Black Friday

Another long day of shopping!

Shopping is a woman thing.

It's a contact sport like football.

Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds,

the danger of being trampled to death,

and the ecstasy of the purchase.

Erma Bombeck

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell.

Cover of the Saturday Evening Post 1943.

In 1943, with the United States in the throes of World War II,

Norman Rockwell painted a series of paintings

called the Four Freedoms.

These paintings were inspired by the
Annual Message to the Congress, January 6, 1941

given by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"In the future days which we seek to make secure,

we look forward to a world founded

upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression--

everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person

to worship God in his own way --

everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which,

translated into world terms,

means economic understandings which will secure

to every nation

a healthy peace time life for its inhabitants--

everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which,

translated into world terms,

means a world-wide reduction

of armaments to such a point

and in such a thorough fashion

that no nation will be in a position

to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor --

anywhere in the world.

As meaningful today as it was 67 years ago.

Pray for peace--

everywhere in the world.

St. Louie here we come!

Look what we woke up to this morning!

Looks more like Christmas than Thanksgiving!

I'm packing up my goodies for the trip.
Cookies & cranberries.
I'm bringing the ingredients for my
pumpkin crunch and cranberry bars
to bake on Wednesday.


The Cardinal tin (filled with cookies) and salt & pepper shakers
are for our friends Dale & Carol.
They are crazy about the
St Louis Cardinal baseball team.
I mean crazy!


We are so excited to be spending Thanksgiving with
Mike's sister, brother and their families.
It's been toooo long.

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love.

Thank You for being here with me.

Make it a habit to tell people thank you.

To express your appreciation, sincerely and

without the expectation of anything in return.

Truly appreciate those around you,

and you'll soon find many others around you.

Truly appreciate life,

and you'll find that you have more of it.

Ralph Marston

Put the "give" in Thanksgiving

National Tie One On Day™ celebrates the humble apron

and the spirit of women of earlier generations.

Participation in National Tie One On Day is simple -

on the day before Thanksgiving,

pause in the preparation of your own meal,

wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron,

tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket,

and deliver the wrapped bundle

to someone in need.

National Tie One on Day™ is the brainchild of

Ellyn Anne Geisel, author of The Apron Book,

and is now in its third year.

According to EllynAnne,

no matter which way you turn out of your own front door,

someone who is deserving of a hug is very close by.

“Women clad in aprons have traditionally prepared

the Thanksgiving meal,” says EllynAnne,

“and it is within our historical linkage to share our bounty.”

TaDaaaa.....

Drum Roll Please…..

I tried my best to have him hold the names up so I could get a picture.

But, being 2 years old, and having a mind of his own, he refused.

Aiden is having none of this "smile" say "cheese" stuff.

Yeah, Laura from Happy Times!

Yeah, Suzie Button.

Suzie left a comment and posted a link on her blog.

I hope she likes her Christmas table runner

and cross stitched pillow.

I want to give a heart felt thank you

to the 75 friends who left comments.

I appreciate all the kind words and blessings.

Each comment warmed my heart and

put such sun shine in my day!

It seems the Winter Wonderland quilt

is the # 1 favorite.

The Rail Fence Sun Flower quilt #2.

Butterflies #3.

And a few Wizard of OZ fans.

Thank you, Thank you!

More Cranberries!

This cranberry side dish

is so easy to make!

A delicious addition to your

Thanksgiving table.

I love to put this on my leftover
Turkey sandwiches.
Ohhh….spread a little cream cheese
On a croissant…..
My mouth is watering!

Remove the spices before serving.

We are going to St Louis for Thanksgiving

and I plan to bring a jar for dinner.

You still have a couple days
to enter my give away.
Sweet baby boy will be here this weekend
so I think I will have him draw the winner.
Who could be mad at his
sweet face?

