Jeepers Creepers...We're Housewalk Peepers!

 

Time once again for legally peeping inside the homes of strangers at the annual

St. Joseph's Women's Guild

Doorways to Christmas

Housewalk.

 

And, oh how we love this! 

It is such fun to see how others decorate for the holidays.  This year 

 seemed to have a strong emphasis on letter graphics with words on the wall, arty and vintage posters (even eye charts like we used as youngsters), and advertisements

 like a menu and a toothpaste ad.

 

Check out this cozy office niche with inspirational quotes painted in white on

chocolate-colored walsl:

 

"finish what you start"

"be thankful"

"keep it simple"

 

 

 

In another home, the woman of the house is an artist and had made dimensional red letters with sayings attached right to the walls.  Here in the foyer you could see

 

"When my heart finds Christmas"

"Deck the halls"

and (not shown because someone was in the way)

"Baby it's cold outside"

 

But my favorite quote was in the kitchen and it said, (again not shown because someone was in my way):

 

"There is no skinny Santa in here."

 

Out of the five houses we toured, we had our favorites for various reasons.

Some appeared magazine perfect, others had pictures galore of family members

who obviously adored being together - very personal views into the life they share daily.  Others had just a few glimpses into day-to-day life and I respect their privacy with that.

 

Another house had books - lots of books - visible in nearly every room, including the dining room.  And in the living room, the books were arranged by color of the book jackets.

 

 

 

As a librarian, I can say this could be a Godsend for the patron who knows what the cover of the book looks like, but has no clue whatsoever what/who the title/author could be, but it is blue.

 

Now, let's talk about the trees we saw on our Housewalk journey.  Oh my!

One house had 60ish trees.  Really, that's what the mini guide pamphlet said - I certainly didn't count them all!  That's a lot of trees. 

I think of that house now as the Imelda Marcos of trees house.

Some trees had themes - sports, princesses, handmade ornaments, cookie cutters, etc.

 

 

 

Here is my own version of of their room in my humble home with our tree:

 

 

We have no loft area, no 2 story windows, no imported Persian rugs, no

valuable ornaments, no vases (vah-ses) holding dozens of fresh tulips and roses,

but it still feels like a place I'd want to live a full, blessed life in!

 

Happy Home-adays!

 

May you and yours feel warmth and love in your home, no matter what it looks like,

whether or not it is a "feature" home on a Housewalk or looking like it needs some TLC.

It is shelter and there are those who would give anything for that...let's remember them at the holidays with anything we can give or donate.

 

 

One Tomte. One Elf.

'Tis the season for wee little impish ones to be making their way into house and home!  In Sweden they are known as tomte (tomten) and they act as protectors of the farm, animals and children.  Better give them porridge WITH BUTTER on Christmas night, or you'll be sorry --- the cow's tails will be tied together or objects could be turned topsy turvy and generally you should expect mischief.

 Here at home, there may be an Elf placed on a Shelf (some love 'em and others don't) to encourage/threaten good behavior as the days count down to Christmas.

 

As for me, I just love both!  In the past I have sewn little elf ornaments for the tree and made an

elf doll out of fun fabrics.  This year was the year to make tomten.  Because this was the year we went to Sweden and visited a very special little shop called Tomte Verkstan.

In this shop, one could buy ready-made tomten.  But I opted to buy little tomte kits and make them myself back home.  And it has been so much fun!

 

 

Seriously, does this place look like fun or what???

Once back home, though, it was a bit of a challenge to craft the little red-hat wonders as there was no English in the instructions and quite a few little pieces to figure out:

 

 

 

Finished.

 

Which brings me to the next Swedish tradition: the Lucia Pageant.

And Miss E being a little participant in the pageant as a tiny

tomte handing out candycanes, decked out in red from top to toe.

 

 

 

 

Now it seems apparent to me that we have a tomte in the family....but what about her

sister, Miss M?  Today I confirmed she is an elf while watching her at her 1 month check up.

 

 

See what I mean?

We're in for some holiday merriment with these two little ones!

Thanksgiving and the Kid's Table for One

 

Who would have thought that our little family was ready to start the tradition of a Kid's Table for a holiday gathering? Certainly not us! 
But it was a smashing success at Thanksgiving

when Miss E had her very own kid's table this year...well, not exactly her very own table
because her "friends" were seated across from her. 


It all started it when we setting the table for 10 at Anne and Jed's place.
 

Where, oh where, should Miss E sit?  The table legs just weren't in a good spot for her.

And the Little Miss has been known to leave her seat for "greener pastures" and that

might be tricky for the table guests nearby.

Then, the light bulb moment came that there was a little table available, thanks to the

handing-down of Miss E's Great Grandfather's boyhood table.  With a little foofing up, the table

was covered with 2 striped place mats and a diagonal red napkin.
 Miss E's glittered Halloween pumpkin

was placed as a side centerpiece and 2 mini Indian corn cobs were placed nearby.

But the very best thing was that Miss E could "dine" with her beloved friends:

Vanessa, Pink Bear, Bumpkin Bear, Bunny and Doggie.
 

 

While nearby the rest of us dined with our real-life family and friends.

Towards the end of our meal, we noticed that not much food was eaten at the Kid's Table,

but there was one very happy 2 year old content to play away on Thanksgiving Day:

 

 

 

See her there?

