Christmas decor at Chez Magpie

I must admit it's unheard of for Christmas decorating to happen here at Chez Magpie before the beginning of December (most often even mid-December) but we hauled everything out and did the deed.  There was a great deal of muttering and even a teeny little bit of swearing involved (mainly Resident Chef as he wrestled the "easy-peasy lift from the bottom, hook at the top" pre-lit Christmas tree into submission.  The 'hook at the top' was an issue because for some mysterious reason said hook part had evaporated since last year.  There was another bit of blue air over the fact that some of the lights had quit working.  Luckily we happened to have a spare strand so that disaster was averted.  Every year we swear we're going to buy a new tree and every year it doesn't happen.  We can only have an artificial tree due to fire regulations and the one we have is/was too tall for the space we have for it now so at some point the Chef lobbed off part of the top.  The entire thing makes Charlie Brown's tree look positively lush, at least until I stuff a fluffy, shedding all the while, hunk of garland into the middle of it.  

Please note you can click to embiggen the photos!

This sits atop our tv cabinet.  The sleigh once held a floral arrangement.  

Some assorted ornaments 

Our tree sits atop an old treadle sewing machine in front of our only living room window.  Beneath you can just catch a glimpse of the wooden nativity Resident Chef made a number of years ago.

 

The nativity is a set that Avon produced a number of years ago - purchased while I was a rep.

The tree - bad lighting and all.

The topper ended up being a teddy bear - because, after much searching, it was determined that we got rid of our previous one and had intended to buy something new.  Obviously - intent and doing are two different things!

This is a Belsnickel Santa that I made for our friends back in 2002.  We inherited it back again and he now resides at our house.  

If you would like to know more about the history of this particular type of Santa go HERE.  

This sits on top of a cabinet in the living room.  I made the lamp shade in a workshop years ago and the angel (which lights up) was a gift

Today, instead of a quote...

A hive of industriousness!

 A hive of industry?

Really?

Well, as the picture below will attest...

What?  You don't see a picture?
Really???

Hmmmm.....

Could that possibly be because
my mojo is on hiatus?

Yes, for some reason my creative mojo is refusing to mojo.  I'm flitting from one thing to another and not coming to roost on anything.  Even I'm bored with myself!  

Bored enough that I'm contemplating hauling out the Christmas decorations - a full two weeks earlier than I would normally even start thinking about it.  

I'm sure you wish I would get off my duff and start actually doing something that would even remotely prove to be interesting.  

Creak.....groan.....

 I'm too old for this!

Or at the very least, the mind is willing, 
but oh the body is weak.

Crawling about on the living room floor for an
entire afternoon pinning hexies onto a king-sized
bedsheet is not something for the faint of heart
as my aching knees, hips and thighs will attest!

And to add more angst to the equation I cannot
manage to get a decent picture to show you what I did!

However, this is the best I can do...

There will be more hexies created to add to this
which will mean more crawling about.
Ouch.

On the MUCH brighter side, the mailman earned his stripes and brought this yesterday.  I was lucky enough to win one of Kim's most amazing creations and it came all the way to Canada from Australia.  This is what I saw when I removed the outer wrapper....

Even the box and the wrapping was beautiful!

But the main event was inside!  When I carefully undid the packaging I was rewarded with this ....

The prettiest Christmas stocking I have ever seen!

The sheer amount of detail in this is incredible and it most definitely will not only enjoy being on view during the Christmas season but all year round.

Thank you Kim - you're such a good friend and I will treasure this, and our friendship, ever more!

Quote of the day..."Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible"

The best of plans....

 Yes, the best of plans are bound to run aground more often than I'd care to admit.  I had great plans on Saturday to lay out all those hexies I made awhile ago (remember those?) onto the king-sized bed sheet I planned to use for the background.  The sheet, alas, was wrinkled - badly.  OK - I have an iron and an itty-bitty teeny-tiny wee small (well you get the idea!) ironing board.  Despite my noble plan to wrestle those wrinkles into submission the minute I moved the sheet to iron the next section it promptly wrinkled some more.  Argh.  So.... after some ponderment I hit upon the plan to hang said sheet over the dual rods in our bathroom, spritz it with water, and then turn the shower on with the door closed to build up steam.  Nobody could have been more surprised than me when it actually worked!  However, it took most of the day to dry so the 'Grande Plan' came to no fruition.  

