"Merican Flag"

My grand daughter, Molly, is very impressed with the "Merican Flag." I understand most flags are "Merican" as far as she is concerned.  When I saw the pattern for this sweater in the Mary Maxim catalog I had to make it for her.  I am not really very good at juggling all the colors but I don't think Molly is real particular. Unfortunately I didn't finish it for Christmas but it is quite large and will fit for awhile.

Christmas

We had 15 for Christmas.  It was wonderful.  They came from Oklahoma, Ohio, Wisconsin, Maryland, New York, and Michigan. Hubby made a wonderful dinner.  All the gifts were great and we had lots of cookies and fruit cake. I made dresses for the two little girls and put bells on their petticoats. They were a hit.

I have a Code in my Node

The holiday season gets so busy and there is always the worry about someone getting sick,  Last year we had 16 people sleeping on air mattresses at our house when we all got the stomach flu. This year people are staying in hotels.  Last week both Mary,in Ohio, and Kameren, in Baltimore came down with the big flu. I have a head cold, no fever. On the 19th we went to Greenfield Village Holiday Nights.  Greenfield Village is a must if you come anywhere near Detroit. On the 21st Hubby and I collected for the Lions club.  The first 2 hours were not so bad but the last 2 were awfully cold.  From there we went to the Olive Garden for Mom's 97th birthday party. She was dressed nicely and walks in the restaurant like a 70 year old.  She did say that although we usually share the olives in the salad, since it was her birthday she got them all.

The House is Ready for Christmas

Our neighborhood is decked in light. I love that part of the season. Hubby does all the outside work. Years ago we bought the airplane.  It caught my eye because Hubby is crazy about airplanes.  He was a pilot when he was very young and still manages, no matter where we go for a vacation, to find an airplane museum to visit.

I Can Swim

This fall I signed up for swimming lessons at the YMCA. As a kid I took swimming lessons with the local parks and rec department but never got past the bubble blowing. I could dog paddle but not put my face in the water. So at 71 I decided to take lessons.  I bought nose plugs but decided they were more trouble than they were worth. I had six lessons.  I bit the bullet and put my face in the water. It wasn't so bad. I can do the freestyle, backstroke and the breast stroke. I have the most trouble with getting the timing right on the breast stroke and I need to kick more when I do the freestyle. Not bad for an old lady!

Sofie's Birthday

Yesterday we went to small town Ohio for my granddaughter, Sofie's birthday.  She is all of three. What a charmer! Her daddy cooked steaks on the grill and her other set of grandparents were also there. They have a puppy named CoCo who sleeps in a crate when they are not home.  Sofie decorated it for her birthday because she decided Coco should have a birthday too. Sofie requested a pink cake with snowflakes. Her mommy acquiesced and made a beautiful cake with white chocolate snowflakes.

Roasting Chestnuts

The Lathrup Village Lions Club had its last meeting of 2014.  One of our members, Roger, grows chestnuts and sells them all over the country. His website. The Village has a pavilion with a fireplace and Roger brought his chestnut roaster. It was very cold but the fellowship was warm. We ate roasted chestnuts and drank mulled wine and hot cider. We enjoy the Lions a great deal and it is rewarding to be part of an organization that does so much good work.

Master Gardener Christmas Party

Last night we attended the Oakland County Master Gardener Society Christmas Party.  It is a pot luck and the food was plentiful and delicious.  Hubby made deviled eggs.  They also had a silent auction. We managed to raise the bids but didn't take anything home with us. The Troy high school choir entertained us and they were delightful.  Afterwards we had a sing-a-long with the choirs help.  Traditionally, every year we sing the 12 days of Christmas with different words.  Last year they were gardening utensils, this year they were invasive weeds. Our table had "5 Phragmites" It was very funny because no one at our table sang it the same way. Each table was assigned a number and had to stand as they sang. People were bouncing up and down when their turn came and all had a good laugh.

Nelson

My son-in-law, Tom, had a Cabbage Patch Preemie doll when he was a kid.  He passed it down to his son, who passed it down to Molly.  Nelson, the doll, is now over 30 years old and in the process of being lovingly passed down from one child to another, and another, has lost his pants. This can happen.  So for Christmas I made Nelson a new outfit with pants. I sew for American Girl dolls and Bitty Babies but for some reason Cabbage Patch patterns are hard.  But it is done and Nelson can now be more discrete.

Santa Visit to Lathrup Village

Yesterday Lathrup Village had its annual Santa Visit Party.   The Lions club helps staff the affair and pay for Santa.  Each child got his or her picture taken with Santa.  Hubby was part of the crew that took pictures of the kids with Santa.  (Thanks to digital cameras and those little on the spot printers)  I was in the crew that dished out toasted cheese sandwiches and hot dogs.  We had a fun time. There were about a dozen Lions there and we were kept pretty busy with 140 guests.
That evening Hubby and I had dinner at the brand new Appleby restaurant.  Our area does not have many places to eat so I think that explains why everyone in Southfield was there Sunday night.

