Merry Christmas!

Handmade Holidays

Another result of the less-than-stellar economy is that people are shopping less for the holidays, although you’d never know it by the size of the traffic jams in Lexington near the major shopping centers. Over the past few years I have tried to cut back my holiday shopping, in general, and urged my family to do the same. Gift giving was getting out of hand at my parents’ house. I migrated to shopping only online, but that wasn’t enough for me, this year. I really wanted to make a lot of the gifts, myself.

So far, having a (mostly) handmade holiday has been cheaper and more rewarding. It is, however, MUCH more time consuming. I think that’s part of what makes it so rewarding, though. It’s worth it to me to spend time on something that my loved ones will enjoy.

Now, I cannot reveal all, as of yet, because there are recipients that read this blog, but I will say that I’ve made the following gifts for this holiday season:

• two large-size purses (these things are huuuge!)
• one small Sha-Sha Dream Bag in an adorable pink and brown polka dot
• one self-designed bag that turned out looking like a lunch tote, but also has a coordinating trifold long wallet
• a zippable pillow cover with pockets

I’m in the midst of making:

• two red plush fabric Santa bags for my sister to use for her sons’ gifts rather than wrapping them
• a quilt (which HAS to get done this weekend)

The two other presents that I’ve acquired have been purchases. One is something that I simply couldn’t make well, yet, and is something this person has been wanting for a long time. The other is semi-handmade. It’s something that I made part of but had to purchase services and goods from an online provider to make it complete.

I promise full disclosure after the holidays since NONE of the gifts have been wrapped, as of yet.

This weekend holds lots of further craftiness and wrappiness.

How are you changing your holiday gifting habits, this year?

Whirlwind Weekend

The weekend past was one of those where I feel like I never got to just sit down and relax. That’s not to say it wasn’t a lot of fun, but still…you know what I mean?

After work on Friday, The Boyfriend and I cleaned and cleaned, and then we cleaned some more. I went to the grocery and got the makings for the Fabulous Haw-Asian Dinner I was serving on Saturday. I did all the prep for that, showered, and fell into bed, immediately asleep, around 10 o’clock. I can’t even recall what I ate for dinner that night. Oh, yes. Frozen pizza.

Saturday was a wake-up-bright-and-early-with-anticipation day. We were going kayaking with some coworkers, and it was to be their first time on the water. Preparing two people for a day-long trip on the water is surprisingly more complicated than it sounds. I wonder if we take too much stuff with us. After finishing the prep for dinner, I helped The Boyfriend pack all of our gear and load the boats into the truck. Admittedly, he did a whole lot more of the work than I did.

On the trip, I got to test out some new gear:

• A new gel seat, since my boat only has a plastic molded one. Thumbs up on the Skwoosh.
• A new first aid kit. The last one was bought for camping at the Super Huge Discount Superstore of Evil and turned out to not be waterproof. This one is in a dry bag and will hopefully stand the test of my many capsizes. We didn’t need the first aid kit, which is a mystery but a good one.
• A new waterproof (really, I mean it this time) bag for important things like my ID, my phone, and The Boyfriend’s camera (which we still double-bagged because we weren’t trusting of the waterproof claim). It really is waterproof. That bag rocks.
• A locking carabiner, which was totally cool and useful for securing the bag mentioned above. I was worried that a regular carabiner might come undone, somehow and my important good s would be lost. I’m paranoid about losing my phone and afraid that The Boyfriend would seriously maim me for losing his camera, so I liked the locking aspect of this carabiner.
• A paddle leash that proved to be worth the $16 price that I thought was pretty steep. Couldn’t I just make this thing? Probably not. It features a hook-and-eye strap on each end of a coiled length of cord. One strap attaches to your paddle, the other to your wrist or boat. I didn’t like it attached to my wrist, so I strapped it to my boat, and now, I don’t have to worry about a floating-off paddle.
• A new paddle. It rocks my old paddle out of the water. The paddles are scooped, which allows the paddler to move more water with the same stroke. My old paddle sported flat ends and I wasn’t a fan. Good thing that one was free. Now, we have a spare paddle.
• A Camelbak water bottle. PBA-free. I’m glad to find that out via the Camelbak website. I worried about the #7 recycle symbol because it was the same as the Nalgene bottles, which aren’t PBA-free. It’s easier to drink from than a Nalgene (since you don’t have to unscrew the lid). I also like the harder carrying loop it sports.
• S-shaped, double opening carabiner. This was an awesome way to attach the water bottle to my seat gusset. I struggle with opening carabiners on the fly because I’m just challenged, that way. This one had two openings, so I could always get it quickly for a sip.

Good, Lord. That’s a lot of new gear. New for next week will be a pair of shorts that tries much harder to stay dry. Next challenge? Keeping water out of the bottom of my boat. Also (and how excited am I about this?) – new shoes! The water shoes I bought were cheapies. Frankly, they sucked. Yeah, they were fine to get wet, but they provided no cushion or structure against walking on the rocks and shore. I also blame them for the busted knee I got when I slipped on a rock. The new ones are fancy schmancy L.L. Beans and are a LOT like the expensive Keen’s I covet.

Ok, back on track with the weekend. After we kayaked about 12 miles, everyone headed back to be annoyed by our dogs, drink a couple of beers, and eat dinner. All parties were nearly falling asleep in their salads. As soon as our guests left and showers were taken, we were sleeping like babies.

