O Christmas Tree

 

I can hardly believe we are almost at the end of my string of little sweaters. December always flies by, doesn't it?

I didn't take any chances yesterday. As soon as my feet hit the floor that tree was decorated. I confess to not putting all the ornaments on but I think it's actually got more than enough. 

We have a small army of musical stuffies under the tree and while I was decorating, The Mister got them all up and running. 

When my mom passed away in November of 2002, after a brief battle with leukemia, my dad wanted nothing to do with Christmas anymore. I couldn't leave well enough alone so I would buy him one of these funny stuffies every year hoping to get a smile. I don't think I ever did. The man was broken beyond repair from that point on. The ghosts of that Christmas haunt me to this day. 

After all that was taken care of we actually worked on the puzzle for a few minutes. We've got no obligations this year. It will just be The Mister and I, so there is no hurry to finish. It will give us something to do over the holiday. 

Yesterday afternoon we visited some of our little shops at the beach. Pup and I waited outside while The Mister looked for something for his sister. 

In the window of the antique shop I saw this tree. My mother and grandmother had similar ones and I've always wanted one like it. If my dad were still alive I'd have bought it and had him rewire it for me but he's not so I didn't.  Sometimes it's better to just let those ghosts stay where they are. 

Back at home I had a package waiting. NYPeapod sent me a box of her homemade jellies and some vanilla extract. You know I'm looking at that extract wondering how it would work in soap....lol. I'm always on the lookout for a good vanilla scent. There was also a cute as can be card and a squeaky toy for Pup. Thanks so much NYPeapod. If you haven't checked out her Instagram you should. She does so many amazing things I couldn't even begin to list them.

And.....how about a stocking update? It's growing but I am not happy. I love the pattern but I wish now I had used a darker green. The green sections are almost completely washed out from lack of contrast. I also am not happy with my tension. It's a bit puckery. You should never do colorwork when you are stressed and this has been a bit of a stressful year. I should have known better. It may block out, it may not. I do know I want to knit this again in different colors from the top down and maybe not use Magic Loop. I think I have a 16" circular that would have helped with that tight tension. We'll see.