HO-HO-HO!

Santa came to the Ortelle family Christmas again this year and he had quite a sense of humor. Here, he tried to coax 3 year old Vinny into his lap. No luck yet.
Still no luck. But after giving Vinny an extra large present, Vinny decided Santa needed a hug. Alas, no picture, but they both got a round of applause.

15 year old Sierra may still believe in Santa and she really enjoyed seeing all of the family and friends gathered, including a new baby and the parents of the next new baby, due in June. My house was bursting at the seams. My brothers and sister liked the family quilts I made (see the previous posts). Now,time to get to the real work. Only, will the Christmas elves come take down the decorations and get my house back to normal please?

Christmas fun

More Christmas presents. Nieces and nephews quilts as gifts for my brothers and sisters. Nephews Chris and Dan.
Nieces Alicia and Jessica. Godson Anthony.
Andrea, Jennifer and John. I was fun making these. I hope their folks like them.

These are members of my Stitch'nBitch group. I'm on the far right.I'm not sure how many years it has been since it began, but I joined a few years after it was organized. We were named by Kathy's mother because we literally bitched while we stitched. Back then, it was about husbands, kids and jobs. Now, due to death and divorce, only one husband remains, so we don't bitch about them anymore, and the subject of sex is mostly met with blank stares and wishful thinking. We are all retired now so we mostly moan about nothing important or our aches and pains. We try to be support systems for each other. After my stroke, they pitched in to drive me to therapy appointments, and visited me when I really needed support.

Pam S., Kathy R., Arlene W., Diane S., and Maxine D. We had our gift exchange, champagne, and lots of good food. I hosted this year and made grasshopper pie for dessert. Sorry, we ate the evidence. Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas wishes

Good news! The 2005 Safari Challenge exhibit from Northern California is going national and the next venue will be in Southwest Florida. My "Serenghetti Soldiers" get around more than I do. Enjoy!

Sonoma County is one of the agricultural capitals of the world. Its wines, organic vegetables and dairy products supply a huge market with quality ingredients for fine dining. I am so lucky to live in such a spectacular place. I am luckt to live in the country, surrounded by a dairy and vineyard. So I mae a Christmas present for a friend who no longer lives in this county.
"Pink Pony" is for my grandaughter who works with ponies every weekend, guiding children on pony rides in exchange for riding lessons. Merry Christmas Amber.
I have six brothers and sisters, five of whom have families. I made these little photo quilts for them. Christmas wishes to Vin.
My youngest brother, Mike, has seven children. and with two recent marriages, he is now starting to acquire grandchildren. What wonderful holiday blessings.

Good news! The Safari challenge Quilt exhibit is going national and the next venue will be in Southwest Florida. Mt "Serenghetti Soldiers" will be traveling more than me!

Yummy

I used Melody's recipe for no knead bread to make pizza fritte. It is an Italian fried bread eaten alone,
or topped with sauce and cold meats. Yummy!
Silk kimono was made for an Xtremes exibition at Moshin winery. Stop by and check out the Asian inspired fiber art.

This is "red moon rising", only I can't remember how to edit the picture to remove background and rotate to vertical. I need to be rewired!