Moving on

So how was your Christmas??? Ours was quiet but nice, we had a leisurely day followed by a yummy Christmas feast. Then whoosh... time to get ready for our after dinner guests! The past few years friends of our Sons started coming over after their day with family, to relax, lol :) We play games, have lots of appetizers, laughter and fun. Jerry and I really look forward to this growing tradition, they are the nicest group of young adults and we really enjoy their company.

Now it's time to think about putting Christmas away. Cleo will miss the tree and excitement. I am however ready to move on, just itching to tackle new and some old projects.

I've brought my rug hooking out, I started hooking this rug nearly 6 years ago, I think it will be a good project to have on hand during the long winter months ahead.

Today I finished my drawing for "March" Annie and will start stitching her up. I sure miss sitting outside to stitch, maybe I should purchase a nice Ott light and bring the "sun" indoors. Wow, can't believe I'm getting so close to a finish on my calendar quilt, only 1 more block to design and then I get to sew her all together!

Tomorrow I'll be running errands all day and Friday cooking dinner for friends.

So I'll leave you all with early wishes for a very Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to you!

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, dear family and friends.

We hope your day is filled with the wonder and magic of this very special day.

Magic that gathers memories to hold dear to your heart.

We wish we were with you and not so far away.

Know that memories of you will dance through our heads as sugar plums do,

while we laugh and enjoy your "company" today.

Love,

Barbie Jo, Jerry, Jon and Cleo

Santas Helpers

Santa's little helpers, known as Elves to us, what do you think of these; creepy or cute? I have a collection of vintage elves, made in Japan during the 50s they were very popular Christmas decorations. I always thought they were cute, my children however never shared my fondness and thought they were creepy! But it seems to me these Elves regained their popularity a few years ago with "The Elf On The Shelf" children's book. What a cute book, it comes with its own elf who looks very similar to my vintage ones. Of course I bought a copy several years ago for my grandsons. The elf in the story reports back to Santa on whether you've been good or bad! My daughter and her hubby have fun moving the elf around to a different location each night so it can better keep an eye on the boys.

What reminded me of the elves this evening was my daughters post on Facebook earlier today.

She overheard the boys having a serious Elf discussion. Alex (age 6) was concerned "Elfie" was not real. William (age 5) replied " he doesn't even blink and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a brain".

LOL..... gotta love it!

Baby it's cold outside!

Our 1st blast of winter arrived this weekend along with a visit with our daughter Erin, her hubby and my pumpkins from Oklahoma. We saw our 1st snow fall and bitter cold weather, temps in the teens with lows in the single digits. Definitely weather to find indoor activities. My helpers and I spent a good part of the weekend baking. Friday afternoon we rolled out and baked the cut out cookies. Saturday we made a big bowl of icing, put on some Christmas music and got busy decorating them.

And here lies the end result :) The boys are excellent helpers, we had lots of fun chatting and sprinkling. I won't show you a picture of under the table because whoa... William is really wild with those sprinkles LOL!

Erin and her family had made the long drive so they could attend Jons graduation from KU on Sunday! We are very proud of his hard work and achievement, such a special day. After the ceremony we had a celebratory dinner in Lawrence. And not only did Jon graduate, but William turned 5 and we had a birthday to celebrate besides, a very full day!

Another weekend flown right on by and my house feels really quiet today. Back to business as usual. I plan on attempting one last swoop to finish my shopping this week, I am so behind.

Maybe get a little sewing time in later this week, I have lots of pretty new fabric calling my name. Here's the little tree in my sewing room, gosh I just noticed, we need some tiny lights Cleo! Have a happy week and stay warm!

It's me... Cleo!

Cleo here, I am taking over the blog for Barbie Jo this week who is running around like a chicken with her head cut off. More about that later! Well you may think I do nothing around here but sleep and eat, but let me tell you I have been one busy cat! I take this Christmas thing purrrrsonally and have my own decking the halls to do. First of all I had to hang my stocking, right next to my furless brothers where it always goes. I can't wait to see what Santa puts inside it this year. I usually get some catnip mice but I'll tell you Santa, that stuff makes me a little dizzy now that I am getting up there in the years, maybe you could just leave treats, tuna flavor would be nice.

Next I slid Barbie Jo's old vase thing over, the one with the wild earrings, and put this pretty kitten vase there instead :)

Then I went and hung all my ornaments on the tree. You used to get these every year from Fancy Feast labels and a dollar or two. I had to eat a lot of Fancy Feast to get these! Awwwww... this one is cute.

Another Fancy Feast ornament, I love it's sparkly wings, very angelic...... like me.

Then I clipped all the birds to branches, don't you love it's nice long tail feather?

Last but not least I placed my tree skirt under the tree. Years ago I used to climb the tree. Then I went through a period of nesting on the bottom branches which would explain why they are droopy now. Lately I am content to just lay on my tree skirt and gaze up at the twinkly lights and shiny things.

I also braved the crowds yesterday and did a little shopping. Now I ask you, who would not want these darling little socks!

And then I changed my food bowl to something more festive. Doesn't food always taste better in a pretty bowl? Perhaps a nice Christmas place mat underneath would add an extra nice touch don't you think?

And now I am all worn out. Sheesh, typing with your paws really does take a long time.

So whats Barbie Jo all in a dither about? Well..... her daughter & Hubby and Grandsons from Oklahoma are coming to visit. She calls them her little Pumpkins but quite frankly I don't see what all the fuss is about. To tell you the truth they make me nervous. They are very fast and I have to worry about getting my tail stepped on and stuff. On the other hand they are kind of fascinating and I like to watch William play with his trains. William by the way turns 5 on Sunday, Alex is 6!

And Sunday is going to be a really big day here, no not just because it's Williams birthday. It has something to do with my furless brother over at KU. Hmmmmmmm.

So anyways, that's the scoop for now.

Oh, and before I go I want to congratulate my fur cousin in Dallas who had 5 fur babies yesterday! Phew, now that sounds like a lot of work.

Off to find a pile of blankets...

XXXOOOOO Cleo

Are you ready???

Fa la la la la, la la la la! Are you in the mood yet? Christmas is bearing down upon us now, full speed ahead, ready or not here it comes!

I made a little progress this past week, how about you? Out came the Christmas totes, unpacked my treasures one by one. So fun to see them, after a year in hibernation it is like renewing old friendships.

One of my favorite decorations is this very old head vase. A Howard Holt design popular during the 50's I love the whimsical look of all his pieces. Isn't she darling, love those earrings and little pearl necklace, she makes me smile!

The tree is up but bare of ornaments. I brought those boxes down from my closet today. I mostly decorate my tree with German glass ornaments and balls, but have a box of home crafted and special ones that are mixed in. Gotta love a "raisin man" :) Our son made him over 20 years ago, and can you believe those raisin eyes are still in place! Doesn't this picture look like a good puzzle picture? Tomorrow I will be "dressing" the tree.

And getting the treat boxes ready to mail and wrapping gifts! My sewing table has now turned in to the gift wrap station and is covered with boxes, paper and ribbons. I love to wrap presents, I love to make them look special and fun or pretty!

This afternoon Hubby and I did a little shopping, the next 2 weekends are only going to get more crazy out there so we decided we had best do as much as we could today. We had a lot of fun and conquered a good portion of the list. On the way home we stopped for dinner at the new Chinese Buffet. Eeeeeeek! I'm telling you... only for the love of my Hubby cause I am just a plain old roast beef and potatoes type girl! His plate did look pretty though... if you like things with antenna and beady little eyes and all LOL!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by. I have a busy week coming up because next Sunday is going to be a VERY special day........