So...on to Grande Plan # 2 - designing the next landscape.  Of course the first attempt didn't work and I changed my mind in mid-go anyway.  So a re-design happened.  By this time the day was gone.  

Today's quote.."If you don't do wild things while you're young, you'll have nothing to smile about when you're old"

Mumblings

 Question for you.....do you use washaway stabilizer?  If so, what brand works well?  I have some 'Unique' and it will not dissolve no matter what I do.  Obviously not what you want after you've spent several hours creating something and then can't get the stabilizer out!!  Over to you....opinions please....

*********************

Yes, today there is nothing but mumblings because I got nuttin'.  You do NOT want to see a picture of my pile of addressed Christmas cards - you do NOT want to see gift wrapped presents - you do NOT want to see all the little things I managed to actually DO over the past couple of days because there is not one single thing that isn't yawn-worthy.

Today's quote is from Wilson Kanadi..."If you really think again, there are actually so many things to be thankful for in every single day of your life"

A return to regularly scheduled programming - perhaps?

 You will remember that I asked you in THIS post to vote for which landscape I will attempt next and this one was the clear winner (don't worry, I'll be doing both!).  

Stay tuned, because a new landscape is about to begin!

Today's quote....

The last one? Maybe.....

 This is the last of the scheduled Christmas gifts being created this year at Chez Magpie.  I think.  Maybe.  Or maybe not???

He's not quite as cute as the original but I don't think our grandson will care, do you?  Our boys, and now our grandson, love 'Where The Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak and this is the monster from the story.  

Pattern is found HERE.  

Today's quote is from Helen Keller..."Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence"

One more little finish

 This is the final pair of socks being made this year....these hopefully will fit our 6 year old grandson...

I used the same 'recipe' as for the other socks I did, only this time I cast on 60 stitches.

Today's quote..."If you have a family that loves you, a few good friends, food on the table and a roof over your head, you are richer than you think"

 On Monday our #1 son and his family came for a long-awaited (yet socially distanced!) visit and we went for a hike through some of the local conservation area.  Imagine our surprise when we rounded the corner in the middle of the forest and discovered this...

Rather unexpected for sure!  The day was perfect - who ever expected we could be out with no jackets on the 9th of November.

I'm continuing on with the 'Making Space For What Matters' challenge but managed to fall down on the job somewhat by forgetting to take pictures of what's exiting.  I did, however, remember to make a list.  

So....what exited....6 bottles of fragrance oil (not in like with the scents); 2 pillow covers; 1 Deep Heat Patch which had expired in 2010 (2010??? REALLY?????);  5 dried up alcohol swab packets; and 1 artificial rose.  

Item count to date 21 (I'm counting the alcohol swabs as 1 item).  

More additions

 Yes, more additions to the Christmas box (don't worry I'm close to the end!!)

Three book bags for three little grandsons.

Each feature a t-shirt front and the word 

'Books' on the back.  
No pattern to speak of, just went with the
available t-shirt front sizes.  

Today's quote is from Norman Vincent Peale..."Optimism is a philosophy based on the belief that basically life is good, that in the long run, the good in life overbalances the evil"

Little knitting

 Remember all those mittens I made earlier?  Well, some of the leftover yarn has been turned into a couple of pairs of socks for the littlest grandsons.  

These are pretty simple to make - they're a 'take' on the spiral socks that apparently will fit kids better/longer than those with proper heels knitted in. They look really skinny, but I can get my whole hand inside them so they stretch really well. I started at the top with 48 stitches for our 1 year old and 56 stitches for our 4 year old (and I'll use 60 stitches for our 6 year old)...did about half an inch of K1, Pl at the top and then switched to K2, P2 until I got to the toe.  

Here's what I did for the toe...
1.  (K6, k2tog)
2. (and all even rows) K
3. (K5, K2tog)
5. (K4, K2tog)
7. (K3, K2tog)
9. (K2, K2tog)
11. (K1, K2tog)
12. K
Weave yarn through stitches left on the needle, tighten and weave ends in.    ****Just remember, if you're making these, the number of cast on stitches has to be divisible by 6**** (UPDATED TO ADD:  I used sock yarn (fingering weight) and 2.5 mm needles)

An oops - sort of (well, actually there's two!)

 The oops # 1....

