Not sure how to explain it but my family has an uncanny knack for getting sick during major holiday seasons.  Perhaps it is timing – Christmas falls in flu season.  Perhaps we are out more than usual making preparations.  Perhaps just bad luck.  Whatever the case we have been flattened. Slowly. One by one. At lest for 48 hrs. In a home with 10 people that means it can take weeks to see every resident well again.

The mama finally went down Wednesday night. You know it’s never good when the mama goes down! The kids were a big help and I am on top again enough to brace myself for the Daddy’s big fall which promises to occur shortly judging by his appearance this morning. : /

Given this series of events our holiday prep is proceeding in fits and starts. The tree is up. Every few days it gets something new. First came 3 dozen gingerbread goats. I am not sure how I feel about them.  Very country.  And despite making them with no sugar they are still edible apparently.  I wasn’t thinking that they look and taste very like dog biscuits but Wally pointed that out right quick.  Next came a grapevine garland. It had been draped over a window and now wraps around the tree. We found some burlap cheap at Walmart’s fabric section.  A length of that is bunched around the bottom of the tree. Very rustic. Not sure I am rustic but the tree is. <g>  We added the gold painted pinecones a few days later. Quite nice.  We printed off a template to make paper stars from vintage-y paper so that will be our next project. Who knows what this tree will look like when we are finished. It has provided lots of crafty afternoons this year however and has been a relatively stress free process.

Funschool is on hiatus this month while we prepare for Christmas and generally attempt to keep our heads above water. I am hoping to get the Flickr updated in the meantime and get some pictures posted here as well.