Travelling "ABC's" and Packing up the Tree

Blogging Buddies...  I'm still not got my head around this salutation and my just go back to my other one... I should give it the old college try first.... a few more days.   Well the rain is holding of until next Wednesday, but the temps will be dropping 12 to 15 degrees by Sunday!!  That will be nice a chilly!!

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Yesterday the mail brought me a wonderful package....

.....  what can this be you might ask....  Well, I tossed my name in with a group of stitchers to be included in a "Travelling" pattern and it has arrived - along with a couple of great Christmas charts  - thanks so much Sherry!!!  Jennifer over at "Confessions of a Serial Starter" put together group to travel a pattern about and now its my turn.  I got it from Sherry (click her name to see her finish) - it is really lovely!!  Now, I need to get my act together and finally make a choice for the linen and the floss - I have some ideas but have put it off until the last moment!!  Then once I finish -  off I will send it to Teresa!!

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Well, finally last night I made myself not pick up a needle and silk and instead got out the rolling boxes that the Christmas Tree Ornaments get packed into.....  I know it is practically Chinese New Year and my Tree is still up and flashing Christmas!!!  I can't remember the last time I let the Tree stay up this long, but I have really enjoyed it immensely this year and now there is a big blank where just a day ago there was something pretty!!  I had a question a while back about how I store my regular Christmas ornaments and so would like now to answer that now....  basically they live in covered rolling flat boxes under the second bedroom bed....  but to begin with...  I haul the rolling boxes downstairs and unload the tissue paper on the floor...

The who-hounds enjoy this bit and I usually end up chasing some of this paper all over the house.  I take each piece and flatten it out and make a pile - then as I take each ornament off the tree I can wrap it in tissue and then put it away in the box - here is an overall snap of the production...

You can see the pile of tissue and the boxes getting filled up.  We have so many ornaments that these plastic boxes really bulge on top so I could never stack them - and may even have to break down and get a third box.  This is how I store a majority of ornaments - I store my sterling ornaments each separately in Pacific Cloth pouches and in their own separate Christmas box - and my antique ornaments also get pack away double wrapped and in their own box.  I know it seems kind of crazy - and a bit anal, but I have virtually no breakage and can put my hands on the pieces I am looking for - which for my cluttered and disorganized life is a shear miracle!!!!!

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Remember today is the very last day to enter my San Francisco Gift-a-way - you can click HERE to go to the Post to sign up - make sure to do this by 2:00 PM PST to make sure you are entered.  I'll get the who-hounds to do the majick they so aptly do to pick a winner and announce it on Monday.

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by and for you kind comments about my stitching on "Tis the Season."  Have a great weekend - and do stop by again!

Take care,

edgar

The Weekend Just Flew By - Whooosh

GR&DF you know how it is. When the weekend starts and finishes within the same couple of minuets. It felt like that this weekend here in the city by the Bay. The weather held out most of the day Saturday with wispy clouds and some sun, but by Sunday the clouds where just rolling in from the west and we only had what seemed like just a moment before the sky opened up and it poured. Not a steady rain but on and off in waves most of the day.

On Saturday I got another wild hair and hauled out the bread machine-o and was bound-damned and determined to figure out and make some cina-buns. After making the super easy bread part I rolled out and cut up and let rise and baked et voila -

Then covered in a buttery cream cheese frosting they turned out pretty tasty!! I'll throw more snaps and the recipe on BB Bakes. You know something - I think you could cover dirt with cream cheese frosting and it would be simply delicious!!!!!!

Then yesterday morning we went on the hunt for the Christmas tree. This year we decided to have a real tree so we had to go find one. We visited a great lot here in the city and they had some great trees....

and some beautiful wreaths....


they even had the mini table top trees....

We where looking for a smallish 4 footer and eventually found one we thought would be nice. The whole time we where looking I didn't see any pricing on anything anywhere! I should have known that was a bad sign. I always remember my Granny saying "If you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it." But, I thought to myself - "self, this little scrawny 4 footish tree can't be more the $25 or so." Silly, silly me!!!!! I eventually found someone that could answer my question. She came over to see what tree we wanted.... after looking at her very secret list she extracted from her very inner pocket on her very ratty coat - she said that the little 4 foot tree had a price tag of $68.00. "What was that??" "Oh, just $68" she reiterated and then walked off to stun someone else. I looked at Rico - he was picking his jaw up off the ground at that particular moment. I put back this unusually special and rare noble fir tree - for it was NOT the tree for us. We two poor tree hunters slunked off back to the car and sat there a moment. "Was she kidding!!" - I said...... "Off to the new Lowe's" - Rico said.... and 15 mins later we were pulling into the Lowe's parking lot.

We walked into the store since we didn't see any tree lot - we did pass two 7 foot tall tress decorated with $35 price tags!! Now that's a price!!!! We walked into the Christmas sections and my eyes where accosted by these....

Now I am all for new and unusual colours, but I like me the more traditional red Poinsettias - I can even bend a little for the variegated red and white ones, but not blue (and these were way more blue that they look in the snap!!). We eventually found the tree lot and got us a great 4 foot tall noble fir for $19.99!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

We got our tree home and wrestled it into the stand - I hate that part!! and it sits all belighted waiting for tonight when the decorations will be applied.

The wild hair from Saturday got me again on Sunday and I whipped up a Cherry Pound Cake -

It is pretty tasty and the majority of this sucker went off to work with Rico this morning. I'll post that recipe also on BB Bakes.

That about wraps up the weekend - I did very little stitching - just not in the mood I guess. Thanks for stopping by, do come again!!!

Take care,
edgar