Happy Birthday JR

Happy Birthday JR! Today is my son's birthday. Sadly, when we moved to Michigan, JR stayed behind in California. Since I don't get to see him as often as I would like, pictures of him are kind of hard to come by-- so I have one from last year and a couple of ancient ones. The rest are pre-digital. Poor guy just imagine having a birthday that follows Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - someone didn't plan that very well. JR we wish you the happiest of birthdays! Can't wait for a visit and some new pictures! Love you, Mom

Sharing!

Just in case anyone still had any suspicion that things were normal around here. ... this morning Adam decided he just needed a little one on one time with me. I was also eating a scone which was, in fact, the main attraction ! Of course photo op's never arrive when we are dressed, hair combed and makeup on. Clearly I'm not vain! Merry Christmas all!

Our Very Own Artful Dodger

Faust is a very talented Dobermann. A lot of his talent is due to his height. His chin is just at table height. Adam is close and poor Violet is way too little (they have developed the heavy head technique- we'll have more about that in another post) but Faust simply has to walk up to the table and rest his chin and if no one is paying attention---- score! When we have company I have to pay more attention to him than to what the guests are doing, otherwise dinner can be over before they know it. John is usually the sad victim and Faust has enjoyed porkchops, hamburgers--well, you get the idea. His best opportunities come when I am out of town and someone unexpectedly comes to the door-- but there really isn't much challenge to that. The real art comes in when someone gets up to get, say, catsup or salt and pepper then speed, agility and skill must come into play! He is a master! The photo above shows the casual approach- just hanging out.

Moving into position- note the skillful angle of the head.

And here it comes.....


Tasty! Want to see it again?





The setup.


The position and....



Almost!

Making Progress

So far I've done the applique on 4 of the 9 blocks I need for my new quilt. I'm starting to think about sashing and how it should look when it's done. Got to keep the momentum up because I'm probably going to be a lot less excited about a Christmas quilt after Christmas!








Christmas Eve we'll be at Heather's and she is making Cioppino- for those of you unfamiliar with this - do yourself a favor and give it a try! It's a seafood stew with a spicy Italian tomato sauce base. If you are really lucky and have fresh Dungeness crab from the San Francisco area to go in it, you will come very close to heaven! It also requires sourdough garlic bread to sop up the juices.

The Real Deal

My gutters runneth over which means......

We don't need any artificial icicles here! We have the real deal - which means it's plenty cold!

Snow globe time!

Wow! Now that was a winter storm last weekend! For us who were snug in our cozy houses it was lovely and ezciting. For those who had to go any where I'm sure it was a nightmare. From the safety of the porch I was photographing away.

i can't believe Christmas is so close! The disadvantage of getting older is that they follow one another so quickly. This is a happy Christmas for us all - in July Heather and Sam will have another baby. I'm so excited for them and happy for me as well! This will be the first child that will arrive with a quilt already made for it as I have finished my snowflake quilt and it will be just right. With the other three I was lucky to finish one for them before their first birthday!

Winter Bread Baking

What is it about winter and bread? Like so many bloggers, I have also been baking bread. I am obsessed with learning to bake sourdough bread a la Zingermanns or Acme bread. My grandson is usually appreciative of my efforts. I do not quite have the crisp crust and large holes inside figured out yet and my efforts are very inconsistant. This seems to have been a relatively good one. We'll see when it cools.

These are some sourdough cheese rolls. They just came out of the freezer so they look a little funny. I just pop them in the oven and reheat them and good as new. They are made with Asiago and Gruyere cheese. Crisp cheese on the bottom-yum. These I can do. The recipes for the sourdough bread and cheese rolls are in the cookbook below.

I love this book so much that I keep two copies- just in case something happens to one of them!
Did I mention obsessive? The Cheese Board is in Berkeley, California. They have outstanding breads and pizza. They are really known for their cheeses though, and have a huge selection. They also have an interesting pricing arrangement and you get a discount for being over 65, and a bigger discount the older you get. Cheese Board is located right across the street from Chez Panisse. If you ever get to San Francisco area it's a great place for foodies. The line at lunchtime for pizza is pretty long but worth waiting for.

Violet's On A Tear

It's looking more and more like Violet is the window-breaker. This morning Adam was running around without a color. Guess what that blue thing is next to Miss Violet? yep! I think the dogs must have cabin fever because they are really wild right now. You'd almost think she's sorry from the look of her.

House-Wreckers

Lovely isn't it? Since neither John nor I broke the window below are the most likely suspects.

They even look guilty don't they? When the likely witness was asked, this was his response.

All are now doing penance- on the sofa- that is.


It's a dog's life!

Dottie About Dots

Not long ago I saw the movie Because I Said So. I was delighted that polka dots were part of the costuming. I almost always have a black and white polka dot dress in my closet. I only wish I looked like Diane Keaton in mine! The fashion police have been after me for a long time and I have taken a lot of flack about my dots but as you can see from my wallpaper-- I just love them. Polka dots always make me smile. I have been so happy to see them breaking out all over, even in Horchow's catalogue. This is not just some passing fancy with me, when I was ten or so, my parents made the mistake of telling me I could pick out the material for the curtains for my bedroom. Easy enough I picked a lovely bright pink background with dinner plate sized white dots on it! They were so beautiful to me! Sadly, not long after they were up they just disappeared! I asked and asked about them but they never again materialized (shame on you Mom and Dad!) You can imagine how thrilled I was to find the fabric above on Ebay. Now some may find this obsessive but I just couldn't help myself.

Backing for the Snowflake quilt.

Hair and There

It's just amazing to me that these cats have any hair on them. If you could see what I vacuum off the floor and pillows you would be certain these guys would be bald! Looks like they're not too concerned about the cold outside!


In this case FAT and happy apply! (Sorry Ceasar)


Ahem! Weight Watchers for Cats should be just around the corner!




Winter has definately arrived!

Done!

I banished the grumpy Scrooge and got to work on the tree. It's always so nice when it's finished!

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you. This tree is a combination of many years and many memories! My friend from Hawaii even sent me some Hawaiian ornaments!

This gold Santa is really old from the late 50's at the old City of Paris in San Francisco. The ornaments outlasted the building!

Next to the ship is a banana! There are all sorts of little pears, one is above the banana. Below and to the left of the ship is one of the Hawaiian ornaments!

Below is an egg with a mini tree in it. It reminds me of some of the beautiful things Ruth Welter makes over at http://artful-creations.blogspot.com/.

My son brought this lovely ship home with him when he was in college.

I can't decide whether I like it best lit or unlit!

I just love this little violin, also the grapes which are only partially shown.

This surfing Santa is probably hoping for a wave to take him back to a warmer climate!

This is one of many little stuffed and embroidered animals from China.

By the time January rolls around I can't wait to take the tree down but it's so much fun to greet my old friends in November!