I Like Thursday # 381 treats, paint, Christmas questions for you, and a poodle

 welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with painting again....

Let's get this party started!

LOL and  still laughing.... silent night like you've never heard it

https://youtube.com/shorts/7BiIqXPkOZk?si=UdUYyFT9IJL7Dl8c

I had the best time watching Reindeer games at Big Brother this season, hilarious fun challenges. I also am sad Amazing race is over but would have been content for any of the 3 teams to win. That's nice! I'm writing this Wed afternoon, so the finale of Survivor is on tonight, Yea! but... I wanted Emily to win, she's out, then Drew to win, he's out, so now I guess for me it's Austin. 

virtual visits

It was so good to talk to Patricia (Miaismine) of the I Like people this week. She is a treasure!

I was glad to at least get a few of my cards out, better late than never I hope. The sentiment is the same

 Fine listening....

 carol of the bells on dulcimer, amazing to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN3KWbpBsvg

fine dining

I tried this recipe for lunch one day... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MX1WSwZE04

Greek orzo/olive/roasted red pepper/lemon/feta skillet 

 

I do not like to cook, but if I have to I like quick tasty meals.

these chewy coconut cookies have taken our first place tasting cookie this year

https://www.food.com/recipe/chewy-coconut-cookies-277118 

no kidding, these are the best yet

Listen to this vintage music as you read about my life at the holidays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myyAkYqykbs

our prompt this week: 

Unwrapping gifts on Xmas Eve or Xmas morning?

do you prefer Christmas or New years? Do you have a usual way to spend NYE and or NYDay?

We traditionally open gifts on Christmas morning. I remember once, as a child of about age 8, I was dying to know what my granny put in that heavy tiny package... I was so obsessed they let me open it Christmas Eve... it was a roll of quarters! A treasure for sure that year! I laughed because I never would have guessed, and granny had so many to give gifts to, and I got money! Freedom! (candy...) 

I love a gift, but seldom get ones any more. I love pretty paper, pretty ribbons and the anticipation. 

I love the build up to Christmas but always feel slightly let down later in the day... never had loving family to spend it with I suppose, so now we eat well, and watch Milo play with his new toys, and watch PBS "call the midwife" and "All creatures great and small" always on that night. 

I do love NYE and getting dressed up and going to a dance or party. It's that hope that one day will turn the tide and life will be all we hoped. And sparkly clothes and appetizers and champagne. 

NYDay we must have the traditional southern foods... greens (collards) for money, black eyed peas for luck, pecan pie for sweetness. Citrus salad because my father worked with citrus in Florida and we had a mix of sectioned ruby grapefruit, sectioned navel oranges, bananas, cherries, coconut, fresh pineapple... I suppose that's for health. 

 

with some home made cinnamon bread, and coffee with milk... a fine breakfast!

I believe what you do on the first day of the year, represents that year for you. 

Sorry no pictures to share... of little LeeAnna in a red and green plaid dress complete with crinolines and patent leather mary jane shoes, but I remember the magic of the morning with a pile of gifts and one or two focus ones open, like a tricycle, or a doll house and stockings. I think I loved all the wee gifts in a stocking the most of all. 

 

I remember the year of roller skates that gripped your shoes and held up to cement sidewalks. I remember the year of a ukelele, the year of a really tall big girl bike with stops on the handles. I remember the year my middle sister (12 years older than I) gave me the minnie mouse watch I'd been pining for... I remember the year of Chatty Cathy who had tiny records that could be inserted in her side, and when the string was pulled she talked, and she went everywhere with me possible. 

In Tampa, the Wonder Bread factory gave tours on Christmas Eve and we were given tiny little girl sized loafs of bread! I remember watching "Babes in Toyland" on our old TV.

It's good to remember fun times and balance less happy memories of holidays, good to remember the good. I was that little girl, and that preteen, the high schooler, the college girl home for a few weeks, and when I launched I started new traditions for myself. I'm happy this year to have my husband and beloved Milo by my side, sharing what comes. 

Milo's Moments

ho ho ho, I smell an oat/pumpkin muffin in my bowl!!!

Mama: Milo come back... we aren't done with the grooming and shaving and brushing! 

