Happy Solstice!

 

I hope to be marking the darkest day of the year with a cookie making extravaganza. After I pulled everything out, I quickly realized my mistake at letting The Mister set up two puzzles on the dining room table. It's going to be a tight squeeze.

I was in rest and recovery mode yesterday so not much got accomplished but I did get the toe finished on the stocking. That green line under the candles is part of the waste yarn I have to pick out to put the heel. I need a clear head to be doing that and it might not be today. I'm always shocked at how much it takes out of me to wrangle a couple of Grands for a few days. 

And...Miss 1995 Holiday Barbie has been freed from her box. She spent 30 years imprisoned in plastic, poor old thing. She looks awfully happy among her new friends. I'm glad I could help. 

Home Again

 

My Advent socks were on the go for the past few days. There's no chance at all they are going to be done by the 24th but they might be done by the end of the month. 

I got the bug to make myself another bulky weight hat so I took that along for the ride too. Look what I found. A knot. Knit Picks again. Is it just me? 

Before I left I had ordered even more Brava in different colors for even more hats and it was waiting for me on the doorstep. Unlike another package I had received it had been put in a place that hadn't gotten rained on. 

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It's been raining non stop here and while we were gone I got the notification that this had arrived and been left out front. It was out in the open on a table. The box was soaked to the point of coming apart. My heart sank when I saw it but happily, my newest Barbie was dry inside. I know I said I wasn't going to buy anymore holiday Barbies but I also told myself that if I found a vintage one that was under $20 with free shipping I just might consider it. Well, here she is. She is a Hallmark edition from 1995 representing holiday traditions from 1910. Whew, that's a mouthful and she really is pretty in person. Photos don't do her justice.

Unexpected Journey

 

Daughter's MIL who is their usual babysitter had an event come up that she wanted to attend for the next two days so we got called on once again to fill in. We got to put together Grinch puzzles and...

...read lots of books when we weren't chasing the little one around. He's fast. 

I did get a belated birthday party out of it all. Pizza and bundt cake for a hard two days work. We'll be home tonight and I'll most likely be on the couch for the weekend-hopefully with enough strength left to finish my Advent stocking. 

'Tis the Season...

 

....for gifts. Yesterday The Mister and I resurrected an old holiday tradition dating way back before the pandemic made shopping no fun. We pick a store and we take turns going in for 30 minutes to buy each other gifts with a dollar limit of around $50. Back in the day it used to be Target but this year we went to our tiny new Marshall's. I came out with this bag of goodies for him. He came out with a similar one for me. For the past few years neither of us had anything to unwrap Christmas morning and I didn't want to do that again.

Those aren't the only gifts in the house. It seems that we've been keeping the mailman very busy. My sister sent me this. It's diamond art that she spent the summer working on. Isn't that the cutest snowman? The best thing is that I can keep it out all winter because I'm pretty sure it's celebrating Valentine's Day as well. I love it. 

Sandflies very generously sent me a package of holiday coffee. The bags are so pretty you almost hate to use them up. There's nothing better to wake up to on Christmas morning than the smell of this spiced coffee. 

We got a giant box yesterday from our son's in-laws. It's a tower of chocolate. Is there a better kind of tower?

I also got this lovely card from Karen in Wisconsin who included a recipe and a note explaining this was a family favorite from 1985. It's a recipe for a pecan cake and weirdly enough, The Mister has been talking about wanting something made with pecans for a few days now. I'll have to give this a try. 

Karen, I have a recipe just like that one. It's my family favorite and I've been making it since 1984 which is documented by the newspaper's date. I kept the whole section so I wouldn't lose it. There's a lot of recipes out there for banana bread but I love the story that went along with it. It's about how her mom left out the vanilla when she handed down the recipe causing the daughter to question her own baking skills for years. I love a good story with a recipe and I can tell you this is some good banana bread. I just made three loaves of it and one is already gone. 

And...a big thank you for all the birthday and well wishes. My cold didn't appear after all but a migraine did probably from the cold night air while I was out horse watching. It was short lived, thank goodness and I am right as rain right now. I also want to thank everyone who sent me book titles about pandas and turtles. This is the first one to show up and it's a lovely little book with the most amazing illustrations. I know the Grand is going to love it. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

The naughty Felici's in the Buddy colorway are done. They seem to have survived the knot drama but they are still not going in the gift box. I don't trust my skills at weaving in. It's always an ugly wound.

