24 Days of Christmas.....

Last year I came up with a calendar of events that I made for the family.  It was totally volunteer since my Dear Kiddies are all supposed adults and Dear Hubby has a crazy basketball/wrestling schedule at his job (one of the local high schools).

So I thought I would share.....notice there are a few blanks so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I might have to check on going to the Biltmore House.  We have been before at Christmas but it is pretty pricey (as in $52.00 a head just to get in the door).  The dates that are in red are the nights that Dear Hubby isn't home so whatever I do, I will be doing alone.

Dec 1st - continue decorating

Dec 2nd -

Dec 3rd - mail Christmas cards

Dec 4th - finish decorating

Dec 5th - Holiday Fair (craft show) in Greenville

Dec 6th - Christmas shopping

Dec 7th - fireside dinner

Dec 8th - tag making night

Dec 9th - gift wrapping night

Dec 10th - Daniel Stow Botanical Gardens

Dec 11th - last minute Christmas crafting

Dec 12th - Quilt group Christmas party (daytime) and Office Christmas party (evening)

Dec 13th -

Dec 14th - Christmas movie night with popcorn and hot chocolate

Dec 15th - mail cards to nieces and nephews (they get money for Christmas from us)

Dec 16th - Dear Hubby's office party at our house

Dec 17th - Christmas movie night with homemade pizzas

Dec 18th - Christmas cookie baking

Dec 19th - finish Christmas cookie baking, Drive around to look at lights

Dec 20th - visit my brother and last minute Christmas shopping

Dec 21st -

Dec 22nd - Hand Applique group

Dec 23rd -

Dec 24th - Church, open Christmas Eve gifts

The cookie baking may change.  I just found out from the doctor that my cholesterol is above borderline and into the high bracket.  Uuggghhh.  So we may have to rethink some menus like the pizza on Movie night :>(

And the trip to the craft show may change if our high school does well in the football playoffs.  We are 10-0 right now.  Dec. 5th is the state championship game.  We've been before and have even been state champions twice in the last 10 years so it is a very good possibility we may be back.

And the pictures, well just because I like them.  I got them from somewhere off the internet but don't remember where.  Feel free to right-click and save them to your hard drive.

Blessings, Cathi

Trying To Catch Up.....

With Rudy Day just a few days away, I really need to start kicking it into high gear. With the big birthday bash behind me now, I can really start getting some things marked off my list. Dear Hubby and I are going to Boone for a much needed break so I will be on the road Rudy Day.  And he will be with me!  Two months in a row spending Rudy Day with Dear Hubby!  Can he stand it?!  Can I?!

I will be taking my Christmas Notebook with me.  I have a few decorating dilemas that I have to figure out before all the boxes come out of the attic.

First is this area.....

Since The Wild One moved back home, some of my things from my sewing room had to be moved into different places in the house.  I now have my button collection up on this computer cabinet along with my nesting boxes I made since last Christmas.  I can fit the feather tree up there again but not the wagon so I have to find a new place for it.

And since last year, I have repainted this cabinet to have a red beadboard instead of white.  I am guessing the red accents won't stand out as much as last year so I need to find/make some white or cream accents.  Another excuse to hit the Hobby Lobby!  Maybe I could put all my snowmen here together. Here is what it looks like now.

I also have gotten rid of this table since last year so I need to find another place for my wool table runner.  This was a sofa table that was behind our loveseat.  We gave away the loveseat so we could fit a wingback chair (mine) and a reclining leather chair (Dear Hubby's) in the living room.

                                          

And the biggest adjustment will be to accomodate the new boys and their wild tails!  I don't know how they will react to a Christmas tree.  When they get started wrestling with each other, they can be so much fun to watch ....... as long as you stay out of their way.  Our dog fence is 80% complete.  I hope letting them run in the yard will help them burn off some energy so they won't want to wrestle in the house anymore! 

So far the fall decorations that I put out have survived.  I haven't put all of them out and don't know if I will.  One of my couch pillows has been eaten and a few other things have been carried around until they saw me coming. 

Think they will grow out of it in the next month!?

Blessings, Cathi

September Rudy Day.....

Well, I talked Dear Hubby into joining me for Rudy Day! We watched It's a Wonderful Life....one of his favorites.