Resident Chef made a mess!  The jar on the right is sourdough that has escaped the bonds of the jar and the jar on the left has the lid perilously perched on top about ready to follow suite.  He tried a different method of feeding it and discovered that a much bigger jar is needed.  What was even better is that he cleaned it all up, lowered the level in the jars and then went back a couple of hours later to discover it did it again!  The stuff is alive and trying to take over the world I tell you!!

AND....the second oops (more like a 'what have we DONE' moment) is that we got up on Monday and went about our lives in the normal way only suddenly found ourselves in possession of a new-to-us car.  Furthest thing from our minds!!  The salesman called saying he had an anxious buyer for a car just like ours...a 2011 Rav4 and (the universe aligning as it does at times) he had a trade-in come in on a car he knew we'd like.  So....as of next Monday we'll be the proud owners of a 2016 Toyota Rav4 XLE complete with sunroof (who knew 2 old fogies like us would have a car with a sunroof!!).  We're still in shock.  

Mumblings, of a random nature

 Today, because I have lots of mumblings to share, I think I won't subject you to what I've been working on.  Suffice to say one ball of yarn does not a pair of socks make (argh!) and on a positive note, applesauce happened

AND - many of you will remember me posting a link to the latest '30 Days To Less' challenge that was happening all throughout October on Becki's blog.  Now she has come up with another challenge that will last all year and help with your decluttering and downsizing (AND it's fun too!).  Go HERE to read her post to find out more.

++++++++++++

AND, in the interests of it never being said that this is not a full-service blog (hah!), I've discovered something (with thanks to Maureen!) that I thought I should share with you.  If you, like me, are having a hard time reading some of the small print online, try simultaneously using your 'Ctrl' and the '+' buttons on your keyboard.  Click until you reach the size that's comfortable for reading.  My cataracts are thanking you Maureen!

Today, instead of a quote, I'm going to share something that had both Resident Chef and I in tears of laughter.  Hopefully you will enjoy it too!

Do you fart in bed ?

If this story doesn't make you cry for laughing so hard, let me know and I’ll pray for you. This is a story about a couple who had been happily married for years, the only friction in their marriage was the husband’s habit of farting loudly every morning when he awoke the noise would wake his wife and the smell would make her eyes water and make her gasp for air.

Every morning

she would plead with him to stop ripping them off because it was making her sick. He told her he couldn't stop it and that it was perfectly natural. She told him to see a doctor, she was concerned that one day he would blow his guts out. The years went by and he continued to rip them out. Then one Christmas day morning, as she was preparing the turkey for dinner and he was upstairs sound asleep, she looked at the innards, neck, gizzard, liver and all the spare parts, and a malicious thought came to her. She took the bowl and went upstairs where her husband was sound asleep and, gently pulling the bed covers back, she pulled back the elastic waistband of his underpants and emptied the bowl of turkey guts into his shorts. Sometime later she heard her husband waken with his usual trumpeting which was followed by a blood curdling scream and the sound of frantic footsteps as he ran into the bath room. The wife could hardly control herself as she rolled on the floor laughing, tears in her eyes! After years of torture she reckoned she had got him back pretty good. About twenty minutes later, her husband came downstairs in his blood stained underpants with a look of horror on his face. She bit her lip as she asked him what was the matter. He said, “Honey you were right… all these years you have warned me and I didn't listen to you.” “What do you mean?” asked his wife. “Well, you always told me that one day I would end up farting my guts out, and today it finally happened, but by the grace of god, some Vaseline and two fingers. I think I got most of them back in…….............…..”

Bubble, bubble, but not so much toil and trouble as you'd think!

 After I posted pictures of the soaps I made I've had several (well, a couple!) of requests for more information so I thought I'd tell you how I make them.  

You need the following: 

- Melt and Pour soap base (any type, I happen to like shea and so that's mostly what I use, although I do have some clear glycerin and some honey on my shelf).  The soap bases can be used as they are but I like to add fragrance and maybe some other additives.  Soap 'purists' would say melt and pour is cheating but I'm not willing to get into playing around with dangerous substances like lye.  

- a mold, or molds.  I prefer the silicone ones because they are much easier when removing the soap bars

- Fragrance oils - these come pre-mixed in small bottles and I often mix and combine different fragrances, depending on my whim and what happens to be 'nose-worthy' at the time

- Colorants and additives - there are liquid dyes as well as powders that you can use to color your soap and I prefer working with the liquids to avoid anything getting into the air.  For additives, there's only your imagination.  The men's version of the ones I showed in my previous post had finely ground walnut shells added.  I've seen children's soaps that had a small toy embedded inside.  

