Meet Phred, the interior designer....

Phred is a DIY'er.....

he is very busy this time of year 

making his crib....

making it suitable for entertaining....

spiffing things up for the winter....

 Phred 

is a squirrel.

He lives in the tree

that my office looks out on....

My office is three floors up,

and looks out into a dense patch of trees.

As I type, my peripheral vision 

tends to catch sudden movement in the trees.

So

Monday, as I sat typing away,

I spied a twitch, and a rustle of tree limbs.

I looked directly out and still couldn't make out what it was...

It was Phred.

There about 30 yards out

Phred was stuffing leaves, still attached to small limbs,

into what remained of last winter's nest.

This is what I saw....

Yes, I would recognized him anywhere....

That perpetual scratcher of ears....

Whose tail seems to be longer than his entire body....

who remodels with the last remaining green leaves...

See him? peeking out from under that leaf?

perhaps he has esp, too.....

One paw on the entry limb, one paw holding on to his threshold...

then WHOOSH! he is off to procure more interior enhancements ...

Back, he stuffs them in the front door...

only to poke them further through the roof...

old exterior brush begins to be transformed...

The old dead cedar tree that Phred lives in, 

stands sturdy, 

even though it was stuck

 by lightening a few years ago....

Phred moves fast!(note the blur!)

One quick little look to make sure the coast is clear...

then hang up side down for just a minute,

 to stretch things out a bit...

Then back with another limb...

Just when I think I see him 

taking a short lunch break...

He surprises me again..

grabs the leaves in his mouth...

and up the trees he goes...

Now, I think he may be just showing off...

or sleeping on the job....

Subtlety is not his forte...

Ah Phred....it's been fun watching you...

hold tight there buddy....

keep things real...

and 

stock up for the winter yet to come....

smiles

A Christmas Greeting.....

I love Christmas.....

not just December 25th...

But the whole busy,

crazy,

hectic,

chilly,

unreal season....

I love it all....

even the traffic,

noise,

lines,

pace,

and 

crazies.....

but only....

when I am just about 

finished doing all those

things that mothers

 do to prepare 

for 

the

 big day.

This is our Christmas card this year.

I got the very idea of this post from 

a very talented lady, who as it turns out, 

is a fabulous photographer.

Check out Mary's blog 

HERE.

Where you can see her lovely Christmas cards.

(She sees beautiful things!)

Any-Who...

when making my clients Christmas Cards,

I always use 

Shutterfly.

Really!

they produce quality products,

they are inexpensive,

and they arrive quickly.

 all the aspects of 

customer service that I require.

No,

they don't pay me to say this....

they probably don't know who I am...

but 

I have been in the photography biz for nearly

16 years now,

and I have tried all sorts of labs....

Shutterfly is where it is at....

smiles.

And

at this time of year.....

I love me some 

"Carpenters"

the group, that is...

miss Karen, especially at Christmas.

A new recipe never hurts...

Especially when you have made the same ol' 

stuff...ing...

ever year forever!

So, when I saw this on the Cooking channel,

I thought

"I can do that!"

and I did...

I would like you to meet 

Butternut squash.

Yes, those are pecans amongst the cut up 

pieces of BNS (Butter nut squash)

This is so easy,

I am almost embarrassed to make such a big deal about it.

But, honestly, you cannot imagine how much of a hit it was 

yesterday.

One of the young men at our home

told me that I should make it for his rehearsal dinner!

And

he is not engaged!

Well, I promise to make it next time he comes for dinner, anyway.

Cut up the BNS,

toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roast this in a hot (375* convection) oven

untill fork tender.

take out, toss with pecans,

return to oven for 10 minutes

(watch closely since ovens vary, you don't want to burn at this point)

Then take out and distrbute blue cheese (crumbled, 1 lb)

all over and return to oven for 5 minutes.

take out and serve...

OMG!

the gooey cheesey yumminess,

the crunchy pecans,

and the butternut squash....

it is salty and sweet,

crunchy and soft....

Try this.

The hardest part is cutting the raw BNS.

I used my biggest knife, and my kitchen hammer...

you don't want to know much more than that...

smiles...

Sewing Adventures....

Yes!

They are finally finished....

those 3 silk blouses that I agonized over...

and squirmed each time I looked at the folded

fine silk laying on my sewing desk.

I worried,

stewed,

bargained (in my head)

and looked very hard for someone who would take on the task

of transforming the luscious threads into something 

wearable.

then I gave up, or in.....

and sought out patterns to make for myself.

YIPES!

Curtains, yes...

pillows, yes....

handbags, yes....

clothing, Oh *#&# no!

