The Mennobrarian

Christmas "get to know you"

1.) Wrapping paper or gift bags?  I have to say that every year I try and do something different in that department. One year I wrapped everything in brown mailing paper. Used raffia for ribbons, it was really pretty.

2.) Real tree or artificial? Most of the time it's artificial but this year I might get a real one.

3.) When do you put up the tree? A few days after Thanksgiving, around the weekend after.

4.)When do you take the tree down? The day after Christmas.

5.) Do you like eggnog? OH yes, but I can't have too much of it.

6.) Favorite gift recieved as a child? My Easy Bake Oven. It prepared me for my life as a mom, LOL.

7.)Hardest person to buy for? My husband, he is by far the hardest. He never tells me what he wants and then whatever I do get him, he always looks depressed.

8.)Easiest person to buy for? I would have to say that would be my wonderful daughter, Kristy. She loves anything that she didn't have to buy herself. LOL She loves old vintage things, so last year all she wanted was garage sale and thriftstore items. I had a blast shopping for her and she had a blast opening her gifts.

9.)Do you have a nativity scene? Yes a few small ones, but I would really love a nice one that I could set up on top of my entertainment center.

10.) Mail or e-mail christmas cards? Mail, with pretty Christmas stamps.

11.) Worst christmas gift you ever recieved? I would have to say a tread mill that my dh gave me one year. It was one of those manual ones. Lets just say it went back to the store. lol

12.) Favorite christmas movie? A Christmas Story. The "B B Gun Boy" as we call him, is  in my top five movies of all time.

13.) When do you start shopping for christmas? Early November, sometimes sooner.

14.) Have you ever recycled a christmas present? Probably so.

15.) Favorite thing to eat at christmas? Cornbread dressing and turkey.

16.) Lights on the tree?  Most years yes.

17.) Favorite christmas song? I'll Be Home for Christmas

18.) Travel at christmas or stay home? Always stay home, everyone comes to me.

19.) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes I can.

20.) Angel on top of tree or star? Old fashion quilted star.

21.) Open presents christmas eve or morning?  Christmas Eve at the inlaws and Christmas morning at home.

22.) Most annoying thing about this time of year?  The crowds.

23.) Favorite thing about this time of year? Baking goodies and the cooler weather.

24.) Favorite ornament theme or color? When my dad died 26 years ago, I made an ornament with his picture in it, so that would have to be my favorite one.

25.) Favorite food for christmas dinner?  Same as #15.

26.) Favorite christmas tradition? Putting up the tree and drinking egg nog while listening to holiday music.

27.) What do you want for christmas this year. My family around me.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Abe Lincoln, Thanksgiving and Divine Intervention

Here's something I found and thought it would be a great lesson for our children with Thanksgiving coming... {KW<><}...

In the White House, Abe Lincoln was pacing the floor of his office.  He felt more troubeld than he had ever felt before.  The fate of the Union was at stake.  He felt as if he were almost alone in his concern for the outcome.  Friends and aides appeared to be almost panic-stricken.  Abe felt that this was the most critical hour of the [Civil] war, perhaps the most critical hour in the entire history of the United States.

In desperation he left his office, went into this room and locked the door.  There he fell before a chair.  With his head in his hands, he wept and prayed.

Now, more than at any other time in his life he turned to God.  In deep anguish he told God that he had done all he could.  He pleaded for help.  There was nothing more that he could do.  He must leave the result of the battle in the hands of God.  He now knew that if his country was to be saved, it would be only because God willed it.

It was a heartbreaking hour of prayer.

When he unlocked the door and came out of his room he felt that a great burden had suddenly been rolled off his shoulders.  His intense anxiety and torturing concern had been relieved.  He felt a quiet and calm trustfullness...

On his desk was a copy of the Thanksgiving Proclamation.  He had proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a day of national Thanksgiving.  The nation had never before had such an annual Thanksgiving Day and he had decided that it was time the nation remembered in a special day what God had done.

Now he read slowly the proclamation:

We have been the recipients of the choistest bounties of heaven; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.  But we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

Tears slipped down his cheeks as he read these words, for he believed in them deeply.  It was because of this belief that he ordered the Treasury Department to engrave the words, In God We Trust, on American coins.

As he was sitting at his desk, thinking about these things, an aide rushed in and excitedly exclaimed, "There's good news from the battle at Gettysburg, Sir..."

But in spite of this great victory, his days were filled, dealing with generals, listening to the problems of many citizens, and handling endless administrative details.  For help he turned to God through the Bible and in prayer.

Almost daily now, he felt the need to go to his room to pray.  More and more, he became conscious of the work of God in the affairs of men.

