Ruby's Button Tin

My Grandma Ruby had a button tin that I loved. That is her in the photo above, standing next to her beloved husband Spencer. She, like so many others who lived through the Depression, was thrifty. Ruby loved Goodwill stores, she even worked at one for a time. She saved buttons from old clothes and new ones that had extras sewn in them. Notice in the photo how the top and bottom buttons on her coat didn't match and she is missing the bottom three altogether. I think she is adorable in that photo.
When I was a little girl I would sift through her buttons and ponder over how old they were. I always had this impression she was much older than she was,as if she was born in 1850 instead of 1915. I imagined she grew up in a "Little House on the Prairie" sort of atmosphere. In some respects she did. I remember her laughing when I asked her if she was from the horse and buggy days. Grandma Ruby would tell us to put our name on the bottom of the things we wanted after she died, so my name was on the bottom of that tin for a very long time, in fact it still is. I have it in my bedroom now, sitting on the old Pfaff Sewing machine I inherited from her. It is one of my most favorite things.

The tin is not only filled with a vast variety of buttons collected over decades but the tin itself is gorgeous. Curvy, with pretty flowers on each side. I love the little gold knob on the lid.

When Grandma died and I had the tin at home, I felt like I had a piece of her with me. I sorted through them and separated them into color groups. Some of them are so incredible I knew right away I wouldn't be sewing them onto anything that I wasn't keeping for myself. I can't let those treasures leave!

I found a couple things in that tin that weren't buttons, a thimble and a ring. The thimble excited me because I like thimbles, although I don't use them. I don't like the way I can't feel my fingertip with a thimble protecting it. The ring is very intriguing to me. You see... Ruby was only 40 when Spencer died in a mining accident in Idaho. My grandma never remarried after he died. There was never another man in her life and this is certainly a mans ring. It looks like a wedding band to me and no one knows if it belonged to my Grandpa. I like to imagine that it was his. I never knew him but I have been told I would have loved him, of course. Funny how a tin full of buttons can mean so much.

Night of Lights

As some of you already know, I live in a small ski town with a population of about 7500. On busy Holiday weekends we can have a pop. of about 40,000 so it makes for some interesting times, many of them frustrating. Such as, we only have one market in town. Usually there is no problem getting what you need, however on a winter weekend you try not to go at all. There will be crowds of people from out of town that don't understand why there is no bread... I mean the shelves are bare. No Milk! No Eggs! People freak out. Oh... and the parking lot... if it is stormy and snowy than there will be a bunch of sports cars without chains, stuck. There will be angry people in fur coats and matching hats saying "can you @#$!ing believe this?". I mean do they think this is Disneyland?

If you are a local and you don't HAVE to go out... you don't.

However there is one night that everyone goes out... The Night of Lights.

There are huge crowds but for the most part people are just having fun, full of Christmas Spirit or maybe "spirits". You just have to try and ignore the rest.

The Night of Lights is a winter light show that takes place right on the ski slopes. Last year they had paratroopers drop onto the slope, their suits were trimmed in lights. The ski patrolmen deck out their snowmobiles with lights and even the Snow Cats are lit up. Skiers and snowboarders slide down the slope in different formations with lights of course. Everyone looks forward to the moment when Santa rides up on his SnoMo, but my favorite part is the chair lifts. You see, they put lights on the seats of the chair lifts. You can see it start at the top of the mountain. One light, then two... snakes of lights trailing down the slopes until they loop around and all the seats have a light. Colorful loops of moving lights! Awesome. The light reflects off of the white snow and makes the mountain look like a giant multi colored snow cone. So much fun.

Last year something extra special happened. When the show ended we started making our way to the Gondola which would take us back down into town. The lines were very long and our toes and noses were extremely cold but we were having a terrific time. At last we were put into a Gondola car with a family of about 10, I think. They were tourists from Florida and the kids were having a blast, they were lovin' the snow, the strangeness of it all. As the Gondola car dropped out of the dock and swooped into the dark night the Floridians began to settle down and put their cellphones away. Then something wonderful happened. We were sailing over a part of town that has some very fancy houses and it seemed that at least every other home was having a gathering. Through the windows,we could see Christmas trees festively lit and families enjoying each other. The only sound in our car was the creaking of the cable above. Our very own glass elevator filled with Peace and Joy, that's what we had. Then breaking the silence was a small voice singing "Let it Snow, Let it Snow... Let it Snow"!

