CHRISTMAS DECORATING!

This past Sunday being the closed Sunday to November 25th, I did my annual Christmas decorating!  Yes, I have posted about my annual decorating routine before . . . and I have been teased about how . . . shall we say . . . MINIMALIST my efforts are.  I must be having a good year, or something, cuz this year . . . I WENT ALL OUT!!!

So, FIRST . . . I slipped into something comfy.

This year's decorating ensemble included
pine-green velour
lounging pants.
(hmmm . . . who needs a pedicure here?)

 SECOND . . . something suitably seasonal in the CD player:

This year's selection by Johnny Reid.

It is important for you to know
that I ventured out in THIS weather
TO A BUSY MALL
to buy this CD
specifically for THIS occasion!
(That's REALLY going all out!)

 THIRD . . . a wee snort of something festive:

Peppermint Schnapps + Raspberry Liqueuer . . .
tres festive!

 I think it's also important for y'all to know that when I started my current Christmas decorating routine, my little Norfolk Pine Tree was 4 1/2 inches tall.  It lived in a teacup-sized pot in a shallow window ledge.

That same Norfolk Pine Tree is now 30 inches tall
from the top of its 2 gallon sized pot!

 Therefore, there is more room for decorations now than in previous years.

Here it is . . . decorated for
Christmas 2011.
I use VERY light-weight
non-breakable
decorations
attached with
gentle
plastic hangers,
and NO lights.

Why put lights INSIDE
when they're already OUTSIDE
on the balcony railing?

And . . . of course . . .
the crowning glory . . .
the little beaded snowflake
that USED TO BE
the only decoration
on the little Norfolk Pine Tree!

Look who else got "dressed up"
for the occasion!

 Naturally, Miss Boots was VERY interested in all the action . . . although she isn't allowed festive beverages . . .

"Hey!  That's MY Christmas stocking!"

"WAIT A MINUTE!
How come YOUR Christmas stocking
has
SHINY STUFF on it
and mine doesn't???
I thought I was the Diva around here!?!?!"

"Never mind!
I remember last year's routine . . .
it was all "NO NO!" and
"BAD KITTY!" . . .
so I'll just retire to my rocking chair already!"

 Besides all the decorating (Seriously HARD WORK!) this past weekend, I also managed to finish most of the applique and decorative stitching on my Winter Partridge place mats.

Except the gold ring.
I was thinking about stitching that in
metallic gold.
What do you think???

 Next weekend, I should get the actual quilting bit started.

Did I tell you my adopted grandaughter got me SLIPPERS for my recent birthday?  I LOVE them . . . perfect to keep at the office so I don't have to wear winter boots all day!

Oh oh!
Sensing a problem here . . .

A couple of hours into the first day of duty
and my new slippers
DISINTEGRATED!
(note the toes peeping through)

I shall have to salvage the penquins and attach them to a sturdier pair of slippers.  Every serious office manager should have Penguin Slippers to wear at work, right???

Knit Knit Knit

Like many crafters (I suspect), I go in spells ... for awhile I'm a dedicated quilter, then maybe a couple of weeks of nothing but cross-stitch.  Last weekend and this past week, it's been all about the knitting.  I did several of these ...

 ... hand-knit kid mohair / silk scarves ... light as a sigh and luscious against the skin ... in several different colours (ice blue and raspberry shown above) along with these ...

... felted flower pins to match the scarves.  This yarn felts beautifully by hand ... just massage gently with a little dish soap under running water ... and dries to a delicate soft felted finish.  I have also knitted several pairs of these ...

... thrummed mitts, or "30 below mitts" as I like to call them because all that unspun sheeps wool knitted inside ...

... will keep your pinkies perky when it's forty below!  (I know because I wear mitts like this myself, and it gets that cold here at times.)  All this knitting has been very satisfying ... seeing all these finished projects stacking up ... but not very pleasing to the feline.

