Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

It's the last TNT of the year and I'm going to shock you by saying that I am NOT going to pack the Christmas Quaker away just yet. That empty frame has some birds in the middle that need doing and there is a heart under the reindeer that I want to stitch. Then I will pack it away until next year and go looking for something else to do. 

Speaking of next year, I've already got it planned out. Along with the Christmas Quaker, I am going to work on this forgotten little project as an Advent stitch. I won't get it done in one Christmas but maybe two. I'm looking forward to it. 

As for Dear Jane, it would have been nice to end the year with a completed Row D but alas, this one  block tripped me up so badly that I've just been sitting here looking at it for weeks. It will be done by next Tuesday, I swear.

I also fell behind on my Patchwork of the Crosses schedule. I have plenty of them finished so it's time to start appliqueing them down. I hope to start that process this week too. 

So many plans, so little time. 

Happy New Year's Eve!

We are doing absolutely nothing again this year other than sharing our traditional bag of chips with some onion dip probably around 10ish. Tomorrow we'll be off to watch a bunch of fools jump in the bay. The Mister used to do it but I've convinced him not to. I told him all those fancy new artificial parts might rust. 

The Big Stuff

 

I've got only five more squares to edge and my giant Audun throw will be finished. I'm no fan of crochet but I have to admit this was a pleasure to work on. Me and it go way back. All the way back to 2021.

When it's done I'll be starting my Hue Shift Afghan. The kit has been sitting here since Mother's Day 2022. 

And....as soon as it's cold enough to have this handspun monster on my lap again, Garter Squish just may get a few more rows longer this winter. I started it in 2022 also. It must have been the year for big things.

Right as Rain

 

I made good on my promise to put my holiday clutter away. As soon as the rain started on Saturday my headache vanished and I had plenty of energy to spend the morning running up and down the stairs. 

I had to carefully pack away all the glass ornaments that I had put up for the first time in years. They all survived. The kitties could have cared less.

I had piles and piles to put away. Everything is still a jumble outside the closet they will live in. I don't take the lights down or put away the twinkling things until New Year's so there is no sense packing it all in until it's all down. 

It's nice to have breathing room again. So what does one do when the tree is  down and gifts put away? Play with your dollies, of course. Midge and Movie Barbie looked chilly in their summer frocks so I put them in something sturdier and went off to shop for some even sturdier winter clothes.

And....yesterday I learned of the untimely passing of my favorite Juliet. If you are a lady of a certain age you were probably as mesmerized as I was by Zeffirelli's version of Shakespeare's tragedy. Even today, whenever I feel the need for a good cry, I put on the beautiful soundtrack and just wail away. It's going to hit even harder now I'm afraid.

Sidelined

 

I was all in a dither wondering how I was going to spend my time now that the holiday rush was over when Mother Nature decided for me. Oy....she gave me a roaring migraine yesterday. The kind where it's not possible to do much of anything. I did knit a few rows on a hat I had just started but I didn't get far. I spent the day huddled up with my hot water bottle listening to the last of my holiday audio book. While I was laying on the couch in misery, all the holiday clutter surrounding me was annoying so as soon as I'm on my feet, which I hope is today, it's getting put away. I'm ready for a fresh start. 

Loose Ends

 

The most meaningful thing we've done since Christmas is take apart the Advent puzzle. The days are numbered on the back which makes it easy to put the pieces away in the right box.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were leftovers so it was a curl up on the couch and read kinda day. I brought a small stack of books home for the holiday from our library. I also have Kindle and Audible books close to being finished. There may have also been naps involved. 

When I still had enough light to do so, I turned the heels on both the Regia twins. The day after Christmas is always a tough one to navigate. I'm so used to having a schedule of things to do that not having anything to do always feels rather odd. 

And to All a Good Night

 

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had good food. 

Sweet treats.

Beautiful cookies. Yes, they are cookies. DIL is an artist. 

Gifts galore. 

And....very wee ones to meet. 

On Christmas Day we had flaming pudding. 

And peppermint martinis....

....around a roaring fire. 

I declare the rest of this week Christmas Extended. I'm not ready for it to be over. Are you?

By the Chimney With Care

 

Woo hooo...my 2024 stocking KAL is finished and was hung just in time for Christmas Eve. All those ends were woven in and it even got blocked. I made peace with that afterthought heel after having put it in the right place this time. It's a beautiful stocking with all credit going to Arne and Carlos for another great pattern and another great year of holiday inspiration. 

