Starting off at the front door. This is Pop's area where he watches TV and works on his stuff. There are French Doors that close this room off from the rest of the house, which he likes to do sometimes to just sort of relax in his own spot.
Just some quick photos here to show a few rooms of our house. These have all been taken some time in the last two years -- which shows that I should really take some brand new ones! Starting off at the front door. This is Pop's area where he watches TV and works on his stuff. There are French Doors that close this room off from the rest of the house, which he likes to do sometimes to just sort of relax in his own spot. This is the other half of the same room -- taken in July when we had the curtains down for washing. It was also the day that we'd had the upright piano delivered after having swapped from the old Baby Grand. That explains some of the mess! That's the working Victrola in the far left of the photo. I don't seem to take photos of the Living Room any time but Christmas, so it's decorated here. Naturally, Baby Yoda has to fit into any decor . . . And you can see that Pop's chair was in this room at the time, though it's now been replaced with another chair shown farther down this entry. That's the computer room behind the two doors. It used to be the Dining Room, but it now has three computer desks and some crafting stuff in it! The wood stove, which (thankfully) is now a backup form of heat, as we have a heat pump. I'm very happy. And you can see the new chair that replaced the red one now in Pop's area. And upstairs this is our bedroom. These were taken in early 2020 (though only some of the pins on the boards have changed). You can tell this photo is not exactly recent, because my bed (the double in the corner) now has a lot of Baby Yoda plushes/throw/pillows, etc. on it! And just to show a bit of the technological age . . . here's the computer where I'm sitting and writing this entry! Hope this is a nice little peak into the house for all those who have asked. I'll try and get some newer photos . . . one of these days!
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And, for the first time in years -- we've come really close to having snow for Christmas! This is the whitest December in over ten years or more for us. We've had two really beautiful, classic-looking snowfalls. The latest one came with this huge front moving across the US last week and has stayed. We're still white outside, but it's warming up today and the forecast says rain. We may not have the snow on Christmas, but it came very close this time! These pictures are from a few days ago, but it still looks just like this! Just click through the slideshow photos below to see our whole two acres covered in snow! Here we are, down in Florida and visiting at Gramma's house! We've already gotten to go to Disney Springs for some pin trading -- and that means a little souvenir shopping, too. I thought I'd post a review about the 18" plush Beast from Beauty and the Beast. I just had to have this for my bed, so we picked one up at The World of Disney on Thursday. There was a whole bin of them to choose from, and the gift card that I got for Christmas kept me from balking at the $40.00 price tag. I mean, how often to you come across a real plush Beast? And he's one of my favourite Disney characters. The following day (Friday) we decided to pop into the Disney outlet store that is a few miles from Disney Springs. Boy, were we surprised (and thrilled) to see a whole display of 18" plush Beasts for only $17.99. Wow! So, I set about picking one with a happy face and noticed that he had much nicer fur than the one I'd picked the day before. Not bad. The hang tag was different, so I figured these plush were the previous versions. We were all really surprised to compare them when we came home, so I took some pictures before returning the first one. In all the photos, the first edition Beast (found at the Outlet Mall) is on the left --- and the later edition found at World of Disney is on the right. Notice the very visible differences in their heads and faces! The earlier Beast has very nice long fur that covers his head, just like Beast in the movie. The later edition plush has shorter fur, and there is none on the top of his head at all. The first Beast also has a sculpted face with cheeks and plush teeth and mouth. The second Beast has a flat face with appliqued polyester fabric teeth and mouth. The jackets appear to be the same blue velvet (see photos in the slideshow below), but the bodies and vests have some major differences. Beast's legs are made of black fabric to look like his pants, and on the first edition of Beast (left) the pants are a really nice black velvet. On the second edition Beast the pants are a cheaper black polyester -- the type that plush animals you'll win at a fair or in a game machine are made from. Also, first edition Beast has a torso made of matching brown fabric to look like the colour of his fur. The yellow vest is a nice yellow velvet. On second edition Beast the torso is the vest, and it's made of the same cheap polyester (only in yellow) as the pants. This makes his torso and legs one piece, sewn to look like he has clothes on. On first edition Beast, the decorative "brooch" on the neck scarf is a sewn piece with embroidered decoration. On second edition Beast this "brooch" is a flat piece of material (un-hemmed) tacked to the scarf. Another big difference can be seen on the arms. On first edition Beast, his hands and arms are all one piece made of a very nice velvet-type plush fabric with stuffed plush claws. On second edition Beast, the hand is the nice velvet-type fabric with the arm being made of the cheap polyester fabric like the pants and vest. His claws are also just pieces of stiffened felt. And you can see the same differences in the claws on his feet. Also, first edition Beast has stitching to sculpt his little toes on the bottom of his foot -- where second edition Beast has just a stitch in the center of the bottom of his foot to sort of imply some sculpting. So, if you're in the Orlando area, I recommend checking out the Disney Outlet Store on Vineland Ave -- particularly if you'd like to pick up a really cute, quality plush Beast at a nice price!
