Cookies

Here's all the baking I did!  I made allot of cookies and gave out 12 goody bags as gifts this year.  Then I saved out some to keep and took the rest to my sister's where I spent a couple nights; Christmas Eve thru Sunday morning the 26th.  I also made a batch of Rice Krispie treats but didn't get a picture.

We might get some frost tonight and since my plants are all out on the driveway and not close to the house, the more fragile ones may not make it but when I got home tonight, I wrapped my Plumeria (Hawaiian) plant in bubble wrap hoping it won't suffer too much.

I didn't get the tutorial finished like I hoped I would.  Seems I have some super woman complex and think I can do more than I can!!  We were busy at the shop right up to the last days before Christmas with gift-wrapping and shipping.  I did get the pics done so I may get around to posting it this weekend.  Better late than never.  I'm taking the 3 day weekend and it'll be nice to have time to crochet and relax.

We had rain again yesterday and it seems it's always a bit slower at the shop when it rains so we decided to put away all the holiday decor and inventory.  This is the earliest we've ever done that.  Feels great having it done.  When I stopped by the grocery store this morning before work, there wasn't a single holiday item to be seen anywhere!  But guess what I saw?  VALENTINE CANDY. 

Spritz butter cookies using a press

Bar cookies, sorta tasted like choc chip cookies.  Guess who took a bite?

Two kinds of fudge and candied pecans up on the left

Peppermint meltaway cookies

Swedish cardamom spice refrigerator cookies

Swedish Glogg a concentrated spice drink to mix with juice or spirits

Wrapped up ready to give to my UPS, Fedex, and DHL drivers

Thanks for stopping by...I'll write again soon...

Merry Christmas!

Hello...I wish you a very joyful day and hope that you're able to spend it with your loved ones or enjoy doing something you like to do!

 

Our Christmas cactus in bloom

                                 PEACE

And The Rain Comes Down

 Where is the sun?  It has been raining on and off for 5 days, gray, gray, gray.  It's become an unwanted visitor.  Sneaking into the crevices where it doesn't belong.  It has gone into places that I didn't want it to.  At the shop's back door, the carpet gets wet, and the ceiling where we thought we fixed it last spring it has gone there again.  Now I'm glad we didn't replace the ceiling tiles yet.  Drat, drat, drat it has come into my back room, a new ceiling leak!

The new leak :(

A new storm is supposed to be here tomorrow.  All I can say is now they can stop saying "DROUGHT".  I foresee more painting in my future.

I've been wrapping up the last of my gifts.  I'm putting together gift bags right now for my delivery men (Fedex, UPS and DHL), the real "SANTAS"!  I'll post pics soon.

Hope you are warm and DRY wherever you are, enjoying the season, being festive and eating chocolate or whatever floats your boat!  Have fun! oxoxox

Lights

Howdy! 
Hope your festivities are under way and you've been able to get all the gifts that you had planned on getting for those you love.  I've been trying to take some pictures of the busy corner near where I live that has a lighted holiday display.  We don't seem to get to stop at the light and be first in line where we would have a clear view of it so I keep taking pics as we pass by and even though you can't make out what is actually there the pics are kinda interesting to look at, IMHO!! 

There's only one tree, it's fake and really big!

I like this last one.  The lights look kinda like seagulls. 

I'm taking a break from my marathon baking right now.  I'm making cookies and some candy to give out to friends and customers and some to take to the family on Christmas day.  As I was sliding cookies off the sheet to cool, I was thinkin' of my blogging friends and then of all the women and men, too who are probably busily making treats for others just like I'm doing and that's cool!  Then I thought of blogging and so here I am.

It's been raining steadily since yesterday, late morning and that is ALLOT of rain for us.  It's a tropical storm so it's not very cold just allot of wet.  There is always a possibility of flooding when we get so much rain all at once so hopefully everyone will be ok.  It's nice to be sheltered and indoors baking...comfy and cozy. 

I haven't finished my other crochet projects but I've been having fun making snowflakes and creating different patterns as I go along.  Blocking them has made a big difference in how they look.  I got some spray starch and they look so much better.  I want to make a bunting of snowflakes so I just keep making them.  Wonderful mindless activity for sure!!!!

Hope you're cozy and warm and doing whatcha like best.  Hugs to you, Annie

Snowflakes That Won't Melt

It was very warm yesterday, about 84 degrees so I worked in the yard for awhile. Sure doesn't seem like Christmas in a couple weeks!  It was too warm to make holiday cookies and fudge and I wasn't in the mood to sweat while making candy so I just have to do it in the evenings this week and next weekend.  I made some more snowflakes last night but it felt like I should've been working on a summer tote instead.  These are the ONLY snowflakes that we'll ever have where I live...

