About that tree..............

.....Yeah....ummm......I never did go get the artificial tree from the attic.  I have a very nice, prim tree, a very BIG german twig tree but I just wasn't feeling the "fake" tree this year. 

So, there it was, two days before Christmas Eve and I had no tree.  It was bitterly cold that morning, I was contemplating my tree dilemna as I dressed to go across the road to the barn to feed the stray kitties.  This is a whole other story!  Do you know, we feed these strays, twice a day.  They are currently residing in the very bottom of our small barn.  We heat milk for them and bring them their food.  Kinda like room service!
ANYHOW, I thought since I was going out, in the snow and wind to feed them, that I would look in the field for a tree.....a small tree, since I didn't know where the Mr. was keeping the saw.  So, I grabbed a steak knife, Yes, a steak knife, and headed out.  I fed the cats, and them tromped thru the field thru the wind and snow until I found a little grove of the most pathetic trees you could ever see!  BINGO!  I couldn't decide, I eyed them all from every direction, finally deciding on one with a trunk I thought I could take down with a steak knife!  LOL  I "sawed" and "gnawed the trunk from every direction but I think it was frozen.  Got down on my knees in the snow and "sawed" away.  I'd saw some, then pull the tree some and then saw more on another side.  Finally there was enough that I could pull the tree over and snap the trunk.  I dragged my tree to the house, carrying it up the driveway easily because it was so light as there just wasn't much to it.  I was almost to the house and my daughter-in-law opened her back door at just that moment, took a look at my tree, and exclaimed, "What are you doing with "that thing"????

I tried to hide the steak knife but she saw it...........(I've been the brunt of many a joke over the past week)
Anyhow, I told her she would see, it would be great.  Major eye-roll here.  I got it in the house and then devised a way to make it stand, in water, inside my giant crock all without a tree stand.  I'm not even going to go into that because you all would think I've lost my mind at this point but, I did get it to stand! 
Poor thing, it didn't get decorated until Christmas Eve day, I had to let it thaw.........and it was subject during this time to ALOT of ridicule.

However, I did decorate it.  I did not use any of my normal tree decorations except for the lights.  I then added dried orange slices, and these plastic icicle ornaments from the 1950's that I've never used until now.  I then strung two bags of cranberries and added these to the tree.  It needed something more.  So that night I made these big gingerbread cookies and when they were cooled, I strung them on red cording and hung them as well. 

I love my tree.  I hate to take it down but it does need to go now. 
This is the best picture I could get of it, my camera really is not cooperating with me lately but  you get the idea!!

Might have to do this next year as well.....maybe string some popcorn then too.

A winner and one more giveaway.....

...Donna - Countcrafts!
Congrats, you won!

Not to worry, if you didn't win, I'm going to draw five winners on New Years Eve for one free pattern.  If you have already gotten in on the first drawing, you are still in.  If you haven't, you have until New Years Eve, 7 p.m. EST to do so.  Rules are same as the original drawing.  Best of luck to all!

A BIG new giveaway and Merry Christmas to all!

Our family Christmas party was a huge success.  There was wayyyy too much food but who's complaining!  The little grand daughters sang a nice round of Christmas carols for us, dressed in their Christmas finery!  So cute and serious they were.

This week is filled with baking, cooking and cleaning in preparation for the big holiday weekend.  In you busy lives, my wish is that you would stop and think about the true meaning of Christmas, the ultimate gift that God could give us, our Savior Jesus Christ!!!!!

In the spirit of the season, I want to do my own giving, and so I'm having giveaway-last one of this year.
I'm calling this one, The Twelve Months of Christmas.  For the coming year, one lucky winner will recieve one free pattern each month of their chosing!  Any pattern at all!

In order to get in on this one, you will need to be on my email list, or be a follower of my blog, or post this giveaway on your blog, or just simply comment on this post.  You will get your name added to the contest for each of these.  That gives you alot of chances to win!
So, good luck to all, I will draw the winners name next Monday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Party time!

Tomorrow evening, our family will have their Christmas Party.  Me and my family, my sis's and their hubs and kids and spouses and grandkids and our Mom, we are such a large group now that we needed to rent a place in town to hold our party!
So today and tomorrow is being spent wrapping gifts (NO MORE PLEASE!), cooking and baking.
There's a rumor that Santa Claus is going to make an appearance as well!  The kiddies don't know it yet!
Have  wonderful weekend everyone!!!!

Open mouth, insert foot.....

.....so just "maybe" I should have listened to the Mr.  I haven't decorated this tree yet, I've only hung a few strands of lights on it.  It's dropping needles like mad......
Yup, I know, the artificial tree wouldn't make a mess.

So now I'm afraid to light the tree because it's kinda dry and I don't want a fire....and I'm tired already of the mess.
Crazy.

Probably it's the stove making it dry out..... at least that's what I think.  It's been so cold out that we've had that thing burning non-stop!  But I figured it would be okay because I put this tree in the dining room.  Oh well.

