Christmas 2017

The new couch was purchased and put in place.  My living room is now a haven for reading, knitting and spinning.  It makes me very happy.

Christmas decorations were put in place.  I didn't find everyone that should have been put out but the house still has a festive vibe.

Kristin came home Monday, December 18 with Nala.  Nala immediately decided that her favorite spot was under the Christmas tree among the gifts.  She occasionally tries to climb the tree, but a firm "Down!" sends her scurrying.

Santa came and even brought a gift for Nala.

Christmas evening was spent in Cincinnati with my siblings.  We managed to get a group picture with big smiles from all of us.

While in Cincinnati I got to meet my new great-nephew.  Isn't he a sweetie!!

Of course, I didn't get all of my Christmas preparations done.  Ed and I were finishing up the cut-out cookies at 10:00 on December 23.  As mentioned, not all of the decorations were put out.  Trisha's cowl didn't get finished.  I did finish it on Thursday and gave it to her last night when she and her boyfriend came by for dinner and to watch the Cotton Bowl game.  It isn't blocked yet.  I'll do that and then she can take it home.

However Nala thinks it is fine the way it is.

Last night it started snowing.  This morning we have a good 4 inches on the ground.  It is still flurrying, but I don't think we'll get any more accumulation.

It looks like a good day to relax in my new living room with a cup of tea and some knitting.

Christmas is when?

Christmas is less than 10 days away.  I've barely gotten any shopping done.  Not many decorations are up.  Knitting is way behind schedule.  The wreath has been on the front door and the Advent candle has been out.  That was it until Thursday night when Blake put up some exterior lights.  It is time now to get focused on Christmas.  But I am not stressing about it this year.

The last knitted gift that I am committed to making by Christmas is on the needles.  I may get a few rows in this morning.  The rest of my day is going to be focused elsewhere.

This is not a huge bouquet of flowers on my kitchen floor.  It is the top of our new Christmas tree.  Ed thought he'd assemble it yesterday but when he saw the bubble wrap he stopped.  Our last tree came with a heavy plastic storage bag.  This one does not.  He decided that I should unwrap the pieces since his method would result in the destruction of the bubble wrap. 

The side table in the foyer has been cleared of pictures.  It is now waiting for the carousels and snowman statues. 

There are two reasons (excuses) for the lack of preparation around here.  The first is my job.  It has been awful.  Long, stressful days that result in complete exhaustion when I get home.  The second is this, my new carpet.

I couldn't decorate half of the house because of the carpet installation.  I finally have new, beautiful, lush carpet in my living room, stairs and upper hallway.  The empty space in the above picture is going to be filled with a new couch, to be purchased today.   YAY!!  I've been waiting a long time for this.  This room is going to be my haven.  It is where I will drink my tea and knit and read and gaze out the windows and renew my soul.  This is my Christmas present to myself.

Checking Things Off the List

Preparations for Christmas are slowly coming together.  Last month I made a hat for Blake.  This week I finished one of the Kallisti cowls I am making for the girls.    I don't know if this will be Kristin's or Trisha's.  Past experience tells me that however I decide to do it they will want to switch.  The hat and cowl are currently hanging out together in the sink getting ready to be blocked.  (Sorry for the upside-down picture.)

The mittens I planned to make for my euchre club gift exchange have been scrapped.  They were going to be way too big.  I instead decided to buy a gift.  

Yesterday while browsing Ravelry, I came across the Cornflower mittens.  They looked very lovely and seemed like a quick knit.  Before sitting down with my husband for an evening of television viewing, I ran downstairs and dove into the stash.  I came up two skeins of Mirasol Miski.  I don't remember where it came from.  I believe I may have purchased it, but I don't remember when or why.  The when will probably remain a mystery, but the why most likely was because it is some of the softest year I have ever touched.  It is 100% baby llama.  I'm nearing the end of the first ball of yarn and desperately hoping I have enough to finish the the mitten.  I'd hate to frog the work I've done.

Once the mittens are done, I'll decide what I'm going to do with them.  They are going to be a bit too large for me.  They may be gifted but they may be too lovely to part with.  I'll decide later.

With all of the chaos around here lately, I totally forgot to work more on my sister's headband.  I came across it while rooting around for needles for the above mittens.  It is now in a prominent spot where I'll be sure to work a few rows each day.  I'll see my sister at Christmas, so I plan to have it done by then for her.

I have other projects in the works, but I'm going to leave those of the blog until after Christmas.

Socialization

Being a full-time working mom doesn't leave much time for a social life.  My husband and I have never had a group of friends that we regularly socialize with.  "Going out on the weekends" usually just meant the two of us going to dinner at a restaurant and maybe a movie.  Now that they are all out of the house we are starting to do more activities.  We have started travelling more, I've joined a few groups that allow me to socialize with other women and we are doing other things besides just dinner and a movie.

This week we went to see Brain Candy Live at the Palace Theater in Columbus.  We parked in the garage where I usually park for work and walked through the Columbus Commons.  It was decorated for the holidays.  Quite lovely.

The show was fantastic.  Adam Savage and Michael Stephens are very entertaining.  The geek in me loved all of the nerdy jokes.

I am also taking more knitting classes.  My friend and I took a brioche class at our favorite LYS, Knitting Temptations.  The class project is a scarf with straight brioche knitting.  Cindy and I plan to expand our brioche skills with a Craftsy class.

The green raglan is slowly moving along.  Having this done by Christmas is not likely.  I'm hoping that it will be done sometime this winter.

One of my social outlets is a monthly euchre club.  We aren't going to play cards in December.  Instead, we will go out to dinner and exchange small gifts.  I am hoping to have a pair of mittens finished by the night of the dinner.  I designed a pattern that will have the different suits on them.  If they don't make it by the dinner, I'll have to find another gift and save these for next year.