Check out

this post if you find yourself leaving comments on blogs and NEVER getting a response from the blog host. 

Stitchin' Sweet Sue recently wrote about the discovery that her comments were posting as 'no reply' comments.  In my case, I get my comments emailed to me.  My badness at thanking or writing back to each commenter doesn't always have anything to do with my bad blog-host manners.  It's sometimes because your comments come up as 'no reply'.  Sometimes I can dig a little deeper and find your blog and email address but, more often than not, I just appreciate your comment and move on. 

So, when Sue wrote her post about discovering her own comments were 'no reply' I asked her to write about how to change that.  Hope it helps.

The day after.

We're winding up a nice quiet holiday.  Soon we'll be back to work, drama club set build, and the college kids are in and out but with less noise and frequency than when they first got home. 

When Buttercup isn't at set build she's busy soaking up her new books.  Here she is Christmas morning...in the midst of the unwrapping.  She just couldn't resist a peak.

We had a blast with this game.  I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys games.  Fun and funny.  On our first go through we didn't want to quit even when a winner had been declared. 

I also wrapped up the Santa Sack Swap 2.   Here is my post about what Betsy sent me. She totally spoiled me. 

I've been stitching a few Christmas pieces these last couple weeks.  I'll post pictures soon.  I'd like to get done as much as I can before New Year's so I can get back to some of the bigger projects I have going.  So, watch for some stitching finishes by the end of the week.   

From me to you...

Busy times

There is always something to do this time of year.  Baking, shopping, cleaning and so on. 

I almost have everything ready.  There is more baking and wrapping but I ran out of paper today.  That goes on top of the shopping list for Friday.  I keep hoping I'm done going to stores but I guess not.  The baking is mostly optional so if I discover I'm out of something I can decide at that time if it's worth buying or not. 

I have a few pictures to show.  First up is the Bon Bon Linda won for knowing or guessing correctly about the pie marker.  I made myself one earlier this year.  So simple.  It would be a neat way to finish a small cross stitch, too.  (There is candy inside.) 

Here are the cookies I baked the other day.  They're simple chocolate chips with swirly chips added. 

Every last one got bagged up and taken to church for the Cheer baskets.  Not knowing people's diet restrictions I kept the cookies simple. 

I finally took a picture of the tree.  It sure looks crooked, doesn't it? It's just me or the way I'm holding the camera.  The kids have even placed a few gifts under it.  In our house we wait for Santa to bring the presents.  I think I always loved that thrill of seeing the presents under the tree on Christmas morning so I don't leave any presents around for anyone to see.  I don't even like to see mine. 

I hope everyone else has everything under control. 

The Tree comes home.

One tradition we hold firm to is cutting our tree.  We climb to the tippy top of the world, trudge through the rows and without fail pick the best one. 

The family joke is that it's ALWAYS the worst weather of the year when we go.  There isn't a lot of flexibility...there are only a few weekends when we can go and chances are good there is only 1 day of a particular weekend we can go. 

To date, we're having an unusually mild winter.  We can almost face the day without a coat.  Certainly gloves can be left behind. 

How about today?  Nope.  No chance.  It's tree cutting day.  Bundle up. 

The hunt is on.

 Oops, I neglected to get a 'before' picture. 

We don't go small, either. 

I need to work on my indoor photography skills.  I think it needs to be dark outside to get a picture that captures the tree at it's best. 

Note to Santa:  Bring it on.  I'm ready. 

Well, there you have it...

#15 and a winner.

I know, you want the winner first.  It is...

I had 5 correct guesses.  The item is a pie marker or cutter so you can get 8 even slices from a pie.  I will surely use it.  I thought maybe the remark about church would throw you off... which it may have given the low number of correct guesses.  We have several at church and use them for pie cutting when we have a dinner.  (Remember the number of times I've had to bake pies for church?  We're big on pies.)

So, Linda... watch for a little package.  Congratulations. 

And finally, I've completed the Crazy January Challenge. 

Phew. 

Would I do it again?  No.  It was fun but once was enough.  I'd like to pick and chose as I go.  Also, I don't like having so many WIP's.  In fact, I'm going back to stitching a few things that were left in the dark during the past year. 

So far

there are a few correct guesses on yesterday's mystery item. 

I'm moderating comments so they'll stay secret. 

Is it really that hard or isn't anybody reading to the bottom of the post to even find out there is a game?? 

Roc the day

Has anyone heard of this?  Given the publicity around here I thought it was a national thing.  Guess not.  It's a one day fund drive to raise money for nonprofit agencies in the Rochester area. 

A cool idea and I think I'm going to be addicted to watching the $$ amount go up today.  I am one of the first 1200 people who made a donation this morning.  Our local food pantry, The Friendship House, is who I thought of first thing.  I could go on for ages about how I feel about them and what they do in our community.  Amazing. 

Anyhow, I'm supposed to be doing housework today.  Instead I keep thinking up reasons to stop by my computer. 

Anyone know what this is?

I was excited to find it at the antique store when I was looking for the sifter.  Now, nobody from my church can guess.  You guys already know exactly what this is. 

Prizes?  Sure, I'll send the winner something.  Such pressure this time of year, but I'm going to wait to see who guesses right..... a drawing will apply if you're all right.  By Sunday, OK?  (Comments only, please.) 

Decking the halls

This year I've been slow to get the halls decked.  Too many other things happening.  It took me about 2 weeks to complete this little piece. 

I was inspired by a post on Paulette's blog.  First she was inspired by a little centerpiece she saw on someone's blog.  Here is the first post and here is Paulette's post where she shows us how to make a wool gingerbread man then puts her display together.  It's cool the way each of us has put our own spin on it.  The key element is the old sifter.  I stopped at an antique store between here and the mall after a day of hard shopping.  I found several but opted for this one with the crank on the top.  I'd never seen one like that.  Then I made the little quilt with some primitive holiday fabrics.  I opted for cinnamon/applesauce cut out shapes, some fresh cedar branches and some rose hips.  Both of those are too sharp for the cat to bother.    Not a bad start. It's sitting on the breakfast bar above the sink so I can see it all the time.

#14

I had no idea this would be such a quick stitch.  Snowmen always take a long time...all those rows of white.  In reality, these are just little 2 inch squares.  How long could they possibly take? 

One lone Crazy January Challenge piece left.  Give me a week.... 2 at the most.