So I mentioned to the Mr. that I should maybe toss this one out back and pull down one of the *gulp* fake trees.  He thinks I'm nuts, he said just deal with it.
Tomorrow, after he leaves for work, I'm going up into the attic *shudder* and fetch myself one of those fake trees and then give this bad boy the ol' heave-ho.

Too bad.....it was starting to grow on me.

....More Christmas tree drama....

Tonight I went out.  Shopping.  Did I mention my shopping was done weeks ago?  That's the trouble with finishing early, your brain doesn't know it's done and it keeps wanting to shop.  It's like I'm an addict, a Christmas shopping addict.

So anyhow, we went out and left the tree home alone....with the cats.  Now if you have cats, you know the equation, Christmas tree+cats=disaster.
NOT THIS TIME.  My cats don't even want any part of this tree.  Heehee!  There's the confirmation, this is one bad tree.

But of course, you do know they are waiting until there is something ON that tree to make their move......

I "casually mentioned" to the Mr. tonight that I would need his help tomorrow with my tree.  "What's wrong with the artificial trees you have in the attic?"

Again with the artificial trees.  You'd think he'd give it a rest.  This tree is here to stay...well at least for the holidays.

I don't want to put it in a tree stand, nor do I want any of my Christmas ornaments.  We're goin' real simple this year.

To be continued................................

One VERY ugly Christmas tree.......

I finally got my Christmas tree.
If you can call it that...
I have not done any decorating yet, none.  Not sure what I'm waiting for.
I've been on the hunt for a "charlie-brownish" type Christmas tree.  Everytime I ask for one, I get weird looks, to which I add, "you know, a sparse kinda tree?"  No one is selling them, they all want to sell me a big, fat, bushy tree.  "Look here, this nice tree is only $40.00"........
Did I mention, I usually put up several *gulp* artificial trees?

Not this time, nosiree bob.  I want a real, charlie-brownish, sparse tree.

I was getting desparate, scanning the woods as we went down the roads.  I was even planning to trek out thru the snow into our own woods to find one.  (yeah, right, insert *eyeroll* here!)

So, yesterday me and my daughter-in-law and my grandson, aka Spiderman, hopped in the car and drove up the hill to my neighbors house.  He grows and sells Chrismas trees.  As we drove in, we were surrounded by beautiful trees, you know, the fat, bushy type.

So I hop out of the car, slide on the ice in his driveway, and smile stupidly as I ask, "Do you have any sparse-lookin' trees?"

He momentarily stares off into the grove of beautiful trees, still in the ground and says, "I think I do".  BINGO!!!! 
Bells and whistles go off, lights start flashing, "ATTENTION MAUREEN,   You have won the prize!"

Well, okay, it was only in my head. 
So he picks up this "tree" from the ground, just laying there on it's side.  I instantly fall in love.  It is sparse.  It is crooked and missing ALOT of branches.  There are even branches, snapped and hanging.  And to top it all off, one side is flat!
"I'll take it!"  I say, much to the dismay of my daughter-in-law.  She thinks I've lost it. 
"How much" I ask.   "Oh", he replies, "I could never charge for THIS tree".....I am persistant, I offer him $20.00.  "No way" he says, "I can't take money for THIS tree".
And so it goes until I finally get him to accept $10.00.
We stuff it into the back of the van and drive down the hill to our homes. 
I lean the tree against the back of my house, flat side against the house!

My hubby soon comes home from work, he is not impressed.  "What's wrong with all the trees you have in the attic" he asks?  "Nothing" I reply, "But LOOK at this one, isn't it great?"  *Major eyeroll here*

Later, after some gentle "prodding" I get him to bring it in for me.  "Where do you want this thing?"  I tell him to put it in the dining room.  He kinda shoves it into the corner against the wall, without a stand.  And there it rests.  Gonna have to get creative with this one. 
Here's some pics of it before he brought it in.  The pics actually make it look okay.

Note the crooked trunk near the top and sparse branches!

Nice and flat on this side!!!!  Don't be jealous!!

It's a girl!

Our third grand child is on it's way, due in the new year.  We just found out this evening that we will soon have another princess in our lives.
That brings the total to two princesses, one prince.....oh, I forgot, HE is spiderman.

God has truly blessed us................................

Snowman...

...Wow.  Two posts in one day.

I just put this guy on ebay.  I really like him but I never keep anything I make.  Really....I don't.  Ask anyone.  I do enjoy looking at them all temporarily but I never become attached to them. 

I'm kinda like a surrogate mom to all things prim! lol  I just enjoy making them for people who cannot make their own!!!

Anyhow, if you think you "need" this snowman, hop on over to ebay!

Snow.

Flurries.
That's what our news keeps saying.  We are getting "flurries", not enough to amount to anything.  Well, maybe not at the T.V. station but we have a good 6" of "flurries" on the ground and it's still "flurrying"...........did I mention I do not like winter?  I'll take it until Christmas, then I want all traces of this white junk gone, GONE.
Yeah right!  lol

Oh, I have my phone back, WOOHOO!!!!!!!!

I've completely lost it!

My phone, that is.  So if you haven't been able to reach me, you'll need to email me now until I find it.
It really stinks getting old!
lol