Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?

Almost 30 years ago, my sister-in-law Jennifer gave my a tiny Christmas cactus with about 4 or 5 blooms. I remember that it was that long ago because Jen was expecting my nephew Nicolaus who will be 30 in March. This is the same plant. I put it outside every spring and let it spend the summer on my porch. It was much larger than it is now, but one morning on my way to the shop I noticed branches from the plant scattered all over the yard. The squirrels must have had quite a party pulling the branches off. I leave it outside until I hear the words "frost warning". Within a week this wonderful old plant just bursts into bloom, but it is always finished its show before Christmas.

Craft Show At Liberty High School...

Yesterday Hubbie and I set up for a show at Liberty High School in Carroll County. The entire school is filled with vendors with crafts and gift items. Not all vendors had handcrafted items but I did know that as I've participated in this show for the past several years. Nice show and great people to work with. There are kids and parents from the school who help with carrying the vendors displays and merchandise in for set up and again after the show to help when it's time to break down. Setting up for every show is different due to time restraints and we had to set up completely in 2-2 1/2 hours so we ended up using only half the display.

With every show we've participated in this season, I keep thinking, "We're getting too old for this"

I met fellow Estian Mary Mahoney at the show. She makes quilted pictures of people's homes.
This is such a wonderful gift idea, I thought I'd share. Her Etsy shop is http://www.stitchingirl89.etsy.com/

Also at the show was my friend Shar, who was actually set up directly across from us. She sews table runners, pillows, eyeglass cases ( I use one of those as a case for my camera so I can toss it in my purse). I think one of her cutest items is a fabric teabag holder which will hold the teabag, sweetener, and powdered creamer so that all you need is a cup of hot water. You can find her things at Christmas in Perry Hall, the Among Friends show in Kingsville,
and at Jennifer Crafts in Marley station Mall in Glen Burnie.

This is Shar's husband Bill..."watching" her booth while she was out checking out the other vendors...Great job Bill

Whatta Boy...

Received this photo in my email today...Can't believe how much he has grown. I watch him one day a week and from week to week my darlin' boy is just doing so many new things. He just must be the most amazing baby in the world. Funny how you do forget things about your own babies until you have a grandchild. Last week I started singing Christmas songs to him and I do believe Away in The Manger is his favorite.

We had our family dinner yesterday...hosted by the newlyweds...and they baked a ham, combined "root vegetables" potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, with scallions and rosemary, and a green bean dish. They were able to use many of the wedding and shower gifts. We all had a wonderful time and did get to see a preview of some of the wedding photographs form the photographer.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas...

At least in our little workshop. We had some Christmas signs and blocks for our show in Thurmont several weeks ago. For the show we participated in this past weekend, the Howard County Christmas Show, we had many more Christmas items. Below are some of the newest signs. I've also been painting glass and wooden ornaments.