FINISHED!!!

Yahoo!   I'm done, and with a month to spare!  I finished stocking #8 yesterday when I put the final touches on Eden's Christmas stocking.  I really enjoyed my time spent on the various stockings, it was a relaxing time at the end of many of my days.  Now I probably won't know what to do with my spare time......nah, not likely, there are always more projects waiting, or maybe just time to enjoy the quiet moments in the busyness of the Christmas season.  Anyway, I am done for this year,  one more to make next year .  It feels good, and I am excited to fill them with little gifts and see the joy and excitement as the grandkids discover their treasures.

Sunday afternoon fun

   Skating on the pond doesn't happen every winter but this year the pond froze in relatively smoothly and there was not much snow covering it, good conditions for skating.  And Sunday afternoon the sun was shining, the wind was calm and the temperature was good.  Time to get on the skates, bring out the hockey sticks and get out and enjoy---that is what winter memories are made of.   Kerry, Shaun, Erik, Hailey, Jayda, Madelyn and Nolan went out and had some fun, and the pictures speak for themselves.

Creating a Gingerbread House

 I had the girls here the other day, there was no school and so we had lots of time.  Time to bring out the gingerbread house project that had been sitting on the shelf since last winter.    It looks so easy .............but there are always some challenges.  First of all, building the house.  Sometimes the icing just doesn't hold like it should and so some patience is required while the icing cement hardens when all we want to do is get to the decorating and the candy.  It was a messy fun time, with each girlie doing her own side, gramma helping out as needed, applying icing and supervising, giving advice and cautioning that if they eat all the candy, there won't be enough for the house..........and finishing up and cleaning up  at the end.  It was fun though and we have a nice little house to display as part of my Christmas decorations.   I hope the girls had fun too.

A new piece of equipment

   Farming season is pretty much over for this year, but the decisions and planning still go on all year long.  This is one decision that was made after the spraying season was over, but in anticipation for next year and with the realization that the sprayer we have now is not all that trustworthy anymore.  This sprayer was taken for a test run during the spraying season and then later on the decision was made to purchase.  It got delivered to the farm last week and parked in the shed for the winter..............but it should be ready to go when spraying season arrives next spring.  It is always an exciting day when there is new equipment arriving on the farm, even among the grandchildren.   Nolan and Lukas were quite excited to see this sprayer and are eagerly awaiting the time when Papa can take them with him when he goes out spraying.

Finally-----

..... another project done!  This one has been a long time in the making, four years in fact.  It is a belated first birthday gift for a special little girl who is turning 4 in a couple of weeks.  This quilt already has quite a history.  It is the last quilt I made before my stash of fabric went up in flames.  It has some pieces of fabric in it from my Mom's stash, but mostly from mine.  I only bought fabric for the back, and the other day, I bought fabric for the binding as well.  This quilt has also travelled many miles with me.  I was quilting it by hand on a hoop and so when we took trips by car it came with me and I quilted as we drove. Because of  it's trip to CA with me a couple of years ago, it was saved when our home was lost.  It has been to CA a couple of times, to  Alabama, and to Pennsylvania, and other places in between, and it might just feel a bit strange to travel without it, but it is time to give it to it's intended recipient.  I hope she will get a lot of pleasure out of it, and maybe I will have to get another quilt going so I have something to do when we drive.

One step closer....

to being ready for Christmas.  Lukas will be happy to be able to check and see what is in his stocking at Christmas.   Now the big question is....do I start to work on Eden's?  Will I have enough time or just make myself crazy trying to get everything done?  I do have a few more projects in mind!?!