Maybe it's only "up north", but November is a dismal, gray, chilly, dying month. February is a dismal, gray, chilly, dead month.
Perhaps this Delightful Koala bear will make the day brighter?
Karen seems quite content now to allow her very first grandchild to take part in pagan festivities. Ha HAH!
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I am crocheting--a dish cloth and nylon net scrubbie for each of my "girls" for Christmas. It is difficult nowadays to find the good kind of nylon net--the scratchier the better. Prom dresses no longer have an under-skirt of the net. Nylon Tulle is used, but...Nylon Tulle does not make a pot scrubber.
I have 12 of these sets to make. I try and remember what color their kitchen is so I can match the yarn for the dishcloth and scrubbie edging.
I got the Nylon net at JoAnne's--4 yards--$7.20, but when I got to the counter to pay, it was on sale. I got 4 yards for $5.00.
Last spring my sister had given me some cotton yarn (scrap) balls. There usually is enough left in each ball to make a dishcloth. Some were leftover cotton yarn balls from slippers I had crocheted for all the girls a couple of years ago.
The dishcloths have nubbies on them, which help clean off the dishes. The Nylon net scrubbies are wonderful--they scrub good and they won't hurt Teflon or best china.
It's a poor gift for sure, but I'm poor. My girls are all so sweet that they will rave over their measley gift and act like it is the nicest gift they received.
Last year I wasn't poor and got each one of them a Salt lamp--they loved them--still do.
Carpal tunnel rearing it's ugly head in my right hand makes for pain in crocheting the stiff, Nylon net scrubbies. I make one a day, then go to my cross stitch, which causes pain in my left hand. That way, I even out the pain.
I know--I am a weird person!
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As for my "boys", their gift gets a bit more spendy. I make each one two quarts of spaghetti sauce. It takes two days to make one batch--about 6 quarts.
I have 7 boys, that equals 14 quarts.
Luckily, over the last few months, I have been able to hoard about 6 cans of diced tomatoes on each trip to the Food Bank. I also found a package of frozen Johnsonville hot Italian Sausage, which I make small meat balls out of. I will need to start looking for some lean ground round at the Food Bank. Then, I will only need to buy a couple more packages of Italian Sausage, green peppers, onions and tomato sauce.
It is a mini chunky sauce and simmered for two days so it cooks down nice and thick. We want no sauce sliding off the spaghetti.
I got the recipe 30 years ago from my tiny little Italian friend, Francine (Frankie) and it is superb!!! My boys love it! It is easy to please boys with gifts.
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Then I will have to scare up $20.00 each for Jen's four kids--they won't be with us for Christmas (again) this year.
I don't have a clue what inexpensive little gift to get for Darling Della... and don't really know if I should even get started buying for her generation. I'm sure there will be more "greats".
So, last year I spent about $500.00 for Christmas, this year it will be around $120.00. I may have to cash in my "change" jar to get it, but....whatever works.
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We are having Christmas Eve at The Farm (Susan's) this year. Last year it was at Karen's on the day before Christmas Eve--and it upset me a bit. This year it will be on the Eve--our traditional family Christmas gathering day. It is now around noon because over the years, kids have places to go. My son and his lady go to her Mom's, Christmas Eve afternoon to spend the night and Karen and her family always go to evening Mass with her hubs family--so we have had to adjust our celebration time. We break around 4:00, which is okay--makes it easier for me to get home before dark.
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What really matters is that we will all be together--except Jen's family--so we won't all be together--let's not think about that okay? Let's just be grateful that most of us will be together and the tradition still carries on.
Personally? I want the Holidays like they were 60 years ago--which is stupid, because half the people from 60 years ago are dead!
Personally? I really look ahead to New Year's Day, when the Holidays are over and I have managed to keep my complaints and grouchiness quiet and hidden while my smile is ever present, pasted on my face and my words are always loving and polite.
I can be such a fraud! HAH!
I don't like November either.
ReplyDeleteYour gifts for the girls are not "measly" gifts. They know how much time you invest in them and the love that goes with them. My husband always got homemade chili sauce from mom and it was by far his favorite gift every year.
Holidays can be hard when we have so many good memories to look back on and so few to look forward to.
Well now--this makes two days in a row that you and I have agreed. :-)
Deletehomemade gifts are the BEST gifts - i always favor something handmade - i think your gift ideas are very thoughtful!!
