Some Twittery

Summer, Summer, Summer!

Everything has been blooming so beautifully in the heat.  My foxgloves were so amazing this year.  If I understand them correctly, they bloom their second year then die.  I think they come back from seed.  I'm hoping they come back from seed because all of them were blooming this year so I don't know if I'll have any next year.   The pretty rose was just purchased.  It smells spicy and fruity and starts out as the palest pink then ripens to this peachy-pink hue.  it is a climber called 'Pearly Gates' and upon further research I found out it belongs in a zone 6, not 4.  I'll try to baby it this winter but it may not be making a repeat appearence next year, either.

So I'll enjoy it all now! 

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May Day!

May is finally here!  That was the longest April ever.  Things have started growing and blooming and I have been getting into trouble at the area nurseries.  More to come... 

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This is Serious

This is the south side of my house.  It is the first thing you see as you drive past and it is so lack-luster.  I have spent the last week buried in plant catalogs and flickr searching for foundation plantings that would help cover the not-so-good areas while still maintaining a cottage garden look (I know there isn't much of a garden as it is now, but I'm trying!).  There is already a highbush cranberry and a mock orange planted to hide the gas line and a lilac will be planted to the left of the chimney.  But what to plant under the window and in front of the chimney?

I'm thinking roses.  I have been voraciously reading about growing English roses in cooler climates.  We flirt with a zone 5 here because of the river so I'm going to plant some of the hardier varieties such as Eglantyne , Heritage , or A Shropshire Lad .  The worst that could happen is that I'm out the twenty bucks I spent on the plant, right?  Like this has never happened before.  But it would be so great if they would grow here and I think its worth taking the chance.

And as if I haven't been spending every waking moment with my Jung's and Klehm's catalogs, this arrived today.  Its the plant list for the Flower Factory , an anxiety inducing perennial wonderland.  This month has gone by pretty quickly and it will soon be planting time.  I hope our tax refund gets here fast because this is serious.

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Done!

The basement is finished!  It looks so good and I've been hanging out down there all weekend.

I moved my sewing machine, ironing board, and fabric from the kitchen to a little corner and got to work.  I pieced the back for my quilt and basted all the layers together.  Today I've started cutting out apron pieces for the swap.  I'm slowly making progress!

Olive isn't quite used to it yet and is very restless.  On Saturday I found a large oval crocheted rug and a cutter quilt at the antique mall.  I put both down on the floor so she would have a few spots to lay on, as she gets up every time I walk across the room.  One is by the ironing board and the other by the couch so she can keep an eye on me at all times.  I hope it warms up soon so we can play outside- she's driving me crazy.  All I'm asking for is for temps to be in the thirties.  I'd even settle for the high twenties.  Only thirty-nine days until Spring... 

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Falling Into Place

Things have still been busy around here but its all starting to come together.  I got the basement bathroom painted a couple Friday's ago.  I am so in the mood for spring so the colors I chose were called Sea of Grass and Spring Melt.  These are from the Martha Stewart paint colors when she still had them at Sherwin Williams.  Over the course of the summer after we first moved in I managed to collect the paint chips for the entire color line.  Crazy hoarding behavior?  Slightly, but it's not like I'm collecting pieces of used  aluminum foil with bits of lasagna on them.  I use them all the time to put colors together for the website, knitting and sewing projects, and for painting, too.  Scott always laughs when I pull them out  but he says this is just another one of those quirky behaviors that makes me so endearing and I'm going to believe him.

On to the floor.  My momma came over on Monday and helped me put down the tile.  These octaganal tiles come on sheets from the Home Depot and were pretty easy to install.  I spent more time planning out and executing those mushrooms I made for my mom than I did putting these tiles in.  I guess those lazy nights spent watching how-to shows for the do it yourself-er on HGTV have finally started to pay off.  I'll be grouting the floor today and caulking, then on to tiling the shower surround. 

