This and That...

I am not sure this image has anything to do with this post, I just like it! :)

It has been a very busy and hectic few months for me. Between all of the craft faires that Mom and I have been in and replenishing the inventory, we also flew to Austin, TX for our nephew’s wedding. Did I say I also have a full time job? Of course I have...I tend to have my whiney moments. I am a Litigation Analyst and this job has become increasingly demanding over the last 12 months but I so love this job and would not trade it for anything. I prepare my Department’s defense regarding certain matters for our State’s Attorney General’s Office. It really isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Needless to say when I do finally get home I find the quiet of my sewing/craft room just what I need after a long day. It is therapy!

I half-heartedly entered the craft faire holiday season in September not expecting to sell a lot of my totes so my inventory was miniscule at best. I only had about 20 totes on hand when I started. This year I would have been happy to just make my table fee. I do the shows mostly for Mom. She makes the cutest felt ornaments and she always does well and being on a fixed income any extra money is most welcomed. Much to my amazement it seemed everyone wanted one of my totes. Fast forward… I was buried in my sewing room since September using any spare moment I had replenishing the inventory. My totes take about 6 hours to make. I painstakingly do a lot of hand work that cannot be seen. This mostly involves tacking down stabilizers. Yesterday was my last show for this season. I had 10 totes and came home with only two! That may not sound like a lot of sales but it really is because my items could be considered on the pricier side for a craft faire. Almost all of my totes were bought by people who were going to give them as a Christmas gift. Every time I heard that I just wanted to cry from joy. Not that they were buying one of my totes but the fact that they were buying something hand-made for someone special. My shelves are almost bare and knowing all of my totes that I lovingly constructed will be enjoyed by someone on Christmas makes my heart happy. O.K. enough about all of that, I wanted to finally share some pictures with you!

This is just a very small sampling of Mom's felt items. She has at least 25 different designs. Everything is lovingly stitched by hand.

A lady once asked her where she got the die cuts to make her ornaments. Imagine the look on her face when Mom told her that she cuts everything out with scissors. I swear the woman looked at my Mom like she had lost her mind. She could not get over the work and the detail. When Mom use to make her clothes all of her buttonholes were done by hand. They were the most perfect buttonholes you ever saw. To this day I have never seen a buttonhole done by a machine that can compare to hers.


Mom has been making these little guys for at least 25 years.


My humble offerings







I use fabrics that I like. This year I went with the "how cute is that!" fabrics. Last year I went mostly with elegant and traditional fabrics. I guess this year people were looking for cute!

Have a blessed week.

xxoo, Sue

P.S. I will be posting some of my favorite recipes soon!

Red and Green...The Colors of Christmas

Have you ever wondered why the traditional Christmas colors are red and green? I recently came across an article that explains this. It also explains some of our other traditions that we associate with this most blessed time of the year. Now whether this is correct I cannot say for sure but I certainly have to agree with this notion.

Red symbolizes the blood that Jesus spilt to redeem us from our sins.

Green is the color of life. Therefore, green symbolizes the potential for eternal life that Jesus' sacrifice made possible for all of us. The evergreen tree is green all year round. So it also symbolizes eternal life.





The flame of a candle, the lights on the tree and the star are all meant to remind us of the new star that appeared to proclaim the birth of the sweet baby Jesus.

The bell is a reminder of the bells worn by sheep. They provide a means for the shepherd to find the sheep that has wandered from the flock and become lost. They symbolize our pleas to the Good Shepherd for guidance back to His flock.

The candy cane is shaped like a shepherd's staff. It symbolizes the responsibility that we all have to be shepherds, to help each other and guide each other back to God.



Finally, the bows on the top of the presents are symbolic of brotherhood. It should be a reminder that, just as the ribbons are tied together, we should all be tied together by the knowledge that we are all God's children and therefore brothers and sisters.

Have a blessed day,
Hugs and love, Sue

P.S. I have a very nasty virus on my computer at home. It is so bad that it won't let me access any antivirus software. This virus somehow bypassed my McAfee. It may be awhile before I can get back to regular posts (not that I was posting regulary anyway :)). Things have settled down for me and I was so ready to start posting again. I have so much to share with you! In case you are wondering, I am doing this post from work during my lunch break.

