To the ends of the earth...

I'm back! Did you miss me? I sure missed all of you, but I tried to peek in at your blogs from time to time while traveling the 13,980 miles to and from the very tip of South America. At times, it hardly seems real that we were actually way, way down there! I've outlined our flight path in blue on the map below so you can see the breakdown of our trip: Pittsburgh to Atlanta (521 miles), Atlanta to Buenos Aires (4,995 miles), Buenos Aires to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego (1,474 miles)... and then back again! 

It was so great to see my youngest son conversing like a native with the cab drivers and waiters in Argentina--that's what immersing yourself in a foreign country can do in just a short time. It honestly would have been hard to navigate the country without him by our sides as very few people spoke English and our knowledge of Spanish is elementary to say the least! We hiked and canoed in that pristine Patagonian wilderness, visited historic sights in Buenos Aires, and smiled at the thousands of penguins on Martillo Island. Many of you have asked for photos and I can't wait to share them with you. That will have to wait a bit, though, until I've had time to organize and edit them and that "free time" won't come until after Christmas.

13,980 miles to Tierra del Fuego--and back again!

So, for now, you'll have to be satisfied with seeing my final two monthly ornament finishes for 2015. I actually finished both of these in November before we headed off to South America as I knew I would have no time when I returned. It was a bit of a culture shock when we stepped off the plane here in Pittsburgh and were greeted by signs of Christmas everywhere. You see, both in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia there were no overt signs of the approaching holiday other than a few small displays in store windows. So very different than here in the U.S. where you are bombarded with it at every turn! I'll have to say, it was much more relaxing down there. As soon as I returned, I felt my stress level quickly creeping up with all the thoughts of things that probably won't get done this Christmas season. Oh well... there is always next year, right?

Anyway, my ornament for November is this cute chickadee couple from the "Prairie Birds" (book no. 24) Prairie School design. I stitched it on 40 ct. gray Newcastle with the suggested DMC threads and finished it as a flat ornament with black gingham fabric and DMC 355 handmade cording. The ornament's hanger is a piece of the same frayed gingham fabric. I simply backed the finish with a piece of coordinating felt--very easy!

"Prairie Birds" (Prairie Schooler Book No. 24) finish

The final ornament of the year comes from Homespun Elegance and was actually stitched at my stitching retreat in October. It can be found in the old "Cinnamon Stick Christmas V" booklet along with many other darling designs. I've always loved the sentiment on this one and think it turned out so cute. I did change a few of the colors and eliminated a larger charted border to shrink it down to "ornament size."  I stitched this piece "over one" on 28 ct. tea-dyed Monaco and dressed it up with some candy cane striped fabric, green cording, and a tiny brass heart to echo the stitched words. What do you think?

Homespun Elegance "Cinnamon Stick Christmas V" finish

Beautiful RAK from Andrea... Many of you are familiar with Andrea's lovely blog, The Craft Room, but just in case you're not--head on over there! You are in for a real treat! Each year Andrea creates and mails out some stunning ornaments as RAKs for her regular readers and commenters and, this year, I was one of the lucky winners. I honestly have never seen such perfect finishing--I fell in love with this sweet Homespun  Elegance ornament that she sent my way as soon as I opened the package. Thank you so very much, Andrea--it will truly be treasured for years to come!

Lovely RAK from Andrea!

In addition to our trip, we have had some other big events in our family. Just this afternoon, my oldest son's girlfriend successfully defended her doctoral thesis in cellular biology--she is now a PhD! I attended her presentation and have to admit, I understood none of it--I felt really uneducated! Science was never my strong suit, though, and as my oldest son told me--"We all have our strengths." I'll bet none of those scientists in that room could stitch and finish an ornament like I can--ha ha!! Anyway, we are very proud of her and wish her every success in her career...

And last week, my middle son celebrated a milestone birthday--he turned 30!! To have two of my three sons in their 30s now is really making me feel old. This giant chocolate eclair dessert has been his annual birthday request since he was a young boy and I'm proud to still be making it for him each year.  It's a combination of a puffy bottom crust, an inner layer of cream cheese, French vanilla pudding, and milk, a top layer of Cool Whip, and some final swirls of chocolate, butter, and powdered sugar. It really does taste just like a chocolate eclair!

Giant Chocolate Eclair Dessert for the birthday "boy"

As I mentioned earlier, I fear that Christmas is getting the best of me this year... To those of  you who I exchange presents with--please forgive me as yours will, most likely, be late this year. Being away for 10 days in late November/early December has just put me so far behind. I'm also working more hours at the library to compensate for being away, too... Sigh...  Oh well, I will leave you with a sneak peak of our great South American adventure photos. This was the view at sunset from our hotel room in Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia. Yes, my stress level was non-existent down there, as you can imagine!! Just gazing out at the tranquil waters surrounded by those snow-covered mountain peaks instantly calmed me down--ahhhh.... I never, ever dreamed that I would some day be at the very tip of South America--and if it weren't for my son studying in Argentina this semester, that would never have happened. Oh, the places your kids can take you!

Sunset Over the Beagle Channel, November 23, 2015           Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

I'm heading up to New York to visit mom tomorrow and can't wait as it's been nearly three months since I've seen her. Hopefully, I can just relax a bit while writing out Christmas cards and trying to finish up a few ornaments for gifts. I am trying my best not to stress out and keep telling myself that it's okay if everything doesn't get done this year... Just breathe, Carol... breathe.

I hope to be back next week with my annual "Parade of Ornaments"--can hardly wait to show you the 12 little ornaments that I've created this year adorning my stairway garland. Until then, thank you all for your wonderful and thoughtful comments--each one is like a little gift and I am so appreciative of the time you take to write them! Bye for now...