Happy Monday ~~

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner with family this year.  I enjoyed mine very much.  It is the First time since I've been married and having Thanksgiving, that I let someone help me in the kitchen.  Why didn't I do this before?  I always feel that my company should just relax.  I always handled everything.  This time though, all the women were in the kitchen and it was so much fun! Lake's Mom did the gravy, Lake took over on the mashed potatoes, Nicole did the veggies, and I handled the bird.  Lots of laughing and story telling.  The night ended with dessert and full bellies.  Perfect day :).

I didn't do the regular Black Friday shopping that I normally do. First year for that too. I hope all of you who did venture out to the craziness, did so without having any of the horror stories that were happening out there.  I did meet up with my friend Beth at the Little Log House in East Berlin.  They had the fire place going, and the atmosphere was so much nicer than waiting in line at the department stores. Plus, this is all hand made items.  The girls and I from the Black Sheep Rug Hookers put some of our things in there as well. I believe it's by invitation only to put your things in there. I'm happy we were invited.    Beth and I also went to a couple antique stores and also to our friend Becky Mummert's open house. She does pottery. Of course I bought some of her stoneware for myself.  I already put it away, and forgot to take a picture of it :(.  It was a full day, but a relaxing one without all the commotion. Thanks for the great day Beth..

On Saturday I did nothing.  I have been battling a cold and I was exhausted. Didn't sleep well Friday night from the coughing.  So I just rested all day. George changed the oil in my car, etc.  Wish I would have gotten out my hooking, but I didn't.  I even passed up on going to Brenda's hook in so I could rest up.

I received a package on Saturday from my Secret pal on usaprim on ebay.  I was battling if I should open it, so I posted that  I received it and let them make the decision for me.  Well, my arm was twisted :).  Ginger from Primitives by the light of the moon had my name.  This woman never stops. I seriously don't know how she does it ALL.

From decorating the mailing package...

To the sweet packaging and "making" the card......

And then creating ALL of this!!  Thank you so Very much Ginger. I Love it all!  What a Beautiful way to start off the Christmas Cheer :)

Yesterday George and I took Craig and Lake to set sail on their Honeymoon.  I could sense the excitement when they spotted the Ship!  We didn't get a chance to park or take pictures, just dropped them off.  Caught this one as we were driving away....  Everything went very smooth for them ...  Can't wait to hear how it went in another week!  And George and I are looking forward to when we will be setting sail next year to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary!

Today I may do some online shopping for Christmas, do some laundry, maybe even make it to the grocery store.  I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week!!

Being Thankful

It's hard to believe that this week is Thanksgiving.  The stores are already geared up for Christmas. I'm even in the Christmas spirit, but I want to take time to give this Holiday the meaning it deserves. What a year it has been for me. My daughter graduating High School and starting college, Son getting married, me turning 50 (like you didn't hear enough about that!).  It has been filled with lots of emotions to say the least.  I couldn't be more grateful to my family and friends for all that we have shared this year. I don't like to be thankful for just one day. Instead, I try to give thanks in "everything" each and every day. No matter how great, or how bad something is, I give a huge effort to be thankful in all my circumstances. It doesn't always happen, but I give it my best shot.  There is always something to be learned from what we are going through.

The last few weeks have gone by and I've been keeping busy. Work is slow, so it has given me time to take care of things at home. I just haven't been in the mood to do the blog. I've been reading everyone elses though. That's why I'm writing now, because I will be busy this week with getting the shopping and cooking done for Thursday. We plan on having a few extra people this year... I'm excited!

George and I  celebrated our 24th Wedding Anniversary this month. He surprised me with roses and we went out and had a wonderful meal together. Even split a dessert :).

I also spent time taking my friend Donna to dinner (belated Birthday present for her) and then shared a dessert....  (yes it was heaven)  We took a stroll through the outlets after dinner, and it was sooo pretty. They had up all white lights for decoration outside the stores. It really put you in the Christmas mood.

The last 2 weeks of hook in photo's ...  Teresa and Michele (how fun that day was!) 

Joanne whipping up a storm for her upcoming shows... 

Joan making mats for her sisters for Christmas...

Sherri's deer that she will make into a pillow for the men on her list this year!

And yet another birthday gift. This was  from Jill.  What a wonderful package! Thank you again Jill !