Priceless.

So the next time I am in the Market, Post Office... whatever and I am getting peeved about someone who "just doesn't get it", I am going to try and remember that little boy from Florida. Who cares if we can't buy Milk or bread, we have Snow.

Pinwheel Decisions

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I did. We are still eating the leftovers here. Turkey pot pie last night, made by my husband. I am not sure what kind of Turkey combo we will come up with tonight. :O)
I have been working on Christmas presents the last few weeks and I can't post about those projects just yet. I do have a quilt top in the works but I think I will be putting it aside for a day so I can come back to it fresh. I am stumped. You see it all started with the idea to make Christmas pinwheel blocks out of solid red and white.

Then I decided to add solid green. Which led to this...

I love how the triangles create several different patterns. I can see diamonds, bow ties and pinwheels. The idea crossed my mind that maybe it was getting too busy. Maybe it was my eyes crossing after staring at it too long? So... I cut these...
which became these.

Now... My problem is what comes next. Do I butt the red and green blocks up to the white, red and green ones, like so...

and put a pine cone sashing around the pinwheels?Perhaps I should break it up with a green dotted sashing.

The pine cone fabric might be nice there.

Here is a closer look. Hmmm.... Maybe I need more pinwheels, pine cone and green ones.

Help me!

Memories on the Tree

What did you do this weekend?
I spent the weekend putting away Halloween decorations and pulling out Christmas decor. There is something I like about my home going from eerie to cheery overnight. The creepy crows and spooky spiders get packed away until next fall and the smiling snowmen and chubby Santa's come out. I do know the real reason for the season, Jesus, but I only have one Nativity at the moment. My Mom collects them and I try not to collect the same things as her, after all I might end up with some of them someday.
The lights! How do I explain my love for strings of lights. There is something so peaceful about a tree full of tiny lights on a dark night. We have had a tiny bit of a battle going on here. Well... not really a battle.
You see, I can't stand the new LED Christmas lights! My husband is on a mission to be as much like Ed Begley as possible, no disrespect to ED. A few years ago we started switching to LED lights and now we only have a few strings of the old kind left. This makes my husband happy and me sad. I am all for the energy savings and I love that they last so long, but... they are UGLY! They put off this cold, slightly flickering, glaring light and I swear they are going to give me seizures! Currently I have the 3 strings of old lights on the tree and the new ones are in a box. Terrible...I know.

I have so many fond memories of Christmases with my family and I have found that our ornaments for the tree represent many of those wonderful holidays. Last night I took some photos of some of my favorites.We have more ornaments than we can fit on our little fake tree, yes... fake. Every year I want to get a real one but our house is too small and our $40. fake tree fits perfectly. Plus, I can't buy a real one as early as I'd like to :O).


This pretty silver wreath was picked out by my sweet hubby who LOVES all things... Sparkly!
I made this Shrinky Dink ornament when I went to Colorado to visit my cousins in the early 1980's.

This bread dough tree is very special to me. My dad made it when I was a kid. I love the vintage gold paint and the tiny candles.

I got this poinsettia in an ornament exchange. It looks like it is handmade out of thin shavings of wood. Gorgeous.
These festive little sledders were handmade by my Father and I, together. One of very few projects we did side by side. I cherish them like the valuables they are, even though they're made of Popsicle sticks and string.
I don't know why I have always loved this one. I just find the tiny Santa and tree adorable. The little bell so so sweet. It makes me think of my childhood, which was Awesome!
Isn't this snowman's smile infectious? He looks so Thankful.
Love the glitter of the Disco ball.
This beauty was handcrafted by my son when he was 10 years old. It just may be my favorite one of all. I think the star on top is amazing.