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed the picture of the little one, how adorable!!
and i love winter but we can still be friends!!
I love winter too Debbie--winter snow that covers up all the dying November stuff.
DeleteI hate November and February and some of March as well. I am so glad when New Year's Day arrives. I hate having to move the clocks back and wish we could keep daylight saving time all year round. I am so ready to hibernate until April.
ReplyDeleteI wish we'd keep Standard Time all year--whatever we decided, I'd just like the clock to stay the same all year long. Moving the clocks back won't upset my inner clock as much as springing ahead, but it still will effect me for a few days.
DeleteI agree wth you, November and February are hard months for me. I live in Southern Ontario so these months are cold and grey.
ReplyDeleteYour dishcloths are wonderful! You put so much time and effort into them. I love homemade gifts.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
I'm your next door neighbor in Michigan--we get the same kind of weather.
DeleteThat little Koala bear is so adorable!! :)
ReplyDeleteAny gift is a fine gift if given with love. Having said that, once my middle son married my DIL and between the two of them we ended up with five kids to buy for, we all just dropped off exchanging between each other and only bought for the kids.
Sure, there might be a small exchange between us but we all just dropped the expectations / expense and made it about the little ones.
I think a dish scrubbie that works is an awesome gift! I was down at my sons not too long ago trying to clean up after a breakfast and they had nothing like that. I actually walked home and got my spare "Dobie" and took it down there to finish up.
Looks like what you are making is similar and in my mind...awesome :)
I enjoyed reading your blog again. I've been busy with lots of activities and haven't taken time to write or read blogs, but it felt good to get back to it this evening while I'm listening to the last baseball game of the season. Christmas hasn't been a special gift giving occasion for me for a number of years now. I, like you, did enjoy those long ago days when my parents, my children, and I celebrated the holidays together and so much enjoyed the secrecy of planning and exchanging gifts. But, as you said, those days are gone.
ReplyDeleteI admire that you keep your blog going consistently. Maybe I can get back to that now.
Nancy
Cute little polar bear! Don’t you know hand made and personally created gifts as you are creating have more more value on all levels than many other items bought at store. Dollar value isn’t everything. What you are doing is likely appreciated and will be remembered with love long after you’re gone.
ReplyDeleteCan be hard maintaining traditions as times change, families do, too, and numbers increase. Friend here has similar challenges.
December is my least favorite month because of the holidays and all the expense and preparation and work. There, I said it. I'm glad your holiday will be on Christmas Eve this year. It's hard to accept change, and young families are always changing. Every year is different. We must accept it, be flexible, etc. They will love your gifts. Those dish clothes are the best. My aunt used to make them for me. So sweet.
ReplyDeleteFlexible? Me?
DeleteOk, I'm a November baby. Tomorrow I will be 68 and I'm sorta surprised I definitely feel older. Over my life I've enjoyed periods of 'good health', but for the most part---not. But it's ok to hate this month!
ReplyDeleteI hope we won't miss going to have Thanksgiving with our little family. I just had an x-ray of my foot. I hurt it nearly two weeks ago, and keeping it up and iced haven't helped much. I won't hear from it 'til Monday, though! :(
Karen looks so young! Maybe you could crochet Della a colorful animal with a colorful acrylic yarn! Or colored balls to play with. She'll get so much, they will be fun and different ---and washable! Free patterns on Ravelry.com, and other Net sites. You'll come up with something, I know! <3
Happy Birthday, Trudy. Nov. 3 is also my grandson's birthday.
DeleteYou're not a fraud. Everybody worries about the money to be spent, and not offending anybody, and keeping their grouchies under control, at holiday time.
ReplyDeleteI think your handmade gifts are wonderful and I know your girls aren't pretending to love them. You are something with those needles and hooks and yarn and thread.
I love "dismal" weather and we don't have much of that here, so I'm a wee bit envious. I like to light candles and lamps and become even more reclusive than usual, or go out and take pictures here and there, as long as it isn't raining. Gray weather makes for great pics because they have a silvery look and any lights blur so beautifully.
Our Christmas will be lean spending-wise too, on account of the upcoming weddings. Everyone is strapped -- or at least, many of us are. And we won't even all be together at one time, but that's okay too. xoxo