Felt Like Knitting

Christmas greetings

Are things getting busy for you?  It's busy around here and I figure this is my last chance to write before Christmas.  Here's a list of what's been going on.

I've been sick.  S had bronchitis so when I started feeling bad, I got to the doctor pretty quickly.  It's currently a viral respiratory infection, but I'm now armed with a prescription for antibiotics in case it turns nasty.  I've been resting so I'm feeling better but I still sound awful.  I used to think having a cold wasn't bad because I sounded like Lauren Bacall.  Now I think I just sound gross.  :)

My daughter was in a wedding reenactment for a local historic house.  She was a bridesmaid and wore a dressed styled after those from the 1850's.  As soon as the evening was over, all the girls changed as quickly as they could.  Apparently things weren't very comfy back in the olden days.

My mom was here for ten days and we had a great time.  I was only sick for the last couple days of her stay, so we were able to get out to do things.  Sometimes Mom has a lot of back pain but she seemed great this time.

As my mom was walking out the door, my in-laws came in.  They were on their way from FL to OH and stopped here for the night.  We all thought it was funny that they arrived at the exact time my mom was leaving.  It was nice for them to say hello to each other.

I've been wanting to make marshmallows for a while now and Leslie's post pushed me over the edge.  They were a breeze to make with our new KitchenAid.  Everyone has loved them and I have to say they taste good.  They're just a little too sweet for me.

My mom and I made hot chocolate mix while she was here.  We changed recipes from her tried-and-true version and we shouldn't have.  I don't like the new mix as much, but that could be because I can't taste much of anything right now.

Two of my friends recently learned to make needle felted ornaments.  Their ornaments are so great!  "E" and "L" also took a wet felted rug class at the folk school.  I gave them the leftover wool from my spinning.  "L" gave some wool back to me in the form three ornaments!  I just love these and they look great on the tree!

I'll close now by wishing you all a blessed Christmas!  I'll try to write before the end of the year.  Where did 2008 go?!
 

Are stripy Christmas trees in this year?

                                        

If not, I think I'll start a new trend.  I could live with the dimness in some of the strands of lights.  You can't really tell when you're in the room (like you can in the picture).  But I think I'm going to have to fix the section that decided to go out completely.  I've replaced some of the bulbs but can't determine the problem.  Unless you all think it's a good look for a tree...

Today we're supposed to have bad storms - tornado watches, flash flood watches, street flooding.  Yikes!  I signed up for weather.com's free weather alerts to be sent to my email and cell phone.  It's good to know what to watch for today.

Christmas cards

I don't usually use my blog to rant, but I am going to indulge today.  The topic:  Christmas cards.

When perusing the card aisle at most stores, it is easy to find "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" cards.  There seem to be lots of snowman or ornament cards.  Funny cards are available.  Do you want folksy cards, elegant cards, or nature-inspired cards?  No problem!  But if you are looking for a card with the name Jesus on it somewhere...well, you are out of luck.

What aggravates me about this is that this is what Christmas is - a celebration of the birth of Jesus.  I don't mind people sending other kinds of cards and I enjoy receiving them.  But why is it so hard for me to find a card that mentions the name of the person it's all about?!

I usually have better luck at WalMart but I don't always like the way their cards look.  So this morning I stopped in at Target to take a look.  There were at least eight beautiful religious cards to choose from.  Did any of them use Jesus' name?  No.  One of them even said something like "Let us give praise to the one to whom it is due."  Well, who would that be?  Please tell us in the card.

There were two other slots for religious cards where the cards were gone.  Maybe those cards dared to say the name of Jesus and someone bought them all.  I might check out another Target just to see.  I'm even tempted to write to let Target know how I feel.

I hope you all have a nice day.  I'll be searching for Christmas cards.

Menu Plan Monday - December 8

                                            

This week is super busy so most of my menu will have things that are quick to prepare.

