Smile Found Here

I am off to my Practical Design workshop today... fun and inspiration!  Meanwhile, in case you need a smile:



Kodak 'It's Time to Smile' from Paranoid US on Vimeo.

Imaginary trip to Vancouver

Wishing you were in Vancouver to see the Olympics in person?  Take a look at this slideshow of pictures on Flickr in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics group pool ... You can pretend they're your very own vacation shots...

Unschooling

It's kind of amazing how many different attitudes about school there are out there.  I've written here before about our explorations to see what options there are when your child doesn't travel the traditional institutional school path very easily.  As we are rapidly approaching the high school years, I've been doing a lot of research.

Lately, I've been reading a lot about the idea of "unschooling."  At its core, it's the philosophy that every child (and adult) is primed to learn naturally, and at an individual pace that may not match the pace of her buddies.  The idea, as I understand it, is that there's no real reason a child has to learn algebra at age 14 or physics at age 17 or multiplication tables at age 8.  One child may be ready for multiplication at age 6, another might not be ready until age 11.  And, the thinking goes, that maybe it's better for kids to learn more naturally, following their interests and curiosity the way adults do.  If a child is interested in outer space, say, she'll be inspired to want to read books about space, maybe learn about the planets and science of the universe, maybe even figure out the mathematical calculations of light years and the physics of projecting a rocket into space.  The theory is that people learn best when their learning is self-directed.

And yet most schools are structured to teach kids, grouped by age, in lock-step, giving the clear message that you are Different if you are interested in other things, learn at a different pace, or don't learn best from sitting at a desk reading a textbook.  I'm beginning to realize that a lot of folks who home-school their kids do so because they want the learning to follow their child's pace, not vice versa.  This article from Psychology Today has some very interesting thoughts about this. 

Once you start examining the idea that learning needs to be internally motivated, and not externally motivated,  it seems an obvious point.  Something I read gave this example:  Say your favorite thing in the world to do is knitting. But your husband tells you that you are only allowed to knit for one hour a day, and that you have to spend every afternoon out in the garage learning carpentry.  Even if you had a glimmer of interest in carpentry to begin with, having it imposed on you like that would probably make you dislike the process and maybe even make you hate going into the garage.  And  you would probably become obsessed with knitting, jealously guarding that hour and trying to add whatever minutes on that you could.

There are all sorts of reasons that imposing that externally motivated learning on kids is practical and efficient, even while it not be ideal for most kids.  Probably some kids fall in love with carpentry, and a lot of kids don't mind what they're doing as long as their friends are out there in the garage doing it alongside of them.  For those of us with kids who don't seem to thrive in that sort of learning environment, however, looking at school-teaching versus independent learning opens up a lot of fascinating possibilities.  

So as we are exploring options for our situation, we're learning more ourselves.

If you are interested in learning more about "unschooling," this site and this site have a lot of interesting information.

Spring Comes to Healdsburg

 

The sun is shining and our little plum tree is starting to bloom.  Spring is here!

My personal olympic challenge: applique!

I can't believe it was four years ago that I joined Stephanie McPhee aka Yarn Harlot and entered the Knitting Olympics.  I never would have tried to knit a lace shawl if not for the enthusiasm she sparked, and trust me, I will never knit another lace shawl again.

So I only have myself to blame for my latest project.  Well, I'll assign a touch of blame to Kellie and her gorgeous blog "Don't Look Now" for enticing me toward hand applique as no other collection of quilts and patterns have ever managed to do.   I'd been marveling over the beauty of Kellie's "Joseph's Coat" quilt-along, but I'd resisted....until it occurred to me that it'd be quite nice to have a hand-sewing project to work on as I followed the Olympics.

And what better color to use than PINK?!  I pulled pinks out of my stash, and added a few more quarter-yard cuts to the collection...

and away I go.  I've finished ONE block so far.  It makes me very happy. 




There's no way this will be done by the end of the Olympics, but that's okay.  Working with these fabrics and colors is so cheering that I'm content to take this slowly. 

And if you're tempted, Kellie has the full directions on her blog so you can jump right in!

My MVP

My MVP pick from Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl:  Chamomile, the boxer mix.  Just look at those blue eyes!

