Good morning ladies! Well it took me long enough, but I think I know why I seem to continually have mild to moderate allery symptoms all the time....the YARN! I noticed yesterday when I was unraveling some stuff I had started and didn't like that when I would get it close to my nose (I had the skein under my chin holding it at one time so I could use both hands) that I would start coughing and coughing. Our dd and sil popped in yesterday afternoon and I didn't knit last evening because I was talking to Jack then went to bed really early and I noticed my nose didn't run at night like it usually did. I guess I am going to have to take some meds when I knit and see if that helps. I don't take prescription because mine is moderate at its worst times and usually just a nuisance like a runny nose.

Maggie: If you had steamed those little sandwiches you would have had Chinese pork buns (wellllll not if you used beef! ) I haven't made those in a long time and they sound pretty good. I usually used beef in them anyway. I am sure all your good baking is perfectly yummy. I made milk chocolate fudge, rice krispie squares, choc chip cookies and frosted Christmas cookies yesterday morning for the kids down at the hotel. Jack had to taste test the frosted cookies. I swear I think that man could eat frosting out of the can. I ask him if they were any good and he said, "The frosting is." Actually, I cut a lot of corners. I bought the Pillsbury sugar cookies that come in little nuggets and took two nuggets and formed them together to give me a bigger cookie so I just made a dozen. I used canned frosting and then used the few cookie cutouts I had and placed them on top of the cookie and sprinkled stuff inside it to form the shape. I hate making these type of cookies and always have. I hated it when I was a little kid. Mom used to make us frost and decorate Christmas cookies and I hated it so I don't do it now, but I made some for Thomas. Of course, he spent the whole afternoon with his dad's sister making cookies yesterday so he is probably sick of them.

Jean: You go girl, be a radical and defy the masses!!!

I have started a really pretty soft yellow baby blanket for the baby. It will take me awhile because I decided to branch out just a bit and do some fancier patterns so we shall see. It is considered intermediate work, but the pattern doesn't look that hard. I am continuing on my handbag too, but I like to have a couple things going at once because I get bored with one project.

Everyone have a great Saturday. Off to do morning chores and then fix a nice breakfast.

Faye

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

t is a bright sunshiney day here and in the 40's as I type. I think this day I feel strong enough and have my focus to make that one point a square inch fudge recipe I have. I have had all the ingredients but haven't felt like tackeling it before now. I don't want to sabotage myself since it really doesn't have to be made. But I thought I would wrap each piece individually and take it to my next WW meeting and give each member there a piece of yummey sweet. I am sure they will all thank me.

It has come to the point where we just have to keep our eye on Ragg Mopp when he is outside or he just has to go visit his live stock. I get such a kick out of him though. The guys over at the ranch don't mind if he visits as much as we do.

AY I too have a light case of alergies and don't want to deal with taking those meds. I always keep a tissue handy. I have gotten a lot better now that we took out the carpet and replaced it with that wood type flooring. That yellow blanket sounds so nice and soft and cuddley. Does it have some cable stitching in it? When I learned how to do cables I tackeled one of those Nordic type sweaters that had cables all on the front and back. That is how I learned. Nice sweater ~ I ended up giving it to a gal in Minnesota after I outgrew it.

I am going to go now and do something constructive. It is just past noon and maybe lunch should be made. Bye for now.

I've just sat down and will take advantage of a few minutes and say to you all Merry Christmas]& Tomorrow will be a rather easy day as I have been invited to youngest daughter's on Christmas so no cooking! I like that. Our oldest daughter, who lives in town will drive and that is even better. It will be a fun day. Got all gifts and baking down and only have to give the gifts to the neighbors and that will be it.
I will wish you all a Very Healthy New Year. Gloria

The animals disturbed me and I couldn't get back to sleep so thought I would peek in here and wish everyone a


MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Good morning to you all! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday! We had a nice time, came home yesterday morning early and ate at IHOP instead of more buffet stuff and it was the only restaurant except the Chinese places to be open. I would have liked Chinese, but Jack is not keen on it.

I have all the laundry done and put away from the trip, but it is back to reality and starting housecleaning chores again today. I did finish my big ole felted handbag though. I took my knitting to the hotel with me and got a lot accomplished and finished it up yesterday at home. I felted it last night and then did all the sewing last night and this morning. I am including two pictures because the one hanging up is a little harder to see what I did. It is lovely deep purple.