Monday:  Cubed steaks and gravy, rice, roasted sweet potatoes

Tuesday:  "Brupper" (breakfast for supper)

Wednesday:  Chicken and pasta (chicken already cut up in freezer), vegetable 

Thursday:  Shepherd's pie, salad, fruit

Friday:  Soup and sandwiches

Saturday:  Eat out or order in

Sunday:  BBQ pork or chicken sandwiches (already in freezer), cole slaw, potatoes

Menu Plan Monday from Orgjunkie.com

We had a fun evening at church last night.  It was the annual decorating of the sanctuary + potluck dinner.  Usually the women of the church do this, but this year we had several groups pitch in and it was fun.  I'd never been to the event and I was surprised by how enjoyable it was.  One of my friends sings very well (she used to be a recording artist in the Philippines) and she provided the entertainment.  Then we sang some Christmas carols which was nice, too.  My favorite part of the potluck was the cupcakes because they were topped with crushed mini candy canes.  Yum!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Did you do anything fun?

Handmade gift tags

                                         

A couple of months ago, I got together with my card making friend.  She is so helpful and creative and she has so many tools and stamps.  Working with her is always a treat!  Whenever I leave, I have a mental list of things I "need."  This last time, it was this Cuttlebug Die Cutter and Embosser among other things.  That night I got an email from my friend saying that her daughter had found one on the clearance shelf while they were in Michael's.  They were able to buy me a Cuttlebug for very little money and I was so excited and thankful.

Then I wanted some of these dies to go with my machine.  I mean, how can you use a die cutter without dies, right?  So I ordered the Petite Ovals Set from Cut @ Home.  (I can totally recommend this company!  They are across the country from me and I had my dies in about 2 days.  When you sign up, you get a coupon to use so the dies aren't nearly as expensive that way.)

So I had my die cutter and my dies, what to make?  Gift tags from old Christmas cards!  These were the perfect way to learn to use my machine and dies.  I was able to practice without putting a lot of time into a single project like a card.  Sure, all of the gift tags are oval, but next year there will be different shapes as I add more dies.

Christmas questionnaire, part 2

                                        

Right after I posted the questionnaire yesterday, I got an email from a friend with the same list.  But it has some more questions on it.  Then today Carole had the extra questions on her blog, too.  I feel compelled to add those questions.  So here they are...

24.  Angel or star on top tree:  Angel
25.  Favorite meal:  On Christmas Eve we have rigatoni or stuffed shells, ham, potatoes, etc.  So on Christmas Day we have leftovers and we relax.  One year my husband cooked a standing rib roast and it was fabulous.

I'm gradually getting the decorations up.  Yesterday I hung the wreath on the door, hung the garland on the stairs, and strung more lights on the tree.  I made a run for lights so now I can hopefully finish.  I seem to run short every year.  My mom is coming soon and I'd like to get the decorating done before she gets here so we can have more time together.

Christmas questionnaire

I saw this questionnaire on Molly's blog and thought I'd do one, too.  Play along if you'd like - I'd love to see your answers.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  Wrapping paper.  I love to wrap presents! 
   
2. Real tree or Artificial?  Artificial - I love real trees but the fire hazard worries me.
   
3. When do you put up the tree?  It varies.  We've already started putting it up this year. 
   
4. When do you take the tree down?  It depends on whether we have company or not.  It's usually down close to New Year's Day. 
   
5. Do you like eggnog?  I do, but I don't drink it often.
   
6. Favorite gift received as a child?  My Little House on the Prairie book set.  I still have it and read the series to my daughter when she was younger.  Next semester I'm going to be teaching an enrichment class based on the first book.  I love those books!  And I remember my mom helping me make book plates to put inside the book covers.  Very special.
   
7. Hardest person to buy for?  I guess that would be my in-laws.  They don't really need anything so we usually give them restaurant gift cards.  Although, that makes it pretty easy...
   
8. Easiest person to buy for?  My daughter and my husband.  They both keep up-to-date wishlists.  :)
   
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep!  We have lots of them.
   
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  Mail.  Here's a tip for you:  CVS has a deal right now where you can get up to 50 prints free.  We did that and the photos look good.  And free is good.  :) 
    
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  I don't really  remember any bad Christmas gifts.  But in the 3rd grade Christmas present swap I got a weird looking doll instead of the box of LIfesavers that I really wanted.
    
