Finished objects

I made some mince tarts yesterday.


See, I couldn't even wait till I'd taken a decent picture before I took a bite. They're really, really good. That's the cranberry mincemeat I made last week, and a store-bought pie crust that I cut up into little circles. (I have a lot of trouble making pie crust, so I didn't bother.)

Oh, did someone say "bothered"?


Ha! A couple of months ago, Miss Dashwood and I were looking through my cross-stitch magazines and found this pattern in Cross Stitcher #211. She thought it was hilarious.

"It's cute, isn't it?" I said.

"It really is," she said. "You should stitch that, and then you could put it up as a warning when you're in a bad mood."

Horatio happened to be sitting nearby. "That's a good idea," he said.

"Me? Are you serious?" I acted all offended, but they knew I was acting. Even I don't want to be around me in a bad mood, and I think they know that, too.

"Yes," my angel-faced children said in unison. They meant no harm, you know. Just pointing out that it would be nice to have a gentle warning if Mom's in a bit of a mood. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a pretty good idea.

So I stitched it. It really is cute. I think it's framed a bit off-center, but I'm not bothered.

And finally, a little seasonal stitching:


This is the fourth time I've stitched this pattern, which is called Old-World Santa. It's from a 20-year-old magazine that I don't actually have anymore; quite a while ago, I decided this was the only pattern in that issue that I really liked, tore it out, and recycled the rest of the magazine. I love Old-World Santa, and recently decided it was a shame I hadn't stitched one for myself yet; the other three were given as Christmas gifts. So now I have one, and I think he looks great in his kind of rustic wooden frame!