Nancee , 2 weeks from start to finish on this project. It will hang below her mantel on her fireplace.  She started another project for her Mother, and I'm sure it is done by now :). Can't wait to see what her next one is going to be!

Genny just about done with her state rug!

Mabel's stitched gifts for her children.

Here is the progress on my rug. Was hoping to have it done before this week, but in reality, I don't see it happening.  Sooo, will be shooting for finishing for next year!

I hope you all have a Blessed Thanksgiving, and are surrounded by family and friends.  And if  your heart is prompted, why not invite someone to your dinner who does not have family this year? Or take a plate of turkey to someone who can't leave their home? What a Blessing that would be......  both for you and the receiver.......

I'm not done yet ~~

For once the weekend went kind of slow for me.  All day Friday I kept thinking it was Saturday. Hate when that happens. I feel all out of whack.  On Saturday, I gathered up some wool early in the morning along with my formulas and dyes. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't have 2 of the dyes lol?  Lots of colors to choose from, so it didn't stop me.  When I walked into the wool room, I didn't know what wools to choose to over dye. I think I may have too much ;).  I wasn't even sure what colors I wanted, so I just picked some.  My shelves look empty from color, so I just decided to wing it.  Here is a sampling of the wools I overdyed.  The first picture are camel colored wools. Came out greenish on my screen.

And here are the results.  I was in and out of the kitchen all day on Saturday just playing in the dye pots.  It's been a long time since I've done this at home.  I enjoyed it!  Now to organize the shelves better.  That is going to take some time.

Yesterday I made it to church.  It makes me sad to think I've missed so many weeks of it.  But October was a very busy month for me.  It felt good to be back. I had put a roast in the crockpot for dinner before I left, so didn't have to think about that later.   Afterwards, I did some grocery shopping, and then did some more around the house.   I barely got to see much of the NCIS marathon.  But did watch the movie last night.  A bit disappointed in that one. I was ready to buckle down and do some hooking while watching it, but realized I left my blade at the shop on Thursdays hook in.  Always something!

Not sure what I'll be be getting into this week, but I do know that I'm not done yet with the dying.  I had a blast, and want to continue.  Some people dye just for the project they are working on at the time. Me? I like to just have something to choose from when the time is ready. If it's not the right one, then I will dye something else. But at least I'll have something on the shelves! 

Wishing everyone a great Monday :) !

Full House

Trying to get back to a normal schedule now that things are settling down from the wedding.  Time to relax a bit, and what better time than at the hook in on Thursday.  It certainly ended up being a full house!

Linda and Barb. Barb was working on using up her scraps in a penny style rug.

Linda and her rug. Great design that she had Nancy P. draw up for her.

There was punching going on by Willa and Julie.  And Nancee in the background with her rug on the ground trying to color plan and see if things work.  Hope they are working for you now Nancee ! And Diane is plugging away on her pig rug. Making great progress!

Even some painting going on by Betsy.

Linda took some breaks to share with everyone the new sparkly wool that she had over dyed. People were really excited about it!

Then back to work she went in the sewing room. She had an order that needed to be finished by the next day.  And she got it done before the night was over :)!!  Ok, it was morning by the time it was finished, but it was done!  Ok, all except the collar lol. But the guy gave the wrong measurement, and being as good of a sewer that she is, she figured that out before cutting it.  The guy came to pick it up on Saturday, and she made the collar and sewed it on for him.

Brenda working on the rug that someone ordered from her.   Thought I got a shot of it when it was on the floor, but I guess I didn't.  It's a round rug. Very pretty with sculpting.

Nancy P working on her rug. Lovely colors !

And Julie finishing up a piece.  She used swim suit material for the horn and rick rack in a chain stitch for the border.  Very cool !

Louise working on a penny rug stocking. They always turn out so sweet!

And yes, even I got some hooking done!  I'm hoping to get to hook some more this weekend. I changed it a little by covering up the words Goode Things in the roof. Leaving the Harvest though.

Also going on is a Christmas Home show that I was asked to bring some of my items too. Thank you Teresa for asking me.  It runs through the weekend. I went yesterday for the first day.  Just had to take some shots of one of her rooms. (completely forgot to take some pic's of her crafts lol.. sad.... brain is only half working these days).  Her husband and son are hunters, and Wow, what beautiful displays of his hobby!

