Christmas Eve Chill...

A Dusting of snow.

 It is Ridiculously COLD here in Iowa.  6 degrees Fahrenheit!   I think in Minnesota, that is known as "Brisky" and in Alaska.. the term would be "warm!"   But here in Iowa,  6 degrees feels like 60 below! 

 Mostly with those 40 mph wind gusts blowing across the prairie.  At least there was very little wind in the Fairbanks area.  But in Minnesota,  The wind there could be as brutal at times...  I do not miss those days. 

Chasing Red Riding Hood through the woods....

I'm not a creepy wolf!

All that to say that we decided to go out and run in this crap Anyway!   A sudden drop of 45 degrees really screws up your acclimation process.  We dressed as if it were 20 degrees...  BIG MISTAKE!    With the wind gusting and the bone chilling cold that was inescapable,  we limited the outdoor exercise to 1.5 miles.  At least we got to run in our holiday gear and pose for photos.   I got the wear the Santa hat that sits on the shelf most of the year.   Whereas, Cheryl got to play "little red riding hood"  while I chased her with the bike and camera.    That makes me sound like the big bad wolf!  But I assure you, I am mostly harmless. 

Cheryl gets to work at her
hobby....

Back home,  Cheryl and I set to our own individual task/crafts/hobbies.  She has more zipper pouches to finish and I wanted to play around with the embroidery machine again.  Yesterday was a bust! With my free hand embroidery ending in a disaster.   You see, we "cleaned up" the shop a few days ago and put all of the stocking stuff away.   So when I wanted to do some more sewing,  I could not find ANYTHING!  It was very frustrating... and time consuming!   Eventually I found the equipment I needed, but by then I was irritable, impatient, and grumpy.   The embroidery that followed reflected that quite nicely...

And I begin on mine. 

But today!  I felt happy and refreshed!  I also had a plan!

So fun! 

I wanted to put a Subaru Logo on a couple of cheap Tee Shirts we picked up at JoAnn a few days ago.  I figured, since they were on clearance, and I waned to practice on some stuff,  this was the perfect opportunity to play with the new embroidery program AND the machine's full potential. 

Very Satisfying!

Playing with color threads.

The Program was a hoot to play with.  In no time, I was able to get the Subaru Logo and put it on some felt scraps.  A few more times and I was able to play around and change the colors of the thread, the order of events, and even a few details with the design.  Each time, I had promising results.

Finally got the "B" right.

We have a winner!

Finally,  I got the "B" in Subaru to almost turn out presentably.   It was now time to try it on one of the Tee shirts.

Uh... What happened!?!?!

Well.... the results were a little disappointing.   I had backing on the shirt, but perhaps the material shifted or stretch cotton is simply not a fun material to work with.   The logo looks "ok" from a distance.  But the moment you get closer,   things become more of a problem.   Compare it to the Last one I did in the Felt Scrap.  

A Warm Tom and Jerry
in A Subaru mug.

The felt scrap looks better.

Well,   The process was fun.  And there are a few more things I would like to experiment with before trying the final Tee-shirt.  Cheryl says I can play around with some baking towels she recently purchased.   I may have to find a different backing for the material if I want it to work.  And the "B" is still not what I want it to be.   More research and experimenting is required.  

Cheryl and Hiro Open
the 12 Days of Christmas 
Cat Toys.

Garnish with Nutmeg!

Now,  It is time to sit back and enjoy some Holiday Festivities with a warm and cozy Tom and Jerry!   A little rum and brandy to add in some holiday cheer never hurts.  Cheryl also spent a portion of her day baking brownies.  I'm not sure who they are for, but I know I should not be eating them.  I guess we could hand them out to additional folks tomorrow if Cheryl does not plan on eating them all herself.   If we can find any new friends in this small town...  We shall see. 

Sometimes Hiro actually
is excited!

Who needs The Bethlehem
 star? When you have a Bright
Sun with A Rainbow!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Hope everyone is having a fun, happy and enjoyable holiday with Friends and Family.  (I'll refrain from being political here....)   Just have a Merry Christmas in the best way you can, given that 2020 will soon be over! And a new year of possibilities are just around the corner.   Merry Christmas! 

A Rainbow in Each side!  Merry Christmas!

Over The River And Through The Woods, Cheryl Runs The Santa Shuffle Half-Marathon.