I'll watch frolicking puppies over football any day.  And the bunny cheerleaders were hilarious, if somewhat comatose.   If you missed it, you can watch highlights here.

Face It!

Yesterday, I finally found a bit of time to begin the steps of finishing the fuchsia quilt.  (Yeah, sorry, you're probably getting tired of seeing this...) First, squaring up -- there is something about the quilt blocks on two sides that creates an optical illusion of being out-of-square, and that stumped me for a while.  I kept measuring and marking.  I pulled out the Ricky Tims DVD on finishing techniques ("Grand Finale")  to remind myself about what HE does to square up quilts -- his finishing techniques are impeccable and I highly recommend the DVD.  More measuring, more marking, and finally I trimmed.  Sheesh. The quilt is actually square in this shot, although I think the photographic angle (necessitated by my shoving myself up against the closet door behind the sewing table to get an almost-straight-on shot of my teeny design wall behind the door) makes it look wonky. Oh, and after I took the shot, I trimmed a few inches off of the top edge, so the leaves feel more like they're at the top and not hanging there in the middle. Nothing like making precisely pieced blocks to hack them all off...

Then, I turned to my friend Brenda, who just happens to be an expert on finishing techniques!  I have a copy of her DVD on finishing techniques, so I popped that in to the computer to see her tips for making the best facing.  Excellent!  Brenda provides a free tutorial on her facing technique here, in case you need help as I did.

And that consumed my fabric-play time yesterday.  Sigh.  I am looking forward to sitting down with a movie and hand-sewing the facing, now.

Art, No Art, or All Art

 

I read something recently that I keep thinking about.  I read in the Balinese language, there is no word for "art" or "artist."  The reason, apparently, is that people in Bali view the creation of beautiful things as a natural part of life, and something that everyone does.  It is such a  part of every day activities that it's not necessary to have a special word for it. 

Isn't that lovely?  Makes me think that some of the "who is an artist" or "is quilting art or craft" discussions seem rather silly.

What Have You Accomplished Today?

 

A few weeks ago, I entertained myself during some long driving trips by catching up on a few of Annie Smith's "Quilting Stash" podcasts. Listening to Annie is like listening to a dear friend (well, she IS a friend in real life now, but even before I knew her I felt that way) and it's fun to hear what quilty sorts of things she's been up to.

I listened to a not-very-recent podcast in which Annie interviewed a really interesting quilter named Gyleen Fitzgerald. I'd not encountered Gyleen before, but I was fascinated hearing about how her work as a defense department engineer informs the quilts she makes. But among the many interesting things Gyleen said in that interview, one particular point resonated with me. She mentioned that she always journals and writes poetry, and that her journals always include a list of what she has accomplished on any given day, no matter how small. She even added that she numbers her accomplishments (if I understood her correctly, starting at one when the new year starts and then numbering in sequence to the end of the calendar year) so she has an increasing sense of her accomplishments.

This resonated with something I saw on a PBS show recently, about the concept of positive psychology to focus in on doing work to learn to be happy and optimistic. Noticing the things that make you feel good, or that made you happy, is a big part of that.

So Gyleen's thought about noting accomplishments really struck me. I know I am not alone when I say that I have so many days where I was busy all day long and the day flew by but by the end, I can't really say what it was I was doing. (And I know I'm not alone because you all comment and tell me so when I post about days like that!) I also know that events in our family have put me in a funny phase right now, when my days are unpredictable and often feel like they are affected minute to minute by things I just can't control.

So, I've started a small journal and use it to list my accomplishments each day. I don't take "accomplishment" as a big thing -- I'm focusing on the small stuff because heck, those ARE the accomplishments I have.  Sometimes I can note pretty visible accompliments, large stuff like "cleaned the closet" (which, if you saw my closets, you'd know was a HUGE accomplishment.) Sometimes it's a minor moment, like "I didn't get upset when the dog tracked mud up the stairs." I'm taking my accomplishments were I can find them. Lately, on my new healthy eating plan, I consider what I DON'T put in my mouth to be some of my most significant accomplishments, too.  Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but it gives me a sense of peace and satisfaction at the end of the day to notice the things I did that I felt good about. 

And, just so you know, writing a blog entry counts as an accomplishment too, so score one for me already.

