This and That

Hi everyone, again.  I have been busy making purses and beading. We also had son Ken and his family over on the 23rd.  Their son, Kyle, was born on Dec 24, so we like to get together before Christmas if we can.  Our granddaughter and her boyfriend (another Kyle) came and brought our little great grandson, so we had some entertainment.  Dominic has so much energy and is never still.  He likes playing with his daddy.

He likes twirling, too.  I just love those blond curls!  Notice the snowman holding his hat in the background.  If you push the button he will dance and sing.

Little Dominic learned how to push that button and he would dance.  We finally had to take the batteries out of it because he was driving us all nuts.  He would push the button every time it stopped. He's a happy little guy.

We finally got him corralled and gave him a present to open, but he needed mom's help.

Love those blue eyes, too.

He finally got with the program and helped unwrap the gift.  It didn't hold his attention long because it was clothes and not a toy.

So cute!

This is our granddaughter (the beautiful Princess) and the mother of the little prince.

We went to my mother's house for Christmas Eve.  We had a good time and good food.......and lots of goodies.  This is my mother, she is 83 years old.  She used to be taller than me, but she shrank and now she is shorter than me.

This is our 13 year old grandson, Ryan, who is taller than me already.....plus he wears his boots just so he can be even taller than me, the turkey.  He is looking cross-eyed..........who knows why.  Bubba is behind him watching and listening to a a DVD.  He is our great nephew.

This is my sister, Pam, with her newest granddaughter, Nikki, and our great niece.  She is so adorable and makes some of the funniest faces............sometimes.

Great uncle Roger had to have his turn holding the baby as well.

I didn't take many pictures at mom's because I put the camera down to eat dinner and then forgot to get it out again.  We had a good time.

Now for the 2 newest finished purses.  The first one is pink, pink, pink and purple.  It is for a 15 year old girl. She really liked it.  Her mother got it for her for Christmas.  The front:

front pocket detail.

Other front pocket detail.

Back of purse.

Back pocket detail.

This is the beaded flower that hides the magnetic snap.  It is appliqued on the back of the purse and folds over to the front.

Here it is from the front folded over.

Close up of the beaded flower.

Then the woman that bought this one for her daughter ordered one for herself in yellow and green.  I found some pretty green fabric with butterflies on it.  

The back of the purse.  

back pocket detail

one of the buttons on the side of the purse....it has glitter on it

front of the purse

front pocket detail

other front pocket detail

beaded butterfly that hides the magnetic snap

I started the butterfly with bigger beads (size 11), but I didn't like it.  So I took it all out and started over using smaller beads (size 14).  I also used some little drop beads around the outside of the wings. 

Last Saturday evening we went down to Longview to have dinner with our daughter, Jen, and her Husband, P.J.  We had venison steak.....it was so good I ate 2 pieces of meat instead of eating my  mashed potatoes and gravy.  We had a wonderful visit.  I took pictures with my new I-phone, but haven't figured out how to send them to my computer yet.  Earlier when we left home, it was snowing some, but not bad.   When we left Longview, it wasn't snowing there.........but shortly after we got on the freeway it was white-out conditions.  Mostly all we could see was huge white flakes coming toward the windshield and we couldn't tell where the lanes were.  We could feel the rumble strips on each side of the northbound lanes, but not the little bumps between the lanes much.  P.J. called and said a few minutes after we left it started snowing and everything was white within 5 minutes.  We made our way through traffic so we wouldn't be in a cluster if someone lost control.............and then we couldn't see much of anything.  We finally saw the sign for our exit and realized we were in the far left lane.  We made it home, but it was scary.  I do, however, trust Roger's driving in any conditions, but I still get tense when it is slippery.  WE ARE IN THE FROZEN NORTH LAND, I TELL YOU!!!!!  It snowed yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday) and is supposed to be nasty tomorrow.....with more snow.  Of course my sister called me and gloated about the snow and asked if I liked it.  She was singing, "let it snow, let it snow, my sister likes it, let it snow."  I will get her back for that one......later, he he. 

Well, that's all I have to say...............except I WANT THIS COLD STUFF TO GO AWAY!

Until next time, God bless you all in 2012.

Lila

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(E-Store) ontheroadcreations.etsy.com

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Turkeys, Christmas jewelry, and potluck!

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We sure did.  Lots of  food and visiting with Roger's family.  His youngest brother wasn't there because he and his wife are in Africa riding their motorcycles around and seeing the country.  I made these little turkeys for everyone out of cookies and candies.  They turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

They are just a bit blurry, I think that was the one sitting next to our brother-in-law's wine glass.  His eyes look a little weird, too.  Hmmmm.

