Happy New Year!

        May this NEW YEAR bring much joy to you and your family!

          
                     

Crocheted Snowman cozy destash!

I couldn't let the year go by without doing one more thing....this Snowman coffee cozy!

As for the never ending Christmas blanket.....I've used 38 skeins so far and have about 10 to go and it will finally be done.  (the skeins are small, so don't freak out.)

It doesn't stop us from using it though....it is nice and toasty.

Maybe someone will host a stash busting challenge for 2014.....?

Happy New Year's eve everyone!

Christmas nights......

Christmas night, we had some fun in New Orleans.

One evening we enjoyed Celebration in the Oaks.  They light up the entire City Park and Story Land.  It is truly neat, in a child friendly type of way.   

The train set was neat to see...but too big to take a photo of the whole thing without climbing a tree!

On our way out, Matt "held up" Frosty for a snowcone.  Sorry, but City Park isn't the safest place so when we saw this snowman, we all fell out laughing at how appropriate it was that he had his hands up!  

And you simply can't have a Cajun Christmas without a gator!

It was a super cold night and we were out there for a few hours.....but it was so much fun!!!!

Christmas fun

The last few years, we've managed to host a small Christmas party for Dean's office and clients.  It was a lot of fun, full of old and new friends....

old friends....

new friends...

we got photo bombed in these!  Those sneaky peeps popped up in SO MANY photos!  Hysterical!

The party was so much fun...can't wait to do it again next year!

sorry but...

  
I had to turn verification and moderation on again due to advertising loafers and robots.   

The Birds of Christmas

When I decided to accept Dean's challenge this year I didn't anticipate all the things that would require my attention.    Most of all, I didn't expect to lose my dad.    He taught me to love nature and to be gentle with God's world and all that was in it.  Yes, daddy...even spiders.

He passed on to me a love of art and craftsmanship and what he called "handiwork."   He did big stuff like curio cabinets and built in bars with stained glass doors. Maybe one day, I'll try something big too, but for now I am content with small stuff.  

Like these ornaments:

and the tree they reside in....

I chose a bird theme long before daddy passed away.  I can't help but wonder if God planted that idea knowing what the year would bring.  
This tree seems very befitting of my father's love of birds.......He would have loved our tree.  Not only because it is covered with birds, but because so many are handmade.  
I love you daddy, Merry Christmas!

crazy busy...

Where are the elves when you need them?

This past weekend was CRAZY!  Besides Kaela's family birthday and dinner out, I had tons to do around the house.  

Like finish the front door

  and make some scarves....

and mix up a bunch of my French Market soup mix for friends and coworkers...

And....I finished putting up the decorations (finally!)  
My parent bought these elves when we lived in Germany in the mid 60's.  I have one that needs repair but all the rest managed to survive all these years.

Now that these guys are out, I'm hoping they'll do some work while I catch up on some sleep!