Aunt Rita Adventure

Now that the 2012 Christmas holidays are behind us -- I am pleased to report I had a FABULOUS TIME. Once again, blessed to be surrounded by so many interesting young people. In this first picture, Uncle John is goofing around with Garrett and Cash -- I'm teaching them how to make dumplings...John is modeling a hat...

Lillian is going to give the boys a gift. Something for their Christmas train display...and it's under this tablecloth...

TA DAH..!!! Yes, it's a vintage Gingerbread house centerpiece...with music and little ice skaters...the PERFECT gift for the adventure I had planned.

After we ate the delicious chicken and dumplings the boys made for us...

I put ALL FOUR KIDS into my car...and we were off...

C'mon, Lilly -- you've got to be a little more flexible when it comes to surprises, honey...

My New Favorite Coat

On a recent Saturday -- I found this FABULOUS coat at a consignment store. IT WAS SO ME. Soft wool, with lots of fringing...free-hanging pockets....Hey -- for $18 -- I'M DELIGHTED...

It's a perfect lightweight winter coat...

When my friend Val saw it for the first time -- she was convinced I had made it myself. I told her it was made by ""Parsley and Sage""

And she REFUSED TO BELIEVE ME. When I insisted somebody ELSE made the coat...she said...

"Well, then, you have discovered your sewing doppleganger..." She is right. I have always loved Parsley and Sage. They design like I think..and Valerie put it into words...

My sewing doppleganger...I love it...

Sewing Chuckles

I MISS YOU GUYS...Thanks for all the well wishes about the new baby in the family. Little Warren and his people are doing fine. (There will be pictures at a later date.)

With the holidays, Christmas, New Year's, new baby, Sew Expo (online registration launched the day the baby came home from the hospital)... I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger.

BUT I MISS BLOGGING. And -- believe it or not -- I haven't been able to spend five minutes on Pinterest!!

So -- what can I do to get back to normal? How about SEWING SOMETHING TACKY ON MY SHOWER CURTAIN?? Of course that's the first thing I'd think about doing...

I hang up a snowflake shower curtain for Christmas -- so once-a-year I launder the regular shower curtain and the plastic liner.  Every year, when I'm getting it out of the dryer -- I decide to add a little something-something...last year I accidentally put this on upside down (I SWEAR it was unintentional)...

AND it has given me a chuckle every day. So, I picked out a very random t-shirt to add to the shower curtain. Maybe a little t-shirt fringe on the edges to coordinate with my new polka dot rug...

Yes -- things you need to know about Chuck Norris...

I was right. This is exactly what the shower curtain needed.

AND it's exactly what I needed, too. Sewing AND laughing -- all at the same time.
LIFE IS GOOD!!

Pinterest video

For those of you who come here every day -- sorry for the dead air! HAVING A NEW BABY in my life is a bigger time-suck than PINTEREST! Yikes. It has been non-stop since New Year's Day. Such a joyful, exciting time.

Then, too, online registration launched for Sew Expo last Thursday -- so my cellphone started ringing OFF THE HOOK...people were panicked and they had so many questions...

But things will sort themselves out. And I wanted to say thanks for coming -- here's my favorite video off Pinterest...

Newspaper Story about 1st Baby of 2013

THIS IS SO MUCH FUN...

Because he was the FIRST baby to be born in Clinton County in the year 2013 -- the Clinton Herald came to the hospital to take a picture...


click HERE to see

if this works, I won't even have to upload the pix off my camera...

EASY PEASY...

IT'S A BOY!

IT'S A BOY!! Emily's due date was December 31.

At 5:30 AM on January 1 -- my phone rang and Elliott said, "It's time, Mom."

By 6:00, I was at their house and they were on their way to the hospital.

I must have dozed off, because two hours later, this little voice woke me up -- it was Lilly saying "it's morning time!"

Mother and son are both doing fine.

Warren John Farro was born at 12:15 PM and he weighed 9 lb. 1 oz.

He is officially the first child born in 2013 in Clinton County, Iowa. Maybe that's good for a car. Or a box of disposable diapers...??

Lilly is here until the baby comes home...so I will be officially OUT OF COMMISSION...and enjoying every blessed moment...

It's A Wonderful Life!

HAPPY NEW YEAR. Today, I'll be making the Pennsylvania traditional meal of fresh pork with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut....

I wrote this post THREE YEARS ago -- and I received a nice email because of it....the internet is an amazin place...

So -- while I WAIT FOR BABY NEWS -- here's one of my favorite posts....

***************

Before Christmas 2009 goes away forever -- I'd like to point out one of my favorite FARRO traditions --


Hanging in our living room -- every year -- my fabulous cardboard ornament of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in a scene from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The best Christmas movie EVER made. I watch it every single year -- it goes beyond Christmas tradition. It's what life is all about -- not just for one day a year, but EVERY day of your life. Making a difference. Just by taking care of your family, going to work every day, being kind....

All the people you touch with your life -- but never really think about. I LOVE the movie..

Maybe 15 years ago, Target decorated their stores with scenes from It's A Wonderful Life -- and I sucked up to the local Target manager, spent hours shopping there every single day during the month of January -- hoping to snag one of the ORNAMENTS before it went into the dumpster...


My persistence paid off. As persistence always does. And this ornament became a fixture in the Farro living room...

Yep. It IS a Wonderful Life...