. . . i'm a {w}rapper . . .

. . . today, i got to do a lil' presentation . . .

. . . for some cute girls . . .

. . . all about gift wrapping . . .

. . . and it {might have} looked

like a candy cane factory exploded . . .

. . . yes ~ i'm steph and i'm a wrapaholic . . .

. . . we learned how to measure

{and not waste}

paper and ribbon . . .

. . . we learned "it's the thought that counts" . . .

. . . so ~ why not think CUTE thoughts? . . .

. . . then i had them help me

by wrapping up some mexico-bound

brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts . . .

. . . looks like candace

{in the background}

was wrapping at warp speed! . . .

{p.s. y'all are so, so nice.

i've had no less than

six offers from great friends

willing to loan

their sewing machines to me.

i'm not worthy.}

. . . poor, poor bernie . . .

. . . can we please have a moment of silence? . . .

. . . bernie is very, very sick . . .

. . . she literally quit last night . . .

. . . stopped dead in her tracks . . .

. . . a definite "no go" . . .

. . . as soon as merry&bright/red&white was finished . . .

. . . she gave up the ghost . . .

. . . hopefully {fingers crossed} she's revivable . . .

. . . but, we won't know for 10-14 days . . .

. . . which, in sewing terms, might as well be forever! . . .

{i'm cutting her some slack, what with her being 31 1/2 years old, and all}

. . . if i'm working on a special order for you,

please forgive me . . .

{only amelia and her in-laws will understand this post title}

. . . merry&bright . . .

. . . * crickets chirping * . . .

. . . um ~ who's in charge of this blog, anyway? . . .

. . . i wish i had a note

from my mother

explaining this prolonged absence . . .

. . . truth is . . .

. . . nothing blogworthy's going on around here . . .

. . . so {once again employing *diversionary tactics} . . .

. . . i've been working on a little project . . .

. . . because i figure you can

never have too many red&white quilts . . .

{see sidebar -->}

. . . doing the math . . .

. . . 40 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + 45 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + a couple of borders . . .

. . . + pinwheel cornerstones . . .

. . . = a non-christmas print . . .

{who doesn't love paisley?}

. . . yet, decidedly christmas-ish quilt . . .

. . . her name is

"may your days be merry&bright

and may all your christmases

be {red &}white" . . .

. . . but i'm calling her

merry&bright/red&white

for short . . .

*additional stent{s} coming soon to a husband near me

. . . baby's first christmas . . .

. . . expecting? . . .

. . . before christmas? . . .

. . . did you get one of these

from great aunt bertha

at your baby shower? . . .

. . . sorry . . .

{go ahead and ask me sometime

what i got from great aunt-in-law, bertha,

for our wedding}

. . . i can help, though . . .

. . . but, not if it's blue . . .

{whose bright idea was it to make blue a christmas color anyway?}

. . . accessories solve everything . . .

. . . especially if they're red . . .

. . . or white . . .

. . . or red AND white! . . .

. . . with jumbo or mini . . .

. . . jingle balls! . . .

. . . hey, aunt bertha! . . .

. . . get 'em while supplies last . . .

. . . nineteen/five . . .

. . . you know . . .

. . . every week i read the letters

that elder romney writes . . .

. . . and i marvel

at the growth

and maturity

and spirituality

he displays . . .

. . . and then . . .

. . . THEN . . .

. . . amber sends me a couple of old photos . . .

. . . and i bet you anything . . .

{and i really hope}

. . . that he's the same old drewski . . .

. . . just wearing

a missionary nametag right now . . .

. . . he possesses the "special" ability

to cross one eye at a time . . .

. . . what skillz! . . .

. . . and i'm pretty sure

i know what it says

on the other side

of that easter egg . . .

{but this is a family friendly/equal opportunity blog}

. . . in drew's latest email, he said:

"I can´t wait to be sippin' on a Mt. Dew,

eating a Double-Double from In-n-Out

and/or a giant Chipotle burrito,

watching the Suns game

after a sweet day on the golf course" . . .

. . . probably so he can pose for photos like this . . .

. . . and live up to the fact that

his senior class voted him

"most likely to be america's next top model" . . .

. . . what a goofball! . . .

. . . halloween wishes . . .

. . . i hope your halloween was filled with darling little monsters . . .

. . . goofy munchkins from the lollipop guild . . .

. . . crazy flying monkeys . . .

. . . picture perfect g{a}lindas . . .

. . . american gothic-style elphabas . . .

. . . aka: the wicked witch of the west {with no teeth} . . .

. . . {sigh} changed for good . . .

{also typecasting}

. . . i hope you got a decent group shot . . .

{ this was the best of our bunch :( }

. . . everyone needs a scarecrow or two . . .

. . . and really adorable . . .

. . . teeny tiny . . .

. . . trick or treaters . . .

. . . a beautiful candy passer outer . . .

. . . trendy fun big kids . . .

. . . with way too much energy . . .

. . . and amazing imaginations . . .

. . . who can make you laugh ~ even through tough times . . .

. . . and i hope you're friends

with the most clever couple alive . . .

happy birthday, fred!

{and thanks for all the night and day house calls}

. . . i hope you live next door to the flintstone mobile . . .

. . . we do! . . .

. . . and i hope you're enjoying the aftermath of this spooky evening . . .

. . . sugar high and all . . .

. . . fiddle dee dee . . .

. . . oh, scarlett . . .

. . . you and your diversionary tactics . . .

. . . i know exactly how you feel . . .

. . . something unpleasant on your mind? . . .

. . . just think about it tomorrow . . .

. . . husband having surgery in the morning? . . .

. . . let's plant flowers tonight . . .

. . . fortunately, i got

all eighty-eight plants

in the ground

by wednesday evening . . .

. . . bad news? i thought i was buying

red and white geraniums . . .

{dang home depot - colors weren't listed

on their plastic markers this year . . .

and apparently just because the buds look white

doesn't necessarily mean they are white}

. . . good news? the ivy i planted a year ago

is finally starting to climb the tree . . .

{also . . . husband is home and recovering!}

. . . from the bottom of his heart . . .

. . . have you ever seen one of these? . . .

{for the record, these are not my fingers ~ mine look much worse}

. . . this, my friends, is a stent . . .

. . . it is used to help widen blockage in arteries . . .

. . . like the arteries that were

ninety-five per cent blocked

in the bottom portion

of my poor husband's heart . . .

. . . so, he is now the proud owner

of three shiny new stents . . .

. . . great ~ so, now he has problems

with the bottom of his heart

and the heart of his bottom . . .

. . . he is Job . . .

. . . amandajoanda . . .

. . . i know your 26th birthday

wound up being {just a little} overshadowed . . .

. . . thank heaven you're such a good sport . . .

. . . we couldn't ask for

a more wonderful middle daughter . . .

{or a cuter elliott}

. . . and, yes, let's sew some curtains! . . .

. . . tag{g} ~ you're it! . . .

. . . this little tagg {double g}

got to sleep over

at grammy's house last night . . .

. . . something about

him not being much fun

while watching his mommy run 13+ miles

this morning . . .

. . . and this little tag {single g} ~

well ~ one just like it ~

will be firmly affixed

to each and every oops!

i create from now on . . .

. . . including care instructions . . .

. . . and country of origin . . .

{not blurry in real life!}

. . . now you'll know you've got

the "genuine article" . . .

. . . also new

{by special order} ~

eyelet ruffles . . .

. . . coming soon ~ the 2009 christmas collection . . .

{special thanks to shellene ~ computer genius extraordinaire ~ for tag design}