Sock Puppets

Now the last thing I expected my sisters to do when they woke up after they arrived late on Wednesday was start making sock puppets. Yes, they asked Grandma to raid their closets to make puppets... and this was not a spur of the moment decision. Nikki came prepared with felt, cardboard, hot glue and a myriad of accessories. I was delegating to crocheting a hat and a scarf for Tricia's snowboarding puppet. I then made a hat for my southern creation. She's a redheaded old lady with a pearl necklace and earrings.

So after our creations were cleaned up (we've made 6 in all) we headed into town for a trip to Gaumer's. Now Gaumer's is the town jewelry place that has a stone museum and makes and sets a lot of its own pieces. Dad started a tradition a few years back that we can all pick something out from Gaumer's for Christmas. Last year I chose a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings and this year I saw a ring that matched perfectly. It was really more expensive than I thought Dad would have liked and would have taken six weeks to size and reset, so I went with a gold and garnet pendant and earrings... they go with the rest of my USC wear.

Now as we were meandering Gaumer's, suddenly a voice says over my shoulder, "What am I getting?" My cousin Stacy had seen our truck in the parking lot and had stopped by to visit. She was having lunch with her mom and aunts from her Dad's side. A little later, Aunt Karen came for a visit. Then in came Burney, a guy who works for my Uncle. He was looking for something for the wife. Yet another example of how you can't go anywhere without bumping into someone, or several someones in Tehama County.

We then ate lunch at a grill that overlooked the Sacramento River. The place had changed ownership several times after the original owner had announced their would be no cowboy hats allowed. Bad for business apparently. The new grill had a boot scraper on the outside and a large sign over the door proclaiming cowboy hats welcome.

We went to visit Uncle Chris at his new house, but he wasn't home. Then we headed off to visit Grandma Mathis. Aunt Ardie had gone to Redding so we just visited for a bit before heading off to a quick trip to Walmart before going home.

Dinner was fried chicken followed by a game called American History. I kept hitting the random Uncle Sam slot that told me to go back one space. I think I came in a respectable 3rd or 4th out of seven. Man, board games take and exceptionally long time with seven players.