L and I are working on our Christmas gifts. Here is a bird ornament we made this morning. (sorry to all of you that will be receiving one as a gift, that is no longer a surprise) They remind me of my mom, watching the many varieties of birds feeding outside of her windows. I can't wait to go home for Christmas!

let christmas begin!

Here is the Christmas tree...finally. I changed my ornaments around this year, mixing and matching from my different trees. I decided to decorate our main tree a little more colorful, which had been silver, gold, and green in the past. I think I am pleased with it. It takes me a few days to get used to a new idea. I love decorating for the holidays! 

arm warmers

This is a quick and easy fall project. Thanks again to the sugarcity blog for the idea. L is always too hot in sweaters and long sleeves, this is a great compromise.

L....

I love these hands and feet.

Max has booties!

Today I made Max these booties, in hope that the days of washing his paws every time he comes in from going potty are over. He made for good entertainment the first time I put them on him. (maybe even better than a cat with tape on its paws, sorry you missed it Mr. W!) 

Another Puzzle

This was another puzzle mom bought last time she was here. This one is only 300 pieces, so I should have finished it in a few hours. I have a difficult time sitting down that long, so it took me a few days. I still enjoyed it! This is becoming a holiday tradition for me, one that reminds me of my mom....I love it!

2 new skirts

I made L and I new skirts last week. Mine was Vogue 8424 and I just winged L's with some left over fabric I had on hand. (which explains why it does not fit like I wanted it to.) I was so happy to find a great denim in the red tag fabrics, and the pleat in the skirt sold me on this pattern. 

family tradition

I talked to Mary today and she was making doughnuts! I have not made those in years. The fact that they are fried in oil has much to do with that, nonetheless, we made doughnuts tonight! L loved the process and we all enjoyed the product! The secret recipe is as follows:

canned biscuits (the cheapest generic kind)

oil 

powdered sugar

sugar and cinnamon

Use a doughnut cutter, or you can pull the center apart making a hole like we did when we were kids. Heat oil in pan until it bubbles when you put the dough in. Flip when brown on under side. After browning the other side, remove from heat and let sit 1 minute. Shake in desired coating or glaze. 

YUM YUM........

Welcome Thanksgiving

Admittedly, I am a Charlie Brown junkie. I love the characters, the humor, and most impressively in this day the mention of Deity in many of their movies. Today I bought "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," that is a must have if you didn't beat me to it. The DVD features a second movie "The Mayflower Voyagers" that is very educational and a great way to teach children about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is full of historically accurate facts that made it so fun to watch as a family. We watched it tonight and I give it "two thumbs up!"

my ballot has been cast!

I voted this morning after taking L to school. I must say, it was a rather pleasant experience. It took maybe 20 minutes, that was 20 minutes well spent. I have to admit, part of me debated voting because Utah is quite predictable. It was worth the experience of feeling like I have a voice in this great country we live in. It will be exciting to see the outcome tonight......hopefully.

faithful cousins!

It has been our tradition to go trick-or-treating each year with L's cousins. I realized this year that our tradition will probably not last too many more years, as her cousins have quickly grown up. So, thank you H for still participating in our little tradition at least one more year! Thank you B for being the youngest, allowing this tradition to continue for a few more years to come!