- a 4 cup glass measuring cup (if using a microwave) or you can also use a cooking pot (if using the stove).  

- a small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol

Method:

Cut the soap base into cubes about 1" square and place in either the glass measuring cup or the pot.  If using the microwave, heat in 30 second bursts, stirring between bursts, until just melted.  In my microwave it takes about 4 bursts.  I don't know how long it takes on top of the stove but I would use low heat and stir regularly.  You have to be careful it doesn't burn.  Then I let it stand for about 2 minutes to cool slightly before adding the fragrance and any other additives. As for how much fragrance oil to use - there are all sorts of suggestions around the internet for amounts.  I tend to go with about 1/2 tsp. per block of soap (which makes about 5 bars in my rectangular mold).  I would start with 1/4 tsp. and add a little more if you feel you'd like it to be stronger.    Stir thoroughly and pour into molds.  If you see little bubbles rising to the top you can spritz with a little rubbing alcohol.

There are literally thousands of ideas on the internet for various additives, scents and wrapping ideas.  I usually order my supplies from HERE - they ship to both Canada and the US.  I've ordered fragrance oils from other sources but found they aren't as nice.  

Hope this helps and that you're inspired to
try making your own!

Today the quote is from Mr. Rogers..."Frankly, there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story"

Stirring the pot

 Yes, I've been stirring the pot again.  The pot of melt and pour soap that is!  This is a sampling of what has been added to the Christmas box....

Women's on the left, scented with brown sugar, vanilla
and cinnamon, with a little bit of cappuccino.
Men's on the right, scented with orange, clove,

cinnamon, lemon grass and with finely ground
walnut shells for exfoliation. 

Today's quote is from Aristotle..."There is only one way to avoid criticism:  do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing"

Three little kittens HAVEN'T lost their mittens!

 ...but they very well might once they start wearing them after Christmas!  These were completed over the weekend and will adorn three little grandsons after they do their time in the Christmas box...

The pattern for all the mittens, both adult and children's, came from the Patons 'Next Steps Seven - Mittens and Gloves' booklet and the yarn (from my stash mostly) is Canadiana also by Patons.  

Today is another quote from Maya Angelou..."If you must look back, do so forgivingly.  If you must look forward, do so prayerfully.  However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present - gratefully"  

Here's lookin' at you!

 Remember this guy?

Well, he has since visited the surgeon,
and now looks like this...

At least now hopefully he won't scare 
little children!

Today's quote..."A month from now you can either have a month of progress or a month of excuses why you didn't"

A minor battle won? Maybe!

 Most of you know we live in an apartment now but most of you don't know that the building(s) are almost 50 years old so of course some things are rather in need of sprucing up.  The latest disaster to befall us is the hall closet coming off the moorings yesterday and flatly refusing to yield to my best (previously successful) attempt to fix it.  So...work order in once again.  

Anyway, my point (and believe it or not I DO have one!) and an explanation about the battle being won concerns the grout around the tub tiles in the bathroom.  Of course they're the original tiles with the old grout which is showing its age - along with mold here and there.  I've tried all sorts of things to clean the grout but nothing has worked...until....I discovered THIS and gave it a try.  I was thrilled with the difference!  Once I invest in some more baking soda I plan to treat all the grout lines and see what happens.  In the meantime what I HAVE done looks great!  And there, never let it be said that this isn't a full-service blog!!  

PLEASE NOTE - DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, COMBINE BLEACH WITH AMMONIA!!!   (thanks Liz for the reminder!)

And, just to prove that something has been happening in my sewing room lately, how about these that came about as a result of a special request from our #2 son.  Our grandson is apparently a huge fan of the 'Octonauts' tv show and these are his three favourite characters.  So...something else heading for the Christmas box!  

Pattern is 'The Octonauts' by Mariya Koziova (Amigurushki Crochet Patterns) and can be found on Etsy.  

Today the quote is from Maya Angelou...

"We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable.  It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends, and living our lives"

Christmas box addition

 Our youngest grandson is just the right age to enjoy cloth books and when I stumbled across this one I simply HAD to make it for him.  It's  a pre-printed panel and was really easy to make.  

