Gifts from a friend

So, a friend gave us 

some cookies.

Sister loved these mouse cookies.

Only a little creepy, right?

Cincinnati in the snow

Cincinnati is beautiful in the snow. 

There is a cool store,

Park and Vine,

which has super cool recycle

bicycle chairs,

and they are surprisingly comfortable.

Park and Vine also has a swell coffee cafe,

with super cool mobiles decorating the ceiling.

I saw Bicycle Santa, 

who told me that since I have been good this year,

he will bring me a new couch.

Mr. says not to hold my breath.

Another cool Cincinnati trick is the 

Food Truck.

We had a delicious lunch there.

I love the sweet potato fries.

The snow makes everything looks so pretty,

Even the highway back to the 'burbs.

Bob Cratchit Neckwarmer

My yarn stash and scraps have gotten out of hand.

My one basket has overflowed to 

THREE.

I knitted a scarf of fisherman's wool.

I began knitting the scraps,

trying a double seed stitch for the first time.

There wasn't enough for a full scarf...

but there was enough for this:

I call it the Bob Cratchit neck warmer.

We are pretty stingy with the heat,

and Mr. needed something to keep him warm.

Doesn't he look so happy!

And toasty!

Baking cookies

Rolling out the dough...

Cutting...

ready for the oven...

and finally,

the clean up. 

Now they all they need is icing.

Band Concert

7th Grade Band Concert

Sister is the only girl

who plays the trombone.

 Program:

Antagonist

Angels We Have Heard on High

Popcorn Prelude

All for Chanukah

Sister spent the majority of the concert

pretending that I wasn't trying to take her photo.

She finally looked at me.

Of the 15 photos I took,

this is the single photo 

where I could see her eyes.

Lucky for me,

Sister has a friend 

who loves to have her photo taken.

So, I got this shot,

one trumpet player,

one trombone player,

wearing matching hair ties.

Homemade gingerbread

Call me crazy, but last night I wanted to make gingerbread.

Martha Stewart has a great recipe.

It was  HUGE hit last year,

so this year... repeato!(Can you tell I am taking 2nd grade Spanish lessons?)

I mixed all the wet ingredients, and all the dry 

(in different bowls, of course).

The last wet ingredient is molasses 

and of course,

I had none!

Luckily, Mr. and Kroger came to the rescue 

and by 9:15PM, we had fresh, hot gingerbread.

Sister Too brought some to her teachers this morning.

Can you guess who cut the gingerbread?

Punch Brothers and Prairie Home Companion

Prairie Home Companion came to Cincinnati.

Look who went.

The sisters were probably the youngest people in the crowd.

It was a bit weird to SEE

what we normally HEAR

on the radio.

The little house in the back wasn't used at all

except for a backdrop.

AND...We saw the Punch Brothers.

Since the summer,

we have become BIG fans.

Sister Too got a script.

Autographed too.

Lucky Duck.

Grandpa tried hard to convince her

to give it to him

so he could give it to a friend of his.

She didn't give in.

Here we are, with some of the Punch Brothers, themselves.

Fun night.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our feast included champagne with ginger-infusion, sparkling shiraz (YUM, my new favorite: wine with the bubbles of champagne),

 turkey, cranberry sauce, croissants, 

beer bread (thanks to our GENEROUS neighbor), 

mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash with spinach, 

green beans, cornbread stuffing, gravy, 

roasted brussel sprouts, roasted fennel, and...

Sister's famous French chocolate mousse.

Grandma and Grandpa came for the holiday.

I always like to do something 

to remind us to be thankful.

This year, each of us wrote 3 things we were thankful for...

about someone at the table.

Then we took turns reading them.

In the end, we all have 5 cards, each with 3 compliments.

Best party favor ever!

FINALLY, leftover mashed potatoes!

We like to make pierogies 

with the leftover mashed potatoes.

We haven't had had leftover potatoes in a LONG time.

Guess what we are making tomorrow!

 These are my compliment cards.

We all knew which ones were from Grandma.

Early in the ritual she admitted she spelled 

"thankfull" instead of "thankful".

Then she went back and crossed out the extra "l".

We all laughed when we got Grandma's compliments.

Finally, the day has been consumed by Mexican Train,

a complicated domino game brought by Grandma.

Even now, Grandma, Grandpa, Mr. and Sister Too are 

playing a competitive game, 

which Grandma just won.

Thankfully.

Crafty Supermarket

I'm in love.

With Clifton.

Possible the artsy-est neighborhood in Cincinnati.

They hosted the Crafty Supermarket

featuring LOTS of local crafters.  

I love Paper Acorn

Look at these SUPER COOL soaps, 

hand grenade shaped and called 

Stinky Bombs!

How clever and PERFECT for the stinky boy in your life!

I adore these tiny terrariums from

Hark!

Sister Too bought one,

with her own hard earned cash!

Way cool headbands 

And...it totally felt like a party...

with a DJ spinning vinyl!

Our girls were mesmerized!

Mr. was thrilled.

I would have danced, but it was wall to wall peeps!

Gettin' jiggy with it!

More Stink Bombs...

creepy doll heads.

I felt like I should adopt all of these creatures.

I think it's their eyes.

You can find them here.

So,  December 11, 

the Clifton Cultural Arts Center is hosting

a pottery open house.

See you there!

Cincinnati Weavers Guild

Sister and I went to the Weavers Guild Open House.

Sister was reluctant.

She proclaimed that there would be no young people there.

She defined young people as "younger than like, 24".

She was WRONG!

There was one young person there...her!

I had never been.

We were lucky enough to see someone weaving.

We learned all about the different kinds of looms.

This one had 4 pedals.

So, it can only make simple designs.

I thought it was pretty cool.

There were lots of crafts there, but I was interested in this:

I was lured there by the hope of finding 

homemade yarn,

but I found inspiration instead.

Guess who had a birthday!

Family having a chat before the big dinner.

Aunt Bling and Denise show their festive smiles.

The original wish and candles...

And the re-do so all the grandchildren can have a turn to help Grandma.

Happy 75th birthday Grandma!

Fainting kitties

This is so cute!

I love that the one kitten faints

after it touches a jingle bell

on it's toy.

ADORABLE!

Shhh...it's a SECRET!

Cincinnati has a great art community,

in case you are wondering.

In fact, in a few short weeks, 

there is a BIG function 

which showcases the local artists.  

It's put on by ARTWORKS

and you should hurry and get tickets!

So, I made something.

I'm not supposed to tell.

But I am SO excited!

I knitted a silk flower brooch,

which is removable!

Then I embroidered on the card.  

Ouch!  I wish I had a thimble for that job!

Add a subtle background and a clever garden saying and...

VIOLA!

ART!