Oh, you better watch out!

I'm finally feeling like Christmas after the past few days of holiday doin's!  We drug the tree upstairs from the basement (wish I had a picture of that ... but probably wasn't a pretty sight) along with all the decorations and got the house & tree decorated.  It looks pretty good!  It's our second year for this tall pencil tree and it's taken some getting used to, but I like it better this year.  Had a mystery; I call it the strange disappearance of Santa Claus.  I have this little antique red and green wagon I put all the bottle trees in and a small jolly old stuffed St. Nick sits in the driver's seat.  Well, he's disappeared.  I'm sure he's around here somewhere but for now the driver's seat is empty.  I tell you, it's just not right without him there!!!

Friday a group of women met at our friend Jan's house.  We hook and sew together each month.  Had a wonderful day of visiting, eating, and making a feather tree together.  [I'll slip a picture of my tree in here when I have it completed.]  Our bud Margo prepared all of the kits for us!  All we had to provide was the wool, glue & scissors.  What a task for Margo ... but she did a great job of herding us through the process.  I think I was the only 'problem child' that day (and I'm usually no bother at all!)  Jan's house was beautifully decorated for Christmas and it was a treat to be there. 

P.S. -- Here's my feather tree, completed yesterday ... Yeah!

Then on Saturday our rug hooking guild had their holiday luncheon at the Gasthof in Montgomery.  It was really a fun day for me.  Everyone there was fun to be with and it was just relaxed and enjoyable.  And of course I ate WAY too much.  (I love, love, love their soft-serve ice cream.)  On the way home I checked out the thrift shop in Worthington and scored some really ugly pink and black fabric to weave with!  Yeah!  We had our first light snow that day and it just made me feel like "Christmas is coming!" inside.  Plus, our little church is so beautifully decorated for Christmas!  The theme this year is red and gold and it looks so good.  Next Sunday we'll get treats and I'm going to pass out the history I wrote and had printed.  Yeah ... another project out of my head!

Here's some of the hookers at the Gasthof, visiting after lunch.

This is the Christmas exchange gift I received.  Cute little snowmen coasters from Libby Calven.

This is the needlepunch gift I made for the exchange; Sue took this home. (I think I'm taking needlepunch projects with me to fill my spare time this winter ...)

Let's see ... what else?  Oh - here's my newly painted front door.  I'm wishing I had painted it some pretty color (other than the original white) YEARS ago!  I really like the way it makes the entrance to our home look.  

One day a couple weeks ago Wendell went up Griffith Road and got a big load of new rails for our old (20+ years) split-rail fence.  The posts were all sound except the end post.  In the a.m. we took the old rotting rails out and Wendell sawed them in thirds.  I hauled them to the burn pile and got it started.  Then in the afternoon he put in the new end post and completed the entire project!  Can't believe we got so much done in one day.  I just helped in the a.m., so it was all on him.  So proud.  He's like the energizer bunny, he just keeps on tickin'.

After we got the old rails out.  It goes back and over the hill ...

Starting to put the new rails in.

A portion of the completed fence!  I love that the rustic look is still there, even with "new" rails.

I did finally finish my "Two Roosters" antique reproduction rug.  It's in place in front of the kitchen sink.  So far so good (I do have this shuffler in the house, but I won't name names ...).  It's working out better than the woven rag rug I had there.  And I like the way it looks, too.

Well, I've blathered on long enough.  Just wanted you to know what I've been up to lately.  Especially I'm thinking of Christmas.  I'm hoping for temperate weather, good health for one and all, and safe travels to all the people who are going out on the highways this December.  

God bless us, every one.