Of course I had to change it somewhat and I used the trapunto technique to highlight the bear on the cover.

This shows one of the inside spreads in the book.

Today's quote is from Lori Deschene..."Practice the pause.  Pause before judging.  Pause before assuming.  Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you're about to react harshly and you'll avoid doing and saying things you'll later regret"

T'is done!

 

FOR SALE

SOLD!

Inspired by a photo by Robert St. Clair
and used with his kind permission

This landscape would love to have a new home - perhaps in time for Christmas?  It measures approximately 28x21" and features applique, piecing, paint, free motion quilting and hand embroidery.

If you're considering purchasing a landscape, please know that there are more still available and they may be found if you click on the 'landscape quilt' category in my sidebar and look for the 'For Sale' signs.  I will also entertain commissions as time allows between now and Christmas (or throughout the year).  Please feel free to contact me at marmic1954 AT gmail DOT com for further details

Today's quote..."Better an oops than a what if"

Ok - how about a wee vote?

 Yes, how about a vote?  NOT of the presidential debacle kind though!!!  I'm going to give you two photos and let my readers vote (and ultimately choose) which one I will use for my next landscape.  There's no prize, just doing something a little different!

So, please tell me in the comments whether you like Photo A or Photo B better (ultimately I WILL make both, but the question is which to do first!).  I'd love to know why you choose one over the other too.

PHOTO A....

Original Photo by Dale Stewart and used with permission

PHOTO B.......

Original photo by Janice Holton and used with permission

From our kitchen

 

Applesauce!

We bought apples at the market and they were 'mushy', not crisp like we prefer....so.....applesauce happened, mainly because there's currently no freezer space available.  The original recipe we used came from HERE.  We made a few modifications though - we don't like using too much sugar in things so we lowered it to just a scant 1/2 cup and added 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon.  Good idea to taste test before jarring to be sure the sugar and spice is to your liking.  Closer to Christmas we might make some more to include with our gifts.

Today's quote..."If you can't think of a word say, 'I forget the English word for it.'  That way people will think you're bilingual instead of an idiot"  Personally I would replace 'idiot' with menopausal!

Almost, but not quite

The landscape is almost done but I still have a few finishing touches, including the backing and the label.  You can't see those anyway, so for all intents and purposes I can say it's done...

A couple of close ups showing the embroidery, which took me altogether too much time to do!

This is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and the government is telling us to stay home and don't get together with family as many of us normally do.  I found this quote which I think is good for these times..."A recipe for a thankful heart:  one cup of true love, two cups of kindness, three cups of grace, a teaspoon of patience and forgiveness, and just a pinch of zest for living"   We won't be cooking turkey and all the trimmings this year but we're still thankful for all our blessings.

Yawn-worthy

 The landscape embroidery is taking seemingly forever and there is precious little of interest happening otherwise.  So...how about a nod-off-to-sleep-boring photo of the pile of finished mittens?

I know - definitely yawn-worthy!

And what's worse?  I'm still making them...

Today's quote..."Replace sorry's with thank you's.  Instead of 'sorry I'm late', try 'thank you for waiting on me'.  Change your mindset.

Something a little different for you

 Today, instead of a landscape update (only because it's close to being done and I want to do a 'reveal'), how about a recipe?  We had this one over the weekend and it was delicious!

SLOW COOKER SWEET & SOUR CABBAGE

1 medium head cabbage (red or green...we used red) -  shredded
2 onions, chopped
4 tart apples, peeled and quartered
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. apple juice
3 T. honey
dash of allspice
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high 3 - 5 hours or until
vegetables are tender

 

Today's quote..."Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on"

Some miniscule progress - that still took hours

 There's been some more progress on the landscape - hours of work, actually - but - hard to see in a photo unfortunately.

You should be able to click on the picture

so it will embiggen a bit more

Today the quote is from Jackie French Koller..."There are two ways to be rich:  one is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little"

The extent of it

 I don't do much decorating any more (never did, truthfully) but I thought some of you might enjoy seeing my entire fall decorating effort.  

This is a pillow cover which gets changed out with the seasons.  

and, here's a little update on the landscape...

Today's quote..."There are seven days in a week and 'someday' isn't one of them"

A return

 Yes, there's been a return to landscapes and I've started working on this one once again....

If you want to refresh your memory about how this looked the last time you saw it, have a peek HERE.

Today the quote is from Albert Einstein..."Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution"