Little Bits of This & That

Oh Christmas Tree.....

Every year, the weekend after Thanksgiving, we go out and find a Christmas tree.

We take our time and pick out just the right one that will fit in our living room. I like to find a tall tree so that it will reach to the ceiling. Of course, Paul has to trim it when we get home and it always seem to end up kind of short. Paul and I put on the lights, then the kids hang all the special ornaments. We have to pick and choose which ornaments will go on the tree because every year my mom gives each of us a new ornament that represents a special memory of that year, so we have quite the collection. Each of our kids will have a special collection that is full of memories to decorate their own trees when they leave the nest. The last ornament that we hang is the Christmas Pickle.

A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle deep in the branches of the  Christmas Tree. In the morning the most observant child would receive an extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year. So we hide the pickle on Christmas Eve and have the best time in the morning watching the kids scramble over each other, trying to be the first one to find the pickle. Thankfully no one has tripped and fallen on the tree!

Now hop over to Pat's Blog to enjoy the fun she has in store for you today! 

Remember to leave a comment to have your name put in the drawing for all the wonderful prizes we have in store you. Also, please subscribe to my blog to stay updated with all the goings on here....more on the way tomorrow..see ya then!

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:  www.gudrun.typepad.com

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart : http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :  www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:  www.patsloan.typepad.com

Nov. 13th.  Heather from Anka's Treasures :  http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/  

Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :  http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :  www.newleafstitches.com/blog/

Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :  http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

A funny thing...

I have received so many wonderful gifts over the years...there is too many to tell you, so I thought I would tell you about one of the funniest gifts I received.  When I was 15, we went to Grandma Daisy's house on Christmas day as we always did. (Isn't she cute?)

We spent the day eating wonderful food, sliding and finally opening gifts. When we gathered around the tree, I noticed a gift shaped like a garbage can. I started to laugh and asked Grandma why she would give one of us a garbage can?!?! Now some of my cousins were older so I figured that it was for one of them...but I just couldn't believe Grandma would buy that for a gift! (She was the type of grandma who gave you things you asked for as long they were pratical.) I was really having a good laugh about it until she brought that garbage can shaped gift over to me. It had my name on it! I was thinking "What in the world was she thinking?" Well, I opened the gift and it was a hamper. 

After everyone had a good laugh at me, Grandma said she was tired of seeing all my dirty clothes all over my room so now I had a place to put them. You must understand that Grandma was English and and very proper, so she wanted to teach me that everything had it's proper place. I did try to keep my room clean after that but mostly when I knew she was coming over.

Remember to leave a comment to have your name put in the drawing for all the wonderful prizes we have in store you. Also, please subscribe to my blog to stay updated with all the goings on here....more on the way tomorrow..see ya then!

Now it's time for you to hop over to Terry's Blog and enjoy the fun project she has in store for you! 

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:  www.gudrun.typepad.com

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart : http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :  www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:  www.patsloan.typepad.com

Nov. 13th.  Heather from Anka's Treasures :  http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/  

Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :  http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :  www.newleafstitches.com/blog/

Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :  http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

So Sweet!

There is nothing so sweet as when my Mom makes Divinity candy for Christmas.

It isn't an easy candy to make but it isn't too difficult either. It just takes patience, something I know I need more of.

Here is the recipe that Mom has been using for as long as I can remember~

^Divinity

2 2/3 cups granulated sugar   2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup broken nuts (of your choice)

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan over low heat, add sugar, corn syrup, and water, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 260 degrees F. on your

Candy Thermometeror until a small amount of candy mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball. Remove sugar mixture from heat.  NOTE: A Candy Thermometer is the most accurate way of testing the temperature of the sugar solution.

In a large bowl using your electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Continue beating and add the hot sugar mixture to the egg whites in a slow, steady, thin stream until well mixed in. Once you begin to pour the hot sugar mixture, do NOT stop and do not scrape the mixing bowl. When all the syrup has been combined, continue to beat the mixture until it begins to lose its gloss and holds its shape in stiff peaks. This takes about 10 minutes of solid beating.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and fold in the vanilla extract, nuts and/or optional add-ins of your choice. If the candy becomes too stiff, add a few drops of hot water.

Using two large spoons (using 1 spoon to push the candy off the other spoon), drop spoonfuls of divinity mixture into mounds onto the waxed paper.  

(I like to shake sprinkles onto the divinty...but you must shake fast as the divinity dries and the sprinkle will roll off.) Allow to rest undisturbed for two hours, or until the mounds are at room temperature.  Carefully peel from the waxed paper and store on layers of waxed paper in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Divinity also freezes exceptionally well for longer storage.

 I still love eating Divinity on Christmas day at Mom's but I only eat a piece or two as it seems to have gotten sweeter over the years...I sure could eat more of it when I was little.

