The Last Sunset

Sounds like a movie title, doesn't it? But this is 'the last sunset of 2008', as it appeared just a little while ago.

Enjoy... and have a Happy New Year! May your 2009 be filled with lots of beautiful things!

The Bilibo

Finally Courtney got to open a gift for herself!

At first look she thought it was a ball.

It's a Bilibo! I discovered one on a website somewhere and thought it looked interesting, and the reviews were really good. I haven't heard if she's doing much with it at home yet or not.

The little unwrapper

She was already pretty good at unwrapping gifts a year ago, as show in the little video on this post from last Christmas, but her skills have gotten even better! And such a tireless worker... she helped open every gift.

I love the finger point near the end. :-)

Here comes that bow again

Yep, that pretty red bow got reused!

Did you notice how that big present was only partially wrapped? It seems Courtney got a little over-eager and started unwrapping it at home before bringing it over to Grandma and Grampa's house. :-)

She was more than ready to help finish the job, too.

Actually, she was more impressed with the box itself than what was inside it. She had a great time later playing in it. Unfortunately, Grandma didn't have the camera going at that time. BUT, she did save the box for future play times!

Just a teaser

I took too many pics/videos!!! It's hard to sort and decide how to display and explain them. Here's a cute one to whet your appetite for more (although your appetite seems pretty good as it is). ;-)

It's a present for "Boppa" (translation: Grandpa). Nice bow on top, huh?

Merry Christmas!

"Pretty sad, Grandma... no presents yet."

Never fear, Grandma got 'em all wrapped last night, and they're just waiting to be opened tonight. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. And let's not forget to take the time to remember what this hectic, crazy holiday season is REALLY about... the birth of Jesus Christ. May He be first in our hearts now and always.

Happy Birthday to someone...

... who's having a BIG one today! You know who you are. :-) Enjoy the "frosty winter photos" from the cozy warmth of your home.

Those were all on my living room windows. I don't know... some of those frosty little swirls look a lot like germy bugs to me!

The photo below was taken just before sunset last night. I think they were the brightest sundogs I've ever seen. I almost needed a wide-angle lens to get them both in there.

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Little queen on her throne

Having her second breakfast on Tuesday.

She does love those Mighty Bites! Especially if she can eat them out of a little bitty container.

Seaweed?

Nope. Just a little more decorating by Jack Frost. He's doing a better job than I am with my Christmas decorations.

(Click to enlarge.)

Decorating help

Yep, I had plenty of help putting lights on the tree last night.

Trouble is, she liked to bite the lights.

This one shirked her duty entirely:

Well, the lights are on. Nothing else yet. Soon, I hope.

Hey, Jess... it's taller than I am, at least! And I bet it smells better than your silver one. ;-)

Little Miss Funny Face is back!

(Click to enlarge.)

For Mark

The poor fellow's stuck out in California and desperately missing Minnesota. Oh, how I wish I could send him some of this weather we've been having the last few days! At least it decorates the windows nicely. :-)

Brrrrrrrrr!

Yesterday morning's sundog. There was another, but it was behind trees.

For Grace

"Frosty winter photos." And these were taken nearly a week ago, before it got REALLY COLD, like it is now! Gonna be a loooong winter, methinks.

Enough, Grace? Or keep 'em coming? :-)

Topless dancer

Yep, once she managed to get the shirt off one time, she thought it was great and had to practice it again later.

Better keep an eye on her, Mommy and Daddy!

Need stocking stuffers?

Jess is having a 50% Off sale on her mousepads and postcards in her Etsy shop today and tomorrow. Go grab some up!

This one's for Dale...

...because he's the provider of the vehicle. But the rest of you can look, too. :-)

Rides it like an ol' pro now, doesn't she? And fully dressed, even. Though Grandma did eventually have to help her get the shirt back on. So near but yet so far, she got in dressing herself. :-)

And then...

What comes off, must go back on. Isn't that how the saying goes? Well, something like that, anyway. ;-)

She tried SOOOO hard to get it back on! Much video footage in between that I won't make you hold your breath through to see if she makes it. But she was also SOOOO patient, just working away, knowing how it was supposed to go, but....

Will she make it???

All a learning experience. ;-)

Notice that her efforts didn't do her hairdo a lot of good. :-)

One thing led to another...

Such a good hiding place

Learns early, doesn't she? ;-)

A Christmas gift suggestion for the person who has everything

How about a lovely furry neck and shoulder warmer?!

Mmmmm.... soooo nice and WARM!

And HEAVY! Good grief, what a big lug! :-) She does love to ride up there... and catches me off guard sometimes when she hops on!

I think this is the first time I've put pics of myself on my blog. Really great, aren't they? ;-D

Mighty little Mouse, Part 3

Will he find his grasshopper???

Mighty little Mouse, Part 2

Hmmm.... he seems to have lost his grasshopper!

For such a time as this

Believe it or not, I am out of new pics and videos! How SAD is that?! Never fear, however... I am digging into the archives for something I've been saving for just such an occasion!

A couple years ago, I noticed a very little mouse right outside our garage, and he was so cute struggling with this big grasshopper, that I just had to run and get the camera (as opposed to squashing him). He was also too young (or too preoccupied?) to be afraid of me. So there I lay, on my stomach on the cement, making movies of a mouse. They're short little clips, because at the time I knew I'd be emailing them, so I had to keep the file size down. There are 6 of them. I'll do 2 per day, so as not to keep you in suspense for too long. ;-)

Without further ado, allow me to present Part 1 of the adventures of a Mighty little Mouse:

Modeling the 'do

I didn't get many pics of Courtney when she was here on Tuesday. I spent more time wiping her poor runny little nose. But we did do a bath, and afterwards I managed to get a couple little braids into her slippery-fine hair while she wiggled. :-) Here she is modeling the braids and the curls, minus the runny nose for the moment.

She models as she eats. But hey, at least she can't run away then! ;-)

The latest

Here's my latest bag, in a fabric you haven't seen yet. I shipped it to Jess today, along with a couple of sunflower ones, one of which is a custom order. They've actually been selling fairly well... at kind of a nice pace that I can keep up with without pushing too hard.

It's also the reason for my slowness at posting... well, the bags... and window washing (I'm DONE - yay!)... not to mention Christmas coming, although I really haven't done much for Christmas yet. Only 3 weeks from tomorrow - yikes!

Look on Jess's blog to see what she did! I love 'em!!

Enough suspense?

Here's the answer. I think. At least, that's all I could see. I actually saw 6 without the camera, but I think I only caught these 5 in the photo. They were running, and I grabbed the camera so fast it's amazing it's focused at all. And then the flash went off, reflecting on the window. So after snapping that, I got it all focused on where I thought they'd come out, for a better shot, but alas, they continued on straight west and I never saw them again. Oh well.... It made for a little guessing fun, anyway.

(Click to enlarge.)

Nice goin', Kim! You were right to look for the white tails. Too bad I don't have another prize for you. Unless you'd like another print... of that blurry photo. Would you like the arrows in it or not? ;-)

Uh Oh.... and... Please?

Uh oh... the ball "fell".

She almost said please, then caught herself. :-)

Poor little girl! ;-)