Tennessee Alapac

Female Alpaca

Mr Male ...who spits

Males....playing

A couple of weeks ago, my Fla/Tn friend Debbie drove down to Decatur to pick me up so I could spend a few days at her house in Crossville Tn.  The plan was for her to drive down to Moulton, go shopping and see the sights around here and then we would drive to her house the next day.  Well, those plans got changed and we ended up driving back to her house that same day.  Debbie and Joel have turned 13 acres into an alpaca farm.  Sixteen of them.....along with 25 chickens, two dogs and four cats.  The first day, Debbie took me on the tour to meet the alpacas.  I had heard that alpacas don't " spit" like llamas do.  ....WRONG!!!!  As I was taking a picture of one of the males, he walked right up to the camera and let me have it.  Grass spit all over the camera and my hand!  At least it wasn't in my face...ha.  It's a lot of work raising alpacas.  They have to be fed morning and night and given lots of water.  Every other day the barn has to be " mucked" out from all the poop.  The male and females have to be kept separate.  That means separated in the barn and in different pastures.  It's a days work just taking care of the alpacas, tending to the chickens morning and evening, feeding the kitties twice a day and then the two dogs who live in the house.  It was fun visiting with all the animals but I think five chickens and Mr. George kitty is enough for me.  

   

January's Snowmen

Brambly Pines snowmen

Kitchen windows

I had so much fun making the Christmas kitchen curtains, that I decided that just maybe I should have different kinds of curtains throughout the year.  Of course January means snow and snowmen.  While we were in town the other day, I ran into the fabric store to buy some thread and there were two racks of Christmas fabric on sale for 75% off!  You don't see THAT, very often. Plus! you got another 25% off your total purchase for being " old".  ( that's me)  As the idea popped into my head to make seasonal curtains, I was thinking blue with white snow flakes.  There was such fabric but not enough.  I need seven yards to make curtains and four matching place mats.  So, I kept looking through the fabrics.  Chuck actually pulled this one out and the more I looked at it, the more I liked it.  It reminded me of all these snowmen standing around the edge of our woods at Brambly Pines, so that is how my January snowmen curtains came about.  I'm going to check out all the holiday fabrics that go on sale AFTER the holiday and see what I can come up with for the rest of the year...or should I say, for next year's kitchen.

Annual Tournament

Domino brownies

One table of the first round....

We had our second annual Mexican Train tournament when the kids were here for Christmas.  It's something that I look forward to so much.  There is always a lot of laughs, oh NO!'s and please don't do that to me!!!!  I surprised the kids with "domino brownies" at intermission.  They weren't the best looking domino's but they sure did taste good.  ...and the thought was there.  We all decided that we need a trophy to pass along each year to the winner.  Michelle is going to take care of making a real winner of a trophy.  I can't wait for our third annual tournament.  Yes, this WILL be a memory that everyone talks about for ever.

Christmas Morning, Two Day's Late

Ian helping with making the oyster dressing

Presents from Michelle/Craig

Presents from Ryan/Heather ( with more hidden for
surprises)

Presents from us

Lily Ryann seeing what Daddy's present was 

Vivi gets a little help from Mama

Not what the box says....Craig

Genavive's turn

Next it's Heather's turn 

With so many people in our family now, it makes opening presents so much fun.  The Peterson rule is, one person opens a present  and every one watches.  This way we know what everyone receives and we can " oohhhh and ahhhhh over it all.  Before the present opening begins, we have to get the Christmas turkey/oyster dressing in the oven.  We eat our Christmas dinner at noon.  This way, we just have to dig out the left overs come evening time and we don't have to worry about cooking again.  As Michelle said when it was all over with...".we hadn't had such a nice Christmas in a long, long time."  I'm so glad that the kids have decided to make coming to Alabama ( even if it's a couple days late) a  new tradition.

Family Photo Shoot

Our baby Santa

Lily Ryann and Aunt Shell

Ian and Lily Ryann

Ian , the chicken man

Ryan's family

Craig/Michelle

Oona and the kids

Brother/Sister

Oona/Papa with Ryan's family

After all of the fun of opening Christmas presents and getting Christmas dinner in the oven, we had a family  "photo shoot".  Pictures that we will cherish for years to come.  Our little Vivi Santa was down for a nap but we did get plenty of Christmas pictures of her also.  I think the kids will all remember this Christmas and say....." do you remember when we did all the silly pictures at Oona/Grandma's/Papa's/Grand daddy's that Christmas!!!!"  After all, it's all about making memories.

$1 Christmas Bolt

Kitchen windows 

About two weeks before Christmas, I was still decorating.  Let me tell you about the story of the $1 bolt of tacky Christmas fabric.  About three years ago, Lady Melanie brought me a whole bolt, with the plastic still on it, of what looked like tacky Christmas fabric.  She had found it at a garage sale.  We laughed and laughed on what we could use this tacky fabric for.  I never came up with any ideas so the bolt got put on the shelf when I moved over to the studio.  At times, I kinda forgot about it.  THEN!  one day a couple weeks before Christmas, I was in the bathroom ( where I get most of my brain storm ideas....not really) and it came to me what I could use the fabric for.  I went to the studio and unwrapped the bolt and as I unwound it, it became prettier and prettier to me.  My idea lit up in my head and I started sewing.  After measuring and counting tabs that I would need to make, I made the first panel of new " Christmas curtains for the kitchen"!  They turned out beautifully so I got busy making the other panel.  I loved them!!!  Now that my brain was working on what to do with the " tacky Christmas fabric", I made four matching place mats and four matching napkins  for the kitchen table.  Next, since I had given the grand kids all Christmas pillow cases, last year, I made four pillowcases out of the Christmas bolt for the adult kids.  Yes, I still have about 1/3 of the bolt left but just give me another year and I'll come up with something to do with it.  Maybe ten matching stockings? ..........