Frosty!

We woke to a beautiful heavy frost under clear skies. The sun is a very welcome sight after the last three weeks of rain! Everything is saturated.

The frost was so heavy at first I thought it was snow.
No such luck, but still a beautiful way to end 2007.

Whack It With A Hammer

The tried-and-truest solution to so many home problems chalks up annother win! We'd been having a bit of trouble with the front door not latching properly. If you didn't hold and turn the handle a little bit when you pushed the door closed, the latch struck the strike plate in such a way that it didn't depress and allow the door to close; rather, it ricochetted off and the door bounced open again. This was particularly obnoxious if you had your hands and arms full of stuff coming through the door. It wasn't always like that, it developed gradually over the last year. I'm guessing that the doorframe has swollen just a teensy tiny bit with the wet weather. Or maybe the house has settled a tad to the left. Who knows? In any case, it finally got to the stage of annoyance where I starting thinking about trying to fix it.

At first I thought I would have to take the strike plate off, use a chisel or a file to remove a milimeter or so of the doorframe, and then replace the strike plate. Simple, but... the holiday season being what it is, still much too complicated of a project to complete. (I'd need, like, three tools! TNFW!) So I spent the last two months mentally pushing it back to the top of my to-do list every time I carried something in through the front door, and then immediately displacing it with the half-dozen Pacific Arts projects that I needed to do first.

Luckily, during the course of the lovely Christmas Eve dinner we enjoyed at my Grandma Joy's, I happened to ask my Uncle Fred what he thought I should do about it. "I'd try giving it a few good whacks with a hammer, before I did anything else," he said. "Right on the edge of the strike plate, where it bends out."

Now why didn't I think of that? Sure enough, when we got home I took the hammer, gave the strike plate a couple of solid whacks, and voila! The door now closes easily, smoothly, perfectly, and best if all, hands free. I alternatly feel like a hero for fixing the door and like an idiot for not doing it sooner. But mostly I'm just glad I had a good whacking hammer handy. :)

Yay for presents!

The aftermath:

I love giving gifts. Getting them isn't bad either. :)

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, and Happy Solstice to all!

Pacific Arts ate my weekends!

It's true! But it's not a bad thing. I enjoy working at the market, chatting with people and working on new stuffies between customers. Just one more weekend to go...

Making Babies*

Check these cuties out:

These dolls are the new addition to my regular stuffed animal "product line" for this year's Pacific Arts Holiday Market. I think they turned out very nicely. I have a bunch more cut out that need to be embroidered, coifed, stuffed and dressed.. I'm not sure how many I will have ready by Friday 12/7 for the show's opening, beyond these four. At least four are a good start!

You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging as much lately, which is largely due to the fact that I'm slaving away in my own little sweatshop making goods for the market. Here are some of the other items I've finished:

Monkey

Penguin

Lamb

Ducklings

Big & Little Bears
It's so hard to take a group shot without someone closing their eyes!

Having a dedicated space for sewing and crafting (in the laundry room) is really great. It's wonderful to be able to leave everything strewn about in the midst of a project, stop, and come back to it later - as opposed to having to share space on the kitchen table. I can even close the door to keep the cats out! Kitties love nothing more than to come in the house all wet & muddy and curl up in the middle of a pile of freshly cut pattern peices... which is not ideal. The countertop is just the right height, and the lighting couldn't be better. It's nice to be able to look out the window and watch the snow falling. The only thing that would make it a better workspace is a radio...

*Not that way! Geez. I'm not that kind of blogger.

Blizzard!

It's really snowin' and blowin' this morning. Winter is here!

We're warm & snug inside though. It's amazing to live in a house with NO drafts!
Guess I better go put another log on the fire...