the happy season

What starts off with a lot of nice ideas for nice handmade gifts for nice people, family and friends, usually ends up as a chaotic scramble to pull things together at the last minute.

Imagine the mother, sitting in the dining room at 11.30pm before the last schoolday, fixing the little goodie bags for the enrichment teachers and the big goodie bags for the teachers after making the handmade gifts for the teachers. Or. The last seam on the totebag for the piano teacher was closed about an hour before she got here for the last pre-Christmas lesson. This list could go on and on. You get the picture.

However, all the rushing and running came to a halt for three special events.

One was the arrival of grandma from Germany - not all is lost! Where I am crazy, she is calm, where I am chaos, she is organized, where I go beyond things, she fills the basics (think laundry, dishes...), sounds good, huh?!

Then setting up the decorations. Over the last years the Christmas bins have been growing slowly and steadily. I find things in thriftstores, buy them in stores or handmade, or get them as gifts, some vintage, because friends know, that I like that. I am attached to all of them and love unwrapping every single piece and finding the perfect spot.

The third is the picking and the set-up of the Christmas tree. Traditionally the whole family goes to pick the perfect tree, then we decorate. This year it is even more special, because the kids did the decorating almost all by themselves with the help of grandma. The tree is perfect!

My wish for you... may your tree be perfect as well and may your Christmas be peaceful and happy!

P.S. If you wondered what became of the un-desired pants - a friend's daughter, sweet little Skyler, 3 years old, got them. Though she does have to grow a little before they will fit, mom thinks they will be perfect!

are you ready?

Okay, friends, especially all the moms or dads of little girls, here it comes.

My first give-away!

These were my daughter's much loved favorite pants and she wore them for a good while almost every day. At some point - of course - the knees were through. I let it go. But then she showed me that she could stick her whole leg through the hole. And she mentioned she got quite chilly with the big air holes...

So mother did some extensive work: undid seams on bottom, then sides, then picked funky corduroy fabric for a funky 70s look and some durability. Remember? Favorite pants. Well, not any more. It started with something like "mommy, I'm really not sure." or "I don't really know what would fit with this."

- Well, what can I say...the jeans have been officially unfavorited and banned.

By now I have been authorized to make this a blog give-away to find a new home for the former favorites (size 6R, stretchy jeans fabric, Lee)!

Pop me a comment if you want these for your girl and by next Wednesday I'll draw the lucky winner and mail these to you!

you, too

And then, yesterday, on the way to bed I found the other fuzzball snuggled up in purple handspun in my favorite basket.

Yes, Ike, I love you, too.

chain of events

Some greenish spots on my kitchen countertops.
Newly dyed skeins of yarn on a rod above the tub to dry.
Little girl puts moist skeins on bathroom floor, because she is going to take a bath.
Mother comes to check on her and finds this:





That's my sweet cat. Real furry and a real good taste in yarn!