SECOND ANNUAL M & D

Because my son-in-law's sister is pregnant and not feeling terrific yet, our Mother and Daughter San Francisco event was not going to happen this year.  But at the last minute mother-to-be had a good day.

And it was on.

The weekend just before Christmas but who could say no.  So many things would not get done.  No worries . . Christmas will surely come around next year.  Unlike last years jaunt, nothing formal was planned.  Have alot of Christmasy images that i will save for a more timely time.  So fun.  This year I canned the high heels . . memories of our comical Mason Street hike still fresh enough!

Those of us heading south caught the

Larkspur Ferry.

Crossing the SF Bay by ferry dates back to 1850 when ferryboats operated between SF and Oakland.  Ferry service bloomed and waned as transportation progressed. The birth of the Golden Gate Bridge eventually terminated it for about 29 years.  The Marin service was revived in 1976 when the Larkspur Ferry Terminal opened.

For us, it was a gloriously sunny journey across the Bay.  

Hard to miss as you depart is this 30-foot metal sculpture.  Created in 1990 by Dennis Patton.

Sir Francis Drake.  Elizabethan naval commander.  To some a hero to others a pirate.

Either way,  an awesome sculpture.

 A bustling Farmer's Market awaited us at the SF Ferry Building.  What a market it was.  No tears for any palette.

Vegan?  GOT IT!

Paleo?  GOT IT!

World's Best Hotdogs - YEP!

 Oh those daughters.  The Hyatt was just a skip across the

street.  Inside, thousands of streaming strands of lights from the top floor to the lobby.

Making our hearts all aglow.

Views from our room

Oh and so now you are hungry are you?  Well hop in our taxi and we will take you to

Marlowe

Tiny.  Farm to table type.  Deliciousy scrumptiousy type. . . Marlowe

 Where you will surely eat . . drink . . and be merry!

We hope that in this new year to come, you will enjoy, or begin, some sort of annual affair . . that will make your hearts sing.
A Very Happy New Year from us to you.

Kathryn - Willow - Journey - Reets - Lilanya

Mothers and Daughters 

CARD POCKETS

It is a good feeling to complete something right?  Looks like not another stitch is needed on Sally's Christmas Card Pockets.

I have seen her work up close and it is always impeccable.  Yep . . one of those perfect SEWer girls.  This is a wool 2-pocket card holder.

She has just to add the cards but this picture without them gives a clear view of the design.

This is a close up of the bottom pocket.  Love the addition of the Heart for letter "O".

And I see you added additional leaves for more color.  Likin' that alot!

What a beautiful stitching job Sally.   Thanks for sharing these with us.

Christmas Card Pocket Pattern
Here is a view of our pattern cover showing the vintage card display.

Deck the halls!

STITCHING A PRAYER

I just continue to be humbled by so many of you.  I received this today.  It is what Deb did with the Angel ornament kit she won here . . . the minute she received it in the mail she began.

She cleverly left the bottom open and placed it at the top of her tree. 

And then, she posted it on her blog.  If you like to read that which warms you from the inside out, you should go there and read more.

http://mosaicmagpie.blogspot.com/2012/12/angels-among-us.html

A bit of what she wrote . . 

"I believe there are Angels among us.

Sent down to us from somewhere up above

To show us how to live,

to teach us how to give

To guide us with the light of love." 

The light of love . . .

She stitched

and she prayed

stitched

and prayed

She prayed for all of those families and loved ones touched by our most recent tragedy

at that elementary school

in that little town

that struggles now with so much sorrow.

A sorrow that has plunged itself so deeply within each and every one of us

that we shudder in disbelief.

 We wonder, how will those parents . . and those families . . carry on?

But that is what prayer is for.  On the wing comes its kindness and its comfort.  It heals.

Thank goodness it travels so far and so wide.

BRENDA'S LITTLE SANTAS

Brenda's Little Santa Things Ornaments

If you were in Brenda's rug hooking group,

you would have been lucky enough to receive one of these little gems at their yearly ornament exchange.   She made them just a bit smaller than our pattern.  What a wonderful stitching job she did on them and each one with its own adorable expression.  I love these.

Don't you want to join their group ?!!  I do.

Thank you Brenda.

And Merry Christmas!

HAVE YOU BAKED YOUR CHOCOLATE DIPPED MACAROONS YET?

You HAVEN'T baked your macaroons?  Well then would you like a simple recipe?

I altered this recipe in a number of ways.  Less sugar for one.   Many recipes are a bit too sweet for my taste.  And I like to add things too.  In the Recipe Box below is my adaptation but you can also find a richer sweeter recipe here:

Chef Keem's Coconut Macaroons. 

Lots of good pictures, instruction and even a video on making his Espresso Sea Salt Caramel.  

Great for Christmas sharing. . .

You can bag em up.

or

You can box em up.

or

You can eat em up!

But first . . 

You gotta MIX em up.

Click on the box below to enlarge and play Recipe.
This recipe is thick  and a bit stiff so do by hand or use a strong paddle mixer.
This makes half the batter of the original recipe.

A free printable recipe card by Smilebox

TWO WINNERS - AND A POLKA DOT HAT

I knew you would want to know . . . 

I found my HAT !!

Nettie didn't quite approve of this photo.

Admittedly, it is not that flattering but . . 

I FOUND my HAT !

Enough on that hat.