Nothing like a long time between blog entries, right?! Lately, Elizabeth and I have been having a lot of fun putting together two "Secret Santa" boxes for people on one of the Disney Trading Pin forums. You receive a filled out questionnaire from someone and get to make up a Christmas package for them. They don't know who is sending the package to them (until they open it . . . if you choose to identify yourself), and you will receive a package from someone totally different. We'd never done this before, but it's been really fun, and we thought we'd share photos of what we put in. Maybe it will provide some ideas for someone else working on a project like this! For the first box, the recipient really liked Stitch and Star Wars, so we collected things to match -- and made some things! You have to include at least one real Disney trading pin in your box, and the questionnaire asks what types/themes you collect and if you have any "grail" pins (super special "wants"). Our Secret Santa partner had listed the "I Heart Gaming" pins as grail pins . . . and Elizabeth and I were SUPER thrilled when we were actually able to get two of them! Now, to mention the items shown above . . .
We also had a Star Wars mug in there, but I couldn't fit it into the group photo. Here are some pictures of it by itself . . . it's got lots of characters on it! The Stitch Keepsake box was Elizabeth's idea. She had this really nice box that was meant for jewelry or something, and she painted a Stitch-coloured design on the flap. For the Stitch decoration, she used a trading pin -- removing the pin and using strong glue to attach the "pinless pin" to the top of the box. Here are some pictures below to show the box and things that we made to go inside. The squished penny came from Disney Springs when we were there earlier this year. I made the holder for it in Photoshop. Cutting the slits in it to hold the penny wasn't the easiest thing, but we only ended up with one ruined card! The engraved stone was made by Elizabeth. She put "Stitch" on one side and "Ohana" on the reverse. She engraved those onto the stone and then inked over the engraving to make it dark. Once we had everything made and collected, it was time to wrap it all! That was a lot of fun. We even got Minnie and Mickey wrapping paper for the occasion. One more box to go, but that recipient hasn't opened it yet . . . so, I will post photos of that one later!
As it seems like I've been putting up a lot of entries lately about our American Girl dolls, I've decided to move them to a blog of their own. So, if you're wanting to follow those posts, check out the new place: See you there for doll news . . . and this blog will continue with the regular goings and comings, as well as needle-felting, my cat Samwise and more!
There's a new little Prince in England, and he was actually born on St. George's Day!!! Hopefully, he'll make his public debut pretty soon . . . with pictures. I know Arthur is one of the top names that people are guessing, but (personally) I hope it's Albert! Let's hope for more news soon. Addition:
And now there are the first photos out! He looks just like George and Charlotte . . . at least, at this age. For the last couple of weeks, Mom has been cleaning out her dresser full of old linens. There were just too many to fit inside, so it was high time to sort through and weed out a bit. Some we've sold, some we've donated . . . and some we're trying on eBay. Well, I thought I'd post pictures of this cute little child's dresser scarf, since I can only find one other result in any online searches for something similar. This was made by the George Shamyer Company, a New York textile (linen) importer since at least 1917. This particular piece is marked "C. 1953 Geo. Shamyer & Co Inc." The only other result coming up online seems to be a matching dresser scarf depicting Little Red Riding Hood. Our runner here shows the classic bedtime story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Shamyer was quite an interesting figure and very well known in his day. Sadly, there are hardly any online results for him today. So, here is a bit of nostalgia for those Mid-Century linen buffs . . . Click on any of the photos below to see at full size.
Doing the best job we can at aging Henry from the various signs of kitten-hood, we've placed his birthday at August 18th. We might be off a bit, but it's worked out to that for more than three weeks now, no matter how we try to figure out his age --- so, we've settled on that one. That being the case, here are some pictures that show him at 11 weeks and 3 days old. Henry loves to eat. The good thing about him, though, is that he is NOT picky. He likes a real variety, whether it's kitten food, chicken, turkey, pumpkin or scrambled eggs. This is the first week where he is able to digest his food like a real cat, because his intestinal bacteria seems to be now developed. To help him through that stage, we had been feeding him boiled chicken, pumpkin and scrambled eggs. Well, he has developed such a taste for all of them that he loves a variety. Check out the last picture in the slideshow above, and you'll see his little plate of all flavors. Of course, he doesn't really know that there have been probiotics on his food lately, so we won't add that to his favorite list. One thing that Henry would love is a sleeping buddy. None of the big cats are ready to let him into their beds during nap time quite yet, so the little fellow has to sleep by himself. To help him feel better about that, I gave him a fluffy plush dog that I have (named "Charlie George"), and it makes a great companion. Henry loves to cuddle and bite him and sleep with him! Right now, Henry's biggest problem is teething. When they aren't actually breaking through, he is a very sweet little fellow and self entertaining. When his teeth are coming through, though, he has to chew everything and he gets mean. Usually he can be distracted with a dangly toy, etc., but it's quite a job! Can't wait for all his little teeth to be in. More later.