I Am Smitten

I visited the Shabbyfufu blog (gotta love the name) and was completely overtaken by the squeal elves. Now when you come across a home that simply makes you giddy from all its cottage cuteness you can’t help but let out little squeals of delight. These are a few pictures of the romantic Christmas décor that made my heart skip a few beats.

Isn't she beautiful? Did I hear a squeal?


Oh my



Perfectly white. Who says white doesn't make a statement.



I think this table is dreamy.



Subtle Christmas decor.


I am loving this dresser.


This is only a sampling of pictures of this lovely home. There are more pictures at Shabbyfufu.

Hugs and much love to everyone, Sue

Cooking, Decorating and Laundry?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have been visiting many blogs today and everyone is decorating for Christmas. Where is this energy coming from? I want some! Just kidding. I am looking forward to all the pictures.

My granddaughters and I decorated the Christmas tree on Friday. For me that was a big deal because I rarely get them over the holidays because Momma and Daddy always have to work the next day and they live 200 miles away. I must admit that I was exhausted Friday morning because I was up until 1 AM cleaning up from our Thanksgiving feast. At that point it now became a 21 hour day for me. I tend to be a control freak so needless to say I would not let anyone do the cooking or would I allow anyone to help with the clean up. But I would not change a thing because I love it and we had a wonderful time.

The tree decorating went very slow because I was moving very slow. At one point the girls were wondering if we would ever get the tree finished. As the evening rolled around we finally got it decorated.


The only mishap was I could not get the bottom branches to light. Either I missed a plug or they have finally burned out. Quite frankly, I did not want to rummage around inside the tree looking for the plug. Maybe next year.

I really have been very busy these last few weeks. I so want to get back to my blog. I miss everyone. In the next few days I will post some pictures of our trip to Texas. The weekend before Thanksgiving my husband’s nephew got married. It was a beautiful wedding.

We returned to Sacramento on Monday. On Tuesday morning I had to start a marathon shopping trip for Thanksgiving. Since I was having 19 people I had to carefully plan my day so I could get all the shopping done. Before I began my shopping I thought I would get some laundry started. You probably know where this is going. Yes, my 12 year old washing machine went out. Instead of the grocery store, my first stop was Sears. 45 minutes later and much poorer I had my new washer ordered. Oh and a dryer too. The dryer was even older than the washer and I figured it was only a matter of time before that was going to break down. I now finally own a matching washer and dryer. How many decades did this take? :)

I have been on vacation for the last two weeks and quite frankly I need to get back to work so I can get some rest. I AM POOPED!


Many hugs and much love to everyone, Sue

For All of My Dear Friends

From the bottom of my heart, I am wishing you and your family a bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Hugs and much love, Sue

Sunday Morning Tea

I am sitting here this beautiful morning with thoughts of you.
As we sip our tea please think of me and I will think of you.

Have a blessed day.
Love Sue

Anxiously Waiting

I would love nothing more than to say that fall is in the air. It is my favorite time of year. Alas, I cannot say that. It is once again over 100 degrees here in Northern California, compounded with humidity. But I know that fall is right around the corner with all of its nurturing glory and all of her traditions. I don’t think there is any other time of year that has more family traditions.

There are so many things to love about this time of year. The first sign of fall is when we are ready to decorate our homes in all the colors that seem to hug us. There is something very soothing about the colors of fall. These are the colors of nature after all.


Fall is a time to slow down. It is a time for Mother Nature to nurture us. It is time to take in everything she has to offer.

Fall deocrating can be so effortless.



Fall is apple pies. One of my guilty pleasures is a piece of apple pie for breakfast. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.


The first signs of fall bring the anticipation of Halloween. Whether it is helping the little ones choose just the right costume, or for me and my SH it is the anticipation of all the little ones that come to our door that evening, it seems young and old find Halloween fun. I still remember when our boys were little and how much fun we had making their costumes.



Like many of you I am ready for fall. I love everything about it. The fun, the traditions, the decorating, families coming together, the scents that fall brings with it, and the cooler weather. Oh yes, the cooler weather. I am of the age that I relish cooler weather, but that is for another discussion. LOL!

I am wishing you a very blessed and safe weekend.
Love Sue