Santa Shuffle Half 
Marathon! 

 As with all things 2020, this one was Virtual as well.   However, we managed to pull it off in Muscatine on a pleasant day!  The next few days are supposed to be terrible here in Iowa.   Rain, Snow, Wind, Blisteringly cold!  All add up to us running a half marathon a day early so we can avoid such misery.  

Cheryl "Bearding Up" 
for Safety...

Not that the running part alone is not miserable enough.  13.1 miles!   Untrained!  ( Mostly)   Cheryl was rather surprised that she was able to finish it in under 2 hours without stopping at all.   That is also including no hot cocoa, no water, no candy canes,   no bathroom breaks.   Overall,   a rather poorly run Half-Marathon, if you ask me.   Who runs a half marathon without any water breaks on the course?   It's Crazy!

No water on the Course?

I guess there are always going to be negatives with running a virtual race.  One being that you have to provide all that stuff on your own.  We had no hot cocoa or water to speak of.  I doubt Cheryl would have accepted it even if I had lugged it along for security.   She often feels that drinking water in any race under 14 miles long is for "wimps!"   And I hate having to drag along unneeded supplies unnecessarily, 

I dislike Extra baggage, And
Race Officials....

But one of the perks of Virtual racing is that I get to tag along beside her and no Race Official is yelling at me to get off the course.   (I dislike Race Officials.   They always only seem to be yelling at me for some reason....)   So I was able to ride my bike on the course, and snap a bunch of pictures all along the way. 

Cheryl at every mile!  ( Mostly) 

This means that I was able to capture every mile and every moment of the race from the best positions.   But since most of the pictures were taken along the same trail along the Mississippi,  they ended up looking pretty much the same as all of those other pictures I have shot over the years. 

Required eating for every race!

One note,  Cheryl was VERY grateful that there was no snow on the course.  Running a Santa Shuffle in the snow sounds romantic and fun.   But after 13.1 miles,  it is no sleigh ride to Grandmas.

We finished it up and Cheryl celebrated with some Famous Amos cookies and a McDonalds Happy Meal. Sometimes it is the little things that have to be celebrated. 

The Bling was pretty cool.   Cheryl, for Safety Reasons, had to put her own finisher's Medal on.   The medal was a Christmas Package that opens up and reveals a happy Santa Shuffle Finisher's Slogan.   How fun!  

Open the Present!

The Prize inside!

She also put on the zip up jacket/hoodie that has the race logo on it.   If you look closely, you will also note that there are little Santas embossed on the sleeves.  A nice touch!

Facing the incoming weather, We visited HyVee to purchase all of our Holiday Snacks so we can hole up and hide out while the snow falls and wind blows.   I should note that Cheryl finished first in her age group.   First in her gender category, and First Over All!   She was able to sweep all of the trophies simply by being the only one to show up and run the race.   Who says being the Sole Participant doesn't pay?

Is that a Santa on your
Sleeve?

Nice!

As for now,  we are relaxing at home with the cats ( the neighbor cat just joined us.)  and trying to figure out what our next plan of attack is for the holidays.  I should phrase it differently, but I do believe we have to take life events head on as if we are facing an opponent. A very, Very Hostile opponent!  ( Life is not always very nice... Especially during the Holidays!) 

I should also note that this post will TIE my 2010 year of blogging posts.   I doubt I will ever match the 2009 number, as I pretty much blogged every day about nothing.   ( I was new to the blog world...  I still didn't know what I was doing...) I think "about 200" posts a year is a good pace for blogging.  I have to let things actually happen to be able to write about them.   And being stuck in the middle of No-Where Iowa can make that a bit of a challenge sometimes.  

Making sure Life is not Boring...

But I do have an advantage by being married to Cheryl and having a Pride of Cats circling around me for material.  There are a few days remaining in this year of disasters.  I still might be able to get that number over 200 yet! As long as the posts are not too boring.  

Saturn/Jupiter "Star" 
last night....?

By the way?  Anyone catch that Saturn/ Jupiter alignment last night?   I think I did, but if it was the actual "star of Bethlehem," it was pretty lack-luster.  Perhaps shepherds "watching their flocks at night" are more easily impressed. But to me, it looked like every other star in the night sky.   OR..  I might have missed it since it was low in the horizon.   It's possible. 