And....A Happy Christmas to all my friends out there in blogland. May your day be merry and bright!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

 

What's crazier than two old fools chasing Santa around all afternoon? That would be me and The Mister. Mr and Mrs Claus drove around town on a golf cart on Saturday and we decided to get in on the fun and do some stalking.

It was extremely cold and windy and the idea was for kids to come out and give him their letters but kids were far and few in between on such a raw day. The gang on the cart seemed to be having fun anyway.

Then we drove around looking at Christmas lights because it was the night of the town judging. People do go all out. 

Today we'll be at Oldest Son's house for dinner with Daughter and four of the Grands.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Visions of Sugar Plums...

 

I finally got around to baking a few cookies. 

I started with some easy ones, Hello Dolly Bars, using Penzy's recipe which spices them up a bit.

Then I made a few sugar cookies using a cookie cutter set I picked up on clearance at Ikea last year. They are a bit on the thick side. I like my cookies thin and crisp and these aren't either. I used Betty Crocker's recipe. I need a better one. 

Have a laugh at my icing skills. I don't have the right equipment so I tried just using a piping bag and it was a gloppy mess. I'm sure my icing consistency wasn't right either. I make cookies once a year so my skills are subpar at best. 

My jam thumbprints were a mess. I tried to cut the recipe in thirds and didn't get the ratio right. 

They might not be my best work but they do look pretty all plated on the table.

The mess wasn't too pretty. I practically destroyed the kitchen that I had just cleaned within an inch of its life the day before. 

And....do you want to see a sad sight? The Mister's Advent puzzle is almost finished which means Christmas is almost over. It's not like me at all to feel this way. I'm usually more than ready to pack it in but this has been the happiest Christmas that I can remember in ages and for no particular reason. The jolly is all me. It's so weird. 

Pom Pom Sparkler

 

I don't know what's come over me this year but I can't get enough of Christmas. I've emptied my holiday closet of every decoration including some I haven't put out in years. That's my vintage Pom Pom Sparkler tree. It looks like a box of dynamite because each delicate branch is individually wrapped. 

I had to laugh at the packing slip still in the box. Do you think if I wrote to the company they would send me replacement branches for $1.75? I think not. 

It takes forever to put the little thing together but it's so worth it. 

She's so pretty. You can't hang much on her or put on lights because of her fragile state but it was so nice to see her again. 

And...a rogue cloud dropped a tiny hint of snow on us yesterday just in time for the Solstice....

...so mincemeat had to be made. I'm still dragging my feet on cookies. Maybe tomorrow?

Woodwork

 

Last weekend The Mister had a giant truck full of wood dropped off in our driveway.

Then we had a lot of rain. I did NOT want that ugly pile of blue tarp covered wood in my front yard for Christmas so that means that we've been spending a lot of time dodging raindrops and doing this. 

I fill up the cart and drive it around back and then toss it over to The Mister who is stacking it under our deck. It's taken several days of hard labor but I am happy to say that I got my part done and the driveway is now clear. The Mister still has some stacking to do but at least the neighbors won't have to look at that mess when they gather for their holiday celebration on Christmas Eve.

Now I've got plenty of wood for roasting marshmallows. I was lucky in that this particular load there were lots of short cuts of wood perfectly sized for my little Solo Stove. I just need some dry winter weather instead of all this rain and wind we've been having. 

Happy Solstice!

City Sidewalks

 

If you know anything about the Washington DC area you know where we were yesterday.

We went to the National Harbor to check out the holiday goings on but we pretty much were underwhelmed. 

The only decor was on the parking garage and it was pretty lame. I wasn't expecting 5th Avenue but I was expecting something.

The advertised tree lighting was a bit boring. I've seen the Rockefeller tree and this was no Rockefeller tree.

There were these amazing lifelike statues everywhere. I've been to New Orleans where things like this turn out to be actual people so I was a bit startled by them at first. 

This was the first one I saw outside the parking garage and I swore she was real. 

We didn't plan on doing any shopping but I came home with a bag of candy and The Mister came home with a new coat. He had ripped the pocket of his and wouldn't stop complaining about it so when we walked past a Carhartt shop I sent him in with the instructions not to come out until he found a replacement. He did.