Vintage Heart Swap, #2!

vntg heart swap 2
Originally uploaded by from my cherry heart

The lovely Dolly, who writes at From My Cherry Heart, is hosting her second annual Vintage Heart Swap. Sign-ups are open until January 9th, I believe. This is a fun one. To see my treats from last year, just look here.

In other news, I had an email today that the Handmade Toy Saving initiative is currently #1 in its division at change.org, but we don't want anyone else pulling ahead here at the last minute. Voting continues through the 31st, so click on that link on the sidebar. NOW! GO!! Thanks. :)

Observe --------------------------------------------->

I added this festive little widget to remind all of us to DO SOMETHING about a new law scheduled to take effect early next year. It's getting a lot of press in some places, though none here in Atlanta, as far as I can tell, but then again folks here do love them some plastic. I'm no libertarian, but this really is our sweet government going too far. The intent is WONDERFUL - protect children from toxic toys. The only problem is that it affects everyone, even your grandma who crochets little bears for the church craft fair. To learn more, visit here or here.

And even if you think I'm full of hooey, stop by the site and vote for SOMETHING.

For once, ANYTHING is better than nothing. :)

Merry Christmas, from my loving brother.

Yes. It's a chimpanzee, riding on a Segway. Bam bababa bam bam.

My friend Lennye makes me cry.

If you're feeling just a little bit Grinchy or Scrooge-y this Christmas season, I highly recommend you read about what my friend Lennye was able to do for a student. Sometimes, I think we look too far heavenward for miracles, when most of the time they happen a lot closer to Earth.



This one touches me particularly because I taught this little guy, and he is, without a doubt, one of the most precious children on the planet. When I had him in my class three years ago (has it really been that long?) his life was challenging, but not nearly as difficult as it is now. I know I speak for Lennye & everyone else involved when I say that we would covet your prayers for K & his family, particularly his sweet mom, that they might be able to enjoy this Christmas in spite of everything.


Merry Christmas, y'all.

Holiday Traditions Swap Treats

From the lovely Sarah M.:
Absolutely gorgeous washcloths. As in, so pretty that you're afraid to use them. They are perfectly knitted, and make my crocheted ones look like a preschool craft project! Sarah also included a bar of this soap, which we love. We love it so much that we just finished our bar, so she saved us from having to buy more! That is serendipity in action, friends.
This bag was FULL of killer shortbread. As in, the best I've ever eaten. It was amazing. I took some to work today, and it was a hit there. In the spirit of Christmas, I was even honest, and didn't claim to have made it or anything!
And the grand finale - knitted elves. Their little hats & scarves are knitted around corks, which is just about the cutest thing ever. I have a thing for elves, and these fit in perfectly.

Sarah also sent a tutorial about their family's advent tradition, which was really interesting. Our advent calendar growing up (handmade by the Motherina) was different from this, and much less interactive, so it was cool to read about doing it in a different way.

Thank you SO MUCH, Sarah, for such a great swap!

Advent Conspiracy

Definitely out of the ordinary.

Photo from www.nola.com.

Bear emailed me this morning to let me know the snow was on its way! This is just the most amazing image - decidedly not something I've ever gotten to see. To celebrate, we had yummy dinner, but we still haven't seen any flurries.

Family Togetherness.

*Courtesy of Monkeybean Photos.*

Because Monkey L*O*V*E*S these dark pictures.

I don't know if she's complained about it in the comments, but Monkey simply adores the way I never take blog pictures until late at night. Therefore, the pictures are always dark, since I am allergic to the flash. When you live in Northern Europe, like it's starting to feel like I do, it gets dark at about 4:00 in the winter. That makes it impossible to work all day and get decent photos. With that in mind, I present Christmas decor 2008 - in all its shadowy glory. It should also be noted that this is only one room. I'll show you more later, if you're good.

The aluminum tree, now with color wheel! We moved it in front of the fireplace this year. We also found that precious tree skirt at an antique store for a steal.
The angelic portion of the mantel.
The not-so angelic portion, with non-flammable icicles!

Girls' Weekend: Recap

Mom & Aunt Mary Beth - practicing for their matching rocking chairs.

Very Laura.
Very Amy.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, my Auntie MB and cousins Laura & Amy converged on the ATL for a girls' weekend with my mother and me. It was a blast. Of course, I only got the camera out once, so these photos will have to do. Picture it: new Beaujolais, shopping, giggling, art museums, and more! All in less than 72 hours. We even bought matching purses. We even let Lindsey join us for one meal.

My cousin is awesome.

Really, all of my cousins are awesome. (Hi Brian, Robin, Jenny, Bethie, Laura, Meridith, Amy, Greg, Steph, and Abby!)

However, my cousin Beth, who blogs at Glimpses, has really set the bar pretty high for the rest of us. Her mom passed away last month after a long battle with colon cancer. You can read more about Aunt Susi & her life here. In honor of her mom, Beth has started a fund to help people get the health care that can prevent this kind of suffering for others.

We've heard a lot about how everyone is tightening their belts this holiday season, but I'd like to think that rather than cutting out giving, we're cutting out the unnecessary stuff, instead.

Just something to think about.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm late.

So what?

Things have been a bit crazy here in Experiment Land. If you'd like to know why, I suggest you stop by the 'hood over the weekend.

Click here to learn more.