My hu-mom keeps playing with sticks and string, and it all looks REAL interesting ...
but she keeps telling me "NO!  BAD!" 
Hmmpppffff!!!!!!!!

Maybe that's why I've found this ...

... in my bed several mornings this past week!  (It used to dangle from a door knob for Her Pussness's batting pleasure.)  It squeaks very realistically and feels quite convincing when rolled upon unexpectedly.  Boots will be happy to know that I'm about "knitted out" now, and looking forward to starting a big new quilting project soon.  She loves it when "we" quilt (together).

Winter definately seems to be here to stay in my part of the world.  According to the local "old timers" and the Farmers' Almanac, this is going to be a colder snowier winter than usual.  Something to do with "La Nina".  I've probably said this before, but I truly don't mind the cold of winter, which often surprises me with special sights like this ...

... a frozen spider web in the corner of the bus shelter!  (Apparently another bus rider didn't appreciate its beauty because it was gone when I got back from work that day.)  I carry my cheap little digital camera around with me and try to record neat things like the above, or this ...

... lovely but lonely snowy little tree that lives across the street from my apartment building.

Speaking of trees, I have developed a tradition of hanging my one and only Christmas ornament on my little Norfolk Pine tree so that no one can accuse me of being a total un-festive Scrooge.  Well!  Houston, we have a problem!  I can't find my little beaded snowflake ornament this year!  I remember taking it off the pine tree last January ... no, Miss Boots was not involved as she didn't come to live with me until March 2010 ... but have no clue where it went after that.  I might have to go hang out with the above lonely snowy little tree ...

Signed,

Undecorated in Northern BC

Frosty the Snowman

Considering THIS ...... is the view from my balcony, Frosty the Snowman would be an appropriate ear worm. However, the song that's been running through my head all day ... damn CBC Radio and Daybreak North! ... is I'll Be There With Bells On by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Most annoying!

Seriously though ... 'tis the season! Our office has been busy receiving donations for our Christmas Hampers program, and I find myself brought to tears by the generosity of this community. Things like this ...... handmade mini Christmas stockings for our Meals on Wheels clients ... really brings the message home that this is a CARING community! I guess that's why I stuck around here after finishing my degree even though I had only planned on a brief two-year visit.

So how was YOUR weekend?

I took myself shopping on Friday night ... NOT a good thing to do this time of year, but I was on a mission. First, I wanted some new chair pads for the dining room chairs ...

... RED of course. Well, actually more of a burgundy. Suede. From Jysk (the local equivalent of Ikea), naturally. I also bought myself a bookcase and these three little cutesie moose (mooses? sometimes English baffles me) ...... because they are entertaining and one can never have too many candle holders.

On Saturday, I put together my new bookcase (haven't got to unpacking books yet) ...... which pretty much matches the Jysk china cabinet ...... that I bought and put together last summer. It's a good place from which Plum Blossom (the ceramic cat) can keep an eye on things. (The weird object sprouting upright branches on the left is a lamp ... what can I say? ... it was a housewarming gift!) Little by little, I'm turning this place into home instead of poor-student-with-no-belongings-digs! I've even got things on the walls, such as these little shelves ...

In my last couple of spaces, I never got around to putting things on the walls. I guess I knew I wasn't going to stay there very long.

One thing I miss in this place is lack of a kitchen window. Couldn't very well have a kitchen window in an apartment block ... it would look into the neighbour's bathroom, and ... well ... NO THANKS! On Sunday, I put up a little faux kitchen curtain ...

... over my sink. It's on one of those spring rods so it doesn't require screws or nails in the cupboards. It gives me the feeling of a country kitchen, and I can wash dishes and let my imagination conjure up country fields on the other side of my illusionary window. Don't laugh! It works!

Funny story ... I moved into this apartment last July, and have moved my sewing machine back and forth between livingroom, bedroom, dining room, back to bedroom, back to livingroom, etc. No corner in the place felt right for it! Eventually, I settled for a spot under my bedroom window ... which I'm now seriously regretting as I keep my bedroom window open a bit year round, even in minus twenty weather, and now it's too COLD to sit and sew under my bedroom window!

