Dear Santa, This is Maxwell.

Dear Santa,

This is Maxwell the Wuss Magnificent......Max, for short. I'm sure you remember me. I'm a memorable kind of guy.

I've been really good this year. Michael is a great Owner, and I'm working hard to get over the panic attacks. Recently, I've progressed to the point that a fire alarm battery beeping (I'm shuddering just writing about it) only made me look for Joy, curl up under her feet, and vibrate violently until Michael was able to change the battery and stop that awful noise. Given that two years ago, I jumped into a kitchen sink full of soapy dishes to try to escape through the kitchen window when a dying alarm battery was beeping.....I'm proud of my progress.

I've passed Obedience School. The fact that I've forgotten quite a bit of what I learned does not negate the fact that I PASSED!

I would really appreciate it if you would bring doggie beds to my girl friends, Le Tigre, Sadie and Nikki. While I'd love for you to think that I'm just a swell generous fella and want them to be comfy.....I have an ulterior motive.
















Le Tigre obviously wants a bed like mine. At every opportunity, she slithers onto the bed and curls up next to me.















As much as I like snuggling with the girls, at some point, I end up hanging off and I get a "crick" in my neck. Just when Tigre gets up and wanders off to Karen's room upstairs and I think "At last, some peaceful sleep"......















That little alpha brat pipsqueak (Sadie) gets in on the act.

Please Santa? Pretty girly beds for the ladies in my life??!!

Love,







Max
P.S. I know where the cookies are stashed.....check in with me Christmas Eve!

Second Friday First Annual Cookie Extravaganza....

These are the cookies I look forward to. I am not crazy about the mechanics of cut sugar cookies.....all that rolling and cutting and re-rolling and baking and flour flying around and re-rolling again, and did I mention, all the flour? I wear it. I breathe it. I try to see through the fine coating of it on my glasses.....

But the payoff is the next step. Both the rolled sugar cookies and the Amish sugar cookies are palettes and the next step appeals to my inner child: The Decorating!

This year I discovered a product that made ALL the difference in the world. I used to use decorator icing bags, tips, and try to keep the tops closed and the tips where they belonged, and decorate the cookies. It was fun, but Whoa, Nellie! There is a better way!

















Frosting Doodle Professional Icing! The label states: "the cookie writer and decorator!" I would further that to include "the keeper of Joy's sanity, good mood, and patience." These are brightly colored, have flat lids so they can store upside down and the "ink" is always ready to be squeezed onto your masterpiece! They were roughly $1.69-$2.00 apiece depending on where and when I bought them.

I sent out an email to the kids that Second Friday this month would be the First Annual Second Friday Cookie Decorating Extravaganza.....Karen, her best girlfriend TiJae, TiJae's awesome son (Karen's godson), Paul (classmate of Karen), Laurie and Billy Boyfriend all joined us.















Some masterpieces were made, and a lot of fun was had. I dragged the picnic table in from the back porch, moved the kitchen table into the adjoining den, and we spread out all over. We had Christmas carols playing and we laughed, and caught up with each other's news, and revelled in the fun of being a little kid for the night. We had normal looking cookies, and we had unusual looking cookies. We even had Combat Walrus! (A spur of the moment creation of Paul, Karen's very creative friend)















Cage made some really cool cookies. At one point he stopped me in my tracks, and I just absorbed the wonder that is a child's mind. He took a circular cookie and painstakingly cut it in half. I asked him what he was going to make with it, and he looked at me like "Duh!" and said politely, "the moon!" He had several star cookies beside him and as he worked, he sang "Twinkle Twinkle" for me. I enjoyed every minute.

Of course, there was no way to get through something like this without someone getting the idea to decorate someone else.















I don't know who started it (I suspect "Laurie Lu Lovebucket"), but Billy and Laurie got icing on each other's faces.















It went downhill from there. Laurie has met her match. Billy had her down in no time and persuaded her to say something approximating "uncle!"
















And then Billy invited Sadie to lick Laurie's face. Look closely, she's doing just that with that little pink tongue!






























All forgiven!!

Everyone left with some cookies they had created. Laurie took some to Mr. Patrick who had hurt his back and was at home trying to rest it a bit.....We missed him, but hope to see him for Christmas.

