Make Way for Thomas

Here is the quilt I made for one of my niece's twins as a Christmas gift. I tried to find a Tinkerbell panel for her daughter, but could only find a fleece one that I liked and it was the wrong colors and I don't really love working with fleece. So I will have to work hard this year finding a Tinkerbell or other suitable panel for a little girl.

I found this panel while we were visiting our son at college. When I parked at his fraternity house, he was gabbing with some of the guys in the parking lot. I couldn't wait to show him the panel of Thomas the Tank Engine. I was afraid the guys might razz him, thinking I had bought it for him. When I unfolded it, they were all ga-ga and wanted one to hang in their rooms at the fraternity house. They loved Thomas! I guess they are just big kids at heart.

Meet my friend

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful friend. She is 92 and a lovely lady. We used to work on a church committee together, but she decided to give it up because her eyesight was not as good as she would like. Our committee required a lot of reading, but she is helping us in other ways. She loves to be involved, so we have found different things that she can do. Since she no longer drives, I visit her when I can and we went out for lunch to celebrate her birthday. The florist truck came to our house last week and lo and behold, my dear friend had sent me this gorgeous poinsettia. It really lights up our house. What a generous thing to do and it is just so like her! Aren't I lucky to have a friend like Evelyn?

Three French Hens??

Or a partridge in a pear tree?

Would you believe six turkeys in a crab apple? Yep, they have taken up residence in our tree and our yard and just about everywhere else on our property. They are so funny to watch. They hop up and down trying to grab some of the crab apples off the tree. They really have to crane their necks to reach. They have cleaned out all the bottom branches and now have to sit on the fence or fly up into the tree to get more. We have a turkey parade everyday. Yesterday they stayed 5 or 6 hours. Today they came and went most of the day. The deer joined them for awhile, but one turkey got brave and chased them off. It's better than TV.

I got a picture of one turkey who was taking off in flight.

Monzu Birthday Cakes

For my daughter's birthday, I bought two little cakes from a local restaurant. They specialize in custom cakes and have these adorable little cakes available daily in about 10 different flavors. Each type is decorated differently. I got a Double Chocolate Caramel Truffle (chocolate cake flavored with Butterschnapps with buttercream between the layers and ganache frosting) and a Java Explosion ( the same but flavored with espresso instead of Butterschnapps). There was even a coffee bean on top of the Java cake that was dusted in gold. These are so delicious and I sometimes give them as birthday gifts to my friends.

This was such a treat to be able to celebrate with her --the first time we have been together for her birthday in 4 years. We are having such a nice visit and are so glad to have her home for a whole month.