That's NOT the funny part of the story (but you can laugh if you want)! In the process of all that moving back and forth, I lost the foot pedal for my sewing machine! I knew perfectly well that it was SOMEWHERE in this apartment, that I had put it somewhere perfectly SAFE ... I just couldn't figure out where! So I sewed my little faux kitchen curtain BY HAND. Really not such a big deal ... a quick hem on both sides, a rod pocket on the top, and a nice deep hem along the bottom. Took all of half an hour. Would have taken five minutes or less had I been able to find the foot pedal for my sewing machine!

Sunday evening, I checked the weather report (minus 18) and decided I'd better dig a winter hat out for the next morning's commute to work. Guess what I found hanging right inside my storage room ... in a plastic bag marked SEWING MACHINE PARTS - DO NOT THROW OUT! Yes, the missing foot pedal! It was certainly safe!

My last little burst of creativity on Sunday was arranging a few pine cones and cinnamon sticks in this glass bowl for the little half-table in my entrance hallway ...

... the cinnamon smells so nice and homey when you walk in!

WAIT A DING DANG MINUTE!!!

WHO PUT THOSE CHRISTMAS BALLS IN THE BOWL???

finished coffee table and christmas decorating

Our receptionist dragged me out to the Dollar Store today. She said we needed Christmas decorations for our office. I'm pretty sure we have BOXES of the stuff in our back room storage closet, but she was adamant, and we must keep our receptionist happy (she's the real brains of our office operation most days ... but don't tell her I said so)!

Did you know Dollar Stores are positively EVIL places? They are full of cheap stuff ... which is good 'cuz everyone likes a bargain ... but is bad 'cuz all that cheap stuff does naughty things to everyone's spontaneous purchasing desires. Well, maybe everyone but me. I came away with one package of paper baking cups because I needed them. I kept thinking about all those poor foreign factory workers being paid pennies or less to make all that cheap stuff. It was interesting to note the source of a couple of birthday gifts I received this year though.

The Dollar Store did NOT do anything to improve my festive spirit. I did do my Christmas decorating this evening ... but I had ALREADY planned to do so. Honest!

Before I share my Christmas decorating evening with y'all, I want to update you on my new / old coffee table. The project started like this ...... painting 4 inch squares / diamonds on its surface. I painted three coats on each square / diamond. Once they were completely dry, I added one final THIN coat over all resulting in ...... very subtle wood-grained squares / diamonds between the solid red squares / diamonds. Here's the overall picture ...

... what do you think? 'Scuse the messy knitting basket on the right. And the crayon cup on the floor at the left arm of the sofa (where Little Madam C. left it). Okay, so a red coffee table isn't everyone's cup of tea. Remember that I live in a rented apartment with hohum eggshell white walls and poop brown carpets that I cannot change!

Speaking of tea ... and I digress for a moment ... I'm in LOVE! I found that most fabulous ...

... Tea Chai Spice Mix in our local SaveOn (@ Spruceland in case you're in PG ... the Parkwood SaveOn doesn't carry it). Some years ago, I took a Punjabi language course at UBC and was introduced to "authentic" Tea Chai. Since then, I've tried dozens of different recipes and spice mixes and none of them measured up to that delightful first tasting. THIS spice mix does! It's packaged in Surrey BC and is exactly the right blend of spices and heat and not sweet. You use about 4 teaspoons of spice mix to a mug of boiled water along with a regular black tea bag. I add a dollop of cream because I like it creamy. And I stir it with a cinnamon stick just because.

On to my Christmas decorating preparations this evening. First, I slipped into something comfy to wear ...

... flannel jammies with snow people and snowflakes on them (don't laugh at my crooked toes please). Then a little mood music ...

