Out with 18 and in with 19

Woke up with a pumpkin head full of sinus. Fed the farm and went back to bed as it rained outside. Husband got me up for lunch and a nap. Then we watched some movies and 

back to farm chores and sewing.

I got a memory bear finished for a friend who's wife died on Christmas. He has family coming in and we are the away team for church preparations. Everyone is traveling or out of town. Our tiny Ozarks church is shrinking with each passing year.  

But it was a good last day of the year. Taking it easy, lots of napping and creating as the sun set on the cold rainy day. Tomorrow will be very cold and no more rain. Hopefully my sinus will abate and I can have a clear head again.

The Beautiful Fantastic

Watched this movie "This Beautiful Fantastic". Very nice to see this good story, British actors with an English garden. It has Gaelic, ducks, gardens, library and OCD. A refreshing break from all the crappy movies out there. This one will make you warm inside and make you yearn to plant roses.

2019 Doll Projects

There are a ton of handmade dolls thanks to the internet. I am amazed and in love with all the ideas I have seen. So much talent out there.

Who does not love an angry Cephalopod?

How about these?

Gonna make one of these for my sofa. This is just too much fun.

I am restoring this handmade Japanese doll. I love her details, costume and hair.

Found Bearings

Here is the easy pattern I like to use for memory bear making. You can find this at Walmart, Amazon and ebay. I paid more than the original price but it is worth it. Plus there are a ton of online vids about making these bears. I also make plastic and cardboard copies of the pattern for longevity. And get a ton of lightweight interfacing, you will need it.

Christmas day happy clients.

Christmas 2018

It was a very busy Christmas with dealing with feline and human deaths both at home and with friends. This is Puff preventing from making some jelly cookies. I had big plans to bake a variety of cookies this year. But I ended up baking 20 loaves of cranberry walnut bread and a shitload of whiskey balls for gifting in one day. It was the perfect amount for gifting this year thanks to my poultry, plastic bento boxes and the local liquor store.

Church was the usual crazies of decorating and a yet another new priest. This is the 4th priest in 3 years. And each one has their own opinion on how and when to decorate. I stepped away from the whole thing and let others dive into this. I have enough on my life plate.

In all this death, dying and baking we got a real tree. We walked all over a tree farm and selected this one. They cut it for us and loaded it in my truck. Turns out I am allergic to these trees now. I broke out in hives after moving the tree inside. I ended up decorating the tree with long sleeves and gloves and taking a colloidal oatmeal bath after. So worth it though.

Our winter village of musical and moving ornaments. We celebrated with Christmas dinner with one friend over and open invitation for others if they wanted a hot meal. It was a full day of cooking a bird, ham and sides, feasting then Rummikub gaming.Then we had to return to our farms and clean up. We took the rest of the week off and split firewood when we felt like it. One friend died on Christmas day, one slipped into a coma, one was run over by a truck and lived and I thought wow, I got a lot to be thankful for. And I am. Life can change on a dime. I am sad for those left behind who grieve and are in pain. I know that pain. But when you stop and think about it, remember that person or pet, and then you get it- life is one hell of a ride.

Bear in Mind

Here are some fun bears I made from old shirts for a client. She wanted 4 bears from 4 shirts. It worked out well except for the fact the men's shirts were a bit smaller than the normal XL. But I added some extra fabric from my stash. The other sister wants to be a veterinarian so I found a doctor patch and added the V to it. The Walmart patch was where their grandfather worked for many years to provide for his family.

Two of these bears have special patches added. One little girl is a big NASA fan and wants to get into space. As my husband worked for the space program he had a few patches to spare.

Adding stash fabrics for the backs. One is velvet and the other is flannel. I also added weighted plastic filler to help the bears sit better on a shelf. A note that light fusible interfacing is so worth it and a must do. It is mentioned once in the pattern directions but you really have to interface all the bear parts for stability of your stitches in the shirt fabrics.

The pattern I used was Simplicity A2115 It's so easy. You can still find on ebay for around ten bucks even though the original price was $2.00 at Walmart. It is worth it as the pattern is easy. Plus, several people have posted their technique on youtube to show you how to make one. Like a second copy of the pattern using plastic sheets for multiple bear cuttings.

I did add baby proof plastic eyes and flocked noses from my collection. They have a whole community of DIYers that make just custom eyes for costume and hobby crafting these days. I ended up buying some clear glass eyes to make my own after the holidays are over.

Poppy Passing

From my husband about Poppy, our barn cat:

A cat story:
When we first moved to Missouri in 2009, we had another month before closing on a house, so we moved into a hotel and all our pets were boarded at a vet. On the second day, we stopped at Walmart for some supplies. As we got out of the car, a kitten ran under the car. Ruthlynn wanted to rescue it, but I protested saying that we didn't even have a home yet.