I also have a new avatar! He sure is growing, isn't he? He had a lot of fun. We went swimming and that was fun and he loved his gifts. There are some issues with his sweaters, but those are best left alone and not discussed. All in all he had a great time and we enjoyed ourselves.

I'm with you Maggie! I am working this week on clearing out every piece of junk or unheathy food in the house and going shopping this weekend and getting all good stuff in the house for us to eat. I am getting myself on an exercise schedule as well as getting Jack on one too (he agrees with it I am not bullying him lol) My smilies won't load this morning so going to just resort to computer acronyms I guess!

I hope everyone has a great day! I need to get the day going and get some stuff done!

Faye

Hello, hope all the Magnolias survived the Christmas. We had a lovely one, if quiet. Our friends came up from North Carolina and it was great to see them. We also talked to a lot of old friends in Ohio.

Faye, sounds like you have a plan in place for your and Jack. I've got mine ready for January 1 as well. I think it is particularly portentious of success since January 1 is also a Monday and that is the day we all begin a new diet.

Jean, I know you are enjoying being away from the school and it's inhabitants. Enjoy your time off.

Maggie, won't be long and you'll be at your goal...way to go!

I'm really enjoying Curves. This will be my third week and I've been going 4-5 times a week so I'm getting my money's worth. The girls are all so nice and it's a lot of fun.

Definitely cutting back at work beginning January 2 - 9:30 am until 3:30 pm - and I am so ready for it. In June I'll cut back to 20 hours a week and be a real lady of leisure.

Good morning ladies! It is a bit nippy out this morning. I took out the trash and my hands were cold by the time I got back in. We are lucky with the weather this year so far, nothing that would cause catastrophe in this town.

Maggie: We don't go anywhere New Year's Eve living here. There are too many drunks and irresponsible people driving cars here sober for us to get out on the road. We may use Jack's Christmas gift of movie cert and go in the afternoon or early evening if we find something we want to see, but we usually turn in early. We are going to be shampooing rugs this weekend anyway and I have lots of food pitching, cleaning out and restocking I want to do. I am with you that I MUST lose at least 100 lbs by the end of next year. That is a smidge more than 2 lbs a week, which is what they consider safe. I always get a big jump start when I do so it would all work out.

Susan: Nice to hear you had a nice Christmas. I am glad you like Curves so much. I have heard great things about it. It is also great to know that you are going to be able to cut back at work soon. Sooner or later, us older ladies just can't keep up the grueling schedule we did at 20 somethings. I can't make my sister understand that. She is a legal secretary and I have been begging her for years to quit borrowing from her husband's 401K because neither of them have a pension plan at work, that will be what they have to live on. She says they will never be able to retire and I keep telling her when she is 65 or 70 she is not going be to able to type 95 wpm! Physically it becomes impossible to do that sort of thing.

Jean: Have fun on the time off. Glad the horse got delivered and probably the table and chairs by now. I have to say I have never heard of a cat nativity set but I bet it was cute. I put the few Christmas things away out in the box in the garage. I cleaned out my Christmas stuff last year and bought the huge size of Rubbermaid boxes with the locking lids so I now have a place to put more decorations when I get stuff every year. We exchange gifts with Tom's parents every year and she got us this adorable little star shaped boxed tower that had some kind of goodie in each one. The boxed are connected at the lid so they don't slip around, but the lids come off so I can use it at Christmas to put candies or whatever in in I wish. It is decorated in blues and greens with Snowmen and it is really cute. I got them a Knotts Berry Farm gift pack of syrups, jellies, pancake mix and biscuit mix. Anyway, my point was that I now have room for gifts given to me that are specific ornaments or whatever. I got a baby shoe from my son and dil!

Well, the bathrooms upstairs are calling my name. I got the whole downstairs finished yesterday and decided I didn't like the pattern for the baby blanket and ripped the whole thing out and started over! Since Kelly's shrug was too big, I am going to get yarn and knit her a sweater I found and then tear the shrug down and make a summer sweater for myself in a smaller size to encourage me to stay on program for vacation next year in August!

Have a good day everyone. I actually don't have a knitting project done to show!

Faye