.  And she *loved* the sound as well and laughed a lot while she was doing it.

Now as we pack away the pumpkins and scarecrows, the orange and rust colored candlesticks and tablecloths, it’s time to look ahead and enjoy the next holiday!

Mother Daughter Pedicure

I had the MOST FUN day with my daughter on Saturday!  And you can thank me now for not showing pictures of my feet – LOL!

We met at a new to me”nail bar” in the morning for pedicures.  This place was unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before as they do so much more than painting toenails.

Lynne’ and I sat in the pedi chairs and lowered our feet into the whirlpool bath.  The ladies did the filing and such, then proceeded to do a foot massage!  My lands that was the most wonderful thing EVER!

Then came the best part.  Because I have dry skin they ordered up the milk and honey for me, which meant the lady mixed up a concoction of a milk, honey and oatmeal, then slathered on my legs up to my knees.  Next she wrapped each leg in saran wrap, then wrapped a hot towel around them.  Oh it was pure bliss I tell you!  We sat like that for a bit, then they unwrapped us, washed it off, and did a foot and leg massage.  The finishing touch was the polish – I chose OPI Red and Lynne’ chose OPI Catch Me In Your Net which turned out so fun and pretty!

We left the nail bar and went out to a new Pho restaurant for lunch.  It was fun to look down at our toes and see the red and glittery green looking up – it made us smile.

There really is nothing like a Mother Daughter day.  And I’m already looking forward to the next time we go there!  

Painting the Master Bedroom

Sometimes I get amazed at how slow we are to get things done.  Really I think what it is is that we dearly love the talking it over process so much that we hate for it to end once we do whatever we’re talking over! <—Hope that made sense!

But finally we’re ready to paint the master bedroom.  Most of the other rooms in the house that we’ve painted have gone from white to a bold color like barely gray or lightest brown.  But this time we’re really stepping outside our comfort zone with an actual bold paint color.

 

I’m feeling good about it though because the paint companies have gotten so smart and now sell little sample bottles of paint.  The color I chose is Glidden Spiced Gingerbread and for three dollars we got enough paint to cover about a two foot square.  Took quite a little bit to get it painted though because we used the half inch paintbrush that came in the bottle. 

 

We did the swatch on the wall on Monday night and have loved it more each day, so we figure it’s a go.  Bright and early tomorrow we plan to get up and paint the day away!

Frugal Fall Centerpiece

We had the final night of our Mentorship Class at church this week and I know we’re going to miss it.  When we walked into the classroom all the tables were decorated for fall and it looked so festive.

The main reason I wanted to post this is – look at the pumpkins/apples/fruits sitting at the base of the scarecrow.  Y’all those are toilet paper rolls that have been covered with a square of fabric!  The ‘stem’ was cardboard and they have green felt leaves and little green pipe cleaner curly-q’s on them.  It’s really too late to get any done for this year, but they were so cute I’m thinking it might be a great thing to have next year.

So cute and so inexpensive.  And the best part – you really wouldn’t have anything to store because all you’d have to do is uncover that roll and put it too good use!!!  

Mission Crafts Ministry–Dishcloths

Last night the Mission Crafts Ministry met up at the church and of course we had a wonderful time.  The more I meet with these ladies the more I fall in love with them.  Their giving hearts and ready laughter can life a spirit better than anything.

Our project for Thanksgiving and Christmas is to knit dishcloths to include in our food baskets that will be distributed.  The “guidelines” were to either knit or crochet any pattern, any color and any size – we like to stay loose with rules. 

I’m happy to say that we’ve met the Thanksgiving number goal and are heading towards Christmas now!  It was so much fun to look through the cloths that were brought last night and see all the different colors and textures.  We have a card maker that is going to make a gift card to go along with each dishcloth as well.  Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures at all of the pile of dishcloths last night, but will try to remember to do so at Christmas.

We also started knitting Tribbles last night and that has turned out to be fun!  One small ball of Sugar n Cream yarn will make a Grandmother’s Favorite dishcloth and a Tribble, thus making us able to really utilize all the yarn we have.

 

Speaking of yarn, if anybody is thinking about starting a similar ministry at their church I would encourage you to let the congregation, and your family, know that you will be needing yarn and needles.  We put the call out to the congregation and people are cleaning out closets and bringing yarn to us.  And the basket above came from my mother-in-law – she bought it and the package of needles at an estate sale.  The yarn is two layers deep and I’ll bet there’s 50 or so knitting needles and crochet hooks in the package.  What a great blessing to have supplies available to us!

Friday’s Fave Five #113

Happy, happy Friday y’all!  I have had such a wonderful, contented week and my heart is so full of joy.  I love when we finally listen to the Lord and put stress and junk aside and just enjoy all there is.  Head over to Susanne’s to see more Friday Faves and be blessed!

1. Keith and I have added Bible reading and a devotion time at our dinner table every night.  There really is nothing as intimate as spending this time with your beloved.  We take turns reading the Bible and the devotion aloud, then spend time talking about the readings.  It is an amazing time together.

2. I celebrated a birthday on Wednesday!  That night at our Mentorship Class at church they all sang Happy Birthday to me and that was the most touching thing ever.  All those faces that I’ve come to love and cherish singing to me.  A very special time.

3. Last night we went to dinner with all the kids to celebrate my birthday.  Good times indeed!  Little Bit was her excited 3 year old self and so happy to be with everybody.  She got out of their truck when they arrived and ran over to me holding a card high in the air.  “Grandma, grandma  - this is for you!”  What a delight.  Looking around the table last night at these special faces – I felt so blessed. 

4. Tuesday night was the monthly meeting for the Dallas Hand Knitters Guild and I got to catch up with a friend I haven’t seen in some time.  Another friend of ours is doing the program through next month – a knit along lace shawl.  I’ve got the yarn to do a shawl for me, but knew I had several baby blankets to knit during this time, so to keep up I’m doing the doll sized version.  My doll is going to be quite styling with her knitted lace with beads shawl when it’s all said and done.  :)

5. I had said for a couple of weeks that this year we wouldn’t hand out candy on Halloween because I didn’t need the leftovers here to tempt me.  At the very last minute we ran up to the store and bought a ginormous bag of candy and I am so glad we did!  We didn’t have a lot of kids come to the door, but the ones we had were absolutely darling and I enjoyed seeing them and visiting with their moms.  In between the doorbell rings Keith and I were watching the World Series on TV and I was knitting.  Can an evening get any better than that?

Lace Shell Stitch Baby Afghan

Just finished the last of the baby blankets that I’ve been knitting.  Knitting a baby blanket is truly a soul satisfying project for me.  Just thinking of the new life coming, praying for health and happiness, remembering what it what like waiting for the baby to arrive – it all adds up to a happy feeling.

 

 

This blanket was for the daughter of a dear friend of mine – her first baby!  Obviously from the color they knew they were having a boy.  :)

 

 

The yarn is Bernat Baby Sport in the Funny Prints colorway and I used exactly one skein (it’s one of the great big skeins).  The pattern is from my mom – she used the Lace Shell Stitch and added the borders.

This is another baby blanket that I’m very pleased with.  I washed the blanket before gifting – naturally – and the yarn softened up and is very cuddly.  Can’t wait to receive a picture of Baby Sidney with the blanket!

 

** Linking to Get Your Craft On