We compromised, deciding if it was still under our car when we were done shopping, we would take care of it. After shopping, it was still there. When she pulled it out, she noticed that it was covered in oil and its intestines were hanging out of its rear end. Evidently, it had been run over (not by us).

We hurried it to the vet who popped the intestines back in and stitched him up. We named him "Poppy" because of that. The vet kept him next to dogs for the next month, until we moved in.

When we moved in, he spent more time with the dogs than the cats and acted like a dog. He spent as much time as possible outside. Whenever we walked out of the house, he would run up, meow to be pet, and escort us around, even to the far corners of our woods. He was our pasture pal. He would even climb the trees and meow until we acknowledged him.

When we fostered kittens, he would spar with them and teach them to fight. We have a rug called the "Poppy Dojo" where the male cats would entertain us with their sparing.

About a year ago, Poppy became a bit less responsive. His appetite decreased and he started losing weight. When he started to get really thin, we brought him to two separate vets who could find nothing wrong. Poppy continued to lose weight and eventually quit eating and drinking all together. That was a week ago.

We've been watching him decline, checking on him throughout the day and night to make sure he was comfortable and alive. At one point, when he could barely stand, he headed outside and disappeared towards the woods. We hoped he was going to die on his own terms. But, he showed back up around dusk, ready to come back in.

Tonight he fell down the stairs, was yowling in pain and twitching. We didn't want him to die in pain, so we decided to have him euthanized while the vet was still open. Ironically, it was the same vet who put his intestines back in nearly a decade ago.

Losing a pet is the hardest part of owning one. But, we are thankful for the time we had with him and we feel good that we gave him a good life. His passing teaches us to value the time we have in this world.

Neat Noren

This is a Japanese noren or doorway curtain. It is used indoors in doorways with a tension rod. We use one in our downstairs to keep the heat out of our bedroom from our wood stove. It also lets our cats get into the room while still keeping privacy with the door open. So messy unmade beds are not seen and the cats can still roam freely. These noren can be use also to keep drafts down and flies out. I love that they are floating art you can use instead of a closed door. In New Orleans the old homes had these in every room for almost the same reasons. But I like these light washable Japanese ones more than the heavy velvet of the South.

Juggling Life

My husband made plans to get me off the farm for my birthday. And then failed to communicate to me that we were having a house guest on the same week. And I have crafting deadlines, farm chores, and life in between. So off I went to clear the guest room, make vegetarian list, pick up sundries for a guest and my own long list. Luckily we were going with friends to the Silver Dollar City so no planning there and I pack light. But our farm was another matter. Our guest was not available to farm sit as she had other engagements keeping her off the farm most of the time. But another friend said she would come over and make sure the fish, rabbits, dogs, cats, poultry and horses were fed. All was set and a snowstorm was expected. I picked up winter storm supplies for my human visitor, our truck and farm feed. We left with a fully prepared farm and secured farm sitter and happy guest. No snow storm came and by the second day all was well. Until my farm sitter came inside the house and surprised our house guest. Oh well you can't prepare for everything. It all worked out, we returned from our adventures, the farm was happy and our guest was on her way back to family with no bad weather. And I am back to crafting, baking and trying to enjoy the holidays.

 I finally bought a light/lamp used for light therapy. I use it most times when I am on the computer or indoors sewing. I have to say my husband noticed a more positive me this holiday. So it must be helping stem my holiday gloom. 

Morgan City Christmas

How cool is this eight white alligators pulling Santa's sleigh in Morgan City, Louisiana.

As a child of Louisiana I can relate to the white alligators.

Silver Dollar Birthday

Our friends treated us to a trip to Silver Dollar City for the Christmas lights. They use LED lights that are bright even during the day. We toured all the crafters, shops and food places.

Everything in lights.

Lots of shops

Over decorated trees and all for sale.

As dark came on we got on the train to see the lights, hear the Christmas story and see more lights.

The parks is super clean, very nice staff and vendors. Disneyworld/land fails in all these.

The whole park is lights on everything. Bathrooms are clean, plenty of staff to help.

Shuttles from the parking lot to the park. It was cold but wonderful.

The whole park at night. Then they light the big tree and have a parade before closing.

This huge tree changes colors as Christmas songs play.

Park visitors are so nice even though there were a lot. People are happy and in good moods. So refreshing compared to other parks we have been to.

When you buy something the park will hold it for you at the main office. You get a claim ticket and your receipt. Anything you buy will be waiting for you so you do not have to carry it around. How cool is that and it is free of charge! So after our visit we collected our purchases, waited for the trolley and got taken to our parking lot. It is a wonderful park to visit.