criss-cross will make you...

it takes approximately six squares to make one coaster. 24 squares to make a set of four. 120 to make five sets. plus the additional square of fusible interfacing needed for each coaster. who knew such a little thing would take so much work and use so much fabric. here's one set i finished before we left on holiday last week. i should take a pic of the stack of squares sitting next to my sewing machine. we've been working solely on christmas decor that i haven't gotten a chance to finish. goal for today.

we got back sunday. a nine hour drive from cdale to boone. a venti, mocha frap and an ipod full of good tunes made the drive tolerable. good times in the dale. i have to remember, one night of too much fun early on can ruin the rest of the week.

we got to see everyone we wanted to see. how we did it in such a short span is still a mystery. next trip...maybe a short stint down to florida in a few weeks to see dana and the kids...and perhaps mickey. i'd be flying solo since aaron will be heading to washington state for his christmas hike with tom and crew. still have to look into a plane ticket.

this year we're hosting christmas in the carolinas for my family. we've been in holiday overdrive since returning from illinois. aaron dragged out box after box of christmas decor from the basement. who knew we'd accumulated so much. one of aaron's patients gave us an eight foot christmas tree that is now standing in our front foyer. a fraser fir, it looks awesome!! last night we trimmed it together. how quaint. i'd post pics but i wanna keep it a surprise for the family. i'll probably give a little teaser in an upcoming blog. i'm off to clean up a little...our house looks like it's been ransacked by little elves.