Monday Mis-steps

So, I spent last evening writing a long post listing the best books I've read over the last year, including plot summaries and links... And inexplicably, my computer shut down just as I reached the end. No worry, I thought -- Blogger does that auto save thing now! But when I rebooted, there was no saved message. It's disappeared. Rats rats rats. (That was not exactly what I said at the time.)

This morning, having awakened extra early for no apparent reason, I headed out to the health club to try out a Vinyasa Yoga class. And I remembered what it is I conclude every time I take a yoga class (every 5 years or so): I DON'T LIKE YOGA! I find it boring, frankly. I'd rather be jumping around and sweating and hurting than lying still in some pose and hurting.

After both of those experiences, I think I deserve a morning of quilt fun, don't you?

Ira Glass on Doing and Getting Better

I LOVE Ira Glass.(If you are not from the US, he is a public radio broadcaster who hosts a wonderful weekly radio show called "This American Life."  It's a bit of everything, short radio stories on a particular theme each week.  You can find a free podcast of TAL on Itunes and you can livestream episodes at the TAL site.  Go search for the "Fiasco!" episode and prepare to laugh until you cry.)

Anyway.  Ira Glass gave some talks about broadcasting, but among them is his discussion of how to keep doing what you do to push forward through the "I'm not as good as I want to be" phase.  It's very inspirational and speaks to any creative pursuit.



I do love Ira Glass.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie

Today is Caroline's 14th birthday.  And just yesterday, I came across a box of photos from when she was around 2 years old.  Here she is, on the left in the checked jacket, with her good friend Abby (who is from the same city and orphanage in China as Caroline).  Aren't they adorable?

It's amazing to realize they are teenagers now.  Here they are now (well, last summer when we visited these lovely friends in Maine), enjoying strawberry sundaes.

Celebrations for today include cake-baking (with decorations by Caroline, the more garish the better), present opening, and a chinese food dinner out with her dear friend Lani and family.  Oh, and cake EATING.  I almost left out a key part.

And happy birthday to Annie Smith (of Quilting Stash podcast fame) and my friend Pam M.  Lots of wonderful people were born today!

Letter to the Blog Police

Like my friend Terry, I had a pretty strong reaction to a recent blog post by quilt artist Dena Crain in which she sets out what she believes quilters should and should not do in their blogs.  I disagree with Dena on many of her specific points, but as the subject stayed on my mind, I was more and more bothered by the overall message that anyone, quilters included, are blogging "improperly."  So, I replied to Dena in a comment to her blog, and here's my comment:

Dena,

I find your take on quilters' blogs interesting, but I disagree strongly with the overall message in your post that there are "right" and "wrong" ways for quilters to blog.  One of the many wonderful things about blogging is that a blog can be whatever the blogger wants to it to be.  You have many excellent suggestions for a quilter who wants to use her blog solely as a marketing tool, but I find it unfortunate that you have not directed your comments to that limited segment of bloggers, and indeed that you are so critical of bloggers whose aims may be very different from yours. 

Many quilters do not blog for the sole purpose of marketing and selling work.  I'm the founder and manager of the Artful Quilters Blog Ring which links over 400 blogs written by quilters who focus on art and contemporary quilting.  Some bloggers use their blogs primarily as marketing tools, but most blog more broadly, about their art, their lives, their opinions.  The blogs express who they are as people, not just as quilters.   It's clearly a matter of personal taste -- and it seems that yours and mine are quite different in this regard -- but what I love most about reading quilters' blogs is that they introduce me to people who share my passion.  They inspire me when they share their processes, their frustrations, their mistakes.  I marvel at the variety of lifestyles we quilters  lead.  I'm reminded of a blog entry from an Australian quilt artist who wrote an entry bemoaning how kangaroos traveled past her house each day, disrupting her garden.  That, to me, illustrated what I love about the broad-ranging topics of many quilters' blogs -- that woman and I share the same art form, but in other ways her life is as different from mine as I can imagine.  Many, many friendships are formed through the blogging experience, and largely because we share so much of our whole lives in our blogs -- and yes, that includes who is coming for lunch, what we're cooking, how we felt while we cleaned the house, what our political views are, etc.  If that's what's important to someone, the blog is hers for her to express that.