Remember to leave a comment to have your name put in the drawing for all the wonderful prizes we have in store you. Also, please subscribe to my blog to stay updated with all the goings on here....more on the way tomorrow..see ya then!

~Sherri

Now hop on over to

Sandy Gervais's

blog and see what wonderful project she has for you. I know you will love it! I have been a huge fan of hers for a very long time and think she is amazing!

 

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:  www.gudrun.typepad.com

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart : http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :  www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:  www.patsloan.typepad.com

Nov. 13th.  Heather from Anka's Treasures :  http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/  

Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :  http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :  www.newleafstitches.com/blog/

Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :  http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

Over the river and through the woods....

Today is the first day of our blog hop and we are going to take you down memory lane, sharing with you some of our special childhood memories of Christmas.

 
Christmas day for me was always spent at Grandma and Grandpa Johnsen's.....and there was always tons of snow!  (The picture above is the road leading to their house in 1978....isn't it beautiful!) The big event of the day.....besides eating way to much food and enjoying gifts from family....was going sliding. My Grandparents lived in Deephaven, MN in a Cape Cod style house that they built in 1939. The house was built on top of a hill and there was nothing better than driving over and seeing Grandma's house, yard and trees covered in snow.

 

 After we had all feasted on Grandma's perfectly cooked Christmas dinner, all my cousin's, brothers and I would get dressed in our snow clothes and head outside with my Grandpa to go sliding. Now remember, they lived on top of a big hill, so we would slide down their hill. Grandpa would then push us across the street (looking out for any traffic of course!) and then down the next hill.

 
It was amazing!

 
As we got older, my brothers and cousins would get alittle crazy and water down the hill before we ate so that when we were ready to go sliding, it would be frozen and then we would really fly down the hill. Of course they were smart enough to check to see if you hit a tree on the way down, and since I was the youngest and only girl out there with them, I always ending up being the one to test out the run...luckily I didn't hit too many trees! And that is one of my many wonderful Christmas memories....now hop on over to Gudrun's blog to check out her Quilt-As-You-Go pattern that she had designed just for you.

Remember to leave a comment to have your name put in the drawing for all the wonderful prizes we have in store you. Also, please subscribe to my blog to stay updated with all the goings on here....more on the way tomorrow..see ya then!

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:  www.gudrun.typepad.com

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart :  http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :  www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:  www.patsloan.typepad.com

Nov. 13th.  Heather from Anka's Treasures :  http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/  

Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :  http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :  www.newleafstitches.com/blog/

Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :  http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

And the winner is.....

We have come to the end of our "Guess Who" challenge and the lovely lady who's

baby picture was posted here is.......

PAT SLOAN!

She was such a cute baby..and now she is an amazingly talented lady! Pat has designed everything from patterns to books to fabric and now even thread for Auriful. Her designs have also been published in many magazines all over the world.

 

The list of things this lady does is endless..... but I don't think she sleeps!

 

Pat is also a fabulous teacher...if you have a chance to take a class from her, I suggest you do. You will really enjoy it! Pat is one of those special people that is a joy to know. I have had the privilage to get to know her in Houston this fall and I can tell you, she is so much fun and I look forward to getting to know her better in the future!

Since only 2 people got the right answer, I thought I would send both of them a collection of patterns. And the winners are.....Gladys from Province of Neuquen, Argentina and Ruth B. Please e-mail me your addresses and I will pop the patterns in the mail to you both~Congrats!

Earlier in the week, I posted about my new Block of the Month and promised to draw a winner. And the winner for the complete collection of patterns for Vintage Memories is Kathy from True Creations. Kathy, please e-mail me your address and I will pop your Vintage Memories in the mail!

I hope your all ready for 12 days of blog hoppin fun! Starting Monday, November 9th, everyone on the blog hop will be posting about the theme of the day and the blogger of the day will be posting their project/pattern just for you! Be sure to comment on the posts to be entered in the Grand Prize, worth over $360.00. You won't want to miss a day of all this fun....See ya Monday!

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:  www.gudrun.typepad.com

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart :  http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :  www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:  www.patsloan.typepad.com

Nov. 13th.  Heather from Anka's Treasures :  http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/  

Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :  http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :  www.newleafstitches.com/blog/

Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :  http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

 

Guess Who?

    I am so excited to be part of the Cross Country Blog Hop! Thanks so much to Gudrun for all her hard work on this. We have so many fun and wonderful things planned for you....prizes, patterns, pictures and plenty of fun!
To start you off with some pre-blog hop fun, we have a game for you.
All of the designers participating in the Blog Hop will be posting a baby picture of one of the other designers in the hop. Guess who the designer is in the picture, post your guess on that blog in the comments and if your guess is correcet, your name will go in a drawning for a prize from that blog. You have until saturday, November 7th, to leave your guess. Stop by and have a guess on all the blogs.

  
 
  
  Here is the beautiful baby picture of one of our Blog Hop designers....isn't she a cutie!

But who is she? So, now have a close look and take a guess.

She is one very talented lady, but that is all I can tell you about her.

On Saturday, November 7th, we will be drawing a winner from the correct guesses

and it could be you!

Our big winner will receive 

a collection of our 8 newest patterns for fall.

Good luck to you!

 

 
 

Now be sure to stop by all the blogs and have a guess!

Gudrun from GE Designs: 

http://www.gudrun.typepad.com/

Sandy from Pieces from my Heart : 

http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com

Terry from Atkinson Designs : 

www.terryatkinson.typepad.com

Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.: 

www.patsloan.typepad.com

 

Heather from Anka's Treasures : 

http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/ 

 

Pam from Pam Kitty Morning : 

http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com

 

Kari from New Leaf Stitches : 

www.newleafstitches.com/blog

 

Terri from Whimsicals : 

http://whimsicals.typepad.com/

 

Sherri from This & That

http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/

 

Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. 

http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com

 

Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage. 

http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com

 

Linda from Linda Lum DeBono  

http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

 

So glad you hopped!

      

 Thanks so much for hoppin with us! We hope you have enjoyed these ten fun filled day's we planned for you. I have really enjoyed all your comments and kind words. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such nice comments. Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be bringing you more interesting post soon such. I think I am finally getting the hang of blogging!

Today is the day to visit Quilted Treasures . I know you'll enjoy visiting her blog! Be sure to leave her a comment to be eligible for a giveaway.

Remember to comment on all 10 blogs, on their featured day, and your name will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize gift bag full of goodies from all ten designers! First prize: $200 gift bag, Second prize $60 gift bag, and Third prize $40 gift bag will be given away. 

There is still time to be included in the drawing for the patterns and book, all you have to do is leave a comment on the "Learning Something New" post. Drawings will be held at the end of the Hop and the winners will be announced on Monday~ Good luck:)

Also, feel free to leave a comment here and you will be entered in an drawing for a complete set of my new Block of the Month Cobblestone Lane.  Stop back here often or please subscribe to my blog. We will be bringing you more fun soon! Have a great 4th of July!

And Hoppin......

      

 I hope your ready to hop! We have more fun filled day's planned for you. Today is the day to visit   Scrap Bags . I know you'll enjoy visiting her blog! Be sure to leave her a comment to be eligible for a giveaway.

Remember to comment on all 10 blogs and your name will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize gift bag full of goodies from all ten designers! First prize: $200 gift bag, Second prize $60 gift bag, and Third prize $40 gift bag will be given away.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow and we will hop to the next blog......

There is still time to be included in the drawing for the patterns and book, all you have to do is leave a comment on the "Learning Something New" post. Drawings will be held at the end of the Hop~ Good luck:)

Also, feel free to leave a comment here and you will be entered in an drawing for a complete set of my new Block of the Month Cobblestone Lane.

Hoppin..and Hoppin..

       I hope your ready to hop! We have more fun filled day's planned for you. Today is the day to visit  Cedar Canyon Textiles . I know you'll enjoy visiting her blog! Be sure to leave her a comment to be eligible for a giveaway.

Remember to comment on all 10 blogs and your name will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize gift bag full of goodies from all ten designers! First prize: $200 gift bag, Second prize $60 gift bag, and Third prize $40 gift bag will be given away.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow and we will hop to the next blog......

There is still time to be included in the drawing for the patterns and book, all you have to do is leave a comment on the "Learning Something New" post. Drawings will be held at the end of the Hop~ Good luck:)

Also, feel free to leave a comment here and you will be entered in an drawing for a complete set of my new Block of the Month Cobblestone Lane.

More Hoppin...

       I hope your ready to hop! We have more fun filled day's planned for you. Today is the day to visit  Atkinson Designs's . Terry will be demonstrating a bag. I know you'll enjoy visiting her blog! Be sure to leave her a comment to be eligible for a giveaway.

Remember to comment on all 10 blogs and your name will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize gift bag full of goodies from all ten designers! First prize: $200 gift bag, Second prize $60 gift bag, and Third prize $40 gift bag will be given away.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow and we will hop to the next blog......

There is still time to be included in the drawing for the patterns and book, all you have to do is leave a comment on the "Learning Something New" post. Drawings will be held at the end of the Hop~ Good luck:)

Also, feel free to leave a comment here and you will be entered in an drawing for a complete set of my new Block of the Month Cobblestone Lane.