They are finished! Mom and I finished Elizabeth's blanket a couple nights ago, and last night we finished mine! It's no secret that the two of us are really crazy about "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit". Anything Middle Earth is really enjoyed around here. We've got swords hanging in our room (all replicas of the movie props) and even have a full-size replica of the Black Arrow hanging on our beam! Well, we were really thrilled to find out earlier this year that some fabric was released at JoAnn's with "Lord of the Rings" patterns. One of them was a flannel in blacks and browns with the logo and Frodo's picture and name all over it. Cool! We bought a bunch of it (actually, the first time we found it, we had a great coupon and bought the whole bolt!) and decided to make large throw/blankets out of it. We both like to cuddle under a blanket when watching movies, and we've been meaning to make some for years. This seemed the perfect opportunity. No other flannel really seemed to look like a great match, because we really wanted it to look like a "Frodo blanket", not a pieced quilt or anything. After discussing some different options, I told Mom that I really wanted to try making it out of the one fabric. So, that's what we did! They may not win any prizes for construction or originality, but they are amazing!! CLICK TO ENLARGE. These pictures show the blanket. It's the same on both sides. We didn't want batting or anything fluffy inside, so we decided to use something different. Elizabeth's has a white 100% cotton table cloth in there, which makes it very drapey and cuddly. Inside mine, I picked an old cotton "summer-weight" blanket that we've had for years. It's really thin and cuddly --- and absolutely no static in the winter! They are quite large, as you can see. That is my double bed above, and it spreads out to cover it (not draping down, of course). We didn't want anything too small, because it's nice to totally cuddle up in a chair. The flannel isn't the quality of good quilting stuff. It's like the typical JoAnn's "Snuggle" flannel, so lower quality fabric. We pre-washed and dried it before sewing the blankets. Doing this on high in each machine makes sure that everything shrinks as much as it is going to before actually putting anything together. The blanket and tablecloth, of course, were also totally pre-washed and dried as well. To make the blankets wider than the yardage (which was about 40" wide once washed and dried), we cut three 2-yard lengths. One of those lengths, we took and cut in half the long way (making a piece approximately 2-yards long by 20" wide). Then, we sewed a 20" wide piece to each of the full 40" pieces. The finished blankets are about 60" wide by 75" long. They are each slightly different, due to the different inside layers and the seams needed for those. It was a lot easier to sew the flannel to the cotton blanket, because the pieces of fabric stuck to each other. The cotton tablecloth was pretty tricky, because everything was prone to sliding around.
All in all, it was really fun to make these, and the results are so cuddly. I can't imagine sitting without this! It's also really exciting to have the Frodo theme. We can't wait until our annual "New Year's Trilogy Week" where we take five days to watch all the Hobbit movies and Lord of the Rings films in order. (We watch "Two Towers" and "Return of the King" back-to-back on New Year's Day, because they really are better when seen in a row.) So, that's the newest project we've been working on. Lots more sewing to do, but most of it will probably have to wait until after Christmas. We've got a trip to Florida coming up soon, too, so looking forward to that! More later. |
SAMWISE: MY HONEY-POT
Colossians 2:8:
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. BEATRICE: MY HONEY-BEE
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Edward James Eliot
My "favorite" member of the Clapham Sect. Not very much is known about him, but what is preserved keeps a beautiful memory alive of an exemplary Christian man. William Wilberforce Quote:
May I look to Him for wisdom and strength and the power of persuasion, and may I surrender myself to Him as to the event with perfect submission, and ascribe to Him all the praise if I succeed, and if I fail say from the heart thy will be done. For you Jesus Christ came into the world. For you he lived and showed God’s love. For you he suffered the darkness of Calvary and cried at the last, ‘It is accomplished.’ For you he triumphed over death and rose to new life. For you he reigns at God’s right hand. All this he did for you, though you do not know it yet.
Where there is one, there is a majority of one; and when the rights of the majority take away from the rights of the one, then the many will themselves suffer.
~Henry David Thoreau~ I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. You see, that's where I belong. That's home. That's why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.
~ Bilbo Baggins ~ FAVORITE BOOKS & FILMS
Gone With the Wind (Mitchell) Genesis of a Legacy (K. Ham) Prisoner of Zenda (Hope) Scaramouche (Sabatini) Amazing Grace (2007) Bertie & Elizabeth (2002) Farmer's Daughter (1947) Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) Secondhand Lions (2003) Sweethearts (1938) SCARAMOUCHE QUOTES
He was born with a gift of laughter & a sense that the world was mad. The future is to be read with certainty only in the past. Man never changes. PRIDE & PREJUDICE:
A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment. PRIDE & PREJUDICE:
Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion. WINSTON CHURCHILL ON
KING GEORGE VI "His conduct on the Throne may well be a model & a guide to constitutional sovereigns throughout the world today & also in future generations." "For 15 years George VI was King. Never at any moment in all the perplexities at home & abroad, in public or in private, did he fail in his duties." |