Bitty Babies

This year I decided to give my two three year old granddaughters Bitty Babies for Christmas. Of course they have to have clothes.  My friend Willie had these wonderful patterns so I made the girls diaper bags and clothes.  Hubby says I am having too much fun doing it.

On another note , Gretel noticed my birds on my tree were missing beaks.  That is what you get when you shop at the dollar store. So this morning I made beaks for my birds.  I must admit they look like doves with duck beaks but it's only a decoration

on a Christmas tree.

Dr. M's Christmas Party

Yesterday I went with Mom to her cardiologists Christmas party. Mom lives in a senior residence and her doctors come right to the campus. So the cardiologist sees a large percentage of the population there.  Every year he throws a grand Christmas party and makes sure to invite his patients and their families. I go with her to all of her doctor appointments so he knows me well. The party was a luncheon.  We had a spinach salad with orange cranberry dressing, grilled veggies, butternut squash ravioli, chicken piccata, and salmon  with pomegranates in a sauce.  We had rolls with honey butter and for dessert cherry strudel and mini mousses. They had a pianist playing Christmas carols and a choir performing.  The doctor went around wishing everyone happy holidays and being as proud as he could be of his party. I am sure that there were residents that were not his patients that crashed the party.  There always are.  It also surprises me that people who are relatively wealthy still stash all the rolls they can grab and pieces of strudel in their walkers.  The doctor gives out nice pocket calendars and they grab as many of them as they can get. I wonder what they are going to do with them.

Leader Dog Kick-off Dinner

Last night we went to a fund raising dinner for Leader dogs for the blind.  It was put on for the Lions clubs in the Detroit and Windsor areas.Because Leader Dog is under reconstruction it was held at the Palazzo Grande in Shelby Township.  The food was excellent served family style and plentiful. We have been to many programs explaining what they want to do with the kennels. First of all they want to air condition them and make the cages bigger and open so the dogs can see the other dogs. Leader Dog has placed 14,000 dogs for free to blind people. They now have a special program to give dogs to people who are blind and deaf.  Needless to say this is a charity that Hubby and I are deeply committed to.

Mindy Update

Today we got an update on Mindy from Leader Dog for the Blind. They sent pictures and said,"Mindy loves to show her obedience skills and how good she can sit and down. She is very sweet and still adjusting her new environment in the kennel."  They also said she passed her entrance physical exam. Seeing her picture makes me miss her even more.

Doll House

Back almost thirty years ago by daughter,Mary, just a teen, bought a doll house that was a demo at Frank's Nursery and Crafts. The house was kept in the basement and got bumped around, never fixed up. My brother offered me a doll house and I suggested he repair this one. I intended to give it to Mary's daughter,Sofie, for her third birthday.  After Mike repaired it and decorated it, I decided it was too beautiful to give to a three year old. I thought I would give Sofie a Fisher-Price doll house and the refinished doll house to her mother. Then I thought of Mary's house.  Where would she put it with a three year old and two dogs, one of them being a puppy. I decided to keep the house myself. I don't have much furniture yet. I have an upright piano, bench and music stand given to me by students back when I taught piano. I have a little desk and chair from my brother.  I bought a sewing machine and quilt rack and I have bathroom fixtures. I am excited about playing with my doll house.

The Christmas Tree is Up

I put my Christmas tree up.  This year I used white Led lights instead of the blue ones I had used the last three years. My kid's response to the blue tree was: "I didn't know we were Jewish." This year I  did the whole tree in white, including balls, flowers, snowflakes, and dead birds. Back in the '70's my Mom and Dad got an aluminum tree.  Mom decorated it with pink and blue birds.  My Dad put a spotlight on it (you couldn't put lights on a metal tree) with  rotating colored filters. My children's response - "Grandma has dead birds on her tree!"
A few years ago my brother bought my Mom a small table top tree that was already decorated with lights. When Mom took the tree down after Christmas she carefully removed all the lights, in little pieces. My brother bought her a new one with stern admonitions not to take it apart.  Today when I was visiting Mom (she is 97) she said, "I think I'll wait and have Michael, (my brother) put up my tree for me."  It is a season of memories.

Those Little Houses

I have collected those Lemax or Santa's village buildings.  They are the relatively cheep ones they sell at Michael's or Joann's, not the real little ones they sell at the Hallmark store.  I have 21 of them.  I get them out at Christmas time and put them on every flat surface I can find in the living room and family room. It is a real chore turning their lights on and then off again at night. But the real chore is carrying all the boxes down, emptying them and then carrying the empty boxes back up stairs.  After Christmas I carry all the empty boxe
s down and then the full ones back up.