These caroling bears were a gift from our friend Stephy. I can't believe it has been eleven years. We love how she included our dogs, Gypsy Boots and Cosmo, they truly are a big part of our family still today.

This ball is dear to me simply because it says 1976, a very good year in my life.

Jessica Rabbit was purchased by my husband when we went to Disneyland in 2005. That was a fantastic trip.

Michigan J. Frog has always been a fixture in my life. He is so cool...won't sing unless He wants to, doesn't do it for money and fame.

My sweet cousin Janee gave him to me when she worked for Warner Bros.

Love him.
Now... I have saved the best for last, maybe the best... I can't really choose a favorite. These calico birds were handmade by my Mother. They are fashioned from fabric that she also used to make clothes for me and my brother. The red and blue calico on the wings of the second bird is very moving to me. Really. Not only did I have an outfit made from that fabric but I made some of my first sewing projects from it. I remember an apron I made for Barbie in particular. I wish I still had that apron and I am so happy I still have the bird. So happy.

What are your favorite Holiday Decorations?

Tropical Color Splash

It has been awhile since my last post. It has been ...umm...kinda rough around here, but things are smoothing out now and I am back on track.

I have finished a baby quilt that I am so proud of. It was done just in time for a sweet little baby girl born on Nov.10th to some very special friends of ours.

The colors in it just POP! I used the colors Turquoise, Hot Pink, Blood Orange as inspiration. The piecing was very simple just rectangles sewn together. I only had to use the seam ripper half a dozen times to line up the seams perfectly...I have a hard time with perfect. I LOATHE the seam ripper. My niece calls it a "unstitcher". Who wants to waste time unstitching? Not me. I did though, I ripped out the mistakes and fixed them... like a good girl.

Doesn't it look warm and tropical?

The tiny new babe is also getting these precious candy colored tie dyes.

My husband lovingly tied and dyed them with her in mind, he put the bit of blue on the sleeves in honor of her middle name "Snow".

What do you think of the astro turf background?

Our yard is no longer the lush photo spot is was, so my clever hubby came up with this idea. Now I just need a sun lamp, lounge chair...and a Margarita.

Yeah! That's the ticket.

Portland Mish Mash

Today's post is just a mish mash of photos I took while we were on our trip to Portland, Oregon last July. Sorry I couldn't get more creative than that. Today I have to work at my job that pays instead of the job I love.

This photo below, I took while at a stop light in... I can't remember where... well anyway, we were just sitting there and this motorcycle pulled up beside us and ...bingo I saw this shot! I love it, although I wish I could erase the SUV and the "Park Here" sign, but I can't have it my way gotta just let it happen.


I really can't explain this one. We saw this elfin stone house on our way to Columbia, CA. Just behind it the hillside slopes down to a gorgeous grassy valley hidden by dense trees. I peeked just a bit, but the "no trespassing/private property" signs kept me away. Oh but it looked so inviting down there. I imagined the tiny abode was really a doorway to subterranean stairs... maybe a gold mine? Who knows, it could be an outhouse... no, it seems way too romantic to be a toilet.

Now this odd building below I have pondered many times. It is in a tiny little corner park in Lee Vining, CA... the entrance to Tioga pass and Yosemite National Park. I do not know the story behind it... weird huh?

A look back at Mount Shasta... again I wish I could erase the car and street lamps.

Interesting wall except for the A/C unit and the street sign...Ugh!

I love bridges, all kinds...

and water towers. I think it's a side effect of my obsession with movies filmed in the New York City area.

The photo below is all that is left of the flat of Oregon berries we bought at a small farm just outside of Portland. Oh, they were so yummy.

This tombstone is not in the front yard of this house! Doesn't it look like it is? There is actually a street in between.

The weather was so lovely the entire trip, but I wanted it to rain! I mean I was in the Pacific Northwest right? Lucky for me it did rain a bit on our way out of Portland. Here is proof... from the car window. :O)

I leave you with this shot. So lush, the greenest place I've ever been.
Have a lovely day.