Another high point of the evening was when Karen just could not stand it any more and gave TiJae a preview of the Top Secret Quilt, which is her Christmas present for TiJae. This quilt is constructed of plaid flannels and Karen wanted it to say "comfortable flannel shirt" and "warm hug" when TiJae saw it.....Both girls love flannel shirts and when TiJae walked in wearing one, Karen could not stand it any longer and told TiJae to turn around and not peek while she got out her Christmas present for her.















TiJae waited and Karen walked up and gently wrapped her in the quilt (which is pinned and only half-way machine quilted, hence you will see white batting along the edges) and let her open her eyes. TiJae loved it. She grabbed her son Cage and sat right down with it, wrapped up and grinning! That's exactly how Karen had pictured her gift being used, hugging two of her favorite people while they snuggled together reading or enjoying time together!















Sigh. I love quilts and what they can express!

Enough already!!

These, plus three more trays of same kinds, upstairs in the cookie closet.....should be enough for our Second Friday Cookie Extravaganza.....and for the plates delivered to my clients and Michael and Karen's respective offices, etc.....

I'm heartily sick of cookies at the moment!

.

And just for the record, I do love Southern California. But I am missing SNOW long about now, for some reason.....while sitting here in my teeshirt and shorts!!

A little of this, and a little of that.....and Saturday Sky

So much going on! It's that time of year and despite my best efforts at starting early, my deadlines are sneaking up on me!

Let's see. Last Saturday night, Karen and I zipped over to help Laurie get ready for a big night out with Billy. On the way, we saw this rainbow! So here's my "Saturday Sky!"















Laurie and Billy were going to attend the company party for his job, and everyone was "putting on the Ritz." Karen gave Laurie a party dress - it was her Christmas present from Karen. While they were out shopping for the perfect dress, Karen took mental notes and later, she directed me to the perfect purse, a clutch, that Laurie had fallen in love with. We went over and Karen helped her do her hair and make up, and Laurie looked so pretty! Billy tried to get a peek during all the preparations, but he told me he "got the boot!" and so he and I waited in the den, for her grand entrance. I told him, she just wants to knock your socks off.....and he said to me...."she already does.....all the time!" (melt! he's such a special guy!)




















We saw the handsome couple off and then Karen and I went off on other errands. We stopped by Chipotle and saw Mr. Patrick, who treated us to dinner. What a sweetie! I do love me some Chipotle chicken!


Sunday, Karen and I headed over to the classroom again for an all-afternoon sew with Teacher Extraordinaire. I worked on my Meeses and Karen worked on the Top Secret Quilt and also started on her next project. Janet went over some basics with Karen and started her on a rag quilt.















Great progress was made on the Top Secret quilt.....

The top is completed! Karen wrapped up in it to check for size....Looks like a comfy quilt to me.
















She is ready to start stitching in the ditch and then all that is left is the binding!

And here are my Meeses, who leave for the long trip to their new home tomorrow! I love it.....a Finished Object!















I meandered the white background and also the green border. It's DONE!















Now, it's cookies, cookies, and more cookies. All cookies, all the time. I've made sugar cookies in all shapes and sizes.















I will probably make another four double batches tomorrow, and then I'll be all ready for Second Friday. The girls have invited some friends, and we're going to decorate cookies together, munch on pizza (and occasional cookies!) and enjoy a few hours together!































After that, I think the only thing left is making up the actual cookie plates and packing them for Michael to deliver to our clients and friends, and his station, on Monday!

Yay, then I can have a long winter's nap!!

My Red Hat Society chapter

The name will be.......(drumroll please!)

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THE RED HOT SEW 'N SEWS !!!


So now you know......


(sorry about the blogger issues, all my loyal readers (all 3 or 4 of you!) - i think we have at least figured out how to find comments now.....)

Great Cookie Caper Teaser

Today I started my Amish Sugar cookies. They are really yummy sugar cookies that stand alone just fine, but I decorate them with a really fun technique I found in a magazine years ago. I did the boring part today.
















I made gazillions of balls of dough.
















And then used the usual "special equipment" and "finesse" technique (clean, plastic drinking cup dipped in sugar, and smushing!!) to flatten the balls.

They baked into nice flat round surfaces which will serve as a palette for decorating.















But for now, they get stored carefully and hidden away from the CookieMeister, who happens to think they are delicious at this point.....

Stay tuned for when the magic happens! I enjoy decorating these cookies! (but it probably won't happen until the weekend....)

Look at these cute ladies who came to the Quilter's Shop Hop on Sunday at Leah's!!














Thanks for sending the picture, Yvette!