Thanks for stopping in! 

T'was the Friday Before Christmas....

Muscatine is more Fun.

 And Ethan and Cheryl went running.... again.  We ran in Muscatine for Today... Ahead of the Weekend because...  well,  we could!   It was wonderful!   Even with the cold and the wind, it was far better than the Kewash trail, that seems so cold and barren.  There is always the river to take in,  the boats, the trail, and occasionally,  an Eagle or Heron to notice. No to mention it gets us away from our little farmland prison and out into the riverside community for a pleasant change. 

Kewash Trail.  Cold and Snowy.

After the usual affairs, we eventually have to come home.   What to do with all that new found time we were lacking a mere week ago...  

Cold, snow, and pigs pulling sleds...

Well,  Cheryl has been working on her Owl Zipper Pouches.   Mostly just to deal with that horrible creative itch that she has after the stockings are winding down.   She doubts these will be available in any of the Allenbrite Stores. 

She looks busy!

Cheryl's Creative Outlet.

 They were never the best sellers anyway.  Most likely they will be handed out as gifts or used in some special way to deliver a present.  After the first of the new year, I'm sure we will begin focusing on the soap or some other venue for revenue. 

Visions of Embroidery Dancing in my head...

As for me.   I am still playing around with the embroidery ideas in my head.  On that front,  progress has been made! 

The other day, I was playing around with Free hand Embroidery and creating junk that no one would possibly want as a decoration.( even me!)   But I thought it was good for  therapy and skill building if I ever find myself on a desert island with time on my hands and a need for new survival techniques.  ( Don't ask me how Embroidery will help me with survival on a desert Island...  The Application of those skills are not immediately obvious to me just yet. And I have not given it that much thought.) 

Perhaps there is more competition now? 

So I was trolling around on the internet looking for inspiration and tips on how to fix my incompetence.   ( Embroidery-wise)  I stumbled upon a youtube video...  who mentioned an embroidery Program.  I know this program....  $1000 bucks!  That was the price about 5 years ago.  But I was pleasantly surprised that the price has come down DRAMATICALLY!...  Down to $20 buck!.   How can this be?  

Nice Try... Maybe some people made 
their money back...

I have a theory:  The program writers had over-priced the original program because they figured you would make money selling your "home made embroidery patterns"  for $1-3 bucks each.  Sell 1000, and you have made your money back!  

Simple experimental 
Design downloaded.

Unfortunately... in the real world, Selling things is not as easy as you might think.  And I'm sure they got plenty of complaints of people with Buyer's remorse.  OR a competitor came out with a newer, cheaper program.  OR the old program got outdated and the newest one came out with more features.  Either way,  There was an opportunity to get a program CHEAP!   And I begged Cheryl to buy me the $20 downloadable program for Christmas. 

Proof the Program 
Works! 

Cheryls' Dog Design.

20 minutes later... I made this!  A little easier than my "handmade" attempt.   These were just things I used from the program.  However!  You can also do things that you create yourself.  The obvious choice was one of Cheryl's Dog designs. 

After Isolating it 
with a Paint Program. 

A little tweeking and BOOM!   We have an Allenbrite Dog Design embroidered on felt.   Incredible!   

Translating it to the Embroidery
Machine...

Now, it did take a long time to actually sew up.   I doubt we will be using this for Stockings in the future.   And there were 10 colors of thread required for this simple design.   You may notice that there seems to be less color on it that that, and that is because I skipped the "little bits of color" required.   Plus!  I did not have those colors in my arsenals.  

A Few Extra colors added. 

But that changed a little today as Cheryl wanted to visit JoAnn again. They had a modest sale on thread again, so I purchased an additional 10 colors.  I will fill in the gaps in the coming years as I require it. 

Hiro looking out into the snow. 

I'm very excited that I was able to do what I did in the short amount of time just experimenting with the program.  I will now have to work on the needle threader, as changing thread colors becomes more important.   I will also have to familiarize myself with the program, as I believe I have not even scratched the surface of its potential yet.  I'm still not sure how I'm going to use these new found gifts and skills,   but I'm sure they will eventually come in handy....  especially when I'm marooned on a Desert Island.    Thanks for stopping in. 

At least he is not out in the cold like 
the "Farmer Cats."