A Small Triumph

Last summer, I found an ornate toilet paper holder at a Habitat for Humanity Restore. It was the wrong color for my bathroom... No problem, right?

I figured I could paint it to match the mirror and soap dish I refinished. So I dismantled it and painted the metal parts. Then I attempted to put it all back together.... with a power drill. Big mistake!! Just a little too much power for the plastic back which broke off when the screw tightened down too hard. It hit the floor and then broke into three pieces. Not to be discouraged, I thought I'd superglue it together. After all, the toilet paper would hide the cracks. In my attempt to glue it together, I dropped it yet again... on the floor! This time, it shattered into MANY pieces. :( I cleaned them up and threw them away, very upset with myself. I kept the ornate piece (after all... I went to a lot of work to paint it).

Fast forward several months. I was at yard sale where they were selling a double sink and vanity. I overheard one woman tell another to drop the price to $5 because their Dad really didn't want to take it home. What did I spy on the end of it but a recessed TP holder! I inquired if they'd sell it to me for $1. Sold!

This past weekend, I dismantled the holder I bought for $1 and re-attached its back plastic piece to the the metal ornate front piece I painted earlier this summer. It didn't fit exactly right, but with a little silicone adhesive... viola!

Before - The Old TP Holder

After - The New & Improved TP Holder

Marvelous Monday Update 12/29/08

Weather
The weather on Christmas Day was absolutely gorgeous. The sun came out and the roads were clear for traveling. It started raining the day after Christmas. It rained, and rained, and rained some more. Wanna talk about fog? I drove out to my parents to get the scarf I left. Fog wasn't too bad until I got halfway there, then it got *really* bad. The trip home was even worse. I had to drive 20-25 mph because I couldn't see much farther than the front of my car. I relied on my knowledge of the area in order to keep me on the right track. Talk about nerve racking! On Saturday night, the wet areas froze, making for slick conditions... and then we got a light dusting of snow to hide the skating rink. Fun stuff had by all!! Today temps are supposed to be in the lower 40's.


Stitchy Stuff
I did a good amount of stitching over the holiday. I would've finished Quaker Rule... but I'm waiting for a floss color. :( Here's what it looks like after 10.5 hours:


I'm kinda irked by the fact that the LNS didn't cut the fabric to the right size. It's about 10 stitches too short, so I had to shorten the length of the chart. I hope it fits into the ruler!


Homestead Chronicles - Basement Edition
Back in August, my Dad gave me some of the old cabinets left over after he finished remodeling Mom's kitchen. I hadn't done any unpacking or organizing of the "stuff" that was put into the basement when I moved here a year ago.

Before
4 hours later: See the red and blue tubs? That's my fabric stash. Not stitchy fabric, just regular fabric!


Lucky Me!


I was one of the lucky winners of the giveaways Lisa did on her blog. I won the DVD called "The Ultimate Gift". It's a great movie! Thank you Lisa :)

Christmas That Almost Wasn't

... at least for me, anyway. LOL Before I get to that, let me start from the beginning.

A month or so before Thanksgiving, my Mom called each of us kids to tell us Thanksgiving and Christmas were at 5pm. In the past, holidays were ALWAYS at 2pm. We could count on Mom for the 2pm meal. When she announced both holidays would be at 5pm, I was sure I could hear rejoicing from the married siblings who had in-laws to go to!

Fast forward to 6:41am on Christmas morning... a text message from my 16yr old niece wakes me up. "Merry Christmas!" it said. I wondered if my sister wasn't up yet, which is why my niece texted me. Why do kids have to be up early on Christmas morning?? LOL As I rolled over I said: "Ugh... go back to bed Rachel" like she could hear me being an hour away.

Around 8am, I finally get out of bed and start my own berage of text messages to everyone I know, wishing them all a Merry Christmas. One in particular caught my attention... from another niece: "Merry Christmas to u. C u at 2!"

Being 17, I figured she just assumed Christmas was at 2pm. However, as I went about my morning making dessert for Christmas dinner, I couldn't let go of her 2pm comment. Finally, I called Mom and asked her what time Christmas was. 2PM!!! Holy cripes... I had to fast foward all the things I needed to get done in order to be over to my parent's on time.

Apparently, my mother made an announcement at Thanksgiving that Christmas would be at 2pm. Where was I? I know I wasn't privvy to *that* conversation. Laughingly, I told my Mom I would've missed dinner and presents. I'd show up just when everyone was leaving. In reality, it wouldn't have happened that way because *someone* would've called/texted me asking where I was if I wasn't there by 2:15, LOL.

Some pics of my Christmas:

One of my trees with most of the 12 Days of Christmas gifts.

Cards received this year. Thank you, everyone!

These are the trees from my parents' house. Yes, there's always an INSANE amount of gifts... and this year we even drew names!

This is a commemorative photo. One of the kids suggested I take their pic on the steps "like we always do". When I first started photographing them during Christmas, there were only 3 of them (the ones at the very top) and it wasn't difficult fitting them all one ONE step as toddlers! Now it's a bit of a tight squeeze.
Much better!

This year when I asked my Mom what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "Money or gift cards... or whatever you want." Helpful, eh? LOL When I told my sister, we came up with the idea of a Money Tree. We both pitched in a bunch of cash. Then she bought a little 14" prelit tree and added origami ornaments made out of money (plus some regular ornaments, too). As you can see, our Mom got quite a kick out of her Money Tree! The next day my Dad came in from outside and told my Mom he looked and looked, but he couldn't find any trees outside that had money on them. LOL!

