Post-T-Giving

2010 Decorations

The decorating has begun! One day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas decorations come out. We haven't even finished off our turkey leftovers and people are already celebrating the upcoming holiday season. Chanukah starts  at sundown on Sunday, December 6th, early this year. I haven't even found my menorah!

The office looks great and smells like pine!

Decorations near the Office Kitchen

Reception Area Decorations

Office Christmas Tree

Santa Claus and his reindeer are flying over Wilshire and Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. This was a major event when I was a kid. We'd walk out of Blum's and look up to see Santa...thrilling!

Santa and his Reindeer, Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills

Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills decorations. Crystal Chandeliers encased in Lucite. Lah-Dee-Dah.

Here's a vintage photo from 1937, taken by Herman Schultheis. This is Wilshire Blvd. in the Miracle Mile area, looking east at Burnside Ave. I don't remember Santa flying over the Miracle Mile. He looks grand!

Miracle Mile, 1937. Photo by Herman Shultheis

I haven't begun to decorate at our house. We're in the midst of some home improvement inside and we still have the Thanksgiving balloons from Thursday's feast perched over our doorway!

Festive Thanksgiving Balloons

What are your favorite holiday decorations?

Thanksgiving 2015

Del Rey Yacht Club. Architect, Maurice H. Fleishman, 1965

Once again, we all convened at the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey for our family Thanksgiving celebration. Our group was much smaller this year...about 8 or 9 less people. Sigh. We still had a great time, catching up with cousins, enjoying our delicious dinner, laughing and endlessly taking photos of each other!

Carolyn, Mae and Ellen

Oh that Cousin Jackie!

Roz just LOVES her balloons

Dinner was delicious!

Julia, Alexis, Brooke Ronney. Megan Thomas. Photo by Alexis

The balloons look great at our house! Thanks, Mom

To see more photos (tagging the MJ Bloom clan), click on this link.

Lazy Day Crochet

Willow Square Potholder

Thanksgiving Day. This is a lazy day for me. Our family goes OUT for Thanksgiving dinner. It's a wonderful time to visit and enjoy my cousins. Everyone has a good time.

Since I'm not slaving away in the kitchen today, I'm catching up on my crochet projects. I've been working on this top-down crocheted cardigan sweater in black. I've finished the body and have started sleeve #1. I hope to finish this sweater by Saturday.

I've also been working on a few holiday gift potholders. I like giving potholders to my friends.  They're practical and pretty. I often use them as trivets instead of potholders. They also look great just hanging on the kitchen wall. Very decorative!

Potholder based on the African Flower Design

Malibu Tile Potholder

Flower Tile Square.  I really like this square. It looks so much like a Spanish tile to me!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, my friends!

Easy T-Giving

I do not have to cook for my humongous family's Thanksgiving feast. We've been eating out for the past few decades. It's delightful. I get to catch up with my cousins and enjoy a hearty, delicious meal. HOWEVER, if I were going to cook, these are a few of the items I might make. I'm all about classic, EASY recipes! CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE LARGER.

Make it right in the can! No clean-up!

Speaking about cans...

Delicious!

Oh yeah!  This one just slays me. We saw this at Otis Art Institute years ago. Here's what the card, above says, "Through the years, Americans have gotten used to the convenience of preparing Thanksgiving in 2 hours, then 30 minutes. Now you can cook a Thanksgiving meal in your own backyard--in just 5 seconds!
Simply place the contents of your meal into the containers -- seasonings and all.  Launch the rocket and take cover. The specially engineered nose cone of the rocket will trigger lightning and send an electrical charge down the copper wire to the lightning rod. Your meal will be ready in no time!
Gone are the days of toil and tears -- with Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 seconds, you no longer need to slave in front of a hot stove all day to show your family you care!"

"Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 Seconds"

That Old Stand-by

Forget about the turkey! Just have a drink!

The Perfect Dessert!

Barbie knows the secret. Plastic food!

Don't knock yourself out. Pace yourself. Enlist the help of others. This is one huge, important dinner. I know you can do it!

Tile OR Crochet?

I love colorful tiles, especially our local Malibu Tile. I've made pilgrimages to the Adamson House in Malibu just to look at the same gorgeous tile over and over again. Most impressive is the Persian rug constructed out of tile, including FRINGE tiles!

Persian Rug Tiles w/ Fringe at the Adamson House, Malibu

My interest in tile has influenced my love of crochet motifs. So many crochet designs have the same elements as tile design. Also, I like to construct crochet items in a modular way, just like tile. I've come across many crochet motif patterns that echo the design elements of tile. 

Flower Granny Square

Persian Tile Blanket

Flower Tile Afghan Square

Tiled Kitchen at the Adamson House. If my kitchen looked like this, I promise I'd cook more often. Really!

Moroccan Tile Potholders

All I want to do right now (before the rush of the holidays) is sit and crochet some tile! Crocheting is a wonderful way to procrastinate. Shirking chores while creating something beautiful! Time to get out the crochet cotton and work up some Persian Tile Potholders for gifties!

Yarny Talent

More Lemons for CYCOA, knit and crocheted by our members

This past Saturday I attended the El Segundo Slipt Stitchers Guild Meeting. I'm always delighted by the yarny talent I see at these meetings. We had a good turnout on Saturday...at least 70-75 people. I couldn't stop snapping photos of beautiful shawls, sweaters and other projects. The color and textures were intoxicating!

Projects by ESSS Members

More beautiful projects

We have an ongoing Knit-A-Long, Crochet-A-Long that is due at our December meeting. We're making animals or toys. These can be given as gifts or as ornaments for your tree. Here we are, showing off some of the sample items:

Ellen, Lenora, Sarah and Carol with stuffed toys and animals. Photo by Peggy Baxter

Click HERE for toy patterns

Charity is a big part of being in the Guild. Here are crochet and knit-edged fleece blankets for children at local hospitals, crafted by our members.

Fleece Blankets for Donation

I always have a good time at our Guild meetings. Lenora and I are retiring our post as CAL/KAL chairpeople. I look forward to relaxing meetings in 2016 where I might even participate in Show and Share!

Saw this adorable Mini-Cooper in the parking lot as I was leaving. I wonder how radio reception is, with an antenna covered in tinsel?