Turkey, Surgeries, and Christmas Shopping

Hey there!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! I know I ate my fair share of turkey and stuffing!🦃 😉

Now it's on to Christmas. Speaking of which, did you do any Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping? I sure did! Trying to get gifts for the kids and grandkids. I found most of the gifts on Amazon and a few at Target and may have bought a few things for myself along the way 😉 I always forget (every single year) just how stressful (and expensive) Christmas shopping is. I still have some shopping left to do, so trying to save up. 

When I was at the doctor's office last week, I was chatting with one of the nurses who mentioned that she had all of her Christmas shopping done by August! August...I don't even think about Christmas shopping until after Halloween, or even Thanksgiving! I'm curious as to how many people get their Christmas shopping done early 🤔

I also had cataract surgery in one eye 👁 and am going in tomorrow to get the other eye done. I am so hoping this will not only improve my vision but also my night vision. Haven't driven at night for quite a while now. Surprisingly, the first surgery was fast and easy (I was quite nervous!), so here's hoping tomorrow's surgery is fast and easy too. 

My Christmas tree is up! I actually bought a new tree this year (on sale) and put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Now, I'm not normally a tree-putter-upper but decided that since I'm in a new house and I have the kids and grandkids over more often (because...bigger house) that I would go ahead and put up a tree this year. 🎄 So here's a photo of my new tree! (I'm still waiting on some decorations and tree skirt that I ordered...so don't judge the bareness of my tree)

My new Christmas tree!

I'm still working on my next embroidery project and hopefully will be finished soon. It's been hard to finish it with the eye surgeries, but I promise to post photos as soon as it's off the hoop!

Here are some photos of the grandkids from Thanksgiving week, and also my tree out front is changing colors and it is beautiful!

The boys had a concert at their music school.

My beautiful tree, changing to autumn colors!

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

 

Hickabilly Christmas Tennessee Trip

Howdy y'all!

I just returned from 5 days in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I attended the Hickabilly Christmas Live Event by Lizzy & Erin. I'm tired from traveling but had a great time crafting and catching up with my long-time friend, Debbie. 

Me and Debbie (she made us matching shirts!)

It was really great to see Debbie and her daughter and meet her four-year-old granddaughter (even though she wasn't feeling too well 😞). The weather turned rainy and cold when we were there, so sightseeing moved off our list (bummer). I was really excited to see the sights...but it just wasn't meant to be. However, we ate some delicious food while we were there! We had a wonderful brunch at Milk and Honey and had amazing ramen at Two Ten Jack's restaurant.

Driving into Tennessee

Cool tunnel in Chattanooga!

Also, I won a gift basket! (I never win anything!) It was so big that I had to ship it home...LOL! It should be here tomorrow, so it'll be like I won it twice 😂

The giant gift basket I won and shipped home!

Hickabilly Christmas...Look at all those gift baskets they gave away!

This cute reindeer (made by me) was one of the crafts we made at the event.

Now there's a quilt! LOL!

Well, time for this old gal to rest up from the trip and think about gifts for Christmas. I can't even believe that Thanksgiving is next week! So, Happy Thanksgiving!

Next time, we'll talk about little gifts to sew or quilt for Christmas.

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

November and the Houston International Quilt Show

Happy November or as I like to say Happy Almost Turkey Time! 🦃

It's starting to cool off here in Texas, at last! I love going outside and not instantly sweating. And we've finally gotten some rain. Yep, the cooler weather is exciting!

Today the Houston International Quilt show begins and runs through November 6. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend again this year for various reasons. I've been to this spectacular show a couple of times and I have to say that it's a wonderful, if a bit overwhelming, quilt show. It showcases some of the best of the best quilters on the planet. It's also fun for everyone (husbands and kids included). 

My late husband took me to the Houston Quilt show twice, years ago, and we both had so much fun. Hubby loved looking at all the art quilts and I had fun shopping. 😃 So many vendors come to the quilt market and show in Houston. It's amazing! 

If you can't make it to the show (like me) click here to see the winning quilts. I am determined to make it back to Houston, if not next year, then the following year (fingers crossed). I mean...I'm not getting any younger! But if you do want to go next year, or the year after, be sure to reserve a hotel (or stay with friends) well in advance...like right now! The hotels book up quickly, especially the ones nearest to the venue.

I have never entered a quilt in a quilt show before. I mean...I'd like to I'm just chicken. One day, perhaps I'll be brave enough but until then I just like to look at everyone else's beautiful quilts.

My vacation is next week and I'm excited to be off work for a few days. Plus I'm excited about seeing my long-time friend, who I haven't seen for several years, her daughter, and her little granddaughter (who I haven't met yet). As mentioned in a previous post, we are attending the Hickabilly Christmas Live event in Chattanooga, Tennessee where we will be crafting up a storm. They do have a virtual option if you are interested in attending without the cost of travel. I'm just calling it "Girls Week"!

My latest little embroidery project is nearly complete and I'm anxious to finish it. I'll post photos when it's done.

Happy November, Quilting, Embroidering, Crafting, and Sewing! 🍁🍂