This is what I bought from her.  Her husband builds them and Teresa paints the wood pieces beautifully.  I have always admired her bread boxes.  And there was one there, and just the perfect color for me.  :).   I just Love it!  I'm slowly filling my home with pieces that I enjoy.  Kids are getting older, and pretty soon it will be just George and I.  While I can, I am picking up little things here and there.    And pretty soon, I'm hoping the time will be there for me to create more things with my hands that I can place around the house too.

And here is a Loooong over-due Thank you for a Birthday gift given to me by Nettie.  I told her when I thanked her, that I was going to put it on the blog, and just haven't gotten to it yet.  I just Love it Nettie! It was so thoughtful of you.  I look forward to punching it up.  Thank you..... Hope to see you soon and that you are feeling better each day!

I spent the day yesterday cleaning after I came home from Teresa's.  I had the bread box on the counter, and well, that led to rearranging everything. Good time to just clean while doing it. Isn't it funny how one little item can sometimes lead to a whole room make over lol?   I had fun doing it though.  There is so much I'd like to do to my home, but just not enough hours.  I'd like to repaint a few rooms and we desperately need new carpet or flooring of some type. But some things will just have to wait. 

Today I don't have really anything planned that I need to go out of the house for.  So, in just a little while, I am going to buckle down and get some wool dyed. I have been wanting to do it for a long time.  Today is the day. I will try and take some before and after shots. I plan on doing some over dying of some textures.

And tomorrow is a day long marathon of NCIS, Plus a movie with Mark Harmon in it at 9:00 tomorrow night.  I know where I'll be.  In my chair doing some hooking, maybe stitching, maybe something else.  But I will be doing something.  I've been jotting things down that I want to create, so I'll just be picking something.

I certainly hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Use your hands... it's amazing at what you can create!

~~ The Happy Couple ~~

It might be a while before I get the pictures back, so I thought I would go ahead and post the ones that I do have.

Here are some pictures from the Hall on Friday when we went to decorate. It was completely empty when we got there except for the tables and chairs. It was such a joy to see everyone working together. I love what Lake and Craig had picked for everything. It was the first time I was able to see everything.

We ALL were peeling potatoes.  I don't know how Lake's Mom did what she did. All the food was cooked the day before. What fun we had peeling that 25 lb bag of  potatoes! Lots of laughs, and it went quickly.

All ready for Saturday!

Still chopping those potatoes up lol.

The rehearsal went very well, and didn't take too long. During the practice is when Lake received the phone call about the photographer not coming because of the snow expected on Saturday. Amazing to watch all the girls pull out their phones to get another person to do the photo's. And one was found.
Here she is practicing... Didn't have many pictures of the rehearsal. I was already getting teary..

Then a good Rehearsal dinner with 2 plus tables with 20 people. It was late, and we were all tired. George gave a wonderful toast to the happy couple!

Saturday getting ready.... 

We made it there, despite the snow. I gave George a big kiss for getting us there safely.

....  A shot of the cake.

I got the biggest kick out of the High Five couple :)

And here we go ~~~ George and I entered the room first.

Our chairs

Lakes Mom on the left, escorted by John and Millie

Craig's face when he sees Lake :)

Girls in place....

And the Beautiful Bride Lakein escorted by her Dad Kenny

The ceremony

The Kiss ~~

And the New Mr. and Mrs. Craig Harris ~~

Very Happy Parents :)

Brother and Sister

I was able to retrieve a picture taken outside in the snow from Jessica's facebook pictures.

Before the reception, the girls fooling around  lol.

And their first dance to the song "The very thought of you". This is where I lost it.  They looked so lost in each other, so very happy....  It was absolutely beautiful :)  Lake did a wonderful job at picking out music.

The reception was a wonderful time. Lake thought it would be fun to change into costumes. She loves Halloween. The girls changed and so did Lake.  Other people had costumes on too.  

Here is one shot of Lake and her Maid of Honor Jessica.

I didn't want to bore you with picture after picture (all though I could have posted every one!)of everyone coming down the aisle,the reception, family,  etc. So I tried to sum it up the best I could.  It was a Fabulous day, the food was Outstanding (standing ovation to Lakes Mom Verna, and her sisters and family for cooking the food), everyone enjoyed themselves,  and we couldn't be more happier for Craig and Lake. We wish them many, many, many years of Love and Happiness.!