Boy do I need to catch up. Christmas around here is, as usual, extremely busy. We got all the lights put up by the 6th of December but took until a week before Christmas before the inside was done, and even then there were more things to add to and fix. Finally just relaxed and let them go undone.

We did have a nice Christmas though. Tom's Mom and David came down and we had Roast for Christmas eve dinner then turkey and dressing for Christmas day dinner. We tried to make it as simple as possible but still spent 2 whole days in the kitchen cooking. Wonder if we will ever start early enough to get it all done before the last minute. Our town, Big Spring, TX, has a festival of lights each year so we went to see that. Very pretty. Lots of giant candy canes and poinsettias.

I made ornaments for everyone this year, and some gift baskets for the ones that weren't here. That was kind of fun. Haven't ever done that before so made game time baskets for the sports fans with Chex party mix, pkg's of microwave popcorn, pkgs of instant cocoa and cups, and fudge and magic cookie bars. Did a similar one for movie night for the non sports fanatics. If I had planned ahead a little more I would have included some mugs and napkins but was a last minute idea.

The ornaments I made are folded star and so much fun to make. I sold quite a few of them on ebay and plan to sell them on my new etsy site.

A while back I posted that I didn't sell any of the little lamps I made but guess the timing was just off as I relisted them closer to Christmas and sold quite a few. Have put the rest of them on my etsy site and will be making more stuff to sell on there.

Here is the link to my etsy site.

GleamingDollhouse.etsy.com

Here are a couple of videos of our house this Christmas, kind of blurry but you get the idea. The Christmas trees are live trees we bought in years past. There are 10 in all. We haven't been able to buy trees the past few years as no money, maybe we can start again someday.

Here are some pics of the house where you can get an idea of how many lights we put up and how much work we put into it. I still enjoy it and wish i could just leave it up all year but the weather would destroy it all. I do have plenty of storage space though and I enjoy putting it all away and organizing it almost as much as putting it all up Here are the ornaments I have been making, or rather a sample of them. I started real late but sold almost all I made. I have plans to make them all year and have some great ideas for making them with pics like the Coke ones, dogs, horses, letters, etc. Maybe can get enough made to sell at a craft show or two as well.

I almost forgot, had to post this pic of my grandson. I was holding him and he just kept leaning over looking in the empty trash can so I put him in it. Just the right size for him to stand up in and hold onto the edge. He was perfectly content for the longest time. Goofy child.

This is one of the little bedspreads I made to sell on eBay. It is supposed to look like a vintage chenille spread with the teeny adorable pompom fringe around the bottom.

















This one is a silk fabric with silk ribbon embroidery design in the middle. I love this one and plan to make another with red silk ribbon embroidery on it.



This is a little tree I made to sell but if it doesn't sell I will be more than happy to keep it to use in my own dollhouse.

I have been getting caught up on lots of things. Forgot to take a picture of the little pink tree skirt I finally finished. Well I say finished. I bought trim to go around the edge but didn't get quite enough so will have to finish that later. Also got 12 quilts ready to be sent off to the quilter and several table runners ready to finish myself. Already finished one of those. Will have to take some more pics tommorow. Off to bed for me, it's after 5 AM!

These are the chandeliers I made for dollhouses. I did sell 2 of them, the gothic with the rose and skull and the first waterfall.

These are some of the little lamps I made that I think are just too cute. I listed them on eBay and didn't sell a single one. Am still trying to figure out why. I also made some little chandeliers and sold 2, the gothic one and the big waterfall one.

Catching up

Whew, What a hot hot summer! Finally have my computer set up where it is cool. Have worked on my crazy quilting but no pics yet, maybe tommorow. I have recently been working on my dollhouse and have accomplished quite a bit. Am in the middle of doing the wiring right now. It was already wired but was having so much trouble keeping the work that was already done on it, working, decided to start over. Walked in the other day and this is what I found!



Yes, the dollhouse is upside down. I decided it was easier to wallpaper the ceilings with it upside down, and did some of the walls too! Our grandson, who we call Peanut, is growing like a weed. He is 5 months old now and laughing and starting to grab his toys and bottle. Just too cute for words! Here is a pic from 4months.



Here are a few more pics of some cute happenings around our place. My baby Maggie is growing and is the subject of all kinds of cute pics. She loves Lucky, my daughter's cat and we caught a pic of them sleeping together. She also loves to sleep in Dad's lap. The next pic is of our nightly visitor to the outside cat's food bowl. The last pic is of my sunflowers, that tall one is 9' 6" tall.

Mom, Andrea, and her new little peanut!



Big Sis, Jesi, and her new little brother



Big Cousin, Christian, and his new little cousin



Andrew James Underwood 4 lbs 11.4 oz, 18" long, a tiny little peanut! What a little sweetie!

February 18

Well the refinery fire is out and all is quiet again.

I have actually done a little sewing the last few days. got some blocks put together for a baby quilt I started last year. Then added borders to my crazy quilt cats block that was in a round robin. Also did a little sewing on the skirts for my tables that I set my village on. Didn't have time to do it before Christmas so am getting it done so it will be ready for next year.

Better get off to bed, was up early with the explosion this morning and am definitly feeling it. Maybe can post some pics tommorow and some of my new puppy.

Our refinery explosion

Just wanted to post a couple of pics of the smoke plume coming from the refinery explosion that happened in my town about 8:15 this morning. It woke me up and looked over and my fish tank was rocking back and forth. These pics were taken from my bedroom window and we are about 10 miles from the refinery. I took these about an hour ago about 1:00 pm. It's amazing only one person was injured at the refinery. A girl was hurt that was driving by the refinery on the interstate when her car was thrown off the interstate. Lots of windows broken in the area within a mile or 2 of there. I'm sure we will hear more things as time goes by. The smoke is still drifting off to the northwest so we haven't had to deal with that problem here in town although I am sure the little towns of coahoma and Sand Springs are in its direct path.