I made this necklace and earrings to wear to the Christmas program.  I joined the Christmas choir and we have to sear black pants or skirt and a white top with something red.  

The red beads are a beautiful color of red and faceted, so they reflect the light and seem to sparkle.  The focal  beady thingy (I don't know what it is called)  I bought 2 years ago because I really liked it.  I think it goes well with the beads.  The black beads are shiny and faceted as well.  I used silver-lined ruby aurora borealis seed beads between the larger beads.

I really like the earrings.  They swing nicely.

I can wear the necklace as pictured above or doubled around my neck as in the photo below.

I haven't made up my mind yet..............I may need to find it before I can decide.

I also have some Christmas jewelry to put in my e-store.  There is more green with the red in these pieces.  This is a 3-piece set with necklace, earrings, and bracelet.

This bracelet is made with red and green swarovski crystals and silver delica beads.

a close-up.

The clasp is a red leaf button.

These wreath earrings would look nice with the above bracelet, I think.

They are made with the same size red and green swarovski crystals and delica beads.

These earrings swing nicely, too.  This pair is mostly red with some green.

These are mostly green with some red.

       I think the green bead has a small bubble in it.  Hmm, I never noticed that before.                                                                          

This next bracelet would go well with either of the last two sets of earrings.

The last pair of Christmas earrings that I have made.....so far.

We have been traveling for about 17 years (my how time flies) during the holidays and our children have kind of settled into their own routines  for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So......we decided to have a family  potluck in between both holidays so we could get them together and see them all at one time.......well, most of them anyway.  Then Roger thought that if we also invited friends, we could visit with them as well............and there would be more food.  We rented a building at Recreation Park in Chehalis.  Roger went into town before I did to make sure there was an oven there that could handle both the lasagna and the chicken Alfredo (that we picked up in the freezer at the store).  There was and he had tables and chairs set up and the fireplace turned on and the whole place warmed up by the time I got there.  What a guy!!  I made yummy gooey caramel cinnamon rolls and some spiced sugar cookies.  All we had left at the end was a little bit of the chicken Alfredo.

Nice and cozy

While we were waiting for people to arrive, I played with the napkins.  We had both Thanksgiving and Christmas napkins to celebrate both.

This is (from left to right) our grandson, Kyle, my mother, our son, Ken and his wife, Randi.  Ken and Randi came early because they had to leave early.  Kyle had a motorcycle race near Vancouver.

My niece, Jamie,

had some pretty fingernail polish.

Grandson Aaron and grandson Ryan.  Ryan (the shortest one) is only 13 and already taller than me, the brat.  Aaron is 6 foot.  Ryan is our daughter Jen's and Aaron is our daughter Donna's.  Aaron is also Brittany's brother.

Eric is the youngest grandchild at 6 years old.  He will be 7 in February.

He's a good-lookin  kid and the goofiest of them all.  That makes him so lovable and exasperating at the same time....sometimes.  He amuses me a lot.  Sometimes he'll even give his old grandma a hug.  

Our daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, P.J.  Good picture.  (He's goofy, too)  he he (He puts peanut butter on hamburgers.  If that isn't goofy,  I don't know what is.)

Then there was our 4 month old great niece.....and all her funny faces.  She is a happy baby.  Her name is Nichole Vivian.

She is just so cute!!!!!  and cuddly!!!!!!

She really loves her grandma, my sister, Pam........I think the feeling is mutual.

Roger's folks, both wearing blue, Les and Verna, Roger's uncle Bob (married to Verna's sister, Evelyn) and my mother.

Aunt Evelyn visiting with my mom.

My nieces, Jamie and Cheyenne, and my goofy sister, Pam.  She's so cute!!! 

Our pretty Princess Brittany with grandpa.  Her son, Dominic (our adorable great grandson) and his daddy, Kyle.

Our friend, Melody played some Christmas music for us.  She is such a sweetie.

Jen's two oldest boys and their girlfriends.  From left to right:  Melyssa and Danny;  Kayla and Brandon.  Both very good looking guys.  Of course I'm not a bit prejudiced when it come to my grandchildren.

We had a thoroughly wonderful day.  This was my first time trying to put something like this together and I learned a lot.................mostly about the things I forgot to bring.  Lessons were learned, fun was had, and we went home exhausted and happy...............oops, we forgot to close the curtains before we left the key inside the building (like we were supposed to) and locked up.  Another lesson, always check the check list before locking the door.  

Until next time,  God bless.

Lila

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(E-Store) ontheroadcreations.etsy.com

(beading, traveling blog) ontheroadcreations.blogspot.com

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