She also managed to make it upstairs to put on her pink tutu and sparkly shoes.

 

I hope you and yours had a lovely Thanksgiving, too!

Windows! Lunch! Santa! Pickpockets?

Oh, how much fun the Nelson Sisters have when they kick off the holiday season

 with a visit to State Street! 
Seeing the Macy's windows (minus cold temps and crowds),
eating lunch in the Walnut Room by the Christmas tree (again, no long lines and big crowds)

and visiting Santa (without dirty looks from parents with kids) makes for two very happy sisters!

The added bonus this year was thwarting off a pickpocket --- more on that later.

 

Here we are on the main floor of Macy's.


The windows at Macy's are especially sweet this year with memories of past Christmases
at Marshall Field's - insert a moment of silence for this dearly-departed Chicago institution here.

In this window we see a waiter doing a mad dash around the tree in the Walnut Room.

 

No mad dash was required for us as we were seated next to the tree in the Walnut Room!

 

 

 

Once our lunch was completed we headed off to Santa Land...

 

Yes, we really did go visit Santa.

Though our combined ages equal far beyond one hundred years, we

are making up for lost years when there were no visits (or belief) to Santa Land. 

Santa forgot to even ask us for our wishes and desires, so World Peace will have

to be acquired elsewhere.

 

Then, off for some shopping.  We both scored finds for some of you on our lists.

 

 

After such a lovely afteroon together, we headed home on the Brown Line train.

That's when the tables were turned and I was the target of a pickpocket attempt!

 

Earlier this summer, my sister was the target, too, but her fate was more unfortunate than mine.

What happens is this:  you are in a throng of people trying to get into the boarding train and a person trips right in front of you, falling down in the process.

When the person attempts to get up, your purse is vulnerable and items are removed.  Then the fallen person quickly escapes the train and you are left with an open purse with fewer items inside.

 

So, getting into the train I was being shoved and couldn't move.  Then the man fell down right in front of me.  Others came to his aid and he rushed OUT of the train.  Hmm.

When I found my seat on the train my wallet purse was open.  Fortunately the wallet purse had no removeable parts and the cards and cash were safe.

This is exactly what had happened to Diann.

 

Maybe Santa had granted me a wish of safety after all!

Fun times, as always, with my sis.

 

 

It's What I Do. It's What I Make. (Part 2)

Bag Lady.  That's me.  Not just any kind of bag do I make, no-sir-ee. 

I make book bags intended for taking to the library and scooping

 up a lot of books to take home.

The "Story Lady" (my other name) from the library wants to encourage

 reading together once at home, too.

 

With the birth recently of Miss M, I got into the sewing mode almost as soon as I
 found out her name!

 

 

Of course there had to be some pink on the bag. And a bit of perky and happy,too.

The three flowers are dimensional circles with raw-edge fabric centers.

 

Miss M had to try it on for size and for the time being,

the fit was just perfect!
 

 

Happy Reading. Little One!

I do wonder what your favorite stories will be and I can't wait to introduce you

to some of my favorite stories and characters.

 

It's What I Do. It's What I Make. (Part 1)

Face it...if your are born into this family, chances are excellent that I will sew you a little quilt. Hopefully you will love it and use it and feel loved in the process. Hopefully, it will give you warmth as you slumber, comfort as you are having a rough day and a shelter overhead as you built a fort for dreaming and playing.  Perhaps it will provide you just the right covering as you hide away from your family if they are bugging you.  Maybe you will use it as you curl up in a corner to read those first words in a book and be transported to a world far away.

 

First, the quilt:

 

The inspiration for this quilt was a vintage well-worn one I found years ago at a church rummage sale for very little money.  It was in need of serious repair.  But it was oh-so-soft and in need of a home.

Minty green was its color; yo-yo flowers were white with yellow centers.

 

 

 

 

Flash forward in time when Miss E was playing "picnic" at our place and I pulled out the old quilt

to serve as her home base as she played with faux cupcakes, pizza, sandwich fixings, veggies and random fruits, condiments and beverages.  Anne, pregnant with Miss M at the time, fell in love with the old quilt and requested that I make the new babe a quilt like this one.  And could I please make the quilt with a gray fabric?

 

Some 128 circles later (2 per flower) and sewing here, there, and everywhere, the quilt top was competed.  Just in time for me to take it along as we travelled to Sweden and quilt away in the land of our ancestors.

 

This past week Miss M and her quilt met each other!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy One Week milestone, Miss M.

May you and your quilt be a happy pair as you face the world together.

The Toes. The Nose(s). A Family Grows!

Oh, my goodness!

Our family has expanded once again with the birth of

 Maja Helen

on November first, and we are entirely smitten with her from the tip of her

button nose to the bottom of her playdoh-sculpted toes!

 

(Here shown wearing  her Birth-day crown made by Miss E.)

 

Maja weighed in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces.
Her height  at birth was 21.06 inches.

Maja is a Swedish name - actually the #1 most popular girls' name in Sweden.
It is pronounced My-yah.

 

Helen is in honor/memory of Jed's grandmother.
 

What started out with two noses and twenty toes (thirty six years ago)
 has now grown to eight noses and eighty toes...

and we couldn't feel more blessed!