Scott's dad came over on Saturday to help cut the trim and re-hang the doors, so I spent a good protion of the day out of their way.  Our closet had puked all over the bedroom floor from a holiday hangover and was in need of some tidying up.  I got caught up on the laundry, re-organized the closet shelves, and cleaned the bathroom.  In the process of scrubbing the tub, the brush slipped and I grated my thumb like a soft piece of muenster across the drain, removing a large chunk of skin from under the nail.  Cleaning was done at this point. At about the same time Scott's dad had to run an errand.  Scott was still working in the basement and managed to stab open his finger with the razor knife.  After the bleeding and swearing stopped he assessed the wound and, being the nurse that he is, decided stitches wouldn't do much good for the gaping wound and actively seeking medical care would be a waste of his time.  Our supply of gauze and bandages was almost exhausted, so I'm glad he stayed away from the table saw.

Yesterday was a nice, quiet day of relaxing spent out at the Sauey house.  Except for the screaming at football players on tv.  But they were exciting games and now the Packers play the Giants in Green Bay and the possibility of going to the Super Bowl is very near.  Did you know I went to school at UW Green Bay for two years?  I did and this was not the best time of year to be around that town, especially when the Packers weren't playing so well.  Very gloomy and grouchy.  I'll bet things are different this year, though.

Until the next game day, there's a lot of work to get done.  After cleaning the bedroom we moved the furniture around, which gives the impression of a fresh start so it has really motivated me to finish or start my other projects.  My dad made me new soap molds so I will be making soap in time for Valentine's Day if anyone is interested.  I've started knitting my striped socks for basement hockey and have been trying to crochet.  A rag rug has already been partially completed.  Slowly, by little steps, everything is starting to fall in line.  It will feel so good when I can get some of these things crossed off my list.  So I can start a new one.

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The Day After

Everything went so well yesterday.  My turkey turned out perfect and was much easier to cook than I expected.  It was so nice to have everyone here for dinner. Thank you all for coming!  I hope to see you all again soon.

Now a little catch up.  Here is my finished ottoman cover, with a puppy tired out from Thanksgiving excitement.  Seben likes it, too.  My friends Sarah and Andy had their baby on the 13th and named her Olivia Grace.  She is beautiful and healthy and I can't wait to meet her!  My birthday was on the 17th.  It was a good day but I don't know how twenty-six is supposed to feel.  So far not very different from twenty-five. Special thank-you's to the girls at work.  Celestia brought me cherry cheescake and Holly got me my very own extra-large cupcake with it's own spork.  You made my week ladies!

Then on to Yuletide.  The gift list has been written and re-written several times already but I think it is now solid and simple.  I have taken the Buy Handmade Pledge and plan on giving only handmade gifts this year, made either by my self or by others on Etsy.  This isn't so different from previous years but this year I have a plan.  Now I just need to order my supplies and get things made!  Have a great weekend everyone!

 

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Orange Kitty & the Misinformed Iris

I was up very early a few mornings ago, still adjusting to the time change, and found my orange kitty Seben sleeping on the ottoman.  He wasn't curled up in the chair, just slightly strecthed out with his chin resting on his front paws, and he looked cold.  Any other cat this thought wouldn't have entered my head.  If they were cold any other cat would curl up in a warmer spot.  But I know Seben's fearfulness has more control over him than the drive for other basic needs, such as a warm place to sleep.  I can see that this sleeping position is the best one from which to escape should someone look at him.  So I thought I would make a nice and toasty fuzzy felted sweater ottoman cover. 

Momma and I went to some thrift stores yesterday and I found some large grey sweaters to felt.  I sat and cut up the sweaters and sewed the sides before going to bed.  I stacked the sewater parts neatly beside the ottoman.  This morning I came down and found this little messy nest.

I think I made the right choice by using felt rather than, say, linen.

I just wanted to show you all this.  This is my yellow iris that Scott and I bought the day we got engaged at the green house.  It didn't bloom this spring and I was a little sad.  I looked out my kitchen window last week and saw yellow buds swaying in the chilly wind (practically snow). 

I plucked them all off and brought them into the warm house, where they have been opening to show their magnificence all week.  Confused you think?