To me, there are significant differences between a blog and a website.  I see the  website is the promotional tool for specific focus on the art and the artist's thoughts about it, her teaching, her art-related travel schedule, her biography, the techniques she wishes to share, and of course the vehicle for selling.  I (and, I think, most blog readers) view blogs as something quite different and decidedly more personal.   As I read your post, it seems to me that you want quilters' blogs to be what I consider a website disguised as a blog.  And, if that is how you want to use the medium, that's great.  Go to it!  And your giving advice to those bloggers who want to use a blog in the same way may prove enormously helpful to them.  But please, don't tell us that if we're not doing it your way, we are making mistakes and blogging improperly.

I don't want to read blogs that are as one dimensional as the sort you describe.  For the blogger whose only goal is to market herself, maybe following your rules will get her exactly the results she wants, and that's a good thing.  But to suggest that other quilters who blog are doing something "wrong" or "dumb" or "making mistakes" attaches a negative perspective on a communication device whose strength is that it allows individuality and creativity.  For many of us artists and quilters, having a space to share the whole of our creative lives is a delight and has brought us opportunities and connections more valuable than selling a quilt.  In my view, it's not for anyone else to tell us that we're doing it wrong.  Why should those of us who enjoy sharing our lives, and not just the quilting parts, be relegated to the one-sentence/140 character world of Twitter and Facebook?

Like art itself, blogging provides a realm for unlimited creativity and personal expression.  How you choose to use your blog, and how you choose the blogs you follow, is up to you.  If you don't like blogs that discuss personal lives, then don't read them. It's that simple.  It's not anyone's place, it seems to me, to impose "rules" on how quilters should be blogging.  The quilt world has its share of "quilt police"; we don't need "Blog Police," too.

A little paint, a little stitching...

I've made some good progress on the fuchsias.  You might remember I was bugged by a dramatic line in the lower right corner, between the quilt block part and the solid background.  Yesterday, I got out my acrylic paints and painted in some shapes.  I'm much happier with it now, even though I did manage to get a green blob of paint on the shoulder of my shirt when I put the paintbrush in my mouth briefly (so as NOT to get the paint on the quilt, of course), then turned my head and, as a result, jammed the paint end of the brush into my shoulder.  Sigh.  I am not a tidy artist.

Last evening, my Juki and I applied quilting, leaving the lattice strips unquilted.  I'm liking the result and will decide whether the quilting is done after I've had a chance to look at it more carefully.

I can't even say how delighted I am to have moved this piece to this stage.  I have had it on my mind for so long-- years, in fact -- wondering where to go from the bare fuschia blossoms I'd gotten done to that point.  So it feels like all that mulling and waiting was worthwhile, because I never would have gone in this direction if I'd pushed myself to finish it back then. 

Hearts for Mom

Who is this coy little lady, you ask?  It's my mom, at about age 5.  She has no memory of this dress, of this moment, or why in the world she was dressed this way.  But it's charming, yes?

I've spent the past week with my mom and dad, a visit precipitated by a sudden trip to the hospital for my mom.  She'd been feeling odd all day, headachey and clammy and sort of weak, with mild indigestion.  Good thing my dad called the paramedics, because it turned out she was on her way to a heart attack (which she had in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.)  Luckily for all of us, the paramedics dealt with things immediately and her heart sustained no damage.  She's had her arteries rotor-rootered, they're unclogged and happy, and she's doing great.  Phew.  Make that a very, very big PHEW.

As we approach Valentine's day (hearts everywhere, haven't you noticed?) it seems a good time to remember that women don't necessarily have the same heart attack warning symptoms as men do.  Many women feel no chest pain at all, even during a heart attack.  According to the National Institute of Health,

Women's major symptoms prior to their heart attack include:

Unusual fatigue - 70%

Sleep disturbance - 48%

Shortness of breath - 42%

Indigestion - 39%

Anxiety - 35% Major symptoms during the heart attack include:

Shortness of breath - 58%

Weakness - 55%

Unusual fatigue - 43%

Cold sweat - 39%

Dizziness - 39%

So, be careful out there!  And don't hesitate to call 911 if you feel these things.  It could save your life.