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  Gee, I don't really know.  I haven't watched all of the popular ones.  This isn't really a Christmas movie, but I did enjoy The Family Stone from a few years ago.
    
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  Late November to early December.  If I'm making presents, I make them throughout the year.
    
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  I don't think so.  I'd be too worried that the person who gave it to me would find out.
    
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Peppermint anything - candy canes, ice cream, mints, chocolates, Trader Joes cookies, and so on...  But it has to be good peppermint, not the yucky artificial stuff.  Oh, just today I tried a Peppermint Chocolate Chip shake at Chick-fil-A.  Yum!
    
16. Lights on the tree?  White mini lights and lots of them
    
17. Favorite Christmas song?  Just one?!  I can't pick just one and I don't know that I have a favorite.  One of my favorites to listen to is Do You Hear What I Hear by Third Day.  I love their whole Christmas Offerings CD.
    
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  We almost always stay home.
    
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?  You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.  But do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all?  Rudolph!
    
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  We open one on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning.  My mom and dad did this with me and my brothers when we were young.
    
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?  Traffic and too many people in the grocery stores.
    
22. Favorite ornament theme or color?  I don't have a favorite ornament theme or color, but I love decorating with natural things.
    
23. What do you want for Christmas this year?  I don't have anything special picked out, but knitting and cardmaking supplies are always nice. 
24. Angel or star on top tree:  Angel
25. Favorite meal:  On Christmas Eve we have rigatoni or stuffed shells, ham, potatoes, etc.  So on Christmas Day we have leftovers and relax.  One year my husband made a standing rib roast and it was fabulous.

Three Cups of Tea

Back in September, I wrote about what I was reading and asked what everyone else was reading.  Caitlyn said that she had enjoyed Three Cups of Tea so I reserved it at my local library.  It took a while to come in because I was pretty far down on the list.  No wonder it's so popular - what a fantastic book!

Three Cups of Tea tells the story of Greg Mortenson's efforts to build schools in Pakistan.  As you might imagine, this is not an easy task but it is one he has done well.  It seems that most people in Pakistan embrace Greg's idea and work with him to make positive changes to their country.  But not all folks agree with his vision.  The book recounts many adverse encounters in his travels which is part of the reason I couldn't put it down.  "What's going to happen next?!"

If you only have time for one link, go here.  It's the homepage of the Central Asia Institute, the organization which financially backs the building of schools and community centers in Pakistan.  There you'll find Journey of Hope, a web book (PDF) that explains what's been happening since the end of Three Cups of Tea.  It will give you a feel for what's going on, but I still recommend reading TCoT!

Menu Plan Monday - December 1

                                       

I may have mentioned before that my friend Molly posts weekly menus on her blog.  I've been trying to create weekly menus and now I'm going to step it up a notch.  This week I'm trying to create dinners for $5 or less.  This isn't a new idea - check out $5 Dinners.  This site is inspiring and the author has lots of good ideas and recipes.  I'm not sure I have the dedication to actually calculate the cost of each meal, but I am going to be mindful of it.  The great banner above and the Menu Plan Monday idea are compliments of I'm an Organizing Junkie.  I'm looking forward to checking out her site soon.

So here it goes - my weekly $5 dinner menu plan for the week:

Monday - Beef stroganoff (will make enough for two meals), noodles, applesauce, salad, rice pudding  (The cost is probably higher than $5, but most of these things were already in the house.  So I actually will spend about $2.)

Tuesday - Burritos (rice and lentil filling for me and E, traditional for S), salad

Wednesday - Turkey and pasta, vegetable

Thursday - Scalloped potatoes and franks (not the healthiest dish, but I have hot dogs in the freezer), sweet potatoes

Friday - Pizza or leftovers, salad (Pizza is supposed to be the 1 cent item at Publix this week.)

Saturday - BBQ pork/BBQ chicken sandwiches (from freezer), Betty Crocker potatoes, cole slaw

Sunday - potluck at church (taking deviled eggs)

What are you making this week?