I wish you a Merry Christmas
with all my heart...

You know how you have to pull at things at the back of your kitchen counter? 
Some are heavy and some have those nice rubber feet on them so they won't budge.
Things like your mixer... coffee maker.... or blender?  
I solved this problem for my Kitchenaid Mixer. 

 I traced the bottom of the mixer on paper to make a pattern and added 1/4" all around, then cut it out.  
The pattern measured about 8-1/2" x 13-1/2" wide.
  Then I sandwiched two pieces of fabric, both were 1/4 yd x WOF,
 with batting in the middle and quilted the 3 layers.  

Then I traced the pattern on the quilted piece and got 3 patterns cut out of the length.  
For each pattern I cut one 1-1/4" x WOF of a matching fabric for binding.  
I attatched the binding all around using a 1/4" seam.  
Then turned it over and sewed the back of the binding down.

Now my mixer fits perfectly in around the binding and glides easily from the back of the counter to the front.
It even looks nice when it's waiting for me too.

Just remember to take it off the mat, set it on those rubber feet before you knead your holiday bread!

Last week my life took a little turn.  
The kind that you never plan, it just happens and afterwards you see so much good in it.

Sunday after Thanksgiving my Mother and I got the worst of colds.  
Unable to travel we stayed in Idaho and slept for two full days.  

On Wednesday, we braved the weather and drove to Montana to her home.
  When we drove into town we stopped at the store and quickly ran in to get some things we would need. 
I went through the frozen food isle to get her favorite cake... 
Hey, it was her 85th birthday!

It was just the perfect cake to celebrate with the two of us together.  
But this has looong been a special cake to us.
As we enjoyed this one, this year,
 we talked and laughed about the ones we've shared together before.  
It was a very special day.

So... it was a Thriftday last summer when I found this cookbook....
"The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook"

Oh my!... The illustrations had me right away.
I spent hours that evening pouring over every special drawing by the illustrator Erik Blegvad. 
The cover just invited me right into Margarets world.  
As I read the book I realized it wasn't just her cookbook, 
It was a beloved gathering of Margarets life.  
And guess what I discovered?   
Right there on page 167.... Margarets Coconut Layer Cake recipie!  

Don't you just love it when things in your life connect?
I will never forget spending the day with my Mother on her 85th birthday... 
and I will always be thankful we had the day and the cake together.
...and thank you Margaret, for making the cake.