Happy New Year

The Scandinavian Fjosnissen (little Barn Elf) looking for his Christmas Eve treat. 

Be sure to feed him and you'll have good luck the rest of the year.

There is another Christmas story waiting for you on Attic Whispers.

There is a Christmas story waiting for you on Attic Whispers......

....i like to whisper, too.

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse....

A Photographer and his assistant.....

Scott (the photographer) and his daughter (Abbey, my granddaughter) were roaming the redwoods when they spotted the perfect shot. As his assistant looked on with a look of surprise, Scott got the shot they were hunting.

I remember Scott telling me, not long ago, that a perfect day would be his child strapped to his back and his camera strapped to his front, roaming the woods photographing nature. It only took 4 months to get Abbey to agree to being his assistant. (Thanks Sara for the photo - it's priceless)

 

 and a little holiday music to enjoy

Christmas on AccuRadio

Twas the night before Christmas .......

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

Pachelbel's Canon in d major - the original

From Trans-Siberian's Christmas Canon (see November 30th's post) I bring you the original version, played here by the Academy of St. Martin in the Field Orchestra.

Tis the Season .......

A Christmas song, again by Trans-Siberia Orchestra,
that I love and listen to in the car, on the puter and out loud from the stereo.

Wizards in Winter

Wizards in Winter by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

---a rocking, foot stomping winter sound extravaganza---

If you have ever enjoyed Portland's March 4th Marching Band

This would be a perfect song for them to preform.
OR to see Derek Huff (Hough?) choreograph and dance this one on Dancing with the Stars.

I keep playing this song over and over - I can't get enough.
Much to my hubby's groans and moans of "not again, please".
With that said,  I just turn up the volume.

Thank You!

Be sure to read the special Thanksgiving story on Attic Whispers today

and to everyone have a very happy Thanksgiving.

Sam'Studio's Set-Up for 2012

The Bellingham Allied Arts

Holiday Festival of the Arts show/sale has started

and it's looking great!

 Over 100 local artist's displays

1200 Meador Avenue - east off Lincoln and Fraser Streets, behind Inside Pitch

10:00 am to 6:00 pm Wednesdays through Sundays

Christmas Eve hours: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

For 2012, Sam'Studio has unique notebook/journals, holiday gift card sets, the popular mini photo albums, post-it note desk sets, purse/pocket post-it notes, bookmarks are HERE and original origami gift boxes. Support your local artists and shop local!

KNOWLEDGE

is knowing a tomato is a fruit

WISDOM

is not putting it in a fruit salad

Normal

is just a setting on the dryer.

Irony.

The opposite of wrinkly.

It's that time of year, again!

The Whatcom county's Allied Arts Holiday Festival is starting November 16th through December 24th.
This year's location is a little off the beaten path, but worth finding us at : 1200 Meador Avenue in Bellingham (see map link below)

Not your average craft show, but a juried show of talented artist from the greater northwest.

Come early for the best selections and support our renown art community. 

Sam's Studio is back this year with extented and new product lines.

Allied Arts Holiday Festival of the Arts map link

Please Vote!

If nothing goes right

Go left.......

think about it.

It's Time.....

This weekend is our annual Fall Back and gain an hour.

What will you do with the extra hour on your hands?

Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II  states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.

It's Fall • It's Winter • It's Soup Time!

I love this time of year if only to bring out my soup recipes and fill the house with the rich aroma of hearty soups. I love making soups - they're so nutritious, filling and the taste buds spring into action with each spoon full.  I make my soups in the crock pot - it's easy and dinner is waiting for you when you're ready to sit down for your evening meal.  Here's a 15 bean soup recipe that is a family favorite (I've tweaked my recipe from my mother-in-laws original).

2 Cups dried 15 multiple beans: SOAKED OVERNIGHT. Rinse and drain well
  (these are easy to find in most markets)
2 smoked ham hocks
  **if there isn't much meat on the ham hocks (there usually is enough) I'll add 1 Cup of chopped ham
1 chopped onion
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1-2 carrots - chopped fine
2 stalks of celery - chopped fine
1 T Worcheshire sauce
a few dashes of Tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
3-4 T ketchup
cracked pepper
2 cans beef broth
water to cover ingredients if needed

Put everything into the crock pot on HI for 3-4 hours* and reduce to LOW for 5-6 hours* until the beans are tender and done.  I will cook the soup for a total of 9-10 hours. When soup is ready, take the ham hocks out of the soup and cut the meat off the bones to add back into the soup.
* Every crock pot's settings and temperatures are different - use your own judgement on temperatures and cooking time. Just note that dried beans can take a long time to cook through.

If made on the stove top - bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low simmer until beans are cooked.
Serves 4 large bowls of soup

Crusty bread or rolls to soak up the soup's gravy and dinner is ready!

I got a whole lot of pimping to do......

Sorry folks, not that kind of pimping -- but a shout out for Marshall Karp and his fantastic books.