The socks formerly known as Advent socks are getting their heels turned. I think the Advent thing only works if you are using the mini skein option for heels and toes. The Christmas stocking is approaching its end. I confess to hating knitting with this sport weight yarn and on this 16 inch size 2 needle. I'm going back to the Stroll and the tiny 10 inch needle next year. 

Riddari's second sleeve is this big now and mad woman that I am, I cast on a bulky knit hat for myself with a skein of Brava I had in the stash. I made one in gray a few years ago and it's my go to hat when it's really cold out. What I wanted was a red one to match a red sweater that I wear a lot but while I'm waiting for that yarn to show up, this pink will have to scratch that itch. 

And....I did get to see the Clydesdale team make its way down the boardwalk and through the town last night. There wasn't much birthday whoopti-doing though since I felt like I was coming down with my first cold since retiring in 2011. Back at home, a hot cup of tea and a small slice of ice cream cake made it all a bit better. I've got to hit the ground running for the rest of the week so I better be better in the morning. 

TNT: And This Happened

 

These have been some crazy few days. Quiet stitching time just isn't happening but I did finish the snowflake motif and started that honeycomb looking section on the Christmas Quaker. The headless Santa now has the beginning of a reindeer. I hope to get Santa's head on this week if things calm down but I'm sure they won't.

It took me several tries to figure out the stitches for my plum pudding. The pattern calls for Victorian cross stitching which is new to me. I think I've got it now and I am really enjoying picking this up when I do get the chance. I was hoping that would have been yesterday but....

...I had just sat down to enjoy a quiet snow day at home hoping to get some stitching done when this happened. We usually keep our car at the top of the driveway to block it off when it's like this out but The Mister wanted to go to the hardware store to buy of all things....light up necklaces for my big birthday whoopti-do which is to stand in the freezing cold to watch the Clydesdales deliver beer down at the beach tonight. While he was gone, the Amazon guy came flying down the driveway not seeing the ice. He was stuck for about three hours while we waited for a tow truck. It was too cold for him to stay out there so we had coffee and chatted while we waited. What a morning. 

So what was so important that needed to be delivered in this weather? This book. Believe it or not I had seen it on a podcast Sunday evening and by Monday morning it was in an Amazon truck stuck in my yard. It was a birthday gift I bought for myself since it just so happens that I turned 72 today. That's about as hard for me to believe as the fact that I spent the morning with the Amazon dude. Crazy times. 

Winter Wonderland

 

The snow did not hinder our day out. It enhanced it. 

The beauty of this place is usually inside but this year, it was hard to beat the outside. This is the tree lot. What a day to be picking your tree. 

They had a fire going and carols over the loudspeakers. It was like being in a Hallmark movie. 

The inside didn't disappoint. I don't know how they do it. Room after room of trees and holiday decor and no year is ever the same as the last. 

We made it to our appointment with Santa with time to spare. There were a lot of cancellations because of the snow so they took us right away. They were so bored they even asked if we wanted a photo with Pup. We didn't. Wrangling two little ones was enough.

The train room is huge. It's a favorite of the Big Grand. The place is usually crowded but the weather gave us a head start and we had the place almost to ourselves for a long while. A lot of shopping was done. 

In addition to bags of gifts, I came home with these three new things for the tree. The Big Grand gifted me the sparkly snowflake for my birthday. I picked out the little bird and the Swifty Mug for myself. 

I've been trying in vain to get an authentic Taylor Swift ornament from her shop for several Christmases so I'll have to settle for this one for now. You can imagine, in a sea of ornaments to look over, how tickled I was to find it especially with that "Fearless" tea bag tag.

After a day like that, putting my feet up with Danny and Bing and my Advent socks seemed like the thing to do. You couldn't ask for a better day. 