The Boyfriend made pancakes, at my request, on Sunday morning. Even though I had to go to the store twice, dressed like a bum, under threat of severe weather, they were worth it. His pancakes are awesome. I went to my mom’s house to spend the day with her. She liked the gift, I think. We drove around the countryside, trying to find the Wildlife Sanctuary, but it was raining by the time we got there. No bird watching for us. Maybe another day. We did go watch some fish, though. We watched it go from the plates to our mouths, held by chopsticks. Sushi, baby! We ate until we were pleasantly stuffed, one more piece and we’d have been miserable. Then, it was back to her house to organize her scrapbooking equipment. She has a room that’s dedicated to that and toys. She’s got a TON of stuff. We didn’t make much headway, but we made some and sort of have a plan for the future. Dinner with the ‘rents and The Boyfriend rounded out the weekend.

This morning, back to the grind. I need another day of weekend!

Mother’s Day

Of course, today is Mother’s Day. It’s probably a happy day for most people. However, I can’t help but thinking that it’s got to be incredibly sad for some people, too. I normally go with my mom to Mass, because it makes her happy. When I was younger, they had all the moms stand up and everyone clapped for them. I remember thinking that clapping during Mass was a big deal. What I didn’t realize, though, were the people silently shedding tears over the recent loss of a mother, the realization that they could no longer celebrate Mother’s Day in the traditional sense. I also didn’t realize, as an ignorant kid, that not all women who didn’t have children weren’t necessarily happy about that arrangement. Now, though, I understand. It’s got to be heart-wrenching for some and very hard. I’ve noticed in recent years, the priest has all the expectant mothers stand, then the existing mothers and, finally, everyone who ever had a mother. Obviously, this ends up with everyone standing and giving everyone else a round of applause. I won’t go into how the people must feel who had absent or negligent mothers. I won’t pretend to understand how awful that must be.

With the knowledge out there that I’m sure Mother’s Day isn’t great for all people, I’d like to share with you my mom, because I think she is pretty great. Here she is. Isn’t she cute?

My mom has lots of different names. Of course, I call her Mom. She’s got a few variations on her first name. Her grandsons will probably end up calling her Grandma. My favorite name for her, though, is one of her own choosing – Aunt Pitty Pat. When my two younger second-cousins (or is it first cousins once-removed? JANEY!?) were born she decided that’s what they should call her. It’s caught on, and now lots of people call her that. My boyfriend in high school did. It’s part of her email address. It’s who she is. Of course, if you don’t know, it’s from Gone With the Wind. If you’ve seen the movie, don’t assume that my mom is like Scarlet’s Aunt Pitty Pat. I think she could weather Sherman’s Burning of Atlanta if she had her rosary. But the characterization sort of fits, too!

My mom and I are a lot alike, but she’s SO much nicer than I am. She might think uncharitable thoughts about someone, but she’d never say them out loud (she might agree when I blurt them out, though!). She’s way shorter than me; I grew taller than her when I was about nine years old. She loves the color yellow and collects all things yellow. She loves to read and is addicted to computer games. She gives them up as a sacrifice for Lent, each year. Mom also loves naps, especially in her hammock. She loves creme brulee. She loves Kentucky basketball and always becomes attached to the players, hating to see them leave at the end of their careers. Above all, though, Mom loves her family – her husband, her daughters, her eight brothers and sisters, their spouses, their children, their children’s children, etc. She loves her friends like they are family. She’s just an all-around loving person. That’s why I made this for her. I think it captures her sentimentality and also shows her accomplishments – being a great wife and mother and a wonderful person.

Thanks, Mom. Just for being you.

Gearing Up for Derby!

Tomorrow is the biggest holiday of the year in Kentucky. At least, when the Cats aren’t playing in a national championship game. It’s Derby time!

The success of our plans hinges on the weather, which is NEVER a good thing. Forecasts are calling for an 80% chance of showers, which totally blows. We will endeavor to persevere, though. Tonight, I’m preparing fruit kebabs and drinkies for tomorrow’s festivities. It’s probably a crime, or something, but none of those drinkies involve bourbon. There are no mint juleps in my future. I find the concoctions to be vile, but that might by my great dislike of bourbon clouding my judgment. No, for me? It’ll be Bloody Marys and Mimosas. I’ll alternate those starting around 7am. I know. That’s probably too early to be considered prudent, but it’s one day a year.

We’re heading to the Governor’s Derby Breakfast. Free meal! Cliched Southern Belles walking around the grounds! Politicians glad-handing like mad! What’s not to love? The plan is to take the Monster Dog. He’ll be a hit if he stays off my toes. After breakfast, we’ll ride up to the beautimous Keeneland race course for some simulcast action. Next year, I think I want to have a Derby party. The logistics of leaving home early, finding and holding a spot, betting on races, etc. are just way too crazy. This year, they required a pre-Derby dinner to talk plans. We’re sort of ridiculous.

Oh, my other plan? To win some money on Z Fortune and Colonel John. I just chose those. I haven’t looked at a racing form, yet, so that might change, but I’ll probably do an exacta box with those two. I’m big on first instincts. Z Fortune is in a great post position and also has one of my favorite jockeys, Robby Albarado. Colonel John’s got some nice looking odds at 4-1 and also is from my very most favorite ever horse farm, WinStar Farms. I love their silk because it involves a star and the color green, but I mostly love it because it’s on my favorite backroad in the whole world and has beautiful barns and scenery. Obviously, as any true Kentucky girl will do, I’ll place that bet based on what tugs at the heart strings, but I’ll place a more realistic bet once I analyze and study that form!

I will say that people betting on Big Brown are crazy. The 20th position? No way.

Also, no big hat for me. I look stupid in hats.