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Nothing to Show For it But a New Chair

Despite my absence I haven't been up to a whole lot.  The chair above has been sitting in the kitchen for about five months, patiently waiting for its moment to sparkle.  I found it at an antique store.  It had already been painted cream but was re-upholstered in a material not quite like oilcloth but a step up from contact paper. Undeneath this was the original fabric, avocado green, cranberry, and gold stripes, with the paper label dating the chair itself from 1924. Old pieces of mattress were used for padding and the wood for the back was mint green with tire tread marks across it.

Now how good it looks!  New cushions wrapped in simple linen.  Just quiet and good.  The chair has found a new home in our bedroom, next to the window.

And now on to the garden.  It has just been spectacular these past few weeks.  The tomatoes have been abundant thus far but the peppers were a little slow, despite the plants themselves being four and a half feet tall.  Now they are fruiting but the tomatoes are about gone.  So much for having a coordinating salsa garden.  We had a nice watermelon, too, that was very good.  Olive can assure you it was.  Now there three more that have grown to large softballs in the past two weeks but I don't think they'll make it until frost.

But this is what I'm most excited for!  Can you tell what it is?  They are peanuts!  I bought this little plant on a whim, or an experiment I suppose, and sort of forgot about it.  Then I saw this guy peeking out the other day.  If they turn out well. I may have to get some more next spring. 

So this is what I have to show for the last two weeks, but I have been tired.  I'm staring at a counter full of dirty dishes and Scott is probably cutting off some digits with the new mitre saw we got today.  Not to mention I have two paper bags full of apples from Momma's that need to be addressed.  I'm wondering how many food items one can make out of apples before they detest them.  Over a thousand?  Let's experiment and I'll get back to you when I have more exciting things to share.  And after I take a nap. 

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Our Own Park

We started building our garden last weekend and finally got it finished (almost) yesterday.  This is the best way to start off any sort of construction project, with a Leinenkugel's or a Spotted Cow.  Or a margarita.  Notice the long sleeves.  It was in the 50's last weekend and four days later it was 83.

We previously had a small patch of the yard tilled up that wouldn't grow much.

I am so excited about this new garden.  I have so much more room that I almost don't know what to plant.  I definetly want one box devoted to strawberries, one for salsa ingredients like tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro, another for salads with lettuce, carrots, and radishes, and one for the viney plants like sugar baby watermelons, cucmbers, and peas.  I think I will plant flowers in the middle box.

Now I just need to top each box off with garden soil and I will be ready to go! 

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Finally!

My computer was down for about two weeks and I finally got it back home, safe and sound, last night.  I have had so much to do outside, though, that I didn't really miss it.

On Monday Momma and I went to The Flower Factory just south of Oregon.  They only grow and sell perennials and a girl could loose her mind there.  This little hosta is called 'Blue Mouse Ears' and only grows to ten inches.  Right now he is only about two inches.  I just can't stand the adorableness of the small velvet leaves.

This tiny one is called 'Peanut' and will only be about six inches tall.  I like his variegation.

This hosta is named 'Teaspoon'.  Just shut up with this name.  I have such a soft spot for spoons anyway so I had to buy him.  The names of hostas are as bad as the names of paint.  I am such a sucker for a clever name.  And hostas have some good ones.  Spilt Milk, Cracker Crumbs, Alligator Shoes, Striptease, Banana Muffins, T. Rex, Scooter, Piecrust Power, Green Velveteen, and Cheatin' Heart are some of my favorites.  It could be the ugliest hosta in the world but could you leave it behind if it's name was 'Golden Waffles'?  I think not.  Unfortunately our house has only small trees that provide minimal shade so it will be a while before I will have homes for more.  That and I ran out of money. 

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New Little Babies

Olive and I went out to my Mom and Dad's house yesterday to get some mulch to cover up those plants she previously dug up.  Momma had some new babies!

She came home with these little ones, only a day old, last Monday.  The fuzziness is too much to handle and you just want to scoop up a handful and squeeze the cuteness out of them!  I always think of the opening of The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy fills her apron with the new chicks.  Who wouldn't want an apron full of chirping downy?

