I might just try a few days of this

25 December days of photos is being hosted by Susan. I found out about it from Lori.

1. Something Red
2. A list
3. The Christmas tree
4. Presents wrapped under the tree
5. Something warm and tasty
6. A candy cane, or five
7. A wreath with a red bow
8. Stamped and addressed Christmas cards
9. Santa Claus
10. Away in a manger
11. Ribbons and bows
12. Something sticky
13. Reindeer
14. A decked hall
15. Silver bells
16. A hippopotamus
17. Under the mistletoe
18. A cup of cheer
19. Toys in every store
20. A winter wonderland
21. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
22. Holiday greetings
23. A shining star
24. Children, sleeping
25. The number "25"

December there is so much going on and not always something that needs to be blogged about.

Here in Osage Bluff I am working my fingers to the bone to finish hand quilting a queen size quilt, it's a must.  A must if I want to put up a Christmas tree this year.  I've bought maybe 5 Christmas presents. I haven't baked a single cookie. There are dinners to attend, kids Christmas programs, and even a Christmas parade.

Feel free to join Susan, me, and Lori and submit your 25 photos or close to that!

A well set table for Thanksgiving

As cousin Rita always says, "It's all in the presentation"

My sister in law Grace is known for her tableware, linens, and beautiful serving dishes. I wasn't surprised when my MIL called and told me how beautiful Grace's table was.

I then received this email showing me her table.

So I quickly undressed my table and took off my china and linens, and replaced them with saucer size paper plates, serving "pans", and the "nice" salt and pepper shakers.

I emailed my table picture to Grace and this was her reply:

"Wow! That looks waaaay better than I expected!"

I got so wrapped up in the joke, I forgot to take a picture of my real table. There was one good thing that came out of using my china.  I found one of my every day ironstone plates stacked among them. I wondered where that one had gone! I guess it had been hiding there since Easter.

When my son asked what they could bring for our dinner, I said "nothing really, just what ever".  So he brought a truck load of "stuff" to store in our basement, none of which was edible!  Next time I will be a little more specific!

After our bellies were full we all enjoyed a game of blitz.

I hope you all had a wonderful family day!

Do your Christmas shopping here

We have a store open in the basement. Come shop with us. We can ship in the US.

For more pictures visit the Blacksmith's blog!

My 2 pie basket

I had a case of basketitis today. It's easy to get when you travel to Osage County to make a basket at the Dudenhoeffer's. This was my second time to make a basket. (Thanks Janet for the invite!) Here is my first time.

This was my first sign that I was headed on the right road.

My second sign that I was still going the right way.

The no doubt about it, the view from their front door is beautiful any season.

The basket making cabin is so inviting.

Today's basket is called a 2 pie basket. To get it started you need both hands and a foot.

It involves some floor time too. Plus you might need Alice's help.

It is also good exercise for the thighs!

Help is always available.

At break time not only do you get homemade cookies, cheese ball, crackers, and piping hot coffee, but there is shopping in the attic.

Joe's handy work is everywhere.

I made the basket in the first picture, but I purchased this one. I can't wait to put my homemade hot rolls in here on thanksgiving day!

Deer Camp 2011, the first weekend report.

Deer camp, to some it's all about the kill. To us wives, it's all about the food. To the little ones, it's all about the fun!

This first weekend we had all of the above and more.

The grandsons not only got to target practice with their pellet guns, they got to spend the night, and even deer hunt.

This year we have a new player. This grandpa is 92 years young.  Here's the last two left in the card game called Blitz, the youngest and the oldest, out of 8 players. He was constantly telling jokes. He loved the food and couldn't believe all that we had to eat.

After the card game on Saturday night, Grandpa (as we all called him) pulled out his zip lock bag of tricks.

This was a piece of wood with two holes drilled in it. Running through it was a tied string with a large wooden ball that would no way fit through the holes. The trick was to figure out how to get the string off.

Here an exchange student from Chile, tried her hand at assembling a pyramid with some wooden balls. Grandpa told her the game came from Chile, before he knew that is where she was from. She never mastered the assembly of it.

Some how the 10 year old figured it out. His grandpa might have had a hand in it.

Grandpa then gave the boys 7 or 8 nails and told them to fit them all on one. Grandpa finally had to show us all how to do it.

Sunday night before dinner, Grandpa pulled out his hand written joke book!

 He even pulled out his prescription. (I'm sorry it's blurry).  It says please give love, hugs and kisses daily, unlimited refills!  When he gave it to the pharmacist, she told him in 30 years it's the first time she's seen this one.

When he left Sunday night, he called the boys over. He told them before he left he had to empty his pockets of quarters as they were weighing him down. He split all of his card winnings with them.

This Grandpa belongs to a niece's boyfriend. Grandpa was a deer hunter too. Unfortunately he didn't bag a big one, but then neither did anyone else at camp.

Mini Quilt challenge

I love a challenge. Yesterday I was reading Dana's blog, Old Red Barn Co. and she had a link to amylouwho's blog. They were both talking about a mini quilt challenge.

I have made two mini quilts so let me tell you about them.

This one was made for my little girl Sarah Rosie. She was born December 1983, so some time after that I pieced all 178 pieces. It is hand quilted. It now hangs on a wall at my house. Someday I'm sure she will want to take it with her.

This one I pieced for my first (and only) granddaughter, Elizabeth. As you can tell it was made in 2009. It has 431 pieces and I machine quilted it.

So pop over to Amy's blog and look at all the other mini quilts!

My Noah's Ark obsession

This is one of our spare bedrooms. It is packed with Noah's Ark collectibles. I made the quilt about 10 years ago. It has 50 animal blocks, everyone is different. It is all paper pieced.

On the wall you will see a Noah's Ark wall hanging. I found out just a few years ago that Jerri Lander's did the art work on it. I recently won one of her art prints.

There is a Noah's Ark lamp that I painted and with the hubby's help we wired it.

Across from the bed on the dresser is a Wade Noah's Ark. Every animal on there was collected one at a time from premiums on Red Rose tea boxes.

When the blacksmith was in grade school, the nuns sold candy out of this cabinet at recess. We purchased it from the parish about 20 years ago. It now holds many collectibles. One of my favorites is the Ark on top. My mother bought the ark for me one Christmas. The animals were  purchased one at a time. The set is called Holy Herd.

There are coloring books, reading books, cards, puzzles, clocks, watches, water globes, a Mexican pottery set, picture frames, candles, and even games all featuring Noah's ark.

This wall hanging I embroidered a block a month, a pattern from Lynn Anderson.

This Elbreth pottery set I found on Ebay for a little of nothing compared to the new cost of  it.

A friend cut out this mirror frame and I painted it.

The same friend cut out this set and I finished it. The lid lifts off and the animals can be stored inside.

Another one rest on top of the same beam.

I started collecting Noah's Arks many years ago. I was always fascinated with it. Once things became readily available I pretty much stopped collecting.

To show you how long I've been into collecting, look at the date on the envelope, April 1962. This is a get well card I mailed to a cousin's husband who was in the hospital.

I even wrote him a personal note.

Years later Herb's wife found it and gave it back to me. I put it away and forgot all about it until I rediscovered it this week.

I found it the same day as a cousin post his wedding picture on facebook!

And that's my obsession. Oh did I mention, I was in love Herb when I was only 10 years old???