A Merry Christmas to All

The last month has just flown by. It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here in DAYS. I had a weird and bad viral infection that started in my eyes, moved on to my ears and the rest of my body. This had me out of work and out of commission for a week. I was too sick to stitch or knit. Now you know how bad it was.

But until then it seemed that we were right on track with our holiday preparations. Of course, being ill from December 9 until December 17 meant that holiday shopping did not happen. I am so grateful to Al Gore for inventing the internet so I could do my holiday shopping online! Wint Country gift baskets for estranged Dad and wife, favorite Aunt No. 1, and favorite Aunt No. 2 and less favorite aunt and uncle, out the door! Cashmere bathrobe for Nana from Bloomies! Sweater and necklace from Coldwater Creek for MIL! More personal than gift cards, although less personal than drudging through the mall. But sooooo much better for my peace of mind. Tons of money spent on shipping charges to get them there before the Big Day, but worth every penny not to have to fight the crowds in the parking lots and at the mall.


Oh Christmas Tree
DH, Max and I made the trip to the cut-your-own Christmas Tree Farm down the road. We love this tradition. This year we wanted a big big big tree. Max is now 2 1/2 and he is digging the holiday. So we tramp around and DH finds a huge tree. Way too huge for our house. We do have a high sloped ceiling in the family room, but that was too big. So I pick out a more moderately sized tree. This, I declare, is perfect. Except, it's not. We would need to cut off several feet for it to fit in the corner where we wanted it. So we lop off the top and stick it more in the middle of the room. Now this is a well proportioned tree, meaning it is tall and W I D E. So then we end up lopping off a bunch of branches on the back. And now, now it is perfect! It was pretty overwhelming at first, but the more we look at it, the more we love it!

10/25/50 Challenge
It was a challenge all right. Over before it even began really. I went to visit Lisa in Connecticut a few weeks ago and we, of course, had to go to her LNS. I have been coveting the new Mirabilia South Seas Mermaid and gave in to the temptation. I've gotten the floss and some of the beads, the rest I'll have to mail order. But I have been finishing things. 1 BOAF ornament - finished! 2nd BOAF ornament - almost finished! My first knitted project - the basketweave scarf - finished! I've also accumulated some yarn and have started a new project - more on that later.


New Year's Goals:
Lose 10 pounds - ha!
Stitch more
Knit more
Stress less

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!