So Sew.

"And in 2015, I will go all Project Runway on you people, and you will love me for it!" I said, raising my hands above my head after I unwrapped my Christmas present from Jack, a new sewing machine.

By "you people," I mostly meant my nieces, who will be the beneficiaries of Pammy's creativity for as long as I live.

The new machine - I'm thinking of naming her Helen or Agnes - threads herself and makes automatic buttonholes. She runs quietly and smooth.

My first project was "doing something" with the bees and daisies fabric I purchased from the cheap sale table at Hancock's back in the fall when shopping for Leia supplies. 

I purchased plenty, envisioning a whole wardrobe of Beatrice clothes and a few coordinating Lucia things, after she proclaimed the fabric to be "SO CUTE!" but I screwed it up.

The first pleated jumper I cut and sewed for Beatrice was upside-down.

Seriously. I didn't realize there was an up and down or that the hearts and bumblebees all faced the same direction until I got the bulk of the work done and held the jumper up to look at it.

"This is wrong," I realized before returning to the drawing board to cut the whole thing out, right side up this time, again.

By the time I'd cut it out again with everything pointing the right direction, I barely had enough fabric left over to cut out a matching jumper for Lucia.

As beautiful and fantastic as the jumpers were when I finished them, Lucia's was still too short, and I will soon be undertaking strategic maneuvers to add length between the bodice and the perfectly box-pleated skirt. Lucia said to not worry about it, because she can wear it as a tunic.

Like I told Sis and Mom - this is all trial and error, and what doesn't fit today can be made to fit tomorrow.

Also, Chris is getting a matching bow tie.

Christmas on the Farm 2015, Part 2: The Day After

t'was the day after Christmas,

Our celebration continued,

With "Stump the Jack" on the schedule,

And spaghetti on the menu.

Enough of that - at least for the moment. I've been known to break into rhyme more easily than a cheesy country music singer.

Whenever Sis, Chris, and the little girls visit at the farm for a couple of nights, we take advantage of the opportunity to spend time with them and once again extended our Christmas celebration into the next day, which has become a new tradition for the VernAnderPages.

What "Boxing Day" lacks in the excitement of opening presents, it more than makes up for in relaxation and just enjoying one another's company. 

Lucia and Beatrice, tired of Christmas food, were hungry for Nan Nan's homemade spaghetti, so while Mom finished her sauce, the rest of us enjoyed some outside time. Lucia's grown tall enough to jump and grab the chain on Mom and Dad's dinner bell, so there was some of that.

Bea and Sis took a walk in the last light of day, later joined by the lighting fast Super-Lu, who heard her sister cry and ran for the 411, reporting back that, "It's good. The baby just isn't getting her way." 

Notice how the cows are hanging with Cynthia and Beatrice.

That last bit was accompanied by an eyeroll that reminds me just how fast she's growing up. 

Dinner was delicious - Mom's spaghetti is hard to beat.

Once we'd finished eating, it was time for Stump the Jack 2015, our second year for this special event, which goes something like this:

Chris selects a grocery item - any grocery item - from the shelves of the really good grocery store, and Jack is given the opportunity to win the item by correctly guessing what it is based on five yes/no questions, one open-ended question, and a hint from me, which must be approved by Sis and Chris, the judges.

Last year, the item was a jar of strawberry-chocolate preserves, which Jack was able to guess after his set of questions. We really enjoyed those, too. Often we'll let a jar of jelly sit in the refrigerator so long it turns to sugar, but not a single smear of this stuff went to waste. Plus it came in a cute jar that I've repurposed to hold safety pins.

The girls, especially Lucia, were eager to get the competition underway but not until after they'd changed into special clothes. Lu actually had a fancy, new dress in the car - a beautiful red sateen jumper with a huge bow on the front. Bea had no such frock to wear, but an inventory of the closet in Cynthia's old room revealed a dress Ma-Ma Harris made for Cynthia way back in the day, and Bea was super-jazzed that she had something special to wear, too.

Everyone gathered in the living room for Stump the Jack. Excitement grew. Jack was confident. Lucia was all, "You can do it, Jack!!"

Chris called me from the room to show me the item, and my hopes for another sweet something were almost dashed when he pulled a pouch of something black from a bag.

There was a picture of a lighthouse on the front. What in the world?

Dulce Flakes. Oh, that's just great. 

If you don't know what it is, don't feel badly. I read the back of the pouch, carefully studying the contents, and the only real ingredient in Dulce Flakes is seaweed.

We conferenced about acceptable hints.

Me: "So, can seaweed dandruff be the hint I give?"

Chris: "No."

Me: "So, if Jack says the word seaweed, he wins, correct? Since that's what this stuff actually is?"

Chris: "Um... I, uh... yes. If he says seaweed, he wins."

Boom. We can do that.

Five yes/no questions, one open ended question about harvesting vs. cultivation, and one hint - "the ocean" - later, Jack claimed his bag of Dulce Flakes and this year's special prize, a citrus reamer.

Jack is awarded prizes for his success in Stump the Jack 2014.

Lucia, already in character as a Christmas doll, twirled over to participate in the prize presentation.

Lucia and Bea as "Christmas Dolls" under the tree. Lucia was more into the doll thing than Beatrice.

Bea climbed back into Papa's lap and said, with quiet indignance, "I'm not a doll. I'm a person."

Jack had brought the Kindle Fire HD he got for Christmas and the wireless bluetooth speaker he got last Christmas, and as soon as Stump the Jack 2015 was in the books, he streamed some nice music for us to enjoy.

Before we knew it, selections from The Nutcracker and Vince Giraldi's Peanuts Christmas had turned into an all-out dance party.

I think we all ended up taking a spin on the dance floor by the time the evening was over.