Christmas Blahs

Most of my friends and family have dubbed me the family "Grinch"   And it is well deserved.
For many years,  back to the days when my children were small and Santa was a part of our Christmas... I did not like the Holidays.  

I think it may be partially due to the fact that I did not have any of my family close enough to be able to celebrate together.  So it was always with my spouse's family.  Which was not all that fun for me.

So this year.  I got my CHRISTMAS spirit out of the way early and I stitched up this Rudolph quilt.

Now have to figure out where to put it.  And do I want to put up my tree this year.   I do like to see XMAS decorations and like the soft glow of the tree lights in the evening. And now I have a tree that only requires me to plug it in.  It is decorated and has lights, and I do not have to put them on or take them off.

It is also out in the back yard shed, and we must depend on one of the kids or grandkids to lug it in and after Christmas lug it back out.  Last year it was in my living room well into summer,  before we corralled our oldest son to move it back to the shed.

MY snowmen in the sun rom have found a permanent home on the shelf above the back windows.  It is just too much hassle taking them up and down each season.  When I was younger I changed the décor on that shelf with the seasons.  Now the snowmen are a permanent fixture up there.

Today we hope to hang the newly painted cabinet doors in the kitchen.  That will leave about 2/3 of the kitchen cabinets painted inside and out. And at our age this process is taking much longer than it would have 10 years ago.

Scrapping.

Tuesaday Nov 20

MY spouse just reminded me that tomorrow is my birthday.  OMG  I do not want anymore birthdays.  But since following Dr. Esselstyn's plant based diet,  I am feeling better physically and mentally.
This whole process has been a learning experience.  Experimenting with recipes, and spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  I have been strict,  no meat  or any animal product.  Well oops,  that is not quite true I have cheated with a small amount of cheese on my Skyline veggie 3 way.  YUM YUM  But you just have to top that off with some cheddar.

I made a decision to part with some of the quilts I have put into a stash for my granddaughters after I am gone.   I have quite a few,  baby and kid sized quilts down there.  And just a few days ago I thought,  why not donate these to the women's crises center.  Let someone enjoy them, and get good use out of them.  So I pulled 3 or 4 out of the bin and bagged them up.  I am just waiting until I work with Olivia,  who has a full time job as a counselor at the shelter.

This week I decided to start a scrappy.  Using pinks and purples and yellows.  I spent yesterday cutting most of the pieces for the blocks.  Bonnie HUnter's  Princess Crown block.  This block because of all the seams, takes concentrated precision if the blocks are to turn out in some sort of uniformity.  I only have stitched up 4 of the blocks,  but it will be a good go to project when I want to spend just a little time in the sewing studio.   I can stitch up two or three blocks and then go back to whatever.    Things like cooking,  laundry,  finishing painting the kitchen cabinets.   ETC  ETC.