... Okay, the choices were pretty limited here as this is the ONLY Christmas CD I own. Then a little gingerbread scented oil ...

... to put visions of sugar plums or and yummy festive baking smells in my head (without the calories). Of course, I also had a little something festive to wet my whistle ...

... no, that is NOT a huge glass, it's a very tiny bottle! Oh, and finally, something sweet ... just because ...

... WAIT A MINUTE! I SEE EMPTY SPACES! WHO'S BEEN SAMPLING THE FERRERO ROCHER AHEAD OF ME?!?!?!?!?

With the appropriate preparations in place, I was ready to proceed. Plum Blossom (the ceramic cat) climbed up onto the castle top of my loom for a good view of the proceedings ...

I didn't take pictures of the actual decorating, but here's the results:

No, not the red milking stool. No, not the spindly-legged red moose ... Maeve the Moose lives there year-round. And not the Good Fortune Buddha on the milking stool. Here, I'll show you a little closer ...

... do you see it now? No? I'll move in REALLY close with my camera ... just a minute ... here it is ...

... my Christmas decoration!

Phew! I'm plum tuckered out after all that decorating! I think I'll treat myself to another wee glass of Bailey's and call it an evening. Deck the Halls, y'all!

I blew it!

So much for Nablopomo! I came home from work last night, made a cup of tea, sat down in my chair to unwind ... and woke up about 4 am this morning. My refreshing cup of tea was cold ... but not spilled ... and my neck was stiff from sleeping in a weird upright position. I guess the week was more exhausting than I thought! Anyway, I didn't post anything yesterday. Good intentions, but my poor old body had other priorities.

So here are the craft pictures I've been promising ... Christmas stockings.First, I drew out the stocking shape I wanted on newspaper. I didn't realize until I started cutting my fabric that the newspaper headline said "day cares suffer as parents have to tighten purse strings". Kind of a bummer, eh? See my nice old-fashioned dress-maker's scissors? They belonged to my great auntie. I did a quilting class last winter, and everyone laughed at them ... they all used rotary cutters. The instructor said I wouldn't be able to cut straight lines or small details without a rotary cutter. Hah! My great auntie did her share of fancy sewing and quilting LONG BEFORE rotary cutters. These babies are razor sharp, and those long blades aimed straight cut really impressive straight lines. But I digress ...After that first stocking, I turned my newspaper pattern over. A photo of a local children's choir was definately more cheery! And here we are ... a whole bunch of fabric stockings cut out and ready to be sewn. Since the stockings are for my office staff and volunteers, I felt obligated to do plaid ones for the gentlemen ... the little old-fashioned lady carollers just didn't look masculine enough.Here I am sewing stocking halves together. Have you ever tried to snap a picture with your non-dominant hand and sew something at the same time? No easy feat!Here are the sewn-together stockings with seams clipped, turned right side out, and pressed ... ready for ...... adding the cuffs. The stockings themselves are woven fabric, but I used some inexpensive white jersey knit fabric for the cuffs.Next step was top-stitching the folded cuffs, and then ...... adding bias tape loops for hanging the stockings up.A final pressing, and ...

A gaggle (herd? bunch? coven?) of festive finished Christmas stockings. The entire project took maybe an hour and a half, and cost less than twenty dollars .

And here are the stockings hanging in our office. I'm not so sure about this location ... on the bulletin board under our "donors' tree" ... but I didn't choose where they would be hung. My office staff and volunteers all came in today (Saturday) to do the Christmas decorating, which I really appreciated as last year, I decorated the place on my own and didn't feel particularly festive about it. (I AM a Scrooge at heart ... mostly ... don't forget!) I arranged lunch for everyone, so it was quite the party atmosphere. My office has really changed over the past year ... for the better! And my staff and volunteers really deserve Christmas stockings (and the goodies Santa is going to be putting in them).

Okay, I've hung up my snowflake at home, and done the office party thing ... can I disappear until after Christmas now???