If you have your parents around, remember to give them a hug!  And if you're a parent yourself, take good care of your heart.  YOU are the gift you give your kids.

After a long, long incubation period...

Some years ago (3, maybe?  4?), I took a 3-day class from Jane Sassaman, and the fuchsias above are what resulted.  I liked it a lot as far as it went, but I didn't know where to go with it from there.  At the time, I think, I planned to crop it way down, so that those upper leaves would be cut off and maybe even part of the fuchsia on the right.  So, I stalled.  I liked it enough that I didn't want to finish it just to finish it, and it seemed like a good idea to let the ideas percolate.

Over those years, I'd take it out of the closet and hang it on my design wall and contemplate it, with the goal of finally getting it done.  At one of those times, I remembered that I'd chosen fuchsias to begin with because they remind me of my grandmother.  She had hanging baskets of them on her patio, and as a kid I was fascinated by their little balloon-like buds and how they look like tiny graceful dancers.  And somewhere along the way, I thought about incorporating some sense of lattice to the background, because I remember looking up at the fuchsias against the lattice patio cover.

Well, after all that time, something hit me a few weeks ago and I've been working away on this.  Finally!  How satisfying to get this piece back out and to make progress on it!  I was looking at quilt blocks, and found an old traditional block called "Grandmother's Choice."  How appropriate, eh?  I tried to piece them in a way that creates a lattice pattern, and I've attached the fuchsias and leaves to that frame.



















I'm still not satisfied with the lower right corner -- where the dark teal background creates a sharp vertical line against the blocks... I've tried drawing in a bit of the block to fill in, but it doesn't overcome the heavy line.  I may end up fusing/appliqueing some parts of blocks to have them sort of fade into the background.  We'll see.
But I'm liking where this is going so far. (BTW, it's hanging kind of wonkily on my wall but it is actually straight.  Or it will be.)

All Too Applicable

Forgetfulness

The name of the author is the first to go

followed obediently by the title, the plot,

the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,

to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye

and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,

and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,

the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river

whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,

well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those

who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.

No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted

out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

Billy Collins

Finding Myself

About 16 years ago, I looked like this.  Yep, I had an actual waistline and wore size 8 clothes.  Nowadays, my waistline and my clothing size are, shall we say, a bit bigger.  And while I'm not ever likely to be getting into size 8's again (is it just me, or is a size 8 now WAY smaller than a size 8 used to be?), I do think I might be able to whittle down a few sizes and get myself healthier in the process.

So, that's what I've been up to... not exactly a New Year's Resolution -- more like a "I don't want this year to be like LAST YEAR" resolution!  It hit me, sometime between Christmas and New Year's, that I've spent far too much time avoiding the basic issue of taking care of myself, and I need to make a change.  I suppose it's one of those curses of motherhood -- I've had a year of focusing pretty intensely on Caroline's well-being, while totally ignoring my own.  So, I'm dedicating this entire month to create some good habits.  I've booked some sessions with a personal trainer at the gym, and am now feeling muscles I didn't remember I had.  I now know how to use a bunch of new weight machines, I've tangled with the pilates reformer, and I'm loving how well I can read my Kindle while walking on the treadmill.  I'm on a food regime for the month that allows me to eat what I need to eat without counting or cooking for a while.  It all arrives in a box and I whip my meal out of the freezer per a specified menu.  It doesn't get much easier than that.  (Roger's wonderful contribution to my effort is that he has agreed to be in charge of his and Caroline's dinners for the month so I can pretty much just deal with my own food.... and that's a HUGE and helpful gift.)

We've introduced a Wii Fit into the family room, which has generated much amusement and some decent muscle work.  Have YOU ever tried popping bubbles with your hips and rear?!  Or balancing on an ice floe like a penguin while you slide back and forth to catch fish?

I know I won't be able to afford all of this fancy food and personal training forever.  But as a jump-start to get the scale moving and help me feel better, it's been terrific so far.  

I've even been energized to get to work on a quilting project that has been languishing in my closet because I'd stalled when I didn't know where to go next with it.  The solution hit me and I've been working on it when time permits -- satisfying and fun.

All in all, things are off to a great start.  And you know, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm looking forward to going to the gym later this afternoon.