Dear Santa

 

Oldest Son 1979

The most stressful thing I've done this holiday season was to book a weekend photo session for Daughter's Grands with Santa for today at the garden center we visit every year. You have to go online at exactly 10 am on the Monday before the weekend you're booking for and reserve a spot before someone takes it out of your cart. The demand is high. Daughter, The Mister, SIL and me all had our computers ready to go at the exact moment....and we all got tickets except Daughter who was shut out. We kept my ticket for 11 am and canceled the rest so other families may snap them up. Whew. My heart was beating like mad for hours afterward. But....now as I am writing this on Saturday night they are calling for snow. Snow that threatens to ruin our good time. I love snow. I especially love before Christmas snow but right now...booo. 

I can't fix the weather but here's a photo Daughter sent of her big Grand writing to Santa yesterday. Now she's on the hunt for a book about pandas and a turtle? Oh, dear. That's a problem. 

Early Morning Update: Yes, we got snow overnight and it's still coming down. Enough to ruin our outing? We'll figure that out later this morning I guess.

It's Official

 

The Santa puzzle is done so I declare that the holiday wild rumpus season shall begin. It's time to bake some wildly terrible for you health wise but oh so delicious things and drink some ridiculously awful boozy concoctions whilst they are on fire. Let us celebrate this holiday season like we were invites at Old Fezziwig's. Who's with me? 

Lighting It Up

 

Every year I say I'm going to buy those tiny fairy lights and put them on things that need lighting up and never do. This year I did it. 

My Advent sweaters looked great in the daylight but at night they can't be seen. Not anymore. 

Something else new is this Advent candle holder. We picked up pine cones on a walk to fill the tray and I'll add some holly when it gets closer to Christmas. 

I bought this electric Swedish Christmas candelabra a few years ago and it keeps me company in the kitchen window. We also string one lone strand of lights back and forth outside across the top of the kitchen window so I've got something to look at while I'm doing the piles of dishes I get from holiday cooking. 

I've given up lighting up the front exterior since no one but the Amazon people see it anymore. I do put lights in my front window for my benefit. 

We have more people that can see us out back on the hill so we usually light up the deck. We took the lights I used to put in the front window and strung them along the regular lights but they just stopped working. I'm sending The Mister to the hardware store tomorrow to see if he can find me something else. I'm in the mood for multi colored lights this year so I hope they still have a string or two left. 

I Scream, You Scream...

 

..we all scream. No, I'm not posting about Stephen King's latest. I'm talking about ice cream. 

On a very cold and windy day, I needed to go to the ice cream shop on the boardwalk and get some of their holiday flavors. I've been patiently waiting and it finally arrived. Peppermint stick and Eggnog.

I can't eat a lot of ice cream anymore but I do like a dab on a crisp pizzelle for dessert this time of year.

In the past I've rolled the warm pizzelles and made them into cones but this batch wouldn't roll. I'll have to tweak that recipe. I bought that little cookie maker during the pandemic when I went almost three years without a kitchen. I wanted Christmas cookies and didn't have an oven and this was the solution. It's been a tradition ever since.

Since I was spending the day in the kitchen anyway, I made three little loaves of honey wheat bread to go with the lentil soup we're having for dinner. It's been so cold here that hot soup and bread is the only meal that makes sense.

Wednesday WIPs: Wrapping It Up

 

I haven't wrapped up any of the Advent knitting yet. Felici is going to win this race for sure. I'm not sure what to make of the Cozy Knitter socks. I'm having a hard time telling one stripe from another so I've pretty much abandoned the Advent thing and am just knitting a pretty pair of socks now. 

The Arne and Carlos 2026 stocking is getting closer to the heel split. This year's pattern was not for the faint of heart. Those hand holding gnomes were a bear to knit. This is going to be a huge stocking compared to the others I've finished. Sport yarn and #2 needles are a big leap from sock yarn it seems. 

The Mister's Riddari has its body up to the arm joins and its first sleeve in the works. It makes good TV knitting as I plow through my huge collection of holiday DVDs at night. 

We-and by that I mean The Mister, have been wrapping gifts to put under the tree. I have no talent for wrapping but since he's a lefty I'm always involved with the scissor action. 

It was hard to wrap this little Miss up. Daughter wanted to start a collection of the new stuffed American Girl dolls and wanted Molly for Christmas. An original American Girl doll of one sort of another was always under our tree for many years back in the day. With six grandsons and no granddaughters, I jump at the chance to shop for things like this. Next year she'll be getting Addie.