Monday, 24 December 2007
I can't believe how crazy the past week has been! I will have more photos for the Project: 365 after the holiday but for now I will leave you with our Christmas card.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, 27 December 2007
As I mentioned before, Andy and I decided to make a lot of our
Christmas gifts this year and of course I put most of it off until the
last minute partially because I had to finish my quarter and partially
because one of my big ideas was to sew handbags for the ladies and I
hadn't yet learned to sew. But fear not! I did learn to sew with one
part Lotta Jansdotter
and one part Lauren Slevin. To date I have sewn about 20 handbags, at
least fifteen of them usable if not giftable. I contemplated changing
the title of this post from Handmade Christmas to Sweatshop Christmas,
but alas, I brought this pain upon myself. Here is an example of my mediocre fine craftsmanship.
For the next few days I spent one day making each of the items to go in the handbags.
Day 53: Honey Almond Oatmeal Soap
Day 54: Cleopatra's Milk Bath
Andy roasts his own coffee (which is super easy by the way, and really cheap), so that was his contribution.
Day 55: TeamSoell Coffee
While I was sewing (still) I came across one of Andy's grandma's spools of thread which had a cigarette filter shoved in the top and used for a pin cushion. Genius.
Day 56: Barbara's Thread 2
Christmas eve morning we spent with Andy's family. Favorite gifts are difficult to pick, but uncle Bob made it easy went he sent us all body jewels all the way from Michigan.
Day 57: The Soell's
Christmas eve night and Christmas morning we spent with my Dad, his wife Shirlene, and my sister. Julenna made a beautiful turkey dinner all by herself and we stuffed ourselves, of course, until we couldn't move...just in time to go to Christmas eve service. All in all, Christmas was relaxing this year and we came home with lovely gifts and full bellies.
Day 58: 2007 Ornament Addition
We also came home with Roman, my dad's dog whom we lost last time. Roman is challenged. He is 14, deaf, blind, and arthritic. Given the loss of his faculties, he tends to wander around the house appearing to be looking for something or just enjoying the exercise pacing brings to his life. Last night he started whining in the most pathetic dog whine he could muster and would not stop until he was placed on the lap of a human...preferably Andy's lap if he could be bothered. Unlike the last time he was here we have only had one emergency. Well really it was a fake emergency, but I was prepared to call the animal hospital and schedule an emergency surgery nonetheless when we noticed he had mysteriously lost the use of his left front paw. It was difficult to tell what was wrong at first with all the shrieking and fur. As it turns out he had somehow managed to wedge his claw in the buckle of his collar. Much less expensive to fix.
Day 59: Roman's Happy Place
Day 60: The Aftermath
For the next few days I spent one day making each of the items to go in the handbags.
Day 53: Honey Almond Oatmeal Soap
Day 54: Cleopatra's Milk Bath
Andy roasts his own coffee (which is super easy by the way, and really cheap), so that was his contribution.
Day 55: TeamSoell Coffee
While I was sewing (still) I came across one of Andy's grandma's spools of thread which had a cigarette filter shoved in the top and used for a pin cushion. Genius.
Day 56: Barbara's Thread 2
Christmas eve morning we spent with Andy's family. Favorite gifts are difficult to pick, but uncle Bob made it easy went he sent us all body jewels all the way from Michigan.
Day 57: The Soell's
Christmas eve night and Christmas morning we spent with my Dad, his wife Shirlene, and my sister. Julenna made a beautiful turkey dinner all by herself and we stuffed ourselves, of course, until we couldn't move...just in time to go to Christmas eve service. All in all, Christmas was relaxing this year and we came home with lovely gifts and full bellies.
Day 58: 2007 Ornament Addition
We also came home with Roman, my dad's dog whom we lost last time. Roman is challenged. He is 14, deaf, blind, and arthritic. Given the loss of his faculties, he tends to wander around the house appearing to be looking for something or just enjoying the exercise pacing brings to his life. Last night he started whining in the most pathetic dog whine he could muster and would not stop until he was placed on the lap of a human...preferably Andy's lap if he could be bothered. Unlike the last time he was here we have only had one emergency. Well really it was a fake emergency, but I was prepared to call the animal hospital and schedule an emergency surgery nonetheless when we noticed he had mysteriously lost the use of his left front paw. It was difficult to tell what was wrong at first with all the shrieking and fur. As it turns out he had somehow managed to wedge his claw in the buckle of his collar. Much less expensive to fix.
Day 59: Roman's Happy Place
Day 60: The Aftermath
Friday, 28 December 2007