Milo: No

Mama: Honey! come on let's get this over with... Come on... please come! 

Milo: No. just, no. Hey, don't come back here with the long arm of the Daddy to enforce your orders! 

Oh, Okay okay I'm getting up (slowly rises, looks around for escape, gingerly steps one poodle foot with long nails and hair on it, out of the bed...) 

Mama: Oh good BOY! This won't take long if you don't keep pulling your feet out of my hands...

Milo: (dream on Mama) just get it over with and try not to touch me more than necessary. Heyyyy, I look good!!! and I feel good! Let's run outside and get this soap smell off me while I pee on my front leg!

Mama: S  I  G  H    I love you Milo!

now please visit these people to see what they liked this week. If you feel like it I'd love to hear your answers to the prompts, and let me know if you did a post I can include here! 

please visit these fine folks with lists of likes 

https://tentoesinthewater.blogspot.com/ 

chasing my stories

https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/ 

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

http://littlepenguinquilts

 https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/  

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/ 

princess bubbles creates   

https://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/

 craftscaviescontras   

 http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/

https://www.homesewnbyus.com/

the knitty quilter

  pieceful thoughts

http://3poodlesandanana.blogspot.com  

https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/

 

   LINKING WITH 

https://brianshomeblog.com/ 

http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/   

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com

https://llbinourbackyard.blogspot.com/

               friday smiles at a stitch in time

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

 

creativity in the holidays quilt, painted cards, and mandalas

 

I've been trying to catch up on the things I wanted to do this season,..

we are just about  cleaned up from the long illness although DH is still coughing, and I am just feeling safe to turn my head to art again! 

quick sketch

 I missed you! 

My paints paper brushes and ink pens have been used, starting with 2 tutorials (beginners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRxRkMx3etA&t=43s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Q8tObxPF0&t=931s 

Surprisingly the best I felt was when I was painting... here are some Christmas card inserts for  friends.,.. I plan to just include them in case my clever friends want to make something with them, or just prop them up on a desktop

  My sketchbook has been used this week...  with some mandala tutorials

 

I even sewed a little on the star quilt, the Defiant star quilt... no fabric works for the background around the chain blocks

None of my fabrics worked well for this, either they were great color-wise but not enough yardage, or too busy prints, or colors were off. A simple idea has turned into a thing...I thought this lovely golden color with metallic gold sparkles was perfect til I sewed three blocks..... and the values are too similar to the chain blocks. 

 It's just a scrap quilt. I wanted to tame the movement by using one fabric behind all the chain squares... and had enough of this one. 

 I am enjoying some sewn items from prior years:

felted stuffies, are happy to see when passing by this table

a table runner hung vertically in the stairwell

it's so satisfying making crafts and art isn't it? I missed that aspect in the last 2 months... there is something about losing yourself in the making.

BTW, I'd love you to visit this post to see decorations and read about the things I liked last week: 

https://lapaylor.blogspot.com/2023/12/i-like-thursday-380-trees-questions.html

 

linking to:

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/monday-musings-6-26-23/ 

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/ 

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ 

face off

finished or not

off the wall Fridays

I Like Thursday #380 trees, questions, raspberry shortbread and a poodle

 

welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with kitchen table that's as cleared off as it ever gets. I love the little snowman bowl, and it's holding stonewall kitchen's soft peppermints made with real sugar not corn syrup. I love a candy bowl! I made that table runner, and the cow placemats are red after all

 Mandala workshop

happy to be drawing/learning/painting again in my sketchbook. One can join her group to get prompts and I see they'd be good when you want to paint but don't know what to do

 I like the feel, if not the look of my new slippers. 

amazon (link here)

I developed Reynaud's syndrome in my toes and it caused much trouble last year, and I think I'm out of the woods. The doctor said to make sure I keep those toesies warm this winter, so... wool socks plus these plush slippers

Reading on Ebook 

 I love how many books Jenny colgan wrote for holidays...modern, clever, realistic family

 listened to on audio books: 

just finished this romance/mystery/action book, fun read, and good reader. Budding film maker at University, gets embroiled in a dangerous situation

 fine dining

I did try a couple new recipes. I made the cinnamon bread again, and baked a butternut squash (which is fairly new to us) made Greek lemon/olive oil/oregano baked potato wedges, and some other good things,.. The big happy was trying a new recipe for raspberry bars (recipe here: https://myfamilythyme.com/fabulous-five-ingredient-raspberry-bars/

SO good!

 she says to cut it into 24 cookies, and we w.o.u.l.d. but we had some the first night for dessert! 