Writing to a friend, Byron Sutherland, one day, he said,

I believe we are all agents and instruments of Divine Providence.  I hold myself in my present position and with the authority invested in me, as an instrument of Providence.  I am conscious every moment that all I am and all that I have are subject to the control of a higher power, and that power can use me or not use me in any manner and at any time as in His wisdom might be pleasing to Him.

One day, Mr. Chittenden, the register of the Treasury, asked him if he believed that God actually directed national affairs.  With a deep feeling of emotion, he replied,

The the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible...I have many evidences of His direction, many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannont doubt that this power comes from above.

~~~Reprinted from Honest Abe by Harry J. Albus.

Boomers and Stuffing, and finish

Measure 9" X 7" for the bloomers, cut two. Fold material in half and cut a slit down the middle.

Sew sides and middle

Fold down and sew a small seam at top, leave a small opening at the end. Weave elastic through.

Turn the bloomers right side out.

Now, I started working on the body again.

I sewed all of the pieces, and then turned them right side out.

 Next I stuffed.

These are the tools and stuffing that I used. My turning tools are just simple dowels in various sizes. The stuffing is poly fill.

These are what the arms look like stuffed.

I sewed the arms and legs on, painted a face and dressed my doll.

Now, this is my first doll, but since I've finished her, I have created several more. I finally found a face that I liked. I'll have to post the new doll later, when I get a picture of her.

Making the dolls is trial and error, but after making the first and then the second it gets easier with each one. On my first doll, I didn't like the cheeks barn red, and opted out for a bright red color. I also decided not to paint the white under the eye with the next dolls that I used.

I also put a box bottom on each doll so that they can sit easier. The way that I do it is different than the way most people do it. You can do a search using google for making a box bottom, or even doll making, and they will show you how to do it the correct way. I just basically sewed across the body of the body, then stitched diagonally, like a triangle, and then clipped close to the stitching. You can also add poly pellets in the bottom of the body to give it a little weight. I put the pellets in the first three dolls that I made and then didn't put it in the next three. I haven't decided yet which way I like better.

Paint and embroider your dolls face, paint the shoes, and a red ring around the leg. I added a red ring later on this doll, along with a white larger ring for socks. Lastly, I sewed on the hair. There is a really great doll and hair tutorial here: http://www.bowls-n-annies.com/pages/Makingaprimitivedoll.htm

So, here is my first try at a doll.

My next doll looks totally different. I will post her when I get her dressed. Right now, she and her other four "sisters" are naked waiting for a cute dress to wear.

Eggs and Christmas Cards!

We got our very first egg from our hens this morning!!!!  We are sooo egg-cited!

I've been working on some Christmas cards and thought I'd post what I've come up with.  The snowman is quilled.  I learned how to quill in the Keepers class at homeschool group (thank you, Cindy!) It's a fun and simple craft, though a bit time consuming.  Still, I think I'll have all my cards done in time to send out for Christmas, and they only cost me about 20 cents a card to make!

Sorry, the image is fuzzy, but you get the idea.

Happy Trails!

A Circle of Quiet

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ #9 ~ 11/18/08

For Today...

Outside my window...beautiful sunshine shining on a very thin layer of snow.  Sparkling like glitter on the roofs of the house and out-buildings.  It's been a few days since the morning has begun with sunshine.

I am thinking...how silly I was to have forgotten to do my Daybook yesterday!

30 DAYS OF THANKS, DAY 18

  It has turned wintery here in east central Indiana!  I froze all day at work yesterday, but kept busy and enjoyed my time there. 

  I am thankful for the good day I had yesterday.  After I came home from work, everything seemed to fall into place--time with children, dinner, time with husband, the load of laundry I needed to do, etc. 

  I have a load of towels/undies/socks in the washer now.  Hope to get that completed, make chili for lunch, get through my 4-hour shift at work, read a Bible chapter, do school with children, make dinner.  That is all I am requiring of myself today. 

  My youngest daughter has been begging me to let her make spice cake.  I found a simple recipe on this website so hopefully I can fulfill her wish today or tomorrow.  She loves to crack eggs open!

Have a great Tuesday!

Melanie

Thanksgiving With the Inlaws! UGH!

If you know me, then you know we have had problems with hubby's parents since we have been married.  It started a few years ago, the day I told them I was pregnant.  LOL  Probably not that exact day, but pretty close to it.  To make a long story short, we didn't get together with any of this family last year over the holidays because we believed it was better for our sanity and health to not have them near us.  My MIL is overbearing, manipulative and likes to lie about me to my hubby behind my back.  My SIL takes pics of our son and broadcasts them all over the internet without our knowledge or permission, and she is a certified crazy person.  (NO, I really am not exaggerating....she is on more psychotic meds than I can count!)  My MIL's house is filthy, cluttered to the casings above the doors in several rooms, dirty dishes piled sky high, and a bathroom where the floor is actually "swishie"  (Seriously someone is going to fal in someday to the concrete cluttered basement floor), and asbestos is falling from the ceiling in her pantry and kitchen.  And this is all with a housekeeper that comes every 3-4 weeks.  She figures she doesn't have to pick up, wash a dish (EWWWWW), or vacuum in between times, and the housekeeper is not allowed in the rooms that are stacked to the upper door casings.  (Why hire and housekeeper and then say, you can't clean those 3 rooms????)  I only know these things, because I used to be her housekeeper, and after cleaning her house 2 times, I quit!!!

