Family time

With my son and daughter home until Sunday, we decided to do something holiday oriented.

We went to Old Westbury Gardens' Holiday Marketplace. The mansion was decorated for Christmas and there were vendors on the grounds with unique items for sale.

I took some pictures of the holiday decorations in the mansion.

 Flash photography is not allowed so the pictures are somewhat dark. The mantel decor is beautiful.

 This tree is huge!

 Several rooms have trains.

 This doll house is quite elaborate.

 Isn't this ceiling gorgeous?

 This mantel is beautiful also.

 The embroidery on this coverlet is quite pretty.

 Can you believe how they decorated the bathroom? There is a pony in the tub!

 You can't visit the third floor, but the staircase is nicely decorated.

We didn't buy much at the Marketplace. I bought a gift for my daughter's fiance and my daughter bought some different flavors of ravioli to bring home.

Afterward we went to Hick's Nurseries to look at the Christmas displays. They have a walk-through area that has different scenes displayed for adults and children to enjoy.

 Aren't these adorable?!

 Look at these stuffed animals.

 Santa has quite an elaborate sleigh.

 This snowman and pup look cold, but the pup was wagging its tail.

 Then there was the shopping. Elf anyone?

 or maybe a Santa?

 or a snowman?

 or a Nutcracker?

 This is one of many decorated trees.

Of course they have Department 56 villages also.

 The hockey players in the bottom corner actually skate around the pond.

 I love the village below.

Here is Christmastown from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer....my favorite Christmas cartoon. 

 There's Rudolph!

 I love looking at the villages!

 I have always liked these figurines too, but not enough to buy them.

 I like this Santa too.

 I really love this Santa. I have a small collection of Santas that I display each year. This would make a wonderful addition....hint, hint, Hubby.

I hope you enjoyed the picture tours.

There isn't any crafting to show you right now. My right hand has been painful every time that I attempt any craft. Even the food prep for Thanksgiving bothered it. I am planning to go to a different doctor soon for a second opinion as I don't feel like my current doctor understands how important my crafting is to me or doesn't care. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving

A new family member

My daughter and her fiance adopted this adorable puppy.

They named her Ruby. They believe she is part terrier, part dachshund. Hubby and I haven't met her yet. We will get that opportunity next week when we travel to see them. I am also going wedding dress shopping with her on Saturday. The happy couple will be getting married next Fall, so they are now in the throes of wedding planning. So much fun and excitement coming up.

Now, I had a different kind of excitement this week that was not so much fun. I have been having pain in my right thumb by the palm so I headed to the hand specialist. Since I was going I also wanted to mention to him the knob on the knuckle of my left thumb. Well, I left the office in far more pain than when I went in as I had to get a cortisone shot in my right wrist to calm the inflammation from arthritis that was causing all the pain. Trust me that driving home Tuesday afternoon was the most painful thing I have done in years. I am now sporting this daytime fashion accessory.

The night-time brace is heftier.

The doctor also informed me that the knob on my left thumb is a cyst that needs surgery to remove (also caused by arthritis). That is scheduled for the beginning of January as I have to wait until the semester break from my university course. I need to be able to write and I write left-handed.

Today I decided to try to return to stitching. The pinching motion that is needed to sew is what bothers my hand. 

I finally added the teddy bear to Santa's sack. Isn't it adorable.

Santa's sack is full now. I need to add a candy cane as well as a gift and an ornament near the bottom still. You can see the outlines on either side of the sack.

I am also working on a secret cross-stitch design on my PC Stitch program. I am cobbling together some charts that I have as well as adding some of my own design to make a special gift.

 

This will be my next big project, but I won't be able to share it until it is gifted next year. Right now it is still in the design phase.

I hope my hands heal so I can spend a lot of time working on this.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I hope to add the candy cane to the Advent Calendar today. 

Thanks for stopping by!