This is Rob's village tree. He built this A-frame shelving unit out of old fence wood, so it looks very aged. He has stories about what the people are doing.
Last night, everyone was gathering at the pub for shenanigans.
I was decorating the tree yesterday. I unpacked all the ornaments in the collection. There are more than it looks like.
This is where I almost gave up.
This is where I took two Aleve.
But, I got them all on the tree. The tree doesn't have the 'sparkle' it usually does. There's a box of balls missing. I asked Rob about it yesterday and he decided the tree had enough on it. Who was I to argue? I definitely went and sat down instead.
It's fine, but it's as lackluster as my Thanksgiving dinner was. It was just the three of us. I pared down the menu some this year, including all the favorites, but not the extras that no one but me likes. Sydney had trouble with her corn casserole, but it came out good. My cornbread dressing had too much poultry seasoning and I baked it til it was dry as sand. And, I added sautéed onion and bell pepper to the green bean casserole. Don't do that. The sweetness of the peppers made the cream of mushroom soup taste sour. No one liked it and most of it got thrown away. Oh, and that butterball turkey was very moist, but it had NO flavor even though I did all the things I normally do to impart flavor, even putting seasoned butter under the skin. But, we laughed and visited and had fun together and that's what really counts.
Rob and I were done with the leftovers Friday night and yesterday, I rendered the turkey down and made a small pot of turkey soup for me to have for lunches and enough leftover to make tetrazzini.
I danced around with a sewing machine on black Friday sale over the weekend. Ultimately, I decided not to pull that trigger. I didn't know that you can buy a new machine without a computer. I don't want a computerized machine, partly for the cost and partly because that stuff wears out faster than the moving parts and when it does, it becomes a large paper weight. Anyway, I discovered that you can buy a "mechanical" machine without a computer for a fraction of the price. If it had been something I was actually shopping for and not a black Friday impulse purchase, I probably would have done it. It was on sale 40% off. But, maybe I'll start studying sewing machines because as much as I love my Berninas from the 80's, they're not going to last forever.
I tried working on my Mom's machine the other day and it exceeded my skills, but I found another machine that fits her cabinet. I think I'm going to like this as my sewing station. I worked on a little quilt over the weekend. I struggled with seam allowances and was kind of frustrated until I realized that it wasn't the machine or the seam allowance I had set...it was the pieces I'd cut that were off, so I'm paper piecing some flying geese to get the right size out of them. This is my Singer 301 machine. It's lightweight like a featherweight, but a full sized machine. I'v used it for piecing and it's great at free motion quilting.
The noose tightens. I can't think of any other way to describe what we're watching in politics. There's a knot that tightens the more you struggle with it. It's like we're watching that process in slow motion. But, slow is still motion.
Everyone have a great week! I hope your holidays were all you wanted them to be and that you're looking forward to round 2 in a few weeks.
Lane