But 

I started slow,

and prayed each and every time 

that I put the presser foot down.

and finally,

I have finished.

And 

I just might start wearing them next week....

This first one was a bear!

I tackled it last,

and I am very glad too,

the "cross-over" neckline had me flummoxed....

I had to take out the two front seams, twice...

this one was a breeze, it is simply

2 squares (front) and one rectangle (back).

but this is my favorite!

I love paisley...

and this fabric is especially yummy,

thick, heavy as cream, silk

that worked very easily.

Not the simplest thing I have ever done, 

but probably the most satisfying.

And because the fabric was so expensive,

I didn't throw one scrap away,

I simple started sewing them all together and made a 

couple of scarfs...crazy quilt style....

smiles.

These are my Christmas gift to me...

It was all a dream....

Remember JR?

Well, that's just about what the idea of making all my 

Christmas gifts would be like....

High drama....

broken promises....

deception....

out right lies....

There isn't a chance in this here reality 

that I could actually make all those gifts,

much less sew them all.....

Nope...

Nada...

Neyt...

Oh Hell No...

Not happenin'

not even with a glue gun....

But 

a girl can dream can't she?

Sometime,

in a place long ago....

this girl thought she might attempt

"The Martha Perfection Cycle"

but alas...

no.

I have a few talents,

but a perfect Christmas is not in my repetoire.

No, 

Christmas comes with too much emotion,

hopes, dreams, illusions, delusions.....

I simply cannot pull it off.

So... 

I guess I will post some photos

 and pretend

the perfect Christmas event is in the works.

But please do not feel the least bit sorry for me...

I am finally coming to terms with the idea that 

a perfect holiday season is all in one's head.....

that perfection is in the mind of the willing...

that I can have that perfect holiday if I make up my mind

that whatever happens IS perfection...

Difficult you might say,

but is it?

Perhaps it is simply a matter of allowing others to be 

and act just the way they are...

and being in a state of mind, that is willing to accept 

imperfection as being a form of perfection

(ok, my head just about exploded on that one, don't ask for more)

I am willing at this point in time to accept

what comes my way.

Hopefully,

this feeling will last....

smiles.

And, they had to ask....

Do you suffer from Delusional Holiday Gift Sewing?

The magazine

Vogue Patterns

asks.....

Now let me set the record absolutely straight....

I am not an accomplished seamstress.

I am not an enthusiastic sewer even....

I always pray before putting the presser foot down....

especially lately.

My sweet baboo spent an extended business trip in 

Shanghai recently.

On previous trips,

he asked what I might like....

I said pearls.

He brought me 

earrings,

necklace(s),

and a ring!

Whew!

I love them all 

and frankly, am a bit 

humbled that he would

go to so much trouble,

and expense.

So,

as he was packing for this trip,

he asked again,

"What can I bring you?"

I was prepared this time.

I said that I would love some silk fabric,

so that I could make a blouse.

He came back with the most luxurious fabric you could ever imagine.

And his business partner mentioned how expensive it was.....

Yipes!

So, you see.....

when I sat down to pick a pattern for this fabric,

I was especially cognizant of the difficulty of each 

option.

I have completed 2 out of the three patterns I chose.

(They are being completed by a monkey with 12 thumbs,...me.)

My eyesight is in transition,

(menopause)

and thus, 

I can hardly thread the needle.

So,

back to the 

"Question From Vogue Magazine"...

the answer is 

YES!

I apparently got all cocky....

big-headed....

looney....

(you get the picture),

because I started to plan to make all 

of my Christmas gifts.....

Handbags for girlfriends,

scarfs for others,

felt phone covers for guys,

hats for others,

laptop protectors for some,

and simple stockings for others.....

What am I thinking?

It is November 8th for Pete's Sake!

Guess I should be grateful that a magazine 

brought me back down to earth....

Now, I wonder where that glue gun is?

smiles....

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.....

Or....

maybe they are just an opportunity to 

irritate the heck out of everyone in earshot....

Have you noticed,

that men don't have enough to do.....

or it would seem...

How many times have you been in your home,

minding your own business....

and suddenly you hear a 

BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP

BEEP

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Really?

Seriously?

Does it actually help to hit that button 20-hundred times?

I am sure not.

I simply hit the button once,

and my sweet Fit,

silently

unobtrusively,

politely,

locks itself.

Period.

What is the purpose of multi-beeping?

Does it draw attention to the lonely?

Does it give you a more intense feeling of security?

Does is prove that Dad gave you the keys?

You've passed the driver's test?

You are bored?

Stupid?

That's how I see life 

in the side-view mirror.....

smiles