A family holiday

Christmas was really all about family this year.  It is every year, of course, but this year had some differences to it.

Most importantly, we met our new niece Boitumelo, pictured above in my arms displaying a new sweater on Christmas eve.  (Also pictured is my other wonderful sister in law Linda.)   Boitumelo (or "Itu" as she is rapidly becoming known) is from Lesotho and was adopted by my sister-in-law Doreen just before Thanksgiving.  Doreen and Boitumelo's story is a lovely one.  Doreen and  her son Dash traveled to Lesotho about 18 months ago to visit a family she'd lived with while she did volunteer work when she was in college.  They visited an orphanage while they were there, and at some point a woman passed Doreen this small, solemn girl who'd just arrived at the orphanage the day before with a severe and inexplicable wound on her face.  Boitumelo tucked her head into Doreen's neck and clutched at her clothing as if she never wanted to let go.  And that, says Doreen, was that.  She had an immediate sense of recognition of her as her daughter, and set about there and then to adopt her. The path was a complicated one with lots of stops and starts, but we are all so delighted that the story had a happy ending ...

Or should I say, beginning....  Boitumelo has now had her first family-filled, American Christmas and she's learned all about Santa (too scary to get close to), opening presents (great fun), giving presents (tolerable) and eating raspberries (a totally favorite thing.)  She is one strong, confident girl, as evidenced by her total acceptance of constant fawning by an entourage of 8 cousins who followed her and dangled toys in front of her to get her attention all evening long.  We were all charmed by Boitumelo and her presence made for a very joyful holiday. 

Although I was sad not to see my parents and siblings on Christmas day as we've done in past years, this year Roger and Caroline and I decided we needed a focused family Christmas.  It was quite wonderful to get up on Christmas morning, open presents and linger over breakfast without the feeling that I'd best be getting something cooked or mixed or thawed or otherwise prepared!  We set the rule that we would not turn on computers at all for the day -- Caroline and I adhered strictly to the rule, although Roger forgot and wandered off to google various things he needed to know.  And it was so lovely that we decided to take a few more computerless days.  Our friend Beth joined us for Christmas dinner (grilled shrimp, baked sweet potatoes, a raspberry jellow without which it is just not a holiday, artichokes, and the must-have family butter cookies for dessert.)  Easy and perfect, especially since it was all accompanied by champagne.

We chatted, we worked on a jigsaw puzzle, we played the Beatles Rock Band (ah, sore guitar fingers -- a new Christmas injury) and generally had a grand time.  Since the 25th, we've continued the trend with more jigsaw puzzling, game playing, napping, movie-watching, and lots and lots of reading.

So,  we are enjoying this peaceful interlude.  Tomorrow, I may start sewing something -- or maybe not.  We are seeing out 2009 in a quiet way, and it feels just right.

Life is better with a sister

A while back, I had an evening to myself and decided to watch a few of the Quilting Arts TV shows that I have on DVD.  In one episode (#202-4, to be exact) Pokey Bolton demonstrated a fast and adorable project that just looked like it'd be so much fun.   She strip pieced a background, fused a photo-transfer image of a pet (manipulated in Photoshop to make it look colorful and sort of funky) and quilted it all up into one charming little quilt.  I was so taken by the project that I got to work the next day -- I was in the mood to do something fun and fabric-y and for no reason other than I was in the mood to play.  I pulled up a photo of my sister Laura's sweet german short-haired pointer Katie (taken on a morning walk), assembled some of the pink scraps leftover from the 12x12 "pink" challenge, and I was on my way.  I really had fun machine stitching Katie's fur.  You can find the project instructions on the Quilting Arts website, here. 

Today, Laura came over so we could bake our family's "must-have" Christmas cookies together.  What a great time we had -- we made tons of cookies, for us and for our parents, we had holiday music playing in the background, and we chattered away.  The rolling and cutting and pressing and sprinkling went so much faster doing it together ... and now we are well-stocked with cookies and fudge for holiday desserts. 

At the end of our baking (and tasting) session, I couldn't wait and gave Laura this Christmas present a few days early.  She pretty much squealed with delight and made me very happy.  It's great when something you've made is truly appreciated, isn't it?

What a fun day, and how lucky I am to have my sister close by to bake cookies with!