Click on the pics to see them larger.

Here's the crocheted snowflakes that I made using this pattern here.  I got the idea to make them from Clara and you can see hers here.  I didn't put the googly eyes or the face on them although they are cute like that, mine are plain. The first pic, I used fuzzy yarn with a size I hook and then for the photo, laid it on the piece of paper I was testing my new punch tool on.  The corners are tricky but I love the scalloped edge, it looks like eyelet lace.

In the second photo for the larger one (about 5" wide), I used a strand of worsted yarn and Vanna's tinsel yarn (the name is Glamour a #2 fine yarn, color: Diamond) together with a K hook .  I used a G hook for the smallest one (about 2.5" wide), using a single strand of Glamour yarn and played around with the pattern a bit and did a back post single crochet stitch in the center stitches just to see the result and the stitch looks raised and more defined.  I like it either way.  I added a chain of about 18 sts. to make the loop so it could hang on the tree.

Here is the first true flower of the peach rose since it got transplanted into the new garden.  It had a few weird ones and I think what caused it was transplant shock.  This bloom took forever to open up.  It seems to have a petal missing but it was just stuck upwards and I hope that rose bush does better in the spring.  I don't prune my roses until mid January, that way I have a few blooms through the end of the year.

 

The 2 smaller ones in front are my new minis and they're blooming now.

The mini flowers are about the size of a dime.

I'd better get back to work. Hope you all have a very merry week and thanks for stopping by.

Shopping and Shop

Howdy!  I finished my holiday shopping last Sunday; 7 hours from leaving the driveway to arriving home.  Tired? Yes.  Glad I was DONE? Yes-siree!  Now I can concentrate on helping bring the holidays under control for others with gift wrapping, packing and shipping.  We haven't been super busy at least not yet, which is a sign of this economy right now.

While out shopping on Sunday about midday I grabbed a cup of coffee and I sat down on a bench outside next to a lady that was not social at all.  As I was sipping my coffee it went down the wrong way and I started to cough and choke...eyes bulging out and tearing up and so glad that I didn't ya know, upchuck...luckily it was just a small amount but I kept having to cough and then she got up and left, like in a huff.  She didn't even ask me if I was ok.  After I got my composure back I was walking past a lady that had left the store and had 3 boxes stacked above the cart and she was headed down the small ramp so I asked if I could help her and while doing so I just did by reaching out to keep the boxes steady.  She acted like I might, heck I don't know, mug her or something?  Then when I didn't seem too threatening, she thanked me.  I was trying to be friendly and in the holiday spirit and most people were not, a few were.  I did have a nice/happy sales cashier lady at Michaels.  Los Angeles used to be more friendly, what happened???

Here is a pic of our shop tree with the couple of new items I got from Target that I wrote about a couple of posts ago.  The star on top is actually a hanging ornament with glitter and rhinestones held on with a twist tie and then I purchased a string of iridescent light bulbs instead of using the mini-lights.  I should have bought two strands but I was thinking it would be enough, either that or I'm cheap!  The stockings you see on the tree can hold a gift card.

Here's a couple shots of the shop all ready for Christmas.

I got a couple of gifts for the shop from Michaels since I had a couple of coupons that were burning a hole in my pocket.  Really these are for me but I got them to make fancy edges on the signs that I make for the shop but I'll also use them for card making.  While I was at Michaels I also picked up some of Vanna's tinsel yarn to make the crochet snowflakes that Clara was showing us on her blog.  They are easy and fun to make and I'll post some pix soon.

Hope your holiday shopping and baking is going well for you and you are getting in the spirit of the season!  Take care and I hope to post soon!

Holiday Time

Hi There, it's been awhile since I last posted.  My poor shop was seriously and I mean it, really in need of CLEANING.  Yes, I put out all the holiday inventory and decorated this week but first I needed to clean up.  I've spent so much time browsing the net and visiting all the lovely blogs and have neglected my daily chores.  Before (fast) internet, my shop was OH so much more clean and organized.  I worked hard this week doing my best to make the shop very inviting.  I'll post a few pics soon and I still really want to post a couple tutorials, too.  Here's hoping I make more sales this year!

Here are some pix of Thanksgiving at my brother's in Alta Loma which is part of Rancho Cucamonga, CA.  He has a mini farm and it was a bit like being out in the country for a day.  It was very relaxing and great seeing everyone.

Looking North to Mt. Baldy, he has snow!

 

 

 

Hello!

I tried to get a pic of the chickens but as soon as the new dog arrived they went into hiding! 

They have the new fangled Iris, the kind that bloom more than once a year.

Well, that's it for now.  I'm going to go and crochet awhile.  Have a lovely weekend!