I tried to start a group of Red Hatters a few years ago but it never got past the "good idea" stage...... I was trying to gather a group of transcriptionists at that point.....and since most of my "peoples" are far flung all over the country....that wasn't going to work.

Now that I'm taking Teacher Extraordinaire's (Janet Salcido's) classes and making lots of new quilting friends, maybe I can get a group together! At least the group could have more than just Karene and myself in it! I already have a name picked.....teehee! Of course, Spring Chickens Pink Hatters would be very welcome and wanted!! (that would be you, Yvette!!)

Happy Tuesday!

Swirled Mint Cookies

Today Michael (a.k.a. the CookieMeister) made these cookies to add to the holiday cookie plates we deliver to my clients, our neighbors, friends, etc.

He got them from a cookie book he has been enjoying this year....

And I was going to write the recipe here in the blog, but then I got nervous and wondered what the etiquette is for recipes in books. I didn't want to get in trouble for sharing something that was supposed to be purchased in order to be used, etc..... Cluck, Cluck, Cluck!! (I'm a Copyright Chicken!)

Then I decided to Google the title and see if I could find a place that anyone else had posted that recipe....and there you go. Right on cooksrecipes.com. So, enjoy!!

This was another fun recipe to play with. And again, we were working with colored dough and making snakes. This time they got twisted.....

Then chilled and sliced.......

They are then sort of rolled to tighten them up a bit, and smushed flattened slightly.............with finesse and proper tools (a clean, floured plastic drinking cup),
and baked to perfection. They are another mint-flavored cookie and a bit addicting!

I think they are very pretty!

Even the dogs were enjoying the day. But it looks like Max the Wuss Magnificent is a little worried that Sadie might mistake his tail for a chew bone...... !

Shop Hop Part 2

I tried to post this portion with the slide show below, but every time I tried, it made the slide show stop operating....

Anyway, I would have had better (more) pictures, but I kept getting tripped up by things I wanted to touch, play with, admire, and buy.....Karene, Karen and I had a fun couple of hours seeing new patterns that we MUST make, and visiting each store, acquiring a free fat quarter and a pattern in each location! (Some bartering ensued in the car after a couple of shop visits!)

I found a purse pattern I really want to try to make. There are more beautiful fabrics out there than I can ever possibly quilt - and making some shirts and purses would be one way to use and consequently see those fabrics often!

Karen found a set of Asian fabrics she really wants to get......Even with the coupon, its pricey, but it actually will make TWO quilts, so it's a better buy on closer contemplation.

Karene scored a Little Blessings kit at a great price, at the Bunney Hutch. I am going to call them tomorrow and see if I can get one. It's a cute enough quilt that I want to make it and just have it ready for a special little baby.

(Do NOT get any ideas, daughters! I'm NOT talking about grandchildren!)

We met up with Yvette and her sweet mom while we were at the Bunney Hutch and Karen found some pirate fabric for a certain godson! I found some great snowmen flannel - and a pattern that I'm very intrigued with, using a quilt-as-you-go method.

I love shop hops!

Shop Hop!

An Exercise in Meandering and Meeses

The Meeses are coming along nicely.....It's a really fun learning experience. Today I worked briefly on meandering the interior white area around the meeses.

I think I need a lot more practice, but I also think I'm making some good progress!















I'm thinking about a simple line or two stitched in the brown border. The green border needs something special. But I'm fresh out of ideas. Maybe a casual, simple leaf pattern?

The Great Cookie Caper of 2007 continues....

Michael dipped his "acorn" cookies yesterday.....the almond flavored cookies are dipped in a melted chocolate to make the top of the acorn. He made these in red and green. Here's a peek at one of the green batches. Yum!

Then he got a bee in his bonnet that we needed to make a new cookie or two this year. So he wanted to try candycane cookies. First we got to play with it as if it was play-dough. Only this play-dough was peppermint flavored! We rolled out "snakes" of the dough.















The "snakes" were laid together and rolled lightly with the rolling pin. The flattened ribbon of dough was sprinkled with sugar. (Yes, that is a piece of Twizzler candy lying in plain sight on the counter.....all this cookie making takes extra carbs for energy, right??)
















It was then cut into strips. I whipped out the pizza cutter and used it like I was rotary cutting fabric (!) and made short work of that step.
















Michael placed them on the cookie sheets, twisted them into candy cane shapes, and managed the baking and removal to cooking racks.
















Don't they look great?