Christmas Eye Candy

I been working on, and finishing knitting (and crocheting) projects. However, they are Christmas gifts and I don't want to post them now and take a chance of the recipients seeing them. So, for today's post I decided to post eye candy... some of my favorite Christmas ornaments.

These small instruments are made of wood and I absolutely love them. I found them in a store at least 25 years ago and couldn't leave the store without them.


It's amazing that this little paper angel is still around. She's probably around 40 years old. I clipped her out of a Christmas project book when I was a child. Her wings slipped in through two slits and, as you can see, I taped them down long ago to keep them from falling out. I cherish her and place her high on the tree each year to keep her safe.


This is another old and cherrished decoration that belonged to my grandmother. I inherited it when she passed away over 30 years ago. I'm not sure how old it is. My mother-in-law has one and it is a bit larger. There is a small hole in the back, near the top. A small Christmas light goes in that hole and casts a warm glow onto the figures.


I painted this jolly guy in a tole painting class years ago. His name is "Bubbasnickle". I love how he turned out. The colors are pretty, but if I ever make another one, I might change the colors to red and darker green. It would go with more of my Christmas decorations. There is a wire with wooden christmas lights and tiny, golden jingle bells that comes out of the top of his mittens and arches over his head. He also has a tiny little pipe in his mouth.


Despite our busy schedule, we've managed get a good start on holiday decorating. I hope to find the time this weekend to finish it up and get started on other things on the holiday "to do" list.

Eye Candy Friday

My daughter had Tuesday off for Veteran's Day and we took a little day trip. First, we went to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda for a school project. After that we went to lunch and visited one of my favorite quilt shops, Calico House. Then, we went across the street to Omar's bird shop (another favorite stop) and had fun playing with various types of parrots. A large section of the store has chains hanging from the ceiling, in rows, holding perch/platter/play station things. Each one has at least one parrot, usually more. Once you sanitize your hands, you can visit with the birdies. You can pick them up, snuggle them, talk with them, pet them. They're so cute and so sweet. It's a lot of fun!

After Omar's it was off to California State University, Fullerton. It was another opportunity for my daughter to walk around a college campus to see what they're like and get comfortable with it as she gets closer to going to college herself. We also walked around the botanical gardens and took some pictures. These are a couple of them. I don't know what type of flower is in the top picture but I thought it was really interesting and pretty. I always love these...


For quite a while I had been doing great at posting at least three times each week. And, I a lot of them were about projects I was working on or had finished. However, lately it seems like I'm so busy and haven't been able to accomplish much of anything. It's crazy! I feel behind on housework, stuck on projects, and I'm realizing that more things will be added to the "to do" list as the holidays are quickly approaching. Whew! My back has been hurting a lot lately too and that has caused me to stop and rest which puts me even more behind. I did manage to make a lot of progress on a needle felting project yesterday. I had hoped to be able to post it today but I'd like to wait until it's done. Maybe I'll be able to post it this weekend. I'm going to try really hard to get back on track with regular posts.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Eye Candy Friday

I haven't been posting much lately and I don't want anyone to think I've abandoned my blog. So...how about some eye candy for Friday?! I feel like I have a case of cabin fever from staying home so much lately. And, we haven't done much traveling for a while. So, I've been dreaming about going to various places and getting away. This is a picture from our trip to Maui a couple years ago. It makes a great Fall picture because of the colors. They are stems from some very interesting trees. I have no idea what kind of tree it is but it's fascinating how it grows these little rope like things...no needles or leaves...just these. They're thick like ropes, hard, smooth, and bendable. I had never seen anything like that before our trip. But, after we got back, I noticed some trees just like them in a neighborhood in Encinitas (San Diego).

Have a wonderful weekend!