Mom, FSOM (Favorite Sista of Mine), and Me

When I saw my niece UNDER the tree, it looked sooo familiar...

18 years earlier, it was her Uncle J under that same tree!

More "expressions" of my family:


The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

Her Dad 25 years earlier, at the *exact* same age:

Lastly, one of my favorite photos of this Christmas:

Questions to ponder....

Yes, these are quite haunting...


If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?


Can you cry under water?


How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?


Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?


Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?


Why does a round pizza come in a square box?


What disease did cured ham actually have?


How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?


Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?


If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?


Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?


Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?


Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.


Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?


Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?


If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?


Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?


Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!


If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?


If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?


If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?


Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?


Why did you just try singing the two songs above?


Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?


Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Snow Snow and More Snow!

On Friday, I had to shovel twice... Once before going to work, and again on my lunch hour. Then Friday night into Saturday morning (Christmas Eve), it snowed more! Here's what it looks like around here:

Front Yard

Back Yard

View of the south side of my street.

Notice the yard stick in the snow bank?
My poor shrubs... The one in the pic is about
48" tall and you can't even see it with all the
snow!

It wasn't so bad blowing and shoveling snow... while it was still snowing. Once it stopped snowing, the winds picked up which made it feel colder. Plus snow blew back into my face and onto my glasses. Do you know what it's like to try and blow snow with no glasses on? LOL

12 Days of Christmas - SC Style

This year I'm participating in the 12 Days of Christmas Exchange sponsored by Stitchers Circle. Here's what I received (The images can be clicked on to see a larger pic):

Finally on Day 12, I looked at the card that was sent along with the gifts and found that they were all from Lizzie in Scotland. Thank you very much, Lizzie!


Day 12




Beautiful embroidered table doily!















Day 11



Tartan Cosmetic Bag. This is pretty good sized, and I'm thinking about putting stitchy stuff in it :)



Day 10




Chart & Bas-Relief Sculpture from The Friendship Collection







Day 9




14ct white aida with little silver specks in it. This is great! I had some of this and used it all up. Now I have more. Yay!






Day 8



I just *love* this! It's a little felt-lined metal jewelry box. On the top is where a stitched piece goes. I've never seen such a piece.




Day 7




Egyptian Pin Cushion Kit by Anchor








Day 6



28ct Evenweave. I'm thinking this would make a nice hand-dyed piece!



Day 5





It's a magnetic notepad! I don't know what kind of cow(?) this is, but I'm assuming they're found in Scotland.





Day 4





Anemones Scissor Fob Kit by Textile Heritage. I love their kits!






Day 3





Fuscia Bookmark Kit. I've seen this stitched up recently and it's really pretty.






Day 2




Two skeins of Six Strand Sweets: After Dinner Mint & Jawbreaker, both were on my wishlist :)





Day 1

Two skeins of Victoria Clayton silks in Aquamarine and Bird Feathers. I really like them!

12 Days Exchange - Family Style

This year both my sister and my niece wanted to do a 12 Days of Christmas Exchange, so here goes!

~ Day 12 ~

From my sister:





It's a Precious Moments angel tree topper. :)







From my niece:




Lottery Ticket. Wonder if I won??




~ Day 11 ~

From my sister:





Doesn't he look so loveable??







From my niece:






It's an Aladdin finger puppet. LOL!







~ Day 10 ~

From my sister:





Polar Bear Tea Light Candle Holder. I've never seen something like this. How cute!






From my niece:




Isn't he just the most adorable thing??!









~ Day 9 ~

From my sister:




A snowman tealight holder. It's really adorable. Around the rim of the "bowl" it says "A bowl full of jelly" LOL






From my niece:




A penguin snowglobe! That little penguin is so cute.









~ Day 8 ~

From my sister:




What an adorable snowman jingle tree! I can leave this up all winter. :)








From my niece:





I have this in my kitchen right now, and I can leave this up all year!








~ Day 7 ~

From my sister:





Framed Gardening Angel Picture. Now to find the perfect place to hang it.









What a pretty cottage puzzle. Only 125 pieces... I think I can do this!








~ Day 6 ~

From my sister:



A Christmas Precious Moments bell. I have a small PM collection, so this is a nice addition.







From my niece:





Assorted Greeting Cards. Can never have too many of these!







~ Day 5 ~

From my sister:




These minature ornies will work perfectly with my little trees!








From my niece:





Look at THAT face! How can you not smile at it??








~ Day 4 ~

From my sister:




I just *love* this little guy!








From my niece:




You can't tell from the pic, but this is a *BIG* jingle bell. About 4" in diameter, and at the top (can't see it in the photo) is a circular hanger. It's really pretty.





~ Day 3 ~

From my sister:


Isn't this the cutest little bear? She's holding a cookie jar. I'm assuming my sister bought it because I usually bake cookies for my friends and family during the holidays.



From my niece:



Floral Notepad that matches the pretty pens I got yesterday. :)









~ Day 2 ~

From my sister:




A wooden Santa pen which I will be keeping in my purse to use throughout the holiday season.







From my niece:





Must've been the day for pens! I got a set of pretty floral pens from my niece.






~ Day 1 ~

From my sister:



Isn't this the cutest little bobble-head doggie?! It's only about 2" long.



From my niece:




A Mickey Mouse kalidescope. This gift has a piece of history attached to it. My niece picked it because when she was 7, I took her to Disney World in FL. When she was that age, her favorite cartoon character was Mickey Mouse.