Gracious Rain

December 5, 2009February 7, 2021

Happy States

Golden_Retriever_Puppies

My friend Jenny said once that coming to visit my family was like “falling into a box of puppies.” That has made me smile ever since she said it. Seriously, I wonder if I’ve never been paid a higher compliment.

Well, as it turns out–my sweet little family isn’t alone in our puppy-like behavior. It seems that, according to MSNBC’s Live Science writer, Jeanna Bryner, our whole state is scoring like one gigantic canine kennel. In an article on the happiest states in America–Utah is ranked #1. Get that.

* Utah: 69.2
* Hawaii: 68.2
* Wyoming: 68
* Colorado: 67.3
* Minnesota: 67.3
* Maryland: 67.1
* Washington: 67.1
* Massachusetts: 67
* California: 67
* Arizona: 66.8

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Apparently, we are also much less neurotic that some of our sister states. THAT I wouldn’t have guessed. Ha ha.

Here is an excerpt:

“Of the personality factors, neuroticism took a toll on a state’s cheery count, suggesting people living in the happiest states are more relaxed than their gloomy counterparts. For instance, West Virginia, Mississippi and Kentucky were ranked as highly neurotic and showed lower well-being scores. Utah, on the other hand, had a significantly lower level of neuroticism than other states.”

If you’d like to read the entire article or to see where your state ranks click on the link below. You might just be surprised to find that you and your neighbors are more content than you thought.

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In the meantime, I need to go feed my puppies.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

December 4, 2009February 7, 2021

Handmade Christmas Gifts

Browsing around as some of us do…ahem…I’ve stumbled upon some really clever gift ideas–some of them quick and some are more involved. It’s always more fun to work them up myself and show you–but sometimes imitating the cleverness of others would be like re-inventing the wheel…or the Cheeto.

And you know how I feel about Cheetoes.

This creative planet just goes on and on…

Adorable “Crayon Roll” at Skip To My Lou.

“Easiest-Ever Baby Headband“ at Hooked on Crochet

“Simmering Pot Recipes” at Fragrant Home

“Covered Clipboards” right here at Gracious Rain -shameless plug

“Alien Abduction Lamp” at Dollar Store Crafts

“Monster Repellent” at Little Birdie Secrets

“Personal History Prompt Jar” at Gracious Rain- 2nd shameless plug

“Needle Book” at Nini Makes

There now…something for anyone and everyone.

Go forth…

Create.

December 3, 2009March 13, 2025

The Perfect Headband

Have you seen the newest–pretty thing?

Lacy headbands have found their way back into the fashion world–at last!

So I did a bit of internet scouring and found a few simple headband patterns…

jimmied them up a bit….and came up with…

this one.

Looks simple enough–wouldn’t you say? But these particular headbands have a clever secret.

These little cuties are double-buttoned–WHICH MEANS they can be adjusted to fit any size head–seriously from grown woman to toddler. Now that is good news, especially to the basketball shaped noggins we have at our place. You can wear them loose and casual or you can tighten them up a bit for a more snug fit.

Oh–there’s no head slipping going on here, let me tell you. A sort of “headband breakthrough” if you will.

I’ve tried to make a big pile of them to plop into my Etsy shop—the idea, of course would be to sell a million of them and become a zillionaire and retire on my dream ranch in Vermont…or Lindon…or something.

But I have these pretty girls of my own here and well…the risk is high that they will snag them up about as fast as I can crank ’em out. So, if you know someone that would love a lacy hair doer-uper—it’s a “get ’em while they’re hot” sort of thing.

After all…

“Christmas is coming…fa la la…fat geese…la la…some old guy’s hat…

fa…” You get the picture.

Hee hee…

Oh, and if you’d like to try your hand at it yourself, or want to learn to crochet in the first place—check out the new “How To Crochet” links in the Crafting section. Just click on the “Crafting” tab and scroll down to the bottom.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to crochet–here’s your chance!

December 2, 2009November 2, 2020

The “Christmas Look”

Hey guys! Check out my new Christmas header! What do you think?

The first frame is the huge Christmas tree inside the Conference Center foyer in Salt Lake City. It is enormous and beautiful. We wandered around in the snowy cold enjoying the Christmas lights on Temple Square when we spied this lovely tree through the window. Even though it was in a large building–the picture makes it easy to imagine that we’re looking in the window of the neighborhood rich folks. Except that you can go to jail for that sort of thing. This is much better.

The second frame is our famous “Milk Chocolate Fudge.” It’s the same fudge that we have made for the past 25 years in this family. We make it in a huge double batch and often end up making a second dose. We finish that just in time for Valentine’s Day–when of course, you need more fudge! Ha ha. You know what they say–“A day without fudge is like a day without sunshine.” Or maybe that was orange juice. I can’t remember…must be the sugar buzz. Ha!

The third frame is our equally popular “Peppermint Bark.” Now you can pay a zillion bucks for 3 ozs of fancy-schmancy bark from some really snooty candy shop or you can be a “take charge” sort of person and just plain make your own. It is the easiest Christmas treat you could possibly make–and it’s really quite pretty too. We sent some to my far away cute boy in Lithuania and they went berserk over it. Of course they did. Sheesh.

The forth frame is our cute little crocheted “Button Tree.” So fun and easy to make that one Christmas, I made 9 of them in a couple of days–each with different buttons to suite the personalities of different family members. Mine is loaded with pink and purple sparkly ones–for instance. I’ll post the pattern in a few days–and if you know how to crochet-AT ALL- you’ll love this one.

Lastly, the fifth frame is our beautiful Christmas lights on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It’s one of those sights that you don’t want to miss and will remember all your life. Millions of lights and millions of happy people just walking around feeling Christmas-y. It’s really incredible.

I hope you love our new December look. April worked hard on it and as always–has given Gracious Rain the cozy warm look we love. She always finds a way to make the site feel so like us.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

December 1, 2009October 30, 2022

Christmas Dolls

Did you have a favorite Christmas doll when you were young? Do you still remember when you first saw it under the Christmas tree?

Some of the memories of Christmas morning are so vivid to me that I swear I can still smell that new plastic whenever I see the pictures.

Oh, I remember the tinsel sparkling in the darkness as we tiptoed into the front room–long before we were suppose to. There seemed to be a tangible feeling of fresh magic just moments after Santa had left, enough magic in fact to make two covert children feel positively sick and shaky with excitement.

Then, finally, finally–when we were officially allowed to get up and the lights were turned on—oh…it took our breath away. Complete enchantment!

And even though I am many decades away from those days–I still have many Christmas morning reminders around me.

For years I kept some of my favorite dolls–from ancient days–in boxes in the basement or garage, never quite willing to give them away or give them up.

So a couple of years ago, I thought about those dolls and how rotten it must be for them to be stuffed away in those boxes. Don’t get me started on whether or not toys are alive–I’ll take you down.

ANYWAY–I took the dolls out, cleaned them up and now they decorate my room. When I wake up each day it’s like I’m reliving 15 Christmas mornings all scooped up into one.

After all these years, I’ve come to the realization that growing up is highly overrated…and in my case–

entirely unnecessary.