So, now you undrerstand why, with the holidays coming up, and us actually talking to hubby's family this year, why we are a little on edge about going to their house, and, well, eating there.  (I usually take my own food.  Honestly....sad isn't it??? Last time we were there for Thanksgiving, I took turkey and noodles in a crockpot, some veggies, some hotrolls and a dessert and this way I know I have food that was made correctly and in clean dishes, etc.  I also insist on eating off of styrofoam plates and disposable silverware, and will only eat other items that are prepackaged, like chips and won't drink anything she has mixed up.  I will only drink something I bring with me, or something from a bottle like pop or apple juice)

So when my brother and his wife invited us to Thanksgiving at their house on Thanksgiving Day, we accepted and decided if Matthew's mother was mad about it, oh well.  LOL  So Matthew's mother calls tonight and asks us what our plans are and he told her.  She told him they are going to Matthew's aunts house, and would still like all of us to get together maybe on Friday or Saturday.  Matthew is working those days for some extra Christmas money, so he suggested Sunday.    Then he asked her to wait one moment, covered the phone receiver and said, are you interested in hosting Thanksgiving on Sunday???  I said SURE!!!!!!!  But I don't want to start a big family stink over it (they just don't understand our views of cleanliness and etc.  It isn't only the clean thing, we are talking they brought lice into my home....no we didn't get it....but they knewingly walked into my house with it on their LONG hair, all 3 of them!!!  Oh, and the fleas I found on Noah at their house when he was only 4 months old.  I could go on, but you get the icky ideas right?)  So he said, would you like to have it at your house or ours mom??  She said, oh I would love to come to your house, that way I don't have to cook.

That just made my day!!!  LMSO  Thank you for answered prayers Lord.  We are trying our best to get along with Matthew's family with their differences in religions (they think God decides before you were ever born whether you will go to heaven or not......yeah, that makes for some interesting conversations, to say the least), morals, as well as the things I have already mentioned.  His mother threw a FIT last year when we said we didnt' think their front porch was safe to stand on,  (It had a whole the size of a lazyboy chair on it and we had to step over it) and then she made a comment to her daughter, and then it was canceled.  It is not that we are better than them.  We just have common sense!!! 

So, I will be GLADLY hosting Thanksgiving dinner for hubby's family this year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.   I am really looking forward to is because I love to host get togethers, and although hubby's family is a little (ok, alot) odd, and backwards, most of the time they mean well.  We are trying to give them every benefit of the doubt and praying about our relationship with them, and his controlling mother, "letting me" have Thanksgiving at our house and liking it is truly a miracle. 

So, now, what about the menu??? Should I decorate before they come over, or make it a family even for them to join in on???  Should I make traditional turkey day foods, or change it up a little?  Should I use disposable silverware and plates, or use the good china???  All those decisions to make, but I am happy to plan it all out!!!

I do know one thing.  This year I will be using mom's large Peacock Platter to serve with. It doesn't match any other piece of serving dish I own, and it didn't mom's either.  LOL  But she used it every Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember, and now that she is gone, and I have the platter in my collection, of course I have to use it.  I will try to take pics of it later and post.  It really is a gorgeous serving piece!!

MY CHRISTMAS APRON IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually this one is not really mine.  I made it for someone in an Apron swap.  She is hosting a large Christmas party and wanted a "nice" apron to wear for company, etc.  I hope she likes this one.  The good part??? I have enough extra fabric to make me one just like it!  *Excited*

You can't tell in these pictures because of the black fabric, but it is pleated down about 5 inches and then a full skirt.  I got the pattern from a Christmas family who runs a business out of their home.  Here is a link to their company, which sells patterns and the most beautiful fabrics ever!  ( I bought my fabric elsewhere because I was looking for something specific, but they seriously have some gorgeous fabric!)

www.mariemadelinestudio.com

Don't you love the fabrics????   Here is another:

And here is a close up on the fabric:

Another Tshirt Dress....This Time For Winter

I finished up on another tshirt dress several days ago for my neice, Mindi for her 5th birthday.  This thing is going to be so warm.  It is a red long sleeve tshirt with heavey plaid flannel on the bottom.  I made the skirting extra full because she likes to twirl.  LOL

Here is a picture of the whole dress:

And here is a close up picture of the skirt fabric: