Sunday, December 30, 2018

Travel tatting

It's been a busy holiday season for us! It's hard to believe that we've packed so much into the past week.

Monday was Christmas Eve, the kickoff to our family celebrations. Daughter Alison drove down, and we headed over to my sister-in-law's where Carol and Jon joined us. We had our annual Christmas Eve feast of ravioli, repeated and laughed over familiar family stories, and then headed home.

On Christmas Day we sat around watching Hallmark Christmas movies and eating treats of biscotti and chocolate, while waiting for the roast beef and mashed potatoes. We do like to eat!

The day after Christmas, Wednesday, we headed to Minnesota. Daughter Joanne prepared a delicious ham, and daughter Andrea and family joined us.

Thursday, ten-year-old Ella had a softball tournament. It was my first time attending a softball game, so I asked a lot of questions, trying to understand the rules. We watched three games, and then headed back to Andrea's house for pizza, more stories, and more laughter!

On Friday, Andrea took me shopping for some new slippers, with the rest of the family tagging along.


Andrea and I both have problems with our feet, so when she recommended these clogs as house shoes, I knew I had to have a pair!


Food seems to be the overriding them in our holiday gatherings. Andrea recommended Lucky's in Rosedale, MN for lunch. It was delicious! Mom has been asking for a good picture of Dave and me for a long time. This is one of the best ones that's been taken of us in a long time. We tend to get caught with one of us having closed eyes!


Yes, I did take tatting supplies along. I didn't want to be tied down to following a pattern, so I filled my little tatting bag with glass gems, a ball of Lizbeth Snow White, and tatting shuttles. I was ready to go with variations of the basic Ice Drop pattern. The first six are based on my basic Ice Drop pattern. The last three are variations of the one pass Ice Drop. I still prefer the look of my basic pattern, but I do use the one pass method just to change things up.

I will keep tatting Ice Drops in the new year, but I'm ready to start another tatting adventure. I'm not sure what it will be yet. I think it's time to browse through my tatting books and get some ideas!

19 comments:

  1. My goodness you have had a busy time. Love the clogs and hope they are warm and comfortable. Well you must start another craze Diane for 2019!!!

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    1. It has been lovely! The clogs are very warm and comfortable. I'm so glad I bought them! I don't know about a craze, but I do want to do some exploring!

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  2. You had a busy Christmas no wonder you have your feet up now.
    What ever craze you start I don’t think it will ever beat the ice drop addicts, I have lost count how many members you have on ice drop addicts.
    That is a lovely photo of you, like you any photos of me look awful.
    I wish you and your family a very happy new year
    Happy tatting into 2019

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    1. I do like putting my feet up... it usually means I'm tatting! I really don't think I'll be starting any more crazes. I was really surprised at the response to Ice Drops! Happy New Year to you and Vernon! I look forward to seeing all your lovely cards and tatting in the new year!

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  3. Glad you had a wonderful Christmas! Happy New Year!

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  4. Sounds like a great time and you kept busy with family too! Have a Happy New Year.

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  5. I'm amazed you managed to get this post in already! I would have been too exhausted!

    I'm so glad the weather didn't interrupt any of the traveling! Wonderful to read about your gatherings with your family! Great photo of you and Dave! (Still wondering about the chickens!)

    Siippers look comfy. Are they made of fabric?

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    1. Because I am too tired to do anything else, this post is possible! I plead laziness today!

      The chickens are doing great, although we have lost some. Princess Birdy never developed well, and she died when the weather turned cold. We lost six chickens to two large dogs that were roaming through our property. I have no idea where the dogs belonged, but it wasn't here. We lost one more when a hawk managed to get into the chicken coop. Henrietta still loves Dave, and Henry struts around like he owns the place. Egg production is down, but we've still been getting at least three eggs per day.

      The slippers have a cork sole and a wool top. The brand is Halfinger, which I had never heard of before. I'm glad I took Andrea's recommendation. They're very comfortable!

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    2. Thanks for the reply! I'm always amused when you say you're 'lazy' because even when you slow down you still accomplish many more things than I do!

      It was sad to hear about the loss of some of the chickens - and that dogs would attack them! I guess you can't prevent hawks from 'taking notice' from above with their sharp eyesight. Glad Henrietta and Henry are still providing amusement!

      I wondered about your slippers because they reminded me of similar slippers that I added tatting to, by gluing the lace down. Unfortunately, the tatting wouldn't stay on so I removed both pieces and added them to a hat for one of my costumes (which I've never shown). The lace does stay on the hat!

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    3. I still can't reply if I use Safari. I'm trying to make the transition to Chrome, but I've been using Safari for so long I'm afraid of losing some of what I like. Right now I'm working with both browsers open. It's working!

      Although I try to stay detached from the chickens, I was very upset when the dogs attacked. We don't see dogs here often, but when we do, I stay inside. The dogs are huge!

      The slippers are so comfy! They were very expensive, but I need good shoes/slippers so that my plantar fasciitis doesn't flare up. When my feet are happy, I'm happy!

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  6. Looks like a wonderful family celebration! Good for you for getting some tatting done too. I'm sure others will go on with the ice drops, I look forward to seeing your new explorations.

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    1. We did have a wonderful time! The Ice Drops are so addictive. I thought I'd stop for a while, but it's so easy to pick them up and tat without thinking. I'm sure I'll keep on making them in the basic designs for a long time to come!

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  7. What a fun holiday! Looks perfect! (Note to self; try Luckyks)

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    1. I wish we could have stayed longer so that I could meet up with my Minnesota tatting friends! We left on Wednesday and had to head home on Saturday, as Dave had a truck coming in. I'm sure looking forward to July!

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  8. Sounds like a fabulous holiday season!!! :)
    Very beautiful Ice Drops!!! :)

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    1. We had a wonderful time! I hope you and Richard had a fabulous holiday!

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