Happy Friday =D

To all my friends here in America, I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! Ours was busy but then it usually is when my husband is not overseas. As we have done in the past, we invited any of the single soldiers in his unit (who weren't heading home for the holiday) to come and join us for our Thanksgiving. We had 7 come join us for dinner, plus my sister =D I made 2 decent sized turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread-sausage dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. I also made a pumpkin pie, a cherry pie, a batch of my super yummy brownie, and a pumpkin gooey butter cake. Everyone ate their fill (which was quite a bit...I think all the leftovers (dressing, green beans and turkey) fit into a single 2 quart casserole dish! LOL We had a wonderful time.
Plus in the clean-up to get ready my craft area is clean...well kind of. lol At least everything is contained and ready to be sorted and put away. I need to look into different storage containers to put inside my armoires though. I have a couple of swaps that I need to finish up this weekend, but then I am going to start working on my Mom's Orchid.
I have mentioned several times that I have decided to give my mom the Quilt Shop/Sewing School she always dreamed of owning. It'll be in miniature of course, but I am positive she will just love it! I had intended to have it finished in time to present it to her in Jaunary when she comes down to celebrate Christmas. (She is also turning 60 this December so it was gonna be a combined gift) But I have realized that to do it properly, the way I have it envisioned...6 weeks is nowhere near enough time. So I am going to concentrate on completing the shell and having that ready to present to her...then I figure she can help decide how she would like it furnished. =D
I have decided that I am going to take 2, possibly even 3 Orchids by Greenleaf/Corona Concepts to make one large cottage for Mom. I just love all the gingerbread work. I am planning the main body of the house to be painted in a pale almost icy blue color...the trim will be in 2 deeper shades of blue. (That would be mom's favorite color ;-D ) I am also hoping to have the exterior landscaped by January. Mom also loves gardening, so I definitely want her to have a lovely garden to enjoy.
As it comes out of the box the Orchid has 2 stories...the lower would normally be a living room and a kitchen, and the upper floor would be a bedroom and bathroom. I need Mom's Cottage to have these things as well as a Shop area and a classroom area. Although I think the classroom area will also work for mom's living room as I plan to add a couple of cozy chairs for reading, pouring over pattern books and stitching. So I need 5 rooms, at least 3 of which need to be decent sized. I am trying to decide whether I want to add an additional floor, an additional wing or both onto the Orchid. I have no idea! LOL I currently have 2 Orchids here at the house but can easily purchase a 3rd from Hobby Lobby which is just up the road. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear 'em.

Well thank you all for hanging around reading my ramblings. I hope everyone that braved the crowds to day had a fruitful shopping trip. And to those who either stayed at home snug in their beds or worked today...Have a wonderful weekend! =D