I love Chili's

This is what I have been doing (craft-wise) the last week or so. Four rectangles of little trees. It's from here. It was supposed to be a wall hanging but I know I won't be able to clear wall space for a couple of months just to hang it and I cut too many pieces so I had to make 3 more. This will now be a throw quilt for the couch. I've never made a seasonal quilt (not that I've made many quilts) but I never thought I'd make a Christmas quilt..anyway, It will pretty much look like this when done, with the white all around it, except possibly have another light green print border and binding or just a printed binding but not dark like the inspiration one. The dark binding takes away from the trees.

The trees are not paper pieced and they took forever! Each rectangle measures

approximately 27" long x 14 3/4" wide

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Tonight Santa visited the base on a fire truck. The event is sponsored by The American Legion Stuttgart Post 6, with the help of the Stuttgart Garrison Fire Department and D.A.R.E.

This is a just a tiny bit embarrassing but I'll tell anyway...I get teary-eyed every year they do this. This year I actually thanked one of the men who walked along the side of the truck personally (as opposed to yelling, "bye Santa, thank you!") and got weepy. I told Jon that I think the guy thought I had been drinking because he did a double take when I scrunched my face trying to stop myself from actually crying. I truly am grateful that they do this. It makes the kids soooo happy and it adds to the magic of Christmas and most of all these people don't have to do this. They don't have to give up hours going to each base on different nights, visiting hundreds of buildings. They don't go in the buildings but drive down the streets in the housing areas honking and yelling Merry Christmas and then Santa gets off the truck and asks all the kids what they want. They start at 6:30 pm but I wonder when they get done? It has to take hours just to do one base.

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And the best thing of all is that we went to Ramstein Airbase today!! They have a new "mall" (PX). It's like a Target. I was in Heaven. I actually didn't buy much but I did score this Martha Stewart cake stand for $15.99.

I can't stop looking at it!

oh wait. The best part was actually going to Chili's restaurant!!!

Have I ever mentioned that I love this place??? Oh...it was so good.... we then went to the PX and got a cinnabon and a Baskin Robins mocha blast. I haven't been back to the States in 4 years (Christmas 2005) so I'm a little home sick for trivial things like food and shopping:)

The funny thing is that the restaurant has been here for a couple of years but I've never gone. I thought they had closed it a year or two ago but it was actually T.G.I Friday's that closed. ooops. I could have been eating there. But it's 2 hours away. Now that they have this new mall I might be going more often:)

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Below are some items I got the girls for Christmas. They are from here. I am in love with this persons art. One day I will commission her to make a viking doll for me.

The lady lives in Germany so when I ordered them I had them sent to my German address and got them the next day. Not used to that kind of mail service!

They are melamine plates and the ones below are small rectangular platters/plates with no lip so you couldn't put an item on it that could roll off. Good for toast which I eat every morning:)