The picture above was made last year when my son and his family were home for Thanksgiving. Last night he said he'd like to make a picture this year of his three girls before returning home to Louisiana. So....right before they left this morning we "tried" making a picture to see how they have grown. Baby Emma wasn't too excited about having her picture taken but here's our 2009 version below.
We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving week with our family. There were over 50 who ate with us Thursday. The house was full (and so was our tummy). Family means so much, and we have so much to be thankful for. I hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving. It's almost time for Christmas!
When girls are coming to visit for Thanksgiving and they won't be back at Christmas....what do you have ready for them? How about some overalls for outside in the country!! I didn't really know how these would turn out but even my husband likes them. I put a Santa applique on the front.....had to cut some off the length and put a ruffle. 
Look at the back. I love it. Can't wait to see a sweet girl in this "country attire"!
I've made three outfits like this for the girls. This one is Emma's --- the youngest. The green is a tiny corduroy that is so soft. I appliqued a snowman so they could wear it after Christmas. I have a cute stocking that I'll have to use but they can only wear it the month of December. I bought fabric today for Christmas dresses. My house may not get decorated (or cleaned) until the sewing is finished.
Back in early fall my son-in-law bought the neatest "gadget" at Homestead Hollow's Fall Arts & Craft Show. He brought it to my house a few weeks back to show me how easy it cuts onions and potatoes. Above he is cutting an onion. He then dipped it in eggs and milk and then flour....dropped it in a deep fryer and look below to see what we had to eat.
These were the BEST onion rings I've ever had. This is from one onion!
Next he cut one potato and look at these "homemade" potato chips! No batter on these....just dropped them in hot oil. I wanted one of the cutters for myself and knew I'd buy one if I ran across them. Guess what?? My daughter was at the Thrift Store last Saturday and found one. It was only $2.88. She gave it to me and now I can fix these any time ........ this could be dangerous!!
Remember my last post about me going to Christmas Village? Well, my daughter called that morning and was unable to go. My sweet husband offered to go with me but I KNEW he would be miserable and I would be trying to rush and it wasn't worth it. So instead of Christmas Village I went to my favorite place to shop for Children's fabric (The Smocking Bird in Homewood) and bought enough fabric to make several outfits for the girls. This is the first that I made and love that it's reversible so they actually have two dresses in one. My oldest granddaughter is too old for this style dress so I am going to attempt to make her a skirt from this fabric to match.
I am SO EXCITED because my daughter and I are going to Christmas Village later today. There's always so many neat things and I'm hoping to mark some items off my Christmas list that I'll find there. Besides that....I usually come home with so many new ideas (but never get around to making them). This is the largest indoor arts and crafts show that I've ever seen. I love the time that Amy and I have together too. My husband and I had a "date night" last night. We try to do something once a week where we spend time together. It doesn't matter where we go or what we do....it's always nice. Last night we ate at Lloyd's (a favorite for MANY years), went shopping to pick up a few things, and stopped by Books A Million for awhile. I love looking through magazines and didn't buy anything for me. He bought a new book he had been wanting by a favorite author. I don't have a picture today but hopefully I'll be able to show you some things from Christmas Village tomorrow.
Ever wonder why the name of my blog is "The Cotton Patch"? If you are new to visiting me you may not know that cotton is all around me. In fact, the very spot where my house now sits was once planted in cotton. There are so many WONDERFUL memories of my childhood which involves cotton. They are wonderful to me because I was not working.....but playing....in and around the cotton. That was before mechanical cotton pickers. My family and those hired to help would put a strap around their shoulders and this LONG bag would hang and cotton would be placed in the bag. It was so long it drug behind them on the ground. When the bag was as full as it could be it would be weighed, and that's how they received money for the day. The money would be determined by how many pounds of cotton you picked. HARD work but I never heard my folks complain. I really don't think I/WE could do it today. 
This is how the field looks from across my front yard. It's not as "white" as usual because of so much rain. It won't be long before those "mechanical" cotton pickers will have it picked and I'll have to wait for next year to see the white fields. It's this time of year that I love so much. It brings back times I shared with so many special people. Thank God I'm A Country Girl!!!
The picture above was made last year when my son and his family were home for Thanksgiving. Last night he said he'd like to make a picture this year of his three girls before returning home to Louisiana. So....right before they left this morning we "tried" making a picture to see how they have grown. Baby Emma wasn't too excited about having her picture taken but here's our 2009 version below.
