Getting the Christmas Tree at a Farm

Living far enough from my parents that we cannot go up in my dad's truck to go get a tree is a bummer. The first few years hubby and I bought our tree from a nursery. Being the daughter of a forester I am a bit of a tree snob and I really like noble firs. The less trimmed the better because it is closer to looking like a tree straight from the woods. This year we have vaulted ceilings and so we can have a pretty tall tree. Therefore the nursery wasn't going to cut it. I really wanted to go in the woods but somehow I guessed that we would get stuck in the snow with either of our vehicles. A farm was the solution. I searched for a long time and found the perfect place. Free chili, cider and all trees under 12ft were $20. With my particularization we were looking at a $60 tree anywhere else. So we gathered the family and off we went in our old car Reginald up to Sandy. 

 We found the perfect one but it was just too short.

 We ended up with the most trimmed tree in the lot. But the height was a must:)

 Mmm. Hot chili.

 Annie being cute.

 The place had an outdoor fire place that was a favorite spot of the day.

 We loaded the tree onto Reginald and went straight home to set it up.

  I love how this picture turned out. It captures exactly how Snookels seems to feel about the tree. 

 We then rushed off to Alpenrose Dairy to see the Christmas display. However, they were closed. Who closes at six if the point of going is to see the lights?

So we ended up coming home and getting the tree decorated. The hubby takes this task very seriously. So serious that you can see him drilling screws in to hold the lights up despite my apprehension of the permanent  nature of such an idea. Everything must be earthquake proof for an engineer. 

And here it is!

 Have a...

The Alamo

I just got back from visiting my newborn niece Alexa Grace in San Antonio, Texas. Somehow my parents and I tore ourselves away from all just sitting around and commenting and oogling over everything Alexa did (newborns are so adorable how can you not sit and stare all day?) and headed to check out the Alamo. Fortunately my dad warned me that it was in downtown San Antonio and not out in a cattle riddled expanse like I pictured. I thought I would share some photos.

 I also learned that by the time Daniel Boon made it to the Alamo he was a fat ex-politician really grumpy from not wining his last election. He was so upset he packed up and moved to Texas and eventually got caught up in the fight. 

 

 This shop used antlers instead of little spikes to keep the birds off their building. It was a really Texan store.

 This is the riverwalk. Texans have channeled on of their largest rivers to create this restaurant walk. As pretty as it was...I am glad Oregon still has wild rivers. 

Valentine's Day is soon and I was in a mushy gooshy mood. I started to make a Valentine's Day wreath and realised I had nothing red or heart shaped to add. After making a few paper hearts strung on lace and wrapping the wreath in ribbon it was just not complete. I needed a flower.

I didn't have any red ribbon so I used this brown ribbon from my stash. (If you are going to try this don't use ribbon that is stiff or has wire edges.)
1. Set your sewing machine to the largest stitch size (or if you have lots of patience you can use a needle and thread)
2. Sew along each edge of your ribbon (about an 1/8 of an inch from the edges). Do not back stitch and do not trim the thread.

3. Take the bobbin thread from one end of a ribbon edge and wrap around your finger as you pull the top thread. The ribbon will start to bunch. This isn't had complicated as it sounds, basically just pull on each thread until the ribbon starts to easily bunch.

This isn't had complicated as it sounds, basically just pull on each thread until the ribbon starts to easily bunch.

4. I then pulled out my handy hot glue gun and began to put a dab of glue between layers as I began spiraling the ribbon into a flower shape. Don't use huge gobs of the glue as it will end up showing through the ribbon.

5. When the flower had taken shape, I cut out a tiny bit of felt (paper or other fabric works as well)...

...and glued it to the back of the flower so I could attach it to the wreath.

5. You can also add a center to the flower. I chose to keep it simple. I think when it is done being on my wreath I will add it to a headband.

For now it makes a great addition to my wreath. Happy Valentine's Day prep everyone!