Did I really just post that as my title?  Talk about putting on the pressure!  Only 43 days til Christmas -- well, since it's the afternoon, I guess I only have 42 1/2 days .  I didn't realize I had not posted since October!  My, how the time flies!  But I have been busy...as we all have, I'm sure.  In addition to everyday life, our family has been working on Christmas things and enjoying Christmas music, too!  To be perfectly honest, we listen to Christmas music pretty much any time of the year, whenever we feel like spreading a little Christmas...and I sing Christmas songs to my children in addition to lullabies throughout the year - we all love them!

So, for a quick update: 

• The homemade vanilla I made turned out GREAT!!!!  I've been using it and it is so refreshing to walk down the aisle in the grocery store and NOT have to pay what they're asking for vanilla!  Plus I have the added bonus of knowing exactly what is in my vanilla!  Did you know that commercial vanilla has corn syrup in it?  Even the more expensive stuff!  Why?
• I'm actually making progress with my rag quilts!  I hope to have one finished in a week (I work on them only about 30 minutes per day). The biggest delay is that I couldn't find the fabrics I needed at the price I needed to pay!     I have, however, resigned myself to the fact that I may only get one done for a Christmas gift.  But there's always next year for the others!
• I have knitted 3 caps and started another to give as gifts.  One of the caps was claimed by my daughter and one by my son, so I had to start more.  What a compliment, though!  They loved them!  Since I don't sit down too much at home unless I'm on the computer or nursing, I use any time we are travelling in the vehicle to knit (that is, of course, when DH is driving!).
• Oh, I have been enjoying my winnings from Mennobrarian!  I won the giveaway I posted about last time!  I was so excited!  The parcel she sent was wonderful, chock full of goodies!  I am thinking of doing a giveaway of my own now...if I can just think of a prize everyone would enjoy.
• I have been making Amish Frienship Bread every 10 days and we love it!  I've added Pumpkin Spice pudding mix to it as well as nuts, and it tastes like the moistest, most yummy Pumpkin Bread!  I've frozen a couple of loaves for the holidays.  I've also run out of people to give starters to!  Everyone I know has a starter already!
• I've got our Thanksgiving meal planned out and just need to buy the turkey.  I have a raincheck for turkeys at Kroger for 59 cents per pound that I have been waiting to use for a month now!  They haven't gotten any more in, so I'm HOPING it will be this week.  I don't believe any other store near here has advertised them for even close to that price.  Other than the turkey, I have pretty much everything.  I am going to make pumpkin pies this week and freeze them so I'm not doing it all in one day. 
• And, last but not least, I have been cleaning/reorganizing my kitchen.  The key to it for me is to only work on a few certain sections each day.  I am famous for getting into a big project like that and trying to tackle it all in one day.  The result?  A bigger mess than when I started, and in the case of the kitchen, NO DINNER!  That's tough on the tummy AND the budget!  We either end up snacking or going out for fast food - neither being acceptable solutions!  This time I divide up the areas and tackle one "section" per day.  For example:  I have 7 upper level cabinets in my kitchen.  I want to take only 3 days to accomplish the upper cabinets redo, so I will need to tackle 2 cabinets per day.  This makes it a task I can complete instead of dragging everything out of every cabinet, only to run out of steam before I get everything sorted, decided upon and put back in the cabinets!  Well, there's more to the "system" but that's a general idea, and so far, it seems to be working!  The biggest bonus so far is that I know which spices and seasonings I have plenty of and which ones I need to replace  before the holidays!

So til next time, Cheers!  And Happy Thanksgiving!