Morning Madness

Good morning, my friends. We've had several wet days here, and we have at least another wet one before we see the sunshine again. Nevertheless, our local weatherman told us we've had the warmest December on record for our part of the world. Our weatherman of many years is a skier, and he's bemoaning the lack of snow in the mountains. Of course, snow in the mountains is important for reasons beyond skiing. The clearing clouds made for an interesting sky yesterday morning.

We were out early to do our morning of running around. We added two stops to our list of five for a total of seven stops. We had to get some cash first, and then on our way back from stop number 5, our gas gauge dinged at us, reminding us to fill our gas tank. Our last stop was for a couple of items from the grocery store. Mike filled our tank while I got the groceries and then we were literally home free. We arrived home right at lunch time. We had some lunch, and then, after so much excitement, we both needed naps.

So it was mid-afternoon before I made my way into the sewing room. It's probably just as well. I worked with such tiny pieces for most of the day I might have taken my rotary cutter to my own neck if I'd had more time to work on it. 

Yes, I do keep my seam ripper close at hand. If the rotary cutter doesn't work on my throat, I can always use the seam ripper to go for the jugular. 

So, I first made this section. It was here I was using those tiny pieces. The hands require lots of little bits of fabric.

Next, I did a little bit of the face, arms, and clothes.

Then, I could sew those two sections together.

This section was ready from the day before. (I'd also added a little piece to the bottom right.)

And then I could sew those sections all together. 

And then I could sew the whole of it to the whole section I already had.

And that was enough sewing for a single day. With so many implements of death nearby, it seemed ill-advised to continue.

Looking at the picture in the book, I have only the portion to the right of the pink line to sew together today. I've already done the smallest and most tedious parts of the block, and so it shouldn't take too long to finish it off.

Today I have a little housework to do...some I put off from yesterday. I figured running all around town was enough for a single day's accomplishments. I'm happy to be staying home now until the 3rd of January. Unless there's something I've forgotten, it'll take blasting powder to get me out of the house for the next few days.

We're planning our annual ham dinner for New Year's Day. I'm making Maple Baked Beans, Skillet Cornbread, and a Seven Layer Salad. Seven Layer Salad is Erik's favorite, and he and Mae will be joining us for dinner. I'm going to make a Skillet Apple Cake too. I only mention this because tomorrow will be a day of cooking things ahead, and so I want to get the housework done today. Also, I want to finish up this quilt block before it drives me insane. (It might already be too late.)

Right now I'm heading downstairs to do my slow-stitching. I expect to be moving my hoop again this morning, and possibly, I'll be heading into a more interesting stitching area with more color. It's a day for a Bow-flex workout, and so there's plenty to keep me out of trouble for the next few days. In any case, I think my New Year's trouble-making days are long behind me.

There was no kitty help yesterday. Sadie is still sneezing a little, but her eyes aren't watering. She's sneezing less often than the day before, and she has enough energy to make an occasional mad dash through the house for no apparent reason. She might have picked up the Catrona virus when she visited the vet, but she's on the mend now. Smitty has been lazy. He comes by it honestly living in a household with people who put "take a nap" on their list of to-do's for a day.

What's on your list of to-do's as we close out the year? I'll be back tomorrow with my annual "year in review" post, and then I'll probably take a day off for the New Year's Day holiday.