I've boasted about Mr. Karp's books in the past and I'm patiently waiting for the next installment about Lomax and Biggs - the L.A. detectives that banter with the best of them and always get their man (or woman as the case may be).  If you've never read his books - run (yes, run) to the library, book store or buy as an ebook and get started. They are fun, well written, they'll keep you laughing throughout and come with twist and turns crafted by a great story writer.

Marshall (we're on a first name basis - at least I am anyway) recently penned a couple of books with James Patterson (of which I am not a fan) but will read just because Marshall Karp co-authored the books, Kill Me If You Can and NYPD Red (the first in a series -- love first books in a series, feel like I'm ahead of the pack).

My pimping is done for now -- seriously, for a good time - read Marshall's books - they're killers!

There's an Elephant in the Room

Scott is in India on a photo shoot for a large, exclusive clothing line (which will not be named) for their next catalogue. He's been sending some beautiful photos and snippet of stories of all that he is experiencing. These memories will take hours (or days) to tell once he's back home. 

Our 41st Year.......

Today we're celebrating our 41st Wedding Anniversary. It was September 25, 1971 a balmy, sunny day in San Jose, California. Our wedding party consisted of my sister KC and Bruce's BFF, Ned. There were my parents, sister and brother along with Bruce's mother and two of his sisters and brother-in-law in attendance along with a couple of close friends and our 6 month old St. Bernard named Chuck. It was a very small wedding, very small at the Stone Church of Willow Glen.

Our ceremony started at 3:30 and lasted a short 20 minutes.  Pictures were taken, a quick video made and we caravaned back to our rental home in the foothills of San Jose on Story Road. We served a selection of cold cuts and cheeses, fresh veggies and fruit and the traditional wedding cake. Bruce and I drove up to the city (San Francisco) that night and honeymooned in a suite at the Fairmont Hotel, I remember ordering a pizza around mid-night. The next day we met my parents and siblings to show them around the city and lunched in China Town. Then it was back home to start a new life together. We had just come home from a summer road trip camping in Alaska, our rental house had a fire in the kitchen (totally my fault) two weeks before the wedding and Bruce was starting a new job on Monday in Sunnyvale and we were moving to a new home in a week.

We moved a few more times, across the United States before putting down roots in Washington state.  We have three wonderful children who are all married too and a granddaughter (have I mentioned how adorable Abigail Sierra is?) Life took many twists and turns, roads taken and missed but a path neither one of us would change for anything.  Happy Anniversary, Honey and I look forward to many, many more.

The Autumn Equinox

From September 20th to the 24th is the Autumn Equinox in our northern hemisphere. I'm watching for a harvest moon, gathering fresh & juicy apples and finding frost on the pumpkins. Here in the NW, we're having a warm autumn with the waffling of falling leaves scent in the air.

Quilt Motif Journals

I've been busy transferring quilt designs to paper and making journals from composition books.

It's fun and addicting. More to come.

 

 

second look....

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NEW Journals at Sam'Studio

Coming to you this November at Allied Arts Festival of the Arts are some new journal designs I've been playing with. I love quilts and put that love into some journal designs -- more designs to come. Plus a little Paris invasion with a few Ecriture de Journal (Journal Writing) -- I love the colors of these Paris motif journals. 

.....The Quilt Designs.....

.....The Paris Motif.....

 

I'm a Grandma and proud of it......

I just spent a week getting to know my new, little granddaughter and one of the best weeks of my life.  We cuddled, we walked, we cooed, we rocked, we laughed, we cried and I fell head over heels in love with this tiny, bundle of joy. Her parents are amazing!  To watch my own child take such loving care of his daughter and her mother's tender calmness even at 3:30 in the morning.  I'm a Grandma and proud of it......

Abigail the movie.....

Abbey comforts herself with those little fingers in the mouth --- she is so cute!
(click the lower right box for a full view -- you know you want to)

It's a Girl.......

I'm the proud Grandmother of Abigail Sierra born Sunday August 12

She's beautiful, perfect and the new love of my life.

While we're waiting.......

While we're waiting for the baby to arrive and the photos get plastered all over this site..

Here's a few tips, tricks, and ideas that followed me home from Pinterest.

Cut the empty toilet paper roll down the center and use to secure your wrapping paper.

Save your cans, clean and cover with paper, twine, fabric and secure to a wooden lazy susan - Waalaa, you're organized.

 

Measure the space between your picture frame holders with painter tape, remove and put it on the wall for the perfect spacing to hang it straight.

 

How to fold a neat napkin that holds the silverware just right.

One of my favorites: Put a colored glow stick in the bath water -- fun!

Bruce and Yana's Wedding: August 4th

Bruce and Yana reciting their vows

The family

Bruce's family

Yana's family

 

Saturday's wedding was very, very lovely. Bruce and Yana were  married in their backyard that was filled with flowers, a bit of heat and family and friends. These are just some of the snapshots I took while the photographer was shooting the pro-pics. The food was wonderful and seeing old friends was great. Bruce, Yana and Rylan are now officially a family. We love you!

The Formal Photo of Andrea and Chris: July 21st

We're starting to acquire the wedding photos from the studio team that captured the wedding perfectly. But, this is one of my very favorites and had to post it........