I figure we ate a lot of butter that night... it's like shortbread with raspberry flavor

I'll cut the rest into smaller squares

I made chocolate covered cherries again. This time just about each stage was a disaster! last time it was easy. They must be made, then allowed to rest for a month for the sugar to dissolve around the cherries

recipe here: Amish chocolate covered cherries

Of course my chocolate wouldn't coat them and I had to go in a day later and patch the chocolate so they wouldn't leak all over. They are sitting resting on the counter to hopefully be ready around Christmas. I'd buy them but they are made with corn syrup and a host of icky chemicals.

well! This video of 100 restaurant food hacks to do at home is VERY informative

He is slightly annoying but great suggestions and I watched to the very end! (says a lot)

Our prompt questions are about Christmas Trees...If you don't celebrate Christmas, what special thing do you put up to celebrate your holiday season? 

1. Real tree or fake tree?
   
2. Star or angel?
3. Tree up before Thanksgiving or after Thanksgiving?
   

 I love a real tree but all three of us have allergies to a real tree so... when we moved here into a house with a two story high family room (personally I'd have loved a loft built above the FR to use as a studio like in other homes, but the space is lovely) we bought a new tall very realistic tree. It's big and I like it in the room so I leave it up all year long, decorating it for other holidays!

 Growing up,  our family had a real tree covered in ornaments and tinsel. Oh the breathtaking view of a tinsel covered tree, gently moving and shimmering in a slight breeze... magical! Messy! I loved pulling apart each tinsel strand and putting it on just the right branch... for a while then tossing a lot of it to see where it landed! 

Then when I was a pre-teen my mother came home with a silver metallic tree, each branch had to be pulled from the paper sleeve and put in just the right hole on the trunk. Then, wait for it, a spotlight behind a turning multicolored wheel was aimed at it and Wowza! It was my job to set up and take down each year, returning each branch to the right sleeve and packed in the box. 

I am partial to stars... we always seemed to have a star on top, I have one in a box somewhere made by an artist, a metal multicolored stars all welded to each other in a magnificent burst of colors! We can't reach the top of ours here but I have two sequined butterflies to go up there. 

 I collect ornaments, and some recurring themes... sugar plum fairy ballerinas, one is a cow, this is a rabbit. I collect poodles, cows, whimsy.They don't all go up each year. 

I am a FIRM believer in stay in your holiday lane... I never put out Christmas decorations til after Thanksgiving. Before Thanksgiving I enjoy those colors and decorations, then Christmas! which stays up til epiphany or well, whenever I feel like I'm done with them. 

 what about you?

Milo's moments

 

lol, been listening to my husband talking to Milo? When Milo doesn't answer in English my husband turns to me and asks what does he want?  Milo turns to me to send the message, and I answer as if I know for sure what he wants.
somehow it's usually right 

Milo: Ho Ho Phoey! You don't listen enough to me Mama! I do NOT like this hat

I do not like that you bake yummy smelling things I can't have, I do not like you yelling at me to stop barking when a NEIGHBOR has come OUT of their house! I do like sleeping in, in my jimjams, under my little blanket on the big bed after you two get up. It's all cozy and big and I stretch out and snooze.

I also like the butternut squash, so I'd like a WHOLE one for just me please, cooked with butter. 

please visit these fine folks with lists of likes 

chasing my stories

https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/ 

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

http://littlepenguinquilts

 https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/  

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/ 

princess bubbles creates   

https://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/

 craftscaviescontras   

 http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/

https://www.homesewnbyus.com/

the knitty quilter

  pieceful thoughts

http://3poodlesandanana.blogspot.com  

https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/

 

   LINKING WITH 

https://brianshomeblog.com/ 

http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/   

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com

https://llbinourbackyard.blogspot.com/

               friday smiles at a stitch in time

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

 https://grammysgrid.com/unlimited-link-party-143/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=grammys-grid-news-for-datem-dated-datey-1