It was such a good day.  I don't think we sat down at all.  Except for the part where I stabbed my leg with a pitchfork (Don't ask. My parents call me Grace). And maybe for the golf cart rides through the woods.  Olive loves getting chauffeured around by my brother Clifton.  This is what she looks like the next day.  We can hardly get her out of bed to go outside.  Of course she snuggles in the chair after I have removed the slipcovers for laundering. Pa-thet-ic!  In other news...

I am still working on the quilt and it is going well.  I have found I am not a very careful cutter and some of my seams don't line up.  But that is okay with me.  I don't mind a little imperfection.  It's the quirks I end up loving so much.  It's me.  I did need a little instant gratification, though, and made a little pillow cover out of my extra squares.  This to replace the furry polar bear-like cover I had on it before, which someone had started sucking on the corners of.  I'm not sure of the guilty party but I think I have it narrowed down to the ones with four legs. 

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Muddy Paws

Yesterday I went to Randolph to the Jung's garden center with my Momma, Aunt Janet, my cousin Clarissa and her littlest boy, Kade.  It was good fun and I came home with several shrubs and trees to plant.  Olive and I spent all afternoon diigging and planting and contemplating the best spots for the newest additions to the yard to grow.  It was almost dark when we came inside to start making dinner.  However, little Olive bean wasn't so content with the amount of digging and decided to go outside for more. 

She came to the door with muddy paws and muzzle, having redug all the holes and uprooted the new shrubs.  She was only able to reach two of them from her run and they are no worse for the wear.  She just couldn't resist- she loves to bite at weeds as you throw them through the air, especially if they have lots of dirt on them.  These bare-root plants aren't anything more than giant weeds that looked like good chewing!  Nothing some well placed large rocks can't protect against. This is not the muddiest she has ever been and I can hardly wait until we till up the veggie garden.  I'll just keep a bathtub on the back porch.

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Corners of My Home: The Launderette

 

This is my favorite room in the house and its not even a room.  It is a closet, the laundry closet.  i like to call it the launderette.

 

It is a place where I can have everything girly and just so without complaints.  I can close the doors and no one has to know about it.  But I think it is too pretty to keep it shut off.  It had been a springy-green before but I repainted it pale pink, the same color the inside of the cabinet is now.  There was also a little tiny light fixture that made it dark and sad.  I found an old milk glass school house style shade at St. Vincent's for a dollar (these things are like $50 for reproductions ) and now everything is sunny and bright.

 

My Momma got me some glass canisters with red lids in the holiday markdowns for my little laundry room.  I think I will replace the ones with the silver lids for them.  And I just adore that red and blue bunting from Alicia .  it makes doing laundry a party. 

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As Promised

 

Here is the finished cabinet.  It was done last week but I've been feeling a little under the weather and didn't have the enthusiasm to post anything.  

 

I love this cabinet.  All the orginal hardware is in great shape and shines so nicely.  We painted the inside a pale pink called "confection" and the white is "glass of milk".  Cake and milk, two of my favorite things!

 

There is even a towel bar on the back!

It is finally supposed to snow this weekend and Scott and I both have off.  I am so excited and have been thinking of warm things to cook.  Maybe some lentil stew with sausage, and peach cobbler, and beef potroast with potatoes.  These all seem to be condusive to knitting weather, and I do have quite a bit of that to get done.  I can't wait. 

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DIY WIP

I couldn't stand the thought of this adorable cabinet sitting in the sad antique store and not in my warm kitchen so I went and rescued it today.

Scott and I both have the weekend off and this will be our little project.  More pictures later. Hopefully.  If we don't strangle each other. 