The men are going to see a Badger
football game on Saturday and my
DDIL and I are going to bake
Christmas cookies.
Ohhh.....
Can't wait to see the grandbabies!
Our baby girl has gained 2 ½ lbs and grown 3/4 of an inch.
I’ll make sure to take lots of pictures.
Stay safe and

Cranberries! Cranberries!

Cranberries!

What beautiful shades of red!

And doesn't this look delicious?

The sweet cream cheese frosting and

tart cranberries are a

perfect combination.

It was hard to take a picture,

without getting reflection from the glass,

of this counted cross stitch

Cranberry Sampler

I did in 1984.

25 years......

A whole life time ago.

It really is much prettier than the photo!

I have one more recipe
“Spiced Cranberries”
I want to share on Friday with you
for your Thanksgiving table.

Until then, stay safe and.....

P.S. There's still time to enter my quilt give away!

Christmas Glogg

I came across this recipe for Christmas cheer at
My Messy Thrilling Life.
Brin tells a charming story of Lady Kathryn Callaway
and the Cranberry Christmas Glogg.
Hubby and I couldn’t resist making a jar.
Every other day he stirs it up fussing about
how good it smells and wanting to take a taste test.

It should be a very merry holiday at our house!

It looks so festive on my kitchen counter!

Later this week I'll post my
Cranberry Nut Bars
(with cream cheese frosting)
recipe for you. Always a big hit.
And my Spiced Cranberries for your
Thanksgiving table.

****************************

Now, on to a project that I started in

June 2005!

Yes, I said 2005.

My thought was to use my Christmas "left overs"

and make a scrappy Star Struck quilt.

A free Bonnie Hunter pattern.

Well, mix it up I did.
To the point of not being able to “see”
the green and red stars.
Waaaay toooo busy.

Sew, what’s a girl to do?
I finished 3 blocks before I saw
the error of my ways.

I’m going to put the 4th block together
this week and make a table runner!

Then, make 2 quilts.
One with red stars, the other with green.
And, of course, I have enough
white & gold 2/½ inch “connector”
squares cut for both.
Or maybe made the center stars red
And border stars green.

Sew many possibilities.....

Have you entered my vintage quilt give away?

A few of my favorite things…..

I love these candle holders on my mantle.
I bought them at The Cracker Barrel on sale half price.
.

This stained glass lamp is my most prized possession.
My mother, the Christmas before she passed,
bought this lamp for each of us kids.
I’m sure my brother and sister treasure
theirs as much as I do.

You can't help but think of her each time you turn it on.

This tea set was given to me by my grandmother Violet.
My grandfather gave this to her for their 30th wedding anniversary.
I think it’s the most beautiful thing I own.
I keep it high on the hutch away from little hands.

Here's a few pictures of my booth at The Peddler's Loft.

If your ever in the area check it out!

There are a few holiday craft fairs in town

I’m going to check out tomorrow.

And bake. Cranberry bars, cookies......

Spiced Cranberries for Thanksgiving.

I'll post the recipes next week.

Don't forget to enter my Vintage Quilt Give Away!

Next Sunday, the 16th, is the BIG day!

Click here to enter

Stay safe and.....

Oh my, talk about GOOD! And EASY to make.
This recipe is from my Gooseberry Patch Autumn cookbook.

A family favorite.

Hubby has been helping me with my new venture.
Setting up a booth at the Peddler’s Loft, a local gift/coffee shop.
In this picture the space kinda looks like a closet.
Well, let me tell you, it’s shaping up very nicely, if I do say so myself.

On Friday I will post the "after" pictures.

I need to make one last trip to “fluff’.

I have 12 quilts on display for sale.

Just in time for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas.

Here are a few holiday quilts I've quilted lately.

Cardinals with quilted holly leaves.

Here's two printed panels.

They have so many cute ones on the market now.

Remember the Trust Me quilt?

Jean, who took the class with me, finished hers.

Pretty green pinwheels.

And here's Sharon's Cinnamon Stars quilt.

I love a solid back! It really shows the quilting.

Don't forget my blog give away. Click here to enter.
I'm giving away a vintage butterfly quilt.