Happens every time.  I read your comments and start wishing, very sincerely,  that i could send a gift out to each one of you.  Thank you for sharing all of your Angel thoughts and your Christmas thoughts and Family thoughts and your Love thoughts and any of your thoughts.  It is the best thing about blogs.  I like that they stay there to be read again whenever we want.

So.  It was a silly idea to mix the comments and all of the Followers in one hat to draw a winner, as I first said.  Makes alot more sense to draw out two winners . . one from each category.  The winners were drawn (you guessed it, right out of my Found hat)   Congratulations to :

COMMENTS WINNER - COMMENT #1 - BETH

FOLLOWERS WINNER - MARGARET PALMER

Please contact me gals, with your mailing addresses.  Your kits are ready to send!

Woolbert was discovered lingering around in the Wool Room this a.m.  Perhaps looking for some items for the next Give Away - Coming Soon.  I wonder what it will be?

Well Thank You to all and to all a good night.

TO MARKET TO MARKET

First, if you came to enter the drawing for the FREE ANGEL ORNAMENT KIT,

Simply scroll down to the next post dated DEC 5 and leave your comment.

New Marketplace items on Website

Thought I should let you know . . we just restocked the shelves in our Marketplace on the website.  Many finished items have been added.  Mostly Christmas but also an apron, pincushions, pennyrug and so on.

Also restocked some charms and added a couple of new ones.  You have to see the Girlfriends Charm. . .

Stop on by!

Click Here to buzz on over to Reets Marketplace.

AN ANGEL ORNAMENT KIT FOR YOU ?

And it could be coming to you.  We will toss the names from comments to this post AND the names of all of our Followers into the hat and draw a winner.  Sign up to be a Follower and leave a comment and you will have two chances to win!

Believe Pattern

If your name is drawn you will not only receive our Believe pattern but also a kit to make the darling angel ornament featured above.  You will need additional items to make the ornament but the kit will include all of the hand dyed wools, wool floss and the small rusty bells to paint.

TO WIN - Sign up as our Follower and/or leave a comment to this post about

A N G E L S

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS AND/OR FOLLOWER SIGN UP

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2012 - 11:00 P.M.

I have always loved angels.  They are good to talk with.  And here is a verse of one of my most favorite Christmas songs.  Visualize - it is so joyous.

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o're the plains

And the mountains in reply

echoing their joyous strains

and then that wonderous refrain

Glo oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ria   in excelsis Deo

I was lucky once. . . I got to teach the choir at Casterlin Elementary School.  

Each year . . A Christmas Program 

And I will never ever forget that glorious band of little angels, mouths open wide as their wings,

belting out that Gloria refrain.

Just to remember it,  is exalting.

Angels

                  do you hear?

WARM WOOLENS

Psssst . . just a reminder that tomorrow we continue with our Gift Give Aways.

Another blogger asked, "What keeps you warm on a freezing day?"

I instantly thought about my favorite scarf gloves and hat ensemble and

replied excitedly with a detailed description.   Later to find out the topic was Hot Foods.

Oh well.  Miz Nettie Needles offered to model these for you.  They are wool of course.

Sadly, my hat is missing.  Don't you love the polka dots?  And how about all of those big tufted wool balls attached - are you thinking Awesome?  oooh . . . I feel your envy.  And I don't blame you!  I'm shamefully in love with these.

The blog I mentioned, by the way, was a new discovery - Tongue In Cheek - go there.

See the link in Good Journeys in that column to the right >>

Nettie Needles Warmed by Woolens

And here we have Little Miss Muff and Woolina Snow.  They are also sporting their woolens.

You would have to wonder . . how could one even imagine a world without wool.    Right?

Well anyway, I guess it is ok to repeat a question already asked . . 

What keeps you warm?  Hot food ideas  -  perfectly acceptable.

All of us here . . wishing you warmth . . on this chilly day.

. . . Oh but I so wish I could find that hat.  I know.   I'm a Big Booo Hoooer.  I know.   But . . .

STOCKINGS HUNG

Two winners have been drawn but first you must see these stockings.

Antoinette stitched these up last year from our patterns but completely in her own color palette.

They went to her grandchildren and became even more beautiful.
Well . . .  that grand staircase certainly doesn't hurt the view either does it?!

From patterns "I Ben Good" and "Santa On The Way".

I loved reading every single comment.  It sounds like the Christmas spirit  and joy is amplified by hands that create don't you think.  I'm delighted that you find such pleasure in stitching and I especially appreciate that you are enjoying some of my own designs.  It inspires me repeatedly.  Thank you.
Love the sense of humor so many of you have expressed.   I keeps the world turning.

Starting this Wednesday there will be another Give Away.  Winner will be chosen not only from the comments but from our list of Followers as well.  So some of you will have two chances to win.

Gift to be announced Wednesday.  

So I'm glad this one was a lengthy contest because as promised we did get those storms and yes we did lose power a few times.  The storm last night was horrendous - but then again in comparison to recent weather events - quite tolerable and the house still stands.
And as someone commented,  "Country Life eh?"

Ok ok . . . WINNERS
The Number 7 Comment - Carol Simmons
The Number 21 Comment - Cheryl Williams
Both of you may go to our Christmas Pattern Page and pick out your free pattern.
Then just contact me with your mailing address and pattern choice.
Congratulations!   And thanks to all for joining in.
Our next Give Away begins this Wednesday.