 

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A Case of the Mean Reds

But not in the Holly Golightly way, being sad for no apparent reason.  My case of the mean reds is a new found appreciation for all things crimson.  I have never been this particular color's biggest fan.  I liked it okay, I was just more drawn to shades of light blue and green and pink and especially grey.  Most of the things in my home (even my website) are of the afore mentioned color palette and I am finding that little bits of red here and there are making me happy.  Lucky me, my Grandmother thought I would like red and gave me all sorts of good things that I now love even more. I have a stepstool, a toaster, and my favorite, a small two-cup enamel tea kettle with a wooden handle that is periwinkle blue inside. I also found these cute dog bowls at a little shop in Columbus.  The pet mat is a hard thing to find, usually they have gagy-cute animals on them.  We had been using a super-bright-every-color placemat from Target since summer.  Yesterday, however, a package of oilcloth arrived.  So this morning I whipped up a little mat and I just think it is about the cutest thing ever (did I mention how much I like dots?).  It even reverses to strawberries! And all of these pretties  happen to go so well with my favorite apron that I wear almost every day. 

 

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The Pinch

Only four days until Christmas.  I can feel my chest tightening up already.  It seems like I have so much do and it makes me feel like I am going to have an attack.  I may seem calm on the outside but inside my stomach is twisted around my pancreas.  I'm just worried about getting my Mom's present finished.  Last year I wrapped up an unfinished felted tote, with the handles and bottom un-attached.  I just ran out of time.  I said I was going to finish it but gave up and finally bought her a gift, which I promptly gave to her in the middle of May.  I am such a procrastinator, specifically a tense-afraid procrastinator.  Having way too many things to do just overwhelms me and I end up putting them off until the last moment.  The good thing is that when I make a list to organize my thoughts and I start things roling, I am very good at multi-tasking and prioritizing to acomplish my goals.  This is just how I work: get ideas, freak out about too many ideas, possibly cry, make lists, get things done.  I am working on this, I really am.

So I said I would have some pictures of the goodies I found on Tuesday.  I thought it would be appropriate to post them on Thrifting Thursday, since I won't get to go out today.  I found all of these wonderful white dishes, just about my favorite thing- especially those that have bubbles. polka dots, and hobnails.  I can't wait until summer to have fresh berries in the little bowl and cream in the small hobnail pitcher and lemonade in its big brother.  Hurry summer-  if there is not going to be snow for Christmas, I don't want any...   And look at how cute those ragballs are.  I think I will just leave these to sit out, unless I find a very be-fitting project for them.  There were also a couple of kitchen counter pieces that had enamel tops which were white with aqua edging.  I think there was one that would have worked well as an island in my kitchen and I am a little sad that I didn't buy it. I may have togo back to rescue it.  But not this week, too much to do.  I'll unwind next week. 

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Score

Yesterday was thrifty Thursday so I was out and about looking for some finds.  I went to Halle's Vintage in Mazomanie and found a beautiful swiss dot full apron as well as a 1944 apron pattern.  The pattern is for a cobbler's style apron, a style that I have been searching for for quite some time.  This apron has large, deep pockets at the bottom, perfect for carrying around the stuff I go up and down our sixteen stairs for because I left it in the opposite corner of the house.  We don't have a grounded telephone line and I am always missing calls on my cellular, so that would go in there.  It is cold season, too, and having tissues at hand is a good  idea.  Some bobbies for my hair beacause I am kind of like the witch on Looney Toons.  Every time she ran out of the room after Bugs Bunny her hair pins would be twirling in the air before they fell to the ground (A cup of tea-ee for you-hooo and me-heee, thanks for that mom!).  I think I would also stash some doggie snaps for puppy tricks on the fly. Oh, and the daily list.

Then I went back to the Vinnies in Sauk.  This store is really hit or miss but I totally scored this time.  I found some dress patterns from the sixties and a retractable laundry line for the launderette closet.  But my big find was an old wooden office chair for $25.00.  It is just like the chairs in Pottery Barn that they sell for, like, $300.00.  Plus, there must have been a sale so my total for all of the good stuff was $18.00!  Hooray!

Scott and I then went to Madison looking for a camera. We bought a Canon Powershot A630 and I really like it.  I think Scott started out wanting one that was tiny and slender.  It seems that for boys everything is 'the bigger the better', until they get to the gadgets then its 'the thinner's the winner'. I know that he thought it would be best for stashing in a purse but seeing how I don't use a stashing kind of purse often, I just cary around a suitcase, this feature doesn't much matter.  This camera is a good size for someone with wide thumbs, like me.  I am a button masher.  so as soon as I figure out how to work it and how to put pictures up, I will.

