Turkey Cookies

Gram and Grace got together the day before Thanksgiving and made some cookies to bring to the family feast. Grace was really looking forward to this "Gram time" and she loves making cookies, so she had a blast. The cookies were cute too.

Note the perfect aprons - Cookie Maker and Cookie Taster, which defines their talents nicely. Fun!

The Invisible Knitter

Hello blogland,

Yes, I have been absent from the blog. And not because I don't WANT to tell you what I'm doing, I just can't. Yet. As you may have noticed, it is high season for Christmas knitting, and I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises.

So here are a few teasers-

That's it. Sorry. More will be revealed in good time. (Note to self - knit faster).

In other news, I am mourning the loss of a nice yarn store (LYS to us yarn types). Knitter's Haven was not my personal Local Yarn Store, but was a store I liked to visit when I made it to Visalia, which was every few months or so. Ellen had a nice selection, and she was friendly to us Northerners.

She had been thinking of closing for awhile now, and I think the dismal economy just made her decision easier. She will close next week, and she has been having her final sale for a month now. Janice, Tracy, Diane, and I went a few weeks ago and I got some Baby Ull to make some mini-mittens for an Advent calendar idea I have. While the mittens are cute, I don't think I have time to finish the Advent idea, at least not this year. Stay tuned.

I like the yarn so much, however, that Carey, Mom, and I made our way there yesterday to get some more before it was gone forever. Thanks Ellen!

I'm so published...

OK, so like, in the real world, I'm published all the time. Having a day job at a newspaper sorta takes the glam out of the experience of seeing your name in print. But, this week, it is something altogether different. I'm published. Yep. Little 'ol me.

It is Tracy's fault.

Go back in time about a year and sweet Tracy made me a stack of personal business cards. She also made some for Cindy and NolaMom. She went to this great Web site, designergals.com, and created a little miniature version of me. The site -- which you've simply got to check out -- is a great excuse to play paper dolls, all electroinc like, as a grown up. You can send e-cards, make stuff to print out or buy notepads and other cool stuff. The best part about it is that money raised on the site helps fund the Gal Foundation, a nonprofit org. that grants wishes to Stage IV breast cancer patients and their families. So, Tracy gave me these cards and I checked out the site and became hooked. A few months ago I entered a contest to make your "gal" and send in a quote you live by. And I was named a winner!

The quotes and gals are being used in a 2009 planner by Franklin Covey, who will give a portion of the sales of the calendar to the Gal Foundation. My gal and my quote are in there alongside such celebrities as Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Up Daisies), Marg Helgenberger (CSI) and the most impresssive, Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear. How cool is that?

Thanks Tracy!

By the way... my quote: Things fall apart so things can fall together.

Two socks are better than one

Pumpkin socks are in the books.

They turned out really nice. Love the pattern, so easy, and love the yarn, so pretty.

Grace was a witch this year. Emily reprised the pirate look and Alex apparently went as a teenager. Trick-or-treating was at Lori's house this year, a change of pace for us that was a fun twist to the evening. Note: Bella does not make a good trick or treat companion.

Now on to November's first major event: Emily turns 15 today! Happy birthday my eldest child. We are proud of you and we love you.