There is an elf in the house

 November..... one of my favorite months. Growing up in Rhode Island it meant the color changes on all the trees...acorns everywhere and the wait for Thanksgiving. Dennis and I loved this holiday best. Why? Well it was for gathering and sharing without expectation of gifts. We were the gifts to one another. This year we are having a guest, Patrick. The planning has started and today will put pen to paper for the list of have and to get. 

Our main bathroom reconstruction began yesterday. The plumber is next to connect the toilet and clear the sink drain. Freshly painted walls have brightened it up. Lisa chose the wall color...a soft grey and she decided on teal towels and rug..... pretty. Once the plumber is finished all the shelves and accessories will be back in place. Recently I bought 2 Christmas theme patterns for sewing. One of them was a little incomplete.

But I can and did take care of the problem. I feel for any inexperienced with sewing. The issue was there was no template for the arms. I read and looked at the pages of the printed pattern and no where could I find it. Soooo, I messaged the seller on Etsy. Her reply was that she no longer had the pattern and could not look but that sometimes the designer puts it in somewhere. Okay. simple solution was to measure his jacket and make my own template. Very simple and even though I knew that was what I would do, I thought if I was missing it I would like to have it pointed out to me. Anywho, he is complete and cute. The rest of the pattern is a sleigh on a pillow that he can sit in...maybe I will make it. Of course I have been working on the hexagon quilt.... soon to be completed. As always it is so nice to have you visit with me. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. Thank you for your friendship.

A rainy day all over Arizona

We do need the rain but over the entire state all at once!? The storm off the coast of California is what is happening here in Arizona.

Gloomy morning skies are a big change from the sunshine. Rain drops cover my palm tree and fill the birdbath. Flash flood warnings are out … luckily I do not live in a flood area but there is flooding on the roadways everywhere. The news is full of pictures of the roadways and highways flooding.  I do not plan to leave the comfort of my home today. The fighter jets from Luke Air Force base are flying overhead.... rain does not keep them down. Love the sounds of rain and jets.

I will be finishing this shiny green star today. The parts were ready but I put it aside to work on the Stain Glass Rose Star. The pretty pink star was brought to mother Eva P by The Brother Alan when he returned to RI. She loves it. This will be for my tree.... yes I do try to keep some things for me. I am waiting for the beads to arrive to make a Santa star.... tracking tells me the package will arrive on Thursday. So that will be a possibility for the weekend. I also want to try those denim feathers. Of course I still have not tried removing the water system from the kitchen faucet or getting the kitchen light to work. My priorities are elsewhere.
Guess that about covers the happenings around here.....very happy to share my day with you. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind thoughts and of course thank you for your friendship.

Always something to do

Whether I want to or not, there is always something to do. Right now I need a plumber, a carpenter, an electrician and a "pond someone" and assistance from Cox? maybe. The pond definitely has a problem...hopefully an easy fix. At the moment it is empty of water and there is expected rains coming the beginning of the week so it will remain off to the dismay of several birds who thought their pond was back. This includes the bunny too. The kitchen light is not responding to the yard stick taps so I have half lighting. The last time I attempted to climb the step ladder to "fix" this I almost landed on the stove top. Happily there was nothing cooking. I see there is a ?shut off valve under the sink on the water dispenser, but will that be enough for me to try to disconnect the system??? I really do not need water running everywhere. The cable went out again yesterday as did my bathroom lights! Once I reset the lights at the electrical box the cable returned??!! Cox  was as confused as I was. So far cable is working today but I am still having them come out later today to discuss this issue. At least I was not the only customer  in the area calling them the last 2 days. As I was Swiffing around the TV in my bedroom yesterday I found

this frayed HDMI cable...you didn't know that I knew what it is called, right? I learned a lot from My Denny. Of course there was a replacement in the garage! Yes, he always had extras of this or that, remember the 4 drills??? It was an easy fix.
Thank goodness for going to lunch with Glenda yesterday to break the craziness around here.
I began putting together the beaded Rose Star and hope to share that over the weekend, but I will show you these.....

A gift from Lisa...lovely wire wrapped "beach glass" earrings....we both love the color purple/lavender! the picture does not do them justice but I think you can see they are delicate in style. She also gave me

A beautiful wrap bracelet....a silver formed piece with a piece of turquoise and silver beads....I love it. Thank you Lisa for being so thoughtful. The washer is swishing and I will walk the Bissell soon. Then back to trying to do nothing. At some point I should make breakfast and another cup of coffee. Glad you had time to visit with me.... thank you for your kind words and for your friendship. DebbieB if you are able to read this I hope you are enjoying yourself.... talk with you soon! Honey, AKA Keith, hope you are feeling good after your shoulder surgery. I am feeling better today, thank you Glenda for the special chat. Let's have a good day everyone.

I am not a plumber!

Denny, why did you not show me and teach me to do the plumbing?! I thought I watched Don carefully when he came over the other day with Glenda and he fixed...thought he did....the toilet running. This morning at 3 am it started and although I did what Don di...it worked for a short time....besides putting my hands into the pond I discovered that I do not like touching the inside of the toilet tank. Not only that, but somewhere along the lifting the tank top and jiggling the things inside I cause a lot of water to puddle on the floor and then got down on my hands and knees at 3:3o to clean it all up. Not a good start to the day. Well, at least I will have a nice visit with JeanneG. I will be going to visit with her this morning and the promise from her of a hug. I finished another Denny's Angel this morning since I was awake and raring to go....not. I also did a bit on the Words project. Hope to show you that in a day or two. The hummer has been visiting the new feeder so for now I will not relocate it to the higher hook. The house finches have discovered that they can not perch on it...so off to one of the other two they fly. Santa is finished---

all trimmed and backed with red felt. The changes that I made.... you know I like to add a bit of me....is to the beard. I did a modified Turkey stitch and I used and iridescent Krenik thread for the hat  trim on his pom-pom and the and brim as well as the coat trim.  I also used black Krenik for the belt and shoes and a gold Krenik ribbon for the buckle. Love his beard! Denny never got to see this finished...but he liked the ideas that had for the changes. This is my special "deh Santa".  I know some of you are concerned that I am eating and sleeping well. I am eating as I can cook, just never had to. As for the sleeping, well that is still an issue. I have progressed to going to bed the last 2 nights without all the lights on.  There is always a night light on in the bathroom, living room and kitchen so it is not completely dark. Some progress being made.  Guess I better get a move on . Need my coffee and breakfast and a couple of household chores before going to JeanneG's place. Thank you for the continued kind words of encouragement and the emails and cards. Most of all than you for your caring friendship.