I addressed our Christmas cards. We discussed how to sign them this year. The Wild One has moved back home but she is 28 years old. So do we include her? Do we include any adult children that aren't married or do we just include the ones living at home or do we just put the two of us? Decisions, decisions...... We finally settled on anyone living in the house. Us, two adult children, the two new dogs and the cat! Then on to the picture dilemma.


I really want a picture of our two new boys (the chocolate labs) with reindeer antlers or Santa hats but could we really get them to sit still for that? What about the dogs and the cat? HA, they don't exactly see eye to eye yet.


I also finished the first row from my new Block of the Month Christmas pattern. This was an easy row. Next month and November are each rows of paper pieced trees and houses with lots of little pieces.




Hope everyone had a productive Rudy Day. It was really nice to include Dear Hubby with me this time.

Blessings, Cathi

Getting ready for Rudy Day.....

I have a plan for tomorrow that I hope works out.

Still haven't 100% convinced Dear Hubby that he needs to join me in the Rudy Day festivities but I'm wearing him down!


Back in August, I won a BOM quilt pattern from Paula the Quilter.


I have it all planned out so that if I start this month, I will have the top finished next July. Just in time to get it quilted and the binding on for next Christmas. So far so good. Only 6 days left in the month and I am almost finished the September block. All the units are made......just have to put them together and set in the center square. I haven't set in a piece in quite a while so that may take a little longer. There are 8 of these blocks but in different colors.

Where did August and September go?.....

Obviously they went somewhere without me! Well, you know that I have been posting more on my other blog. I have been in a little of a Christmas funk lately and I am sure it had something to do with the weather. Just couldn't get in the Christmas spirit.

But now I am back and ready to get going.


Here is the shortened version of what I have planned to do each month. You can go back to a post I wrote last April to find the detailed list. Anyway, I haven't kept up with it too well this year. Since Rudy Day is on a Friday this month, I think I can get caught up with most of it over the weekend. I really only need to do July, August and September.

* May is List Month

* June is Decorating Month

* July is Crafts Month

* August is Christmas Cards Month

* September is Baking Month

* October is Calendar Month

Dear Hubby does NOT have a football game that night. For some reason they moved it to Thursday. He will be home with me but I think I can talk him into watching a Christmas movie. I may even be able to talk him into helping me with the cards and the baking/menu lists if I bribe him with something chocolatey!

I have been working on some crafty things.

I made this Christmas quilt back in July......


The pattern is "Christmas Morning" by Cheri-Saffiote Payne but I changed the muslin block to applique (she had a stitchery) and have renamed the quilt "HoHoHo".







These three quilts have been tops for more years than I want to say outloud! All of them just need a little quilting and binding. I think I will move these guys up the quilting ladder, so to speak, and see if I can't get them quilted before Christmas!

What are you doing this Rudy Day? Only 8 days to decide!

Oops, I forgot.....

I forgot to show what I did during the Christmas in July party. Silly me!

This is a picture of just one section of my notebook.....the decorating section. I had all the pictures printed a few weeks ago and finally put them in my notebook. I have a page in page protectors of all the decorations I put up for two reasons.

First, I put notes next to each picture of what I like and don't like or what needs to be fixed or bought. It helps with shopping BEFORE I even take decorations Thanksgiving weekend. And if I want to make something for a particular spot......

Secondly, if I can get someone....anyone....to help put the decorations up, they have an idea of what goes where. It's better than yelling from another floor or another room, "Hey, Cathi, where does this go?!". And someone could help out if I'm not even home!! There's a concept. I'm not naming names, I'm just saying.......

Christmas in July Party.....

Well, we didn't get as much finished as we wanted but we did make a mess!!

We started much later than the other years. I had a company picnic I had to go to first. When I finally made it to the house at 3:00, we left right away to check out Hobby Lobby. They have most of their Christmas stuff out already. We thought we may need to cruise the aisles for some inspiration first. By the time we finally got started, it was 6:00.

The Wild One decided what she wanted to do but didn't have the supplies she needed so she worked on her Halloween cross-stitch.

The Married One started her Christmas notebook. She definitely has her momma's organizational skills !


Because we felt like we had just started (the Married One finally left at 11:00), we decided to do this next month, too. But next time we will do some pre-planning planning so we can get more work done. But we had a good time anyway. I really enjoyed having time with just us girls. I'm so glad they have some crafty bones in their bodies!