After spending all the time in Comp USA I could stand (there is only so much tech this girl can tollerate), we picked up my brother Clifton and headed to the moving picture show.  We saw Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny and it was hilarious.  Good times.  it was nice to hang out with Clifton.  I miss hanging around with my family.  Everyone is so busy that I don't get to see them often.  That's why I am really loking forward to Christmas this year.  That reminds me, I have a bazillion projects to get crackin' on. And maybe one of these days I will get my stupid cookies baked.

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So Much to Do

This weekend was very good.  I had wanted to go to Minneapolis but no go on that.  Instead, I met the fam for dinner in Reedsburg at Erin's Snug.  It was so nice to see cousins and aunts and uncles and especially my sister and brothers.  We all wanted to go bowling after but it was league night at the alley, so maybe next time. I headed over to Larissa's house to meet her husband-to-be, Mark.  They are recently engaged and I am very excited about being in the wedding, which is coming up this June.  I am so happy for them and can't wait to get to know Mark better. Congatulations!

Otherwise the weekend was very unproductive.  I was looking forward to baking cookies, pfefferneuse and sugar, but I didn't have all the right ingredients and it was too cold to drive to the store to get them.  Incedentally it was not too cold to crawl on the roof to remove or fix the broken Christmas lights.  Not a fun thing to do when its fifteen degrees and very windy.  But they are fixed and pretty on our little gingerbread house.  I did manage to get two presents on my list crossed off but I still have very large holes as I am not quite sure what to get for some people.  Dads are just so hard to figure out.  I'll keep thinking though and maybe inspiration will hit.  I also found that I need quite a few supplies for other projects so I am kind of stuck until I can do some shopping.  I always love the shopping.

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Decemberween

I'm so glad December is here.  I love the holiday time. I especially love the sparkle of everything, being a raccoon and all.  The lights, glitter, tinsel, snow, shiney paper and ribbons are so pretty and I wish it wouldn't reflect poorly on my mental stability if I left the decorations up all year long.  I had the tree up the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It hadn't been decoarated that day but I just couldn't stand it any longer and I needed it up before the start of the week. I just get too excited!  It isn't a real tree, though.  This year I bought a white tree and decoarted it with handmade aqua tissue paper garland and red, green, baby blue, and pink ornaments.  Lots of tinsel and icicles, too.  I also found very fun red and white pom-pom garland at K-mart.  However, I found the last five pom-poms on the string shredded and strewn about the living room, thanks to Olive and Tibbs.  The cat pulls it off the tree and the dog eats it.  Lovely.  This is why I don't have a real tree.  Tibbs is living under it and swats at your feet when you walk by.  He has claimed it as his own and will come flying out from somewhere around the top branches if he doesn't aprove of the way you are screaming at him to leave the tree alone.  I'm guessing it will come down at least once before the new year.  We used to have a cat named Franklin who would curl up so sweetly amongst the presents but would otherwise leave the enticing bulbs and lights alone.  But he left us alone with the one who stares at you through the branches while you are watching tv and Seben, who has zapped himself on more than one occasion by eating the lights off the tree.  Oh, well... With the first of December I always start to feel a bit panicky about finding presents for everyone.  This is when I get serious about Christmas lists.  For anyone who doesn't know and love me, I make lists. Lots of lists. Lists about what lists I need make and where these lists are kept.  I find that this helps keep the anxiety attacks at bay.  So, what I will be doing this weekend is listing out what gifts I need to find or make for those on my 'People for Whom I Would Like to Give a Present To' list.  Come Christmas Day I hope that I will have coordinated these two lists appropriately and the gifts will match the person. Maybe I should make a list for that.

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Here I Go

So this would be the first entry of my new blog. I'm not too sure about what to expect out of all this, but I do hope that it can keep me connected- connected to friends and family, both new and old, as well as keeping my every-day together. I hope you like and enjoy it.

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