Christmas Crafting

The gifts are all distributed, so it's time to share what Manda Claus crafted!

I made Mr. Cool a new red hat:

I made Lincoln a slightly off Spock Monkey,

And Mr. Cool and I crafted him a Lego table:

For my dad, nephews, and friends I made fancy pillowcases--the blue cowboy fabric was one my mom and I had made together:

For all my related ladies and friends, I made Chapstick cozies:

I made ornaments:

I knitted bracelets for my knitting posse and sister:

I knitted a hat for my ninth nephew:

Stuffed some stockings with play dough building kits:

I crafted Cinderella sculpture hair bows for my niece, and sewed her Cinderella aprons:

Whew!  Manda Claus is tired!

A Kid-Friendly Hobbit Day

September 22nd, in The Lord of the Rings, is Frodo and Bilbo's shared birthday, and we celebrated today with a hobbit food day, a watching of the Veggie Tales film Lord of the Beans, and Lego playtime with Frodo and Gandalf. We are stuffed but happy!

Left, top to bottom:
Breakfast--blueberry coffee cake (Grammie Joy's recipe) and bacon
Second Breakfast--skillet apple pancake
Elevensies--cheese, apple, and crackers
Tea--scones, honey butter, peach jam,, cinnamon yogurt pretzels, and apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies
On right, Supper--beef stew, salad, wheat cheese muffins

Finale--Apple-Plum Cardamom Cake

Coming of Age

As I approached my 33rd birthday, I kept feeling like there was a significance to that age. Then, as I was re-reading The Lord of the Rings, I realized that it is the age when hobbits come of age--and the birthday Frodo celebrates at the beginning of the book alongside Bilbo.

It was a tough one, the first without talking to my beloved mom, the person who gave me a birthday and so many celebrations, but Sista Cool and darling HNNH stepped up and threw a surprise Jane Austen tea party, complete with dueling banners. (Mom always made us birthday banners, making me a LOTR one a few years ago.). All in all, a pretty lovely day. Now, to seize my destiny and inheritance, as Frodo did.